PROVINCIAL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 280, 25 November 1872, Page 2

PROVINCIAL.

Westpout, November 25. At a washing at Anderson's claim, 335 tons yielded 686 ozs. of amalgam, and 118 ozs. retorted gold. Plates not cleaned. Exhibits for Christchurch are in active preparation. Splendid specimens of #oal have been obtained. a

A smabt shock of earthquake, which lasted five seconds, was felt at Dunedin a little after noon on Wednesday. The value of the amount of flax imported into Melbourne from New Zealand, during the year ending 31st March last, was £14,661. * The Melbourne journals say that the records of the daily papers show that wife-beating is becoming a too prevalent offence in the colony \of /Vlctona. : :> : At a meeting of the Christchurch Gas Company, held .last i^nraiajV :^it; ; -was: agreed to increase the capital by £20,000, \ and toTexterid the'

Me. J. F. Johnstone, at the Ikematua, had three head of horned cattle in fine condition poisoned by eating the leaves of the tutu plant, on Sunday. ; A Dunedin Telegram: to the Post says: — The Nebraska fired a salute in honor of. the election of General Grant to the Presidency of the United States. The Naval Brigade cemented the national unity by a salute of 19 guns. It is gazetted that on and after the Ist of January next the rate for press telegrams will be for the first twenty- five words 6d, and for every additional twentyfive words, or fraction of twenty-five words after the first twenty-five, 6d. On Sundays double rates. The Queenslander states that the Briebane market has recently been supplied with a shipment of bacon and bams from Port Cooper, New Zealand, of really splendid quality, the whole of which has gone into consumption at full rates — viz., 14|d for cases of both, and 16d for hams alone. The Post has been informed that the following are about the amounts insured on properties destroyed in the Auckland fire : — New. Zealand. £1000; Royal, £3000; Victoria, £2500; Norwich Union, £5000; South British, £1500; Scottish Commercial, £2000. It is believed that other offices have sustained losses, but the extent of claims is not yet known. The Melbourne Age' of the 4th instant gives a long report of a sermon preached by a Miss Turner in the Unitarian Church, East Melbourne, which, it says, was listened to by a large congregation with rapt attention. The Otago Daily Times says that the meteor seen in Dunedin on the night of the 23rd October, was also seen at Lawrence, where, according to the local paper, "so light was it, the shop signs could be distinctly read in the streets." The Maoris living to the north of the city of Auckland predict that the coming summer will be an unusually dry one, and say the European settlers are a month too late with their crops. In Australia, also, we observe from our files, a very hot summer is prophesied. A House Bobbery was committed at the Inangab.ua Junction on Friday week, and the thief is still at large. He is a German, well known in the locality, and has contrived to get away with £93 in bank notes, 3oz 16dwt of loose gold, and some articles of clothing. He was last seen at Carter's, 1 1 miles above the Lyell on Saturday morning, and was apparently heading off for Nelson or Blenheim. — G. R.A. Pigeon Match. — The Canterbury Press of Wednesday last says : — A second pigeon match between Messrs Redwood and Maxwell took place yesterday, the conditions being twenty birds a-side, Mr. Redwood giving Mr. Maxwell two birds,. As will be seen by the scores it resulted in a tie. The birds being very strong on the wing and the wind high, they required a good deal more killing than on the former occasion. The following was the score : — Redwood : 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, O, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1—14. Maxwell :1, 1, 1,0, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, o—l2. As Mr. Maxwell had to receive two birds, this resulted in a tie, which was shot off with three birds each, as follows : Maxwell, 1, 1, 1 ; Redwood, 1,0,1. Mr. Maxwell, therefore, winning the match. The celebration of the opening of an extensive water-race near Charleston is reported at some length in the Herald. The race, which brings a supply to the Ninemile Beach, is on an average 14 feet high, the boxes are 3 feet wide and a foot high; and in all some 30,000 feet of sawn timber had to be used, irrespective of legs, cross-pieces, battens, &c. Besides this the party had to cut and timber through three sandhills, the work of which cannot, by persons who have not seen it, even be faintly imagined, but which has been one of the greatest difficulties the company have had to overcome. The race, as now constructed, will carry 12 Government heads of water, and will therefore supply some fifty claims, while the addition of a plank, for which room has been left in construction, will enable the race to carry another 12 beads, for which further supply application has already been made. As an illustration of the caprice displayed by. miners in naming their claims, we may state that an Auckland paper reports that "the Bismarck lode in the Siege of Paris level looks well." ; > ; The Melbourne Telegraph says :— " We are likely to have a summer of unusual heat, such a summer as that of 1862 was, when after the sun had set in flames every part of the horizon was lit with bush .fires."'- „-S-/ '„. „--■ , : : At the Rio Janeiro elections the crush of the multitude was terrible,,; and several persons of note were baypnetted and otherwise wounded, i The ,churchesiin which the elections wore held were filled with •iroopß. .•■■ i ,: : .v r .:« i ">.rf^-v> i .v. ;'y\- ■. .; ■■:

A violent shock of earthquake, felt in New South Wales on the 20th ult. was followed by a brilliant aurora. A Conspiracy of a police detective has been discovered in New York, to fasten the murder of Nathan on Forester, who proves an alibi. The reason — fifty thousand dollars reward. Two Roman Catholic priests announce in a Geneva paper their intention of " seeking in marriage a happiness permitted by the Bible," and they state that 200 of their brethren are ready to follow Father Hyacinthe's example. , For continuation of news see fourth page. I — ■. Urn ~li~— — — ■■ — —

The Rijiß*— »A correßpotident of the Auckland Star, writing from Levuka on the 24th October, says : — Since the closing of onr Parliament, nearly four months since, we have had nothing occurring in the political world worthy of any special comment. Of course we are all looking anxiously forward for the result of our Premier's visit to the colonies on a borrowing, expedition, as, without the Government are successful' in raising a loan, they will be rather puzzled to carry out, all the public works they have pledged themselves to effect, most of them of very great importance to the pioneers engaged in the arduous task of developing the resources of a country possessing climate, soil, and products the very antipodes to all their prior experience. At the present time, too, the want of this loan is the more deeply felt since a not unlooked for trouble bias come upon us. The governor of our most powerful province has, seemingly, Bided with the turbulent and discontented natives (who, unfortunately, comprise the larger portion of the population here), viz., those who will not pay their taxes, amounting to one pound per bead for . adult males, and ten shillings for females. It is provided by our laws that natives not having succeeded in gaining money for their tax when it becomes due, shall either be hired out to planters or go to work on the public works of tbe kingdom. These gentry, however, refuse to do either, and in this are abetted by their chief. We hope soon, nevertheless, to see the matter arranged, as the chief strength of our Government lies in tbe union of the two races, and obedience to the new rule must be enforced at all hazards upon our colored brethren. We have but meagre accounts from the Beat of war, viz., the Ra Coast, % where the troops under Major Fitzgerald are forming a sort of advanced guard for the protection of the settlers on the coast. Our last advices from there show tbe Commissariat department (which with colored troops is sot a very extensive institution) to be a failure, moat of the soldiers being engaged chiefly in scouring round the country in search of food. The news, however, is on the whole quiet, for your genuine Kai Cola, as the mountaineers are called, are not at all anxious for fighting when any danger to themselves is probable. They, no doubt, feel themselves glorious warriors when they gallantly storm a town quartered by a few rheumatic old women, or perhaps some children, whom they immediately overcome with dauntless bravery. But rashness forms no part of our dusky brother's character; discretion rules paramount in his calculating cranium; and although he would at any time club a defenceless child, yet he feels in no way bound to risk his own valuable life to protect one, even though it were his own. And perhaps it will be as well for us all that instead of warlike Maoris > we have to deal with a set of lazy, sneaking, scoundrels in whose character not even the most ardent admirers of the noble savage can find one redeeming trait.