THE NORTH.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2257, 1 August 1870, Page 2

THE NORTH.

The earthquake felt in Wellington a week ago has also been felt over an extensive area. Simultaneously it was felt in Nelson and Wanganui. An artesian well sunk by Mf Thomas, of Kaiapoi, on the property of Mr Arthur Campbell, Church Bush, was finished on Monday last. The depth sunk Was 95 feet, with an overflow of 12£ feet above the surface, A number of persons went to visit it yesterday. —Lyttelton Times. The following items of news are taken from the Nelson Examiner :—A seam of coal, four feet thick, was recently.discovered near Hokitika. Protection has been granted to the discoverers by the County Council, to enable them to test the quality of the coal. A considerable rush has taken place to a spur between Callaghan’s and Sulnvan’s Creeks, on the Ahaura, in the Grey River district. The gold was struck in a tunnel fourteen feet from the face of the terrace, and it is believed will average half a pennyweight ta the dish. The .directors of the CulHford Company have made arrangements with Mr Thomson, agent for Langland’s Foundry, Melbourne, to erect machinery on their claim at Wangapeka. We see by the Marlborough Exjmss that an ingenious resident of Blenheim, named Mr Jas. Gorrie, has constructed a spring wheel and loom, with the intention of manufacturing matting, bagging, and other of a like description, from native flax. In the County Council last night, says the Hokitika Star, the chairman, while speaking to Mr White’sn p'ion respecting the financial scheme of the Government, afforded considerable amusement by the guileless simplicity with which he recounted the fate of a telegram he had forwarded to Mr Vogel as Soon as he (the chairman) had ascertained the nature of Mr Vogel’s propositions. Mr Hoos,. impressed with the just claims of Westland to participate in the allotment of the million for public works, telegraphed to the Treasurer on the subject. Mr Hoos said he had received no reply to the telegram, but he had ascertained from a private source that, at a dinner at Bellamy’s, the telegram was produced by Mr Vogel, and made the subject of comment, as' illustrating the crochety and ridiculous claims that, Westland was always setting up. Mr Hoos recounted the fate of his telegram with a sense of injury, and a total absence of consciousness of ridicule attaching to himself for his want of tact, that would have been more amnsing had the revelation affected the County Chairman personally, and not the County at large. Some instruments are dangerous in unskilful hands, and it might be well, perhaps, to restrain Mr Hoos frgm the use of the telegraph wires, if he cannot use them with discretipn.

At a meeting of the New Zealand Insti« tute held recently at Wellington, the discussion on flax was resumed, Dr Hector reporting progress made by the Commission during the week, the full particulars of which will shortly bo published. To make the tests more satisfactory, the Commissioners had made an improvement in the arrangement,for testing the strength of samples that was more satisfactory than the mode adopted at first; and as a comparative test of the relative strength of the fibre, nothing could have been fairer. As before, the Maori dressed flax retained its superiority in point of strength. Acting on a suggestion of Mr Davis (an assistant), Dr Hector said he was experithenting to ascertain if atmospheric pressurewas not sufficient to compel

the lateral adhesion of the flax hbre after the gum had been released. Some doubts' were entertained at last meeting that the gum could be released without detriment to the fibre, as the ultimate threads of the leaf are ascertained by microscopical examination not to be more than two inches long. So far the experiment boded successfully. Some discussion ensued without eliciting more than what had been touched on at the previous meeting. And everything that is known respecting flax will be in the possession of the public in a few days in the Commissioners’ report. A sample of flax prepared by a new process of Mr Plummer’s was also exhibited. The object of the improvement is to prepare flax for a subsequent retting process by dividing the fibre without crushing it. This is sought to bo done by putting the leaves through rollers laterally, the usual C’ i being endwise. In going through, the is considerably widened by the fibres being divided. The samples exhibited were on a small scale ; and some doubt was expressed whether the result would be equally satisfactory when tried on a large scale with whole leaves.