THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Evening Post, Issue 146, 27 July 1865, Page 2

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

After the delivery of hig Excellency's Speech, yesterday, the business entered on in both Houses was merely of a formal character, the address being reserved for discussion this evening.

The 8.8. Egmont arrived from the North today, bringing the absent members of the Assembly. The news from our Auckland files is of trifling importance.

We are requested to contradict a statement made in this day's Independent, namely — " that the crew of the barque Mary and Edith obtained their discharge from the ship, and the Bench have decided that they are entitled to their wages." The fact is, the case was dismissed, and the crew sent on board, where they now are. The Otago Times says that during the hearing of a smuggling case at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Mr. Wilson, the defendant's counsel, mentioned that he had found it impossible to obtain a copy of the Customs Regulations Act, although he had sent to Auckland and offered £5 for it. A copy of the Act could not be had in Dunedin at any price, and he thought it was ridiculous to ask a community to obey a law which it had no opportunity of seeing. The Magistrate said it was monstrous that such a state of things should exist. He had experienced great difficulty in obtaining a complete set of the statutes ; but he would be happy at all times to afford the- profession every facility in his power. The Sydney Morning Herald thus alludes to the Panama contract in a leading article— " It is satisfactory to learn that the Panama route i 9 to be opened out by purely colonial enterprise, and that the steam girdle round the globe is to be completed by colonies whose growing importance justifies the undertaking. But it is scarcely satisfactory to the metropolitan colony of Australasia to remember that, in all the negotiations that have led to this practical result, we have played second fiddle to New Zealand— a colony that a few years ago was looked upon as little more than an appanage of New South Wales. Nor is it very consoling to remember that, though we have promised to become partners in the enterprise, the Government could not venture to bring forward the necessary bill, inasmuch as there were no funds in the Treasury to back up the guarantee." The Hampden correspondent of the Waikouaiti Herald says :—": — " I think the following instance will generally be esteemed a new way of meeting one's liabilities. A respectable townsman of ours held a £60 bill, just about due, upon one George Robertson, haltcaste, who, visiting the house of his creditor, was invited to have tea, after which, while amusing himself by looking at the different ornaments on the mantel piece, he espied the important document alluded to, and actually ate it ; a member of the family coming back into the room just in time to catch him swallowing the last morsel 1" A discovery of a most unpleasant nature was lately made at the Union Bank Melbourne. A gentleman, residing at Hobart Town, who had Victorian Government debentures lying there to the value of £10,000, and who had come over from Tasmania for the purpose of receiving the interest which had accrued upon them, not having drawn it, as we are informed, for nearly eighteen months, went to the bank for the purpose of obtaining the debentures. On opening the box in which they had been deposited it was discovered, to the astonishment of the officials, that the whole of them had been abstracted, how or when no one could tell. At present, we refrain from entering into further particulars, but it is surmised that an official, who has left the bank within the last twelve months, could give some information on the subject ; and we have heard that this gentleman took a locksmith to the bank, and got him to open the lock of the box in question, pretending he had lost the key. The key, however, was in the possession of the owner of the debentures, the box being his private property.— Leader.

A naval court martial has been held on board the Royal Adelaide, guard ship, in Hamoaze, Devonport, for the trial of Mr. Thomas L. Woods, acting lieutenant, serving on board the Curlew, 9, screw sloop, Commander Joseph S. Hudson. The charge against the prisoner was of his having, while the Curlew was lying at Rio Janeiro, on the night of 27th February last, while he was officer of the middle watch, gone below and slept in the ward room, a stoker, a prisoner on board at the time, also making his escape during that watch. The prisoner pleaded guilty, but submitted his certificates. The court sentenced him to lose all seniority as acting lieutenant, and to be dismissed the Curlew. A choir was introduced recently into the parish church of a considerable town in the north of Scotland. Some of the people listened in wonder to its first notes, and then hurried out to escape the profanation, saying, " They'll bring over the Pope next."