The Nelson Evening Mails. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1880.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 204, 27 August 1880, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mails. FRIDAY, AUGUST 27, 1880.

A startling announcement to the effect that £100,000 of the public money, or stores of that value, were missing, nobody knew how, was made in the House the other night by the Minister for Pu.blic Works. . It occurred during a discussion in Committee of Supply, but as Committee proceedings are not reported, the matter does not appear to have become public, the first intimation of it that we have received being through the columns of the Pest of Wednesday last, where we find the following :— " During the discussion which took place in Committee of Supply regarding the estimates for the Public Works Department, a very grave statement was made by the Minister for Public Works, which somewhat unaccountably seems to have been generally overlooked. Mr Eichardson having asked the value of the railway stores in hand, Mr Oliver replied that he could not state the exact value, but stock was taken recently, and ho was sorry to say that a very large deficiency was discovered by the AuditorGeneral in the accounts. He added that tbe information on this point was not so defiuite in its character as to % permit him to go into the matter very fully, but the deficiency was of such a magnitude as to require immediate investigation. Mr Shrimski asked how the deficiency arose, and whether it was in consequeuce of any misconduct on the part of any officer of the Department. Mr OUiver replied that no allegations had been made against any officer of the Department ; but he was informed that the deficiency he had alluded to : was over £100,000. This startling announcement not unnaturally created both amazement and consternation in the House. Mr Stevens asked if the deficiency extended over the period since 1871. Mr Oliver said the Comptroller had drawn his atteution to the fact that the deficiency existed, and he did not consider he would be doing his duty if he did not inform the House of the matter." A more extraordinary statement was certainly never made in tbe New Zealand Legislature, and it will be strange indeed if the Parliament is prorogued without some further notice being taken of it. The following report of the trivial charge of assault brought against Mr Acton Adams on Tuesday last is from the Pont of Weduesday: — Before Mr E.Shaw, E M., yesterday afternoon, a woman named Mrs Cecilia Stewart proceeded against Mr Acton Adams, member for Nelson, for having, as alleged, committed an assault upon her on Wednesday evening last. Neither party was represented by counsel, and the circumstances of the case were of an extremely trumpery character. It appeared that Mr Adams is the trustee in connection with certain property in Blenheim in which the prosecutrix was interested. Mrs Stewart deposed that , for the past nine years she had been endeavoring to bring about a settlement of her affairs, and on Wednesday evening she and her sister — Mrs Ellen Perkius — went to defendant's lodgings to see him concerning the matter. At first he treated her with marked civility, but as she began to create a disturbance in the house and pour out a storm of abuse, he asked her to leave the house. He withdrew from the sitting-room where the interview took place, and she followed him into the hall, when he placed his hand lightly on her shoulder and showed her the door. There was no evidence to indicate that he ill-used her in the slightest degree. On the contrary, it was shown that he acted with great forbearance and in such a manner as could have been expected of him under tbe circumstauces. It was also shown that he had never received any money on account of Mrs Stewart's affaira for the period mentioned, and that it was exceedingly problematical whether anything was due to her While giving her evidence, Mrs Stewart's behaviour was most excited, aud it was with the utmost difficulty that she could be prevailed upon to answer the interrogations of the Court. His Worship said it was not within his province to deal with the matters affecting the defendant's position as a trustee. If the complainant had any grievance on that score— and from the evidence it seemed to him that she had not — she ought to go to the proper tribunal in the ordinary way. He was satisfied that there had been no assault, and therefore the charge was dismissed. The prosecutrix and her sister left the Court together, heaping a torrent of angry words on Mr Adams, and threatening to take the matter before Mr Mansford. A veey fine sample of hops, that will take a good deal of beating, grown and dried by Mr Thomas Harley, has been on view for the last day or two at Mr Hadfield's shop, in Trafalgar-street, and will be forwarded today to the Melbourne Exhibition, where we hope that they will show that our Nelson hop growers are able to hold their own against the world. An Auckland telegram of Monday sayg : — A man named O'Brien, Sergeant-Major of the Eifle Battalion, met with a singular accident at the Auckland Timber Company's sawmills. While working at a circular saw a splinter of wood flew out, piercing his cheek and tongue and transfixing them. He has since had to be fed with a tube, but it is believed he will recover Bhortly. Our telegrams to-day report that twelve more Maori prisoners will be brought into New Plymouth to-night. Last night the Hinemoa arrived at Lyttelton with sixty-six of these gentlemen, making altogether 149 who are now in custody on the fenciug charge. Add to these the " political ploughmen,'' and the total number of Maori mouths to be fed at the public expense must . be something considerable, although it is, perhaps, the least expensive way of dealing with the " native difficulty." The entries for the Nelson Carbine Club's second handicap will close to-morrow evening at 9 o'clock. In order to make up so far as possible the loss sustained by the reduction of the beer duty (says the Post of the 25th inst.) the Property Assessment Amendment Bill will, we believe, be virtually dropped — that is, the exemption clauses will not be proceeded with, and only the schedule simplifying the mode of sending in returns will be brought forward. Very little work beyond passing the Supplementary Estimates remains now to be done, and it is expected that the session will practically terminate on Friday, although the formal prorogation may not take place before Monday or Tuesday next. . The Hinemoa will probably lea.c with the Northern members on Sunday, and some of the Southern members will take their departure on Friday by one of the Union Company's boats. One would imagine (says the local Times) that either money must be very abundant in Eeef ton, or the taste for floriculture at a rather high pitch. At Campbell's sale the other day some camellias, which to our recollectiou is a vegetable with a flower something like a potato blossom, fetched as high as £2 a piece. The art of baking bread (says tbe Wellington Chronicle) ia not altogether unattended with difficulties, as Mr, Mcl.ntyre and las merry men of Tory-street can testify. The dough was mixed, the trough was filled, and all went merry as a marriage bell,' when crash came the big brick chimney of the establishment into the bakehouse, this little pleasing attention to Mr Mclntyre being bestowed by the gale, which raged fast and furiously. Mr Mclntyre ia of opinion that co far at any rate as brick chimneys are

concerned, he wou jd rather hare an earthquake than a gale. : • ..