THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 02, Issue 261, 2 November 1872, Page 2

THE WEEK.

The present time is one that, as a rule, is not very prolific of events of importance, there has during the .past week occurred one at least that is well worthy x>f note, and which, had it: been predicted s V some twenty years ago, would : have. sub« V jfedted ihey daring prophet ,tp notf a little derisionV -At that far away period, i X residenjfein New: Zealand ywere perfectly satisfied to 'receive European newe 150 cient time for the wire and the steamer to furnish us with information of y what is taking, place at' a distance of -16^000 miles; ylHej^ ■ ;Vlook&tpsreceiving telegraphic Vdespatches PweeklyMland^ii^

month or two' we shall probably have become co accustomed to the new order of things that we shall be in a perfect fume if any delay takes, place in the trans T mission of the news. Such is the force of habit. It has taken a long time to reduce the 150 days to 144 hours, but tbe interval that will elapse before the 144 hours are cut down to twenty-four will.be a comparatively short one, for we may depend upon it that ere three years have flitted by, New Zealand and Australia will be in -hourly communication with one For continuation of news see supplement.

another. We shall then have little left to achieve in the direction of tejegraphy. A fire in jNelson, injurious though it may be, in some instances perhaps ruinous, to the partieß more immediately concerned, is not altogether without its' advantages, as on each occasion we find our experience enlarged, and a lesson afforded us that should not be neglected or forgotten. That which occurred yesterday formed no exception to the general rule. In the first place we find tbe necessity of having hydrants and hoses tbat shall be easily find instantaneously available in every part of the town in the event of a fire l breaking out. It is now discovered that the apparatus, which it was generally supposed was always ready for use in Trafalgar-street, is scarcely ever to be found there in the daytime during the summer months, as it is required for feeding the water-cart. Here is one lesson by which we may profit. Another is the necessity of organising a fire police who Bball assist the Brigade by keeping the crowd back, and preventing their interference with the hydrants or hoses. The want of such a body was very apparent yesterday afternoon. It was also clearly shown that there is great room for improvement in the discipline of the Brigade itself. This |is, perhaps, a tender subject to touch upon, as must always be the case in criticising the actions of a body of volunteers who give their time and~ services gratuitously to the public, but whatever remarks may be made by the present writer are offered in a friendly spirit, and as such, will, I am sure, be received, by those to whom they refer. It 1 was noticed by all present at the scene of yesterday's fire that there appeared to be a superfluity of orders given, all of which it was impossible could be obeyed, most of which it was difficult to understand. A perfect Babel of sounds issued from thoso at work, some of whom, indeed, appeared to have lost their heads in the excitement of the moment, and the remark to be heard on all sides was that no one individual appeared to have the sole control of the members of the Brigade, nearly all of whom seemed to be doing duty as officers as well as men. It may be said that it is all very well for one who is quietly standing in tbe street to discover faults, but that if the same individual were actively engaged in endeavoring to subdue the flames he would probably become as . excited as the rest. Granted, but the looker on always sees the most of the game, and if in a friendly manner he gives an occasional bin* to the player, it may have the effect of remedying errors of which the latter is not conscious until told of them. For this reason I have thrown out these hints, in the hope that tbey may be acted upon. I have recently come across quite a little gem in the shape of a pamphlet containing the rules and regulations of the Wellington Board of Education, a few . extracts from which, exhibiting as they do, in a marked degree, a strong Pecksniffian tendency on the part of the framers, will, I think, prove entertaining to school teachers %nd others in this province. One of them refers to " cleanliness," and here we find that " habits of personal neatness and cleanliness are to be encouraged among the scholars by precept and personal example of the teacher." In comparing this with our Nelson regulations under */the same heading, I find that our Board has not deemed it necessary to decree that the teachers whom it employs shall be careful to wash their faces and clean their nails by way of example to the pupils under their charge, but is rather disposed to treat them as gentlemen to whom such instructions are unnecessary. Again, with regard to the M -Government of Pupils," the teacher is told that his " discipline must be mild but firm , his demeanor cheerful and calculated to gain the confidence of his pupils, and his language marked by strict propriety." Of course it is highly desirable that a teacher should possess these qualities, but one would suppose that it might have been left to the Inspector's good sense and judgment to appoint suitable men, without laying down a cast-iron rule that the teacher's demeanor must always be cheerful, or suggesting by implication at least, that hia language was occasionally marked by impropriety. It being deemed necessary by; the Board to lay down .:• laws for the guidance of those gentlemen to whom is to bo entrusted the education of .the children of the province yin all matters affecting their own cleanli-. iiißse,: propriety, and general respectability, ifr is a -little surprising to find that Inspec-. V tore A are instructed, in their intercourse V with teachers, "to be guided by a feeling :V : pf; Suspect fory their office." The idea ,1- sdggestfe itself that in acknowledging the ■yiiteeessity • of ; framing re^ |ltbas ; Sthe> teachers ; ; should conduct ; tihem''lrieiyes^ .the y^Bbairdy , itself has been somewhat wanting in tbat

i - ; ' [ " JEgles," in the Australasian, says:— " A well-known Melbourne wine merchant has come in for a slice of good fortune. Many years ago be purchased from the Crown some land in tbe Beechworth district. He gave little heed to his acqui- . siiion, until, being on a late occasion in that part of the country, he sought for bis property. He was 1 agreeably surprised to find that a bridge abutted on one of his allotments, that the projected railway would pass through another, and that premises worth some £1,200 stood on a third. The persons in possession had also grants from the Crown, but as those of tbe Melbourne man were prior in date, his title is unassailable. By an error, which is as extraordinary as it is unprecedented, there was an omission to record the first issue of the grants in the Crown Lands department, and thus a second issue to other persons took place. Hence the tears of the builder upon another man's territory. He needn't grieve much, however.. He has a good guarantor behind him. That patient and long-suffering creature, the State, will have to pay the damage." Religious Ignokance. — Referring to the ignorance to be found in the bush, the Bisbop of Bathurst, in an address on the Ist instant, is reported v by a Melbourne paper to have said: — I have found children with no 'knowledge of the faith, and in asking them simple questions on Scripture history, they have exhibited the most profound ignorance. As an example of the profound ignorance that is prevalent, there was a young man in Bathurst Gaol who had never heard of God, and had not the slightest conception of the difference between right and wrong; so utterly unaquainted was he with these facts that I - got him reprieved. In the remote regions of my district I have found people who did not know when the Sabbath day came. I know that these incidents are calculated to raise a smile amongst the incredulous, but to portray the figure more forcibly, I will relate two cases of the greatest ignorance tbat have come before us : — A shepherdess, taking advantage of my presence, asked me to marry her to her intended husband, and when I asked her for his name, she had to go and inquire. Another person had something written on paper on his door, and as he could not read it himself, he took the door down and carried it to Dubbo to get some one to read it to him. Bbandy fkom Sawdust. — Assuming for argument that alcohol was invented by the devil for the destruction of the human family, it must be confessed tbat he does not lack for materials from which to produce the diabolical compound. The entire range of vegetable products has been made to yield intoxicating beverages; and among the most religious and highlycultivated nations, as well as those in the lower scale ot humanity, the art of making something to get drunk on has always been a success. In the current monthly report of the Commissioner of Agriculture, it is announced tbat there is an immense waste of material in our sawmills, where the sawdust is thrown away, and that it is possible to produce from this dust a good article of brandy. It is suggested that the sawdust of pine and fir timber be mixed, and that a compound be prepaied, composed of 9, parts moist sawdust, 33.7 parts of water, .7 of one part of hydro-chloric acid," making 43.7 parts altogether. These are to be boiled under steam pressure 11 hours, when it will be found that 19 per cent, of the mass will be grape sugar. The acid is to be neutralised with lime, and the mash supplied with yeast. After 96 hours' fermentation a distillation of tbe mash will produce 61 quarts of brandy of 50 per cent strength, and free of any smell of turpentine. It is claimed that in all probability many other woods than pine and fir will prove even better adapted to the production of brandy. Here is an opening for a new and almost unlimited increase in the manufacture of brandy. In the immense lumber districts of the United States the sawdust is now practically lost. But if it, by the simple application of water, nnd seemingly less auxiliaries than are required for grain distillation, can be made to produce good brandy, the dust will become as valuable as the lumber. Brandy distilleries will spring up in the neighborhood of all the sawmills, and the pine forests will have a new value given to them. The Commissioner of Agriculture publishes this statement as of an ascertained fact, and, if-it be true, there is no season: why the manufacture may not commence at once.— -Chicago Tribune. Coke has risen in price in England from 13s. to 355. per top, during the last twelve .months. • The NewUYork Canal trade is increasing. The boats alone are valued at twenty million dollars, y ■ yUy.U • - A her, sixty-first X y;she^