Untitled

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 177, 18 July 1876, Page 2

"We regret to say that the Bishop of Waiapu has been obliged, in consequence of ill health, to resign his see. The Eight Eevereud Dp Williams, who came to New Zealand as a missionary in 1826, was consecrated at Wellington in 1859, being the first bishop consecrated in New Zealand. It would thus appear that he has been actively engaged in the work of the cuurch in this country for half a century. — N. Z. Times. We have been shown a letter (says the Melbourne Echo) addressed to'a lady, which has taken 23 years to reach its destination. The letter concerns the disposal of about £3000 worth of property in England, and hence the authorities have put themselves to more than ordinary trouble to see that it fell into the hands of the person to whom it is addressed. It bears the date of April, 1853, and has circumnavigated the globe twice. .It has sought, its owner in Sydney on two different occasions, and failing iu its mission to the , Southern Cross, it fell into the London Dead Letter Office, where it remained for five years. At last it was forwarded to California, and was perused by the rightful party nearly a quarter of a century after it was penned. In the protracted interval that elapsed between its penning and delivery, the estate to : which it related was wasted by costly litigation, and is now scarcely worth the trouble of going to look after it. A skating riuk b&s been started at Auckland. The Cross says :— " On Saturday evening about 50 persons assembled at the skating rink to try a roll on the patent skates. As they were mostly amateurs, they succeeded in doing this to perfection, and loud and long was the laughter that greeted the unfortunates who, forgetting for a brief moment the necessity of keeping their heads before their feet, paid lor the mistake by being forcibly compelled to do a skate on their backs. It was very amusing an-i instructive to watch the various attitudes assumed by the different performers. The cautious man might be seen carefully piloting himself along by means of the wall, while his more reckless compaaioD, scorning any such artificial aid, dashed boldly into the sport, and after performing some extraordinary evolutions, ended by soon coming into collision with another amateur, and preciptating both on the floor. The greatest good humor, however, prevailed throughout ; and as the evening wore on, the reoklesa individuals, becoming more accustomed to the use of the skates, managed to navigate themselves across the floor with comparative safety."