Untitled

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 162, 11 July 1877, Page 2

The correspondent of the Daihj Telegraph thus describes the battle of Batoum. About five o'clock in the morning, the 1 Russians' largely; augmented, advanced v with field artillery, and made a furious attack upon the ; heights defending Batoum' on the land side occupied by Baahi Bazouks., The Ottoman troops, who were entrenched, opened a terri* i ble and well sustained fire of antt musketry, which literally inQwe&thtfßussians' down in heaps. They fell .by scores and hundreds ori the plain below the Turkish positions. Duringiheir attempts to make way against this fire, a body of Turkish horso and. foot, taking advantage of the thick fire, broke upon., the flsmk of the Russian' column, and effected great slaughter, the Muscovites being upon ground perfectly open, and having no chance but to fight or fly. In a short time the spot which was the ' scene of this flank movement became covered i with, dead and dying Russians, hufc evening i quickly brought up reinforcements, and the battle was renewed with much determination. Many fierce efforts of the .assailants were' desperately maintained, but towards midday their artillery fire gradually^ slackened/and they a6, length withdrew after suffering considerable losses. The witnesses of this important engagement testify that the Ottoman soldiers behaved admirably; they had however, during the greater partof that action the advantage of entrenchments on the ground and to this fact is due their success. Corns pared with that of the Russians their loss is insignificant. Of his "hostages to fortune " Sir George Bowen, it seems, is about to bestow at least one on Victoria. A Sandhurst paper of a recent date says : — lfc is said that the Governor will not take all his family away from Victoria when his time comes to bid us a long farewell, and make his final deliveranqe of oleaginous nothings. The Melbourne correspondent of the Warnambool Guardian says :— The future husband of Sir George's | eldest daughter is seen in the son of a 1 wealthy member of the Upper House, and already the happy pair are domiciled by'the busy bodies of the. block in a mansion not far from the top of Collins-street. A number of trout having been found dead in some of the Canterbury rivers has given rise to a good deal of surprise as to the cause. In a letter to the Acclimatisation Society, Dr. Campbell stated that the troufc found dead, if examined, would be found to be males, and their death had simply resulted from fighting together, as they were largely in the majority of female fish. A London publisher is now issuing Shakespeare's plays at a fyalf-penny each. They are printed in small bu6 clear type, and each play i 3 issued in a wrapper.

Over £400 has been paid to the credic of the Brace Coanfcy Council, Mag the amount ■received from fchedogfeax.; : The fbllqwingDunedin telegram appeared in 'Wellington Argus: — During the Chinese ; <f Eau-tan '*. gambling case jn the Supreme Courfc, a witness was ask^ed for an, expJsnafejcii^of fche- -modtis. 'operqndi ; "of 'the gamej'an'd it 1 wag suggested -'by counsel for the defence that the best way of seeing the game to advantage would be by a friendly contest between the witness and the Crown Prosecutor. Mr Haggit explained that it required at least four persons before " fantan" could be played, and expressed his willingness to make one if Mr Chapman would also play. The latter had uo objection, provided that his Honor would complete the .quartette. His -Honor .feared that such a contest might acclimatise the game among Europeans.but Mr Haggit thought differently, the game not being interesting enough. The Westport Times s&ys there is every probability that nest summer will see an accession to the mining population in the Karamea .district,. and that the agricultural settlers there* may find their doubtful fortunes relievejl by' a host of customers for their produce! close to their doors. Good evidences | have lately been given that the gold is there, and that prospectors know the precise locality where to find it. A little lot, valued at £21, the result of five days' labor by two men, was sold to a Karamea settler a short time since, and the finders asserfc that there is plenty more to be obtained where they came from when fine weather and lengthening days permit work. . . Mr Horace D. Monk, (says the Post) called Jafc our office this morning and showed us some -remarjjably rich specimens of gold-bearing -quartz^ taken from a reef in Queen Charlotte .pojind, at KaiparaPo'-nt, about 5£ miles N.E. '•'or Pictoni also known by ££c suggestive title ,of " Golden Point." The reef has been long known to exist, but was supposed to run out .into the sea. Lately, however, it has been - discovered that it ran inland, and is far richer than was ever supposed. Mr Monk assures us that the specimens shown were not picked, but were taken at haphazard. Some indeed at' first showed no gold externally but on being broken with a hammer were found wonderfully rich inside. Picton is i ery jubilant over the discovery. Another action for libel— this time against .the Wan&H(fa,oy a native. The Auckland correspondent of the Olago Daily Times writes :— Paul, the well ;known and popular chief of Orakei, has taken great offence at somethiog written about him in the Wanauya the Maori paper in Napier. He is called what he considers opprobrious names, and has given instructions to sue for damages. Paul states that after reading the paper he could nofc sleep for three nights, and instructs his lawyer specially 'to claim compensation for that among the damages. If your readers have nofc hea-d of this chief, I may say that he is the Paoro Tuhaere, who went to Tawhiao a year or two ago to try and effect a treaty of amity on behalf of the Government. He was a member of the ProvincialExecutive in the old days, having been appointed by the late John Williamson when Superintendents had relations with the Maoris, which it would have been well for the colony if they could have retained. Paul 13 still, I believe, connected with the Native Department in some way, and comes up regularly to Auckland from his village which is on the Orakei Peninsula, close to the.city. His portly figure, handsome good humored tatooed face, black cloth suit, and tall black hat, are familar objects in the city. •An Auckland telegram to the Post, dated July 2, says:— A man named Mason, who had been out pig hunting with another named Boyd, lost his way in the bush on Saturday morning. Boyd started at daybreak in search of his missing companion. : He searched the bush the whole day. from Matamai Creek to Castle Rock. without success. It was fearful weather, and in Pevel Bush Boyd lost his hat , and, other, garments, and bis trousers were torn to ribbons. In returning he found the creeks, very high, and in attempting to cross Waiau Creek he was carried qff his leg 3 for some 200 feet at terrific speed, and thrown up on the other side, after a most remarkable escape from death, a number of large boulders striking his ;body which was covered with bruises. Boyd had to lie on his backafterI wards fully an hour to recover his breath- ' he, however, managed with great exertion to reach Gardiner's, where he was supplied with clothing, and remained there till daybreak on Sunday morning, ■ when he started for Coromandel, and arrived there about eight o clock. Meantime a party of about thirty o.- forty settlers, with the police, was organised, and during their absence the missing man turned up, having been three days m the bush. He explained that, immediately after leaving his companion he came across a pig and fired at it, and followed it down the creek for nearly a mile, when he ! caught and killed it, after which he attempted to get back to Boyd, but he took the' wrong track, and wandered all day in the bush. In his excitement he' stated he was nearly' drowned in crossing the creek, and his matches being wet he could not make a fire and had to remain all night under a kauri tree. Heavy rain was falling, and he had nothing to eat. At daybreak on Saturday he found a small creek, which he followed all i day, and about four o'clock met two Maoris i s about half a mile from Wangapoua. The j Maoris had nothing to eat, but gave him i some tea, a pair of trousers and socks, and ! placed him on the track for Coromandel. j ; Up to this time the man wa3 almost nude; i s he walked about two miles, and -was then so i thoroughly exhausted that he had to rest in the bush, exposed to the heavy rain which continued to fall all night. At daybreak next day he was suffering from extreme , hunger, and ate some nikau.and made another : start, but although only some eight miles . from home, he did not reach the township till one p.m., having to rest every mile on the road. On his arrival he was carefully : attended by Mra Boyd. Mason is about 24 j years of age.