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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 231, 20 September 1876, Page 4

i The following letter to the Dunedjn City membera has been numerously and influentially signed by their coDfltitatents: — " Gentlemen,— We, the undersigned electors of the City of Dunediji, feel impelled et this juncture in public .affairs to express to you our opinion pf the political situation in Wellington. We are wearied and disappointed wiljh the barren and prolonged debate of this 1 session on Piako Swamp, separation,'' abolition, disqualification, &c. We aije of opinion that direct and exhaustive diacusaion on finance and counties should have been held long ago, for the benefit alike, of representatives and electors, and we think it is high timje : that all members of the House combined to put a stop to personalities, wranglinge, and factious obstructions,: and addressed themselves strictly to tb!e business of the country.— We have, &c.,"&c. The Canterbury Press thinks that the nmount sought to be recovered by Sir Geprge. Grey, from Ministers; is outrpgeou^and says j— lf Sir Seo.'Grey vv.ere: hjanefitly.. aating^aa .a.matter of public duty— if be wished to briDg the case into court for the sake of establishing a principle— he could have gained his end by demanding the penalty for a single day. The attempt to exact the whole pound of flesh— -to recover penalties up to the laßt penny that can be extorted — puts him in a despicable light. .Qan • fa ja-^political ad i mpsi ties . be. jsa tisfi^d ;by j^pthing sb or t of the,:p;e(iu.niar!y jEuin; of:his]op|)onents? Or is 'he being made a cat's-paw by some harpy followers, who have soented the prey from afar, and are rushing open-mouthed for their share of the plunder ? Tbe following manly offer of help to the distressed is contained in an adver-. tisement in tbe Grafton (Clarence river) papers. The advertisement emanates from Meß3"r*; peaq ajna '^Co., storekeepers, Grafton/ and is^addrßsse.d JO the sufferers from the late disastrous flood on the Clarence : — " We beg to say to those of our customers who suffered severely during the recent flood, that we are prepared to stand by them in this the hour of their trouble, and, so far as we can, to carry them over the present disastrous season. No constituent .of. ours who. h.aa,showa-a disposition to act honestly wrtl W abandoned in the present emergency, but fooi and clothing will be supplied until time brings back the Clarence to its former state of prosperity. Unljr let our friends come and tell us frankly all about their troubles, and we will endeavor to give them the Bubetantial relief they now require." ! The Patea i/m7 ; aays :— « On the 25th ultimo a celebrated Maori chief, named Nikorima, an old native of Matakaba, died near Opunake. Thte man, from circumstances stated by the natives, caunot have been less than lip or 120 years of age. His own stateiment is that he remembered the last visit of Captiin Cook, and at that tim^ his beard was beginning to grow oo his face, and be had killed his first two of his tribe's enemies. Though not a chief by birth, he gained renown as a warrior of such importance that the enemies of his tribe in war time generally told off twenty or thirty men, whose duty it was to look out for and to kill Nikotima. His great age is spoken of by other very old natives on this coast, who, wben children, remember Nikorima a middle - aged warrior. Natives have been assembling from all parts to tangi over this old warrior, whom they look upon as an ancestor."' This is the way the matrimonial knot is tied in Borneo. Oa the wedding-day tbe bride and bridegroom are brought from opposite ends of the village to the spot where the ceremony is to be performed. They are made to sit on two iron bars, that blessings as lasting and health as vigorous may attend the pair. A cigar and betel leaf, prepared with the areca nut, are next put into the hands of the bride and bridegroom. One of thepriests then waves two fowls over the heads of the couple, and in a long address to the Supreme Being calls down blessings upon the pair, and implores that peace and happmeßs may attend the uuion. After the heads of the affianced have been knocked against each other three or four times, the bridegroom puts the prepared leaf and cigar into the mouth of the bride, while she does the same to him, whom she thus acknowledges as her husband.