News of the Week.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 28, 5 August 1871, Page 12

News of the Week.

The Hutt Bridge. —We observe that tenders for this bridge are advertised for. We balieve the site chosen corresponds with the No. 3 of Mr Blackett’s report, which, it will be remembered, was recommended by the committee of the Provincial Council. We understand a petition is being numerously signed to the Superintendent, asking that a site further up the river be chosen. Of course any dispute about the site must still further delay this most necessary work. It is quite clear that a site cannot be chosen which will please all parties, and some must make up their minds to be disappointed. We hope the good sens® of our country settlers will prevail over the captiousness of interested individuals, and that the decision of the Council will be deferred to, unless some very cogent reasons are advanced to the contrary. The difficulty of solving this question of a site reminds us of a certain difficult proposition in Euclid, commonly called pons asinorum , a name which will be fitly applied to it if its erection is any longer delayed by the cupidity or obstinacy of the Hutt settlers. Hia Honor the Superintendent has chosen for the subject of his lecture on Monday 7th prox, “ Progress.” This wifi be the second lecture of the series now being delivered in Willis Street Presbyterian Church. We need not say a word about the intellectual treat expected, as we are sure the church will be filled to overflowing when such lecturers as Mr Fitzherbert are to be heard. The Highway District.— lt is in contemplation to publish a map of the District Highways. The labor spent in its production by the publishers is said to be very great, the object being to secure that it shall be useful and reliable. As such a map must be of immense service to the general public and the road boards we anticipate for it a ready sale. A Wanganui Insolvency. —ln our telegraphic statement of the assets and liabilities of Mr Edward Lewis, who made a proposition to his creditors last week, at Wanganui, we were incorrect in the figures given, which should have been : —Liabi ities, £3231 ; assets, £2037. Accident at Lower Rangitikei. We regret having to record an accident which occurred at Messrs Graham and Cook’s flax-mill on Friday last. It appears that a boy got his arm entangled in the machinery, and before it could be extricated it was torn and lacerated to a great extent. Dr Hooper, of Marton, was sent for, and on arriving aet the sufferer’s limb, which we are happy to say is progressing favorably.—“ Chronicle.”

Baker’s Him Once Moke.— Everybody in Wellington is perfectly well assured that there is gold in no small quantity in the reefs at Baker’s Hill, and everybody has a lingering doubt that the means at present adopted for getting at it will ever be successful. The stone has never yet had a fair public trial, and there are people in the town who, knowing little of quartz workings, still have sufficient faith in the richness of the lode or dyke through which the Baker’s Hill Company have partly driven, to encourage them in the belief that if it were “ put through” a properly constructed machine by a person possessing a thoroughly practical knowledge of quartz crushing, the result would prove the stuff to contain sufficient of the precious metal to justify the outlay of an amount of capital which would giveemployment to a considerable number of miners and* a handsome profit ou the money invested. Although the result of the trial crushing of the five tons of stuff from the Baker’s Hill Claim cannot be classed as anything else than a complete failure, there are a few enthusiasts who entirely disbelieve in the fairness of that trial, and are so imbued with the auri sacri fames that independent trials on a small scale are made almost daily. We were shown on Wednesday another small sample of gold obtained by Mr Bennett from some stone taken from the top of the reef running through Mr Baker’s land. The part of the reef from which the stone was taken runs through the ground proposed to be taken up by Mr Short’s new company, and adjoins the Baker’s Hill Claim. The trial, as we have already stated, was on a small scale, the weight of the stone tested being three and a-half pounds, which was taken from underneath the grass on the cap of the reef. This Mr Bennett took home and crushed, the washing operations being carefully performed in a tin dish. From such a quantity of stone the result was not very great, but the amount of gold obtained was good enough to justify the outlay of any amount of money if. the securing of the gold could be made a certainty when conducting the crushing and washing operations on a large scale. Without dwelling further on the matter, the fact seems incontestiblv clear to us that the spot where our mining companies come to grief is the absence of the requisite knowledge, to prevent the gold passing away with the tailings. No arrangement has yet been come to for the purchase of the machine at Makara, and for the present miuing matters seem to remain without any very glorious prospect. g IED ._The arrangements for next Monday’s sports are progressing very satisfactorily. The sports will not take place in the Canal Basin Reserve as originally intended, Colonel Moule having given permission to Bird to carry on the proceedings in the upper barrack reserve. It is fully expected that, with the presence of His Excellency and Lady Bowen, and Captain Moresby and the officers of the Basilisk, who have intimated their intention of being present, the day will be a grand one. A charge for admission will be made at the gate. The entries for the different events will be made, and handicaps declared, this evening at Prosser’s Hotel. Bird has been airing himself regularly every day this week, and is reported to be in good trim, so that the people of Wellington will have a good opportunity of witnessing the performance of one of England’s best runners.

The Late Mr Taylor.— At Wanganui, Mr Goodwin will preach a funeral sermon in Christ Church on Sunday morning next, and the Rev. Mr Elmslie in the Presbyterian Church, in the evening, on the death of Mr Taylor. Rev. Father Colomb’s Death.— The Catholics in this city and others who happened to know Father Colomb, must feel sorry in hearing the news of his death. Since his arrival in New Zealand, he has been located at the Grey. For the short space of two or three years he had been there he had done much good, enlarging considerably the church of Greymouth, and not only attending its congregation, but also visiting, in concert with Father Binsfeld, the various stations of his vast district. It is in one of those visits, and whilst discharging his sacred duty, that he unfortunately met with death by drowning. Father Colomb had a good many friends in England, where lie was sent as missionary by the Superior of the Society of Mary, and where he spent .upwards of sixteen years, being parish priest for the Church at Romford, erected by the munificence of Lord Petre. It is hard for the Catholic mission to lose such clergymen as Father Colomb—zealous and unimpaired in their strength, and in a country where there are so many spiritual wants and so few priests to minister to them. Rifle Shooting. —On Saturday last (after two postponements on account of the weather) thirty members of the Porirua and Pahautanui Rifle Volunteers —seventeen of the former and thirteen of the latter corps —met at Taua Flat range to compete for the prizes given annually for the last five years by A. de B. Brandon, Esq., the member in the House of Representatives for the district. The distances were 400, 500, and 600 yards; any position. The weather was calm and cloudy until the last range wa3 being fired, when it commenced to rain steadily; nevertheless some good scores were made, as under:— Pahautanui —Private Jesse Barrow, Ist prize, £5 score 48 : Captain James Taylor, Ist extra prize,, £1 ss, score 40 ; Private James Gardner, 2nd prize, £l, score 40 ; Private George Taylor, 4th prize, 7s .6d, score 40. Porirua — Lieutenant F. Greer, 2nd prize, £3, score 44 ; Private Robert Woodman, 3rd prize, £2, score 41; Private George Gordon, 3rd extra prize, 15s 6d, score 40; Private Samuel Greer, sth prize, 2s 6d, score 39 ; then follow three 37’s, three 36’s, two 35’s, &e. After the distribution, three hearty cheers were given for Mr Brandon, and a vote of thanks unanimously passed to that gentleman for his continued liberality. Three cheers each for the two captains terminated the proceedings,

Another Failure. The “Wanganui Chronicle” says :—lt does not violate any confidence in staling that another merchant, who is also an auctioneer, has succumbed to the pressure of the times, and called a meeting of his creditors for this day week. An Involuntary Trip. —The “Herald saya : —Several of our townspeople who were on board the s.s. Wanganui bidding their friends good bye, neglecting the warning conveyed by the repeated whistles and casting off of the lines, found themselves in a rather peculiar position. The steamer gradually forging ahead, was carried by the tide some eight or ten feet from the wharf, to the astonishment and disgust of the laggards, who were busy leave-taking aft. The usual crowd on the wharf were not slow in perceiving the dilemma the enfoieed passengers were in, and very kindly shouted out some reassuring farewell a strong Italian accent, asked, ‘ Faith how do you loike it, as far as you’ve gone.’ Another, with a desire of punishment, advised the captain to take them to the Heads, and make them walk into town. Another, evidently no admirer of the legal fraternity, asked Captain Linklater if he would, not confer a lasting benefit on the public of Wanganui, by taking a few more lawyers away. This was received with greater favor, and the spectatois listened breathlessly for a favorable answer, but the ‘ stern capting’ did not even smile. However, a well-known hand about town, with a keen eye to business, ran down to the next wharf, unmoored a boat, paddled out to the steamer, and rescued the travellers, who had thus allowed their feeling to overcome their discretion. A .New Peril to Solicitors.— Every attorney or solicitor has his own private opinion how far he is bound to obey the instructions of his client, when those instructions go beyond what, in the judgment of the legal adviser, is fair and reasonable as against the adverse party. Some men shelter themselves, the “ Law Journal” thinks, entirely under their retainer, and think that so long as they are acting within authority, they may do so with a clear conscience. Other men are as punctilious in all their dealings as lawyers, as they would be in the conduct of their private affairs. But the instances in which a solicitor has taken upon himself to treat the adversary with undue severity upon the impulse ot an improper motive are very rare indeed, and such an imputation against a professional man ought not to be advanced or credited except on most stringent evidence. Yet in a case recently tried at Guildhall, a special jury found a set of facts upon which the judge ruled that a solicitor had, without reasonable and probable cause, caused a trader to be adjudicated a bankrupt, although in the prosecution ot the proceedings the solicitor had acted generally on behalf of a client whose instructions were as harsh and peremptory as could possibly be conceived. The proof that the solicitor had no persoual illwill, and entertained no express malice against the injuried party was clear; but his lordship told the jury that if the solicitor did acts of his own mere will, and in order to please by his success a rich, powerful, and profitable client, he would be responsible tor his conduct. Upon this ruling the jury found a verdict against the solicitor for £1560. It is not probable that the case will rest here, and we may expect an argument of interest next term on the general liability of solicitors in such matters. But the case is, if not unprecedented, at least peculiar, aud seems to open up a source of peril not usually known to or suspected by the professsion. Mr Edward 'Lewis’s Failure—l he “ Wanganui Chronicle” says the creditors have resolved not to accept an assignment from Mr Lewis in the meantime, considering it better that he should file his schedule. . Tiie Advantages oe Ugliness.— Plainness and ill favors are great disguisers of age ; as also are the now rarely seen ravages of the the small-pox. When once a person of this fianre, whose looks cease to be an index, has the question of age aroused about him, the pubiic satisfies its craving for miracles at his expense. Haydon, the painter, was impressed by the market women of Dieppe as examples of this phenomenon : —* The looked as if they never had been young, and never would be older ? a distinct species—not born of woman, nor made for man. Mature at once—hooknosed, snuffy, brown, wrinkled, adapted to no purpose on earth but to slander, drag wheelbarrows, pull boats, and abuse Napoleon. The last, an occupation of 1814, is very probably still persued by the ‘ siblylline fishfags’ of Dieppe in 1870. Nothing wears like homeliness and plainness. The men in whom we see no change have characteristics that defy the ravages of time, and dash back its tide like so many ragged rocks. Indeed their is this advantage in ugliness, that it mends with years; inasmuch as it has nothing to spoil, it takes courage. As Lady Charlotte Lindsay, witty and plain, put it, ‘My ugliness has lost its bloom.’ Beauty is the true sport of time ; it is composed of evanescent qualities ; indeed it is its charm that it passes. We must make the most of the show, for it, stays among us but a day. The most worn and tell-tale faces we call to mind, most suggesting the question or the exclamation, How old !. are the faces of once handsome women. It is beauties that make wrecks—an epithet never applicable to the harsh or common-place. In extenuation of the effort to keep young, so severely ridiculed on all hands as the last mark of a vain and frivolous character, one may remark that it is not everyone that can afford to put on old a g e t 0 be any older than he can help. Respect to old age does not come naturally to most men; it argues a finer clay than the common. So long as a man has vigor enough to keep to the fore, his wisdom is to let his work speak for him. Every allusion to age is caught at as a confession of which ungenerous use may be made.—“ Saturday Review.”

A Donation for the Bell. —The Pro* I vincial Government have promised to subscribe £2O towards the expenses of the beli ordered by the Fire Brigades. Upper Wai-nui-o-mata. — The annual meeting of the rate-payers of the Upper Wai-nui-o-mata road district will be held on the 2nd September, at 12 o’clock noon. A Rifle Challenge.—At a meeting of the Thames Scottish Volunteers on Wednesday week, the following challenge was read by the chairman :—“ Grahamstown, 21st July, 1871. I hereby challenge Captain Wales, champion shot of New Zealand, or any other man in New Zealand, to shoot a rifle match for fifty pounds (£SO) to two hundred and fifty pounds (£250) a side, on the following conditions: Rifle, any rifle. Distances and shots, ten (10) each, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900 and at 1000 yards. Position, any position, firing from a level surface. Targets, in every respect to be similar to those used in smallbore inter-national and inter-colonial matches. Marking by disks and flags, and the usual conditions generally adopted in the above-named matches. I will be agreeable to shoot at Auckland, Wellington, or Otago. The highest aggregate scorer to be the winner. 1 will give you £25 as a guarantee that I mean business, J. W. Walker, Vol. T.S.C., Captain Murray, Thames Scottish Vol. Co.”—The members of the company testified considerable enthusiasm on hearing the spirited challenge of their fellow volunteer. It was agreed that Captain Murray should take the means which seemed most suitable to make the challenge widely known throughout the e'olony. The challenge has been accepted on behalf of the Otago Volunteers, by Mr William Kennedy (late of Dunedin), who advertises himself willing to deposit £25, merely stipulating that sufficient time be allowed to communicate with Dunedin.

Wairoa. —The correspondent of the “ Wanganui Herald,” writing on July 21 makes the following amusing and encouraging calculations :—There is nothing stirring here just now but thunder, lightning, hail, rain, and mud (the latter in great abundance). The. approaches to the Waitotara and Whenuakura are all but impassable to drays. Two good subjects for our grumblers —Ist, since the late accident which let Mr Kells in for paying for some bullocks, he lias doubled the charges at his ferry, whether with or without authority, I can’t say ; but 4s each way for a two-horse dray, and Is for a horseman, does seem rather too much for crossing a gutter which ought to be passed by a bridge. 2nd, an order has been issued to our militia that they can receive the pny due for parades during the last quarter, 4s fid per man on application at the Militia Office, Patea. Cost of ferries to get there and back, 2s; loss of one day, 6s ; total, Bs. Balance in favor of not drawing pay, 3s 6d, besides knocking up a horse in riding through twenty miles of bog, known in New Zealand as roads. Don’t you wish yon wore a Wairoa militiaman ?

Great Earthquake in China.—Minister Low furnishes the state department at Washington with a brief account of a serious of earthquakes which prevailed for several days at Bathang, in the province of Sczhuen, China. About the Ist of April there was a sudden and unaccountable rise of waters in the district of Bathang, which continued until the 11th, when tho country for nearly four hundred miles around was convulsed by earthquakes, The shocks were very severe, and continued with intermissions, for ten days, when they became less frequent, and finally ceased. The scenes which ensued were horrible beyond description. During this time the earth rocked and reeled like a ship at sea in a violent storm. Eight temples were thrown down, 2421 dwellings were destroyed and 2298 persons crushed by the falling walls. To add to these accumulated horrors flames broke out among the ruins in Bathang and raged with uncontrollable fury during five days, consuming everything within their reach, and destroying the lives of hundreds who were lying wounded and helpless among the ruins of their homes. Steep hills sunk out of sight, and in their places naught is seen but yawning gulfs, while in other places the earth upheaved, leaving hills many feet in height. Many singular phenomena attended this earthquake, the full particulars of which will be anxiously watched for.

Dante’s Works. —Miss Maria Rossetti has an elaborate commentary on the “ Divina Commedia” ready for the press, thus perpetuating the Dante tradition of the family. A New Novelist. —lt, will surprise many who only know Mr Maguire, the Irish M.P., as a very matter-of-fact writer and a sturdy Ultramontanist, to hear of his being about to appear among the novelists. In his forthcoming work, “The Next Generation,” he will show the results he anticipates from “ progress” in this. A Valuable Library. —The very valuable library of Baron Seymour Kirkup, of Florence, has been consigned to London for sale by auction during the present season. The collection is particularly rich in Dante literature, and comprises several MSS. of the “ Divina Commedia” of great importance. It includes also several very important MSS. of- French Romances of Chivalry, aud an extraordinary assemblage of rare books of all kinds Where the digestive powers are so weak as to cause imperfect Assimilation, and in many cases laying the foundation for Counsumption and Wasting, the use of Savory & Moores’s Pancreatic Emulsion and Pancreatine, already so highly approved by the Medical faculty, will be found among the most potent remedial agents ; they effect the digestion of Cod Liver Oil and prevent nausea, while they efficiently supply the place o fthe oil when the stomach rejects :t. These facts are attested by the published records of medical men, extracts from which accompany each bottle, price from 2s to 21s. Savory & Moore, 143, New Bond Street, London, and all Chemists. Note —Savory & Moore’s name and trade mark on each bottle. April 22,1871. 52w.

General Assembly Library.—Mr M'Coll, the General Assembly Librarian, notifies that all books belonging to the library must be returned by tho 7th August. Mr M'Coll also gives notice that the Library Committee wish to purchase a copy of the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives for 1860. An Extensive Colonial Manufactory. —The Victorian Woollen Cloth Company, at Geelong have published their half-yearly balance-sheet, which is to be submitted at the general meeting of tbe shareholders on the 14th inst. From this document it appears that the capital paid up, less calls due,'amounts to £22,142, to which must be added £7OOO raised on debentures ; bills payable, £5529 8s 7d ; promissory notes flue to the bank, £4500 ; and small debts, £749 0s 2d. The wear and tear account is £llOO 2s Id, and the balance of profit is set down at £4049 5s Id, making a total of £45,069 15s lid on the debit-side of the general balance-sheet. Against this there is building and machinery, £26,451 17s 3d ; stock-in-Lade, £15,805 0s 8d ; and debts owing to the company, £2BOB 18s, or the same total as the debit side, £45,069 15s lid. The profit and loss account shows that during the half-year £l7Ol 4s 9d has been added to it from the manufacturing account, and it now amounts to £4BIO 10s, but there is chargeable against this amount interest to the amount of £678 13s Id, and bad debts to tbe extent of £B2 lls lOd, so that the actual profit for the half-yearhas been £939 19s lOd, although there is in reality £4049 5s Id to the credit of the account.

Maori Desire for Knowledge.—Karaitiana Tokomoana, M.H.R. for the Eastern Maori Electoral District, is reported to have spoken as follows at a meeting lately held at Pakohai, Hawke’s Bay, at which Mr M'Lean was present : I am of opinion that to be able to vie with the pakeha, we must have a knowledge of his language. If the Government would establish schools amongst us for imparting to our children an English education, our position would be immensely improved. In the schools established by the missionaries, Maori has always been the language used. But the pakeha dwells in a room to which we have no access—there is no passage from our room to his. We must have a knowledge of the English language to enable us to comprehend the mysteries of the pakeha—the secret of his success. With this advantage it would bo seen who amongst us possesses intellect and who does not —men of intelligence would advance. Not one Maori amongst those taught by teachers provided by clergymen has sue ceeded in attaining any distinction or wealth. If the Government were to establish schools such as I propose the case might be different. Some amongst us have been made clergymen, but, they obtained faith only, not knowledge, the knowledge remains with the pakeha clergymen. If the Maoris were educated in European schools, there would be no more Hauhauism or war in the country —men would know better. Those only who would not, avail themselves of the schools might become troublesome from their ignorance.

Latest Swindle. —The latest swindle in Victoria (s-iys an up-country paper) is beating out a threepenny-piece to the size of a sixpence and passing it for the latter coin. The trick is vei’y likely to deceive the careless as the hammered coin looks precisely like a much worn coin of twice the value. This is one way of doubling one’s capital, against which we would caution our readers, for they may be sure that once successfully tried on, the experiment would be bound to be repeated. Latest eroai Victoria. —The following appear as telegrams in the latest “Newcastle Chronicle” to hand : —Mr Tavares, a West Indian tragedian, arrived in the ship Lincolnshire, appears in Richelieu at the Royal, in presence of the Marquis of Normanby, and Viscount Canterbury and suite.—The Ballarat Banking Company have declared a dividend of 10 per cent.—The Alhambra, from Hokitika, had a boisterous passage ; she put into Launceston shortof coal. —An influential meeting was held at the Port Phillip Club Hotel, in favor of the Gipps Land Railway scheme. A deputation is to wait on the Government in reference to the matter. Wilson’s South Ausfra lian flour has been sold at auction at £ls 10s; Victorian wheat, 6s 6d. A portion of the cargo of Mauritius sugar, ex Pandita, sold at the following rates: —Ration, £27 ; counters, £36 10s. Maize is quoted at 3s 9d. Messrs Dalmahoy Campbell & Co, reported the cattle market still glutted. 2,500 entered for the week. Prices much depressed; medium cattle only bring store prices. 25,000 sheep yarded; prime qualities firm, others unaltered. The Growth oe Trees.—A resident in Wanganui, observing the statement made at the recent meeting of the Philosophical Society in Wellington, referring to the extraordinary growth of a young tree of the Pinus insignis, writing to a Wanganui paper, says : —“ Sir, —I was surprised to see'in your paper last night, a statement that Mr R. Pharazyn had communicated a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society giving statistics of the rate of growth of trees in St. John’s Nursery, in which he slates that Pinis insignis has grown to a height of twenty-two feet in three years. The proprietor’s memory must have served him badly, for I took possession of St. John’s Nursery on the Ist of October, 1867, when the tree in question (as there is only one that at all approaches that size) was, according to Mr Williamson’s statement, three years old. It is two years and a few months since I left it, so he lias not had time since to rush up another. I believe lam quite safe in saying that the tree in question is eight years old. Garibaldi. —Colonel Bordone, late Chief of the Staff to General Garibaldi, is engaged on a work entitled “ Diary of a Staff Officer,” in which he will expose the behaviour of the Frenoh Ministry to the General.

A Noble Girl.—The “ New York Herald” says a young girl, Maggie .“Gregory, daughter of Mr Walter Gregory, of Long Island City, was drowned in Dutch Kills creek, under peculiar circumstances. Maggie was a good swimmer, and, together with a young girl who could not swim, was bathing in the creek. The younger girl, in watching Maggie swim, ventured beyond her depth, and, becoming frightened, called for help. In trying to help her companion Maggie became exhausted. A younger brother, hearing the cries of the girls, hurried to a boat and managed to rescue the younger girl with the aid of his sister ; but that aid seemed to take her remaining strength, for she sank to rise no more alive. Her father was soon at the scene ; but when the body was recovered life was extinct. Coroner Tewkesbury held an inquest, and rendered a verdict in accordance with the facts.

Cruickshanks’ Works.—Messrs Sotheby and Wilkinson, London, sold by auction a few weeks since a collection of the works of Mr George pruickshank. The collection comprised his early and rare productions, caricatures, and broadsides, forming a satirical history of the early part of the present century. Amongst the subjects treated upon and the persons satirized, are Pitt, Sheridan, Jenner’s discovery and the prejudice excited against it, the Regency and the Regent, the First Napoleon, &c.

A Sufficient Cause.—A 14-year-old girl was a witness in a recent Indiana divorce suit and a portion of her evidence was as follows : Father got mad because mother starched his stockens. Mother picked up the stockens and hit father on the head with them, and it sounded as though they were sticks of wood. Father then stuffed a hot wheat cake dcwn mother’s throat; and then mother sot the dog on father, and twisted the dog’s tail to make him bite harder.

A British Weakness.—The following is from the “ Pall Mall Gazette” :—lt is stated that on Good Friday the police found it necessary to direct the removal of a ‘ grand stand’ erected at Chislehurst to enable excursionists at a small charge to witness the Emperor Louis Napoleon proceeding to church. With every respect for excursionists, whose refinementofmannersisbeyonddispute.we must say that this is going a little too far. Fallen greatness is not a thing to be inspected by flourishing smallness from the top of a van im provised into a grand stand, and greeted with the popping of gingerbeer bottles. It would have served these people perfectly right if they had all been captured, placed in a large cage, and themselves inspected by the ex-Emperor as specimens of British excursionists. To have his footsteps dogged and all his movements watched by a parcel of inquisitive persons who will not even let him perform his devotions in peace must be extremely painful to one who above all others yearns for rest. His bitterest enemies will, at all events, admit that in tho treatment he receives from his admirers his “punishment exceeds his offence.” “His Majesty wishes for seclusion,” remarked a gentleman the other day to an excursionist at Chislehurst, whose gaudy neckcloth formed a pleasing contrast to his unwashed face. “ Seclusion be !” rejoined the excursionist; ‘Hooray! vive Luraperer !’ While this good feeling lasts remongiH-ance is of course useless, bub it is joke for greatness to fall into the hands of a ‘largehearted and generous people’ like the British. The City of New York.—The Mayor (Hall) on 12th June last, made a long speech at the City Council from which we learn that. The streets, roads and avenues measure 460 miles. Two hundred and ninety-one miles of these are paved ;169 miles are unpaved. Nineteen thousand gaslights are burned every night at the public expense to light this area, water front and extent of streets. Beneath the surface of the city there are 340 miles of Croton water pipes and 275 miles of sewers. If we accept the last federal census the number of our constituents is 942,252. One thousand horse railway ears, 267 omnibuses, about twelve thousand licensed vehicles and nearly quite as many more private vehicles continually traverse the thoroughfares and subject them to increasing wear- lb is claimed that 40,000 horses are constantly stabled or used within the city limits. Nearly sixty percent of the daily business inhabitants of New York own or rent their residences in the adjoining country, and while their wives and children are practically under the government of other cities and counties and even States, the business interests and security of persons and property of the family men are practically under the government of New York city, and they are more disposed to blame where they have no domestic interests. By an accurate calculation it is demonstrated that the Sinking Fund, with its accumulations from interest and its revenue from other sources, will furnish means to pay the entire funded debt of the city of New York outstanding December 31, 1870, as it matures, without recourse to a dollar from taxation for that purpose. The capital of the sinking fund at that date was $18,000,000. This sum compounded at six per cent interest per annum, with an allowance of $500,000 per annum to be derived from the revenues by law pledged to this fund, and retiring the stocks and bonds as they become due, will pay the entire debt of $47,638,300, and leave a surplus of $27,235,939, on the let day of August, 1911, which is the remotest date at which any of the debt is made payable. The real estate of the city, valued at more than $200,000,000 is also pledged for the redemption of the city debt. The Mayor expresses the belief that “ the great body of tbe people is willing to incur a much larger debt in order to improve the water front, repave streets, finish boulevards, supply defects in sewage and drainage, and by widening, cutting and extending streets to adapt our thoroughfares to the future demands of the great American metropolis. —“ New York Herald.” June 13.

Atlantic Cables. —One of the old Atlantic cables has finally been fished up, and is being repaired at Heart’s Content.

Ne ver Despair Goldmining Company.— The contractor for the works of the above company came into town on Saturday last, and gave Mr Wright, the manager, the pleasing intelligence that they had struck gold in the drive, 580 feet from the mouth of it. Mr Cooper brought in a prospect from the drive, simply panned off, without crushing, which looks most promising. Ho also brought in several pieces of stone, in one of which the gold can be distinctly seen. The prospect still improving as the drive is being proceeded with ; rock dipping cast. Engineer Wanted.—The County Council of Westland are advertising for an engineer, at, a salary of £350 per annum. Considering the scarcity of engineering talent, and the multitudinous duties to be performed on the West Coast, the probability is that some little difficulty will be experienced in obtaining the services of a gentleman competent for the duties, particularly at tho rate of remuneration offered. The Port Chalmers Railway. The “ Otago Daily Times” says the fencing along the line is being proceeded with as the earthwork and pitching are finished. Notwithstanding the violence of squalls and the newness of the ground, the pitching—three-fourths of which has been laid —has stood remarkably well, much better in fact than anticipated, although a considerable subsidence might, under, the circumstances, have been expected. The works are being pushed on as rapidly as possible, from 300 to 400 men—including those in charge of the horses—being now on an average employed between the promoters and contractors. Night-shifts, excepting in the deep cuttings and tunnels, have been discontinued for the present, but the work goes on without interruption and as quickly as possible, abundance of good labour and good weather favoring rapid progress. Wc are informed that the practice of tho contractors has been to give effect to the recommendations of his Honor the Superintendent and other gentlemen who desire to find employment for laboring men. About, three weeks ago nearly thirty men, of a class not to be confounded with real working men, professed a great anxiety to get work. To their discomfort they -were taken at their word and sent down the line. Of these only five accepted work, and of the five only two remained two or three days. Not one remained at work beyond a week. An Accident.—The “ Grey River Argus” gives the following account of an accident in that district :—An accident occurred on Thursday, at the Little Grey Junction, by which Mr John Reid, at the Ahaura Saw-mill, lost a valuable horse and other property. Mr Reid’s driver was taking a dray, drawn by two horses and loaded with chaff, across the Grey River, at the ford abovo the junction, when, in the deepest part of the stream, Die dray and horses were carried away and taken some distance down the river, which was much swollen at the time, owing to the heavy rain the previous night. A horseman on the bank, seeing the perilous position of the driver, went to his assistance, and sueceeeed, after some difficulty, in taking him off the dray and bringing him ashore behind him on his horse. By this time the ferry-boat reached the struggling horses. Those in the boat managed, by cutting away the shafts of the dray, to free the horses ; but it was found that the leader had been drowned. The chaff was all lost, and the dray is rendered useless. This is one of the accidents which are continually taking place through the bravado and foolhardiness of people rushing into creeks whenever they happen to lie in their track, without enquiring as to whether the fords are passable or safe. Such conduct is the result of stupid ignorance, and not pluck or courage, as the parties who are guilty of it try to make out. The driver in this instance had a narrow escape, and it is to be hoped it will be a warning to him to be more cautious for the future. A Japanese Newspaper.—The “ Mai-nichi Shin bun” is the title of a native Japanese newspaper recently started. The contents of the first number are of a very varied complexion. There are advertisements in plenty, notices of ships sailing, a list of the mercantile marine in port, the men-of-war, and a price current of all staple articles. The printing and get up of the paper would drive an English master printer to distraction, but as tho Japanese have not had much experience in these matters, its advent must be hailed as a step in the right direction.

The West Coast.—The “ West Coast Times” has the following additional remarks on the weather There has not been tho slightest abatement in the severity of the weather during the last twenty-four hours. It has blown, rained, snowed, and thundered in succession or simultaneously all day and all night, and there is yet nothing like the appearance of a change for the better. Communication is cut off in different directions by floods, the carrying away of bridges or beach tracks, and the stoppage of coaches, and there is no saying when we may see the coach from Christchurch, as the weather among the ranges must be something fearful. Grevinouth it will be seen has suffered somewhat from floods, and there is no doubt that from other quarters we shall yet have accounts of “ moving accidents” both by flood and field.

A Warning to Doctors.—Dr Beale has been committed for trial at Braidwood, New South Wales, on a charge of manslaughter, one of his patients having died through his leg being improperly set. The Fijian Nation.—The Hawaiian Govenment intends recognising the new Fijian Government.

The Scott Centenary. —lt is proposed to celebrate the Scott Centenary in Melbourne with a fancy dress ball, the costumes to be restricted to those of characters in the great novelist’s works.

The Government Education Bile.—The Canterbury “Press” some weeks ago gave what professed to be an account ot the Education Bill intended to be introduced by the General Government during the ensuing session of the Assembly. The “ Press” does not say how it got at the* Government mind or discovered its intentions. We had thought that the day of the “ Paul Pry” “ own correspondents” was at an end and that Government dispatch boxes were no longer subjected to the “ double-eyed scrutiny. As the Government has, however, we are informed, not revealed its intentions to any one except one or two persons confidentially consulted, and whose honor and discretion are above suspicion, we are rather at a loss to know how this supposed secret got out. It has been suggested to us that the secret never got out at all, and that the Press, while pretending to know the mind of the Go vermnent, really knew nothing about it. We are informed that one of the gentlemen consulted by the Government, some long time ago expressed his own private opinions in a south’ ern paper, of what ought to be the foatuies of a General Government system of education. The “Press” probably remembered this, and jumping to the conclusion that the Government must necessarily or at least probably have adopted the views of the gentleman referred to, it has reproduced his sentiments from the local paper, and proclaimed them to be the Government scheme. Whether this be so or not, we are assured the Government scheme has not been yet divulged beyond the Government offices, and the one or two gentlemen referred to, who are not likely to have communicated to the “ Press” what they only knew in official confidence; and we therefore venture to tell our readers that whatever the Government bill may prove to be, the version of its contents now going the round of the papers is entirely without authority. Silkworms. —By invitation, his Honor the Superintendent, his Worship the Mayor, and a number of other gentlemen visited Mr Batchelor’s collection of silk cocoas and some leaves of the moans multicaniis , at present on view at the City Council Chambers. Mr Batchelor afforded a great amount of interesting information on the subject of sericulture, for which he was thanked by his Honor and the other gentlemen who were present. A Jump in Hops.—The publicans and brewers of Adelaide have combined to raise the price of colonial beer on account of the price of hops, Value op Bread in Western Australia. j n 'Western Australia a man has been sentenced to three years’ penal servitude for stealing a piece of bread ! Conscientious Scruples.—A rather ingenious device was resorted to for settling conscientious scruples, by tho Adelaide coroner, recently at an inquest on a man named Patrick MTnerney, who died from an accident on the road. Having sworn the wife of the unfortunate man, who was a Roman Catholic, upon a Protestant Bible, he asked her if she considered the oath binding upon her conscience. She replying in the negative, Mr Hare obtained a piece of tape, which he tied round the Bible in the form of a cross. He then administered the oath, and directed her to kiss the book, remarking that that would have to be binding. Benefits op Life Insurance.—“ Talk on Change ” in the “ Australasian,” has the following remarks on life insurance “ I don’t think that working men sufficiently appreciate the utility and cheapness of life assurance. Thev will pay to a burial club or some kindred institutions amounts which, if invested in life assurance, would afford their families substanu7m at the time their need is direst. I lately asked a friend fami lar with assurance business, and who is manager of a prosperous life company, to jot down a few actual instances of the results of small assurances effected by working men and women. Here are some of them. Poor Alexander, of the Engineer Corps, mechanic, aged 24, insured his life for 6200 in March, 1870, premium to cease on his reaching the age of 44; killed in the following year ; premium £5 9s per annum, or 2s Id per weel ; under ordroary table he would have paid Is W per week for £2OO. White, a laborer, aged 49, insured for £IOO m 1864 * killed in 1871; premium £4 7s per annum, or Is 8d per week. A widow, aged 49 with one child, insured for £IOO in December, 1869 : died May, 1871; premium Is 8d per week. A stonemason, aged 44, insured for £2OO in 1862; died in May, 1871; premium £7 19s, or 3s per week, out of which three bonuses had been returned to him. A laborer, aged 29, insured for £IOO in 1862 ; died in 1871; premium £2 7s 2d, or about 10d per week, of which he got back during life £ll 7s 9d in shape of bonuses. Some of the above cases were of persons who insured when advanced in years ; hence the comparatively high premium. How, if men who are nrndentlv paying money into clubs, and those who are making no provision at all, will take a well-meant hint, they may see their way to spare a few pence weekly which would save those dearest to them from penury. I name no company especially. There are numerous reliable institutions, and careful inquiry will suggest which is likely to best serve the purpose of the assured. T e 1 * Berkley, Sept. 1869.— Gentlemen, I feel it a duty I owe to you to express my gratitude for the great benefit-1 have derived by taking «Norton’s Camomile Pills.’ I applied to your agents, Mr Bell Berkley, for the above named Pills for wind in the stomach, for which I suffered excruciating pain for a length of time, having tried every remedy persenbed but without deriving any benefit at all After taking two bottles of your valuable pills I was quite restored to my usual state of health Please give this publicity for the benefit of those who may thus he afflicted. I am, Sir, yours truly, Henry Allpass.-To the pro- , prietore of Norton’s Camomile Pills.

The Use op Chloral.—Another death from the use of chloral is recorded as having taken place in New York. “It is strange,” says the “ World,” how widespread is the delusion that this powerful and frequently unmanageable drug is a safe and universal panacea Men use it to procure sleep, and women to calm their nerves. Its rapid action, and the fact that it does not leave behind the usual reaction consequent upon the use of most narcotics has given it a wonderful popularity. And yet both experience and the testimony of medical men have shown it to be extremely dangerous. The very nature of the drug is yet imperfectly understood. The public cannot be too earnestly warned against its use except under competent direction. Taking Care op the Tipplers.—At a meeting of the Young Men’s Christian Association, at Auckland, the other evening, the question was discussed “ How should drunkards be treated from a teetotal standpoint.” To Caledonian Shareholders. The manager of the Caledonian Gold Mining Company gives notice that transfers of shares will not be received unless they are in every particular perfectly filled up, and the signatures of both buyers and sellers attested by witnesses whose signatures are known at the office.

Stealing Specimens.—At the Thames Polico Court, Thomas Qninn and John William Jones was charged with stealing specimens from the Caledonian battery at Grahamstown, on the 24th instant. Mr Bullen said that their Worships would perceive by the information that the value of the property was not stated. It was impossible to do so now ; the property was supposed to be valuable. The tailings would have to be put through a berdan. He would ask their Worships to grant a remand for a week, and if the case was ready it would be brought on sooner. The remand was granted. Can Females Vote ?—Councillor Tonks, in the Auckland City Council asked whether females could vote at Council elections ? The town clerk said there was nothing in the Act to prevent females from being enrolled on the burgess roll —Councillor Macready observed that women had voted at the City Board elections.

A Lawyers’ Army.—A monster law suit is now in progress in the United States.. It has reference to some land in San Francisco, and, according to the United States “ Jurist,” defendants exceed 1000 in number, and 270 lawyers are engaged in it. Starlings. —Mr Joseph Mays sends the following to the “New Zealand Herald” : I wa3 agreeably surprised on the twelfth of this month to find some dozen or so of starlings twittering up in a dead rimu tree. They settled on the paddock and fed, after which they absconded. I hope they will honor us with their company for good this summer. I thought, probably, they were looking for places to build their nests. Anthony Trollope.— Mr Anthony Trollope is on the point of paying a visit to Australia. Mr Trollope starts, we hear, next Saturday.—“ Athenaeum,” 29ch April. Methodists in Rome. stated that a Methodist chapel is about to be erected in the city of Rome. A NEW Wellingtonia gigantea, forty feet and four inches in diameter, lias been discovered lately near Visalia, in Southern California. This is thicker by seven feet than any other that has yet been found. A section of one of the “ big trees” is now exhibited in Cincinnati, which is seventy-six feet in circumference and fourteen feet high, and standing on the floor of the hall it gives one a perfectly good idea of the enormous size of the tree from which it was taken. The section was cut last year in the Mariposa grove, about 250 miles south-east of San Francisco, and far up the western slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains. It was divided and hauled 140 miles to Stockton on three wagons by seventeen yoke of cattle. Bird. —The entries for the different events to take place next Monday were made last niaht at Prosser’s. For the 150 yards there were eight entries : —Walden, Gray, Prosser, Ritson,°Medders, Wilkins, Q.F.M., and Kelly. 500 yards Hurdle Race—nine flights—Kelly, Isherwood, Pyke, Penticost, and Stansell. Mile Race—lsherwood, Kelly, Walden, Pyke, and Bird. The Two-Mile Race—Bird (at scratch), Penticost, Isherwood, Kelly, Pyke, and Walden. The Five Mile Race—lsherwood, Kelly, Bird, and Penticost. The entries for all’other races will be made at the post. The handicaps will be made known on Saturday evening. From the names down, and the patronage announced, a capital day’s sport may be looked forward to. Lecture on Life Assurance.—Mr T. Macffarlane delivered a lecture at the Newton Academy, on 1 Government Life Assurance, Annuities, and Endowments.’ There was a very good attendance, and Mr Macffarlane very clearly and concisely pointed out the great advantages that must accrue to persons becoming assurers, and the advantages to be gained by their wives and families in the event of their death. Gold Export.—The James Paterson took away from Auckland 54080 z sdwt 12grs gold, valued nt £22,600, the duty on which amounted to £677. Auckland Whaling Company.—A meeting of shareholders in this company was held a few days since. The chairman (Mr L. A. Nathan) said that the directors had purchased the barque Albion for £2,600. The captain, however, could not give a good title to the ship, and it was arranged that the puichase money should be deposited in the Bank of New Zealand until such time as a good title could be given. Twelve months was allowed for that purpose, and instructions were given to Captain Clayton to fit the ship and make her ready for sea. Darwin’s Descent. —A German translation of Mr Darwin’s “ Descent of Man,” has just been published at Stuttgart.

National Debts.—The comparison between the burden of debt in England and in other countries in 1815 and in 1870 is set forth in the following tables in the “ Athenaeum” review of Mr Baxter’s work : —“ Annual charge per head, 1815-20—United Kingdom, 34s Bd. Continent of Europe—France, 4s 7d ; Austria, 2s 4d ; Prussia and German States, Is 8d ; average, 2s lOd. Hence it is seen that in 1815 the charge per head was twelve times treater than the average of the three principal countries of Europe. Let us now look at. the corresponding table for the year 1869-70: —Annual charge per head, 1869-70. —United Kingdom, 15s 9d. Continent of Europe— Italy, 14s; Holland, 12s Id ; France, 9s 9d ; Portugal and Denmark. 9s ; Spain, 8s ; Austria, 7s 3d ; Turkey, 4s 6d ; Belgium, 4s 2d ; German Empire, 3s 9d ; Russia, 3s 8d; Switzerland, 2s 4d ; average, 6s 2d. Here we see that the charge per head in England has decreased from twelve times as great in 1815 to two and a half times as great as the average of continental states in 1870. In using the more accurate method of measuring the burden of debt by ascertaining the percentage of debt charge on income, we find the improvement in the position of England even more striking. In 1815 the percentage of debt charge to income in the United Kingdom was 9; in France, 35; in Austria, 18 ; in Prussia and the German States, T 3. In 1868-70 the percentage of debt charge on income in the United Kingdom was 28; in France, 23; in Austria, 22; in Germany, 10. This remarkable change in the relative position of England with regard to the other principal nations of Europe lias been caused partly by the decrease of the English debt charge since 1815, and partly by the enormous increase of the continental charges. In making this comparison, it must be remembered that no account is taken of the payment of the war indemnity on the debt of France.”

Why do Children Die ? —ln answer to this question, the “ Medical Record” has the following language :—“The reason why children die is because they are not. taken care of. From birth they are stuffed with food, choked with physic, splashed with water, suffocated in hot rooms, and steamed in bed clothes. So much for indoors. When permitted to breathe a breath of pure air once a week in summer, and once or twice in the colder months, only the nose is permitted to peer in daylight. A little later they are sent out with no clothes at all on the parts of the body which most need protection. Bare legs, bare arms, bare necks, girted middles, with an inverted umbrella to collect the air and chill the other parts of the body. A stout strong man goes one on a cold day with gloves and overcoat, woolen stockings, and thick double-soled boots, with cork between and rubbers over. The same day a child of three years old, an infant of flesh and blood, and bone and constitution, goes out with hose as thin as paper, cotton socks, legs uncovered to the knees, and neck bare, and exposure which would disable the nurse, kill the mother outright, and make the father an invalid for weeks. And why ? To harden them to a mode of dress which they’’ are never expected to practice. To accustom them to exposure which a dozen years later would be considered downright foolery. To rear children thus for the slaughter-pen, and then lay it to the Lord, is too bad. We do not think the Almighty has any hand in it.” Borrowing.—A special meeting of the Sandridge Borough Council lias been convened to take into consideration the advisability of borrowing a sum of £IO,OOO by £lO debentures, the same to be secured by a special rate of Sd in the pound. It is proposed to borrow the money for twenty years at six per cent, and to expend the amount on such permanent works and undertakings as may be agreed upon by the council. The whole of the councillors were present and were very unanimous on the point. The mayor moved the resolution, which was seconded by Cr Plummer, and carried with dissent. The present borough rate is Is 3d in the pound, and it is anticipated that there will be no necessity to increase (his amount, inasmuch as the proposed loan will enable the council to pay off some of the debentures on their old loan, which are now falling due. Notwithstanding the motion was carried so unanimously tlie subject has not been definitely settled, it being impossible to confirm the resolution until after the annual election, when another special meeting will have to be called with that object. The Command op the English Army.--No doubt the question has often suggested itself to many readers who, contemplating the possibility, or before the last mail arrived the probability of England going to war, who will have the command of the British army. An English paper states : —“ Lord St.rathnairn and Lord Napier, of Magdala, have been mentioned for the command of the British army in the event of hostilities with Russia. The former distinguished himself as diplomatist and combatant in the last Russian war. He also displayed great energy and skill in Central India during the mutiny, and great, forbearance as well as energy in the Fenian rising in Ireland. Lord Napier has already served in India under Lord Strathnairn, who is seven years the senior of the former. The brilliant achievements of Lord Napier in Abyssinia are well known. He would be the first instance in the military history of our country in which an engineer officer was appointed com-mander-in-chief of a British army engaged in a European war. Lord Napier is not even a Briton by birth. He was born in Ceylon just--60 years ago, and although he was educated at Addiscombe, the whole of his military career, with the exception of the Abyssinian campaign, has been passed in India. New Reef. —A gentleman brought to our office yesterday a small parcel of specimens obtained from a claim known as the Green Harp, Keren’s Point, Coromandel- The quartz differs entirely from what we have been accustomed to see from the Thames, being of

a light brown color, and the gold seems to be of a much richer quality. The stone in question was got at a depth of sixty feet.—“ New Zealand Herald.” Sad Fate op Auber, the Composer.— The coffin containing the remains of Auber, the great composer, which lay in the vault of the Church of the Holy Trinity, at Paris, awaiting the rite of burial, was among the number broken open and flung into the street by the Communists. The remains of the composer are lost, the coffin being broken, and its contents merged with the other debris, in an undistinguishable mass. The post mortem fate of Auber, to be tumbled into a common ditch along with the horrible contents of a charnel house, by a dirty mob, is strangely in contrast with the" experience of his life. A man of the most luxurious tastes, he allowed nothing to interfere with the complete sensuous enjoyment which his income of $30,000 a year enabled him to secure in Paris. Like Rossini, when his position and fortune were assured, he used both to make his path one of roses. He seduously shut out every sight and sound likely to prove disagreeable, surrounded himself with all that is beautiful in art, lived delicately and fared sumptuously. His stable had the finest horses, and his table the choicest wines; his amours were innumerable ; and a strong constitution carefully preserved, with wonderful good health even to the last of his advanced years, enabled him to live the life of a voluptuary without the physical retribution which attends less selfish and less poised individuals. He was thoroughly philosophical in the pursuit of pleasure, and no resident of the French capital realised more from its unlimited sensual resources than the great composer. .One can imagine with what great horror he would have contemplated such a disposal of his remains—he, a man who never attended a funeral, and who carefully avoided such gloomv processions on the streets, as likely to interfere with the supreme comfort of mind and body which he had determined for himself. A Smell op Down Below. —In Canterbury a small meteor was observed to fall in a paddock between Papanui and the Styx, on the North road. It was of a brilliant bluish color, and descended at an angle across the road. The persons who saw it, on arriving at the part of the road it had crossed, noticed the strong sulphurous fumes it left in its wake. Rumors op Te Kooti.—The Poverty Bay correspondent of the “ New Zealand Herald ” Sil y S : —You will be glad te> learn of the news just to hand anenb Te Kooti. A despatch arrived per special messenger from Mr Ormond to Captain Porter here, to the effect tliat our sable enemy was in the neighborhood of Waikaremoana (Te Wairoa), having been surprised in his lair by some half-dozen men of the Native Contingent. Five were made prisoners, and one effected his escape, from the band of about twenty which adhere to the cause of the beast. It appears that a fortnight has elapsed since this event, so that although expeditions by land and sea are about to start, no hopes are entertained of an immediate capture. We shall hear further by the steamer to-morrow from Napier, when I will advise you. The Napier has arrived. By her we hear that it was Te Kooti himself who surprised some of Makarini’s natives, who were ensconced at Lake Waikaremoana, but beyond the usual amoun t of bunkum, and the narration of a small anecdote with respect to Te Kooti’s having called on Mr Drummond to take tea, and that that gentleman entertained him as, indeed, he would any other angel, unawares, there is not much to rejoice over.

Playing Cards in Council —The “Age” has the following amusing remarks : —lt has been playfully suggested, at dry meetings of the City Council, and such other bodies, that pipes and grog might be introduced with advantage. On one occasion we know that a pack of cards found its way into a meeting of the Melbourne Corporation, when Alderman John Thomas spoke against time. On another occasion, everybody does not know, but it is nevertheless the fact, that a bottle of charitable whiskey was introduced at a board meeting of the Benevolent Asylum, on a very hot day, and the sitting became a protracted one over the toddy. These things come about by degrees. Now there was an instance of the march of nrogress at the meeting of the Emerald Hill revision court last evening. During the proceedings, Cr Page coolly lighted his pipe, and it really gave quite a novel emphasis to the argument to see him waving a lighted wax match, and, while the pipe occupied one side of his mouth, addressing the mayor out of the other with “ Just so (puff). In this ease, I think (puff, puff)”— and so on. But the strangest incongruity of all was to see Cr Page leaning back in his chair, and smoking placidly as a member of the court, while the town clerk was administering a solemn oath on the bible to a Mr Wintle, who came forward as an applicant to be placed on the burgess roll. This fairly rivals Chief Baron Nicholson and the judge and jury of the Coalhole. Ours is a go-ahead country ; no mistake about that.

What the Floods Exposed.—Some strange sights are to be seen from the NorthWest Bend to below Swan-Reach (remarks a River Murray correspondent of the Kapunda paper) on the sand hills in the bed of the river that have been flooded for the first time (at least for about 100 years) by the 1870 waters. It has washed away the sand from these hills, exposing to view the remains of hundreds of aborigines in places where even the oldest amongst the white inhabitants had no idea these burial-places existed. It appears that about 50 years ago the natives were attacked by the small-pox, and carried off in large numbers. The aged natives (bearing the usual marks of the disease) say that they were put in the ground, old and young together, two or three in a hole, where they were buried without ceremony, and not being fenced in the usual manner, the places were not known 3 will es.

Statistics.— The agricultural statistics of Tasmania show an estimated surplus for the year of 328,130 bushels of wheat. There are under cultivation 3000 acres less than last year. An International Rifle Match. —The Sydney Rifle Club lost the international match with Bristol, England, by one point. Publicans Beware. —“ Revenge is sweet, especially to women.” An exemplification of the truth of this little musing of Byron’s has jnst taken place, at a considerable distance from the Oriental scene where the idea was inculcated, to wit, at Melbourne’s seaport town —Sandridge. A wife, who had an objection to the potential effects of her husband’s visits to a local public house, determined to have “ satisfaction” out of the publican, and this she did most effectually, by calling one Sunday at the house where her husband so frequently got “ muzzy.” On knocking at the door it was opened by someone belonging to the house, and she, feeling confused, asked to be served with a pint of beer, which was sold to her. Meeting sergeant Harrington soon after coming out of the hotel, she told him that she had been served with the ale, and subsequently laid the information. Flanagan, the landlord, was fined £5 with costs 30s.

New South Wales Finance.—The last quarter’s revenue amounts to £510,900, being a decrease of £4,353 on estimate. Chinese Highwaymen. —The Chinamen charged with robbing the Braidwood mail have been acquitted. * Buenos Ayres. —The “ Argus” has been favored with a copy of “El Nacional” of April last, containing the address issued by the Popular Commission, or Board of Health, in relation to the awful epidemic than raging.Far from seeking to underrate the extent of the calamity which has befallen the city, this document frankly admits that it is without a parallel and without a remedy. The deathrate from the yellow fever is acknowledged to be from 300 to 400 daily out of a population of less than 70,000 souls. Science is powerless to grapple with the malady, and the number of victims is daily augumenting. It has prevailed for three months, and the aspect of the city resembles that of London during the great plague, so graphically described by Defoe. All kinds of industry and commerce are completely paralyzed. Nothing but funeral processions are to be seen in the silent and gloomy thoroughfares which under ordinary circumstances are so full of life, gaiety, and movement. The medical faculty cannot discern any probable term to the prevalence of the scourge ; and during the first fortnight in April it is calculated that the deaths reached the frightful total of 5000. Not more than 40,000 inhabitants remained in the city, and of these it is believed that one-fourlh were prostrated by sickness. As it lias been declared by men of science in Buenos Ayres, that the houses of ill-fame are materially accessory to the spread of the fever, the municipal council has caused an order to be issued for the suppression of the whole of them. How hopelesß and desperate is the condition of the city may be inferred from the following passage in the report of the Popular Commission; the words we have italicised being printed in large capitals : —“ After lengthened and serious discussions, the commission recommends all who can do so to abandon the city, and to remove from it as Quickly as possible, in order to save themselves and their families from the irremediable evils to which they are exposed. The temporary depopulation of the city, infected by miasma, which appears to have poisoned the air we breath, is the only remedy the commission can suggest to combat the scourge which has already swept away thousands of victims, and which threatens to destroy the lives of all who chntinue to inhabit this place of desolation and death.” The commission is composed of Spanish, French, German, and English citizens, and is described by the “ Nacional” as being indefatigable, day and niglit, in the fulfilment of its benefieient mission. Suggestions in Kerosene Storage.— Amongst the buildings recently erected in Melbourne is a new kerosene store, which has just been built for Messrs Walker Brothers. In many respects it is a great improvement on the stores already in existence, which are built of wood and iron, and are therefore easily destructible. The building now under notice is a substantial structure, its walls being of brick, 14in thick, resting upon solid bluestone foundations. The roof, which is of corrugated iron, is supported by iron principles resting upon blocks of bluestone, let into the walls. Throughout the whole of the buildmg there is not a particle of wood, and the structure is therefore perfectly fire-proof. The length of the building is 103 ft-, and its width 43ft, the height to the top of the wall being 14ft. A pitched cartway runs from end to end of th© place, and the kerosene will be slacked on either side. There is one entrance and one exit, thß doors at each end being of plate iron panelled. Air is admitted into the building by 40 small gratings inserted in the wall just below the roof. While the building itself has been rendered fireproof, other precautions have not been neglected. At some distance from the store, and just inside the fence, a trench 3ft deep has been dug, behind ■which an embankment sft high has been constructed. Should the kerosene in the store by any means take fire, this will prevent any of the burning liquid escaping from the premises. The buildings, which have been erected with the entire approval of the officers of the Public Works department, will cost altogether about £1,200. Pedestrianish. —Messrs Hewitt and Harris returned to Christchurch from Dunedin, and the former expresses his determination to run the match against time made immediately prior to his departure for Dunedin. The conditions are that he is to run half a mile in Imin. 56|secs. —the quickest time on record — the backer of time to lay £IOO to £SO.

The “ Vested” Interests of Great Britain. —According to Professor Leone Levi, the amount of capital invested in the liquor trades of Great Britain is £117,100,000, as compared with £85,500,000 in cotton, £22,200.000 in wool, and £25,300,000 in iron manufacture. The number of persons employed in liquor trades is 846,000, or, including their dependants, 1,500,000. There are 100,000 persons occupied in bottling and coopering, 66,000 in malting and brewing, and nearly a similar number in the production of barley, and 12,000 in hops, 6,000 in distilling and rectifying, and 2,000 in bottle and cork making. Shakespeare’s House. —The “Musical World” says the model of Shakespeare’s house at Stratford on-Avon was found to be a very great attraction at the Crystal Palace. Their experience in this respect has probably induced the directors to purchase the Swiss Chalet that was presented to Mr Charles Dickens by Mr Fechter, and in which the deceased novelist passed so many literary hours. We understand that this Chalet will be shortly exhibited in its entirety at the Crystal Palace, where, doubtless, it will attract thousands of Dickens’ admirers.

Danish Colonists. A correspondent writing to the “ Queenslander” from the Murray River District states: —‘A report is current among the Danes, &c, who arrived here three months ago, that the New Zealand Government has an agent in Maryborough, who holds out good inducements to them to enlist as soldiers and. leave this colony. I cannot say what foundation there may be for such a report, but it certainly seems to be credited by the men, who are in many places striving to release themselves from their engagements. I should think that it would hardly bo allowed that the New Zealand Government should thus-take advantage of our emigration scheme. It is unfortunate, too, as this class of laborers seems to suit employers, and I have no doubt that the next lot which is expected in about six weeks will soon be all engaged, as they will arrive just at a busy time.’

The Pea Nut. —Among the latest introductions into the colony of Victoria, states a local paper, is that of the American pea-nut, a peculiar production, which has of late years obtained a great demand in the United States. Mr W. B. Oat, of the Globe Hotel, has obtained a specimen consignment of these nuts from California, with a view to judging as to their adaptability to the climate of this colony. The plant, it is said, yields a heavy crop, and is very easily cultivated, the nut, however, growing on the root like a yam or a potato. As they are largely produced in California, Mr Oat is confident that the climate and soil of this colony will suit the plant admirably and be intends to test the matter. The crop, is a px-ofitable one, and yields in poor soil from 80 to 100 bushels per acre, and the farmers in the States finding thei’e is a large demand for the nuts, are cultivating them extensively. In four states alone over a million bushels were consumed in one yeai\ The nut is, after being baked for about twenty minutes, eaten like other nuts, or it is used to produce a valuable oil for salads.

Tinned Wallaby.—The “ Sydney Morning Herald” is reponsible for the following paragraph : —Tinned wallaby is likely to dispute the honors of precedency at the Lord Mayor’s feast with the time-honored and essentially English delicacy, “jugged hare.” We (“ Darling Downs Gazette”) are informed that the Hogarth Company are about to commence the preservation of wallabies, and that a party of trappers on Jimbour Creek have been able to secure about 4000 skins in fourteen days. The Industrial School, Sydney.—lll is not couleur de rose at Biloela, as the following paragraph from the “ S. M. Herald” will help to show. That journal says : —The removal of the females detained at the Industrial School, Newcastle to Sydney, does not appear to have had the effect of checking the unruly propensities of some of the more reckless and abandoned of the inmates. During the past three weeks several disturbances have occurred, and a day or two ago the matron of the school was reported to have been severely maltreated by the-girls. During Saturday and Sunday, the Water Police cruised round the island in order to keep off a number of young reprobates who were encouraging the girls in acts of insubordination. It is perhaps, advisable to caution such persons that the Water Police have instructions to apprehend anyone guilty of misconduct.

The University Boat Race.—A Spanish newspaper, the “ Porvenar diSeville,” publishes a very original account of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, which the Spaniards are told, “ commences at Westminister, by the Houses of Parliament, and takes its course up the grand river to the parks at Greenwich and Richmond. The regattas of London are, “with the races of Epsom and Derby,” the great feasts of the year.” This year the river, on the,occasion of the Oxford and Cambridge boat race, is said to have been “ crowded with two thousand steamers,” at the head of which sailed the Prince of. Wales in a small boat “ with thirty distinguished persons.” While the race was going on, bands of music paraded the streets, “ some with black faces.” “ A cannon from the Tower announced the victor. . . . . After the regatta, 100,000 restaurants were opened to the public, who crowded into them to drink their beer. In the villas in the vicinity of the race dinners were given to all Cambridge people, to the number of several thousands, the young people afterwards enjoying the ball.” Flax.—“ The prize schedule of the Northern General Agricultural Association of New South Wales,” says the “Argus,” “whose shows are held at Singleton, comprise no less than 232 classes, embracing the products of numerous local industries which have no existence within Victorian borders.” We may add that among these products New Zealand flax is specified.