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Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 51, 12 January 1877, Page 2

We learn that a movement is on foot to establish a Benevolent Society in Akaroa, and that a meeting of all persons favourable to the establishment of such a society will take place at an early date. The prize cheese exhibited at the late show has been forwarded to our office by Mr. B. Shadbolt, and we have much pleasure in acknowledging its receipt, with thanks. The quality of the cheese is exceptionally good, and were it allowed age, it would still further improve, but we fear that it has found its way into the wrong larder to obtain that essential. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, John Seaton pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly on the previous evening, and was fined 10s ; or in default, 24 hours' imprisonment. Yesterday George M'Mahon, a groom, lately in the employ of Cramniond and Co., was brought before the Court, being of unsound mind, and .was remanded for medical inspection. At last the attention of the local authorities has been awakened in favour of the unfortunate man Creevy, who has been lying dangerously ill at the Criterion Hotel for the last fortnight, but not before the Colonial Secretary and Mr. Kolleston hud been appealed to on the man's behalf by Mr. William Adams. A telegram was received from the Colonial Secretary on Tuesday last, stating that Mr. Kolleston was empowered to act in such cases, and thereupon Mr. Adams placed himself in communication with the late Superintendent. Yesterday both Dr. Pearde and Mr. Ayhner visited Creevy, and directed his removal to the casual ward, but as this attention was rather tardy in being secured, arrangements had been made for the man's admission to the Christchurch hospital, which of course will now be cancelled. It is but fair to state that Dr. Buhner Jhas been unceasing in his attention towards the man. At the Borough Council's meeting on Wednesday evening last, a communication was received from Mr. H. J. Chalmers on behalf of the deputation who had moved in the question of baths, withdrawing their support from the movement, on the ground that the Council had departed from the original plans. The whole matter may now be regarded as having fallen through. Anything but complimentary remarks were passed by the Council at the action of the deputation, a report of which will be found in that body's proceedings. The concert in aid of the Parsonage Fund passed off tolerably successful on Tuesday evening last. The programme was all but an impromptu one, as several who had promised to assist were prevented from taking part. Mr and Mrs Hill, of Christchurch, contributed much to the evening's entertainment. Mr Denney was as .mirth-provoking as ever, and the Rev Mr .Cooper gave several readings with great success. Messrs Harlock and liobertsliaw also took part, and their efforts met with the approbation of the audience. At Ballarat two novel societies have recently been formed —an anti-smoking society and. an early rising society. Both have already a large membership. The early-rising gentlemen are allowed eight hours' sleep, but any member who, in good health sleeps longer than 'the time prescribed, is fined Is.

A Sandhurst solicitor has got £5 damages" and costs against a defendant for writing on a postal card an imputation of embezzlement.

A most distressing and tragic occurrence has taken place near Felton, Nortlmiiiberland lately. A widow, named- Armstrong,and her family, residing in a cottage at Waterside-house;, on ■ the river J Coquet, were seated at some altercation occurcedj*». Suddenly the daughter Jane, aged 22, rushed ou*t and threw herself into the river, which is close to the house*:- Her brother Thomas, aged 16, followed, plunged into the water to rescue her, and, after struggling, both were drowned. A fearful encounter with a bull took place yesterday aftornoon near Lake Shea, Auckland (on Friday, December 19). The owner was walking in a paddock near the bull, and accompanied by a man named Coffey and a boy named Price. Coffee was leading a pony, and Shea was about giving the animal a drink, when the bull suddenly, without any provocation, rushed at Shea and pitched him. A fierce struggle then ensued, Shea doing all he could to evade the horns of the beast. After a time he laid hold of the ring in the bull's nostrils and rose to his feet. The wrench thus given to the ring caused the bull to 'sheer off. Shea's injuries are very severe, four ribs being broken on the right side, and one on the left side. The ribs on the left side have, unfortunately, been split up into bits by the violence of the attack. 'His face is also much injured ; a deep cut near the left eye had to be sewn up. Two ■bystanders were awed by the fury of the animal, and did not attempt any rescue.

. Horses with broad Hat feet,' and with high action at the same time, are almost certain to break down soon after division of the nerves, from rupture of the tendons. If there is any unnatural heat in the feet, the operation has little chance of succeeding. Loss of sensation in the organs will prompt the animal to use them with less care, and the result will be an increase of the inflammation, and probably loss of the hoof. When the feet are strong and perfectly cool, there is a fair probability of the horse being rendered serviceable for a considerable period ; but at best it can only be said, in favour of the operation, that it is worth trying when every other form of treatment has failed, and the horse is useless in his present. condition. — Agricultural Gazette.

Mr. Mackay, who until the recent appointment of the Rev. J. C. Andrews as Principal of the Nelson College, was acting head master, in addressing the boys at the "breaking up" a few days since said "that he believed less and less in the administration of corporal punishment. When younger and less experienced he believed in it thoroughly, and administered it freely, but it was now his matured conviction that the master who depended upon the lash to train his pupils had mistaken his vocation, and had better give it up. Still he would retain it as a stand-by. He would give a full dose to the blustering bully, the detestable liar, or the incorrigible thief, and by so doing might save the magistrates trouble, and some neglected boy from lasting disgrace. Neglected, he meant, by his parents, who too frequsntly had a tendency to forget theirresponsibilities, and to endeavour to transfer them to the schoolmaster."

The North Canterbury Independent, lately published at Kaiapoi, was printed at a loss of £650 in ten months, exclusive of bad debts

A young man who cut quite a swell at Saratoga, waiting upon heiresses, was well aware that it was necessary to convince the young ladies that he had wealth, to obtain the favour of their parents. So he deliberately prepared a statement of his income on one of the Internal Revenue Office Banks, declaring that his income was 82,000 dols. He swore to the return, and in due time, it was published in the city papers, in the list of those who returned incomes abo ye 25,000 dols. The bait took, the girls looked upon him as a fair prize, their fathers and mothers concurred in the belief, and the next winter a fashionable marriage took place, in which the young confidence chap was the bridegroom. He married a quarter of a million, and is now living upon his wife's income. The discovery made a row for a few weeks, but it was soon smoothed over.

The Freemason states that the ranks of that illustrious Order now contains the name of one of the gentle sex, in the person of a Countess Hadich, who had been received as a Freemason in a Hungarian lodge under the Grand Orient of Hungary. The Countess, we are told, is a highly educated lady, and having studied and become well versed in Masonic literature, she was regularly proposed and seconded in open lodge, balloted for, and in due course was duly initiated. The Grand Orient of Hungary, however, declare the initiation to be null and void on the ground that a woman is disqualified from being a Freemason, and the curious question now arises whether, as the countess was actually initiated, she can be refused admission to her lodge. How this delicate point, will be settled by the Masonic elders it is impossible to say ; but if the Grand Orient can destroy by an edict of their own the value of the adage, " Once a Mason, always a Mason," they will have performed a, feat that appears to be quite as difficult a performance as it would be for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

.> "V£e read]with satisfaction that Joseph Cockburn, one of the" crew of the ill-fated steamer Otago, has been sentenced to. two terms of. imprisonment of four months each, cumulative, for robbery of the passengers' property after the disaster. The meanspirited fellow who could take advantage of such a. -calamity to indulge his criminal proclivities .is a disgrace to manhooil, and the only fault we find to the sentence is that it was not half enough-

An extraordinary feat-was witnessed in Molesworth-street this morning (says the .Wellington Argus, oi the 17th ult.) A man on horseback was riding pretty quickly down the street, when \a a little toddling child attempted to cross right in front of the horse. It was impossible for the man to pull up sharp enough to avoid an accident, and with great presence of mind he applied his spurs, tightened his reins, the result being that the horse jumped clean over the child without injuring or even touching it. The little one had a narrow escape. [Our evening contemporary is assimilating Yankee journalism with a vengeance.—Ed. A. M.]

A letter from Madrid soys that the investigation into the murder of General Prim, -commenced on December 27, 1870, has just terminated. The proceedings fill 12,000 folios of manuscript, and have been carried on by 18 judges. One hundred and twenty. persons have been sought aftei as implicated ; of these 40 have been discharged for want of proof of complicity ; the residences of 44 others could not be found, six are dead, 10 are in prison, and two of those absent are out of the country, and have net obeyed "the summons to appear. During the proceedings it has been shown that some fabricated evidence was . offered. Notwithstanding all the efforts which have been made it has not been found possible to fix the guilt of the crime on any one by absolute proof.

A man named Evans, employed as a cook at the Commercial Hotel Lawrence, attempted to commit suicide on Christinas morning. The 'Bruce Herald's' Lawrence correspondent gives the following particulars:—" About six o'clock in the morning the servants who slept in the adjoining room had endeavoured to waken him by rapping at the partition, but obtaining no reply, they sent 'boots' to see if anything was the matter. On opening the door of the cook's bedroom he was found in a kneeling position on the ground, surrounded by a pool of blood. ' Boots' thought he was bleeding from the nose, and endeavoured to turn him over, when he saw a fearful gash in his throat and a small penknife on the floor. Dr Withers was soon in attendance, and, finding life not yet extinct, immediately proceeded to dress and sew up the wound. Although the man appeared to have lost a fearful quantity of blood, hopes are entertained of his recovery. He had only been a short time in the hotel, and was of very sober, quiet habits. He has been removed to the Tuapeka hospital."

There is said to be much talk in American scientific circles about the Kecly Motor. Mr. Keely, a working man, declares that by means of a machine which he has invented, he can, without the use of fuel, and by merely turning a handle, generate out of water a vapour so much more powerful than steam, that with a gallon of water he can drive a heavy train from Philadelphia to San Francisco ; and with a hogshead he could impel a Cunard steamer from Liverpool to New York against a continuous westerly gale. The inventor, it is stated, has induced Mr. Collier, a patents solicitor, to examine into the matter, who was so struck with what he saw thai he got a scientific man to verify it. Both agreed that Keely did actually produce extraordinary results, but they could not tell how these results were obtained. The Chief Engineer of the United States Navy, who witnessed the experiments, was equally assured thai the thing was actually done, but equally at a loss to explain the doing of it. Mr. Collier then formed a company in New York. A small capital for carrying out the preliminary experiments was raised. Mr. Keely is said to have refused to receive a cent until the world has been thoroughly convinced of the reality of his invention, and until patents have been secured in every country. The Taupo correspondent of the Bay of Plenty Times writes:—"A German with his wife and five children, the eldest of whom is hardly 14 years old, passed through Taupo yesterday, having walked from Auckland via Waikato, to try to get work at Napier." An instance of throwing bread upon the waters, and having it returned after many days has occurred (the Clunes Guardian remarks) in connection with the diminutive jockey who rode Briseis for the Melbourne Cup. Some years ago the boy was wandering about the streets of Geelong, a friendless waif, when Mr. Wilson, with that kindheartedness for which he is co well known, took him home, fed, clothed, and adopted him. Not only did he do this, but as the little fellow was totally ignorant of his parentage on either side, Mr. Wilson bestowed upon him the aristocratic name of his own residence (St. Albans), taught him to ride, and one of the results is that the lad, with the help of the filly Briseis, landed for his master the rich racing stake in question. Up till last week the price of liquor at the Lyell was Is per nobbier. One of the hotel-keepers has at length created a revolution by reducing the price to 6d, and great is the rejoicing.

A very singular discovery of a human skeleton was made at Carterton the other day. The wife of Mr -Edbertson had her attention attracted by.what appeared to be the end of a stick protruding in a rather singular'way from the trunk of a tree. On pulling it out she was started to find that, instead.of a stick, it was the bleached thighbone of a human being. Further examination revealed an entire human skeleton, with two apparently severe gashes inflicted on the skull bones —one on either side of the head. The surmises are that the remains are those of a Maori who met his death during the t'ibal disturbances of bygone days. In the so-called dark ages of Edward 111. all shipowners —British or foreign —were held responsible for loss,of life occasioned by shipwreck in British waters. The Act has never been repealed. At Napier, on Ist inst., a lad named Ellingham, aged fourteen, accidentally shot himself with a gun which was presented him by his uncle the day previous. He was attempting to measure the gun with one of his father's, which was loaded, and in lifting it up the hammer caught the edge of a bed and went off, the contents lodging in the lad's side. This is the third accident to the same family this year One son lost his life by drinking boiling hot tea out of a teapot, one was drowned, and the third was shot. The Tichbourne claimant having committed a breach of prison discipline, has lost all his good marks, which will protract the period of his detention. Juries are now permitted to refresh the inner man during their deliberations, and appear to have taken very kindly to the new rule. At the enquiry into the fire at Blenheim one of the avelve appreciated the thing so much that he forgot what the whole affair was about, and in place of allowing a decision to be come to by an early hour in the evening, the whole round dozen had to be locked up till 8.30. the next morning. Mr. Deverill, Government photographer, is starting on a three months' tour, to photograph the scenery of the rivers, lakes, and sounds of the South Island. Professor Peter, who was in charge of the American Transit of Venus expedition to New Zealand, has evidently not been idle since his return to America, for (says The Times) during the present year he has discovered ten new planets. This brings the number of planets which Professor Peter has discovered up to twenty-sis. The Creswich Advertiser has this amusing paragraph :—A country resident bought a shirt one day during the past week, which was the first white one he ever possessed. On Sunday last he was to be married, and that was the important occasion that had incited him to the purchase. The shirt had a nice starched bosom, and was open at the back —a style that wa<* new to its possessor. After careful study, he put it on with the opening in front, concluding that the stiff bosom was intended as a kind of shoulder brace to make him stand erect. Thus dressed, he met his bride at the church door; but her knowledge was greater than his about shirts, and she made him go home and reverse the garment before she would allow the ceremony to proceed. The Journal de Bordeaux states that a girl now living in the Kue Voltaire of that town, who was born without arms, uses her mouth in the most extraordinary manner. She can write with the greatest facility) can thread the finest needle, embroider, knit, do crochet work, mark linen, &c, with marvellous regularity, and can even with her mouth tie a sailor's knot. The Evesham Journal of a late date, publishes a report of a lecture given there by Mr. Charles Holloway, of the Agricultural Labourer's Union, in which he gives a practical working man's account of the Colony, and states that it offers the best opportunities to all labouring men who are not idlers or drunkards. The same gentleman has been addressing meetings in the districts around, and included in are Hereford, Bedford, North Essex, and Swaffham ; and in each place has given a plain and straightforward statement as to this colony as a field of labour for the agricultural emigrant.