The Evening Star THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4049, 17 February 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1876.

In the city of Nelson not a single drop of rain fell during the month of January.

The price of gas in Auckland has been reduced to lis 3d per I,oooft. for cash payments.

A prominent Auckland, lawyer is said to have turned novelist, and to' be about publishing his first attempt in fiction. . The Hou. H. J. Miller being about to proceed to England has been presented with an address by the Oaraaru Harbor Board, of which he is chairman.

The ' Tuapeka Times' of yesterday has a few items of mining intelligence : - The Nil Desperandum Company, atWaipori, crushed forty ounces from thirty-nine tons of stone. At Haveloek some miners are making L 4 to L 5 per week each.

The Marionettes are seen to greater advantage at the theatre, because of the additional stage accommodation it provides. Last night all portions of the house were well filled, and the large audience received with manifestations of thorough approval the burlesque and pantomime, and the beautiful scenery whioh accompanies both. The .criminal sittings of the District Court, Tokoniairiro, will commence on Saturday next, before, his, Honpr.Mr Justice Ward. There are two cases for trial, one prisoner for sheep-stealing and one for stick-mg-iip with intent to rob. There is also one case of sheep-stealing for trial at the ensuing session of the Supreme' Court at Lawrence.

The members of All Saints' Young Men's Association held their weekly meeting in the School-room last evening, Mr Ashcrortinthe chair. After some discussion as to a place in which to hold the proposed conversazione, Mr Swcte read: his promised paper on " Something about the worlds beyond." Some discussion took place, the paper opening the question of the habitation of the stars.

Although her Majesty now formally wields the soeptre of the Fiji Islands, the ex-king exercises his authority in a quiet,' unofficial fashion.. He was down at Bau lately, and, by way of compensating for the loss of population through measles,; he issued an edict that all marriageable young men and girls should be inarried forthwith. .Within a few days there were 130 marriages. Cakobau reasons like Benedick—"The world must be peopled/'

THo report of ttio Pnblic Trustee (Mr Jonas Woodward)) for the month of van* nary, 1876, shows that sixteen' intestate; estates came under his management during that month, the total'estimated value being under L 4,400. Those in this Province were as follows >—JohnJohnston, Balclutha, L 800;' Robert Stivens, Dunedin, under , L 10 0; John Meyer, Dunedin, under L 600; Charles Stewart, Dunedin, under L 5.; and Charles Norman, Caversnam, under L 25. During the quarter ended 31st December, 1875, the number of money orders issued at I the various Post Offices in this Colony was 18,782, and their aggregate amount L 73,316 4s 4d. In the corresponding quarter of 1874, the. number r was 16,331*.and the amount L 68.136 18s 9d, showing r an: increasei' of"' about 12$ per cent. The number paid was 13,609 in December of 1875, and their amount L 54,302 3s 3d, while in the like quarter of "the former year, the number-was--11,575, and the amount L 48.864 19s 9d; the rate of increase being about the same as in the other case.-

It is not always. good to be too familiar with your cook, judgingfrom the case against C. Ancell, who was a day or tWo ago charged at the Wellington Eesident Magistrate's Court with horse-stealingj It seems Mr Charles vPugsley,, at the Taita, employed the accused as cook, and allowed him to keep a horse, on the , premises. Master and man became, so familiar that they rode one another's horses as to each seemed' best, but after a while they quarrelled, and it is alleged that accused on leaving took away the master's good, horse, instead of hw own weed, and attempted to convert it into cash. He was remanded. ...

The official statement of the business done, by the Government Savings' Banks during the last quarter of 1875 shows.that 2,632 accounts : were opened,,. and 2,069 closed during the quarter; thiit* 22,759^ ' deposits and 9,438 withdrawals were made, their re-, spective total amounts being L 158,594 16s 8d and L 156,844 14s lid, both considerably less than in the corresponding quarter of the. previous year. The excess of deposits over withdrawals amounted to only L1,7501b 9d i in the December quarter of last'year, as'j compared with L 7,993 ,12s 2d in the same quarter of the year 1874;. In Otago there are 33 offices, in which during the quarter deposits to the amount of L 50.253 were made; while the withdrawals during the, same period were 50,18.8 In Dunedin the deposits exceeded the withdrawals by LI, 802, but in the Southland ' offices the tables were turned the withdrawals exceeding the deposits LI, 737. ; Among the enforced passengers to Melbourne by the Omeo, which, it will be remembered, could not be tendered either at Greymouth or Hokitika, is F. B. Passmore, superintending Engineer of constructed railways, for whom the travelling public and' the Press of the North Island entertain no feelings of affection. Therefore, the papers are rejoicing that they are quit of him for a time, and the ' Wellington Argus' remarks: —"lt will be at least three weeks or a month before Mr Passmore can get back. It is really quite, a providential dispensation that, this fortunate accident should have, happened before the cable was laid. Let ug hope that the railways of tne Colony will, yield increased returns without the supervxI sion of their Superintending Engineer, and. I that even the kelson and FoxhUl line will be found to pay while he's away. If it does I not under such exceptionally favorable circumstances it never will."

The following items are from to-day's ' CjJutha Leader' :*—" It is the Rev: Mt Banneraian's intention to take his departure for Scotland by the Canterbury, -which sails on the 28£h inst.—The Otago Acclimatisation Society will be glad to know that starlings are seen in great numbers at the Waitepeka Station, coming, no doubt, from Finnegand, where they were first introduced through Mr Shaw.—High tides have been experienced at Port Molyneux lately, caused, as Captain Burn informs usj by strong westerly winds and spring tides. The banks of the; river have been flooded, and the river-bank road softened to a great extent. We also hear of twenty-five acres of oats under water on Inch. Cluttia.—Mr Grindley, of Port Chalmers, who came down to Port Molyneux for the purpose of raising the Lady of the Lake, gave up the job on Friday last. We understand that the boiler and engineß are still in her hull, but Mr Grindley does not consider it worth the trouble and cost to get them out. The decks are all out of her, and a great many of ; t>he iron plates swinging."

; It would seem that Hokifcika can boast of a very bumptious Town Clerk. .. Very recently the Mayor of that borough instructed the Town Cleik to sue Mr James Bonar for Borne wharf feeß, and the Town Clerk ; flatly refused to do so, maintaining, in defiance of the Borough Solicitor's opinion, that Buch a pourae would be illegal, that he was the servant of the Corporation, as a whole, and bound to protect the interests of the burgesses in defiance of the Mayor, who had no ! right to give him orders without ;a resolution of the Council; The Borough Solicitor resigned in consequence of the way the Town Clerk spoke to him, and the Mayor called a special meeting of the. Council, when a general wrangle occurred. The Town Clerk several times gave the lie direct to his Worship and to various councillors, and maintained his position valiantly. A resolution was moved and seconded censuring£his conduct, but an, amendment was moved, "That he be respectfully requested to apologise :to .the Mayor for the language he had used.'*, A majority of one Appeared to back up the Town Clerk, his Worship the Mayor vacated the chair and left the' meeting. Some very ,-wahn discussion then took place, the public loudly applauding certain of the speakers. .Ultimately the •'respectful" request of the Council to their clerk for the apology.was parried by a majority of one. It is not stated whether the clerk condescended to comply with the request so nicely made.

■Wilson's mammoth ci'CUP, which has been doing such good business n the nor hen tr-wha will open here on Wednesday. We sba I have a word or two to say about the company before it appears. '■ The Court St. Andrew, No. 6,127, will give a soiree, C"ncert, asd dance in the Caversoam drill-shed to-morrow evening. A capital programme has been for the occasion, ' and the City Guard*' band ha« volunteered to play some selections. The Forresteia are to appear in full rega ? ia. ,; , .....'.,, The Piide of Dunedin, I 0.G.T., held its usual weekly meeting last night in the Tem eranca HuU; W.6.T. Bro. Wakefield in the cluir. The reports for last quarter,showing the Lodge to be in a fair state, with 117 members good on the books, was read. '1 he LodgeDeputy (Bio. .Carr)then toot th« chair, iaod installed the W.S; Bro. Warrant into office. After some formal business,,,five new members being proposed, the Lodge closed in due form. .

At the last weekly meeting of Lodge British Heirtsof ield in joom of Knox Church., .-.After the usual routine of business, including the initiation of new numbers, the lodge proceeded to the instillation of officer* for the ens»ing term, who were as follows:—W.O.T.; Bro Sims; W.V.T., Sis Dodd; W.S., Bro Bell; WJ\S„ Bro Hossack; W.T., SU Jeffs; W..C , Bro Houndslow ; W.M., Bro Soundy j W.J.tt., BroWhitel; W.O.S.* Brp Oalder; DM, S|k Haywood, bunt; K.H.S, Ss Qmwiord; Jetfs ; A.S., Bto. Wellfe The above officers were installed by the&W,C.T,,,G.W.S., and