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Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 260, 24 December 1880, Page 2

The luclc;of the Beresfords i« proverbial. It is not long since, says the Hem*New,that Lord William, V Ulundi Beresford," a* bo i« called, boucht the Bend Or t.ickst in tbe celebrated Umljalla sweep, realising thereby some £10,000 or £12,000. More recently he purchased half the share of Robert tha Devil for the St. Leger in tbig same Umballa speculation,, and as the sweep was worth' between £6000 and £7000 the result was another remarkable succeis. The Czar's grand new yacht Livadia is lighted by electricity, and during the voyage across the Channel a seaman placed his hand so as to divert the current from one of the lamps to his body. He was struck dead instantaneously, and the tissues were so rent and bleckened that, though onljr four hours from port, it was necessary to bury the body at sea. ■ A recent Auckland telegram' eays : — Hitherto there has been very little resorting of wool done here after it waa sold «t auction, and cheats which have been perpetrated have not been discovered until after the wool arrived in London, where no proceeding could be taken here apaihit offenders. Thi" year, however,.* different policy is being pursued. Several large purchasers are having all the bales and packages opened after sale, the wool taken wholly out, carefully examined and re-sorted. This work has brought to light a greater degree of iniquity than was. every imagined to exist. So bad are some of the evil practices which have already been detected that some of the original sellers have had to come to such terms as were satisfactory to buyers. In one case the packing of a number of bales of wool was so carefully and syetemstically done that no doubt could exist at to tbe intention of the vendors. Mr Hflßketh has been communicated with on this caie, And it. wil 1 probably come before the Court. It is not generally known that the Baroness Burdett-Couttß, some 43 years ago, bad a suitor, one Richard Dunn, an Irish barrister, who was neck and heels in love with her. He pursued ani so persecuted her with his ardent affection that Bhie had to invoke the aid of the law for her protection. At last for her sweet sake he suicided. Perhaps she retains still some of the young fire which set the irishman's heart ablaze, and it Was this; as well as her enormous wealth, that captivated the American Adonip, Aohmead Bartlett. A few grains of powder in an old gun will sometimes bring down the best of game. Tbe Rev. Mr Mortimer, of Christchurch, an Episcopalian clergyman, saya that the outcome of'■■ our education system i« the expenditure of hundreds of thousands'of pounds in examining, enlightening, rewarding, and perfecting larrikinism, and sowing the seeds in our midst ot a thorough appreciation of the devastating 'utterances of freethinkers, atheists, and-infidels u : - The Hawkes Bay. Herald .tells the following good story of Maori duplicity and Maori honesty, in reference to .some of the East Coast natives :•—" A native girl recently appeared at the house of a well known runholder, and told a pitiful tale of how her aged father had fallen and broken an arm. The fracture was most minutely described. Tbe object of the girl was to obt»in £\, in order, asthe said, that the olcU m»h could be carried -to Napier to have bil broken arm • set,; The runholder gave the money, full of admiratibn for the girl's affection for her aged relative. ; A day or two afterwards, a-pedlar came around, and it transpired; in the course of conversation, that this girl had spent exactly £1 with him. Further enquiries showed ihat tbe girl bad no aged father, and that no one connected with her or her people had broken nn arm/ The aggrieved runholder went to the chief and represented the' fact's, suggesting that they should be laid before tbe Native Committee of the district, answering to our courts of law. He was told that he must pay 5s for a summons before anything could be done. This curious request was complied with, the runbolder being anxiousto iee the re»ultof his applicationi Twcii days afterwards he heard that the committee had met, coniidered the case, (and fined the girl £1, in addition to ordering her to pay the £1 borrowed, and ',costß of'the court.' The £2 Si was seat to the runholder, which is, by-the-byV a! little different to our experience of European courts of law. He kept bis pound and tbe 'costs,' but sent the fine back to.the comtLittee." ;.. U :■; ;.'. 1} 'J- .... '■■.. \.J : We clip the, following from the Evening, Post:—TheLyttelton Times of -Friday last gives currency to another of those amusing canards for which it has achieved so wide and brilliant a reputation. A telegram from its *' special correspondent,'' dated Wellington; 16th 1 December; runs as follows',:•—•' It is rumored in the best informed circles that a cause of unpleasantness between the Governor and Ministers, in which Parliament is likely to support Ministers,: is already threatening. It arises out of-the fact that Sir Arthur Gordon's title of Highi Comniissiorier of Polynesia takes precedence of that of Governor of New Zealand. Itm informed, on the best authority, that this has been the subject of an unpleasant discussion, which may lead to a proposal to suspend payment of the Governor's salary when Parliament ineets, until tbe exact nature of bis services in connection with the respective appointments is defined. It is argued that full pay should not be given for divided servicei." It is scarcely necessary to say that this coherent and ingeniously constructed little has not the remotest foundation in fact. -. There has;beenno "unpleasant discussion " on the subject alluded to; nor is any " unpleasantness threatening " so far as'the Governor and his responsible advisers are aware. The idea of " stopping the screw" of. the Governor until his Excellency consents to call himself " Governor of New Zealand and High Commissioner of Polynesia," instead of High Commissioner of Polynesia 'and Governor of New Zealand,".Js highly diverting and thoroughly characteristic of the inventive genius which distinguishes LptteUon ' Times canardi. -Unfortunately it lacks the; element not only of truth—which, perhaps,: might be deemed superfluous—but also of even remote probability, jußt a trifle if <wbfob, r at any rate", is needed to assist the-digestion of these very tough '*■ yarns." .- > ;: In Brigham Young's diary, jusfc published, he says he looks baok to the year 1857*with' grateful emotion.i He was only married -four times that year. .: r( '■',/'".,