The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1874.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 174, 5 August 1874, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 1874.

The Murray, with the outgoing San Francisco mail, arrived at Onehunga at noon yesterday, just in time to catch the Cyphrenes, which sailed from Auckland in the afternoon. Owing to the heavy gale that was blowing, neither ' the Murray nor the Wellington were able to communicate with New Plymouth. Inland Communication Committee. — A meeting of the Committee was held last night, when it was decided to hold a public meeting on Friday evening next for the purpose of taking into

consideration the rumored proposals of the General Goverument with regard to tbe Nelson and West Coast railway, and resolutions were drawn up lo be submitted to the public for their approval on that evening. Customs Revenue. — The revenue received at the Port of Nelson for the quarter ending June 30, 1874, shows a falling off, being only £7634 as against £10,043 for the corresponding period of the previous year. The total j amount oi revenue derived from this source during the financial year just ended was £1,108,677. For the last quarter it was £286,794, against £23L262 for the corresponding period of last year. Public Meeting. — A meeting, at which ail who take an interest in tbe welfare of the province should attend, will be held at tho Provincial Hall on Friday evening in order to give the public ap opportunity of expressing au opinion upon the railway question. A very large attendance is expected, ond it is hoped that residents in the country, and especially members of the Provincial Council from the Waimea and Suburban Districts, will make a point of being present. Accident. — A serious accident happened yesterday afternoon to Mr Fletcher, of Trafalgar-street, who was driving his wife and family along the Waimea Road, when tbe trap containing them was capsized near the old Hospital, of course throwing tbe occupants out. We understand that two of Mrs Fletcher's ribs were broken, and tbat Mr Fletcher also sustained some severe injuries, but that the children, fortunately, escaped unhurt. The Comet. — Dr Hecior has addressed to the Evening Post the following letter dated July 27:—" Sir— -The comet noticed in your last issue is no doubt Coggia's comet, which was discovered on the 19th May last. It is now 140 times as bright as when first observed, and will have its maximum brilliancy on the 3rd proximo, when it will be nearly twice as bright as at present. I gather this from an ephemeris for tbis comet, published in the number of Nature for 21st May * last." A new wharf ia being constructed at Lyttelton, close to tbe tunnel mouth. It is to be 300 feet in length, nnd 59 wide. The cost will be about £7000. SpenkiDg to the motion in ths Assembly for the exemption of members of Volunteer Fire Brigades to serve on juries, Mr Luckie said he thought the present jury system should be dealt with on broader principles. A good lesson was given by the action of Victoria in the matter by lessening tbe number of jurors. He thought the Government would act wisely by amending the jury list altogefher, and by considering the question of juries of four and six, and abolishing that which had come to be considered a solemn sham, namely, Grand Juries. The Wellington correspondent of tbe Otago Daily Times says :— If Mr Stewart this session brings forward bis Marriage with a Deceased Wife's Sister Bill again, he will have a fresh and strong argument in its favor. Only a week or two ago, a magistrate of high standing in this province proceeded to Victoria, accompanied by the sister of his deceased wife, a lady of high connection here. They have since returned man and wife. There can be little use in keeping on our Statute Book a law which can be evaded by means of a trip to Melbourne and back. Tbe Borough Council at Grahamatown have voted a salary of £150 per annum to the Msyor. Tbe gold returns of the Thames district for lhe month of July show a yield of close upon 12,000 ounces. A sharp encounter with a shark, says the Coromandel News, took place in Kikowhakariri Bay lately. A large shark was seen swimming about the bay some thirty or forty feet from tbo edge of the water. Mr Kennedy and a plucky woman who volunteered to go with him, put off at once in a dingy, taking with him a spear and other tackle for the monster's capture. No sooner did the shark see the dingy put off, then he made direct for it, snapping one of the paddles io two. A fierce struggle then ensued. The spear, however, was handled with dexterity, and a thrust more fatal than the rest striking the monster in a vital part, caused him to turn belly upwards. Tbe battle, so say those who witnessed it from the shore, was an exciting one, and we must say tbat Mr Kennedy and his female companion showed no little pluck in venturing to the attack in a mere dingy, for tbe brute when towed ashore was found to measure a trifle over nine feet in length, with a mouth four feet in circumference. In a review of the Parliamentary papers relating to the South Sea Islands tbe Lyttelton Times makes the following suggestion: — "They contain a very large amount of solid information about Polynesia, and might with some advantage to tbe colony be made the basis of examination for a New Zealand University scholarship. The suggestion is not made in jest, for we are of opinion that the youth of this and the neighboring colonies should be encouraged to acquire a knowledge of the many islands scattered over the Pacific. These ialands will in course of time — they are even now to some extent—be looked upon as a promising field for the employment of capital in a variety of profitable industries."

They had a fine day in Wellington last Friday, and the unwonted circumstance furnishes a theme for a paragraph in the New Zealand Times. A man named John Danahy, landlord of the Exchange Hotel, Wanganui, was charged at the local Resident Magistrate's Court on Wednesday last, with robbing a drunken man in the hotel. The evidence showed that when the man was drunk Danahy took him up stairs to put him to bed, and then when be supposed him asleep, extracted from his pockets a sum of money, leaving untouched some cheques aud papers. The attentive publican was committed to take bis trial at the next sittings of the Supreme Court at Wanganui, to be held in October. Wilh reference to the spread of hpdropbobia in the old country, the London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus writes : — " No little consternation has been caused lately by the terrible increase of tbat frightful malady among dogs, which is, I believe, more prevalent in these islands than anywhere else, I allude to rabies. Whole entries of fox-hounds have had to be destroyed, snd tho disease, as well ns the panic it bas caused, appears to be spreading. There is said to be no cure for the madness, but I cannot help thinking that if the dog tax was raised to five or ten times its present rate we Bbould hear less of hydrophobia. People now keep dogs who never look after them, or see them properly fed, who don't mind paying ss. for the privilege of keeping a mongrel, but if they were called upon to shell out a couple of sovereigns, they would either cease to be proprietors, or would take care of their property, as being more valuable. There aro many hundred thousands of curs running about the country totally neglected, aod it is among these that the madness first appears. Our Australian telegrams recently informed us that the captain of tbe ship Oakworth had had his certificate suspended for running down and refusing to render assistance to a fishing boat in the Irish Channel. In commenting on the affair, the Australasian says ; — " There was absolutely no option before the Steam Navigation Board in dealing wilh the evidence in the Oakworth case but to arrive at the ending it did, that the charge against the captain was clearly proved. And the charge was one of the most serious that could be brought against the master of a vessel. The facts proved that alter running down the small craft of some poor fisherman this humane specimen of a British sailor not only himself refrained from doing anything to rescue the drowning men beyond throwing them an ineffective rope, but he interfered with his authority as captain to prevent others from rendering assistance. There was absolutely no reason why the boat could uot have gone with perfect safety to the help of the perishing men, who might then probably have been saved. There was no danger to the boat, no peril to the ship, nothing but the slight delay of an hour which it might have occasioned. And rather than incur this Captain Edgar preferred to make sail, and to leave these drowning men, whose cries were still ringing in his ears, to their fate. The case seems to rival in coldblooded disregard of human life that of the Murillo and the ill-fated Northfleet, which with her cargo of human beings was run down as she lay at anchor in tho Downs. There at any rate the captain bad a motive, base as it might be, of trying to escape unknown from tbe heavy responsibility that the reckless management on board bis ship had devolved upon him. But in this case it does not seem tbat any blame of any very serious character was attributable to the Oakworth for the accident in the first place, and even at the worst the pecuniary damages chargeable on account of the loss of this fishing-boat could but have been small. In the case of the Murillo also, we were accustomed to say that the shameful desertion was au incident which could not have happened had that ship been manned and officered by Englishmen. Yet here we find its cruel barbarous indifference to human suffering equalled in tbe case of a fine English liner, with British sailors and officers on board, and a British captain in command. Tbe Navigation Board has done all within iti province to do by cancelling the captain's certificate. But it is evident tbat much more is required for the enforcing of justice and for vindicating the good reputation of English sailors for gallantry and humanity. It will be for the proper authorities to see that the needful steps are taken to do all that cau be done to redress the cruel . wrongs of this deplorable ease." The bankruptcy proceedings in re the claimant have recommenced. Orton is to be examined on June 27th. The cost of the late trial is £55,315. Orton is in prison, employed as a tailor. Punch hopes he is not engaged on a new suit. The litigation expenses falling on the Tichborne estates already reach £92,000. Dr Kenealey being ill, the benchers' inquiry has been postponed till July 18. William Hopwood, a witness for the prosecution, has been committed for trial on a charge of bigamy at Stockport. Mrs Mioa Jury also claims Hopwood as her husband. Mrs Jury, who was committed for trial on a charge of larceny at her lodgings, has been discharged, the grand jury finding no bill. She threatens an action for perjury. How to Raise Beet.— Take hold of the tops and pull.