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Evening Star, Issue 3840, 15 June 1875, Page 2

Thursday next, being the half-yearly Pres' byfceriaa Past-day, will be observed as a close holiday. In a Wellington telegram to the ‘Bruce Herald, it is stated that the G-eneral Government will this session bring down an Education Bill of indefinite length. The members of the Balclutha Athenaeum have, by a large majority, decided on opening that institution from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 10 p m. on Sundays.

Bachelder’s “Tableaux of Paradise Lost” opened at the Temperance Hall last night to a small audience. The exhibition is in some respects well worth visiting, and, with a little modification of some of the accessories, we expect to see it well attended. The nomination of candidates to represent the Aparima district in the Council, in place of Mr Gumming, deceased, will take place on the 22nd instant. The ‘ Western Star’ understands there are already four gentlemen mentioned as being likely to stand—Messrs C. Basstiaa. Jas, Mackintosh, W. A. Lyon, and Dr Hodgkinson, A bigamy case will occupy the attention of the City Bench in a few days. The offender is a Mrs Schmid, the wife of a German tailor, who lives in Oxford Terrace, Christchurch, and to whom she has been married for some time. It is alleged that she came to Dunedin “ on a spree ” not long since, and while here contracted the second marriage. When the true state of things came to his knowledge, husband No. 2 appears to have taxed her with the fact that her first husband was alive; a scene followed, and the woman went back to Christchurch, where, on Wednesday last, she was arrested.

It appears that the Dunedin butchers are only following the example of the Welling, ton knights of the cleaver, though why the advance of a penny per lb. all round has been made is a thiug “no fellah can understand.” The protest of the ‘Tribune’ is so far applicable to our own case that we quote it :—“Meat was high enough in all conscience ; but 8d for roasting beef iu a grazing country like this looks rather too high a figure. Another step higher, aud instead of exporting tinned meats, we may look for a supply of that article to South America. Either the stockowner or the butcher is having a fine time of it.”

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before Mr T. A. Mansford, R.M., William Harden and John Thomas, for being drunk and disorderly, were each fined ss, or in default, to be imprisoned for twenty-four hours. In the civil case, John Mackley v. Charles Smith, a claim of Ll4 18s for meat supplied, judgment was given for the amount claimed, and L2 costs. In the same v. George and Eliza Stephens, a claim of L 6 for meat supplied, neither of the defendants appearing, the case was adjourned for a week in order that proof of their marriage might be produced. Slaughtering licenses were granted to William George and David Young. At the recent licensing meeting at Oamarn the Commissioners were sought to be frightened into refusing licenses to some most respectable men by a petition of immoderate length and innumerable signatures. But the Bench paid very little attention to the document, which has been since proved to have contained some curious signatures, For instance, “Kaspar,” the funny contributor to the local journal, gives the following suggestive morsel:—“A mother and daughter—-both married—signed, or are said to have signed the memorial, the ages of both being given. The compiler of the document, however, waa not up to his work, fot he makes the difference of the ages to be either fourteen or fifteen years (I forget which), and the daughter is the third "child the mother has had. li this precious document be reliable, the mother must have been married when she was eleven years old,” The Palmerston people are up in arms against the proposed construction of the Waihemo branch railway, which was sanctioned a few days ago by the Provincial Council. To-day there was laid on the Council table a largely-signed petition, which

sets forth that, in the opinion of those who have signed it, “ until it has been finally de cided that the through line shall be con structed to the Maniatoto Plains it is premature, unnecessary, and also much against our interest to have the said branch line constructed, it being to the advantage of the district generally that Palmerston should be the terminus for the inland traffic; and any terminus high up the valley would have a most injurious effect upon the town without auy corresponding advantage elsewhere, as should the through line to Maniatoto Plains not be constructed, the Waibemo line will never be required, there being no back-country, or sufficient population even to pay working expemes. * Fcr these reasons, aud the equally weighty ones that Palmerston is the natural centre of the district, and that- the completion of the main trunk line though it was of vital importance, the withdrawal of labor from the latter is characterised in the petition as “imprudent and unjustifiable.” A word in favor of the much maligned San Francisco service is said by the uckland ‘Star’:—“ The latest London dates by the last Suez mail were—via Southampton, April 8; via Brindisi, April 16. Xh latest San Francisco London date was April 6, so that we only get ten days later news by this mail. The superiority of the San Francisco ronte is in this instance very marked. Although the 'Frisco mail was de'ayed by the floods in America five day-s after her time, and the Suez steamer arrived four days before her time at the Bluff, there is still a gain of five days by the Pacific route ; for the Suez mail which left Loudon ten days behind the ’Frisco mail arrives here fifteen days after it. Again, within nine daj s of the arrival of the Suez mail with dates to the 16th April, the Cyphrenes is due with London dates to the 4th of May, or eighteen days later. In regard to telegraphic news the Han Francisco route is incomparably the better of the two; for by it, we obtain, through the American papers, full details (or at any rate as full as we require) of English news up to the date of the steamer leaving ’Frisco. By the Suez route last month the telegrams were very meagre aud for the most part repetitions of items that had been received in Dunedin via ’Frisco several days before the Tararua reached the Bluff.”

It is intended on and after to-morrow to run an evening train to and from Caversham, caving Dunedin at 6.20 and returning at 6.30

The usual weekly meeting of the Caversham Band of Hope and Total Abstinence Society was held in the School room on Friday evening; Mr Thomas Morris, Mornington, in the chair. There was a very good attendance, Mr A. C. Temple, the hon. secretary, Mr White, and several members friends giving recitations and songs. Four prizes are to be given at the next meeting.