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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 280, 26 November 1874, Page 2

The latest news respecting the Palmar goldfields is containai in the following paragraph, which we take from the Otago Daily Times:— By the Easby, which arrived from Sydney on the 31at ult, a letter hns been received from one of the gentlemen who left this office to try their fortune at the Palmer. After a rough passage to Melbourne, they succeeded in catchicj; the City of Adelaide, which sailed for Sydney four hours after their arrival. On reaching that place they saw a number of diggers from the Palmer, who had done very well, and intended to return as soon as the wet season was ended. In the meantime, a number of them are making for the Curragong diggings, whither the majority of those who left Dunedin by the Tararua are also goiDg until the rainy season at Palmer is over.

Presence of mind is a valuable gift in ail circumstances. Not long ago, on the arrival of a train of cars nt Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a man jumped off a car, and demanded of nother standing on the platform that he pay him the forty dol. he owed. " I don't owe you any forty dollars," was the reply; "I never saw your before." " Well, you pay it quick, or I will make you," said the flrst raan, brandishing a revolver, every chamber of which was loaded with powder and ball. The gentleman who was thus threatened, seeing that his assailant w->s either insane or intoxicated, neither ran away nor knocked the maniac down, but calmly replied : " Well, I haven't got the money about me, but I know where I can pet it, and if you like to go with me we'll make it all right." He then led the way to the polico station, where the insane debt collector was taken charge of by the police.

One of the inhabitants of South London, attending (he district church on Christmas Day, must, have been affected by the discourse, for in the midst of it the minister was requested to "act up to what he preached." Warm ?— South London Press.

It was said that, in the town of Boston, the girls h»d made an improvement in ironing, which beat the steamengine on common roadu all hollow. They spread out all the clothes on a platform, and fasten hot flat-irons to their feet and skate over them. This was combining the recreative with the useful and ornamental.

A writer in the Melbourne Leader saye: — " Mr Yogel is about to visit Europe, and I should cay that it is about even bating that he never returns. It would be just as well that the enterprising Premier should have cleared out before the financial storm bursts, but I tbink that common prudeuce would dictate his nuking some arrangements to secure his pension, unless, indeed, he haa made enough economies during the time ho haa been in office to provide against any possible rainy day." The Southern Gross remarks : — " Every direct statement in this extract, with the single exception of the fact that Mr Yogel is about to visit Europe, is wrong, and every inuendo is a libel of such a disgraceful character that no honest man would be its author."

(For remainder of News see fourth page.~)

According to the Picton paper, a farther crashing of gold has taken place at the Tomer Mine. The cake weighed 86 ounces, the result of 21 days' crashing. The same paper says shares were sold daring last week at a premium on the paid-up shares. Eight of the Danedin clergy decline, except in cases of emergency, to officiate at Sunday funerals, for three reasons — firstly, because they consider all their fellow-citizens should enjoy the weekly rest of the Sunday; second, because Sunday funerals especially deprive undertakers, their assistants, and sextons of that boon, and seriously interfere with their attendance at church; and, thirdly, because the duties of ministers on the Sunday are sufficiently onerous without the addition of funerals on that day.

A correspondent of the Tribune writes:— -I read with some amazement and at first with a slight tendency to " boil over," thai His Honor the Superintendent of Auckland, attended by the Provincial Secretary, proposed to visit England a la Yogel, on important business connected with the town pump. I learn now with regret that they have decided not to honor Europe with their pretence; for though, as above hinted, I felt slightly riled by the news at flrit, on second thoughts it dawned upon me that it was very desirable, (1) that they should go to England; (2) that all their brother Superintendents and brother Provincial Secretaries should go there likewise; and (3) that they ehoold remain there till they were sent for. Very fitly it seems to me might we then apply to their Honors the .well known lines —

Trne patriots they, for be it understood They left their country for their country's good. and we might even go farther, and "cable" to them to come back immediately on doable screw. On the other hand we mightn't, and perhaps (hey had better not go. Hie following statement is related by the South Australian Register: — That truth ia stranger than fiction is again proved daring the last voyage of the ship Portland, which has juat sailed for Wallaroo. On the passage to China, the vessel was bowling along through the Archipelago prior to reaching the China Sea, when the wind freshened, and it became necessary to farl the skysails. The master had a smart yoangster on board whose activity bad frequently been the subject of comment, and as soon as the sail was clewed up he scampered aloft to furl it. It was & long distance to the skysailyard, about 180 to 190 feet, bat the tar mounted till he reached the sail and snagged it ap properly. Turning roand on return he lost bis hold, and fell the whole distance without touching & rope. He mast have been immediately killed bat for the captain's gig, a lightly-built boat, which wag resting on the skids. His weight knocked oat a few of her planks and timbers, and he then fell to the deck. Consternation was general, and a rush was made to the spot, where the spectators were agreeably surprised when it was found that except a slight bruise on his elbow, the lad was aninjured. Smashing the gig was considered a small matter when it became apparent that it had saved the youngster's life. The lad astonished the skip's company next day by going aloft to loosen the ' mainikysail.

The police, searching in the slums of Paris, have seized a paste, sold ia tin boxes, which, by contact with water, takes fire and burns with great intensity.

The German newspapers, in commenting upon the Queen's speech at the prorogation of Parliament, inßiet that the position of Great Britain as a Power imposes upon her duties which are not satisfied by a selfish and unaympathic neutrality on questions of European importance.

Db. CLbakt ih Parliament. — Dr. OTeary made bis maiden speech against the Licensing Bill in the British House of Commons last session. This gentleman, who owes his seat for Drogbeda to the evidence he gave in the Talbot murder case* is by far the smallest man, physically, in the House. When he rose he eoald scarcely be seen over the shoulders of members who were sitting around him, but the cry of "new member" brought the Speaker's eye upon him, and he was allowed to get Tent for Petoey'a Chemistry. Ho said be would treat the subject chemically. "For," said he, "that is my department." The idea of there being a department in Parliamentary debates tickled the House, and there were ears set for Dr. O'Leary. He proceeded to ■how that a laboring man's dinner was oi no use to him for more than an hoar after he took it unless he washed it down with alcohol. As regards cheese —(laughter) — I say cheese will not assimilate for an hour aud a half — (laughter.) Mr Speaker, cheese — (great laughter.) Mr Speaker, Mr Speaker, I was saying, as a chemist, that cheese — (roars of laughter.) Ido not know what members are laughing at, but I have not done, and I must say that cheese — (shouts of laughter.) I do not understand why I should not treat the matter scientifically; and if I am not allowed to explain to the House that a poor laboring man's cheese — (convulsive laughter.) At this point the Speaker of the House lost his power of keeping a serious face, and actually shook ia his chair with laughter. A more ludicrous scene has perhaps never been enacted in the House of Commons, and never will again until Dr. O'Leary favors it with another leoture on the indigtitibility of cheese— without beer.

During a thunderstorm a man who was bathing near Leitb was struck by lightning, and died in the water. A telegram {pom Kingston, Jamaica, dated August 26th says: — "Tbia rooming there was a frightful earthquake at Porto Rico. Tbeshocks extended over a period of two minutes, during which the houses recked to and fro, causing the inhabitants to rush into the streets in the wildest state of consternation. The amount of damage sustained has not yet been estimated, but will prove to be considerable.

In the English Postmaster-general's report it is stated that about 13,700 letters were posted iaet year without any address whatever, and that nearly 500 of these letters contained cash, checks, or bills of exchange to the value of £13,000.

Krupp, the gun-maker, pays £54,000 taxes this year on an income of £1 680,000. The bonds of his recent great £10,000,000 loan are being rapidly taken on the German and English markets. They are £100 each, running ten years, with four per cent, annual ioterest, every bond to be redeemed at £110 when it falls due

A Natal paper says : — A trumpeter of a regiment stationed at the Cape of Good Hope drank so much one night that he could not stand up, and in this situation his companions carried htm out in the open air and laid him down to get sober. He soon fell asleep, and a wild beast happening to come along, and thinking him dead, lifted him up, and carried him off, expecting to have a good meal of him. The fellow, on awakening, was horror-struck to find himself in the power of a ferocious beast, who was making off with him to the mountains as fast as possible. But his fear brought him to his seuses, and Seizing bis trumpet, which hung about bis neck, he souode 1 a terrible blast ; at which the beast, thinking he had a dead man to deal with, became as much frightened as the man was with his situation. The prey was dropped, and captive and captor, equally alarmed scampered in opposite directions as fast as possible.

A somewhat singular incident recently occurred at a farm belonging to the chateau of Avignon, in the Catnarpnp, Bouches-du Rhone. A flock of 684 sheep were feeding, when they were suddenly surprised by a violent storm of wind and rain dashing to their faces. They instantly turned and ran away to escape the driving shower, but unfortunately the path they selected led them to a deep pond, into which they plunged one after the other, aud were all drowned. A poor dog who was in charge of the flock endeavored to stop them, but the pressure of the frightened animals was so great that he was borne down and shared their fate. Their bodies were extricated next day, and buried in deep ditches close by. The loss is estimated at nearly 30,000 francs. It is scarcely credible, but it is nevertheless a fact, that a British mother-in-law has devised a new way of harassing her daughter's husband. This is what happened lately at Westbury Leigh, Wilsthire. A caother-in-law gave her son-in-law a pot of beer, for which he sought to give her a kiss in return This roused the jealousy of the father-in-law, who quarrelled with the mother-in-law, and assaulted her. Finally, to vindicate her character, she brought an action againßt her son-in-law for assaulting her by kissing her, and for this offence he was fined 10s and costs, in addition to which the unfortunate man bad to stand a lecture from the Justice?, who informed him that they considered kissing a mother-in-law to be a dangerous practice. A recent London paper says that a strange sight is to be seen just now in the Thames, not a native man-of-war guarding the highway, but a huge ironclaJ projecting from the slips some hundred feet in the river, her stern down in the mud, her bows up aloft, her back strained, her bottom broken in, a new boat practically wrecked before ehe was floated. The Independencia 'is a large turret ship built for the Brazilian Government, and constructed entirely under foreign supervision; the launch proved a com* plete failure, and unless the spring tide enables the business to be completed, a loss of a quarter of a million will fall upon the underwriters. Even if the huge mass of 5000 tons weight do float off, she may leak so much as to sink, and then she will need to be blasted to pieces and re-constructed. Catgut, wood, metal, aod parchment have long been laid under contribution by the makers of musical instruments ; aad now some ingenious Italians have formed a small but tolerably complete orchestra in which the instruments are made of stone. The so-called "stones" are not of natural formation, but are composed of terra-cotta In shape they resemb'e kidney potatoes, and the stone to whicli the highest part is assigned is about the size of an averaged-sized potato, while the largest, which dots the duty of the ophicieide or bassoon, is about as large as a large watermelon. The stones are pierced loogitudinally and played like pipes, keys being formed by lateral piercings. Astonishing but not altogether beautiful effects are derived from a combination of seven "stones," the chords being not unlike thosa of a somewhat harshtoned hurmonium. The performers, moreover, on the soprano and tenor stones play with remarkable fluency and even expression (the other stones supplying the accompaniment) operatic airs, airs with variations, and melodies of all kinds.