Untitled

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 225, 23 May 1872, Page 6

Tall Jumping. — Speaking of *he late Taranaki races the ffera'd thus dilates on the performance of Dick Turpin :—": — " The leaping of the horse was excellent, clearing the fences (3 feet 6 inches high,) by more than ten feet" A. Slight Difpekenck. — A writer in the Nelson Mail thus alludes to the two candidates for the vacant seat in the General Assembly:— "Mr Luckie,"he says, swears by the present Ministry, "Mr Richmond" swears at them." Kawarau's Representative. — The following requisition is being numerously signed in Cromwell and its environs : — To C. Hickey, Esq., M.P.C., Otago-We the undersigned electors of the Kawarau district in this Province, hereby desire you to place your resignation, as a member of the Provincial Council, in the hands of His Honor the Superintendent, feeling that our wants necessitate the attention of our representative, and that you can best serve the interests of your constituents by resigning the trust placed in your keeping." Sharp Practice. — An amusing case of this kind occurred lately at the Resident Magistrate's Court, at Wellington. A man named Campbell, well known in town, who has purchased .Borne. B orne book debts, was suing a debtor under them. He had been previously sued himself, and judgment obtained, but when asked to pay he said, " Oh ! yes, some time." When the case, in which he was plaintiff, was completed, he asked if he might leave his books in Court for a short time, and permission being given he did so. His creditor immediately applied for and obtained a distress warrant on his property »nd seized the books, which Campbell could not gather in his debts, and then kept them till the amount of his claim was paid. Export op Gold. — During the quarter ended March 31st last, the yield on the various gold producing Provinces of the Colony was as follows :— Auckland, 32,587 ozs., value Lllß,3B2; Marlborough, 9350z5., L 3.820; Nelson, 27,908 ozs., L111,(532; Westland, 34,484 ozs., L 137.936; Otago, 59,063 ozs., L 236.25 2; making together a total yield of 154.997 0Z3., of the value of 1,608,022. During the same quarter last year the total yield was 180,160 ozs., the value being L 676.981. There has been a very considerable falling off in the production of Auckland, while there is a considerable increase in the returns of Otago. The total quantity exported from the Colony from April 1857 to March 31st, 1872, was 6,427,875 ozs., of the declared value of 24,961,021 ozs. To this amount. Otago (including Southland), contributed 2,928.144 ozs., the value thereof being LU, 444,012. Invercargill Gaol. — A Council Paper was recently laid on the table of the Provincial Council, purporting to be a "Report on the Gaol, Invercargill, for the years 1871-72." It is in substance a simple statement, to the effect that the prisoners have behaved well, enjoyed good health, and been moderately industrious during the year ; and that the gaoler is underpaid. Having recorded these important items of information, the writer of the "report" seems to have been pumped dry by the "responsibility and anxiety " of his office ; and so he winds up with stating that he is " not aware of any other matter calling for special remark relative to the department." It never seems to have occurred to this responsible and anxiety-oppressed official — who by the way calls himself "gaoler" in the report itself, and "governor" after his signature— that any information respecting the number of prisoners who had come in or gone out of the Gaol during the year ; their ages, sex, nationality ; nature of the offences for which committed; duration of term of imprisonment, &c, could possess the slightest amount of interest for those for whose special benefit this unique report was prepared. It seems to us parfectly unaccountable how those who have the control of such matters should think it worth while to waste the public funds by printing such useless official trash. It should certainly either have been sent back for insertion of some of the items of real interest, or consigned to the waste-paper basket. Had the former course been taken, it might as well have been accompanied with a gentle hint that the first clause of the report might be susceptible of some improvement ; as seeing it is professedly written under date " 31st March, 1872,""it is not very clear— at least to most readers in this part of the "united Province" — how it can possibly nave been accompanied with an approximate estimate of expenditure, &c, "for the financial year commencing April, 1871, and ending March, 1872 " ? or, rather, of what possible use such an "estimate" could be to the head of a department, where the actual expenditure itself of the year referred to is recorded and kept ? Presentation. — The social gathering tendered to Mr James Smith by the Mutual Improvement Society and his spiritualistic admirers was held in the Masonic Hall last evening, and was a most decided success. After ample justice had been done to the tea and other good things provided by Mr Shand, the business of the evening was commenced, Mr Millar, F.S.A., occupying the chair. Mr Beveridge, the vice-president of the society, in the course of the remarks made by him, referred to the rumors that had been going about to the effect that Mr Smith bad delivered his lectures for mercenary purposes, and gave a flat denial to those reports, stating, that up to the present moment Mr Smith had not received a single penny from the Society on account of the lectures. Addresses on spiritualism were afterwards delivered by Messrs Stout, Carrick, and Redmayne, and Mrs John Logan presented Mr Smith with a purse of 50 sovereigns, as a token of the esteem in which he was held by the citizens. Mr Smith, in replying, said the services he had rendered to the Society or to the cause of Spiritualism haA been offered from a sense of duty. He would have been false to the guidance of his teachers, and ungrateful for the invaluable knowledge they had graciously bestowed on him if he had neglected to endeavor, to the best of his limited abilities, to amuse the public -with* such lectures as" he had written on secular subjects ; or to strive to instruct them by the delivery of those of which be was only the mouthpiece and which related to the most important event which could engage their attention as intelligent and immortal beings. Noticing the strictures made upon him by Dr Copland and referring to his own initiation into the mysteries of spiritualism he observed that it had been cleverly remarked that spiritualism had to pass through five stages. 1. The manifestations did not take place. 2. Spiritualism was a great imposture. 3. It was a- delusion. 4. It was the work of the devil 5. It was a great blessing, 'and people always said so." Just now,- he continued, its opponents were in the fourth stage, and spiritualists took comfort from, the assurance that the fifth was not far off. In the meantime he asked believers to show by their lives the influence which the belief had upon their character and conduct. ■In conclusion, he reiterated the expression of his sincere and heartfelt thanks for the handsome mark of their favor which he bad received, and assured them that he would alwayn cheiish agreeable recollections of > bis visit to Dunedin, and hoped to renew at some future day an acquaintance so pleaMrfly cammcnoe&.—St<ir, 14th,