The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1878.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 36, 11 February 1878, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1878.

At the District Court to-day before his Honor Judge Broad, and a jury consisting of Messrs J. Aldridge, B. Allen, T. Allbrook, and C. Adamson, the only case set down for trial was that of Holmes v. Newth and Rutherford, in which the plaintiff sought to recover £130, being a year's wages at 50s per week ; the ground of the action being that defendants had engaged plaintiff for that period as a baker. Mr Pitt appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr Acton Adams for the defendants. Por the defence all the material allegations were denied ; it was slated that the plaintiff refused to perform part of the alleged contract, whereupon the defendants rescinded it; also that the alleged contract was rescinded by mutual consent, The case waa not concluded when went to press.

The sale of work in connection with All Saints' Church, which was advertised to take to-morrow evening, is postponed until further notice.

The return match between the Central Wakefleid and Upper Motueka Valley Cricket Clubs was played last Saturday in Mr Hopgood'.- paddock, Motueka Valley, the first match having taken place three weeks previously at Wakefleid, when the Valley won by 70 runs. On this occasion the tables were turned, the Valley only scoring 29 in their first and 46 in their second innings, against 122 made by Wakefield in the first iunings. The Wakefield Band was in attendance, and, altogether, the Valley assumed quite a lively appearance.

Under date February Oth, our Motueka correspondent furnishes the following items of local intelligence :— The first pile of the long-fcalked-of Motueka bridge was successfully driven the day before yesterday to a depth of 28 feet from the surface. The last 12 feet or so was driven by half an inch for each blow of the monkey. Another pile was driven yesterday. Some persons are of opinion that the driving will be easier at a distance from the banks. Well, the bridge is fairly begun, and the river is very low, and we may hope for its speedy completion yet. Motuekans have already begun to stir in the matter of a wharf into deeper water. — I see two of our local merchants have begun to sell off, and intend to leave. It looks bad for the future prospects of Motueka, and it is like the rats leaving the sinking ship.— The early part of the season has been very unfavorable for hops. What with high winds, drought, hail, and paroquets the growers thereof have suffered much loss. Farmers have also sustained great losses in grain and Swede crops. Ou one farm in the Moutere 36 acres of oats were completely beaten out by the hail. The young Swedes were cut to pieces, and apples and other fruit much bruised and injured.— The parroquets seem to have permanently settled in this district, and are not contented with visiting us every few years. In one part of the district I have known them for the last three years to commence their attacks wheu the fruit is in bud, and not stop their ravages until they had destroyed everything edible. They seem to have increased and multiplied since the advent of the Pakeha, unlike the aboriginal bipeds without feathers.

The Masonic Hall was crowded to its utmost capacity last evening, to hear Brother Stephen Massett deliver a very beautiful little discourse upon the subject of the " Barren Fig Tree," a sermon preached first some years ago by the Rev. Mr Atwood, of Salem, in the United States, and given by him to Mr Massett. It is really a gem of a discourse, and we wonder how so much real eloquence, practical sense, and elegant metaphor could be condensed iv the brief space of twenty minutes. Mr Massett read it very sympathetically, after which he repeated the Lord's prayer in a pathetic and touching manner. After the singing of a hymn Mr Massett recited Mr William Cullen Bryant's wonderful poem called Thanotopsis, which was listened to with marked attention. This was beautifully rendered, as was also Bishop Cox's lyric " Conscience " and Pope's " Dying Christian to his Soul." Altogether the occasion was most interesting, given as it was under the auspioes of the Worshipful Master and members of the Sautherii Star Lodge of Freemasons. The Worshipful Master proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Massett, after which a hymn was sung by the congregation.

A correspondent, signing herself •< Betsy Jane," sends us the following account of a Sunday School children's tea party, held last week at Waimea West. The style of reporting is peculiar, but, q.f ter vainly endeavoring to put it into proper form, we have preferred to publish it as received :— " Mr Editor—Sir, —When I got home last Toosday night I was in such a state of flurry and excitement that my husband made me tell him all I'd been a doing of, aud when I'd done he says, ' Now you sit down and write all that for tho noospaper.' I stuck ont again this for a long time, but at last he says, * You just do as I tells you, for when you has summut to say there ain't a woman nowheres as come straighter to the point nor you, as I knows right well to my cost,' So I said I'd try, as it might show others what pleasure they can give by bringing their neighbors together and having a merry making no-., and again. Well then on Toosday afternoon I puts on my fine feathers and goes to a Tea party giveu by a well known lady hero, when [ sees a lot of Sunday School children, bright and bonuie lassies, an.l Mothers and Grand Mothers all mixed up like currants for a dumpling, only it was like a school dumpling, for the currants w;is very far apart, scattered about the grounds amusing of themselves. I skip —as I might have done there if I had had clean stockings on— over the Tea, the Swing, the Prize-giving, the Prisoner's Uaae, the Boys' and Girls' races, the pretty Skipping, and the Scrambles, and come to the Knock-cm -downs, when, after the children hud won their prizes, came the turn of us Mothers and Grand Mothers, but here I must stop (o have another laugh to think of Mrs Youth winning a bottle of Castor Oil nnd reEusing to stand glasses round, nud ol' Mrs Marridge's prize of a Shaving Hnish, hut there I cannot toll all the fun, hut must gol, on to where there walks right in amongst us a tall young man about ten foot high, who looked as if he'd lost his way. lie hud a beautiful merstache and .inch lorely eyes, and his bowing and scraping all round showed he was a perfect gentleman, but there was those that peered and jeered at him, pore young man, that he blushed up right over his fine nose and went away, and then 1 hears everybody a saying, ' I sees a Ghost, ' and nobody couklu't say nothing else but ' Where?' when all of a sudden some one said ' There,' and I feels a something a coining all over me like, and wheu I comes to, I finds myself a sprawling on the ground with a good few of my best friends a top of me, all a screaming with laughter; I couldn't make out what at for I never seed no Ghost,

and don't believe there weren't none, but I wa3 that flurried and rumpled and squeezed that I got up and ran straight away home, and theres that blessed Babby a wanting of me and so I'm off."

A wonderfol restorative. As a stomachic, as a tonic and cordial for the aged and languid; as a remedy for the nervous weakness and annoying uterine complaints to which women are especially subject; as a protective in all climates, torrid, temperate, and frigid; and as a specific for every ailment which saps the bodily strength and breaks down the animal spirits, Udolpho Wolfe's Schiedam Aromatic Schnapps. — Advt.

Once upon a time it so happened that two men (being equally sick) having a wouderf ul sympathy for each other — for both were suffering from that torturing malady, Gout 1 —hobbled along together, using at short intervals those pious ejaculations, which gouty folk are apt to use, when one of them, espying the placard of " Ghollah's Great Indian Cures," said that he had heard so good an account of these medicines, he would certainly try them, at which his companion laughed heartily. The otlier, however, procured the medicine aud got cured. Which of the two can afford to laugh most ?—Testimonial : "Dunedin, 20th October, 1876.— The Proprietor of Ghollah's Great Indian Cures.— Sir,~l think it my duty to state that I have derived the most extraordinary benefit from the uso of your Rheumatism Mixture. I had been suffering from severe neuralgic pains iv my head of a very severe description for years, and could get-no relief uutil I tried your Indian inedicine. lam happy to state that I am now quite free from the paius, and completely restored to health. I used, altogether, about twelve bottles ofthe Rheumatism Mixture. I can certainly strongly recommend it to ojhers.— (Signed) Maria Edmed."