CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 137, 10 June 1879, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

EARLY CLOSING. To the Editor op the 'Evknino Mail.' Sra— l am glad to see by your last night's issue that you are still kind enough to advocate early closing, or at least to give place in your valuable paper to letters tending in that direction. May I crave a corner for that purpose. In the first place allow me to say for the encouragement of " One in favor of Early Closing," tbat I have seen nearly all the storekeepers in the town who employ assistants with a view of hearing their minds on the subject, and only four gave a decided negative, and one offered objections but was willing to comply if all the rest did' About two months back a letter appeared in your paper asking employers for a good reason for not adopting the early closing system but none appeared, so it may fairly be supposed that there is no good reason to be adduced, and further for the encouragement of " One in favor of Early Closing " I believe he has struck the right nail on the head when he appealed to the ladies to esDouse bis cause (What cannot they do if so minded?) and I am prepared to say twenty.flve out of thirty whom I asked are in favor of and will help forward the early closing movement by making their purchases and giving their orders before six or seven o'clock, as may be required.— l am, &c, wm t , Another Advocate^ | Jfelson; June io, 187?,

Qn the o<;cas|pn of, a deputation recently $"f lD^ ? D 4 8ir Geor 8 e Gre y «* N «w Plymouth, | Major Atkinson stated the settlers' case re the Maori difficulty as foi lows: -He said that the deputation wished to ascertain, as fair as Ministers could tell them at the present time, . what action the Government proposed to take. They understood the position to be this; that the district Waa sUrrouflded, or nearly so, by fanatical natives, whd Owu allegiance to Te Whiti and apparently ho bedj else. They tfferS; as ht ds the opinion of the deputation went* fluke brepare'd to execute iiny totdfer which be thight think I right to issue. They U nfe'w for a fact that he had already .approved of. the Governfaent siiryeyots, being i r6mo,ved from tte Waimate Plains; They Had Been informed that the f.loughing gotug on at Gakura.wsisi tiy Ms aul hority— that was io say that fete had directed aid given back the whole of the. confiscated land to them, his followers; this land having been held fbi- sohie years by settlers with Crown Grants. They also were d£ opiuion as far as they could judge that the district was entirely unprepared for resistance by force, and though Te Whiti had hitherto declared himself entirely iv favor of peace, he insinuated that by some miraculous means we should bo vanquished. The natives believed that by some action of Te Whiti's they would be put in possession of properties held by settlers from the Crown. They (the deputation) were glad to learn frdtn the Government that they were g&iuitig strength, and that the only thing for consideration was justice and prudence> and they, as peaceable citizens, had come to ask the Government to extend to them that protection of law which they considered, as settlers owing allegiance to Her Majesty, they had a right to demand from the Government. On their part they were unanimously prepared to offer the Government assistance in every way they should be asked to do, and therefore they thought that the Government should give them some absolute assurance. Some of them had taken upou themselves the responsibility of advising persons not to be alarmed but to remain on their farms until the Government intimated tbat it was not safe to do so. He wanted the Government to give them an absolute assurance, and to put the district in such a state of strength that it would be able to defend itself. At the Dunedin festival in celebration of tbe centenary of Moore the Irish poet one gentleman waxed eloquent exceedingly. He said :—" Mr Chairman, Mr Vice-Chairman, and Gentlemen,— From the days when Jehovah communed with his people through the prophetic songs of the bards of Israel, tbe poets have marched in front of the tribes and nations of the earth, leading them on-*---ward and upward towards tbe sublime and beautiful. We hear them interpreting the loud warnings of the thunder, the solemn dirges of the ocean, the bold songs of the cataract, the wild chants of the fierce blast, the plaintive wailings of the night-wind, and the gentle babblings of the brooklet. We see them soaring on imagination's wings beyond the azure curtains of heaven to unfold the mysteries of Creation. We find them unlocking the treasury of Nature and unveiling the beauties of the universe. We hear them in all ages and in all climes preaching to the people sublime sermons in song and inculcating ennobling lessons in tbe science of humanity. We hear them inspiring the hero on the battle -field, cheering the martyr on the scaffold, comforting tbe downtrodden and oppressed, and denouncing the tyrant," &c. In the new English magazine Times, which contains Sir Julius Vogel's article entitled "John Bull asks advice," the following anecdote is told concerning the departure of the Kent laborers, per Stad Haarlem, for New Zealand. It is contained in an article entitled " Toilers in Field and Factory," and describes one of the departing Kentish men thus delivering himself :—'« Yes, I'm a-going to do well in Noo Zealun. I know all about plantations, an' I sball have plantations o' my own in a 'ear or two. Its tbe beautif ullist work as is, an' I koow all abotit it. O yes, I've been pretty well off in England, but I shall be better off in New Zealun. I'll tell you why. I'm a-going there to shake weight off my shoulders. I'm a-going to shake the Queen of my shoulders, an' the Prince o' Wales, an' the R'yal Family, an' the Chancel Thicks Chequer (so he named the high functionary), on' the National Debt, an' the tithes, an' the taxes, an* the poor's rates, an' the parsons, an' the wull lot on 'em. I'm going to start fresh, J am. No fear o' me, / shall be all right in Noo Zealun. The " Loafer iv the Street " remarks :— "The Timaru breakwater, which is now fairly under weigh, must knock the hearts of the Timaru reporters stone cold. I judge so from the remark of an old Timaru journalist imparted in confidence tome a long time ago. He said, * Loafer, old man, the wrecks on our coast are a real, big thing for us ; you can predict them in the first place, which is always safe. Then you can describe tbem, which is safer still. For weeks after you can keep on sticking in additional particulars, whether about insurance or personal gallantry don't much matter. You who live away from the coast can form no idea of wbat wrecks are to us. We can do fairly at present out of the crane, which is ever, so to speak, in a participial state, by which I mean that she is either working or about to work ; but a time will come when neither the crane nor wrecks will avail us, and a very hard time for the boys it will be, too." A new table delicacy was recently described by the Rev J. G. Wood, iv delivering the first of a series of lectures on natural science in Dr Chaning Pearce's Geological Museum, Brixton Rise. Having in the course of his lecture to allude to the hedgehog aud the squirrel, Mr Wood observed that it was well known that these animals, when properly cooked, formed excellent articles for human food. Few people, however, were aware that when similarly treated the flesh of a rat had a finer flavor, aud waa altogether a greater delicacy than either of them. There was literally nothing of which he (the lecturer) was so fond as a rat pie. This was a dish which frequently made its appearance on his table, and waa greatly enjoyed by all the members of his family. He had several friends too, who, like himself, had overcome their prejudice, and thoroughly enjoyed a good helping of rat. pie A horrible event (says the Paris correspondent of the Telegraph) occurred in the Rue Condorcet on Sunday. On the fifth floor of a house in the above-named street lived a young couple of the name of Schellemberg. They had been married but six months, and there was every reason to suppose that they were perfectly happy together. Suddenly on Sunday afternoon repeated discharges of firearms were heard from the apartment inhabited by the Schellembergs. The neighbors rushed in, and the first object that met their sight was the dead body of the young woman. A letter found by her side stated that she had poisoned herself deliberately. In the next room lay her husband covered with blood. He had [ fired a 6-barrelled revolver at himself ; four I shots had penetrated his chest and two bullets were lodged in his head. As the people entered he exclaimed, "My mother ! My wife 1 Pardon 1" and then expired. The promoters of the Hospital Sunday movement in Melbourne held a meeting a I few days ago, and the report of the committee of management showed that the collections, including a small balance from the previous year, amounted to £6396 9s Id. This was inclusive of £1628 2s Ud collected from employees and others on the Hospital ! Saturday. * ■ ,

; ■ —■-"- — «..-...;_„;- : — — - Arrangements are being aifade oh a run ib" tbe Lake District, by whicb it ia c^lcfllata'd! that rabbits will be killed at the rate of tefl thousand per month. The Ladies' United Evangelistic Association ot feVdhe-j propose to establish a branch of the " Hospital Pillow Mission " in New Zealand next Christmas. "For those unacquainted with the "Pillow Mission," we may briefly state the details of the plan. On Christmas' Eve prepared packets ot letters* are, with the chaplain's consent, consigned to the night nurse of hospitals and infirmaries, with the request that during their watch they will deposit one of the missives, every otae'.of which bears tho inscription, "A Christttiaa Letter for Yon," on the pillow of each patient. Efety envelope contains a suitable printed letter cdn^ejing the Gospel message $1 t"tte Season, together with a bright Christmas, card" <Jr leaflet. There fs no necessity for stating from what part of this sublunary sphere the following '.' veracious " paragraph comes. The nationality ot its author is" obvious. Here It is :-An intelligent f&riket in ties Moines County has invented a henophotie*, tiit the principle of the telephone, by which one old reliable hen, occupying a central position, sits on all the nests abont the establishment, leaving tbe other fowls free to lay eggs, scratch, and cackle. As fast as a new nest contains the ftlll complement of eggs, it ;is Connected with the central office by a copper wife, and the business is settled. Tbe only trouble with the machine is tbat it sits so hard that it batches oat the porcelain nest eggs along with the othets, so that.one chick in every nest is born with glass eyes, and the farmer has to buy, aiid train a. dog to lead it round. This makes it eipetodive.A practical joker at Awahuri lifts placed a grim joke upon a number of his Keigh&o'rs. A contemporary says tbat he, that ia the jokist, called upon a number of brother Scots and informed them that he had just arrived from Hawera, and that he had brought with him a treat for his countrymen in the shape of a genuine Scotch haggis, dilating upon the superior skill of the particular artist by whom the dish had been manufactured, until bis hearers' teeih watered, and their souls thirsted for an onslaught. Punctual to the hour of invitation fully half-a-dozen guests put 1 in an appearauce, the majority oi whom in order to whet their appetites and the more thoroughly enjoy the delicacy had maintained a black fast during the fore and afternoon. The host presided but did not pasa^a plate till all were filled, so that the attack upon the treasure was simultaneous. So busily were they engaged, however, that no one- . noticed the sudden departure of the boat, who placing the length of the room between himself and bia guests stood at the door with a look of fiendish exulation. He had not to wait long for the result, as with a yell of horror and a chorus of execration, one after another flung down their knives, and made for the door, while the cause of all went bounding out into space like a deer. When' the betrayed ones had wiped their eyes sufficiently to examine the haggis, and cleared their throat 3 sufficiently to apeak, they discovered that it was composed of a quantity of boiled leather, mixed with sawdust, and seasoned with sand, along with other materials, but so adroitly was the deception covered that in their eagerness to enjoy the treat it was not until tbe victims had taken a good mouthful that it was painfully apparent. A Japanese student, newly arrived in this country, thought we were all doctors, because everybody took his hand and asked after bis health.