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Evening Star, Issue 3486, 25 April 1874, Page 2

The meeting of the General Synod of the Anglican Church, which was to have taken place at Wellington »n May 5, has been postponed until the 14th of the same month.

The Provincial Government of Canterbury have sent a cablegram to Mr Ottywell, the Provincial Agent at Home, to send out an engineer appr«"cd by Sir John Coode to report on the feasibility of harbor works for Timaru. The Oamaru Licensing Bench has laid down the rule that one conviction under the Act should be regarded as an act of misconduct on the part of the licensee, disqualifying him as holder of a renewed license.

It may interest some to know that the special correspondent sent by the ‘ Times ’ to St. Petersburg to describe the festivities connected with the Duke of Edinburgh’s marriage was Mr F. N. Broome, formerly a settler in Canterbury.

We have been requested to state that the sufferer by the accident at Franktown, referred to in our Queenstown telegram yesterday, is not the Mayor of Queenstown, but his brother, Mr Malaghan, of the firm of Surtnan and Malaghan, brewers, Queenstown.

. .°ne matter the Timaru Licensing Bench is stricter than our Commissioners. In one of the cases that come before them, they intimated that they would only grant the license on condition that the applicant should be married within a fortnight, to which time the matter has been adjourned.

Phis morning the case of the Queen v, Mlntosh, forgery at Oamaru, was continued at the Supreme Court, and after the evidence for the Crown had closed, the foreman of the jury stated to the Court that they were prepared to give a verdict at once. The proceedings were immediately stayed and a verdict acquitting the accused was given. A Sydney telegram to the Melbourne Press states that “the French Government has telegraphed for further particulars as to the escape of the Communists from New Caledonia, as they cannot believe it.” It is mentioned, also, that Rochefort intends to sail for England at once, and then to pass over to Switzerland where he will await the turn of affairs in France.

The contract for the formation and earthwork of the second section of the Hutt Railway having been completed some weeks ago, the tender of Mr M'Kirdy for laying the sleepers and rails has been accepted, but the work will probably not be commenced for some little time, on account of the sleepers not being at hand. The contract time is three months, and, despite the 'lndependent ’ thinks it probable that Mr M Bardy will complete it within that period.

The 'Wellington papers record a successful operation for double cataract, performed by Dr Diver, of that city—the first time, they believe such an operation has been performed in the operation was a very delicate and, diincult one, peculiarly bo from the weak constitution of the patient. It has heia; very successful, as she is now fast recovering, and has regained the use of sight to a very considerable _ extent; there is the prospect of its improving so that she may be able even to read.” 4fi Unchanged programme did not diminish the attendance at the Princess last evening, when the Siamese troupe again performed to a good house, £hei? various -fgo,ts being well recerved. This afternoon the house v/as literally packed by children, for whose especial benefit the programme was drawn up. ’ The top'spinning, pole and ladder balancing, and other tricks were loudly applauded, but what pleased the youngsters most were the bending acts of the young Siamese, and the comic scenes between the little clowns. The troupe perform again this evening.

The annual soiree of the First Church Young Men s Christian Association was held last evening, and was a very successful affair. After tea the choir gave several gless, songs were sung by ladies and gentlemen, and recitations and addresses delivered; a very enjoyable evening being spent by all present. The commitfee s report stated there had been twentythree meetings during the last session, eight of which had been dpvoted to lectures, thirteen to essays, and two to splept readings. The lectures were well attended a* all times, being delivered by visiting ministers, to seme ,of whom presentations had been made. The library had been increased, and there was a balance to the credit of the Association of Ll2.

A preliminary meeting of those favorable to a regatta being held on the Queen’s Birthday was held at the Provincial Hotel, Port Chalmers, last evening. Captain Louden was voted to the chair. _ After a short discussion concernifig the previous regatta committee, the chairman stated ,tlja f a letter had been received from the Dunedin committee to meet them at 3 p.m. this afternoon, as they were of opinion that it would be better for the committees to be amalgamated. The following gentlemen were then appointed as the committee:—Messrs Innis, Murray, Goldie, M'lCiijnpn, A. W. Stevens, Mackley, Hudson, Pedlow; Mr Nickols, secretary. After a vote of thanks to the chairman the meeting then, adjourned.

At Messrs Kincaid and M‘Queen’s foundry, this afternoon, a successful trial was made of a lqcomo|;yo engine, the first they have turned out. I,t is m T ade to the order of Messrs E. and T. Haworth, for the use of their sawmill business at the West Coast, where it will be employed in the carriage of The locomotive is of nine horse-power, double-cyjindered, these having a diameter of inches. The boiler is 6ft high, and 3ft lOin in diameter, and on the Field principle. The length of stroke is lUin, and the engine is made to run on a 3ft 7m guage. It will be forwarded to its destination by sailing vessel at the beginning of next week. Last year a _ new Education Bill was made law in. Victoria, one great object of which was to make education compulsory. The author of .AStephens, summarised one of its effects as follows in a late speech to his constituents at St. Kilda :—“ The increase in the_ number of children on the rolls of the various schools during 1873, as compared with the preceding j r ear, is no less than 70,640, Tk ciq a s c °™i n S to careful inquiries made, only 15,610 of these xiftd bsen receiving education in private schools previously, thus leaving 55,022 as the not increase resulting from the abolition of fees and the increase of accommodation. Out l a £ pu S on of lesa than 800,000 there are 206,602 children at present on the rolls, the average attendance during the last year having been y/jUi>y.

Mr Nicholas Stick, of Ranzau,' Nelson, claims to be the originator of an idea for propelling steamships at the rate of twenty-five to thirty knots an hour. He has got out drawings and made a model of his invention, the advantages of which are : 1. Light draught of water, r ~!~P e . ln weather. 3. Greater facility _ m heavy weather. 4. Greater facility jjj answering the helm than any vessel

now afloat possesses. 5. A duplicate rudder by which the dangers of an unshipped'rudder are prevented. The novelty consists not in any new discovery of motive power, but in an ingenious adaptation of those already in existence. The inventor not having the means of carrying out his invention, and being unable to arouse the interest of capitalists here, is about to proceed to ustralia, where he hopes to form a company to give effect to his plans. At one of the Carindini concerts in Auckland, lately, Mr George Cotterell’s “ Carnival de Venice,” which created so much amusements when given by that gentleman here, elicited an unusual kind of applause. There was a very fme black Newfoundland dog, who gave many signs of his being interested in the musical selections. The imitation of Paganini (solo nasaline) had an astounding effect upon him. He stoed the test for some time with impatience, but he at length made his way to the stage, whether with a friendly or hostile disposition did not at first appear. But he was evidently greatly pleased, and the signs he gave of his enjoyment nearly convulsed the audience, who were thrown into a paroxysm of laughter which lasted several seconds. The performer was not the least disconcerted at this genuine compliment, and he had to appear again.

Some very ridiculous notices appear in public journals of the mistakes of contemporary prints, arising sometimes inadvertently, or through what printers call “ overrunning,” and frequently through ignorance. There is a periodical entitled “ The Bookseller,” devoted reviews books. Prom the number of the 3rd February, 1874, we take the following from a notice of a book by Mrs Charlotte xonge.

-*-b e Life of the late Bishop Patteson.” This will be news to people in New Zealand Ihere was comparatively little of incident in the life of Bishop Patterson; nothing indeed of an extraordinary character, except his deplorable assassination at the hand of the fanatical Maoris!” Here is another passage:—“ The Maori war broke out, and Coleridge Patteson, its first Bishop (?), became the first martyr of the Melanesian Church.” Can this be the author of “The Heir of Redclyffe?” or is it The Bookseller ?”

i fake the following from the Melbourne Argus as to the bank absconder lately arrested in this Colony;— ‘ * George Maurice Drummond, lately manager of the Richmond branch of the Provincial and Suburban Bank, has been brought before the local police court and committed for trial. There were three charges entered against him, of embezzlement, stealing, and forging a bank slip for L 250. We are informed that nearly the whole of the money taken by the prisoner has been recovered. A sum of L 470 in gold was found upon him on his arrest, and Detective Williams has recovered a or 16s, drawn in the name of James Williamson, at the Bank of New South Wales, Nelson, on the Bank of New South Wales, London, in favor of Maurice Douglas, and dated February 2. The total amount of the defalcations was L 947 from the Provincial Bank, and a sum of L 987 was obtained from the Oriental Bank. The prisoner had a guarantee policy of L1;000, so that the losses will be fully covered.”

Alluding to the subject of the acquisition of the South Sea trade, the “Hawke’s Bay Gerald makes the following sensible remarks leadin S columns : —The project is a magnificent one; and at the same time there seems every reason to believe that, if gone into with the due degree of wisdom and energy, it is a feasible one. We have manufacturing resources in abundance here, in the shape of coal, iron, and water power. Could we only bring them to bear on the cotton, the sugar, and the numberless other tropical products of the islands, a splendid future would certainly await us. We need. then never have any hesitation about bringing in immigrants by thousands or tens of thousands. There would be unlimited demand for their labor, and for that very sort of labor which most enriches a country, Prop.rty all over the Colony would treble or quadruple its value. We should take a fresh lease of good times, or rather we should enter on an era compared with which the present “good times,” would appear to have been a period of miserable impecuniosity.

According to a “provisional ” meteorological report compiled by Dr Hector, and appended to the report for the month of March by the Re-gistrar-General, Mr Brown, upon the vital statistics of some of the principal towns in the Colony, the following appears to have been the average temperature in the shade Auckland, 66.7 60.0; Nelson, 61.8; Christchurch, 58.9 ; Hokitika, 58.6; Dunedin, 55.9. The highest temperature in the shade was— Auckland, 80.6, on the 25th; Wellington, 73.9, on the 11th ; Nelson, 80, on the 14th ; Christchurch, 28, on the 4th ; Hokitika, 73.1, on the 13th; Dunedin, J5, op the 17th. Christchurch had the lowest rainfall, Wellington the next lowest, Auckland and Dunedin next. Nelson was high—more than double the fall in March of the previous year; and Hokitika was very high—B.63o inches. Yet the number of days on which rain fell was—in Auckland, 9; in Wellington, 17; in Nelson, 7; in Christchurch, 10; in Hokitika, 12; and in Dunedin, 13. All oyer the Colony, except in Christchurch, the rainfall seems to have been greatly in excess of that of tljie same in 1873. The store in the occupation of Mr James Henry fopham, at Bradshaw, Anders's Bay, as a colonial wine manufactory was burnt down at 12,30 this morning. Mr fopham, -who' was within twenty yards of the store, ssid he visited it at 9.30 last night before retiring to bed and found everything secure, but when he awoke at 12.20 a.m. he saw a flash of light pass his bed-room-window, and on getting up observed that the place was on fire. The store adjoining, in which the wine is packed, barely escaped being destroyed. Constable M‘Lauchlin, stationed at the Bay, visited the scene of the fire this monies- The damage done is estimated by Mr Popbam at Ll,ooo, and he was insured for L2OO in the Norwich Union Company.—Since the above was in type we learn that the fire, when first seen, was issuing from a window; and insidp the house and close to it was a table, on which stood a candlestick and candle, a kerosene lamp, ami $ box of matches. None of these articles have bepp used since Christmas; they were then used for sealing bottles. Popham says he saw no one about thp premises, ihe other store was saved by waking up tbe neighbors.

The Coromandel ‘Mail’ reminds us of the famous ‘ Eatanswil Gazette.’ It alludes to some one or other as “ the Simon Pure who through the columns of our miserable little local contemporary reviles and libels all that is respectable in Coromandel.” The ‘News’ is described us a “ scurrilsus little rag, that has been libelling and blackguarding all the decency and worth iri the community.” Then greatly to the disgust of 'the 1 ' ‘ Mail,’the ‘News’ insulted “ the good sense of its readers by the lying assertion that on no occasion has it ever made use of personalities.” The' reason" siys the ‘ Mail,’ it wrote thus was “ to show persons at a distance that the people of Coromandel are not all blackguards, to enlighten the publii regarding the character of those by whom the tirade of slander is originated. It was with reluctance, repeatedly expressed, that we on this course; but now we have begun, it shall be done effectually. We know that every shaty tells, and is like a red-hot iror rod in the flesh of the conductors of the Coromandel rag, because .what we assert is not invention pure and simple, but can be proved by chapter and verse.’-’ '• " A concert was given in St. Joseph’s Schoolroom last evening by the choir of that Church in the presence of a large audience. Mr Sykes presided at the piano, and was assisted by Mr O’Connell on the violin. Iri the first portion of the programme Miss Hesford was very successful iu “ Come back to Erin,” but this lady has the bad habit of singing too much to herself. A youfiger sister of hers gave “ Juanita” very well, and wit!) cultivation of her good voice and plenty of study will make one of our best a “ateur singers. Mr Lennon sang the “Horn V7it ' h £ r «a* s P irit . Mr Ennis the t{ Dish Emigrant” fairly; but Mr Loughnan’s

Gomxp song, though sung well, as far as regards the music, might have been the most lachrymose of ditties from the style in which it was given. Mr Bunny caused intense amusement and loud applause by his recital of CampDownfall of Poland.” Curschraann’s beautiful trio, “ Ti prego,” with harmonium accompaniment, was perhaps the best piece of T llole en tertainment, but some performers who Ijad promised their services did not put in an appearance, and consequently the programme

was not strictly adhered to. Mr O’ConnoU’s violin playing was received with great applause, forming as it did quite a feature of the entertainment. Taken altogether the concert was scarcely up to previous ones given by the same choir.

The lobster is not a pretty creature to look at, but his economic value is considerable. is well appreciated in the markets near his native haunts, and both in England and America he “ foots up ” a considerable sum when the annual value of the “ take ’’ is reckoned. Boston lobsters in tins (remarks the ‘ Independent ) are pretty well known, all the world over, and in the Colony especially—for what would a New Zealand or Australian miner do without his tinned fish ? but it is news to leam, as we do from the American papers before us, that m 1873 not less than 80,000 tons of lobsters were taken on the coast of Maine ! So great nas been the demand for them, however, that it has been found necessary to protect the lobsters by Act of Parliament. A Bill was drawn up in February last, and is expected to be made law at once by the Parliampnt of Maine, to prevent lobsters being fished between the Ist of August and the Ist of November. Irom the Ist of November to the let of April none are to be taken for preservation or cannmg, and for ocher purposes, except those which will measure ten and ahalf inches, exclusive of the claws or feelers. From the Ist of April to the Ist of August fishing is to be free, without limitation of size. Thus we have prohibition and regulation for eight months out of twelve, and four months for the packing factories and free fishing. It is supposed that this law will for the present be effectual for the preservation of this important interest. The crayfish of New Zealand is quite as good to eat to-u e r* ame lobster, and is very abundant. however, shall we have to report that 01/,UUU of them have been taken, on the coast of the North Island in one year I This is the manner in which the ‘Argus’ dismissed the English cricketers “ Nothing in life became the Thane of Cawdor like his Caking leave of it. Wo wish we conld have said the same of the captain of the All England Eleven and his Australian trip, but unhappily in his

last match, and in his last speech, Mr W, G. Grace cut up rougher than ever, says a Melbourne exchange. We frankly admit that he suffered some provocation, our contemporary, the Age, saying that he was a professional, and would call him ‘ Grace,’ and not Mr Grace, alleging that he was ‘ playing possum,’ and suggesting to the public as a curative, ‘ no play, no pay. Ae Mr Grace has never been identihed as a blackleg in England, no doubt he felt annoyed, but had he been a gentlemen he would have been above noticing talk that was written for pot-house loafers. Instead of that, the batsman on Saturday was abusive all round, and his tone and expression make it tolerably clear why the gentleman has been so unhappy m. his personal relations, and why the gossipers have had to chronicle a scene at Warrnambool, a disturbance at Stawell, a fight at Sandhurst, a blow at Sydney, a row in Tasmania, and more "han one unpleasantness on the M.C.C. ground, u r -u j ace have laughed at his critics if he had not done a good deal to justify them. Some of the Eleven are magnanimous enough to say that they will welcome in England any Australian team, and no doubt an Eleven from Victoria could teach the ‘ gentlemen’ of England good behaviour, if they could not instruct them m cricket—that is if our visitors are fair samples of the courtesies of the held. Our captain, for instance, if devoid of the strength of a bullock, would not have the manners of a boor.

Attention is directed in the “ Southern Gross to the death of a man named Charles Crystal, which occurred as followsHe, with two other companions, came into town from riTif an f res °l T ed upon having a big drunk, .the Gross imagines what this would be like as follows ‘ One continual orgie of drinking heryrum, or whisky fierce with fusel oil, the men being three-fourths drunk all day, morning bringing little or no relief, but probably a greater craving, induced by a few brief hours of feverish slumber. Then more drink, and so the day wears on. After ten days of dissipation uke this the nerves of the drinker must begin to get considerably shaken j and so he would seek to vary the monotony of the not very lively public-house by the greater solitude of the river. The party in question paddled a boat up the stream, made her fast, and then. aU bemg alike drunk, went to sleep. The boat stream, and Crystal during the night fell partially over the gunwale with his head in the water, and was drowned. His two companions found him in this condition, and dragged his dead body further into the boat: ,3 "®°. drunk to do more, went again to sleep. J-Q phis condition the boat passed a store on the river side, the owners of which, thinking was wrong, boarded her and found Crystals body lying dead in the stem of the boat, and the two others asleep in the bows.” The conclusion of the ‘Cross’ was that although the jury at the inquest brought in a verdict of accidental death,” “ bad drink and an almost unlimited supply of it” brought about the man’s end. . JR 10 Ge ? 1 ? n S correspondent of the Melbourne Telegraph reports“ One of the strangest deaths which it has been my lot to record was

inquired into by a coroner’s jury at Belmont. An old German, named Martin Labech, sixty-seven years of age, who has been leading a destitute and friendless existence for some years past, went out last Monday morning, as was his wont, to fish. _ He took with him a line, a rod, and a capacious bag for his tinny spoil, ills road lay across' the racecourse paddock to the river Barwon, and on hid Way he filled his bag with chips from a new fence recently erected on the course, intending to make a fire for himself on the river side. He seems to have slung his fuel across his bade, passing a rope round his chest to support his burden. Bofore leaving the course he stopped to rest, perching the bag on the top rail. While in this position it fell over the other side, drawing as it did so, the rope tightly round the old man’s throat, and positively forcing him by its weight into a posture of inevitable strangulation. He was seen at a distance the next day by a man namsd Bell, but mistaken for a sheepskin hanging over the fence, and not discovered till the day after. At first it was thought to be a case of suicide, hut the facts as they became known clearly pointed to the accident. The poor old man’s fate must have been a verypaina“d lingering one, for though the bag weighed £Qib, the pressure was not sufficient to do more than produce sip w choking. The corpse, of course, maintained its upright’ position, indeed it could not fall. A verdict of accidental death, was returned.”

• 'English Government have been exceedxZi liberal to His Royal Highness the Duke oi Edinburgh on the occasion of his marriage raised his income from L 15.000 to LJ o,OOO. Iney have also dowered his wife to the extent of L 6,000. We do not like to give a reverse picture: but here is what a contemporaryjtells us : ‘ It was deemed necessary, some tune since, to declare war upon the savages'of AshantOfe,' and t.Q prosecute the fight of course a number of soldiers had to be despatched to Amoa. Some of them had wives and children, which were left behind, and the world has been informed, through‘the columns of the London limes, how the families are cared for. The lieutenant-colonel of one of the regiments has made an appeal to the public on behalf of the women, stating that ‘the daily amount allowed by the Government is 3d for eaCa an( * for each child, for those at Aldershot, where they receive barrack accommodation ; while those who prefer returning to their homes receive 6d per day, and 2d for each child. To relieve the starvation attending these allowances, the officers of the regiment who are ifi England raised a subscription among themselves, and soma ‘ individual cases of distress ’ have been attended to » but as there are fifty-seven women and 104 children to be looked after, the liberality of the officers was becoming exhausted, and therefore the public were asked to come to the rescue. If children are all at Aldershot, there is the disgraceful spectacle of 161 of them living on LI 6s 9d per diem, and the command--6r charitable to save them from the daily distress which the Government leaves them to endure as best they

m^ e i U n Ua L f ° rtl S g^y mee £ m s of the Com mercial Building Society will be held on Mofi- f day evening next, at 6 o’clock. ‘ 1

A meeting of the shareholders of the Otago Turkish Bath Company will be held in the o’cf 6 ]* 011 evening, at 8

A general meeting of- members of the Press Amateur Dramatic Olub will be held in Bayley s Hotel, at halt-past 7_ o’clock f.bia evening.

The evening classes in connection with the Society will be resumed on Monday, the ™ May, m the Athenaeum hall and the North Dunedin School.

We are glad to see, from an advertisement in our present issue, that the new owners of the Sub-marine Boat are losing no time in their arrangements for forwarding the boat to her destination. We wish these gentlemen every success, as well on their own account as because the success of the enterprise would be of the greatest possible advantage to the Province. We shall watch with considerable interest the progress of the undertaking.

From an advertisement that appears in another column, we gather that the office of the Dunedin Savings Bank is shortly to be removed to the stone building in High street, near the New Zealand Insurance Company’s office, recently occupied-by Messrs D. Baxter and Co. We understand that provision is made in the Savings Bank Act by which the trustees are empowered to invest the profits of the Bank in the purchase of a site and erection of a building, and they have accordingly appropriated a portion of the surplus in hand to this object. The necessity for having a building of their own has been long felt, and a lease of their present premises having been granted to the Standard Insurance Company, the trustees deemed it advisable at once to take steps for securing a permanent site.