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Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 142, 19 August 1876, Page 2

A Vestry meeting of the Church of England was held on Thursday last, for the purpose of receiving a report from Mr Tenncnt as to In’s success jn organisation in the Hnwera district and -for other busi ness. For some little time past, wo regret to say, tilings in connection with the choir have not been as satisfactory as might have been, and at this meeting MrTaplin resigned bis position as parishioners* churchwarden, in consequence of sonic unpleasantness on that head. All tills,'we hope, will shortly ha amicably adjusted. In the B.M. Court, on Thursday last, the only business was the discharge of Wood, who had fully regained his faculties. Yesterday there Were two civil cases, one a judgment summons, and (ho other a police case, in which William Hudson was charged with ol)stnicting.the thoroughfare. In-the first case payment was ordered, oxtwo months’ imprisonment ; and in the other, defendant was discharged with a caution.

To-day, the football '.match, Patca v. Wanganui, comes off on the ground of the latter club, and it is to be hoped that the weather will he favorable for the contest; We have already given the names of the Patca .representatives, who form altogether a most ’ creditable team,, and one that will task all the energies of Wanganui to heat. They left for the scene of action yesterday, and the match will commence at 2 o-’clock. We have■ not- heard of any betting on the. result, hut in this • district any thing like odds against the local players would he readily accepted, t Borne of the 'younger cricketers'here have commenced their season early, having played on two or three occasions, during the past week and proposing to continue practice in the.tine .weather, oven before the legitimate season sets in. The ground has been quite dry cno igli for the purpose, though the weather has been too cold as yet for full enjoyment of the game. Mr White, briekmaker, of this township,' met with a ratiinr serious accident at Waitofcara on Thursday lust.' The horse he Was riding; shied suddenly and threw him breaking some of his ribs and shaking him severely. lie is however, w t o are glad to say going on well. The acceptances for the Melbourne Cup this year arc no less than Seventy two, the largest, number for any race that has ever been known south of the lino. At least one half- of these may be expected’to come to the post, and the race will probably be the finest ever witnessed in the Southern Hemisphere. Complaints were made about the handicapping, but the number of acceptances show'that these were unfounded, for if the owners are satisfied with the weights, no one else has a right to grumble.

The Town Board 'are progressing with various works- within their limits hi accordance' with resolutions previously arrived at. In Meredith-slreet the foot-path is being made,’ and in Cambridgo-street the high and uneven ground is being curt dofvv.tt and levelled, so as to facilitate access to tiie buildings on that Hue. York-streel isbeing continued as far as Ifissex-strect. and Mr Milroy will finish it to his wharf. In Lcicester-streot a cart track is being formed which will run through Cornwall and Ghester-streets, to Poverty Flat and the liver. Bedford-street sadly requires widening, but the Board’s funds will not allow them to accomplish this neecssary work at present. Already soveial accidents have happened through the narrowness of-.the road, and as soon as possible this- should be remedied. Altogether the Board is busy and the Working Committee of supervision, although without the assistance of a surveyor, manage to get along very well indeed.

A-concert in aid - of the funds' of the Church of the Sacred- Heart will be given at Hawcra on Wednesday next the —.Dal instOur Catholic friends arc on vive to render the entertainment attractive, andall denominations will no doubt join in aiding an' object so good, even though differing on doctrinal points. Wo remind onr readers that the sale of Mr Hutton’s furniture'&c., takes place today, at his residence. Sir Win-. Hale will commence operations at noon sharp.

As we stated in our last issue, a- meeting will bo held this evening in the Court House, when the advisability of establishing a temporary hospital at once in Patca will be considered. We have said so much' on the subject on previous occasions that wo now content ourselves with earnestly commending the object of the meeting to the consideration of the public, with a sincere hope that those who attend will go heart and soul into the matter, and that their humane efforts may bo crowned with the success that so noble a cause must win. The meeting will bo held in the CourtHouse, at 7 o’clock. The Rev. R. J. Ellsworth, Presbyterian minister, will hold divine service tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon, in the Town Hall, at B o’clock. Dr. Walker will attend at liawera on Tuesday next, for the purpose of gratuitous vaccination. On the last occasion when he announced his visit, urgent cases here prevented him from keeping the appointment, but he has now made such arrangements as will allow him to attend without fail, and parents will do well to avail themselves of the opportunity. The Rev. James Lewis, of Llanilar Vicarage in Wales, was returning home from church ’in the evening, not long since, witli two friends, when they happened to look back and noticed that their stops were distinctly, marked on the ground by a luminous; phosphorescent appearance in each footprint, as plainly as similar impressions made in snow. He describes, the occurrence in a letter to the Aherystwilh Observer, but offers no explanation of it. The Roman Catholics of Sydney, says the Freemans JiunvutA have given a striking proof of their liberality by contributing so generously towards St. Mary’s Cathedral now in course of construction. £-38,000 lias already been .spent in building, and it is reckoned that about the same amount will bo required to complete it—£33,ooo for the stonework, and £S’JOO for the permanent roof, so. that the mere external structure alone will cost about £BO,OOO. Of the £38,000 already expended, nearly one-half was sunk in the foundations—making them strong enough to support the enormous" weight' of a building 98 feet high. There is every fear that Captain Linklater, in the ill-fated Britain’s Pride, has been lost with all hands. The-Wanganui Herald, speaking of the chances, says : ‘‘The Britain’s Pride is now sixty days out from llobarton to Wellington, and yet there are no'tidings of her. Captain Linklater’s friends here have manifested not a little concern since suspicions of his having met with a sailer’s end became very strong, and occasionally enquiries are being made as to whether the. missing brig has .yet tamed 'up.' The chances are now, too heavy, ive fear, ’ against such a gladdening termination of the present suspense, and there can hardly-be any doubt that she has foundered at sea or been wrecked somewhere on our coast. Even supposing that the brig had been dismasted we think she ought to have made New Zealand ere this under jury rig, or else tidings of her would have been brought by some Australian trader. We cannot be so convinced of her ■safety, and that .she is now a lost vessel there can be little doubt. ”

Wc take the following from a Home paper ;—“ A grotesque telegraphic blunder has lately been investigated by the Postal authorities, .Mr W. E. Forster, in his recent speech on Education at North Towton, Devon, spoke, it will be remembered, at some length on the religious instruction of children. The last named word occurred pretty frequently, and the telegraphic clerk transmitting the Times report, becoming wearied of repeating the same word, conceived the idea of rendering it by the shorter but vulgar term ‘ kid,’ imagining that his fellow-operator at the other end of the wire ■would •understand-what was meant. The lutier, however, didn’t, and the result was

that the word was written and printed, with the addition of inverted commas.

A ebrres'poudcnt of the Licensed Victuallers Gazette thus writes concerning,one of the patients - of the Asylum : —“ Who is that man,” I wlfLpered io the attendant, “with snolr a large hon'd- and lofty forehead, who sits at the table tlsere, bo busily engaged in writing V” “ 0!r, that is '' a CaTi that be the man,” I thought to myself, “winy has deluged New Zealand with so many pamphlets, and who lias identified himself with its affairs for so many years ?” Approaching him, I bade him good day, to which he returned a courteous acknowledgement. “What are you writing about ? I ventured to inquire. “A petition to Sir George Grey to get mo out of this place,” was the reply. I glanced at the document. It was,written in bold characters,- but with sueli an utter disregard of blotches as to malic one believe that blotting paper was a thing unheard of. I asked if I might bo permitted to read it ; he said ho would not let it but of his hands*' but would read it over to me. This he did, witli apparent pride at the neat maimer in which the sentences were rounded. Ho then placed the document carefully in his pocket, as though it were dearer to him than, life itself. : He inquired-if I was a member of the General Assontbly,-and to humour him I replied hi thb affirmative. “ Will you support my petition “ Most undoubtedly,” I replied, and satisfied with this assurance he shook mb’ by the hand with evident gratitude, retreated' to the table, and resumed Ins writing.

The Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Times writes as follows : —To those who have hitherto been in the darkon .the subject of Captain Campbell Walker as Conservator of New Zealand Forests, let me explain-how it came about. A- few months before he came to this colony, Captain- Campbell Walker published a little book entitled “ The Correct Card, or Howto Play at Whist: a Whist Catechism.” In certain circles, moreover, he had given signs of his high attainments as a whist player,- and this piece of information reached the car's of Sir Julius when at home. 'Whist players all know the story about the 10,000 people who arc now wandering about the Continent in a destitute condition, brought about by their neglect to lead from trumps when they had live or more trump cards in their hand.- Some “ awful examples ” of this sort had- come under the eyes of Sir Julius when be was drinking German waters, and he determined to 'save the erring whist players of this colony from ruin by inducing Captain Campbell Walker to visit New Zealand, and teach 1 them ; how to rilay the “ correct card.” If the gallant captain can show us how do this, and at the same time can instruct us in. the art of planting forests, be will no doubt be a most useful member of the community.

The Nelson Times , referring'to the death of a medical man well-known hr the Middle Island, has the following “ Dr. Lee died at Motueka on Sunday morning last, and was buried yesterday. Deceased was a M. 11.C S., and one ef the' first coroners appointed in the colony of Victoria. The Doctor was a celebrity upon the West Coast Goldfields in them early days, and in the indulgence of his 1 peri-' patotic propensities,mot with many stiango companions. He invariably travel lednipon foot, for turning the scale at twenty-two stone, rendered the obtainment of a horse “ up to his weight” a difiici-lt task, while carriage roads were unknown in those days. Upon his pack he always fastened his card, and in 18(35, while tramping between Greymouth and the Toreinakau was accosted-by a digger, who asked if he really was a doctor, and on being assured on the point, requested to have a tooth drawn. The root of a tree served for a seat ; the pack was unstrapped and the tormentor extracted. The relieved party then produced a parcel of gold dust, and dividing it as fairly as lie could by guess, handed Dr. Leo one-half, said, “ There, I put past eight ounces to take me to Nelson you have saved me the trip, so there’s your share.” The gold sold for £ls Bs, and the Doctor used to say it was the beat patch he had struck on the Coast. Dr Lee had many friends but only one enemy, and that was himself. A Dead Newspaper.—An American journal called the Democrat lias written thus -feelingly : —“ Wo lately received a notice from, the postmaster at Napa City informing us that a copy of the Democrat , addressed to a supposed subscriber, ‘ remaius dead in this office.’ We well remember that paper. When it left our office it was alive —alive with imagery of the poet, the ideas of the . statesman, the recounted experience of the husbandman, and selected thoughts of the great minds of the past and present ages, which live and never die ; alive with the narrative of the current events of these busy times ; and last, with the honest though plain thoughts of its workaday editors. \Vc paused as we read, and dropped a tear over its early demise, and were on!} 7 consoled by the reflection that ‘ whom the gods love die young.’_ A dead newspaper—unknown, impossible. Give it to some honest man, let him take it home to his fireside ; in the family circle let him break the wrapper, and there shall come forth,- as the genii out of Sinbad’s broken casket, a spirit that has a voice. It will find such utterance as shall mayhap bring contentment to pining spirits, rest to weary souls, new thoughts to students, courage to the timid, hopetothe despairing, riches to the poor, and teach charity to the rich. It may keep childhood’s feet in 'virtue’s ways, cheer the mother’s oft too sad and cheerless heart, lighten the father’s dull and plodding toil, and lastly, as a common intellectual pleasure, interlock ami bind the ties of family union. Postmaster, let that paper live.”