GENERAL NEWS.

Westport Times, Volume V, Issue 871, 7 October 1871, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

The following particulars of a fatal accident by drowning are from the "Grey Argus."—A miner named Thos. Morton, who has been for some time past working as a shareholder in Dryclift and party's claim, Lagoon Lead, Paroa, was proceeding homewards from Paroa, in company with one of his mates named George Tremain, between eleven and twelve o'clock on Saturday night. They both left Paroa in a small dingy intending to pull up the lagoon to their claim ; but finding the boat too small for them, Tremain got out and walked along the beach as far as the end of Lovell's paddock, where he waited till Morton came up with the boat to take him across the lagoon to the tail-race of the claim. When Tremaine got into the boat he noticed that it was making water, but thought it would float till they got across. Morton then commenced to pull the boat across the lagoon, but after a fewstrokes it filled and sank. Morton told Tremaine not to be frightened, and both the men made for the opposite side of the lagoon, although the beach was nearer. Tremaine had a sugar hag in his hand which held him up for some time, but he sank twice, and on coming up to the surface he heard Morton call for help, but he was not able to afford him any. The second time he rose 5 he saw Morton's bat floating towards Paroa, but he could not see Morton, and he had not seen him since. Sergeant Moller dragged the Lagoon, but could not find the body. The boat was found on a small island near the New River, about throe-quarters of a mile from where the accident happened. Morton was a native of Derrylinn. county of Fermanagh, Ireland, and has been on the Coast for the last three or four years. Three children, while playing in the bush near Rossrown last week, amused themselves by eating tutu pith. They were taken ill, and after vomiting freely two of the children appeared to be mending, but the third continued in convulsions for many hours.

The Wellington " Evening Post " says :—" Some black sand, sent from the West Coast of the Middle Island, has been tested in Melbourne, by Mr Sydney Gibbons, who, in addition to finding magnetic titanic iron ore similar to that at Taranaki, has discovered gold in the sample sent to him, at the rate of lOoz 16dwt 20gr per ton. He says this can be extracted without in the least degree injuring the ore for steel making purposes." We only hope his report will prove correct. On Mr Charles Kerr's sheep run, at Waitangi West, the following little monstrosity was recently produced:— A lamb with five legs and six feet, three legs are in front, and from tho middle leg, which hangs suspended from the ground, a double hoof springs; it is now about twelve months old, very frisky and lively, and able to outrun most of the flock. Captain Thomas, of the Albion, has secured the fleecy curiosity, and purposes giving it a free passage to the States. Thirteen drunkards were brought up in one morning recently in Auckland.

Photography is now applied in medicine to the delineation of wounds and

their changes duriug treatment. A. splendid collection of this, kind belongs to the Royal Medico-Chirurgieal Society, London. Professor Tyndall states that " the total amount of heat .which the sun sends annually to the earth is invariable, and hence, if any portion of the earth'B surface during any given year be colder than ordinary, we may infer with certainty that some other portion of the surface is then warmer, than ordinary." Among the evil effects of the war on the Continent, it has been observed that in the vicinity ot the scenes of great battles vegetation has been generally, if not entirely destroyed—or at any rate, materially impaired. Such plants as have not actually died have withered or grown up wan and sickly, as if poisoned by some injurious substance in the air or soil. German chemists have explained the phenomenon as arising from the diffusion of sulphur in the air and over the surface of the soil. The sulphur in the shape in which it is contained in the smoke of gunpowder, is supposed to combine with the oxyge.i in the atmosphere to form sulphuious acid—a deadly poison in its effects on organisms of any kind.

An extraordinary general meeting of the Otago Meat Preserving Company was held on the 20th alt., Mr E. B. Cargill in the chair. The meeting was called for the purpose of authorising the increase, by the issue of new shares, of the company's capital to £15,000, and it was resolved to increase the capital to that amount. The adjourned annual meeting took place afterwards. It appeared from the report presented that during the six mouths' operations of the company 31,396 sheep and 1011 head of cattle had beeu converted, yielding more than 150 tons of tallow, and about 1,000,0001 bs of preserved meat. In ferreting out evidence against the Communist prisoners, the French police have made the startling discovery that the destruction of Paris, if necessary, had been determined on fifteen months before it took place. The evidence of this is found in a letter from General Cluseret to Varlin, dated New York, February 17th, 1870. Speaking of the International Society, and foreseeing that one day or other it would be required to fight a pitched battle, Cluseret says : —" On that day we must be prepared—morally and physically—on that day we must be victorious or annihilated. Until that day comes I shall probably keep quiet, but on that day, and my yea is yea, Paris will be ours, or it shall cease to exist."

A " heathen Chinee" has penetrated to New Plymouth, in search of fungus and old metal.

A man named James Marshall has been committed for trial by the magistrates at Kaipoi,charged with the abduction of Sarah Cherry, a girl under sixteen years of age. The prisoner stated that they were married in Christchurch, and that the girl told him she was 21 years of age, and he knew nothing to the contrary. The annual report of the Australian Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society states that the whole amounts of moneys raised in the colonies and mission districts for the year had been £11,254 15s l()d, of which sum more than one-half had been contributed by the native churches and people in the South Sea Islands, and the remainder by Australia and New Zealand.

The Peak Downs (Queensland) copper mine has just surprised the shareholders with a return unknown in the history of joint-stock-mining in New South Wales. For some years the company 'has been struggling with difficulties, the shares which iu the first blush of expectation had gone up to five guineas, having afterwards dropped to 10s. At last, however, all difficulties have beeu conquered, and in one half-year the directors have netted sufficient profit to enable them to pay off a debt of £-40,000, and a, dividend at the rate of 30 per cent, per annum on the capital of £ 10,000. A cannibal feast is rather an uncommon sight to be witnessed by a white man. A correspondent writes of one iu the " Fiji Gazette " as fallows : " On hearing that a cannibal feast was coming off a couple of miles from where I was, we three whites, after debating the advisability of proceeding to the scene of the cuisine, started, and arrived at the town just in time to see two really fine fellow expire, after being clubbed in the most brutal manner, amid the most diabolical yells They wero carried close to two great fires (Fiji ovens), cut up, and placed to cook. One of our fellows almost fainted away with horror and disgust, and my feelings Were, I assure you, anything but pleasant. I was most anxious to'get away at onee, notwithstanding a very warm invitation to remain and partake of thejrepast,which it is scarcely necessary to say we as politely as possible declined and retired from the banquet as quickly as wo could, distinctly hearing as we passed along the " Buccoli Tali " ringing through the lovely, still, evening air, awakening terrible sensations." As a good deal of curiosity exists as to the authorship of the " Battle of Dorking," we ("Pall Mall Gazette") believe we may state with confidence that it was written by Colonel George Chesney, the author of "Indian Polity." An effort is being made to establish in Edinburgh a hospital for women, where none but women will be admitted, and none but lady " doctors " allowed to practise. Miss Jex Blake is the principal mover in this design.

THE EDUCATION ACT. We ("Mail") have been favoured with a copy of certain amendments in the Education Act to be moved by Mr Curtis. Whatever may be the fate of these proposed modifications—and we learn that they are likely to be agreed to, —it is at least satisfactory to know that our educational interests are entrusted to no unworthy hands, and that the amendments aim at assimilating the new measure, as much as possible, to our own well-tried Act. Supposing it to be deemed expedient to meddle with our present system at all, we do not see that any change, less objectionable than the Bill thus modified would bring about, could be •veil effected. For the information of those who may find some difficulty in interpreting the unavoidably technical wording of the amendments, we give a synopsis, showing clearly what are the intentions of the mover.

He proposed to strike out that portion of section 7, which leaves the appointment of the first Board to the Superintendent, and to provide, instead, that any Board or Committee existing at the. time of the passing of the Act shall continue to hold office until a new Board shall be elected under the provision of the Act. This Bourd, instead of being appointed by the Provincial Council, as at first proposed, is to be elected by the Local Committees : " Provided that if and when the number of School Committees within any Province shall be more than fifteen the Superintendent shall, by notice in the • Government Gazette,' declare that any two or more of such Committees shall form a Joint Committee for the purpose only of electing, and who shall elect, some person to be a member of the Education Board, and the total number of persons elected by such Committees shall not exceed fifteen." In addition to this number, a member of the Executive is to be appointed a member of the Board by the Superintendent. The meetings of the Board are to be monthly instead of half-yearly. Section 13, to be amended by raising the quorum from three to five, and altering the provisions as to the office of Chairman.

In Section 18, to provide that an applicant for the mastership of any school shall produce a certificate of competency from the " Government Inspector of Schools," instead of the " Minister of Education."

After Section 46, it is proposed to insert the following new clause:—" It shall be lawful for the Board of any Province, if it shall think it expedient in the interests of education, or for any other reason, to provide that all or any of the public schools within such Province shall be open to all children between the ages of five and fourteen years, free of any school fees or other payment whatever."

To strike out Sectiou 53, which pro - vides for the establishment of aided schools within school districts, and 54, which gives the Minister of Education power to grant aid to a public school when refused by the Board without reasonable cause, and to insert in lieu thereof:

" "Whenever any twenty-live or more ratepayers in any Province shall signify in writing to the Education Board their desire to be constituted into a separate body for educational purposes, and shall have elected a School Committee of not less than five, nor more than nine ratepayers, it shall be the duty of the Education Board to pay over to such Committee all rates thereafter contributed by such ratepayers and all others who shall from time to time have signified in writing to the Board their desire to be included in such separate body ; and it shall also be lawful for the Board to grant to such Committee such additional aid in books, school apparatus, and money as to the Board shall seem expedient, or at the option of such Committee, such additional aid may be granted in money only, inclusive of the value of such books and school apparatus as would otherwise be supplied by the Board: Provided always that every such Committee shall provide a achoolhouse or schoolhouses to the satisfaction of the Board, and shall appoint and pay the master or masters, mistress or mistresses, of such school or schools, and that every such | school shall be open lo all children between the agoa of five and fourteen years without fee or payment, and shall be subject to inspection in the same manner as public schools under this Act, and that secular instruction shall be imparted in every such school to the satisfaction of the Board, and that any religious instruction given in any such school shall be given, subject to the conditions contained in section fifty-five of this Act.

To subsection 2 of Section 56, which runs as follows :—" The time or times during which any religious observance is practised, or instruction in religious subjects is given at any meeting of the school, shall bo either at the end or at the beginning, or at the end and beginningjof such meeting," &c. it is proposed to add the following proviso : " Provided that such religious observance or instruction shall be practised or given only by direction, or with the assent, of the School Committee. Section 56, sub-section 2.—The words <; The Holy Scriptures shall be read daily," &c, it is proposed to alter to " The Holy Scriptures may by direction, or with the assent, of the School Committee, be ready daily," &c.

The compulsory clauses, Mr Curtis proposes to strike out altogether.

Whether the ra'touMpto be an " annual value rate" rate' is not to be left to the Board to decide as provided by Section 77, but is to be fixed, and determined by resolution of the Provincial Council, and confirmed by the Superintendent. After Section 85, Mr Curtis proposes to insert the following new clause : " The Board of any Province may also, if authorised by resolution of the Provincial Council confirmed by the Superintendent, in addition lo either an annual value rate, or a household rate, make and levy upon every householder within such Province a rate of five shillings for every child of such householder between the ages of five and fourteen years. Provided always that no such householder shall be liable to pay for more than four children, nor for any child residing more than three miles from any public school."