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Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 270, 20 August 1872, Page 2

The various Banking Companies announce that in future they will charge one-fourth per centum exchange between Tiiames and Auckland. ... -I . ' In consequence of to-morrow haring been declared a public holiday, in commemoration of the opening of the Thames Industrial Exhibition, the local banks will be closed. We have received files of Wanganui papers to the 12th August, but their contents where of importance have all-been anticipated by telegram. A meeting of the Hauaeranga Board was to have been held last evening, but in consequence of there not being a sufficient number of members present to form a quorum,.the meeting lapsed without any business being done. It is very seldom indeed that such an occurrence takes place at the Hauaeranga Board. At the Police Court, yesterday, there were four cases of drunkenness, one of obscene language, and one of iarcenc.v by a Maori. In the latter case a fine of four times the valufc of the article stolen was imposed, and paid immediately. A meeting of the Shortland Fire Relief Fund Committee will be held at Butt’s Hotel on Thursday evening, at half-paat 7 o’clock. All persons having lists are requested to send them in, together: with the amounts collected, on or before that day, to Mr Cox, treasurer, or Mr J. C. Young, secretary. .

We are glad to see that the District fin* giheet.'Mf Millett, has lost no time in setting to work to give the machines a proper supply of water for their boilers. Yesterday morning he set men to work to prepare for attaching another 2-inch pipe on to the main, by which means double the preseut supply can be given. This will be a great boon to those interested, -.Ynore especially the United Pumping Association, who are now working away constantly. The Native Lands Court sat again, yesterday. A block called Te Papa, on the Kanaeranga,' was passed through without opposition. Several claims to succeed to hereditaments were.heard and disposed of. The Manaia Block, a large and important piece of ground, between Tapu and Coromandel, was next, called on. Several witnesses were examined, and'the case will be resumed to-day. The Grahamstown Volunteer Fire Brigade met last evening at the engine house, Queenstreet. There was a very goud attendance. Rule 23 was altered, and practice will in future take place every Monday evening, instead of Wednesday. Samples of helmets were submitted for approval by the Waiotahi Board, and the Brigade agreed to take them, they being very serviceable articles. Practice was then gone through for nearly two hours, and the men acquitted themselves very creditably. The engine and hose were then pla"cd ready for immediate use, in case of an emergency. So far the Grahamstown Volunteer Fire Brigade promises to be a decided success,

Mr Barchard, of the Union Hotel, Owenstreet, had a crowd of customers last evening to look at a singular monstrosity in the shape of a small pig with one head, two bodies, and eight legs. The animal is not alive, but preserved and kept in an air-tight glass case. It is said to have been brought from China, and that its owner is about to proceed to England. There is nothing to Eay for inspecting the curiosity, and all who ave a taste for such exhibitions should lose no time in calling on Host Barchard at the Union,

The following is a copy of the petition praying His Excellency the Governor to remit the remaining portion of the sentence passed two years ago upon Deputy-Assistant Commissary General Innis for embezzlement. We have no doubt the petition will be very numerously signed. The Governor will probably follow the same course that was adopted on a former occasion in reference to the same matter, by forwarding the document to the Chief Justice for his opinion thereon : “ Sheweth,—That Francis Inncs, late DeputyAssistant Commissary-General, stationed at Auckland, was tried at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court, held at Auckland, in the month of September, 1870,upon a charge of embezzling public monies, of which he was found guilty, and sentenced to penal servitude for a period of five years. That the prisoner for a period of ten years occupied the honourable position of DeputyAssistant Commissary-General in the Provinces of Otago, Wellington, Taranaki, and Auckland. That many of your petitioners' arc intimately acquainted with the prisoner, and with his habits, both in public and in private life, and we can assure your Excellency that his character, up to the time of his conviction, has been irreproachable, and without a stain. That on the day of September, 1872, the prisoner will have been imprisoned for a period of two years, during which time your petitioners believe that he has experienced extreme mental suffering, much greater than that feit by the ordinary class of criminals imprisoned. That the loss of the high and honourable commission which the prisoner held in the service of her Majesty, coupled with the loss of his pension and the position which he held in society, and the disgrace which has attached itself to, and must for ever follow him, have y. alone been a severe punishment to one of a susceptible and educated mind. That your petitioners would humbly desire to draw your bxcelleDcy’s attention to the foregoing facts, and also to the fact of the prisoner’s good conduct whilst in prison, and to submit to your Excellency that sufficient punishment has been "inflicted on the prisoner to satisfy the demands of justice. And your petitioners,” etc. When a mining company lets a portion of its ground on tribute the shares in the tributary company are expressively but vulgarly designated “ pups ” of the original concern. The shares of the Hustler’s Tribute No. 1 Co, (being an especially prominent affair) have become generally known as “ pups ” par excellence. So much by way of preface. A few days ago a gentleman from the country, whose brother (whom he somewhat resembles) is a sharebroker, was in Collin B-street. The country brother knows nothing of the sharemarket. When, therefore, he was suddenly accosted by a rubicund auctioneer, in a tone of intense earnestness, thus —“ I say, Brown, what shall Ido with ‘pups’?” be was nonplussed a moment, and then replied, “ Drown them, of course ; I always do.—Melbourne Leader.

A Cowardly Assault.— R. H. Lord, a journalist of some notoriety, was fined £5 and costs for assaulting a man named Robt. Kent in a brutal and cowardly manner in Wellington on the 30th ult. From the evidence, as published by the Independent , it seems that Kent, during a discussion on small-pox, remarked to Lord —“ What do newspaper men know about small-pox ?’ and that he knew Lord's antecedents, and all about his horse-whipping at Napier, Btating also that Lord was a d—d cur to allow himself to be horsewhipped. Lord did uot reseut this language at the time, but some days after came behind Rent, who was lighting a cigar, and struck him violently in the face, inflicting several severe cuts. The Bench said the assault was of too serious a nature to be passed over lightly, and fined the defendant as above stated Wanganui Chronicle.

Tasmania is tired of its Governor, of its officials, of its Parliament, of its railways, and of everything else that it has. Despairingly the Cornwall Chronicle asks—“ Is there to be no reduction of our astounding army of officials—no simplification of departments, nor economy in expenditure ? We see no hope of change for the better, unless, imitating the example of Jamaica, we pray our Parliament to consent to a reform of our constitution, and petition the Imperial Government to relieve us of a gift which, like the white elephant of Siam, is eating us out of house and home. A council of six or eight, elected by the colony as one electoral district, is what most thoughtful men among .us sigh for. A Governor such as Sir John Grant ought not to be impossible to obtain, and would be worth paying for. We have had quite enough of the ornamental ‘ constitutional ’ Governor. Let us have the practical man with power in his hands, who will take an active interest in our good government, rescue Tasmania the slough of despond into which she has fallen, and revive the languishing industry of the colony.” The Marquis of Bute is said to have come into £2,000,000 on attaining liis majority, and to enjoy a revenue of £300,000 a year. About two years ago an old Welsh philosopher, named Williams, left him £200,000, on the principle that to him who hath shall be given. There is at the present time a suit going on in which the Marquis is the plaintiff, and which, if it should be decided in his favour, will bring him an additional £40,000 a year, besides arrears, which at the present time amounts to £115,000. Cardiff has immensely benefited by this great accumulation of wealth. The docks projected by the late Marquis have so enormously increased the trade of the port that nearly 9,000 ships enter annually. The present Marquis is now constructing a new dock at a cost of £500,000. The original Cardiff Castle, in which Robert Duke of Normandy was imprisoned, is a ruin. The more modern i structure, which was obtained possession of by Oliver Cromwell, has been enlarged by its present owner, who has built a mediaeval tower, from the designs of Mr Burgess, at a cost Of £60,000,” .

“ Rocambole ” was reproduced at the Theatre Royal to but a scanty audience. The play .was, however, very well put on and played in spite of the drawbacks. To-mor-row night Mr Keogh will take a benefit, when “ Under the Gaslight,” will be put on the stage and can hardly fail to draw a large audjence, the excellence of the piece being sufficient inducement for the public to come forward in large numbers, even if the occasion were not a benefit to one of our most painstaking actors. Last night the Rev. Mr Buller delivered a a lecture on “Recreation” to a moderately large assembly at the Grahamstown Wesleyan Church. Mr Buller’s long and varied experience of life in the colony, during which he must have, as an observant man, seen the good and ill effects of different sorts of amusement and recreation, fits him admirably for discoursing on this subject. Mr Buller explained very lucidly that recreation is more- than mere amusement, being a diversion from one mode of activity to another, as for instance, when some of our greatest legislators at home, after the fafic- c »f a long debate in Parliament took thrir reerv. ation in the study of the old Latin au; hom. TA r Buller impressed on his audience that affccT a hard day’s labour it was not necessary for people to seek pleasure in places where vice existed. Mr Buller, in the course of his remarks, strongly condemned dancing all night, theatre goiug, billiard playing, &c., showing in glowing colours the misery which almost invariably resulted from following these pleasures too closely. He read during the lecture passages from various authors suited to the occasion, which were invariably well selected and well delivered. At the conclusion of the lecture a vote of thanks to the Chairman, Mr Kernick, was carried by acclamation, and after singing the Doxology the meeting broke up. The Herald says :—“ A horse harnessed to a tax-cart which was standing at the door of Mr Lavers, seedsman, suddenly took it into his head to start off, and turning sharp round at the same time, crossed the footpath apparently with a view to investigating the interior of the paint and oil warehouses of Mr Philips. Such au unpleasant visit was, however, stopped by the complete capsizing of the cart on the causeway and the immediate capture of the horse by some bystanders. Neither horse nor vehicle, when righted, appeared any the worse for their mishap.— Herald. Douglas’s patent boat disengaging apparatus, fiitted to the ship Wild Deer’s boat, has lately undergone a series of further tests. On the departure of the p.s. Nevada, the boat was hoisted up to her quarter. Captain Whitson, of the Deer, was in charge, with a full crew. He has also accompanied by Captains Macfarlane, Cummins, and others. On the steamer proceeding down the Bay some distance, her paddles at full speed, and going at about eleven knots, the t oat was instantly dropped into the backwash without shipping any sea. On Friday last the same routine was gone through from the davits of the s.s. Albion going about eleven and a-half knots. On this occasion, Captain Peacock, of the William Davie, accompanied Captain Whitson. Both tests proved highly successful, gave general satisfaction to all concerned, and elicited clicers from the spectators. Those on board the Albion included his Honor the Superintendent and a number of M.H.R’s. —Otago Daily Times, July 15.

A race with steam has been run and won by a herd of deer. This extraordinary event occurred in one of the defiles of the Rocky Mountains, and on the line of the great Pacific Railway. The course was six miles long, and very narrow. At the starting point there was a little stream, which proved the occasion of the race, for here a herd of deer were quietly refreshing themselves, when suddenly a train approached. The engine driver thought to frighten the troop and clear the roacl by letting off steam and blowing his shrillest whistle ; but the demoniacal appearance of the engine only served to throw the timid animals into such a panic that instead of stepping aside they rushed madly into the defile in front of the train. The pass now grew so narrow that there was room only for the train, and still the herd was in front. The driver, thinking time would not allow him to slacken speed sufficiently to save the poor animals, determined to make short work of an unavoidable butchery by putting on full steam. But the intense terror produced by their unearthly enemy had such effect on the deer, that making a supernatural effort, they exceeded in the speed of their despair anything as yet on record. At moments well nigh overtaken, they fiually reached the open, after a course of six miles, and turning aside stopped unharmed to rest themselves, while the train flew on—its passengers loudly applauding so gallant a feat.