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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 108, 6 May 1875, Page 2

TLe following refers, no doubt, to a brother of one who was recently a resident in Nelson: — A late number of the Port Venison Times (Queensland) mentions the loss of a member of its stuff under circumstances which lead to the belief that he has obtained less arduous "employment." Our contemporary says:— "Mr Perceval, a gentleman who ba9 been connected with {his paper for over eight years, has left by the steamer en route for Eugland, after a short slay in Sydney. The death of his uucle, the late Earl of Egmonr, has rendered his presence necessary at home, and there is little probability of his return. The people of Bowen, no leas than ourselves, must regret this, as during his long stay here Mr Perceval has always worked hard and with great ability for the public good.' The total umount of the proposed expenditure upon public works and undertakings in the Wellington province for the ensuing year if* £227,942. In commenting upon the speech of the Superintendent of Wellingtou in openiug the Council, the Post says : •' Perhaps one of the most satisfactory statements in the speech was the announcement that during the coming year £18,000 would be available for educational purposes. Last year the sum was only £12,000."

The Tintern Abbey brought a large consignment of English birds to Lyttelton, consisting of partridge?, blackbirds, thrushes, yellow-hammers, redpoles, goldfinches, linnet?, starlings, and hedge-sparrows. Over 80 per cent of the shipment arrived in splendid order,

A telegram from Alexander reports lhat the result of the Te Kuiti meeting was that all Acts issued by Tawbiao are to be revised, and that the system of accepting Government rations should be Btopped ; that the Kingites should keep the country now possessed by them, and preserve separation from Europeaus.

Another classs of young lady telegraphists, six in number, was started at the Wellington office the other morning. The new cadets are principally from the other provinces, and increase the number of female operators in the Wellington office to seventeen.

The Chief Justice (says the Dunedin correspondent of a contemporary) has got through the business of the criminal session, and on the whole has acquitted himself remarkably well. In one respect ho may be said to have particularly distinguished himself — that is to Bay, he has sentenced a large number of persons twice over for the same offence. In the first instance, when passing sentence upon them, he ordered them to be kept in "her Majesty's gaol" for such and such a period. This, however, it seems, was hardly the correct expression ; s© the prisoners were all brought up agajn, and re-sen-tenced, this time to " the public prison in Dunedin."

Owen Martin, at the Auckland Police Court, charged Alexander Campbell and Martha Chisbolm — the latter a mere child — with stealing £8 from his pockets. The evidence showed that the. male prisoner chewed tobacco, which he put into Martin's beer. Martin went to Bleep upstairs. The male prisoner then instructed the girl to rob him. The man was sentenced to twelve months, with hard Übor, and the girl to three months. The latter was an inmate of the Orphanage, and broke out several .times.

There were registered at the Thames during the month of April 43 deaths. Of these 39 were infants and four adults. Three of the adults were the result of accidents, and do not come within the death-rate for April. The principal causes of death were measles, and debility after measles.

The Dunedin correspondent of the New Zealand Times writee : — "Your City Council seera to te conducting themselves with great propriety just now. Their spirit has evaporated, and evidently entered the body of one Councillor Dodson, & member of tho Fort Chalmers Town Council. At one of the meetings he told a member 'to go to jumping,' with olher equally enjoyable pieces of advice. When asked to apologise, be said he ' would rather swing at eight tbe next morning than do so.' At the next meeting one of the Councillors asked that the worJs used by Dodson be placed upon the minutes. The Major thought it would be blasphemy to do so. He was again a&ked to apologise, but refused. "He would apologise to a man > but not to a thiug like Councillor Asher.' And other little eccentricities of a like agreeable nature."

A hope was entertained that one of the boats of the burned ship Cospatrick might have found its way to one of the seldom visited group known as the Inaccessible Islands. We learn from the home papers that H.M.S. Sappho was sent to Tristan D'Acunha to make inquiries on the subject, and had returned to the Cape of Good Hope to report that none of the survivors had reached that island, A correspondent of the Southern Cross writes that the "Maoris at Rubsell are great believers in the virtues of homoeopathy. The other day a Bubscription of £10 was raised by the tribo ruled over by the old chief Taiwhanga, for a case of homoeopathic medicines, to be procured from Auckland, the said chief being an adept at curing diseases by the medicines. It would also seem that the Maoris at Maketu are more or less similarly circumstanced, inasmuch as the Government purchased for them a ten-guinea case of medicine a few weeks ago. 1 '

An extraordinary instance of concealment of sex has been disclosod at Liverpool. Amongst the prisoners committed for trial at the sessions on charges of felony was one William Seymour, a cab-driver. On being received at the gaol the prisoner was examined in the usual way, when it Was discovered that " William Seymour " was a female. la answer to the prison officials, she stated that she had left her husband in consequence of bis illtreatment, and had been a cab-driver for nine years, three of which had been spent ia London, and six iv Liverpool. During the whole of this time she had been successful in concealing her real sex. She was removed to the female part of the prison, and the indictment against her was duly altered, co as to prevent any technical loophole of escape when she shall be placed upon her trial.

The Loodou Echo has an article on Mr Yogel, reviewing the Dumber of Hebrew etatesraeu now directing the affairs of the world, and claims for Mr Yogel the ri^ht to rank as one "of the most remarkable men of his time." The Echo adds, "Although be is one whose brain will not improbably shape the destiuies of our dominion at the antipodes, and may extend over the whola Southern Pacific, his presence in our miclßt is almost unnoticeJ. A jewelb(spangled knight, brainless and insignificant, would have received far more attention than has ever been paid to Mr Yogel, in whose hands our fellow-subjects have placed almcst absolute authority."

- New Zealand's Policy. — We take the following from the Australasian : —•"At a meeting of the building trade, held at Hokitika, it was resolved to maintain the rate of wages at 16s. per day of eight hours." So says an item of the latest news we receive from New Zealand, and the statement deserves the serious consideration of a party in this community which has made (he welfare of the wouking man iis supreme object. The chief point of difference between the public policy of New Zealand and that of the other colonies lies in the fact that it has for some time maintained a bold and extensive system of immigration. There is no other colony in Australasia which receives the accession of as many hundreds as New Zealand has thousands added yearly to her population from this source. According to the political economy of the " friends of the working man" in this colony, the fate of the country which persists in such a course is only too clear. It is destroying the demand for labour, swamping the market with men seeking work, laying the foundation of a pauper class, and generally rushing to ruin at a very unpleasant rate. Such is the theory which is shouted forth in very bad English, and with all the adornments of claptrap, by our stump orators. But, unfortunately for the tneory, the facts are all on the other side. No one will venture to say that in this colony, where legislation has for some years been dominated by the " working man" interest, that class is in as flourishing a condition here as in New Zealand. We have shut out those who would have competed with our working classes', and have endeavoured to form an artificial market for their labour. And the result is that in the colony which has acted upon a precisely opposite policy, which has left trade and industry (o look after themselves, and has confined its action to largely increasing'the population by importing immigrants, labour is now better paid, and is in far greater demand, than in any colony of Australia. It is not necessary to draw the lesson which lies on the very surface of these facts.

At the last meeting of the Arrow District Miners' Association (says the Dunstan Times) the following proposition was carried : — " That the Association request the Central Committee to initiate a subscription, limited to one fihilling each, among the miners of the Province, for the erection of a suitable memorial to the late Wilson Gray, Esq., District Judge ; and to ask the permission of his relatives to be allowed to place it on his grave. In the event of their refusal, the money to be devoted to a Scholarship, or to some charitable institution." A little boy, six years of age, has been fined 20s in Canterbury for placing some stones on a iailway line ; in default of pnymen', two hour&' imprisonment in a dark cell was awarded.

Tawhiao (says the Kuiti correspondent of the IStar) baa three legal wives — one belonging to the great Ngatimaniapoto tribe, anot! or to his own tribe, and the third to a tribe whose name at this moment I forget, besides which he has a good number of concubines. If you remonstrate with the Hauhaus for one man having so maqy women, they well tell you that Solomon was the wisest tnau that ever lived upon earth, that they read in the Bible that King Solomon had about three thousand concubines, and their king had not more than a thirtieth part of what Solomon had It is arranged for Tawhiao to Jive, a week at a time with each of his legal wives, which they do in regular succession, the wife whose week it is io be with the king being during that time also his cook, and washes any clothes he may requirp, so by this amicable arrrangement no quarrels can ever arise between the wives.

The Bruce Herald says that an important witness has come to light in the Tichborne case, and reports as follows :- Our readers will learn, with no little astonishment, and, no doubt, some interest, that our own little province will supply a fresh and important witness in the new trial, if such be granted. It appears that a much respected fellow-colonist — Angus Alphonso Macdouald, Esq., J.P , of Hokinu, Mataura — was a fellow-student, friend, and companion of the late Sir Roger C. D. Tichborne while at Stoneyhurst College, and was actually present, in company with Lord Bellew, whilst the much-disputed operation was perforate! of tattooing Sir Roger's arm. Oa this point the evidence of Lord Bellew was quite distinct, but much conflicting evidence was adduced on (he side of the Claimant, and on this point, and this point alone, the case for the Crown was weak; but the missing link has, we learn, been found and supplied in the evidence of Mr Macdonald, with whom we are informed the Attorney-General is at present corresponding. By an extraordinary coincidence of circumstances it appears that previous to the departure of Fir Roger for South America the two friends (Mr Macdonald and Sir Roger), both gay aud fashionable young men, wero for a time residing at Foster's Hotel, London, thea and now the rendezvous of the Catholic uobility and leading aristocracy of England. At that time Mr Macdonald was about leaving his native land to embark in extensive pastoral pursuits at Fenola, in South Australiti, and being a witness on more than ono occasion to an interview between Sir Roger and hie solicitor, Mr Gosford, it is understood that he can throw some material light on the contents of the

mysterious sealed packet. It would thus seem that the gods have decreed against Sir Roger, and that as every end of tbe earth has already supplied its quota of evidence for or against the Claimant, it falls last, but not least, to the lot of New Zealand to for ever rivet the chains round the limbs of Arthur Orton.

(For remainder of News see fourth page.)