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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 182, 3 August 1871, Page 2

Judging from the evidence adduced in Court ou Tuesday last in the case of the Queen against Harris for indecent assault, the arrangements for the accommodation of steerage passengers on board the steamer Gothenburg, in March last, were not of the most desirable character. That immorality should ' be rife under the circumstances described is not to be wondered at. The steward, we are told, was not only in the habit of entering the womens' cabin whenever he pleased, but he actually occupied a bed in that apartment. It is high time that such a state of things was put a stop to, and we could not but think that the Judge, in commenting upon it, was somewhat too lenient to the owners of the steamer when he remarked that he had no wish to cast any reflections upon thetn for neglecting to provide more suitable accommodation for such of their female passengers as were compelled by their pecuniary circumstances to travel in that part of the ship. - Or it may be that he was of opinion that he; could not express, himself , more strongly jthan < by stating, as he did, that it wa3 quite. clear that the steerage cabin of such , a steamer was no fit place for any female of common decency. The mere .fact of such an assertion being made by a Judge of the Supreme JCpurt'.frorn hia { place' on the Bench is iii itself,' we should thiuk; quite a sufficient "reflection" to induce the' owners 'to take such precautions' 7 aa shall preclude* the^osßibility 'of ally ! su\;h slur, being again-/ cast upon the internal economy of their boats.

Winter Evening Li_cttjres. — The next lecture of the^series will be delivered to-morrow evening by the Rev. P. Calder, who has chosen " Robert^Burns " for his subject. , r - St. Mary' s Girls' School. — We have been requested to call attention to the fact that the erection of the new girls' school has been successfully tendered for by Mr. Joseph Gilbertson, for the sum of £444. Three other tenders were sent in, at the respective sums of £499, £471, and £505. Charles Jackson Goldmining Company. — The Canterbury company have struck their reef at last at a depth of 70 feet, and are driving through it. They intend getting some of the stone tried before they proceed further; the reef is very solid where they have struck it, aud maintained the same dip (an angle of 45°) as appears on the surface. Perseverance Mine. — A correspondent writes us that Mr. T. Adams obtained ,2£oz3 of gold from a dish of quartz about 181bs weight, taken out in the presence of Mr. Burnett from the face of the stopingout, where the men are at present at work. The crushing now in progress it is believed will turn out well. Although the last crushing had some good quartz among it, there was a deal of mixed stone from Nos. 2 and 3 drives, which had to go through iv order to clear the platform and also to keep the machine from stopping work, as the contractors and day-men were unable to get the quartz out quickly enough. Public Holiday. — An Act has been recently passed by the British Parliament establishing four new public holidays in the year, namely, . Easter Monday, Whit Monday, the first Monday in August, and Boxing Day. On the receipt of this intelligence, the clerks in the various offices in Nelson set busily to work to prepare a memorial to the Superintendent requesting that a similar privilege to that enjoyed by their brothers of the pen in England might be accorded to them. The petition, having been taken into consideration by his Honor, he has proclaimed that Monday next, being the first Monday in August, shall be observed as a public holiday, and that the Government offices will ou that day be closed. As an evidence of the severity of the frost up-country, we read in the Oamaru Times that the Otekaike and Marewhenua rivers were frozen over, the ice on the former being so thick that it was crossed by persons on horseback. Sutherland Gold-mining Company. — From the Express of Saturday last we learn that four tons of stone taken from the old tunnel had been crushed last week, and yielded 2ozs. Bdwts. of retorted gold, or a trifle over half-an-ounce to the ton. Insurance. — The New Zealand Herald says : — The recent melancholy accident to George Ritchie, Esq., illustrates the advantages of life insurance. The deceased geutleman, we are informed, about three months ago effected an insurance on his life for £1000 in the Australian Mutual Insurance Company. The Queen of the Thames. — A gentleman who has come overland from the wreck of the Queen of the Thames, near Sfcruys Bay, informs us that everything was getting on : very successfully towards recovering the whole of the cargo, and that sanguine hopes were entertained, besides, of floating the vessel herself off. At the latest dates she was holding well together. There was no indication whatever of her back being broken, as was formerly reported ; nor was there any reef outside of her, over which she would have to be raised, as was also ooce reported. Of course, there is a great deal of water in several of her compartments, and there is a crack or slit in some of her bow plates, but the donkey-engine is at work, and with the powerful pumps available on board, the water in the compartments may easily be worked out. The main object at present is to save as much of the cargo as possible. The enterprising company who purchased the wreck are thus likely to make a very handsome thing of their venture, and they deserve it all. — Cape Argus, April ; 18. • A singular fact is recorded in a Victoriau paper as having been performed a few days ago by an active bushman. He was engaged to a girl who lived at a township a few miles from; the station upon which he resided. One day he received a message that the priest was there, and that if the knot were not tied that day, it might have to be postponed for an indefinite period. He was busy mustering, add could not be Spa_ > cd I for long, so he mounted his steed, and galloped thirty miles, got married, got the mail, had his horse shod, and was back again in a little more than five hours. He certainly could not be said to have wasted any time, either upon the journey or his bride. i In Great Britain, tax is paid on over 11,000,000 dogs. *