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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 58, 9 March 1875, Page 4

There are 183,137 sheep in the Wairarapa district, and the Post says no fewer than 97,336 of them are described aa scabby. A man named Moffat has been some time living among the Maoris at Te Kuiti. He is a son of the celebrated Dr Moffat, of missionary celebrity, and celebrated as Livingstone's father-in-law. The Maori-Pakeha's son is an engineer by trade; was once a prisoner among the Maoris, but was released, and eventually allowed to reside amony them, where he has been unnoticed a; d uokaown till his name was brought up ia connection with an alleged landing of distillery apparatus at one of the Maori ports. — Greymouth Star.

The Auckland Herald is iu formed that a farmer residing at Epsom has recently lost a valuable ltorae by a suu stroke. A correspondent of the Otago Daily T mes, in commenting upon the strictures of that journal upon the appointment of Mr Joshua Strange Williams to the Judicial Bench, says: — "I quite agree with you that we should try and get the best man to be had for love or money, but we cannot expect to get the ablest members ot the New Zealand Bar, so long as the country thinks fit to pay judges' salaries, equal only to half the incomes earnel annually by men in large practice, and offers them no other attraction save a telescopic view of a microscopic pension. The best men are not to be had nt the price, but that is no reason for prejuding our future judge in the eyes of the public. We commend the following from the West Coast Times to the notice of our City Council :— The large number of gas-cooking stoves imported by the Hokitika Gas Company since the completion of their works goes to prove beyond doubt that cooking by the gas stove will soon supersede that of cooking by wood or coal fires. Everything that has been said in their favor has been fully borne out by all those who have them in regular use in this town. The facility with which the apparatus can be brought into operation is one great advantage, whilst the trouble and attention requisite are much less than what is involved in the ordinary method. A roasting:, boiling, and baking can be conducted simultaneously, as we 1 as separately; an ordinary fire in many houses at this season is altogether dispensed with. Gas is supplied by separate meter at much less than for lighting purposes. Some fears were lately entertained for the result of the harvest in Canterbury. The Christchurch correspondent of the Otago Times writes: — " What with wind and rain, some of the anticipated heavy yields of grain will, I am afraid, be somewhat deficient. In many places farmers have, however, been fortunate enough to get their crops in without being affected by the above named causes. To wit, a farm at Templeton, belonging to a Mr Parker, is quoted, where as much as 1360 bushels of oats were obtained from 20 acres." Another instance is recorded of a farmer in the L*incolu district who took a second crop of wheat in succession oil a 23-acre paddock, yielding 23 bushels to the acre. The harvest generally is nearly completed, and I have since heard that the wind and rain baa not after all done so much damage bs was anticipated. The top price of wheat is 33 and oats 2s 9J, with a slightly falling market. Good barley is worth 43 6J. Tiie Fashions. — In the course of Mr Gladstone's article on the ethics of Ritual he dwells upon our defect as a nation, in respect of the appreciation of beautiful forms, and by way of illustration refers to the drees of our women, " which," ha says, " apart from rank and special gift or training or oppottunity, is reputed to be worst in the European world, and the moat wanting alike in character and adaptation. The so-called beauty is administered in portentous doses of ornamentations, sometimes running to actual deformity. Quantity is the measure, not quality, nor proportion," " Who," exclaims Mr Gladstone, " shall now compete with the awakened Englishwoman for the house of hair built upon her head, or for tho measureless exfention of her draggling train." Chuhcii Music— The Eov. H. W. Beecber considers music to be the " preacher's prime minister." He says : — There is no instrumentality that I know of except that of music. It is the function of music to begin at tbe point at which the sermon ends. '1 hat instructs, that incites to emotion through the reason. Now comes music, following it up and inciting to emotion through the imagination, through tbe taste, through tho feelings; and it takes the same truths which may have been expressed dogmatically. The truths which have taken intellectual forms, and satisfied all that part of the triad, making a round and complete work. It, is very rare thut, in any one discourse, or in any day's discoursing, a man is so gifted as to he able to r^ach through the reason to the great foundation chords of feeling in the human soul. It is very rare that a man gets through a day in giving out well-selected hymns, without reaching those chords through the spiritual songe, if they are rightly administered. And in our churches, above all others, that is necessary, in order to mend that barrenness, that want of provision for the {esthetic feeling, the fancy and tbe imagination and tho more facile emotions, which are not provided for by any framework furnished to the preacher, and which according to his various abilities and endowments or moods, circumstances may or may not have partially provided for in him. But, if he were a Shakespeare, it is impossible for any man living, twice a day for fifty-two Sabbaths of the year, to stand with such plenary power and originality as to meet all those wants of men himself, unsuccoured and unhelped. And his auxiliary, if he knows the provision made for him, his grand auxiliary, the prime minister of the preacher, is music.