The Evening Star WEDNESDAY. MAY 6, 1874.

Evening Star, Issue 3495, 6 May 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY. MAY 6, 1874.

JSYe will try to-morrow, if possible, to wipe' off same of the correspt mdence we have in type. • J^v<vi ier Port Chalnier s R.M, Court this tnorning Ellen Anderson, w. ho had been arrested on a charge of drunkennes a, was discharged. The petition to the 3 Provincial Council for the 1 discontinuance of all 1; tbor by Government employes on the Sabbath has been very numerously signed in Oamaru. The tender of tha Messrs Brogden for the construction of the Kakanui and Lsland Creek bridges, for the sum. of 1/6,636 12s 6d, has been accepted. A man named James- Robertson was found' dead on the road near Awamoko, on Monday eV if ni i having been crunhed to. death by the wheel of a dray passing over his head. Times ’ records of what is termed v 1?, plague” that one, after a desperate fight, was seen to kill a cat. Subsequently it ■ was shot, and found to be two feet in length 1 from the tip of the nosti to the tail end. At the adjourned m( jeting of the Education Board to-day, it was di scided not to grant any scholarships except oi le to W. D. Milne, the only candidate who obi ;ained over the minimum number of points at th ©date examination. At the last sitting of Mlq Cromwell Municipal Council, Mr Pierce, tb ie member whose erratic conduct the week pre rious brought the deliberations of the body eo rporate to a sudden and undignified conclusioi a, apologised, and was magnanimously forgiv en. ~^ e I®?™ fr° m a ter from an official source that gold has been dis covered between the Head j of the Lake and Mart in’s Bav, as well as auri - ferous quartz reefs. fihe news is officially communicated to Mr Wa; nSen Beetham, who is in this City at present. No particulars are given as to actual locality. The performance at. the Queen’s Theatre last evening consisted of ' the “ Corsican Brothers,” and the farce of “ A ’ iVfaman’s Freak,’* in which Miss Towers appeare dto great advantage. Mr C Bncn, the lessee, takes a benefit to-night, wnen, in addition to a good programe which will be presented, a number of the Siamese Iroupe will appepo-. Such a hill ought to attract a crowded hj ouse. The local paper r ©ports that the works on the Oamaru and Moei -aki railway at the Oamaru end are making sal fisfaotory pro: Tress; tho deep cutting between’ I;he Parsonage grounds and Awamoa is being* pushed forw *ard, and two gangs of laborers are at work in Isis street and on the embankment at the town .boundary, and will, ere long, effect a junction. There really seems to be no reason why, if the. Kakanui and Island Stream bridges could be (. ’.ompleted in that time, the hue should not be otx en as far as j Otepopo within A welve t months.

No 1 Loyal Pioneer Lodge of Orangemen held their regular meeting on Monday night, when there was a good attendance of members. After the ordinary business of initiation, the arrangements for the coming anniversary, on the sth June, were discussed, and it was decided that a deputation should visit the Port on Friday next, with the view of’opefaing a Lodge there. The English fire insurance companies begin to complain of the heat in the United States. They have found it warm—and expensive as well The privilege of taking fire premiums' in America isn’t an unmixed joy. The Liverpool, London, and Globe Company has, according to a New York journal'paid for the fire losses, in two years, L 2,240,243! But then they are largely patronised, for the assured find that British fire companies pay and look pleasant—that is, as pleasant as they can under the circumstances. A libel case has lately partly disturbed the equanimity of the people of Taranaki, but it did not reach the Court for trial. In discharging the recognizances of the defendant Whitcombe, Mr Justice Richmond observed :—“ I know but little of this case, but if the aggrieved parties are Satisfied, I think the public have nothing further to do with the matter. With regard to affairs of this kind it is necessary to draw a line between statements of fact and those of opinion. There is no necessity for being mealy-mouthed in the expressions of opinion regarding public men. A spade may be cal da spade if it is likely to betray trust reposea on it; but let there be no statement of matters that have not really occurred.” • In moving the adoption of the directors’ report, the chairman of the Bank of Ne«v Zea-' land is reported to have said at the recent annual .meeting of shareholders i—“ It was generally thought that New; Zealand 1 was' over-banked,’ but he thought there was room for further extension of the - existing accommodation, and he was sure no one would’ object to the advent of a rival. The trade of the' Colony was sound, and the prices of the staple articles of production were well maintained. The increase of trade was Certain to cause increasedhank business, and it was reasonable to expect that the Bank'of New Zealand, holding the important position it did, would have its" share.” The following extract from a private letter received in Victoria 'froth England by'the last 1 mail will give some idea of the wCalth of the English aristocracy, especially of those who have minifag properties. The ’writer/ whose’ brother is steward of the Earl of L——, in the north ot England, ‘says ;—-“ They are making great improvements at L—--, especially in the interior of the castle, funiishing it in the most costly fashion; fdr instance, the drawingroom . chairs cost LSOO each—solid ivory, and gold ! See what’ it is to be a lord in the old country ! My brother told me that Lord L’s. income last year from mines and minerals alone (coal and iron) was upwards of L 120,000.” It may be mentioned that this lord is, also, one of the largest landed proprietors of Great Britain. The proposed performance which is to he Even in aid of Mr Harty Eastwood by the Press ramatic Club has been postponed for a short time,in consequence of the committee not having been able to obtain the Queen’s Theatre on favorable terms. As the Club desires that the cvl/l i j be a substantial one, and as Mr bibbald has promised them the theatre free of charge on the departure of the Circus Comply. the Press Committee has decided to wait till then m order that the expenses !shalLb« 'as light as possible. Mr Hudson has kindly given the use of the Masonic Hall for the purposes of rehearsal, the first of which—a formal one—was held to-day; and, as the pieces chosen are at^a P^ ec l to the Club, there is but little doubt that the performance will be a success both financially and otherwise. Although the attendance at the Princess’s last evening would not bear favorable comparison, m point of numbers, with that of the pre vious evening, the audience was by no rneans a sparse one, the lower parts of the house beitig j nit ’ C^r °l e numerously patronised, 1 he programme submitted was similar to that of the first night, and the various feats of horsemanship, tumbling, and juggling were heartily applauded. The riding of “Young America ” was greatly admired, and the idea of a shipwreck on horseback, in which ha appeared as the “true blue,” caused not a little amusement, especially when, owing to the restlessness of his horse, he was thrown overboard, which occurred on each occasion when the boat was supposed to rook. The jokes of the clown were not as good as might have .been desired, and the master of the ring might advantageously dispose of his “Yankee” accent,' as it is utterly impossible to hear what ho says. A change of programme is announced for toKight. The Wellington ‘ Evening Post’of the 16th ult has the following “Mr Fox, in a letter published this morning, asserts that the principle of Ms Licensing Act and that of Sir Wilfred Lawson’s Permissive Bill are identical This fitafceiment is calculated to deceive. Sir Wilfred Lawson’s Bill does not propose to place in the hands of any person the power to gratify personal enmity by getting up a petition for closing the public-house of a particular individual, whom jie dislikes/and so putting the publican , to expense, annoyance, and anxiety Mr Fox’s Act doesthis. Sir Wilfred Lawson’s Bill, on the contrary/ places before the people a plain and intelligible issue—that of publichouses pr no public houses. A petition under it could be no half or partial measure, but one for closing all the public houses in the district. Thera would be no invidious selection, as there is under Mr Fox’s Act. The difference in principle is a very important one, although Mr Fox, with Ms usual diaingenuousness, refuses to see it.” The Coroner’s inquiry into the cause of the fire on Mr Scoles’s farin at Miller’s Flat on the 24th ult, found that the stacks bad been wilfully set fire to. and'added the following rider : —“That, in the opinion of tMs jury, immediate steps should be taken by the farmers and others interested to protect tnemselves from the incendiarism which prevails in the district; and while recognizing the praiseworthy energy displayed by the police; that they should unite in offering a substantial reward to any parties that will give such information as will lead to the conviction, of the person or persons causing such firesand that the Mayors of Queenstown and Arrowtown be requested to call public meetings at each centre for tha purpose of giving the public the opportunity of combining for this end.” The ‘Mail? informs us that a list has been opened for subscriptions towards offering a substantial reward.for the discovery of the incendiary or incendiaries. So thoroughly has the: feeling of the district been aroused in this matter that already nearly LSOO appears ou the list,- and this as yet only representing a few of the leading men interested. A Mr Tangyo, of the Birmingham firm of Tangye Brothers, was recently on a visit to Nelson, and at the request of Mr Webster forwarded to him his opinion of the Para Para iron, wMch, as will be seen by the following letter, is exceedingly favorable. He says :—“I have inspected a sample of the Para Para bar iron at your place, which was subjected to a fair breaking test, namely, by being nicked on one side only with a cMsel and then bent double, showing « clean fibrous fracture. The firm of which I am a member are large consumers of iron, and from my experience I am able to form a correct opinion as to the quality from such a test as I have witnessed, and I can safely gay that I should have no hesitation in using the iron alongside, or in place of the ordinary Staffordshire bars made by the best makers. I should recommend your keeping to pig iron making only at first, and in a small way, as there will be no difficulty in disposing of all you could possibly make, and it way be found that your profits will be larger by keeping entirely to pig making. However, in my opinion this should be first proved. If yeu only secure the services of a competent manager, I see no cause why you may not expeet good dividends, and had I been a resident here, I should certainly like to become one amongst you in-developing your magnificent propertj. ” A curious case of bankruptcy came before his Honor Mr Justice Johnston a few days since, and is reported as follows by the ( Tribune ’ ‘ ‘ In /•« Edwin Hibberd. Mr Moorhouse applied for the bankrupt’s discharge, which Mr Travers acting for Messrs Brogden and Sons, opposed! Tbe applicant was one of Messrs Brogden’s immigrants, and his statement was that he had only received 5s 4d per day for his labor from ' that firm; of which sum Is a ; day had been deducte'dfor passage money, and that consequently

that paid to him was inadequate for the support u' i members of which were in bad health. His Honor, in granting the bankrupt’s discharge, laid down a very distinct rule that persons coming to the Colony as assisted immigrants were not to Suppose for a moment that they could come to that Court, file a petition, and at once free themselves from all liability for the, promise they had given to pay their passage money or any other debt. It was quite otherwise. Had not this been a somewhat exceptional case, he certainly should have adjourned it for further inquiry, and had the bankrupt beeu a bachelor, or had his family been a strong and useful one, able to help him. he should have made the order of discharge conditional on his paying a certain proportion of ms earnings towards the satisfaction of the debts of his bankruptcy.” fi r ® or M»i na ted in the house of a man named Thomas Law, at Caversham, shortly before, three ® clock this morning. Intelligence was brought to the Police Station by a man who came into town about 3.40, and reported that there was a fire near the Crown Hotel opposite the Immigration Barracks. Sub-In-spector Mallard, accompanied by three or four of the police force, immediately went out to the place, and found that two cottages, occupied by Mr Law and Mr Donaldson, were wholly consumed. The Crown Hotel escaped pretty well, only the side of it having been burned It appears that Law went home slightly under the influence of liquor, and, it is supposed, accidentally set fire to the place by striking a match. Constable M'Kinlay, stationed at Caversham, was on the spot within a few minutes, and with great difficulty succeeded in getting Law out of the house. A hose was obtained from the Immigration Barracks, but as the plug could not be found, water from a well at the rear of the hotel had to be used. Donaldson s house,- which was owned and occupied by himself, was insured, with its contents, in, the Northern Company, for L 25 0; and Lamb’s house, which was owned by Mr Feger, for L2OO in the National. Law, who states that, besides his furniture and stock, he lost L7O in pioney, was uninsured. It was owing to the exertions) of Constable M'Kinlay and some of the. neighbors that the Crown Hotel was saved. The attention of Port Chalmers Cadets is directed to a general order in our advertising columns. . The Artillery band give one of their entertainments at, the Queen’s Theatre on Friday evening* whem a capital programme will be presented. The band itself will perform operatic and other selections. . Borne vocal novelties are promised, including the “ GensdArmes Quartette,” the entertainment concluding with a burlesque on the “ Barber of Seville.” One of the attractive entertainments given under the auspices of the Roslyn and Kaikorai Institute is announced to take place on Friday evening, and as on previous occasions the Koslyn Hall has been found too small to contain the audience, the Linden Schpolhouse has been secured for Friday evening. The programme is an unusually good on"?, and, we are sure, will afford an excellent evening’s entertainment.