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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 36, 8 February 1876, Page 2

. Our telegrams inform us that Smat, the perpetrator of the /recent outrage at the Hutt, has been committed for trial upon tjvo charges _ .of murder. From this we presume that one or more of his victims must be dead, although we have heard nothing of it from the Press Agency. An unfortunate lad named "Watson, who is riot in his right senses, was this morning brought before the Resident Magistrate by the police charged with;, jumping on to the railway carriages' when in motion both at Richmond and Wakefield. It appeared that he was constantly in tho habit of doiog so at the risk of his own life or limbs and to the annoyance of others, nnd he was consequently handed over to the police, by the. railway authorities. The lad was remanded until to-morrow, but his mother having come into town from Foxliill to look after hira, he was handed over to her on the condition that she should take care that he did not offend again. A GBBAT game of cricket is to be played in the Botanical Gardens tomorrow between the knights of the cleaver resident in the co.untry and their brethren of the town. There will be plenty of fun and amusement, although the skill that has rendered the name of Grade familiar as a household word may be wanting. Indeed, it is rumored that the butchers accord to the great cricketer but* a secondary position^ and that the motto to be emblazoned upon their boundary flags will be " Meqt before Grace " A correspondent at Fern Town, Golden Bay, writes to us complaining bitterly of .the refusal of the. authorities to establish a postoffice in that locality. 'It appears that on the arrival of the Lady Barkly at Collingwood, a /ferryboat is in waiting to convey passengers and packages to Fern Town, but the: mail bag has to go to the Collingwood postoffice. By the time the boat reaches its destination the tide is usually too low for it to return to Collingwood, • "even; if anyone should be disposed to pay the extra fare to go to the township and back," an unnecessary delay of twelve hours until the tide serves again being thus occasioned, besides which it is nobody's business to fetch the mails. As au instance of the in-, convenience to which the residents in tbis township are subjected, our correspondent says :— " The Barkly arrived on Saturday, tlie 29fch of Jauuary, and; now, noon on Thursday, the 3rd of February, the letters are not delivered." ' The expense of establishing an office at Fern Town would not be large, while to a number of persons it would be a very great convenience. "We feel sure that if the matter were again properly represented to the authorities, the very moderate request that " the Fern Town letters should be put into a separate bag and forwarded, on the^arrival of the steamer, to someone authorised to receive them," would be acceded to. The locality in question promises to become of some importance, and nothing is more calculated to promote its welfare than being placed in regular communij cation with the chief postoffice of the province. Ip the interests of the rapidly, increasing population in the district, we would invite tbe Government to reconsider the decision at which they have arrived in reference to this matter. It will be seen by advertisement that the. sale of gate, booths, grand stand, &c, on the "Waimea Steeplechase (Course takes place at the Forest lon

fco-.mbrrow at two' p.m. "We understand j that arrangements have been made : for " special trains tcijifun on; the day of the -teeplechase, landing passengers within Mjgpl yards p|gthe gate, and itf-be __ day* there" will pro • bably be a larger attendance than oil ■ any previous occasion. In consequence of to-morrow being the butchers' annual holiday, Mr Mabin Has-; j-postponedf fiis sale of sheep; at, -ftOntnondlto Friday, llth instanfo The tea and public meeting in connection with the -anniversary of the Stoke Sunday school will be held this evening. Sir Julius Yogel. — The return of this eminent and successful statesman to the shores of New Zealand cannot fail to restore a feeliug of confidence in the minds of the people, amongst whom he has proved himself a master, spirit with a mind fully alive to the difficulty, yet in no way shrinking from the responsible task before him. The cumbrous and expensive provincial establishments must succumb before the energy and liberal-minded policy of such a man, who, in spite of the keenest competition, and in some cases bitter jealousies, has fought his way step by step to his present position. That Nelson will be, firßt to welcome Sir Julius Yogel there can be no doubt, having, as she has, in her midst met. actuated by the same philanthropic liberality, whose whole energies have been devoted to supplying the wants of their fellow creatures ■ — men who have expended enormous sums in providing -warm: and suitable olothing for any in need of it, and who, not content with the benefits conferred, in Nelson, have extended their liberality to the neighboring PROvnrcES, and the very steamei. that brings Sir Julius from Melbourne will also bring further Extensive shipments from the home buyers of Messrs T. S. Wymond and Coj that liberal and patriotic firm, who are now giving away £300 worth or goods in the shape of 273 prizes, to be distributed on the Art Union principle, amongst their customers in Nelson, Blenheim, arid ; Wangan¥l, at any of which, places tickets may be secured gratis on application at the establishments of this eminent firm, whose name has become a?' household word " as being the cheapest Drapers and Clothiers in New Zealand.— Advt. 358 ; There are just now eighty- four prisoners in the Wellington gaol, a greater number than has ever been there before. At a recent sale at Colac, near Melbourne, of pedigree stock, Roan Duchess fetched 2300 guineas, which must have been highly gratifying to her personal vanity if she has any, and if the transaction was made clear to her understanding. The price was a magnificent one. Taking the heifer at 4501bs live weight, she brought £5 per pound avoirdupois, hide, horms, and hoofs included. The gross amount realised at the sale — an annual sale be it observed — was above £30,000, and it was the means of gathering together from the various Australian Colonies and New Zealand no fewer than 700 people. Commenting upon such sales, the Argus contends that speculation in pedigree stock usually pays the speculator, otherwise it would not be persevered in. Those speculators get together a stud stock, and derive from it for many years a revenue probably greatly in excess of what the money invested would have realised in any other reasonably safe business. Next come the buyers of young bulls and heifers of aristocratic lineage. These know quite well what they are about when they give one or two thousand guineas for a bull. They know that the effect will be to raise the character of their entire stock within a few years by a money value ot £3 a head, which is a very tangible augmentation of the income of the man who has three or four thousand bullocks for sale every year. The gas consumers (says the Auckland Sear) will be glad to learn that a reduction in the price of gas will be made in form of discount at 3s 9d per 1000 feet instead of 2s 6d. This -will reduce the nett price of gas to lis 3d per 1000 cubic feet, but this reduction will only be made on accounts paid within the usual date. In an able article on the result of the general election the Canterbury Press says: — On the great question which was referred to the country by the dissolution, public opinion bas been declared unmistakably ; co much so, that the Opposition have never dared to raise it. They demanded an appeal to the constituencies on the Abolition Bill, and they got the appeal ; what can be more significant than the fact that none of them ventured to urge it? When brought into the field they struck their colors and ran away to a man. Not one of them, from Sir Gr eorge Grey downwards was bold enough to take his stand before the electors as an advocate for the maintenance of the provinces and the repeal of the Abolition Bilk v A Brisbane blackfellow has succeeded in throwing a cricket ball 141 yards, being 20 yards further than any previously known. The late Chief Justice Bovill, a man of most upright character, wrote:— " Amongst a large class of our population^ intemperance in early lite is the direct and immediate cause of every kind of immorality, profligacy, and vice, and soon leads to the commission of crime — including murder, manslaughter, robbery, and violent assaults. In many cases these crimes are committed by persons under the direot influence of drink,"