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Evening Star, Issue 3898, 21 August 1875, Page 2

At Oamaru, on Tuesday, Scott walked seven miles in fifteen seconds over the hour —being 2min. 424 mm lens than Ktlwardt’s time last Saturday. Scott’s last mile wa« doue in 7min, 59socs.

The Solid tor* General v. the Corporation of Dunedin, a motion for nn injunction in re the widening of Prin es street, again occup ad the Supreme Court in banco the whole oi to-day, and still shows no signs of being completed.

At the Police Court to-day, before H. Bastings, Ksq , and J. Black, Csq , J, P.’s, Malcolm M‘Kee was fined 10s for drunkenness A couple jof charges of a sault con stituted the only other business broughi before the Court.

Mr John Scott father of the young pedestrian of that name, writes in reierence to an extract from the ‘ North Otajo Times’ published by us. He protests against being thought capable of making a living out ot his child’s earnings, and says it is not his wish that the boy should he taken from the trade to which he has been apprenticed. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Por' Chalmers, yesterday, before T. A.. Mansford, Esq., R.M., Michael Kelly and Join Hambly, charged on the information ol Ered. Fahlbury, master of the barquCrishna, with unlawfully secreting them selves on board his vessel from Melbourne ta this port, were ordered to pay the sum of LS each, or in default fourteen days’ imprisonment, with hard labor.

In a recent issue we published an extract from the Cromwell ‘Argus’ correcting the ‘ Tablet ’ as to the birthday of Daniel O’Connell, saying that he was born on August 9, and not August 6, 1775. It appears however that the ‘ Tablet ’ was correct as to the date foi it publishe i a letter fro O'Connell to the Dublin ‘ Evening Post,’ dated July 17, 1828, in which the writer states that he was born on August 6, 1775. The following is an extract from a letter to a friend in Dunedin from Mr J. L. Bunten, who, with his wife (Miss Aitken), left here by the Waikato some few months ago:—“We arrived safely in Glasgow on the 6th June, after a teoious passage of 120 days. Shipbuilding is very slack just now, and no new specifications are being issued. The finishing of old contracts is the principal work being done by the builders. The harbor has been, and is still being extended. It now reaches to Kelvin, on the north side, and nearly to Goran on the south.”

Perhaps no election contest ever fought in Otago has excited more public interest than that for Caversham yesterday. Not only to Dunedin and Oaveraham was this interest, confined, as for half-anhour a'ter the result was known in Dunedin the telegraph offr e was besieged by persons telegraphing it throughout the Colony. The arrangements by the Returning Officer were thoroughly complete (the totals being made up at each polling-booth), and Mr Street deserves to be congratulated on the success attending his efforts. Although the polling booths were scattered throughout the district, an accurate result of the polling was known within two hours of its close.

One of those pleasant ruuniona that tend to cement the cordial relationship that ought to exist between omp’oyers and emph-yii.s took place at Benuet’s Pier Hotel last even ing. A SU; per was given to Messrs Marshall and Oopelaud by their employes, and the company numb-red about thirty. The chair was occupied by Mr son; the vice-ohair being filled by Mr Rivers. The chairman proposed the toast o ** The Firm,” coupling it with the name of Mr Wilson, one of the partners, who suitably responded. Mr Bennett surpassed all his former efforts in catering for bis visitors, and he was complimented for the excellent manner in which he provided for their wants. Seveial good songs were given in the course of the evening, and the patty broke up at au advanced hour this morning.

The fact of Messrs Steele and Keogh taking a benefit last night at the Queen’s drew a large audience, the house bein almost filled in every part. “Macbeth” was played, with Mr .Steele as the thane of Cawdor, Mrs Darrell as Lady Macbeth, and Mr Darrell in the minor part of Macduff, The piece was well put on the stage, the scenery being generally appropriate, and the musical portion capitally rendered. The Lady Macbeth of Mrs Darrell was the feature of the performance, and was played admirably throughout. Her soliloquy in the first act, on hearng that Duncan would shortly be under her husband’s roof and in their power, was a fine piece of declamation. She was equally powerful in the following scene, her bitter contempt for Macbeth, as she finds be requires goading on to the murderous deed, being naturally and forcibly expressed In the sleep-walking scene, also, Mrs Darrell was very effective. Mr tteele’s Macbeth W3S fairly successful, but it lacked energy and animation ; his delivery was also occasionally too hurried and slovenly, and tameness characterised the dagger soliloquy. Mr Steele, however, showed more fire in his outburst at the second appearance of Banquo’u ghost, and this proved that, with more care and ambition to do his best, Shakespearian characters are not beyond his powers. Mr Darrell we did not like in Macduff; his tone of voice was unnatural, he rather overacted the part, and the attitudes he struck

were sometimes nothing less than grotesque, otill, we think that his Macbeth would be worth seeing, and we trust the tragedy will be again played, with Mr Darrell in the leading character. Mr Musgrave made a rather mumbling King Duncan, and Mr btoueham was scarcely in his element as Malcolm. Great credit is due to the members of the orchestra, and to Messrs Hoyle and Huntley, and Misses Vernon and Vivian for the creditable performance ot the solos and choruses in the witches’ scenes. It was rather to be regretted that the curtain shouid fall on the final act amid a good deal of laughter. '1 his was to be attributed to the old fashioned way iu which Macbeth and Macduff “laid on” each other with the r swords—no skill in the use of thosearms being displayed, but the combatants banging away at each other’s weapons in the style of tile smuggles and pirates iu the melo-dramas of fifty years ago. borne of our great modern tragedians have made a great point of studying fencing thoroughly, and there is no doubt but that the character of a drama is much kept up by an actor showing some idea of rbe use and manag. ment of a sword “ Luoretia Borgia” will be produced ibis evenmg.

The Ctamd Lodge «t New Zealand, 10.0.7., will open the session on Monday, at 8 p.tn., in the Lodge Room, Hibernian Hotel. A meeting of members and all interested in the Perth, Angus, and Mearns Association, will be held in Murray’s Temperance Hotel, Rattray street, on the 24th, at 8 p.m. In our advertising columns will be fonnd an acknowledgment by tin Committee of th* Working Men’s Club, of a handsome donatio* from his Worship the Mayor, consisting of a celestial globe and eighteen volumes of the ‘Encyclopaedia Brits nnica.” The committee express a hope that other leading citizens wiil follow his example, and assist to form aeuitabl: library for the club.