The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1876.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 97, 11 April 1876, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1876.

We are informed by Captain Bunny, of the Artillery Cadets, that he has received a cheque for £Q 15s from the Insurance Offices in acknowledgment of the services rendered by the member's of the corps at the late fire io the Wood. In the case of Meades v. Drake and Hassam, tried in the District Court yesterday, in which the plaintiff claimed £200 damages, the jury, after au hour's absence, returned a verdict for £60 and £9 16s costs. An inquest was held last night on the body of Mary Ann Prebble, who died suddenly nt the Union Bank yesterday morning. From the evidence it appeared that the deceased, who had been complaining of not being well, had been taken home hy her mother, the wife of the messenger at the Union Bank, on Sunday. Shortly after midnight she was seized with great pain in the stomach and violent vomitings. Dr Farrelle was sent lor, but from the account given hy the lather he thought tbe symptoms were those of a feverish attack, and gave medicines accordingly. An hour later he was sent for again, and on his arrival found her dead. A postmortem examination, conducted by Drs Boor and Farrelle, revealed the fact that one of the intestines had burst, thus causing death. A verdict was returned in accordance with the evidence. The Volunteer review to be held at Wakefield on Monday next, together with all the proceedings in connection with it promises to be a great success. The programme arranged is as follows: — The volunteers will muster in town at 7 o'clock in the morning, and proceed to Wakefield by the 7 30 train, picking up on the way the College Cadets and Stoke Rifles and Cadets, aud will be joined by the Normanby Hussars upon arriving at the locality selected for the review. After breakfast the whole of the corps will be put through the manoeuvres that will be practised at the review. This, it is calculated, will last until 10-15, and at half-past ten the cavalry tournament, the programme of which appears iv our advertising columns, will commence. Tbis will be quite a. novelty in Nelson, and is likely to be an interesting and amusing sight. The firing will be carried on under the supervision of Captains Pitt, ' Barnett, and Richardson. One o'clock is the hour fixed for lunch, and at two the whole of the volunteers will fall in, and be reviewed by the lion Major Richmond, C.8., at half-past two, and it will be so arranged that the whole proceedings shall be over in time to allow visitors from town to return by the 430 train. The paddock selected for the review is one that has been kindly lent for the purpose by Mr Joshua Bird. It is opposite the Wakefield Arms, and is directly under the hills, from which au excellent view of the mauceuvres may be obtained. Messrs Smith of the Forest Inn, and Day of the "Wakefield Arms intend to erect booths on the ground, where visitors will probably be able to obtain lunch. A special train leaves Nelson at 10 a.m., and will convey passengers to the parade ground direct. Oysters are selling in Auckland at 6d a dozen. The Jewish bachelors resident in "Wellington intend giving a ball some day this mouth. A few members of the Wellington Choral Society band met for practice last evening at Mr Hunter's rooms, and as these few happened to be all second fiddles the music was not cheering. Causes, which need not be referred to here, have unfortunately thrown the apple of discord amongst members of the band, aud a little judicious handling may be necessary to prevent it falling to pieces. — Argu&. Visitors from all parts of • the colony may now risk a visit to Wellington with perfect safety. The late gale has swept the streets so clean that there is not a particle of dust to be seen ; in fact, everything portable under a pound weight has been carried southward down Willis-street, which has funnelled away all the dtist of the town. The streets look as if they had been clean shaved. — Argus. A sudden death from drink has occurred in Auckland. A woman applied to the police, stating that her husband was sufferiug from delirium tremens, aud was dangerous. Sergeant Mulville at ouce weut to -the house indicated, but was informed that the man had in the meantime quieted down, and that there was no necessity for his interference. About an hour later intelligence was received at the station that the unfortunate man was dead. The name of tbe deceased is Armstrong. He was a pensioner, and his age about forty-four. It is st;it3d (says the Wellington Argus) that the Erieudly Societies in Auckland propose calling a general meeting of the members of the whole of the Friendly Societies there to discuss the position they are placed in by the Government in refusing to register certain lodges unless they first adopted the tables submitted by Mr Knight, the Government Actuary. It is proposed that if the question should not be settled previously, to appeal to the Legislature to appoint a commission " to inquire into the state and workings of Friendly Societies m these colonies, and thus to prove their fitness or otherwise, fbr registration." In the meantime steps will be taken to show that their tables of payments and benefits are made upon a secure basis.

Exhibitions are being given in Melbourne of ; the uses of Captain BoyntonV life preserving dress. . Professor Stedman donned the dress at the St. Kilda baths, and went j through a number of interesting performances in the water?; which showed the great value of tbe dress as a means of rescuing or preserving life. Amongst other things, Mr Stedman smoked, drank, and ate in the water, apparently to his own great enjoyment and the amusement of the spectators. He also rescued a youth who, as if accidentally, fell into the water. The Lyltelton Times says that a punishment, not , mentioned in r the' Trespass of Cattle Act, was lately carriedinto effect at Caversham. An old white nag, tempted by the prospect of a good night's feed, wandered on a neighbor's crops. He returded to his disconsolate, owner the next morning,, with his mane, clean shaved, and upon his poor old sides, in black letters, about a foot in length, " thief" was painted. An Auckland paper has seen in the possession of a gentleman in town a curiosity in the shape of a clear piece of yellow-colored kauri gum with a perfect fly enclosed in it. It is common to see pieces of fern m kauri gum, but we never before saw any living creature j enclosed. The possesor, who has been ! familiar with gum for a lifetime, tells us that he has searched for such a thing for years, and has only now secured this specimen. A correspondent informs the Way tangi Tribune that on , Tuesday, March 21, a powerful whirlwind visited the Hakataramea, lasting for half an hour, and did some little damage. It blew part of the roof of a woplshed off', one of the -pieces of ..timber killing four sheep, and two men in the yard had a narrow escape. The top of the trunk of a gum tree, about six inches m diameter, was broken off by the wind, and carried at least two and a half miles. The Wanganui Herald records the first instance of adult baptism in the Presbyterian Church there. It is informed that a young lady had formerly been a Calholic, and on the occasion of changing her faith desired the rite of baptism. The Coromandel Mail says :— We heard yesterday morning that the Bible used in the Resident Magistrate's Court was in such a bat! condition that the parts are held together by bandages-, of tapp. The cause of the Bible beingv in so shattered a condition is stated by the Clerk of the Court to bo the very hard swearing the book is subjected to on occasions. The Otago Dax'y Times strongly.^ condemns the .telegraphic dispute be-" tween Sir Julius Yogel and Sir Geo. Grey. After remarking that it was certaio, on Sir Julius Vogel's return to the colony, that there would be a grand stand-up fight between the champions, it says : — " The first round has been fought, and we do not know which of tbe combatants has disgraced himself most ; perhaps Sir George Grey was the silliest ond Sir Julius the rudest. Bah I the whole thing is beneath contempt, and every sensible man will be disgusted. This equabble is not a political question at all. It is merely a wretched encouuter between men who ought to have known better— a little sparring between combatants in which the wits were on one side and the dignity on the other. We do trust thatsuch constitutional points as were involved will be fought out in the Assembly in a more dignified and worthy manner. We have long since thought that the constitutional party would fiod their great weakness in their chiefswant of logical power and his ignorance of common sense ; while the other side bave in Sir Julius no mean master of debate. After all, we fancy the greatest fact, and a fact which we can only call great in scorn, is this — that tbe colony has to pay for such a misuse of the telegraph."

{For continuation of Newt see fourth page.")