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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 249, 11 October 1876, Page 2

Some professional card sharpers are said to have recently paid a visit to the Wairarapa, where they had some excellent pigeon practice. Wiltshire accomplished his feat of walking 1000. miles, in .1000 hours at noon on Saturday, and showed hardly any signs of distress. Indeed, he went on walking for three or four additional hours at the same. rate. . In noticing the intended departure of the steamer Waipara for Jackson's Bay, the West Coast Times says the schooner Maid of Otago, by a mere accident, visited Jackson's Bay on the 21st Ssptember, and afforded relief, in the shape of two tons of flour, to the starving persons* located there. That, quantity must be consumed, and the Waipara takes her departure none too soon. We Shall be glad to know that the settlers have not suffered much privation, but it seems certain that, but for the fortunate circumstance of the schooner putting in to the Bay for firewood, matters there wou'd have taken a very serious aspect. In the eveut of any calamity occurring at the Settlement through the shameful neglect which has been exhibited, there is no doubt whose shoulders should bear the* blame. It is possible that up to the present no serious consequences have ensued, but in future it is imperative that the authorities should either provide .the Settlement with a fair supply of necessaries, or abandon the undertaking in which they have embarked. . A correspondent of the Timaru Herald sends the following to that paper:— The wind commenced to blow at Burkes Pass about 10 a.m. on Friday, and by 11 o'clock it increased to such an extent that people considered it unsafe to be out. At about 11-15 a.m.. a stable at the Pass was fairly blown away, being lifted over a fence four and a half feet high, and some' partions were carried a distance of 100 yards down the Pass." A draught horse which was standing under the lee of the stable was knocked down by the shock, but as the buildiug was carried over it, the animal remained unhurt. A stack of timber and' iron was utterly dispersed,, and some of the sheets of iron are lying crumpled up at least 200 yards from where they were 'stacked. One man positively asserts that while 'standing on a trestle he was fairly lifted over the head of another man working near him. In the Supreme Court at Dunedin the Crowu Prosecutor commented strongly on the inattention of juries, and of their returning Verdicts diametrically opposed to the evidence. The Judge endorsed his observations, saying that iv three cases tried this session, the evidence warranted different verdicts. In one case of acquittal, the accused considered his case so hopeless that he at at first, intended pleading guilty, but, thinking better of it, ho prepared a speech, and put on a pair of glasses, presumably to give himself a v^nerablo {md respectable appearance* The result was that the jury gave him the benefit of the doubt, and acquired him. In the second case the accused virtually admitted his oll'ence.