Local and General News.

Marlborough Express, Volume IV, Issue 155, 30 January 1869, Page 3

Local and General News.

I We learn that the Charles Edward is expected fat the Ferry this day. 1 The wreck of the Taranaki is advertised to be sold by auction early next month. Thk Loyal Marlborough Lodge of 0 Id Fellows call their*Lodge Meeting for ha'f-past live this •veiling, in roder to enable the members to attend Mr. Eyes’ meeting.

The Panama Mail arrived in Wellington at 4 pm. on Wednesday last. Our portion may be expected by the Falcon. The Suez Mail was due at the Bluff on Tuesday last. We have placed a barometer and a thermometer in the doorway of the Express office for the use of such of the public as are interested in meteorological observations. The Falcon left here on Monday evening, r.ud arrived in Wellington on Tuesday morning .. i.i o’clock. On attempting to get out again on Thursday, found a stiff gale blowing, which prevented her departure. She is expected to-day. In an order, dated Jan. 9th, His Exoe. icy the Governor abolished the existing polh (Mr. Joseph Smith’s, Tua Marina, a Mr. M ‘Maher’s, Kaituna) for the district of f cton, and appointed the Schoolhouse, Tua Marina, and die Schoolhouse, Benwicktown, in their stead. The clipper barque John Banyan, r: ow fast filling with wool at Port Underwvoi, having already on board the greater part of her cargo. We learn that, in all probability, she will leave about the 6th February. The only passengers will be Mr. and Mrs. Henderson. Municipality of Blenheim.—A Gazette, published on Jan. 13, contains a notification that the recent petition from the inhabitants of Blenheim will be considered by the Governor on March 6. The notice recites the petition with the signatures and attestations. A letter of assent from the Superintendent is also appended.

Washed Wool. —“ One of the finest specimens of washed wool we have seen in the colony,” says the Lyttelton Times, “is from this season’s clip on the Ashburton station. It certainly reflects great credit on the energy of the manager—Mr. Winter. The process adopted is by washing the sheep first in hot water, using soap and soda freely, and then thoroughly rinsing them in cold water.”

The drought in some parts of Australia lately has been fearful. For 200 miles on the frontage of the Barwon and Nauwai, in N.S. W., hardly a blade of grass is to be seen, while a letter from Queensland, quoted by the Geelong Advertiser, says that many stations in the Mitchell district have had to be abandoned. On what was said to be the largest and best station in the district, on. which there was over 00,000 sheep, there remains neither hoof nor horn, nor a pannikin of water. — Post.

Wk need scarcely remind our readers that this evening the meeting of Mr. Eyes with his conttituents is to take place at the Provincial Hail. We are informed that his Honor will be supported on the platform by Sir D. Monro, the Hon. A. P. Seymour, the Hon. Captain Baillie, Captain Kenny, M.H.R., Mr. John Godfrey and others. It is to be hoped that these well-known quasifriends of the Wairau and its interests will be listened to with the attention they merit, but that time will be allowed for any of the residents to take part who may be desirous of doing so.

The s.s. Mataura, Captain Bird, R.N.R., arrived in Wellington harbor on the 20fch inst. at 4 o’cloc& p m., having left Sydney on the 15th. She encountered strong head winds until midnight on the 11th, and thick north-easterly weather prevailed during the remainder of the passage to Cook’s Straits. She was to leave on the 23rd for England via the Straits of Magellan, Rio de Janeiro, and the Cape de Verde Islands ; in addition to the Australian passengero she takes several from the sister provinces. She will steam all the way, and is expected to make a rapid passage.

A Meeting of Justices of the Peace for the Wairau district was held on Tuesday last, when the rota of attendance and other matters were settled. S. L. Muller, Esq., R M., was appointed hon. chairman for the year ; Master W. H. Eyes, jun , to be clerk, at a salary of £25 per annum ; and Mr. John Emerson to be bailiff. The Court of Petty Sessions will be held monthly, wherein cases up to £2O may be heard. As the Resident Magistrate’s will be held weekly as well, we cannot = see much reason in the arrangement. When the Jutices sought that the Courts of Petty Sessions should be instituted, we believe their object was to save expense to the province, and not to increase it by additional courts. Spring Creek School.— We have received two letters this week on this much vexed question- one bearing the signature of Mr. George Dodson, which corroborated the statements previously asserted by “A Friend to Education.” but in which we fail to discover any new facts ; the other from and signed by Mr. much in the same strain. While anxious to atiord our correspondents every facility for the discussion of quest ons of public interest, we cannot in this case see the good that can possibly result from the publication of any more letters on this subject; on the contrary we consider such a course calculated to increase the ire of the disputants'. We would suggest the advisability of calling a meeting of the inhabitants of the district affected by the question at issue, and settling the matter face to face. The writers can have their MSS returned if they wish it, and on reflection we feel sure they will share our opinion. __

The Wanganui Chronicle, of the 19th instant, has the following paragraph “ Judging from all accounts, the victory on the East Coast ha s been very decisive, and the retribution complete. The Ngatiporous became the executioners of justice, and they did their work very thoroughly. Wretches who had escaped from the pa at tapa were brought out of the bush in threes auJL fours, shot through the brains, and the bodies pushed over a cliff. This process was repeated again and again, until the air literally stank with dead and decaying matter, and the place becameleprous in taint like another Ashdod. Like'almost all savages, these creatures, we are told, mettheiir fate with the utmost- stoicism, immovable in muscle as Indian fakirs, some of them dying with a grim smile upon their faces. They had shown no mercy to the unfortunate settlers of Poverty Bay—theirs were deeds it were not well to think upon—and they evidently expected no mercy for themselves. The only drawback is that neither To Kooti nor Te Warn have been captured ; but the general inpresslon regarding the former is, chat, being wounded both in (he arm and i.h> leg, his followers had tired of carrying him, anil :. ihur chan let him fail into the hands of his pur, tiers, they had put a ball through b : s head au 1 tossed him into some hole. It is not unlikely. Ta Warn, however is at large.”

! Boiling down, on an extensive scale, writes a /correspondent, is about to be commenced in the | Wairarapa — Advertiser.

The minimum price of horses has surely been reached at the Blayney Pounds, where (says the Orange Examiner) ISO were sold at Id. per head. The townsbipof Gladstone, on Freestone C - cek, Gipps Laud, was totally consumed by a bush lire which raged on the 24th ult. Two days afterwards the lire was still smouldering in the forest. Bishop Monrad, late Prime minister of Denmark, was a passenger by the Asterope, having been requested by his country to return. Prior to his departure, he presented about 600 etchings and drawings to the Museum. Divers Act.— A petition, drafted in accordance with the resolutions passed at the Committee meeting, as reported in our last, has been pressnted for signature during the week, but we have not heard what progress has been made. The Wanganui Herald, of the 18th, says : “ The Blanche, steam frigate, arrived opposite the Heads this morning. The p.s. Woodpecker got up steam and went out to her, bringing up to town four of her officers. Arrangements will likely be made for the lauding of a rocket brigade. We understand that W. Seed, Esq., Inspector of Distilleries, Inspector of Customs, and Deputy Auditor-General, is about to pay an official visit to the Southern Provinces, but in which of Ins multifarious capacities we are not aware.— AdUser.

Education'.— The election of a Local Committee is to take place this day at noon, at the Schoolhouse Blenheim. The candidates spoken of are Messrs Litchfield and Me Hutcheson, the re iring numbers, who, we believe, have assiduously attended to their duties during the year past, with the addition of Mr. Collie. Tenders are invited by Mr. Balfour, the Colonial Engineer, for the erection of three lighthouses on the coast of New Zealand. Two of the Lighthouses are to be constructed of timber, and one of stone, and the beacon of wrought iron. The two timber erections are to be placed on Farewell Spit and Cape Campbell, and the stone ole on Nuggt t Point; the beacon is for Flat Hock, off Kawau.— Post.

Racing Boat —We had the pleasure of inspecting yesterday at Mr. Crowther’s yard, a new b at, which has arrived here from Wancanui. She has been built by Messrs. Blair and Miller, of that port, has place for six oars, and is over forty feet in length by three feet beam. She has been purchased by Mr. Axup, and will be entered at the forthcoming regatta.— lndependent.

Fencing. —The following is of considerable importance to the owners of cattle : —“ln answer to a question arising out of a trespass case, heard before Vincent Pyke, Esq., in the Resident Magistrate’s Court at Clyde, the Bench ruled that there was no necessity for a farmer to erect fences to protect his crops. It was the duty of owners of cattle to see that they did not do damage.”— Dunstan Times.

Nixon’s Reef. —On Wednesday an erroneous report got into circulation, to the effect that the sample of quartz recently sent to Dr. Hector for examination contained gold to the extent of 53 ounces to the ton. Such an unusual prospect was received with considerable doubt by many persons, and several telegrams were sent to Dr. Hector for the purpose of ascertaining the truth of the rumors. The replies, so far as we have heard, were all to a similar effect —“ A trace only of gold in quartz sent from Marlborough.”

Captain J. Vine Hall may at least be congratulated on the rapidity with which he has disposed of the various fine boats recently belonging to the Panama Company. If his mission was to destroy that Company beyond hope of redemption, he has succeeded admirably ; but it may afford a curious subject for speculation whether he has acted in the interests of the shareholders of the institution of which he is a director, or in those of the mortgagees, or those of some third parties unknown.— Adiertiser. Suicide. —We regret to state that Mr. J. Porthouse, of the Royal Hotel, Bridge-street, terminated his life yesterday morning by cutting his throat. Mr. Porthoi se had for some time past occasionally suffered trom depression of spirits, and, a little after eleven o clock yesterday morning, he went upstairs to his bedroom. A short time after it was found that the door of the room was locked, and no answer being obtained, a ladder was procured, and an entrance effected by the window, when it was discovered that the unhappy man had cut throat with a razor. The assistance of a surgeon was at once procured, but life was extinct. An inquest on the body will be held to-day.— Examiner. As he Appeared at the Show.— Thus spoke Mete Kingi, one of the representatives of New Zealand, at an entertainment given to his Excellency recently at Lyttelton:—“Salutations. There are no Maoris here present. The Governor brought me here, and I have seen great things here. When the Governor went to Wangan ui they did not do him honor. I was the only one who gave him a dinner (laughter), I gave him a fowl and a glass of wine. I have many titles ; I am a teacher of religion, assessor, General Member of the House, but I was told I should be a son of the Queen, and lam lying under her feet I will always be a soldier of the Queen. You European people, I tell you if Te Koote and Tito Kowaru are killed there will be peace ; but, if not, there will always strife. (He sang a song). This song is my affection for you.”— Advertisdr. An order in Council, dated Jan. 7, excepts from side and reserves several parcels of land, as stated in the schedule attached. The following is in the Province of Marlborough :—“ All that parcel of land, being so much and suchi part of the Waste Lands of the Crown in the said Province of Marlborough as included between two Maes drawn on each side of, parallel to, and at a distance of a chain from the line of electric telegraph established in the said Province from the Conway River to the Kabutara River; from the Kahutara River to Kaikoura ; from the Kaikoura to the Clarence River; from the Clarence River to the Flaxbourne Riyer; from the Flaxbourne River to Blenheim ; from Blenheim to White’s Bay, and from Blenheim to Picton ; from Picton to Havelock ; and from Havelock to the boundary of the Province of Nelson, is required for the ; urposes of the electric telegraph.”

We hear it hinted from Wellington that Mr. Fitzherbeit, who, a year ago, left New Zealand very angry and very unpopular, will not return to the Colony for some years at least, but will remain in England as Loudon agent for the General Government of New Zealand.— Colonvst.

At Patea, Major Edwards opened the inquiry into the manner of the death of the two Hauhaus killed at Manutabi The evidence of all the witnesses examined directlycontradicted the positive statements contained in Booth’s letter to the Government. Captain Finnimore demanded to have the communications to the Government read, when Booth objected, and tried every means in his power to prevent it. I\l ajor Edwards decided to read the letters, which are unlit for publication. The moral 61th they contain, from mere heresay, is enough to make one’s very blood run cold. The court has to take the evidence of one witness, who is in Wanganui, before the result is known. We can state that the Major himself is creatly disgusted with the conduct of Booth, and will make hi* redresentations to lb j Government on the subject.— Wanganui Chronicle Panama' Service. —In the Legislative Council of New South Wales, on the 13th inst., Mr. Docker asked the representative of ■he Government whether—it having been admitted by the Government that the notice from the agents of the P.N.Z. and R. M. Company, of their intention to withdraw their vessels from the performance of that mail service, is accepted as a termination of the contract—it is the intention of the Government to deduct the sum of £6OOO (being a stipulated penalty for breach of contract) from the ensuing monthly payments on account of the s ibsidy ? Mr. Owen replied—lt is thought that this Government has not the power to enforce the penalty ; but until the New Zealand Government has been consulted, and a determination arrived at, no payments will be made for service performed subsequent to the 31st December, even if claimed, which, however, is not probable, the mail service having virtually ceased with the last a rival of the Kaikoura.

Suspicious Case. — The Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday was occupied witu nearing a charge of robbery from a dwelling-house preferred by Mrs. Busine, who described henelf “a married woman, living in Wellington,” against a man named John J. Sutherland. According to the statement made by the prosecutrix. Sutherland called on her yesterday morning, and obtained admission to her dressing-room, where her gold watch, chain, three lockets, a piece of greenstone, and a three penny bit were lying. Shortly after his departure these articles were discovered to be non eat, and the defrauded fair one at once followed her late visitor, and, having found him, at once handed him over to the police, despite strenuous efforts on his part to escape The missing articles were found upon him, but he accounted for their possession by trying to damage the moral reputation of the prosecutrix, who, according to his account, had lent the watch and trinkets to him, and that ho had wished to keep them until he got his own money. It is almost needless to add that this version of the affair did not obtain credence, and that Mr. Sutherland was committed for trial. — Advertiser. /Prize Firing. —Regulations for Prize Firing, />y Volunteers and Cadets in the South Island, a'e published by the Defence Office. £2OO will be given for the Colonial Prizes, the firing for which is to take place at Dunedin in April next. £27 is allotted to Marlborough for district prizes, the firing for which will take place in March, on a day and at a place to be fixed by the office r commanding, who will divide the amount inio such prizes as he thinks fit. Volunteers and Cadets are alike eligible to compete. Ranges to be 300, 400, and 500 yards ; 5 shots at teach range, no rest, any position; one sighting shot allowed No prize to be given for less than 25 marks, and highest possible score 60. No prize to exceed £lO. Colonial Prizes :—Each province may send 1 representative for every 100 (or fraction of 100 above 50) enrolled Volunteers. The highest scorers at the district firing shall be the representatives, and in addition to these, 1 for every 30 men who score 35 marks on the same occasion, but no province to send over 20, nor any who does not score 40 marks. The prizes range from £5 to £‘so. The Cadet prizes are fur 5 si o s at a range of 150 yards, with breech or muzzle-loading carbines, standing or kneeling only, without rest ; highest possible score, 20 marks; no prize below 12"; the Cadet not to exceed 17 years of age. Each corps to send one representative, to be elected by preliminary competitive firing, at ranges of 100 and 150 yards ; 5 shots ; the highest to he the representative. Prizes, £lO, £7, and £3. Taregt, 6x4 feet; bull’s eye, 8 ins ; centre, 2 feet sqnre. Saloon cabin passages will be allowed, with 10s a day during stay at Dunedin. For the regulations, Volunteers should refer to the Gazette for January 20th. The Wangauui Times has, it appears, in a short and succinct manner, earned the three premiums offered by the Government for prize essays, as will be seen by the following extract :—“ As the Government has offered premiums of £SO, £3O, and £2O for the best essays on ‘the best means of securing the permanent settlement of the mining population of New Zealand, and fixing within the colony the capital which is being drained - from its gold fields ’ we go in for the whole of the three prizes, thus :—To effectually prevent not only the mining population of this colony from leaving it, adopt the following infallible remedy Ist The Stafford Ministry to remain permanently in office, which will insure a permanent native difficulty, and an expenditure of an additional million a year. 2nd. To meet that, lay on Mr. Stafford’s proposed income and property tax, extending its operations to every man that is able to earn 4s. a day ; and the poor wretch that can’t earn that, make him pay a poll tax of £2O a year. 3. That plan efficiently carried out will give employment to thousands of tax-gatherers, and so effectually impoverish not only the mining population, but all other portions of the colony, that they won’t have sufficient means left to pay for a passage to get out of it. As matters are fast tending in that directon, a line of policy so consonant with the wishes of the present Government, and so fully acquiesced in by the people, we defy all competitors to show a better means of ‘ fixing the population within the colony,’ and, therefore trust that Ministers will forward a cheque for at least .£50.”

Mr. Edward Owen held a sale on the 19th, at the stores of Mesrs. Turnbull, Beeves, and Co., of the teas recently imported by the Mary from Foo Chow Foo. There was a large attendance, and the sale was very successful, the prices realised ranging from Is, s|d to 2s. per pound in bond. An excellent lunch was provided, to which .ample justice was done.— Post.

Bankruptcy and Divorce Sittings. —The following days have been appointed by the Supreme Court for sittings for the despatch of business under the Bankruptcy Act; also for the despatch of business accruing under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act; and also for sittings of the Vice-Admiralty Court : —Friday, 15th January; Monday, 15th February; Tuesday, IGth March; Wednesday, 16th June; Monday, 16th August; Tuesday, 16th September ; Tuesday, 16th December; and on such other days as may hereafter be especially appointed. — Examiner, The Wanganui Times has the following : “ The doctors have been making a raid among the newly enrolled men of the force—men chiefly from Melbourne and tlm West Coast. About fifty of them have been discharged on account of permanent and organic disease of one kind or another. It was too bad of the officers entrusted with the enrolling of constabulary to have exercised so little pains in selection No doubt a few unhealthy subjects might pass, even after strict scrutiny, but this per centage is much too large, and the result of conveying men here and then turning them adrift is both expensive to the Government, and unpleasant to the settlers of the district.”

The Wanganui Chronicle says ;—“The mining resources of New Zealand are now increased by the suoeessfulsmeltingof the Taranaki steel sand, which contains a large amount of titanium—a metal very valuable, and which is said to contain 75 per cent, of the pure steel. Major Atkinson has taken with him to England several specimens —crude and manufactured—of the Taranaki steel smelted from the iron sand by Messrs. D. Atkinson and E M. Smith The following is the list of articles which have been sent to England : Two gravers, one cold chisel, one bar (about 7 pounds), one round bar (roughly forged), several crude specimens as melted, some Drenui clay, iron sand, and, likewise a mixture of the two prepared for smelting We believe that Major Atkinson intends to submit these specimens to several persons of eminence in England, and ■h mid such men as Sir William Whitworth take sufficient interest in it, we shall have no fear but that shortly the iron sand, which is lying on our beach dormant, will soon be converted into a useful article of commerce 1 value ” A Marked Man'. —The first Masonic funeral that ever occurred in California took place in the year 1849, and was performed over the body of a brother found drowned in the bay of San Fr: ncisoo. An account of the ceremonies states tl at oa the body of the deceased was found the silver mark of a Mason, upon which were engraved the initials of his name. A further investigation revealed to the beholder the most singular exhibition of Masonic emblems that was ever drawn by the ingenuity of man upon the human skin. There is nothing in the history or traditions of freemasonry equal to it. Beautifully dotted on his left arm in bine or red ink, which time could not efface, appeared all the emblems of the entered apprentice There were the holy bible, the square, the compass, the 24-inch guage, and tl e common gavil. There were also the moasic pavement representing tiie ground-floor of King Solomon’s temple, tiie intended tessel which surrounds it, and the blazing star in the centre. On his right arm, and artistically executed in the same indelible liquid, were the emblems pertaining to the fellow egaft degree, viz : the square, the level, and the plumb. There were also the five columns representing the five orders of architecture —the Tuscan, the Doric, lonic, Co - inthiau, and Composite In removing the garments from his body, the trowel presented itself, with all the other tools of operative masonry. Over his heart was a pot of incense. On the other parts of his body were the bee-hive, the book of constitutions, guarded by the Tyler’s sword ; the sword pointing to a naked heart; the All-seeing eye ; the anchor and ark ; the hour-glass, the scythe, the forty-seventh problem of Euclid ; the sun, moon, stars, and comets ; the three steps emblematical of youth, manhood, and age. Admirably executed was the weeping virgin, reclining on a broken column, upon which lay the book of constitutions. In her left hand she held the pot of incense, the masonic emblem of a pure heart, and in her uplifted hand a sprig of acacia, the end lem of the immortality of tie soul. Immediately beneath her stood winged Time, with his scythe by his side, which cuts the brittle thread of life, and the hour-glass at his feet, which is ever reminding us that our lives are withering away. The withered and attenuated fingers of the destroyer was placed amid the long and gracefully flowing ringlets of the disconsolate mourner. Thus were the striking emblems of mortality and immorality beautifully blended in one pictorial representation. It was a spectacle such as masons never saw before, and, in all probability, the fraternity will never witness again. The brother’s name was never known.