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Evening Star, Issue 3856, 3 July 1875, Page 2

Yesterday afternoon, Miss Johnson, who baa severed her connection with the Albany ■treat school, which dates from its establishment, was presented by her late pupils with a handsome timepiece and pair of vases, as a mark ef their esteem.

Only two eases were heard at the City Police Court to-day. Mary Duffers, charged with drunkenness, was dismissed with a caution, and filiah Williams was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for stealing a bottle of jelly and a tin of salmon from the shop-door of Robert Mercer, Princes street south. Messrs Ward and Flexman were the presiding Justices. There are at present open, and working within the Colony, two hundred and fortylive miles of-railway. By the end of September there will be open, and also working, two hundred and twenty miles more ef Colonial lines, and by the same date sixty nine miles of additional Provincial lines. These two latter distances are rapid y approaching completion : some will be finished next month, some in August, and the whole lengths by the close of September, by which time'of finished ard working lines there will he a total of five hundred and fifty miles of railway in the Colony.

A very startling phenomenon was observed about thirty miles west ef Timaru at 4. SO on the morning of June 25. A large ball of fire, in appearance about three times the size of the full moon, appeared in the south, moving very slowly upwards. (Suddenly it shot out towards the zenith a long rippling band of flame, extending over several degrees in length—the under edge of a bright color, while the upper edge had a blueisb and somewhat gaseous appearance,. The ball did not burst, after the manner of meteors in general, but the whole appearance gradually waned airay, and it was severs! minutes before it entirely disappeared.

Since Lurline was landed in Melbourne she has performed as follows : Not placed in Melbourne Cup, carried Bst lllbs ; not placed in Royal Park Stakes, 9st 41bs ; not placed in the Flemington Plate, 9st lOibs; not placed in the Sandhurst Cup, 7st 121bs ; second in Midsummer Handicap, Bst 3lbs; not placed in Geelong Cup, Bst 4lbs; no ; placed in Geelong Handicap. Bst 7ibs ; ran second to Calumny in the Brunswick Stakes, Sit lOibs ; ran secend to Light of Day in the Keiior Stakes, lOat 3lbs; won the Australian Cup, Sat lib ; not placed in the Town Plate, 9it dibs; third in the Sydney Cup, 9et ; wen the All-Aged (Stakes, 9st 2lbs ; won the Australian J. C. Plate, 9st 131bs ; won the Adelaide Cup, 9st lib; won the Adelaide Queen’s Hundred.

This ia an unusually bulky order paper for the City Council meeting on Wednesday next. Among the deferred notices ia one by Cr. Leary for raising the oentrea of the streets or lowering them at the sides ; and among the new matters are motions also by Cr* 1 eary to instruct the City Surveyor to submit a plan for putting the asphalts footpaths in a proper state of repair; by Cr Carroll for kerbing and channelling Castle street, between St. A ndrew and Frederick streets, ana Grange street from Hanover street to Frederick street; and by Cr Prosser, than permitsion should be granted, subject to the usual conditions, for laying down the horse tramway at the south end of ilie city, as applied for jointly by Messrs utJerson and Mowatt and other merchants.

The joke played by the Newcastle shipowner and his merry men who set a bank bailiff adrift in a steam launch he had gone to annex had, as our readers well remember, very little point for two of the jokers—the shipowner and his manager - who were each sentenced to tliree months’ imprisonment. The law points reserved by their counsel have been argued, and the decision ef the Judge confirmed by the Banco Court, The Chief Justice dissented, as the prisoners Were found guilty of “imprisoning” the bailiff, and he held that as the prisoners asked him repeatedly to come on shore, there was no personal restraint. This may seem a strange doctrine, but the opinion is that of Sir James Martin, one of the ablest lawyers in the Colonies. The other Judges —Messrs Fawcett and Hargrave—held that by setting the man adrift they did imprison him, and refused to disturb the verdict Ihe failure of the appeal gave general satisfaction.

This is the style of writing occasionally .depted by the Auckland ‘Star’;—We think hat. it will l)e admitted that none but a his., kguard in heart and deed coaid write mil publish he fol owing.” It continues ’* he cowardly way in which this base insinuation is put is characteristic of the tuft-huntiog sycophant that does the editorials of the ‘Hawke’s Bay Herald.’ He has not pluck to father a ‘rumor,’ which is solely an emanation of his own filthy brain, and his statement of it produces an irrepressible tingling in the toe of one’s boot. The ‘ Hawke's Bay Herald ’ has long been infam ms throughout the Colony as the organ of a ring that has for years been system atloally swindling the Natives of Hawke’s Bay out of their lauds. The kind of fame the tinetting editor of the ‘Hawke’s Buy Herald ’ enjoys through crawling at the feet aud licking the toes of those who are good to him, makes one feel angry at the impudence of such a fellow presuming to challenge comparison. The closing paragraph in uhe article of this skunk of journalism is more impudent still.” We should say that this writer has heard of the ‘ Eatanswill Gazette.’

Mr Vesey Stewart, who is bringing out from Ireland a batch of special settlers for Auckland, writing under date May 4. says : —“We have been terribly humbugged about a ship, acd though we had arranged to have left belfast last Saturday or Friday, yet our

ship had not even been chartered by the 1 Agent-General, consequently we have thirty- 1 seven families who have all been sold out of I house and home, and are living on their i little capita l , which is decreasing each week, i Bad as was the system of red tape adopted . at the Westminster Chambers, it is far worse i now. We go hence, in two ships, from Car- i riekfergus Roads In my ship is the special settlement party. We have thirty-seven families and ninety single girls In the supplementary ship, if it start in time, the emigrants will number about five hundred souls. This supplementary ship is intended for laborers and those of the o d.nary emigrant class. 1 was disappointed in not getting more land, or I could huvo brought another fifty families. 1 think Vogel is guilty of short-eigbteu policy in this respect. The movement has done more for emigration to Now Zealand than fifty agents. It has drawn public opinion so much through the Press to parties who would never have heard of the country.” The Government have advices of the sailing on June 7 of the second ship alluded to by Mr Stewart A splendid house greeted Mr Musgrave at the Princess’s last night on the occasion of his benefit, and on that gentleman's appearaace as Sam Gerridge, in “ Caste,” a hearty reception was accorded him. I'bia excellent comedy was well played Mr Musgrave’s part being one of hisb^st; Mrs Bates making a lively and pert Folly Eccles; and Mr Bates being unsurpassable as the drunken o'd father. MrsStonehacn made a Buffi iently aristocratic Marchi ness, and Miss Willis a fair Esther. At the conclusion of this piece Mr Bracken recited “ Bingen on the Rhine” ftclingly and with good elocution, and he was loudly applauded and called before the curtain. Mr Musgrave also came forward and thanked the large audience for their

attendance, at the same time expressing his obligations to Mr and Mrs Bates, Miss Follande, and Mr Bracken for their serviess that evening, ihe entertainment concluded with the burlesque " Aladdin, the Wonderful Scamp,” in which Miss Follande took the part of Pekoe and play» d with all her old vivacity and spirit. Miss Vernon was the Princess, Mu* Stouebam made a good Aladdin, Mr Muagrave an amusing Emperor, and Mr Stoneham a capital A baucz vr. The character of Widow Twankey is one of the best in the burlesque, but its representative last night—Mr Keogh—made it a most ridiculous and unnecessarily coarse one. So much did this gentleman ont-burlesque burlesque th»t numbers of the audience left the theatre before the piece was half played To-night “ Under the Gaslight ” will be produced. Hew gladly would some of our barristers, not troubled with over-much business, have gained the notoriety which Mr G. E. Barton has gained by his recent little tiffs with the Bench. He has been wired to every part of the Colony ; paragraphed in the principal papers ; and some of the latter have condescended to favoi him with a good deal of space in their leading columns. For in stance, the ‘ Southeru Cross ’ takes up the cudgels for the lawyers, and argues that since “the Judge is not a man who despises the pleasures of the table, why should not an empty lawyer enjoy a substantial lunch, when wearied with the long-winded forensic eloquence which so many legal gentlemen can produce as easily and as thin as water comes from the butt by the turning - f the tap ? There is a solemn physiological and psychological lesson taught by Judge Johnston, in that stern and anchorite-like argument of his, that displayed a portion of hj s profound knowledge of bow matter acts on mind, and mind is sometimes subdued by matter. Your lean and hungry lawyer, like Cassias, is always dangerous. The bloed, which for the ‘business’ of the Court should go to nourish and stimulate the legal braiu, such as there is of it, cannot be spared'to do the hard digestive work of the well-filled stomach. So much the better for the clients. Gentlemen of the long robe, whatever you may presume to think, you must say nothing. All you have to do is I to submit.* What a peal of laughter will run round the Colony, especially in legal circles, touching the Judge's argument on the subject of barristers’ thoughts and stomachs !”

The regular monthly meeting of the National Puilding Society will be held on Monday evening. The fortnightly meeting of the Commercial Building Society will be held on Monday evening. Sir J. C, Richardson will lecture in All Saints Schoolroom on Tuesday evening, at eight o’clock. Subjict, “India.” Mr Bates will take a farewell benefit at the Princess’s Theatre on Wednesday evening next. The piece announced for the occasion is “ Hamlet,” in which the ieneficiare sustains the leading part. Every character this gentleman appears in bears the impress of careful and earnest study; and we have no doubt that his rendering of the melancholy Prince will be equal to any of his former efforts. Mr Bates deserves a good house, and we hope he will meet with his deserts.

We have received from the Registrar-General a copy of further abstracts of: the census of New Zealand for the year 1874, consisting of a preliminary report; general index: Part YU, education of the people; part YIII, sickness and infirmity; part IX, land, crops, live stock, butter, and agricultural machines ; part X, industries, land and building societies, public libraries, mechanics’institutes, 1 daces of worship; appendix A, Maori popuation; appendix B, boundaries of electoral districts.