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Evening Star, Issue 3549, 8 July 1874, Page 2

We are compelled to hold over our report of to-day’s sitting of the Waste Land Board, and also the Civil but-inesa transacted at the Resident Magistrate’s Court. The saw-mills of Mr Trotter, at Pillan’s Bush, are, according to the ‘ Bruce Herald,’ in full swing, and are sawing 5,000 ft of railway sleepers a-day. The bank of the river is lined with these, together with miscellaneous timber of all kinks. The bush will soon be emptied of all available wood. Another of the meetings for prayer and Christian communion was held in the Masonic Hall last evening. Mr .John Paterson presided, and the attendance was very

large, every available part of the hall being occupied. The proceedings were characterised by the same earnestness which pervaded the meeting held the previous evening. The man Walls, who disturbed the performance at the Princess Theatre last evening, and struck a man who attempted to preserve order, was charged at the Resident Magistrate’s Court to-day with assaulting Constable Henderson in the passage outside the theatre, and fined 20s. A further charge of using obscene language at the same time was dismissed.

The new engine Rob Roy, imported for working on the Clutha line, was tested this morning on the Port Chalmers line, witfi very satisfactory results. It is of the same type as that which has beea employed during the construction of the line, and was manufactured by Messrs Neilson and Co., of Glasgow. >fter the trial the engine was at once set to work on the Green Island section.

The ‘ Lake Wakatip Mail ’ reports that the repairs to the suspension bridge, Upper Shotaver, are nearly complete. Within four years all the wood used for side rails and flooring rotted, and has just been replaced by wood imported into Duuedin, and carted thence to Skippers. Yet, says the same paper, this Colonial woo i —suitable only for underground mining works—is the object of careful protection at the hands of the Ranger and the Waste Land Board.

The * Bruce Herald’ says ;—“ Constable Baird, of Balclutha, arrested a man named D. Agau for forgery, on a telegram from Christchurch, at the Waipake, on the evening of Thursday, the 2nd, and arrived at Balclutha in safety with his charge on the following day. Agan's prompt arrest has saved the public from a recurrence of the swindles of Sutherland and Bruce Barkley, as we understand, a cheque prepared and about to be given to a local storekeeper was found on his person at the time of arrest. A correspondent of the Tuapeka Times,’ who signs himself “Growler,” says: “ Commenting on the amount of money expended in grog for the patients of the Tuapeka Hospital, it appears at a glance that sixteen sick men drank, four hundred pounds’ worth of fermented liquors in the year, and. to speak plainly, there must be some good drinking men in the institution. I noticed a bad Templar last night staggering along the street, and 1 at once settled in my mind that he was sick and had been in the Hospital. ”

A recent issue of tho ‘ Cooktown Courier ’ says a very large number of men have left town during the past mouth en route for the Palmer. The stream of swagsmen, pack hor.-es, and others must be almost continuous along the entire road if we were to judge bv the number of people that have left Cook town the last few days. On the other hand the number of returning diggers has fallen off very considerably, so that we may expect to hear news shortly of some good finds, athe country will now receive a thorough trial. 6

Fenders have been called for the erection of a stone and timber bridge over the Waiareka Stream, on the Main > orth . oad. The superstructure will be composed chiefly of Oregon timber, and the bridge will be of two spans, each of 30fr-. The beams are to lie strutted from below, and a neat parapet will surmount the whole, with central aud terminal ipillars, finishing with neat caps of Oamaru stone. The foundation is to be of bluestone, or some material equally durable, ind Kakanui white stone will be used in part of the superstructure.

With reference to tho sanitary condition of ‘ romweil, the ‘Lake WakatipMail’ says : “After all their cluster, the Oromwell Town Council have swallowed the bitter draught pi for them fly Dr Coughtrey, with an equanimity that does not disc ose the signs of a wry face. Cr. Grant moved, and Or. Wright seconded a motion, which was carried, to the effect that his Honor the Superintendent was entitled to their hearty thanks for his promptitude in sending a medical officer to inspect and report upon the condition of the town A c mmitr.ee was also appointed to atte d to the suggestions contained in Dr Coughtrey’s report,” We (Wellington ‘Tribune ’) hear that some of the larger ratepayers in the Wairarapa decline to pay the education rate, preferring to let the law take its course, Mr Alexander of Wanganui also writes to us that his cuckoo clock will soon be sold again in the same fashion aud for the same purpose. We regret that the Act should be so unpopular, but we can hardly wonder at it, considering the fact that the ratepayers have no management or control over the schools in their respective districts. « Hamlet,” with the Hrince omitted, wonld be nothing to it. The sham of nominated commitrees or committees of advice, at which the Board attempts to play, is very properly treated by the people with contempt.

It must be a satisfaction to the * Greymouth Star’ to know that the Westland Provincial Council has been prorogued. In a recent issue that paper asks : “ When will the eurtain fall on this miserable facer played by incompetent amateurs ? Is there no t-rne in the Council with sufficient and honesty to commence action with a view of petitioning the Governor in Council to wipe the Province of Westland off the political map of New Zealand? To what Province we may be annexed is a matter of secondary consideration. The present prayer of every right-thinking man in the Province of Westland should be : save us from ourselves, as represented by our present councillors. ”

‘Azael” again attracted a very large audience at the Princess’s last evening, and was a decided improvement on its first representation. The whole interest of the piece centres in the three principal characters—namely, those sustained by Mrs Hill, and M,essrs Steele and Keogh; and the manner in which they depicted them confirms us in the favorable expressed in our last issue. The singing and dancing seemed to take immensely, and the latter especially was an agreeable diversification. The minor parts, as a rule, were tolerably well filled, with the exception of fcbat of Nefte, which in the hands of Miss Bray was not invested with a sufficient degree of prominence. The afterpiece, “ A.5.5.,” created roars of laughter, Mr Musgrave, who appeared as Diogenes rluntcr, being well supported by Mias Willis and Mr Hooper. “ Azael ” will be repeated to-night, followed by the farce of “ The Captain is not a-miss.”

Sub-Inspector Mallard gave evidence at the inquiry into the late fire after we went to press yesterday to the effect, he having made an inspection of the premises, that the most dangerous part of the burning had no doubt been close to the safe. The cinders in the fir place were seen to be very far forward, anc * construction of the hearth they would, in falling out of the fire, be apt to roll on to the floor. Ho could form no opinion as to how the fire had originated, unless it arose from a spark having been thrown out from the fire-place ‘ He observed a neculiar yellowish mark extending about six or t ight reet up the wall where the fire had been raging. That mark did not appear on any other part of the premises. He did not observe anything at all suspicious about the place, and Mr Hav had rendered him every facility for investigation. The Coroner, in addressing the jury, said it appeared to him that their verdict must of necessity be an open one. There could be no doubt but that the flames had their origin in Mr Hay’s premises. It was quite possible that some live

ember had fallen out of the fire upon some rags, and, after smouldering for a while, had burst forth into a flame. That was thq, only probable theory he could suggest to them. As stated in our last night’s issue, the jury returned an open verdi> t, and to it added a rider “ that no fires should be left burning iu shops after the shops were closed.” Messrs Hogg and Hutton’s loss by the tire was L 250.

The adjourned summoned half-yearly meeting of the Hand and Heart Lodge, of the Manchester Unity Order of Oddfellows was held at the Oddfellows’ Hall, George street, last night. Brother P. H. Sherwin was presented with a certificate of merit, in acknowledgment of his having rilled the round ef lodge offices in a creditable and satisfactory manner, and he suitably replied, the balance-sheet and auditors’ report for the past six months were read, and ordered to be printed. During the current year LI 19 15* 8d was paid for sickness, showing an increase of L2O 2s. The increase of funds for the half-year amounted to L 271 Is Id. The total number of fiuancial members at present is 234, the lodge having gained an accession of twelve during the past six months. The receipts for the halfyear were L 706 8s 2d, and the expenditure L 435 7s Id. The following office-bearers were elected :—G.M., Brother J. Forsyth: N.G., Brother J. Broadfoot; V.G., Brother J. Marshall; Acting-Secretary, Brother P. H. Sherwin, P.G. The ‘ Mount Ida Chronicle ’ has the following “ Apparently the few Goldfields officers who are maintained for the convenience of the miners are sorely grudged by the Government. We find now that Queenstown, a district returning a large revenue to the Provincial Treasury, is to do as best it may while Mr Beetham gets a holiday trip for three or four mouths to the West Coast, and Mr impson ge'ts an opportunity to test whether there is anything in his old theory that he himself and a good bailiff or two- can overtake all the work of the Provincial goldfields. There is a vast difference between doing work and slumming it over, as Warden Simpson himself should know, after his report on the Miller Flat block to the Government—a report flatly contradicted by the evidence furnished, after careful inspecti°n > from the ground itself. Anyhow, Mr bimpson has now charge of Clyde, Queenstown, and the Arrow. The Lakes district must be very poor-spirited if it does not resent such treatment.”

The ‘ South Canterbury Times,’ thus speaks up for the safety of the port of limaru For a long while past the harbor of limaru has borne but an indifferent name amongst shipowners, in regard to its security for vessels to lay for any length of time at anchor. fhe visit of the s.s. Omeo here will, we trust, tend greatly to dispel this illusion on the part of foreign shipowners. This vessel arrived in the harbor from Port Ohalmers on Thursday morning last, taking m a cargo of grain till a late hour that evening. bhe lay snugly at anchor as Ciose to the shore as consistent with safety, and remained till late on the following day. Her commander, Captain Calder, whose experience on the New Zealand coast entiths his opinions to be received with some degree of respect, has expreused himself as highly satisfied, both with the harbor and the alacrity with which his cargo was shipped from both our services, and we trust that now he has seen for himself what our shipping capabilities are, and also that the cry against our harbor has been but a delusion and a snare, we may often see himself and his fine vessel calling in here for cargo.” A meeting was held in the Brill-shed, oavarsham, last night, for the purpose of taking steps for widening, metalling, and forming footpaths on the Main South Road, from liillside toll-house to Blackwood’s eoroe r , at Caversham. Mr Bridgeman was in the chair, and there were about fifty persons present. Mr Fegar sid that a deputation had waited upon him concerning the matter, aud he thought the beat thing to do was to call a public meeting of the inhabitants to consider the matter. Mr Stout, -VI. p. C. for the district, said that in regard to the object of the meeting, it would not be proper fur him to pledge himself so as to be binding on the Executive in any way. How ever anxious the Executive might ba to do the work, yet there was no money voted for the purpose of the formation of footpaths ; any funds therefore that would be devoted to that purpose would have io come out of the money voted for the general maintenance of the Main South Road. The railway to Green Island would shortly be open, and, as this would result in doing away with a considerable portion of the heavy traffic on the road, It was probable tbat a sufficient sum might be spared for carrying out the work wished for by the meeting. He would snggest that a deputation wait on the Road board for the purpose of having the matter brought under the notice of the Government. Messrs Porter, Reid, and Fegar were appointed >o bring the matter before the next meeting of the district Road Board, and it was resolved to get up a petition to the Superintendent on the subject.

The half-yearly examination of teachers will bo held in the Education Office, on Friday and Saturday, the 24th and 25th July. The monthly meeting of the Otago Kilwinning Lodge will be held in the Masonic Hall, to-morrow evening, at eight o’clock.