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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 116, 8 May 1876, Page 2

A correspondent, who recalls Mr Fitzherbert's speeches of 13 and 9 hours respectively writes to us (Wellington Argus) to say that he considers the hon gentleman has earned the title of Speaker better than any other man in the House of Representatives. The Wanganui Herald says : — It is currently rumored that a vacancy is likely to occur shortly in the Resident Magistracy of "Wanganui, the climate not agreeing with the health of our present R.M., who is said to be anxious for a change solely on that account. There is another case' of alleged witchcraft on the East Coast. A Maori, 90 years of age, was accused of being a witch, and the people expressed the humane intention of killing him. The E.M. had the old man apprehended, and locked him up to save bis life. The Maketu natives released the old man by force, and are about to take proceedings iu his name against the Government for false imprisonment. Altogether, this is a very pretty kettle of fish. A smart shock of earthquake was felt; at Oamaru on the morning of last Friday week. In Messrs Clayton and Co.'s shop, in "Wansbeck-street, five large glass globes for gas chandeliers were thrown ofc the shelves, and of course broken. In tl_e Mail office a lamp glass was broken. Ia Severnstreet a large pile of timber was thrown down through the violence of the shock. The Mail says that this earthquake business is now becoming so disgustingly common that unless two or three chimneys are thrown down tbe public take but little heed of the quakes. It is curious to notice how completely the centre of disturbance seems to have left Wellington and moved southwards. The following tall talk appears in the Auckland Star : — The Ministry and their supporters are playing a desperate game. To some of them the present struggle is not one of constitutional principles, or the best advancement of civil rights — local self-government, or any thing else of that nature : it is a question of the loss of great estates ; it is a question of the hiding or exposure of malversation of public funds ; it is a question of future fortune gained by plundering the public estate, or future misery well nigh begging a crust from door to door. Let the people beware ! Sedition, treason, foul hopes, and incipient violence are in our midst; but not in the bosom of the friend of English liberties, Sir George Grey. Mr Thomas Shand, of Avon Lodge, Riccarton, Canterbury, has recently disposed of his racing stud, the now famous Cloth of Gold having been sold previously. Kauri (Towton — Waimea) fetched 300 guineas; Chief (by Towton — Queen of tbe South) 140 guiueas ; brown gelding (by Sledraere — Sweet Briar) 34 guiueas ; chestnut filly (by Traducer — Moss Rose) 82J guineas ; brown mare Sweet Briar (by Antidote — Moss Rose, with colt at foot by Traducer, and stinted to Castaway) 90 guineas; brown mare Wild Rose (by Antidote — Moss Rose, aud entered* for Autumn Meeting) 70 guineas ; and chestnut mare (by Traducer — Moss Rose, foal at foot by Albany, and

i. \ : - ;•• n A*. stinted, to Albany) 70 guineas. Pour , of Mr S hand's draught mares, at the/; same sale fetched £220. . ] ; The Post of -Wednesday laßt says: — ; The next inward English mail should . have left San 'Francisco' a week ago, but# in consequence of the interruption of direct telegraphic communication with America, we probably shall be unable to ascertain whether or not the mail steam§r has sailed until the -. mail itselfarrives at. Auckland; The new steamer . City of New York, a sister ship to the City of Francisco, is to bring ifc down from San Francisco, connecting at Kandavau with the Australia, .which takes the outgoing mail, from Sydney; and will bring on the New Zealand portion of the City of New York's mail, the latter boat proceeding to Sydney. The Australia will come down the coast to Port :, Chalmers, and" take~~the next; outward mail. An opportunity . *thus . will be afforded to the inhabitants of the various New Zealand ports touched at, of inspecting what is said to be the finest steamer ever yet seen in these colonies, and the one which, moreover, has made the quickest passage from England to America hitherto accomplished. , , „ .. , „ There are few men iri the country (says the Argus)" '■'- who haVe V passed through a more eventful career .th'an Mr Millar, late Provincial Engineer .of Nelson, and there are, fewer still who would care to have notoriety forc.d upon them — -as has been attempted -in this caser— at a cost which meant the sacrifice of an honorable and Jiferloqg reputation. Whatever his faults and follies tbay be — (and they are essentially of the Pickwickian type) — ifc has never been doubted that he is a man of very great ability. Ifc would, perhaps, be- ,a little premature to compose his epitaph, but that does not prevent us saying that he is a man who has in many ways benefitted the country to the neglect of his personal advantage, and welfare; and ifc is in the performance of a friendly duty that we heartily congratulate him upon coming out of such a trying ordeal with clean hands. We (Auckland Herald) bear, it., reported that his. Honor the Superintendent has written, or has decided towrite, to the Civil Servants, telling them that they must not come to Auckland with their 1 demand to make, an investigation into what the" Superintendent has done, is doing, and intends' to-, do. Sir George denies the "authority of theCivil Servants to catechise him. Tbe officqs they hold do; net give them the power, and the mere instructions of the Premier cannot confer ifc upon them. _ His Honor warns the Civil Servants, not to perpetrate the intrusion ( they contemplate, and he says that^if they do, he will move to have them punished. Upon receiving this communication, the. Civil Servants will ho doubt consult their master, and do exactly as he tells them — either staying away, or taking the risk of committing the unlawful acfc of thrusting themselves upon tbe Superintendent of Auckland. The Evening Post has been getting into trouble over pumpkins, afc least so. it appears from a paragraph in the paper of Wednesday last, wherein ifc is stated: — In our last issue there appeared a paragraph to the effect that a monster pumpkin, weighing 881bs, was on view at Mr Peter Laing's shop. To-day we were called upon by a gentleman from Wanganui, who expressed his surprisethat any astonishment should be caused by such a trifle. He says he has a pumpkin compared with which the other is a mere infant. His pumpkin weighs 1351b5, and he is naturally indignant when such a fuss is made of an 88 pounder. Another individual writes stating that; he has a pumpkin which weighs 1701bs, but until we see the article we shall doubfc its veracity. It gives us much pleasure td hear about these pumpkins. An Oamaru contemporary records a rather vigorous instance of "taking itout of him." It says :-*-'• A new effect of tbe Debtors and Creditors Act became apparent recently. A meeting, of the creditors of a storekeeper was held, and afler the mode of procedure under the Act had been discussed, it was deoided that the estate should be liquidated, and that a certain firm of solicitors should act in bringing this about. Immediately afterwards, the debtor and tbe solicitor betook them- . selves to the firm's office. After the preliminaries had been gone through, for the purpose of oarrying into effect . the wishes of tbe creditors, a creditor who bad had his claim ignored appeared on the scene, and immediately upon seeing the debtor; the following dialogue took place. Creditor : You gave me a bill for £20 the other day, and also borrowed £10 from me? Debtor : Yea. Creditor : I have come for it ; I thought I'd find you here. Debtor : I cannot pay you. Creditor : Well, then, if I can't have it ono way, I'll have satisfaction in another ; and, suiting tbe action to the words, he took his coat off, and, calling upon the debtor to defend himself, took bis satisfaction there and then." Seasickness not only causes very distressing sensations tb tbose who are so unfortunate as to be liable to its attacks, but also is stated by modern medical authorities to be positively injurious to the sufferer, instead _of being a beneficial relief to the system, as formerly supposed. A very sad instance of its deplorable effect upon some constitutions was furnished during a recent trip of one of the local steamers. A gentleman, who was a passenger on board, Buffered terribly from sea-sickness, his paroxysms being so violent that it was remarked by a spectator " they seemed to loosen the very teeth in his head. Nor was this any

; .' i An ■-. exceptionally ;"fo,yejre\ spasm came on, and, lo the • horrpr of those who witnessed the occurrence, the unfortunate man j actually shot the whole of Ir.s' front teetjb* over -the bulwarks \in one fell broadside ! He was carefully and kindly attended to, alihough we regret to stale that one fellow-passenger was unfeeling enough to express a doubt as t° Whether, tho departed incisors were ; ■ i!.hi_ owrf tWh." Happily the sufferer is well known to be particularly pu.ctuual iu paying bis bills, so the illnatured remark fell harmless. — Post, .: , '.The Otago Daily Times says : — Two monuments (o men wbo in their ..time were widely known and respected throughout the length and breadth of New Zealand, hav e lateiy been erected in the Southern Anglican Cemetery. lOne is to St. John Branigan, and bearing tbe following inscriptions: — "In memory of St. John Branigan, who departed this life on the 10th .September, 1873," aged 49" On the opposite side this inscription" appears : " This, monument is erected to the memory, of St. John Branigan, late Commissioner of Police, by the' officers, sergearits, : and constables of the Armed Constabulary and .ptago-Police." Within fifty yards, of this spot another monument rears Us head, a . model of simplicity and humility, virtues .of the man of whom it elands in remembrance. It is a plain white marble obelisk, and on it, in deep cut letters ar!e the words " Wilson Gray." This alone is the sole record of him who lies beneath — one whose 'kindly nature iB too widely known *to require any posthumous extolling. . A refaotory horse came to grief on — or -rather off— Plimra'erV Wharf this morning. While being backed down the wharf with a dray-load of ..ballast, the* animal began to " play up," ond finally succeeded in backing over the wharf,; "and: •'landing'' himself, dray arid contents, into the water, carrying away iri the descent some of the woodwork at the back of the offices situated near the foot of, the wharf. The animal, more frightened than hurt, was after some- difficulty -and much struggling, rescued from its awkward position, and taken in tow by a boatman. After being .jn the water twenty minutes; it . was eventually brought to Mother Earth at Te Aro, not a great deal the ;worse for its sea bath. The raising of: the dray was a more difficult task, but with the aid of- some ropes and a few wi.lling hands this was successfully..accomplished. — Argus. ' That great finishing, schoolmaster, the public hangman, sometimes assumes thb garb and mao'ners of a gentlernan. A! Chinaman was recently hanged in New South. Wales, and. the executioner was' habited in a tightly-buttoned and w^ll-fitting double-breasted black frock coat, black cloih trousers, kid' boote, ...well-brushed black Bilk hat, and white • neck-tie. .He had also elegant shirtBtuda ' and elaborate wristbands. A cambric pocket handkerchief peeped out of one. of the coat pockets. He was supposed by 'several spectators to be tbe chaplain, but he dispelled tho idea" immediately by adjusting the rope round the man's neck, and patting him gently on the back of tho bead to rais. his spirits.. No dandy ever bared his wristbands and displayed greater care iu saving his clothes from dust than the hangman did when he uncoiled the rope from the beam above the scaffold, and lowered the body into its shell. * 1■ V ■ ' - .11. 11l I■ _— I , I I up. (.For continuation of News see fourth page."}