LATEST TELEGRAMS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 276, 21 November 1868, Page 2

LATEST TELEGRAMS.

London; Oct. 9. Rumors are current in Paris and Madrid that the Island of Cuba has proclaimed its independence of the Spanish. Governs ment. The Junta intend to bring in a bill in the next session of the Cortes, abolishing slavery within 10 years, by gradual emancipation^ throughout the Spanish colonies. Intelligence has been received of the loss of the Panama Railroad Company's steamer ParkersburgL, off Tiger Island* The passengers, mails, and nearly all the cargo saved. William Parker, the Superintendent of the Panama Railroad, was shot with a revolver, as he Sat in his office on the morning of the 24th September, by James L. Baldwin, the acting engineer, whOj after firing two shots at Parker, fired at his own head. Parker died in half-an* hour, and Baldwin was expected to die in two days' time. SHIPPING. (Corrected to Sept. 30.) Loading at London — For Auckland} Maori and Percy; for Canterbury, Lady Jocelyn, Mermaid, and Mataoka; for Napier, William Cargill and Malay; for Otago, Lady Egidia, Celasno, and Warrior 0 Queen; for Wellington, Leiehhardt an d Cambodia. At Liverpool — For Nelson^ Alliance; for New Zealand, Phineas Pendleton. At Glasgow — For Port Chalmers, City of Duneduu WOOL SALES. The Home News says that at the August sales the price of wool had declined 2d, 3d, and 4d per lb. on the lowest price ob* tamed at the May-June sales. The sales commenced on the 13th of August and terminated on the 25th of September The arrivals comprise 58,583 bales from Syd* ney, 64,003 from Victoria, 8855 from Tas-> mania, 50,960 from New Zealand, 11,864 from South Australia, 480 from Swan River, 386 from Cape of Good Hope—; making a total of 226,117 bales, of which however 208,223 bales only have been catalogued, leaving 17,904 bales for future sales. i In addition to these, 23,600 bales have been withdrawn from time to time during the course of the sales, of which it is estimated that about 17,600 bales still remain in first hands. New Zealand and Australian securities have again beea well supported. New South Wales Government 5 per cents. 1871 to 1876, 100 to 101 j January [md July, 99 to 100. Ditto 5 per* cents. 1888 to 1896, January to July 98£ to 99|. New Zealand 5 per cents. 97| to 98 j; ditto 6 per cents. 1891, March and September 109 to 111 ; ditto, 6 per cents* 1891, June and December, 109 to 111.

The Airedale was to leave Wellington fet 2 p.m. to-day for Picton and this {port, With the Panama Mail, and may therefore be expected to arrive here some time to-morrow afternoon.

A Wellington telegram states that Mr Stafford was yesterday elected member for Timaru.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Board of Works took place yesterday 'evening at the Office. All the members were present. The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, Mr Percy called the attention of the Board to the fact that horsemen and carters were constantly in the practice of "crossing the corners of the various causeways of the city, and Mr Webb proposed 'that the Secretary should again write to the Resident Magistrate, requesting him to direct the attention of fche Police to the matter under discussion, which was carried. A letter \\ras read from MrJ. Sigley, requesting that the lamp at Mr Barnes' corner in Trafalgar-street, (the use of whrch will be rendered superfluous by the erection of the lamp on the new pedestal at the junction of Trafalgar and Bridge Streets), may be erected on the culvert bridge at the corner of Gloucester and St. Yinoent Streets, and 'offering to erect it, supply it with oil and light it for a year at his own expense. Mr Sigley's offer was accepted by the Board. ■Letters were read from the Mr C. W. Pasley and Mr C. Frank, calling the "attention of the Board to a nuisance on Messrs Hooper and Dodson's premises in Hardystreet, and the Inspector of Nuisances Was instructed to see that the nuisance was abated. An application from Mr Grilbertson, asking 'for permisssion to construct a drain from his premises to the Maitai, was negatived, the Board expressing its repug'aance to make the river a receptacle for sewage. Several accounts were passed, and the Board adjourned until Friday the 4th of •December.

Dr Giles, £h6 Resident Magistrate at Weßtport, has declined to comply with the request contained in a requisition presented to him by some of the residents of that township, asking him to convene a public •meeting for the .purpose of urging upon the ■{government the adoption of some active measures with regard to the native disturbances in the -North Island. Dr Giles explains that although his sympathies are Tully with the object of the meeting, he feels it inconsistent with his official position to take any part in urging any policy on the Goverment or in finding fault with ! the expenditure of the public revenue. The meeting was however convened "by advertisement, and took place on Tuesday evening at the Empire Hotel, when resolutions similar to those passed at the Nelson •meeting were carried.

The body of Henry Fry, Ifcte publican in Westport, and who was supposed to have 'fallen overboard the John Perm, on which vessel he was cook, has been washed -ashore in the Wanganui river. The Westport Times of Thursday last 'has the following; — Mohikinui, celebrated for its whirlwinds and its floods, has had another visitation in the shape of a hailstorm. It occurred on Monday, and had the effect of not only surprising tlie few ■inhabitants who are left there to witness the natural phenomena of the district, but did them a serious .personal grievance by demolishing every cabbage-stock, onion, or other delicacy, whose growth they had for months been observing in their carefully cultivated gardens. The cause 6f this wholesale destruction of the vegetable diet of the population of Mokihinui will be best understood when we state— what we - believe to be the fact — that the majority of the hailstones were as large as eggs, and presented by no means such a smooth surface. The windows in Mokihinui in which glass is the material ÜBed, have not lately been very numerous, and fortunately no damage in that particular, or in the penetration of iron roofs, as- is said to happen in some wonderful parts of • the world, resulted from the storm.

The Rev. Dr Badham, Principal of the Sydney University, has issued am invitation ; 6r rather a circular, which has been published in several of the newspapers in New South Wales, and which has called forth comments of various kinds. In this letter lie states his belief that there are many hard workers for their bread in the colony who desire to bestow their scanty leisure upon the acquisition of knowledge. Not a few of these would gladly master the French or Latin languages, if they had .^anyone to guide and help them over their

difficulties. To all such Dr Badham, in the true spirit of a literary philanthropist, offers himself as a private tutor. The scheme by which he hopes to render himself ÜBeful to them is this: — Each student is to translate from either a French or Latin book as much as he csd, and every qunrter send in his work by post; the Professor promises to look it over, and return it with all needful corrections and observations. In fact any individual in the colony (we do not know whether the offer extends to the other Australasian colonies) who wishes to learn Latin or French, and cannot avail himself of the assistance of a teacher, is invited to procure a book of exercises in this or that language, or even in both, work as hard as he can, and at the end of three months send by coach, train, or steamer (postpaid of course) the result of his labor to the generous scholar, whose capacious heart is opened to receive the confidence of all these grammatical failings, and correct them. It the would-be scholars of the colony do not pour declensions and conjugations to be revised by cartloads at Dr Badham'sdoor, it certainly is no fault of his-; but it must be owned that there is something so ludicrously Quixotic in the idea of teaching by quarterly lessons through the post, that, even in these sensational days, it is hard to realise the idea that such a proposition could have emanated from a man of such high powers and experience as Dr Badham is admitted to possess.