NEW ZEALAND.

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2339, 1 October 1881, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND.

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AUCKLAND, September 30. Land Company. The Eemuera Land and Building Company has declared a dividend of 5 per cent., carrying nearly £IOOO forward. RecruitsThe recruits for the constabulary accepted this morning were in the afternoon dismissed, owing to instructions from Wellington. The men were very indignant, and Mr Hurst has telegraphed to the Government on their behalf. Educational. The Board of Education has rejected the proposal of tho oity schools committee to establish free evening classes in the public schools. Joint Stock Company. A new company, styled tho Helensville Timber Company, has been floated privately, with a capital of £20,000. The projeot is to erect a large sawmill at Kaipara, purchase baulk timber from the bushowners, cut it into suitable lengths, and dress it, thus saving the frieght of a lot of refaie timber. GISBOBNE, September 30, PoliticalAt a meeting last night of about 500 persons, after hearing Mr McDonald's address, it was unanimously resolved that this meeting has full confidence in Mr McDonald's past career, and will support him in the future. Captain Porter and Mr O. H. Wilson are also mentioned as probable candidates. WANGANUI, September 30. Municipal. In reply to a requisition, Mr Gilbert Carson will contest the Mayoralty. Mr Henry Nathan , will also stand. WELLINGTON, September 30. Hew Registrars- > The following registrars of electors of electoral districts have been appointed:— i Jos. Beswick Ashley, Lincoln, Selwyn, I Coleridge, and Kaiapoi; Geo. Leslie Lee— ] Avon, St. Albans, Stanmore, Sydenham Christohuroh North, Christchuroh South, and Heathcote ; Fredk. Denham Gibson Lyttelton; Bateman Thomas Miesin—Akaroa; I Jos. Beswiok Lincoln, Belwyn, and Cole. 1 ridge; Charles Perey Cox—Ashburton «nd t Wakanui: George Dfson—Geraldine ; Thos. ( Howley—Timaru ; George Tennant—Glad- 1 stone and Waimate. i Revenue. * The oustoms revenue for the month 1 amounted to £20,890. For the correspond- ' ing month last year it was £14,061. * Political. i Mr Thos. Dwan will contest one of the city \ seats. t Vital Statistics- r During the month 105 births and 19 deaths, 3 were registered in Wellington distriot, and 24 £ marriage certificates issued. fc Military Pay. J The following amended scale of pay for non-commissioned offioers and constables of ■ the Armed Constabulary foroo is gazetted :—■ Polioe Sergeant-major, 10s 6d per day; \ sergeants, Ist class, 9s 6d ; 2nd class, 9s; 3rd , olass, 8s 6d; constables, Ist olass, 8s ; 2nd , class, 7a 6d ; 3rd class, 7s ; Beserve sergeantmajor, 9s per day ; sergeants, Ist class, 8s 6d; c 2nd class. 8s ; 3rd class, 7s 6d; constables, , Ist olass, 7s ; 2nd olass, 6s 6d ; 3rd olass, 6s. Detectives—Chief deteotive, 15s 6d per day ; detective, Ist olass, 13s 6d ; 2nd olass, 12s ; , 3rd class, 10s 6d ; 4th class, 9s 6d. ; LYELL, September 30. t Mining- t The United Alpine Co. for the week crushed t 217 tons stone, which yielded 417 ounces t amalgam from the plates only. i GREYMOUTH, September 30. i Revenue. j The Customs duties for the month were ' £3227, and for the corresponding month in ! 1880, £2252. The gold duty was £562. The J Customs duties for the quarter were £9627, and for the corresponding quarter in 1880, 1 £8295. The gold duty amounted to £2212. 5 Coal Export. i Over 2000 tons of coal were exported last 1 week. i ' TIMAEU, September 30. « Political. I Messrs E. Wakefield and William Postle- j thwaite are out for Geraldine. , Revenue- f The Customs returns for the month are £1795 4s sd, as against £2119 17s 4d for the ' corresponding month last year. The return ' for the quarter, however, shows an increase . of £1024 as compared with a similar period in 1880. Vital Statistics. Forty-eight births, seven marriages, and , twelve deaths were registered in Timaru for the month of September. . DUNEDIN, September 30. ■ The New Dredge. i The dredge for the Dunedin Harbor Board ' left Glasgow on the 24th inst. Revenue. , The Customs revenue this quarter was ] £124,131 ; in the corresponding quarter last \ year it was £9l 448. < Contradiction- j The statement that Garrett's csbo with the ' Boslyn Tramway Company has been settled is ' contradicted. ' INVEBOARGILL, September 30. < The Bible Question. , A public meeting to form a Bible in Schools 1 Association was held this evening. A reso- i lution was passed condemning the action of i the House of Representatives in throwing out '. Dr. Menzies' Bill A large committee was t appointed to organise the association. t [fbom the own oobbbspondbnt op the C " PBESB."] I WELLINGTON, September 30. c The financial half-year ends to-day. It is t too early yet to obtain any information as to 1 tho revenue returns, but some rough calculations have been mado regarding the railway 1 rovenuo as far as the receipts and expenditure t are yet known, and it is believed that when f tho roturnß are made up for the half-year to 1 this date thoy will show the gross receipts on c the New Zealand Government Bail ways to s have been about £440,000, and the expendi- i ture under £250,000, leaving the net profits r for the half-year nearly £200,000, or at the t rate of £400,000 per annum. As the coming e half-year will almost certainly show even t better results than this, the prospect is very s encouraging. The above figures speak well t for the present management of the railways, j

ART, LITERATURE, AND DBAMATIC. |"From English and other filee.j Madame Selina Dolaro has gone to New i York. She returns to the Bijou Opera House, where she will make her re-appearance in « The Mascotte." Messrs Holt and Wilmot have recently purchased the London, Provincial, and Australian rights of an entirely new and original drama by Henry Pettitt. A look of abstraction and a wart on the ohin was the oostume worn by a Piute squaw at a recent fandango. Bir F. Leighton and Mr Poynter are, the " AtheDfflum " says, proceeding with their oil studies for that segment of the decorations of the dome of St. Paul's which has been entrusted to them. At the foot of the egment Mr Poynter has designed St. John sitting on a stone throne, with a book on his knees, and receiving a pen, with the mandate " Write," from a colossal angel. The angel is clad in deep green and ample robes, and has golden hair The panels above the group represent a vision of heaven and a vision of judgment on earth. Mr Pepys, who was a good representative of his time, calls " Midsummer Night's Dream " the most insipid ridiculous play he ever saw; the " Taming of the Bhrew" a silly play ; " Othello" (which he appears at first to have liked) a mean thing ; " Henry the Eighth" a simple thing made up of many patches, and with nothing good in it besides the shows and procesßioa. He makes, however, an exception in the case of " Macbeth," which he acknowledges to be a pretty good play. Even Dryden, who defended Shakspeare, only ventured, with some timidity, to pronounce him to be equal, if not superior, to Ben Jonson.—'• Argosy." Hardly had Mr Edwin Booth landed on his native soil from the steamship Bothnia, which reached New York recently, before he had to run the gauntlet of ' interviewing." Speaking of his English experience he said : " I am entirely satisfied with my trip in a professional way, and socially it could not have be in madu more pleasant. The public were very appreciative, and, I think, were entirely satisfied with my efforts, and I cannot say enough in pra-se of the generous reception they gave me. If any reports of jealousies or bickerings have reached here, they are not founded on fact. What of Irving? He is a masterly actor It is difficult to find words that will convey to any one who has not seen him act his style and his peculiarities. I erjoyed his colabour greatly, and shall look back to that period with pride and regret. He treated me in the most noble manner, and I am glad that I have been able to meet him and perform with him. Whether he will visit this country I cannot say. He will not for the present certainly, for he has a long oeries of provincial engagements to fulfil. He is the favorite of the British public, and his only motive in coming here would bi to gain the favorable verdict of the American public, which I am sure he would receive."

Messrs George Bell and Bons propose to issue a series of technological handbooks, under the editorship of Mr H. Irueman Wood, secretary to the Society of Arts, who prepared the revised soheme of examinations for the City and Guilds Institute. The "Academy" says—" The chief object is to supply the want of text books for the yearly increasing number of candidates at the institute, and eventually all the industries specified in its programme will bo included in the plan. The following are announced as in preparation : Oalioo Bleaohing, Dyeing, and Printing, by W. Orookes, F. 8.5.; Iron and Steel Manufacture, by Professor Huntington ; Telegraphs and Telephones, by W. H. Preeoe, F. 8.8. ; Cotton Manufacture, by R. Maraden; Glass Manufacture, by H. Chance, H. Powell, and Dr. Hopkinson, F.B 8. The intention of the editor is to produce books which will provide all interested in our great manufacturing industries with knowledge which, while it may be tested by examination questions, will also be found of use for praotical work." The success of " the World " at Wallack's Theatre, New York, has led a oertain M* J. Z. Little to claim as his own the leading sensational incidents in the play. It appears that he wrote, more than ten years ago, a play called " Boving Jack, or Saved from the Wreck," which has been frequently played in New York, and of which some idea may be gained from the following reproduction of the synopsis of incidents given on the original playbills .—Act 1— An Italian Inn. The treacherous landlord and an unprincipled guardian. A plot to secure the beautiful heiress. The nigger's key. Preparing for fight. In the toils. A brave girl's determination . The mask thrown off. A villain's threat. Unexpected appearanoe of Boving Jaek. "Sheer off, you lubbers." Two to one. Stand back, if you don't want to fall bick." Scene 2—Shipping offioe of the Fair Play. A puzzled contraband. The state-room berths. Jack homeward bound. The pursuit. An old acquaintance. A sailor's lovemaking. A disgusted son of Momus. Scene 3—The good ship Pair Play. A girl's story. Signs of a storm. A sea-sick passenger. History of Boving Jack. Villainy in disguise. The stolen boat. All hands on deck. The storm breaks. A rush for safety. " Back to your posts ; the passengers first." The sinking ship. " This crime was done to secure your love." A poor girl's desperation. The leap into the foaming sea. Saved from the wreck. A storm at sea, and a noble ship sinking.

The stories of Jaok and other intelligent dogs and horses have reminded the stagemanager of the Gaiety Theatre of some curious instances of perception whioh have occurred &£ Mr Hollingshead's house. Some time ago a donkey was introduced into a musioal piece. Every evening his owner, an enterprising oostermonger, brought the animal to the theatre at a certain time, and left it at the wing. When the aotress went on for ber song the donkey accompanied her—not on any musioal instrument: went with her, I mean—and the melody being ended, Neddy was fetched »way. One evening, however, his master , brought him earlier than usual, and left him at the wing, apparently wrapped in placid slumber. Everyone supposed that the creature would stop there quietly until he was taken on for the song ; but it so happened that the air of the ditty ooourred in the introduction to the act. The donkey pricked up his ears. Surely this was his oue ? He had seen enough of the theatre to know the awkwardness of a stage wait, and as his usual companion was not there, he determined to go on alone. On he went, and vigorously resented the efforts of those, whom he took to be bigger donkeys than himself, who tried to drag him off. When the melody was finishod, in accordance with custom he made his exit, and was hardly persuaded to stay and go on in the proper scene, which, no doubt, he regarded as an encore. The companion story is of a pony. Ho had a small part in the " Grand Oasimir," I think it was, and when first taken to the theatre the Btage manager asked whethor he had any tastes or peculiarities that could be gratified ? His master thought not, but cdmitted that the pony had a weakness for a glass of beer. A pint of sound malt liquor was kindly ordered, and a carpenter waß charged to give the pony the drink every evening. During the rehearsals the practice was observed, and much appreciated by the reoipient, who went about his duties in an affable and light-heartrd way entirely in keeping with the spirit of the piece. On the firßt night of the performance the pony stood at the wings waiting to go on. Mies Farren took hold of his bridle when he was wanted, but he stuck his hoofs hard in the stage and absolutely refused to stir. Persuasion and force were tried, and at length he was thrust before the footlights, but he simply declined to act, and, on the contrary, let out at the chorus with both heels. Something was wrong, and suddenly it occurred to the stage-manager to ask whether the beer had been duly given ? This was the solution of the mystery. In the hurry and excitement of a first night the beer had been forgotten. The tankard waß hastily provided, and when the pony had been convinced that it was an oversight and not a mean-spirited attempt to defraud bim of his dues, he absorbed the beer, and, trotting on to the stage, did all that was required of him.

A New York authority says:—"John T. Raymond hus returned from his Western tour, and is pervading the town with his genial übiquity. He tells hard stories of his border experiences. At Laramie there was only one scene in the theatre, and that had to serve for everything, in tha good old Shakesperian etyle. Not being Shakespeare, Raymond was imprudent enough to objeot, and there was civil war in Laramie. At Ohayenne a party of Negroes had arranged to take the hall as soon as Baymord'j show was over and play the boxes—that is to say, give a performance to encourage the people to remain and drink. Before the cur«

tain fell upon Raymond's classical enter' diriment a dancing girl, all red boots and short skirts, bounded upon the stage, struck an attitude, ar.d was received with vociferous applause. The last scene of Raymond's exquisite comedy was somewhat marred by a struggle with a Happy Cal Negro, who insisted upon dressing with the oder gemmen, and was incontinently bounced. When this colored tragedian hit out upon the stage ha apologised to the audience for his deficiencies of oostume on the ground that the white galoots had refused to let him put on his wardrobe. On the whole Raymond did not appreciate Cheyenne, but his trip had supplied him with a new stock of stories, and Delmonioo's is as merry as a marriage bell." The Amerioan tragedienne, Mias Clara Morris, is about to produce a play, the plot of which, aocording to the "Spirit of the Times," is of the most extraordinary description. The heroine is a giD»y. and in the first act all the girls cf th«* village go to her to have their fortunes told. Ti:e gipsy gives each of them » hypodermic ir jection of morphia, and watches the effects. Bjme of the girls fall Btupidly asleep ; others are sickened and run awiy home ; one clings to the gipsy and decUres, ucder the influence ot the drug, that she will never leave the oamp. The act ends with an attempt on the part of the villagers to rescue this girl, and there is a fine tableau, in which the gipsy threatens, the mob with her jewelled hypodermic needle, in the full blaze of the limelight. In the second act, the girl has gone mad from morphia, and, in a great scene, refuses to recognise her lover, her mother, or her broken hearted father. The gipsy_ taunts them with her power, and the csrtain falls upon a scene of denunciation, in which the lover and father devote themselves to vengeance. The opening of the third act reveals their plot. By selling their farms and pawning all their valuables, the father and lover have sucoeeded in buying up all the morphia within a radius of one hundred miles of the gipsy oamp. Several emissaries of the gipsy queen try to break through the blockade to bring her a supply of the drug; but, after various exciting encounters, they are seized, searched, and oonfined. At length the olimax is reached. The young girl, no longer under the influence of morphia, regains her senses and rushes to her lover's arms. The gipsy queen, in a mad soene which outrivals that in " Luoia, • offers unoounted wealth for one drop of her favorite drug, and dies raving. The father takes possession of hor wealth and bestows it upon the lovers, who are supposed to live happy ever afterward. It will surely take a great deal of genius on Miss Morris' part to carry down snob, a play as this even in America.