The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, APRTL 11. 1874.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 86, 11 April 1874, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, APRTL 11. 1874.

The Suez Mail was due in Melbourne on Wednesday last, and may be expected to arrive at the Bluff by the steamer Otago to-morrow or next day. Among the passengers by the mail boat will be the Bishop of Nelson and Mrs Suter. Mr. Chapman. — In consequence of the death of Mr John Tregea, junior, which took place yesterday afternoon, Mr Chapman, out of respect to the Order to which the deceased belonged, postponed his performance advertised to take place at the Masonic Hall last night, until after the funeral which will take place with Masonic honors tomorrow. A Correction. — The disappointed tenderer for the Government advertising gives this morning the population of the City of Nelson on the authority of the " Government printers." He is in error. He obtained his information from the Evening Mail. The West Coast. — Communication between Nelson and the West Coast, both by steamer and telegraph, has been completely interrupted during the past week. Heavy gales, flooded rivers, and impassable bars have been the order of the day. There is at last a prospect of our obtaining news from that part, as the Kennedy arrived from Weßtport just before we went to press this afternoon. Artizans' Association. — The artizans gave another of their pleasant entertainments last night, when the Odd-Fellows' Hall was crowded to excess. The first of the two . farces, An Ample Apology, was not so well acted as is usual with the dramatic performances of the Society. The parts not being thoroughly learnt, the actors had no confidence in themselves, and consequently imparted to the audience an uncomfortable feeling cf nervousness lest they should break down. The falling of the curtain, therefore, was rather a relief than otherwise. The singing, on the other hand, was excellent, and most of the songs were loudly applauded. " Pat from Mullingar" was greeted with shouts of laughter, but might have been rendered still more racy had a little more, of the brogue been thrown into it. An Ethiopian song and dance were well received, as was the pathetic song, "Be kind to the old folks at home." The concluding farce, Turn Him Out, was performed with so much spirit as almost to obliterate the feelings of disappointment to which the first one had given rise, and the audience were sent away in a thoroughly good humor. We must Dot omit to mention that the Society received valuable aid from two lady amateurs. PrESENTATION TO ME. KeAENS. — On Easter Monday, the anniversary of Odd-Fellowship in Nelson was celebrated at Lower Wakefield. A procession of representatives of the various lodges was formed, and marched to St. John's Church, where an excellent eermon was preached by the Rev. J. Spear, after which- they returned, headed by the Wakefield brass band, to the lodgeroom, where lunch was provided. During the afternoon there were sports of all descriptions, and in the evening about 200 persons sat down to tea, after which there was a meeting, the chair being taken by Mr. Shephard, who, having stated the object of the meeting, called on P.G.M. R. M. Smith to present the testimonial to P. P.G.M. Kearns. Mr. Smith, having given an interesting little sketch of Odd-Fellow-ship in the province, in the course of which he alluded to many of the old settlers who have since passed away from our midst, begged Mr. Keams, as the oldest; Odd-Fellow in New Zealand, to accept a service of plate as a mark of the high respect in which he was held in the district, and as an acknowledgment of his indefatigable exertion* in the cause of Odd-Fellow-ship. Mr. Kearns having replied in a feeling... speech, the meeting broke up, and gave place to a ball, which was kept up with great spirit until an early hour in the morning. The Rev J. S. Smolley, who will leave on Tuesday for Napier, has been presented by bis friends with a purse containing fifty sovereigns. Mr Smalley is the first Wesleyan minister who baa been appointed to reside at Napier, and as the work to be done in a new field is of an unusually onerous character, and requires a very zealous and active i minister, the selection of the rev gentle-

man must be taken as a recognition of the untiring manner in which he has worked since he was first stationed in Wellington. The presentation was made last Thursday at a tea meeting given under the auspices of the Wesleyan Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society, but the speakers were not by any means confined to that Association, and several members of the church bore testimony to the able and indefatigable manner in which" Mr Smalley had performed his duties as a clergyman. In responding, the rev gentleman, in a feeling address, thanked his many friends for numerous kindnesses received and said he would always think of his residence in Wellington as one of the happiest periods of his life. — Independent. We notice that the Albion Company's paddle steamer Coomerang is to be sold by Messrs. M 'Laundress, Hepburn, and Co., of Dunedin, at noon on the 13tb inst. The process of brewing by Bteam is becoming common in Dunedin, and the "Daily Times" mentions that Messrs Harley Brothers, of Nelson, have had apparatus manufactured there for the same purpose. A late private telegram to a gentleman in Wellington dated London, 21st March, states tbat prices of wool wore then well-maintained, and that the last public sales bad closed favorably. Nearly 170,000 bales had been offered, and only 5000 or 6000 bales have been withdrawn. The quiet, easy-going community of Wellington is to contribute its quota to the gold-hunters whose destination is the now famous Palmer River diggings. In spite of the accounts of the extreme hardships to be endured, a few adventurous spirits, strongly imbued with the thirst for gold, took their departure yesterday in the Edwin Bassett for Newcastle, whence they proceed to the scene of action. The scarcity of provisions and the unparalleled difficulties to be encountered have already put a stop to the migration even from those parts of Australia nearest to the Palmer River; but the love of adventure seems to cover all thought of hardship or danger. The party who left yesterday ore to report upon the prospects to several mates who remain here, and, in the event of this report being favorable, the population of Wellington will probably undergo some slight reduction. — Independent. On Tuesday evening, the 31st ult., nn infuriated cow is said by the Napier Daily Telegraph to have " run arouck " down the street. Mdlle. Jenny Claus happened to be in the street at the time, and received several contusions from the brute, but these were fortunately unattended with any grave results. AMr Margoliouth seized the cow by the horns, and endeavored to break its neck, but failed to do so. It next attacked a young man, who, when knocked down, lay still, and it passed on. The Inspector arrived on the scene to take it into custody, but, not succeeding, a proposal was made to bring out the artillery with the big gun. Subsequently it was dispatched with a rifle bullet. A friend from the country gives me the following :— ln one of the new townships in the North-eastern district a holy Roman had to be buried some years ago in unconsecrated ground. A short time since a cemetery was proclaimed, and the family resolved on having the poor fellow's remains decently put into holy soil. An empty gincase was big enough to hold his bones, and, being carefully collected, they were put in this, fastened down, and brought to the widow's house, reverently put into a full-size coffin, and then, followed by the friends of the family within a radius of ten miles, interred with all the rites of the church. The mourners returned to the widow's house to spend a quiet night in drinking to the memory of tbe dear departed. A case of square gin bad been specially purchased for the entertainment of the funeral party; but when it was opened the horror of the thirsty and expectant friends must be imagined, when it was found that the wrong case had been buried! Twelve good bottles of gin had been planted eight feet under the ground, amidst the tears and regrets of those who little knew the heavy loss they were inflicting on themselves when they helped to shovel the earth on top of them, and a case of dry bones was the only refreshment the family of the departed free selector had to offer his old friends The waking was one of the soberest and saddest on record. — " John Peerybingle," in the Melbourne Weekly Times. A correspondent of the Sydney Em' pire writing from the Palmer River says : — " Since the weather has cleared many persons amuse themselves bathing, but, considering that a few days ago the crew of a schooner caught three sharks in the short space of an hour, it would not seem to be a very desirable sport. One of the sharks, when opened, was found to have in his inside the two horns of a bullock , with a piece of skull attached, also a smaller head, with horns attached, likewise a ladies' slipper, and a saddle-cloth. The bay is thoroughly infested with sharks." The extent to which gold-mining is prosecuted in Finland is but little understood. "During last Autumn," says the " Journal of the Society of Arts," ' * there were no less than seventeen companies extracting gold from the auriferous sand of Finland. One of the companies returned a dividend of j 70 per cent. The largest nugget weighed twenty-eight pennyweights." |