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Evening Star, Issue 3731, 6 February 1875, Page 2

It ia reported at Bau Francisco that when, the Pacific Mail Company’s new steamships have all reached there, the comp my will establish a new line to Australia and Fiji by way of Honolulu.

The Bendigo correspondent of the ‘ Cromwell rgus’ reports the currency in the district of a rumor that in the Lucknow tunnel has been struck a fine reef, earning gold, which is expected to yield from four to six ounces to the ton.

The Wellington correspondent of the ‘ Echo ’ telegraphed on Jan. 23 to that journal that information had been received that Mr Vogel will find no difficulty in floating the four million loan. A Maori chief named Henare Paitu, who had been residing at the Maori Kaik for some time, died there on Thursday. The deceased was great uncle to King Toby, and his age is supposed to have been 120 years. His funeral takes place at the Kaik on Tuesday. The Wellington correspondent of one of the Auckland papers is gifted with a lively imagination, one of the flights of which was that he last week telegraphed that Mr Gilon was likely to become a candidate for the representation of Kangitikei in the General Assembly, and that Mr Fox was so alarmeti at the idea, that he declared he would give up his trip to Europe rather than see his seat filled by Mr Gillon. In accordance with a resolution arrived at by the shareholders of the Titauio Steel Company at their meeting held some time ago, several*of the number have proceeded against the directors on a civil action for loss sustained ; and a test case was heard at the Resident Magistrate’s Court to-day, but only evidence for transmission North was taken. Mr Stout appeared for the aggrieved party, and Mr Smith watched the proceedings for the defence.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the i'choolmaaters’ Association was held at the Athenaeum this morning. Mr M‘Kay occupied the chair, and there was a fair attendance of members present. After some routine business had been disposed of, Mr Neish read a paper on “ Mental Science,” which was afterwards commented upon. On the motion of Mr White, seconded by Mr Milne, the thanks of the Association were conveyed to Mr Neish for his interesting paper. The meeting then adjourned for a month. One of the passengers by the Cospat rick, Frederick King, was a brother of Mr Alfred King, on the reportorial staff of the Auckland ‘ Star,’ who visited Dunedin with the Auckland cricketers last year, and wrote aa account of their travels. Mr F. King left London to come out to New Zealand by the Northfleet, which was run down in the Channel. He was one of the saved on that occasion, and took passage by the Cospatrick, apparently to meet the fate he so narrowly escaped on board the Northfleet. The subject of the Interprovincial Regatta for 1875 was brought up at the Wellington Regatta Committee’s last meeting, when it was agreed to communicate with the secretaries of the rowing and \ achting clubs in Auckland, Canterbury, and Otago, asking the co operation of the boating men fa the respective Provinces to assist in bringing the great yearly aquatic event of the Colony to a successful issue. It appeared (says the ‘ New Zealand l imes ’) to he the opinion of all present that it would he advisable that but one crew from each Province should contest for the champion four. There were sixteen applications ? for the posts of master and mistress of the Forbury school, and the number being reduced to eleven—six for the mastership and five for the post of mistress—the committee last night proceeded to make a selection. Three voted for Mr Cook, the present master, two for a second applicant, and one for a third, and the chairman (Mr M-Indue), in declaring Mr Cook elected, expressed the opinion that Government would not recognise the election, as Mr ( ook was not a certificated teacher Pending a i-eply from the Education Board on the subject, no appointment of schoolmistress was made.

The Bannockburn Miners’ Association intends to make itself known. At its last meeting it unanimously carried the following resolution, which is tantamount to a vote of censure on the Goldfields Secretary:— That this Association is of opinion that Mr MacKellar has broken his pledge to support any measure which would tend to reduce taxation of the goldfields, by not supporting either by voice or vote the resolution passed in the Provincial Council to reduce the export duty of gold ; and further, that he has misrepresented his constituents by giving his support to and ultimately joining a Government whose policy is unfavorable to the Goldfields.” / mong the immigrants by the Humboldt, recently anived at Wellington, are several who have already had some experience of Colonial life, having previously emigrated to Queensland under the auspices of the Government of that Colony, but not finding the country or the cbm vte to their liking they returned Home and then determined to try .New Zealand, Thero are also amongst these immigrants several small capitalists who bring drafts for sums varying from LIOO to LSOO. Some of ,the passengers by the Avalanche on their arrival in Taranaki deposited in the banks there various sums of money, amounting in several cases to LSOO. “.II Trovatore” bn its repetition last night drew, as it deserved to do, a capital attendance to all parts of the theatre, and the efforts of the principals gave the utmost satisfaction to the audience. The grand duet between Manrico and Leonora, in the final act, was splendidly sung, and earned for Miss May aud Mr Hallam a call aud a shower of bouquets for the lady ; while Mr lempleton hack to repeat “The tempest of the heart,” and Mi«s Howe and Mr. Hallam gained much applause for their rendering of “ Home to our mountains.” With the ex caption of the first part of “ The Miserere ” the choruses went very steadily. For to- ! night “ The Rose of Castile ” is announced. Another San Francisco service is projected. The difficulty experienced by the Government at Sydney with their Californian service has attracted the notice of foreign capitalist shipowners, and the representative of one of them in -ydney has been instructed to make an offer to run 3,000-tou boats (like the Mt. Osyth) from Sydney to San Francisco via Auckland, on the basis of a seven years’ contract, with a subsidy of L 70,000, and a guarantee of six per cent interest for the term upon a capital of LSO.OOO. The offer is made through Mr James Ewan (of the firm of John Fraser aud Co). The service would give Sydney I merchants consignments in forty-seven days, “A Cornishman,” writing in the ‘Tuapeka Times,* characterises John Tyson’s challenge in tho matter of wrestling as “bounce,” especially the challenge with regard to Bon Hoare- , Hoare, ho says, has seldom if ever wrestled in North Country

style; Tyson has two stone advantage of him in weight; and the time is so limited that Ben Hoare might not see the challenge, let alone answer it. He concludes:— “If the time was limited to the last day of February, and also to wrestle in three styles, f-orth Country, Cornish, and Collar and Elbow, 1 think there might be a chance of , knowing which was the best of the two, i but if it stands only as it is, all Cormshmeu should treat it with contempt. ” In an article condemnatory of the management of our quartz mining companies, the ‘ Cromwell Argus’ says : No account is kept of the amount ot quicksilver received at certain dates, and none of the amount on hand at any further date ; no account of that amalgam, or the weight of gold retorted from so mueh amalgam ; nor. even, in many cases, (by far the majority), the number of tons weight of quartz from which such and such results in gold were obtained. And when accounts are kept, what do we find? At one time 100 tons will yield apparently 150ozs, at another time, from the same reef, but sixty ounces ; and no attempt is made to discover any reason for the great inequality. Again we ask if such a loose system would :be tolerated in any other business ? Could any other business stand it ?”

At Wellington, on the Ist inat., John Vink was charged with embezzling from the ship Avalanche certain ship’s stores, consisting of seven dozen bottles of porter, eleven bottles of port wine, and nine bottles of porter. Prisoner pleaded guilty to stealing stores, but not to the extent charged in the information. Captain Bishop stated that the prisoner was third mate on board the ship, and had charge of the stores, which were found to be deficient to the extent alleged. He did not wish to press for a heavy penalty, as the prisoner had worked well during the latter pare of the voya.;e, and was evidently sorry ior what had taken place. He was, however, bound to bring the matter before the court ia the iutere.ts of "is owners, who were liable to very srringent penalties under their caarter party ; ouecondition was in < I anger of being violated through the prisoner’s dishonesty. The presid ng magistrate (Mr urawford) said an offence of this character became far more serious when committed by an officer in whom trust was placed. The highest penalty was really little enough in such a case, and he should therefore order the prisoner to forfeit 1.4 10s f "om his wages,-and to be committed for twelve weeks. If we are not mistaken, Vink was one of the officers of the Surat, and figured prominently in the enquiry here into the wreck of that vessel. Canterbury’s gift to the Hon. C. C. Bowen is valued at 3HO guineas, and comprised a solid silver salver, with embossed handles and scroll centre, having round it ornamentation of arabesque work and festoons of flowers. lu the shield which forms the centre of the salver it ia intended that the following inscription shall be engraved:— Presented to the Hon. C. C. Bowen by his fellow colonists on his retirement from the office of Resident Magistrate of Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, 1875.’’ Inaddition to this there was a tea and coffee service of solid silver of the Richmond pattern, very tastefully engraved, and having a shield in the centre, upon which the monogram and crest of the recipient will be engraved. Four silver saltcellars, gilt inside, the spoons bearing a shamrock in silver on the handles and richly engraved, together with a morocco case, in which the articles can be packed ; a smaller salver than thoone already referred to, having au arabesque ornament running round it, with engraved edges; one dozen ivory handled silver fish knives and forks, with engraved blades, very handsomely finished ; two solid silver side dishes, forming four when required by the shifting of the handles; two double light candlesticks, springing from an ornamental base, with chased silver supports and floral emblems surrounding it • ivory handled silver fruit knife and fork, engraved on the blade with representations of fruit and flowers ; silver fish knife and fork, also engraved on blade.

In their reply to the Provincial Government, whose letter on immigration to Southland we published yesterday, the Southern Immigration Committee expresses regret at unworthy m-dives being attributed to their actions, and proceed to say, “ The Committee further regret that the Government cannot or will not see that the inhabitants of Southland, represented as they are by a large and daily increasing Committee, have good reason to complain of the persistency with which the Provincial Government deliberately ignores, even in thedetter to which we now reply, the fundamental article of the reunion arrangements, it is altogether beside the question to inform the people of Southland, through this Committee, that the Provincial Government is unaware ‘as to what step, if any, the A gent-General of the Colony has taken towards the despatch of immigrant vessels to the Bluff. Suffice it to say that the Provincial Agent has experienced some difficuity in procuring vessels to call at the Bluff—probably had there been sufficient cargo offering for that port, no such difficulty would have been ’experienced.’ And m reply to that paragraph, the Committee would remark that it would be more satisfactory to know what instructions, if any the Provincial Agent had to forward immigrants by any or all of the seven or eight large ships that appear to have experienced no difficulty in chartering for and safely landing their cargoes at the Bluff, after leaving their immigrants at other ports. Could not the Provincial Agent takead'van tage of those which contained railway plant for this district, as well as of those to be chartered to convey the remaining 1,800 tons for the same district ? The Committee take for granted the contractors will take the railway plant to the Bluff to suit their own conveniouoe, and save money in doing so. At the same time the Committee desire to record their appreciation of the efforts made by the Provincial Government to influence cargo for the Bluff, in strongly urging the contractors for the Southern Railways to land the iron for these works at the Bluff ! iT e X omm ‘ tfcee ’ however, do not suppose that the contractors ever entertained any idea so absurd as that of chartering ships to land their material at any other port; aud it may, therefore, be supposed that the representations of the Provincial Government had but little to do with the determination to adopt this course,” At All Saints’ Church the Rbv. Mr Bree will preach in the morning and in St. Paul’s in the evening on behalf of the Melanesian mission ihe rev. gentleman has been residing on Nortolk Islaud, and he will address the children of bt. Paul s, All Saints’, St Matthew’s, andlßos--ayiSchools at 1110 Dnll-shed, Octagon, at AoO in the afternoon. Collections in favor of the mission Will be made in the churches after each service. _An advertisement in our present issue remmds those who are desirous of becoming shareho.tiers in the Albion Brewing and Malting Company, that Monday will be the last day on which applications can., be received. We are informed that the list is already nearly full, and that the applications known to be on the way from the country and from the neighboring Provinces, will considerably more than absorb the balance remaining.