NOTES AND NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 54, 7 May 1866, Page 3

NOTES AND NEWS.

The Nerrtgundah .Outrage— Capture of one of the Robbers. — Five of the bushran »ers who took part in the recent murder, outrage, and robbery at Nerrigundah, have been identified jind;swovn to; namely, Tommy Clarke, two brothers by the name of Connell, and two brothers named Berriman. One of - the latter, Joseph Berriman, who was liberated from Parramatta gaol only about amonth ago, has been captured by sergeant Creagb, who with a detachment of police was sent to the district from Sydney imme- . diately on receipt- of the outrages. — S. M. Herald, April 19. The Sydney correspondent of the SouthernCross gives the following information respectin° r the conduct of certain members of the New South Wales Assembly with regard to the Panama line. We are glad, however, to see that the Government feels itself bound to support tbe scheme. The remarks by the Cross 1 correspondent are these : — At the close of the session a debate took place in the As sembly on the Panama Mail Service, which showed, as regards the votes of the Ministers, how very much "circumstances alter cases," and how very differently Ministers vote in office and when out. Mr. Cowper who, as a Minister, gave able assisstance to the project, now proposes to withhold the subsidy j while Messrs. Martin and Wilson are now ia favor of what they formerly opposed. The result, however, did not affect the probable success of the undertaking, and many express a belief that it will be a success. Man Drowned in the Waitaki. — On Monday evening last Mr. Monteith, who in company with another man named James was proceeding to the neighbourhood of the Ashburton for the purpose of taking some sheep from thence to Otago, arrived at the south side of the. Waitaki ferry (Brown's) about dusk. He and James were on horseback, and James was also leading a packhorse. While attempting to cross Mr B Monteith unfortunately fell into the river and was drowned. Dr. Sickler. — We learn from a correspondent in Havelock that Dr. Sickler intended to leave that district for another where he was solicited to commence practice ; but when this became known, £215 per annum was in a few days guaranteed to be raised by by a few friends' in and around Havelock to induce him to remain, to which he consented. This is highly complimentary to the Doctor, creditable to the district, and a good example to others.— M. Press. We are informed that the General Assembly is not expected to meet for the "despatch of business- befbre the end of June, consequently we shall j_ot be deprived of the

valuable aid of the Superintendent, and Mr. Beauchamp during the approaching adjourned sitting •of the Provincial Council, which, taking place at the same time, would' interfere with our local interests. — B. Express. New Zealand Flax. — Mr. Murray of Papakura, has invented a small machine for dressing flax; with this machine, though only a model one, he is able to dress 3 cwt. per day. The flax is first boiled, then passed through the machine which instantly drops it on a board, stripped ;of the gum and refuse, it is then raised and dried; one horse would work three such machines. Mr. Murray's first shipment, was a ton by the Madras; although it unfortunately got damaged, by sea water on the voyage, yet it realised £27 on its arrival. Since then Mr. Murray has shipped 2 more tons, but has not yet heard what it brought. Mr. Murray has succeeded in forming a Company in England for the purpose of preparing flax by his process, and will shortly commence business on a large scale. Patent Slip, Auckland. — Mr. Michal, shipbuilder, has now nearly completed his Patent Slip on the North Shore; we give its dimensions : length 520 feet ; gradient 1 in 16 ; the slip reaches 200 feet into the water, below low water mark ; the main carriage is 120 feet long, but provision is made for its greater extension by "ekes, one of 20 and another 40 feet long ; the width of carriage is 24 feet; width of arms of 8 feet; the piers are 44 feet wide ; the machinery is worked by a 15 horse-power engine. — N.Z. Herald. The civil service in Victoria does not seem ■ to be very well considered,- and the Government is so hard up there that the members of it are without their pay for some time. . Ministers, however, would appear to look out for themselves in the matter, as we learu from the Argus they have all, with the exception of Messrs. Higinbotham and Sullivan, drawn their salaries for February, and ' that the warrants have been signed for those for March. A gentlemen, who arrived in town from the Kaipara district, informs us that the preparation of flax has been begun with spirit by the families of many settlers there. The men cut the flax, and- the wd~men and children boil aud clean it. - ; 'lh this way they anticipate to produce considerable quantities of very fine fibre, the flax being good. Our informant states that he will be able to send to Auckland about a ton of prepared flax, in about a week, and will make arranvemeuts for disposing of it to the best advantage. He likewise informs us that he ' can draw fibres, and a good many of them,' 13 feet 3 inches long, from, bundles of prepared flax now in his possession. The people in the Kaipara settlements, having read the description of Mr. Finlay McMillan's process for cleaning the flax, which appeared in the Weekly Netvs, at once took steps to test it, and with satisfactory results. We trust that gentlemen of scientific knowledge and capital, residing in the out-districts, will do their best to direct and assist their poorer fellowsettlers in preparing flax for market. A simple process of scraping might be resorted to with advantage, and a great saving of labor in washing. Now, however, that the spirit of inquiry and discovery is abroad, we doubt not that many plans will be hit upon for reducing the labor required to prepare the flax for market to the lowest possible amount. We may add, that several of the merchants of Auckland are willing to assist in fostering, this local industry.-r-S. Cross. We see by our last Auckland files that au association is proposed "to be formed by the officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the Ist Waikato Regiment, to be styled the Tauranga Freehold Association. This association is established to. enable the men of that regiment to purchase land at Tauranga in addition to that already granted to them ou account of their military service. The proposition appears to us to he very analogous to the Manawatu Small Farm Association, with less limited operations as regards the power of each 'member- to purchase, at least so far as we can glean from the Auckland journals. The object is a very : good one, and no doubt, will be successful ; but we are sorry to see that the Cross has taken

occasion in speaking of it io'launcHioto mo>j unbounded invective against the Man&WJiiiu Small Farm Association, on grou_#B 'it is hard to perceive. Our con temporary 'appear, to imagine that that association is intended for the purpose of fixing; " an, arbitrary price upon allCrown lands in the province," and says that; '" the proposition is so monstrous that it could not __ made "with safety in any province in tbe Colony but that of Wellington." How blind is prejudice! The Cross founds part of its arguments on a foolish article in the Wanganui Times, which, however, meant notbingVmorp than tbe recommendation that a Small N Farni Association should be established there. Of course, it is hardly -necessary for us to contradict the- statements of the Cross, as nur readers already knew 'full well- what" Hhe object of the Association is, and 'that -no matter/how extended it may be, the land it will be able to take from the block will still leave ample room for such squatters -asMessrs. Firth, Buckland, and ' others of Auckland, who lease from fifty to -a hundred thousand acres each from -the 'natives, but whom we think only second-rate colonists. — S. Cross. The L_te Mr. Gordon's Brother. — It is said that the father of the late unfortunate George William Gordon was a brother of Mr. Robert Gordon, for many, years mem- : ber of the House of Commons, who in the Melbourne Administration held the office of Secretary of the Treasury. The family were for several generations connected.. by property with Jamaica, and, though Whigs, shared warmly in the Protectionist views which led to the longand unavailing struggle waged by the West India interest "against"' free trade in colonial produce. Mr./ Robejrt : Gordon, though he somtimes quarrelled- Wth : his duty ou the question- where hisinterestswere so peculiarly involved, always continued', to be a great favorite. In earlier life he" was" - considered a man of high-political' promise, and the story is told that Sir James -Graham was heard to say after one of his early failures, that the great object of -his ambition, was. -to be able, to speak like Robert Gordon.-fJWaw-chester Guardian.' The new bridge about to be suspended over the. Ohio River at Cincinnati will be the longest structure of the kind in the world,- being more than 200 feet longer than that over tbe Niagara River, and 540 feet longer than the Menai Bridge, England. Its total span will be 1,057 feet. The stone piers rise 110 feet above the floor of: the bridge, and 200 feet above their foundations. One year is allowed for building ii— JYexo York Herald. On matters agricultural the Ballaarat Star wr ites: — "The country appears as if it' had almost changed its character, so bright and pleasant everything seems-after the late rain. The fine weather latterly has- enabled the farmers to get ahead with their accustomed operations, and the ground being well softened, the seed will" have every chance. So far. the season promises well, and it is to be hoped that present prospects will be but the harbinger of success. Ploughing is advancing with rapid strides, and in the stubble fields the yellow remnants of harvest time are fast disappearing. On many farms in the district sowing is well forward, but this work, will not be generally commenced until next ' month. The private subscriptions and collections in aid of the fund for the endowment of the Bishopric of Dunedin amount to 1,543Z_; the . Colonial Bishopric's Fund has contributed l,0O0Z ; and the Society for the promotion ot Christian Knowledge, I,OOOZ, making a total of 3,543 .— W. E. Post, April 27.