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Evening Star, Issue 4102, 20 April 1876, Page 2

The meeting of crickets convened for yes terday lapsed for want of a quorum.

At 10.30 last night the stables (containing two horses) and outhouses, belonging to the Bridge Hotel, at Ontram, were destroyed by fire.

The salmon ova now in the hatching boxes at the Wallacetown Ponds are looking very well, and Mr Howard, the curator, expects that they will begin to hatch out in about a week.

The Oamaru Cadets did not fire against the City Guards Cadets on Easter Day, because they received no notice of the acceptance of their challenge by the town company.

Last Monday week the ‘ Grey River Argus’ was unable to publish- They kept on trying to print the paper until the flood was more than a yard deep in the office, and then they thought it time to give over. This morning Mr Bathgate granted the application of Richard Hudson for a slaughterman’s license at the N. E. Valley, conditionally upon his erecting his yard on the spot appointed by the residents in the district and his using it for private purposes only. An Auckland paper understand that intelligence has been received that one of the Dublin priests, the Rev. Father Walsh, is likely to be successor to Bishop Croke as Bishop of the diocese. The rev. gentleman may be expected in the course of a couple of months.

The caution administered yesterday by Judge Williams to the members of the bar with reference to their observing with punctuality the time for the opening of the business of the Supreme Court does not appear to have had the desired effect. The case of Hughes v. Shand was fixed for eleven o’clock this morning, but it was seventeen minutes past that time before Mr Smith, one of the learned counsel engaged, put in an appearance. His Honor appeared considerably annoyed, but Mr Smith’s apology on the ground of being unexpectedly detained in town was accepted with the remark that this morning the delay was not of so much importance, as there were no witnesses and no jurors kept waiting,

A meeting of the London and Provincial Club was held in, the Hibernian Hotel last evening, when several new members were enrolled dud rules adopted. It is intended by the members to form themselves into a dramatic club and give miscellaneous entertainments during the winter, the funds derived {f dm such entertainments to go towards forming a library. The “ rabbit nuisance” must be seriously felt by station-holders in the Manuherikia district. Last week (says the ‘ Cromwell Argus’) a couple of sportsmen went from here rabbit-hunting, the result of their day’s shooting being a swag of from sixty to seventy “bunnies.” The “sportsmen,” it is needless to say, had a waggon, and rabbitpie in Cromwell is not a luxury just now. During the hearing of the case Hughes v. Shand at the Supreme Court this morning Mr Smith, counsel for plaintiff, frequently had occasion to read extracts from the ‘ Guardian’s ’ report of the original hearing of the case. In so doing counsel paid the reporters of the local Press a high compliment for the accuracy with which the case was reproduced, saying they had done their work well.

Messrs Pell, Treseder and Kohn were competitors at the recent meeting of the Canterbury Bifie Association, and each obtained a respectable position in the principal competitions thereat, though the conditions were such that they could only hope to obtain aggregate prizes. Mr Cameron, who was one of the Canterbury representatives at the Colonial competition in Dunedin in 1870, but has not been shooting much of late years, won the Mayor’s Cup with a score of 34 out of a possible 40, at 500 yards, and the Challenge Cup, valued at fifty guineas with 63 out ora possible 84, at2oo,sooand 600 yards. In the first - mentioned competition, Mr Treseder was fourth prize-taker, with 29, and in the other he also stood fourth with 68, Messrs Pell and Kohn making 55 each. They all headed the list at the conclusion of the first two stages, but at the last range each fell off terribly in his shooting. The Rangitoto silver mine is looking up, and one of the proprietors is on his way here to float the remaining shares in the company that is being formed to work it. A private telegram in the ‘ Lyttelton Times ’ says : “A Mr Manton, from Sydney, one of the discoverers of the Peak Downs copper mine, and experienced in silver mining, has inspected the ore. He took 250 shares, all that remained unapplied for of the 750 offered to Westland. He says that the 735 ounces to the ton referred to in Mr Kirkland’s assay means 735 ounces to the ton of the ore, after being stripped of gangue, and not to the ton of lead. This, if correct, makes the lode about four times as valuable as was supposed. He further says that the iron pyrites known to contain gold will yield from three to four ounces of the precious metal to the ton. Having seen Mr Kirkland’s report in Sydney, he came to Hokitika expressly to see for himself in the matter.

The annual meeting and opening of the new portion of the Worth Dunedin Presbyterian Church were celebrated by a social gathering last evening. The chair was occupied by the ReV, Dr Copland, and the attendance was very good, After tea and the good things provided had been done ample justice to, the chairman called upon the secretary, treasurer, and managing committee to read their reports, the adoption of which was adjourned until next Wednesday. The Rev Professor Salmond gave a short address, at the close of which be intimated his intention of commencing a series of theological classes during the winter months. The choir, under the leadership of Mr Graham, sang several pieces during the evening in a very creditable manner. The addition and alterations to the interior of the old portion of the church give it a neat and comfortable appearance, ’and reflect credit on the architects, Messrs Mason and Wales, and Mr Hood, who superintended the work The church will now accommodate a congregation of over 600.

The ‘ Sydney Press ’ is urging a modification of the mail contract, so as to give Fiji the go-by, and make the Bay of Islands the port of call. The ‘ Sydney Homing Herald ’ says not only would 208 miles of steaming be gained, but also from eight to ten hours now lost at Kandavu, and urges that if the Bay of Islands were adopted no branch boats would be necessary. “ Each Colony would then have the main boat, and the same boat, each time. Nor would there be any transfer of cargo or passengers. The coaling difficulty would be greatly simplified, and there would be a fair chance of giving a good trial to the New Zealand coal.” On the same evening on which this article appeared, the subject was brought before the New South Wales Parliament by a Mr Dibbs, who asked the Postmaster-General the following question :—Does the Government contemplate altering the contract with the Pacific Mail Company by doing away with the New Zealand coastal service, and substituting Auckland as the port of call in that Colony ? Mr Burns replied that the Government had no intention to make any change with regard to the route by which the Pacific mail contract was carried out. The Government had been throughout desirous that that contract should be carried out in its integrity; and they found that the contractors were quite prepared and ready to carry out the contract that had been agreed upon. He knew that some persons had a feeling that there should be a deviation, but the Government felt that they were bound to see the contract enforced in its integrity. The contractors had now placed boats in the service quite equal to carrying it out. This morning a deputation from the municipality of St. Kilda, consisting of the Mayor, Councillor Mitchell, and Mr M‘lndoe, waited upon the Superintendent and brought under his Honor’s notice several matters affecting the municipality. The first subject referred to was the desirability of imposing a small tax upon the sand carted from the Sandhills, to compensate the municipality for the damage done to the roads by that class of traffic. It was represented that a hundred loads passed over the road from the beach every week ; and that the only way of meeting the extra expenditure on the road caused by this traffic was the imposition of a tax or the erection of a bar. The latter course was recommended by the Waste Land Board, to which body application had been made to charge a royalty, but there was the difficulty that the three municipalities on the Flat were interested in the road, and three tolls would be required. His Honor thought it was quite competent for the Land Board to charge a royalty and that they should do so, and means might be managed somehow of getting the revenue derived therefrom handed over to the municipality.—The deputation asked for a refund of the publicans’ licenses collected within the borough during the past six months, but his Honor pointed out that that could not be done without an appropriation. —The deputation next urged the extension of the Municipal Corporations Act of 1867 to the borough, to enable it to make byelaws. His Honor replied that that question was still under the consideration of the Executive; and it required a good deal of consideration. It was felt that the Corporation wan scarcely sufficiently consolidated; arid in taking the step now asked great responsibility attached to his Honor. Although not docic!» id not to grant this request, it was deemed wise to .wait until the municipality wtys out 4# its swaddling bands. Under.

the Provincial Ordinance the municipality had ample powers to make bye-laws. The Act was really intended to apply to much more extensive bodies than this municipality, and he did not know but that he would be defeating the object of the Legislature were he to apply the Act to St. Kilda at present. If the three municipalities on the flat wero united, it would be a different thing. He pointed out that Dunedin had been able to work under the Ordinance for a number of years and only adopted the provisions of the Act little by little. Apparently a number of people regretted that these municipalities had been formed. The mistake had been in creating two or three. Was there no prospect of the three agreeing to unite ? Mr M‘lndoe did not think there was the slightest prospect. Re the proposed removal of the Anderson’s Bay toll, the Mayor said it was understood it was to be removed to the Bay View Hotel; if so, it might as well stay where it was. His Honor explained that it was only intended to remove the bar to the railway crossing, so that the keeper might attend to both bar and crossing. His Honor further informed the deputation that there was no appropriation of the LSOO provided by Ordinance as subsidy to municipalities and therefore no vote ; and that the municipality was entitled to all dog taxes collected within its bounds.

It is expected that the Richardson Rifles will be gazett d shortly. An im ortant meeting of members is to be held in a few days. The annual _ meeting of the Third New Zealand Building Society will bo held in the Lower Athenaeum *>all on * riday, at 8 p.m. Through a typographical error the amount claimed !' the case of Geddes v. Kavanagh, in the • esident Magistr-te’s ourt yesterday, appeared as Ll9 instead of 1.10. < The remaining prize takers at the Caledonian 'ociety'a ‘ aster Sports, who were unable to attend last evening, will be . paid at the Society’s rooms to morrow (Friday) evening, at 8 o’clock.

The concert in aid of the Christian Brothers School Fund will take place in the Tern erauce Hall to-morrow evening. What may be justly styled an excellent programme is put forward, and those wishing to spend a pleasant evening should visit the Temperance Hall to-morrow night. Misses Edhouse and Hesford and Messrs Sykes and White are amongst those who take <part in l;the (entertainment, which Mr J, J. Vv oods, from Lawrence, will conduct.