The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 224, 21 September 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1871.

Regatta Club.-— A meeting of the members of this club will be held at the Masonic Hotel, this evening, at half-past , seven. . •Nelson Savings Bank. — A meeting of: the trustees will be held at the Institute, to-morrow afternoon, for the purpose of electing a vice-president in the place of the late Mr. Sinclair. Resident Magistrates' Court. — Martha JJaM^rAton, convicted of drunkenness for the -third time within six weeks, was sentenced to/six weeks' imprisonment, .and for stealing a decanter, to two months.-, -< . ; , . •A Noyel : Race, says the Argits, is to be run at Grejmoutb, on Monday next. Mr^i Strike offers to run Harris level if Harris will make himself up to his weight, and which Mr. Harris has accepted. Mr. Harris weighs about 11 stone, and Mr Strike ,l6 -stone, .therefore, some amusement may be calciilated -upon, ..especially. , as Mr;r Strike has gone into training for the" ;•.,;:'■■ ; ; f ;""'"■ '*j y. '''Zi ''■'•-, v-^'V?) ;^;^*a|a^tiseiiiwiti At^Master Brabam •inW lsvjtisl^^ wire 'at ■

o'clock, when, we believe, such measures will be taken with respect to the rope and its fixings, that the feat Jw-ill be accomplished without the possibility of. an acc.ident. Should the weather but continue fine, we have no doubt of a good gathering. Excursion Trip.— lt will be seen that an excursion trip to Wellington and back is advertised for next week by the steamer Wellington, the passeDgers to be brought back by the Taranaki on the Ist October. The object of the trip is to convey our football players to the match about to take place at Wellington, at the same time an excelleat opportunity will be afforded to those who may be desirous of spending a few days io the " Empire City " while the Colonial Parliament is in session. Football. — The last match of the season will be played on Saturday next at 3 p.m., when the team going to Wellington will play .all comere. Should any besides the members of the Town and College Clubs wish to play, it is requested that they will give notice of their intention to the Secretary of the Nelson Club. It is hoped that a large number will attend, as the Nelson team require plenty of practice to enable them to cope with their Wellington antagonists. The Nelson team will play in uniform. Leather Hose. — Some excellent samples of leather hose, suitable for tbe requirements of the Fir 6 Brigade, are now on view at Mr. Lightband's shop in Trafalgar-street. For strength and durability it appears to be far superior to the material now in use, and as the price is but a trifle in excess of that paid for the present hose 3, which are continually bursting when any great pressure is applied to them, there can be no doubt that eventually it would prove the cheaper of the two. Photograph of M.M.S. Basilisk. — Mr. Davis of Trafalgar-street, has succeeded in taking a most excellent large sized view of the Basilisk, to see which is well worth a visit to his shop. The original photograph, taken a few minutes before the ship left the ha.bor, was of the ordinary carte de visile size, but Mr. Davis has, with his magnifying lens, to the work'mg of which he has devoted an immense amount of time and labor, succeeded in producing a picture some sixteen inches in length. It is to be hoped that his endeavors will meet their reward in a large demand for these really very creditable pictures. Winter Evening Lectures. — We call the attention of our readers to Mr. J. C. Richmond's second lecture on " Communism, Socialism, and the Idea of Property," which will be delivered on Friday evening 22nd inst. The subject is one of more than merely passing importance. To the minds of many it presents itself as a hideous phase of modern Parisian society, characterised by the revolting scenes that have recently been enacted in Paris. In his first lecture, which was necessarily preliminary, Mr. Richmond traced communistic practices in conneclion with various states of society in the past, and showed that the idea which communism represents is by no means of yesterday. On Friday, we presume, he will discuss the more modern aspect of the question. That the idea is both deeply rooted and exceedingly . contagious is apparent from the rapidity with which it is spreading in Europe at the present moment, and the boldness with which its claims are asserted. To ignore these claims will be impossible, and their settlement will constitute one of the most intricate and difficult problems of future statesmanship. Under these circumstances, the people of Nelson will, no doubt, be interested to hear the views of one who has evidently studied the subject closely. Serious Affray at Canvas Town.— - Horatio Nelson Firth and David Henderson Murdoch were on Tuesday last brought before W. Whitehorn, Esq., R.M., at Havelock, the former charged with maliciously shooting and wounding Dennis Quinlan, and the latter with aiding and abetting. Mr. Nelson conducted the case for the prosecutor, and Mr. Fell for the defence. The particulars, as far as we have been able to" ascertain, are as follows :— Quinlan had been drinking for some days at Wilson's, and .at an accommodation-house kept by Firth, and on Thursday Jast left the house for a time, but returned about eight o'clock in the evening, still io a state of intoxication, ane\ on being refused admittance, took up some boulder stones and attempted to break down, the closed door, behind which a cask of beer had been placed with a view to strengthening it He succeeded in smashing one of the panels, and as he still went on witli the battering process, ,, Firth, Who with Murdoch Ws^iDside, threatened to .shoot . him., T^est^reat ploying ineffectual , be j carried it into fi»fecution, r and fiT«d*tHroughf f snsj&. bottom panel of th6!^6#^hldh lwas not broken, wounding. r Quinlan, fortunately very slightly, just above the

hip. After this, the story becomes more ( confueed, but appears that Quininn stiir continued to seek admittance for some hours, and that during the night he received two severe wounds on the forehead, one supposed to have been inflicted with an axe-handle, and the other with the stock of a gun. Murdoch was accused -of giving these wounds, but the evidence against him was not complete, and consequently he was discharged. Firth stands committed for trial at the next session of ihe Supreme Court, hut hap, in the meantime been admitted to bail. Emigration Movement is England. — A committee of gentlemen interested in emigration have prepared an Emigration Bill, which they intend to get introduced into Parliament, in the hope thai", if unopposed by the Government, it may pass into law during the present session. The preamble of the bill states that it is desirous" to send the unemployed labor of the United Kingdom to the uncultivated but fertile lands of Canada. The leading clauses enact that the uncommissioned ships in her Majesty's Navy be formed into a Government emigration fleet; that all emigrants be conveyed free by railway to the port of embarkation ; that every, family or two of the persons emigrating should receive free, sixty acres of land, with rations of flour, and £30 in money, to maintain them until they obtain their first crop ; that rent-charge bonds of £30 each be issued, to be repaid iv money or kind by the holders of sections at the expiration of three years or redeemed ; that interest on the bonds, at the rate of 3 per cent for three years be guaranteed by the Government, 1 per cent being paid by the Government, 1 per cent from the poorrate and 1 per cent from the unclaimed dividend money in Chancery, &c. Coal. — A seam of what is said to be " true coal " has been found at Kaitangata, in the province of Otago. It is six feet thick. Martin's Bay.— On the recent southern trip from Hokitika of the s.s. Wai para, the settlers at Martin's Bay were found to be all well, and mostly working on their own land, and they seemed very well satisfied, having plenty of provisions. They only complained of the want of communication with Dunedin. The Waipara called at Jackson' Bay, and supplied two parties of diggers with provisions, one of which had not long completed a race. They had been working fourteen days, had a very good return, and sent a parcel of gold by the Waipara to Hokitika. They expected to do much better after the rain set in. ! - A Somewhat Unusual Visitor (says the Auckland Herald) stepped, or rather hopped into the Supreme Court, evidently for the purpose of observation, for he cast rapid and "knowing" glances at the judge; the barristers in wigs and gowns, and the dogs that wandered in aod out, appearing, however, to have a very marked suspicion of the members of the rising generation who happened to be present — more plainly the little boy?. This visitor was no other than a full-grown rook in full plumage, excellent condition and high animal spirits. He became excellent friends with the other visitors, who, to the number of about a dozen, visited him in front of the Court-house, and treated him with captains' biscuit and colonial cheese, to which, in the language of the reporters of tea meetings, he did ample justice. He is really very tame, and allowed all sorts of people to come within a yard of him. But his tastes are evidently peculiar. What he appears to be most partial to are lucifer matches, of which he swallowed large quantities. Sir Rook, notwithstanding his penetrating curiosity, showed marked respect, for he leant his head on one side and listened to his Honor's observations with profound gravity. Canterbury and the Education Bill — A public meeting under the auspices of the Educational Association, was held at Christchurch last week, when the following resolutions were passed : — " That in the opinion of this meeting, it is desirable that a general law for the regulating of public education throughout the whole colony should be enacted by the General Assembly, provided that such law be so framed as to be capable of adaptation to the particular circumstances of different provinces and districts." — " That it appears to this meeting that the compulsory clauses, as they stand at present, are lobs likely to promote the desired end than the adoption of a capitation rate and the abolition of school fees in accordance, with the system which has been long tried with great success in the province* of Nelson, and lately introduced into; ( '; the new Education Ordinance of thj^ province." — •f That it.apj^wß)iio(\jtbwJimMtlQgfitliat the proposed election of Provincial Boards of Education by Provincial Councils; is inexpedient, as likely to be influenced by 2 Jo^ticftWoflSiderationSi^^TlMiHl : b*p'inion of this meeting, before the list of ordinances superseded by the General

Government measure be filled up asrprovided for in schedule 1, there should be time given for an expression of opinion on the part of those provinces which have already undertaken the work of education." Black Birch Timber. —Mr. George Allen, of Waiwelu, noticing the report of some remarks by the Hon. Mr. Peters, in the Legislative Council, as to the value of black birch, writes to the Wellington Independent as follows : —"I have had twentyfive years' experience as a tradesman in Wellington, and five years as a settler, and I never saw a piece of decayed black or white birch, the sap wood of course excepted. I have lately had posts removed that were placed in the ground for more tban twenty years, and they were as fresh as the day they were put in, and, as for strength and durability, either in or out of the water, or, what is more, between wind and water, I know of no timber that surpasses it. There is only one thing that it succumbs to viz., the toredo navalis in salt water, and they soon destroy it." Taranaki Iron" Sand. —We were yesterday shown a neat little hammer made by Mr. Smith from the steel produced at the late smelting experiment. The hammer is one of the many specimens which ore to be made from the Taranaki steel, and for beauty of finish, brilliancy of polish, and closeness of grain, we should think it could not be excelled by any other steel. Of course it must be remembered that the appliances at Mr. Smith's command are of the rudest kind. It is only by real hard work and perseverance that he accomplishes such ends. We hope to see by this time next week other finished specimens. Then we trust something will be done to forward this important work. No delay should be allowed, but every exertion, made, for every day lost is money lost, and to no small amount. — Wellington Independent, September 1. At the Supreme Court, Auckland, during the hearing of the indictment against the prisoner Smnle, charged with forging a transfer for shares, the Grand Jury came into Court and made the following presentment: —" The Grand Jury desire to present to your Henor that the loose manner in which dealing in shares is conducted offers great temptations to dishonest transactions ; and further that the unguarded manner in which attesting witnesses attach their signatures without having seen the principal affix his signature to a transfer of shares, calls for some legislative provi&ion in reference thereto." His Honor said the same thought crossed his mind when he read the depositions. He would cause the presentment to be forwarded to his Excellency the Governor, who would doubtless bring the subject under the notice of the Government.

For remainder of news see fourth page.