The Evening Star SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4236, 23 September 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1876.

The memorial to Mr Burns, M.H.R., has received 102 signatures, and was forwarded to him this afternoon.

Weston accompanies Roberts on his tour through the Colony, and plays against him in most of the principal towns.

There was only one case on the chargesheet at the City Police Court this morning, l'anny Miller was brought before the Mayor on a charge of drunkenness, and dismissed.

The Perth, Angus, and Mearns Association held their half-yearly gathering in the Temperance Hall last night, when a concert and dance gave thorough satisfaction to those present. Mr W. D. Stewart occupied the chair during the concert. The Suez mail will be forwarded to town by an early train to-morrow, and the letters delivered into private boxes as usual. The Wellington, which has been detained to take on the Northern portion of the mail, leaves immediately after the Ringarooma'a arrival. TheSimonsen Company has added "The Marriage of Figaro" to its list of operas.— We notice that for two evenings last week the Theatre Royal at Wellington had to be closed on account of the indisposition of the majority of its female members. De Murska and her company give operatic scenas in character.

Owing to the inclemency of the weather there was but a limited attendance at the Princess's Theatre last evening, when •' lluby " was performed for the last time, this being Little Nell's sixteenth appear- ??£?*« This evenin g. by special request, No Name," in which Nell made her first appearance here, will be reproduced.

The Political Association at a meeting last night appointed a sub-committee to make the necessary arrangements for holding a public meeting on Wednesday (if possible) to consider the situation. It was decided there should be no formal reception on the arrival of Messrs Macandrew and Stout, on Tuesday.

The committee of the Working Men's Club submitted to meeting of its members yesterday a satisfactory balance sheet, which showed that at its present rate of progression t'«e Club should be in a position in a few years to have a habitation of its own. A scheme for erecting the new building met with approval. The election of officers for the next half-year resulted ss follows :—President, Mr W. B. M'lntosh; treasurer, Mr H. Spears; committee, Messrs Denovan, Gale, Foreman, Goodman, and Mercer.

The notices of the City Council Order Paper for Tuesday are mostly deferred. Cr. Isaac is going to move " That it is not desiiable that any paid servant or officer of this Corporation should be allowed to hold any honorary public position, unless by consent of the Council" ; and Cr. Fish, in asking that all committee reports should be laid on the table not later than 10.30 a.m. on the day the Council meets, is moving in the right direction. Cr. Roberts intends asking that the decision arrived at at the last meeting in reference to the proposed works in Royal Terrace be reconsidered.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the St. Paul's Young Men's Association was held last evening, when the remaining portion of the Society's Quarterly Magazine was considered. The subjects of the papers were "Theology in the Poets" and "Education." The first of these papers was based on that beautiful verse, "Before the hills in order stood," and the intent of the paper was to show the close connection between the natural world and religion. The paper on "Education" briefly dealt with the numerous difficulties which present themselves while considering this subject. At the next meeting Mr Junes Ashcroft will deliver an address on "Christianity." At the Field Naturalists' Club's annual meeting last night the following were elected office-bearers for the ensuing year:—President, Mr A. Bathgate; Secretary, Mr P. Thomson; Committee—Professor Coughtrey, Captain Hutton, and Messrs Davidson, Moritzon, Fetrie, Purdie, G. M. Thomson, and Wickg. Two papers were read—one by Mr Thomson, on "The stone implements of the Maori;" the other by Mr A. C. Purdie on "The Fungus Tribes." It was announced that Professor Coughtrey and Mr Petrie would respectively give prizes for the encouragement of the study of zoology and botany by members of the Club ; .and it was determined to form a herbarium of plants indigenous to Otago.

At Te Awamutu, in Auckland, recently, a little girl aged ten years, daughter of Mr Sibley, of that settlement, was determined to surprise her mother, who was out at the time, by having the baby washed before her return, a task she had often performed on previous occasions. The little girl filled the tub from the boiling kettle, putting in, she says, cold water with it, and left the infant undressed near the tub while she went into the next room for a towel. During the interval, short as it was, the little thing plunged both arms up +o the elbows in the hot water, and though it seemed to feel the injury but little at the time, neither crying nor complaining, the shock was so great that it died on Sunday night. Mr Shrimski, M.H.R., has informed our Oamam evening contemporary "that a letter has been sent by the Minister of Public Works to the Deputy-Superintendent, agreeing to open the Moeraki Railway." What is meant doiutless is, that the main line is to be opened between Oamaru and Hampden, the M-eraki section not being as yet completed. The ' Times ' has been informed by the contractor for the platelayim' on the Waiho-Waitaki contract, that by putting on a larg« number cf men, which he is now doing, he expects to ge<; the rails laid within two months, so that in little more than eight weeks time trains could be run through between Christchurch and Oamaru, the ballasting going on concurrently with the traffic.

The proceedings in the Legislative Council on Tuesday night were quite lively. The Hon Mr Kobinson moved that papers should be laid on the table as to the emoluments of the Agent Genera}, whereupon, as we learn from the 'N. Z. Times,,' the Hon. Captain Fraser opened fire, and accused his hon. friend of inconsistency. The Hon, Colonel Brett followed suit, and likened the hon. gentleman to a chameleon on account of his capacity for changing " color." The Hon. Mr Robinson attributed Colonel Brett's strictures to the fact that Sir Julius Vogel had dined with him, and that he was doing justice to the prompting he then received. As to the Colonel, they all knew that he would speak half a dozen tiroes in as many hours, and each time change his mind. Speaking one way, he would vote the other. It is not often that "the old gentlemon" indulge in personal disputes, but when their debate* takp that time they are njt mealymouthed or over.compliweutary,

The members of the Wellington Club intend to entertain Sir Julius Vogel this • evening, previous to his departure from the Colony. A large number of members have signified their intention of being present. By the Suez mail, now at the Bluff, Mr W. Livingston, hon. secretary in Dunedin for the Royal Association for th/ Promotion of t'>ie Fine Arts iu Scotland, has received notice of the drawing of a prize of the value of LIOO. The lucky recipient is Mr N. Y. A. Wales, of this City. Pelichet Bay has within the past week received some attention from a nocturnal housebreaker; but bo far he does not appear to have been successful in doing more than disturb the slumbers of those whom he visits. He has been extemely careful to avoid giving the police the opportunity they desire of having an interview with him. The registrars of marriages have received from head-quarters a circular informing them of the decree* of affinity within which it is not legal to contract marriage. To say the least of it, the preparation of such a circular is a waste of time and money; and the necessity for imparting such information, if it exists, does not say much for the intelligence of some registrars. The «Southland Times' lashes itself into a state of frenzy over the speech Mr Macandrew made when moving his non-Abolition resolutions. Despite the intemperateness of the article, we agree with many of its conclusions, but we must take exception to the suggestion that the action of the Superintendent in this matter is dictated by pecuniary considerations; and are sorrry it should have ever been made by any Otago paper. The strong point of the article is this:—" Might we now venture to suggest, as Mr Macandrew makes the unanimity of Otago and its 100,000 men the strongest points in his favor, that his figures are slightly incorrect ? According to the Government returns just to hand, the total population of Otago is, or was on the 31st December last, 109,000 odd. Surely if this is the case it can scarcely be the fact that 100,000 of them are men, and that there are only 9,000 lewd fellows of the baser sort, Abolitionists, women and children. . . . We find, on referring to the numbers of votes polled for the respective candidates at the last elections, that Dunedin, Invercargill, Wallace, JMataura, and Wakaia gave I the following number of votes for the respective candidates:—Provincialist, 1,691; Abolitionist, 1,149. This shows a majority certainly tor Provincialism, but does it indicate unanimity ? Has it never occurred to i Mr Macandrew that if he can plead the voice of 100,000 people of Otago as being in his favor, on the same ground his opponents may claim the voice of the whole population of New Zealand—Otago included- some 370,000 odd, in their favor ? They may do so most legitimately, fcr New Zealand is much more of a political entity than the now abolished Provincial district of Otag? is, or ever was. We might go further and claim the voice of the whole human race as being so. Sir George Grey often does that sort of thing, and we are quite as much human beings as he is."

The Green Island Cal donian Sports Committee will meet at Mr Jenkins's Hotel on Monday evening, *t 7 30.

t meeting of the Leith Lodge, I 0.0. F., will be held in the Lodge room on Monday evening, at 7 30,

The lecture on "Intemperance," announced to be delivered by Dr Roseby in the Congregational Church, is postponed till to-morrow week, the 30th inst.

A meeting of the ratepayers of South Dunedm will beheld in the Forbury School-room on Monday evening, a-, 7.30, to consider the desirability or otherwise of obtaining another loan.

Ihe service tomorrow evening at St. Matthew s Church. Stafford Btreat, will be choral. I lie anthem will be " I will lift up mine eyes." bv })t. Whitfield. We understand the three chous of St. Paul's, Ft. Matthew's, and All brunts Churche3will combine on the occasion of the meeting of the Church of England bynod on November 1, when a grand se-vice will be held ia All Saints' Church, the date mentioned being All Saints' Day.