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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 126, 28 May 1878, Page 2

Mr Reeves, the new member for Grey Valley, does not believe in secular education. Afc one of his recent meetings he said, "I am , a denominationalial; I have lost some, and will perhaps lose more, friends on this account, but if I were to lose the election twenty times over I would stick to my colors." The following unique advertisement appears in the Riverine Gruziet :— "I, Thomas Naughton, hereby publicly acknowledge that I wrongfully blackguarded my wife, Mary Naughton, for which I apologise, aud beg her to think no more of ifc." With respect lo O'Connor, "charged with attempting to poison Mr Light, the Manawatu 'limes remarks :—" Twelve months since he was a perfect little king afc Waxmate, in Canterbury, over which district he had charge some time ago", but since then his wife became insane, aud O'Connor, taking to drink, was reduced to the ranks. The degradation preyed so much upon llim that he attempted to commit suicide by cutting his throat, and although it was not made generally known, it was sufficient to cause his dismissal." A Dunedin contemporary, in giving an account of an accident to a lad by which his leg was very much fractured, says that shortly after the accident occurred a wellknown resident of Moruingtou, passing in a carriage, was asked to lend it for the purpose of taking the lad to the Hospital, but refused. Had he been certain that his name would be paraded in tlie newspapers, the gentleman would no doubt willingly have done the charitable deed. We (■ tago Witness) have been hearing only the distant echo, s of conflict, and only in the illustrated papers have wc seeu the pomp and circumstance of glorious war. But the calling out of the Militia wiil wake us up, and that is what now awaits us from the moment at whicli the Hon and the bear stand up, look one another fairly in the face, and give the first growl of real anger. There is something realising and genuine in this, for from 17 to 55 years every man save the few exemptions is bound to serve. That has a smell of guupowder about it, and is not at all re-assuring for the staid and snug citizen that never thought of drawing steel in anger. It means business though, and perhaps the sooner it is undertaken the better. The telegrams say the Militia will be called out bo soon as war is declared. Why not hare the enrolment going on before it ? There is a good deal to be done, and most by those who have to join the Volunteers and learn the goose step to have exemption from the Militia. As well wait for the declaration of war to send for guns for the Heads as to wait for the same before putting our army in shape. If we want soldiers, now is the time to sound the tocsin, not when the euemy is at the gate. At a meeting of the residents in a municipality in the Northern District, when certaiu gentlemen wsre being nominated for various appointments, the speakers were not particular regarding the manner in which they abused the Queen's English. One gentleman, in proposing another fora certain office, spoke of his being thoroughly " illegible " for it, while another, in supporting the same resolution, said that '• he was sur* no one in the Southern 'atmosphere' was more fit for the appointment." The Gardeners' Chron cle "gives a description of a bird which is not only an expert architect, building a nest like the Bowerbird of Australia, but also a gardener, laying out a gardeu in front of it. The bird is a native of New Guinea, and makes a nest of the stems of an orchid. In front of the nest a dressed lawn of moss is formed, on which the attentive husband places day by day, for the delectation of his mate, flowers and fruits of bright colors and pleasing flavor. The orchid, which belongs to a hitherto unknown species of dendrobium, is described at length by Professor Keichenbach. An English paper in describing the costumes at a fancy dress ball at Edinburgh says : — " Sir Walter Simpson went as au Escaped Convict ; he had broken manacles on his wrists and ancles, and carried a jemmy, with a number and a iive years' badge on his arm ; his dress was parti-colored yellow and drab, cap, scarf, knickerbockers, and grey aud red striped stockings; it was a very noticeable get up." We should think so indeed. The negro is said to have stated that the monkey could speak but would not, for fear that he should be made to work. Perhaps it is nofc generally known that in Perak, a State in the Malay Peninsula, notorious for the little war of a few years tince, the rest-loving Malays do actually train the monkey to work. Major M'Nair, the present GovernorGeneral of Mirzapore, assured thc writer thafc he has frequently seen the natives make one of the large black monkeys they tame to follow them like a dog, and which, hy the way, they keep as a protection, setting him at an enemy, whom he will attack and seize with his teeth afc the back of the neck. This monkey, with a string attached to his loins, is employed to pick cocoa nuts, and at the word of command readily ascends the lofty palms, and seizes a nut. A jerk of the string in a peculiar way tells him this is wrong, and he will seize another and another till he has hold of the particular right one his master desires, when the string is jerked once more, and the monkey, clasping the great fibrous husk in his arirs, screws it round and round till the stalk gives wav, and it falls forty or fifty feet to the ground. Since relating this anecodote in all sincerity, Major M'Nair has embodied it in his new work " Perak and thc Malays."— G.M.F. " The Loafer in the Street " writes in the Christchurch Press :— A northern contemporary, in speaking of the formation of a certain railway, says, " We should like to see the matter taken up again, either by th3 Chamber of Commerce or a public meeting, or both, and at as early a date as possible, as the next Parliamentary session is fast approaching, and it is well tbafc the matter should come before the Assembly in a manured shape." The italics are mine, hut I quite agree with the writer, even if the word be a misprint. Any railways to be constructed in the present state of our finance will need a lofc of forcing in tha IJoitse.

Larrikins in many towns steal flowers and shrubs from burial places. In Canterbury they are more advanced. They smash and deface tombstones. The Canterbury Press states that some larrikins recently smashed several valuable tombstones which were iu the yard of Mr Isaac Butterfleld, Cambridge Terrace. The stones were of Italian marble, and had inscriptions carved upon them. The damage done is estimated at about £GO. The Eucalypti preparation is being experimented with here, and the few bottles that have been disposed of, prove all that has been written with regard to the efficacy of this discovery. A person whilst performing his daily duties iu one of our stores, happened to tread ou a rusty nail, which so inconvenienced him for some days, that he could neither put his foot to thc ground or wear a boat— the part being so painful. He was persuaded to try this new preparation and upon applying the liquid twice, immense relief was soon experiened, ami the person referred to i3 now able to walk about as if nothing had happened to him. This came within my own observation, therefore I can vouch for the truth of this assertion.— Co hiown Courier. Cleaning small waterpipes by the means of eels is the latest piece of Transatlantic ingenuity. A hole being punched in the tail of a small eel and a string inserted, the eel is put in the pipe, and speedily wriggles down to the other end, dragging after it the the string, to which a bundle of rags has been attached. The saying, " Excuse haste and a. bad pen," has been attributed to a pig which ran away from home.