Untitled

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 240, 1 December 1880, Page 2

. A Wellington paper says :— « There wa« a great crowd at the Voluuteer Drill Shed on Saturday night to witness the conclusion of Robert Croft's attempt f walk 180 miles in 48 hours. For some hours previously it was evident that Croft would be able to accomplish the task with perfect ease, and when his 180 th mile was recorded some time before the close of the final hour— -in o'clock —hit numerous admirers lent forth a shout of enthusiastic applause. A handicap go-as-you-please contest for a distance of three miles wound up the proceedings. Webber was the successful competitor." It is reported from Terawbiti (says the N.Z. Times) that the first crushing of scwt. of stone by the-three-stamper battery lately erected there has resulted in about 4dwt. of gold, which will be taken to the Museum to be tested. The owners of this small amount of the precious metal are fairly satisfied, and expect a larger yield as the crushing continues, as the first stamping by a long disused battery cannot be taken as a criterion of the worth of the stone passed through. The new track to the place is being rapidly proceeded with, being expected to be soon available for traflc, and this will be a material advantage to those working the field. There are , now from twenty-five to thirty men at work at Terawhiii, and though none appear to be on the high road to fortune, their prolonged Btay shows that their venture is paying or that they must be largely possessed of the hope which " springs eternal in the human heart." A new billiard player has, arisen at Home, who has surpassed all previous performances. His name is Mitchell, and 6n'23rd September, at Brighton, he made a break of 1839— the largest on record,

The .AT. Z. times ot Monday says :— lt transpired during the hearing of tbe smuggling case on Saturday, that tbe ladies' cabins in vessels arriving are sot searched— a fact which Mr Shaw said ought not to be published, Mr Edwards remarking that the interest of the revenue would suffer if it were known. Mr Shaw added that his experience had been that ladies are the worst smugglers— that they do not attach any moral guilt to the act of defrauding the revenue, but rather consider it a virtuous action to tbanage to import a few yards of lace or some other dutiable article and to escape paying duty on it. A certain proportion of men in each, company in the German army have now been provided with a short and handy hatchetlooking spades— a proof that the grand general staff under Marshal Count Moltke has not omitted to profit by ;the pregnant lessons of Plevna. Th N.Z. Tablet describes a curious branch of trade— that of buying babies with postage stamps, It seems that the Chinese are in the habit of exposing their infants to destruction when their families befioihe to numerous. The Bishop of Nancy formed an association for buying these outcast children and rearing them, and at first the Chinese . were willing to accept defaced postage stamps in payment, the use to which they applied them being that of ornamenting their walls with cheap material for m ed of these bright bits of paper. " The Celestials have tired of this kind of money, however, and babies must now be paid for in more substantial currency. The Dunedin Morning Herald very pertinently remarks that the colony will have the privilege of testing, on a small scale, how far the extension of gubernatorial oversight will work. It will; be remembered that in addition to acting as Governor of New Zealand, Sir Arthur Gordon will retain the administration of Fiji. It ia of course questionable bow far his .dual duties can be satisfactorily discharged. There are not a few colosistg who think that the interests of New Zealand demand the undivided attention of its Governor, and that' the performance of any outside duties must distract his attention to the injury of the colonies. On tbe other band, there are those who expect great things from Sir A. Gordon's continued Connection with. Fiji. New, Zealand, they say, will of necessity be bis headquarters, and this should draw the trade of these islands to this colony. Did the Governor of New South Wales possess the advantage of having control- of Fiji, there is no doubt but tbe Sydney merchants would make great exertions to turn that fact to account. Why then should New Zealand merchants not do the Fame? It is evident that the Home Government sees no objection to one man holding the two offices, or they would not have suggested or acquiesced in it. Experience alone can show whether the arrangement will be for the benefit of New Zealand or not; tt will depend to a great extent on the ability and discretion of Sir Arthur Gordon, and the enterprlaa of our New Zealand traders. The N«w York Tribune Bays :— On Wednesday last Postmaster James learned that the Pacific Mail steamer City of Sydney, which left Sydney on September 9, bad reachad San Francisco on October 5, two days ahead of time. She was juafc two hours too late to catch the mail train of that day, and a delay of twenty-four hours wai »n---avoidable. The schedule time from San Francisco wag two bouri too late to catch the first departing British steamer. Mr James went to the Union Pacific office in this city and represented the facts to Sydney Dillon, and asked if a special coiilcl sot be put on to catch the regular mail train of tbe day before. S. H. H. Clarke, General Manager of the Union Pacific at Omaha, and A N.Towne, General Superintendent of the General Pacific at San Francisco, were present. " Where is tbe train with tbe mail at this time ?" Dillon asked of Towne. "On tbe Humbold Division somewhere," was tbe reply. "Can a special train catch the other train ?" he asked. Clarke replied in the affirmative, but added : " We shall have to run the special a thousand miles, and it will cost a thousand dollars. 0 " Don't care what it costs," replied Dillon, "do it.'' Tbe telegraph wfcs put' into requisition, and it was done. The regular mail train was overtaken at Omaha The Australian mail car was attached ; last night at S.I B it was landed in the city, and to-day it goes by the Arizona to England. If the vessel makes schedule time, the trip from Sydney will have been made in tbe shortest time on record, about forty days. Here is a curiosity Of advertising, extracted from a circular of a New York dentist to young ladies about to be married:—" Having heard tbe bappy news of your approaching marriage, I have the pleasure of offering you my services in sstting your teeth in complete order, as per annexed schedule of price. This operation, which is useful in all ordinary events of lift, is indispenaible under the circumstances. The first impressions of married life are ineffaceable, and their consequences of the greatest gravity. I therefore cannot too strongly advise you to have your teeth thoroughly cleaned by a bkilfui and conscientious practitioner." « Wouldn't you like to bave a bow ? " said the bold young arcber as they sauntered down the field, and ahs murmured " yes," and th« absorbed archer said, " What kind of a bow would you prefer? " Shß quivered a little as she replied archly, "I tbink I should prefer yew," and then the young man took it in, and although he was an arrow-chested youth, be went to the target a»d heaved a bull's sigh, A fond mother in Valparaiso, on hearing that as earthquake was coming, sent her boys to a friend's ia the country to escape it. After a few days she received a note from the friend, saying "Take your boys away and send along tho earthquake instead." A flower grower in Germany has five acres under crop with lilies of the valley; they all find their way to English markets.