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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 55, 5 March 1878, Page 2

The Eureka silver mint iv the Nevada district is producing about .£IOO 00 J monthly. The mine employs about 1100 hands, including miuers, furuacemen, &o. The average wage is 168 per day, and the monthly payment of wiiges to the employees amounts to £2G,400. The consumption of charcoal is 10,400 bushels per day, or 312,000 bushals per month. Taking into account wood, timber, mining supplies, &c, the amount of cash, distributed monthly is calculated at about £50,000. The followiug is from the Auckland Herald : — The facts of a most cruel robbery perpetrated on a widow in Parnell have come to our knowledge. They are as follows :— Mrs Reed, a widow, the mother of three young children, resides in Parnell. When her husband died some time since, the family were left in such circumstauces of destitution that the charity o£ the public was invoked, an I) she was placed iv possession of a house and allotment. She has recently been in tho habit of keeping boarders, and amongst these wa3 a man named Denis Sullivan, who is well known to the police, and who underwent a six months' sentence at Mount Eden some time ago. This fellow made love to the widow, and was so far successful that a marriage was arranged to take place. Sullivan wcut to the Thames, and on his return he told he had a good offer of a public house there, in which he wished to place her before they were married, but to do so money was necessary. He induced her to sell the house and allotment which she owned, and to draw the few pounds she had in the Savings Bauk, and she gays him the whole amount to effect the purchase of the public-house. No sooner, however, did Sullivan get hold of the money than he arranged for a pasaaga to Australia, and left by the Hero on her last trip. Thus Mrs Reed, through the scoundrelisra of this miscreant, is for the second two ieft |a destitute c.iccura.3tances.

An interesting account of the German army has recently been published by a French officer, who was for many years military attache at the Court of Berlin. In a resume a contemporary observes :— The total number of trained soldiers Germany could dispose of in time of war, including the troops of the landsturm, is estimated by the writer at from 3,000,000 to 3,300,000 men, of whom 1,. "200,000 belong to the regular army and landwehr. Owing to improvements which have been made in the details of the mobilisation scheme since the war of 1870-71, the writer calculates that in three weeks the whole of the regular army could be concentrated on the French frontier, while in another three weeks the fourth battalions and six divisions of landwehr troops could be brought up into line, the total strength of the invading army being thus raised to about 900,000 men. The mobilisation of the second levy of troops could not be begun uutil the tenth week; but by the end of the thirteenth week 250,000 more men could be added to the field force, raising the strength of this latter to 1,150,000, leaving still 290,000 recruits at the depots. With regard to the armament of the German troops the author points out that in the batteries attached to divisions the maximum load which a horse has to drag has been reduced to 319 kilogrammes ; whereas, with the French fieldpiece, model Lahitolle No. 3, each horse has a load of 380 kilogrammes ; and,finally, he calls attention to the care which has been taken to provide the cavalry of the German army with a serviceable firearm. Members of Parliament in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales are having a hard time of it by reason of keen criticism from the pulpit. The " Vagabond" who i 3 writing for the S. M. Herald, says he had not thought anything " coull,be worse than the Legislative Assembly of Victoria." He declares Sydney to be far worse than Melbourne. In Melbourne the llev. Mr Potter in a sermon referred to the political crisis, and sooke in strong terms of the " indifference that had hitherto been shown to the characters of members of Parliament, so long as they professed to uphold the opinion of the electors. He did not refer to the present Parliament' a.one. but it was perfectly notorious that during the last ten or twelve years men had been elected who were drunkards, and guilty of fraudulent dealings — men whom no sane man would think of employing to transact any private busines of his own." That's Melbourne : Sydney is worse, and if so what must Queensland be ? The Dean of Sydney Cathedral the other Sunday preaching there, speaking of the New South Wales Parliament, said :— "Members of Parliament in everyway seemed Jo show their utter contempt of Almighty God; but in their case, the saying of Holy Writ is carried out—- He tnat despiseth Me shall be lightly esteemed." I can, however (remarks the Vagabond) "say this much for the credit of New South Wales that its Parliament is far ahead of that of Queensland." We agree with the Rev. Mr Potter who exhorted his hearers "in future to vote only for men of honor, virtue, and integrity, and a,aid that if thi3 was the outcome of the crisis, though much suffering would have to be endured, great good would follow." A Maori woman, who was totally incapable -of disorderly conduct (says the Auckland Herald) caused some slight trouble to a sergeant and two policemen yesterday, and subjected them to no imall amauqt of chaffing. The lady was sittiug on the footpath in Lower Queen-street, opposite the entrance to Quiglay's cooperage, when she was observed by a verdant member of the force, who tried to induce her to move on. The woman weighed about ISOlbs., and was helpless as a log. Lifting her was out of the question, and rolling her was quite as impracticable. At length, however, Sergeant Clarke and one of the most powerful members of the force, came along with the two wheeled vehicle Into this she was lifted without a struggle, and she was conveyed to the station, but ere the corner of Shortland and High streets was turned the tire came off one wheel. One constable had to be detached to fetch the tire, but the other two succeeded in conveying the Maori woman to the cells. The Hobarton Mercury, of Feburary 9, reports:— " Yesterday afternoon Miss F. O. Peacock, one of the governesses of the Girls' Industrial School, Barrack-square, conveyed to the General Hospital in a car no less than sis of the inmates of the school, who had been following the example of their mother Eve by touching ' forbidden fruit,' and were suffering the unpleasant consequences. It appears that one of the girls, who are between nine aud eleven years of age, picked up some imitation fruit in the street, and not only partook of it herself, but freely distributed it among her companions, all of whom in a very short time were in a state of sincere repentance. They were taken to the hospital, where an emetic was administered to the sufferers all round, and they were taken back to the institution, little, if any, the worse for their indiscretion."