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Evening Star, Issue 4024, 19 January 1876, Page 2

There was a long sitting of the Resident Magistrate’s Court to-day, but most of the business was of an unimportant nature. “Grif” was repeated at the Queen’s Theatre last evening, and appeared to meet with the approval of the audience. It will be repeated to-night.

“Kicking up a shine about nothing,” is the heading to a local in the ‘N, O. Times, ’ in which reference is made to an immigrant named Cornelius Shine, who two months ago was described as being with his family in a state of starvation at Awamoko. He appears to have speedily improved his position, for at the last Government land sale in the district lie purchased twenty-six acres at Papakaio at a pound an acre.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before Mr T. A. Mausford, E.M., William Thomson, who tvaa remanded yesterday on a charge of drunkenness through being incapable of appearing, vVrts ordered to pay a line of 5s or twenty-four hours’; and for a similar offence yesterday was fined 10s orforty-eight hours’ ; Joseph Mills and Arthur Hornby, for similar offences, tv ere each lined 5s or twenty-four hours’ imprisonment. The inhabitants of a township not a hundred miles distant from Palmerston are on the tip toe of expectation concerning tiro Intended completion of a matrimonial] engagement which is regarded as more than ordinarily interesting. The bridegroom is over eighty summers and the bridc-elect just turned throe score and ton. The ‘ Herald’ adds that this will not bo the first occasion on which the parlies have helped to tie the nnptual knot, as the bridegroom will find in his bride his third wife, and the bride will find in the bridegroom her fourth husband. The following story is told by the ‘ Post 5 : A distressing domestic .scandal became public on Saturday afternoon. There is an unfortunate infant, whose papa follows the usual occupation of cab-driving, but refuses either to own or support his offspiing. The “stern parieut” had left his vehicle for a minute to indulge in a glass of beer, and on his return to the cab found calmly reposing therein his unacknowledged babe ! Rightly conjecturing that it bad been placed there by its mamma, who strongly objected to bearing alone the expense of its maintenance, the unhappy cabman instantly seized the baby and rushed frantically in pursuit of the mother with the intention of resigning hie

interesting charge. She, however, had disappeared, and cabby was last seen vainly pursuing his frenzied search for her whereabouts.

Noticing the railway traffic returns of the Otago and Canterbury lines, a writer in the ‘North Otago Times’ remarks : month’s returns for Otago show the astounding amount of nearly thirteen thousand pounds to have been received from the fragmentary lines as yet in operation. The Canterbury returns for November show about fifteen thousand pounds, which will be largely increased by the opening of the line through to Timaru. It follows that the railway traffic of Canterbury and Otago already aggregate each three hundred and fifty thousand pounds per annum, and allowing a hundred and fifty thousand for all the lines under General Government control—seven in number—we have a total of haif-a-million ayear of gross revenue from all the lines in the Colony ! Can any one doubt that when the missing links are supplied, this total will be at least doubled, and that the gross receipts will be a million per annum before three years are over our heads. Fancy 72,000 passengers being carried on the Canterbury lines in one month, viz., November, and, therefore, not an extraordinary month for travelling; the returns for the holiday months ■will doubtless be far greater. Let the croakers put these facts in their narcotic tubes, and inhale the salutary vapor, while they chew the bitter cud of their own vaticinations.”

Shortly after noon to-day, a deputation from St. Kilda, consisting of the Mayor, Crs. Henderson, Mitchell, Vickery, and Robin, introduced by Mr M‘lndoe, waited on his Honor the Superintendent. They presented a memorial, which set forth their object. This was first to get the boundaries of the municipality altered and extended so as to include the Bay View road; and also to get an endowment of 500 acres on the Sandhills for the municipality. His Honor promised as regarded the first point tohavethe matter adjusted. As to the second matter, he had no doubt the question would be fully discussed when it came before the Provincial Council. It was now within the jurisdiction of the Waste Land Board and the Commissioner of Crown Lands, to whom application should be made. Mr Jones said the matter should be instantly attended to. The municipality was in danger of being inundated in consequence of the removal of the Sandhills. His Honor promised to look into the matter. If the land was reserved (of which he had a doubt) then he could deal with it under restrictions. He had power to let it for three years to the municipality at a nominal rental. The Mayor assured his Honor the Council would be glad to have charge of it. Before the deputation left, his Honor inquired as to the position this municipality and that of St. Kilda stood in with regard to the Caversham Road Board, and suggested that a number of delegates from each municipality could shonfer with the Board.

A meeting of the inhabitants of Maori Hill and neighborhood will be held in the Schoolroom on Thursday next, at 7.30, to consider the formation of a municipality. The ratepayers of Opoho and district are invited to meet in the Cattle Market Hotel on Thursday, at 8 p.m., to consider the Municipality question. The annual general meeting of the Union Permanent Building Society will be held this evening, at 8 o’clock, in the lower hall of the Athenaeum.

A final meeting of the Loyal Unity Lodge, I. 0.0. F. Concert Committee, will he held tomorrow (Thursday), at 7.30 p.m.