ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL. VIA SAN FRANCISCO.

Dunstan Times, Issue 484, 28 July 1871, Page 3

ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH MAIL. VIA SAN FRANCISCO.

[BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.] [We published the following as an “ Extra" on Monday last.; Napier, July 24, The Nebraska'arrived at five this morning, and left immediately. Arrived at Auckland on the 20th. The latest dates are, San Francisco, June 22, Honolulu, July 1. PARIS AND LONDON TELEGRAMS. London, May 30. Commercial.—New Zealand Flax is in good demand—twelve thousand bales were sold at former rates—easior for common. Eight hun 'red sold at steady rates. Fine 28/,, to 33/. ordinary, 19/. to 27/. There is an improved demand for tallow. Sales advanced Is. to Is. fid. Seven hundred and seventy casks passed at 395. to 41s. A dividen I of ten per cent has been declared by the Otago and Southland Investment Company. New Yoric, June 12.—Woolsack very loxv, the demand for foreign at Boston is active. A large quantity of Australian wool has passed the hammer at forty five to fifty cents. There is an adx'anoc on all woolen goods. Paris, June 16.—The International Society’s proclamation says—disarmed not conquered—still 100,000 strong. Favre and Trochu being the authors of the misfortune aided by capital and pri s'eraft. The internationals accept the responsibility of the conflagrations. London, June 10. —The Countess de Paris gave birth to a daughter last night. The Emperor Napoleon and Eugenie have visited the Prince of Wales. The Empjror of, Germany and army made a triumphal entry into Beilin on the 16th of June. The procession was one of the most magnificent of modern times. Eagles and Standards captured from the French led the way. The army marched between txvo rows of cannon captured from the French during the xvar, 20,000 in number. Enormous trophies of captured arms were eieo ed on the ground. Hundreds of young girls strewed the ground with flowers. The appearance of the troops xvas splendid, and the enthusiasm of the spectators unbounded. Paris, June 15.—The destruction and less of property vastly exceeds the estimate published in the Government newspapers. The Paris workmen were almost unanimously Communists. The London Times says that M‘Mahon desires to resign. Charred corpses have been f un i in the Hotel de Ville : undoubtedly the remains of persons left in the cells by the Communists. June 17.—1n the Assembly Jules Favre defended the non-acceptance of peace at the conference at Meux, which had failed because Bismarck demanded Strasbourg. Rome, June 12.-Jubilee of the Pope celebrated by a reception in the Vatican. Three thousand pilgrims, from all parts of the xvorld, are in the city. Paris, June 21 —The Archbishop of Cambray and the Bishop of Arras demanded from the Assembly a resumption of protection of Rome. Various arrests have been made at Versailles. London, June 21.—Earl Grey has been gazetted Marquis of Ripen. The Observer announces that Professor Montagu Bernard, late Joint High Commissioner, will enter the Privy Council. At Mallow, a body of men, supposed to bo Foaians, broke into the milita y armoury an I carria I away one huulre.l an I twenty rifles. Five men have been arrested on suspicion. Twenty-two Austrian Bishops have petitioned for the re-astablishne.it of the temporal power of the Pope. Wool sales terminated on May 13. The attendance was numerous. Sales close! with an upward tendency of a penny to three half-pence. Shipping.— London. Arrived, Robert Henderson, from Otago. Sailed, May 29, Halcyone.for Wellington. . William Davie, from Glasgow, for Otago. London, May 24. S ventesn started for the Derby. Zeyhyr Colt won, Albert Victor and King of the Forest neck anl neck for second place. In the House of Commons, notice of resolution given that the American trea'y be submitted to Parliament before ratification. The opposition to the Army Regulation Bill was defeated by a majority of sixteen. The Times hopes that Canada will ratify the treaty. Mr. Gladstone has been indisposed, hut is getting better. JUNES.—The reports from the diamond mines at the Cape of Good Hope are still encouraging. Mortimer won the Ascot Cup, Verdun (?) second; Bothwell third. The London Fire Brigade entered Paris bn May 27. to quell the conflagrations. All the pieces of the Column Vendomo will be exactly restored. The damage done to Paris is estimated at 2,000,000/. ; ‘ A marriage is arranged between a Princess of Denmark and the Duke of Edinburgh. ~ J une 22. The Count of Paris goes to Paris on Friday Gambetta is in Malta with Communist refugees. The prisoners in the bands of the Government exceed thirty thousand.

MISCELANEOUB'ITEMS. The Pall Mall Gazette of March 21 says : —“ The' Vote of 75,0001. for Sir R. Peel’s pictures, which have been bought for the National Gallery, was passed last night The collection (originally formed by the late Sir Robert) consists of seventy seven pictures and eighteen drawings, by Reubens Vandyck, and others. It includes eight pictures by Sir Joshua Rrynolds ; but the majority of the works are the masterpieces of the most eminent artists of the Dutch school. Among the pictures are ‘John Knox Preaching,’ and the ‘Chapeau do Faille,’ In disposing of them to the National Gallery, Sir Ro : ert Peel said, ‘My object is that all thise pictures should be kept together ; they belonged to my father, and I wish that the nation should have them; I have had these pictures valued by a competent person at 80,0001., but, taking off the percentage I should have to pay if they were sold by public auction,, I offer them r.t 75,0001.’” , The follow ing description of the “ Fusee Satan” is ‘ given ly the London scientific correspondent of the Australasian :—“ It is doubtless as well for the Prussian army that a few judicious and humane French ofiicers firmly protest" 1 against ths employment of the ‘Fusee Sat. - u’, on the grounds of humanity. The following account of this formidable engine, invented by M. Laurent, the celebrated c v eni’st, was written shortly before the armictice was concluded, To the end of an ordinary rocket is attached a very slight resceptacle of tin, being exactly the shape of a coivcal bullet. In this receptacle.is arranged a chamber tilled with a compositio i based, we believe, upon sulplruret of carbon, which composition, once lighted, gives out considerable beat. A fneee communicates Torn this chamber with the top of the rocket. The (in bullet is filled just before being used with petroleum oil. The lighted rocket rises in the air and trave.res the ipr.ee necessary to arrive over a certain spot. Arrived above its object, the rockets set fire to tbe fusee, the composition irr the chamber of the bullet takes light, burstsits envelops, and atthe saute time fires (be oil, which falls like a sheet of flame and continues burning. This sheet of flame fills a space of 19 to 24 square metres, according to the sice of, the’ rocket. No. 1 throws one liter of p-et-oleum, N. 2 two I’ters, and No. 3 three liters. They can bo thrown a distance of six kilometers, and aimed with great precision, being balanced by means of a long stick attached to each rocket which maintains the elevation given to it at the time of discharge. Some interesting expreriraents were made recen'ly wi hj this weapon at St. Cloud. In loss than fen minutes a considerable space of ground was covered with a sea of fire. Tbe committee, in its report, says the journal La France, has declared in iis opinion no civilised nation could make use of these rockets except for reprisals, and it would be on'y in the ease of tbe Prussians firing upon us with petroleum bombs, such as they used at StrasbourgV that we should be entitle to retaliate with die new rocket. However this may be, tbe Committee of National' Defence has given the inventor a la ge building on the Batignolly) formerly a girl’s school and has ordered the immediate manufacture on a very large scale, of Satan rockets. A girl ten years old lias been arrested in London for stealing babies. She made a practice, after getting the children, of strip ping and abandoning them ; selling tbei r clodiea “to go to tbe theatre with.” Four ladies, three married an 1 one single, the latter of whom was formerly a barmaid at the Royal Hotel, Trunkcy Creek, shouldered tools, and went recently on a gold-mining excursion in New South Wales. They found a resf, sunk a shat; ten fee’, and took out a ton] of quartz, which is now lying at the Lady Belmore machine to he crushed at the first opportunity. Fortune which lias turned her hack upon Ballarat, appiears to find nothing but smi es for Sandhurst. The Age records “Evidence of th; richness of Collmann and Taccbi’s reef, Sandhurst, at nearly s ; x hundred feet in depth, can be seen at the Mining department. Several quartz specimens containing voi s and strings of gold were on Monday at the office of Mr. Charles Sclilemm The interest attached to the specimens is not, however, who ly centered in their intrinsic value. The peculiar manner in which the gold is distributed throughout the quartz is very striking ; it occurs in thin veins which cut across .the lines of fracture. The lines of fracture are also very unusual, and cause the quartz to break into splint rs. There is a little parti-colored pyrites in the specimens. Thecolor of the quaitz is bluish white, its lustre is vitreous and dull, and is very hard, compact, and translucent.” A most extraordinary phenomenon has taken - place in the back country of the Lachlan (writes the travelling correspondent of the Pastoral Times), viz., a thunderstorm of mice, which literally covered the ground, devastating lations, clothing, &c., ; seven hundro I being poisoned in one night in one dwelling in Mosgiel. One resident is fatti ning pigs on them, stating that poison hardens the meat; others at their wits-end to circumvent them; another breeding cats, thoroughly broken, at U. each, and warranted. Peakville, a township two miles distant from Mosgiel, is in commotion, seeing the destruction of these little gentry; one gentleman', a philosopher, preaches patience—a thunderstorm of oats is to follow to swallow up the lesser kind. King Charles 11..once said to John Milton: “ Doyou not think that your blindness is a jttiignient. upon you for having written in defence of my father's murder J” “ Sire) ” answered the poet, “ it is true 1 have lost my eyes, but if all calamitous providences are to be. considered as judgments, your majesty must recollect that your royal father lost his head, ” See what I am, not what my father was is ad old and. excellent Arab laying.

A GOLDEN DISCOVERY. In the suburbs of Dundee (Scotland ) a golden discovery was recently made by a husband who had luijierto manifested unqualified fidelity of his wife. It seems that he from home one day recently, and bad returned, rather unexpectedly, late at night. On arriving, he found that his wife, who had not previously evinced anyymptoms of illness, cortrplained of having been suddenly seized with spasms. The danger was nothing more serious, however, than that the wife thought that a little whisky would remove i f , and there being none in the house she earnestly besought her spouse to procure the same. The good man had undressed for the night, but was not proof against horintreties, and hav'ng hastily put on what ho supposed to he his trousers, proceeded to a public-house in the neighborhood. The keeper on hearing his compla nt, gave him a gill of whisky, for which he laid a coin on the counter. The publican asked if he kaden’t a shilling, and he said he had given him one. The publican, however, told him it was a sovereign, and he exposed bis astonishment, as he was not aware he had any gold in his possession. Again putting his hand in his pocket, he pu'le I out a number of gold pieces, and a thirl time he plunged with a s'milar result, having taken out i r all about twenty sovereigns. He was perfictly dumb, founded by this auriferous discovery, and his astonishment was grea ly increased when on looking he ascertained that his trousers were further adorned with what appeared to be gold stripes down th) side of each le;. Im vgining that some kind fairy had been at work and bewitched his trousers he took a closer inspection of them but a terrible thought crossed his mind when he found the stripes were like those worn by the noble defenders of our country. The affectionate husband immediately rushed from the shop and made the best of his way home, in the hope that he would yet ho in time to find the owner of tbe p ntaloon*. The bird, however, had flown and the melancholy spouse, determined to make the best of the matler he could, drowned his sorrows at the expense of his rival.— Home Paper.