News of the Day.

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1569, 21 April 1874, Page 190

News of the Day.

Half Crowns or Florins. The following circular has been addressed to bankers by direction of the Master of the' Mint:—" Eoyal Mint, December 31, 1873. Gentlemen, I am directed by the Master of the Mint to eall your attention to the present position of the silver currency in. reference to the circulation of half-crowns and florins. The florin, as you are aware, was first issued in 1849, and since 1851 no half-crowns have been struck; but as no steps were taken until the year 1871 for the systematic withdrawal of worn halfcrowns from circulation, the value of those coins in circulation on the 30th ult, still exceeded that of the florins, the amounts' being approximately halfcrowns, £4,600,000; florins, £4,150,000. The approximate number of pieces of each denomination shown by the above figures to be now in circulation, however, is —Florins, 41,500,000; half-crowns) 36,800,000. It appears, therefore, that a point has been reached at which the number of florins in circulation has become larger than that of half-crowns, and it is evident that if both the issue of the former and the withdrawal of the latter coins are continued, the difference in their relative numbers will be rapidly increased. The object of the former circulars issued to bankers by this department in the years 1854 and 1861 was to ascertain whether a general preference existed for the half-crown or the florin. The state of the respective issues is now, and has been for some time, such that the public have had ample and pretty equal experience of both, and the bankers are probably in a condition to judge more perfectly than on former occasions what is the effect of their joint circulation, and what the prevailing preference for either. The time appears, therefore, to have arrived for a definite consideration of the course to be hereafter pursued in regard to them. The Master of the Mint would therefore now ask the favor of your weighing and replying to the following question : Will it be most conducive to the public convenience that the present arrangements should continue, under which florins only are coined and half-crowns gradually withdrawn from circulation ; or do you consider experience to have shown that half-crowns only should be coined and issued, with a view to the eventual withdrawal of the florin ; or, finally, is it to be assumed that both the half-crown and the florin now hold established places in the circulation, and would it be desirable, therefore, that, concurrently with the issue of florins, the Mint should coin such a further number of half-crowns as may from time to time be required ?—C. W. Freemantle, Deputy Master of the Mint." White Island. The New Zealand Herald says: —We understand that the proprietors of the Southern Cross (s.s*) intend having an excursion trip to White Island, or Whakaari, the well known active volcano, situated in the Bay of Plenty, aboint fifty miles east of Tauranga; and we have no doubt but many parties will gladly avail themselves of so good an opportunity of visiting that wondrous sulphur manu-> factory, which the traveller along th e coast only sees at a distance enveloped in vapour. White Island contains a area of nearly six hundred acres, and the general form is that of a horse-shoe range of hills, enclosing on rather more than three sides a level area, in part occupied by the hot lakes and in part by the deposits from the hot springs which supply it. Dr Hector, in 1870, showed that the flat occupied by the deposits " has an extent of about thirty acres, and reaches an elevation of, sixty feet above the sea level, rising gradually to the interior of the island between the lake and the sea, and occupying two-thirds of the space within the amphitheatre. The interior portion of the space is occupied by a hot lake, the water of which is strongly acid." The principal peaks of the mountain ranges are Mount Qisborue, 863 feet high, and Mount Percival, 845 feet high. The landing is generally effected on the south-west side of the island, where boats can be easily beached, and a gentle incline leads the traveller to Lake Hope, which Lieutenant Edwin described, in 1868, as containing an area of thirteen acres and a temperatere of 110

degrees. At the opposite side of this lake, but separated by a heavy wall of deposits, the volcanic action is going on, and mud and water are thrown up at intervals of a few minutes to a height of sixty to ono hundred feet. We hope good weather inay favor the excursionists while visiting |arie of New Zealand's wonde g A Miserable End. The Southern Cross, Bth April, says :—• An inquest was held yesterday at the Provincial Hospital before Dr. Goldsbro' and a jury, to inquire into the circumstances attending the death, by -burning, of Fenton, or Campion. The evidence showed /thsit« the man had been drinking grog that day, and,bj was an habitual drunkard, and lived in a whare, so miserable,' that' only a ! drunkard would live in it. No light was thrown upon how the fire originated, and a verdict of accidental death was returned by the jury. The Siamese Twins' Autopsy. The second edition of the Philadelphia Medical Times, of February 26th,;states that the autopsy of the Siamese Twins was conducted on the previous Friday evening, resulting in some interesting disclosures. The commission found that the two livers, which were supposed to be joined only by blood-vessels, were really one body, the parenchymatous tissue being continuous between them, so that when they were removed from the bodies and placed'on a table, they formed one mass. The bocalled track of portal continuity js therefore the liver tissue., It will be remembered that Chang was said to be possesaed of one more pouch than Eng. When the liver was removed, however, an upper hepatic pouch was found also proceeding from Eng, so that the band contained four pouches of the peritonical besides the liver tissue. These disclosures show that any attempt during life to separate the Twins would, in all probability, have proved fatal. Indian Antiquities. r ! On February 16 Dr. J. W. Leitner, of Lahore, delivered a lecture before the members of the Royal Asiatic Society, Albeinarle-street. Sir Bartle Frere presided. The lecturer, in speaking of his works and discoveries in India as regards its antiquities of art and literature, disclaimed any intentien of establishing theories. His researches had been confined principally in Northern India, and he had discovered 184 specimens of Buddhist sculptures which he had brought to England. They showed that there had been a much closer connection with the Greek school of art than was generally supposed. In tact,„ Greek art was distinctly to be seen in most of the sculptures. He had paid great attention to the literature, of Cashmere, and had discovered many interesting and valuable manuscripts of obsolete languages. He had also, quite by accident, discovered that the shawl weavers of Cashmere had a distinct dialect of their own. The goldsmiths, likewise, use a peculiar dialect, while a " thieves' Latin " was in use even under the very nose of the deputy commissioner without that functionary being aware of it. Referring casually to slavery in India, he said it existed to a considerable extent oh the frontier, and Sir B. Frere was certainly wanted there. Oriental learning was reviving, but it received very little real, support from the Government, who apparently did not take the trouble to find out much information which was valuable as a means of civilizing India. Many of the English books and papers translated into Hindustani contained lamentable mistakes. At the conclusion of the lecture a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Dr. Leitner, and the proceedings terminated. Education Assessments. Mr J. Alexander, an old settler in Wanganui, having refused to pay certain education rates on the ground that they were illegal, a bailiff was despatched to his premises, and a clock seized and sold on a distress warrant. Mr Alexander is well-to-do, and the legality of the seizure will probably be tested in a Court of law. The Wanganui correspondent of the Tribune writes :—" Going at £l4 10s 9d ! No advance ? A cuckoo clock, certainly worth five shillings, and with a little expenditure to make it go, it may be worth six. Going —gone. Captain Cameron is the purchaser at £l4 10s 9d." Thus the distress warrant of the Education Board was satisfied, and the exact amount realized. The scene was in the dining-room of Mr James Alexander at Wanganui, and a merry company of gentlemen were pre* sent to do honor to the occasion. For a time the bailiff could not induce a: bid, and had the audience been inclined to trifle with the matter there would have arisen the pleasant little difficulty of there being no return, although a sale had been held. After unsuccessfully endeavoring to sell the clock in. the first instance, it was suggested that a 100 guinea piano might draw a customer, but no one would have it at £l4 odd, even. After enjoying themselves thus for a time the cuckoo clock was reproduced, and the sale effected. Session or no Session. The New Zealand Herald writes:—-Mr E. J. Wakefield, one of the members of the General Assembly who attended at the recent premature meeting of Parliament, intends, it is said to claim his honorarium for the full Should this prove correct, the case will be one of the most important ever tried in New Zealand, for, in the event of its being decided before the Supreme Court in the plaintiff's favor, the present members of Parliament will be found to have forfeited their seats, and consequently a general election will be necessary. It appears to us to be most desirable that an action of this kind Bkould be brought before the next session, as it might prove the means of preventing an illegal meeting of the Assembly ; whereas, on the other hand, if the decision should be that the late assemblage of half-a-dozen or so of members did not constitute a session, a good deal of doubt and misapprehension would be removed from the public mind. "•

Opening of the Wellington-Hutt Railway.

The Tribune, 14th April, says :~Tlh'h . railway was opened without auy ceremony to-day. A great many availed themselves ; of once more enjoying a trip by rail; some, perhaps, journeyed by this mode of locomotion for the first time. Five carriages were run during the day and were generally, well filled. The line is at present rather rough, but this will, no doubt, disappear in time ; the constant running of a heavy train will level such inequalities as at present exist. Those who havo travelled on railways before in Great Britain or elsewhere would probably find the Wellington-Hutt Railway rather slow, . but they should bear in mind the old adage, "We must creep afore we gang." The line is new and of a particularly sinuous character; it would not, perhaps, be safe to run oyer it at the rate which makes the telegraph posts become like the teeth of a fine comb, and it is not necessary meanwhile. The runnings have •passed off without any casualty, as far as can be learned, although, as we passed along, we witnessed a " bolt" or two on the road ainoug the horses, which have ' not yet become familiar with the engine. The officials observe a commendable promptitude in despatching the trains at the appointed hours; in consequence of this several gentlemen lost the return 12 train at the Hutt. The station at the Hutt is not quite finished yet, but is progressing rapidly; it is now on the same model as the one at the Wellington terminus. Two Minutes too Late. The Wellington Tribune, 14th April, says i—We are given to understand that the memorial of the parties seeking a reduction of the public houses in Wellington was presented to the Clerk of the Resident Magistrate's Court, to-day, at two minutes past 11 o'clock, and was rejected as being too late. A portion of clause 24 of the Licensing Act no doubt forms the reason for this rejection. It runs thus: f! Provided that such memorial shall be deposited with the Clerk of the Licensing Court of the District seven clear days before the day appointed for Jthe annual or other licensing meeting at which the same is to be decided." Tho Licensing Court meets on Thursday next, and if it does so at 11 o'clock, then the memorial

was two minutes late. It was clearly a mißtake on the part of the Permissive Bill parties to give occasion for such an objection being [raised, by leaving the memorial to the fate of minutes or even hours—they ought to have been prepared in good and sufficisut time ; still that does not alter the fact that the objection is one of the most senseless and flimsy character, and one that Mr Baker is not likely to have taken without instructions from some person in authority. We shall certainly hear more about it by and bye. It is not to be supposed that a memorial like this could be rejected because it was two minutes late, while there were still seven days to the Licensing Court. It cannot be alleged for a moment that any person interested would be prejudiced by receiving the memorial a few minutes after eleven o'clock, and the whole thing, as represented to us, stands in need of explanation, which must be forthcoming. The Surat Luggage. The Otago Guardian,6th April, says:— The luggage belonging to the Surat'a passengers was on Saturday removed from Mr Miller's store, in Bond-street, to the Kaitangata Coal Shed, on the Jetty-street Wharf, where it will probably be delivered to the passengers to-morrow. It is to be feared that the delay which has taken place in coming to arrangements for its delivery will have resulted in almost rendering it useless. Since the injunction from the Supreme Court was served on the salvors they have not removed any of the luggage which was on board the Surat at the time. Since then several of the passengers' packages have been washed out of the ship and lost, it being nobody's interest to look after them. The Ballot in Ireland. The result of the late general election in Ireland is another triumph for the ballot. At the previous Parliamentary election, under the opening voting system, the authorities had to despatch over 3,000 troops to aid the civil power. Under the ballot not a single soldier was moved, and the preservation of order was left in the hands of the local authorities. A very perceptible earthquake shock occured in Gisborne on Sunday sth April, at about 4.15. p.m., lasting for several seconds, dHring which time, windows tattled and houses creaked in all parts of the town. It appeared to travel from the north-east in a south-westerly direction. The British, Trade Journal—a publication almost indispensable to men of business—has reduced its rate of subscription to 10s per annum. . ,The recently-started Greymouth Mail has ceased to exist as a distinct newspaper. The proprietors have purchased the older paper, the Evening Star, and have incorporated thetwo newspapers under a double title.'; .''"', r A formal offer of marriage (says the Guardian) was made in the Resident Magistrate's Court, Dunedin, by a lawyer, on behalf of a client who was summoned to contribute to the support of his illegitimate child. The offer was refused by another lawyer, on behalf of the mother of the child, a girl only seventeen years old, and the magistrate considered she had shown a wise discretion.