The Nelson Evening Mail TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1879.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIV, Issue 252, 4 November 1879, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 1879.

Public meetings iv Nelson, whatever may have been the subject under discussion, bave hitherto been iuvariably conducted in a decent and seemly manner. Last night's meeting was an exception to the rule. Whether or not it was that those present looked upon the whole proceedings as what is commonly know, as a " lark," we cannot say, but certain it is that they conducted themselves as though they regarded them iv that ligbt. Mr Grabam said tbe speakers were too much in earnest to be eloquent; a,

stranger looking in would probably have arrived at the conclusion tbat the meeting was too little impressed with the importance of the subject, for the purpose of discussing which it had been convened, to care about maintaining even tbe semblance of order. A brief report of ihe speeches will be found elsewhere. It. is possible that the arguments used may be sufficient to convince the ratepayers of tbe necessity for dividing the town into wards, but we should think it extremely improbable. At all events it is to be hoped that before the petition obtains the requi.ite number of signatures the matter will receive more serious attention than was bestowed upon it at last night's preliminary meeting As the Prince of Wales's Birthday falls on a Sunday this year, Monday next, the 10th inst , will he observed as a pubiic holiday at all Post Offices in the colony. Thk concert to lie held iv the Port Public Hall to morrow night under the auspices of the Naval Brigude promises to be a great success, judging by the number of tickets which have been disposed of. A capital pro gramme has beeu provided, comprising sailors' chorus, songs, trios, hornpipe, &c. The concert will commence at eight o'clock, aDd will last about two hours, after whicb a dance will take place. In accordance with an advertisement to tbat effect a m ctinsr of the Horticultural Society was held at the Masonic Hotel, when the following officers were appointed for the en.uiug year :— President, Judge Broad ; Treasurer, Mr C. Y. Fell ; Hon. Secretary, Mr H. Adams ; Committee, Messrs Greenfield, Cat ley, Gully, aud A. Parmenter. It was decided to hold the spring show on the 25th and _6lh instant, and the autumn one on the 3rd March. The first competition for the gold medal presented to the 11 Battery, N Z. Artillery, by Mr C. M'Gee, took place at the Maitai Range yesterday morning, when the following were the highest scorers out of seventeen competitors: —

A patien in the Christchurch Lunatic Asylum is laboring under the strange hallucination that one of the warders has taken out a license for flshiug, and ls goiug to cut him into pieces for trout bait. The following items of news were brought to Cooktown by the Torres Straits mail :— For some time past a terrible nest of Dyak pirates has existed in the north-east of Borneo, by whom great ravages were committed in the China seas. A British gunboat belonging to the China SquadroD, however, succeeded a week or two ago in tracing the desperadoes lo their stronghold, which was attacked and destroyed. — The rice crop in the Philippine Islands this year is splendid.— A fearful outbreak of cholera has taken place in Corea. Hundreds of the inhabitants have been carried off by the plague.— A British ship has been taken prisoner by a Dutch man-of-war for supplying arms to the Acheenese rebels, with whom the Dutch are still fighting.

200j-ds 300yd3 400 yds Tl. Sergt.-MajorWirusett 15 14 14 43 Sergeant Bird ... 15 15 17 47 „ Armstrong 13 14 15 44 Gunner Moore ... 15 15 17 47 „ 0 Wimsett 15 15 16 46 „ Clouston ... !4 14 17 45 „ H. Wimsett 15 15 13 43 „ Shone ... 14 13 15 42