The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1873.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 81, 3 April 1873, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 1873.

Professor Louis, who is performing with considerable success, in the country districts, advertises an entertainment at Wakefield this' evening. . We are requested to call the attention of our country readers to an advertisement of Dr. Carr's, to be found in another column. Harmonic Society. — The annual general meeting of the members of this Society will be held at the practice room this evening at 7 o'clock, for the purpose of electing officers for the ensuing year, and transacting other business connected with the Society. The committee hope to see a full attendance of subscribers and members. Perseverance Company. — A special general meeting of the shareholders in thiß Company is to be held this evening for the purpose of considering the present position of the Company, and the future working of the mine. It has frequently been suggested that it might be more profitable to the shareholders if the tribute system were tried, and it will bd more satisfactory to all if this matter be thoroughly discussed to-night,^ In a recent Melbourne paper we rjjad in the report of the half yearly meeting of the "Saints Company," the following:— "When the features of the Company were at a low ebb, the mine waß taken in hand by a body of tributers on certain conditions . agreed on, who, after considerable privations and losses, succeeded in developing its resources and putting money into .the pockets . of the shareholders.' 1 ' Perhaps if a similar course be adopted in in this case some such paragraph— wimws the "privations, and losses " we; hope— i may at some future date halve to be penned with reference tp the 'Perseverance Mine. Waimea WEST.-^-Eisewhere wiil* be found a v report of a public meetingr held at Waimea ..Wefet on ;yFridßy : ; i ia|t\.for""fiie ] . purpose : of giving expression to 'ihe feelin g that '. prevails^^ ; i|if bughdut thV whole districtwith refe-re|ice; to the recent dastardly 'VJ <^trage.^ponV^ :: <- '^hfe : v ; . residents^ bo jgliadf tp . learn that the; Government have acceded to their request and offered a reward of -£30 ivfcfcjthßl^ beenguilty ofrso unprecedsnted an offencej ; andi iris tibe hoped that; this, combined

with the general feeling of indignation that has naturally been aroused, will result in the criminal beirigt arretted 'and. punished. It was first thought) that the deed might have been' douei by -some drunkard bent on a spree, but after-con-sideration has led to the conclusion that it must bave been the wilful work of some malevolent individual, The acre in which the church stands is,within the ring fence of Staplegrove farm, and is fenced all round with a quick hedge. Folding gates, which are locked except during service time, lead to the road, and on the north side a small wicket gate opens to tbe entrance drive to the farm house. It was scarcely the act of a drunken man to climb over the folding gates, or to go through the entrance gate to the Staplegrove proproperty and then to pass through the little wicket gate for the purpose .of smashing the windows. The mischief, too, has been perpetrated in the most systematic manner. The offender has apparently gone to the south-west corner of the building, picked up a block of wood about 6 or 7 inches cube, placed there to protect the key, which was usually plaqed under one of the buttresses, and with this has smashed the window just over that spot. He has then worked steadily to the eastward, breaking all the windows, five in number, each of which consisted of a solid block of plate glass, nearly a quarter of an inch thick, smashed two of the lights in the stained glass window in the chancel, and then continued his work of destruction along the North side until he arrived at the two last windows, where it would seem that he must have been alarmed, for here the block of wood was found with fragments of glass attaching to it and stained with a few drops of blood. About 200 yards to the southward of the church is the old church, which is now used as a Sunday-school room and here too, two of the casement windows have been smashed. Such a diabolical outrage, we imagine, was never heard of before, and we sincerely trust that the police and the residents in the district will be successful in their endeavors to bring the offender to justice.