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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 192, 15 August 1871, Page 2

Mr. Anthony Trollope, the celebrated novelist,, is now ;on a visit to Mel^ bourne. Still They Come I — The barque Noora Brabaunt arrived at Port Chalmers yesterday from; Hong Kong with 332 more Chinese. i Te Kooti Again ! t— A telegram in this morning's: Colonist says : — Mt. Preece exchanged shots, with Te Kooti on the 9th inst. ' Next day, on fpllpwing Jhis tracks, he found a letter from Te Kooti to the Government, in which he desires to be left unmolested, and to be allowed to live and plant bis ground. [A . Tery nice request this, ' 'from a murderer and cannibal of the blackest hue. Will a paternal Government grant his request !] " The Jury System. — It appears that it is not alone in Nelson that jurors are put to unnecessary inconvenience. The Australasian of August 5, says : — " That an-

cient and excellent institution, trial by jury, bulwark of our liberties, &c, is sometimes a little hard on jurors. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that tho sheriffs part of the business might bo done with less inconvenience to the public. One day this week some 50 jurors were summoned to attend in the Supreme Court. Some of them came from long distances at great personal inconvenience. The Court was opened. The cards in the box were solemnly shuffled by the associate. The jurors' names were called over in order to catch and fine some unlucky absentee. A score or co were solemnly sworu, and the jurors were then gravely informed that they were all dismissed for the day. Now, might not the ceremonial have been dispensed with by a notice iv the morning journals that jurymen need not attend, as there was no work for them to do ? " Taranaki, if a small, and to visitors a dull place, manages to enjoy itself in a genial, wholesome fashion. A correspondent, writing on the subject of the amusements of the settlers, says : — " They are few, it is true — reading, gardening, and talking politics. The people are great politicians here, and a large number, for the size of the place, actually subscribe for and read the Hansard through every session. There is a Philharmonic Society, which occupies the musical portion of the community, but the more agreeable amusement is to be found in the social intercourse that is carried on in this community ; little parties of frieuds meet together — music, a rubber at whist, supper, and home. No formality — everything resembles old England years as;o. Then, in summer, there are pic-nic parties. Who will not say that an exhilarating ride with a number of joyous girls to the place of meeting in some picturesque spot, and the happy time spent during the day, is more enjoyable than what has to be encountered in fast life to be found in the city ? True hospitality is to be found irom tbe settler in this province. Let a stranger come on a visit to a friend here, and he is treated in the same hospitable manner that was a common practice in the colonies before the goldfields were discovered, but which ceases to exist in most places at the present day. The place may be many years behind the age — it may be ' slow ' — it may be dull — but a person, if he wish a fine climate, homely, domestic pleasures, and an easy and quiet life, could not fix upon a better spot to live in than Taranaki." There is a good deal of what Artemus Ward called " Sarkasum " in the following, from the Otago Paily Times of the 31st ultimo : — "A goose sat on the Bench at the Mayor's Court on Saturday. In saying so, we have no desire to reflect upon the judicial acumen of his Worship the Mayor, or any of the worthy Justices who preside at that hall of justice — far be it from us to do, so ; we simple record an unvarnished fact. To make our meaning more clear : one of these historic birds, while flying across Maclaggan street on Sunday afternoon, brought its career to an unexpected close by entering the Mayor's Court head first, through tho front window, causing what our American cousins would call ' an almighty smash.' Fortunately the Court was not sitting at the time, otherwise the luckless goose might have fared badly for its contempt of magisterial authority. Collecting its thoughts, however, the noble bird sought for itself a resting place. Avoiding the comfortless, uncarpeted passages, the seats redolent of the 'great unwashed,' the dock, tbe witness-box, the table at which our forensic notables sit, or the box in which the reporters are confined, it went straight to head-quarters, and settled on the Bench. Its reign, however, was a brief one, and in a short time the unhappy creature had expiated its guilt by undergoing the last penalty of the law. We hear that the owner demurs to paying for the pane of glass on the ground that he did not give the goose instructions to enter the Mayor's Court through the window." A letter received by a correspondent of the Northern Argus, from a member of tbe construction party of the central portion of the overland telegraph, dated June 16, says : — " AU the cattle and horses, which are daily working, look as fresh as colts, and are in good condition — many of them very fat, which is a proof of the suitable nature of the feed in the country in which their stations might be. A flock of sheep has also passed through the country, and is stationed at the second depot, for breeding and present use. They are in good condition, and look well, considering that this is not a sheep country, being more fit for cattle There have been no signs of drought seen as yet." Some of the party had heard of some native remains; and went to 'the place to investigate. "On arriving at the spot, to their astonishment they. discovered that they had stepped into a native burial ground, with no less than sixty-two graves/taking a-sptead of- about one acre, beautifully situated upon a piece of ground

rising some fifty or sixty feet above the bed of the Fii.k<\ with a splendid view all round. Trent-lies had l*en cut iv and around the -.'raves, leading iuto a large dam six feet deep, with a layer of sand on the bottom, which had lately been carefully levelled, and edged around the top with stones which had been laid in to form a border through and around the graves. In fact, the whole of the burial-ground had apparently but a short time since been cleanly swept out, and everything replaced which might by accident have been misplaced."

"The Great Woman Question' (according to the Pall Mall Budget) "is causing as much trouble in America as in England. The Nation sayß it acquires additional complexity every mouth, anrl the increaning difficulty of dealing with it will, it is to be feared, cause many men to give in their adhesion to the sentiments of that * noble old Roman,' Metellus Macedonicus, who, haranguing tbe Senate, exhorted his colleagues to bear with tbeir wives ' manfully ' as they could not ' get rid of the infliction,' aud 'it was tbeir duty to look more to the permanent conservation of the State than to their own transient satisfaction.' The world is vexing itself almost to distractiou over ■woman's health, woman's education, woman's rights, woman's work, aud now the news that Englishwomen of the better class are iv the habit of drinking has spread to the United Slates, and the Tribune states that the assertion is 'too true 'of American women also. The female upper classes are, it appears, all going astray in the matter of stimulants. Some take opium, others champazne, others fancy drinks. Deaths from delirium tremens 'have occurred this winter among young, generous, and lovable girls* '^ and there are ever so many female lunatics in asylums brought there by alcoholism. The Natioji hopes aud believes there is some little exageration in these statements, nnd points out that the practice of of suppressing the uames of the ladies who thus misconduct themselves isf unfair on their innocent sisters as, it leaves all 'generous and lovable girls' under the shadow of an awful suspicion. On the other hand, it admits tbat the writer in the Tribune has apparently had a horrible social experience, for he talks of ' the belle of the ball-room whirling half naked in an immodest dance ; her face unnaturally red, and the smell of liquor on her breath — pah ! " The Nation thinks that ' pah ' is a very mild form of condemnation of such a spectacle. Had it seen any lady behaving in that way it would have censured her more severely."

that it was the last act — and Pandemonium has broken loose in the finest city of creation. The accounts each day became more and more shocking, until the force of imagination could no further go. It seemed like a bad dream, that Paris, which we all know so well, and where we have passed so many happy hours, should be in flumes; her streets flowing with blood; her palaces the pride of history, reduced to ashes; her squares choked up with dead bodies. This was the end of tbat folly and infatuation shown by the Government in running away at the beginning, when a firm attitude might have saved everything; and now, in addition to the indemnity and tbe expenses of the war, it is impossible to calculate. the amount that will have to be spent ere the city will have put her ruins to rights. As to her treasures which she has lost, nothing can bring them back again, and future generations will only know Paris shorn of her old greatness. However, the Commune is smashed for the present, bnt ugly questions remain. What is to be done next ? Is it to be fish, fowl, or red herring — King, Emperor, or Republic ? Nobody seems to know, though the probability is that the Count of Chambord will ere long be saluted as Henry V., and France will again fall into the hands of the Romau Catholic party and the priests. True, anything is better than the Commune; but, as far as I can see, it will be a very long time ere France will have the steadiness, the confidence, and the pushingness which Louis Napoleon contrived to instil. Of course, the moment the gates of Paris were opened the British tourist rushed in determined to be the first to gloat over the fallen Vendome column, the smoking Tuilleries, and, if he was lucky enough, to come upon a batch of prisoners being shot. I think there was something positively horrible and indecent in the haste displayed by some of our countrymen lo gratify their curiosity before the French had buried their dead. It is true that the Parisians are not very sensitive, and were airing their love of spectacle just iv the same way — moreover, they welcomed the Britisher's purse, which has been a rare sight lately — so that, until tbe pestilence breaks out, which it must do with tbis hot weather and the corpses yet unburied, or but thinly buried, there will be a busy traffic between London and Paris. There is an ugly symptom about the Commune which affects us rather unpleasantly, viz., that it is only one of the , branches of tbe International Society which, while it embraces all the world and numbers huudreds of thousauds of members, has its head-quarters in London. In fact, the very source of danger is amongst vs — W e are actually sitting on tbe volcano which may some day burst upon Loudon as fiercely and develiibly as it has done on Paris. It will scarcely be believed that tbe Communist sympathisers not only openly held their meetings^in Holborn, but have the audacity to menace the Government in case the right of refuge for these devils is refused ; and there are actually men — like Professor Beasley, who holds an appointment for the instruction of youth, and Dr. Brydges, who holds one under the Home office — -who dare to be tbe spokesmen in favor of the most cursed villany that ever the world has seen. Of course, with their usnal timidity and fear of giving offence, the authorities are as civil to Communists as to respectable citizens ; so that it is not to be wondered at that the language of these heroes becomes more and more inflated. I remember the day when a very summary punishment would have stopped all such fiery nonsense, and when public opinion showed itself unmistakeably in favor of common sense and right feeling ; but we have no governing men now-a-days, and about as little wholesome public opinion. The French desperadoes are being shipped off to New Caledonia. I shall be very much surprised if Queensland, New South Wales, or "Victoria ever lets one of them put foot on Australian soil without a very emphatic Australian kick back into his own den. Our political career just now is not particularly edifying, almost every measure of importance being either withdrawn or tbe principal points eliminated to please somebody. It is a very different state of things to previous sessions, when the Church and Land Bills had to be considered, and the Ministerial following of the present is a poor contrast to what it was then. "Keep your places, gentlemen," iathe motto, and everything is fluog overboard to carry it out. In the place of the exposures of our rotten army system, in the face of the " Battle of Dorking," which only requires the day to be named when it is coming off, the Army Regulation Bill haa, after.weeks of talking, carefully had everything of the least value withdrawn, while the only part of it' left is the; abolition of purchase. At the end of this session, which ia drawing very nigh, we shall not be one whit better.prepared to meet an enemy, nor have we a single mai* who knows how to remedy the

evil. Of course, all Mr. Bruce's measures have failed without exc?ption, and tbe floor of the House is paved with his good intentions. Unfortunately, good intentions are not the material (o save a country with. And now let us shut our eyes to impending misfortune, and enjoy life while we can, although even this is a difficulty, seeing that we have scarcely seen the sun for a fortnight, and have heen execrntiug the fast wind with its leadencolored skies and its plagues of blight. Never whs such unseasonable weather known, and it has considerably affected the success of tbe Loudon season. But for all that, town i 3 exceeJingly full, and what with French refugees and American tourists, it is a matter of difficulty to find lotigings. The Derby was excessively crowded and very disagreeable, as it has taken to be of late years ; and, as a race, neither it nor the Oaks were worth seeing, for Favonius and Hannah respectively were foregone conclusions. Ascot was better, had it not been like sitting out a race at the North Pole. The Oxford commemoratioa has been a failure, being more empty of attendance thin ever known, and the uuderj-raduates in the theatre behaving like a parcel of young Tomnoddies. In fact, so bearish and noisy were they, that a change will probahly be made in the arrangements, and only those admitted who promise to be good boys. The degree of D.C.L. was conferred on Dr. Dollinger, of Munich, a very proper compliment on the part of the University. It is si* gular that, notwithstanding that everybody is complaining, there are fewer people dying than usual. Iv fact, with the exception of Sir John Rolf, one of our steadiest and most painstaking judges, Lord Elibank, aud Sir Jos. Causton, aldermau and stationer of the city of Loudon, no one of any note has given up the ghost. There are a good many personalities being daily interchanged between the Solicitor-General and Sir Roger Tichborne, or, perhaps we should say, the claimant. This most extraordinary trial is still dragging its length along, and, as far as we can see, the end of it will probably bs in the autumn. Betting is high on the result, but the general impression seems to be that Sir Roger is not Sir Roger, but Arthur Orion, the butcher. To be badgered by a Solicitor-General every day for a month is certainly not the most lively amusement in the world, but some of the claimant's blunders are almost too barefaced. One thing is very pateut, and that is that a fearful sum of money is being spent on the trial, advanced, it is said, on spec, by the Jews ; and another thing is, that if Sir Roger be Sir Roger, he will uot be much ornament to his cloth. However, we must uot be ungracious, for at present he is the sole topic of interest that is left us now that the Paris fire is put out.

When it was asked a New Zealand chief why he refused to become a Christian, he stretched out three fingers, and said, "I have come to a crossroad, anil I see three ways — the English, the Wesleyao, and the Roman ; I ara sitting down and debating which roud I shall take." Here is a chance for the literary and debating circles. Mr. Robinson is to move in the County Council — " That a sum of £50 be placed upon the Estimates, the siime to be offered as a premium for the best Essay upon the county of Westland, comprising the following subjects : — Yield of gold, customs dutie?, population, climate and temperature, mineral resources, leading natural features, including altitudes of mountains, altitude of lakes, and extension of same, political epitome, description of forest woods, wildfowl, fish in rivers and ou coast, statistics of health, and current rates of wages, and necessaries of life in the various centres of population." In a little hamlet, in Normandy, a peasant announced to a farmer the unwelcome arrival in a neighboring village of at leaet a hundred Uhlans, who were, according to their wont, making a clean sweep of all that took their fancy in the yards. " And, of course your farm, which is almost the best in these parts, won't be forgotten." The farmer thought he would profit by the warning, and immediately prepared to place his cattle iv safety. He called his wife and daughters ; all went to work with a will. Old quilts, t old petticoats, all torn and tattered, were thrown over the backs of the aninials right up to their horns, their feet were bound up in straw, as were their heads; calves, sheep, and goats were submitted to the same toilet; bottles of medicine, and trusses of straw all gave their silent testimony; a, trough was filled with water, apd. in the middle, like a gigantic mast, was placed a magnificent syringe. Up come the . Prussians. At the door of the stable they stand , stupified. , ; They <can't, conceive what on earth the master of the bouse can have been doing with' the monster squirt;

and still less cau tbey make out tbe muffling of his patients. "Maladie? maladie ?" asked the least dazed of the troop. "The plague; that's all." At these words, which must have recalled to tbe Prussians the ravages so often caused by the terrible disuse in their own country, they coucluded tbeir visit somewhat abruptly —in fact, skedaddled — leaving the ready farmer to chuckle over his stratagem.