Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JUNE 13, 1881.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 139, 13 June 1881, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, JUNE 13, 1881.

Tiru Eihii-aiion Bonrd having offered .a scholarship to be competed for by girls attending the State schools in the Nelson district, the examination of the candidates, seven in number, has recently taken place, the Hey. J. C Andrew and Mr Hodgson, the Inspector of Schools, being the examiner's, and the result- is that the priza has fallen to the lot of Miso Jane Allpoit, of Stoke, The list of candidates and number of marks obtained by eiich will be found elsewhere. The scholarship is of the annual value of £50. and will permit the winner to receive two years' education nt any of the Girls' High Schools in tue colony. A reference to the tabulated staiement of marks will show that the order of merit corresponds exactly, except in one case, with the ages of the candidates, the eldest being at the top, and the youngest at the bottom of the list. One of the most -ileudish outrages it is possible to conceive is reported in our tele--grams to-day. A short time ago it was announced that 11.M.5. Dotterel "had been blown up in an unexplainable manner in the Straits of Magellan und over 150 officers and men burled into eternity without a moment's warning. Thie, if the statement of one of their leading members is to be believed, was the act of Fenians who had smuggled explosives on board the unfortunate vessel with a view to bringing about her destruction and slaughtering the crew What 1 punishment could be too severe for demons who resort to such measures a? thus io achieve the end they bave in view? It is to be hoped that the perpetrators of an outrage which is a disgrace to this age of civilisation will be brought to justice and j made au example of. If the sky was as clear elsewhere in the southern hemisphere as it was in Nelson, the astronomers in the various observatories must have been iv their element last night. In the east the moon was undergoing total eclipse ; in the west was to be seen the comet which came into view about three weeks ago, and now has attained a eizo and brilliancy that make it a grand object. It was visible last night between the lights, but was dimmed as the moon rose; however, as the shadow gradually ttole over her disc, and there was darkness ouce more, it became very preceptiblo again, and remained so, or, at least, a portion of it, the nucleus haviog set about half-past Bix, so long as the moon continued to he obscured. The eclipse, too, was a beautiful sight, and could not possibly have been seen under more favorable circumstances. The comet, which is now almost due west, will be viable again this evening as soon as it becomes sufficiently dark. Early yesterday morning Mr Kidßon, the lighthouse keeper, saw a strnnge lookirg olject about a mile out to sea, which, after a time, be made out to be the carcase of a whale floating on the water. Obtaining a I oat and tctting assistance he started after the huge fish, and having bitched on succt«led iv towingr it into the harbor through the' boat entrance and lauding it on the Boulder Bank, and is now engaged in boiling it down. The wi.ale, which is of the boltle-nose species, is 22 feet long, and an old whaler, beiog guided to his decision by his sense of smell, pronounces it to have been dead about four days. A Christmas Tree, bearing fruit of a very i attractive docriptiou, will be displayed in the Brightw :tcr Girls' school rocm on Friday evening: next, when those who have purchased tickets will be entitled to the prizes with winch its branches will be laden. The proceeds! ;iro io bo devoted to the enlargement, of the Sunday schoolroom in connection with St. Paul's Church, the number of scholars in attendance there rendering itcreased accommodation necessary. A SAMi of work will be held iti the Wood Sunday Schoolroom to-morrow cv.cuing for the pnrposft of raising fuuds to pay off the small liability existing on the building. There will also be a Christmas Tree with a large number of priz-s. Thk ausiual meatfngof the members of the Trinity Crur.ch congregation will be held in the Temperance Hall to morrow evening, when, after tea which will be on the table at six o'clock, addresses will be delivered, and the proceedings will be varied by readings and music. The preliminary meeting of the Winter Evening Debating Association will be held in the Shelbourue-Btreet schoolroom to-morrow evening. The sale of table-linen, bedding, &c, which Mr Mabin was to hold to-morrow, has been postponed for a time.