The Evening Star TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1875.

Evening Star, Issue 3864, 13 July 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JULY 13, 1875.

A few years after Mr Bell's successful ventilation of the Independent Church at Kew, he was induced to take wp his abode in Dunedin. Nothing more was done towards drawing publio attention to the plan beyond an attempt to introduce it into fche eonstraction of the Independent Church in Moray place. But this effort was neutralised and almost brought to ridicule through the building committee trusting in an inexperienced young architect, who happened to be one of them, and having no faith whatever in one whom they considered non-professional. There were too many eooks, and they spoilt the broth. Beyond adopting the principle to ventilating a few sleeping-rooms in a dwelling-house, in which the builder had not left a crevice for the admission of fresh 6r the escape of foul air, and helping a few friends boxed up in close sleeping apartments to make their dormitories comfortable by utilising winj dows without danger to their health nothing was done in Dunedin for some years. In the meantime, it occurred to Mr Bell that, although the plan adopted at rural Kew succeeded in supplying fresh and probably pure air, it was quite possible that, being drawn from atmospheric strata nearest the earth, miasma or even foetid smells might be admitted with it. In order to obviate this, he determined that should the opportunity occur of applying his invention, air should be conducted downwards and beneath the floor through tubes,

drawing their supplies from the level of the highest part of the outer iralU. By this arrangemeat the danger of supplying vitiated air would, under ordinary circumstance*, be avoided; and if there were any special conditions rendering it undesirable, special adaptation would be necessary. No opportunity of applying the plan effered itself until Mr John Sibbald altered the Princess Theatre some three years ago. The great drawback to that elegantly designed place of amusement was that with a full house it was almost impossible to breathe, for it was supposed the architect had made no provision for supplying fresh air. We do not know his name—we believe he was a German—but, in justice to him, it should be stated that he had to a certain extent met the difficulty by introducing two ventilating tubes under the platform of the dress circle, with perforations for diffusing the air through the paneling in front; but these had been ignorantly boxed up and rendered useless during some scenic or other alterations. To a certain extent, thereI fore, he had forestalled the system; but his knowledge was rendered abortive by ignorant meddling. When the alterations were projected a few years since, Mr Sibbald consulted Mr Bell, and, after having the plan explained, requested him to supervise carrying it out. This was really no enviable task, but it was undertaken j and it would amuse were all told of the difficulties thrown in the way of its completion by workmen, who did not like to be directed by one who was an outsider, being neither an architect, nor a joiner, nor a carpenter. Most unwillingly, and sometimes contrarily, was every direction adopted, and the result is a somewhat imperfect, but at the same time, as far as it goes, a very successful application of the plan. In some respects the Princess Theatre afforded unusual facilities for the experiment. Beneath the floor of the pit, and extending twothirds of the distance towards the stage, is an excellent air-tight floor. The floor of the pit being raised some feet above this at one end, a vast trian-gularly-shaped chamber was formed, having no connection with the outer air. Into this chamber air is poured by means of six .large perpendicular tubes supplied by openings in the wall about eighteen feet above the street. There is thus beneath the feet a ehamber of pure air, which is diffused through the theatre by openings covered with perforated zinc, placed under the back part of each row of seats at intervals through the whole area of the pit. The same number of perpendicular tubes communicating with horizontal distributors ventilate the boxes, the air being diffused through perforations under each tier of seats. An upward movement of the air within the theatre is secmred through the one outlet for foul air being heated by the gasalier. Mr Tobin does not consider such an outlet necessary, but our experience differs altogether from his oa that point. Practically it has been found where facilities for getting rid of foul air are defective, all plans for supplying pure air are comparatively neutralised. The opening for expulsion of vitiated air, however, requires to be very small compared with that for admission of fresh air, for rapid draught outward at the height of a ceiling is of no consequence to health, and is necessary to prevent the impure air being oondensed and falling back into the apartment; while small openings for admission of air below would induce draughts that must produce colds, rheumatism, or other kindred disorders. The prinoiple must be borne in mind, therefore: free and full admission—rapid expulsion. Although there are many parts of the Princess Theatre that could not be reached without outlay almost equivalent to building it afresh, the fact that as many persons as can find room can enjoy an evening's performance without experiencing inconvenience is quite sufficient to convince the most sceptical that the plaa has succeeded. Those who have access to the article from the 'Times' circulated by the General Government, will at once recognise the general similarity of the plans of ventilation, but that Mr Bell's has advantages not claimed for the other. It has been shown that it is applicable to the ventilation of public buildings. Oar space to-day does not permit of telling of its effect on the ventilation of a work room. We must defer that till to-morrow.

A. now comic paper, entitled. 'The Omnibus' ia announced to appear in Wellington during the present month. The well-known steamer Wallabi has been sold at Wanganui, according to the local 'Chronicle' for L 5.060, and her captain and crow elect to remain in the vessel. At the Bitting of the Bevision Ceurt yesterday, at the City Council Chambers, about 250 names were added to the ratepayers' roll, and half-a-dozen claimantn for admission were disallowed from not paying their rates. Th« * Western Star' believes the Government "is just waking up to the requirements of the port of Riverton," as it understands Captain Tall has received instructions to get a lighthouse erected on the south head. During the progress of yesterday's severs gale the telegraphic wires between here and Ohristchurch were blewn in contact with each other, rendering the transmission of messages impossible. Late at night one wire was workable, and to-day the line is m full-working order again. A private telegram forwarded to Captain Stavely by the General Government, and kindly placed aiour di'i?P oß *"> states that Volunteers may purchase Vfl eß » n d ramrods only (muzzle-loaders) for 40s, Dut * record :f (ill rifles with the » numbers w* *° 9 kept, and a copy given from time to tiC 16 , *° "*• sub-storekeeper to enabl* him tr> k W P * register.

His Honor Judge Johoatoa sat in banco to day, whea the case of Kroderick t. Scott, an argument for a rule nisi for a new trial, supported by Messrs Smith and Stout, was fuUy Rone into, Messrs Macassey and Barton showing caus« whytbe judgement should not be iaterefered with. Ihe" matter was under disoussioa when our reporter left. ▲ New Plymouth draper, furious at some rlral establishment being started in that tewn, which he appears to consider his own particular preserve, announces in the kcal papers his intention to wage "war and death" against the "interlopers," and readers his soft-goods advertisements attractive by ornamenting them with an engraving of a hideous skull and pair of crossboats.

Yesterday msrning the chief officer of the American barque Crusader, lying at the railway pier, discovered that six of the crew had taken leave of the vessel without asking permission ; and later in the day two others left the ship and proceeded on board the Camilla, requesting the chief officer of that vessel to lend them a boat for a few minutes to piok up a hat which had blown overboard. The chief officer, thinking all was right, lent the boat, with whieh they decamped down the harbor.

A Wangaaui paper says :—" One melancholy, and, at the same time, ourious incident in connection with the ill-fated William and Mary, found bottom-np on the beach near Foxtoa, is that of the body of a seaman having been found in the hold with a rope round his neck, as if he had been strangled. The probability appears to be that the poor fellow had beea endeavoring, by aid of the rope, to keep himself above water, when probably he expired through sheer exhaustion."

Tha hairless horse, whioh was exhibited in Dnnedin about a year ago, has met a formidable rival in the United Stateß in the person of a hairless man, fortynine years of age, upon whom not a semblance of a hair has ever pat in an ap poaranee, either on his head, face, arms, or bsdy. His cheeks are as smooth as those of a y*ung lady, the top of his head smooth as ivory, anil the touch of hi* hands and arms as soft is silk. He is positive that his baldntss is not the result of any disease he ha? had in his lifetime. He says it mast be a freak of natnre.

A contemporary tells a story of a distressed agriculturist:— u A farmer dropped into town lately to pay his rent, putting on a long face so as to correspond with the times. On entering the house he told the landlord that times being so bad, he could not raise the money at a-'l, and dashed a bundle *f notes on the table. 'There,' said he, 'that is all I can pay.' The m r ney was taken up and counted by Mr , the landlord, who said, ' Why, this is twice as much as you owe !' ' Daag'ee, give it me again,' said the farmer; 'l'm dashed if I ain't took it out of the wrong pocket!' " A meeting of the Athenaeum Committee was held last evening; present—Mr W. N. Blair (vice president), the Rev. R. L. Stanford, and Messrs Caldwell, Fish, Hay, Logan, Lubecki, Stout, and Wilding (secretary). A number of accounts having been passed, the quarterly balance-sheet was read, showing the receipts to have beenL3Ss 18s; balance in the Bank at the end of the quarter, L 129 15s lid ; and at the time of meeting, L 37 12s 7d—Lloo having been sent Home by the last mail for the purchase' of books. On considering tlio suggestions of members entered in the books kept for that purpose, a number of ridiculous and idiotic suggestions were found therein, and, on the motion of Mr Fish, it was agreed that those who wrote such in future shall be expelled from the membership of the Athenaeum. The proprietors of the ' Walkato Times' have purchased a church building in Hamilton Wast, and as soon as possible will convert it into a printing office. The ' Times' remarks that it will then be the only journal in New Zealand, and probably in the world, which reverts to the original custom of the trad*. In the days of Guttenburg and Caxton piloting was generally carried on under the wings of ohurch buildings, the class of books committed to the press being principally of a religious character. In those days the printing fraternities, now called "companionships," were formed into what were commonly known as " chapels," presided over by a '• Father of the chapel." The custom still exists in most of the large offices in England and the Colonies, and is supported by the employers because of its practical usefulness in maintaining discipline in matters of detail.

Somebody ha* been cramming tbe Dundin ' TaVet,' Bays the • Marlbrough Express,' And that paper proceeds to show how, as follows:- "In its issue of June 19, appears the followiug sentence :—' Jn contrast to the rather high-handed action of the Uunedin butchers in raining the price of meat bayond its present extravagant rate, we may mention that at Blenheim beef U'eold at 2d per lb.' It is hardly necessary for us to characterise this assertion by its proper name, but we were greatly amused on reading a few lines lower down the following condemnation of the author :—' Were the Legislature to adopt the French custom, as shown by the following paragraph, we know of a few journals which would involuntarily contribute .a respectable sum to the general revenue.' The writer in the ' Tahlet' then recounts a case said to have occurred in France, wherein the editor of the ' IViis Journal' was fined fifty francs and costs for publishing fal e news." The members of tbe Loyal Orange Lodge •elebrated their third anniversary by a dinner at the Temperance Hall last eveniug; and the occasion was specially interesting, being commemorative of the battle of the Boyne. The Rev. Mr Rigg, chaplain to the lodge, presided, and Bro. Walker, P.G M., occupied the vieo-chair. After the good things provided by Mr Dunning had been done fall justice to, the following toasts were duly honored :—" Her Majesty the Queen," " The Prince and Princess of Wales, and other members of the Royal Family," " William, Prince of Orange," '• His I'xcellenoy the Governor," " His Honor the Superintendent and Members of the Provincial Council." "Orangamen all over the world," "The Earl of ttnniskillen, Grand Matter of Ireland," "William Johnstone, M.P. for Belfast," "Emperor William of Germany snd Prince Bismarck," " The •Prentice Boys of Dcrry," "The Army and Navy," and "Our Host"

" True Hearts," a drama never before pre» seated to a Ounedin audience, was played at the Princess's to a large downstairs atten* dance last evening. In the principal character, that of Eustache Baudin, a peasant, Mr Bates had another opportunity of showing that in a really good dramatic part he is as effeotive as in comedy. Those by whom he was mainly supported were Mrs Bates as Louise, his wife; Miss Willis as Louise's mother; Miss Follande (who made her reappearance on this stage) as the waitingwoman ; Mr Musgrave. as Poulet, her bus* band ; Mr Clinton, the villain of the play ; and Mr Keogh as Delbois, the instrument of his villiany, but who in the long run proclaims his master's tyranny, foils his actions, and brings him to justice. A want of thoromgh rehearsal was evidenced, but any shortcomings of hst evening will probably lie remedied in its repetition to-night. In the farce of ''The Swiss Cottage" Miss Vivian and Mr Hooper made their re-appear-ance, and the singing of the lady met with a large share of applause. Mm Bates has

announced her farewell benefit for to-morrow j evening, and as this lady has established I herself a firm favorite with the theatre-going portion of our community we expect to lee a full house. Mr and Mrs Bates terminate a lengthened engagement at this theatre on Saturday, and on Monday they will be succeeded by Mr and Mrs George Darrell, two very old favorites. Mr W. N. Blair, C.8., District Engineer, is announoed to read a paper at the meeting of the Otago Institute this evening on the building and other useful stones of Otago. Mr Blair has taken great interest in this subject for some years, aud has colleoted a large number of specimens, pointing to the immense wealth that Otago possesses in almost inexhaustible deposits of valuable stone. We believe that he purposes illustrating his paper by showing the samples, and among others he will exhibit specimens of roofing slates from the lately opened Ballachulish quarry. These slates are said to be very superior to any imported. We understand the proprietors have already gone to considerable expense in opening the quarry, and that a number of experienced hands are engaged, so that we hope the supply of Otagan Blate will be so abundant as to supersede importations from abroad and secure a large export trade to other parts of . New Zealand and the neighboring Colonies.

The Oamaru correspondent of the ' Waitangi Ttibune' says : A severe though ancient joke was perpetrated in the former town last week, the individuals ooncerncd being rival butchers. It appears that knight of the chopper No. 1 was doing a roaring trade on a certain evening, and knight of the chopper No. 2 allowed his jealousy to arise. When the shop of No. 1 was crowded with customers, No. 2 sent a boy armed with two deceased members of the feline race to that of Wo. I. The boy pushed hii way through the crowded shop, and, addressing Mo. 1, remarked in a loud voice, " Mother sent me over with these—she cannot get any more to-night"; and, throwing the brace of cats on the oounter, departed with unusual celerity. It is rumored that No. 1, who is a pious man, gently breathed a prayer on high, and thanked heaven that the departure of that boy was sufficiently sudden to save the expense of a funeral. Several people whose weaknesses are reported to be sausages bought chops that night. We Are informed that a requisition has been presented to Captain Wain by a number of the members of the Dunedin Volunteer Fire Brigade, requesting him to call a meeting of that body to-morrow evening, with a view of considering the desirability of disbanding the Brigade. We understand this action has been taken in consequence of a resolution brought forward by (Jr. Fish at a meeting of the City Council, held on July 8. suggesting that the Corporation should look iuto the whole matter connected with the expenses of the Brigade at recenS fires. In moving the resolution Cr. Fish had stated he considered that unless the insurance companies complied with a resolution already passed by the Council, and contributed in a more liberal degree to the Brigade's expenses, that body should be disbanded. _ Another reason why the members of the Brigade take this action is that some time back Captain Wain wrote to the City Council, referring to the advisability of erecting a suitable building for the accommodation of the Brigade, in pursuance of a resolution carried by the Corporation at a meeting held some seven or eight months ago; and upon this letter being read at the following meeting of the City Ceuncil, Councillor Reeves moved that tenders should be called for its erection. The consideration of the matter, however, was indefinitely postponed, Cr. Prosser moving that no action be taken until the Council received its new loan, whieh was carried. These are two of the many reasons that hive induced the members of the Brigade to meet together ; but we trust thnt in the interests of the public their valuable services will still be retained by the citizens, and that amicable relations with the Council and the insurance companies will be arrived at.

In the course of an article on the bearing •f Judge Johnston towards the members of the Bar in Dunedin the 4 Wanganui Weekly Herald' of the sth inst. observes :—" The Judge is worthy of honor if he can improve the tone of the Bar ; but we cannot say that hectoring from the Bench is exactly the process by which the result is to be achieved. It might be interesting to inquire in what state his Honor left the Wellington circuit aft«r many years'—we will not call it brewj beating or blustering—but many years' application of the judicial rod. The profession in Wellington is tame enough, goodness knows, and its meek-eyed and subdued subjactiveness is at once a compliment to the stringent measures which have been employed. Even juries are docile, and the general public were beginning to show less of that naughty temper which is recognised as the sign of independence of character iu the free-born Briton. But will anyone say that litigation has not thriven in Wellington ; that lawyers' costs have not flourished like a green bay-tree ; that petty matters have nor been magnified into causes cilibres ; or that there is a deep-seated respect for the administration of justice in the publio mind ? The possession of power, unlesß accompanied by a judicious exercise of it, is very often injurious, and the most superßcial reader of history mußt have observed that the greatest rulers have been those who have exerted their power least. There is, in our opinion, nothing more unbecoming than to see a Judge stretching his censure and bis powers to their utmost limits, or angrily or solemnly disputing over the paltrießt point of etiquette. It is not the custom in England, nor should it be ' honored iu the observance' in New Zealand."

The annual general meeting of tbe Dunedin Jockey Club was held at the Empire Hotel last evening; present Messrs J. Marshall (in the chair), Geo Dodeen, Geo Dowse, H. Driver, H. Gourley, T. Hotherington, W. H. Haydon, T. Meenan, J. M'Neill, C. Moore, J. Reany, A. Smith, Geo. Smith, W. H. Taggart, 8. Wilson, and S. James (secretary). The committee's report was read, showing that the receipts for the three meetings held during the past seacon were L 3.842 10s 2d, and the expenditure L 3.426 13s 6d, leaving a balance of L 415 16s Bd. This sum, and the value of the grand stand and other racing appliances belonging to the club, valued at L 450, appears to represent the assets of the club-making in all L 865 16b Bd, while the liabilities are nil. The report congratulated the members on the success of the Cup day, adding that the attendance on that day numbered 3,000; but if we remember rightly there were more people than that present, although the weather was very inclement. The committee felt that the accommodation for the public in the shape of a grand stand is not fitted for the requirements of the club j as, however, they have only held the racecourse from the Forbury Park Company on a yearly tenure, they have not felt justified in going to any great expense, nor in instituting a, Derby or Leger. Should their mooes-1 sora be enabled to secure a lease of the park for racing purposes for a lengthened period, a new grand stand and the institution of the two raoeg alluded to would oommaud immediate attention. New rules as drafted were then submitted for approva ? , and adopted. '} he following officeM were eleoted :—President, Mr John , Stephenson; Tics-president, Mr Geo. Dowse? members of committee, Messrs Dodson,

Davidson, Gourley, Marshall, Meenan, M'Neill, Moore, Beany, A. Smith, G. Smith, and Taggart ; auditors, Messrs Meenan and 0. Smith. The proceedings terminated with votes of. thanks to the retiring committee, the secretary, and the chairman. Mr B. H. Leary will address the electors of Bell Ward this evening, at eight o'clock, in the Oddfellows' Hall. The quarterly meeting of the A.0.F., Court Pride of Dunedic, will be held in the South Australian Hall at eight o'clock this eveninig. A challenge appears in our advertising columns from Mr Edwards to walk Scott or anyone else in New Zealand from 1 to 100 miles for LIOO a-sido. At the meeting of the Loyal Leith Lodge, i.0.0.F,, held last evening, the following officers elected at the last meeting were duly installed by the Grand Master, iJro. Jos. Braitbwa'lte :—Bro. H. Coxhead, P. 0.; Bro. Reid, N.G.; Bro. Meven, V.G.; Bro. Bayley, treasurer; Bro. Holmes, secretary; Bro. Boyd, conductor,