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Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2217, 15 June 1870, Page 2

House ok Representatives. We hear that his Honor the Superintendent wili leave for Wellington on Saturday. Holiday.— To-morrow being a holiday of the Presbyterian Church, will be observed as a holiday at the Provincial Government and law offices. Mesmerism. —Dr Carr gave a lecture on “ Mesmerism ” at Port Chalmers on Monday evening, to a numerous audience. He will repeat the lecture, and to-morrow gives a private seance in town. The Wax Works. —A good many persona have visited the Wax Works during the last few days. As this wo believe, is the last week, those Jwho have not yet visited the exhibition should do so now. The Deputy-Superintendent. —For once rumor has been wrong. Mr Haggitt is not appointed Deputy-Superintendent, but that houor has been conferred on Mr W. A. Tolmie. The Gaol. —Mr Fulton, R.M., attended at the gaol this forenoon, and hoard a charge against a prisoner, named John Magrath, a blacksmith, for obtaining a coat under false pretences from Mr Robertson, of West Taieri. After bearing the evidence, Mr Fulton sentenced him to six weeks' imprisonment with hard labor, cumulative on a former sentence of one month for larceny. To-night’s Concerts— lt is to be regretted that the concert of the Dunedin Private Musical Society could not be postponed to another evening ; but it was impossible, because of the necessity for returning immediately much of the material kindly lent for the occasion. We trust that, notwithstanding the rough day, the evening

may prove fine, 80 thst both that concert and the entertainment at the Water of Leith 1 may benefit. 1 Riot.—According to the Mail, they 1 have got up at the head of Lake Wakatip a ' bit of a sensational affair. Lately the Go- 1 vernment have seen fit to reduce the rate of wages from 10s to Ss per diem, and of course some refused to work on the Martin’s Bay track for that amount. Not content with 1 that display of indendence, some of the men, led by three individuals who, for the nonce, ; rejoice iu the names of Soldier Bill, Powdered- [ face Jim, and Knobby, determined that, as they would network under 10s a day, neither ' should others. They put the contented men - through their facings in proper style, and ; adopting Artemus Ward’s famous census oni quiries, asked each man “are yon married or single, where is your wife, how many 5 children have you got."’ Unlike Artemus, - they evidently refrained by a feeling of deli- • cacy from asking—Are the children like yon ? [. The married were allowed to go to their work at 8s per diem ; the single ones must not think of accepting such a base remuneration, and so a riot arose, and Constables , M ‘Gann and Lemiau went in the police boat ~ yesterday morning to see if mischief was L really meant, and to bring down the thiee offenders described by certain aliases. s Labor in Yain.— The case of Fuller -> v. Murray was the only case set down for - hearing in the Supreme Court yesterday. . It involved the attendance of thirty-six jurors, the summoning of whom required r the services of a constable, the authority of ’ the sheriff, and sundry other expenccs ; for ; the radius within which jurymen may be t summoned is twenty miles. Sev.-ral of the jurors lived nearly that distance from the Supreme Court, and had to put off every f other business to comply with their duties as 3 citizens. Now, all this might have been l tolerable had the case been called ; but after | all the trouble and expence, individually and provincially, after witnesses had been summoned, counsel engaged, and every pro- - paration made, the case was withdrawn. It S had been set down for trial even before the i. issues to be tried were settled. No wonder the jury, the witnesses, and the sheriff (we 1 suppose) were irate. It would have vexed a ■ saint. I The Land. —Even the testimony of 1 MrT. L. Shepherd as to the value of land ] in the district he is supposed to represent, is not reliable. On the last day of the Council he might have been heard giving his per- > soiml experiences of the country about - Queenstown. Sir Oracle spoke, and his statements of the value of the block pro- . posed to be taken on Boyes’s run, and the , almost utter worthlessness of the land re- *■ commended by the select committee, were i given credence to by some lion, members. - The Wakatip Mail gives a description of the Q country, which we arc disposed to accept in preference to Mr Shepherd’s opinion : —The 1- iutcnt'on of the Government to open up the I land between the Nevis and Arrow Bluffs t has given very general satisfaction to the y people in this district, as numbers of miners « working in the neighborhood will be able to 1 settle down and make themselves comfcrtable homos. There is no very great breadth 3 of agricultural laud included in the area prop posed to he thrown open ; but when mining , is combined with the tilling of the ground, k the locality will suit admirably. Wc may, S as a rule, conclude that combined mining f and farming will keep a mqrc prosperous Q population than farming pursued by itself, , When the season is unfavorable for the one, b the other can generally be proseented with s success, or vice versa.