The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1877.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 58, 6 February 1877, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1877.

On the 2nd instant, a child about five years of age, the son of, Mr Lambert, was accidentally knocked down by a horse riddea by a son of Mr Wagstaff's. Medical adjvice was at once obtained, and upon examination it was found that, beyond an injury to one shoulder, the child had otherwise escaped bodily hurt, although it was naturally greatly frightened. The wet weather has done a great amount of injury to the plum crop. We think that we are right in saying that the major part of the fruit is spoiled on the trees, as the rain has caused itfto crack, thereby rendering it useless f #r ; exportation. It will be a great loss to the orcha'rdists of Akaroa if the Union Company's steamers do not call here oftener than they now do, as the perishable part of their fruit crops must be lost for want of opportunities of transit to get such crops to market. A slight shock of earthquake was felt at Akaroa about 10.10 p.m. on the 2nd instant. We do not vouch that the time given is correct, for our observations of the different faces of clocks in the borough has taught us that no two agree in their record of the fleeting moments. Telegrams in connection with the Akaroa Benevolent Society have been received by the committee from the General Gov3rnment re Akaroa Hospital. It is expected that the hospital will shortly be handed over to a committee, when a permanent medical officer will be appointed. If other trades are dull, that of the corporation undertaker does not seem to fall away. On the 31st inst. we noticed on the beach in front of Mr. Kissel's, a defunct mutton, waiting odoriferously for the " last say rites " to be dispensed by the energetic maker of graves for such and such-like.

Some of the candidates for seats on the Railway Trust Board are determined not to loose their chance of election through neglecting to canvas the electors. This is especially the case within this borough, where candidates and their friends are energetically in earnest about the matter. Our much quoted, and often maligned friend, the weather clerk, has, during the past week, treated us to weather of a remarkably varied character. On the 31st ult., and the Ist inst., the heat was so intense that no coats, silk coats, and holland coats, were scarcely bearable, since that date we have had nothing but cold rains, causing the light coats to disappear, and great coats, waterproofs, &c, to be in demand. A meeting of the ladies of the Presbyterian Church, called for last evening, was so thinly attended, owing to the wet, that it was postponed till to-morrow evening, at 7 o'clock. It is hoped that the weather may be favourable, and that there may be a full attendance. The Pope was originally elected by the priests and people of the diocese of Rome; but subsequently' by the Cardinals. In the 11th centuary, Nicholas II conferred on the Cardinals the right of directing the election; and in accordance with his statutes, the Cardinals were bound to demand of the Roman people and the Roman clergy the ratification of their choice. To legalise the election it was necessary that the same name should obtain two-thirds, at least, of the voices of the Conclave, together with the suffrages of the clergy and people of Rome. This matter, however, of electing the Pope was found to give rise to dissensions, and consequently in 1226, on the accession of Gregory IX, both the clergy and people were excluded from all participation in the election. The election of the Pope now is by scrutiny or ballot. Each Cardinal writes his own name with that of the candidate he proposes on the ticket. The tickets are deposited in the consecrated chalice which stands on the altar of the chapel where they sit; and each one approaching and leaving the altar, kneels and repeats a prayer. After a pause the tickets are taken from the chalice by Cardinals appointed for this duty. The tickets are compared with the number of Cardinals present, and when it is found that any one of them has two-thirds of the votes in his favour, he is declared elected. If no one can show the requisite number of votes, another proceeding is gone through. This proceeding is the election by access so called because any Cardinal has the right to accede to the vote of another by altering his ticket according to a prescribed form. As soon as the election is declared the tickets are burnt. Pius IX. who is the 257 th Pope, was elected by unanimity. Only eight out of the sixty-one Cardinals who elected the present Pope are still living, the eldest being Fillippo de Angeles, the first Cardinal priest, born in April 16th, 1792, who is consequently four weeks older than the present pontiff.

The Nelson Mail says:—" It does not often happen that a large sum of money is placed in the Bank and allowed to lie there for years until its existence becomes almost forgotten, and is only brought to light by an accident, yet such has taken place in Nelson. In the year 1860, the great Maori outbreak at Taranaki occurred, and in consequence of the danger to which they were exposed, the wives and families of a large number of the settlers were compelled to leave their homes and take refuge in Nelson. The state of almost destitution to which they were reduced evoked a large amount of sympathy here, which assumed a practical from in the shape of a subscription which* was mised to meet their most pressing wants, and to which the Nelson public, ever ready to relieve distress, contributed largely, the result being that a sum of £600 and £700 was collected and placed in the Bank to the credit of certain trus tees who were elected to administer the fund. Just about this time, however, the General Government stepped in and undertook to provide relief for the sufferers, and the consequence was that the amount subscribed was not drawn upon, but remained in the Bank as a fixed deposit, and was seemingly forgotten by the subscribers, and passed'out of the public nnnd altogether until the last few days, when owing to the transference of certain accounts from one banking institution to another, it was brought to light, having by the process of compound interest increased in the meantime to very nearly £1,000." The Mail suggests thatthemoney be placed to the credit of the Hospital Convalescent Fund.

Two singular deaths occurred at the Wellington baths last week. The first was of an infant. The child was restless, and the mother gave it three teaspoonfuls of Winslow's soothing syrup, when it exhibited symptoms of narcotic,, poisoning, and although medical aid was obtained, it died from the effects. At the inquest which was held, Dr. Broadf ord, who attended the child, quoted analysis made by Professor Taylor and Dr. Hoffman, showing that this syrup contained morphia in dangerous quantities, and he condemned its use in the strongest terms. One chemist said he sold upwards of a dozen bottles weekly. The other death was that of a young man, aged 19, named Garnet, a clerk in the telegraph office, who, while bathing, dislocated his neck by diving in about three feet of water. He lived till next day, and never once spoke.

A shocking case of cruelty is recorded by the Shepparton correspondent of the Riverina Herald. A sheep belonging to Mr. Tudgee, of Kialle, Broken River, strayed away. The sheep returned homo on the Ist December, actually skinned alive, every, particle of skin being removed, with the exception of that covering the head. One of the prisoners in the, Hokitika Gaol (says the Argus), named Luke Moore, formerly a schoolmaster, .and convicted a short time ago of improper conduct to a young girl, one of his pupils, and for which offence he was sentenced to a term of imprisonment and two floggings, had fifteen lashes administered to him on Friday morning under the inspection of the Medical Officer and Visiting Justices of the gaol. On this occasion, as on the former, he endured the punishment, which was carefully yet unsparingly - administered! with the utmost fortitude. : American editors are proverbial for their politeness, as we presume it would be considered a breach of etiquette to inform a visitor that his room was preferable to his society, one of the craft has ingeniously got over the difficulty, and invented a " mechanical broad hint," which intimates to the persons acted upon it is somewhat about time to retire. He writes : —"We have tried the Bogardus kicker' we have kept a kicking mule in our room, we've used bull dogs, and kept shot guns and still people who have nothing else to do will come when we are busy, and insist on having us stop work, and listen to them "blow their horns" for an hour or two at a stretch. We have invented a chair which is a success. It is made «f iron screwed to the floor of our desk, and the seat is so arranged with steel springs that it * lets go' every ten minutes after it is wound up. One winding will let her go three or four times ; as it has the power of a three-year old mule, no matter who sits on it, when it goes off it' lifts' 'em, and flies back to its harmless position. It went through its first operation yesterday; A little chap, with side whiskers, from Cincinnati, came in to talk to us. He took his seat in ' our chair,' and commenced telling us about our ' flings » at the swillhouse below his native city. We wrote away, while he knew things was working. His ten minutes Avas up. Flip I the machine acted, and he was flung right through space, say fifteen yards of it ? into a treacle mash tub kept kindly at that distance to gently receive our visitors. He came out, ran down the street, but all the little boys were after him, and insisted upon ' licking' him, which we in our mildness, and in another sense, had refrained fromdoing."