The Evening Star SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7. 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2696, 7 October 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7. 1871.

The news by the mail is ot the most satisfactory character ; that is to it is for the most part profoundly uninteresting. The item of intelligence which affects ns most is undoubtedly that which tells of the continued steady rise in the price of w'ool: wo are informed that the sales commenced with an advance on previous prices, and that this advance was still further increased as the sales went on. When we remember that every extra farthing per pound on the rate that wool sells for at Home involves a very considerable increase to the general income of this Province, we cannot but be satisfied at hearing of this! steady rise in the price of wool. The report of the Queen’s very serious illness received by the last mail seems to have been merely an American canard not altogether without foundation, as we read that Her Majesty is much better. More .than this would have been said, however, if she 1 had been very dangerously ill, We | suppose that “ republican institutions have a tendency to put the life and health of sovereigns in danger, if not actually, at least on paper. The cholera appears to be still steadily advancing westward. It has appeared in Germany and four cases have taken place in Berlin. We have not, however, any great fear that the ravages of this epidemic will be of the same dreadful character as they have been on the occasions of its previous visitations. The science of Wtstein Europe will probably be able to grapple with this disease, terrible as it is. There is probably almost no epidemic disease incident to the human frame, the mode of whose propagation is better understood than tins. It is the excreta of persons affected with the disease that contain its germs ; and if these excreta be carefully destroyed, the plague is at once stayed. This simple principle is so well known and acted upon at Home, that the cholera may be said to be deprived of nearly all its terrors. France, as might naturally be expected, still see,ms to be in a rather restless state, though gra- 1 dually setting down to its work. The effort which it has been called on to make to raise the money for the German indemnity is by no means a trifling one in the exhausted state in which it has been left by the war. France is much in the condition of a person who is just recovering from >i severe fever, but who lias to make undue exertions before his strength is restored. The i*e-, signation of M. Eaviie and the disagreement between M. Thieks and the majority of the Assembly, arc probably matters of comparatively small importance ; and it seems likely that I ranee will in a short time be completely recovered from the shock she has received—a sadder, but we hope a wiser nation. We should be glad, however, i to hear that some steps had been taken to put the Government of the country on a more permanent basis than it is at present, for the peace of a country cannot be said to be secured very satisfactorily, while it depends 011 the life of a man more than 70 years old. Should M. Tiiieu’s die, we fear that much trouble would ensue. We .are told that one meeting has taken place between the Emperors of Germany and Austria, that they are shortly to meet again at Salzburg, and that after Germany and Austria jbaye agreed

as to the attitude they assume, Italy will adhePe to the iStne policy without any conditions. Unfortunately we are quite left in the dark as to what it refers to ; we should think, however, that it has to do with the Pope or with Russia, probably the former.

We think that there ought to be but one feeling with regard to the Government of Provinces Bill, about to be introduced into Parliament, if we may judge of its merits from the outline given of it by Mr Vogel. It is the first actual blow, though it has been long impending, to the ridiculous system of over-government which has been in vogue here too long; it will probably do way too with those disgraceful scenes that have been enacted in our Provincial Council from time to

time ; such, for instance, as the honorarium job of last session. It will certainly render th% Council far less expensive than it has hitherto been, and it will materially shorten, the time occupied in the sessions of the Provincial Council, fmv we suppose that no nineteen men {the number of which our Council is to consist) could be found capable of doing anything like the amount of talk got through by the forty-six members of whom the present Council is composed —at least we hope not ! The provision that the dissolution of the Provincial Council should not necessitate a fresh election of the Superintendent, nor the resignation of the Superintendent involve the dissolution of the Council, is certainly a wise one. It will do away with those deadlocks which have been so hurtful to the interests of this Province, and enable the Superintendent to appeal to the country when he and the Council hold different views about any important subject. Under the present arrangement the Superintendent, though elected by the united constituency of the whole Province, and therefore representing the views of the

community as a, whole, has practically uo power at all. He is in the same position as the House of Native chiefs in the new Fiji Constitution, who may say or advise whatever they please, but whose recommendations need not be noticed in any way whatever by the “ white ” House. This is, of course, an anomaly. There is one matter, we think, that might properly be taken in hand by the General Assembly, and that is the fixing of a maximum of remuneration to be paid to the members of the Provincial Councils, or rather to the members of the Otago Council. This is a question of detail which ought to be able to be left to the good sense and moderation of the members of the Council themselves; but the events of last session show that it cannot, To avoid future scandal, therefore, we think that this matter should be definitely settled- by tb e v GoJ,onial Parliament,

Princess Theatre. ~ M. Flemy having engaged the theatre for this evening will give a vocal and instrumental concert ; for this purpose all ths-: available talent in Dunedin has been engaged, and an excellent programme provided—a most pleasant entertainment may therefore be anticipated. TffE Chinese Emigrants. Foment of the thiftfteu sick Chinese sent to the Hospital from the *-e«ent arrivals, have died. To-day a jury was summoned fo lipldan inquest upon the bodies, but though sopje misunderstanding tiny l ad been buried, so that the inquest could not he held. Hr Hockon dismissed the jury, and we understand that another will be summoned in a few days. (CjrAOL Return. — The following is the state of H. M. Gaol, Dunedin, for the week ending 7th October ; —Awaiting trial, 1 man, 0 women ; under remind, 3 men, 0 women ; penal servitude, 85 men,' 0 wpmeu ; hard labor, 43 men, 12 women .5 (imprisonment, 0 men, 0 women ; in default of bail, 2 men, debtors, 2. Total, 136 men ; 12 women. Received during the week, 11 men, 1 woman ; discharged, 10 men, 1. woman. The. Volunteers. —The tie between Ensign Douglas and Vol.' Mf. CVeagh on Saturday last for No. 1 Company’s Challenge Cup, was fired off this nwrnig?, >™d resulted in the latter securing the trophy. Th.e competition was at 000 yards range, each competitor having to lire three shorts, a sighting shot being allowed. Vol. Crcagh’s score consisted of three bull’s-eyes, and Ensign Douglas’s of two centres and a bull’s eye. Schoolmasters’ Association, —The quarterly meeting of the Schoolmasters’ Association, was held this day, Mr Gardner, president, ip the chair. The secretary reported th,?d fjic resolutions passed at last meeting, had been dqly forwarded to Mr Reynolds. The following' fertile ensuing year were then duly .elected —Mr Milne, Caver-sham, president j Mr Stewart, I s orth School, ti-oasiu-er ; Mr Stables, secretary; and Mr Ferguson, Librarian. Mr- Puteous, Blueskin, was appointed to read a paper at next monthly mooting. Customs. —Mr Rill has favored us with a return of the exports for the quarter ended 30th September, which offers’’a perfect refutation to the croaking jargon ve hear respecting tho depression in tr. de. It appears that the total exports for the quarter are L 229,173, as against L 155.715 for the corresponding quarter of last year. Preserved meats exported amount to L 51,000, and tallow to L 17.582. True, there has been a deficiency in the amount of gold exported—tiro last quarter being LI 18,379 as against L 144,854 for the like quarter of the preceding year. But, notwithstanding this deficiency in gold, it is satisfactory to record the increase in the total amount, which may

be accepted as symptomatic of a healthy improvement in the condition of our trade. | I ecture. — A most interesting lec- i ture on the stomach and indigestion, was 1 delivered by Dr T. H. Goodsir last evening, in the North Fast Harbor schoolroom, in aid of the library fund of the Young Men’s ssociation, and the mechanism of the stomach i i the performance of its functions, and the causes, symptoms and treatment of indigestion were amusingly and instructively commented upon. At the conclusi nof his lecture, the doctor gave the audience some most useful hints, relative to accidents, to which they and their children were every day liable, and their treatment (in serious cases) waiting the arrival of medical aid After a vote of thanks to the lecturer, a collection was made which resulted in a very substantial addition to the fund. The English Mails. The Suez

news brought on by the Tararua reached us at an early hour this morning, but owing to the extreme staleness of the news telegraphed, we deemed it unnecessary to publish our usual extra. Any one referring to the first portion of the telegram cannot fail to wonder what would have possessed the compiler to have included many items received by the previous Suez Mail, and a lot of new s that came to hand in full in the last San Francisco papers. On Grcville’s manager at Wellington being communicated with, an explanation was made which goes to show that the unsatisfactory message must have been compiled by a novice, and we are assured that no such irregularity shall again occur. For the additional summary we are indebted to the ' Daily Time*. 'J he. San Francisco Mail is due at Auckland on the 10th inst., and will bring telegraphic news to September 17The Railway Contracts. Some further papers relating to Mr Vogel s mission to England, have been printed. These include two letters from Messrs Brogden and Sons, the latter of which dated July 27, states that they cannot definitely announce that Mr A. Brogden would leave by the next mail, in consequence of the un ertaiuty of the close of Parliament. Meantime they suggest that consideration of the contract shou’d be deferred until the arrival of Mr Brogden or one of the linn, since as they state, “it is evident from our farther enquiries as to terms upon which the issues of the capital for the railway can be made, that a modification of the agreement renders the terms as nearly as possible like those adopted in the case of the Indian railways will be required, in order to make them such as the New Zealand Government and we would work under. ” They speak of several points which impose unusual obligations on companies ; and those they mean to examine with the promised assistance of Mr Mackrell. They renew their assurance that, in carrying out the undertakings, they shall endeavor to do so to the entire satisfacti n of the Government.

Concert. — The appeal of the Citizens’ Cricket Club fur public support to enable them to clear off their debt, was rewarded with one of the fullest audiences we have ever seen in the Mas nic Hall. To say that it was fpll hardly conveys a true idea of the state of tjic Hr3.ll —it was in the propersense of the term eramipcd to suf|bc atipn. Standing room was a de-ddevat ttw, and ipany had to leave, being unable to obtain even that. The programme that was put forward was one calculated to please in every way. It opened with a scene from “ King John,” in which la petite Amy appeared as the Prince, and Mr Mnsgravc as Herbert, The former played her part in a very painstaking manner, and for one so young had an astonishingly good perception of it. Then fobowtd a musical interlude, in which Miss Webb sang two songs, and was deservedly encored ; Messrs Westropp an l Forbes, both in good voice, each gave a comic song, which met with the inevitable encore; and M r Marsden, who supplied a blank created by the absence of a gentleman amateur, was well received. The piece de nddancc was the farce of “ The Wilful WfT-rd,” which served to introduce Mies Dolly Gfeph as the wilful heiress. Miss Green, on making her appearance on the stage, was accorded a welcome snob as is only given to an old favorite. Of her acting we can only say it lias lost none of its spirit and finish. She was ably supported by Mr Musgrave ; and the minor characters were filled by gentleman amateurs, of one of whom (the gentleman who filled the part of Mr Lispiugton) it must he said that fora first attempt he acquitted himself very creditably. In' conclusion; we may safely say that the epfprtauqiient was a thorough success ; and it ought to epatyle the Club to fully pay off all its liabilities. Supreme Court,—Mr Justice O'Jpipman held a silting in banco this morning, when John Williams, a prisoner in H. M. Gaol, Dunedin, under sentence of three mouths’ imprisonment for habitual drunkenness at Cromwell, was brought up on a writ of halms curpm. Mr Catomore, for the prisoner, inpyed his discharge on the grounds—(l) That it did not appear on the face of the warrant of commitment that the prisoner was convicted of the offence fop which he was detained in custody, or that any punishment had been adjudged ; (2) That the warrant did not show that he had been properly convicted of habitual drunkenness, or of being an idle hr disorderly person within the meaning pf flic 'Vagrant Act, 18(56, or set forth the previous convictions ; and (3) That the warrant did not show that the prisoner had been thrice convicted within twelve, months before his last conviction, and therefore he was illegally detained in custody. The warrant of commitment was found to read, '‘And whereas the said John Williams was this day charged,” &c., which was the form of commitment for an indictable often e, and it should have read, “And whereas . . . was this day duly convicted,” &c. Mr Catomore was about to urge the other grounds of the rule, when his Honor "said it was not arguable, because a man was not liable to imprisonment or punishment on being charged with an offence. Mr Barton, who appeared for the convicting justices, admitted that the warrant was indefensible, but thought if the Court could be made acquainted with the facts of the case, it would allow, a proper war/aut of commitment to be drawn up. jdis Honor remarked that he cpuld not do that, but he would not allow posts against j the magistrates, as it was a mere mistake in filling up a form, and the conviction was no doubt a good one. Some reference was made to an ac ion for false imprisonment, but his Honor, while expressing an opinion that he could not agree to Mr Barton’s request for an order to restrain an action being brought, said be should consider the action, if brought, a very frivolous one. After cautioning the prisoner, his Honor discharged him.

The ceremony of consecrating the new alter at St. Joseph’s Church, will take place to-morrow (Sunday) morning. The proceedings will commence at 9.30, High Mass at 11 o’clock, and sermon at the usual time. A meeting of the Union Permanent Building Society for receiving subscriptions, applications for new shares, &c., will be held at the society’s olfice, Piinces street, on Monday, October 9th at 7 to 8 pm. A general meeting of the members of the Dunedin Rifle Club will he held at M Gregor’s British Hotel, on Monday, the 9tb inst., at 7 30 p.m. The Union Permanent Building Society’s office will be open this evening and every Saturday evening, from 7.30 to 8 o’clock, for receipt of subscriptions, &c.