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Evening Star, Issue 3445, 7 March 1874, Page 2

Mr Joseph Mirams was yesterday admitted and enrolled a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme _ Court, having passed the requisite examination before! his Honor Mr Justice Chapman.

In consequence of the wet weather the firing by the Dune lin Naval Brigade and Waikari Rifles, for the first set of District prizes, which was fixed for to-day, has been postponed till further notice.

A private telegram informs us that Miss Aitkeu took a farewell benefit at Christchurch last night, the theatre being crowded, and .many were refused admittance. She plays at Hokitika next week.

It has been..generally -supposed that Sir C. G. Duffy,was about to take a final farewell of the Colonies, and make the mother country his home.. Su3h, however, is not the case. He goes Home for the benefitjof his health and intends to return in eighteen months or two years’ time. The Rev.- Dr Copland, as convener of the deputation from the Dunedin Presbytery which waited on the Superintendent lately in reference to.stopping Sunday trains, has ieceived a reply to the effect that the matter has been referred to the Provincial Council.

The number of inmates at the Benevolent Institution on the 28th February was 80, comprising 18 men, 4 women, 31 boys, and' 27 girls. The number of cases of out-door relief during fihe month of February was 270, comprising 16 men, 65 women, and 189 children. This was done at a weekly cost of L 15175.

Owing to the boisterous weather there ’ were but few applications for servants at the Immigration Barracks to-day. A few single men (farm laborers) found employment at LI a week, and these were the .only engagements effected. The rest of the men and what •women there are may be engaged on Monday. Last evening a musical and literary entertainment was given at the school-house, Outram, by local amateurs, assisted by several friends from Dunedin. There was a good and appreciative audience, and the songs, recitations, and readings, were well received, several of the songs being heartily encored- The balance of proceeds, after paying expenses, wffi be applied to the reduction of the debt on the school-build ing.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, William M‘Nicholas, charged by Captain Moon, of the ship Carnatic, with embezzling cargo while at sea, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to four weeks’ hard labor. The charge against Jane Starkey, for making use ' of insulting language towards Catherine Jenkins, was dismissed. Captain Thomson, and Drs Drysdale and O’Donoghue presided.

The ‘ Court Journal’ business doesn’t flourish out of Europe. The efforts in that direction in foreign parts are not happy. As, for instance, when the Peruvian correspondent of a Panama journal writes,: —The American colony in Lima experienced'much pleasure on the 23rd inst in welcoming Mrs John G. Meiggs to their midst from her sojourn in the United States, perfectly restored to health, ani filling again the vacuum caused by her absence.” _ We were to see a good attendance in alijpartsof the Princess’s last evening, when Miss Claus took her benefit. Her performances, as usual, elicited warm approbation, and twice she replied to the demand for encores. In the one instance, she gave ‘ A«ld Robin Gray,’ and in the other, the portion of the pretty cradle song in which the mute is introduced. 'The final concert takes place this evening, and we would strongly advise those wfio have not yet heard this clever violinist not to neglect this opportunity.

A contributor to one of the West Coast papers furnishes a frightful “ picture o fa, New Zealand lunatic asylum,” which, if true, calls for immediate and searching inquiry. It is stated that m the lunatic asylum in question are cells whica are unapproachable by reason of the stench arising from the filth in them. And in such places are hiiman beings— women—placed. Here is the discription given by a visitor • “There were two women in that place, and they were never cleaned nor clothed, existing in all their filth. Some old coats were all they were provided with to keejT themselves warm in cold weather.” -?■

It will be recollected that some time last month two seamen, named Paterson and West sought to recover in the Resident Magistrate’s Court here wages for wrongful dismissal from Captain Leys,, of the Wallabi, who they alleged was drunk whett he discharged them. We he# by our Southland files, that rebutting evidence

w before Mr M'Cullock, R.M., •it%lnyercargill, on the 3rd instant, when it wris proved by two Bluff merchants, the Inspector of wharves there, and the Harbormaster, that Captain Leys was perfectly -eober on the day- in question, and was generally a yery Temperate’miin; It was also' I 'stated by, .some of the witnesses that they' heiard-CiptainV Leyaiorder the/plaintiffs ‘off his .vessel,idteoause' they refused work.’Av -j : '' repeated it, the Queen’s Theatre last evening’ to a large audience. The piece l went more smoothly than on its first representation, Miss Tbwers’s acting being enthusiastically applauded. Mr Hydes, as “ the moral man,” played remarkably well, and his rendering of the character was a great improvement on that of the previous evening. So long as he does not improve upon the lines entrusted to him. -to deliver, he is bound -to' command the attention and approbation of his heavers. There, is nO change of performance to-night/ ' • . Qolmijsts who are in the habit of nominating kh? lr .“lends .through"’ the local immigration office are also in the habit of sending along with the nomination papers some account of the inducements held out by New Zealand to intend* ing emigrants.: The following is given by the Southland Times ’as a specimen- of the honest .P? a^te I' 0^ac t statements generally sent Home in-this way .-—“ Provisions are cheap, and wages are high' in : this Colony. - You will .be able to form some idea of the good state of things in Nfcw Zealand when I tell you that I ; have ten men at w,orfc : for me at 10s ppr a working day consists Of only eight hours; and I could give emplopraeut to ten hiore if I could ; get them. No man. need \yant iu this country, and the. more children he has the better, for' they will never yrant tread.” ; : The boy Murdoch,' whose “ sticking-up” pro-, clivities we mentioned a few days'ago, was’ brought before Mr M'Culloch, R.M., at Invercargill oh the 4th inst. In sentencing him Jthe Magistrate said—“ The legislature is shocked at the idea of empowering magistrates to sen terice such offenders to a sound, -flogging, which nevertheless is the proper and very, best thing to be done in: such oases as the present. I am very sorry that I must send the prisoner to gaol, 1 where there.is no convenience for classification—where he cannot be kept apart from the other prisoners, .A .good flogging would take the conceit out of Him, and I am very sorry indeed that the only course left for hie is to "Sfend him to gaol for a week.” * -A- Loridon telegram reports the arriral q{ the Brindisi and San Francisco mails both on the same day, viz.;; February 17.' This being the first .mail sent by Mr Parkes’s new Californian service, it;is interesting to compare its time with that of the Suez line- • It left Sydney. by the. MacGregor, which sailed on December the 20th, arid was consequently fifty-pine ;r d‘ays on the way.. The mail.via Suez left Melbourne in the Nubia; oh January 2, thus takittg forty-seven daysj or twelve less than by way oi: California. Of course the Californian route has all the disadvantage of newness, which has also been felt in the Torres Straits service, where the first, vessel,, ehe Sun Foo, missed the, homeward mail at Singapore by two day’s.* Bq far, as the delay is merely attributable cause it will, no doubt, be materially'reduced in future voyages, when the arrangements workpvith less friction and greater smoothness. There was a fresh case of scarlet fever on the Island yesterday, that of a child, whose name we could-not learn,. His father is now in the convalescent Hospital recovering .from- fever. The Scimitar’s passengers could not be removed from the ship to-day on account of the 'iflolbmency of the weather. The-married people and single women‘will be taken to the barracks on the Island; thesingle mentoHoat Island, the lighter Hallibtt being fitted-up for their accommodation. At a meeting of ' the ; Board of Health to-day it was resolved that the Carnatic' be admitted to pratique; that the whole of the immigrants on the Island be detained until next week; that all available, tents be erected oh Quarantine Island ; that flooring sufficient for all be sent to the Island; these, tents to.be occupied by the most healthy of the immigrants 5 now on the Island, the quarters vacated by them to be filled dp by immigrants from the Scimitar. I was also resolved to direct the attention of the Government to the necessity, of at once providing a r num,ber of small cottages for the accommodation of newly arrived married immigrants, there being no houses to be.Had.' There has been a serious disagreement in the printing trade in Melbourne. The office of Messrs Mason, Fifth, and' M'Cufoheon has been practically closed by a lock-out. The firm has determined to resist the local society’s demands iu the matter: of apprentices. In a letter to the ‘ Age,’ they say“ The present is not a dispute about wages or hours; it is an unjust attempt to bolster up a few discontented workmen, contrary ,to the inexorable law of supply and demand. We always declined to subscribe to the proposed society rule regarding the number of apprentices. It is most unequal and therefore most unfair in its application. The insinuation 'that - we, with the, employers in general, had bound ourselves to this rule is as false as a number of other statements read to the .meeting. -Because we refuse to be subject to a rule which have repeatedly repudiated, the society withdraws its members from our office. No other course being open, we therefore have shut our door against society hands. We protest against the interference of uny outside parties in the internal concerns' of our office. We protest against the attempt of the latter to coerce us into acceding to their demands (either just or unjust) by their combination with outside parties. We have every reason to believe that the present agitation is got up and sustained by two or discontented busy-bodies, whose folly will entaU long lasting injury upon their dupes. .Our, determination is not to be coerced in this matter' as we can supply all our labor requi- ements by hands from other places than Melbourne; or by the employment of a superior class of boys and young men, to whom we can offer sufficient inducements, and if need be, we can avail ourselves (as has already been done so largely in other countries) of female labor, to which our light business is so admirably suited. Wo cannot refrain from expressing our surprise that the trade, so called, have so suddenly woke up to the necessity of asserting their privileges—the privilege of throwing up constant situations at full rates. For the first time for about twenty years has anything like the present dispute occurred in our .office ; iind the state of the trade has often been much worse Jhan of late.”

The quarterly summoned meeting of the Pioneer'kodge P. A.F. Society will be held in Milton Hall, Stuart street, on Monday eveniiig, at 7.30, ,

The No, 1 Company (City Guards) and Cadets will be inspected by the commanding officer dh Monday evening, after which the monthly meeting will be held.