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Evening Star, Issue 3860, 8 July 1875, Page 2

The present annual income of the City Council is L 128,692, and its liabilities L 109,188, including L 2,558 due to the Bank of New Zealand.

An unusual amount of sickness prevails in Invercargill at present. Pneumonia has taken somewhat the form of an epidemic, and several deaths have occurred. Colonel Harrington must have had a comfortable time of it in Ballarat, when, as the “chief of the New Zealand military forces,” he did the lions of that city not many weeks ago.

The nomination day for the Mayoralty has been fixed for Friday, the 16th hast., and that for Councillors for Tuesday, the 28 vh inst. The Revision Court is to sit on the 19th.

Miss Jennie Nye has gone into theatrical management, and on Saturday next commences at the Royal, in Invercargill. Mr Hoskins’s company open in Christchurch the first week in October.

The‘Palmerston and Waikouaiti Times ’ is to be the name of the paper that will shortly be published at Palmerston. The proprietary have purchased the plant and good-will of the ‘Waikouaiti Herald.’ According to our Tuapeka contemporary a requisition is in course of signature in Lawrence asking Mr Horace Bastings to contest the forthcoming mayoral election, it being understood that he has consented to stand if it meets with the approval of the ratepayers. A very satisfactory test of the firebricks manufactured by the Brunner Coal-mining Company has been made at the Atlas Rolling Mills in Melbourne. The samples have been forwarded by the manager of the Para Para Iron Company for the purpose of comparison with the best known imported firebricks, and after being exposed to the severest toots the Brunner firebricks have bren found to.be equal to those from Stourbridge, which are usually considered to be the standard.

The ‘ Timaru Herald ’ is so vulgarly bitter and often hostile to the Premier that we did not expect to find it admitting, as it has, that his knighthood is deserved, anl at the same time paying him this high tribute as a journalistHe applied so much power and energy to the management of the ‘Otago Daily Times,’ that he soon made it, without exception, the best pap-r in the Colony, and established for himself the reputation which he has never lost, of an exceedingly able journalist. Indeed, it is not going too far to say that there has never been in New Zealand his equal in this respect.” Young Scott, the pedestrian, commences his match of walking 100 miles in leas than Edwards’s time—23 hours 55 minutes—tomorrow evening at 5 o’clock at the Queen’s Theatre. The course has been laid out through the pit and stalls, and measures 56yds. 2ft, Sin. in circumference, giving 31 laps to the mile, Scott walked 25 miles on Tuesday in 4 hours 47 minutes, and 18 miles yesterday in 3 hours 26 minutes, finishing quite fresh on each occasion. Austin, his trainer, feels perfectly confident of his beating Edwards. Scott intends making the pace hot from the start, so that he will have more time to rest later on, if found necessary. The arrangements are perfect and a carefully regulated clock has been lent by Mr R, H. Bailey; while the number of laps will be posted up with the time for every mile as completed. Though strongly opposed to a San Francisco service, as unnecessary in the present circumstances of the Colony, the ‘ Press’ admits that the permanent contract just concluded is likely to gain the much-desired end, viz, the rapid transmission of mails from end to end. The American Paci6o Mail Company is in close relations with the Pacific Railway, and will doabtless be able to guarantee the rapid conveyance of the mails across the continent; while the London agents of Mr Elder and Mr M‘Gregor will keep the St, Martin’s le Grand people up to the mark, and will take care that there is no needless delay on their side of the Atlantic, Between them we may hope at last for an efficient service. We agree with Mr_ Russell that American co-operation is indispensable; and this combination of American and English interests affords additional chances of success. Referring to the Shotover Terrace Company’s affairs, the ‘Wakatip Mail’ says that Mr Surveyor Spence and Mr Robert Johnson, a thoroughly practical miner, were engaged to institute full inquiries and ascertain the estimated worth of the Company’s ground, and the probable value of the water in the proposed race, not only as an aid in the Company’s workings but also as a reproductive undertaking in the working—present or future—of well-known auriferous ground along its projected course, and reports from both gentlemen have been sent down to Dunedin. VVe trust the directors will see the advisability of making them public without delay. The annual meeting should be held about the middle of this month, and it is only right that shareholders, before pledging themselves to any course, should be put in possession of as much knowledge as possible, to assist them in forming an opinion on the project.

The following astronomical notes may interest some of our readers :—Professor Crookes has made a most important discovery (says an American paper) tending to show the cause of the revolution of planets on their axes. He has demonstrated by experiment that a number of discs arranged in a certain manner in vaetpo can be made to revolve by throwing upon them a pencil of light, and the rapidity of revolution is in proportion to the intensity of the |light. Archdeacon Stock addresses the following letter to the ‘ New Zealand Times ’:—I have just received the accompanying information from Mr Petrie, London, which will interest many “1 have just seen the first transit results yet computed. M. Pinseux has, from the Pekin and St. Paul's observations with six-inch refractors, deduced 8" 879 for the parallax.” This value w.U give 92,985,659 miles for the sun’s distance. It is only a possible result, as the accepted value will be taken from the mean of all the observations. The orders issued to tho land officers re Heriot hundred by the Chief Commissioner of Lands caused a regular muddle at Lawrence, whore on Wednesday (according to the Tuapeka contemporary) had assembled over forty persons who had Jcome from die-

tances ranging from twenty to eighty miles. Applicants were there from the Taieri, Balclutha, Kaihiku, and many other parts of the Province, and their chargrincan be better imagined than described when the District Officer informed them that he had got instructions not to receive any applications. Twenty of the applicants met to consider their position as regards the outlay they had incurred, and subscribed a sum to defray the expenses of an agent in Dunedin to represent their case before the Waste Land Board. Tho aggregate amount of expenses incurred by the twenty applicants was calculated to be seventy pounds, and they justly held that, seeing they had been led a wild-goose chase by the Board, it was only right that that body should recoup them for their outlays. Many persons left hef./re the action of the Land Board, on Wednesday, was known in Lawrence, and among those who departed for their homes was a man who had nine applications made out. The case of Garrick v,- Pyke is not yet settled. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court to-day Garrick sought to recover LB4 for wages due and expenses incurred in canvassing for the ‘ Mercury,’ and defendant paid L 65 into Court, and pleaded not indebted as to tho remainder. Plaintiff caused much amusement by his frequent futile interruptions while defendant was being examined, and at one time mumbled something in reply to an answer made by defendant, whereupon Mr Brent, defendant’s counsel, asked that plaintiff be not allowed to repeat inch remarks which were insulting to the Court. H's Worship stated that he did not hear the remark, but warned plaintiff that litigants did| harm to their own cases by losing their temper as he (Garrick) had evidently done, and requested that whatever questions he had to put would be done with good temper. Plaintiff promised to ask only relevant questions, but shortly afterwards became annoyed at defendant’s replies, and addressing his Worship, said : “ I tell you it’s a complete double-shuffle, and it has been going on for a long time,” and refused to further question the witness

At the Princess’s last night “Hamlet” was chosen for the occasion of Mr Bates’s benefit, and a good house, which would doubtless have been more crowded if the weather had been less inclement, showed thit Mr Bates was very generally considered not too ambi lions in essaying the part of the Prince of Denmark. All who were present, including those who went merely out of curiosity to see how a comedian would appear in a character calling for such varied powers, must have been more than satisfied with last night’s representation. Mr Bates is evidently one of those who take the Prince’s madness to be assumed, for his own particular ends, and this conception of the character is carefully kept in view throughout. _ Contrary to expectation there was no ranting or “ tearing passion to pieces ” about the Hamlet of Mr Bates, but a quiet, expressive delivery, combined with suitable and not excessive aot ; on, Ophelia was fairly played by Mrs Bates, but we had expected much better things of Mr Muegrave in Polonius. Mrs Stoneham as Queen Gertrude, and Mr Keogh as Claudius, filled their respective parts well; while Mr Steele as the Ghost, aud Messrs Clinton and Stoneham, as Horatio and Laertes, left little to be desired. The piece was well put on the stage, and the whole performance was very successful. To-night “ Madelaine ” and “ Bamboozling ” will constitute the programme.

There was a wordy war between the Judge and Mr G. E. Barton in the course of the hearing of the case Regina v. Griffiths, yesterday. In addressing the jury counsel condemned "the action of the legislature' in enacting that the bankruptcy Judge’s certificate of fraud was primd facie evidence and, arguing therefrom, that he was entitled to ask juries to take good care to nullify such provisions, was interrupted by his Honor, who declaredjthat while he sat on the Bench he would not allow counsel to disobey the law. Mr Barton was quick on his feet with a disclaimer. His Honor repeated that he would not allow any barrister to advise a jury to set the law at, defiance, and warned Mr Barton not to do so again. Mr Barton was more emphatic in his denial, and continued his speech, but, introducing Reichelt’s case as *an exemplification of how in moments of great excitsment men were apt to make contradictory statements, he was again interrupted by his Honor, who objected to the matter as irrelevant. Thereupon the following dialogue ensued :—“ Mr Barton said that every counsel had his own way of conducting his case, aud he had his, and he hoped the learned Judge would allow him to de'end the prisoner in his own way. His Honor : Well, go on, go on; I do not intend to stop you again. Mr Barton : Your Honor can tell the jury different when yon come to address them. His Honor: 1 do not like to lie by, and afterwards reply to counsels’ statements, I would rather indicate at the time what T consider seems to me to be objectionable in the conduct of the case. And I do it from a sense of duty, and not at all in a temper. But it is not right for you to drag in other oases in the way you have done, .Mr Barton: Well, I must say that I differ with your Honor. I cannot shape my defence by other minds. His Honor: Go on, go on. I wish to refrain from any appearance of contention with yon, Mr Barton. Mr Barton : If you say I am not at liberty to refer to cases, then I say that I cannot defend the prisoner. His Honor : Well, go on, go on. Later on, his Honor in charging the jury, referred to the absence of counsel, and said that such absences were not unfrequent when Judges ware addressing juries. Mr Barton Iwas, however, much nearer than his Honor thought. In our telegrams on Monday mention was made of the body of a man named Murphy, who was supposed to have died from exposure to the cold, having been found on the Beaumont road. That surmise does not appear to have been correct, for at the inquest the following facts transpired On Friday last deceased was sent by his employer, a baker at the Beaumont, into Lawrence with a horse, which he delivered, and in the afternoon of the same day he started on his return journey. About a quarter of a mile from Hopkins’s ho was seen by Mr Brook, farmer, of Evans Flat, sitting apparently the worse for liquor, and afterwards by Mr Buchanan, who also noticed that he was the worse for drink. Nothing more was seen of deceased until be reached White’s contract, a' out four miles from Beaumont. He there called at a hut occupied by a man named Frederick Wilhelm, a German, and asked to be permitted to warm himself at the fire. Wilhelm refused to allow him to enter the hut, when deceased replied : “ All right, you might want a warm yourself some day.” A Mr Ellis, foreman of the works, and two others were in the hut at the time, and remarked that it was cruel to send the man away. Ellis went to the door to speak to deceased, bub found he had turned and was walking away. He watched him for a cistai.ee of three sb.rtna, when he appeared to walk strong and like a sober man. Deceased could only have proceeded six chains when, walking on the top of an embankment;, he must have missed his footing and fallen a distance of four or five feet on to the road. Sergeant Titchener, who examined the place where deceased was found, discovered that he had been walking on the embankment, as it bore the marks of his boots, and the marks of the fall of a body at the spot where deceased was found. Dr Stewart deposed that the cause o! death was dislocation

of the neck; and in answer to a question from the Coroner he stated that this coaid have been caused by a fall such as had been sustained by deceased according to the evidence given. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. The Coroner remarked to the effect that he had gone minutely into the evidence, as an impression existed that Wilhelm had been guilty of heartlessness in refusing to allow deceased to warm himself; and should it have been proved that deceased died from cold and exposure, the jury would have been justified in giving an expression of their opinion of Wilhelm’s conduct. Deceased was a native of Cork, and came to New Zealand in the Asia.

We understand that, in consequence of the postponement of the sailing of the p.s. Samson, it has been arranged that the s. s. Maori shall call at Oamaru to land passengers, leaving Port Chalmers on the arrival of the 10.5 a.m. train for Dunedin.