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Evening Star, Issue 4286, 21 November 1876, Page 2

The enthusiasm displayed by the public meeting held at the Temperance Hall last night did honor to Dunedin, and it is to be hoped will prove the first wave of a move" ment of sympathy with the sufferers from the Turkish outrages in Bulgaria which will pass over the whole of Australia. Those who have asked—and many have done so—what good end could be served by a meeting of th : s sort, were well answered by the various speakers. As citizens of a mighty empire which has played a distinguished part in vindicating human rights, as fellow-Chris-tians, and on the broad grounds of humanity, it is the duty of the people of this Colony to let their voice be heard amidst the universal chorus of indignation which is pealing from the civilised world at the treatment which the Bulgarians have recently been receiving from their Turkish oppressors. Nor will these anathemas be in vain; for as it was put by Bisnop Nevill, in language more eloquent than we can command, they are so unanimous and strong that they will, in all probability, prevent similar iniquities being again perpetrated And the Turks know it. They know that they only retain their footing in Europe, because the Christian Powers cannot agree, amongst tnemselves as to how the Turkish inheritance should- be divided; but the moment a Christian league is formed the Turks will be driven across the Bosphorus; and those horrible rapes, burnings, tortures, and every conceivable crime which have now rendered the Turkish name infamous, have gone far towards bringing about such a league. . Great Britain has,' of course, vast interests at stake in this matter. The awakening of a Holy War, and the setting of Christian against Mahomedan, might cause a fire to be lighted from end to end of India, which would require the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of lives and the expenditure of millions upon millions of money to extinguish, It therefore behoves the Imperial Government to be cautious in its movements, and its oonduct in this respect is not blameworthy. The feeling of the people at Home_ has been displayed unmistakeably, in the shape or resolutions passed at public meetings, and in the more practioal fashion of subscriptions for the relief of the distressed. The latter is the preper complement of the former, and those persons who took part in the proceedings at the Temperance Hall ought, if their enthusiasm sprang from genuine sympathy, to bo now prepared both to put their hands into their pockets, and likewise to urge their neighbors to do the same. Dunedin, it is true, cannot contribute much compared with the

mass of woe requiring relief, but she oatt do what she can, and her example may spur up other parts of the country to action. The moral effect of the meeting would further be greatly enhanced by a subscription.

On da t\ia.t Waihola will furnish a brcaeh of promise case for trial at the next civil sittings of the Supreme Court. A Allan has been elected (without opposition) Mayor of Tapanui, in the room of Mr John M 'Kellar, re'sigucd. We understand that the inquiry at the Industrial School to-morrow, re the alleged llltreatment of the girl Doig, will be open to the public. It commences at 3 p.m. The popular Irish drama " The Shaughraun" was produced last night at the Princess' Theatre for the benefit of Mr Keogh and Miss Willis. The programme will be repeated to-night. _At Kimberley, near Christchurch, a couple of days ago, a little boy named Brown, aged four years, was strangled by a plough handle. He had been swinging on the handle of a plough, which overbalanced and pinned him to the ground by the neck. When lifted up he was quite dead. Even the 'Lyttelton Times,' which was so strongly in sympathetic accord with the Convention, is disappointed with its immediate results. It thinks the Convention f tiled to properly appreciate the constitutional question at issue, and that from the course followed nothing can result but needless agitation, waste of power, wearisome delay, and ultimate failure. A practical joke had a fatal termination recently in Canterbury. A number of boys and girls, who were mostly children of the working class, w«re at play on the village green. A mischievously-disposed lad named Rickaid White dressed himself up as a ghost, with a mask surmounted by a white cap, a short black cloak, and a long white skirt. Thus habited he waited at the corner of a lane, through which Sarah Jarvis, a little girl of timid disposition, had to pass on her way home. As she approached he gave utterance to a hollow groan to attract her attention. The effect was electrical. The poor girl sunk to the earth in a state of insensibility. The shock to the system was so great that she expired a few days afterwards. <3At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Port Chalmers, this morning, before Mr T A Mansford, E.M., George Clark was charged with using threatening language to Charles Clark. From the evidence it appeared that the parties, who are near connections, have been at variance for some time past, and on Friday last a quarrel ensued, and a scuffle took place. After hearing the evidence the magistrate remarked that it was a pity the parties appeared before him, and that wiser counsels had not prevailed. He must bind over the defendant to keep the peace for three months, himself in L2O and one surety of Llo.—Charles Strong was sued by J. B. Taylor for Ll 103, value of a pane of glass alleged to have beea broken by defendant's sons. The evidence not being satisfactory, his Worship nonsuited the plaintiff.

The meeting held yesterday afternoon in the Council Chambers to make arrangements for the visit of the All-England cricketers was largely attended. The Mayor presided. Mr Robert Wilson proposed the following resolution, which was seconded by Mr Stavely, and carried :—"That this meeting resolve to do everything in its power to assist the Otago Cricketing Association in the successful carrying out of the arrangements for the forthcoming All-England Eleven cricket match." A large and influential committee was appointed to make arrangements for the match, and it was settled that. subscription lists should be opened at once for the purpose of raising funds to defray expenses. It was mentioned that Messrs Kohn and Co. had promised to present a trophy to the highest scorer in the Otago team during the match. A canvass of the gentlemen present resulted in the collection of sixty-eight guineas.

The residents of Mantford Bay held a meeting at Dench's Hotel last night to consider what steps should be taken for the formation of a municipality in that district. Mr Dench was called to the chair. The deputation which lately waited upon the Hon. G. M'Lean having explained their views, an animated discussion took place, during whibk it was stated that at least L4OO had been paid during thelast fouryears to the local road board as the contribution of the district out of which only some L7ohad been expended on it. It was finally proposed—"That a deputation wait on the Hon. G. M'Lean and inform him that the meeting did not see the advisability of joining Port Chalmers municipality, and lhathelae requested to declare the district a municipality under the Municipal Corporation Ordinance of Otago, 1875." This being carried, a vote of thanks was passed to the chairman, and the meeting closed. The different suburban councils held a conference last night, at South Dunedin, to consider the questions of the establishment of tramways in South Dunedin, and of the water supply. Mr Rutherford was voted to the chair. The Committee brought up a report as to the locality of the proposed tramway, and advising that the name of the conference should be " The Southern Suburban United Councils." A long discussion ensued en the report, 3nd finally the meeting decided "thatthe Secretary should write to the City Council asking them to extend the terminus of the city tramways through the town belt, so as to join the suburban ohe." Messrs Barrowman and Rutherford were instructed to wait on the City Council with the like object. Some desultory conversation took place as to the water supplysome thinking the Leith would be the best source, and others advocating an inspection of the lccal springs ; but finally it was resolved that Messrs Halligan, Barrowman, Wilson, and Rutherford should constitute a committee to discuss the question and ascertain the cost of obtaining a supply from the neighboring hills. Our West Taieri correspondent writes: " The weather for the last week has been almost uninterruptedly wet, and in consequence the creeks and rivers are considerably swollen. Ihese freshes have caused the trout to rise, and some fiae baskets have been taken at both the Lee and Deep streams. In Fulton's Creek, also, some very fine fish have been taken, and one or two good baskets made. The fish taken in this stream run from about one pouud to between three and four pounds in weight.— Some damage was done to the fruit gardens at Waipori on. Tuesday during the heavy thunderstorm *that swept over the district. The hailstorm was one of the heaviest seen in the district for years.—A meeting of the Board of Conservators was held on Saturday at Outram, when a deputation consisting of Messrs Harvey, Marshall, and M'Leod, was received. The object of the deputation was to obtain assistance towards the works necessary at the Lee Creek, on the road between Berwick and Henley. It was agreed that the matter should stand over till next meeting.—The principal street at Outram was, as usual, flooded by the late rains, and, except a narrow passage in the middle of the road, was covered with water. As this is the main road to the Dunstan, it seems to be a moot point whose duty it is to remedy this state I of affairs ; but there it is, and it is almost I impossible to get along the lower end of the I street dry-footed after a fall of rain."

The last five nights of the American War Diorama are announced. Each evening prizes will be given away after the entertainment.

We are informed that Mr Fnunett, the comedian, will arrive by the next Melbourne boat The " parts "of « Fritz " are to hand by the Rmgarooma, and will be put into active rehearsal forthwith.

During the passage of the s.s. Arawata from Lyttleton to this port one of the prize bulls shipped at the former port for the Bluff, the property of Mr Maitland, and valued at L3OO, was accidentally strangled. A conference of theatrical managers, representing Christchurch, Auckland, and Wellington, took place in Christchurch last week, when it was determined (says the •Licensed Victuallers' Gazette') that henaeforwarded "stars " will only bo treated with on such terms as will not press so heavily as they have hitherto done on managers and members of stock companies.

The Pioneer Encampment, No. 3,1.0.0. F., will meet to-morrow evening, at eight o'clock. Entries for the open events in the High School Athletic Sports wi 1 close to-night at Wain's Hotel, at 8 p m.