The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 18, 20 January 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, JANUARY 20, 1872.

English Mail — The outgoing mail via San Francisco is advertised to close on Monday next at 3 p.ra. .Mining Shares.— Mr. H. J. L. Augarde quotes Doran's shares, £5 paid, at par. He also reports Perseverance shares, £2 10;?. paid, at nil. Business done this day. Oddfellows' and Fokksters' Fete — Sale of Booths. — Mr. John R. Mat-in this day solcl by auctiou the sites for booths at the OJclfellows' and Foresters' Fete, to be held on the Ist of February. The prices realised were — No. 1, £10 10s., Henry Hall ; No. 2, £8, Cottier; No. 3, £3 10s., Thos. Marliu ; No. 4, £3 55., James Tregea ; No. 5, £3 10s., Barrel 1 ; No. 6, £3 5, Gunther ; Skittles, £1 15, Mears. Doran's Company. — The crushing at this 'Company's reef commenced on Thursday last, but the results will not be known for some time, as the washing up is not to take place for a fortnight. The number of buckets in use on the tramway, we are told, is found to be insufficient, as they are only capable of keeping the battery at work ten hours a day; this, however, eao he remedied in a short time. On the whole, the wire tramway is found to work satisfactorily. Thames Goldfields. — The Herald of 18th instant says : — Tho Caledouian have 3cwt. of rich specimens. There is a better show now than at any previous period during the present management. Caledonians are selling at £44 ; Thames, £12 ; Californian, 355. with an upward tendency ; Golden Catf, 555. ; Tookey'e, £16. Rifle Shooting Extraordinary. — The Auckland Herald says : — Our "Volunteers are not bad shots as shooting goes in the colonies, but what would they say to a score made by Mr. G. T. Kinnear, a member of the Edinburgh Long Range Rifle Club, on October 10, with a small bore rifle. The greatest possible score was 80 — Mr. Kinnear made 76. The distance was 1,000 yards, and 20 shots were made. The score included 16 consecutive bull's eyes. Extensive Bush Fire. — The following is an extract from a letter received by a gentleman in Nelson from an up-country settler :-— Stanley Brook run took fire on the Ist or 2nd instant, and upwards of 500 acres of tbe best grass in the province, in fact, I might say, in the colony, has beeu burned, besides fences and buildings. There is not a fence now on the run, whereas, before the fire, there were about ten miles of post and rail, and log fences. The sight was a magnificent, though not a pleasant one, financially speaking. The glare and heat were terrific, and a constant roar was kept up by the falling timber, the burning limbs of which, when falling, Sew hundreds of feet from the trunk amid showers of sparks. You will form only a slight idea of the fire when I tell you that as much timber was burning at one time as would build a dozen towns like NelsoD. The spaces between the trees were filled up with green grass between 3 ond 4 feet high, and dry logs ; the grass ns it got dried and burnt with the intense heat from the blazing logs sounded like confused volleys of musketry. The man in charge of the place had to take his family and household goods several miles down the river bed, where they remained in some green bush for several days. The fire extended into Motueka Valley where the inhabitants fled before ifc to the open country. All to whom I have spoken who saw the fire at its height say they had never seen the like before. The Engineering op the Future.— The Cork Constitution publishes an article upon {o The engineering of tbe future," in which allusion is made to this Colony in the following words : — " NewZealand will be in a fair way to make good its claims to be the Britain of the South, and its beautiful clime, and fertile and mineral-yielding soil will be the home of a populous and prosperous nation. Only let the War . Demon be kept under foot aud the industry and genius of man be lef t free scope to apply themselves to their

normal task, the task of subduing and replenishing the earth, and the next generation will witness the accomplishment of engineering works, which the Tel fords and Stephensons and Brunels of former days would have regarded as the daydreams of an enthusiast."