The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1875.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 69, 20 March 1875, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 1875.

We are requested to state that the Post-office will be open for the delivery of mails this evening, in tbe event of the Taranaki arriving by the evening's tide. Burning gf the Cospatbick.— - A sermon on the lepsons to be learned from such a catastrophe will be preached in the Wesleyan church, Hardy-street, to-morrow evening, by the Rev. T. Buddie. Steameb Lady Barely. — The Lady Barkly being unable to get away this morning, will sail for Motueka ou Monday at 6 a.m., leaving there on her return to Nelson at 8 a.m. She will leave again for Motueka and Collingwood at six p.m. Presbyterian Church. — A lecture on prayer will be delivered at the Presbyterian Church to-morrow evening, by the Rev. P. Calder, who will also refer to the views of Galton and Tyndall, and to articles that recently appeared in tbe Contemporary Review. Government Wharf.— The lease of the Government wharf for one year was disposed of this morning to Messrs N. Edwards and Co. for £850, the upset price, there being no competition at the auction. Last year it was put up at £500, and run up to £850. Hbayy Galb, — The equinoctial

season was inaugurated last night by one of the heaviest north-east gales we have known in Nelson, accompanied by torrents of rain, for -which farmers and gardeners will be most grateful. The damage done to the winter apples and pears, we understand is very great, but fortunately beyond this no injury of any consequence has been occasioned. The hop-growers may congratulate themselves upon the fact of their crops having been gathered before the storm. Shortly after daylight the wind subsided, and the weather cleared, and by eleven o'clock this morning the dust was flying in the streets as though no rain had fallen during the night. Magistrates' Court. — Central Board of Education v. Mar,y Stanton. Mr Acton Adams appeared for the plaintiffs, and Mr Fell for the defendant. This action — for six years' education rate — was heard last Wednesday, when Mr Fell contended that as the defendant did not pay rates or rent, she was not liable, and Mr Acton Adaraß argued that the carrying out of a separate system of housekeeping was sufficient to make her liable, and quoted the interpretation of tbe word "householder" from Tomlin's Law Dictionary. The sitting Magistrates, the Hon T. Renwick and W. Oldham, Esq., reserved judgment, which they gave this morning for the plaintiff's for amount claimed, £6, and £1 14s cost:?. Standabd Insurance Company.—The second half-yearly meeting of the shareholders in this Company was held at Dunedin on the Bth instant, when a most satisfactory report was read, from which we take the following extract: — "The gross income from premiums is £15,868 los 7d ; and after deducting all ascertained losses and cost of management, there remains to the credit of the profit and loss account £9945 19s lid. This, together with amount of prospective salvages (which bave been paid as for total loss) and interest on investments due at 31st December, £826 16s 6d, will give a total credit of £10,772 15s lid, from which there must be deducted £7845, being the value of unexpired term of current policies, leaving a net available balance of £2927 15a lid to be applied as the shareholders may determine." The Loyal Collingwood Lodge, 1.0.G.T.— -The first lodge in the Golden Bay district— the "Loyal Collingwood" ■ — was opened on Wednesday, the 17th inst., by Brother J. S. Jones, S.D., G.W.C.T., at Collingwood. The following are tho officers for the term ending Ist May :— W.C.T., Bro W. Matthews; W.V.T., Bro D. Allen; WS.,BroH. Johnson; W.F.S., Bro A. Robertson; W.T., Bro R. P. Riley; W.C, Bro John Riley; W.M., Bro P. Woodfield; W.1.G., Bro J. Fisher; W.0.G., Bro Benjamiu Berry; W.A.S., Sister Lucy Ellis; W.R.H.S., Sister Amelia Ellis; W.L.H.S., Sister Emma Jeffries; W.D.M., Bro J. Scrimgeour. Bro R. P. Riley was apnointed Deputy G.W.C.T. A testimonial was presented on Thursday last, by the members of the Collingwood Harmonic Society, to Mr James Waddell, who was leaving the district, in'recognition of the services rendered by him lo the Society. Jt was accompanied by a very flattering letter from Mr Guinnesp, the President. At a late meeting of the Canterbury Board of Education, a letter was read from Colonel de Renzie Brett bringing under the notice of the Board the desirability of putting a stop to " a very pernicious system " which is rapidly gaining ground in the country districts, and which in his opinion mußt eventually have a very immoral tendency, besides being a gross violation of the spirit, intent, and meaning of the Provincial School Ordiance. The subject of his grievance, was the practice, of school committees giving entertainments " composed of mixed classes" for the purpose of raising funds to pay off debts contracted by the schools, and terminating the supposed innocent entertainment "in dancing and revelling" to a late hour in tho morning. He asked, if this was a place for the rising generation to keep under and subdue all the latent feelings which our fallen wicked nature is so prone to." He felt the Board would agree with him, that this description of dissipation was of so insidious a character, that it would lead to evils of greater enormity, if prompt and active measures were not taken to arrest it ; and he hoped that if so, the Board would use their influence and weight to remove an evil fraught with so many bad consequences. Mr R. A. Proctor, gays the Melbourne Leader, has published some curious speculations on strange hands of cards, especially at whist. The calculation has been made, by Babbage, I believe, that if the entire population of the earth, taken at 1,000,000,000 persons, were to deal the cards incessantly day and night for 100,000,000 years, at the rate of a deal by each person a minute, they would not exhaust the one hundred thousandth part of the number of essentially different ways in which the cards can be distributed. On the other hand, it is recorded that there are two well authenticated instances within ten years of one, player holding all the trumps in his own hand. Mr Proctor has made some further calculations, the result of which is contained in the highly interesting statement that the number representing the possible ways in which cards in a pack may be arranged is approximately 80 657,470, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000.