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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 3, 3 January 1872, Page 2

The Chinese in Otago are gathering all the old iron they can lay their hands on, for shipment to C Lin a. The Colooial Architect reports favorably of tbe accommodation offering in Dunedin for the next session of the Q-eneral Assembly. The Wellington Independent notices the fact that the General Government, have procured from California the seeds of eight kinds of American pine trees. A list of future solar eclipses appears in tbe Londoa Times, from which we learn that a total eclipse will not be observable iv New Zealand until Sep. 9th, 18S5. Charleston Races. — All the races at, the late Charleston meeting do not appear to have been "first rale. The Herald thus describes the Hurdle Race : — " This was one of the greatest farces in racing it was ever our lot to witness. Not one of these took the first hurdles clean, Rather Slow first knocking one down over which Spuds rode, and Gipsy knocked one down for herself. Coming lo tbe second hurdle there was a general baulk, once, twice, thrice — seven, eight, fifteen, twenty times the attempt was m-ide but without effect; not oae of the racers (?) would face a hurdle. At length an old blind herse was procured to show the way, bur, notwithstanding this animal's going over on the first trial, not one of the racers (save the mark) could follow. The hooting of the cou course, gathered at the hurdle, became general, and in the midst of these the three riders took their horses i-j-nominiously off the course, having to forfeit their entries, being unable to clear a hurdle, except as above, out of twelve. AU this too took some three-quarters of an hour, being, perhaps, the lougest race on record. "iEGLES," in the Australasian, writes : — A professional man (a stranger to Melbourne) casually oh. er yin g some mechanical work which was beiug executed at Government, expense, was struck by the unworkmanlike way in which it was being done. Addressing an intelligent looking foreman he said, " Surely these meu are not mechauics ?" " O no," said the person addressed, •' they're Parliament-men." Inquiring what " Parliament-men" were, he was informed (hat honorable members were constantly recommending protegees to the Minister of Public Works for Government employment. These recommendations it would be impolitic to disregard, and so a list of them is kept, and batches of what are known among the trade as "' Parlia-ment-men" are drafted off for the performance of work -when occasion arises, irrespective of any personal fitness or qulification for the job to bo done. This is the distinction between Parliament-men and workmen. Might not tbo contrast be carried a little further? Are there not otber Parliament-men who are uot, workmen? Anglo- Australian Telegraph.— The Australasian of December 23 says : — North Australia has beeu in communication with England and the world at large for nearly a month, and it now only requires the finish of the overland line to permit the receipt of daily messages from London. A telegram from Sydney states that the news was brought, to Norman top, the extreme end of the Queensland telegraph lines, that the submarine cable connecting Port Darwin with Java waa successfully laid on November 21, and was

working well. That no English news was received by this means is to be explained by the fact thafc the intelligence of the completion seems to havo been brought over in a casual way to Normanton, and it is also to bo considered that probably the junction was not regularly made with the land lines of Batavia, and, in addition to that there was no arrangement made for sending and receiving more thau chance items of news. Afc any rate the completion of the cable brings home to us the fact how rapidly we are approaching the time when we shall have the means of close and easy interchange of comparatively instantaneous communications with England.