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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 224, 23 November 1866, Page 2

The synod of the diocese of Nelson terminated ils sitting yesterday. It was opened by commission on the previous day, by the Lord Bishop of New Zealand. It has been the object of the syuod duriDg its recent sitting, to avoid the discussion of matters that were not of pressing importance, aud to | refrain from making any radical changes, in consequence of the absence of the Bishop of the diocese. One important matter was the liberal offer made by the late Bishop, to contribute the sum of fSOO.for the establishment, .of an Archdeaconry in jhe Waimea, on condition that a similar amount be subscribed from other sources. A committee was appointed Co report on this offer, for which the late Bishop was sincerely thanked, and it was resolved that, copies of the report be . forwarded ;to him in England. The most important discussion that arose during the sittiug of the synod, was that in reference to the necessity that existed for providing for the spiritual wants of the goldfields population of the province. This population is scattered over the, whole country, from .Nelson to the Grey, and has not hitherto been benefitted by the ministrations of Episcopal clergymen.. The Primate and several members of the Synod expressed a strong opinion, that if clergymen could be found to go and labor amongst the miners, little difficulty would be found in inducing them to furnish the means of supporting their spiritual instructors. Bishop Selwyn gave his reminiscences of the Otngo goldfields, which proved that the miners are always glad to listen to the instruction of the clergy, to have divine service evStablished amongst them, and to contribute to the extent of their means towards the expenses of the same. A hope was expressed that Bishop Suter would find clergymen willing to enter , on this new and interesting field of labor.

The Synod passed the following resolution: — " That this Synod is of opinion that special and immediate action should bo taken for the purpose of providing for the spiritual -wants of the extensive population of the Wept Coast gold-fields ; aud that a special" -fund be established, to be devoted exclusively to the object above referred to, the. detailed application of the fund to be decided upon as soon as the newly consecrated Bishop shall arrive; and that, in the meantime, every exertion be made to obtain contributions to fchiit i'uud, and that each member of the Synod be lequested to invite the assistance of the church members iv their respective parishes." It was resolved that the sum of £150 be appropriated for the purpose of instruction on the West Coast gold-fields, and £100 for a similar purpose in the districts of Queen Charlotte Sound aud the Peloras. The thanks of the Synod were given to, Bishop Hobhouse for his liberal offer, to the Bishop of New Zealaud for his attendance and counsel, and to his Honor the Superintendent for the use of the Provincial Hall. In the Insolvent Court, to-day, a discussion arose respecting the delay that took place in realising the estates of insolvents, from the unwillingness of creditors to act. as trustees. Mr. Pollock suggested that Mr. E. Smallbone would be willing to act as Sequestrator and Trustee, iv all those estates in which the creditors refused to act.. His Honor said ifc was desirable that some such arrangement as that suggested should be come to, and consented to the appointment of Mr. Smallbone, on his entering into a general bond, the amount of which should be fixed by the Registrar. Yesterday was devoted by ; the pupils of the Nelson College to field sports, prizes for excellence in which, were awarded by his Honor the Acting Chief Justice. The weather being remarkably fine a large number.of ladies and gentlemen assembled to witness the gymnastic exercises. At the conclusion of the day's sports, his Honor awarded the prizes, his own gifts, to the pupils, amidst general applause. The prizes were a walnut wood writing desk, two leather desks, Knight's Hall-hours with the Best Authors, a cricket bat and other things. The following are the five priucipal successful competitors, in the order of their marks : W. Nicholson, 27 ; G-. Nicholson^, 17 ;H. Walrasley, 17 ; T. Nicholson, 12; E. Adams. 12. The snorts iucluded racing, running, jumping, and a variety of other movements iv which the pupils showed considerable skill. The Manngatapu. murders are, as. was to be expected, a topic of discussion, in the English newspapers. The Home News thinks it necessary to denounce the criminals who have so disgraced the English character, It forgets however, to state, that three out of the four criminals, at least, were transported to the colonies from the old country, aud that if Thuggism is now a colonial institution, it was transplanted from the gaols of London. The following are the remarks of the paper quoted above, of Sept. 26: — The dreadful story that has reached this country, revealing the discovery in an English colony of what may not improperly be called Thuggism, has awakened a feeling of universal horror. That there should exist in any colony populated from our shores, -speaking our language, modelled on our insifcufciops, and governed by a representative of our Queen, an organised band of assassins/performing their deadly work ,by systematic combinations, is something as . strange as it is revolting. The English character -has hitherto stood clear of secret and cowardly crimes, and, above all, of cold-blooded murders deliberately planned and punctually accomplished according to a code 6f instructions by a brotherhood of robbers. We should as soon expect to find a settlement of cannibals in an English colony as a gang of this description. Yet, if the accounts which appear in the local papers may be implicit/ accepted, there is, or was, a fraternity of". Thugs, the .members of which bore our English names, flourishing in the exercise of its diabolical calling some three or four months ago, not very far from, the settlomeutof Nelson, in the middle island of. the New.Zealand group. Before this sheet reaches Australia, tlie

criminals, who were to have been tried on tlie confession of an accomplice, will, doubtless, have ended their infamous 1 lives on the gallowsr. But- we earnestly trust the exertions of the indignant community will not rest there, but that adequate measur.es will be adopted for freeing the island from these " fiends in human shape," if anymore of them exist. It is necessary to the vindication of the national character that so dark a stain should be removed ; but it is even more necessary for the security of the colony. A country intersected by partial wilds, rugged passes, and thickly wooded mountains, which is at times traversed by solitary adventurer?, or small groups of settlers, who are often known to carry the whole of their worldly goods about them, must be made safe of transit The task of protection should not be left exclusively to the voluntary efforts of the inhabitants. Government ought to take its legitimate share of the cost and responsibility; and the recent detection of Thugs supplies a clue to the course that should be followed. Although we (W. E. Post) have no more precise information relative to the particular terms of Mr. Crosbie Ward's Panama mission to Sydney thau that he was to arrange, in the most favorable way he could, the various points at issue between the' Governments of New Zealand, yet we know that he was most anxious to induce the other Australian colonies to look with a more favorable eye on the service than they have hitherto done. So far as Wellington is concerned, nothing will better conduce to the stability of its position as the port of call, or terminus, than that Victoria should join in *the subsidy. That effected, there is no other port in New Zealand, except Nelson, from whence lines to and from Victoria and Sydney could radiate and converge ; and, of course, Nelson is physically out of the question. From Wei lington alone could Victoria and Sydney be placed on a par relative to the mails ; indeed, a branch steamer to and from Melbourne would rather give Victoria a slight advantage, because of the detention of the Sydney mails by the Panama steamer iemaiuing 24 hours in Wellington. Under these circumstances, it is gratifying to find that Victoria is now disposed to join the Panama subsidy, aud the following telegram from Sydney, dated 24th October, extracted from the Australasian of the 27tli, shows that Mr. Ward will find every disposition on the part of Victoria to meet him in a liberal spirit : — " Sydney. Wednesday. — .This evening, the Colonial Secretary stated that Government had received a. communication from the Chief Secretary of Victoria, asking the Sydney Government to re-open the question respecting the notice given to stop the subsidy to the Suez mail line. If the request is acceded to, the Victorian Government offers to consider the question of the Panama route. Mr Parkes expressed a hope that ere long satisfactory arrangements would be made between the Governments interested." The Wellington Advertiser has the following:; — Our readers will remember that when the Postmaster-General proposed that a charge of 3d. should be made on all newspapers sent to England by way of Panama, he urged as the strongest argument in favor of the increase that the cost of transit over the isthmus was so great, as to make the loss to Government by carrying papers free something considerable. They will be able to judge of the sincerity of this argument when we inform tliose who are not already acquainted with the fact, that although newspapers are now carried to England by that route for a penny, 2d. is charged on those for Panama. In the case of the smaller charge the cost of transit has to be paid by Government, and in that of the larger there is no transit expense, so that we can look upon the argument used for increasing the postal rate as merely a subterfuge, and would much sooner have heard a substantial reason given for putting a tax upon knowledge. The Wellington Advertiser of the 16th has the following: — Kumor hath it that a strict investigation of the accounts of the N.Z.S.N. Company this week has thrown light upon some rather peculiar transactions on the part of a gentleman holding n high

position in the Company's office. It is needless to say that we allude to the discovery of a system of fraud by one of the clerks who was considered something more than trustworthy by his employers, and who, if rumor is correct, was "specially imported" from a neighboring colony because of his varied qualifications, experience, and practical knowledge of the working of steam companies, and the keeping of their accounts with unmistakable accuracy. Alas ! for all confidence in things terrestrial ! The man did not libel the character so generously given him in anything save honesty, but in .that particular requisite there appears to ■have been a flfiw. At all events, rumor says that an ordinary scrutiny of the accounts .shows defalcations to the amount of something like £250, but at the present moment ,it is impossible to estimate the amount taken :by the individual in question by means of ;forgery and embezzlement. We further learn that the defaulter, who left Wellington on Wednesday evening by the s.s. Raugatira for the North, took with him some £16 which had been collected by his wife in aid of the building fund of a church recently erected in this city. We understand that the Company have instructed their solicitor to take proceedings against their defaulting accountant. The Wanganui Times of the 6th inst. devotes the remarks in its leading column to a short resume of the wars in this country, and concludes iv the following words : — Four mouths later — September, 1861 — Sir George Grey re-assumed the Governorship of New Zealand, and now, we observe, that by private leters received last mail information has reached the colony that his Excellency will shortly be relieved from that responsible position. It is said that the Governorship of this colony has been offered to Sir James Fergussou, at present Governor of Gibraltar. As his Excellency Sir George Grey has now undertaken the task of putting an end to the New Zealand war. the honor which the country would derive from maintaining the longest war on record is considerably endaugered. We do not believe that his Excellency will relinquish the reins of Government leaving the New Zealand war as a legacy to his successor. That would be conferring on him either the honor of finishing the longest war on record, .or handing it over to his successor some j r ears hence as an heirloom worthy of being emblazoned on his family escutcheon.