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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2529, 25 March 1871, Page 2

Princess Theatre.—There was no visible falling off in the attendance at the theatre last night, and the “Lancashire Lass” was received as usual with great applause. At present there seems to be no necessity for a change of programme.

Gaol Return. —The following is the s. ate of H. M. Gaol, Dunedin, for the week ending the 25th March, IST I • Awaiting trial, 0 men, 0 women ; under remand 1 man, 0 women ; penal servitude, <>l men, 0 women ; hard labor, 56 men, 27 women ; in default of bail, 1 man, 0 women ; debtors, 2 men total, 151 men, 27 women; Received during the week, l(i men. 1 woman discharged, II men, 1 women. Accident. —At Port Chalmers, yesterday, a son of Mr John Dale, whilst in company with others who were amusing themselves by swinging on a pendent supplejack, was swung against a tree, and in endeavoring to ward off the blow lost his bold, and in falling was violently dashed against a small stump. On being taken home, Dr Drysdalc, who attended on the sufferer, discovered that both bones oi the light arm had been broken.

Coal, —We are informed that a seam of excellent coal has been discovered on the property of Mr Fenwick, Olepqio. It is stated by competent judges that tliis coal is superior to any yet discovered in the Province. Mr Hutcheson, who is, wc believ .', the best authority on coal mining in this Province, has given it as his opinion that it is superior to Shag \ alley coal. We understand that the coal is being extensively used in the Ot.epopo district, and the cost is LI per ton.— Oamayif Times.

Political. —A meeting of th» electors of Ande son’s Bay was held last night in the Schoolhouse there, to hear Mr Seaton, one of the candidates for the representation of the P.ninsula in the Provinci d Council. Mr James Lothian was called to the chair. Mr Seaton wept at considerable length into the various subjects tlpit have occupied the public attention for the last fcijr years, and intimate 1 the subjects he intended to spo port if returned agfin. A vote of confidence in hjin as a tit and proper person to represent tiie district, was proposed by Mr George Dryden, and seconded by Mr James Samuel, and all bat unaininously .carried, only one hand being held up in the negative.

Rifle Match. —The third competition for the challenge cup presented by Mr Henry Driver tc the Waikari Rangers, took place' at the Company's butts on Thursday morning, the 23rd iust. The conditions were 405, 500, and 600 yards, sgvcjj shots at each range, any position ; the cup to bo shot for four times a year, tp bo won five time;] before becoming the property of the winner. It was won on the first occasion by Corporal M ‘Kenaiff yfith a score of 57 points, on the second ,by Lieut. Marshall with 66 points, ■and tl>is j'time by -Volunteer W. H. Lacey with 66 points. 'The following are ,the scores

Electko-Biology. —Captain Wijisoii delivered his lecture on electro-biology last night for the th'rd time. There was a fan* attendance, and at the conclusion of the lecture the Captain invited suih of his audience as were willing to place themselves in his hands to ascend to the plat form. Several persons accepted the invitation, and after the usual manipulations, three persons manifested evident signs of being affected, yet, not to an extent to satisfy the lecturer, >yho, in a giac.ful manner, acknowledged that hj a patients were not sufficiently under control to ejiablp him t,9 display his power, and therefore that those persons who were dissatislied might have their money returned. We regret to add, that this proposition was rapturously received, and acted upon with avidity hy a large majority, the love of pelf far outstripping any sympathy for the lecturer. The stance will he repeated this evening. Breach or- Promise, —Actions for breach of promise of mauisge have been rather frequent of late in Mel bourns, the suspicious part about all of them being, that the plaintiffs have g-nerally bee. also seduced. One was tried lately, remarkable as to the mode of its he ng conducted through the court. The plaintiff was a young woman named lliordao, formerly housemaid at the Earl of Zetland Hotel, and the defendant a mining agent, who had lodged at the hotel. The defendant conducted his own case, hut did pot go into the witness-box to deny on oath having made the promise; and Mr Justice Barry left it to the jury as an undefended care. The defendant, who had evidently acted in ignorance that his speech would nut be taken as evidence, then wished to be sworn, but his Honor refused to permit him. 'Jhe jury, without giving the case any consideration, announced that theA had found for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed, I.dOO. The impulsiveness of the jury was, however, cheeked by judge, who advised them to reconsider their verdict, and after a short -deliberation they ga.ve a verdict for L-dU. The defendant had previously been ordered by the justices to pay Ss. per week for the support of his child, so that if the verdict is sustained his expenses over the affair will not be small. Cape Diamond Mine. o . —We have Natal papers to January 21, but they contain little news except relative to the diamond mines op the Vanl. The Port Elizabeth diggers were mostly returning from the diamond fields until the hot season was over.

: They pronounced the heat to be intense, and j some had nearly lost their eyesight from the glare of the sun. Some of the returned diggers give deplorable accounts of the poverty and distress occasioned, as it seems, by ninny going to the diggings utter"y unprovided with the moans of waiting for fortune. _ A good deal of uneasiness was expre-sed owing to the news that thousands of people were reported to be leiviug England for the diamond fields, and it was feared that, should such an influx take place, a great deal of misery would be the result. A paper called the Diamond News lias come into existence, which contains many items that remind one very much of the early days of the Victorian di«".>ings. Thus wc observe that quite a feature is made of the arrival of tlic first piano on the fields. Mr Itndiman, the fortunate finder of an 81 carat diamond, had had been working nearly six months without any luck, and, having work'd down to the bottom of his provision supply, was thinking of quitting the fields, when suddenly he struck upon this fine stone. The end of the o’d year was celebrated by wi'd orgies, men drinking, guns firing all night, j and all kinds of uproar. The Press and the Telegraph.— Under this heading it has been usual of late for us, as well as for our contemporaries, to treat our readers with extracts condemn a'ory, more or less, of the action of the Goverument in regard to press telegrams, more especially in regard to the now famous telegram question. It gives us pleasure now to be able to place b ‘fove our readers a statement of the very liberal concessions made in favor of flic press by the department. The amalgamation of the interests of the Press Association with Grevillc and Go, wi'l do away with the dual system of telegraphy which has been in vogue for the last nine months, and of necessity, while allowing of an equally extensive use of the wires, will be the means of saving the department a great deal of lab <r. The Government seeing this, and encouraged no doubt by the large use of the wires by the press since tin reduced tariff came into force in September, 1869, hive agre d to a further reduction on all Press charges, amounting to 26 per cent, on inter provincial news, and 35 per cent, on Eng’ish and Australian summaries ; and a still further reduction in Parliamentary intelligence. In regard to Parliament iry intelligence, Grevillc mil Co. contemplate establishing an agency in Wellington during the session, w'hich will furnish papers with full and reliable reports of each day’s proceedings ; and if the Pre s only take advantage of the offer of the Government, and we are inclined to believe they will, there nee 1 not be reason for complaint in the future, as it Ins been in the past, that the public are kept tro much in ignorance of what is a.tually going on in Parliament The offer of the Government is held out as an imlucem'-iit for co-opcrati-n hv papers, and with a view of having a united Press, and should ho proper’y appreciated by those most ir f t ! T‘ e ted. Tin new tariff wiP, if possible, come into force next month ; and we feel sure the public wiil early app eoiate the advantages of it. For our part we fully r .cognise the spirit in which the Government has acted, and pay a well-merited tribute of thanks to the Gommissmn of Telegraphs and the general manager. To Mr Lemon it is especially due, for he has greatly exerte 1 himself in the matter. Extraordinary Story. —The hah Jurat Star pub’ishes the following extraordinary tale respecting the well-remembered bank robbery at Egor ton, for p irticipation in which an employee of the bank was placed on his trial and acquitted : “ The story is that Jones (that name will do as well as another), who 1 ves in Ballarat, was drinking in a bar and b morning partly intoxicated overheard two men talking something about .the Ego tf)' i J?ank robbery. Ho then shammed to be helplessly hut st ill listened, and heard the name of a man then living in a town .‘lO miles from Ril'a-at mentioned as one who had a share in the g> Id and notes stolen Jones watched his chance, and left the hotel. ITc started by the first poach, found his man, conversed with him. then d’ - a;ik with him, mid when the drink began to have pfject suddenly clapped his hind on the other’s »hi>uk}er. exclaiming, ‘What about the Eger lon hank robbery ?’ The man started hack, dropped the glass he was raising to his lips, and said, f flood God! do yon know about that?’ Jones took the matter coolly, professed to know all about it, and said ho did not wish to give informal ion to the poh.ee, hut meivly wanted a share of the gold. By dpgtecs the new acquaintance told Jones the tale of the robbery, and it was then JoinVs turn (o be startled. It was narrated that two men who hid committed the robbery had hern seen and watched until they p 1 anted the go'd and notes, wrapped n mi old pair of trousers, in a hoi; under a log. After they left, the watchers to k the plunder, and planta! it in a shaft, and noted the hearings of the spot by measuring the distance from some conspicuous trees. A plan of the ground had been made, giving all details. These robbers in the second degree had always feared to unearth their treasure, on account id Ipc Jopk-ont kept by the police, and had allowed things to remain as were. Jones, however, got his pew friend to come to Ballant, and, accompanied by tire other two, they went to Egerton One night they proceeded to the spot, and found everything as stated. There were the trees and the shaft; on r. moving some soil there were the trousers, hut there was no gold, no notes, nothing hut the remains of a very ancient, dilapidated pair of breeches. Many people have long and anxiously wait ;d for the clearing up of the painful mystery that overhangs the robbery, and many more would gladly learn that the innocence of tty os e who had been suspected had at length hgpn substantiated. ”

Mu Bami-ouo will address the elpctors of Caversham at tke Waikari Dpill Sl|ed, this evening, at eight. By advertisement it will be seen that a coach will leave the post oihee on Monday next, at one o’clock, conveying the electors who are supporters of Mr Howorth to the polling booth, East Taieri.

400 500 GOO yds. yds. Tl. Vol, lyacey .. J9 24 23 66 Li< ut. Marshall oo 21 12 55 Corp. M'Keuzic . 2:2 15 14 51 Yol. Dalziel .. 19 31 U 51