The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1878.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 13, 15 January 1878, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 1878.

The recommendation contained iv the rider to the verdict returned by the jury at the inquest held at Wakefield on Saturday on the fire by which a barn near the railway station was destroyed, is one that we trust will have someweight with the Government, or we should, perhaps, say., with the head of the Public Works Department. There was not sufficient evidence in this particular case to prove conclusively that the damage was occasioned by a spark from the engine, but the presumption is very strong that to such a cause was it to be attributed. In other instances, however, that have occurred there has been no room for doubt that fields of gras3 aud fences, have been burnt by the sparks emitted from the engine, and many of those whose properties border on the line live in daily fear of a fire that may occasion considerable loss. Anyone who has travelled by the train in the dark must have noticed the large flakes of fire that fly from the chimney, especially on approaching from the Waimea that masterpiece of engineering skill, the ascent of Jenkins's Hill, where the furnaces have to be heated to the utmost to enable the locomotive and the four or five carriages behind it to make its way along the steep and snake-like track which it is doomed to climb twice a day. The wonder is that at this particular spot the destruction of property has Jnot been very serious, as lumps of fire may be seen lying on the road for some time after the train has passed. A wire netting or some similar protection placed over the mouth of the chimney is absolutely necessary to the safety of the grass and corn in the neighborhood of the line, and it is to be hoped that the authorities will provide this as soon aa possible, for it certainly is uot fair to the • settlers on the plain to render them liable to such a risk as that which they now run. We regret to learn that ill health has compelled Mr Bethwaite to seek change of air for a time, and the he has in consequence deemed it advisable toresign his seat in the City Council. Nominations of candidates for the vacant seat must be lodged with the Town Clerk before noon on Tuesday next. A requisition is in course of signature to Mr Thomas Harley asking him to allow himB3lf to be nominated as a candidate for the vacant seat in the City Council. The bells sounded the alarm again last night about half-past eleven, and that it was none too soon was proved by a glare in the sky and the roaring of flames in Alma-street, where a cottage occupied by Mrs Piper and her family, and the property of Mr T. Harley, was all ablaze within less than a minute of the sounding of the first note of alarm. The Brigade were very soon on the spot, but did not get to. work at. the fire for some i minutes, as they were engaged in rescuing ' the inmates, and a further slight delay | was occasioned by an accident to the hose, which, however, was speedily remedied, and a volume of water was soon pouring on the burning building, before which the flames were compelled to succumb. Two cottages in the immediate vicinity were for a time in great danger, but with the aid of buckets of water and a small but continuous stream from a garden hose they were saved from destruction. The fire appears to have broken out very suddenly, and the cause of it can in no way be traced. Mrs Piper and her family were in bed and asleep at the time, aud were awakened by the crying of tho baby, when they found the house in #»mes, and were only just iv time to escape, without being able to save any of their clothes., ; Mr Piper has been out of work for some little time and was away searching for employment, and, as nothing \?as saved, the family are in a stale of complete destitution. Assistance of any kind will be most thankfully received, and we , shall be happy to forward auy clothes or other gifts that may be se^Ji to us for the unfortunate family. The'cQttage w^s insured in the Standard for £100. •'■ We are gla4 to learn that the pij,pigraph jn reference to the D,.nly Time*, which appealed j.n the Wellington Argus, ftu'd was republished by m yesterday,. 'js wholly without foundation, our pQU-pioparaty having given to the statemeqj $ dife^t pQtjf-rij' 4J.pt jqn, as well as to another that w#s made f n tjje Christchurch Press, to the effect fljat an amalgamation of the Colonist and Tiiw was ia contemplation. The Port Darwin line is again interrupted .to.the jjprth of the Daly Waters. It is' H^Ulsil by the police that all dogs must be registered without delay. The Christchurch Preis ig informed on apparently good authority* that oh a station ji.n the southern purt of Cantierb'ury the •Weight $f wopl obtained in the shearing of ( :32,Q00 u-crinp $?pb was equai .to an 'average i «£olbs. per #6e,ce. ' ' ' '' j The Australasia^ of jbbe $fy iust/mp has an ' article on "The Progress of New Zealand,**/ based upon the information supplied by "-he Blue Book. It concludes as follows;— It will be seen from the foregoing figures that the people of New Zealand are making rapid -H-tjL-id.es along the path of prosperity; and thatj unef r favor of a fiscal system which levies' taxes tot revenue and not for protective or confiscatory purposes, aud with ii>e aiji of a steady influx o. popj^tipu from ffltliwsi, ,her progress i_ all .'ttil.fr' 'her beat itrien^s' t cou/4 cjesire, and oser-a'rep ; _<.ic'lf ill fiOitf ra*t ft.O o#r ##% gjpw*' .rate of ' aflvaiice, th»»lfg to 'he blunqlejriflg J9G9,twpetence of the mea who have sej?ed ,the fle/hp o£ 'payer in Victoria, and ape nmkm us ptj.e .ajighing stock of our neighbors. * Mr Hodder retiring from the firm, T, R. Hodder and Co., have decided to relinquish the Trafalgar House Business, and to reduce the stocks in their general stores at Richmond and Spring Grove— to effect this they Will o^Eer immediately the whole of their varie'd'stoQks' jit ppr/ greatly reduced prices. This sale is exclusively for ,0-j.sh. — Advt. Life is'p, burthen to' .he uiihapuy yjctim )f ffh.ronic dyspepsia ana'cotistipa'tion. ' Not mly are tfee two atjove- n&ihe<. 'diseases generally co-existent, but their raahifesta-V .ions resemble those of dangerous organic hseases with which the sufferer imagines

A man named John .Donovan met\with his death in a very mysterious manner recently (says the Palmeraton Timet). It appears that Donovan and a man .named' Harris were drinkiug together at the Agricultural Show held at Waikouaiti on the 31st December last, and that towards evening they began skylarking. In the tussle or mock wrestling, Donovan was thrown. In the fall he must have sustained internal injuries, for later on the same night Donovan was apprehended by Constable Townsend and lodged iv the lock-up, on a charge of drunkenness. The following morning he was too ill to be brought up before Mr Murdoch, and his illness assumed such alarming proportions the followiug day that it was decided to sent the man to the hospital. Two or three days afterward Donovan died—the injuries previously received by him haring terminated fatally. On receiviug intimation of the fact Constable Townsend at once arrested Harris pending the result of an inquiry. When the hour of meeting of Highlanders to get funds towards building a monument to the late Sir Donald M'Lean iv Hawke's Bay was approaching, something of au air of romance (says a local paper) waa imparted to the gathering by the manner in which it was got together. A Highland piper was sent over the hills, playing the national airs, wakening up the echoes with the stirring strain, of the bagpipe. The fact that those who were being thus asembled were all Highlanders, aeemed to have considerable influence on several of those who took an active part in the proceedings, taking them back in infancy to their mountain homes. This was evidenced characteristically by one of them when the piper was being sent round to summon the gathering ; he insisted that the piper should go " over the hills"— no roads or highways for him ! The same warmhearted Celtic feeling showed itself at the meeting, when they came to the question of subscriptions. Mr Allen M'Lean started the list with subscribing £100, which was capped by Mr Hugh M'Lean with a subscription of £130. The amount raised at the meeting was over £500. A passing storm, short but severe, recently obstructed the proceedings of the Victorian Assembly. Mr Purves was the central figure of the episode. During the debate on the Payment of Members Bill he hurt the feelings of Mr Munro, who, in reply to an innuendo, was contending that building a hall at Dorltoa could not be said to be influencing a constituency. " But building a hall with other people's money is," interjected Mr Purves. « Well,", retorted Mr Munro, " I did not go to the Berlin University as the result of a swindle." " You lie," said Mr Purves, amid a good deal of agitation, the House being in a temper to flare up—a temper not soothed when Mr Macpherson was heard to ejaculate that no one would make such an assertion as Mr Munro'sbut a "mean hound." Mr Woods moved that these words be taken down, and the usual discussion arose as to what the exact words were. In the midst of it, Mr, Purves said he would go beyond Mr Macpherson, and would say that the man who uttered such words was not only a mean hound, but a lying hound. This brought the house up to fever heat. "Do you say that of a member of this House," exclaimed the Chief Secretary, " Let him dare, let him dare," continued Mr Berry addressing his followers, M We will put him where "andthe rest of the sentence was lost in the uproar. 'Let him dare," said Mr Purves with scorn, "why, I know how the Chief Secretary came to this colony. I dare do aught but wrong." " Coward," shrieked Mr Woods, " you are shuffling out of it" - a remark which brought further appeals to the much-perplexed chair. Mr Lalor, after a struggle, obtained possession of the floor, aud communicated the intentions of the Government. Mr Macpherson was to be let off, because he was usually orderly, butan eye was to be kepton Mr Purves, who is charged with irritatingthe majority every time he addresses the House. '-1 will take the first opportunity," said the Minister of Customs, " of bringing him to condign punishment and of proving that a rogue is generally a coward." By this time most of the members had cooled down, and were beginning to be ashamed of the temper which had beeu displayed, and the storm subsided aa suddenly as it arose. How does a cow become a landed estate?— By turning her into a field.