Untitled

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3794, 12 September 1883, Page 2

A general meeting of tho Hawko's Bay Cricket Association will be hold to-morrow at noon at tho Empire Ilotel. As there is important business to be considered at tho meeting delegates are requested to attend punctually.

Dr. Wilkins, oculist and aurist, leaves hero for Christohurch by next Saturday's Htoamor. Anyone wishing , to consult him on eye, oar, or throiijt diseases can do so up till noon on Saturday'at Messrs. B,arraud and Bowerman's, Hastings^treet. It is intended to form a Boxing Club in Hastings, and a meetingof persons intorcstod is convened for Saturday evening next at Mr Kelly's hotel. Mr 6. 0. Murray will take the chair, and there will no doubt be a {rood attendance of those desirious to learn the "manly art." As the Theatre is likely to be engaged during the early part of next month tho Musical Society's concert will bo given sooner than was at first intended. This announcement should redouble the efforts of the members in order to make an effective j appearance. The usual weekly practice takes place this evening. The Napier Dramatic Club is honorably fulfilling the object of its existence—to assist in raising funds for charitable purposes. The performances already given; have produced a credit balance, from which has been drawn the sum of £5, which has been forwarded to Mr S._ Graham, of Puketapu, in aid of the O'Brien fund. The Clivc Square Mutual Improvement Association mot last night, when, in spito of unfavorable weather, the attendance was good. After some ordinary business Mr Alpers read his essay on "Health." Tho essay was written in an exceedingly creditably style, and showed careful preparation. "The Seven Ages of Man" in relation to health were treated on, and tfco essay contained, besides many practical hints, an able treatise on the "Air we breathe."

In the Resident Magistrate's Court thjs. morning, beforo E. Patten, Esq., J. P. f Robert Bosh, charged with having been drunk, was remanded for a week, the prisoner not being in a lit condition to be set at liberty. Thomas Burns pleaded guilty to having been drunk on the railway platform at Hastings yesterday, and begged to bo let off, stating that this was his first offonoo, and that lie had lost a good place through it. Fined 5s and costs, or in default 18 hours , imprisonment. The Hastings Amateur Dramatic Club will give a performance in the Town Hall on Thursday evening next, when will bo ■ produced tho farce "Twice Killed," and-4 the comic drama "A Phenomenon in a Smock Erock." Mr H. 11. Murdoch, whose powers as a comedian nro so well known as to require no recommendation or ours, will appear in each pieco, and somo

new and excellently finished scenery from the brush of the same gentleman will be produced on this occasion for the first time. We wish tho ontertainment every success. Blank charge sheets aro not so common in tho Resident Magistrate's Court at Lyttelton as they aro at Napier. On a recent date there wore no criminal cases before tho Lytteltou Court, whereat a Christchureh paper goes into ecstasies of delight, the counsel in Court at tho time (a Mr Joyce) congratulated Liis Worship, and to mark tho auspicious event in becoming stylo tho R.M. was presented with a pair of white kid gloves. If Captain Precco had a pair of white kids presented to him every time there was a blank charge shoot at Napier he would be at a loss to know what to do with them all.

The report to which we gavo currcnojsome few weeks ago concerning the discovery of gold in this provincial district has turned out to bo perfectly _ true. The prospectors, who have been quietly at work for the last fifteen months, now believe that tlicv have followed the trail to its source, and struck the reef. The stone, we are told, is rich, and wo have been promised a i'c'.v samples of it for public exhibition. At the next meeting of the Waste Lands Board an application will be made for a mining license. We may say at onco that the auriferous locality i.i neither in the Kaimanuwha ranges nor in the Mohaka country. A pitiable example of the condition to which strong drink will reduce a human creature was to be witnessed in tho Resident Magistrate's Court this morning in the person of an unfortunate named Robert Bosh, alias "Blind Bob the Fiddler." The poor old man, white haired, nearly blind, and shaking violently all over from the effects of his" last debauch, was so weak and unsteady as to bo unable to stop into the witness box, and had to clutch tho sides of it convulsively with his palsied bands to provent Ids falling while the charge was being read to him. If some of those persons who, through a spirit of mistaken kindness it may bo, supply this old man with liquor coultl only have seen him this morning we venture to think he would never again appear before our Court on a charge of drunkenness. |

Messrs Coldsbrough's Augu.4 circular, in reference to the tallow market lias the following:—"Our sales held during the past month have been characterised by dulncss, both shippers and the local manufacturers having shown little disposition to operate with freedom ; the former, indeed, have been necessarily restricted in their purchases, owing- to the extreme scarcity of freight, whilst tho latter, aware of the inactivity of shippers, have made strenuous efforts to bear down prices. Notwithstanding' those difficulties, prices have receded very little, and a moderately largo .supply has been passed through, several large parcels having- been taken by .shipjjei-s at favorable opportunities. Our Hales have comprised 825 casks, and we report as current quotations : —Mutton, from £'■'/.> to .-£37 5s per ton, f.0.b.; beef, £32 to £30 per ton, f.0.b.; mixed, ,£3O to £30 10s per ton, f.o.b. The only shipment of tallow for the month is 509 casks per Melbourne, 419 being for Marseilles and 160 for London."

A New Zealand Industrial Exhibition will be opened at Christchurch, under tho auspices of tho Christchurcli Industrial Association, on December 17th nest, and will continue open for three weeks from that date. Tho objects which the committee of the forthcoming exhibition have in vieware: "To make the general public better acquainted with the manufactures, products, timbers, minerals, and other natural resources of New Zealand, and thereby to promote tho prosperity of tho colony." Tho committee desire also to receive as exhibits works of art, in order to assist in developing artistic tastes, and invite the assistance of ladies in producing specimens of art, needlework, fancy work, painting in oil and water-colour, terra-cotta, &c.

Hitherto (says a Homo paper) the rabbit has not been a terror to our American Colonies, but according to the last mail from Canada his increase in tho Dominion is occasioning some alarm. The Natural History Society of Toronto has brought the matter before the Commissioner of Agriculture, and demanded the extermination of the rodents, which a few years ago were imported to Toronto from England. To do this effectively a set of questions has been Bent out by the Government asking for information on the subject, at tho same time giving a description of the rabbit of the country and tho English rabbit, which alone is bo to treated as vermin and exterminated accordingly. By this means it is hoped it may bo 'possible to stop a further increase of the plague, and avoid the necessity of adopting such draconic laws as those which are enforced in New Zealand and Now South Wales.

The Auckland Tobacco Company (says tho Herald) are pushing on work vigorously. A careful examination of the leaf now cured at tho company's place at Pahi shows that fully a ton of iirst-class leaf is available for cigar manufacture this year. The company intend to carry on the work of cigar-making at the farm, instoad of in Auckland as was at one time contemplated. Tenders are about to bo called for tho necessary buildings, and skilful cigar-makers are wanted. The quantity of cured leaf on hand is estimated to be capable of producing about a quarter of a million of good cigars. All the necessary details have been arranged with tho Customs authorities for the work. The company are preparing to plant 10 acres of tobacco this season, and it is expected that a very considerable supply of leaf will bo obtained from the neighbouring Bottlers. Some of these have resolved to plant one acre, some half an acre, and so on, according to tho spare labour they have at their disposal,

In St. Matthew's Church at Auckland a few days ago (reports the local Herald), the Rev. W. Tebbs performed the ceremony of marriage in circumstances hitherto, we believe, unexampled in tho colony. A couple were married, both of whom were deaf and dumb, the bride being also "given away" by a man who was deaf and du7iib. Tho bridegroom has been for some time in the colony, and tho bride has come out to bo married to him. We understand that Mr Lord, the registrar, made some difficulty about granting the necessary certificate, and that there was a telegraphic correspondence with MrW. R. E. Brown, the Registrar-General, on the subject. Ultimately, however, all the formalities were complied with, and Mr Tebbs was empowered to proceed with the ceremony. Both the bride and bridegroom could read and write. Mr Tebbs exhibited the necessary questions, to which the parties intimated their assent, and, as Mr Tebbs knows the sign language, he could communicate freely with them. We hope tho union may bo a happy one, and at all events, if the husband becomes discontented, ho will not have to blame his ■wife's "nagging" tongue.

Numerous incidents have been related illustrative of Mr Macandrcw's kindness to struggling settlers and others in the early days'of the colony, but wo (Clutha Leader) beiievo tho following, which is perfectly true, has never been published:—ln or about the year 1867 ho was on a visit to tho Tuapoka goldliclds in company with Mr John Hughes, then member of Provincial Council for the district. Tho two stayed all night at a shanty. In tho morning Mr Macandrew discovered that the keeper of the shanty was a very poor man, with a family of twelve children, and without a cow to supply them with milk. He asked him to come to town and he would give him a cow. The man having only one suit of clothes, went to bed until his wife washed and dried them. Next morning ho procured a rope and with it started for Dunedin. On arrival ho went to Mr Maoandrew's office, and, throwing down tho rope, said ho had come for tho cow. Mr Macandreu'said, "you surely don't think that I keep her in|my office; butwaitaminnte and I'll arrange the matter." He then ■wrote a note to tho constable stationed at West Taieri, asking , him to proceed to the farm of a certain wealthy settler on the plain and select for the man tho best cow on tho farm. The man walked to the Taieri with the note, and got a magnificent cow, which ho led homo much to tho delight and future comfort of his wife and family.

Papers received by tho Orient liner Potosi contain the following account of an incident which occurred during the recent misunderstanding , between tho French and English naval officers at Tamatavo :—" Tho commander of 11.M.5. Dryad wished to send important secret despatches homo by tho Taymouth, but tho French admiral would not allow direct communication, and if despatches were sent through French channels they were opened. In urder to got over the difficulty, the commtiuder of

the Dryad instructed the captain of the Tavmouth, when ho got under way, to steam under the stern of tho man-of-war, and while doing so despatches would be passed aboard. This plan was adopted, and as the time approached the Dryad's decks were cleared, steam got up, andall made ready for notion, it being the full intention of the Dryad's commander to open fire on the French if they attempted to interfere with his plan. No attempt, however, was made by the French, and the despatches wore successfully passed on board."

In Ensrland a Church Schools Company has been"formed, the object of which is to establish for boys and girls, above the classes attending elementary .schools, schools of various grades, in which, at a moderate cost, a general education shall bo given m accordance with the principles of the onurch of England. The establishment of day schools will be fuvt attended to. Already the scheme hits received a large measure ot .support, for promises to take shares to the extent of £21,500 have been received, the Archbishop of Canterbury's name being down for £1000.

Tires (writes an Auckland paper) have their humorous as well as serious aspects. At the recent fire in Karanga-hapo-ro.id a youny man was roused up in one of tho iwwii!* adjacent to the burning building, and, rubbing his eyes and shaking himself together, ho "endeavored to grasp the situation—and his clothes. The latter feat was not so easily accomplished, but, with admirable presence of mind, after a hasty dance at the scanty skirt of his rohe (hi wni, he seized his " belltopper," on the principle that what was nearest the head was nearest the heart, and, with a miscellaneous assortment of " uii'-onsid'-red triiks" in the way of personal attire in his hands, he got into the back yard. The scene was almost as good, in its way, as that which onco occurred at a fire in Auckland, when a young man might have been seen throwing a bedroom set out of a twostorey window in order to save it, and an aged individual below usefully employed, with a hatchet, in endeavoring to uproot the iron railings which fenced in the premises, evidently under tho belief that these were tho most combustible things about tho building.

Everyone (says a Home journal) has a right iii his own opinion on the question of tlio deceased wife's sister: but a politician puts his views on legal grounds, he should by sure that bis grounds are legal. Mr Bright, in a letter receutly published. says : " A man may have a legal wife in the colonies, and another legal wife in England. He may bring bis Canadian letral wife to England. Ito may bring his Canadian legal wife to England, where, her children "born here arc not legitimate. If you can justify this I will not argue with you." Tho statement may or may not be justified on tho ground that we arc not bound to alter our laws to suit the taste of those who visit us, but it may safely bo traversed. If a Canadian, married to a decased wife's sister in Canada were to come to England, his wife would not cease to be his legal wife, and his children born here would be legitimate. In fact, the legality of a man's marriage does not depend on the place where he happens to be, or the legitimacy of his children on the place where they are born. It depends on his domicile at the time of his marriage A man is not married and unmarried as he crosses a frontier.

The Register gives the following with reference to tho Dryad related by Captain Meiner : — "When the matter of warfare become positive between the French and Maligasy the affair terminated in tho French taking position to bombard the town ('i Iα Alexandria), but meanwhile H.M.S. Dryad came to anchor in a position which interfered with tho French ships' service, and being a neutral in the position Admiral Pierre polifoly requested tho captain of tho Dryad to shift his anchorage to somewhere else. The Briton declined to shift her Majesty's ship, so the Frenchman a second time politely desired the captain to move out of the range of projectiles, but ho, instead of clearing the course, got further into tho middle of the fray. The French Admiral then sent a third emissary with a diagram of tho position ho desired him to take up, so as to be out of the way. After tho British ship anchored in the position designated tho masters and officers wont on shore, and mixed up witli the tight, going on between tho French and the Hovas ; and ultimately tho French Admiral was constrained to order the lot on board their ship."

The Lyttelton Times takes up the following attitude in regard to tho report of the Committee on Dununyism : —" The question of whether the letter of the law has been broken in the Otago eases is for the proper tribunals to determine. So far, the recommendation of the committee is not worth tho paper it is written upon. The Supreme Court, when the committee's advice has been taken by the Waste Lands Board —after being most improperly given—will be open to the parties interested. There no judge would, or could, recognise the advice of a committee of one Chamber of the Legislature as a bar to any claim. ... It would have been more to the purpose if the committee had debated bow the letter of the law might be amended so as to make it more in accord with the spirit. Had the committee declared that in its opinion tho spirit had been evaded, that it left the question ot tho letter to the proper authority, and that to avoid all doubts in the future it advised the bettor denning of tho words 'exclusive use and benefit,' the committee would have done both useful and constitutional work. It would have been within its functions, and would have paved the way for the amendment of the law. As it is, the committee has usurped the functions of the legal tribunals, and not done much to amend the law. The giving of inquisitorial and impossible as weli as linconstitulion d powers to the Land Boards is, of course, worse than no amendment."

A most remarkable conspiracy recently came to grief in Now York. An old merchant, John Gill, after his wife's death about ten years ago, gradually fell into the power of two English servant girls, tho Woodhall sisters. He was of feeble mind, and these women so warped his servile judgment that he came to rely on them for everything, and refused to recognise his own children. He gave away houses and lots to them, and finally they became so arrogant that they dictated when and where he should receive visits from his children and grandchildren. Finally the evil became unbearable to his children, and they appealed to the Courts. It was shown that when one of the sisters arrived in the country and was brought to the house of Mr G-ill, her only luggage consisted of a chemise and a pair of stockings. She had obtained from the old gentleman £11,000 in Government bonds, besides real estate valued at'over £-20,000. On the trial it was shown that the old man was in his dotage. The Court decided that none of the gifts were valid.

It is claimed that Wolfe's Sciixaits is not intoxicating, on the ground that an ordinary draught will produce such a grateful exhileration that only who his bent on besotmeut would crave excessive indulgence in it.— TAdvt. I