BIRTH. The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1870.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 138, 6 August 1870, Page 2

BIRTH.

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1870.

Webley.—August 4, Mrs. Wm. Webley of a daughter.

, The Otago Robbery. — Our readers will see by advertisement in another column, that the reward for the capture of tbe offenders in the matter of the Clyde extensive gold and bank note robbery, has been increased from £500 to £1,500. S.s. Gothenburg. — We are requested to call attention to an alteration of the time of the sailing of the Gothenburg, which is now fixed for Monday next, at 6 p.m., instead of Tuesday, as previously advertised. Doran's Reef. — About 2 cwt. of stone from this reef was crushed yesterday in the berdan at Mr. Gorrie's, and yielded at the rate of'2ozs to the ton. This is the second Jot from that reef that has been tested, both of them yielding at about the same rate per toD. The Late Fire. — An enquiry into the origin of the late fire in Bridge-street was commenced at the Windsor Castle Hotel, yesterday afternoon, before Dr. Squires, the coroner, and a jury. The evidence of Mr. Shea, the owner of the house, and one or two others having been taken, the inquest was adjourned until Monday. Mr. Fell appeared to watch the proceedings on behalf of the New Zealand Insurance Company with whom the property was insured for £300. Supreme Court. — The civil sittings of this Court commence on Monday next, on which occasion there is but one case set down for trial, namely that of Atwood v Thomas Redwood. The case which arises out of a question of drainage is an important one involving mauy interests. Mr. Conolly and Mr. Pitt appear for the plaintiff, and Messrs Allan, of Wellington, Acton Adams, and Fell for the defendant. Mr. George Cotterell gave another of his highly amusing entertainments last night, when he was again received by an enthusiastic audience. He haa clearly shown uow that he can be eminently successful in the delineation of any character he may attempt to personate, and with a slightly enlarged repertoire we predict for him a splendid success iu the larger sphere in which, we understand, he proposes to turn his brilliant talents to account. A Correction. — We have been requested to correct a mis-statement contained in a paragraph iu this morning's Examiner, headed " Death through a fall," in which ifc is stated that a Mrs. Hopgood, who broke her leg some time since, died from the effects of the accident, whereas, the fact is that the death of the deceased, who was 70 years of age, and had been in the Hospital for three weeks, arose from inflammation of the bowels, and was in no way whatever connected with the fracture. Mr. Francis Harris has presented the Westport Hospital with a series of seven cartoons by Raphael, illustrative of scriptural subjects. Resignation of Mr. Travers. — We notice by our Canterbury files that Mr. Travers has notified, by advertisement, to the electors of the city of Christchurch that on the Ist of August he will place his resignation in the hands of the Speaker of the House. The cause for this action of Mr. Travers' may be found in the following extract from his valedictory address to the electors: — "I am not inclined to occupy any longer a public position which exposes me to such vulgar annoyances, whicb, at least, I shall be saved from by absolute retirement from all future interference in political matters." This is in reference to some unfair strictures of the Lyttelton Times on Mr, Travers' speech on the financial proposals. Dinner to Mr. Harris. — From the Westport Times we learn that a complimentary dinner was given on the 29th July to Mr. Francis Harris, late SubTreasurer for the Nelson South-West Goldfields, on the occasion of his leaving the district. After the usual loyal toasts, the chairman proposed the health of the guest of the evening, and alluded to the universal and well-earned popularity he

enjoyed, his urbanity of disposition, and the conscientious and indefatigable manner in which he had performed the duties entrusted to him by the Government. .Mr. Harris, in replying said that he was given to understand that the Government had some other appointment in view for him, and he hoped that wherever he went he should still continue to retain the good will of those with whom he might be brought in contact. We understand that Mr. Harris will, in all probability, be appointed warden for the Wangapeka and Upper Buller district. Abolition of Provincial Institutions. — The Hon. Colouel Whitmore has given notice that he will move in the Legislative Council : — That the time has now arrived for a radical alteration of the Provincial Institutions of the Colony, and that it is especially desirable to restrict the Legislative funtions of Provincial Councils to the enactments of bye-laws, and the administrative functions of Provincial Governments to matters of a purely local and municipal character. That it is desirable that the Superintendents of Provinces should cease to be Political Officers. That the General Government should introduce an act into both branches of the Legislature, without delay, to give effect to these resolutions. A novel proposal is made by the j Illustrated Midland News', being nothing more nor less than the abolition of the letter H. The arguments adduced in support of this proposal are of the most ingenious character. The Midland Neios says that from the head waters of the St. Lawreuce to the River Plate, and from New York to Omaha, the aspirate is scarcely used ; that the French have tabooed its pronunciation ; that the Spaniards never use it ; that it mastered the Romans ; and that the Cockneys I have virtually confessed that they can make nothing of it. The Midland A'etos says that there is every probability that "We shall, without throwing the H overboard altogether as a member of the alphabet, simply ' let it slide,' as the Americans say, in conver- j sation." The Neivs then goes on to refer to the anomalies in regard to tbe use of the aspirate in the authorised translation of the Bible. Sydney Smith, says the JWeivs, very rarely used the aspirate iu his contributions to the Edinburgh Review ; and his daughter, Lady Holland still allows the " an" to stand. This fact is interesting as showing what people thought of the aspirate in Sydney Smith's day ; and when the prince of diners-out, the wit of Lady Holland's drawing-room and of the Edinburgh JReview, never gave a second thought to the aspirate, either in conversation or j writing, we may be sure that few other people did. A Perilous Voyage. — There was, when the mail left, being fitted up in Liverpool, from which place she wili sail, a small boat, about 20 feet long, called the City of Raguse. The vessel is the property of Captain Pimorez, but she will be sailed by Captain J. C. Buckley, her destination after leaving the Mersey being New York, from whence, should all go well, these adventurous voyagers intend making the return trip. Both gentlemen appear confident that with the course they have planned out for themselves and fair weather 1 they will be able to reach New York, in about 50 days. The City of Riguse is being made as comfortable and as seaworthy as possible. She is covered over her whole length, aud lined inside to the flooring, having a man-hole,or cockpit, amidship. Dowu "below" is fitted up with as much comfort as the limited space would permit of. There is a patent stove for cooking the provisions — there being three month s supplies on board — on the voyage, and also the sleeping place for either skipper when he is not on" watch." The boat is rigged as a yawl, and cau spread about 70 yards of canvas; her tanks are capable of containing 100 gallons of water, but should any accident occur by which it would be necessary to lighten the vessel, a tap can be undone, aud the water, if necessary, allowed to escape. The City of Raguse is fitted up with a two-bladed auxiliary propeller, which can be worked by hand, on the same principle as a ship's pump; in fact, the working of the screw pumps the boat dry at the same time. The screw is not a permanent fixture, for when the wind is fair it can be hoisted out of I the water and thus there will be no drag ' on the vessel. Besides Capts. Pimorez and Buckley — the latter gentleman having received the Royal Humane Society's medals ' for saving life at sea-the only living thing

on board wili be a fine Newfoundland dog. The little City of Raguse has its history. It formerly belonged to the ship Breeze, which foundered in a terrific storm in the Channel. Into this boat fourteen of thecrew of the ship succeeded . in getting,, and, after a gallant struggle against wind and sea, it landed them safe at Ramsay, Isle of Man, and was brought from thence to Liverpool for her present voyage. An Accident occurred at Taranaki last week to a little child, about 18 months old, daughter of Mrs. Robert Greenway. The mother it appears had been washing, and had left a tub of soapy water outside the house whilst she went to hang^ out her clothes. On her return she found to her great horror that the child had fallen head foremost into the tub, and was nearly drowned. The usual remedies were immediately applied and the child is in a fair way of recovery. Tke Dunedin Echo has the following :— c Canvassing in a quiet manner has, we have been' informed, been commenced on behalf of Mr. Vogel for a seat as one of the repr*. smtatives ot Dunedin iu the coming Parliament. We hope, for the credit of Dunedin and the Province, the electors will scout tlie very proposal. Mr. Vogel's conduct has not been such as to make the electors of Dunedin select a gentleman resident in Auckland as their representative. We hope the citizens will be on their guard. An M. H. R. on Juries. — In the discussion which took place in the House of Representatives a few days ago on Mr. Travers' motion in favor of allowing verdicts to be taken from a majority of not less than two thirds of a jury, Mr, Main is reported to have rather astonished the House by informing it that juries, special juries in particular, were, very frequently packed with jurors whose opinions were previously known, and that ifc was done with the connivance of the Sheriffs. This statement was received with loud cries of "Oh ! Oh ! " And in his reply Mr. Travers denied the truth of the assertion, and warmly defended the Sheriffs of the Colony from the imputation made against them. Our Alexandria correspondent informs us that a half-caste who went to Te Kuiti with some £10 worth of goods to sell was stopped, and stripped of his property. While thus acting, according to our correspondent, the King natives are constantly bringing pigs and other articles into our settlements for sale. Our correspondent suggests that it would probably be well to turn the tables upon our Maori neighbors by seizing upon all goods brought over to our side of the aukati. A scarcity even of tobacco pipes, as one amongst many classes of goods for a supply of which the natives are dependent upon us, would soon bring them to their senses. — Southern Cross. The foundation of a New Zealand University is under discussion by the Assembly, In this as in the establishment of many other public institutions on a most liberal scale, Otago, with her large revenue and enterprising population, has taken the lead, and now failing the power of the Assembly to devote a sufficient sum to the foundation of a University elsewhere, asks to be invested with the status of the Colonial University. In another direction, too, efforts are being made to raise the standard of education, the Ministry having suggested to the governing body of the New Zealand Institute the advantage of establishing a course of scientific lectures at Wellington. . His Excellency Sir George Bowen, in his private capacity as President of the Institute, has entered most Cordially into the plan, and promisesthe movement his most hearty support. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 15th July says : — As the mail steamer Geelong was passing Farm Cove, yesterday, the crew of H.M.S. Challenger manned the rigging and gave three cheers for Mrs. Lambert, who is a passenger by the Geelong. Another of the N.Z.S.N. Co.'s boats — the Raugitira — has been disposed of by the liquidators. The purchasers are Mr. Seager aud Mr. Traill, the engineer, and the price is £3000. For remainder of News see Fourth page.