THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, MAY 17, 1861.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 372, 17 May 1861, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, MAY 17, 1861.

The Thistle Act has caused some smart cross conversation amongst the big wigs of Council, in which the author of the bill, who hails north of the Tweed, took the first part, and made its failure a peg upon which he might fix a sort of Belshazzar tablet, with all the sins of omission and commission of the • Executive' written thereon, which caused the Provincial Secretary to rap the learned Doctor's knuckles pretty smartly, alluding particularly to the difficulty of eradicating anything Scotch; Mr. Kelling, following suit, improved upon this, and said it was difficult to kill the Scotch. ;• ,

Our intention in noticing the Thistle Act —prickly subject as it is—is not so much to comment on either the; Doctor's usual onslaught on the Government, or the Provincial Secretary's repelling the same, in which, the reader may be assured, the former got his Roland for an Oliver, as to call attention to an article on the subject which we reprinted from a Sydney paper so recently as February sth, 1861. This" article referred to the legislative efforts made in Victoria for the extermination of this fast-growing nuisance, and gave an account of a very simple implement for this purpose, invented by Mr. O'Brien, and used with great success by that gentleman on his estate in Australia; and it is stated that ' a dense forest of this noxious weed r has been entirely cleared, and not only in a brief space of time, but with a very small amount of labor.'

This instrument is nothing more than a strong piece of iron, formed and sharpened like a scythe, and fastened to the tail of a cart, Which should be drawn by two horses) commends it to extensive use.' It does not require an able-bodied laborer to manage it, so that the cheapness of the method must recommend it to extensive use. It is suggested in the same article that any industrious man who would possess himself of one of these implements, would find abundance of employment by travelling round the country with one of these * thistledestroyer.' In the same issue of February sth will be found an extract from another Australian paper, in which it is stated that the white part lof the thistle, especially the seed stem, served with melted butter, makes a firstrate vegetable, nearly equal to seakale. And further it is stated that 'as fodder, 'the thistle cut and withered in the sun lor two or three days so as to destroy its sharp prickles, is very good for both horses and cattle, and they quickly fatten on it.' Let, us then hear no more—at least till this simple and cheap experiment be tried in those places where practicable—from Provincial Councillors about the impossibility of even keeping the thistle down,to similar dimensions as other weeds.

Nelson Pilot.—We have., been requested to contradict a statement that appeared in -the! jtfejfson Examiner oil Wednesday last; extracted, from: the /Southern' Cross of the 7th instant, wherein it is stated that the steamer Airedale, 'ran for -.Nelson where she arrived on Thursday, at 5 p ; m. The weather was very thick at the sime, and. after* firing two guns, she ran in against the tide without a pilot.' The latter part of the sentence is incorrect, as Mr,' Cross at once collected his crew and' proceeded out to he,r through a heavy sea. :Oh: boarding the steamer Mr. Crosa was asked wasit if his intention to take the. vessel inside that night, and he replied in the affirmative, as it was coming on to blow; and although the tide had ebbed considerably he at once brought her safely through to her berth inside the harbor. We have pleasure in giving publicity to the correction, as neglect of the duties attached, .to the -office of pilot to this port is a charge that we should be slow to believe in the face of much testimony to the contrary.

Fatal Effects of Eating Ends of Matches. —A .Sydney paper reports an inquest held on the body of a child, aged nineteen months, who <Hed from the effects of eating some ends of matches. The. child had been ailing several days prior to her death,'but, as it was cutting its teeth, the illness was thought to be only temporary; the sufferer continued however to get worse, and expired from exhaustion in a few days. It was then discovered that the cause of death was phosphorus from some ends of matches, which the child had been seen to eat some days previous to her death. Dr. Houston was examined at the inquest, and stated that phosphorus was a very strong poison, but that it usually laid.in the..stomach a considerable time before Us effects appeared.