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Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2732, 18 November 1871, Page 2

Supreme Court.—According to a decision recently arrived at by the Judges, the long vacation \yjli commence on the 25th January, and end loth day of March (both days inclusive)' in each year. Theatrical. We are informed that Mrs Colville and Mr Hoskins intend visiting Dunedin shortly, prior to their return to Victoria. Mr Mothersill, their agent, was a passenger by the Phcebe as far as Wellington, where they intend performing for a tew nights. Fire Brigade. —At a special meeting of the Fire-brigade last evening, it was agreed to hold a picnic on St Andrew’s day, to be followed by a reunion in the evening. A committee was appointed to carry out the necessary arrangements, and it was decided the start should be made from the enginestation at noon on the day in question ; members to appear in dress uniform. Gaol Return. — The following is the state of H. M, Gaol, Dunedin, for the week ending 11th Nov. .-—Awaiting trial, 12 men, 1 women ; under remand, 0 men, 0 women ; penal servitude, 84 men, 0 women ; hard labor, 36 men, 17 women; in default of bail, 2 men ; debtors, 0. Total, 134 men ; 18 women. Received during the week, 5 men, 4 women; discharged, 3 men, 4 women. ISporting. —At a general meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club, on the 11th inst., it was agreed to adopt the following rule in respect to future meetings :—That for any walkover only half the public money be paid to the winner. The stakes paid over to the various winners were—Mr Redwood, L 570 ; Mr Hunter, L 402 16s; Mr Nosworthy, L 22 1; Mr J. Stud holme, L 177 15s ; Mr Walters, L 152 ; Mr Oram, L7l; Mr R. Campbell, L 55 ; Mr Lunn, L 4 2; Mr M'Glashan, L 10; total, LI, 714. The Colonial Industries Committee.—The minutes of evidence taken before this committee, of whose report we have already published a summary, have now been printed. The evidence is all of an exceedingly interesting character, and is worthy of being extensively quoted. The evidence printed includes that of Mr Krull, Dr Hector, Mr Macandrew, Mr Liardet, Mr O’Conor and Mr M'Glasban, and there is an appendix containing memoranda on coast fisheries by Mr Creighton, Mr M‘Leod, and Dr Peraton, on paper manufacture by Mr M'Glasban, and on the Oamaru building stone by Mr Steward and Mr Clayton. New Zealand Flax —The position now held by this fibre in the home market may to a certain extent be inferred from the fact that the leading Dundee paper considersit necessary to obtain daily quotations of prices by telegram from London, I he Tuapeka Times informs us that there is every prospect of the flax manufacture being rigorously and remuneratively prosecuted in the Glutha district during the coming year. An enterprising firm in the district engaged in the industry finding the prices they received for their manufacture in England not satisfactory, shipped a quantity direct to America, where it met .with a ready sale at remunerative prices. Rescue. —We omitted to state yesterday that on the sailing of the Taranaki for the northern ports on Wednesday, a seaman named George Stewart narrowly escaped drowning. He was assisting in securing the anchor, when the davit snapped in two, and he was thrown overboard. Fortunately Mr Robertson, shipping reporter of the Daily Times, who had just left the vessel in a boat, perceived the accident, and with the aid of Sheriff, the boatman, reached the drowning man in time to save him from death. A moment later might have been fatal to him, for Stewart had sunk a second time so far that, although his left hand was raised, it was shoulder-deep below the surface. When taken into Mr Robertson’s boat he was too much exhausted to speak, but recovered. The chief officer of the Taranaki did bis best to save Stewart, and promptly gave orders to stop her the moment the accident occurred. The Telegraph Enquiry.—Commenting upon the result of the enquiry, the Lyt'elton Times remarks No vindication could have Ween more complete ; no exposure of evil-speaking, lying, and slander more thorough; and the degmlation of a portion of the New Zealand Press could not be made more manifest. And yet these are the journals which are always prating about

Ministerial corruption, nepotism, swindling linance, and all the rest of it. They are continually arrogating to themselves and their party, if they have one, all the honor, honesty, and straightforward manly conduct to he found in the Colony ; constantly declaiming about the reckless extravagance and wholesome bribery practised by the Government ; and when they have succeeded in getting a Select Committee of 'the House —at great expense to the country—to make an inquiry, the necessity for which they created by the free exercise of a malicious imagination, it proves on undeniable evidence, what? The purity and probity of those they had traduced, and their own exceeding baseness Concert. Despite the inclement weather, the Masonic Hall was filled last evening with one of the largest audiences we have seen there for some time j>ast, and that result was owing solely to the indefatigable manner in which the teachers of the North Dunedin School and their friends worked. By all accounts the school will receive between twenty and thirty pounds for prizes. Of the first part of the concert we are unable to say anything, having been called away ; but if the second part may be taken as any criterion, it was a very great succe?s. Among the lady singers was Miss Webb, who was in capital voice. She sang “ Here’s a health to Bonnie Scotland ” with excellent taste; and in answer to a unanimous encore—by the way, we were glad to see that the encore nuis nice was discountenanced as far as it possibly could be—gave “Jessie’s Dream,” which was even better than the first song. Miss Webb also took p;.rt in a couple of duetts. The Mbses Jago rendered a duett, “Flowers of the Forest,” very nicely; indeed, but for the apparent hoarseness of one of the singers, it was all that could be desired. A reading by Mr Jago, a cornet duett by Messrs Oliver and Griffen, a comic song, of which we are not dispo ed to say much—and last, but not least, the piano sslos by Master Bayley, whose playing appears to give great satisfaction, and does great credit to the performer and his teacher ( Vl-ss Bell), were the other features of the second part. ' As we have already said, encores were only s allowed in exceptional cases ; but we must ■ deprecate the style in which one or two of them were obtained. In the case of the comic singer, for instance, some individuals appeared to think they were manifesting L their approval of the singer’s efforts by making the most discordant noises with i their mouth and by stamping on the floor; L and even although the singer came forward again, the noises were repeated, much to the annoyance of orderly-disposed persons. The entertainment was brought to a close by the L company singing the National Anthem. The 1 chair was occupied by Mr B. B. Cargill, M. P.C., and Mr Reiehardt presided at the ! piano. In connection with Thursday evening’s concert, we omitted to mention that at it two lady amateurs made their first ap- • pearance before a Dunedin audience—a fact i we were unacquainted with at the time—and achieved a decided success. Their singing was much admired. One of them possesses a contralto voice of considerable power; and we hope to hear them in public again. ; A West Coast Member. —The following skit on Mr John White, the member s of the Assembly for Hokitika, is from the Hawke’s Bay Herald :—Mr White spoke next. He opposed the Newspaper Libel Bill on the ground that newspapers had too much license already. In the Hawke's Bay : Herald some letters had appeared, signed “ Peregrines,” a supposed “ Stranger in the 1 Gallery”—a stranger to good manners, at t any rate, observed Mr White. In these letters members had been spoken of dis respec- ? fully. To make this plain he quoted several passages from the letters in question. One 1 member (Mr Thomson) was referred to as • “a howler” (laughter). Another, Mr \ Murray, was spoken of as “ raw hobbledehoy from some bucolic constituency in Otago” (more laughter). Another letter had the following passage “Mr Bunny followed on the Conservative side, and chaffed the young members as being new brooms who wished to sweep everything very elean indeed” (renewed laughter). “Mr Calder was for the change, which he advocated in a speech of a very dreary and incoherent chari acter (another burst of laughter). I did not know that before Sir, (a perfect roar). “Who, whenever he rises works himself into a state of fury and drops his h's (Premier, members, ' reporters and strangers, here roared again). Such a scene never occurred in the House before). “To use his own elegant phraseology, ‘ assumed the perpendicular ’ (another burst). Having conclu ‘ed this extract, Mr . White continued, “Sir, if I ’ave a weak- . ness, it is a literary turn. I once was editor of a paper myself, and I never filled a higher ; position, and ’ere I am, charged with not knowing the Queen’s Hinglish, With habsolute murdering of it. I’m said to be hunable to pronounce my haitches ! I’m made to talk of ’ouse. O-yu-ess-ee. (Howls of 1 laughter all the time, for he was murdering his h’s all through.) ’Ere I am too, spoken of a hex-purser of a second-rate steamer. Hif I was a purser hit need not ’ave been a second-rate steamer. Sir, 1 shall hoppose 1 the second reading of this bill, hunleas its father will bring down a bill to legalise ’orse-whipping of rascals who slander men from behind the hincognito of a newspaper” (tremendous applouse.) The brethren of the Provincial Grand Lodge, the Lodge of Otago, and Celtic Lodge, are requested to meet at the Masonic Hall to morrow at 2.30 p.m., to attend the funeral of the late brother John Hay. 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.