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Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2208, 4 June 1870, Page 2

The Volunteers. —Wc arc glad to sec the movement has taken root at Inch Clutha. Some nineteen persons have enrolled themselves, and a drill instructor is to be procured from Balclutha. The Weather. —We have not heard of much damage resulting from the gale last night. One of the large windows in Messrs Hay Brothers and Wright’s shop was blown out, and a cornice at the Criteron Hotel blown down. Fortunately no one was passing by at the time. Meat Preserving. The public meeting convened at Milton for the purpose of trying to form a meat preserving company lapsed, only two gentlemen coming forward on Thursday, the day of meeting. From this fact the Standard divines that both squatters and settlers seem to have arrived at a chronic state of despair in regard to the future, and that if anything is to be done to promote the prosperity of these classes it must be effected by persevering effort for it never will be by a mere spasmodic or impulsive wish. Gaol Return.—The following is the state of H.M. Gaol, Dunedin, for the weeh ending the 4th June, 1870 :—Awaiting trial, 8 men, 0 women ; under remand, 0 men, 1 woman ; penal servitude, 94 men, 0 women; hard labor, 53 men, 21 women ; in default of bail, 3 men, 1 woman; debtors, 3 men total, 161 men, 23 women. Received during the week, 7 men, 4 women; discharged, 6 men, 2 women,

Money Order Offices.—The total number of money orders issued at the several post offices during the quarter ending the 31st March last was 7386, representing an amount of L 33.042 2s 3d, while the corresponding quarter of last year was ()406, or L 29,424 17s Bd. The number and amount of orders paid was 4469, representing L20.10S Gs 3d. In the corresponding quarter of the preceding year, 3883, representing L 18,127 7s lid. In these amounts Otago and Auckland are about equal, Canterbury and Wellington following. Surrender of Rebels. Twenty more rebels have come in and surrendered. The batch of Uriweras, whose surrender was stated in a telegram about a week ago, have been taken to the Bay of Plenty, until a decision is come to respecting tncm. dbe chief Hapurona is well known as one of their principal men. He has taken part in most of the proceedings against the Government, He was at Mobaka. and has lately been with Te Kooti at Taupo and Patetere. No information can lie got from his people of Te Kooti’s whereabouts. They declare that the Uriwcra have left him for good, and refuse him shelter. Beyond believing that be bis biding at Waioeka, they can give no intelligence' respecting him, The remainder of the Uriwera are at Ruatalma, and arc described as desirous of giving themselves up, bnt fearful of the consequences. Piscatorial.— On Tuesday last, Mr Rowbottom, Island Stream, called at muoffice with a young fish, which he informed us he had dipped up in a bucket of water taken out of the creek running past his house, which is situated about a mile and a half below Mr Fenwick’s trout ponds, on the same stream. He states it was dead when he found it i and believes it to he a young salmon trout which escaped from Mr Fenwick’s ponds during the recent floods. The fish measures over six inches, and weighed nearly one ounce and a half. We do not speak authoritatively, but have little hesitation in pronouncing in favor of it being a real salmon trout. It has been examined by several gentlemen familiar with the salmon trout of Scotland and Ireland, who, for the most part, expressed a conviction that it was the genuine thing._ Presuming we are correct in our conclusion, we may congratulate the Acclimatisation Society upon the successful acclimatisation of this fish in this district.— Oamam Herald,

Princess Theatre. The complimentary benefit tendered by tbe Gairick Club to Mrs J. B, Steele last evening was not so great a success as we hoped it would have been. The attendance was, however, large in all parts of the house, find included a good many of the beneliciare’s admirers. The presentation of such a play as the “ Lady of Lyons,” with nearly all the characters undertaken by amateurs, must necessai ily be attendee,! with many drawbacks. So it was with last eveping’s representation, but the shortcomings were amply compensated for by the admirable acting of Mrs Steele. Her Pauline is, we do not hesitate to say. one of her best characters, and its equal lias not been seen here. Mr Steele played Claude, but did not give us such a spirited performance as he usually does. Still he played with care and feeling, and, with Mrs Steele, was twice called before the curtain. We must congratulate the lady who filled the part of Madame Deschapelles upon the great improvement in heraeting. She, had a most just appreciation of the character, looked and dressed it well, and was “ letter perfect’’—qualities seldom found in amateurs. Mrs Ward played the unimportant part of Widow IVI elnotte carefully and well. Of the male characters sustained by amateurs, that of Colonel Dumas was by far the best. Ou the whole the character was capitally played, and the few imperfections we noticed will be easily overcome on Letter acquaintance, by the gentleman who filled it. We are sorry that we cannot bestow praise on the remaining characters, with one exception. The parts of the landlord and Caspar, unimportant though they be, were certainly made the most of by tbe gentlemen to whom they were entrusted- The parts of M M. Beausant and Glavis afford scope ,fpr really good acting, but tbe gentlemep who filled them did not appear to think so. Of course, if gentlemen will create characters .for .themselves we cannot help it; but we sbpuld prefer to have them presented something like what the author intended them to heLast night we?had M. Glavis pourtrayed.as a lisping hobbledehoy! At the conclusion of the piece, fthe curtain was raised in acknowledgment of the plaudits of the audience. The performances concluded with the farce of “ More Blunders than One,” which, with the exception of the principal character, was anything but well played. It was but too evident that there had been no rehearsal of the piece sipce the last performance. Mr and Mrs Steele, we believe, proceed to ■Christchurch shortly to play a short engagement there. A Youthful Creditok. —An amusing incident, characteristic of the precocity of young New Zealand, occurred at a recent meeting of creditors, held at the lloyal Hotel, Oamaru. The meeting was largely attended by the chief business men of the town. The two local lawyers were at their post, and flip war of words between debtor mid creditor was about to commence, when one of the legal gentlemen discovered that there was an intruder, in the shape of a small boy of eleven or twelve years old in the room, who he politely requested to retire. The boy did not appreciate the gentle request,. hut with bristling hair and defiant demeanor boldly took possession of the iloor, and declared that he had as much right there as “any other man.” He came as an opposing creditor. The bankrupt owed him 8s 6d, and he was not going to accept a compromise, no, not bo, he knew better than that. A benevolent gentleman endeavored to show tbe youngster that according to English law, he had no right to be there, being under age. With ready wit, however, he stood erect, and cheekily said “so much the worse for British law, 1 be a foreigner.” It is needless to say the gentlemen present were convulsed with laughter, and the youngster—after many threats of being forcibly ejected if he did not leave peacefully—retired hissing between bis teeth, “be would oppose, he would oppose, lie would send his big brother to do it for him.” The bankrupt and his legal adviser smiled complacently when this youthful but demonstrative creditor had been ejected, and the business of the meeting proceeded. The Wax Works.—There is quite enough of novelty in the wax works now exhibiting in the lower room at the AthentDum to attract a goodly number of spectators. There is not a figure but has interest connected wjth it, and all arc so life-like

that one feels perfectly at home with the great, while the consciousness of perfect security disarms any feeling of uneasiness with regard to being in the presence of dangerous villainy. Amongst the illustrious dead are models of Queen Elizabeth and her ill-fated contemporary Mary of Scotland. The romance of history gams by the mind being able to realise something of the flesh ami blood appearance of these celebrated characters. The loves and hatreds of both arc brought vividly to memory when we look upon the imperious bearing of the one and the beauty of the other. Not the less interesting is the group which introduces us into the presence of her Majesty and some of her family, close to which group is the Empress of France. The likenesses of the ruffians who suffered for the West Coast muulcrs bring to mind faces we have seen in Dunedin, which will be recognised by many. 4 b’ °f the least interestin ; figure in this exhibition is the model of the late George Pcubody. We do not recollect seeing a more life-hke countenance in wax. It has benevolence stamped upon every feature, borchead, eyes, lips—all tell of kindly feelings. do see this figure only is worth visiting ihc wax works. His deeds are fresh in leinenibrance, and those who carry his likeness in their memories will heueclorth connect his kindliness of heart with his benevolent looks. Thomson’s Road Steamer. The success of this new means of locomotion is now placed beyond doubt. Phe following is iln abstract of its more recent performances, as given by the Times .-—A 3-liorse power machine drew a boiler weighing 13 tons up an incline of I in 12 ; the groiind beiim so slippery at the time from frost that horses could not keep their feet. The engine was run through a grass field without leaving a track, and again through a field covered to a depth of two feet, with loose earth. A 10-horse power machine, weighing 8 tons, ran with four waggons attached to it out to a colliery 12 miles from Edinburgh ; there received a load amounting, with the four waggons, to 32 tons, making the weight of the whole 40 tons ; and then returned up inclines of 1 in 16 to Edinburgh. It wended its way, with its train of 90 feet, with perfect facility, through the narrow streets of the old town, which chanced on the occasion to be thronged with vehicles carrying people to some open-air festivity. It turned all manner of sharp corners, ran down the steep hill to Leith, entered a lane, and drove in through the gates of the factory, where it delivered its load. An engine was driven into a newly-dug potato field, and there ran about in every direction,* leaving the soil quite undisturbed. A 10-horse power engine, drawing a load of 17 tons of pig iron, was driven along the Granton road at the rate of eight miles an hour. The same engine was run along the sea sands from Portobello to Joppa, running through the loose, dry sand over the soft wet sand, and even through a creek of running water, with as much ease as if it hid been i *--*vicr along a turnpike road. It was driven over long beds of broken flint laid down for road mending, and the motion v ? f those udmg on it was as smooth and pleasant as if it hau been going over a lawij, while the stones remained quite impressed. A 6-horse power engine, weighing six tons, took a load of .14 tons up an incline of 1 in IS. Engines with omnibuses attached to them have run frequently through Edinburgh, upon the long steep hill from Leith, and up and down the steepest streets of the city, always without a break. Their speed is from eight to ten miles an hour, and some very handsome steam omnibuses are now being constructed on this principle. In Leith the road steamer is constantly employed in conveying marine boilers (weighing2s tons), marine screws, railway locomotives, and other enormous pieces of machinery to the docks or the railway stations. When harnessed to its load it is driven straight to its destination without a single stoppage, and without interfering ill any way with the street traffic. The road steamer is likewise found to answer admirably in street-rolling, drawing the roller, which is separate, behind it. A road steamer of 6-horse power, which belongs to the owner of some very extensive flour-mills, has been running for seven months between Aberdeen apd the mills. The distance each way is three miles, and this is accomplished in an hour. At first it performed four trips a day, but latterly it has been making six, taking a load of 10 tons each time. The road over which it travels is perhaps the worst bit of road in the kingdom, being narrow and tortuous, the gradients for one-half of it varying from 1 in 9 to 1 ill 8. Up to this indine of 1 in 8 the road steamer, which weighs six tons, takes in tow a load of 10 'tons. It may he’p to realise what 1 in 8 ’represents, to mention that the steepest gradient in crossing the Simplon is 1 in 13. Jlhis engine has already run over 2,500 miles, and has carried nearly 8,000 tons, running six times daily through the chief streets of the city. To prove how incapable the steamer is of injuring the roads, various substances, such as bits of coal, potatoes, carrots, &c., have been thrown in its path, and after it has passed over them they have been picked up uncrushed. The indiarubber tiers have often been compared to the elephant’s foot, with its soft and yielding pad.

Political. —Mr Wood, M.H.11. for Invercargill, lias replied to a requisition calling upon him to resign as _ follows : I re"ret that a difference of opinion on the question of the re-union of this Province with Otago should have caused you to deem my resignation desirable. You state in your requisition that this question is of vital importance to the Province of Southland" In this opinion I fully concur, while taking an entirely opposite view as to its desirability. Without such union, 1 can see no honorable mode of escape from our present difficult and humiliating position, nor has any one of the opponents of re-nnion >et solved that problem' You state you consider the result of the recent Invercargill election for the Provincial Council has established the fact that a majority of the electors of the town are against re-union ; but as the leaders of both 'parties were then returned, and the number of votes for each so nearly equal, I trust 1 may be pardoned for doubting this ; and it is gratifying to me, both in a political anil private sense, to know that so many of the 154 electors who then recorded their votes in favor of an anti-union candidate refused, when solicited, to sign this requisition. On the above grounds you request tb at I will, in accordance with _ pledges given at my election, tender my resignation. I have referred to the local papers published at that date, but cannot find that I am reported to have givou any pledge on that subject. I remember no such pledge ; nor am I aware of any member resigning his seat by the request of one-fifth of the electors of his district; ugr have £ departed hvm the li»e

of policy I then publicly proposed ta follow on the question of re-union. Having fully considered your request, and keeping in view what I believe to be my duty to those of my constituents who think with me on this quest iou, I feel bound to decline compliance. Having arrived at this conohisiou on the matter purely as a question between my constituents and myself, I feel doubly Justified in my decision ? hy the recent elections for the Provincial Council resulting in so decided a majority in favor of re-union. When the question of re-union comes before the General Assembly, 1 will, in my place, inform the House that I received this requisition.”

By a typographical error, the naum of Mr Proud was substituted for that of Mr Jones in our report of the dinner to Mr Justice Ward. The nineteenth monthly meeting of shareholders in the Otago Freehold, Land, Building and Investment Society, for paying subscriptions, &c., will bn held at the office, Princes street, on Monday evening, at 7 o’clock. The Rev. Mr Sutherland will preach in the Presbyterian Church, Caversham, at the usual hour to-morrow. The Rev. Brberfc Scrimgoour will, it is announced, preach in St, Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, to-morrow (Sunday) moriug and evening, at the usual hours.