The Nelson Evening Mail FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 290, 8 December 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail FRIDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1871.

India- Rubber Stamps. — There seems to be a little competition in the matter of these stamps, a resident in Nelson advertising that he can produce quite as good specimens ns auy that can be imported, and invitiDg the people 10. patronise "local iudustry." Bush Fires. — Several fires were last, night and this morning lighted on the hills in the vicinity of the town, causing considerable alarm to residents in their neighborhood. The strong dry wind that, O *— „ hacs been blowing for the laet three days renders such a proceeding highly dauger011s, and it i.s to Un hoped that tliose who wish to destroy the fern and undergrowth on their land will restrain their consuming zenl until such lime as a fiie once lighted will be more under control ihan at present. Caledonian Society. — The adjourned meeting of the members of this society took place lust, night, the Mon. Dr Rrnwirk in the chair, wheu the committee, appointed at tlie previous meeting to examine the accounts brought, up their report, which was to the effect, that they were perfectly satisfactory. On the motion of Mr. J. Harley, seconded by Mr. Luckie, a vote of thanks w.'is unanimously accorded to Mr. W. Wylie for his exertions on behalf of the society while acting as secretary, and for the creditable manner in which all its husiness had been transacted under his management. The Sports Committee reported that they were prepared to recommend the expenditure of between £60 and £70 upon prizes, including two Cluunpion Cups. ouß to be competed for in a mile race, and the other in a tiltiug match. Collingwood. — The Perseverance Mining Company has stopped sloping quartz until the incline shaft and level at present being put down are ready to stope from ; this work should bave been commenced long since, and no delay would then have arisen. — The Decimal Company's shaft is down about 55 feet, and the men hope to complete it about Christmas ; most, of the Company's machinery is delivered on the hill above the Perseverance levels ; the machine-house is completed, and Mr. Binuie is waiting for the machinery, to be lowered down the hill to erect it. — The dredging in the Aorere has not as yet proved successful, owing to the amount of small boulders in the river; there is no doubt that the river will pay well if appliances can be obtained for lifting the boulders so that the spoon of the dredge can work freely. — A party, headed by Mr. D. A. Poole, are about to proceed to Burgoo Creek, at the head of the Aorere, to prospect a terrace there, ; and tho surrouuding country, which, I owing to the difficulty iv getting provisions there, is little known. It is to be hoped that they will prove successful, this being the best time of the year for prospecting parties going out. — Communicated. Farm Produce in Otago. — Tlie Daily Times says that throughout the whole of the Province of Otago farmers are complaining of the prevailing low prices of produce, nor can they look forward to any improvement. The other day a party purchased in the Clutha district several hundred pounds of good fresh butter at 4d. par lb., while in a neighboring district a farmer's wife weut to the township to dispone of her butter, but was unable to do so at any price, and rather than take it home again she gave it. away. A Romance. — The Wellington Independent of November 20 says : — " A marriagelis, we are informed, about to take place between a lady resident in this city and ai gentleman from a neighboring province whom she has never seen. It appears that this votary of Hymen saw the lady, when on a visit, once in church, was smitten to the heart, found out too late who sjie was, but opened a correspondence th rough her friends. The tone of bis letters was liked; his photography admired. Hence the delightful result." > Profitable Bank Clients. — The West CoasfTirnes is responsible for the following, which requires savoring with just a small grain of salt : — -A lively competition has sec in amongst bankers in Victoria for the accounts of Chinamen | since it was ascertained that they are in the habit of burning bank notes over the i graves of their deceased relatives in order i to provide them with a little money in the < next world. Hitherto the paper of the i Commercial Bank has been preferred in. j consequence of its bearing Chinese H (

characters ; bu f , in hopes of getting a j portion of the business, tho other batiks j are to follow suit; j The disciples of Confucius are looking up. Education*. — Speaking- of the edurarioinil status of New Zealand, the Thames Advertiser says : — As a means of comparison of the educational position of of the Provinces, we may give the males who cannot read, taking the prnviuces in the order ol mprit : — Otago, 173 ; Wesilrmd, 246 ; Nelson, 282 ; Taranaki, 3 02; Southland, 3 03; Canter.bury, 3-12; Ha wise's Bay, 3"35; Auckland, 3 98; Willitmton, 4*69; "vlurlhorougb--457. It. is rather surprising tofiud Westland stand so high, and we think its position shows tbat a goldmining population is likely to stand higher with rt-spect to education thun an agricultural population. The posiiion of Nelsou is of course owing (o its very excellent educational system. The Volunteers. — The Otarjo DajjLy Times has an aide J-Tticlc ou this s^ijeot in which ir, reviews the disctis-ion House oo the motion of Mr. In_Te"?~ to reduce the vola for volunteers. In concluding its r_miuks it, notices that sentence in Mr. Inglt-h' speech in which he says, '• lv Otago, the crack shots were so simply because they ha-i the monpy and timu to practise, but could the Otago people show a good average of mack shots ?" arid then goes on to v.y : — "lf this sentence means auj-ihifg, it is thai in Otago the shooting me:: possess an advantage over those in other parts of the colony by having more money and more time at their disposal for practice. Such, however, is not the case. Tho volunteers of this province, as a rule, aro, as they ate elsewhere in New Zealand, young men engaged in business, with moderate salaries, who attend lo their daily avocations during the usual office, hours. Their practice with the rifle takes place ouly in tl»« morring aud ou holidays, aud there is no reason why the volunteers iv the other provinces should not follow their example." The Chicago Tribune is respousibie for the following : — The bone work of a whale recently stranded on the beach at Sau Francisco is being wired together for exhibition. The owoers secured the service of the Academy of Sciences to get the bones into their proper places, but at the end of the first d'»y the members were paid off and discharged. It has since transpired that they t*ot the creature's head on the wrong end, aud rejected several sections of the bnokboue, claiming that the animal had more vertebra, than the books allowed him. A New Sect has been established at Sta well (Victoria") io connection with the Sunday evening services. They have adopted the title of Progression is-ts, •<**& embodying the opinions of those ouly who individually accept them, appears in the 'Pleasant Creek News.' The following are a few of the opinions so expresed : — "That a man, as a spirit is b..-m-tal. That death is but tho birth into another | condition of life, where the soul retains itSi] experience of the past, and where de- I velopmeut or progression is its endless destiny. That the spiritual world is not far off, but is near to, and encompasses us iv our present existence. That the excessive yielding to the material nature is, for the most part punished in this life, though the soul, after the physical change called ' death,' also suffers therefrom, but these sufferings are Dot eterfal. That Divine inspiration, or the promptings to the human soul from the Infinite Parent, is not a miracle of past ages, but a perpetual fact," A Coal Mine on Fike. — One of the most curious phenomena in counection with coal mining is exhibited at the Bank Colliery, near Rotherhao*, the property of Earl Fitzwilliam. This pit caught fire one hundred years ago, and ail the efforts of the workmen at the time, and subsequently, have been quite ineffectual to extinguish it. A short time ago it was ascertained that the flames were approuchiug the bottom of the shaft; and it was then resolved, if possible, to stay their progress, so tbat they might not extend to other parts of the workings. At length the superintendent of the colleries, Mr. T. Cooper, conceived the idea of building a wall to shut in the fire, and in order to ascertaiu the best site for this wall, several of the officials crept on their hands and knees through the dense stifling smoke, as far as possible into the workings. Their efforts were successful; and a wall is now completed nearly 1000 yards in length, and varying from nine inches to five feet iv thickness. At distances varying from thirty to fifty yards, metal pipes have been inserted in this wall, which are securely plugged at the end, so tbat any time, by removiug tbe plugs, the state of the air on tbe side of the fire, and aven the position of the fire itself, can be ascertained. So intense is the heat arising from this fire that people possessing gardens above the colliery declare that tho

growth of plants is materially affected, and they are enabled to obtain two aud three crops every year. The Press. — "iEgles," in the Australasian, says, with reference to a cricket match between eleven members of the Victorian Parliament and eleven gentlemen connected with the Press : — The Parliament has given the Press a sound drubbing at cricket, and has thereby wiped out some old scores. I am sure that the Press has so often pitched into Parliament that some retribution wa3 due. And after all, it was the Press that furnished the Parliament with its captain aud most successful batsman. Imagine the change in the result had the Hon. Angus Mackay fought under the standard of the Bendigo Advertiser, instead of as a mere M.P. The Press is not so clever at doing things as in saying, ia a judicial aud pretentious way, how things ought to be done. I never knew a good dramatic critic who was'nt a vile amateur actor. The Press knows and says wonderful things about horses, but just observe the Press on a Sunday afternoon at a rough trot with its trowsers well up its legs. Imagine the Press preaching (from tbn pulpit, I mean), or contemplate the Press tiring at a bull's eye, with the neighbors' geese within a quarter of a mile of the target ! The morals of the Press are beautiful — on paper. Aud iv thus eulogising my brethren (and fellow-cricketers) of the Press, let it not be supposed that I desire to meanly except myself. Peculiar Court Case. — In the Sandhurst Police Court, on 21st ult., a case of aesaulf, in which Madame Christine Zavistowski was the defendant, came on for hearing. Madame Zavistowski was summoned by Charles Murphy for assiultiug him on Saturday last in Pall Mall. According to the evidence there could be no doubt that the defendant had assaulted the complainant by thrashing him with her umbrella as long ns any portion of it remained in her hand. The solicitor for the defence produced a witness — Mrs. Woold ridge, one of the lady members of the corps dramatique — who stated that the complainant had at various times slandered the Zavistowski trio. On one occasion, when the witness and the compiaiuant Murphy resided in the same bouse, in Melbourne, he had stated that the sisters were only third-rate actresses in America; that their name was the same as his owo, " Murphy ; " and he asked, regarding Miss Emeline Zavistowski, whether she " had got over her spree yet ? " AU these, the advocate contended, justified the defendant, in the abseuce of •' husband, brother," or other male defender, in taking the law and her umbrella into her own hands to punish the slanderer. The bench of magistrates — •lere were four of that body considering the case — being of opinion that an assault had been committed, but that the surroundiug circumstances were of a provocative character, fined the defendant a shilling. The hearing of the case partook very much of a theatrical performance, the Court being absolutely crammed from end to end, and each " hit " of the advocates was fully appreciated by J a discrimioatiug audience. Mrs. Wooldridge who gave her evidence with the coolness, of an old professional, brought down the house, when, in reply to the usual query whether she knew Mr. Murphy, she said, "Yes, he owes me Is. 9d. for paper collars." When the magisterial decision was announced, Mr. John Dunn completed the mise-en-scene by bringing down on the table a heavy bag of silver, and producing the silver coin awarded by the Bench.