West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBEE 13,1867.

West Coast Times, Issue 667, 13 November 1867, Page 2

West Coast Times. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBEE 13, 1867.

The Hon. John Hall left for Wellington yesterday via Christchurch by Cobb and Co.'i coach. We believe that Mr Hall will return to Westland early in December, in order to inaugurate fcho new 6ystem of Government under tho Westland County Bill. In the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterterday, Frederick Manning was fined 10a, for being drunk and incapable, with the option of twenty-four hours' imprisonment in default of payment. His Worship disposed of about forty civil cases, not one of which was defended. It is said that Mrs O'Neil, late Miss A. M. Quinn, has removed from Melbourne to Sydnoy. Tho preparations for the reception of H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, both iv Melbourne and Sydnoy, aro said to be on a scale of tho utmost magnificence. We understand that the Lyster Opera Troupe, are likely to visit Hokitika, and appear at tho Prince of Wales Opera House, in January noxt. At the Spring meeting of the Victoria Racing Club, the following are tho winners of the various events : — Maiden Plato, Sylvia ; Ascot Vale Stakes, Fenella ; Tho Melbourne Cup, Tim Whiffler ; the Handicap Hurdle race, Phyrrus. The weather, although at times some smart showers fell, was much finer yesterday, and the evening although cold, was clear with bright moonlight. Miss Carry Cooper took a benefit at tho Prince of Wales Opera House, last evening. Tho performances consisted of a soeno from Richard 111, a scene from Hamlet, a farce, and a variety of singing and dancing. Colonel Elliott, of tho 18th Royal Irish, arrived in Melbourne on 31st ultimo, in the steamship Somersetshire, en route for New Zealand. Lotters and papers for'liis Royal Highness tho Duke of Edinburgh, and tho officers and men of H.M'.S. Galatea, wore received in Hobart Town by the last English mail. Tho Hobart Town papers, therefore, are sanguine that the Prince will visit Tasmania. According to the lateat advices from England, Mr Charles Dickons is stated to be in a critical state of health, and his intended voyage to America is probably prompted more by consideration for his physical well-being than anything else. Eminent surgeons have recommended change of air and scene, and cessation from literary labor for some timo to come. In the ninth annual report of the Scotch registrar-general, 'published early this year, Dr Stark announced tho result of an investigation ho had been making as to the relative death-rates of the married and unmarried iv Scotland at different periods of life. Ho had discovered that between twenty and thirtyfive years of age the dcafch-rate of Scotch bachelors in 1863, wa3 double that of married men ; that between twonty-flvo aud thirty the deaths of the single to thoso of the married mou wero us 13.7 to 8.6 ; that the difference in favor of marriage wa3 as constant at erary quinquennhl period. Mr Ebden, who is well knowa as a member of tho Legislative Council of Victoria, i 3 dead. Speaking of him, the "Argus" remarks: — " Tho late Mr C. H. Ebden, we hear, has made very liberal provision by will for the various members of his family. To Mrs Ebden he leaves L20,000j to his only son, now fourteen years of ago, L 60.000, to be paid to him when Ihe comes of age : and L 25,000 to each of his two daughters." Tho Melbourne " Argus" has the following remarks in an article on the Now Zealand Goldfields :— •" All the faots of the case, in short, seem to- point out that tho volcanic i region between Lake Wakatip and Nelson has been tho source from which has been washed sut the gold found in Otago, in the western parts of Canterbury, and in the province of Nelson. Tho area of the field, therefore, is presumably limited, though its richnes3 may be very great, and its permanence may not bo matter of dispute. Quartz reefs and cement loados bearing gold have been discovered over a wide extent of ground ; aud when, years henco, the alluvial fiolds are exhausted, they will no doubt be worked as energetically as they are in jthis colony. So far as discovery has followed the labors of tho miner, it would lead to tho impi'cssion that the goldfields of New Zealand will bo of limited extent, though of inexhaustible richness. The maximum of their produce has probably been reached already ; but their can bo no doubt that they will continuo to supply, for a period to which no limit can be fixed, a refreshing stream of that precious metal which has done so much for trade and commerce." We tako the following from the Melbourne " Argus" : — Our readers will remember that during the New Zealand war of 1860 a largo sum was subscribed in Melbourne to reliove the distresses of tho colonists at Taranaki whoso proporty had boen destroyod by the ravages of the natives. Owing, however, to the liberality of tho New Zealand Government, little or no portion of this sum was required for the purposes for which it was subsoribedi and the money, therefore, lies idlo in the

banks. About two years ago, an amicable suit was commenced in the Supreme Court, to obtain the direction of the judges as to the distribution of the funds, as they could not be applied to their original destination. A decree was made, instructing tho Master in Equity to inquire whethej^ there were any persons who could properly claim to be relieved out of the funds, and in accordance with this direction advertisements were inserted in Melbourne and New Zealand newspapers, inviting those who considered they had any claims upon the money to come forward and substantiate them. Several applications were sent in, but all of them were disallowed, and the Master then procoeded to consider how the money, which, amounted to about L 2500, should be dealt with. After two years' incubation, he produced a report, which was yesterday presented to the Equity Court. In it he recommonded that the sum, should be divided into throe portions — one to bo given to the Sailors' Home building fund, on condition that an amount equal to the interest on that portion should be yearly spent by the home for the relief of shipwrecked persons in distress ; that another should bo given to the Benevolent Asylum '• and the balance allotted to the new hospital. Wo believe that it is one of the rules which guide the Court in such cases to apply the fund to an object having some resemblance to that for which it was intended in the first instance; but, of course, in this particular instance it is almosk impossible to discover any purpose having any connexion with the relief of distressed Taranaki settlers. Wo understand that objections have been, filed •gainst the Master's report, so that the matter will yet bo discussed by the Court ; and as it is a subject which rests in tho discretion of th« judge, it may not yet be too late to bring forward other suggestions for the expenditure of the balance now in tho bank." The Melbourne "Argus" is responsible for the following :—: — " Among the innumerable processes of a- Alterations to which human food has been subjected from time to timei none is of a more reprehensible character than the disgusting practice in vogue among butchers, technically known as " veal spout" ing." This filthy process is conducted by the operator filling the mouth with warm liquid fat and spurting it over freshly-killed meat ; the carcass is afterwards subjected to an inflating operation, by blowing through inserted pipe-stems, quills, or straws. By this means a white delicate tint is imparted to the meat. Two charges of this nature were preferred a few days ago at the District Court against Mr G-eorge Petty, butcher. The offence was proved, and Mr Hackett inflicted a fine of 10s, with 10s costs in each instance." An instance of being struck by lightning is t'aus described by Mr Budden, J.P., of Bald Hills, Victoria, in a letter to a Cre3wick paper : — " On Thursday morning, while I was standing in front of the fire in my house, the lightning passing down the chimney, struck my right hand, passed up tho arm, and down the side, lifting me completely off my feet, and throwing me heavily down on my back, depriving mo for a timo of my senses. At the same moment a tree^in front of my house was struck, killing two parrots, and tearing up the solid wood into splinters ; the lightning ran down the trunk into the ground, leaving dg* track deeply cut and several inches wide. T: think I may attribute the safety of mj life to the fact that the tree must have taken away the principal force of the lightning, or I should not be here to tell the tale. My right side even now feols quite numb, and I am scarcely able to raise my hand to my head." " Very great inconvenience " (remarks the "Press") "ha 3 hitherto been felt, owing to the unsatisfactory way in which the Acts passed in the General Assembly from time to time have been treated at the close of each, session. There has boon an entire absence of any systematic attempt to compile and distribute them within a reasonable time of the period appointed for their coming into operation. Iv mauy cases it has been found impossible to obtain Acts which had been passed- for several months, and had already come into force but could not be carried into offect soeing that their provisions wore unknown even to those specially charged with their execution. This is not the only inconvenience which the public have suffered in this respect, for there has often been very great difficulty in ascertaining whether a particular Act passed in a previous .'session, and with the provisions of which the public were perhaps well acquainted, had come into operation or not. Tho general rule on this point is that a Bill becomes law as soon as it has reoeived the assent of his Excellency tha Governor as the Queen's representative, but in many cases some future day is fixed as that of the] commencement of tho Act. It is of course very much better that the latter of these two rule 3 should be adopted, but it is very necessary that definite and sufficient notice should be given of the date from which the new law is to take effect, in order that those effected by it may make themselves conversant with its chief features, and bo prepared to act upon it when the times arrives. The whole of the New Zealand Acts are admitted to be in a most extraordinary position. There are statutes which are still in force, but copies of which are not to be obtained for love or money. A single manuscript copy of an important Act passed in the General Assembly in 1859 is in the custody of an officer of the Government in this city, and i 3 regarded as a valuable curiosity, which may be seen as a favor in cases of pressing necessity ; and there are many of the older Acts which are almost as scarce, and wluch cannot be obtained through the ordinary channels. It may not be generally known, says the " Braidwood Dispatch," .that the Order of Freemasonry is very popular among the Chinese. Members of tho craft muster in great force in the Braidwood district of New South Wales ; and we have been informed by some gentlemen who were present at one of their lodge meetings the other night, and who wero initiated into the mysterieß of the Chinese order, that they carry out all the l myitic rites and ceremonies with which Free* J masonry is endowed to a far greater extent than tho European orders. On the occasion of tho visit of the English gentlemen to whom wo allude to the Chinese lodge at Jembaicumbone, there were no less than 400 membsrs present— all Chinese. These gentlemen were mado members that night, with about fifty Chinese. The proceedings commenced at high twelve at night, and it was six o'clock in the morning before the English visitor* 1 turn came,