Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, ISBO.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 246, 16 October 1880, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 16, ISBO.

The death is announced to-day of District Judge Mansford, who for several years has held the position of District Judge and Resi- . dent Magistrate in Wellington, where he was highly respected both in his private and official capacity. He hud been ailing for several months past, and latterly had been relieved of bis duties by Judge Shaw, but a

few weeka ago he returned to Wellington in the hope of being able to resume his work. This, however, he found impossible, and in the early part of this week he was granted leave of absence for twelve months, wbicb be proposed to spend in paying a visit to Europe. His death, which took place at Dunedin, must have been quite unexpected, as he was at the time just about to start on his tour. The vacancy thus created in the Judgesbip will probably lead to the reinstatement of one of the District Judges whose services have just been dispensed with. A considerable muddle appears to have been made with reference to the gathering of the Sunday school children, no notification ot the postponement having been seut to Molueka, in cousc'quehce of which the children accompanied by tho teachers came over in the Lady Barkly this morning, and were greatly disappointed to find that their visit was iu vain. Wi'h telegraphic communication between here and Motueka, surely it would not have been too much to expect of the Secretaries that they should cuard against such a blunder by the despatch of a shilling message. Mr H. Frkisman, of the Port, has just built a splendid double sculling outrigger to the order of the Nelson Rowing Club. She is 30 feet long, with a breadth of 2 feet 3 inches, and is constructed of well seasoned kauri, wbicb is prettily stained so as to represent cedar. We understand that the cost of this boat was far below what one could be imported for, while the whole of the money was kept in the place. She is now open for inspection in the Naval Brigade boat shed. A jiketing was held at the Choral Hall, Wakcfield, ou Weduesdny evening, for the purpose of forming an Auti-shouting Club. Mr VV. Ladley was called to the chair, and the following resolution was passed ou the motion of Mr Burrow: — ''That an Antishouting Club be now formed, and that (he entrance fee (to defray expenses) be fixed at one shilling." The names of several intending members were then taken down, and officers were elected as follows: — President, Mr R. J. Malcolm; Secretary, Mr J. W. Humphreys; Treasurer, Mr 11. Banks. The next meeting will be held iu about a fortnight, when it is expected that a large number will be added to the roll of members. Our Christchurch telegrams to-day refer to the critical state of a young mau named Pearse who was accidentally shot while walking on the bank of the Avon on Wednesday last. According to the statement made by the sufferer, who was removed to the Hospital, he was walking by the river side when he hearu* shots and the thud of a bullet. While looking about him, another shot was fired, and a bullet struck the side of his leg at the knee joint. At the hospital it waa found that a circular piece had been cut out of the man's trousers, corresponding with the bullet wound as described. No bullet could be detected with the probe. The Customs receipts for the week ending to-day amounted to £738 4s sd. Tub Bishop of Nelson will preach on "The Sunday Schcols and the Church" at All Saints Church to morrow morning, at Clifton iu the afternoon, and at Christ Church iu the evening During hi3 short visit to Nelson, Sir William Fox is devoting himself to the public service, not in a political but in a social sense, and has undertaken on every evening to deliver a lecture either in town or couutry : To-morrow evening at Bishopdale ; on Monday, at Wakefield, when he will repeat his American experiences ; on Tuesday at Appleby, where he will deliver a Bible lecture ; ou Wednesday he will relate, in the WesleyEn Church, his personal reminiscences of travels in Egypt and the Holy Land ;on Thursday he will deliver a lecture on Temperance at the Port Public Hall ; and on Friday, at the Theatre, on the "History of the Euglish Bible." Our telegrams state that private letters received in Dunedin by the mail state that Sir Julius Vogel is likely to return to New Zealand to enter once more into the field of politics. It will be interesting to watch the party complications that will arise should he again come forward as a leader in the House. The members of the Naval Brigade and H Battery intend taking a trip in the Aurora to-morrow morning to Motueka, where they will attend a church parade, returning to Nelson in the afternoon. In an exceedingly pleasant and chatty way, Sir William Fox last night related to a numerous audieuce at the Temperance Hall an interesting narrative of his experiences in America on the occasion of his various visits to that country. Starting from Auckland, he gave a short but comprehensive account of what is to be seen at Honolulu duriug the steamer's stoppage there, and then proceeded to describe the sights of San Francisco, including the Chinese quarter. The luxurious cars on the railway were described iu detail, and a lifelike picture was drawn of the wonderful Yosemite Valley, with its rocky walls a mile in height, its scores of waterfalls ranging from 900 to 2600 feet, and the gigantic trees, over 200 feet in height and thirty feet in diameter, by the side of which the biggest totara or kauri tree would appear " a baby's walking stick." Chicago was also graphically described, and an idea of the progress that had been made in the country round about it was conveyed to his hearers by a comparison between what Sir William saw on his last visit and on a previous one twenty years before. At the earlier date, being anxious to see a prairie, he drove a mile out of town, and found himself in the dreary solitude of a vast plain without a habitation or a sign of cultivation. On his last visit, for 500 miles before arriving at the town he was travelling through well cultivated cornfields dotted with villages and occasionally with towns of from 10,000 to 15,000 inhabitants, all this being the growth of twenty years. The working of the Maine Liquor Law was well described, and shown to be an almost perfect success, and a graphic account was given of the women's crusade against the liquor traffic. We cannot attempt to give even the barest outline of the lecture, which lasted for an hour an threequarters, during the whole of which time the interest never flagged, but we would strongly recommend all in the Waimea who are within reach of the Wakefield Choral Hall to attend there on Monday, when they will have an opportunity of spending as pleasant an evening as they could possibly desire. At the close of the lecture, votes of thanks were very heartily accorded to Sir William Fox and the Bishop of Nelson, who occupied the chair.. The amount secured by mortgage in the colony during the nine months ending March last was £2,907,317. The total amount of mortgages to that date was £11,512,132, made up as follows — Auckland, £596,5^3; Otago, £2,359,045 ; Canterbury, £5,095,532; Wellington, £1,543,702 ; Nelson, £212,117 ; Southland, £544,684; Hawke's ßay, £9Bß,6s7; Westland, £120,975 ; Marlborough, £83,224. Information has reached us (jnangahua Herald) of the discovery of 'gold-bearing quartz iu the Matakitaki district, but at present we have no positive information regarding it and we merely give it for what its is worth. The well-known prospector, Harry Allen, is out in the district. The experience of our patent laws by a Christchurcb inventor is that it costs from £38 to £40 to take out a patent, and that the patentee has to wait six weeks before he can consider himself safe. The Marlborough Express says: — An advertisement appears in the Nelson papers convening a meeting at Wakefield for the purpose of forming an " Anti-shouting Society." B'rom a knowledge of the district we are under the impression such an institution is greatly needed, and we wish the promoters every success.