GENERAL NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 255, 19 December 1872, Page 6

GENERAL NEWS.

Mr H. C. Brewer, Judge's associate, has been admitted a barrister aud aolicitur of the Supreme Court. •

Captain Chapman, of H.M.v Dido, has accepted the offer of the Otago ■ -ock Board, »nd will place the vessel in the Port Chalmers Graving Dock on his return from the south.

The Evangelical Alliance has requested that the Christian Church throughout the world will observe the week from the sth to the 12th January, 1873, as a season of special prayer for the revival of religion.

The sentence of death passed on the convict Caroline Witting has been commuted to that of penal servitude for life. The intelligence was conveyed on the evening of the 4th to the prisoner, who received it without displaying any emotion.

Very variable has been the weather in the Arrow district during the past week. At noon on Monday last, the .barometer registered Sldeg. in the shade ; while during the evening of the next day it was down to 48deg.— Star, Dec. 11.

The body of David Robertson, drowned in the Orari, was recovered on the afternoon of December 5, and interred. The money mnd papers found in the pockets have been handed over to the authorities. It is said that Robertson had some Uttle property loth urthe Oatnaru district and in Dunedin

We understand that it is likely that his Excellency the Governor,,. will, be accom* panied on his visit to Utagobytjie Hon. W. H. Keynolds— the Hon. Mr Waterhouse, who was to have accompanied hire, being prevented doing so by official duties. Mr Beynolds will afterwards start from Dunedin direct to Australia to attend the Cenference there.

Private advices received from England (says the Age) say great objection is urged against small shipments of wool to the European market. Such lots do not reach their full value, as the large buyers do not notice them ; and the small buyers, who do not number many, have the article at mueb. their own price. It is strongly recommended to the producers to hold small lots over until » fair shipment can be made.

The Southland Times has been shown a specimen of copper ore brought from Moke Creek, in the Lake district, which seems to indicate that^a vast- amount of mineral

wealth awaits development in the locality nunteti; We believe, .that the deposit is so .rich that in some places solid pieces of copper maysbeseen. A sample is to be forwarded to Dunedin to Professor Black, for analysis.

In a letter to Mr Steward, M.H.R., the Provincial Under-Secretary states, in reference to the harbor works at Oamaru. that the Government purposes, irrespective of the loan under the iVorth Otago Public Works Loan Bill, LSOOO of which is to be raised at once for dock purposes,- to fulfil its previous promises, viz., to expend out of revenue a sum not exceeding L 20.000 ; and that of this amount L 12,000 has been already expended. Speaking of the receipt of the news in Kelson' that the boat belonging to the City of Newcastle had been picked up, a' writer in the Mail says:-- "A bardy sailor, who first heard the news on the arrival of his ' ship in our harbor, remarked, within my hearinp, ' I daresay I was a big fool; but I couldn t help, turning round in my bunk and having a good blubber when I was told of it.' Perhaps some of us can sympathisewith him." Here is an item that will interest ladies.

The Dolly Varden does not seem' to take.' In England we hear that this rustic liead-piecp, is passing away. At the last race-meeting in Jerome Park, New York, which was attended by over 2000 of the most fashionable ladies of New, York, not a single Doily Varden could be seen. In Auckland this crumbly hat may occasionally be seen shading a pretty face, but it is not worn generally, except by ladies who do not study the latest fashions. Most people have heard of that eccemtric individual Willie Steel, who styles himself " nature's songster." He has lately been on the " stump" in Hokitika, where at one of his entertainments about fifteen persons were present, some of whom were making amusement for themselves, having recourse for that purpose to vocal imitations of instrumental music. This proceeded for some time, Willie persevering in his singing, when some blackguards who were outside the building, squirted in some liquor of so horribly offensive an odour that the hall was cleared of its occupants with all speed. The Tivies very properly hopes that the perpetrators will be discovered, and be made to pay the penalty of their blackguardism.

At the Central Board of Health meeting on Saturday, resolutions were carried expressive of approval of the -action taken by the late Health Board in reference to the ships Christian M'Ausland and Palmerston ; that the single men ex Christiaa M'Ausland, also the ship, and all on board, be admitted to pratique to-day, provided no fresh case has occured ; that the whole of the passengers by the same vessel now on the quarantine island, with the exception of infected families be admitted to j/ra-

tiqueon Saturday next, after due medical inspection ; that all of. the Palmerston's passengers who have .been infected within the past six weeks be at once removed to the island ; and that the remaining passengers by the Palmerston be removed to lighten to be moored off the smaller island, with a view to their being admitted to pratique on Monday, the 23rd instant, and the ship as 'soon as all fittings are removed and the vessel ffimiga^ed. . Our readers will learn with much regret thatf !Mr A. C. Strode, R.&,.rpet with a serious 1 accident yesterday; Hje. was on horsebicVon his way taPtheSnnda? . School in fl»rioyer J street, and' had arrived at "the corner" of 'Moray' place and Fifieul titreetj.wh'en th' 6 hoTse trod oh a loose stone and'stuinbled. He tried in vain to Recover and ' ultimately fell and rolled over JHr. otrpde " In' its effort to rise, the horse strudt Mr Strode' near the grown of the gead with one of bin hind feet.'and jnftictejl ', a sgyerg s.;alp-wound about two, inches long. |fjr HaaseU, wto happened to be. hesr, assisted Afr Strode into {he h,oose of 'Mr Nicpll, Fmeul street, where he wa.< attended '$• |jjy Dr. Carp, of Wajtahuna, who happened to, be near, subsequently by Dr. Alexander. On examination, both medical . gentlemen, concurred that though Mr Strode •WV cut about the forehead and much bruued about the arms and body, ■ he has not received serious injury. We, are glad to be able to state that last evening he was progressing favorably. The "Story of the Brooch." that is going the rounds of Boss at present, certainly rereals a case of the sharpest practice yet on record. One of the prizes in an art union lately got up by Mr Proctor, of Hokitika, the brooch was drawn by a man in needy circumstances, and who had, the misfortune to have a judgment creditor; The lucky' winner, wishing to make the' most of the prize' again, decided to rafj^e the brooch.', and Ipy^HTP^fPows g»7e tf> » ''tittle'nisui" W«o U \yell up in these matter*. The brooch, •was left at » well-known hostelry in Ayltner street, where all visitors wen invited to inspect the prize and take a ohanc« in the art

union. Among the 'parties . Who inspected the brftocK, v lU-lnek would h»v« it. wm this judgment creditor, who immediately set about plotting how to get hold of it, and ho* well he succeeded the sequel will show. The judgment creditor and a friend entered an hotel where the brooch was- on view, and, after indulging in bitters, expressed themselves willing to take chances in the raffle, and asked to see the prize. Nothing doubting, the di G penKor of liquors handed the brooch over for inspection, and the " friend " took such a fancy for it that no persuasion could induce him to give up possession, and finally he brought it away to a place of safe keeping, from whence it is not likely to be released, unless through the medium of the Court. The Guardian says: "Who the 'friend 1 was is known to most of the Ross people ; but for the benefit of those who have not yet had the pleasure of making bis acquaintance, we may state ie is a gentleman who very often takes possession of property against one's will, and when once he has a hold, he ' sticketh like a brother.' "

Two presentations were made at Onmaru last week. The first was to Staff-Sergeant M'Pheraon, who received a handsome gold ring and a small puree of sovereigns, in token of the appreciation of the Oamaru Company of Volunteers of his services, diligence' and urbanity. The other was a valedictory presentation by the pupils of the Oamaru Grammar School to the late second master, , Mr A. Fleming, who is about to assume the Rectorship of the Grammar School, Invercargill. The presentation was a handsome gold watch from the atelier of Mr Lumsden, inside the case, of which was the following inscription :— " Presented to Mr A. Fleming by his colleagues and pupils, on leaving the Gamaru Grammar School for that of Invercargill. December, 1872." The agitation at Cromwell, re commonage, is allayed. The Superintendent has telegraphed to the Mayor that he has arranged with Mr Loughnan, the ruuholder, for 7UUO acres ; that he is also negotiating for a small agricultural lease block ; and that he is endeavoring to come to terms with two other holders of runs contiguous to Cromwell. The Secretary for L.inda has also telegraphed that the extent of the block the Government are seeking to obtain for agricultural purposes is 1500 acres. The local paper admits thnt the proposed commonage is large — nearly eleven square miles of country — but says before the district's requirements are satisfied, an e^ual extent of land from each of the other adjacent runs will have to be obtained.

The following notifications appear in the last number of the New Ztalmd Gazette : — The Governor delegates to Hon. W. H. Reynolds, the Commissioner of Customs, tlie power to appoint and remove officers and persons subordinate to the Commissioner, to collect aud manage the Customs, &'\\ so long as he shall hold the Commissionership ; John Keen and Joseph Crocombe, to be Registrars of Births, A.c, at Palmerston and Waikouaiti respectively • that Mr George Tuinbnli's resignation as a trustee of the Dunedin Savings Bank has been accepted ; that the certificate of John Bain as a master mariner has been cancelled ; Dr Alexander to be a medical referee under the Government Annuities Act for the Dunedin country districts ; Sir David Munro, the Hon. Mr Stafford, and Mr Travera to be Governors of the ifew Zealand Institute.

It transpires that Mr Brogden, 'while in Melbourne, previous to his departure for England, made an offer to the Victorian Government to lay a cable between that Colony and New Zealand. The Age says " at this stage, therefore, it would be premature te speculate upon' the character of the proposals that have been made, or as to how far they may clash with subsequent offets to be made by the New Zealand Government ; but there are' certain broad considerations that cannot be entertained too early. There will certainly be some slight advantage to tKis_Cblonyin having a >• ew Zealand cable landed on ifco -oouaii, — ia prefor*n<w fe? auuie oJher portion of the Australian seaboard while it certainly will be more to the interest of New Zealand to be immediately connected with Melbourne than with any other metropolitau oity in Australia. The New Zealand Government will, no doubt, ktep the question of the Australian terminus an open one, until it has been ascertained what support the eastern Australian Colonies will respectively give to the scheme. The question of cable communication with 2New Zealand is a subject that may be appropriately dealt with at the approaching Inter-colonial Conference, to the extent of the representatives of each Colony agreeing to propose a plan to their respective legislatures, by which' New Zealand may be united with the Australian main by a cable that shall be laid, maintained, and worked, chiefly at the cost of New Zealand, but aided ■by the contributions of the other Colonies; the object of their co-opera-tion being to ensure that theiK interests shall be duly considered in the working of the line. If the different Governments act wisely, we may look forward to the time when the whole of the telegraphic lines on this side of Java will be in the hands of the Colonial Governments ; a consummation that is desirable, on grounds of state policy, as well as for the immediate benefit of all public and private interests. It is to such a scheme as this that the Imperial Government would, without doubt, give substantial aid ; and this is a calculation that should enter largely into the consideration of the several Australian Governments."

The Auckland fire has not been without, its lesson, for the destruction of the Proviacial records has led to attention being called to the safety of Colonial documents in case of fire. The Independe nt, alluding to the subject, cays :— " If the Provincial Gov ernment'of Auckland is to be blamed tor not having safes or strong-rooms in a stone building, what should be said' of the General Government, which- has for many years allowed the most valuable and important records of the Colony — those in the Crown Lands Office and in the office of the Regis-trar-General — to remain entirely nonprotected upon shelves, in Wooden TtmiltUngs ? The Regi«|raf-General's o&ce'js in 'a dilapidated half-empty wooden building next door to a public fifljuse. The whole atmosphere' of the place is 'iqdic'atiye of dust srad decaj. Piles of docunients' of one sort or another are heaped up upon fae floors j papers are, protruded in c.very direction, , aud the whole glace is. sufch tha.t if it had been constructed purposely that it might he consumed in the shortest space of time, it could not have been better arranged. There is not a single iron safe — not the slightest proteotion against fire j for the documents, a large proportion of which seriously affect the whole community, and aould not be replaced. The Crown Lands Office is in a better condition so far as its internal appearance is concerned, but there — until a day or two ago — the whole of the registers of Crown grants, the whole of the title deeds of the Colonial Government, and numberless incomplete Crown grants depended for their safety in case of fire upon being rescued from an upper room approached by a narrow staircase. If this is the state of things in the offices named, what is the condition of the public documents in the Y a .W UB Provincial, offices? The GoVernment We, we are_ informed, appointed a commission, co-nsistiiig ojf. l£r Gaaborjie and Dr Knight, |o enquire wto the whole • question of the custody of_ th> public, Every department should have a. fireproof safe, or bnck room, in which every day, after office hour*, all important and irreplaceable document* ihould U deposited,"

We'iindentand that the work of preparing tne aew Gftldfields Bill to b« presented to Parliament next session has been entrusted by the General Government to Mr B. C. Haggitt, M'- T. L. Shepherd, M.H.K., and Mr Mount of Lawrence, who have already placed themselves in communication with the Mining Conference. Mr Hagnitt's name is a guarantee that the new measure will be draft d with care, and the practi al knowledge of Mr Mouat, together with Mr Shepherd's experience in mining matters, warrant the belief that the new Bill will be of an eminently liberal character.

Messr« Shepherd and M'Kerrow returned to Oau.aru on Sunday, and Mr Shepherd to town to-day, from their visit to the Maerewhenua Goldfield. While there they visited all the races and interviewed the miners. Of course tho precise nature of their report cannot be ascertained until after it nas been senfc in to the Government, but the Oam-'ru Times believes it will ho found an exhaustive one, aud that one of its recommendations will be, that no auriferous land be alienated. The Commissioners state that there is a large area of ground which only requires a proper supply of water to yield handsome returns. A race, which is being brought in from the upper part of the Kakanui, forming a subject of complaint by Messrs Anderson and Mowat (whose mill is driven by a race brought from the same river at a point lower down) on the ground that the diversion of the water above will lessen their water-power, the Commissioners proceeded to the mill in question and will report upon this matter also. There will be another difficulty to adjust, viz , as between the 'miners and the sbeepowners, the latter oomp'aining that the fouling of the ftreiim interferes with the wool- washing. — Star, llth.

Mr W. G. Kemp.' T.&C.P. andM.R.C.S., of Wellington, New Zealand, sends to the British Medical Journal au account of six casea of rheumatism, in which kerosene appears to have acted almost as a specific. The dose is^aTieaspoohful in a wineglassf ul of water every other night. It produces ho unpleasant symptoms, no loss of appetite, and has no effect upou the bowels or kidneys. Mr Kemp aays : -" Although kerosene caunot be called a specific for rheumatism, I think that the cases cited are quite sufficient to induce medical men to give it a fair' trial. 1 am unable to find any unpleasant symptom caused by taking kerosene. The great objections with many persons to taking it are the unpleasant taste and smell. Some have taken it in water or milk, but 1 ha<e lately heard a patient say he coud tnko it best with salt ; a pinch of salt being put into the mouth and allowed to dissolve, aii'i the oil then swallowed, mixed with rbis bulk of water. lam not aware of the remedy having ever been used internally ; bat 1 trust some medical men u-ill be found who will give it a trial, and record the results of their cases. Externally, it is of great use in cases of bums, whether severe or slight j it aeeinu to relieve pain more than any other appli a tion, especially if resorted to as soon as the injury is received. I have known cases of severe burn to heal up rapidly under its use alone "

The Registration and Revision Bill, now before the Anglican-Church Synod, is one which no doubt will excite considerable interest amongst members of that body, it provides for the appointment of registrars in each parish or . district throughout the diocese, whose duty it will be to annually make up lists of all persons claiming to vote in the election of members of Diocesan or General Synod. Eariv in April of each year all such lists are to be affixed to the doors of the churches or other public places in the districts for which they have been compiled ; but no persou claiming to vote can have his name placed on the list- after the 31st of March. Lists of the names of .persons objected to are to be exhibited in like manner. En July the Revision Court will hold its sittings, when all claims and objections will be iteteidetf ana tin; Uoio P <»»f.«>wa. a*ixc cicuturtti qualification is simply a declaration of Church membership- in the presence of witnesses, The appointment of registrars and revisingofficers, and the general administration of the measure, will rest with the Diocesan Standing Committee.

By the Warrior Queen, from London, Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. have received, in first-rate order, six Merino combing wool rams, from the celebrated breeding flock of Heltz of Saatel, in Pomerania, near'Stralsund. This flock, which has been in the possession of the Holtz family for fifty-five years, came first from Kliphausen in Saxony, whence it was removed to Mecklenburg, in 1813 ; from that to Saatel, in 1817, where it has been ever since. Fresh blood has been imported into the floek — firstly through the Kenzlar rams, and secondly through the Bddebuck rams ; but since 1860 the breeding has remained unmixed. It is claimed for the sheep of this flock that they yield a long, fine, equal grown wool, of great lustre and strength of fibre, combing the finest quality, with the utmost procurable quantity. The shearing weight of the ewes averages 71b. by fleece washing. That of the rams, unwashed, is from 161 b. upwards, some yielding as much as 261 b. The rams are now in the Provincial Yards, where they may be seen by anyone interested in sheep-breeding.

The Thames Advertiser says: — "Mr W. 8. Grahame, one of the London directors of the new National Bank of New Zealand, and * well-knewn colonist, is expected in Auckland by the Wonga Wonga, now due, his mission being to prepare for the floating of the shares, that have been allotted to New Zealand in the new undertaking, and to arrange preliminaries for the starting of the bank. We believe the colonial headquarters of the new institution will be in Dunedin. It is said, on what we believe to be good authority, that Mr Graham, is to receive a sum of L2OOO for his services in the niatter, fiutth'e amonnt appears] so large, th^at we should' not give' credence to the report were % not 'for the fact that the London 'directors have bee'uxejmark' ably liberal towards themselves their proposals for remunerating the directory. 'Itu'tro bi hoped, that the same liberality will be shoffn \o- the clerks and other officials of the new bank, so that there may be nothing to. complain of. Bank clerks are certainly nott overpaid in New Zealand.