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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 123, 24 May 1880, Page 2

The complete returila of railway revenue and expenditure for the financial year (or rather, period of nine months) ended 31st March, 1880, are now published. The gross receipts amounted to £5?6,588, or £99,412 under the Colonial Treasurer's estimate — .£675 000. The working expensess were £430, 284, being 74f per cent, on the receipts, thus leaving i 5% per cent.; or £145,304 as the net revenue available for interest on the cost of construction. A Tiniaru auctioneer, having drawn the attention of the Government to the existing differences in the issue and premuims of auctioneers' licenses in various districts of the colony, has received a reply from the Colonial Secretary, staling that an Auctioneer's Licensing Act for the whole colony is being prepared, and will be introduced during the coming session. A cruel joke was prepetrated (says the Rangitikei Advocate) upon an linstic'cessful new chum sportsman this other day. He had been out all day, and was returning home crest-fallen, fearing the jeers which surely awaited an. empty bag, when ho espied a native carrying four large birds, which he explained were New Zealand, ducks. These he purchased, and with them came home in triumph. When he saw his companions' faces, he wished those four old shags had never been hatched, rather than he should j. bave been " gulled " with them. The correspondent of the Post telegraphing regarding Te Whiti's late speech, aays: —There wa3 nothing of unusual interest in his speech, the greater portion being a jritteration of the former addresses. A remarkable, instance of. Te Whiti's influence occurred just previous to the meeting, A certain chief, who was noted for hia niggardliness, has, through the power of Te Whiti's exhortations, developed into quite a new character: he i 3 now the most liberal of men, aud a few days ago made a magnificent present of about 100 sheep to a less fortunate brother in the vicinity of Purihaka. Te Whiti told him to make the offering, and he obeyed the prophet's diroo>i IM - t3 w jt a g rea(; p rotn ptnesß. The natives are returning to their settlements, wca p. eased wiih the words of their leader. Caution against Slang.— Never use fast words. It may not always be agreeable. " How do you like my boots love?" exclaimed a youthful bride. "Oh, they're immense." replied the partner of her joys. And she had the first matrimonial fainting away as the result. At the Easter camp of the Sydney Volunteers the Governor was one day expected, and nearly all were on the gui vive. A fatigue party, in charge of Lieutenant Shoulderbelt, was in the camp kitchen, one of the party being busy with a rake, and ft lother having a broom in active use. His Excellency, surrounded by the Btaff, approached rather suddenly ; the lieutanent shouted aa well as he was able, " Sh-Sh-Shoulderarms !" The implements of peace wore suddenly brought up to the position, his Excellency acknowledging the salute as he passed on. The men declare /that they were never more sorrowfully sobe,r in their lives. In a recent lecture in England, Mr Preece mentioned the fact that Professor Bell and himself had carried on a conversation by means of the telephone through a coil representing a distance of 10,000 miles of telegraphic line, but without the defects iuci dental to an actual wire carried on posts across country. Experiments have been made recently in America with the ordinary telegraph line, in order to test the actual capabilities of the telephone. The distance was 410 miles, and although there were a few interruptions owing to the swinging of the wires iv the wind, conversation was carried on with ease, the enunciation of the words being perfectly distinct. The Post of Tuesday last says: — At an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders of the D'Uiville Island Copper Mining Company, held last evening at the company's offices, Panama Chambers, the resolutions proposed by the directors, were unauimously agreed to. It was announced by the chairman, Mr W. G. Jackson, that a large number of shares had already been applied for by the present shareholders, and the directors were in hopes soon to be in a position to call for tenders fur sinking the main shaft a further depth of 100 feet or more on the lode already worked, and from which such excellent results were secured at the last smelting at Newcastle, the ore in bulk having otftbat occasion averaged over 20 per cent, of pure copper. It was also mentioned that the price of copper had advanced in the English market more than 50 per cent, since the last operations of the company. The Fiji Times contains newß of the murder of Mr Johnston, of the firm of Johnston and Chaffin, a citizen of the United States, by the natives on the N.W. side of the island of Aoba, on the night of the 4th of March. It appears they had retired to rest in their house at the usual hour, when Mr Cbaffin was awoke by the report of ajgun, and Mr JohuBton exclaimed " I am shot, look out for yourself," which he did, and succeeded in escaping. The murders were not the tribe belonging to the village in which he lives, but are the same tribe that some little time ago killed the Government agent, the chief officer and boat's crew of the Queensland labor schooner Mystery. At the concluding meeting of the General Synod, the Bishop of Melanesia moved: — " That this Synod adopts ths principles of the Church of England Temperance Society." — The llev B. T. Dudley said he was happy to believe that young New Zealand was inclined to be temperate. The speaker mentioned several startling facts in support of the necessity for strenuous efforts being made to further the objects of the society, which were to keep sober men sober, to reform the intemperate, and to secure legislative assistance towards the saving of the inebriate. He hoped that the ie3olulion would be carried, ns it would afford great moral Bupport to the temperance cause. — The Bishop of Dunedin moved, "That thererolution should bs, 'That this Synod commends to the clergy and members of he |Church generally the principles of the Church of England Society.' "—The Bishop of Melanesia did not wish any one to take a leap in the dsirk, and was willing to adopt the suggested alteration — The Bishop of Wellington said the clergy and laity should bring their influence to bear, and should set a good ex ample. He might also Bay that there were many other public sins — such as dishonesty in trade, gambling houses, and others, to which he would not further allude, which deserved tobe denounced. He thought there was a morbid sensibility with regard to intemperance which was carried too far. He would not oppose the motion, but did not expect much from it. — Mr Mr J. Holloway moved as an amendment, " That this Synod again earnestly recommends the Diocesan Synods of this ecclesiastical province to take such stops as they may deem necessary for the fostering of the temperance movement, on principles similar to those adopted by the Caurch of England Temperance Society Jof Great Britain." — Mr Holloway'a amendment was agreed to. The Italian 105-ton gun at Spezia surpassed expectation at the trials recently made. The last ball fired had a range of 10,000 metres, about 6£ miles, the charge being 220 kilogrammes, 4851 b. The Yiokabarg Herald tells of a negro vvi b. heels on each end of bis feet.

Wonders will never ceaße. The last idea is to record time by means of atmospheric pressure, and a Pneumatic Clock Company has been started in Paris, which promises to provide clocks and lay on the time with as much regularity as water or gas. The charge i per clock is to be five centimes, or a half penny per diem, and for this sum the company will supply the clock, set it going by air current, and regulate it exictly by observatory time. Tile invention was seen in full swing three years ago in Vienna, but it was only brought to Paris at the time of the Exhibition of (878. The arrangement seems perfectly simple. Steam power is utilised at tlbie headquarters station to fill large reservoirs with compreasfld airs' this air is released minute by minute, and under a very slight pressure is directed into another receptacle, wherein are the mouthpieces of Jthe various tubes leading, as gas or water pipes do, to all parts of the town. Rnshing along these the air acts inataneoualy upon all the clocks belonging to the company. The Pneumatic Clock Company has the support of science, and among its directors are to be found many of the most distinguished scientists and capitalists of Frarfce. Already these clocks are being established 'in the streets and throughfa^es, and there is every reason to suppose that they will shortly be generally adopted in hotels, places of business, and private nouses/ An important point ia a bigamy case is thus referred to by the Adelaide correspondent of the Melbourne Argus : — Mr C. C Kingcton, a rising young lawyer, has startled our community with a curious point he has raised in the Suprame Court, in reference to marriages solemnized according to the rubric of the Church of England since the passing of the Marriage Act of 1868-9. It was raised in connection with a bigamy case, and Mr Kingston, who defended the woman who had married a second time while her first husband was alive, contended that, according to our law, it was absolutely essential to the validity of a marriage that each of the parties to the ceremony shall say :— "I call upon these persona here present to witness that I, A. B. do take thee, C. D., to be my lawful wedded,' &c. Under the Church of England service these words are omitted, and Mr Kingston's contention ia that all the marriages that havo been celebrated according to the form adopted by the Church of England since 1868 are valid. His Honor Mr Justice Boucaut expressed the opinion that the point was one of exceeding importance, and reserved it fora more elaborate discussion before the Full Court. It is a strange point, and one that ia causing not a little speculation, not to say agitation, among a large section of the community." Wales is still the stronghold of the Mormons in Great Britain, although their army, which numbers six hundred, cannot be called a formidable one. Of course they must have their Conference like every one else ; so 150 out of the 600 assembled at Merlhyr to settle whether Mormonism was to be the religion of England when the Established Church was disestablished. As it was somewhat difficult to determine when this event would take place the discussion was deferred to a future occasion, and the Conference broke up the tune of •• Annie Lisle" and the " Men of Harlech." The play was at its height in the card-room of a well-known club, and from a distant corner was heard, " We are two to two." "By Jove, we are two to two, too," responded a player at an adjourning table. No wonder that a German there present likened our language to a French horn. An Oil City Irishman having signed the pledge, was charged soon after with having been drunk. " 'Twas me absent-mindedness," said Pat, " an* a habit I have wid talkin' wid meself I sed to rneself, sez I, « Pat, coom in an' have a dhrink.' 'No, zer,' sez I, 'I've sworn off.' • Then, I'll dhrink alone,' sez I to meself. ' An' I'll wait for ye outside,' sez I. An' whin meself cum out, faith an' he was dhrunk." Enterprising Transatlantic meat shippers appear to be a little taken aback by the success of the Strathleven experiment. Hitherto thej r have had nearly a monopoly of the trade, and have certainly organised the supply satisfactory and well. But American beef and mutton cannot compete in the long run with Australian, as the latter is superior in quality, and can be landed in England at a lower price. There is, indeed, every reason why we should encourage the Australian shipments. Although fur from entirely dependant upon external resources for our meat supply, it is yet an undoubted fact that we do ( not raise sufficient food for home consumption within the United Kingdom. Farfetched as the idea may seem, it is within the range of possibility that the British isles might be invested and starved out. So absolutely true is th's that the fact has always entered into the calculations of Army administrators who have sought to fix the strength of our military forces. We might, indeed we ought, to have an unlimited fleet, but we do not want an army larger than to repel a landing of say 300,000 invaders. Enemies strong enough to put more than this in the field wonld not invade us at all— they would try to starve us out. The picture of relief expeditions, of food convoys, and blockade runners carrying cargoes of meat and grain, is not an agreeable one to Britons, who have so long declared they never would be slaves. But it is not wildly impossible either. The moral of it is that we should always keep the islands well victualled with vast stores of biscuit and tinned meat. — Home flews. The alarm caused by the Tay Bridge disaster is producing an effect on the minds of engineers, and iron in some quarters ia looked upon with distrust. The chief engineer of the St. Gothard railway has now resolved to use stone instead of iron in the piers of tbe Kerstellenbach Viaduct, but it would probably puzzle him to give a good reason for the change. The effect of the late disaster will be felt for some time by iron-makers. Episode in a political conventioa at Titusville, Pennsylvania. The chairman : " The chair will not dispute the point with Mr Carter." Mr Carter: "Tbe chair had better not, unless he takes his coat off." The chair did not. There are 400 county courts in England and Wales, and last year 5923 plaints were issued.