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Evening Star, Issue 2848, 5 April 1872, Page 2

Princess Theatre. was repeated last night nt the Princess Theatre to a fair house. This evening, in compliance with the wishes of many' who were unable to be present when “ Miriam’s Crime” was played, it will be again performed, and afterwards Signor Donato will appear in his monoped dance. An addition Las been made to the orchestra, Mr Sykes having accepted tho position of pianist and Mr Martin flautist. Wc expect a crowded house thi: evening,.

This Otago Yacht Club propose holding their closing cruise for this session to-morrow afternoon. The Commodore, W. Guthrie, Esq., will hoist his pennant on hoard his yacht the Anonyma, starting from the moorings at Pclichet Bay at 2,.'11) p.m., and will sail round the club course, followed by the other yachts in the following order ; —Cygnet, Gipsy, Dauntless, Spray, and Annie, br'ngingup at the moo;ing where the other yachts will pass under his stern, salute, and disperse. The Nelson' Robbery.—The Geelong Aihxr/tia' of the loch instant has the following paragraph respecting the Nelson robbery:—“ A private letter from Melbourne received in Geelong refers to an offer having been made to the Government by some person to disclose the locality where a portion of the gold stolen from the ship Nelson many yea's ago lias been planted, on condition of his receiving one-fourth of its value. Action appears to have been taken in the matter, as one of the shippers of a portion of it has been requested to attend at the Melbourne City Police Court to sign a document giving his assent to an arrangement.” “ The New Zealand Church News.”— We have received a copy of the April number of tbs New Zealand Church Xcjvo, but have bad little time to look over its content*. Perhaps this is needless, for it is on the whole beyond criticism, its articles have such a saintly odour of the past, that they cany one back to the thoughts and feelings of two centuries. They are therefore always somewhat pleasant : they scarcely bear upon the present, and are not likely to provoke quarrels. Even the method of correcting a blunder in the new Prayer Book, in which by mistake the English and Irish Churches are said to be united, must be done by authority. The Episcopal Church fancies its members are in leading •strings, it is a pity—but a few years must undeceive the clergy. St. Paul’s Church.—Last evening there was a social gathering of the congregation of St. Paul’s. Tea and refresh-rents were piovided, the tables being presided over by the wives of the vestrymen and Sunday school tcachcis. There was a goodly number of persons present. After tea, the Hon. Dr Buchanan took the chair. Toe Rev. E G. Edwards, the pastor of the church, gave a icsuimi of the history of the church ; and Mr F. J. Wilson, the treasurer, threw some light upon its financial position and future requirements. The income of the church last year, including the offertory for general purposes, amounted to 1,857, and the outgoings to about 1,800. The present requirements of the church arc school buildings, a room for committee meetings, the enlargement of the church, and provision for a Sunday service for children. The chairman, in a short address, gave some hints as to the drt'cs of laymen in tln-ir relation to the Church. It is gratifying from the statement to learn that the church is out of debt. Mr Clapeott, in the course of the evening, gave three readings with his usual ability ; Miss Flora Muir played a solo on the pianoforte with taste and execution; and Mes vs A. J. Towsey, Martin, and A. West sang ['leasing songs. The evening passed off very agreeably.

A Hopeless Crusade.—There is discord between the press and the pulpit in Hobart Town. It seems that the Mercury has been animadverting with some degree of warmth upon the Romanising tendencies of certain of the Episcopalian clergy in Tasmania. This has roused the ire of the Ritualists, and on Sunday, the 17th of March, that journal was openly preached at by the dean at the cathedral, and by aimther minister elsewhere. The latter cautioned his bearers against believing anything that appears in newspapers or magazines, because, ho said, the contributors to such publications only wrote what they were paid for ; and, we suppose, by the same rule, congregations are not to believe anything which they hear from the pulpit, because sermon-writers only preach what they arc paid for delivering. It is really a groat pity that ministers of all denominations are so blind to the signs of the times, to the spirit of the ago, and to the irresistible march of public opinion, as not to perceive the absolute folly of embarking in a crusade against the public press. A flock of shot]) might just as well form the reso'ution of opposing the onrush of an express train. The proper place of these feeble belligerents- if they want to be converted into mutton—would be in Hie cattle trucks behind the locomotive, which would transport them to the nearest sale yards ; but to butt against the engine is to invite destruction, and to bring about an unseemly spectacle made up of roughly severed limns, blood-stained wool, and dispersed trotters. The bishop who said that “the clergy live in cave?, apart from the ordinary world,” did not traduce a good many members of the order to which ho belongs.— Australasian. Strange Affair. A Duel by Mutual Consent. —The Melbourne Aryus of March Gth states :—A tragical affair of a remarkable character occurred in the Treasury Gardens yesterday afternoon. Two men believed to be mad, went into the gardens apparently to shoot each other with pistols by mutual consent, and one was shot dead. The living man was found quietly lying on the grass near the dead man smoking a cigar. The latter gave the name of Edward Feeney, said he was 3S years old, a native of Ireland, and a Roman Catholic, describing his calling as that of a warder. The dead man’s name, he said, was Charles Marks, who was also a warder, and whose ago was afterwards found to have been from 27 to 29 years. The following particulars about the two men have been obtained, and form a narrative more resembling the weird stories of horror told by Edgar Allen Poe than a sober statement of facts, the two would appear to have mutually agreed to kill each other in a sort of friendly duel, in which one would shoot the other and be at the same time shot by his opponent, so that neither would survive to give a key to the mysterious finding of the two dead bodies. Both men were warders in the Melbourne Hospital, and were steady men up to a short time back, when signs of an over-indulgence in strong drink were noticed upon them Feeney allowing it the most. Feeney attempted suicide by taking chloroform about a fortnight or three weeks ago, but he swallowed too large a dose, and with the help of a stomach-pump was brought round. He wa i believed to have suicidal mania, and was discharged from the service of the hospital about four days ago, having recovered from the effects of the poison, as it was not thonght desirable to have him there any longer. We avc requested to call attention, to the postponement of the meeting of the

Otago Institute to Tuesday, the 14th of May. The last match of the season in coneounectiou with the Dunedin Rifle Club will take place to-morrow (Saturday). Squads will fall in at Anderson’s Bay, 6 a.m. ; 8. p.m. ; Peliehet Bay, 0 a.m , 11 a.m., and 3 p.m. ; Waikari, 6 a.m.