The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1879.

Dunstan Times, Issue 887, 18 April 1879, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 1879.

Beneath the rule of men entirely just the pen is miohtjer than the sword.

There was a good muster of cricketers on the Cricket Ground on Saturday last. A scratch match was played. The Rev. T. E. Ash, proceeds to Cromwell to-day for the purpose of trying to arrange a regular weekly visit to that town, and if successful will probably preach there on Sunday morning. At the Otago Athletic and Racing Association’s meeting held on Monday the Grand Easter Handicap was won by Twohill, Burke being secpnd, and Skinner third. The Great Five-mile Handicap was won by Brooks, Henderson being second, and Allen third. In a case which came before the Resident Magistrate's Court, Dunedin, recently, in which LIOO was claimed on a promissory note, the plaintiff was nonsuited on the ground that the note was drawn up and signed on a Sunday. The Otago Daily Times says “At the last meeting of the Vincent County Council it was decided that tbe Martin’s Bay expedition— arranged for some time since—should be abandoned, as the autumn season was too far advanced.” For the benefit of our contemporary we may inform him that Vincent and Lake are two entirely different Counties.

The New Zealand Shipping Company’s steamer Stadt Haarlem arrived at Port Chalmers on Sunday lust. Ihe passage occupied 57 days. She brings 600 immigrants for Otago and Canterbury. The price of the staff of life in the Tuapeka and Waitahuna districts at present is as follows For the 41b loaf Lawrence, cash 7d , booked 8d ; Waitahuna, 6d cash or hooked.

On Monday next the 21st instant, Mr Jabez Burton will sell at Roxburgh cattle, horses, &c The attention of butchers is cilled particularly to this sale as the cattle are first class.

The following are the first three horses, with the num'ier corresponding with them in Cameron’s Consultation on the Great Autumn Handicap Lmiglands (1), 2108 ; Natator (2), 1224 ; Mata (3), 1131.

The Lakes District Acclimatisation Society apparently are going in earnest to stock the district with game, 4c. At the first monthly Committee meeting it was determined to procure 20 brace of hares, a further supply of salmon trout ova, six pairs each of various song birds, and to make every enquiry , with the view of securing pheasants and partridges. By reference to our advertising columns it will be seen that Mr W Auckland, one of the oldest residents in Clyde, is about to seek fresh fields and pastures new. The natural sequenoe of a man leaving a district wherein he has been settled a number of years, is a sale by auction, and this is true in his case. The sale will take place on Friday and Saturday, the 2nd and 3rd May, and intending purchasers will do well to conn the advertisement. G Fache, auctioneer.

Seine very sensible remarks have lately been made by the Nelson mail on the indiscriminate appointments of J.P.’s for the Colony, Referring to a recent appointment in the Nelson Province, it maintains that it is scarcely compatible with reason that any man who, by the sale of stimulants to a lot of thirsty diggers, ■ does a good trade on Sunday, should be asked to sit in judgment on one of the unfortunates who, by over-indulgonce or oyer persuasion, may be charged with being drunk and incapable on the Monday. It is said that, some of the newly-ap-pointed assistant Onder-secretaries have been exhibiting snobbery extraordinary even in civil servants. It is said (says the Chronicle) that three gentlemen complained to the heads of their departments that the messengers failed to salute them' in the street, and that pejremptory orders were issued to the independent messengers that they should duly salaam whenever an assistant under-secretary came along. The result is that when, a messenger sees an assistant under-secretary in the distance, he makes for the other side of the street. “ Man dressed in a little brief authority plays such fantastic tricks.” A telegraphic mistake of an amusing kindj but which at the same time occasioned much pain and annoyance to some of the persons concerned (says the Argus), was made in the transmission of a message from Kyneton to Melbourne. A message was sent stating that Mr R. Winter Kelleher, barrister, was “ kept, to-day, down to-mor-row,” but the message as delivered read, “killed, body down to-morrow." The news goon spread, and naturally occasioned deep pain to Mrs Kelleher’s friends. We are desired to mention that on telegraphing to Kyneton for further particulars the wel come intelligence Was’ received thit Mr Kelleher was alive and well.

The rapid strides that have been made lately by the advocates of phonetic shorthand in England, in.their efforts to get it adopted as a means of .ordinary business communication, received a satisfactory confirmation in an order recently issuer by the Great Western Railway Company,,;hat all junior clerks shall pass an esaminstipn in yitmin’s system before receiving »p-

pointmenta. The system las for some years been in use on the various railway lines, but this is the fust step to make it an authorised means of communication between officials, and it is accordingly looked upon with great satisfaction by phonographers generally. The Clutha Leader says :—“ The present population of New Zealand is about 450, 000. The debt entailed for the prosecution of railways, and other public works, amounts to L 20,000,000. The inhabitants consume annually, strong drink to the value of L 2,000,000 or upwards of L 4 forevery man, woman and child. Supposing an equal amount was expected in life insurance policies how much would it insure ? The whole public works of tbe Colony might have been completed without incurring a single penny of debt, if only temperance principles had prevailed.

An occurrence, which might have been attended with moat serious consequences took place at the Arrow Bluff on Thursday last (reports the Observer). J. Flynn, the well known waggoner for Mr P. Butel, was driving his team down to Cromwell. When he was just passing the small retaining wall at tht Bluff, the near leader, a most valuable animal, suddenly staggered and fell over the bank, some thirty feet, on to a small terrace, then a further 20 feet, where he was afterwards shot, having broken his back. Fortunately the harness broke, or the whole team and waggon must have gone over, in which case the driver would pro bably have lost his life Mr M’ Lellan ami his gang were working near, aud rendered all tbe assistance in their power. We understand that the horse had been pulling with such a will at the pinch as to literally choke himself, thus causing the accident'

Many adventurers have not been fortunate enough to draw prizes in the French National Lottery seem inclined to atlributa their bad luck to some defect in the mechanism of the lottery wheels. These wheels indeed have been sometimes at fault, ami a curious instance of this is recorded in the case of the English State lottery in 1774. It seems that at the conclusion of the drawing which took place at the Guildhall, ticket No. 11,053, as the last drawn one, was dedared to be the winner of a prize of LIOOO, ami was so printed in the list of prize published by the Lottery Commissioners. But after the wheels were carried back to Whitehall they were opened, and the ticket No. 72,248 was found sticking in a crevice of one of the wheels. On this becoming known the Commissioners cancelled their previous decision, and ruled that this number was entitled to the LIOOO, as being the last drawn ticket; which affair,” it is said, “made a great deal of noise." The arrangemnts at this period seem to have been rather imperfect, for in the following year it was discovered that some of the boys who were selected from the boys of Christ’s Hospital—employed in drawing the lottery, had been tampered with for the purpose of inducing them to commit a fraud. This was deemed of so much importance that a treasury order was at once issued which is curious from the minute details into which it entered. After setting forth the reasons for laying down instructions on the subj -ct, the order stated that “every boy before he is suffered to put his hand into either wheel shall be brought by the pro-daimer to the managers on duty, for them to see that the bosoms and sleeves of his coat be closely buttoned, his pockets sewed up, and his hands examined; and that during the time of his being on duty he shall keep his left hand in his girdle behind him and bis right hand open, with his lingers extended. These elaborate precautions appear to have been effectual, as no further frauds of the kind are recorded.

The Lakes County Council decided on containing the monetary support to the Wakatip district, hospital, and a notice of motion was table That LIOO be granted to the Arrow district hospital. Dr Douglas on the question of supporting the two hospitals is reported to have said:—“ You cannot support two hospitals. Where will you get the money to furnish the building and buy drugs ? They will cost you L 5 0. Mr Smith—that will be no difficulty. Dr Douglas—You will have an average of 2J patients for each Hospital; as if you get a doctor in the Arrow there will probably not be more than f >ur patients lor the two hospitals. There will be a doctor and two servants to attend on 2J patients. At the neat meeting he will show the case fully by statistics of the Wakatip Hospital. Again getting a hospital is a means to rob a doctor not to support one. 1 would be glad to see a doctor in the Arrow if you would use legitimate means to get one, hut dont spoil au institution already existing.”

There is a good story current in connection. with the late Invercargill lie view, the humour of which is too rich to be allowed to sink into 'oblivion without a passing notice. Several members of a certain Dunedin corps wore billeted in a hotel, the sign of which shall be nameless A joint of meat was served up at mess the first day, which struck the men as not being par ticularly fresh, and accordingly very little was partaken of. The same joint was placed on the table the following day, but met with no patronage, in consequence of those who had eaten some of it the previous day having become unwell. Rapacious Boniface served it up for the third time, but the long suffering warriors were exasperated, and determined to consign the meat—which, by the-by, was more alive than dead- to iU last resting-place. Grimly and sternly the object was placed in a winding-sheet, and a band, playing the Dead March in Saul, followed by a number of men from other corps who had heard of the affair, conveyed it to a quiet spot, and with all military honours, interred it. Getting rid of such a tough customer had such a lively effect upon the procession that it marched through the town with banners flying, the band stnkiug op “The girl I left behind pe,’* Before the Volunteers left

Invercargill a resurrection took place under cover of night, and the*noxt ‘morning the eyes of the citizens of Invercargill were greeted with the unusual flight, of a joint of living beef strung up on a flagstaff on one of the principal buildings in Tay street. The feeling of the landlord on perceiving it can be better imagined than described.

The Poverty Bay Standard publishes the following from 11 an esteemed contributor ’’ —•* A suspicious looking half caste has been knocking about Warenga-a-hika. The police noticed him to be a stranger, and being struck with his appearance, instituted inquiries respecting him. Mr Kydd, blacksmith, recognized him ss Wynyard (or Winiata) who murdered Packer at Epsom, Auckland, three or four years ago. Mr Kydd had worked with him several years ago at the Bay of Islands, and although this half caste is close-shaved, he knew him to be Winiata immediately. 'The story goes that the supposed-to-be Winiata toM someone that he knew Kydd. Kydd sought an interview with him, in the course of which he asked Winiata if he had not worked with him at a certain place. This he at first denied, but afterwards admitted that he had, and that ha was Winiata. Constable Villers did not think it advisable to-ar-rest him on suspifcion, so he has telegraphed for a description of Winiata In the meantime the suspected one is being well watched.

As a specimen of the language used by gentlemen in the Parliament of New South Wales we cull the following from the Syd ney Morning Herald’s report of the Parliamentary proceedings in that (Colony on a recent date :—“Mr Hoskins: Haw, haw I Mr M'Elhone : I’ll make you ‘ haw, haw ’ the other side of your mouth before 1 have done with you. Mr Hoskins : Is that right Mr Speaker? The Speaker (in a sickly voice) : 1 really think the hon. member is out of order. Mr M’Elhone : I’ll not submit to the jackass laugh of the hon. member The Speaker : The hon. gentleman is not in order in alluding to any hon. member as a jackass. (Mr M’Elhone : 1 sain a Jackass laugh. J—or in saying any hon. gentleman is laughing like a jackass The hon. gentleman should apologise to the House and withdraw the expiession.”

An ingenious means of robbery has just come under the notice of the police. A man dressed like a peasant, and carrying on his back an apparently heavy burden, was the other’ day passing before a shop in the Rue du Chateau-d’Eau, in Paris, when he fell and broke a sheet of plate glass, worth at least 500fr. The proprietor seised him, but he averred that he had no money to pay with. Two passers by advised the store’keeper to search him, which waS done, and on him was found a bank note for IOUOfr He averred, with feigned grief, that it belonged to his employer ; but the master of the shop insi led on paying himself out of it, and to that effect gave him 500fr and sent him away, sobbing bitterly. The note was forged, the advisers were confederates, and the shopkeeper pot'only lost his plateglass window, but 500fr. into the bargain.

The School of Mines at Ballarat has just issued its annual report, showing that a large amount of valuable work continues to be done in assays and analyses for the general public, as well as in teaching. The interest taken in the institution may be inferred from the facts that a Government

grant of nearly L6UOO was made for the year; that the subscriptions, independent of fees, exceeded LI 600 ; a d that nine lads from the public schools had their class fees paid by individuals who saw the good that is being done. As Professor Pe arson wrote in the Visitors’ Book : “ The school appears to do a great deal of useful woik, at a very small cost.” The establishment of a similar school in this Colony ought to be urged by every public man who reflects on the importance of employing all possible agencies to bring its unquestioned mineral treasures to practical account. The Ballarat experiment has shown that this can be done at a co ..paratively small cost. Let us hope that the School of Mines established in connection with the Otago University may prove equally successful. An eccentric individual, dressed in a complete suit.of sheopskinss aid calling himself Elijah the prophet, has been making himself conspicuous m Folkestone. He carries a small square board attached to a stick, on which are the wordo, “ 1 am Elijah the Prophet, Malachi4th and sth.” This verse reads, ” Behold 1 will send you Elijah the Prophet, beiorc. the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”, The man appears to be.sufferingfropi religious mania, but this, of coarse he denies.. He his ad. dressed" one or two gatherings, and he endeavours to Shdw the connection of England with the Ten Lost Tribes. He has been charged before the magistrates with causing an obstruction in the s. reels, but the case has been dismissed.