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Evening Star, Issue 2817, 28 February 1872, Page 2

Personal. —Mr Joseph Small, the well-known comic singer, is a passenger by the Whirlwind.

Chinese Immigration.—The cry is “still they come.” The Whirlwind, which arrived from Hong Kong to-day, added 350 to our Chinese population ; ami it is reported that another vessel was loading at Hong Kong for Otago when she left. Government Life Assurance.—The Government has paid to-day the first claim made in Otago on a life policy. There was little or no trouble in the matter, and no delay. The documents necessary to establish the claim were handed in two or three days <igo, and the money was paid to the trustees of the deceased this morning.

High School Prize Fund.—Weave glad to say that Mrs T. White Las very kindly consented to assist at the concert on Friday evening. Miss Bell also gives her services as pianist. With Mr Martin as conductor, therefore, there is every reason to anticipate that the musical portion of the evening’s programme will be most attractive. Mayor’s Court. The business transacted at this Court to-day was unimportant. Andrew Brown was fined ss, ayd Thomas Kendall 10?, with the accompanying alternatives, for drunkenness. A warrant was ordered to issue for the apprehension of Catherine Miller, who did not appear to answer a charge preferred against her of using obscene language. His Worship the Mayor was the presiding magistrate.

Sheep Inspectors. —Messrs Walter Miller, Teviot; Henry Campbell, Wanaka ; Alex. M‘Nah, Knapdale; W. P, Gordon, Strath Taieri; Jas. Hassell, Oamaru ; G M. Bsll, Waimea Plains ; A. M. Clarke, Mararoa Downs; D. M'Kellar, Waikaka Plains; C. Cowan, Okatera ; JolmM‘Gregor, Bunvood.; and R. Aitken, Waiau, have been appointed honorary sheep inspectoi s for the Province.

A Foolish Exploit. —ln Port Underwood, last week, a boat conveying wcolto the ship Chile was capsized, and the five men in it clung on to it for two hours before they were rescued. One of them having lost a meerschaum pipe swan back for it—braving the sharks—the distance being about half-a-mile, He succeeded in finding and recovering the pipe and then swam back to the boat.

Tomahawk. —The Tomahawk Mutual Improvement Association held, last night, the first of its weekly meetings for the year. The subject under discussion, “ Does it follow that the greatest mind is the precursor of the greatest amount of happiness,” proved a highly successful one, eliciting an amount of discussion seldom witnessed at previous meetings of the society. There was a tolerably good attendance, the President being in the chair. Police Changes. Consequent on the intended holding of a circuit of the Supreme Court at Lawrence, Sub-Inspector Thompson will proceed there next week to take charge of the district; and Sergeant Mallard, now at Lawrence, will be transferred and become officer-in-charge of the Dunedin depot, Mr Thompson, during his residence in Dunedin, his proved himself to be a thoroughly efficient and zealous'officer; and we have little doubt that he will earn equally good opinions iu his new sphere of action as be obtained for himself here.

Greymouth Floods, —Tlje sum of Lt>s has been collected in Invercargill, and a draft for LOO forwarded to the Mayor of Greymouth.—We would remind our readers that the benefit in aid of the sufferers takes place at the theatre this evening. Apart from the character of the entertainment, which in itself should draw a large audience, the special circumstances which have rendered this appeal to the public necessary should be sufficient to fill the house in every part. As the whole of the proceeds will go to the relief fund, we trust that the public will be liberal with its patronage. Saturday Half-Holiday. The movement in favor of the Saturday halfholiday appears to be gaining ground daily. The promoters made a partial canvas of the City, and obtained close upon a thousand signatures—mostly those of the working classes—to a document by which the persons signing it pledged themselves not to shop after one p, m. on that day. At a meeting of the members of the Association last evening, it was stated that a majority of the shopkeepers had expressed themselves in favor of the movement, and it was agreed, in order to test public opinion, to hold a meeting at the Masonic Hall on an early date.

Ball. —The ball given last evening by the inhabitants of Port Chalmers to Messrs Connor and Macaay, the dock contractors, who are leaving the Province, in return for an entertainment of a similar character given by those gentlemen to the townspeople a few days ago, was a very successful affair. The upper floor of Dodson’s bond made a very elegant ballroom, the walls and roof being tastefully hung with bunting and evergreens, the supper being laid on the second floor. There were between sixty and seventy couples present, including many visitors from Dunedin, by whom dancing was kept up until five this morning, to music supplied by Messrs Sykes and Wignel. During tie evening Mr Black, sen., proposed the health of the guests, which was enthusiastically received. The Education Question. We understand that a meeting of gentlemen was held last evening, to consider the proposed legislation on the subject of education by the General Assembly, when the following resolutions were carried -1. “ That it is inexpedient, in any legislation for the purpose of the establishment of a general system u£ education in the Colony, there should be

any provision for granting State support to denominational schools.” 2. “ That an association be formed for the purpose of promoting a national system of education, wi'hout aid being granted to denominational schools, and that the gentlemen present be members of the said association.” 3. “ That the following gentlemen be appointed as a committee to take such steps as may be necessary to give effect to the foregoing resolutions : Hevs. D. M. Stuart and A. Reid, Messrs E. B. Cargill, W. H. Reynolds, R. Gillies, H. S. Fish, jun , J. W. Jago, W. D. Murison, and J. Bathgate ; Mr Gillies to be convener, and three to form a quorum.” A Spurious Gold Manufacturer. —Kee Chaug, the Chinaman who imposed on the Invercargill banks to a la>'ge extent recently, has come to grief. He was apprehended in Newcastle N.S.W., where it will he remembered he made good his escape from' New Zealand On leaving this colony, it would appear that the good fortune which attended him in his adventures in the colony entirely deserted him. The banker’s draft he carried away has been intercepted, so that after all the fraud will not fall so heavily on the victims of his duplicity as at one time it threatened to do. Another bit' of bad luck has be f allen Chang in a peculiarity of the law of the place to which he proceeded in his flight. According to th j statute book, the offence with which he is charged is defined to be a misdemeanor, and, strange to say, in no other part of Australia than New South Wales could Chang have been arrested. By the word arrest we (Southland Times, from which we take these particulars), mean of course for an offence committed outside of that colony. Unless the tide takes un unexpected turn in Chang’s favor, he may be expected back in a few days to speak for himself.

The “ Evangelist. ” —This month’s Evanyelist contains an article entitled “ Bisk op Moran and our Educational System.” It is marked by the spirit it condemns inasmuch as it has a tendency to mar the secular movement by a little Jesuitry regarding reading the Bible in schools. Inconsistencies like this] counteract any benefit such essays might otherwise have. When men I’ead them they feel the writer’s identity with the genius of Sir Hudibras— The self-same thing they will abhor One way, and long another for. There is a whimsical peculiarity in this article: all its references are to letters in the Daily Times, but many of its arguments are suggested by the Evening Star and are unacknowledged. There is an article ou “ Infidel Presumption” noticeable only for presumption in daring to call more able men than the writer iufidels. The sermon by Mr Bright was characterised by scientific knowledge and pure and elevated thought, free from the narrowness and bigotry of his unmannerly commentator. Mr Bright has a perfect right to draw his own conclusions from the Scriptures without evoking the vulgar religious blackguardism of being anathematized as an infidel. We have not read Mr W, D. Stewart’s continuation of “The Law of the Sabbath Day.” If necessary we shall again refer to it. The extracts and correspondence are the most attractive portion of this number.

The San Francisco Service. —To those who have watched (remarks the huhpendent) with any degree of interest the progression of the trade created between this country and America by the establishment of the San Francisco line of steamers, the amount of freight to be taken from our shores by the Nevada on her present voyage must furnish gratifying evidence that the merchants of the Colony have established a commercial interchange, which there is now little reason to doubt will prove as valuable to New Zealand as an outlet for raw produce as is the present and only one of shipment to the old country. As each of the steamers of Webb’s line have left New Zealand we have carefully noted the contents of its carrying space, and the result of our observation shows the steady development of a trade which commenced with the export of a few barrels of beer, some twenty kegs of butter, and a small parcel of cheese. Huge sea monsters, was the term applied to the vessels of the line by those ardent and true colonists, who, in their shortsighted vision, saw nothing but a lavish extravagance in the starting of a line which did not at once create a commerce sufficiently lucrative to return to the colony the expenditure involved. Had these views prevailed the line would long ero this have collapsed, but, fortunately, to the men of wider views who initiated the service was entrusted the task of endeavouring to secure its permanent establishment, and to their diligence, backed by the whole-hearted manner in which the contract has been supported at the other end of the line, is due the growth of the trade which is likely soon to utilise all the carrying space of the “ the huge sea monsters. It will be in the recollection even of the most violent detractors of the scheme, that one of the arguments employed by Mr Vogel in favor of the establishment of the line was that it would lead to a commercial intercourse which would be mutually beneficial to the two countries interested in its establishrneut; and has not the realisation justilied the prediction ? The answer to this query is simple, and it is satisfactory to add that the passenger traffic is greatly on the increase. The Nevada when she left this port yesterday had on board 1200 bales of wool and tlax, 1100 of which were shipped in the southern ports, and the remainder here ; so that before she leaves New Zealand on her homeward trip she will likely have on board a cargo equal to that of many of the English tradeis which leave our ports, having yet to take on board her Auckland and Napier cargo, which is usually very heavy. The vessel of this month will take about 900 bales of wool more than on any previous voyage. This is a rate of progression which speaks wdl of the growing relations between this Colony and America.