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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3175, 1 September 1881, Page 2

At tho Waipawa Magistrate's Court yesterday, before A. St. 0. Inglis, Esq., J.P., John Hegh, charged by the police with being drunk and incapable on Tuesday evening, -/as fined 5s and costs. We understand arrangements have been for a special train, to leave Hastings ou Monday evening at 6.30 p.m. for Napier and intermediate stations, returning immediately after the performance of the Juvenile Opera Company. There were several inaccuracies in our list of subscriptions received by Mr Nathaniel Williams on behalf of Mrs Pago, which we now correct. Per Mrs Crowley, £2 14; H. R. Holder, 10s; I. Williams and Sons, £2; per R. Barrows, £10 16s 6d; J. Morrison, £1 ; S. E. Cooper, £1. The nominations for the vacant seats in tho Municipal Council to-day were as follows:—North Ward, Messrs R. G. Graham and J. Renouf; Middle Ward, Mr J. McDougall; South Ward, Mr H. H. Wall. Thus the North Ward seat is the only one that will be contested. Owing no doubt to the very inclement weather last evening the performance of the Lyon's Tourist or Pleasure Party was not largely attended ; but, notwithstanding this depressing circumstance, the performance was carried through with the usual vigor and thoroughness. To-night there will be another change in the programme,, and the entertainment will inolude the drama of " Milky White " and a screaming farce. An accident occurred on the White-road this morning through bad driving. Mrs Helander, of Earndon, was being driven into town in a buggy, a servant girl acting as driver. When opposite Mr Holt's timber yard the buggy came into collision with a cart, thereby breaking the ring-bolt and setting the horse and shafts free. The horse of course bolted, but was soon stopped, no other damage being done besides a fright to the lady, and injury to the shafts. A correspondent asks how we reconcile our remarks in yesterday's issue in reference to youngsters offering stamps for sale, and the facilities offered by some tradesmen for the disposal of stamps, with our previously expressed opinion in favour of the movement for the collection of postage stamps for deposit in the Post Office Savings Banks. The two opinions do not come into conflict, so that there is no need of reconciliation. The deposit system was mainly intended for younarer ohildren than are likely to have access to the stamps in an office—principally school children—as is indicated by the note to depositors on the back of their card. Seeing that one shilling in coin is received on deposit at the Post Office Savings Bank, any boy of sufficient age to be employed in an office would at once excite suspicion if he presented stamps for deposit. From a return presented to Parliament we learn that at the end of last year the total area of foiests on Crown lands in New Zealand was estimated at 10,158,870 acres, distributed as follows : Auckland, 1,339,600, of which 50,000 acres is kauri; Hawke's Bay, 177,270 ; Taranaki, 695,000; Wellington, 1,000,000; Nelson, 2,725,000; Marlborough, 220,000; Canterbury, 190,000; Westland, 1,900,000; Otago, 1,421,000; Southland, 500,000. Only a comparatively small area of Crown forests in or near the settled districts has as yet been touched. Vast areas ot timber remain in their virgin state. In the Middle Island the birch is numerically the most common tree and flourishes over the greatest range of country to an altitude of 3400 feet. From the total area given above, large deductions have to be made for the past dilapidation, inaccessible oountry, &c, so that the area which may be considered available is probably not more than 5,000,000 acres, and at present the gross revenue afforded by the disposal of timber does not exceed £3000 a-year.

Referring to the grievances of railway employees, the Dunedin Echo says :—ln the old Provincial days the king was near. The Provincial Executive could be seen. Now, what chance has an employee. The Minister knows nothing. Even his first lieutenant is ensconced behind red-tape and unapproachable. What hope of redress has one who thinks he has been wronged ? Not any. Ask the mass of the employees, and they will all agree that the service is becoming distasteful to the ablest men in it. None of them seem to think they can rely on being dealt with on their merits. This must be altered. No service should have better servants. The safety of the passengers, let alone the carriage of goods, depends on the Department having good servants. Is it likely that good men will remain under a Department that either does not give, or is believed not to give, what is just to its servants P This is a matter that needs looking into, and if the reason why the railway question has been "shunted" is that the Minister of Public Works is overworked, then we need a new Minister.

An extraordinary case of incarceration as a lunatic of a perfectly sane man has occurred in Melbourne. An auctioneer's storeman, named William Smith, placed his wife in a store afc Emerald Hill. Opposite to her place was the shop of a butcher named Stugnell, and Smith fancied he saw indications of too great an understanding between his wife and this man. On one occasion, when he was sitting in the back room and Mrs Smith was' serving in the shop, he saw Stugnell enter and conduct himself in an improper manner to hia wife. This led to a disagreement between the couple, and a quarrel in which they came to blows, Smith kicking his wife. She took no notice of this just then, but when Smith inserted advertisements disclaiming responsibility for her debts, she called upon Drs Iffla and Foster, and persuaded them that her husband was suffering under delusions. These gentlemen, after examining Smith, issued a certificate that be was insane, and he was bundled off to the lunatic asylum. As the certificate stated Smith was liable to become violent, the warders and medical men at the asylum watched him, but found him to be a quiet, inoffensive man, without a sign of insanity. His friends recently got a writ of habeas corpus, and had the matter tried before Mr Justice Williams, who, after a patient hearing, ordered the man's instant release. His Honor made very strong remarks on the action of the doctors.

At a recent meeting of the Presbytery in Washington a petition from a portion of the congregation of the North Presbyterian Church, was read, requesting the severance of the pastoral relations of the Rev. C. B. Ramsdell, now in charge of the congregation. The petition stated that considerable dissatisfaction existed in the church, which was traceable to the marriage of the pastor with a member of the Roman Catholic Church. Dr Ramsdell being put on his defence said his wife was in the habit of going to her own church. She also went to confession to the priest in _ her own ohursh. Dr Ramsdell was subjected to a rigid examination as to his and his wife's habits in connection with church customs, to which he replied that she pursued the path which she thought led heavenward, and he was doing the same. He would be gratified to have her join his church, but if she had other opinions, he was not responsible for them. She. was a good wife as well as a good Christian. Dr Ramsdell s remarks were very affecting at time?, and when he had concluded his explanation, the Presbytery adjourned until the evening, when a member offered a resolution as follows:—-" We declare our solemn judgment that no Presbyterian has a right to marry a Roman Catholic lady, for ber religious training teaches her to look upon all Protestants as heretics; consequently her husband's usefulness as a minister is impaired." The resolution further declared that the relations between Mr Ramsdell and the North Church be at once dissolved. The decision was postponed.

An interesting letter reoently published in the Sydney Evening News from the Rev. Mr Jeffries, Congregatianalist minister,

compares as follows the conditions ol morality in Aubtraiia. Mr Jeffries writes : —' Stiango that where the light of th. Gospel shines with the brightest radiance there should be darkness so profound as that which broods ca many parts of Sydney. I have been a week ia Bombay, wandering to and. fro in the Btreets and lanea of a densly crowded city of more than 600,000 inhabitants, Hindoos, Mussulmans, ParseeS, aud devil woroLipper., mid I deolare to you solemnly and sorrowfully that among all this crowd of idolatrous Asiatics I have not seen human nature so inhuman and degraded as I have too often seen it in the streets of Sydney. Here, too, intoxicating liquors are made and sold, but I saw not one of the tens of thousands that came under my notice in a state of drunkenness. So far as I have had opportunities of judging, both in the city and the country, these Indian people are temperate and. industrous, quiet and peaceful. Certainly they have no conspicious vices. Parents appear most fond of their children and children most dutiful to their parents. Native police were stationed about in the main thoroughfares, but they had little to do. Theft seems rare, and assaults few, judging from the daily newspapers. At our hotel we left our things about, even to the most valuable, where numbers of servants were passing and repassing, and not one waß lost.'

The Lyon's Tourist Party at the Theatre Royal to-night, at 8. The first of a series of lectures will be given to-night at the United Methodist Church, Shakespeare road, afc 8 o'clock, subject" Wit, Humor, and. Oddities." The Convent bazaar at Taradale opens to-morrow.

Monthly meeting of the Scinde Lodge to» night afc 7.30. The adjourned meeting of the Maraekakaho Library will be held to-morrow at 2 p.m. Mr W. Routledge will sell to-morrow at the Spit, glucose, horjs Vi| _.ug_,r T drapery &c., at noon. j"*"~ Messrs Banneft and lii&dle will sell tomorrow afc noon &c. Mr E. Lyndon will sjell on Monday next household furniture, Mo ; and on the Bth and 9th instant, drßg&g, clothing, ironmongery, &c. Mr T. X Newton will sell on Saturday afc noon apples and miscellaneous goods. The annual meeting of the Napier Cricket Club will be held to-morrow evening. Mr R. H. Robinson inserts his card. Messrs Blythe and Co. have on exhibition velvet cosies. Messrs Price and Innes change their advertisement in our fourth page. Mrs S. Page thanks those who have assisted her in her bereavement. A number of new advertisements will be found in our " Wanted" column.