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Evening Star, Issue 2971, 27 August 1872, Page 2

Dunedin’s Members. —The hveiling Post calls one of the Ivl.H.R.’s for Dunedin “Reynolds the eccentric”; the other “the hon. member for the Daily Times.”

Princess Theatre.— The Japanese entertainment and the burlesque of Ibo “Belle of the Barley Mow,” were repeated last evening to an averagely fair house. On Thursday tliero -is to V"' l fi special performance for the benefit of the Port people. The lessees of the Theatre have arranged with the Harbor Company for the despatch of a steamci, which will leave the Port .at halfpa.st six o’clock that evening ; and seats in the dress circle will be reserved for Pert visitors until after- the arrival of the boat in town.

Temperance.— The usual fortnightly meeting of the Mornington Band of Hope was held in the .schoolhouse there last evening ; Mr Hardy in the chair. Among those who took part iu the proceedings were a young lady from the Dunedin Band of Hope, who recited in a very able manner “The Vulture on the Alps ” ; a young lady vocalist, who was well received ; and an old member, who gave bis twenty years’ experience of the sea, which were intended to impress upon his heavers the objects of the society. A very pleasant evening was spent.

Regulations of Plans of Town. — Mr C’Nei 1 has re-introduced his very useful measure for regulating the plans of towns, and it has already passed its second reading iu the Lower House, with every prospect of becoming law this session. It enacts that, after the passing of the Bill, the streets shall not be less than 150 links from building line to building line, and that there shall be not less than two principal streets in each town of not less than 200 links in width. In all new towns provision will have to be made for recreation grounds ; and it also provides that there shall be set apart a town belt of not less than one fifth of the town in area, one half of which is to be appropriated only as ornamental grounds. Every tenth section is to be reserved from sale, as the nucleus of municipal property. Then the plans of all towns are to be approved of by the Governor prior to sale ; and there is also an important clause providing that the level of the streets shall be distinctly marked on the plans, showing the level of the ground as it was and as it would be when altered.

Meteorology.—A rare meteorological phenomenon, a “fog-how,” was recently witnessed at Maldon, Victoria. It spanned the heavens from north to south, and to the eye of the observer, says the local paper in describing it, “ it was at the base of each column about 30ft. wide, the size gradually diminishing till at the apex of the bow it v. as only a few inches. The only bow of a similar nature wo have read of was seen in 1814, and, although probably they have been more frequent, the advent of the interesting stranger is sufficiently rare to call for a passing notice. The proverbial ‘ oldest inhabitant ’"says that aborigines remember a similar visitor' as the avant-courier of an alarmingly great ifood. In the present state of the weather, the gues*, as it most likely is, of our venerable friend, is not of a very hazardous nature.” A correspondent of the same paper writes : —“ On Tuesday morning last, in Maldon, I witnessed, at about half past eight, an interesting phenomenon, namely a fog bow. Unlike the rainbow, it had not the slightest tinge of color, other than white, neither was it so regular or even in form. The arch had a space of about 200 yards, and at the extremities of the legs it appeared to be about 20ft thick, gradually tapering to about 2ft in the centre, and clearly defined. The sun at the time was about lOdcgs. above the horizon, and shining clearly. .Such a phenomenon must be of very unusual occurrence, as I cau find only one recorded as having been seen, and that by Sir David Brewster, at Berne, in 1814. In it the colors were dimly visible.”

Journalism in the North.—The following specimen of pointless but splenetic scribbling appears in a Wellington paper of a recent date. We need scarcely say th it none but the Post meridian luminary could produce sucb a morcoaux : “.Should no fresh case occur in the interim, the whole of the persons now in ‘durance vile’—the Nebraska’s passengers, the Clouts, and Redmans—will be released from quarantine on .Saturday next. ‘ Another week or two wouldn’t harm them. They are, we understand, a very ‘happy family.’ The fat of the land is provided for them, and some of them will havb contracted a taste for luxuries that may possibly be their ruin. Perhaps the Government will contrive to make some of them available as SrTiaU-pox Commissioners or Vaccination Agents.”—Here is an attempt to be funny, and the circumstances alluded to ought, for the credit of the paper, never to have been made public. The Thames Star wishes to apologise for a report of a ball given by a local company of volunteers ; and does so in this manner:—“ The above report we have been compelled to compile from what we could gather from those who attended the ball. We sent our reporter there, and expected something good from him, but on waiting upon him this morning in his bedroom, wo found him in a stale of sleep from which it was hopeless to attempt to wake him. From the position of various articles about his room, we wore able to perceive that o:> his return home he had hung his clothes up on the door, endeavored to extinguish the candle with a bouquet holder, which he had procured the Lord knows where, and which now lies at this office for identification, and finally had taken an imaginary and most refreshing drink of water from his left boot. Under these circumstances, we were compelled to act as stated above.”

Mr. Tolmie will address the Electors of Caversham at the Anderson’s Bay Schoolhouse, this (Tuesday) evening, at 7.30, Mr Cutten will also address the Electors at Hayes’ Hotel, Kensington, at 7 o’clock.