The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1868.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 159, 8 July 1868, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 1868.

The following debt cases were heard at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning : — Lockett v. Kearns. This was an action brought by the plaintiff, in accordance with the Act, as Adjutant of Militia and Volunteers for this province, to recover £10 10s. 2d., being double the value of a rifle, &c, &c, supplied to the defendant, who had belonged to tl^e Waimea East Company, now disbanded, and had failed to return the articles in question. The defendant did not appear, and was ordered to return the articles within a week, and, in default, judgment was given for £10 10s. 2d., and costs, £1 7s. 6d., payable to the plaintiff- — Lockett v. Currin. This was a case of precisely similar character to the last, but the defendaut having returned his rifle since the issue of the summons, judgment was given for the plaintiff for £l 7s. the costs of the action. — ITealey and Leslie v. A. Helps. An action to recover £4 16s 6d, for goods supplied. The defendant admitted the debt, and judgment was given for the plaintiff for the amount claimed, with Us. costs, payable half in one month, and the balance in two months. — .A. Hunter v. Helps. Action to recover £6 for goods supplied. Judgment for plaintiff for amount claimed, with 13s. costs, payable at the same dates as in the last case. We understand that the Divorce Act passed by the General Assembly last Session has received the Royal Assent. The first quarterly report of the School of Arts has just been laid before us, together with specimens of the drawings of many of the pupils who have made the most satisfactory progress siuce the commencement of the classes. Of course the drawings are entirely of a rudimentary character, and in outline, but several of the pupils, especially Arnold, show a facility and correct eye to form which promise well for their future presidency. At the same time we hope to see a somewhat bolder and freer style adopted as the pupils progress, since all true education of whatever kind consists in the cultivation of the judgment, an end which can never be achieved by mere servile copying, it may be, of erroneous originals. In the first class of the upper division, Thomas B. Crooke is reported to have passed a satisfactory examination for pupil teacher's certificate. Amongst the pupils from the various Town Schools, the following from Mr Smith's school are mentioned: — F. Harper, free certificate ; Everett and Boundy, honorable mention; and Weeden, for improvement; from St. Mary's School, Arnold, free certificate ; Richards, F. Glanham, aud Parmenter, honorable mention ; and Clous ton, for improvement ; from Mr M'lntosh's school, amongst the boys, Percy, and amongst the girls, Aiborough have obtained honorable mention, whilst from Mrs Salt's school, Sowman aud Grill have obtained a like distinction. In special subjects, F. Harper for the best outline drawing, (solid subjects) and F. Glanham and Arnold are reported as equal in outline drawing, (leaves from nature). With reference to the Australian project to abandon the Panama route for that by San Francisco as soon as the Atlantic and Pacific Railway shall have been completed, on the ground that the distance from Wellington to San Francisco is 700 miles shorter than to Panama, with the great advantage that Tahiti lies on the direct course — 2,200 miles from Wellington — forming both a commodious coaling and an agreeable half-way house, Mr. A. G. Dallas, of the Reform Club, thinks it worthy of consideration whether Victoria (Vancouver Island) might not be substituted for San Francisco, so that, by a railway from Canada through British Columbia, England would be placed in direct postal communication, through her own territory, not only with Japan, China,

and the Eastern Archipelago, but with New Zealand and oar Australian colonies; securing the ua limited supply of coal obtainable in Vancouver Island, together with its capacious harbors, aad boundless forests adapted for shipbuilding, which give it a preponderating advantage over both Sau Francisco aad Panama, ; whilst a liberal grant of' land now lying useless would, as Mr Dallas believes, induce capitalists to come forward and complete a scheme which would not only unite England with her distant possessions, but open up a large continent for settlement, and develop its mineral and agricultural wealth, its coalfields, fisheries, and forests. • An English paper received by the last rnaii saj^s: — We understand that the directors of the Royal Mail Company have determined that the next vessel leaving Southampton with the Australian mails, viz., on the 2nd June, shall proceed through to Colon, only stopping at one intermediate port to disperse the mails for the West India Islands. The establishment of a lino of lai'ge first-class mail steamers between the Isthmus of Panama and this country has been long required, and the announcement of its being so speedily commenced will be received with great satisfaction, not only by those interested in New Zealaud and the Australian colonies, but by all connected with the countries tho other side of the Isthmus of Panama. The General Assembly, as our readers are aware, meets to-morrow at Wellington. We believe that all the members of the Hous^ of Representatives will be prosent, with the exception of the members for Taranaki, who were- unable to come on by the Wellington, in consequence of the state of the weather, aud of the member for the Bay of Islands, Mr. Carleton, who is suffering from illness. No changes of any importance have taken place in the constitution of the House of Representatives? since last session, if we except the addition "of Messrs Fox and Rollestou, who have replaced Messrs Watt and Reeves. Mr Rolleston will probably vote as an independent member, and the Lyttelton Times says that he is certainly not an ardent supporter of the Stafford Ministry. The Wellington Correspondent of the Otago Daily Times gives the following amusing story : — Having alluded incideutally to tho Pokaikai Commission, I may mentiou that when the Commissioners went up, Colonel M'Donnell had provided a tent for their reception, and was disposed to treat thorn as courteously as under tho circumstances he well could. He did not know any of them, except Mr Cracroft Wilson, by sight, having seeu him somewhere some mouths before. He welcomed him in the customary form, * How do you do, Mr Wilson ?' a shake of the hands following. The next he was told was Colonel Cargill. ' Oh, how do you do, Colonel Cargil! ?' followed by a shake of hands also. That was enough, the third he knew must be Mr George Graham, so on him he turned his back, and became deep in conversation with Mr Wilson. ' How do you do, Colonel M'Donnell ?' was heard from Mr Graham, and unanswered ; and when ifc was repeated, the hand being at the same time held forth for the ordinary friendly shake, Colonel M'Donnell turned sharp round, exclaiming, 'I'm surprised, sir, you should want to shake hands with a demon in human shape.' They both, however, got better friends afterwards, Mr Graham having explained that it was your Mr Macandrew, and not himself, who had made use of that very strong expression. The Southland News, remarking upon the abstract of meteorological observations recorded in the General Govefnmeut Gazette of the 2ud June, for February, 1868, says: — This abstract is remarkable for three reasons. The first being that only one month's observations are comprised; the second, that the colony should have had to wait until June for their publication. There is a third reason — the thorough uselessness for any practical purpose, of weather tables .dealing with so short a time as a month, or even a year. Certainly, as Southlanders, we ought not to complain of Dr Hector's 'Abstract/. for according to it, this province has the driest climate of any colony. Verily we never were told before that Southland possessed the driest climate of any of the provinces. An interesting ceremony was performed lately, at the Wesley an Church, Castleraaine, Victoria. Six Chinese were baptised by the Rev. E. King, the new cou-

verfcs to Christianity going through the service with becoming solemnity. The church was densely crowded, and before the performance of the ceremony the rev. gentleman delivered an eloquent sermon. Mr Etchells read the 'experiences' of the several caudidates, aud Mr LeoDg Tong, Chinese missionary, acted as interpreter. A man narued George Allen, who has become notorious for his libellous productions in a newspaper at Kapunda, South Australia, latterly in a newspaper in Adelaide, in the same colony, entitled the Satirist, appears at last to have got his deserts. An Australian telegram states that thi3 iudividual has been iiued 100?. and sentenced to one year's imprisonment for a libel upon Mr Cherry, official assignee in insolvent estates in Adelaide, and traffic manager of the South Australian railways. The Australasian, referring to the proposal to introduce Provincial Governments into Queensland, says : — The absorbing topic of interest among our neighbors of Queensland is the proposed introduction of local government through the system of provincial councils. Messrs. Archer and Fitzgerald have brought into the Assembly a bill (based chiefly upon the New Zealand Constitution Act in so far as it details with that subject) which proposes to give a council to Brisbane, Bowen, Maryborough, Cleveland, Rockhampton, and Carpentaria, each with its Gazette and Executive, composed of warden, secretary, treasurer, and solicitor, and having powers of raising and expending money on local works. This power has, in the case of New Zealand, been greatly abused, and there is some apprehension of a like result felt in Queensland. But the necessity for local beards of some kind for directing the expenditure of government grants is on all hands admitted. The Peak Downs Telegram seems to thrive under difficulties, and having only produced half a a sheet on the 7th ulfc., explains the occurrence as follows : — ■ 'There are — to our knowledge — but three printers i r J the district. One of these is prostrate with fever, another is almost blind with sandy blight, and the third is nt his post — editor, compositor, pressman, and wo know not what besides. We have telegraphed for aid, and in ,the meantime must do the best we can, and crave the indulgence of our supporters. Conducting a newspaper in the remote bush, in a tropical climate, is not child's play, especially when the ' devil ' gets sick and fails to become a saint.' Some of the stories lately related by Tur, the survivor of the ili-fated General Grant, lost in a cave at the Auckland Islands "some time ago, are of a most dreadful kind. One is particularly horrible and apparently impossible. He says that one of the survivors of the wreck had his wife and children on board, and that he left them on the poop crying to him. for God's sake to save them, in order to secure safety for himself. More horrible to relate still, he is said to have plucked from his wife's breast a gold brooch she wore just before he threw her from his knees, to which she had been clinging for succor in the hour of direst need.