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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 239, 8 October 1880, Page 2

The Morning Herald hears that an adtidn will he heard ih one of the Dunedin Courts in whicli the plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of £100 .for damages alleged to have been cruised to'tiis cattle by pieces bf wire mixed with chart j\ hich bad been put through • " a- wire binder." A pwl mortem having been held on the cattle in question,' pieces of wire were found in them. ' \ Tho'Christchurch Press of Saturday says:— An influentially.Bigned petition was forwarded to the Government a few days ago,- praying for a-re-consideration of the decision to re- . move, Mr* Guinness, the Resident Magistrate. To thi3 a reply has been received to the . ..effect that before receiving tbe petition the Government had niade arrangements for the removal of Mr Gruintiess, wbich could hot be departed from, and that these arrangements, „ had been made in compliance, with a necessity fbr retrenchment in the public service. The following is an extract from a private ' rlettef recently received in" Tirharu from a •businessman in Wellington: — "Wellington is yerypdpr. We have a'large working and useless population, but really no moneyed people. In fact you would be surprised what ; a miserable place it is . considering that it ia the Seat of. Government.. * * * * The only people who do enjoy {themselves a little are the middle class, and just now thay are all at their wits' ends to make both ends meet. In all my travels I never saw suoh bad times as exiat in Wellington at present, and it will be years before tbe place-recovers. The population has decreased at least 4000. There are over 400 houseß ! empty. Rentß are reduced from 30s to 15s per week. Land haa fallen from £15 to £7 per 'foot, arid I see no sign of a riso taking place. No building, no work, and the people clearing out daily ; such is the present state of-the Empire City. There is, however, plenty of money in the hands of solictors to advance on mortgage, but no security is forthcoming. , The special correspondent of the Lyttelton Times, at Wellington, writes :— " The whole Cabinet will . soon be iff harness, and one of the first tasks to which they will devotte themselves will, it is expected, be a redistribution of portfolios. Notwithstanding statements to the contrary, it is quite on the cardthat tbis may involve a reorganisation, tp the extent of the moat unpopular member of the Ministry retiring more or less gracefully. At all events, should he retain hia portfolio, it will be in the face of exceedingly plain hints from soma of hia colleague!, and from the Press generally, that he has mistaken his vocation." William Rrown, a burly Dane, possessing a pair bf understandings of extraording dimensions, was recently committed for trial, on a charge of breaking into the cellar of the Railway Hotel, New Plymouth, and stealing half a gallon of ale. When the landlord arose he found that hia cellar door had boen pushed open, that the tap had been knocked out of a hogshead of ale, and that the hogshead was empty ; be also missed > a large watering-can. Fortunately he also discovered in the cellar the prints of a large pair of feet, and at 500 yards from the premises ho found similar impresions on the sand. Following theie footprints he was led to tha sand hills, where he found the accused asleep with the lost water can at his head and h-lf-a-galion of ale remaining iv it. Leaving tha Dane to enjoy his drunken slumber a little longer, tbe landlord returned to town and communicated with the police, and the D-ue awoke in tho arms of justice. Our new Governor (says the Auckland Herald) is to be endowed with most exceptional functions. We were somewhat Burprised when we found that Sir Arthur Gordon, besidea being Governor of NowZealamL was to retain his great and despotic powers at High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. But'w'e hoar now in addition that he is atill to retain n general supervision over the affairs of Fiji. It will be rather difficult for Sir Arthur Gordon to keep clearly in his mind the lines of his different jurisdictions. Another question arises. Is this arrangement temporary or permanent ? There was no apparent necessity for continuing Sir Arthur. Gordon's power amongst the groups of, the Pacific when he had become the con- ] stitutiqnal head of New Zealand. But -the one idea which has dominated tho Colonial; Office of late years has been confederation.; The Dominion of Canada is an accomplished ' fact, strenuous efforts have been made to bring the South African colonies together. Australia has been talked to encouragingly, 1 and it may now be desired to consolidate _ in \ some degree the many islands of the Pacific over which we havo attempted to establish some law and order, and to teach them to look to New Zealand as their head. Plenty of hia sort.— Lord Cairns, when travelling from Oxford to London, was unfortunate enough to get into a compartment J of the train which had to be slipped at the. Hanwell Station. Finding himaelf thus left behind, and that he would bave to wait, his Lordship thought that he would kill time by making an inspection of the famous lunatic apylum. He accordingly presented himself' at the gate, rang the bell, and was speedily : accosted by a porter attired in the well-known uniform of the asylum, who asked him what he wanted. "Oh," said the Chancellor "1 i merely want, as a matter of curiosity and in- | tcrest, to look through" the establishment." \ " Where is your order ? " demanded tbe por- ! tar. To thia his Lordahip, replied that he had i not obtained one, but added, ." I, shall not 1 want one, and you will merely-haye to take I my- c.rd aB your authority for admitting me." | " Buttmy orderß," said the porter, "are not 1 to/admit anyone without a properly signed order, and I must not leave my post to carry iv any cards" "But my man," responded Lord Cairns, "I am Lord Chancellor of England;" upon wbich the porter burst into a loud laugh, and, with _ comic leer in hia eye, remarked, pointing with his thumb backwards in the direction of the asylum, " We ■ have three or four Lord Chancellors here, and Archbiakopß of Canterbury too." St Enoch Station, Glasgow, ia now permanently lit by electricity. There are six lamps, three on each aide of the Btation. Each lamp gives a light equal to 6000 standard, candles, and when it ia known that the total lighting power of the ga» on the platform was believed to be 4750 candles, the difference may be eaaily nnderßtood. A San Francisco' man went to a dentist, while temporarily insane, and said that ha wanted his teeth all extracted. The dentist advised him not to get rid of them as they were sound ; but he insisted, arguing that a false set would be far handier and more comfortable. Ab, ha did not seem crazy, the dentist performed tha job. On recovering his reason he brought a suit for 5,000 dollars damages under tho Californian law against professional malpractice.