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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 102, 3 July 1866, Page 2

A great dealdf natural alarm is being manifested lest the daring ruffians now in custody,.on a charge of murder, should attempt to escape from confinement. It may be observed, however,' that whilst every precaution is taken by the authorities to keep them safely, there is no fear of their making the attempt. These criminals are the greatest curs in existence, when they are ih the hands ofthe police. To use a gaoler's expression, they are like tame. chicken; , Not one of them made the slighest resistance when first arrested by the police without arms, and we believe, in plain clothes. It is only when armed, in company, and by surprising unarmed travellers, that they show, anything approaching to real courage, and then, we are told by themselves,, they tremble as much as their victims... . . ._ It was noticed that the men in custody charged with the murder .of the Deep Creek party, did not present". so bold and. daring .an appearance -yesterday- as they did at their first examination. , Atjthe. first examination,

Sutlivatf $a_ Remarkably active, taking notes >_. atid^prptepiairii^to promptt?cpunisel. Yes.erS daiy heilooie^a'.wretched^dtject, was allpw&d '•^tp7sit*;do^|'tand" A waß alloWed.a glass <_f ' wateK He is evidently bro__en v down. *_?__ere was not much •' difference observable in the 7 other :-three:prisoiters, except^the edTprt made by them to preserve their equanimity as _ the evidence from timb'to *tim_ was' highly"pre- ■■ sumptive if not conclusive of their guilt: ss. We have already copied 4 from the Otago Daily Times the particulars of .the sentences of Burgess and; Kelly mi Dunedin gaol,- for firing at the police. As Sullivan'has repeatedly boasted of his having been a respectable housekeeper at Mount" Korong, in Victoria, for, a number of years past, it may be well to ascertain if he is the same Sullivan who-was convicted at Castle__aihe at the times we proceed to specify. 7 On the 30th October, 1857, John Sullivan and -Michael M'Ewan were tried for stealing. "moi- ey? from William Hexley, at Tar an go wer. Sullivan was sentenced to five years -hard labor on' the roads ; .ME wan was acquitted. On the 25th April,' 1861, John Sullivan 7and~ George Randford were convicted of stealing, a- pocket book and money from John Hampshirei, of 1 Guildford. Randford'' was ' sentenced to- seven- years hard labor on the f-oads^and^iSullivan'tofive.years only, because he dissuaded -Randford from murderiug their victim. Tn the Resident Magistrate's Court this; morning, a fat, .red haired fellow, "of the genus loafer, was charged with stealing a hide from the wharf, and offering it" for sale at Bettany's.- He gave his name as William. Clarke, 1 and said he had been third steward of a ship. at Wellington, and had been engaged .in the -survey party there. The hide" had been sent from Taranaki for transhipment, and the owner was not present to prosecute. .- On being questioned by the magistrate, as to his meaus of support, the prisoner said he had been living in atent at the Port, by the side - of the beach. He had tried"' t"~ get work and could hot, and he would noo have taken the hide if he had not been hardt up. The magistrate told him he had been seen prowling about the hills, and if he did not give a good account of himself he would have to treat him as a rogue and vagabond. The fellow said he had never been used to laboring work and he had never been in prison, and when the datter was hinted at by his worship, he began to blubber, showing that he was not one of the Burgess fraternity, at any rate. His worship seemed puzzled to know what to do with the fellow, and asked him what he proposed to do if he was let off. He said he would try to' get away bythe next steamer. The Magistrate saidj as there was no appearance of the owner, he was discharged. William A. Morrison was fined 10s. for drunkenness! It is stated on. good authority,, that the schooner Wild Wave, has been wrecked in Pelorus Sound, and all hands drowned, except the captain and cook. We are requested to state that the Nelson Assembly has been again till" ihe last Friday in this month. ■• ' . We. are informed that it is the intention of Miss Aitken to' give an evening's entertainment in Nelson. We take the following from the Otago Daily Times of the 23rd instant: — " Bird v. M_Lean, an action for defamation, the trial of which was commenced in the Supreme Court on "Thursday afternoon, "before Mr. Justice Richmond, and a special jury, terminated at "five-o'clock last evening, with a-ver-dict for, the plaintiff— •damages,''£loo.i The plaintiff was Mr. C. E. Bird, and the defendant was Mr. George M'Leah, ' formerly manager here for the Bank of New Zealahd. The action here was tried.' in October last, when the verdict; was for the plaintiff,., for £30;; but the defendant; moved on a point reserved, andthe Court granted- a new trial, on the' ground f ha., the slanderbus Tvords were, prima facie, spokeii on a privileged occasion. This decision. .let in on the.'new.triaLa.g'ood deal of evidence ;iwhich! was formerly excluded. Then it was tendered as a matter of aggravation ; tio-iv' it was 1 admitted as bearing on the question; of malice or no malice." A proposal .which Has emanated from/a gentleman to .colonise and "render, profitable

the confiscated lands in the North Island is thus'spoken of by the Wellington"" Ta.depen^ dent. : -< ; - ;We heard of this scLieme some thr_e months ago, .but as it was only a private proposal made" to the Government, did "not think the affair should be discussed at- ihat stage! Ndr need we say much riow,. because the' mi; genious speculation of Mr. Jyogel has been knocked on the head. -At first the Government,' deemed the plan feasible, if materially 1 modified, but those interested soon discovered from the doings of the Land Court, that it could not be/ adopted: • The fact became apparent that when the' claims of friendly natives were satisfied, the amount of confiscated land left would be very small— much too. small at all events for a trial of the lottery colonization scheme. The project has, therefore, been definitely abandoned." The "Wellington correspondent of the Canterbury Press has the "following somewhat sensible political gossip :~ Mr. Stafford seems' secure in his position, in spite of the rumors to his disadvantage. Whatever may be said against the present Premier in other respects, no one who knows anything of the subject can deny him the great credit of. being an able financier, a practical economist, and a real administrative reformer. ■ At the beginning of the session members will early hear of the very great improvements made in the working of the Government departments, and will probably have placed^in their hands proposals for altering by legislation the present basis of the Treasury and Audit systems, and placing a real check iipon the issues of public moneys. And here: I may say that the rumors of the Land Fund of Canterbury going to be paid to the Sub-Treasurer of the General Government appear to be utterlyfalse. The Receiver of Land Revenues is not among the officers ordered to account to the Sub-Treasurer bythe late regulations, and no specific instructions have to be sent to Canterbury on the subject. Mare's nest though the report was, I trust it- will not be without its effect in proving how jealous the people of Canterbury are about their Land Revenue. - ' ' According to the Christchurch E. Mail, the Mechanics' Institute there is not a very prosperous affair. Listen to our contemporary : "We will venture to predict that, if a radical reform in the management does not take place, that ere loug the number of subscribers will become "small and beautifully less," until they degenerate into a few venerable patriarchs who will call in- to look at the newspapers, or two or three antiquated bachelors who will pass the evening dozing in the reading-room • before a roaring fire. Such is not what a Mechanics' Institute ought to be, but such is what the Christchurch Mechanics' Institute will be, unless means- are once taken to infuse something like vigor into its management. This task rests with the members themselves." The Dunedin Evening Star has some severe comments, on the following remarks of the Wellington correspondent of a London paper :- — "I fear our community is not improving in a social point of view. Honesty used to be. so much the rule, that precautions against theft were necessary. With our increase of population we have suffered from an irruption of men living by their wits. Most of these have come from Otago, entering into, business with a. grand flourish, abusing the "old identity" for being slow and behind the time, and professing to. teach us how business ought to ; be done. Sad to relate of these gentlemen, very few' remain with us more than a few months, and their departure is generally very sudden. We rise up some fine morning and find them gone, leaving only as memorials sundry .entries on the debit side of our ledgers."- M The Lyttelton Times has received the March number of the Bulletin de la Societe de Geographic Ifc contains some papers and essays upon various subjects of interest, contributed by authors of talent and ability in the various departments of science. Amongst other contributions is bnefrom.our Provincial Geologist, Dr. Haast, on- the climate of New Zealand." An interesting account of the meteorological observations' taken will well . repay- -perusal. .'• --. '•" v/V.. ... The mirage " is frequen t in New Zealand,

just how, -^ The - Lyttelton** Times* -has -~een -one .-:— A- curious atmospheric -effect /7was; produced.' yester- , ter day morning. Owing -to a mirage, the western range-df hills waslappafehtly brought into close proximity,, and the clefts and ravines T could -be -plainly y discerned.- 7 :The snow, upon which the rays of the sun were reflected, gave -the -whole scene; a-; strange; and most picturesque appearance. '-...''• The. dispute i betiveen ! Mr.' Bair'ton and Mr. Russell, we learn from Otago papers, is not yet ended. Mr. Russell has obtained an attachment of the Supreme Court against Mr. Barton for refusing certain deeds or documents asserted to be illegally retained by him. Fresh legislation is called for by the Lyttelton Times to meet the'increase of scab in sheep in the Province of Canterbury. It says :'— " In spite of all the sheep ordinances and scab prevention ordinances that have been passed, amended, repealed, and renewed during the last ten years, and in spite of increased fines and fresh inspectors, the chance of scab being eradicated frora the province seems even more remote than it was three years ago. The Auckland papers inform us of the death of Tamati Rawiti, the Kaipara chief, who expired at the Kawau, near the south head, Kaipara. He had been suffering for months from a swelling over the temple, and at last sank under the disease. He was,, as a native, much respected, and was a staunch Queen's man. The prospectus of the Colonial Woollen Manufacturing Company will be issued in a ; few days. The capital to be raised is £40,000 i in 8,000 shares of £5 each, in convenient de- : posits. The list of provisional directors em- \ braces the names of members of several wellknown business firms. The Government have granted a piece of land to the company at Richmond, near the river Yarra. about six acres in extent ; and it is intended t© erect machinery combining all the most modern improvements for the manufacture of flannels, tweeds, &c. v. ■' ' ; ' In Melbourne the Oxford and Cambridge Universitj-- men are making arrangements for an annual dinner. A warrant has been issued for the apprehension of Mr. Sparks, late agent for the P. and 0. Company in Melbourne. The deficit in his account is said to exceed £11,000. In Adelaide, circulars have been issued to the heads of departments, iutimating that any Government officer getting drunk will be dismissed. The civil service there regard the intimation as an insult. The Rev. C. C. Cutcliffe, 8.A., a clergyman of the Church of England, who until very recently has been itinerating the district and holding service in conformity with the doctrines and ordinances of that Church, by the direction of the -Bishop of Goulburn — has become a convert to the Roman' Catholic faith, and is about to be publicly admitted into that Church. — Yass Courier. The New South Wales Commission for the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867 offer £30 for the best, and £20 for the next best water color painting of Australian scenery, by a New South Wales' artist. A storekeeper residing on the Upper Hunter was recently travelling homewards with £1,700 in notes in his pocket. Oh camping for the night, he secreted this money in a hollow log, fearing the bushrangers, but not being able to find "it next morning, he went home penniless. A few days after, a bullock driver passing that way found the parcel, and it was ultimately restored to the owner. Mr. Allport stated at the last meeting of the Southern commissioners that "he had samples of colonial grown salmon, perch, aud trout, with the ova :bf each', in preparation for exhibition. — Launceston. Times, June 8. The Hartley Kerosine and Paraffine Oil Company are" about to offer to public auction, through Mr. J. G. Cohen, 1,200 gallons of their marketable oil. The oil, as exhibited in the auction rooms, is pronounced to be of excellent quality. In Melbourne, applications for shares iv the Commercial Bank are reported to be pouring in rapidly, and that the first issue will be fully absorbed.