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Evening Star, Issue 3524, 9 June 1874, Page 2

. Public daily prayer meetings are the fashion m Christchurch at present. From fifty to a hundred persons attend each day.

Rapid progress is being made with the Timaru and Terauka Railway. The rails will reach Young Creek in a fortnight. The receipts on the Canterbury railways for the seven months ending April 30 amounted to L 63.035. During the same period in 1873 the receipts were L 43,569. A libel action is about to be commenced by Mr lugs, editor of the ‘ Westport Times,’ against the proprietor of the ‘ Duller News,’ edited by Mr E. J. O’Connor, in the same township. Mr G. F. Reid, the Chairman of the Arrow River United Gold Mining Company (Limited), has received information that the machinery is all in position and working beautifully, and that the shareholders may soon expect to hear of the fulfilment of their best hopes with regard to the mine. It is stated by one of our Melbourne morning contemporaries that the removal of some of the restrictions that hare for the last few years been placed upon the South Sea Island trade is contemplated by Commodore Goodeuough. Masters of vessels engaged in pearling and the beche-de-mer trade are to be allowed, under fair supervision, to carry Natives. The Molyneux River continues at a very low level this season, giving the bank sluicers plenty of fall to run away their stuff. The palmy days of beach workings (remarks the Tuapeka paper) appear to have departed. Four or five years ago, when the river was about its present level, the sound of cradles could be heard along the beaches from the Kawarau to the Beaumont. A Loudon telegram says “ A bigoted Richmond vicar has created a painful scandal by causing a wall to be erected in a cemetery between the conformists’ and nonconformists’ portions. During one night, 2Soft of the wall was torn down, which, in spite of all resistance, he insists on having rebuilt. Earl Russell has published a letter disapproving of the vicar’s conduct.”

At a meeting of the Board of Health to-day, the report of the Health Officer concerning the Atrato was read, and it was resolved that the Otago immigrants be lodged on the Quarantine Island for a few days, until the depot at Caversham has more room for their reception. The Board further recommend that, while on the island, the passengers’ clothing shall be effectually fumigated and cleaned. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before Dr Drysdale, J.P., William Whitton was charged with being illegally on the premises of the Government stables, at one o’clock this morning. The police stated that complaints had been made by the groom that men were in the habit of striking matches, there. His Worship dismissed the accused with a caution, stating that the police had done quite right in bringing him before the Court. The Canterbury Acclimatisation Society has made a request to the Superintendent of the Province to place L3OJ on the Estimates for the introduction of salmon ova. The secretary reported that Dr Haast had forwarded him an extract from a letter from Dr Spencer Baird, of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, asking why an attempt had not been made to introduce eggs of the Californian salmon into New Zealand, and stating that they were much adapted to the New Zealand waters than English salmom ; also that such eggs could be forwarded with comparatively little difficulty. At the monthly meeting of the Resident Magistrates Court, Roxburgh, on the 2nd inst., an individual was brought up before the Bench presided over by Mr Warden Simpson, on a charge of drunkenness. When asked to account for his conduct, he pleaded “That considerable excitement prevailed respecting the celebrated petition of Rigney against ymr Worship, and I strongly advocated your Worship s part, and got very much excited, and ultimately found myself in this unfortunate predicament.” He was discharged with a caution, Mr Fish has adopted the role of leader of the Opposition. He moved a virtual want of confidence motion this afternoon, and to-morrow j- move : ‘ That this Council having had under consideration the report of the Select Committee on light railway tenders and expenditure on road Tokomairiro to Tuapeka, are of opinion that the charges preferred in this Council by the ex-Provincial Treasurer against the ox-becretary for Goldfields and Works are entirely disproved, and deeply regret such statements should have been made by any t*' USe 80 enfcirel y unsupported ,/he following sketch of the career of the late L. Bright appears in a Melbourne conceniporary ‘ Mr Bright arrived in Melbourne in 1848, and was engaged on the staff of the Argus, and subsequently of the ‘ Age ’ He was also connected with the ‘ Express,’ a semiweekly journal, and the ‘Examiner.’ He was also proprietor and conductor of a literary publication, My Note Book.’ Subsequently Mr Bught was connected with the editorial department of journals in Sydney, Hobart Town, Dunedin, and Invercargill, and for the last two years he edited the ‘Evening Star’ at Sandwas token to the Bendigo Hospital on Ihursday evening, and died rather suddenly °? morning. Mr Bright 'was a native t iom l, and was about fifty-five years old. In 184/ he was a sub-editor of the ‘ Wesleyan Times’ m London.” W o take the following items from to-day’s Bruce Herald’As a proof of the rise in the value of landed property in Green Island it may be noticed that Mr John Muir has sold some ninety acres at L3O an acre ; and Mr John Morrison has sold land at Lls an acre. That much disputed question at Green Island as to where the railway station was to be is settled now is a matter of fact. Mr P. Dey, of Mosgiel, has commenced the erection of the station at the point where the railway crosses the road known as the Abbots Creek Hoad, A section of 66ft frontage to the Main South Road, Milton, with a similar frontage to Manor street, was, a few weeks ago, purchased by a Milton resident at Lo 10s per foot, and the following week he disposed of one half of his purchase at L 8 per foot, thus realising a valuable frontage for himself, not only free of charge, but beyond this netting L 33 for his spirited enterprise in this matter.

By the Suez Mail there were received at the Athenaeum full files of papers, magazines !?mLTT c '’ a^so the following works The Heart of Africa,” 2 vols, by Dr Georg ochweinfurth (translated by E. Frewer), being an account of travels and adventures in the unexplored. regions of Central Africa from the year 1868 to 1871, and profusely illustrated with maps and wood-cuts; “ Argus Fairba ; rn ” 3 vols, by Henry Jackson ; “The Fall of Prince Florestan of Monaco,” 1 vol, by himself; Lady Anna, 2 vols, by Anthony Trollope ; Robert Lord Lytton’s “Fables in Song” 2 vols; Sermons preached in the King’s Weighhouse Chapel, by the Rev. T. Binney, 1 vol • Westminister Sermons,” 1 vol, by the Rev, Chas. Kingsley F.L.S., F.G.S., Canon of Westminster and chaplain to the Queen and Prince of Wales ; and Victor Hugo’s last novel, Quatrevmgt-treize” (’93), 3 vols, said to be on f, of , the most powerfully written of that author’s works. • following perilous travelling is reported in the Grey Argus’:— k< A feat in inland navigation was performed on the Grey River during the height of the gale on Sunday last. One of Anderson and Reilly’s cargo boats, while returmng from Ahaura, got the full strength of the breeze when near the junction of the Grey and Arnold Rivers. When passing Langdon’a Ferry, aU sails were set, and she ran to Snag Falls, on the Greymouth race-course, a distance of nearly eleven miles, which was done m less than half an hour by the watch. The j-Lr n ag cauvas ’ was carried away just as the fails were reached, and such was the force of the wind that all control over the boat was nwi anC * X a Was eventua Hy blown ashore at Cobden. A number of passengers, some of them females, and the boat horses were aboard during the spin. Considering the difficult navigation of the river, there must have been novelty and excitement in this adventure, for it is not often the sensation of bowling along at the rate of over twenty miles an hour is experienced.” After the senseless exhibitions of the last rortnight, it was positively refreshing last even mg to see the boards of the Princess Theatre again trodden by a respectable dramatic comP al }y- -there was a capital attendance, the stalls and pit being inconveniently crowded: and the greeting which was accorded to Mrs

Walter Hill, Messrs Steele and Keogh, and particularly to Mr Musgrave, was so extremely cordial as to convey unmistakeably the interpretation it was intended to carry, that those artists continue to occupy a deservedly high place in the esteem of Dunedin playgoers. We cannot compliment the management on the selection of “ The Orange Girl” as the opening piece. Far from being new, as announced, it has been often played here : and from its very improbable and faultily constructed plo,, is never included in the list of good stock pieces. When we say that Mrs Hill, as Mrs Fryer played with the care which marks all her’impersonations, and that she was most ably assisted by Mr Steele as John Fryer, by Mr Musgrave as Gregory Dyngell, and by Mr Keogh as Uriah, we have said all that riru 1 be sa id in praise of the piece. The part of Sir Peregrine gives Mr Ashton no opportunity of showing the stuff he is made of, while Mr Hesford is too fussy, and too fond of importing expletives into his part. Wo had almost omitted to mention i hat the part of Jenny was undertaken by Miss May, who is a stranger to our stage, but whose naturalness at once established her in the favor of her audience. The afterpiece, “The Day after the |Wedding,” wa did not see, but between the pieces a Highland fling was very creditably danced by Miss Martineau. The performance concluded after midnight, which is much too late. If the management wish to secure support; they must invariably have shorter intervals between the acts than were observed last evening, and should endeavor to drop the red curtain before half-past eleven. The programme of last night is to be repeated this evening.

The Artillery Band will be inspected at the Drill-shed to-morrow evening, at 7.30. The adjourned meeting of members of the 1.0.0. F. will be held in the Lodge Room, Oriental Hotel, to-morrow evening, at eight o’clock.