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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 15, 17 January 1878, Page 2

Tlie North Otago Times states that the bookings of sheep for delivery afc the Kakanui!Meat Preserving Works have reached fche number of 16,000. Only 4000 moro are required to complete the minimum supply required by the company. A telegram states that ifc has been resolved to remit; the sentences of life seutence prisoners iu Victoria. Thisstatemenfc would be alarming were ifc nofc for the explanation of the Argus fchafc under the regulations only three men will be liberated between the *■ present time and 1883. The Westport Times apd Mr Eugene O'Conor are always at loggerheads. The latest cause of quarrel appears to be a telegram sent by that gentleman regarding the Koranui Coal Company, with respect to which our contemporary says:— On the 23rd November last we published the following local:— "We hear that the agent of the Koranui Coal Company, Mr E. "J. O'Conor, telegraphs that 2600 shares have been disposed of; this number with 1300 taken up previously, leaves but 100 for disposal out of the 400D placed in market." We hear now, on the best possible authority, that this statement was not in strict accordance wi(jh facts, and that the individual mentioned actually declares that he only sent the telegram so that it might get into the newspapers. Hence the necessity for our instant disavowal of any complicity in spreading incorrect information. . A woman was recently convicted in Sydney under an old statute of George 111. for , fortune-telling. Two constables, in plain clothes, called on the lady, and received more flattering predictions than generally fall to the lot of policemen. The defence was that the Act is not in force iu the colonies. The point was reserved.. We (Star) learn that Dr. Wallis has made an offer to hand over the Newton Kirk and ground to the congregation for a sum of £400, with or without the stipulation fchafc he shall continue to preach. The offer is at present under consideration; but it is probable that a majority of the late congregation will make Dr Wallis' resignation of his seat in Parliament a sine qua non. There is a little clique in Wellington who meet and play euchre and other little games at the Pier Hotel, from which they are known as the "Pier Hotel gang," The were engaged in New Year's. festivities in a room in the hotel the other night, when a vagrant rocket, discharged from a ship in harbour, stuck in the wall close to that window. They don't sit in the same spot now. A Hokianga telegram to the Star says:— On the 9 th a native woman attempted to murder her European husband, named John Reilly. He is lying in a very bad sfcafce. His upper jaw is broken, nose smashed, and skull fractured in several places. Rather an unusual item (says the Auckland Star) appears in fche manifest of the Vision, jusfc arrived from the Marshall Group. This is " a lot of human hair." Ifc would be interesting to know how this hair has been obtained, and whether from live or dead bodies. Perhaps, fche former possessors have appeased the hunger of those who sold ifc to Captain Hawkins, King Genge, of Tonga, is rather a smart man. The German war ship Augusta hoisted the Tongan flag at the main, and sent a German flag to the King, expecting him to .return the compliment. Genge returned fche flag with a polite message that it looked best on board ship. Evidently he is not yet prepared to abdicate- in favor of Kaiser Wil;helm.. 1 A man in Australia lately bought au antiquated secretaire at auction. In repairing ib *he discovered a secret drawer containing 'forty sovereigns, a gold enamelled ring, a lot of securities for money, one of which was a certificate for £524 19s sd, 3 per cent consols. , There was also an old scrap of paper dated 1700, leading to the belief that forty guineas :had originally been placed there, but they had been taken out in modern time3 and replaced by the sovereigns, The Dunedin Herald says that in his early days Mr W. D. Murison, formerly editor of the Otago Daily Times, aud whose death was recently announced, was a foremost athlete, 'and ran several races wifch Sir Julius Vogel. Sir Julius must have gone out of training | since those days, and the gout is nofc a good ! companion for a pedestrian. • A milkman at Ararat, Victoria, met with retributive justice. He went to a municipal reservoir ih. ; the grey dawn to water his milk, but upset his cans, and milked fche water. Verdict, -.sarved bim right." While fche Hawea, on her recent excursion trip, was lying in Chalky Sound, oue gentleman went ashore to get' some sport iu shooting, and managed to lose himself _£e was out all night, and was found by a search party in the morning, on the beach, out of sight of the vessel, in a very exhausted condition, having had some hair-breadth escapes. He was terribly cut and knocked about. A Cromwell (Otago) telegram states that a station hand named Kelly got his head smashed near Goodyer's farin on Thursday ;' last.. The injury wits said to have been ; caused by a kick from a horse, but foul play is suspected. The police have a clue. The sufferer- when found was nofc sufficiently coni spfous 'to give a statement, and death took place immediately, A gentleman who arrived at 3allarn,fc from New South Wales recently gave a ujost de- . plorable account of the condition of fche interior of thafcjcolony from the protracted drought. It is said :by. many to be the worst visitation of the kind ever known, while others say as bad a season occurred neqly twenty years ago. The whole air is foul for many miles with the putrid taint, of the dead sheep, cattle, and , horses, aud in many portions of the colony the earth is cracking iu all directions, many of these fissures being wide and deep enough to eugulph a horse and his rider. On Mr Learmonth's station, where 170,000 sheep should have been shorn, only 70,000 uuderwent that operation, and twp gangs of men are now employed as follows-^-seventy are cutting down trees fco supply the famishipg sheep with their leaves, and thirty are scouring tbo country pulling th&wool off the dead carcases tha^ eacsimber thei|)?ouß4. ' J ■ ; * ' t

The operative bakers of Meath, Ireland, are adopting a public petition, to be presented to the employers, asking them to have the bread baked during the day, instead of at night, as at present. Already numerous signatures have been obtained, including a great many o'tthe clergy and medical profession, also the principal merchants and storekeepers of Navan, and the gentry of the surrounding neighborhood. An attempt has been made by an inventor, resident afc Berlin, in the Maryborough district, Victoria, to introduce iron buggies into use., AU coachbuilders have hitherto intermixed iron! with wood, bufc Mr Alexander Jamiesbn has constructed a vehicle which consists exclusively of iron and steel. Por instance, in the place of hickory spokes and oak felloes, he has employed wrought iron tubes and T iron. The tubes, fix into the axle-box afc one end, and. are xivetfced to the T iron afc the other. The firsfc noticeable effect of the employment of iron for all parts has been to add to the weight of the vehicle. This has accrued in spite of the thinness of the parts. The cost has also beeu enhanced, but strength and durability are regarded as a full equivalent for the increase of cost. The vehicle ha3 a neat look, and an appearance (if nofc a reality) of lightness which renders ifc attractive. Thh Hawke's Bay Herald learns that the Rev. G. H. Johnstone, of Napier, has had a charge in Newcastle, New South Wales, conferred upon him, and that he will shortly go there. While we regret bis departure, we must-congratulate him upon his preferment. During the display of fireworks at Wellington on New Year's Eve, a rocket diverged, and struck a boy named Blake. He was not injured by the stick, bufc his clothes were set on fire, and he was dreadfully burned about the thighs and abdomen, with some danger of inflammation setting in. Captain Home, of the barque Palace, which recently arrived afc Port Chalmers, states that when off Banks's Peninsula, on the 3 1st ultimo, he witnessed a very singular : phenomenon, the sea being perfectly smooth afc the time, but covered with thousands of jets of water about the thickness of pipestems, varying in height from two to three feet. Noflsh were observed, and Captain Home is afc a loss to account for the peculiar appearance of the water. Plevna contains oboufc 17,000 people, 2 churches, 10 mosques, 9 minarets ; 1427 houses are inhabited by Christians, and 1627 by Mussulmen. It will be remembered that a short time since the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon was invited to visit the Australian colonies, and it was reported that he would accede to the invitation. However in last month's number of his magazine ((/ie Sword and Trowel), Mr Spurgeon says :— " Urgent invitations have come to us to go to Australia for a tour, and we beg publicly to thank the churches for doing us this honor. Having well weighed the matter, we feel that we cannot, at this time, leave our post, if we shall ever be able to do so. Our numerous institutions must be watched, the great congregation must be kept together, and the weekly sermon must continue to be published. These all require us to be at home, and our absences must be brief, otherwise we should enjoy beyond measure a trip to the South Sea. It is not indifference to our friends abroad, but a conviction of duty, which keeps us afc home. We wish every blessing to those who, in so loving a manner, have invited us to their shores. A severe thunderstorm passed over Canterbury last week, an incident of which is thus reported by the Press:— During the storm one incident occurred which might have had a serious if nofc a fatal result. The chimney of the house iu the occupation of Mrs M. Blythen, Duvauchelle _ Bay, was struck by lightning; the electric fluid passed down fche chimney and exploded ou the colonial oven with a report louder than that of a fowlingpiece, accompanied by an excessively bright blue flame and dense sulphurous smoke; in fact the latter was so thick that Mrs J. Blythen, aud Miss Blythen, who were sitting on the side remote from the fireplace, were unable to see through it. The chimney, which is an outside one, was cracked from the top to the fireplace; one brick of the sailing course was broken in half, and several others the displaced. The debris from the chimney was scattered all over the room, even upon the table, one piece of mortar striking Mrs M. Blythen on the head, causing her no ; little fright. The chimney was moved about au inch from fche perpendicular, and the paint on the weatherboards was taken off in several places. Mr W. J. Clarke, of Victoria, has generously promised to give £1000 a year for ten years to the new Church of England Cathedral Eund, on the condition that not less than £5000 a year shall be expended iu the erection of the building. If more .than £5000 be expended: in any one: year on tho, work, Mr Ciarke will allow the excess of expenditure to count for succeeding years. ; Among his minor .notes by the mail, the Home correspondent of the Otago Times has the following :— The Sultan has had a dream of weighty import. Mohamed, the prophet, appeared to him, and bade him make peace at once as he valued his throne. Perhaps the prophet objects to his particular green bauner being draggled in the Bulgarian mud. His Majesty at once. sent for the chief astro- | . loger, and the Sheik-ul-islam, who, like the accommodating liars they are, afc once remarked that they had had similar dreams. Whether the story is true, is nofc known ; but the Sultan is very suparstitious, and such visions might; much influence his views. j Hares are increasing to such an extent in Victoria that they are being utilised by the Colac Meafc-Pre&erving Company. Not only hares, but kangaroos (says the Ballarat Star) are being tinned by the Company, and in each case the result is very satisfactory, afc least to the consumer, and we suppose to the company itself. One fact is patent afc all events; the Colac preservers can supply, the public with hare soup afc about half tbe [ price the rawmaterial is retailed ia the shops, The Earl of Lowes has been ' spending Christmas with Sir Hercules Robinson afc 1 Sydney. The Ballarat Star says he intends : to visit New Zealand before returning to England. Pijian " Notes of Indebtedness " have been auctioned at 16s in the £ at Levuka. Au item of Indian news in the Melbourne Argus is fco the effect that the liberality of the Australian colonists, tuore particularly fche people of Melbourne, in respect of the Madras Famine Fund, has excited a good deal of attention in India. The large subscriptions of Mr Clarke and others have been noted in all the papers.