The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1875.

Evening Star, Issue 3990, 8 December 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 8, 1875.

The Municipality of Bouth Dunedin is proclaimed in to-day’s * Gazette.’ The nomination of candidates for the Mayoralty of fcit. Kilda is fixed for the 15th inst. Council yesterday voted LIGO which isi to be expended in the purchase of books of reference, which are to form the neucleus of a civic library, charges of drunkenness constituted the business brought before the City Police Court to-day. Marian Smith was fined 20s, m dc.’anlt forty-eight hours’ imprisonment; Ellen Barry, 40i, or seven days. At the New Year, the ‘North Otago 1 imea will appear as a morning daily of the same size as its present issue, and the proprietors intend to bring out a weekly, to bo called ‘ The Standard.’ We hear nothing more of an evening paper for Oamarn. Mr Steward, M.H.R., when addressing his consti uents at Oamarn the other day, said there was every reason to believe there would be through railway communication between Oamarn and Christchurch by this time twelvemonth.

Mr M‘Gregor, C.8., has intimated to the City Council that if he can get a ten years’ concession, on advantageous terms, he is prepared to lay down a horse tramway from the Botanical hardens to the Ocean Beach, at the end of the Forbury road. The matter has been referred to the Finance Committee for “ immediate attention.”

Mr John Luncan, of Cherry Farm, mot with a severe accident on Monday mornin« as he was proceeding to Dunedin. When near the Kilmog, the horse he was driving became restive and overturned the buggy throwing him out. The ‘Herald’ informs us that Mr Duncan received an ugly cut on his head, and had a small bone of the right leg broken, 6

The Rifle Association's meeting will be commenced at 5 a.m. to morrow, and will extend over three days. The formal opening takes place to-morrow afternoon at 2.30 when Mrs Walter will fire the first shot of the second match. Volunteers are then to appear in uniform, and the fife and drum band will be in attendance. It is anticipated there will be between sixty and seventy competitors, 3

‘ The Green Bushes ” was played at the Queen a Theatre last evening, Miss Stephenson appearing as the Indian huntress and Mr Musgrave as Jack Gong. The piece was well received, and at the close of the drama the audience became quite enthusiastic To-night, “Aurora Floyd” will be pro'ouced, and Miss Stephenson will appear in a more cong nul part, as the heroine, than she has yet been seen.

“The Irish Pilgrim’s Progress through the United Sta'es of America " was the subject of an interesting and amusing lecture delivered by Mr J. 1 J Armstrong, M.P.C., at Crickmore s Royal Assembly Hooras last evening in aid of the funds of the Port Chalmers Medunics’ institute, Mr H. M‘i)ermid, President of the Institute, ©ecu’ pied the cheir, and the lecture was fairly attt nded. At the conclusion of his lecture a beaity vote of thanks was given to Mr Armstrong, who briefly responded, and intimated that he w uld be willing to give another lecture iu Port Chalmers at some future period.

A Blenheim youth named James Rankin i 3 a worthy candidate for the Humane ociety’s meda . (hi the 25th uit, smiio children named hi vans wore playing on the banka of (he river Omaha, when one of them, .'god -six - cars, fell i”to 1 ho water. Tho children on the bank immediately sot up a loud cry, which was heard by young Rankin, who was working at a raid close by. When he reach d the water-side and saw the child’s position, he without a moment’s hesitation jumped in, dressed as he was, swam out to the drowning child, got hold of him, and brought him safely to land, although in a vc:y exhausted state. This is the third person saved from drowning by Rank’ll, who himself is only lh rteen years old, A new scheme for carrying on the mail contract between the P. and 0. C.mpany and the Colonies is ripe for negotiation with the contracting Governments, Mid what is sought !o he attained under it are mail contracts for a reasonable rate of speed and good accommodation at moderate rates for all classes of passengers. The ‘ S, A. Register’ says the scheme offers greater rapidity of mail communication in conjunction with increased facilities for personal travelling, By a transfer of the intermediate port from Galle to the Lhangos Islands it is calculated that the mail time between London and Adelaide might be reduced to thirty-six days, Melbourne to thirty-eight days, Sydney to fort/ days, and Wellington to fortythree days. In order to secure the mail and passenger traffic to lyew Zealand the P, and 0. Company must mike &beir whole service shorter than one seci/Jon of the Californian route, Adelaide, Mel* 1

bourne, and Sydney will have a stronger pull on the company thau und r the presentinefficient system of fines for overtime Under the new arrangement the penalty for overtime would entail loss of favor in the felony governed by Sir J alius Vogel. The acceleration of speed proposed is simply a question of coa! consumption, and even that is not eo formidable as has been represented. The promoters i f the desired new contract pledge themselves to provide firatc’ass steamers of the largest s'ze and of adequate steam power.

ii x Jn En ar^c^e on railway construction in i< a ruapeka district, tho 4 I itnes ’ says ; As things are going on, wo are given to understand that there is no likelihood of the Round Hill Tunnel work being finished letore July, The Glenore tunnel continues to get along well. Its con traitors have between four and five chains to pierce, they are keeping the work well up to tho original calculation—v : z , that the end of February will ftud the tunnel opened out end> Tokomairiro section, a^en over some months since by the Government is going on as slow as ever, A few men are at work on it, but

what they do no one appears to know. A t the present rate of progress, only a very rash man would take upon himself to say when this portiou of the line is at all likely to be finished.

The * New Zealand Herald/ the acknowledged organ of Sir George Grey, supports tho contention of Sir F.' D. Bell and Mr Reynolds that separation is impossible, because the North and South could never agree to terms. (Jur contemporary’ says :—“There has been a good deal of talk in the Province of Otago about separation, and many candidates have expressed themselves in favor of it, but the one argument has been, so far as we have observed, to prevent themselves from being plundered by the North Island. As for our own position, we do not suppose any man would stand up here and say that he was willing that the North Island separate, taking a full share of the debt, taking over the government of the Natives, and bidding good-bye for ever to any hope of participating to any extent, directly or indirectly, in the proceeds of the Southern land fund.”

The fire a*: Mr Harris’s residence, Albany street, originated in the partition wall dividing the drawing room and young men’s bedroom, on the ground floor, and was discovered by the housemaid, who gave the alarm. An examination of the premises leaves little doubt that it broke out close to the chimney in the drawing-room, worked its way up between the lining, and so extended. Ihe lire is supposed to have originated through some embers working through an old wall. The building and lurniture were insured in the (Norwich Union and Victoria for LI 200 each ; the bui ding was valued at L 3.000, and the furniture, fee , at L 3.000 We have been unable to ascertain the amount of damage, but may state that Mr Hams loses a quantity of curiosities which it will be impossible to replace. We have ascertained on the very beat authority, that there are at present several well known dge professional Chevalier's d'lndustrie in New Zealand At the present moment one of them named Mulvaney. alias Flanagan, is awaiting trial at the ensuing sessions of the District Court, at Timaru, on Friday first, charged with committing several offences in the Waimete district. Detective Bain and Mr Dow, one of the gaol officers, left this morning, per coach, for Timaru, under subpoena, to prove his (Mulvaney’s) convictions in Invercargill and Dunedin. In the year 1862, the same prisoner, with three companies, feloniously entered the room oc cupied in the Supreme Court House by Mr Strode, for the purpose of robbing the cash box, but were unsuccessful, the money having been taken away by one of the clerk’s on the previous afternoon. The four thieves could only be imprisoned for being rogues and vagabonds, owing to no identifiable property being in their possession when apprehended by the detective officers. The proneness of the members of the Harbor Board to circulate exparie statements affecting the trustworthiness of the Hoard's officers is to be regretted. At yesterday’s meeting, Mr 15. B. Cargill was the offender in this respect; and from the fact that his authority was not divulged, we should say that he had not previously satisfied himself that there was foundation for the assertions of the writer that the Board’s Inspector of Works was in the habit of mis-stating, for the allegation amounts to that, the quantities of material the punts lift In justie :to Mr Stephens, the fol owing facts, which could have been ascertained without much trouble, should be stated When the Inepector took charge of the punts he caus ;d measurements to be made of them. The actual carrying capacity of each punt he found to te twenty-one cubic yards, but in his estimate he decided to make what appears to be a too considerable allowance of four yards to come and go upon. There is little doubt tha. the punts do carry more than seventeen cubic yards each. These measurements have been tested by noting the displacement of the punt?.

Officers and members of the Provincial Grand Lodge of New Zealand, S.C., are requested to meet at the Masonic Hall, on Thursday (to-morrow) evening, at 7.30 p.m. The Lynch family of bellringers commence their inland tour on Friday, when they .will ope.i for two nights at Balclutha. On Monday they will appear at Kaitangata, and Tuesday and Weduesday at Tuapeka, and thence proceed to Cromwell, and Queenstown, re-appear-ing in Dunedin in about six weeks’ time.

With reference to the Horticultural Society's advertisement, which appears in another column, some misapprehension seems to exist. We are requested to state that all articles to be exhibited, whether for competition or exhibition only, will bo received at the Arcade, from twelve to one on Wednesday, the 15th inst.