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Evening Star, Issue 3729, 4 February 1875, Page 2

The < Wakatip Mail’ says its reduction from a bi-weekly to a wee k y i ■ sue is owing to the generally depressed st :i.c of trade in the district, brought about m duly by the exodus of miners to the faimor goldfields, and unprofitable farming for want of facilities for communication with th > seaboard. The correspondent of the ‘ W; katip Mail ’ drew upon his imagination when he telegraphed to that journal that there was a reaction in Dunedin in favor of Provincialism, duo to the profitable management of railways {the profit of the Port line this year being set down at L 30,000), an I to local prosperity and efforts. The adjourned charge against Thorem Johnston, of indecently assaulting his stepdaughter, was heard with closed doors at the Resident Magistrate’s Court to-day. After the evidence of the little girl assaulted and of Dr Uulme had been taken the pri.soner was further remanded till next day. The evidence is most disgusting, and reveals an amount of depravity rarely heard of. Prisoner’s counsel, Mr M'ffeay. threw up his brief. The Dunedin Presbytery met last niaht at Caversham, and received a call in favor of the Rev. Mr Russell. Twenty-five members and four adherents signed the call, and five members and six adherents dissented from it, and asked to hear other candidates. The Rev. Mr M'Naughtoa was appointed to pre ach on Sunday next, and to give the congregation further opportunity of strengthening the call, the Presbytery adjourmuw to the 11th inst. in the hirst Church. The undermentioned prisoners were received into the ga;>l at ten o’clock last night from Oamani, escorted by Constable Henderson : ■ John .Vorriscn, sentenced at Camara on the •20th ult , by Mr Parker, .tv.M., to tince months’ imprisonment with hard labor, for sleali'v: mio In I )’* ir-dP wrapper, two baby’s e s sheet, one tablecloth, and f.,ar van;.-; calico, the property of Wdi ia,.n Leilch. William O'Sullivan alias Roach. sentcuc, d on the 2nd inst. t > two months’ impriso meat, with hard labor, for K i - f ,m idle and disorderly person, within the an n-dc / :} ie Vagrant Act, ISdti. Mary Cough, sentence I on the SOtli ult. to two months’ imerisi nraeut, with hard labor, for being an habitual drunkard. Our Taupeka contemporary, ’eporiiag the hack race at the late Tapanui meeting, says that event brought out a field of three, Color Sergeant being looked upon r as certain to win, and af er his winning the first heat in a canter, long odds were laid on his winning. He, however, ran off the course after going half-a-mile, and so much like the “ Mab*d wakz, was the circumstance, that the herse war; disqualified from ever running, and the riaev, i. Mvnaghm, fn-m v r riding on th 5 Tapanui race course age. n. afterwards came to the knowledge of the 1 ards that the horse changed uonera af <.r lirst heat ) had been run. At the condusiui of the ! race a purse of L 22 iOs was 5 resented to JA, Mackay, to compensate him for kis accident in the hurdle race art! the loss of t he use of a va : uable mare which he took to Tapanui. ,

'he inf-.-rmation gleaned fnnutbe slaliHici ot Victoria lor 1874 denotes a steady increase in the commercial prosperity of that Colony. The returns show :ui increase in the exports to the extent < t H) 76d, and the import'' 1j1,760 i sr>o. Wool exi.or s alone increased in value to the extent of about 1.500,000 The revenue from railways w.- s 1.100,000 in excess of Cnt of the, moC . viar T c tu.r.l iacrc.'.v. iu the i.-- ••• a ■ tk>. via. \v. s : 151 830. Till go-.; v:c.l ii>- IST 1 or a .ccr aimd from th • export rotUiiis, quae toy minted and ilio amount in the hands of the banks ou3lst Dcc-in er, w isl, 151,1! bz. a-i compared with 1,131,1 TJoz for 1873, showing an increase for hist year over the previous of 19,049wc. The operations of the Mint for the past year show an-improvement. The <piau'.ity of gold coined lust year was 251,818.iz, or about L3o,oijo iu excess of that of 1873. I’rofesjor Ulrich has forward'd to the Go- ' eminent an interim report of his inspection o- the quaitz mining localities of Tokonnir.c.'. Sour. Waipori, Conroy’s and Butcher’s (!u’ i »• .'.lcxan Ira ; of Bendigo, and tii : . , ; ; tv, 13well ; Arrow, ; - Ridge, Mrcrae’s i,]a-. S!i u, \ • Saddle Hill Reef, Green isiau i, a-..i :■ Peninsula Reef, near Portebcllo. be pm mises a detailed report when he reaches Mrlbonrne, but concludes the interim one : “As a general result of my inspretion, I may anticipate my full report in staling that I found the auriferous capabilities of this Province of a far hivher order than I was lod to expect from current reports. The drift deposits seem to me practically inexhaustible, whilst as regards the auriferous quartz reefs opened, they are, with few exceptions, as well defined and promising as any in Victoria, and it requires only improvements in the gold-saving appliances to show their real value, and intelligent and energetic prospecting to greatly increase their number.”

By the Otago, the Athemeum received one cis j of the two which should have been delivered two months ago. That which has now arrived contains the October numbers of magazines, journals, and reviews, and also the following works :—Mortomley’s Estate, by Mrs Riddell; Lost for Love, by the author of Lady Audley’a Secret ; The Parisians, b v the late Lord Lyttou; Idolatry, by Julian Hawthorne; Under Seal of Confession, by Averiil Beaumont; Safely Married, by the author of Caste ; Rocks Ahead, by W. R, Oreg ; The Narrative of Edward Crew, by W.M.B. ; The Ashantee War, by tie ‘Daily News” special correspondent; Prairie and Forest, by Parker Gillmore ; Over the Hills and Far Away, by C. Evans ; Supernatural Religion; Crusts, by L. J. Kenoaway ; William Carstares, by R. H. Story ; The Marvellous Country, by S, W. 0( zzens ; Northern California, Oregon, and the Sandwich Islands, by C. Kordhoff; Life of Lord Palmerston, edited by the Hon. Evelyn Ashley, M.P. ; and three copies of Professor Tyndall’s Address, delivered before the British Association at Belfast. A case of books is iu the City of Vienna, which arrived a few days ago, and these may be expected to be put iu circulation shortly.

Mr J. Armstrong, M.P.0., and Mr I?. H. Leary waited upon the Superintendent this morning with a memorial signed by fifry one r;sidcn‘s in and the vicinity respecting the taking away of a bush license from Mr Aimes’s accommodation-house at the Hogbarn Creek, eight miles from Naseby. Mr Armstrong said that although he was a Good Templar he knew for a fact that the house was required there, as many people got half drowned crossing the Taieri River and doubtless required to take something medicinally afterwards. Mr Leary said it would be a bal thing for the district if the house had to be chsel, as, being on the road from Hamilton’s to the Dunstan, it was very useful for [coplo requiring direction. It was not a house such as a gcueral license could be granted to. but merely a bush license was req tured. A letter from Mr Aimes was then read, in which he enumerated several benefits and services rendered to travellers by him through the medium of the house. His Honor said th.it it was situated within the prescribed distance from another licensed house, viz , ten miles ; also he believed the Licensing Court of the distiict had refused the renewal of the license, and it would be awkward for the Government to step in and grant one when it was refused by the local authorities. However, he would look into ths matter and see how it really stood. It was his impression that the Lioensiug Court had withdrawn the license.

M. da Montalk has sent us a little hand-book entitled “A few preliminary lessons in .rrench,” whicli will doubtless serve its intended purposes of enabling French pupils “ to pass rapidly over a certain number of comparatively unimportant lessons in either Alin or Ollendorf ; will give them confidence in themselves, and enable them to commence in a short time the study of the French grammar, winch should be a grammar written in French.’’’ IVXontallc utters <i truism when he sav3 it is a great advantage for the student to be more aware, before Aha or Ollendorf is put into Jus hands, of the similarity which exists in the construction of a great number of words between the language he is about to learn and his own vernacular” ; and this little book should greatly assist in that direction.