The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1870.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 69, 23 March 1870, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 23, 1870.

Mr. Augakde quotes Pioneer shares £5 paid, at £3 10s. Executive Council. — The Gazette, of Saturday last, aunounces the appointment of Mr. Kynuersley aud Mr. Collius, as members oi the Executive Council. The Glassblctwers had a crowded house last night, when some very pretty presents were distributed to the holders of tickets bearing the lucky numbers. To-morrow night two prizes are offered, one for the best, and the other for the worst original conundrum on the glass steam engines. Mr. J. Paul has had a very narrow escape from serious injury at Greymouth. Coming down from the racecourse his horse bolted at the top of the town, and came down Mawhera Quay at a tearing pace. At Boundary-street he jumped the breastwork several feet high, throwing Mr. Paul, v%ho was much cut about the li6ad and hands. The survey party scut from Dunedin to Martin's Bay by the Charles Edward consists of two surveyors, with a proper staff of assistants. It is intended that . they shall stay some mouths, their instructions being not merely to lay out the township, but also to survey the land for some distance up the valley of the Hollyford River. Mr. Gooch, proprietor of the Kaikoura boilirg-dowu establishment, was severely scalded a few days ago, by incautiously raising the lid of the boiler before the steam had been allowed to escape by the valve. Mr. Gooch is injured about the face and arms, aud all over one side . of his body, and is now confined to bed, unable to move, but his injuries though severe, are not accounted dangerous. — News. Accident. — An accident, which fortunately had not a serious termination, occurred on the Port Road, on Monday, to one of Mr. Harley's drays. As it was being driven towards town the horse became restive, aud turning half round commenced jibbing, until he backed the dray over the sea wall ; the boy, who was driving, managed to jump out just in time, aud the horse, though thrown down on his buck, escaped unhurt, the only damage done consisting of a pair of broken shafts. Registration. — We would once more remind our readers that the time allowed by law for registering their claim, to vote expires next week, and those who do not avail themselves of the present opportunity, will not be able to record their vote at the election of members for the House of Representatives, which takes place at the cud of the current year. It will be necessary for those who are at present on die roll, but who may have chauged their qualification since last March, to send in a fresh description of the property for which they churn their vote.

According to the Wauganui papers, there is at preser.t a sort of epidemic among tbe rats. Immense numbers of them are strewed along the beach from the Heads to above the towo, dead. The Chronicle suggests a suicidal propensity on the part of the species. It is reported that there is likely to bo a vacancy for the electoral district of Parnell, Province of Auckland, and that Mr. Gisborue, the present Colonial Secretary, who has been resident in the district, and has property in it, is to be a candidate, and, most likely, will be returned unopposed. Acclimatization. — At a meeting of the Auckland Acclimatization Society a letter was read from Mr. Huddlesfone, enquiring whether Californian Quail could be supplied from that Province The secretary has replied that they have not yet a sufficient number of that bird to justify him in exporting them, but that the Auckland society would be willing to unite with that of Nelson in obtaining a large number direct from California by the new line of steamers, a proposition in which, we understand, Mr. Huddleston J has acquiesced. Quite a sensation was created in town about noon ou St. Patrick's Day, when a procession of miners, over 200 m number, inarched from the Eight-mile, headed by the Greymouth brass baud. Most of the men wore green sashes with white crosses, in honor of the day. A finer, more respectable, and orderly body of men could not be seen anywhere. They entered the town by Tainui-strect, and marched down Mawhera and Richmond Quays, Gresson and Arney-strcets to the Catholic Church, which they soon crowded, many having to remain outside. A special service for them was conducted by the Rev. Father Rolland. — Grey River Argus. Heating of Flax Bales. — Dr. Day writing to the Neio Zealand Herald suggests the following plau for ascertaining the temperature of the interior of a bale of flax: — As it is very desirable to have a ready mode of ascertaining the condition of the centre of a bale of flax as to heat and moisture, this I think may be done by driving iuto the middle of the bale a piece of gun barrel, bevelled off to sharpness, splico fashion, then pass down a small thermometer until its bulb just touches the flax, previously notiug the degree at which it stands; leave it for a moment, and on withdrawal you at once learn the state of the flax both as to heat and moisture by the i rise of the mercury and the dew on the bulb if the bale is heating. A fearful and fatal accident has occurred at Okarito to a man named Alexander Finch, who was engaged in cutting timber at a saw mill, and, while in the act of throwing a slab from off the saw bench, he slipped his foot and fell ou the bench, hi 3 right arm coming in contact with the front of the circular saw, which cut off the limb close to the shoulder. In trying to save himself he placed his left arm against the back of the saw, which cut off that limb also, close to the elbowjoint. This was' all done almost instantaneously, as the saw was making two hundred revolutions per minute. Every attention was paid to the unfortunate man, who died, however, about three hours after the accident. Combustion of Flax. — Messrs. Johnston and Co. of this city recently sent 250 bales of flax to Melbourne for transhipment to England, but were shortly afterwards advised by their Melbourne agents, that the flax was damp and in a dangerous state. The agents asked for instructions as to whether they should open and dry the packages or not. Mr. Charles Johuston went up to Melbourne to see for himself, and having, after examination, failed to detect any heating in the bales, he had several of them opened in the presence of the agents and others interested in the matter, when the conteuts proved dry and cool throughout. What the agents had mistaken for dampness was the green color which the under surface of ftax dried on wires, and not exposed to the sun, as is the case with Mr. PownalPs Manawatu flax, naturally assumes. This greenuess is, however, no sign of either dampness or heat, although people unacquainted with the flax are apt to assume that it is. The result of Mr. Johnston's personal visit was that the flax in question was readily received as cargo at the low freight of £3 per ton. — Wellington Independent.

The Thames. — The Thames correspondent of .the Marlborough Express writes as follows : — " Things are very dull ou the Thames at preseut ; in fact, I see no likelihood of their improving, if at all, until we got rid of our surplus population. There are hundreds walking about doing nothing, almost ou the brink of starvation. Among (he number i 3 oue Blenheim man, who told me, last Saturday, that he had not tasted animal food for the last four days, and I believe him too. I think all the other Blenheim meu are in full employment. The Superintendent has partially alleviated the distress by offering 23. per day, and some have readily accepted ifc, while others would not. They consider it a personal insult to offer it to them. They say they came to dig for gold, and not to work for the Government. All they want is the far-famed Ohinemuvi opened, but I fear they will have to wait n long time before it ia accomplished. Indignation meetings are being held every Saturday, to try and open the country, without success. The old chief, Te Hira, will not consent to his land being opened, for gold-mining purposes. What has partly ruined this iield has been over-spe-culation." Capt. Young of the 18th Royal Irish has furnished Government with fin interesting report of a fort and tower, erected under his superintendence in the Waikato. The following passage is well worth quoting : — "All history, from that of the Romans in Britain downwards, points to a defensive character of warfare as the sure mode of overawing and subduiug barbarous nations. A fort is a sleeping sentrj', ever upon post — a source of confidence and security to all around it. And a system of strong posts is right economy ; for each post, since it permits of a reduction of armed force with safety, is equivalent to the services of ao many men under arms. The commander who neglects to fortify cannot be said to hold a country en permanence ; he moves through it, making no more impression on it than a whale dftes in swimming through the ocean; he neutralizes half his strength by being compelled to make large detachments ; and, when he does want to strike a decisive blow, finds that he cannot with safety coucentrate more than half his force." After thanking his assistants in the work for their hearty co-operation, Captain Youug concludes : — " As an officer of the last regiment of her Majesty's troops eve" likely to unfurl its colours in the Colony, and now quitting its shores for ever, I am bound to express my sincere thanks to your Excellency for having offered to me — and to his Royal Highness the Field Marshal Commati diug"-in-Chief, for having permitted me to accept — a position that has enabled me to show some active sympathy with our fellow-countrymen in New Zealand/ A Gazelle that has for some time been running on the hills near Wellington, has lately been guilty of some serious pranks iv the way of butting small boys and dog?, but the other day he flew at higher game, as is thus reported by the Post : — " Having broken out of his paddock he travelled along the road, and just as he arrived opposite Judge Johnston's house liis Honor was in the act of seeing a lady through his gate, and his gazelleship prepared for instant assault. A boy who was present warned his Honor to retire, or the brute would " rush him." but his Honor scorned the advice. What ! he, whose awful frown ruled the Supreme Court — the bar — jurors, grand and petty — the proviucial police — and terrified recalcitrant witnesses into convulsions — to retire before a soecies of goat ? Perish the thought ! On went the Judge in stately dignity, the majesty of the law beaming from his lofty brow; but his tiny antagonist, utterly vegardless of its terrors and of the direful consequences of creating a vacancy on the judicial- bench, after knocking the lady down, charged him in full fron-t, ripping up not only his clothes but his arm, and sending him sprawling in an ignominous manner on a heap of fetid mud: this accomplished, the sacrilegious quadruped galloped swiftly away." A later : issue states that the Judge, proved to be considerably injured, and was suffering a good deal of pain, having been gored in the arm and thigh. A few days after, the auimal attacked Mr. Oliver Wakefield and inflicted some severe wounds upon him. The authorities have since ordered ifc to be shot.

The Melbourne Telegraph says : — " The flying squadron is being feted at Auckland ; the armed constabulary of Auckland are falling iuto ambuscades at the front. What antithesis can be more pointed than these two items of intelligence flashed to us from Sydney ? " Cattle appear not to be very costly in Otago. The Balclutha correspondent of the Bruce Herald says:— "All the elo quence of a driver fails to procure anything more satisfactory to settlers than the delight of lucky buyers. 'Two pounds ten shillings is all I'm offered for this splendid cow, with a calf at foot, two ten — two ten — two ten. Gentlemen, she's a splendid milker and perfectly quiet, but while she stands at fifty shillings don't go near her heels or she may resent the insult.' Thiri is about the style which delights the ears of stock breeders in this year of grace 1870." In mentioning, yesterday, Jud«e Richmond's now somewhat celebrated charge to the Nelson Grand Jury, we gave the opinions of the Colonist on it without expressing any of our own. A few days a<:o our contemporary, the Independent, in the same strain as the Colonist, devoted an article to its condemnation, principally because the Judge had gone out of his way to animadvert upon a matter not brought judicially before him. But we must not forget that Judge Richmond was once a prominent politician and a member of the Weld and Stafford parties ; and that both the Independent and Colonist are rather apt to carp at everything arising from men who have been or are likely to be connected with the party opposite to that whose interests they are bound to serve. Perhaps this may be the reason why the Judge is attacked for enunciating what he cousideis broad principles of justice ; and it seems rather hard that he should be so attacked, merely because, having no thief or murderer to try, ho recommends the Grand J ur y — «] ie leading men of the settlement — to carefully consider the question between miners and freeholders as one that has, at a recent date, seriously endangered the peace of the Province and the Colony, and might possibly lead to the occurrence of crimes which, happily, do not take place there at present. The Examiner, in a much wiser spirit, takes the Judge's charge as a subject to be deliberately considered, and, by so doing, approves ofbis action iv taking advantage of a notable opportunity for impressing certain important facts on the public mind. The contempt of the law evinced in the effort to resist the survey oi land for intending freeolders on what was alleged to be a gold-field, is the point at ■which Judge Richmond, by his office as guardian of the law, aimed his lucid and interesting remarks. One might almost as well say that Dr, Hector should not lecture on any subject of Natural History, because he is the custodian of the Museum — or that Mr. Fitzherbert should hold his tongue as to our financial relations with the mother country, because he was the chief negociator between vs — as that the principal administrator of the laws of a Province should refrain from mentioning a matter affecting its iuternal pence and order in the highest degree, because it was not brought technically before him in the form of a case in the Court — Post.