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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4519, 14 September 1875, Page 2

The Hon. W. H. Reynolds has been so good as to place at our disposal the following telegrams relative to the late forecasts of the weather. As this subject is becoming more a matter of public interest, we have procured the forecasts from Captain Edwin, and trust they will be considered as showing that the work is making favorable progress. To make matters more readily understood, we may mention that in our issue of Friday last we stated that telegrams had been sent to the Middle Island to expect bad weather between north-west and south ; but by Saturday a further change had taken place, which necessitated the sending of the following message to the South Island :—“ Indications for falling glass and gale north-west to south ; may expect easterly wind to increase.” In reply to this, Captain Thomson, the Chief Harbormaster of Otago, telegraphed as follows “ Your forecast, of this afternoon’s date, has proved correct; at 7 p.m. to-day, 29G5 ; south-west; strong gale.” The weather report for Saturday shows that a slight fall in the glass had taken place. To the North Island stations the warning sent was ; “ Indications for falling glass ; may expect wind to back into eastward, and strong wind to gale, changing north and westward." The harbormaster at Grahamstown has telegraphed in reply ; “ Your telegram of 1 p.m. received ; indications exactly correspond ; from 10 a.m. to pm. gala north-east, with squalls and rain ; at 4 p.m. a change to west, wind increasing.” Mr. Calder, the telegraphist at Wanganui, has also stated that the forecast received by him was correct.

When two parties who happen to ho tolerably wise in their generation, but whose “ particular wanities” lie in two totally different directions, are brought into close business relationship, the effect upon themselves is oftentimes puzzling, and to a third party it is painful or exceedingly edifying, as the case may be. An example of this kind might have been seen in the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, during the inquiry into the circumstances of the collision between the Jane Spiers and Young Dick. The very least that can bo said is that the lawyers worked the nautical gentlemen into a fog, and that the nautical gentlemen, on the other hand, succeeded in reducing the lawyers to a condition of such utter obscurity as the English language la all too imperfect to describe. The nautical terms were matters of constant difficulty, and confusion was rendered still more confounded by the assumption of a sea-dog air on the part of the legal gentlemen, %vho alfected an unnatural cunning in respect of the parts about a ship. Being told that one or other of the vessels was steering “ full and by,” Mr. Izard said “ precisely,” with great promptitude, and with an air of such mysterious profundity as could only have arisen from an utter ignorance of what the witness meant, Mr. Allan occasionally went to the other extreme, and put too much confidence in the wisdom of deponent. Tims : One witness was asked why, when the Jane Spiers was sailing along on her course, the Young Dick happened to be where she was, seeming to imply that the Young Dick was guilty of high treason in being there. To this the witness might with justice have answered that the schooner was there because she did not happen, at that particular moment, to bo anywhere else. But as this idea did not occur to him at the time, he smiled sweetly and said nothing. As will he seen by our report of the proceedings, the inquiry was adjourned till two o’clock to-day.

The Lyttdton Times in a recent issue takes a dignified course, and apologises for the misstatements of its Wellington correspondent. From the clumsy concoctions common to both, we should he almost inclined to say that this gentleman and tho Otago Daily Times' correspondent are identical. Under any circumstances, it is a pity that the Daily Times does act after the manner of its Christchurch contemporary. Tho latter paper, finding out that its representative here has made statements which are pointed out to it as wholly incorrect, has the courage and good taste to hasten to mention to its readers that, in its own opinion, its correspondent has completely misrepresented facts. We are excessively pleased to notice the course taken by tho Lyttelton Times. A great deal of harm has been done by tho countenance given by certain journals to their Wellington correspondents —wo might more properly say by the countenance given by two or three journals to their common correspondent here. No matter how unreliable they may have found his information to have been, they have considered it necessary to their dignity to maintain tho truth of that information. But the Lyttelton Times has act a proper example, which we hope to see followed up elsewhere, and which the Lyttelton Times will doubtless follow up by taking effectual means to prevent tho recurrence of an apology for its Wellington correspondent’s unremitting economy of truth.