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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 79, 1 April 1873, Page 2

About two hundred head of cattle, tbe largest mob ever brought on the Ahaura plains, w~ere driven over from Chrisfcchucb tbis week. They are tbe property of Mr George Mason, and are intended for tbe Charleston market. Tbe journey over was not accomplished without loss, as nearly seventy head were found missing on reaching the Ahaura on Monday last. — Greymouth Star. The Wreck of the Northfleet.— We now have all tbe particulars of the disastrous wreck of the Northfleet', and the shocking sacrifice of human life by which it was attended. In connection with tbis matter tbere are, amongst the sad records of distress and ruin, two features which stand out with great prominence to the view of the reader. One is the cowardly calculating atrocity of the conduct of the captain of the steamer by which the ill-fated ship was run down, in steaming away and leaving her unhappy freight of human beings to their inevitable fate. That this was carried out in a very deliberate way is shown by the statement of one of the survivors, tbat the crew of the steamer hurried to' get a tarpaulin out over the bow so as to hide the name at the figurehead. It is indeed to be hoped that the men responsible for this dastardly and unsailorlike inhumanity will yet be traced and brought to their deserved punishment. There is no great reason to believe tbat where so many are in the secret and at the same time not responsible for the crime, some one will , be induced by the large reward offered to make the disclosure that will avail to bring the guilty parties to justice. The other element of strong moral interest in this fearful catastrophe is the heroic conduct of Captain Knowles, the gallant young commander of the Northfleet. Cast suddenly iuto the dreadfulposition of being called upon. to try to save the lives of as many as he could of the helpless ones around him, Captain Knowles seems by the testimony of the survivors to have done everything that cool bravery could do towards getting the; passengers, and first of all the women into the boats. There appears never to have been a thought on his part of saving his own life, but merely to do what he could, conscious that this was but little, to effect the rescue of others. To the boatswain he said, " Bo'sen, I am going to do my work right up through here, but just look after my wife, and see her safe into &r boat." The young wife was lowered over the side into a boat. "As she was lowered the capiain waved his hands, and said, 'Good-bye, my dear, good bye, :* and his wife replied; ' Goodbye, my love ; I don't expect to see you any more.'" Just then the ship pitched under water,; and many were washed off. The Captain* was heard to exclaim, " Take care; of, my ; wife( iboatswainj" tp which the boatswain^-.prb-, imised,;'*l,wili captain; if, shejgpes I'tlwill' !go with her. seen 'he was stahdmg ' : jYingiY; ; the; \ b^at^contaM yssi ; ■i-wavingthls^handjto- Keri^Y^mi^^iaU^tniß' , ■■ "'•7'>£- , .'-i , '-7 \w**w''^V>'.-!i. 4 r^*.' , *' ? ''.^? j: '-"-' &^.**"tf»^-¥w *ST'?'*';' 77 "V

horror and, grief of the disaster, it is reviving to meet with the calm courage, devotion, strong 'sense of duty, and heroic self-sacrifice of this noble specimen of an English sailor. — Australasian: For remainder of news, see fourth page.

The Dunedin gas is being complained of by the local papers to be of very bad quality. Mr Parkes has announced his intention of revising the tariff in the direction of free . trade, abolishing the ad valorem duties, and making Sydney " the focus of Australian commerce." Telegragh construction and reparing must be rather hazardous work in Java. A telegram from Adelaide to the Melbourne Age states that the length of the recent break in tbe transmission of messages through Java arose from the fact that, tigers attacked the workmen. The proprietors of the Illustrated London News announced, amongst the special arrangements -which will be made duiing 1873 for obtaining sketches for that paper, that " Australia and New Zealand will be visited by a correspondent, who has already set forth on his voyage io the Antipodes, and who will procure fresh illustrations of whatever may have recently occurred of local importance in the several provinces of those remote British colonies." Something quite novel iv the way of cricket happened at Wellington lately. A grand family re-union match was played on the Te Aro Cricket ground, the players being composed entirely of the members of the Dixon family, whose number in the Colony alone exceeds 130. Many of the players had probably never handled the willow before, and great fun wes excited by their awkard exhibitions; but the affair altogether passed off very pleasantly. In the evening the Dixonians sat down to a substantial supper, and passed a few hours together very merrily. Encoueaged, no doubt, by the tempting bonuses offered by the General Government for the establishment of new industries, some individuals of a speculative turn of mind, says the Tuapeka Times, have endeavored to introduce a simple and expeditious mode of turning tbe natural resources of the Colony to account, which is described as the "five pound trick." The modus operandi is as follows: — A gentleman of agreeable manners but of uncertain morals and place of residence, enters a public house and having established friendly relations between the landlord and the individuals who may happen to be present and himself, invites the whole to partake of liquid refreshment. Wben he extends the said invitation he ostentatiously exhibits a five pound note, probably remarking tbat it is all the money he has in the world, or something to that effect, and that be intends to stick to it as long as possible. He manages to convince the landlord or barman that the note he is j exhibiting is a genuine "fiver." When the liquors are being drunk he adroitly changes the five for a one pound note, throws it in to the individual behind the har, who having previously examined it, feels certain of its amount, throws it carelessly into the till, and gives the change for a five. When, at the solemn midnight, the day's takings are being counted the voice of lamentation is heard in the house wherein the liberal stranger had shouted. A Hoebible Superstition. — The Providence Herald of Septemer 5 says : — " The village of Peacedale was thiown into excitement on Thursday last by the report that two graves had been dug up near Watson's Corner, on the shore of the Saugatuck River. The family of Mr William Rose, who reside at Saunderstown, near the South Ferry, are subject to. consumption, several members of the family having died of the disease ; and ■ one member of the family is now quite low with it. At the urgent inquest of the sick man, the father assisted by Charles Harrington, of Nor Kingston, repaired to the burying-ground, located one mile north of Peacedale, and after building a fire, first dug up the grave of his son, who had been buried 12 years, for the purpose of taking out his heart and liver, which were to be placed in the fire and consumed, in order to carry out the old superstition that the cpnsuptive dead draw nourishment from the living. But as the body -was entirely reduced to ashes, except a few bones, it was shortly covered up, and the body of the daughter, who bad been dead seven years, was taken out of the grave beside her brother. This body wes found to be nearly wasted away, except the vital parts the liver and heart, which were in a perfect state of preservation. The coffin -was nearly perfect, while the son's coffin -was nearly demolished. After the heart and liver had been taken, they were placed in tbe fire and consumed, the ashes only . being put back into the grave. The fire was then put out, and the two men de- ( parted to their respective, homes. Only a few spectators were present to witness the horrible scene. It seems that this is not the first time that graves have been dug upwhere consumption was prevalent in the family, and the vital parts burned in order to save the living. A few years !^go the ; s£nie was ?doheY in? the village; of

Moorsfield, And also in the town of North j Kingston." / Opening of the First Railroad in Japan.— A Yokohama letter to the Philadelphia Inquirer gives the following interesting account of tbe opening of tbe first railroad in Japan : — The Japanese have indeed opened- tbeir eyes in astouishment upon beholding for the first time the long-looked for railway (so called), really moviDg, going, whistling and steaming along, like one of our steam ploughs at home, with three street carts attached. However, there is room for improvement, and probably it is better for them that tbe glory, comfort, and accommodation of a first-class railroad should not be thrust upon thera at once. On the 12th of tbis month a number of high Japanese officials, headed by the Prime Minister Sanjif.o, Okuma, Sangbi aud Ito, inspected tbe railway, and were so satisfied with its arrangement that it was decided to open the line to the public the next day. Trains run from Yokohama to Shinagawa, four miles this side of Yedo, the line to Yedo not being finished yetY Those who wish to go to Yedo bave to leave the train at Shinagawa, and take to their heels or to a sbinrickisha to finish their journey. The Japanese have no idea of the value of timo; nothing hurries them. To see a meosmie (girl) walk on two little wooden footstools which are tied on to her big toes, you have to look twice before you are aware in wbich direction she is walking. She shuffles along, taking her tiny steps at great ease, lookiog around at everything, and asking the passer-by in a graceful, bewitching way, "Doko-maro?" (where are you going), and to the American ladies she says, Tarsau kire " (very pretty), aod will stand still and examine the lady's shoes, dress, &c. The railway is very punctual, and if the Japs don't get faster in their movements they will suffer the same disappointment as the Prime Minister of Japan did on the 13th inst., who, being one minute too late, was leffc standing on the platform to see the train and bis friends go off. Ifc must have been humiliating to San j ito Daijin, as be had given instructions that he would go with the train, but the chief commissioner of railways showed him that the train waits for nobody. There were but few Japanese who went by the first train. Many of them believed it was a scheme to kill tbe Japanese people; some had a vague idea of a train, and they believed it was a large steamer that would run iv all directions, and no one would know where it would come to next, and thus the Japs would not be able to get out of the way in time to save their lives. All the movements of the railway bave been kept so secret that I do not wonder the Japanese believe ifc to be a bete noir, and besides, tbe opening of the line had been announced so many times, that when the wolf really appeared no one would believe he was there. The rates are very expensive on this wonderful result of labor, brains, and ability, which cost the Government over eight millions of Mexican dollars to finish.