London, March 16. A mass meeting of 20,000 publicans has passed resolutions protesting against the Local Control Bill. Lord Burton denounced it as the harshest form of tyranny and an attempt to pander to the votes of hypocrites and dissenters. The mea sures, if passed, would ruin the trade. He denied that the working classes desii'ed any such Bill. To 'show the evil of infant marriage in India, two husbands have been sent to gaol in Bombay for branding with hot irons the soles of the feet of their little Hindoo wives because they ran away to the residences of their mothers.
Deserted Prospectors’ Camp.
We learn from the Nelson Colonist that a deserted prospectors’ camp has been discovered on Starveall, a hill of about 4,500 ft, near the border line between Nelson and Marlborough and near Ihe head waters of the Pelorus. A 50H> bag of flour, 41b tea, boxes full of matches, camp oven, windlass, rope, 3 picks, a shovel, 2 axes, saw, tin of preserved milk, a file, 2 tin dishes, 2 wooden boxes, and several books, all covered with a tent fly tied down with clothes line. Busch, a sheep-farmer who made the discovery, says the plant had not been disturbed for a long time, and he thinks the party may have perished on the ranges. This, however, is thought to be impos sible, as the party must have been a large one. Mr Thomas Rayner writes to the Colonist explaining that he and John Jones were prospecting in 1891, and left the things as seated above with the intention of returning.
A Cutter Missing.
