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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 199, 21 August 1880, Page 2

The Government (says the Chronicle) were rather hasty with their retrenchment circular, in wbicb it was announced that all pensions, as well as salaries, paid by the Government would be reduced ten per cent. This was ratter too much for the gentlemen in receipt of pensions, and after taking legal advice on the point, a small army of them threatened to take legal proceedings against the Government if any ten per cent reduction were attempted with ibeir pensions. As the pension allowances are iv the nature of an accrued debt, the Government found upon inquiry that they had been guilty of an oversight, and at once cancelled the obnoxious circular, so far at least as pensions are concerned. A correspondent, vvritiug to the N. Z. Times about the disgraceful state of the Wellington cemetery, states that " a friend of his, who had been a medical student, has experienced in passing through the cemetery, in close muggy weather, tho distinct and peculiar smell of the dissecting room, and he mentions also that a man some little time since was digging a, post- hole there, and as he did so the cavity became filled with water, the exhalation from which was so poisonous that he was sent away sick and vomiting, and was confiued to bed for two or three days afterwards."-— lt is not surprising that there is bo much sickness in Wellington when it is remembered that the cemetery referred to is in the heart of the town. An Auckland telegram reports the death from appolexy of the Hon. Colonel Kenny, M.L.C. The deceased gentleman was over 70 years of age, and was tbe oldest member of the Legislative Council, having been appointed on the 26th March, 1853. In 1847, when a major in the Imperial Army, he came to Auckland in charge of one of the four batches of military settlers sent out by the Home Government. Colonel Kenny was very attentive to his legislative duties until the end of the session of 1878, when his increasing age and infirmities prevented him from coming to Wellington, and he was granted leave of absence. The deceased gentlemen leaves two sons and two daughters, one of the former being District Judge at Napier. The oldest member of the Legislative Council now i 9 the Hon. Major Richmond, C.8., he having been appointed a day after Colonel Kenny* The Christchurch Echo of Monday last, makes the following remarks in reference to Matthew Henderson who committed suicide in Wellington on Wednesday last: — At last 1 The bubble has burst, and bow this man has been trusted ly ministers of all denominations of religion and other weak-headed nincompoops, has always bean to us a mystery. He told his wife on Saturday — than whom no better woman lives — that he was going down to Dunedin to wind up a bankruptcy estate. She puts the same implicit faith in his assertions that Bbc has done to her misery, through a series of years, and bids her spouse an affectionate farewell. This bright character, this member of school committees and all the rest of it, instead of going to Dunedin, makes a most futile attempt to levant with a young girl, one of his numerous victims, to San Francisco. He took his passage on Saturday, and we draw a veil over their further proceedings until yesterday, when a warrant was issued for his arrest. The girl was a teacher iv the very school of the committee of which he was; a most exalted member. We leave the subject < for the nonce, and again express our wonder how any sane man — not to say anything of women— could take such a curse to society into their confidence. Quite a curiosity in the army of insolvent debtors (says a Wellington paper) ,is Mrs ! Amelia West. Her assets are n»/> and she has only one creditor, to whom sbe is indebted in the sum of £25. To escape paying that amouut, Amelia, who " appears in person," has had to expend £1 for filing bier declaration, three shillings for filing her statement of assets and liabilities, and will have to shell out a few more shillings before the Chief Justice smilingly assures her that sbe " can take an order of discharge." The City of Glasgow Bank, whose smash ruined so many people, and caused such a consternation in the commercial world a few years ago, is still exercising some attention at the present time. It now transpires that amongst the assets, held by the. Bank was a gold reef, which ; has proved 'very rich, and it is thought that possibly it will return a sufficient yield to enable a refund-to be made to those shareholders who weathered the storm and paid part of the Bank debts. ; .. The dial of St. 'Paul's clock, London, is 17ft lOin in diameter, the minute band is 9ft Bin and the. hour-hand sft Bin long. The New York Mercantile Journal gives a report of a sermon preached through the telephone by- Mr Beecher, with two transmitters under the pulpit, connected through the central office of the Bell Telephone Company with about fifty different places in and about tbe city. The success was perfect. During the Derby week, the cricketers, Murdock i ;Bannerman,iat»d Boyle, took a run over to Paris, and enjoyed themselves much ; .whilst -{he majority of tr'a others went to Epsom and saw Arche grand bit of jockeyship on Bend Or.

" Gentlemen of the jury," said an Irish barrister, "it will be for you to say whether this defendant shall be allowed to come into . court with unblushing footsteps, with the cloak of hypocrisy in his mouth, and draw three bullocks out of my client's pocket with impunity." The Baroness Burdett-Coutts has never married— it is said she is too homely to be attractive, and will not be married for her money. She is rather below the medium height, with a prominent nose, and hair brnshed tightly over the temples ifl the good bld-fa'shinoned way, and has a bad complexion which makes her look as if she drank to excess, although she is very abstemious. Mr Berry (says a contemporary) uses the most unsavoury similes. Iv his speech at Geelong the other day he said, "If you could not pick a lock with the usual implement, would it be inconsistent to use a crowbar to burst the door open ? " Here we have the Berry policy in a nutshell. " No girl gets aloflg well without a mother," aays a moral contemporary. This may be true, but hereabouts girls work harder to get mothers-in-law than they, do to get mothers* ' In Committee on the Payment of Members Bill the other day Mr Shephard moved that £210 be struck out and the amount be fixed at £105.— Dr Wallissaid that their work wad quite as onerous! as that performed by ministers. If these ministers tterfc paid £1,000, that amount should be divide! into four, which would make the honorarium £25(1. He would vote that the amount be not less than £210. — Mr Seddon said the member for Waimea might be able to do with £105, as he was a newspaper editor, who was doing his work all the time he was here.— Mr Shephard protested that the remark was a gross insult to hitn.— Mr Seddon said he would put his remark in a general way j he would, however, insist upon the bill going oUj — Mr Shephard said the remarks of the previous speaker could not be resented in a way such remarks would be in the case of a man of more refined sensibilities ; that, however,, was impossible iv the case of Mr Seddon. He denied that his ordinary avocation was that of an editor. It was that of Bheep farmer. He would press bis motion to a division, and if it did not succeed he would take other divisions that would possibly occupy the whole night. If it did no other good, it would show the Government, the necessity of bringing down next session a measure to settle the matter finally. — Mr Swanson said that there were as good men in that House when the honorarium was £105, as now that it is £210. If the expense of a successful candidate was a fair charge, as had been agreed by the member for Wairarapa, against the honorarium, then what provision was to be made for the expense of unsuccessful candidates? It was very unfair that members living in Wellington, none of whom, by the way, were present, should be paid anything at all. These men could attend to their own business, or, as he supposed they had done tonight, go quietly home to their beds. It was most unfair that these men should be paid at all.— A motion made that the chairman leave the chair, was put and carried on a division, by 25 to 20.