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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 201, 23 August 1872, Page 2

Mr H. J. L. Augarde quotes paid-up Perseverance shares at £3 per Bbare. Subscribing Shares, £3 paid at 30s. Business done this day. We have to acknowledge the receipt from the Government printer, of a number of Parliamentary Papers, and Nos. 7, 8, and 9 of Hansard. Auxiliaky Fire Brigade. — Tbe members of this brigade will meet at their annual dinner at the Custom Hoase Hotel, this evening, at half-past seven. Fatal Accident. — We regret to learn that a fatal accident, tbe full particulars of which we have not yet heard, occurred at the Sherry river on Wednesday last, to Mr. Arthur Bumford, late of Spring Grove, who was killed by a fall of earth. An inquest was to be held- yesterday before Mr. Stanley. The Accident at the Port. — We are glad to learn from Dr Cottereli that Major Paton, whose accident we reported yesterday, passed a good night, and that more favorable symptoms have displayed themselves this morning, although the patient is in such pain when moved that it has as yet been impossible to ascertain correctly the extent of the injuries he has received. It is proposed, however, to place him under chloroform this afternoon, when an operation will be performed upon the shattered arm, and a more complete examination made than has hitherto been possible. Perseverance Mine. — Some splendid specimens were brought over from this mine by. the Lady Barkly to-day, but owing to some trifling derangement of the machinery, the washing up will not take place until next week. The following extract from the, manager's letter 'will fully explain the' position, of affairs t — "The second shot that 'was put in on Thursday uncovered some fine specimens, the richest I have ever seen. I took out three powder-kegs of it, washed it, and picked oat the specimens, about 201bs. These I crushed in the berdan, and they produced 38 pounce's of retorted gold. Where they came „' from is the lowest level to which we have penerated. No. 1 specimen is from below the. water level about 18 inches, the other came from just ■about the water lineJ 1 ' "It must; 1 not % ! , sappojbed that all the .'stuff is like these?specimens.,; -They were a'rich patch, butl there is a marked improvement in thef general stutl, ahdacorres^ ment i&s^ ipooriuntll- Tharß\ift^laßti'A'< - >-'*«.«&: _ .^'^

There is a good political joke current respecting. costume.- It has been noticed that. Mr Stafford and bis immediate friends and followers mo9t of them wear black velvet coats. It was noticed this morning that Wi Parata, the Maori member for the Western District, bad donned one. An Opposition member of the Legislative Council was asked by a hay why he did not wear the livery ? Having ascertained what her meaning was, he satisfied the pardonable . curiosity by lamenting that " the would-be wearers were so many, the material was exhausted." — Post. , Mr Stafford's Resolutions. — Speaking of the introduction of these resolutions into the House, the Post says :— Mr Stafford's notice of motion, which was received by the House witb,cheers, created | evident dismay in the ranks of the Government. There was such a rush for copies of the resolutions that the unusual course of having them printed forthwith was adopted, and they were circulated within an hour of their being tabled. The Premier, with ill-suppressed anxiety, obtained a copy, and was so upset, that he forgot the order of business, and moved the second reading of a bill while " the Committee of Supply" was before the House. His colleague, the Colonial Secretary, was even in a worse plight, and could only blunder on, forgetting one moment what he had said the last, and when corrected, giving a vacant laugh, which was a fitting accompaniment to his pale face and absent manner. • The House gave a different kind of evidence of its feeling on the matter, and would not consider the bills before it, and they were accordingly postponed. The West Coast. —The Wellington correspondent of the West Coast Times writes : — " The prospects of c unification' are not of the brightest hue. Indeed, I do not think that desideratum will be effected this session, although its failure — should it fail — will not be attributable to any fault of the Government or of the West Coast members. The Bill to effect the desired union is not yet printed, nor is it yet definitely settled whether the County or Provincial form of Government shall be adopted. Two Bills on the subject are, I believe, in the hands of the printer, one providing for a County, the other for a Provincial administration; and the decision as to which shall be brought down to the House will be made after further consultation with the West Coast members as to the respective merits of each. Whichever form of government may be decided upon, the proposed alteration of boundaries will be formidably, and, I fear, successfully opposed, so far as this session is concerned. This good will, however, result from the introduction of the Bill — West Coast grievances will be ventilated, and the way paved for their amelioration next session." The Thames Star, in apologising for a report of the Thames Scottish Yolunteers Anniversary Ball, says :— " The above re-

port we have been compelled to compile from what we could gather from those who attended; the ball. We sent our reporter there, and expected something gsod from him, but on waiting upon him this morning in his bedroom, we found him in a state of sleep from which it was hopeless to attempt to wake him. From the position of various articles about his room, we were able to perceive that on his return home he had hung his clothes up on the floor, en* deavoured to extinguish the candle with a bouquet holder, which he had procured Heaven knows where, and which now lies at this office for identification, and finally had taken an imaginary and most refreshing drink of water from his left boot.' Under tbese circumstances, we were compelled to act as stated above." Referring to the recent discovery of the 5380z. nugget in the Dunolly district, the Express states the prize was "found at the shoots, about three miles from Dunolly, in the wall of an old trench that had been cut about nine years ago, when a large number of men were at work in that locality. The succesive rainfalls had, with the continuous washing and crumbling away the soil, brought this handsome little fortune into daylight to be dropped upon by a hardworking miner named Davey, who was passing by, and seeing what looked like a speck of gold, applied his pick and knocked out his long-sought pile. A Bullock in Shortland last week chased a miner into an'hotel bar, where the brute pinned him against a partition, one of its horns wounding the man severely iu the neck, and for a few seconds it seemed as though he could not escape death. The landlord with great presence of mind dashed the contents of a bucket of water in the bullock's face, which besides disconcerting the animal, caused it to slip on the wet floor, allowing the man to get free and jump over the bar, out of danger. The bullock was at once secured and killed. For remainder of news see fourth page. r i — - i 1 ■ i a'

The Tasmanian correspondent of the Australasian writes ."—The Examiner of Saturday contains a most valuable paper on " Tasmania j Past and Present." In a couple of columns, but which it must have taken.. a long time to glean, it gives a statistical sketch unequalled by any paper which has yet been produced to Parliament. It sadly telle that our effective population, the bread-winners, those between tbe ages of 21 and 60 years, have diminished.; from numbering, in 1848, 30,283, they now only come up to 22,451; while those under 21 and over 60 years of age, have increased from 22,871, in 1848, to 57,891, in 1871. The amount contributed to tbe general revenue by tbe effective male population per head was, in the year first named, £4 6s, but last year it had swelled up to £14 10s. The deposits in the banks had nearly doubled; the number of sheep had diminished by about 900,000 ; cattle having increased by some 5000 head since 1851. The whole paperis however instructive, and although. I can but glance at it, I gladly take tbe opportunity to recommend it to the consideration of those interested in the colony. Not many days ago, writes "JEgles" in the Australasian, the wife of a Cabinet Minister was waited upon by a lady. The visitor sought the exercise of some patronage in a particular direction. After considerable circumlocution she came to the point, and offered Mrs. £100. In order to be quite clear about the intention of this liberal donor, Mrs. said : — "Do I understand that you wish me to convey this money to my husband as the price of his interest on your behalf?" "No, no !" said tbe visitor, ■« I would not approach Mr. with so trifling a sum. I mean this for you, in the hope that, you will use your influence with him." I need not say that the offered bribe was rejected with becoming scorn. But the ugly question which suggests itself is, how loDg has this sort of thing been going on ? Have similar instances of liberality occurred, and have they been invariably rejected ? The eollowing- is an extract from the last monthly letter of the London correspondent of tbe Melbourne Argus :—Unparalleled as is our prosperity at the present time, we are sadly exercised in our minds by the disturbances in tbe labor market, and the price of meat and other provisions. I think that the former has become a little more settled than it was, although in many parts of the country tbe agricultural laborer is still on strike— a most unfortunate time for the farmers, who are getting anxious about their hay. In London, too, the builders are in a predicament, although the strike is not universal. In Leamington the washerwomen have taken up the same cry, and decline to get up our dress-shirts at the usual terms, but in Dundee, I am truly glad to say, being a householder, that the servants' strike has turned out a failure, so that we are not likely yet awhile to have to turn to ourselves and cook our own dinners. The second grievance, as to the price of meat, is a more substantial one, which does not appear to admit of much, solution. There is no exaggeration in saying that we are paying for all articles of consumption at least double what we paid some twenty years ago. It is all very well for people with large fortunes, or for those who make money with the times, but for those who have fixed incomes^ the difference of prices is a very serious one, the more so as it threatens to increase and become a permanent evil. j A correspondent writes: — " On cold nights, when I have not sufficent bedding over me, especially at hotels, where we cannot^ get just what we want, I adopt a very simple plan, let me recommend it to others. Throw off one or two of the top covers from the bed, and then get two or three newspapers — one very large one will do— spread them on the bed, and replace the cover. The result wil be a warm and comfortable night, without any perceptible increase in the weight of the bedding. Again, for a cold ride on. boat, coach, or a long walk before the wind, place a newspaper over your chest before you button up your overcoat, and you will not become chilled through. Nothing can be cheaper and as far as it goes,' nothing more efficient. " Pearl-Fishing Pro JECT.—An effort is being made in Melbourne to form a small company to fit out a pearl-fishing expedition to the norfh-west coast of Australia. The calculations on which the scheme is based set down the value of mother-of-pearl shell in the English market at from £85 to £225 per tdn, independently of the pearls themselves which "represent a considerable item. The northwest coast ofthe Australian continent,, from Nicholl Bay to the head of the Cape Yorke Peninsula it is kbowD, abounds with pearl banks, and it is believed that a successful; expedition to these localities, extending; oyer a period of twelve months, can be accomplished for £1,000. The proposal is to purchase a.craft ofabout 50 tons, "which can be bottghtsttea but, and foutf«4 for a year, it is |

estimated, for £700. The cost of an ex ' perienced Captain, two seamen, and a cook ' with contingencies, is- set down at £30C The company is to consist of 20 shares a £50 each. A certain number of share holders will be required to go in the vesse to do their share of any work required either in handling the ship or working thi boats on the pearl beds, such holders tt receive, in addition to profits, a lay o; percentage, on the takings, as. in whaliu< ships, the captain and seamen also to havi the same privilege. Kanakas, or native: ' of the N. "W. coast, whose aid can be pro cured at a small expense, will be employee in diving for the : shells. With 60 days clear fishing the promoters calculate oi realising £6400, leaving a net profit o £5400 Parental " Damper „ for juvenili Lovers. — A young man in New Yorl was the victim of misplaced confidence i short time ago. He was particularly sweet on a young lady, and called on< eveniug, having previously paid hersevera visits. The girl's parents thinking both too young, gave a gentle hint to that efieoi — first by callicg the girl out of the rootr and sending her to bed ; secondly, by tlu lady of the house bringing into tbe room a huge slice of bread and butter, spread with jam and saying to the youth, in hei kindest manner, " There take this and gc home; it is a long way, and your mother will be anxious." The following is a sample of the plainspoken fashion of the New York Times deals with public defaulters: — " It has been no secret for days past that a large sum of money has been raised for the express purpose of bribing members of the Legislature to vote against the impeachment or conviction of the corrupt Judges.' At first, the friends of these Judges believed that they could successfully work upon the cupidity - of the Judiciary Committee. But their confidence in their power to dishonor Mr Prince and his fellow committeemen became shaken, and then they determined to fall back upon the Legislature itself. A fund amounting to very little less than two hundred thousand dollars fca3 been raised — we are statiDg a sober fact — and placed in the hands of professional brokers, A. D. Barber and another, for the purpose of securing votes against the impeachment of the Judges. There is also a rumor afloat of another fund, raised by Tweed and SweeDy, for the same object. Barber and his comrade receive ten thousand dollars by way of commission to start with." Timber Supply of the World. — The gradual disappearance of woods and forests from the face of the civilised world has raised a cry of alarm from various quarters. The question has received much attention in France and Germany, and the diminution of the pine forests of Norway has been lately noticed; but it seems that the apparently inexhaustible timber supply of North America may ere long show signs of exhaustion. A letter to the New York Tribune alleges that the western forests are perishing like dew, and suggests that with a view to their .protection, all lumber and manufactured wood should be placed on the free-lists. The editor "of tbe Tribune is reminded by this suggestion of the young Methodist who having been recently converted, informed a classmeeting that when she found her' rufflesand ribbons were sending her straight to hell, she took them all off and gave them to her sister. Instead of ravaging the northern forests to save a part of the western, he advocates the simple expedient of always planting two trees for eve'ry one that is cut down.— Pall Mall Gazette. ■ ■ •