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Evening Star, Issue 3199, 22 May 1873, Page 2

Monday, the 26th inst., will be observed as a holiday in the General Government offices, instead of Saturday, the 24tb. Mr M. W. Hawkins, accountant, Dunedin, has been elected City Valuator for the ensuing year.

At the City Police Court, this morning, an inebriate, named Robert Somraerville, was fined 10s, with the option of 48 hours’ imprisonment.

A full meeting of the journeymen bakers of Dunedin was held in Donaldson’s Glasgow Pic House, last evening, when it was unanimously agreed to hold a meeting on Tuesday next, for the purpose of establishing rules commensurate with existing circumstances.

It is rumored that a writ o'aiming damages to the extent of LI,OOO has been issued by the proprietors of the Melbourne Express against the proprietors of the Sydney Empire, for an alleged breach of engagement, in supplying another journal in Melbourne besides the Express with English telegrams. Among the papers of the late Lord Lytton, there was found a note, in which he expressed a wish that whenever bis death occurred, his body should not be touched by the surgeons, but that it should remain on the bed where be might die for three days. There was a further proviso, that at the expiration of three days he should be examined by medical men, who were to ascertain that he was really dead.

The political crisis in this Province has called forth the following observations from the Wanganui Chronicle “Mr Reid is a very good Otago member, with sympathies strictly consonant with his position. A more unsuitable candidate for Ministerial honors it would be hard to find, except, indeed, Oswald Curtis, the Superintendent of Nelson, who has done so much to confirm the stagnation of *Sleepy Hollow.’ ”

‘ ‘ Timon” writes to the Melbourne Weekly Times : that the Hon. E iot Vorke won bis way into the affections of Sir Anthony Rothschild’s daughter by presenting her with a number of the nuggets he playfully picked out of the Band of Hope claim in Ballarat, when acting as equerry in waiting to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. They fetched her, and Sir Anthony is left lamenting.”

The Waikouaiti Herald mentions that a splendid trout was accidentally killed by Mr Thompson on his property at Flag Swamp. It was a fine healthy male, and measured twelve inches in length from the nose to the tip of the tail, and eight inches in girth. It was remarkably plump, and was killed by Mr Thomson’s horse treading upon it. It would thus appear that the trout placed in this creek some time ago have thriven remarkably well.

The receipts and expenditure of the Otago University for the year ending, 31st March, show an income of L 3,987, exclusive of L 47 10s 8d in the bank at the commencement of the financial year. Of that sum, L 504 3s was collected as class fees. Derived from landed endowments, L 2,660 9s Bd. 'lbe sum expended during the year amounted to L 3.503 3s 2d. The payments to professors as class fees and salaries amounted to L 2,767 6s. The sum deposited in bank at the close of the year was L 531 7s 6d. On the 16th inst. the Curator ef the Southland Acclimatisation Society reported that two or three of the salmon ova have hatched successfully, and in a number the eyes are becoming more apparent, arising, no doubt, from the greater warmth of the water in which they are now placed. A large proportion, however, continues to lose its vitality. We understand that a period of eight or ten days longer will settle the question of the success of this important experiment. Mr Roberts, one of the Wanganui lawyers, has been having rather a bad time of it during Judge Gresson’s judicial visit to that locality. 'lbe lawyer’s character has been rather roughly bandied, but that perhaps would not have mattered much, and so the unkindest cut of all was reserved for the last. In the case of Drury v. Roberts for slander, the jury, on the sth instant, after four hours’ absence, returned a verdict for plaintiff on all the issues, damages L 5 and costs, the latter amounting to about JLISO.

The Committee of the Port Chalmers Regatta held a meeting last night at Dench’s Hotel, there being present Mr A. M’Kinnon (in the chair), Messrs Innes, Hudson, Mackley, Murray, and the Secretary. The Secretary read some correspondence, including a letter from his Honor the Superintendent, accepting the invitation of the Committee to be present at the Regatta. The name of Captain Charles Clark was added to the Committee, and the meeting adjourned till Friday next. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court at Hokitika last week, Richard Panton was charged with an attempted rape on his neice, a little girl named Jessie Wright, aged six years. The circumstances of ••fche case are unusually atrocious, if anything like what they are alleged to he ; but, of course, we cannot state them. We may say, however, that the prisoner is between forty and fifty years of ago, that the mother of the child said to have been assaulted was his sister and is dead, and the father is absent in Australia.

The number of scholars who attended the public elementary schools last year was 9,828, of whom 5,309 were males, and 4,459 females. Classified according to ages, the numbers were -Under five years, 499 ; five and under ten, 5,342; ten and under fifteen, 3,749; and fifteen and upwards, 238 An idea of the extent to which our educational provisions are taken advantage of may be gathered from the fact that the entire population of the Province under the age of twenty-one, according to the census returns, is 31,975, of whom, as shewn by the foregoing figures, 9,828, or about thirty per cent, •ire receiving scholastic instruction. A still more pointed illustration is found in the fact

that while the population between the ages of five and ten, enumerated by the census taken in February, 1871. was 4,521, and between ten and fifteen, 2,702, the attendance at school lost year of pupils between the first named ages was actually 5.342, and between the last named, 3,749. These figures serve a twofold purpose. They show that the rising generation is progressing in both numbers and knowledge. The ingenuity displayed by some people in living upon the credulity of others re ceives frequent illustration. Here is an instance : A dangerous cla c s of wom» n are just now plying their trade in the suburbs of Melbourne. One of the harridans will knock at the door and ask "if the missus is in,” and if the servant replies negatively, she says, " Let me tell you your fortin’, my dear, and you can give me any little thing yon like.” The "little thing” sometimes takes the form of an article in female attire, which mysteriously disappears, and is heard of no more, Betsy of course being innocent of the larceny. Judge Johnston’s ire appears to have been aroused by tbo disgusting neglect of the sanitary condition of the new Supreme Court house at Auckland. Lately he addressed the Sheriff on the subject. He said, " I was never in a place more offensive than tbe precincts of this Court are, and in going out and in coming in I feel I am exposed to something I ought not to be exposed to. I do not suppose the people in authority here a r e really waiting to see whether tbe odours arc sufficiently strong to kill a Chief Justice.” The Sheriff said he had been in correspondence with the Government on the subject for nearly twelve months, and had done all be could.

Tbe following items of political intelligence are from the Southland Times :—The prospects of the coming election for the representation of Invercargill in the Assembly are exciting considerable interest, not only locally, but throughout the Lolony. Since Mr Cuthbartson addressed the electors, the number of his avowed supporters has been largely augmented, and his friends now feel confident that they will secure his return by a decided majority.-r-Mr Wood’s support of Mr Donald Keid’s want of confidence amendment in the Provincial Council has excited surprise among those of his supporters who remember that in the course of his hustings speech he stated, in regard to the Tolmie Executive (to quote from the report), that "he would not be a party to putting them out merely on account of the way t in which they had been put in.” " Aurora Floyd” was produced last evening at the Queen’s Theatre. Miss Clara Stephenson assumed the character of Aurora Floyd, and gave a very good rendering of it. Mr Burford, as Steve Hargraves, played exceedingly well, and was greeted with frequent and hearty applause. Mr A Veling made a very fair James Conyers. Mr South, as Mat Harrison, and Mr Hydes, as William Wilson, created much amusement by the manner in which they played their respective parts. The other parts were well sustained. The afterpiece was "Ixion,” which was favorably received. The management have effected a great improvement in the arrangement of the seats in the pit. The back seats have been raised, and by this means all the occupants of this portion of the house will have a complete view of the stage, which has not been the case hitherto.

The following persons have been appointed auditors for the various road districts opposite their names :—Robert Winning, Pomakaka road ; James Smith, Clyde vale; James Michie, Mornington ; James Anderson, Crichton ; William Milne, Caversham ; John Kingdon, Waireka; Thomas Perkins, Oreti; William Hay. Peninsula; George Manning, Hampden; Joseph Young, Portehello; Robert Somerville, Taieri; Alexander Campbell Begg, JKoslyn ; Robert Thomson, Blueskin; Henry M'Culloch, Makerewa ; John Blair, Suburban ; Douglas Watson, Oteramika; James M'Neur, Matau; Ernest Frederic Diehl, Otepopo; Thomas Brooks, Balmoral; Frederick Lowe Jeffcoat, Seaside ; Thomas Paterson, Clinton; John Locke, Waitaki; James Brngh, South Molyneux; Andrew Mowat, Kakanui ; John Smyth Fleming, Mount .Stuart; John Watt, Palmerston ; Thomas King, Kaikorai; Robt. Stewart, Lyndhurst; Thomas Culling, North Taieri; Robert Richard Jones, Tokomairiro; John Somerville, Clutha; D. Macrorie, Invercargill ; William Greig Wallace, Waipori; JohnH. Scholefield, N.E. Valley. A writer in the Southern Cross makes the following pertinent remarks Mr Stafford“ Perhaps, once for all, it might be useful to give the coup de grace to the miserable complaint and accusation of Mr Stafford and some of his erroneous friends, that the public works scheme was stolen by Mr Vogel from the famous but decidedly vague speech at Timaru. The truth is that Mr Vogel had been dreaming of this railway scheme long before he enunciated it. Some eight years ago, in a little town in the Sooth, Mr Vogel one day said to a friend that the true policy that would secure a good future for New Zealand would be to establish throughout the Colony a system of railways, which would promote trade and settlement, and destroy the Native war. * Where is'the m ney to come from ?’ queried his inter locator. ‘ Borrow it,* was the prompt reply: *it is sorely better to borrow for such purposes than to borrow for war.’ That, substantially, is a correct narrative of what to our personal knowledge occurred at least eight years ago, and yet Mr Stafford professes to have given the idea' to the world! Hot to adopt too fine a periphrasis, such an assumption is one pf those imaginings which occasionally characterise the singularly inventive memory Mr Stafford owns.”

A meeting of the society for investigating spiritualism will be held in the lower hall of the Athenaeum to-morrow eveuiug.

The Rev. E. G. Penney will deliver a lecture in the Mornington Schoolhouse tomorrow (Friday) evening, at eight o’clock. A tea meeting will be held in the Christian Meeting House, Groat King street, on Tuesday next, May 27, at half-past six o’clock. In consequence of the number of shares iu the Arrow River Gold Mining Company applied for being in excess of the number to be allotted, Mr G. F. Reid has been instructed to dispose of 500 additional shares in Dunedin.

Miss Aitken is announced to give an entertainment in the Masonic Hall, Port Chalmers, this ( Thursday) evening, at halfpast seven. The well known and acknowledged ability of Miss Aitken as an elocutionist should attract a large audience to her readings.