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Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2100, 28 January 1870, Page 2

New Post Office.—A postal, money order, and savings bank office will be opened at the Palmerston Telegraph and Post Office, on Ist February next. Dunedin Volunteer Artillery.— The shooting for the rifle presented to the Company by Mr D. Mills, has been postponed until Tuesday next. The Carandini Concerts.—lt will be seen from our advertisement columns that, owing to the inclemency of the weather, the first of Madame Carandini’s concerts announced to take place at St. George’s Hall this evening, has been postponed until Monday next. Resident Magistrate’s Court.— His Worship A. C. Strode, Esq., R.M. took bis seat on the Bench at 11 o’clock. The business was light, and uninteresting to the public, with the exception of one case—Pavletich v. Makiu. Tills was a case in which the plaintiff sought to recover the sum of LS 10a from defendant, for repairs to a house leased by defendant from plaintiff, and left in a dilapidated condition. Mr Bathgate, who appeared for the defendant, argued that any property leased was subject to fair wear and tear, and the only ground upon which plaintiff rested bis case was that some trilling damage had been done to the roof of one of the buildings during a gale of wind. Mr Harris, for the plaintiff, maintained the liability of the defendant to place the buildings be _ bad rented in as good a position before giving them up as they were at the time of the commencement of the tenancy. Both gentlemen cited numerous authorities in support of their respective cases. His Worship thought tho question raised was one of importance, and should reserve his decision until next week.

Photography, — A short time since we had to express our regret that Mr Burton, of the firm of Burton Bros., who had been on a professional tour, was obliged to return to Dunedin through indisposition. His visit to the interior has not, however, been fruitless, for he has returned with his allnun enriched by a large number of beautiful photographs of scenery in different parts of the Province. Mr Burton visited Shag Valley, and has taken several views from different points. All are interesting, and some of them beautiful specimens of photographic art. Then there are, from different points, views at St. Bathans, Blackston Hill, Waihemo, Trotter’s Gorge, Palmerston, Matahaka, Waikouaiti, Mount Ida, Welshman’s Gully, Naseby, the Scandinavian Race, and other places. As illustrations of the splcnded scenery of the Province, of digging townships and comfortable homesteads, these sun sketches, if sent Home, would give truer ideas of life in Otago than a volume of description. An examination of these views will well repay an hour spent in looking at them. Masonic Hall.—Mr Thatcher, and the other members of bis Company,, which for the most part is composed of old favorites, must have felt highly gratified with their reception last evening. Never since the opening of the hail has such a concourse of people assembled within its walls ; every available inch of standing or sitting room being occupied. The entertainment differs but slightly from that which Mr Thatcher presented on his previous visit to this place. The chief attraction is undoubtedly his local songs, of which ho gave some four or five last evening. Two were on topics connected with the northern goldfields, which were, however, much relished ; but those more strictly local were received with deafening ‘applause. Some of the last mentioned, particularly his description of the police force, and his “ Summary for England,” arc capital. Mr Small is, as usual, a fund of amusement in himself. His comic songs are always worth listening to, and his “ Unfortunate Man” is as droll as ever. Mr W. G. Daniels although a recent addition to the Company, promises to be a very great favorite. He possesses a fine baritone voice, of much purity, sweetness and power. The selections that he gave last night were admirably rendered ; the most effective, to our mind, being “The Standard Bearer,” “The Sexton,” and “This Land of Ours.” The same programme, with some additional local songs, will be given this evening. Loss from the Floods. —The Bruce Herald, 26th inst., says:—We regret to learn that Mr Jas. Allan, of Hopehill, East Taieri, in addition to the loss of crop on his low lying lands from the effects of tire late floods, has "also been a loser thereby of over 300 sheep, while his fences have been very considerably damaged, so that probably all things considered he has been the most severe sufferer by the floods, which wc regret to observe have rotted away fields of crops in the district, previously all but ready for the sickle.

Maori Fashion. —The special correspondent of the Southern Cross states that during tho vice-regal visit to the Thames, the Maoris who were presented to his Excellency brought cards of the newest fashion. It was funny to see one of the natives, who presented his card as though he felt vastly important in so doing, but -whoso whole dress for the occasion consisted of a Crimean shirt and canvas trousers, worn to a fringe at the bottom of each leg. But that native, nevertheless, got through the presentation by no means badly; and be beamed with delight at the hand-shake of the Governor, and his Excellency’s greeting.

The M ax aw at u Block.—Tho Wanganui Herald says that “ the Manawatu question is the gordiau knot of Provincial diplomacy which has not yet found an Alexander to cut it.” On tho contrary, one Alexander has been trying his hand to prevent such a consummation, and, according to our contemporary, with very fair success. The Herald says the resistance to the survey still exists, and the Maoris have waxed hold, as they imagine they have the law on their side, and say they are acting by the advice of their counsel. The Herald says that the assertion made by the Provincial authorities

to the effect that further interruption to the survey is at an end, and adds —“Meanwhile the Hauhaus and Pakcha-Maoris are illuming themselves on a victory, and are going to insist upon the whole question being reopened. This is the state of the Manawatu purchase at present.” Labor in Auckland. —The Southern Cross says “ Some time ago a leading article appeared in this journal advocating an efficient system of female immigration, M e pointed out that a large and increasing demand existed for female servants, and indeed that, at the rate at which male population was then flowing in the Province, there would soon be a scarcity of marriageable young women. To show how well founded were our remarks, wo may state that we were informed yesterday by Messrs Mitchell and Co., that they have applications on their books for more than 50 female servants, at a weekly wage amounting in some cases to as much as LI.”— I The same paper says “ The plans of the Auckland Floating Dock are being rapidly pushed forward, and as soon as they have been completed and proved of the work will be proceeded with. LIO.OOO lias already been subscribed. ” The Ballarat Theatre.—There lias been a theatrical rumpus at Ballarat which is likely to result in the production of a new version of the “ Court and the Stage.” The facts of the ease, so far as we could gather, arc easily related,” says the Star — “It is of course known to the public that Herr Land--111 aim and Miss Pose Evans came out to the colonies under engagement to Harwood and Co., of the Theatre Loyal, Melbourne. That being the case, during their engagement at Ballarat they have had to be paid for by the local management to the management at Melbourne, whose agent here is Mr Id. Smyth. On Friday last we have been told that some of the great men of the Theatre Royal, Sturt street, who ought nob to have done such a thing, went about town, away from the theatre, in a manner which gave Mr Smyth the idea that they were what is vulgarly termed ‘on the loose. ’ Saturday evening coming round, with the curtain about to rise on the first piece to be presented for Miss Evans’s benefit, Mr Smyth thought proper to stop the performance till the share in the ‘ stars ’ still due to the Theatre Royal, Melbourne, had been either paid, or arranged in some way to be paid. 1 his difficulty having in some way been solved, the play, as is already known, proceeded. In the arrangement of affairs, in order that the benefit performance might proceed, we have been told that Miss Evans had to bear a considerable responsibility ; but be that as it may, the news of the disturbance spread so rapidly about town that all the creditors of the management came down on them together, clamorous to be paid, and refusing to give time. The consequence of this state of things was that the management was obliged to confess its inability to pay. The Gas Company being amongst the rest of the creditors, the gas vas cut off on Monday evening, and nothing was to bo seen about the theatre except those of the company who bad not gone off to Melbourne during the day. Many of them, however, pursued the course of going off to the metropolis. Nearly every creditor has flown to the police court, so that the defaulting managers will have to answer a considerable number of summonses on Thursday.”

Southland. — The Oreti Railway, it appears, is approaching completion, and, when finished, will be a lino as long as all the other lines in New Zealand put together. It will be about forty-four miles in all. The way in which the works have been pushed forward since the contract was taken over by Messrs Driver, Maclean, and Co., appears to have given general satisfaction. The Southland Times, 21st instant, says ; “ The Oreti Railway is not finished yet, but it is being pushed on as rapidly as possible. Much greater delay was caused by the rotten state of all the bridges than was at first anticipated. Both the Makarewa and Taipo bridges have to be almost entirely renewed, with the exception of the piles, a few of these only requiring to be replaced. The former structure is now so far towards completion that the engine can cross it, and yesterday wc took advantage of a train going up, to have a nm as far as the rails are laid. We found great things had been done since our former trip. The line is now completely finished as far as the Makarewa, miles, from thence the irons are laid miles further, 104 mil cs in alb or j Ubt to the further edge of Ryal Bush, while the formation gang are some distance ahead of that again. _ In a month at the farthest we should hear of the Winton being reached.” Telegraph Charges.—The Wanganui 'Times directs the attention of the Government to a charge made by the Colonial telegraph department which is contrary to the practice adopted throughout Great Britain and the neighboring Colonies. The advertised charge “ from any station to any station ” is, for the first ten words, 2s 6d, and for every subsequent five words, or fraction of five words, 6d. Thus the sender counts his words,vand supposes that he will pay for them only, but in that he is mistaken. He has to pay for the words contained in the address and signature, which is decidedly contrary to the practice adopted in every other part of the world to which our experience extends. Experience has now fully established the fact that every reduction in telegraph charges has been followed by an increase of revenue. Departure of the Troops from Taranaki. — The Province of Taranaki has witnessed the departure of the last body of British troops that will ever be seen there. The steamer Claud Hamilton, which left Nelson on Sunday evening, arrived off Taranaki about two p.m. on Monday, for the purpose of embarking the detachment of the 18th Royal Irish stationed there to Melbourne. i The men with their baggage bad to be on board by six o’clock the same evening, so there was little time for leave-taking; and a reunion between the men and tbeir Roman Catholic friends, which was to have taken place on Monday evening, had to be hastened over in a brief maimer. The men of the 18th had conducted themselves remarkably well while stationed in Taranaki, and there was quite a demonstration on taking leave of them. Advertising. ■ —The Neio Zealand Advertiser of the 17th instant, in a leading article in its first number under a new proprietory, upon this subject says Wc are not all to the “manner born,” but as there are idiosyncracies of human temper and disposition, so there are different ways of advertising. There is the poetic, the curt, the epigrammatic, the blatant, the shy, the punning ; there is also tho lying—but no one need cry stinking fish. “ Fresh fish from Helicon, who’ll buy, who’ll buy?” Well,

we have no fresh fish, but we have clear and enduring typo, in which, if you are poetic, you can mount your Pegasus, and descant in Homeric verso on the merits of your wares. If you are shy, our editor will put your wants into Johnsonian periods ; if curt, our “wanted” column is open for 6d. If you sell eggs, and fancy your geese swans, advertise ; if you are a chiropodist, advertise ; no one can cut our paper delivered gratis, and in the end you can charge for cutting corns. Are you “ licensed to kill,” advertise ; are you in want of a wife, advertise ; are you a bootmaker, ’twere bootless to keep open shop unless you advertise ; do you turn a mangle, mangle not your grammar, but advertise. In fact, _ are you poet, baker, butcher, tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, ploughboy, apothecary or thief, advertise. Put your pen in rest, and write your advertisement, and then charge our premises, where charges are cheap. We have editors, compositors, and “devils" at your service; and when at your breakfast you chip your opal dainties, the mellifluous voice of our runner will meet your ear, not mellowed by distance, and in its pages, if you advertise, you will see your name and occupation, emblazoned, if not in letters of gold, in letters quite as valuable, and your heart, gladdened, cheered, instructed and amused, will bo light and happy, and you will go about the duty to which you are called Jthankful that the proprietors of this journal have made advertising easy and cheap ; and, in increased trade and prosperity, you will admit the benefit to mankind in general, and yourself in particular, from advertising in our columns. The Cape of Good Hope.—We take the following from the Eastern Province Herald, 15th October last: —The Transvaal correspondent writes:—Regarding the goldfields, I have no news to tell. Mr Cooksley’s specimen had created great sensation in Natal, according to the last Natal papers. The richness of these samples, which were to be brought to Port Elizabeth, will prove that the goldfields will pay, in spite of Mr Chapman’s statement to the contrary. Captain Echalez has left with three waggon loads of merchandise and machinery, for the London and Limpopo Company, for the Tatin. He also took with him more than 1000 lbs. weight of mercury, for the purpose of dividing the gold from other less valuable minerals. I need hardly state that we hear daily of new discoveries on this side of the Vaal. Most of the larger diamonds lately found come from the territory of a certain native chief (Bloom), who inhabits a small strip of country between Jantje and Mahura’s. Last week we received the report from Bloemhof that two diamonds of 15 and 22 carats w'ere brought to that village by a trader from the interior, and that the smaller one was purchased by Mr Oawood, of Graham’s Town, who happened to be at Bloemhof, for the sum of LBOO. The other one was taken down to the colony. One or two small diamonds have been discovered in this neighborhood, one of which was sold to Mr F. W. Reid, of this town. Another small diamond was picked up on the road from here to Kronstad by a Kaffir of Mrs Stamp. The whole country seems to be full of them. Very likely all these diamonds will ultimately find their way to Port Elizabeth in the shape of remittances or otherwise, and the value of these precious stones will form a welcome addition to your exports.

Te Kooti.—The Morning Advertiser (Auckland), 19th inst., has the following : The rumors concerning the movements of Te Kooti como thick and fast upon us. If anxiety as to his whereabouts could possibly render him famous, then would he have left his infamy behind. At one time he holds a conference with Mr Firth, who seems to be a kind of general go-between for discontented Maoris of all classes ; at the next, his intention is to attack Tauranga. We are more inclined to believe in his duplicity, and that of the King Natives, than in anything else., Te Kooti is no fool. He most undoubtedly is a cruel and bloodthirsty scoundrel, whose savage nature and associations prevent all hopes of alteration of character, but he is none the less cunning. In one thing he has at least succeeded, and that is in throwing an atmosphere of utter uncertainty about all conjecture as to bis intentions or location. It seems to us that the proper solution of the whole difficulty may be found in the sympathies which the Kiugites have towards him. It may be quite true that through fear of the pakeha they have pronounced their determination not to join him by act or by participation, but it is none the less evident that they do not wish for his capture, nor for the triumph of their old enemies led by Kemp. They may not be prepared to join him in his career of cannibalism : —indeed, they may wish to see him give up that career—but they do not intend to let our vengeance overtake him. The end will, we fear, be after all as we have already predicted. Te Kooti, after having led our troops a dance about the country, will retire into the privacy which now shelters Tito Kowaru, and then our friends of the flour and sugar policy will advise us not to exasperate the Kingites by infringing their territory in pursuit of him. So will another be added to the list of murderers who are now able to defy British justice whilst sheltered by the eegis of Tawhiao. New Composition.—We {European Mail) hear that an Italian, called Muratori, has offered to sell to the Emperor Napoleon, the secret of a composition intended to neutralise the destructive effects of the new weapons, tho principal component of which is a (sort of felt mixed with various other substances, and thus transformed into a compact and adhesive mass. This felt, after being kneaded by powerful machines, then made liquid, and finally cooled will resist, it is said, even at a short distance, as has been proved by experiment, rifle and pistol balls, bayonet thrusts and sabre strokes. A Chassepot rifle ball, at a distance of rather more than half tho range of that weapon, cannot pierce a cuirass made of this material, which is said to be well adapted for covering the hulls of ships of war, as a substitute for the heavy and costly iron and steel at present employed. The felt plates, besides, possesses the advantage that, unlike those made of metal, instead of being broken to pieces by a cannon ball, they yield to the impact, and the holes made by the shot close of themselves, as if the felt were so much indiarubber. We are further told that the composition does nbt cost much more than the fourth part of the price of steel and iron.

Track to Taupo from Wanganui.— We ( Wellington Independent) learn on reliable authority, that Mr Fox has succeeded in getting some natives to undertake the work of cutting a track from Wanganui to the Taupo plains, taking the general direction of the line pointed out by Mr Field.