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Evening Star, Issue 3551, 10 July 1874, Page 2

The astute editor of our weekly con temporary, the ‘ Southern Mercury,’ who.on many occasions has given to his readers the benefit of his legal lore, has been groping in dark places, and brought to light something so startling that he has thought a special article on “ How not to do it” requisite. This sage warning, replete with virtuous indignation against sinning officialism, abounds with good advice, gratis, to any who may find it necessary to act under certain Ordinances of the Provincial Council. It is always hard to destroy such philanthropic self-satisfaction as he must have felt when penning his kindly warnings. We scarcely have the heart to inflict the pain upon him that must result, when he finds his anxiety for the public weal must end in nothing, and hashes evoked.by a vision of difficulties born and developed in his own imagination only. But the process must be gone through by him he must suffer: because, though he might be happier undeceived, the public must not be led astray. It appears that certain Provincial Ordinances in 1873, were reserved for the assent of his Excellency the Governor, They were assented to, and the fact of his assent duly gazetted in both the General Government ‘ Gazette ’ and the ‘Otago Provincial Government Gazette.’ His Honor the Superintendent, however, did not by proclamation state that those Ordinances had been assented to, and, as a consequence, our contemporary assumes that the Ordinances have “ lapsed by effluxion of time.”

In support of this view the 30th section of the Constitution Act is cited. We have said we are loth to undeceive our contemporary ; the dictum of the Press should be as infallible as the Church of Rome. Our sympathies must of necessity be with him on that point. We wish to say nothing to weaken Press influence, especially the legal opinion of the ‘ Southern Mercury ’; but if in its pages negligence is condemned, we have a right to expect the strictest accuracy combined with the unbounded zeal manifested in it for the public weal. Sad to say, even the * Mercury ’ is liable to err. Section 30 of the Constitution Act has been repealed, and as no doubt he will be anxious to retract his error, if he will refer to the Provincial Reserved Rills Act, .1858, which has escaped his legal research, he will be enabled to satisfy himself as to the fact. It is clear from section 2 of that Act that though the Governor must assent to all Bills reserved within three months after they have been received by him, it is not imperative on the Superintendent to issue his proclamation of assent having been given, within any specified time. It is also plain that the ‘ Government Gazette’ of the Province is the ‘ Gazette’ in which the Superintendent’s pro clamation must appear. Why the necessary proclamation was ncrt issued before Wednesday last, we do not know. Probably it was considered the Colonial .'-ecretary’s notice of assent was sufficient. But whatever the reason—whether what we have suggested, or'it was an oversight—our con temporary has stumbled upon a “mare’s” nest, the broodlinga in which need no longer harass him in his legal dreams.

The trial of Louis Buisson, on a charge of attempted wife-murder, was concluded at the Supreme Court yesterday evening, the jury, after an hour’s deliberation, returning a verdict of not guilty. e “The combined heights of the staff of the National Bank ef iSew Zealand, Timaru, consisting of the manager, teller, and assistant clerk reach a total of no less than 18ft Biu. The trade done by this bank must be something very tall, no doubt,” says the “penny-a-liner,” of the ‘Bruce Herald.’

The Suatentation Fund Committee of the Presbyterian Church met yesterday afternoon, when the treasurer reported the contributions for the six months ending June 30, including a balance of 4s 3d from last half-year, to be L 3.439 Us lOd, A dividend of LlO2 18s. fid was declared for the half year.

The ‘ Tuapeka Times ’ is credibly informed that Mr Lancaster has sold his farm and the Orookston Hotel, at the Beaumont, to Mr Joseph ‘larke, of Moa Flat bistate. The farm and stock, it is stated, was to be handed over to Mr Clarke’s agent to-day itisalso rumored that Mr Clarke is endeavoring to purchase the Bpylaw Station. Should he be successful in this, he will have an uninterrupted stretch of country from the Molvneux to the Pomahaka J

Aziel was repeated at the Princess’s last evening, followed by the farce of “The Captain’s Not a-Miss ’’ Mr J. B. Steele takes a benefit to night, when, we trust, all lovers of the legitimate drama will substantially recognise the merits of this gentleman who, in conjunction with Mrs Hill, has produced so many novelties since the re-opening of this theatre. Mr Steele is an old Dunedin favorite, and we may confidently predict a crowded house this evening. Buckstone’s drama of “The Leap Year” and a new farce entitled “Give me back my Wife,” constitute the programme.

The half-} early meeting of the Journeymen Painters Society was held last evening, in Milton Hall—the President, Mr Nicholson. in the chair. A letter waa received from the Melbourne society, wishing the members every success. Officers were then elected as follows President, Mr John Bowers ; Vice-President, MrThos. MitchellI reasurer, Mr J. J. Wilson; Secretary, Mr Thomas Schofield. Resolved—“ That no member shall contract on his own account without co-operating with members of the Society; and that the minimum rate of wages be lls per day.

Mr and Mrs Wiltshire, the pedestrians, commenced their undertaking last night in a marquee erected on the vacant piece of ground in High street, next the Princess -theatre. Mr Wiltshire has to walk 1,000 miles in 1,000 hours— one mile in each hour • Mrs Wiltshire has to walk 500 miles in 1,000 hours—half-a-mile in each hour. A fair piece of ground is selected, and a rinw has been roped off which requires to be°gone round twenty-nine times and an additional 60ft to complete a mile. Both husband and wife walk in excellent style, and each is confident of success, vi r Wiltshire did his first inile in thirteen minutes \ Mr Wiltshire her first half-mile in seven minutes.

The attention of the Bench at the Resided' Court this morning was called by the bailiff to the manner in which a witness was dressed. When one William Hessey stepped into the box to give evir case a dispute for wages due, Baihn Hughes, before administering the oath, said, “Your Worship, it is usual for witnesses to come into Court with their coats on. His Worship agreed to pardon the witness on this occasion, but reminded him that it was overlooking the dignity pf

the Court to appear as he was dressed. Witness apologising by saying that ho had just left his work, he was allowed to proceed with his evidence.

It may interest sporting men to know that Captain Machell, whose horse iieugney won the last Liverpool Grand National with a gentleman rider on his baok, is a brother of Captain Machell, aide-de-camp to Sir George Bowen. Captain Machell won the National last year, and is described as “a man, who, making racing a business, has honorably made a fortune by it. ”

The adjourned summoned meeting of the Loyal Dunedin bodge was held in the Oddfellows Hall last evening, whea the auditors, Bros. Woodland, Wood, and Cray, brought up their report tor the hist half-year, to the fol owing effect : —The Bum er of members is 140, i>e ng an increase of eleven—viz., eight by initiation and three by clearance. Total receipts, L 285 7s 3d ; expenses. L 123 Is 7d, being an increase of L 162 6s Bd. Total capital, L 2.101 19s 4d. The newlyelected officers were duly seated in their chairs—namely, Bro. Cairney, N.G.; Bro. Reid, V.G.- Bro. Deacon E.S. Bro; A. Fulton was unanimously elected Permanent Secretary, and Past Grand Lawson was presented with an illuminated testimonial for services rendered to the Lodge. At the Government land sale held in Lawrence on Monday, the local paper reports there were several bona fide bidders present whose bids had the effect of raising the average price per acre for 900 acres t® the respectable sum of L2 5s One of the competitors, a Mr Anderson, succeeded by a fluke in getting a 70-acre section at 31s an acre, the only one of the lot which Mr M‘lntyre, on whose station the land is situated, allowed to pass from him. The purchaser of the 70-acre section referred to recently arrived from Victoria, where he disposed of some land considerably inferior in quality to his Monday’s purchase for the sum of L 5 an acre. We understand Mr M‘lntyre, after the sale, did his best to secure the lost section, but all to no purpose, the “canny” purchaser quietly remarking that the land “ would keep.” The following items are from the ‘ Bruce : ** Ploughing is well advanced in the Maungatua district for the season of the year, and there has been a considerable extent of wheat sown on land broken up from lea.—-It is said by a correspondent that our partridge will not have the same flavor as the Scotch bird, on account of the absence of heather—from the same cause as our mutton suffers from. This, however, will not be the case always, owing to the patriotism of a well-known Miltonian, who is sending the purple heather far and near.—The increasing value of land in the Waiwera district is shown by the significant fact, that the Lambnurne estate, comprising 1,800 acres, was lately sold to the N Z. v A. Land Co., for the sum of L 9,000, or L 5 per acre.— Watson, the diver, and his party have been busily engaged rigging stages at the wreck of the Surat, but owing to the frost they cannot di much. She is still keeping together, and when cleared of the railway iron, something might be d me with her hull.

The crushing of twenty tons of cement for the Otago Company at the Gabriel’s Gully battery was completed on the 7th iust., says the iuapeka Times,’ and from the appearance of the ripples and the quantity of gold showing in the cleaning up of the battery, the average per ton will quite come up to the anticipations of the shareholders. Betting ®n the result of the yield has been rife on the tspur this last week. One speculative gentleman was at the battery from the time work commenced, book in hand, prepared to lay odds as to the result. From one and a-half ounce to one ounce fifteen pennyweights appeared to be the general estimate of the yield amongst the takers of odds The business done in this line was not of a heavy nature, most of the wagers being laid in half-crowns. A Derby sweep is also pending on the result—the method of procedure being a drawing of tickets in the usual manner, the prize going to the drawer of the ticket bearing the nearest approach to the actual return of gold per ton. Mr Motion, of Popotunoa district, is carrying out a contract for the • lutha Koad Board, forming a portion of the road between Wairuna and the Pomahaka bridge. Ihe ‘Bruce Herald’ observes that this road when completed, will enable the settlers on the Wairuna to get their coal from the burning Plain with far less trouble than formerly, when there was only a day track. The Burning rlain itself deserves mention. Paw except those living in the vicinity are aware that there are hundreds of acres of lignite on tire in this district. It |is supposed to have originated from some bush fire, perhaps the first that ever was lit, setting fire to some lignite that had cropped out on the surface, and the work of devastation has been going on ever since. The coal, which is in unlimited quantities, is that known as brown coal, and burns freely. It burns away underneath the surface, undermining it, the surface eventually falls in, and this has been going on for many years. Whether any steps have been taken to endeavor to put it out, or if it could be extinguished no one seems to know or care.

As was the case in the Colonies, Lord Newry is the only member of the Duke of Edinburgh’s suite who appears to be in bad odor. , While the Duke himself, the Hon. Elliot Yorke, and lastly and most recently Capt. Tlaigh, have married most advantageously, he of Newry finds himself in hot water, brought about thiswise. On announcing his intention to stand for the town from which he takes his title, he judiciously sent LIOO (double his usual donation) for distribution among the local charities. The priest and the parson, who are happily in excellent accord, met and arranged a division according to the number of distressed persons of their respective creeds. The noble lord was rejected, and after his defeat wrote a peremptory letter, demanding a detailed statement of how the L6O (being the Catholic proportion of his gift) ‘ had been expended, and hinting that it had not reached the right persons. This detailed account, showing the appropriation of every farthing, was sent to his lordship, with a cheque for L6O, the gift of a Catholic gentleman of the town, who would not permit his poorer co-religionists to accept money given grudgingly and with a purpose.

The following circular appears, by our country contemporaries, to have been forwarded to the various municipalities of the Province “ Provincial Secretary’s* Office, Dunedin, June 30, 1874. Sir,—l am directed to acquaint you, for the information of the Town Council, that the Government has had under consideration the advisability of taking some more effectual steps than heretofore towards the suppression of illicit traffic in spirituous liquors; and with tha view it proposes to appoint a revenue officer for the Province, with sufficient assistance to enable him to procure the convictiou of persons guilty of selling without being duly licensed. It is also proposed that he shall be specially instructed relative to the inspection of weights aud measures, and to enforce the provisions of the Dangerous Goods Act, 1869, the Adulteration of Food Act, 1866 and the Bakers and Millers Act,’ 187 l! Hitherto the Corporation of Dunedin has contributed towards the cost of the Hevenue Department, and the Government, believing the country Corporations are equally interested in preserving good order aud morality within the municipal boundaries, before proceeding to make the proposed appointment!

wishes to be informed what proportion of the probable cost—say L7OO per annum your Corporation is prepared to contribute. Such contribution being distributed over so many municipalities, the Gov> rmnent think would press very lightly upon the revenue of each,—l have, &c., Alex. Willis, Undersecretary. ”

The members of the Press Amateur Dramatic Club will meet for rehearsal to-morrow afternoon at 2.30.

Ramsay’s High and South Ward subcommittees will meet iu the central committeerooms this evening at 7.30. A meeting of the general committee will be held to-morrow (Saturday) evening at the same hour.