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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 124, 28 May 1877, Page 2

The Wanganui Steeplechase meeting on the Queen's Birthday was largely attended. The Grand National Steeplechase was won by Mr Lumsden's Victor, Mr C. Watts' Don Juan second, Mr Stevenson's Jonathan Wild third. There were a good many falls, but nobody was hurt.

Sittings of the Licensing Court will be held on the nth instant at Richmond, Wannea West, and Waimea South at 11 a.m. one p.m., and three p.m., respectively. *' The receipts of the Nelson and Foxhill railway for the four weeks ending the sth instant were £507, uamely, £.321 10s for passengers, and £185 10s for goods. The amount of timber conveyed on the line was 69 974 feet. The following, omitting shilliugs and pence, were the receipts on the other lines named : —

Kaipara to Riverhead (17 miles) ... 252 Auckland to Mercer (43 miles) *" 1646 Napier to Waipukarau (29 miles) .'.' 1868 Waitara to New Plymouth (12 miles) 153 Jboxton to Mauawatu ... ... imm q^ Wellington to Masterton (20 miles) ... 788 Pictoa to Blenheim (18 miles)... ." 355 AVestport to Mount Rochfort ... '.',". 56 Bruniier to Greymouth (8 miles) ... 395

The Port of Saturday says:— As an instance of the risk run by drunken men, we may mention that on the person of a man who was taken before the Resident Magistrate this moruing there was found a pocl-et book containing several notes and some gold together with a bank deposit receipt for

A recruiting medicine. As a means of increasing the diminished vital forces, of enlisting the recuperative powers latent in the system in an effort to recorer lost rigor and health, of affording a support and solace to the aged and infirm, of reinforcing the TS fin an^ u d - nary organs when enfeebled, SAf K y nl bnnging t0 the " fronfc " the glow of health and the smile of cheerfulness, lmZn< m r ? T cmitin g medicine so prompt and f R C o S« 9 Udolpuo Wolfe's Scuiedam Aeomatic SciiNAPrs.— Advt

The City Council of Wellington does not, if we are to believe what the Post has to say about; ita deliberations, appear to be overburdened with good sense. Our contemporary thus comments upon some of its late .proceedings:— «' Members of the City Council appear to have become altogether bereft of reason. In fact, Wellington is at present with a Council of lunatics, of whom his Worship the Mayor has to act as keeper, and to do what he can to restrain them in their vagaries. On no other theory than that of sheer lunacy or utter imbecility can we account for the astounding action of our City Councillors with respect to the wharf extension tenders. At a former meeting they muddled the whole business, till they got into a perfect maze of confusion, from which they have never yet been able to emerge, because what took place on that occasion has already made them the laughing stock of the city. At last night's meeting they made " confusion worse confounded." The report of the Wharf Committee was brought up and read. Of necessity it is a curiously involved document, because it is a record of the way in which these stupid Councillors contrived to stultify themselves. When this report was read, these nincompoops of Councillors didn't know what to do with it. It is hardly possible to write with patience in the presence of such a spectacle of imbecility. Cannot members of the Council for once act as honest, sensible men, and decide to accept the lowest tender for the whole work. Their whole conduct from first to last in this business, their shuffling, trickiness, imbecility and inconsistency, have earned for them the contempt of every right-thinking man throughout the colony.

The Patea Mail says.—" A woman at present resident in the immigration barracks was woke up on Saturday night by smarting pains on neck and arms. It was discovered that a small black sp'der had bitten her in seven or eight places. The parts swelled and the pain was intense. Hot bathing had to be resorted to, and other medical measures applied. The effect of the bifce3 was felt till yesterday.

The question of sponging upon public chanties (says the Australasian) is being dealt with in New Zealand— here we only talk about it and submit. The committee of the Wakatip Hospital has resolved that all persons before being admitted be compelled to sign a written agreement promising to pay any amount due to them on leaving the institution. The Auckland Hospital Committee has been inquiring into its power to sue, for maintenance and medical attendance, patients ma position to pay—a class described as numerous. It was determined to seek a legal opinion upon the matter. Of all kinds of sponging this is essentially the meanest. It combines the twice-contemptible attribute of robbing the suffering poor and of falsely trading upon the sympathy of the benevolent. It has almost ceased to be incongruous for hospital patients to be visited by relatives in sealskin jackets and two-button kid gloves.

It would appear that the Russian Naval Station of Petropaulovski, in Kamtscatka, is dependent upon Newcastle for its principal supply of coals. For some time past the coal trade between the two ports has been considerable, and doubtless the Russian Government has been fully alive to the expediency of laying in a stock of fuel for her war steamers in view of her insecure relations with Great Britain. The Sea Belle left Newcastle for Petropaulovski on May sth with 349 tons of coal.

We (New Zealand Herald) are informed by a passenger by the City of New York that preTious to the vessel leaving San Erancisco, a telegram was received by the Russian Consul at San Francisco, from the Consul of that nation at Philadelphia, directing him to proceed to Honolulu and endeavor to make such arrangements with the King of that island, that the Russian squadron in the Pacific might count upon obtaining supplies and other accommodations in the eyent of war.

At Clinton, Otago, while her mother went out to collect firewood, a little girl named Hall fell into the fire by overbalancing herself, and before her parents could come to the rescue she was fearfully burned from the head to the knees, and only lived a few hours.

A very good fellow, and a warm man, too was sounded the other day as to whether he would stand for the vacancy in the Ward. He did not say anything decisive, but in the evening he gently broke the subject to his wife thus:— "Maggie— they want me to go into the City Council— what do you say?" "City Council! Whatl to be brought home on a saveloy-machine! Never, Tom, with nay consent." He didn't stand—Australasian. It may have been reprinted somewhere else, but if so I have missed it, and it is almost good enough for repetition. Lord Beaconsfield is credited with having described the evening dress of a woman of fashion as "& style of costume sanctioned by society for enabling ladies to display their natural beauties with a profusion worthy of a Grecian statute." — "JEgles." The Telegraph Department afc Wellington has received intimation that the Sydney Government will co-operate with the Cable Company and the New Zealand Government in opening offices at 1-30 am. daily (New Zealand time), for the distribution of English telegrams. The arrangement will come into operation when the department has the necessary signal bells supplied to the stations to be opened in say about a week. The electric telegraph has dona much to develope the art of laconic communication The wire does not convey broad letter margins, "dear sirs," or "your most obedient servants." A message of ten words can be amplified into a subleader, like the production of a tnreen of soup from a couple of ounces of Liebig's extract. It is not every day that so much is expressed in eight words as in the following, received this week by one of those benevolent organisations which devote themselves to the aid of squatters with securities. There is a charming relativeness, a sweet sense of bettered position in this— "Great rain here. Send me a cheque-book !" — Australasian.

That irrepressible editor of the Lyell Argus is to the fore again. This is his very latest deliverance :— « Matrimonial. —We hear that Little Cupid is up to his usual pranks again. Three well-kuown bachelors having caved in and a heavy wager has been latd by a Buller Squatter— That he gets married before Ye Editor. (If its to that Red Headed Nelson Girl that I saw him squeezing the other day atHampden by gum old chap you can have her and welcome — E.A.)"

In a prosaic business circular I (" JE^les ") observed the other day these words (the circular referred to the wool market):—"lnferior kinds constituted the bulk of the offerings." And it struck me that they generally do. Upon this point the churchwardens are very clear. I know one who says that there must have been lately a fresh coinage of threepenny pieces. Squaretoes considers them an invention of the Evil One. " The inventor of that miserable coin robbed the churches, sir, of just 25 per cent of their income." If you can't see it, work out a rule of three sum between threepenny and fourpenny bits.

The 'free pass" system on the railways, recently introduced in this colony, has not yet armed at that stage which it has reached m America, where colored representatives of moat inodorous surroundings are accustomed to save the cost of lodgings by "turning the trains into sleeping apartments, and habitually spend their nights in them.

i/& fc ?£'s** of Mr Shea's creditors, held at Wellington on Saturday, it was resolved that he be requested fco /file a : declaration oi insolvency at opce. " \ - ' At the annual meeting; of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, recently held in Sydney, reference was made to the late MrJoseph Dyer, the Resident Secretary in NewZealand, to whose ability and exertions the remarkable success of the society iv New Zealand admittedly is mainly attributable Professor Smith said the company's secretary ia New Zealand had recently died, leaving a wife and nine children unprovided for, except by an insurance for £500, which would be all absorbed in the payment of ,his debts. The local directors had pressed the claim of this servant on the Central Board and the Board referred it to the meeting'; but a resolution proposing a grant of £500 was rejected by a large majority. On March 2nd the remains of an eccentric and parsimonious individual, named John Clark, were interred at Woolwich. He was 86 years of age, aud, although he was reputed to be the possessor of a large fortune, he lived to the last in a squalid hovel in the poorest* part of Woolwich, where, beino- a man of education, he devoted himself to the accumulation and study of books, of which he leaves a large store. It is said the front shutters of his house have not been opened for more than thirty years, and that he never partook of a regular meal, eating and drinking only when it was necessary to appease the appetite.' He did not know the taste of wine ;or spirits. The value of his estate has not yet been computed, but from the fact that he bequeaths by will £5,000 to his housekeeper, £6/'OO to Dr. Halifax, of Brighton, and .various legacies of smaller amount to the local charities,| and to a number of poor neighbors by whom he was surrounded, it is estimated at between £30,000 and £40,000. ' The disgraceful levity displayed by the hangman at the execution of Te Pati at Auckland on Wednesday, last is thus described by the Herald-.— On a signal being given by the Sheriff, the hangman drew the cap over the doomed man's face and adjusted the rope, having previously securely tied his legs. Having examined the rope approvingly, and stroked the murderer's chest down in a manner which seemed, somewhat playful— however out of place such manner was— he drew the bolt and the drop fell with a loud tliud. As the' unfortunate culprit fell, the hangman looked down through the open space, and was heard to say, " How do you like that, Jack?" and he subsequently behaved in a further unseemly manner. This unseemly behaviour consisted of hurriedly descending the scaffold .steps and crossing over to the spectators, addressing one of them man excited manner, " How do you do this morning, Mr ; I hope I see yon," proffering liis hand ai the same time. It is needless to say the opportunity of shaking hands with thi hangman while the culprit was still writhing violently from the rope was nod embraced, the gentleman so accosted turning away in disgust The executioner then walked out of the yard without casting even a glance to see whether his dreadful work had proved effectual or not. Although the body fell a distance of fully nine feet, the neck did not seem to be dislocated, and death did not appear to take place for a space of nearly five minutes, during which time the wretched man's breathing could be plainly heard all over the prison yard, while the convulsions of the body were painful to witness, a twitching of the hands and toes being also observable.