The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1868.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume III, Issue 293, 11 December 1868, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1868.

LATEST FROM THE FRONT. The Lord Ashley, which arrived to-day from Wellington, briugs litf.le news of any importance from the Fronton either coast. ~Ou Friday last two Maoris came into 'Woodall's redoubt with a flag of. truce -audan autograph letter from Tito Kowaru to Col. Whitmore, solemly warning the Europeans to leave Wanganui. These .two Maoris were taken prisoners, and sent to Waugaoui. Ou the person of one was found a gold Albert guard, which has beeu identified as Lieutenant Hastings' property, also a silver watch with the name of another of those (hat were left behind at Te Ngutu-o-te-JMauu. On Saturday Woodairs redoubt and blockhouse were abandoued by the Armed "Constabulary, and headquarters removed to Westmere. Public indignation was so aroused at this, the more so, as -by this retrograde movement the Wanganui Militia were left unsupported at Stewarts' — 10 - miles out from town, It was in consequence of the letter received from Tito Kowaru that it was determined to surround that part of Wangauui which lies between the. two stockades by a ditch and bank wall of the strongest description. For this work every man in the town was to ■be pressed, and the work commenced on Monday morning. It was believed that some attempt would ba made on the town on the expiry of^ the usual three days of 'Maori warning;,, x Colonel M'Donnell, with upwards of '300 knpapa?,- have started to act against the rebels. On Friday they were seen at the extremity of th 6 Brunswitk live, since then' he has not been heard of, but it is to be hoped n gooa* report may * soon ibe forthcoming. Telegrams from the East Coast, under date of the Bth, from Mr. D. Maclean, state the. ascertained number of the Hauhaus killed in the last attack on the euemy's position as 70, the loss ou outside being 10 killed, and 20 wounded." Te-Kooti and bis party were still in cou•siderable strength and retreating, making rifle pits as they went towards Puketapu? We understand that .a requisition which has already received upwards of 130 signatures, has been in course of circulation during the morning, requesting Mr N. Edwards to allow himself to be put in nomination as a candidate for the seat in the Hoxise of Representatives, rendered vacant by .;'HiSSltaflß)rd f 6 J resignation. Wq are infortned that jVJfr Ed yards has signified his readrnjass toooinply with th,e prayer of the

His Honor the Superintendent of Wellington waited on bis Exct'lltMiey the Governor on Wednesday last to present a petition, immerously signed, from the inhabitants of Wellington, "asking that Ins Excellency would immediately request from the Governors of the Australian Colonies the Imperial troops statiqned there. His Excellency, although inclined to accede to this reqaest, could bob do so without the consent of his responsible advisers. The Ministry, after a lung deliberation, anuounced th'ffr they did not * feei justified in advising Ins, Excellency to adopt the course suggested. V .>. .. The firiug of the City Volunteer"Artillery Company for the Provincial Government Prizes commenced at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon at the City Butts, Murphy -street. The following are the scores made by the various competitors: — Corporal J. Smith -46, Gunner Dobb 38, Gunu.er Adams 33, Gunner Snook SO, Lieut. M'Cahe 28, Gunner Taylor 26, Serjeant G. Hodgson 26, Gunner C. Bird 25, Captain Pitt 21, Guuner Lane 21, Bugler R, Bird 19, "Corporal Lloyd 17, and Gunner Muncaster 14. The prize rifles . therefore fell to the lot of Messrs^ Sraifrhv'Dohb, and Actums, "'Messrs Burnett and Connai, who scored 46 and 35 respectively, beiug, like runny of the other Volunteer companies, excluded from the competition by the fact that they had won the prizes at previous competitions. . The weather on the two days on which the adult companies' have fired has been very unpropitious. On Tuesday the wind biew in strong gusts, and yesterday the rain fell heavily just previous to the. firiug at the longest range — 500 yds. — which "uot only operated very unfavorably on the comfort and convenience of the shooters, but also had the effect -of converting the whitewashed face of -the target into one uri'lefinable mass of black. These circumstances, with others to which we have already alluded, doubtless combined to render tbe shooting of the various companies by no means of the average quality. We may remark that Corporal Smith's score — 46 out of a possible 60— is the highest which has yet been made during the present trial of skill between- the compnurvs. The Cadet Companies took- their turn at. the targets today, and commenced firing at 10 o'clock this morning for v the twu prizes allotted to them for competition, -which were won by Sergeant W. Adams and Corporal Hugh Gully," who scored 42 and 41 respectively. The return of the Lady Barkly yesterday evening from Collingvvood with ttliout 15 miners, principally from the West Coast, has given rise to the impression that the newly discovered grouud on the left branch of the Aorere River, beneath Mount Snowdeb, had 'proved "to be what is known iv mining phrase as a ' duffer.' This however is not the case;. the minerswho visited the new rush found that the means of access to it were very "difficult, more especially for the -conveyance of stores and provisions, and this, together with a continuance of wet weather which swelled the rivers, covering the bars, and preventing work, disgusted them with their prospects at Colliugwood, and they returned to Nelson. It is admitted that numerous samples of bright heavy gold, apparently drift gold, have been found on the bars of the river, though upne has, as yet, been discovered on the terraces. The claims held by the prospectors, Yankee Dave and his party, and by Jansen, on the Burgoo Creek, yield half a pennyweight to the dish, and a general impressiou prevails amougst the niijiing community who have visited the. new rush that some good gold may be found in the gorge, at the head of the river, but at present the difficulties to be surmounted in obtaining ~ access to- it are very considerable. Probably the making of a walking track from the port for about 50 miles up the country, would very materially facilitate the . satisfactory prospecting of the ground. Meanwhile the miners who have so incontestibly proved their faith in the auriferous qualities of the Collingwood district by remaining proof against the allurements of other El Dorados, are quietly on, prospectors are push on into the upper couutry, on (3-oulaud's Downs, which is strongly believed to be gold-bearing, aud yre fully anticipate that before the summer is over, news will reach us from over the Bay of a highly satisfactory character. We observe from the report of the proceedings of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, held on tbe 27th ult, that on the application of

the Rev P. Galde£ the Assembly authorised i he" Revs P. Cahler, Wm Shirriffs, A..C. Soutnr to constitute a presbytery, to be called the Presbytery of Nelson, to meet for the first time in Nelson iv Jauuary next. It will be seeu from an advertisement in another column that the examination of the pupils attending the Town Schools takes place oil Monday, "Tuesday, and Wednesday next. The following gentlemen h&ye been requested to act as examinerfhoOH the occasion, the .Rev.- P. Calder,^ Dr. Greenwood, cud Messrs. Mackay and Lee, and liaye, we believe, respectively signified their acquiescence iv the. proposal. We must crave our-read-ers' indulgence if we remind them that a strange and very discreditable- state of apathy prevails in this .community with reference to all. that concerns these schools, which is all the move unaccountable when we - remember how very important an influence such institutions must exercise on the mind and bearing of the rising generation. In other places the viva voce- examinations periodically made in educational institutions are regarded with vivid and most natural interest; the parents and friends of the x pupils muster in large numbers to be present at the ordeal to which- the young people are subjected, and the event ami its results excite the most, lively eouceru in the community. This is as it should be, and, in fact, it can hardly be expected that, without some occasional stimulant, the energies either of teacher or of pupil can be efficiently sustained. In Nelson, 'unfortunately, the interest evinced by the public generally in these events is very' slight indeed, those present at the examinations being almost iv variably confined to the examiners, the children under examination, and some of the members of the, Local Board. We trust that the. approaching examiualions will show us that this very unhealthy slate of things is at an end, and that a large^ assemblage of persons concerned, whether directly or indirectly, ill the ciuse of education, will be present at the various schools mentioned in. the advertisement to which we have alluded, aud, by thus taking part io the proceedings, evince their interest in the welfare of such institutions generally. We may add that his Honor the Superintendent has kindly promised to present the prizes to the successful pupils at the Provincial Hall, on Thursday afternoon. We copy the following paragraph, as showing wiiat the British public think of us, from an English paper recently received: — Carpentaria is where? The malice of one who has to remain in London in this season avenges itself on his seaside friends by the question. Where is Carpentaria? You have not got your atlas nor Mr Charles Kuighi's cyclopaadia, and you are helpless. No; don't ask the children, who are home for the holidays ; that is mean and uukiud. I did not think of your doing that, or I wbulU at once have said that Carpentaria is in the north of Australia. The colonists there are not like those of New Zealaud, who want the British taxpayer to be their policeman. The- savages committed certain outrages, on which the native police, under a white officer, sallied forth and made so tremeudo'us an example iv the way of shootiug, that though 'everybody iv the colony is delighted,' we at home should be rather glad to be sure (which the story does not quite make us) that the vengear-ce fell not only heavily but in the right place. During the recent voyage of the schooner Scillonian from Kaipara to this port, the seamen caught an albatross of unusually large size, the wings, when extended, measuring 14 feet between the tips. The bird which -is alive and_ thriving, may be seen oh board the vessel. The Ritualists have been * respectably' mobbed in Loudon for denouncing the mamtnon-worsWp of Lombard-street, aud even ladies were grossly insulted in the heart of the city of London. In Lancashire the harvest festivals have been celebrated by the followiug 'offerings being taken to the priest at the altar for presentation :' — A pig's head decked out with flowers, corn, and berries ; a large pat of butter stamped with a lamb; a loaf of bread with A. M. x D. Gr. on the crust; two smaller pats of butter; several white and blue candles for use on the altar; richly ornamented white' silk chasuble, stole, and maniple; a loaf of bread stamped -with a cross; another loaf of bread; a bouquet of flowers; a special offering in money; and „ 12 fresh eggs in moss baskets. — In the church of All Saints, Lambetb, the nativity

of the Virgin Mary was celebrated with , solemn pomp; the service was concluded by the singing of the hymn to the 'jQueea of Heaven.' Whitfield's Tabernacle,- Moorfields, is being rebuilt, at a cost of about £7000, the freehold site having been grunted by. the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The Tabernacle was originally erected iv 17-tO.