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Evening Star, Issue 3643, 26 October 1874, Page 2

The Government intend publishing during the recess an official history of their land purchases in the North Island. The * New Zealand Times ’ urges the appointment of a Royal Commission to take steps for tho representation of this Colony at the Philadelphia Exhibition iu 1876. The single women by the Jessie Roadman were brought to town to-day, A list of the trades and occupations of the immigrants by this ship have already been published in this paper. A West Coast exchange says that at only one division during the last sitting of Parliament were the four West Coast members pr sent and unanimous, and that was tomcrease their pay from LIOO to. Ll5O. Mr M. W. Hawkins, manager of the Shotover Terrace Gold Mining Company, has received a teilegram, stating that the yield of gold for the last fortnight was 33ozs. 15grs. The work done jras principally timbering. The Revs. Fathers Wa’sh and O’Leary, the new ministers for the Homan Catholic Church of this - rovince recently selected by Father Coleman, were passengers by the Calypso, which arrived from London to-day. The City Council might contrive some better means of allaying the dust than that m vogue. Nothing but want of method can excuse the southern part of the town being watered, whilst the northern part was completely neglected, as it was to day. The * Mount Ida Chronicle’ reports the hearing of the charge against R. M. Robinsuaw for au attempted suicide. The accused was discharged, but required to enter into recognizances to keep the peace for six months—himself in LIOO, and two sureties in LSO each. The proprietor of the Rough Ridge Quartz Reef, at Ida Valley, Mr Withers, has been : temporarily disabled in consequence of a

gun aoci>ie fc. While lie was shooting at labbifs T !>‘J K un recoiled wiih such velocity an to throw Irm hackwai’ua, scarring his face, and also breaking hj s collar-bone. The -uu l ad bean loaded by some oua else, and po: s biy contained a double charge.

A I'vc’y y uug toe 1 s n.er boy iu the tele-, graph deu i m ot, : 1 ok.it - >ka, has been found guilty i-f destroying mes-c-.ges to save himself t K e trouble of delivering them ■He used fo affix signature* to the rcoeiui firms himsed. Through one of these freaks 'thirtyeight immigrants were landed ao Greynaouth instead of Hoivitikn.

The Auckland ‘ H.-rdd’ last week gravely informed its readers that amongst. t.h ■ passengers by the Otago on hm last trip were “Madame Goddard, Mdlie. Jenny Claus, Mr Alfred Anderson, h.A.M., and several other vocalists ” We would like to know’ when and wheie the author of the paragraph heard Miss Clans and Mr Anderson sing. The retirement of IHstrct Judge Gray will necessitate a vacancy being tilled in this Province.- It is rumored, says the ‘ West Coast Times,’ that the circuit will'be, or has been offered to his Honor Jlinae Harvey, and thac it is probable the offer will be accented. As yet nothing is definitely known, or who, in such .an* - event, will succeed Judge Harvey.

! ho officers of the Colonial Treasury are to be complimented on the unusual promptness they have shown in preparing the accounts of receipts and expenditure for the September quarter, an abstract of Which appears elsewhere. It is not often that we have a full statement of tue current financial aff irs of the Colony no biter than a fortnight after the end of the quarter. It would appear from the evidence of Mr Steele, given i. a libel trial in Wellington against the ‘ Tribune,’ that the public is to bp “gulled” by “benefit’ 1 performances, in his evidence Mr Sc ele said “ The company had been playing about a mouth before the ibel appeal ed ; the receipts, which had been L 52 the n'ght before the libel, fell the next night to Lid, and continued less, so that it became necessary to work the business up by benefits.” t

There was a heavy list of police cases at the Resident Magistrate’s Court to day, but the majority of the charges were for petty offences John Burleson, on remand, charge! with stealing a deposit receipt at Macrae’s Flat ten years ago, was discharged, without' prejudice to a iresh inf rmalion being laii, as the receipt could not be found, it having bean pari into the bank Junes M‘ Jormack, for stealing from a dwelling-house, was com* mitted for trial.

The Press Club has been formed, and, thanks to Mr Humphries's perseverance, already numbers fifty rive members. At a meeting on .Saturday evening the following were chosen office bearers for the ensuing quarter: President, Mr . eo. Bell; Vice President, Mr K. H. Leary ; Treasurer, Mr F. Ohap an ; Secretary, Air F. Humphries ; Committee, Messrs F. Nic oils, C. de L. Graham, T. Bracken J Duugan. and K M. Oo.e. The opening of the t lub is to be celebrated by a supper on 'Saturday next. The shipmasters trading to Oamaru have memorialised the sSuperiuteudeut, setting forth that “the increasing shipping importance- t.f the Oamaru port necessitates the app unt-ment of an efficient tigualman, the harbor-master having far more work than one can satisfactorily perform. At the present time there are eighteen .verse’s in port, and great inconvenience is experienced from the insufficiency of the nautical staff. That in the event of the appointment of a si/nilman, it should be made imperative that a record of the arrival and departure of every vessel should be kept for the information of the shipmasters and the merchan s, thus f militating the adjust ment of claims far demurrage.” ; The following discussion, wffiich will be interesting to publicans, occurred daring the hearing of a bankruptcy case in the Westland District Court, before Judge Harvey -A claim of Mr H. J, .Hansen, for bottles of spirits supplied to the amount of L2G 5s (id, Was opposed on the ground that by the Tippling Act the price of no liquors could bo recovered unless they were to the value of 20s, and supplied at one time. His Honor, after hearing Mr Button, held that the Tippling Act did not apply in this case, in New Zealand there was a bottle licence permitted, which was not the case either in England or Victoria. As Mr Hansen held a general licence, it included the wholesale, retail, and bottle licences, and every holder of a general licence was ipso facto the holder of a bottle licence, and entitled to recover, unless anything in the Act prevented his. so doing. He believed that the Resident Mag strate held that the sale of a bottle of brandy came within the Tippling Act, but be (his Honor) felt satisfied that -he sale of bottles could not be restrained. The claim was allowed in full.

Singularly enough the question of the right of a British sabj-ct to throw off his allegiance aud expatriate himself arose in Wellington at the same time as it occupied Judge Chapman’s attention in connection with the Oneco case, la v\ elliugton a juryman claimed exemption , from service on exactly the same grounds which made Dodd’s counsel object to the jurisdiction of au liugliah Dourt of law. The ‘ Post’ observes that the most .singular part of the ca.se is that both judges denied the power of British subjects to relieve themselves of their allegiance. Judge Chapman said of Dodd, “ He cahnOt relieve himself of his status,” and Mr"Justice Johnston at first sai l something of the same kind, although on reflection hh modified his opinion. Their Honors must surely;have 'overlooked the provisions of 33 and 34 Vic., c. 14, passed expressly to legalise expatriation, which was a thing unknown to, and impossible under Engl sh law prior to this Act of 1870. If we mistake not, King Cakoban’s European Ministers, , Messrs Woods and Co., were amongst the first to take advantage of this Act to throw off their status as Englishmen. A case, that would certainly seem to shew that the selection of emigrants in England for New Zealand has been loose y conducted, is reported by the ‘ New Zealand Herald * of the 15th. instant, which says: “Three young men were placed in the dock at the Police Court yesterday, charged with having committed a series of eight petty larcenies. A plea of guilty upon each charge was recorded against them. They offered no defence whatever, and only said in extenuationthat they were strangers to the country, had no friends, and would leave the place upon the first opportunity that offered. ;he whole of fthe prisoners were immigrant per ship Booparel), and had. so the police stated, banded together for the purpose of pilfering,' and had made uo secret of their intention. The prisoners appeared to be rather surprised that they should be santeuced for each offence, and that none of the sentences with one exception, were to run concurrently The aggregate of the sentences passed upon them was twelve mouths’ imprisonment, but as ene-third time is allowed for gcod conduct, they will suffer only eight months’ incarceration.”

i, k^U er y Band will practise in the Drillsued to-morrow evening, at 8 o’clock. A Seld, mße^in ® the hand Ivill afterwards be