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Westport Times, Volume II, Issue 235, 2 May 1868, Page 2

At a sittings in the Insolvent jurisdiction yesterday, held by Mr Harris, registrar, not a single insolvent, creditor, or attorney, of a long list of bankrupts put in an appearance—certainly rather a singular fact. One insolvent, Courtney, was to have had his final hearing, but was as absent as the others, and the meeting was adjourned. Mr Harris goes to Brighton to-day on official business, and will come back on Tuesday next.

We understand that Mr Kynnersley will not return to Westport for a month. What the reason of his long absence is we do not know, but possibly he may be remaining in Nelson till the Estimates, or other matters in connection with this coast are disposed of by the Council. No doubt his advice and assistance will be valuable to the Executive, and we only hope that his suggestions in reference to the public works of the district will be attended to.

The shooting gallery formerly erected in Ereeman-street has been removed to G-ladstone-street, next to the Nelson Hotel. Mr Melville is about getting it newly decorated and making every improvement for the accommodation of his customers. A large number of persons patronise the shooting now, especially the Volunteers, and a good opportunity is afforded to those who wish to try their hands at a short range prior to practising with the Enfields.

As soon as there is a break in the stormy weather we may expect a rush of steamers in the Buller. There are in Nelson, or en route here, the Nelson, Kennedy, Murray, and John Penn. Erom Wanganui we may expect the Wallabi and Wanganui early, and the Waipara hourly. We shall also, no doubt, have the Bruce tomorrow or Monday from Hokitika, so altogether we may expect a perfect squadron of the colonial steam fleet.

In another column we publish a carefully compiled table, showing the dates that the English mail, via Suez, are due during the current year, under the new arrangement for a mail every four weeks instead of every calendar month as formerly. This will, we doubt not, prove useful to both mercantile men and ordinary correspondents, and the dates may be thoroughly relied on. "We have added the Panama times of arrival and departure with the European and American mails, as well as the previously published inter-colonial table of the Panama boats for this month of May. The weather yesterday continued boisterous and inclement, and a heavy gale blew in the early part of the day from the north-east. The several boats now due from Nelson would not be able to get round the spit, and to this we may attribute the fact of none of them putting in an appearance. The glass, however, continued high, and the weatherwise expected the wind to go round to the southward in a few hours. A little fresh was caused in the river, but nothing of any moment and no damage by land or water was done. At Mokihinui, on Thursday, there was a pretty good fresh on when the Lioness came away, and it is surprising that the Buller was not similarly affected. At the time of .writing the weather is still unsettled and threatening, and there is every probability of a great deal more rain. We are requested to draw attention to the sale of the Quartz Eeef Hotel, Freeman-street, by Messrs Robertson and Co., this day, at two o'clock. A grand masquerade ball will take place at Hamilton's Apollo Music Hall, on Monday next, and a large number are expected to be present. Dresses, &c, can be obtained by the masqueraders, on hire, and every preparation is being made to render the ball a complete success.

The challenge recently given by John Collins to dance John Burgess, has been accepted by the latter, and this contest of skill will come off on Satur-

day night at the Apollo Music Hall. Both the competitors are well-known to be accomplished professors of the art, and both have numerous admirers who are equally confident in the skill of their respective favorites. The match is to be for £25 a-side, and the judges will be picked from the spectators.

The following account of a sad disaster appears in the Tasmanian Times —Mr ievell, chief officer of the whaling barque Flying Childers, lost his life on AVednesday, the 12th ult., off the South-west Cape. The unfortunate deceased was fast to a whale, and was standing in the bows of the boat, when a loose whale rose under her ;nose, and by some means or the other one of the lances got adrift and passed through the calf of Mr Kevell's leg, making a large wound, the bleeding from which could not be stopped, and the unfortunate man bled to death. Mr Eevell was a fine young man, 24 years of age. An inquest was held at which the following evidence was taken. Mr Curtis was boat-steerer on board the whaling barque Flying Childers. On "Wednesday, 12th ult., about 11 o'clock, the deceased and four men were in a boat with witness, about nine miles off South-west Cape. They were to the south-east of the Cape. They were fast to a whale, when a loose one suddenly rose behind the bow of the boat and stove her in, taking the bow clean off by the thigh board. It also bent one of the lances, and drove it through the left leg of the deceased, just below the calf, coming right out on the outer side, just above the ancle. The deceased had used one of the lances. He drew the lance out of the wound himself. The captain's boat came to the rescue, and deceased got into it, and was taken on board the ship at once. Witness remained in the stove boat to take her on board. She was kept afloat by two men baling her. Afterwards saw deceased on board. There were six hands in the boat when the accident happened. No one was thrown into the water. She was not raised out of the water. The whale struck the boat with her head. She was coming up to the spout. The lances were in their proper places. They were not loose. When witness saw deceased on board the ship he asked if they had got the whale and if she was a big one. Told him they had got her, but she was not a big one The second time witness went to see him deceased was dead. He bled a great deal, but the bleeding stopped about two hours before he died. Every effort that could be suggested was adopted to stop the bleeding, and the wound itself sewn up. He died about seven o'clock the same evening. Then they made a shell to place the body in, and started for Hobart Town. Dr Brooke gave evidence as to the nature of the wound, and that such a wound inflicted by a sharp instrument passing between the bones of the leg would sever the anterior and posterior tibial arteries, and the deceased had bled to death through no proper means, such as the application of a tourniquet, real or artificial, being used to arrest the bleeding. There were no other marks on the body beyond those caused by decomposition which had set in. Jeremiah Scoulan, one of the men in the boat, gave evidence corroborative of Mr Curtis. The jury, after a long consideration brought in a verdict of accidental death from being cut by a lance through a whale rising under the boat, but expressed an opinion that if a tourniquet had been applied, the life of the man would have been saved.

As a curiosity in newspaper correspondence, we give following letter and its postcript verbatim : "To the Editor of the The Age :—Sir, —Permit me to write to you an article regarding a subject of some importance, for insertion in your paper, for it well deserves exposure. That the people in the country of Norfolk, in England, are well known to be' 'the worst people in all England,' the lower people in that county are very rude and degraded, and are as bad as the Irish. Tours truly, G-. S.—P.S.—lt has been resolved to change the name of the town of Ballaarat in this colony,to that of • Brunswick,' and to change the name of the town of Grorbals, a part of Glasgow, in Scotland, to that of the same."

The British Messenger says—Bishop Selwyn of New Zealand,, has been stimulating the missionary zeal of his church by visits to our leading towns, where he has pleaded with singleminded enthusiasm the cause of the Church Missionary and the Propagation of the Gospel Societies. He stirred up Trinity College, by reminding the students that two of his ablest fellow.workers were Trinity men— Archdeacons Lloyd and Maunsell; and that " though the humblest work

that was done in their village Behoola was such as these divines were engaged in day after day, yet humble as the foundation was, it was necessary that some master-bulider should lay it, so that some other master-builder could build upon it. 1 ' To 6ther audienscee an Dublin, Belfast, and Derry, he spoke at length of his own labours, and corrected misapprehensions entertained of the New Zealand missieu. "Go from one end of the land to the other," he said, and wherever you find your- 1 self, you are sure of a hospitable! reception—you are sure that you will j be kindly received and not one farthing! will they charge you. If a minister <of religion goes to them, and asks to meet a congregation in a house or <chapel, Lord's day or week day alike, he will find his request -complied with. Lord's day or week day, he will be, anvited by them to join in their morning and evening prayer. We always ifind the congregations ready to attend ; •and after service often you find parties 5 waiting about the tent door to form j Bible-classes, and to ask questions reyarding the Holy Scripture." Show- ( ■ing the evil that is wrought bythe greed -and bad spirit of some Europeans, ; ;he mentioned that it was under their provocation that a tribe would often :

'resolve to kill the first white man they •could find in retaliation for the life of one of their chiefs slain hy white anen ; that this was the cause of the ■death of "Williams at Erromanga; -and that when on another occasion. Bishop Pattison happened to he the first white man, the tribe decided that, being their >friend, he should not be idled. He quoted the Christian ■unity of New Zealand as an example for the churches at home. For " not •only are there no differences between the agents of the two missionary societies, but you find none between the <Church of England and the other religious bodies. There is no mixing up •of our systems because they are incapable of being mixed —no attempt fto effect coalitions or compromises. Each goes on its own separate road to the common goal—along great lines •of railway, as it were, that alternately reach the same town, and give rise to mo collision." And he showed how, from bis colonial experience, ""it is eminently for the advantage of true Teligion that all great Protestant bodies should be thoroughly united ai» themselves, and at peace with

•one another," He urged the principle of systematic beneficence, .protesting warmly against subscription lists and the material views of anissions that led people to expect a •quid pro quo from their subscriptions in the shape of " interesting accounts •of conversions." They must learn to walk by faith and dutiful love ; and as for money"" he had received thousands and tens of thousands of pounds from various benefactors, and had found that the men who gave «the largest contributions, according to their means, are those who give on the •express conditions that their names be withheld from publication." The gain of such addresses will not be gathered ■in foreign fields alone, for they are likely to stimulate the missionary spirit over the country, and to help on the patient and earnest work of evangelising Ireland,