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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 113, 13 May 1878, Page 2

A gentleman who- has recently returned from a tour in the Australian Colonies, informs the Foet that the boasted Australian herds of ahorthorns have sadly deteriorated of late years, and that no animals can be ahown equal to New Zealand bred stock, and he points to the prizes carried off by the bull Duke of Newcastle and other animals as confirmation of his judgment. He traces this deterioration to the fact tbat, for five years past, the importation of stock into the Auatralian Colonies has' been prohibited, and atockowners have been compelled to breed in-and-in, and have thus produced all the evils attendant upon euch a system. On the other hand, fresh stock, of the average value of £30,000 yearly, has , been brought to New Zealand, and our herds have thus rapidly improved, while thoae of the sister coloniea have gone backward. In Herefords New Zealand cannot for some years hope to compete with Australia, but there is no reason why, ten or twelve years hence, she should not produce Herefords equal to her shorthorn stock. A Wellington writer, whose letter appears in tha Hawke's Bay HeralH, indulges in prophecy after thia somewhat paradoxical fashion :— " It is positively and confidently asserted by members, who certainly should know, that the next session will be longer than ita predecessors, the fighting more severe^ the quarrels keener; and the rows more disgraceful than before. This ia aaserted, too, in tbe face of the "fact that the Opposition conaists chiefly of the quietest and most peaceable men in the House. Socially, next session will probably be duller than its predeceaaora. The Ministers are not likely to entertain much, and for other reaaons the season will almost certainly be much quieter." Miscegenation ia going bravely on in the northern district! of Auckland. One Maori chief haa married, a white woman, and at a meeting the other day another native dignitary aaid he was tired of the talk about the Maori and European bacoming one raco.; " Let," he aaid, "the sincerity of these speech-j ea be tested by the Europeans marrying Maori* girla, and tha Maoris thoae of the Europeans.' Tha editor of the Manawatu Times " sita " upon an impertinant correapondent in a, moat proper manner. It appears that aMr • Gilbert felt himself aggrieved at some re marka which had appeared in the Times, and inatead of replying to them by a letter to the editor, he addreased his communication to the proprietor of the journal in queation. The editor not only refused to give the letter insertion, but also administered a sharp rebuke to the correspondent. He ascribed the want of courtesy to one of two things, either ignorance, or impudence, and after due consideration put it down to the latter. A Dunedin telegram says: — An interesting • breach of promise case will shortly occupy the attention of the Supreme Court here. The plaintiff i 3 a young lady who recently presided at the bar of a well-known Dunedin hotel, and who has since beeu in Invercargill. The defendant ia the son of a gentleman holding a prominent position in the Civil Service. Everything had |been arranged for the marriage, which was stopped by the intervention of defendant's father. The letters which will be read are said to be of a particularly gushing nature. The Wakatipu brought down from Sydney to Wellington a distinguished equine passenger in the shape of the young horse St. George, which has recently b6en purchased

by the Middle Park Stud Company of Canterbury for i3OO guineas. St. George is full brother to Chester^ and one of the best bred ahd pfettieat hefrses ever seen in this colony. | j I I i [ |