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Evening Star, Issue 4124, 16 May 1876, Page 2

* The Shaughraun ” will be played for the last time at the Queen’s Theatre to-night. To-morrow Mr and Mrs Byers make their first appearance. Au amusing case of somnambulism occurring at Napier caused some little stir amongst the audience at the Musical Society’s concert. The ‘ Telegraph’ says that the eldest son of Mr S. Hooper, a child, about seven years old, was discovered in his night-dress walking into the hall, towards the close of the first part of the programme. Before being put to bed he had expressed his wish to go and hear the music, and he must have gone to sleep and dreamt that he was being taken to the concert. It was not till he had again been placed in bed that he woke up.

The difficulties with the Harbor Board as to the mode of giving effect to the Engineer’s plans for deepening the harbor seem to be increasing. Already there are half-a-dozen applications before the Board, and to-day the hat was added to by a Chinaman named Ta Ket, who offers to provide and keep maintained, for ten years after completion, a deep-water channel of sufficient width and depth to accommodate the largest ships, for the sum of L 230,000 ; and guaranteeing the importation of his own countrymen in sufficient numbers to complete the work within three years by the aid of Chinese appliances. An eccentric individual named Flint, who is said to hail from Queenstown, distinguished himself at Naseby last week. On Tuesday he walked down to the Police Camp, and stated that he wished to lay a charge, but declined specifying against whom, or giving the nature of it. The officer refused the charge, and the gentleman weat off irate. Seeing a horseman on the road he asked him if he would mind looking at hi,a punch the officer in charge. The equestrian having consented, this funny individual walked up to a policeman, and let him have one on the nose ; whereupon, he was popped into gaol. Next morning lie was brought before the Mayor, who considered his night’s incarceration enough punishment, and therefore discharged him with a caution. It was mostly routine business that came before the Athemeum Committee last night. It being reported that a number of periodicals were constantly missing from the read-

ingroom, especially the ‘Family Herald,’ which could never be kept on the ladies’ table, it was decided to post up the usual prohibitory notice,—The Eclectic Society were granted the use of the lower hall, when not required for other purposes, at a charge of 12s 6d a-night.—A letter was received from the Colonial Secretary’s Office in New South Wales, stating that the Statutes of that Colony, from 1825 to 1875, would be forwarded to the Dunedin Athenaeum, and also that the Statutes and Parliamentary papers for each year would be sent in future. —After discussion, it was remitted to the executive officers to make inquiries as to the expense likely to be incurred in establishing a branch reading-room in North Dunedin.— Instructions were given to prepare a new catalogue, and Messrs Stanford, Lubecki, Blair, and F. Chapman were appointed a sub-committee to canvass for life subscriptions.

The Goldfields Secretary has been visiting the Lakes district and endeavoring to throw oil upon the troubled waters. The Wakatip has been crying out that while it is steadily “sweated” by the Provincial Treasury, none of those works in the district, the necessity of which was admitted by the Provincial Council, have been carried" out. Mr M ‘Kellar is made by the ‘ Mail ’ to have admitted that certain works should have been executed, but the Abolition Act having prevented the Provincial Council meeting it has thus thrown financial affairs into confusion. The non-payment for the Bluff-Winton line, and the necessity for meeting the demands of railway contractors, prevents also any hope of further expenditure taking place in the district for this winter, at least. In fact, he believes it is, under the circumstances, no use recommending any works to be executed for there is no money to carry them out. And lastly, he thinks that it will be of little use to appeal to the Colonial Government, for they are also short of funds. The ‘Mail’ says the Goldfields Secretary’s excuses are very lame ones; and that the prospects of the district, coupled with the fact that nearly all the hands employed on road works have been dismissed, are gloomy indeed.

The ‘ Bruce Herald ’ denounces the statement made by Mr Macandrew at the meeting of the Education Board, as being mere “bunkum.” “No one knows better than Mr Macandrew that even bad the sale of the G4,000 acres of land been allowed to go on, the Provincial Government never contemplated the expenditure of any sum approaching L 20,000 or L 30,000 for educational purposes in this Province, at the present time, and therefore his statement that the Provincial Executive had been baulked in its benevolent intention by the perverseness of the members of the Waste Land Board, was simply an attempt to cast a slur upon his political opponents. Even before the question of the abolition of Provinces was brought prominently before the public, the Education Board was never in a position to satisfy all the demands that were made upon it, and although the pressure is now greater than it over was before, we have not tho slightest hesitation in asserting that the state of affairs has been greatly exaggerated. There is not the slightest ground for any apprehension that this part of the Colony is being permanently injured by the inability of the Provincial Government to erect new schools and enlarge old ones, and even were that the case, the blame would not rest with the General Government. The demand for increased school accommodation has not arisen suddenly, but has been growing gradually, and it was the duty of the Provincial Government to have foreseen it, and made provision for it, instead of frittering away the revenue of the Province on branch lines of railways, constructed for political purposes, and other works that could have very well been put off for years."

The renowned Devil’s Half Aero Irr 1 ? Mr ■ to soon have a rival ;n a ; ‘amherlaud street, near ill*- *>nc-.' notoron.Bristol House. A tenant oi this quarter, iu describing the place at the Police Court this morning, said it was a second Devil’s HalfAcre, and assured their Worships that, although he had occupied a house there for months, he had not slept on the premises for a long time. The Police Inspector also spoke of the locality as “a den,” At the Ross Association’s meeting last night the following were elected a committee of management for the ensuing year ;—Mr J. L. Gillies, president; Mr J. A. M‘Arthur, vice-president; Mr Archibald Douglas, local secretary j Mr George Calder, corresponding secretary j directors ; Messrs Kenneth Cameron (Shag Valley), R. G. Ferguson (Tapauui), Kenneth M‘Lellan (Roxburgh), Captain M'Callum (Port Chalmers), Wm. M'Eachem J ohn Grant (Blueskin), Andrew Murray, Dr GUhes, Roderick M‘Donald, AW*n/W Sutherland, John Finlayson (Dunedin), and Dr F. M'Bean Stewart (Milton).

In a recent judgment iu a bankruptcy case, under the new Act, that came before him at Tokomainro, Judge Ward said - “ It may be well for creditors to leam that a large proportion of the assignments of property made by debtors in favor of single creditors are voidable if not as fraudulent preferences, at all events, as acts of bankruptcy. If at any first meeting of creditors a debtor’s statement of affairs shows that such an assignment exists, it will be well to delay passing a liquidation resolution until a copy of the assignment, or a statement of the facts connected therewith, has been submitted to counsel, provided always that there exist one or moi’e creditors to the amount of LSO, whose debt or debts were due by the debtor at the time of the transfer or the assignment. If counsel’s opinion be against the validity of the transfer, the creditors should forthwith “decline to take advantage of the Act, ” and thereupon the above-men-tioned creditors to the amount of LSO should apply to the Court for an order under the provisions of clause 20. In such a case the validity of the assignment could be fairly tested.” J

The following items are from to-day’s ® *•'—The Woolshed bridge on the Tnapeka branch line will be finished t.Hia week. It is probable the Government will consent to open the line from Clarksville to the Round Hill in the course of a few weeks. Mounted- constable Aitcheson has been seriously ill for the last few days. On Sunday his condition was considered critical, and yesterday Drs Fergusson and Bachelor from Dunedin attended him, The Waitepeka Railway Deviation Committee are determined to hold out to the bitter end with reference to their ideas of the proper line of railway from Balclutha southward. At their last meeting, which was held a few days ago, a motion was passed to the effect—- ‘ ‘ That all the Otago members be individually written to, requesting their support, and that a richly engrossed petition be universally signed throughout the whole of the district, after which the petition to be entrusted to the care of James Macandrew, i sq., for private presentation by that gentleman to Sir Julius Vogel at Wellington.” A destructive fire broke out at Mr Joseph Parker’s farm on Friday afternoon. It-is not known how the fire originated, but it is believed that it was by some children playing with lucifers near one of the stacks. When first the fire was discovered, the flames were spreading over a large straw stack, and those present at once directed their attention to the saving of a stack of oats close by. The oats were partly saved, but the fire destroyed a large stack of ryegrass, nhich had been cut for seed. Mr Parker, who has been particularly unfortunate of late, was uninsured, and his loss will amount to between Ll5O and L2OO.

The North Dunedin Rifles will parade tomorrow evening, audt.e yearly meeting will te held after drill.