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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XL, Issue 190, 2 August 1876, Page 2

IMr John Martin is about to open a cheap meat butchering establishment in Wellington, At a recent meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society. Mr Mantell read numerous extracts from private letters received from Dr Hector, showing that he was working hard in the interests of the colony, and that the New Zealand Court was looked upon as the most successful in the colonial group. The meeting was much amused at Dr Hector's undisguised distress at the expected adveut of a live Maori, for whom there was no accommodation provided in the Exhibition buildings, ahd at the alarm produced by Mr Mantell's telegram, " Riraa Rau awaits your orders at : San Eraucisco." The hon gentlemen had taken the precaution of announcing, in Maori, a remittance of £500. Dr Hector telegraphed back in great consterdation that Rima •Rau would get. no lodgings, Mr Mantell gave the meeting a circumstantial account of the steps he had taken to give effect to the wishes of the commissioners, which he was glad to say had ended in failure, only two " seedy " representatives of the race having responded to his call, both of whom had bolted from their wives. (A laugh.) One of them was suffering from heart disease ; the other, who had apparently learnt the art of "doing good, by stealth," had helped himself to a pair of boots at a country store before leaving Foxton. (A laugh.) He felt very thaukful, therefore, that he had been able to send these men back to their disconsolate wives. (Laughter and Applause). — N. Z. Times. Commenting upon that absurd portion of the San Francisco mail contract which provides that the large ocean steamers shall travel from Auckland to Dunedin to their own risk and the injury of our local boats, the New Zealand Herald says: — " Now the City of New Tork is imprisoned, and the whole mail service, with its junctions and ramifications, is thrown out of joint. The present arrangement of the mail service is the result of mere log-rolling. This debt-burdened colony pays £2o,ooo per annum for the purposo of having its mail delayed." An American skating rink has been established iv Berlin under most fashionable auspices. It is said the Berlin papers in speaking of it, use the works skate aod skating, bodily dumping the English word into the German language. When it is known that the German for a skating rink is " Rollschi littschuhbahn," or, worse still, <l Ho!zraederschlittsehuhfahrhalle," it seems excusable to steal the word. It wil be of interest to know that the German for a skate factory is " Salonholzrollschlittschubfahrfabricationsanstalt." Tbe death of a compositor was occasioned by his trying to pet the last word into his composing stick. The Napier Telegraph says: — A good idea of the profits to be derived from boiling down fat sheep may be obtained from Mr Parsons' returns from the melting of fifty crossbred wethers. These sbeep are too fat for the butcher, and on being boiled down, yielded a ton of tallow, thereby netting to their owner nearly twenty shillings a head. Several women (says the Auckland Star) were waiting at the Police Court thia morning with complaints about tbo ill usage they had received from their legal protectors. One poor woman's face and eyes evidenced the ttuth of her statement and the necessity of women's rights in a reasonable degree. Another good looking young* woman was weeping and afraid to return home as her husband had threatened to take her life with the poker. These, with an account of conjugal inharmonies, will be brought to light at the commencement of next week. We understand that strong drink has beeu the eaußQ of these dgmestio differences.

The followiog Melbpurno telegram is dated July 28:— Mr \MKean has been expelled the Assembly for making' statements: damaging to tbo characters of membe^.-r-RobaEts made a break of 270 last night.— Tho honorary-secre-tary of one of the rifla clubs has absconded with the funds and oue of the trophies. A benevolent employer, intending to give a clever young man £1,000 for five years' service, proposed to _6 so by beginning with £100 a year, aod raising tbe clerk's salary £50 per annum to the end of the term. Thug be proposed to give him £100, £150, £200, £250, £300. The young man who was indeed wide awake for himslf, if not for his master, begger] that the inorease in his salary should be £25 every half year. Of course, this proposition was readily accepted, for it was assumed that the final result be the same. This arrangement? in fact, secured bim fen payments, which were respectively £50, £75; £100, £125, £150, £175, £200, £_25,£250, £275— total, £1625, instead of £1000. The power of figures is tha secret of the moneylenders' art. •--' ■ The Argus of Friday says:— The Hon. Sir Julius and Lady Yogel last night gave a Fancy Dress Ball at the Ministerial residence, Tinakori-road, and it was probably the most brilliant social gathering ever witnessed in New' Zealand. The cards of invitation stated that silk* s>itin, and real laoe were forbidden to ladies, the ball being a calico one, but ..gentlemen could, ap-. pear in fancy dress or uniform without restriction a 9 to material. The invitations issued numbered 250, and' the minority of those invited were presant. The brilliaucy and taste of the dresses, were admirable; and tha ladies, although debarred from the use of expensive materials, managed to look prettier and, more brilliant than in ordinary ball Costume. The Argus states that is rumored among volunteers that there will short* ly be a very pretty expose relative f o : a member of a well known corps rifle club who has recently been currying all before him in in the way of money j prizes and trophies. It is alleged that I he has been shooting with a pencil line on his back si^ht, and that this was only discovered at the last com- i petition ol the club. He has been disqualified from shooting; again by tbe committee, and a meeting will be held to decide what further steps shall be taken in. the matter. The Auckland Star says: — As much • curiosity . has been evoked as to the ownership and antecedents of Enguerrande, the dead-heater, with Cameiia, for the Oaks, we may state that tbe mare is the property of M. Lupin, tha well-known French sportsman. Enguerrande was by no means an untried mare. On the Sunday week previous to the Oaks she had run for the Prix dv Jockey Club or French Derby at Chantiliy, and starting at 20 to 1, had only been beaten by a head by Kilt, the favorite. In regard to this lastmentioned race, it is interesting to know tbat " heads" only separated the four leaders at the finish. Fourteen started, and it is significant of the reputation of English jockeys in France that every candidate had a Briton on hia back. Canon rode the winner. > The Grand Prix do Paris, which is tbo great carnival three-year-old race in France, would be a particularly interesting struggle this year, with Kisber (winner of the Derby), Petrarch, Kilt, Eogucrrande, Ashautee, Braecouier, Mondaine, (the French Oaks winner) and several otber great public performers engaged. Kisber won the English Derby so easily, that if sent he would be bound to be a tremendously hot favorite. The race came off in the middle of June, but tbe result has not yet reached us.