The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1881.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 76, 30 March 1881, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1881.

To the. vital statistics published in the Government Gazette every; mouth there has . for a long 'tithe past been 'appended a foot, note to the effect theft the proportion of deaths to the 1000 of population in Nelson. - is potto be relied upon because the information by which the returns of population are checked had not been forwarded by the Municipal authorities since January, 1879. : . Upon making enquiry, however, we find that the implied accusation of neglect is entirely without foundation, the assertion, that the i: required returns have not been furnished being absolutely untrue. : A letter was received at the Town Clerk's office in January; 1880,, asking for certain returns. Owing to the Town Clerk's illness they could not be supplied at the time bnt upoii bis resuming his duties in the following May they were at once forwarded to the Registrar- General, from whom no request for further informaxnaiion has since been received. A lad named Heatley was.charged before the Resident Magistrate yesterday afternoon with stealing » gun the property of Mr Siggelkow, of Upper Moutere. The prisoner, who is not quite sixteen, pleaded guilty. It seems he was sent to the Naval Training . School by the Resident Magistrate at ; Wel- ,. lington some two years, ago upon the representation of his father he was unable to ' Control him. ' From that place he escaped ; three time's, arid was 'finally returned to his father ;as a lad with whom the authorities could do nothing. Then he shipped on board the Stella and ran away at Nelson from her. He found his way to the Moutere, where for • , a i ew mpnths he has been living with Mr Siggelkow, running away from tnere on the 22nd March, and taking a gun of his master's with him, which he had tried to dispose of on the road, and for the theft of which he was arrested at Wakefleld by Constable Knapp and brought into town yesterday morning. The B.M. said, he was over the age or ho would have ordered,, him a sound floggSag, .for he seemed a hardened bad boy it was useless to deal with except in a severe way. He sentenced him to a Months' hard labor in kelson Gaol, and warned him that unless he amended bis ways he would certainly find himself fast in prison for many years.

There was a large attendance of members at the Captain's inspection of the City Rifles last evening, when those present gave in their names as desirous of attending the. C°rup, and many paid their contribution towards it« - v ' . The quarterly competition by the Naval Brigade for the Company's Cup took place at the ruudflat range this morning, when Seamen Fathers andL Watson tied with a score of 57 each. Five others fired. The total amount of property tax paid in the various parts of the colony up to Saturday last was £205,400, Canterbury being the largest contributor, her share beiug £52,617. It'is expected (says the Posi) that at least £220,000 will be collected by to-morrow, when the fiaancial year ends. The total amount expected to be raised on account . of this year is about £245,000. Madame Sommerhayeb gave the first of her serifs of pianoforte recitals la?t night at the Harmonic Hall. The programme was an. excellent one, and Madame's Bplendid playing was greatly admired by all who were fortunate enough to be present. The series will coneist of six weakly recitals,- Tuesday being the evening selected. The Temperauce meeting for the purpose of bidding farewell to the Rev R. Bavin will be htld at the Port 'Public Hall this evening. At the sate of Mr Wyinond's house 'and furniture to-day, the'formtr \vaa ; aflfcr Home spiiited bidding, knocked down to Mr T. Harloy for £1500.. » i " The Child of the Regiment," a musical drama by Buckstone, wrs capitally produced by the Lydia Howarde Company l&Bt night, when, owing to the boisterous weather and other causes, there wbb but a limited) though thoiouqhly appreciative, audience. The tolf. of Josephine, the Child of the Regiment, and wbo boasts of possessing 800 fathers, gave Miss Lydia Howarde au opportunity of displaying great dramatic power, and she took care noS to let it slip. From beginning to ,end she kept the audience throughly interested, whether it was when love-making with Guillot, trying to soothe the old Sergeant, or learning Iron ton from the two ladies of high degree, the last-mentioned' scene being most amusing. Miss Howarde introduced several songs, foremost amongst which was the old favorite, "Bid me discourse." Mr.H Power made an admirable Sergeant Scalade, and appeared to be thoroughly iDf used with martial fire. His mirth at being asked by the coxcomb Duka whether he had even been in battle was a capital piece of acting, as also the scene with the Marchioness. Mr George Leopold played the part of Guillot, and though there was nothing left to be desired in his acting, there does not seem to be sufficient scope in the character for, the display of that facial expression and burlesque acting jfor which Mr Leopold has deservedly acquired such a. name. Mr Mowry'a representation of the Duke de Grand Tete was just what it should have been, affected and silly> but not 100 much so to make it unnatural. Mr Staike, as the interfering steward Pumpernickel, was in his glory, and the scene where he is carried out of the room by the drunken soldiers of the 21st brought down the bouse. Mdlle. de Glorian's rendering of the Marchioness de Berkenfelt was dignified aud graceful to the life, and she made the most of a thankless but very necessary £art. Miss Maud Vincent sustained the very small role of Duchess de Grand Tete very successfully, though it would be advisable if she spoke a little louder. To-night, the last night of the season, "Nemesis," a musical bouffonefie, which we believe has not been before produced in Nelson, will be played, and we hope to see a bumper house. There . in.- great alarm in Wellington lest the water supply should run out altogether and the town be left to provide itself as beet it may from such wells as are in existence. There is less thau half the amount of water in the reservoir than there, was this time last year, and this, of Course, is largely decreasing every day, and it is calculated that unless a heavy rain Bets in, which is notusual at this time of the year, the supply in the reservoir will not last more than a fortnight. There is no doubt, says the Po»t of Monday, that Wellington runs serious risk of witnessing a water famine such as has never been known in this city, and the eVil results of which cannot be over-estimatedi It is difficult to procure water for domestic purposes from any place convenient to the city, and should a fire break out while the reservoir is dry incalculable damage would be done. As a -mark of respect to Mr Elliott of the Customs, who is about to leave Greymouth (says the G. R. Times) he w.as. last night entertained at dinner ■at the Albion Hotel. His Worship the Mayor occupied the chair, and the Hon. Mr Lahman the vice-chair. About 50 gentlemen, chiefly representatives of commerce, sat down to an excellent repast got up in capital style by host Walters, of the Albion. After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts had been drunk, his Worship proposed the health' of the guest of the evening, aud speaking as a representative of the commercial interests of Greymouthj referred to the amicable way in which Mr Elliott had managed to conduct bis relations with the merchants of Greyrabuth. After a very enjoyable evening the party broke up at a late hour.