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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 241, 11 October 1880, Page 2

One of the most striking characteristics of the late session, says the Christchurch Press was tho almost total absenco of organised: party discussion. The members on tho , Ministerial sido of the House kept as much * as possible silent, while tho Opposition was practically obliterated by the personal jealouiies and antipathies prevailing in its ranks. One by one the recognised party leaders re-, into tired the dim, uncertain shades of I' mod- : erai ion ;" — a kind of hypocrisy much affected ' by disappointed politicians— and their place was unblushingly usurped by the Seddons and! Downie Stewarts and Turnbulls, who bullied and bored and blustered to their hearts' content, but in the most futile aimless fashion, throughout the long, hateful days and nights that went to make up the session. Hansard ceased to be a narrative of Parliament in any, sort of historical sense. It became a suffocating compilation of stupid discourses, only incidentally connected with politics at all, and totally devoid of the bare essentials of debate. In pursuance of instructions received from , the Government, the seven men seutenced some months ago to a year's imprisonment: for making an attack upon a procession of Orangemen in the vicinity of Barrett's Hotel, Christchurch, were on Saturday last Bet &t liberty. It was represented to the Government that the punishment already undergone by the prisoners was sufficiently severe to atone for their offence, and that since their confinement in the Lyttletou gaol their con- : duct had been exemplary. Tho remaining prisoners, four in number, who received asentence of eighteen months' imprisonment, have been informed that should their conduct continue to be all that could be desired they will be liberated early next month. A dreadful occurrence was recently witnessed in the market place at Leightoj Buzzard. A travelling negro fire-eater war performing on a stand. Having executed : several feats with red-hot iron, he filled bi« i mouth with benzoline, saying that he would; burn it as he allowed it to escape. When be ; had applied a lighted match to his lips, how- ■. ever, the spirit .took fire, running all over his : face, neck, and chest, and burning him in a, fearful manner. He dashed from his Btand, and raced about like a madman among the i crowd, tearing his clothes from him and howl- .] ing with agony. A portion of the spirit was ; swallowed, and tho inside of his mouth was J terribly burned. He was taken into a. chemist's shop, and oils were applied; but 1 afterwards he escaped in a state of frenzy from a lodgiug-house, and wbb captured by (he police and taken to the workhouse infirmary. : A short time ago a party of friendly Zulub l\ gave an exhibition at Chesterfield, and one of ij the band, who assumed the role of the " Zulu ; Queen," became so enamoured of the place. | or the crooked spire, that "her Majesty", : desired to remain, and declined to accompany ; i . the rest of the party to "pastures new." An '}. 1 enterprising innkeeper, with an eye to busi ; 1 ness, engaged the " Zulu Queen " as barmaid '■:■ '• at 6s. per week and rations. Whilst serving ': 1 in this humble capacity, the Zulu appro- ( ; priated a sum of money and a gold watch , belonging to the landlord, and during the in- i : vestigatiou with raference to the missing j property left the bouse. The <■ Queen/' who j was subsequently found at auo.ther inn,; j understanding that an offence against the , j English law had been committed, took to ; ; flight. A chase ensued, and "she" was:! ! captured, about £14 and "the. watch being ; f Qund bq " her " person. .. It wai thereupon i discovered, that the "Zulu Queen " was a i man, and that, although he went by the name j of tjngami Wallah, his real name was Thomai ; John Wilson, alias George Williams. The | landlord had all along themght that Un garni ' waa'a woman. : - The Moscow Gazette contains the follow- ; ing intelligence from Koursk : — " On the ; 1 6th August, an explosion took place at 7p m. '. at the laboratory attached to the Artillery ' workshops of the military district, situated at Kourßk. Eighteen artillerymen at work ; were killed or wounded. Tha men were eni gaged filling explosive shells ; one was dropped and exploded, causing the explosion of the rest of the powder and sheila lying ; about the place. Six bodies were soon rei covered from the burning remains of the workshops, and 12 sufferers, most o£ whom are dangerously injured, were Bent to the ! hospital. None of the officers or foremen j were on the spot when the explosion took : place. Several persons are reported as mis- ; sing, but are not yet included in the list of ! the killed, aB it is hoped they may shortly ; turn up. Under the heading "A peculiar case," the Pajss tells the following story: — Some time ago Mr J. Ivess of Ashburton sued a collec- : tor, named Martin, in the Magistrate's Court there for the recovery of a debt amounting to £6 13s. It appears that the amount iu dispute formed part of a much larger Bum, the balance of which plaintiff had received, and on the ground of non jurisdiction the plaintiff was. non-suited. Subsequently the case waa taken to the District Court, where it was dismissed by Judge Ward, who said that the amount sought to be recovered was below his jurisdiction, and that ho could see now reason why the lower Court declined to adjudicate. On Tuesday last the case was again henrd before Mr Guinness, at Ash' burton, and met the same fate as on tho firs occasion. The plaintiff, who thus finds himself in the novel position of being unable to obtain a settlement either in the Magistrate's or District Court, has stated a case for the Court of Appeal, and as the points involved possess more than ordinary interest for business men, a decision, one way or tbp other, h \yiU.be very desirable, *•»

The N. Z. Times learns from its Greytown correspondent that a day or two ago two settlers, named Welch and Tillwood, were in the bush on the west side of the Waiobine river, when they observed lying agninst the upturned trunk of a large tree the skeleton of a man, and further search showed portions of male clothing. It is supposed that the skeleton is the remains of a man named Daniels, who was missing some twelve months since from the Woodside railway works, and who fit the time he disappeared was laboring under an attack of delirium tremens. It is said this individual was a discharged patient from the Christchurch Lunatic Asylum;- An inquest will probably be held as soon as the remains can be brought over the river. An instance of the manner in which Te Whlti influences the actions of his people was made to appear recently in the Taranaki police cells. A native was locked up for being drunk, and on being taken out of the cell he was requested to sign the " properly sheet " for his pipe and tobacco. The native refused to comply, (saying that Te Whiti hud forbidden his people to sign their names to any paper. The constable informed the native that ho could not get his pipe and tobacco until he signed his name, but the native held out and said he would lose his tobscco first. Virtue always carries its reward, atid the faithful follower of Te VVbiti bad the double satisfaction of obeying liis master's commands, and also receiving his pipe and tobacco. The Imperial pensioners at Auckland complain bitterly of having to pay duty, under the new Stamp Act, for the receipt of Imperial pensions. Staff Sergeant-Major Speight protested a»ainsi it as illegal, and told Colonel Haultain that he would forward a protest to the War Office, on the ground that the Acts of" the colonial Legislature could not over-ride the Act of the Imperial Parliament, under which soldiers are enlisted. Mr Charles Winchester, advocate, Aberdeen, has died in the 100th year of his age. He was the oldest lawyer in Scotland, and was a schoolfellow of Lord Byron. The average annual expenditure of the Melbourne Mint for the last five years was nearly £14,000. The average annual receipts for the same period were £8445. A man and three girls, all employed as compositors in the Brooklyn Eagle office, contributed 25 cents each towards buying a half ticket in a lottery, for which they paid one iollar. They won the chief prize of 30,000 dols., to one-half of which they are entitled. An epitaph in a cemetery in France thus raiDgles grief and business :— " Here lies Madame Bertrand, wife of M. Bertrand, marble-cutter. Thi3 monument is a specimen of his work } cost, 15,000 franca." Plague and famine are ravaging parts of Russia. They are passing from village to village in the'Don district. All the granaries are empty, and there appears to be an absolute dearth of money At the Central Criminal Court, London, recently, Walter Cronk, who forged !and dishonored acceptances on the Union Bank of Australia for £6000, was sentenced to seveu years' penal servitude. Humour hath it that Mr Sheehan is going to get another goodly retainer in respect to the Murimotu Land Court. They say he got £800 on his first brief for Patetere. This is better than a Ministerial portfolio. Some years ago a youog fellow who bad been shabbily treated by bis very rich father came to the colonies with a very slender purse. He was remarkably Bteady in his habits, energetic and shrewd, and often told i hose who knew him well that he meant to make money, not because he loved . wealth, but in order that he might be able to " wear a good coat, smoke a good cigar, and snap his fingers at his rich relatives." It was quite evident that bitter memories haunted him, for hia anxiety to accumulate sufficient wealth was bo great as to seem a perfect mania. lie made money, but his health declined. He died rather suddenly, and his not inconsiderable fortune has descended, strangely enough, to those of his kindred who, though affluent, were too mean to let him participate in their riches while they still lived. A correspondent at Constantinople writes to a London newspaper: — '-Hobart Pasha wrote an exceedingly mischievous letter to a local paper, calculated to do serious barm and to serve no useful object whatever. He says if the report be true that Jannin.i, Larissa, and Prcvcsa arc to be given to the Greeks, all he can say is that a more iniqui- ■ tous thing has never been done since civilisatioa dawned in Europe. Russia behaved much better, lie thinks, than Europe will be doing. He says Turkey may well ask, ' Why did I ever listen to the counsel of England ? Why did I ever stop my troops when Servia was at my feet ? Why did I not wipe out Greece when I could have done it with a word? Why did I not accept the hand offered me by Russia when, having defeated me in fair fight, she was willing to be my friend? .For the future the Turks trill declare they are sold, thrice sold. He eoncludes, after more abuse of his country, by hoping the news is not true. The letter is the more mischievous because it is just possible the Turks may imagine that Hobart Pasha may represent in some way the English Government, and that in that crisis, as in a former one, England may be speaking with two contrary voices."