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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 71, 23 March 1877, Page 2

jThe following is from the Wanganui Chronicle: — During the hearing of a case in the Resident Magistrate's Court, Milton, lately, it transpired that Mr George Capstick, clerk to the Tokomairiro Road Board, bad been instructed to remove a fence that had open placed across a certain road in theAkatore district. " Did you. remove the obstruction?" asked the. plaintiff. . "No," replied Mr George Capstick. " What were your reasons?" asked the plaintiff. "Five. men with tomahawks, and another man with a three-pronged thing used for thinning turnips," responded the witness. Mr, Capstick subsequently agreed to remove the fence if any other gentleman would undertake to do the fighting, but bis offer was not taken up. )■■ •

The Canterbury Priest of ;thel3th instant, strongly condemns the hew apppo intments of fellows to the New^ Zealand Univtfrsitv. It considers that " the list bears evidence on the face of it that the ; membera have been chosen for nomination,; not on any of. the grounds that ought to b? the cardiii&l motive ..of choice, but merely in deference to their official status,' or for pbliti&L reasons, or as representatives of religious denominations. At a missionary meeting at Onehunga, says the Herald, during an interval in the proceedings, the children were regaled with refreshments; and while these were being discussed, a sweet hymn, "Still there's more to 'follow,'? -was 'sung.- The youthful consumers ol the comfits took the song as a literal allusion to a second course, and displayed jubilant- gratification. What, did follow was disappointment, not additional refreshments; s ;■ '.. .; , . The Southland 'timet writes as follows of Christchurch:— Mr E. a J ? _Stevens, M.H.R. for the City of Christchurch, has made one ' of those post-sessional addresses to his constituents which serve better than anything else to keep alive an interest in politics during the recess. Mr Stevens is not a brilliant or ( a profound man; if he were, th(ke would be, a pqqr change of 'his 'being elected to 1 represent Christchurch.lj But he is a mo^t' judicious representative, of that aristocratic tnd solemnly respectable city. The Canterr bury mind, as illustrated by its journals aud by the speeches of its chosen public men, does not'uppro ye Of star tling novelties. Lead is . very- light compared [with the coinage of the Christchurch: mind, and Drelincourt on Dekth, and Hervey's Meditations Hmong the Tombs^ are delightfully -cheerful [literature after an article in the Lyttelton T\mes, or a ; speech from a Christchurchjnembbr. Their ■ jokes "are heavier than most men's sermons. Still Christchurch, more; than any other .of .our. large towns, would shrink from doing • anything very 'wicked morally,; anything very grotesquely! absurd, or anything so very -imprudent as tb be ruinous to its own interests.- i !.',.' ! A married woman in Grenfell, New South i ; jWales, having reason to brieve that she had ' been slandered by a youqg nian, determined to take ; the liw and vindication of het ■ character luto hir own hahds. Accordingly,, she armed herself with a substantial riding whip andL lay in wait for;, the transgressor . As soon jas sha espied him/in company with '-.'. some cohj teres, J she boldly, walked up andinflicted' a' tolerably smirt' castiigation over ;. bis head and shoulders. A great crowd quickly assembled; peace was ultimately restored; but the lady said she had still " a rod in pickle " for some others of the sterner j Sir Samuel Wilson (says the Argus) has received a telegram dated 28th February, from Messrs R. Brooks and Co , London as follows:— " We have "sold your Eroildoun wool, per Allanshaw and George Thompson, tbe fleece averaging 42d per lb, the top price being 60_d; other lots, 54d, 52_d, and 50_d. Unusual competition. We have sold your Mount Bute wool-, the fleece averaging - 33_d, . the top price being 42£ d. Your Yanko fleece averaged 26 Jd." The prices quoted for Ercildoun wool are by far the highest ever obtained for any Viptorian clip in the.Londou market.', j A splendid specimen. of trout has been caught byJMr.Cayrtborne (says the Hobarton Meicury) whilst trolling in the : river Derwent, and was landed by his brother after asevere struggle. The length of the fish is; 32in, aroudd the girth 19|in, and the weight 16flbs. : . ; It is not generally known that the wealth of the Rothschild family is due to a large degree to carrier pigeous. Before the French cable was laid Baron Rothschild regularly, used these birds to bring him intelligence of I the state of the Paris money market, thus enabling him to clear thousands by buying or selling stock, according to the information brought. Eighty tons weight of paper, it is said, were used in the production of the Christmas number of the Illustrated London News. Estimating, the price' of the paper at 4d per lb, the cost under that head would be something like £3000. It is stated for a fact that some of the miners on the Auckland goldfieids have paid over four hundred per cent per annum for money borrowed to aid in developing their mines. Where were the consciences of the money-lenders?. The Melbourne 'A,e has the following:— There are now on view at the offices of Messrs Clarke and C 6 . !, Elizabeth-street, specimens of rich gold-bearing quartz, taken at the 11 30 feet level of the Prince Patrick Company's mine at Stawell, which is the greatest depth a. which payable stone has yet been raised in the colony. v "' ' '{. —•■ ',' Atlas" writes in;, The Wfm-ld:— Those who" live near the throne of fashion assure me that the coming decree is to be •" yellow everywhere" — in dresses, bonnets, trimmings, gloves, and what not. Ladies, who may have reason, to be alarmed at the prospect, had better change their complexions, for they may be assured they cannot change the 1 decree. Dureste, they hardly;- ng ed the assurance. „ They^know their master, as they^ showed conclusively of jate, when th£ mysr teripus tyrant, ordered them to wear plush, ' and was. immediately obeyed,. " The Auckland Herald concludes an article, on jthe Emperor of Germany as follows:— The Emperor William bas waged -three- fierce wars since* his .accession tOjthe .throne of' Prussia. (| In the war against Denmark, tfie' Prussians fought 10 victorious engagements,' and took 47 colors and 219 cannon; in the Austrian war 15 battles and 24 engagements, capturing 13 colors' and 208 guvs; i . the French. war; 34 battles' and 43 engagements wertf fought, the trophies consisting'of 94 co'ors, and 3300 cannon. 1 At a reception giveti' to his principal officers, in January last, the Emperor William made the following speech:— lf all the gentlemen whose presence oh "this day gladdens my heart approve of the sentiments expressed- by ray son, I shall feel very happy indeed. I thank you.. all. Looking back to the day when I entered r the army 70 years T ago, it is proper that I should remember the then state of things. I offer my humble thanks to the Almighty for the blessings he has vouchsafed to me from the day when my father's hand placed me in the ranks to this day of joy. My .position obliged me to devote the greater part of my life to the army; 'and I shall always gratefully remember those who seconded -'my efforts and supported my military career. The position I occupy now I owe to the valour, the steadiness, and the devotion of the army. From Fehrbellin down to the late ; glorious war, the deeds of the Brandenburg Prussian army are inscribed in indelible letters in the annals of history; and what Prussia is she has chiefly become through her army. lam especially thankful for the noble spirit which animates my troops, and which you, gentlemen, have done so much to foster and develop, a spirit which has enabledus, conjointly with the German troops, to achieve the great success of creating a united Germany and a united German army. '■ The cheerful partisans of cremation aire still full of vitality. They have bandedthemselves into a society for the promotion ,of tbeir; favorite idea at Brussels. Four ' hundred members have already joined, and a committee of medical men is busy drawing up the statutes, so. as to be prepared fbr any eventuality that may arise. As soon as this new type of burial club has all its arrangements complete, we. presume there will be quite a jealous rivalshlp among the more enthr.piastic c 'ematbrs as to who' 'shall have the honor of supplying the first corpse.

The Auckland Herald is sorry to learn that Sir George Grey is still iv very feeble health.. .. \ , . : , If the 'promise contained in the following advertisment cut from the Irish Times is performed, the linguistic powers of Balaam's ass. will cease to be marvellous:— "To be sold, four cpws.— No 1. A beautiful cow, called eight days, with splendid calf, at foot; a good milker. No 2. A cow to calve" in about fourteen days, and great promise. The other two cows are calved about twenty-one days, and wilt apeak for themselves. ' For particulars apply at 15 Upper Buckinghamstreet for four days." j ; The Spiritualists have had another great' lif t, in the~ " levitation," to use their own' language, of Lord Archibald Campbell three feet from the ground. His lordship was previously such' an "unbeliever in the Spirits' that nothing short of strong measures would bridg him round. Therefore, in a private house, under the mediumship of the daughter of- a baronet, thesociety; being." high," his lordship was not only elevated, but greatly" raised in the estimation of his wife, to whom he went home, pale and trembling, soon after. The; Acclimatisation • 'Society^(says the Canterbury Times) has raisedja very hornet's nest about its unfortunate, iand, Lit must be confessed, rather long ears. Having, disco ereji that the late bad weather had been unfavorable to the ducksj.it came to the conclusion that the opening season should be postponed foria fortnight. ..;.A.t. once, the newspapers teemed with,':fette'rs. !The Society was asked how ducks be affected otherwise thari'ffav^qrably by wet weather. Thousands of ducks were declared to be visible on lakes, lagoons, and streams, „ waiting to be shot. The evidence on the pairing habits of the -birds was/voluminous, and, being that of eye-witnesses, convincing. The Society was accused .of altering the date ; purely to prevent the holiday-makers from spoiling the shooting during Easter week. The Society was denounced as cool as,impudent, and not less ignorant. Altogether, the situation was not pleasant, and the few writers who came tothe Society's rescue did not make much of a >fight of it. The Government,! we hearj—ntit; officially, .for = nothing seems to be announced in.Canterbury officially since the gripilof Abolition was givenhave refused to. accede to the request. 'of the Socieity, so that its cup of bitterness. may be . described as ful}. , An Auckland! telegram to the Post, dated Wednesday, .ays: — A savage assault was committed in Abercrombie-street by a man upon his wife, who now lies in a most critical condition. The offender is a powerful looking man, named John M'Grath, who recently came from London in the Jessie Osborne. He is described as a shoemaker. He and his partner were out together on St. Patrick's Day. M'Grath was not sober. M'Grath's wif e is a decent sober woman. The neighbors in Alexanderrstreet, hearing screams of murder and heavy blows, rushed ' to the police. - Sergeant O'Connor went immediately, to the house. The door being partly open he walked in, and prevented an immediate murder. The prisoner had his - wife' down, and, was beating her in a most savage manner over the head and face with' ; a heavy stick.' He^assailed the sergeant with the most dreadful imprecations and curses, but was ultimately taken to. the Police Station. The woiinan has been beaten literally blind, not being able to see out of either of her eyes. Her body is one mass of bruises. Dv Dawson attended her, but is not yet able jfco ascertain the extent of her injuries. From last intelligence it is. feared she cannot survive, through the. day. The Daily Newt has added another Walter press to its machinery. It was ready in eight weeks after the order was given. The News has now seven of there machines iv operation, and these each print 12,000 per hour, or 84,000 per hour in all. A London correspondent of the Melbourne Argus tells the following story of a Hospital Sunday sermon, which shows that the clergy are aware of the "ticklish" nature of commercial credit. The rector of Bayswater parish read out, before his discourse,' a letter which he said he had recaived irom one of his congregation.. .It was a case of conscience.—" I am apparently well off," said the writer, but 1 1 am in fact outhe verge of bankruptcy. I should like to put my usual contribution— a . . £5-note— into ; your plate tomorrow, bat I feel tbat it is really giving awjay the-money of my creditors. What am Ito do?'" The clergyman said he advised the gentleman .o give tiothitig. i"And I give thp|same advice, dear friends, tq you, if any of . you c are unbappjUy in the like position. Tndse on the other frand^ who jare.. in jgood circumstances will,! am sure, give In proportion to. their means." -It : proved the largest collection that this" .wise rector had ever mdde. r r . / r -. t .. v .. ,_.".,.. . ." V „ .""!"."'.'.'