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Evening Star, Issue 4017, 11 January 1876, Page 2

Two cases $ scarlet fever are reported to exist in Invemfigill.

Sir J. Vogel is not expected to vouch Wellington earlier ihau the end of February.

Several persons word summoned at the City Police Court to-day mid fined in mitigated penalties for letting off fireworks on New Year’s eve.

The demolition of premises in Princes street south, for the purpose of ejecting the long-talked oft' ■widening, will on Monday next. Mr FisVs establishment will be the first to be operated upon, Mr R. Nesbeth, of Queenstown, is worthy of commendation for the Royal Humane So * ciety’s medal. Within the last five weeks he has rescued three children from drowning in Lake Wakatip. The Kartigi section of the DuuedinMoeraki line lias fallen to Munro and Cul ling, of Moeraki, whose tender for L 58,747 was the lowest. They have two years to complete their contract in.

“Robinson Crusoe” attracted a pretty numerous attendance at the Queen’s theatre last night, To-night is announced as a grand million night, and as the pantomime is to be played for the last time the price for admission to all parts of the house will bo half the usual change.

In dealing with a case at the City Police Court to-day, in which a cab-driver, -who gave his age as seventeen, was summoned, the Bench dwelt strongly on the fact that the age of the cabmen to whom licenses should be granted was not limited. The evidence, as Mr Pyke remarked, in the case in question disclosed the fact that the defendant was unable to control his horses when they took fright.

At the Southern Hotel on Saturday Mr M*Kenzie, Inspector of Works, was presented by the men under his supervision with a handsome marble clock, valued at L2O, which was obtained from Messrs M‘Arthur and Sinclair. The time-piece bears the following inscription :—“ Presented to Alexander M'Kenzie, Inspector of Works for the City of Dunedin, by the employees imder his supervision.” Smith’s Combination Troupe gave another successful entertainment at the Temperance Hall last night. Mr Willard’s step-dancing was received with unusual marks of approval. Miss Lane's singing, “ 0 viva Gitana, ” was loudly applauded. Azelia, the trapezienue, repeated her difficult walk across the dome of the hall head downwards. To-night a benefit is tendered to that lady, aud as an attractive programme is to be put forward there should be a full house.

The’ ‘Grey Paver Argus,’ which is generally well informed on matters political, has iutonnatiou from a very good source that iu all probability the General Assembly will bo called together for the despatch of business some time iu May, which will bo in accordance with the understanding arrived at at the celebrated conference when the Abolition Act w<is before Parliament last session. Steps have already been taken, we understand, to alter the end of the financial year to the 31st March. It is probable that this arrangement has been induced by the probability of a protracted session, and it is well knowui that a House cannot be kept together after the end of October.

By what name, asks the ‘Press,’ is the Otago contingent, to be designated ? They are scarcely Provincialists, since most of them are ready enough to abolish the Provinces, upon certain conditions. They talk much of serration ; though, in some instances, we suspect, rather with a view to what will take the popular fancy than from any conviction that separation is a practicable scheme. Perhaps their policy may be best described as Oppositionist. It is solely, exclusively, and in the narrowest sense of the word, Provincial. They profess not the slightest concern for the welfare of the Colony. They are perfectly indifferent as to what may become of tho other Provinces. They stand aloof from, and tacitly decline any connection with, the rest of ]S T ew Zealand. They are representatives of Otago and Otago alone.

' The * Broca Herald's ’ prize of L 5 for the best essay on Provmoialwm has been awarded to Mr William Sinclair, of Milton. It is published in to-day’a ‘Herald.’ Only on© essay against Provincialism was sent in, and that after the advertised time.

"V et another newspaper declines to sympathise with the * Daily Times ’ in reference to the bankruptoy advertisements. Our Oamam contemporary shows that itself was tho ‘ Carotin ’ under the old Act for tho Oamam district, and expresses its conviction that its application to be regazetted will be favor ably entertained 1 Thors was a. short f itting of the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, before Mr J. Bathgate, R.M, Hannah Meldrum, who had some time ago obtained an order for maintenance against her husband, William Meldrum, now summoned him again on account of his not having paid her anything during the whole of last year. Defendant did not appear, but complainant received a telegram from him yesterday, saying that he had forwarded her L 4, all the money he could raise. His Worship ordered that as defendant did not appear iu answer to the summons his recognisance in the sum of LIO be forfeited.

The newly-formed Otago Society of Artists held a second meeting at the Athenaeum last evening; Mr Welsh in the chair. A number of new members joined the society. Several matters iu connection with the society were discussed, and a resolution passed admitting ladies as members. The already enrolled members appear to be enthusiastic enough, and there is no doubt that the society will progress rapidly. Already some of the members have arranged to meet (weather permitting) on Saturday, tho loth inst., m the afternoon, when it is their intention to proceed up the Valley of the Leith on a sketching tour. The meeting adjourned till the 14th inst. What looks like a case of suicide is reported from Invercargill. On Sunday morning, a lad who was walking on the jetty found a coat and hat, and on looking around, saw, some distance off, the body of a man lying on the beach. The remains were identified as those oi a laborer named Robert Burns Dray, who had been suffering from the effects of intemperance, and left the house of Mr W. Waddell, Sylvan Bank, at half-past eleven o’clock on Saturday night, remarking at tho time that he could not sleep owing to his mind being uneasy. It is thought that he must have jumped, from where his clothes were found into the water. Deceased was a single man, forty-two years of age. One of the smartest election tricks we have heai’d for some time past was played upon a canvasser of Mr Green’s yesterday afternoon at the Port. It appears that some one who wanted a dinner went down by the 2.30 p.m. train, and on arrival was at pains to let everyone know that he had a vote. Of course the members of both committees commenced to talk him over, and at Last the would-be voter told them that he could not vote on an empty stomach ; whereupon one ol Mr Green’s canvassers took him to Dodson’s Hotel, where they had dinners and drinks to the amount of 16s. Then they went arm-in-arm over to the polling booth, when it was discovered that the visitor had no vote. We can imagine the feelings of the canvasser.

The adjourned first annual meeting of the new Dunedin Volunteer Fire Brigade was hold at the station last night, Captaiil Johnson in the chair. The City Council wrote intimating that they intended insuring £'3*e building and property of the Brigade, and referring to the question of providing a firebell at the soult end of the town. The captain’s report stated that during the three xriontha the Brigade had existed eight fires and one false alarm had occurred. There had been six practice and three general meetings ; five members had been elected and two had resigned. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year Captain, Mr J. Atkinson; lieutenant, Mr H. Falconer ; foreman of hook and ladder company, Mr J. Sinclair; foreman of hose comi pany, Mr J, Murphy ; treasurer, Mr W. Sinclair ; secretary, Mr Robertson ; branchman of No. 1 company, Mr W. Brown ; branchman* of No. 2 company, Mr J. B. Galland ; pioneers, Messrs Williden, Houghton, Bloddcu, aijd Webster; auditors, Messrs P. Sherwin, Coidey, and Houghton. Mr J. Carroll was electe'd an honorary member. Wo regret to learn that Alex, Wilkie, one of the members of the Order of Good Templars who came from Nelson as a representative to the Gra.ud Lodge Session recently held in Dunedin, died in the hospital here last night. It appeals that the deceased had been complaining befcU’e he left homo, but thought that the sea-voyage would enable him to throw off his inc?imposition and set him up again all right. It was not so, however. When be arrived 5n Dunedin he was worse, and on the nrxt day was unable to sit up. Getting worse daily, his friend and co-representative from Nelson, Bro. Bond, who attended him wi£h the utmost assiduity, called in Dr Brown, who ordered his removal to the Hospital and pronounced his case one of typhoid fever. For a day or two the patient appeared to rally, but bis case was so serious that his friends wore communicated with, and his mother arrived in town at the end of Lost week. Until yesterday hopes were entertained of his recovery, but Mr Wilkie succumbed, as we have heard, last night. The deceased had been actively connected with the Temperance movement, and was deeply interested in the progress of Good Templary for some years. He was much respected where he was most known, and his death, under the peculiarly painful circumstances with which it is connected, will cast a gloom over a large circle of acquaintances and friends.

The Hon. William Fox, writing from Plymouth, England, under date 30th October, 1375, alluding to his labors on behalf of the Temperance movement, says:—“He has visited the chief cities of Scotland, some of Ireland, and several parts of England, and in the coui’se of his journeyings has addressed 75,000 to 100,000 people. Although the meetings were invariably well attended, the Press in general did not give a good idea of what was done,” As regards the “reports,” Mr Fox says, “ Pray do not be-' lievc anything you will see. 1 used among others to complain of Colonial reporting, but here it is, except in the leading London papers, infinitely worse, and where the speaker is rapid, as I am unfortunately, and the subject one on which reporters are ignorant, as they mostly are on the Temperance movement, they make a disgusting hash of what one says. In my case they jumble up what I say of the United vStates with what I say of New Zealand, and anyone in New Zealand who reads their reports of my speeches will think I am telling most awful and unblushing lies. I have repeatedly been reported as saying that Prohibition in New Zealand has been an immense success, has swept away uinetenths of the drinking, &c., &<*., which will astonish my' friends in the Colony These things have been said of Maine or Vermont, which, in their ignorance I suppose, the reporters think are in New Zealand. ’’ Mr Fox says :— * Wo have had the very worst weather 1 ever saw in my life—incessant rain, storms, drizzle, fog and moisture. I have at least ten big colds, one on the top of the other, quite distinguishable iu character—my Greenwich .emmOlasgow cold, my Dundee cold, my Aberdeen-cum-Edin-burgh do, my Great Northern Bail way do,

my Manchester * cum * Bolton • cum-Prwton-oum-Steley Bridge do, my Dublin spwialcold and sore throat, ary Carlow relaxed uvula, my aterford bronchitis, and about a dozen more and with all this on the lungs having to address assemblages of from 1,000 to 7,000 in the grand halls which adorn most of the big cities. But everybody is much in the same condition, and seems used to it. ‘How’s your cold,’ they say, as if it was a possession and belonged to a man, and so indeed it "is. It is not only in England. A newspaper correspondent from Italy writes that ‘ Lake Como is like BJackwall in a fog the Emperor of Germany bar; gone to bed with a cold in his head, in the middle of a ‘ great political progress.’ ’ There arc worse places in the world than Dunedin it would seem, notwithstanding our continual dripping.

We have been requested to state that it was not Henry HicV-s (colored man), of Leith street, who was fined in the Police Court yesterday.

The members of the Order of Good Templars are invited by advertisement to attend the funeral of the late Brother Wilkie, which takes place to-mortow, at three o’clock.

We thank Mr Q, S. Brodrick, Dunedin agent for the Liverpool and London and Globe Insurance Company, for a copy of their very elegant and useful illuminated card almanac for 1876. It is artistic both in design and execution, and will prove a useful reminder to the counting house.