The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, SEPT. 23, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 133, 23 September 1876, Page 2

The Evening Mail. SATURDAY, SEPT. 23, 1876. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

From time to time thwre have appeared in ottr eolttrnns*. RRfter the title of "Carious Castoms Explainer!," paragraphs of an intefesttng character. W'v are happy to see that they have ttccn so far appreciated as to W slipped roost extensively into other journal*. To this we have not the slightest oh. j'jstioa. t>at a* they a «leal of ta'ior in their compilation, it is not too much to »s!ij that the sonree from whence they have hepn extracted shonhl. in S'ntttro. Ins acknowledged The Rev. P. P. Asjwrw will deliver a Saured liisytftve in the Masonic Ifrtlt, to-nior-row evening, on "The l*ni vernal Monarch of the World." An it is probable that it will he the Liist occasion nti which the rm*. gentleman wilt some before the Oainnra public. this lecture has been specially chosen at the request of « wtmriet of fi-iand*. We notice that the sittings in St. PaitlV t'huruh for prast-nt s<--';vt holders, will hn let on Monday trex't, Wtwcon 3.3) and 4.30 p.m.. and atso on Tuesday, p-t from 5.30 to 9.30 p.m.

Pnring hwfc Friday night there tfss an ftmtt«n? episode. Mr. say* the correspondent of the tuenyn fle*Mij 7**h(» , .-». nt-shsd mfio ft.de House, and. a* an important matter of privilege, said he had just heen threatened in a manner which, anywhere but :n the sacred preeinet* of the Hotfcso or a chtirch. wotttd have earned hi>n t>-» lake sfrtmmary vengeance- lie had g*>ne into one ok" the division hAlne* and ohsjrved a nmr.hsr of persons lying asleep. He had ttimed the gas up to see w-fara was there, when the tiietnher f*>r Ackland City West (Mr. !>tgnan) ro»e, sewed a chair, and rushed at him, threatening to smauh him. Mr. T>ignnn was servt for. and admitted that he had done what »tsw said, adding that he qnite meant it, tm>. He w»* suddenly wakened hy a glare of tight, saw Mr. Waaon turning Bp the gas. and thinking him an incendiary. seized the nearest chair and rashed at him. After some farther talk over the matter, the Speaker ordered the conches. Ac, which the msroW-t* of the Opposition had provided for themselves* ia th* tohhy, to hj« removed. One of the Victorian Cf»»»p<jtitor3 for a plaue in the Intercolonial jßillc Team has t»«n summarily diaqaaliticd from taking for-

tbor part in the matches, in consequence of improper conduct at the last competition at Sandridgc. The individual in question is Private Patterson, of the Collingwood Rifles. It appears that he was firing at the GOO yards range, and he induced the scorer (a mere lad) to enter him centres and outers when in reality h'j had made misses. .Some other competitors who were at the butts noticed that although the red flag was hoisted (denoting a miss) a centre was scored. Mr. Powell, the hou. secretary of the Victorian Rifle Association, who was on the ground, at once disqualified the man, and his action was upheld by the Council of the V.R.A. The SoHlht.tnrt iVY-wv hears that Mr. John Fishenden. hotelkecper, Invercargill, has instructed a solicitor to take legal proceeding? against Messrs. Mackay, Fenwick, and Co., of Duncdin, the printers of a trade protection circular known as the " MercantilcGazette,"for having—presumably thiougii the inadvertent introduction of a superfluous " nought " into a group of figures—made £•200. the amount of a bill of sale, read £2,000. That was an impartial "bobby" who was in charge of the visitors' book at Government House ante-room during Lady Eowen's receptions. The crush was great, and tiie stolid guardian of the peace looked on for some time in amazed wonder at the pushing, elbowing, and struggling of the fashionablydressed crowd, each one of whom fought hard to sign her name tli3 soonest, and so hasten into the presence of vice-royalty. At last his honest constabulary nature could stand it no longer. ".Stand back there, ladies, avyou plaze," said lie, "and let thw*m there Jewesses sign. They've been waiting here longer nor any of ycz '." A rather curious exemplification of Maorj custom has recently been afforded at Waito:ara. The Pnlru Moil tells us that the wife of a chief there was galloped over by a mount.d native, who was drunk, when, in addition to other injuries, one of her legs wa* badly broken. Native remedies only were had recourse to. and the sufferer gradually grc.v worse. The bones of tiie injured limb diil not unite, sloughing commenced,

and mortification set in. The Native Comiimsinner, hearing the condition the woman was in, requested Dr. Earl», of this town, to visit her. winch lie accordingly did. Pie at once saw that nothing hit* amputation could save her life, and told the natives so, hut i thii they would not permit, ami the consequence ia that .she is .slowly dying, if not already dead. By the doctor's advice stimulant;! were given her which may protract her existence a few days. A grand " korero " on the matter was lately held, at which it wa.-t decided that the Maori who caused the injury should he fined i':J(H), that sum to he paid by liini to the dying woman's family. Tapa. latjly known in connection with the forcible seizure of Mr. Dickie's land, became Ifcitl for payment of the above, and some land in which the ojfendcr was interested was also forfeited. It is a gre.tt pity that the stern justice tint they iniiict on each other for furious riding or its consequences, cannot be dealt out to them by the Pakeha authorities. Sir Julius Vogel, Lidy Vogel, and family leave for Melbourne, m rout'- for England, rh't iStte/, iii about a fortnight from the pr»;-

sent time. The Efen'tifj Aran* states that the first : news received in Wellington of the death of the late Colonel J'aliicavis, Sheriff of Auckland, was in th«s shaps of .->. telegram to a ' member of the House, asking his interest to secure the late gentleman's appointment for the sender, another Government otiicial. Thus telegram was received here within an hour after Colonel Ualncavis died in Auckland. .

In these dull time:;, a gentleman in one of onr city counting-houses has employed his spare moments in the following curious calculation : —The debt of New Zealand, which is estimated at i.'2i).oo<M)l)fl, if taken in sovereigns and laid out before each other would extend for a distance of 27<i miles 1 furlong ") chains. 3 |H>ies 9 yards and 4 iuchc ; or, if taken in -sovereigns again, and laid one on top of each other, it would reach the height of IT> miles ."» furlong* 8 chains 1 pole I yard and S inches.—Je-ulius .'