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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 127, 29 May 1879, Page 2

A Melbourne telegram of Saturday says: — Special auditors' report on the Provincial Bank :— Assets, .£52,000 ; liabilities, £79,ooo; further contributions to capital, not less than £27,000, will bo required to meet engagements. The share register is incomplete, but 10,000 shares are held by persons liable to calls. The note circulation amounts to £18,000 held by another bank as security. The capital actually paid up is £25,000 instead of £45,000 apparently represented. A London telegram to "the Melbourne Argus gives the followiug opinion of the English press on the Victorian Embassy :— The London press comments unfavorably on the demands put forward by Mr Berry — The Eraminer says that it is unreasonable for democrats to require the British Parliament to side against Conservatives when democrats propose to establish a precedent dangerous to themselves. It would be equally legitimate for Parliament to abolish their protectionist tariff as to break up the Conservative power of the Council.— The Morning Advertiser reviews the past proceedings of the Berry Cabinet, and condemns their policy of bribery and shameless abuse of patronage. — The Morning Post shows that the Legislative Council has already expressed its willingness to concede reasonable reforms, and that the Home Government is not prepared to sanction coercive measures beyond that. — The Pali Mall Gazette says if it is correct that Sir Michael Hicks-Beach has rebuked the Council, it thinks that the Council is not the branch of the Victorian Legislature which most needs wholesome reproof. The Victorian Liberals are trying to make the colony a working-men's country by the negation of every economical principle. Mr Berry's proposals, as compared with the Council's ample concessions, show that an arrogant demagogue is as impatient as a military dictator of resistance to his projects, and more ready to borrow foreign contrivances from Internationalists and Continental despots than ! I from British charters. ; The London correspondent of the American Mail says : — *' Private enterprise is providing us with a great deal of electric light. A flaring, glaring, dazzling light is being flashed out by the Polytechnic Institution. At the Gaiety Theatre it continues to be burnt. It is used occassionally at the shops where oil lamps are exposed for sale. Several butchers have taken it for illumination on Saturday nights. They used to employ a brass band to play on the first floor, but the new method of advertisement pays better. It was temporarily adopted, too, at the Edgeware-road railway station. A diamond merchant, too, went for carbon-made light, and gave us an opportunity of comparing the new gas lamps in Waterloo- place with the electrical method of illumination. The electrical method has the best of it. Yet, somehow, the notion of using the electric light for the general lighting of the streets is less fashionable than it was. Vestrymen say that it costs too much." A fatal accident occurred at Oamaru on Saturday night. Mr and Mrs James White and daughter Louise (the latter about 17 years old) left their grocer's shop, Oamaru, at about a quarter paßt eight o'clock, for their residence, situate at the junction of the roads to Dunedin and Wairiaka. They were in a spring-cart, Mr White driving. The mght was dark, with thick fog. When going up the road at the town boundary, the cart capsized over an embankment, turning over twice before reaching the bottom, which is about 15ft below the lerel of the road. Mrs White, in extricating herself, found her husband and daughter underneath the cart. She went to the Junction Hotel to obtain assistance. On going to the scene of the accident Miss White was found with a wheel on her chest, quite dead. Mr White, on being extricated, was found to have his thigh broken, and to have sustained other serious injuries. He is not expected to live. Mrs White, although considerably shaken, has nps suffered any serious (towage,

The New South Wales Parliament iudS'now been in session over eight months, Mary Anne Tichborne, alias Or ton, wife of Roger Ticbborne, alias Orton, was recently fined five shillings for not seeding her daughter to school. The Government of South Australia have introduced tt batch of Chinese coolies at public expense, for employment in the colony for tbeteim of three years. They are advertised for hire. It seems almost incredible (says the Post) that a man should be nearly gored to death iu the main street of Wellington. Yet, strange as it. may s"eetn,- this occurred in Opper Willis street last evening. The man i was going (juietly home from his work when a \sld bullock came along, driven by some butchers of Taranaki-street. The animal rushed at the poor fellow, knocking him on the ground, and attacked him with the utmost fierceness. Before the bullock could be driven away, the unfortunate man's head was severely cut, and his back and various parts bi his b'odjr badly injured. It whs almost a miracle iudfied that he escaped with his life. A Folding telegram of Saturday last gays; —The io'.iowing circular notice was posted to-day at the sawmills: —"Manawatu, 20th May, 1879 —In consequence of the slackness of the timber trade aud the commercial depression generally, sawmill proprietors and j others of the Mauawatu have found it necessary lo Very materially reuttce the price of timber ia order to successfully resist the importation of timber from abroad. With this object in! view they have found it necessary to ietrtjjotrtrify reduce the rate of wages to the following rates'^ cooiiag into operation ou the Ist day of June next '. —Stwkeepers, per day of eight hours, 10s; benchraen, 10s; tailtuen, 8a; vertical-men, 6s to 7s; enginedrivers, Bs,' bush hands, 6s to 7s; bullockdrivets, in summer, hj in winter, 8s; horsedrivers, Os 6d to 7s; ordinary hands about mill, truck loaders, and others, 6s, boys, 4s to 55." The above circular fixes wages at least 20 per cent, beiow present rates. This result is supposed to be caused by the recent alteration of the tariff taking 2s per 100 feei oil: imported timber. A correspondent of (he Auckland Free La'.ce, writiDg of the Te Sopua meeting, says:—This meeting has really turned otlfc to be a most disgraceful affair for the colony, and a most expensive fiasco to boot. The cost is variously estimated frtim si* to ten thousand pounds of public money. The idea that Rewi has gone over to the Government is quite a mistake. He said that he would coutinue lo hold Grey in his right hand until he could secure Tawhiao the sovereignty of the King country. Rewi is not prepared to forfeit one iota ©f his independence. The attitude of the Northern chiefs at the meeting goes for nothing; they were a packed jury, well paid for their services," and the Kingites repeatedly told them so The whole affair has been a personal matter between Grey aud the Kingites, and not a* between them andjtbe Premier of the colony. Recently a riian grossly itisulted A respectable married woman at the eof nef of Colombo and Salisbury-streets, in Christchtifcn, but must have been somewhat astonished to find that she was equal to the occasion. She at once delivered a heavy blow ia the ruffian's face, which felled him, aud then made the best of her way to a place of security. " Clergymeu,*' remarks an exchange, like railway breaksmec, do a good deal of coupling." Ay, yes « and then the coupled ones do all the switching. A tradesman who recently filed, borrowed from his office boy and assistant half ~a-Crqwn and one shilling respectively. When asked to pay, he replied, " I mustn't do it, as it would be illegal on my part and unjust to my other creditors." A meeting of creditors of John King, auctioneer at Timaru was held ou Friday The liabilities are £15,155 secured, and £11,322 unsecured. The assets are put down at £'26,951 ; but there 13 little or no probability of anything' like that amount being reached. Some men are born lucky. A few weeks ago a gentleman, who is a school teacher in. Manawatu, went to the great land sale at Feilding and promiscuously purchased a section of suburban land. A few days after, on visiting his purchase, he was surprised and delighted to find that he had " struck a patch/' as the whole section was covered with splendid totara, flrhich he estimate? as worth at least a thousand pounds. We also understand Mr Haicombe bought a section in the same way, and has since found that not only is totara growing plentifully upon it, bufc also (which is unusual in such cases) the soil is of excellent quality.—New Zealander. The London Times states that a new army rank, intermediate between the officer and I the non-commissioned officer, has been created by the long expected warrant on promotion in the Army Service Corps which was recently issued. The warrant-offcers, or conductors, as they are called, will be selected from the higher branches of non-commis-sioned officers, and will wear a uniform similar to that of the officers ; but the patrol jacket will be without lace, excepting the usual knot on the wrist. The rank will not entitle the owner to the military salute, and the pay will be but 5a 6d per day, which is the same as the allowance to sergeant-majors in the same corps ; but the position will be by many non-commissioned officers preferred to an officer's commission in the same corps with the dignity to sustain at 7s 6d per day.