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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 100, 27 April 1880, Page 2

Another industry is about to be started in Picton by Mr Norgrove, who purposes trying the breeding and culture of oysters on alarge scale. A smokehouse has been erected on the western shore of the bay, and the owner means to turn out cured fish of as good quality as is produced in Picton.— lV...-. Fruit Wine.— A number of Swiss and Germans hare petitioned the Auckland Waste Lands Board to open for selection under the homestead system portions of land at MatapDuri aud Wharanake (north of Wanganui.) They desire to engage in fruit Avine culture, and they picked out the lands mentioned after a careful inspection of the country. It was decided to set apart an area of 26 000 acres for selection. The West Coast Times says : — There is no doubt whatever now, tbat a contagious disease, which two of our local medical men pronounce to be diptheria, ia rapidly spreading through the town. There are at present about thirty cases, including several adults, and three deaths have occurred, one, the last) yesterday morning of a girl 13 years old, after 36 hours illness. This was a most malignant case, and it is to be regretted that another child in the same family is seriously ill. The Sunday schools were not opened on Sunday, and all gatherings of children especially are to be avoided, as much as possible. We draw attention again to the necessity which is imposed ot every householder, of immediately communicating to the Secretary to the Local Board of Health, in the event of sickness breaking out in his family. The penalty for non-fulfilment of this condition will be strictly enforced. The N.Z. Times says : — The walking mania appears to have taken quite an extraordinary hold upon a large section of the juveniles of the city. Not a fine evening passes that does not witness a number of the most determined struggles on the Basin Eeserve, and in several oth r localities where the ground is open and sufficiently even to permit of a course being laid out. It appears absurd that youngsters of ten or twelve should not only talk of a " ten mile spin," butactually go through it, yet we are in a position to say that several contests, in which such a distance had to be covered, have taken place, the distance being kept in a most conscientious manner. As some of the boys show a very fair style they ought to make good atheletes when they have reached the age of manhood. A Wellington contemporary says :— This office was interviewed a few evenings ago by a strange phenomenon in the person of a bank clerk. He had taken exception to a paragraph referring in mild language to the fortune of some people baving connections in high places. He came to remonstrate, but, expecting that he might get kicked out, had gone to the trouble of donning his war paint. After expressing himself satisfied with the explanation given he opened his coat— there was a picture! He was stripped to the waist, and informed us in simpering language that had anyone attempted to kick him he would, at any rate, have taken his own part. The poor fellow was patted on the back and complimented on his courage, whereupon he became more communicative) and took off his coat just to show what fine arms he had. and how his muscles were developed. He got more compliments then, and he became generous and treated the whole office to " glasses round." We would be glad to entertain such visitors everv dav of the week. * * If it is all true that we hear concerning the Civil Service Commission in the Middle Island their expenses will not be a very heavy item on the debit side of the colony's account. It is said that the most rigorous economy has been practised. There was not I the slightest approach to junketting, no ' invitations to dinner to the numerous subjects operated upon, but simply interrogation, careful taking of evidence, a polite "good day," and then after labor frugal refreshment. A guinea a day each is, we bear, to cover all the expenses of the members of the Commission, and if that is the limit, the members certainly cannot be accused of extravagance, whilst the colony will be justified in expecting a fair guinea's worth for money expended. — N.Z. Times. Vera Sassaulitch, the famous female Nibilist, bag beep arrested st St, Petwibwg,

At a recent meeting of the Clutha Borough Council, an account for 10a. for the burial of a dead horse was submitted. A Councillor asked to whom the animal belonged, when the Mayor replied that it was his property, but as it died whilst grazing on the reserve, ho considered that tbe Corporation should pay for its burial. Tbis liberal view of a Corporation's duties was, however, nofc shared in by his Worship's brother Councillors, and the account was not passed for payment. The Dunedin Star asserts thafc " The Royal Commission on the Civil Service have come and gone, leaving it is understood, considerable constei;iiatioh behind thetii in certain quarters, owing to the character of the examination to which certain departments were subjected. The railway workshops and the work . in progress therein were critically looked into, with the result, it is whispered, of special representations about to be made to the Government in respect to certain nice little arrangements of the pasfc and present. When the report of this commission is made public, it is probable that the general surprise at the railways nofc paying interest on the construction will be changed into wonder thafc the receipts have balanced the expenditure." A tale of the sea is told by " Asmodeus," in the N.Z. Mail, which differs from sea yarns in the main by being true. He says : •—"I am told of a terrible thing tbat happened on board the Rotomahana on her last trip between Wellington and Lyttelton. She carried a large, a reverend, and a valuable freight, high dignitaries and . pillars of the Church Episcopal. As always is the case when my clerical friends go down upon the sea in ships, the weather was tempestuous, and they were in much physical and mental tribulation, all save one who took his sea legs with him, albeit encased in gaiters and clerical cut. He, ensconsed in the smoking saloon, smoked the pipe of peace, while his ghostly brethren in the region below groaned in flesh and in spirit; and bethought themselves of prayer. Suddenly, one drop more was added to their cup of misery. The boy of the ship— the irrepressible youth wbo has no bump of veneration— bounced into their midst and exclaimed " Will any gent give me a light ? The Bishop says there's not a — adjective— lucifer in the ship!' Now, this was the boy's way of putting things and not the Bishop's, and yet the shock to the distraught nerves of the brotherhood may be imagined but not described." VVe take the following frora the Wellington Evening Post : — No more shocking example of the state of degradation to wbich drink can reduce the " human form divine " could be imagined than tbat presented by two wretched creatures, who occupied the prisoners' dock afc the Resident Magistrate's Court the other day. Although designated by dif ferent names on the sheet, they have been living together as mau and wife. The police arrested the woman on the previous evening, and as the man described it in Court, he went to the station to look after his " missus," and the police ran him in too. Ifc was difficult to say which of the two was the more wretched looking object. The man, although still in the prime of life, was so palsied that he could scarcely lift his haud to take off his hat on entering the Court ; his eyes resembled holes burnt in a blanket, and in all the lineaments of his face vice and disease showed their horrid indications. The woman was about the same age, but might easily have been taken for fifty. Her face was pale and haggard,, and streaked with dirt, while her bleared eyes blinked with weakness. Her hair hung down her back and over her face and eyes in unkempt masses, which were exposed rather than concealed by a tawdry cheap hat that appeared to have been " pitched " on to her head. ■ The clothes of this parody on a woman were in character. Her dress hung about her in such rags that she had to hold it against her bosom to hide her nakedness. Other garments she mighfc possibly have had on, bufc the glimpses afforded by the movements of fche trembling hands were painfully suggestive that her underclothing was of the scantiest. The strangest feature in connection with this pitiful pair was the apparent affection of the man for the woman. Bad as he was, the man was evidently in full pcssession of his faculties, but the excesses of the woman seemed to have reduced her to the condition of mental as well as bodily prostration. The man watched her carefully, and kissed her twice while sitting in Court ; he also supported her tottering steps whils entering and leaving the Court, and the extraordinary appearance of the pair as they passed arm iu arm down Featherston-st.ee. caused quite a commotion. The spectacle was one which the ancient Spartans would have regarded as a mosfc edifying one for their children. It certainly was an eloquent sermon. ; In the hearing of a case at Poverty Bay the other day, Mr Ward, as amicus curiae, drew his Worship's attention to tho fact that a witness appeared in Court withoat his coat. His Worship said that the witness referred to was a working man, and was sure that no disrespect was meant to the Court. He was not a stickler to these points where he was sure no disrespect was intended. He had been used to a mining population, where it was nothing unusual for a man to come in Court just as he bad dropped his pick or shovel. They were a fine manly set of fellows, with no petty bickerings or heartburnings amongst them. He was aware that there were magistrates who were particular about these matters. |He had known District Judges object to counsel appearing in Court with colored trousers on, contending that counsel should appear in black from top to j toe. No one knew better than himself how to support the dignity of the Court when the necessity arose for doing so, but in the case of working men he was nofc so particular as to their dress, knowing that no disrespect was meant to the Court.— Poverty Bay Herald. A duel which took place the other day at Sprout HiU, New Jersey, was fought under novel conditions. The combatants, two young men, William Schoonover and William Marvin— agreed to settle a difference that had arisen between them, not with the pistol, but with the axe. The contest is described as " a fearful one," the men chopping at eacb other with axes, evidently intent upon killing, and their companions standing by too frightened to interfere. Several passes were made without effect, when Marvin struck Schoonover on the left arm above the elbow, severing it so completely thafc ifc hung by a piece of skin only. The same instant Marvin received a glancing stroke on the head which dazed " him for a time. The bystanders then summoned courage to interfere, and disarmed them. The affair mighfc have ended wifch no more serious result than the loss by Schoonover of his arm ; but unfortunately there was no surgeon present, or anyone who was able to stop the flow of blood from the wouud, and before medical assistance could be obtained he had nearly bled to death. By latest accounts he was still living, bufc in a mosfc critical condition. Vam'y Fair says that an entirely new partime has been invented for country houses in the shape of a tea tray toboggming. The way of it is this: Tou take a tea tray to the top of a good flight of stairs, sit ia it, hold on to the sides with your hands, and let yourself go! If you manage well, you go the whole flight of the stairs quickly and easily, and bring up on the landing at the bottom, if you don't manage it properly you turn round when part of the way down, and get a good crumpler. The advantage of this game is that ladies can play at it; and in the houses that I saw it played they toboggined far better than the men, who generally lose their trays and tbeuiselyes wfcen half way down tbe stwfe, '

_ A couple of years ago (says the N. Z. Times) it would have been impossibility for the Government to have obtained pick andshovel men for four shillings a day as they are doing now— in fact, from the evidence c f the other day given at the Supreme Court, they could not be had for six. A witness was asked if he did not recollect the date of a certain engagement, when he replied that he did not ; " ifc was not such an important engagement that he would take any special notice of it— only some six or seven bob a day 1 " But in evidence he stated thafc he afterwardi received eight shillings and eight rind siA a day. in those days there were few or no unemployed, ahd had the Government then offered four shillings, they tf ould hate had few, if any, applications. Lately a resolution was carried by a majority of the subscribers to the Sydney School of Arts that ifc should be opened on Sundays, and afc a subsequent meeting that resolution was rescinded, in spite of the passionate opposition of Mr Charles Bright and other gentlemen. During the discussion there seemed to be considerable doubt as to who made the Sabbath — one person averred that ifc was Bobbie Burns, another said ifc was fixed by Act of Parliament during the reign of Charles 11., while not a few thought the praise or blame should be equally divided between the local clergy and the Premier, Sir Henry Parkes. According to the New York Herald, Calcraft, the English hangman, died worth £20,000. He was, says the Herald, very sensitive, and looked upon with reverence in the neighborhood in which he lived, and, respect by his relatives ! This is not surprising when we consider he was worth £20,000. It is only a wonder there were not more persons who, for fhe sake of notoriety, did not want the exalted honor of being " strung up " by a" hangman worth £20,000. The following extraordinary paragraph appears in the Lavceficld Examiner, from the Bulla district, Victoria:— "Mr Thomas Crinnion, farmer, of Bulla, informs us that ifc frequently occurs, whilst his land is being 1 1 mghed, thafc sovereigns are turned up from a considerable depth. Mr Crinnion has been on the farm for 17 years, and during that period bas obtained a large quantity of current coin in gold." An old farmer in Indiana says that' for his parfc we don't know where the present rage for trimmiug bonnets with birds is goiug to end. Only four or five years ago he bought his daughter a humming bird ; next year she wanted a robin, the next a pheasant, aod this season he declares he had to chain up his Thanksgiving turkey, or she'd have had thafc perched on top of her head. — Andrews Bazaar. A proud parson and his man, riding over a common, saw a shepherd tending his flock in a new coat. The parson asked, in a haughty tone, who gave him the coat ? " The same people," said the shepherd, " that clothe you— the parish." The parson, nettled a little, rode on murmuring a considerable way, and sent his man back to ask the shepherd if he would come and live with him for he wanted a fool. The man went to the shepherd accordingly, and delivered his master's message, concluding that his master really wanted a fool. " Are you going away, then ?" said the shepherd. " No," answered the other. " Then you may tell your mauler," repMed the shepherd, "his living won't maintain three of us." Afc the Leeds Police Court on February Hth, Herr Holtum, a performer who styles himself the "King of the Cannon," was charged with unlawfully and maliciously wounding Elijah Fenton, a laborer. Holtum has been performing for some time at the Prince's Music-hall, and on Eriday night he took his benefit, offering a prize of £50 to anyone who could successfully catch a ball fired from a cannon, as he was in the habit of doing. Fenton accepted the challenge, and stood in front of the mouth of tbe cannon, some six yards from it. Upon the cannon being fired, Fenton endeavored to catch the ball, but failed, and it crashed against his head and knocked him down. On examination ho was fouud to be seriously injured, and was taken to the infirmary. Mr Bruce, the stipendiary, told the proprietor of the hall, a man named Hobsen, that his license would be endangered if he allowed a repetition of the performance. The prisoner Holtum, who said he would never issue another challenge of the kind, was remanded on bail. A contest of an exciting character has jusfc taken place in California. A man named Alfred Ross backed himself against a grizzly for 3000 dollors. Thousands of people assembled to witness the fight, a dollar apiece being charged for admission. Odds were freely laid on the grizzly. The decriptjons of what ensued is quite romantic. Wrapping a shawl around his arm till it was swathed to the shoulder, Ross went into the crowd and asked a young and pretty girl to tie ifc for him. She gladly did so, using her own handsome scarf for the purpose. Ross, in return, took a diamond ring from hu finger, and, "bowing with exquisite gallantry," presented it to his fair patroness. Kissing his hand to her, the bold Ross drew his bowie, a terrible weapon, weighing four pouuds and a half, and sharp as a razor, tightened his belt, and leaped into the arena. A muffled shriek of horror rose from the crowd as they saw the grizzly rush on Ross. But Bruin was not in it. One quick upward blow, the bear's under-jaw dropped, cut in two. One more quick descending blow behind the shoulder, and Bruin rolled over with his heart cloven in twain. Amid a storm of " Vivas," Ross wiped his bloody bowie on the grizzly's bide, and walked off without a scratch.— 'Home News.