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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 183, 31 July 1873, Page 4

Tbe pasturage rents of the ProvineHHj Canterbury for the past year amounteWßfj more than £50,000. * |jjf The influences of Americanisms haljl length extended to the Press of Melbou|Hf| The Evening Herald has the black lefljf sensation heading style, ond heads ISH telegraphic column with the greatest mjH strosity in word coinage we have met m| iv any newspaper — Telegramatta. Wffl A Substitute for Coal.— Sheffie|M it is said, is ahout to give tbe worliffl greater benefactor than Watts. tS| price of coal has been one of the grefßl questions of the hour, and the probabwH exhaustion of the coalfields has made tho«B| interesed in posterity very uncomfortabl#H| Now we are glad to get a substitute, anoffl one, too, of which there is an unlimiteH| supply. If air, as is proposed, can bflH used as fuel, neither colliers nor coalownlH ers, nor railway companies will havo us aljj| their mercy, and our tempers will, as sm matter of course, be much improved. Mr Wright's invention for warming and lighting is already patented. In passing through a charged battery atmospheric air is carbonized, and thus combustible eir is produced, which burns brighter than coal gas, and when mixed with air bas a heating power which can melt copper wire. The price of tho gas would be 6d. for every 1000 cubic feet, but as the consumption is more rapid the actual cost would be 9d. Should this bo brought into success- ' ful operation, the world will be a much ; happier place to live in, and Mr Wright will no doubt be made a baronet. A correspondent of the Scientific American gives the following novel manner for measuring men's characters : — • During ihe lust ten years, in the winter season, according to our daily record, we have noticed the manner in which one thousand persons who have called for work have opened and shut, or not shut our store door. This, you may Bay, is a futile and useless undertaking; but we entertain a very different opinion. What are the facts and what the deductions. 1. Out of one thousand persons recorded, three hundred and thirty-five opened the door and shut it carefully, when they came in and when they went out, without much noise. 2. Two hundred and twenty-six opened it in a hurry, and made an attempt to shut it, but did not, and merely pulled it to when they went out. 3. Three hundred and two did not attempt to shut it at all, either on corning in or goin_. out. 4. Niaefy-six left it open when tbey came in, but when reminded of the fact, made ample apology, and shut it when tbey went out 5. Ooh hundred uni two opeued it in a great hurry, and then slammed it violently, but left it open when they went out. 6. Twenty came in with ' ' How do you do, sir ?" or " Gooi morning," or "Good evening, sir"— and all these went through the opemtion of wipiug their feet on the mat, but did not fchut the door when they came in nor when tbey went out. Remarks — We have empVryed men out of all th; se classes, aud during that time have had an opportunity of Ridging of their mt-riis, &c. The first, clasi of three hundred and thirty-five — were those who knew their tradr>, and commenced and finished their work in a methodical manner; were quiet, and had little »o say in their working hours, and were veil approved by those for whom they did their work. They were punctual to time, -md left nothing undone they were ordered \o do. They did not complain about trifi-s, and in all resppfts they were reliable tnto, and were kind and obliging in their general conduct. The Spirits Outdone.— The London corresponpect of the Birmingham Post writes as iollows : —If any devout Spiritists prevail in the Midlands, they should make apilgrimage at once to the Crystal Palace, at Sydenham. There are two mediums tbere, Mr Maskeleue and Mr Cooke, who bave great qualifications for astounding them. They greatly surpass the Davenport Brothers. They make the tables dance, walking-sticks converse, and wreaths of flowers float through the air and present themselves to favorites of the spirits; a lady floats in the air — not in a dark seance, but in the open daylight. Tbe audience are not required to sit round in the dark, holding each other's hands, like so many idiots; but sit at liberty with powerful opera glasses in their hands, are invited on the stage and sit there during the performances —^ manifestations " lought to say. A cabinet is placed before the audience, elevated, so that persons can see under it, and over it, and both sides of ifc, and incredulous auditors are permitted on the stage, who can watch behind it. The floor below it is covered with a carpet, which renders the use of a trap-door impossible, and there are no conceivable means by which persons placed in the bex

I uld esflf^^WrrSoflT^ii^^TO-^^ri. a in enters the box, his legs are locked in pvy wood stocks; when the doorisopened | man ia gone, and no one can conIve in what way he has disappeared. I returns to his box in the garb of a, gilla, manifesting Satanic proclivities. He gceeda in dragging into his cabinet one ill Bull, a butcher, and both gorilla and Ksher are gone when the door is opened, ij, although a distinguished Spiritualist ■ allowed to be on the stage, and a very Epdulous and suspicious gentleman from Spody of the meeting, yet neither could Epver how the disppearance came about. Ether the gorilla ate the butcher, or Kher the butcher ate the gorilla, or Kher both ate each other, nobody was ■lo say, or to suggest in what possible Ber they could have disappeared. Tbe Keleue and Cooke spirits excel all Rg3 that have ever troubled the world Bp- The Davenport Brothers were Pf s found iv their cabinet. They were like spirits who had lost their legs, they never could get away. But these spirits disappear with velocity. For a long time the Spiritists have beeu, so they say, j getting the better of thii world, but now the children of this world have got the better of the spirits. Mr Maskeleue and Mr Cooke play Spiritist pranks which no Cock : Lane Ghost could pretend to, and which would have brought Dr Johnson down upon his knees in wonder and adoration. Two centuries ago tho end of Maskeleue aud Cooka would have been fire and faggot.