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Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 63, 23 February 1877, Page 2

There was no business transacted at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Tuesday last. Though we have not had an opportunity this year of chronicling the production of huge gooseberries, or any other vegetable monsters, we have to acknowledge the receipt of some giant peaches, grown at Akaroa, by Mr. Stephen Watkins, which do his horticultural abilities credit. They are nearly four incheß in length, with a circumference of some nine and a-half inches, and it may be easily imagined that very few of them would make a goodly pie. We would remind our readers who do not happen to be on the present electoral roll, that during this and next month, February and March, they can register their claims to vote, and can be put on the future roll. In order to afford every facility to those who wish to register, we may state that forms may be procured gratuitously at this office, and all information as to the manner in which they should be filled up will also be afforded.

' Mr. Grossman has opened at Beecher's Hotel, Akaroa, a magnificent display of jewellery, silver and electroplated goods* which he .will have on sale for a few days. The stock is well worthy of inspection. The tea meeting in connection with the Presbyterian Church, Akaroa, took place on Wednesday evening last, at the Town Hall. The tables were furnished with the choicest edibles, and were well presided over. After tea, addresses were delivered by the Revds. Elmslie, of Christchurch; Gillies, Timaru ; and M'Gregor, KaiapoiThe Sunday School, and Financial reports were read and highly approved of. In consequence of other demands on?our time, we are compelled to hold over our report of this highly successful and pleasing gathering till our next issue. Mrs. Davis presided at the harmonium, and her efforts largely contributed to the enjoyment of the evening. We see among the list of successful candidates for Government certificates, in the 3rd division of the 2nd class, the names of Mr. D. Thomson, of Le Bon's Bay, and Mr. Sumner, of Wainui. We congratulate them upon their success. At a picnic of the members of the Christian Conference, held at Nelson, on the Ist inst., the following invitation was issued :—" Friends, will please bring their own luncheon, and are welcome to picnic on the grounds—you are affectionately invited." Each man of the All-England Eleven is to receive £200, a first-class passage out and home, a share in two benefit matches, and a twelfth part 24 per cent, of the net profits arising from the speculation. They are expected to return to England about the middle of May next. A few days since a station hand named Buckley, who had been working near Tuapeka, threw his money and a bank deposit receipt into a tail-race, and declared he felt happier without them. It seems he fancied that, if any person found out he had so large a sum he would be robbed and murdered. Buckley has since been placed under arrest. At a sheep fair recently held at Auckland, says the Herald, a lock of wool and a lock of dog's hair were taken round to the gentlemen present, who were asked to decide which was which. Strange to say, out of about forty who examined the locks only four were correct in their judgment of them, Within the last week (says the Kumara Times} a rush has taken place in the direction of the Larrikins, and new ground has been pegged out for nearly threequarters af a mile. The shafts that are down are on good payable gold, showing a prospect of from 3 to 5 grains to the dish. The course of the lead is towards the Teremakau. A retired engineer at Sheffield named Dyson, was shot dead on November 29 by a man named Peace, who had become enamoured of Mrs. Dyson, by whom his advances had been rejected. In revenge he unsuccessfully attempted to shoot her, but upon her husband appearing, Peace shot him through the head, and has not yet been captured. Robert Browning, the Cambridge murderer, made confession to Mr. H. Gibson, governor of the jail, on December 12, which was put into writing, and afterwards signed by the culprit. He now abandons altogether the story that he told upon and since his arrest, that he cut the throat of Emma Rolfe because she robbed him of a shilling. He says now, he went out with the full intention of cutting the throat of a girl named Bell. He failed to find her, and meeting with Rolfe and another girl of the same unfortunate class, took the former on to Midsummer Common, and without reason or provocation cut her throat. Sergeant Ready (says the Post) was standing at the gate of the watch-house to-day when a Maori rushed up to him, and earnestly implored him to go with him. The Maori started off at a run, and the sergeant, thinking something dreadful had happened, followed him. The former went into the bar of an hotel, and having shut the door, requested the sergeant to search '' all hands." Of course the officer wanted to know what he was to search for, and the Maori then informed him that he had left the butt of a twopenny cigar on the counter while he drank his liqour, but when he turned round to pick it up, 10, it had vanished ! The language of the sergeant was more forcible than elegant as he " showed " for the door. Some idea or how much the rabbit tribe have increased in this quarter may be gathered from what has been done in the w r ay of destroying them. Since the work has commenced one station in Southland (says the Southland News) the proprietor sent off as a marketable commodity the tidy lot of 30,000 skins, while the carcases from which they were taken have richly manured his ground. The price he pays for massacreing " bunny " is 2d per head, so that he has disbursed the sum of £250 at least, but, as he gets Id each for the skins in Melbourne, the cost is reduced one-half. As it is reckoned that four rabbits will consume what would fatten one sheep, room will be made for about 7,000, a result which might, be satisfactory if "bunny" did not apparently spring up again as fast as he is put down. The Wellington Argus states that a respectable youth, at Dunedin, was turned off the Dayspring, because it was ascertained that he attended the school of the Christian Brothers.

The British Consul at Nicolaieff, in reporting on the absence of cattle-plague from that part of South Russia, observes : —" In the summer my attention was drawn to several cases of sudden baldness to bullocks, cows, and oxen, andjhe loss of tail and manes among horses. A former servant of mine, prematurely bald, whose duty it was to trim my lamps, had a habit of wiping his petroleum besmeared hands in the scanty locks which remained to him, and after three manths of lamptrimming experience, his dirty habit procured for him a much thicker head of black glossy hair than he ever possessed before in his recollection. I subsequently tried the remedy on two retriever spaniels that had become suddenly bald, with wonderful sucess. My experience induced me to suggest it to the owner of several black cattle and horses affected as above stated, and while it stayed the spread of the disease among animals in the same shed and stables' it effected a quick and radical cure on the animal attacked. The petroleum should be of the most refined American qualities, rubbed in vigorously and quick with the palm of the hand and applied at intervals of three days, six or seven times in all, except in the case of horses' tails and manes, when more applications may be requisite. An open rupture has taken place between the members for the Thames. The Advertiser of a late date says :—A little incident which took place prior to Sir George Grey's departure showed the want of cordiality which prevails between the two members representing the Thames constituency. Mr. Rowe walked up to where Sir George Grey was standing, and offered to shake hands with him, but Sir George Grey, drawing himself up stiffly, said to Mr. Rowe that he had no right to appear on his platform on Saturday night, and refused to acknowledge him, upon which he turned his back and walked away. The effect of this rebuff may be easily imagined, and the existence of this want of cordiality cannot fail to lead to a want of co-operation between our members on future occasions. We take the following from the Mount Ida Chronicle :—" The following case was heard at Naseby on Friday, the 2nd inst., before H. W. Robinson, Esq., R. M. :— E. T. George v. L. W. Busch—lnformation that defendant being Mayor of the incorporated Town of Naseby did absent himself from meetings of the Council for more than one calendar month, to wit between the 17th of November and the 18th of December last without* the leave of the Council, thereby rendering himself liable to a penalty not exceeding £50. Mr. Rowlatt for plaintiff. Defendant conducted his own case, and,' after some preliminary objections, pleaded 'not guilty.' The Town Clerk, on being examined as a witness, produced the Council minute book, by which it appeared that there had been two ordinary meetings the Council in the daytime. This the defendant emphatically denied. Other witnesses were called, and, after a lengthy investigation, the Magistrate said he thought the case clearly proved ; but as a heavy penalty was not preased for, and as it had been admitted that the Mayor had been very assiduous in the dischaige of his duties, he would fine him in the mitigated penalty of 205.; costs of Court, Bs. i one witness, 205.; and professional fee, £2 2s.—in all £4 10s. On Tuesday night (says the Melborongh Express) Mr. Jennings, Turnkey of the Picton Gaol, by mistake gave one of his children a mug full of carbolic acid instead of porter. The boy, Sydney Jennings, who is 11 years of age drank it off and became ill immediately. Dr Tripe was sent for. and was soon in attendance, but could do nothing to relieve the child, who died at three o'clock on the following morning. An inquest was held before J. Allan Esq, Coroner the verdict being— death from carbolic acid accidentally given by his father. The jury added a rider expressing the greatest sympathy with Mr. Jennings in his misfortune. The surrounding circumstances are of so sad a nature that every parent cannot but share in this sympathetic feeling. The parents were engaged in the necessary preparations consequent upon the death of another child from scarlet fever, when the little ones became restless and cried. To quiet them the father went in the dark to get some porter and by mistake drew the acid. One little girl tasted but disliked it and would not have any more, but the boy, now deceased, drank of it with the fatal result above stated. Some time ago (says the New Zealand Mail), a female made her appearance at the police station with a complaint that her husband was guilty of unnatural conduct towards her, inasmuch as he had a nasty habit of poking mud down her throat at nights ; and he was better able to do this conveniently, because as the couple live in a mud house all he had to do was to pick some out of the wall and ram it into the mouth of his better.half. The lady was informed of her remedy, but she took no action until on Tuesday, when she complained to the Resident Magistrate that Wills—that is the name of the manmust be mad, as he had continued to apply the mud indefatigably. Mr. Crawford becoming possessed of a bright idea, suddenly advised her to sleep with her mouth shut. The lady replied that she should be happy to do so, could she find a lid for it. Here was a difficulty for certain. So Mr. Crawford discharged the defendant, and cautioned him to amend his evil ways.

Autolycusin the Nelson Daily Times discourses : A sad tale reaches me from England, upon no less an authority than that of a stern chronicler of passing events -—The London Times. On the 24th of November, at the Central Criminal Court (before Mr. Justice Denman), Emily Church, aged 24, was indicted for the murder of Caroline Beatrice Church. The report of the trial occupies a considerable space. The particulars of the case are briefly told: A young, lone starving woman, with a child that she loved. By the coarsest and hardest labour the mother eked out a miserable existence for herself and offspring, but the time came when even this was refused, and wrapping her child in her own scanty rags, the wretched woman wandered from town to town to seek the means of providing food. Unsuccessful in the pursuit, a fierce and terrible determination mingled with the mother's love for the child, and begot the resolve to rescue it from a life that painful experience had taught the parent was hard indeed to bear. So kissing the babe, in the very agony of maternal affection, with heart sickened by misery, and brain frenzied by hunger and desperation, the woman sped onward to the river—that common highway so much used to convey life-weary souls from crime and misery to forgiveness and peace—and destroyed her child. After the perpetration of the terrible deed, the good, grand Government, whose sole end is the happiness of the people, interfered, and to make amends probably for former inability to provide work, food, or shelter, found costly custody, more costly law, and most costly judge. The latter, I anx told, in passing sentence of death, " said with great feeling, ' might the Lord have mercy on her soul.'" This feeling might have been genuine, or it might have been prompted by a laudable desire to give a quid pro quo for salary received. In either case it was utterly useless as a counteracting influence to the want of feeling displayed by the rich towards the poor; ■ that is the true and prolific source from which half the crimes in the calendar spring. The following sensible remarks are made by the Manawatu Times, which other local bodies will do well to attend to :—" On all hands it seems to be admitted that the success of the county system means the extent to which it will relieve the General Government and the Legislature df the charge of local public works, and local interests generally. It is desirable that the General Government should confine its attention to matters of general interest, and not interfere in local affairs; and still more desirable it is that the Legislature should do so, if we wish to preserve it from corruption—from log-rolling jobbery, et hoc genus liomo x oi political abominations, which arise from Parliament having too much to do with purely local concerns. The magnitude and importance of this end ought to ensure mutual forbearance and cordial co-operation between the Councils and Boards. It is not merely.the construction of public works that they are called upon to attend to, but something higher than that—something that touches j the general good in its vital part, namely the purity of the Legislature and the Government. The sucess of the county system will greatly diminish the temptations which militate against this purity, and hence that success means more than roads, bridges, hospitals, and branch lines of railways. Next to common sense —of which, indeed, it forms a part, conciliatory disposition will be the most essential qualification in a county councillor. Referring to the opening of the Melbourne Athenasum on Sundays, and in view of the annual meeting of members the Argus says :—" That great boon—an open Sunday reading-room—was only refused last year by a majority of forty-two, and if the party of common sense hang together, this year may perhaps see it achieved. At Ballarat the police recently seized a large number of sides and carcases of sheep condemned by the health officer as unwholesome food. Their attention was directed to the matter by a combination of butchers, who have agreed to stop the sale of such meat. The sheep are said to have been sold in the market yards during the week for 5d a head. A most extraordinary circumstance in connection with a sudden death from disease of the heart is mentioned by the Parkes correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald. He writes :—" The deceased had been in the employ of Mr. Robert Simpson, grazier, at Duladerry Creek, and left there through illness, intending to go to Parkes Hospital. Deceased re. mained some four or five days in Bunbury; and while drinking with a friend, he was talking intelligently concerning poets and great writers, and remarked " In ten minutes I could tell more than they ever wrote, and more than all the great men of England ;" adding, " I have seen the Angel Gabriel and the Saviour." He then took his hat, and stepping back, fell into the arms of a bystander, exclaiming, "Let me fall and rest." The deceased spoke no more, and was dead in about five minutes," Tobacco-growing and snuff-manufactur-ng for home consumption are reported toi be among the pastimes of several Germans residing at Waihola, Otago. The Good Templars Lodge at Catlin River, Otago, now numbers one-fourth of the whole population. Not much chance for sly-grog sellers.

The Launceston Examiner of January 13, contains the following extraordinary paragraph:—" The Hobartown Mercury of Thursday mentions the holding of a 'dejeuner & lafourchette in honor of the liberation of a prisoner, the invitations to which Ministers condescendingly accepted.' This confirms a communication which has reached us to the effect that 'after the liberation, by the Government cf the woman Hunt (who was convicted in July, 1875, of arson, on evidence which the presiding judge in his summing up termed ' almost overpowering,' and who was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment), her intercessor entertained three Cabinet Ministers and a well-known parliamentary supporter of the present administration at a luncheon. Mrs Hunt's intercessor is a connection of hers, and is also the present landlady of the Premier." The legality of selling packets of lollies with cheap jewellery in them, as an inducement for the public to buy, was lately tried in London ; and on its being proved that in no case was more than the value of the money paid given in exchange, the. bench at Bow-street dismissed the complaint. But in Melbourne the lolly packet gambling is taking the place of the suppressed Chinese banks. In one of the arcades a shop openly advertises that purchasers of a shilling's worth of lollies run a chance of getting sums ranging from a sovereign down to a threepenny bit in these parcels ; and the consequence is that people whose taste for sweets was given up years ago have gone into lollies, as a substitute for fan-tan. This is bad, but the worst remains behind. t \ l Atticus " in the Leader says :—J have been informed, on creditable authority, that the gamesters when they find no money in their pocket, revenge themselves by eating the lollies, so that this new form of vice is calculated to destroy soul and body alike. : It is clearly a case for the interference of the police. The gambling may be injurious ; there can be no doubt about the action of the lollies. The Southland Times says :—ln an action between two parties, of whom one resides in Auckland, and the other in a southern district, matters were amicably settled out of court, the former agreeing to pay the law costs of the latter. The bill for these was sent up to Auckland, and was found to " tot up " to the respectable sum of £123 10s. Considering that the case had not been brought into court, and that therefore these were preliminary costs, that sum of £123 10s. maybe safely declared to be a respectable one. The Auckland party got the bill "taxed," and the result was a reduction to the paltry fee of £8 10s.! There appears to have been a great deal of excitement in Vincent County as to which should be the county town, Clyde or Cromwell. Mr. Pyke, the chairman, tried to please both parties. The result may be gathered from the following extract from a correspondent's letter to the Otago Daily Times : —" Intimation waß sent to Cromwell that the chairman would vote that Cromwell be the county town if that municipality merged into the county, and so declared in forty-eight hours. It was direct from the chairman, and the matter having been under consideration by the Town Council, that body, in order to make matters smooth for the chairman's promised vote, actually met, resolved, and obtained some sixty signatures to a petition that municipality be dissolved. Judge then the surprise and indignation excited when the question came up for final settlement, by Mr. Pyke giving his substantive vote for Cromwell, and his " adjective " (or .casting) vote for Clyde. The inconsistency of his act must be at once apparent; but the treachery of it, the breach of word, of honour, of promise, aye, even of written guarantee, can only be fully appreciated by those who know the circumstances. We have heard frequently of his slippery propensities, but we have now experienced them, and he may expect the consequences. As soon as the news reached Cromwell and received the requisite confirmation, the utmost excitement prevailed. Business was suspended, and, as if an earthquake had occurred, every one was in the street, and many and deep were the imprecations upon the delinquent's head. Ultimately, an effigy of Mr. Pyke was suspended from the flagstaff of the Town Hall, with one of the gloved hands behind his back, palm upwards. The brass band played ". The Rogue's March, and some willing hands finally cast the effigy into the River Clutha, when it was observed that on this occasion at least lie would " go straight." In all policies of life insurance these, among a host of other, questions, occur— " Age of father, if living ?" " Age of mother, if living?" A man in Christchurch the other day who filled up an application made his father's age, "if living," 112 years, and his mother's 102. The agent was amazed at this showing, and fancied he had got an excellent subject ; but, feeling somewhat dubious, remarked that the man came of a very long-lived family. " Oh, you see, Sir,' replied the applicant, "my parents died many years ago, but' if living' would be aged as there put down." "Oh, I see," said the agent. A writer in the Otago Guardian in a long letter filled with Scriptural quotations, has been endeavouring to prove that Russia is only fulfilling a Scriptural command in seeking to destroy the Ottoman Empire.

The OamaruMail is responsible for the following :—" The following may appear rather a ' tall' story, and one to be taken 'cum grano salis,' but nevertheless we have heard it from a most reliable source. A lady in town set thirteen eggs under a lien, and in seven days a young chicken was hatched. The bird was taken from the nest, and put Avith a young kitten. The mother of the kitten gives the bird every attention and care, licking it, and moving it about as if it were her own." The Waikato Times has the following with regard to the defence of Waikato :— "Arms have been issued to the constabulary employed on the Taupo road, and work resumed, the men stacking their arms in readiness for use alongside the work, sentries being placed- at proper distances to prevent surprise. This determination on the part of the Government to be no longer overawed by Maori insolence and threats will be received with satisfaction by the settlers, and will do much to restore a feeling of confidence, which tbe events of the past fortnight had done not a little to shake. The gathering of a large body of natives about Maugatautari, which position strategically outflanks the frontier line, is looked upon generally -with suspicion and distrust, and is the cause of a feeling of uneasiness to many of the settlers beyond Cambridge. The opinion of those- best informed upon the matter is, that. a less force than 150 men in the Waikato, at any time, is false economy. At the Forbes Police Court (says the Times) a witness in his evidence swore that he could count 40,000 sheep an hour. The gentleman who made the statement holds a most respectable and reponsible position, and as he has had large experience among sheep, we cannot question' the truth of his assertion. Reduced to minutes, it gives the number of sheep to be counted in one minute as 666—quite a lightning system of counting, and only, we should think, to be acquired by very lengthened practice. The business which has brought together the cardinals from all parts of the world at Rome is the election of the Pope who will succeed Pius IX. Hitherto it has been the custom for the cardinals to assemble at the Quirinal three days after the death of the Pope, and to remain there, shut up without communication with the outer world, until the election was completed. But, according to the Whitehall Review, the cardinals have determined, with the full consent and approval of Pius IX., to make the election of the next Pope before, and not after, the death of the present Pontiff.- Whoever they : may elect, the secret will no doubt be kept inviolable ; and when Pius IX. is numbered 'with the 200 and odd Popes who have preceeded him, the name of his successor will be told, and not before. The Wanganui Herald • says:—A few days ago a settler riding over his run on No. 3 Line came across a hawk's nest, situated in a small swamp. It' contained two full-grown young hawks, one of which he succeeded in capturing, but the other escaped. On examining the nest he found therein the remains of 11 pheasants, 5 rats, 3 quail, and 1 woodheii.