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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 45, 21 February 1878, Page 2

In the abstract of meteorological observations made by the Government, Hokitika tops the list of places in the colony for the quantity of rain which falls during the year. In the month of August, the number of inches opposite Hokitika shows 10.320, while Dunedin shows in the same period only 2.610 and Christchurch 1.780. The" West Coast Times says :— Since August; though the returns are not given, the average must b§ fully equal to that month, as it has rained about twenty days out of each month since. " An Auckland telegram of Thursday last •says:— At the polica court to-day Minnie Burke, aged ninetoen, was charged with vagrancy. She was arrested yesterday, lying helplessly druuk in the streets, and was conveyed on a stretcher to the lock-up. When brought up to-day the «ridence showed that the girl had three illegitimate children, who were now all dead. She was sentenced to six months' hard labor. Before her removal from the Court, she pulled a glass bottle from, under her cloak and threw" it at the apprehending constable, striking Sergeant-Major Mason on the cheek. An additional sentence of two months was inflicted. The local paper, regarding the coming Ministerial visit to Greymouth f ron a strictly busiuess point of view, observes :— When it is remembered what substantial benefits to tho district accrued from the visit of the lion \V. Vox when he was Prime Minister, the inhabitants should endeavor to utilise the opportunity afforded by Sir George Grey's presence amongst them, to receive him in a fitting manner. Only five "violent" deaths -all accidental —occurred in the colony last mouth. An aged mau died through breaking a rib ; a laborer from paralysis, caused by an injury to the sniuo ; a carter was killed by falling from his dray ; a child died from sunstroke ; and an infant was overlain in bed. TheLaunceston correspondent of the Hohart Town Mercury, writing on Saturday last says: — " It is a common iucideiit in threevolume novels for bank-notes aud scrip to a fabulous amount to be found in old articles of furniture, just in the nick of time, by the poor but virtuous hero or heroine; but it is rarely anything of the kind occurs in real life. An instance has, however, taken place in Launceston this week; a mau who purchased some second-hand furniture at a sale having found concealed in it bank scrip to the value of £750, which had evidently been undisturbed for some years. He is now advertising an owner, i

The young municipality of Ross has voted £50 towards giving Sir Geo. Grey a suitable reception. At a shilling in the pound the rates of the County of Westland w:ll realise nearly £900. J The Karamea special settlement is at last producing something. The p s Result brought a cargo of potatoes thence to Wesport the other day, which met with a ready sale at good prices. The more we encourage the use of fruit as an article of food, inscead of so much flesh meat the more we shall destroy the taste for strong drink. In a recent number of the Journal of the Society of Arts, we find Shirley Hibberd, the great horticultural authority saying:—" Those who smoked and drank generally disliked fruit, whilst on the other hand the eating of fruit created a distaste for alcoholic liquors, and he defied any man who was a real fruit eater to take to diluk. He was satisfied that the more consumption of fruit was promoted the more you promote the sobriety of the people. Not that every apple contained a Temperance society ready made, or a number of good resolutions ; but whilst farinaceous and vegetable food generally was antagonistic to the use of alcoholic liquors, the use of fruit was still more so, because it brought the palate into that delicate condition that strong d -ink was distasteful. The following information is given from Moscow relative to the Russian losses and the trophies taken by the Russians. The losses were, up to the 21st of November, 71,705 men : among them 14 generals, 1 Imperial prince, 4 princes of the house of Rurik, 1 Persian prince, 6 Russian princes, 12 Grnsinian princes, 16 counts, and 21 barons.. The Turkish prisoners number about 44,000 men : among them 16 pashas and 500 officers. There rr&re also taken 701 guns, 200 standards, 2 monitors, and four steamers. The value of the booty in ammunition andprovisions amounts to 14,000,000 roubles. The prisoners were taken— 7,ooo atArdahan, 300 at Begli-Achmed, 500 at Zeldekan, 800 at Yagni, 300 at Bayazid, 7soo at Aladja Dagh, 12,000 at Kars, 3,500 at Deve-B&pon, 500 at Azizie, 7,800 at Nicopolis, 500 in the combats of the Balkans, and 3.500 at Teliche. The 2nd Battalion of Scots Guards, stationed at Wellington Barracks, were on Saturday morning (30th November), between 10 and 11 o'clockj exercised on Clapham Common. The right half battaFon, in full marching order, with bearskins, had commenced operations on the Clapham end by advancing in extended order, and soon discovered the left half battalion dressed in forage caps , which had previously been forwarded to represent the enemy. After several rounds of supposed blank ammunition had been fired, a private of the left half battalion was observed to fall, and on the men rushing to his assistance it was discovered a bullet had penetrated his arm. There being no surgeon with the regiment, the man was conveyed to barrack in charge of a sergeant. The company whence tho bullet was supposed to have been fired was immediately paraded, and every rifle and pouoh carefully examined by the officers, but no trace of a bullet or ball cartridge could be found. The sham fight, however, was stopped, the regiment immediately marching back to quarters. The accident will be thoroughly investigated.