The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1875.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 294, 5 November 1875, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1875.

The Post Office will be open to-night for the delivery of letters by the San Francisco mail shortly after the arrival of the Taranaki. By the Ladybird from Wellington* the Collector of Customs received twenty boxes of bronze coins, containing £80 worth of penny and £20 worth of halfpenny pieces. The several banks have been advised that up to the 31st January these can be obtained in exchange for Imperial copper coins of the like nominal value. We are informed by Dr Squires, the coroner, that he has received a reply to a letter addressed by him to the Minister of Justice regarding the necessity of erecting a small building at the Port in which a body might be placed and a post mortem examination held if necessary. The reply is to the effect that the Superintendent has been communicated with on the matter. We trust, therefore, that something will be done without delay. We are glad to be able to announce that a District Court is to be established in Nelson until the return of Mr Justice Richmond from England, when, in the event of his coming again to reside in Nelson, it will, of course, be no longer necessary, The appointment of District Judge has been conferred upon Lowther Broad, Esq, who for the laat four years has held the position of Resident Magistrate, the duties of which he has performed in a manner that has given general satisfaction. Mr Broad will still retain the Resident Magistrateship. The jurisdiction of the Court will comprise probate and bankruptcy business, civil cases not involving more than £200 can be h4ard before the District Judge and a jury, as well as criminal cases in which the punishment that can be awarded does not exceed seven years' imprisonment. j It is io^i*wded to give a grand reception to Sir GR^rge Grey on his return to Auckland, anX a lady correspondent writes to the Star, proposing that the demonstration shall not be confined to a dinner, but shall be one in which both sexes can take part. The proposal is cordially endorsed by the editor, who expresses himself in the following strain :— " We know that were we being receptionised we should ten thousand times rather be met by an army of pretty faces, lighted up with smiles and with fluttering little hearts beating responsive to waving handkerchief?, flinging welcomes and otto of roses — ten thousand times rather than by a whple laudscape of ugly hairy faces and open mouths bawling out hurrahs." The Otago Acclimatisation Society have passed the following resolution : That this society recommend that a tax of not less than £1 for the privilege of carrying a fowling piece be enforced; and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Colonial Government, with a request that legislative effect be given to it. Dr Hector, who has been appointed to represent New Zealand at the Philadelphia Exhibition of 1876, has been now some little time in England, and has been made much of by the savans at home. Nor is it in England alone that he has been lionised. The Emperor William has conferred upon him the Order of the Grand Cross of the Crown, and otherwise complimented and not:'cel him. Traveller., along the coast froni the South (says the Budget) report a loose state of affairs in regard to Maori misdoings. Black mail is allowed to be levied pretty freely. It can hardly be called thieving, although it is near akin. A native takes a fency to some one or other article owned by a white .man— ifc may be a coat, w axe, a sheep,

or a pig, it matters bufc little so long aa it comes within his carrying capacity. In such cases ot appropriation, there is but little attempt at concealment, but rather a desire for the owner to know or it, so that a compromise may be effected, and money or grog extorted. Cases of this sort are said to be of frequent occurrence, while at the same time a body of fifteen Armed Constabulary and eight or ten native policemen ar^slajjioned afc Opunake, and no attempt appears to be made to bring the r offenders to justice. The N. Z. Times concludes along article on tho Dunedin dinner party as follows:— Taken aa a whole, the Dunedin demonstration, which took away Mr Macandrew's breath, and encouraged •*Sh\George Grey to renewed efforts, was a decided and unmistakeable failure. \ "Snyder" answers two important questions put to him in the Coromandel Mail thus :— " Tradesman.— To give a customer a receipt ona written bill head instead of a printed one subjects the tradesman to a penalty of £100 'with six months' hard labor, the first six weeks to be in solitary confinement upon bread and water: We do nofc think tbo punishment is sufficiently severe. The law should be made more stringent. The man who writes out bis own bill heads instead of having tbem printed would be capable of committing any crime thafc is fco be found chronicled in the Newgate Calendar. Engineer.— We scarcely think that Holloway's Pills and Ointment; would be found efficacious in preventing boilers from bursting. Peach and otber orchard trees are known to bear much larger and more exquisitely flavored fruit, which have had two or three of Holloway's pills dug in at their roots, while the Ointment is known to be good for killing slugs. A supply of this useful medicine can be obtained from Mr Whitmarsh and Mr Silk of this town. The daily Southern Cross (Auckland) says that "there are already indications that tbe coming elections will be keenly contested in many districts. Besides Mr Vow der Heyde and Mr J. S. Macfarlane, Dr. Lee is announced as a probable candidate for the district of Waitemata. Mr Charles O'Neil, Mr William Rowe, and Mr James Mackay, junr, are reported as likely to contest the seats at the Thames. Olher candidates will probably enter the field before the writs are issued. But the Eden district would appear to be the most coveted, for already the names of half a dozen gentlemen have been mentioned as likely io become candidates for the representation of thie distriot. Major Atkinson and Mr Cox are mentioned as the probablo candidates for the Waikato district." The Saturday Advertiser of last Saturday is responsible for the following :— The funeral of the unfortunate members of the family of the Provinces, who met with such untimely deaths a short time ago, took place yesterday, at tbe hour of two o'clock. A large concourse of people assembled at the Railway Station at the appointed hour, to receive the bodies of our deceased friends. The coffins were carefully removed from the train to the hearses in wailing, ond a large number of tbe friends of the .family followed in mourning coaches. As the mournful criege moved up Princes-street, many a hat was doffed and many an eye was dimmed with tears, for the deceased gentlemen were deeply lamented. Two brass bands marched in the sad procession, playing "The Dead March," and other plaintive strains. Several leading citizens acted as chief mourners, and wore blue rosettes in their buttonholes, because (as a facetious imp in our office remarked) it waa a " blue look out with the Provinces." In the evening, a solemn service was held over the bodies and, several funeral orations were delivered over their " beers." The people of Melbourne propose fc) present Ristori with Bome gift com memorative of her visit to Austratia, and the following design.suggested by a correspondent of the Argus is said to have met with the approval of the Committee: — "A cornooal wreath of eucalyptus leaves interwoven witq vine leaves and tendrils. The eucalyptus leaves to have engraved or embossed upon them the names of her principal characters. The stem of the vine, leaves to have enamelled upon it ihe name Melpomene in Greek characters, and (he stem or fillet connecting the eucalyptus sprigs in front to have on it the name Ristori, set in colonial gems or pearls. One set of leaves, say the eucalyptus, should be in silver, the olher gold. The two metals will relieve each other. The eucalyptus leaves have the double recommendation of being Australian, and suitable in shape fift^ inscriptions. The vine leaves are proper to Melpomene. The best form of tbe wreath will be tbat of the corona triuraphalis and lhe little fillet which binds the crown at the back will afford an appropriate place for engraving the wotd « Victoria ' and the date."