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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 11, 13 January 1873, Page 4

caution, but if one of our pious and estimable bakers or grocers should happen to find himself breaking stones at Mount Eden, we should not hear of much more bad tea, filthy sugar, horsebean coffee, or potato bread." Georgia Clare, one of the female performers connected with Chiarini's Circus; recently arrived in Auckland by the Dacotab, is known in California as the woman with the iron jaw. She is accustomed to hang by her garters and bold a man, with a strap around his body, by her teeth. A Californian paper is of opinion that such qualifications would doubtless enable her to develop great strength of language when so disposed. The following is an extract from a letter from a gentleman in Victoria, received by the Albion : — " Owing to the prevalence just now of snakes in Victoria, every householder ceases business at 2 p.m. for the sole purpose of killing indoor snakes. Large snake-killing cats are worth 2s 6d, and terriers fetch £2. Six snakes were under my pillow all night recently, unknown to me. I got up at dawD, feeling queer, when I saw the pillow move, and immediately, with help, placed a safe on it. About 2 p.m. we removed the snakes, which were crushed, but not quite dead. As a rule upwards of 100 snakes are found daily in a small house."' It must be pleasant where the writer of that letter resides. From the Upper Waitaki the Oamatu Times has news of a singular storm, some say a waterspout, which occurred ''there recently. In the space of a few seconds two dry creeks at Bugged Ridges were transformed into roaring torrents, four feet deep, and in a few minutes the River Waitaki had risen considerably. The sudden downpour was preceded by a rushing sound, and two or three men who were near or upon one one of the creek beds, at once made for the bank. The third remained, and in a few seconds was cut off from his companions by a broad stream. The storm extended to the Otematata, and the torrents of water which fell tore up the roads, making holes in some places to the depth of three to fonr feet. It soon passed over, and the streams fell rapidly. A Correspondent of the Oamaru Times says with regard to the weather recently at the Maerewhenua diggings: — "It is almost invariably the case that correspondents begin their news by describing the weather; but I don't mean to attempt anything of the kind — and good reason why, it isn't to be done. The weather ! save the mark ! It may be imagined, but carit be described. To help you to understand the sort of thing we have been enduring, I may tell you that two poor diggers were the other day in search of water at one of the races to make their tea with. The second found the first watching a miserable dribbling into his billy, and accosted him with, * Well, mate, is it any use my waiting ? To which No. 1 replied, ' Wall, not muchly; I left my billy here yesterday morning, and it's not half full yet. ' " Commenting upon the new Stamp Duties Act now in force, the New Zealand Jlerald says — " It was Hoyle, in his treatise on whist, who said, ' If the player is in doubt, he is to win the trick;' and we feel inclined to recommend an analogous principle, to be adopted in all business transactions between parties, and say that whenever a doubt exists stamp the dooument, whatever it may be. We some short time since heard one of our eminent barristers contend in open Court that an eighteenpenny ticket to a tea-party ought to be stamped, because it is not certain - whether all agreement entered into between two parties, by which the one ' consents in writing to dine with another, ought not to bear a stamp. On another occasion, when a defendant was charged with a breach of the Stamp Act, his counsel pleaded for a mitigation of the penalty, on the ground that the Colonial revenue had '- been enriched to the extent of several hundreds of pounds by nervous and ignorant persons placing stamps on letters and papers, and all sorts of memoranda, which, by law, required no stamps. "