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Evening Star, Issue 3418, 4 February 1874, Page 2

The ‘Mail’ is the name of a second evening paper published at Greymouth. Mr Thomas Arthur has been appointed general manager of the Bluff and Winton railways, in the absence of Mr Conyers. The lower parts of the Princess’s were again crowded last evening, when the Variety troupe repeated the programme of the previous evening. All the performers were well received. There will be a change of programme this evening.

The Invercargill people are said to be quite disappointed at the manner in which the Governor left that town. It appears no one knew he was going on board his yacht; he bade no adieus; his hotel-keeper was not made aware till the last moment that he was going, and he was sailing away almost before he was missed.

The following dodge has been resorted to in Australia by storekeepers in order to pass bad coin :—“ When a sovereign is offered him in payment of a small account, he takes up the money, and after opening his till, says he hasn’t sufficient change, and politely tells the customer it will do again, dexterously handing him the bad sovereign, retaining the good one.”

The newly-elected Athemeum committee.held their first meeting last night, when there was a very animated discussion whether the resolution adopted at the meeting on Friday should be at once acted upon, and the reading-room opened on Sunday next, or whether that step should be deferred pending the special meeting called for this night week. It was ultimately agreed by seven to three to adopt the latter course.

Ihe principal businefs to be considered at this evening’s meeting of the City Council will be the adjourned question as to the suitability of University buildings for a Town Hall and the following motion by Cr. Walter :—(1) It is desirable that the Corporation construct swimming baths at the end of the Rattray street training wall; (2) That the City Surveyor be Ctet to ,P re P are as soon as possible ; (o) lhat on the completion of the plans tenders be immediately advertised for.”

• TJ 16 Sp v ’ Cameron, of Victoria, lectured >n the hj irst Church last evening on “ Gustavus Adolphus, the royal hero of Protestanism.” ihe picture of the best and greatest king Sweden has ever seen, that the lecturer drew was this :—He was the greatest and bravest warrior of his day (Napoleon the First reckoned him one of the six greatest military men the world knew) \ the first freetrader of the world ; the founder of the educational system of Sweden, which has been copied by Germany, and the Saviour of Protestanism, The collection was in aid of a Chinese mission in Victoria.

Owing to several suspicious cases in Bankruptcy in the Auckland Province, ana probably finding that the suspension of a final order had no deterrent effect upon insolvents, the Chief Justice has adopted another course, namely, to declare that the bankrupts (there were several so treated) had not passed their last examination. Ihe solicitor in the first case asked in what position the insolvent now stood. His Honor replied “just as if these proceedings nad not been begun at all.” Applications to extend protection were useless. This is a significant warning to those insolvents who have not kept proper books, &c.

, T ln .. a l u i ar £? le on cricket in Canterbury, the Lyttelton limes’asks—“ What can be done to keep up the interest of the game for the remainder of the season? Why not issue a challenge to the whole of New Zealand, which match could come off on the days following or prior to the Interprovincial regatta, which takes place early in March? A remarkably strongteam could be got together at that time, the up-country players being at leisure. The following players would, with a little practice, take a deal of beating Fuller, Sweet, Corfe, Ollivier, Fowler, Lee, Alington, Pierce, Barker, Moore, and Wood.”

Ihe following is a summary of the immigrants which arrived per Isles of the South at .Lyttelton on Monday —namely, 45 families, equal to 132 adults, 59 single men, and 68 single women, mahing a total of 320 souls, equal to 209 statute adults. Their trades and occumtions are as under :-22 farm laborers, 3 gardeners, 25 general laborers, 1 miner, 1 shoeing smith, 4 blacksmiths, 1 plumber, 1 millwright 5 1 shipwright, 7 carpenters, 1 coachmaker, 1 sawyer, 1 bookmaker, 1 mason, 4 shoemakers, i J. ea^ ei '‘ cu ttcr, 2 butlers, 1 mechanic, 1 shepherd, 6 painters, 3 grooms, 1 coach painter, 1 carter, 1 saddler, 1 plasterer, 1 butcher. Single women 41 general servants, 0 housemaids, 1 cook, 2 dairymaids, 2 laundresses, 2 dressmakers, 1 cloth-worker, 3 teachers 1 matron. ’

The following telegram from the Premier appears m the Greymouth papers :—“ I received your telegram, January 21st, in Christchurch but delayed answering it until I had returned to Wellington. I thank the people of Greymouth very much for their kind invitation, and will endeavor to visit Greymouth before the session. But I have so many engagements that I cannot possibly fix the time for my visit. With respect to the other resolutions, I have to place the following information at your disrooan^ C ? T ? y , harbor T works :-The vote of L 20.000 included about L 4,000 for liabilities on account of protective works, and the cost of the bridge at the mine, leaving sufficient, in the opinion of the Rngmeer-in-Chief, to erect the necessary wharf accommodation, and to provide steam apparatus for loading from 500 to 600 tons of coal per day. The observations since taken as to the movement of the shingle in the riverbed have led to certain alterations which will do away with the necessity for the timber staging in front of the town : and the present plans will allow of locomotives going to the extreme end of the wharf. The work will be pushed on as fast as possible, and it is thought will be completed in September next. The Hochstetter Race wifi be re-advertised in a few days, and the survey will be made, as promised, of the Randall’s Creek Race.” ’

. Christchurch has a Mayor who does things in style. Tim other day we published an account of his induction into office, which was attended with some ceremony; now we hear of his giving a civic banquet to celebrate his election, at which (says the ‘ Lyttelton Times ’) company was alike numerous and influential, all classes of the community being representea. As the banquet partook of an official character, the invited guests were in turn presented to his Worship the Mayor, who ™ attired in his robes of office. Just in front of his residence,_ an exceedingly large marquee was erected specially for the occasion, and here the guests were entertained at a banquet that nas never been approached in this Province, so fai as excellence was concerned. Over the entrance to the Mayor’s grounds, the word “welcome” was displayed in large letters, and a handsome Chinese lantern, beautifully ornamented and festooned, was also placed over the pathway leading to the house. The inside of the banqueting marquee presented a really beautiful appearance. It was profusely decorated with bunting and evergreens, and was exceedingly well lighted, there being eight suspended candelabra, each of which contained sixteen candles. In the immediate vicinity of the chair there was a fountain continually in play, thus imparting a considerable effect to the appearance which the the interior of the tent presented, besides serving as a cooling apparatus for the wines.

The Auckland ‘ Herald’ of January 21 publishes an interesting extract from a Eiji planter’s letter. He wishes to know “if there •ai e persons iu Auckland, should we get annexations to Great Britain, or be recognised as a responsible Government, who would be willing to assist me in the proposed changes. I intend to rom co^on to sugar, for the growth of which these islands are so admirably adapted, and which we are sanguine enough will open up a new era for Fiji. My land is situated at Vuna Point, Taviuni, which has always been recognised as the garden of Fiji. It is freehold property, and contains 640 acres of firstclass land, seventy acres of which have been under cotton, but the rest is pure virgin soil. These seventy acres the writer undertakes to plant with sugar-cane, keep clean, and have ready to crush within a specified time; but to do this he requires that a guarantee shall be given for a mill to be erected on the land to crush the cane. The land on all sides is surrounded with plantations. There is a plentiful supply of fresh water, and it is provided with a fair anchorage. At the present time labor is cheap.” Referring to this extract, the ‘ Herald ’ says it is one of the many cases in point of the opening there is in Fiji for the investment of capital, < and acids“ We have written in previous issues several exhaustive articles upon what we may do with this valuable group, the monopoly of the trade of which we should leave no effort untried to secure to ourselves. The settlers have good land, are tired of growing cotton, and are willing to turn their attention to growing sugar-cane, if capital will come in and aid in converting it into the marketable article. If New Zealand, and more especially Auckland, does not, with the advantages she possesses, secure the trade of the Pacific Islands, it will be entirely her own fault.”

The usual monthly meeting of the Imperial Building Society will be held in the offices, Exchange Chambers, on Friday evening, from seven to half-past eight. At the public meeting to be held this evening at the First Church at half-past seven, the Revs, Dr Cameron, Allan Webb, of Sydney, and B. Backhouse, from the Parent Bible Society, will give interesting details of the circulation of the Scriptures throughout the world, especially in Russia, Japan, and Mahommedan lands, Mr Backhouse will also give an address, accompanied with pictorial illustrations, on ihursday, at the Port Chalmers Congregational Church.