THE Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addiclus jurare in verba magistri. FRIDAY, 16th OCTOBER, 1874,

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1620, 16 October 1874, Page 394

THE Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addiclus jurare in verba magistri. FRIDAY, 16th OCTOBER, 1874,

Thbue is no truth whatever in the statement that appeared in the columns of the Wellington Evening Post that Sir Donald McLean would be appointed Governor of Fiji. The subject has been frequently talked about in certain circles in Wellington for the last three months. It originated first in the form of a jest. Several gentlemen one evening, sitting over their whisky toddy, commenced talking of the Polynesian scheme—insisting the initial step should be the annexation of the Fijian Islands —" Yes," added one of the number, " and make McLean Governor." This is the manner in which the canard originated when the news of annexation took place. The Post published the rumor as such, and nothing more. e '— The first concert of the season was given by the Musical Society on Wednesday evening, to a full house, and passed off very successfully. The English mail via Suez leaves Wellington on. the 25th inst., and at Napier on Tuesday; the 20th, at 7 p.m. A later opportunity may perhaps occur of sending a mail by the liangatira or other steamer ; but this cannot be depended upon. By an advertisement in another column it will be seen that a reward of £SO is offered by the police for the discovery of the incendiary who endeavored to burn down the Crown Hotel. It is to be hoped that the measures taken for the recovery of the miscreant may prove successful. Telegraphic communication with the South has been entirely suspended since our last, though strenuous efforts have been made to repair the damages effected by the late gale. About eight o'clock last night a feeble and imperfect communication was established on one wire, but not sufficient for practical purposes. It is anticipated that communication will be resumed to-day. Our morning contemporary understands that " a circular letter has been addressed by his Honor the Superintendent to the several members of the Provincial Council, asking their concurrence in a proposal of a further extension of the sale of land on deferred payments, so that from seven to eight thousand acres more can be disposed of in this manner. As it is, almost all the land to be sold on deferred payments has been disposed of." Yesterday was observed as a general holiday, on account of the Agricultural Society's show. The trains to Hastings were crowded, and the town was almost deserted. The weather was A r ery unfavorable, a hot wind prevailing; but notwithstanding .this drawback the affair passed off very well. There was a very good show of coach-horses; but we cannot say as much for the hacks exhibited, which were few in number, though containing some very good specimens. The show of sheep was large, and included some admirable specimens, consisting almost exclusively, however, of two classes, Lincolns and Merinos. The show being the first at Hastings, certain defects were unavoidable, which can and no doubt will be rectified on future occasions. The proceedings closed with the sale of a portion of the stock by auction. On Tuesday evening, the members of the Napier Artillery Volunteer Corps gave their usual annual dinner to the officers of the Company. The dinner was given at the Foresters' Arms Hotel, and the provision and arrangements generally were very creditable to the host, Sergt.-Major Gray. The attendance was large, but consisted almost entirely of members of the company. In addition to the guests in whose special honor the dinner was ' given, there were present Major Withers (officer commanding the district), Capt. Kennedy (Napier Militia), Mr W. 11. Flood (who presided very ably at the pianoforte), two or three old members of the company, now no longer on the roll, and the representatives of the Press. Sergt.-Major Gray occupied tlie chair, supported by Capt. Routleclge and Lieut. Swan | and Gunner Williams occupied the Yice-chair, supported by Lieut. Brooking. After duo attention had been gkpn to the provisions, the meeting proceeded to the next business, the usual loyal toasts— l( The Queen," ,"The Prince of Wales," and « The Governor." The next toast, " The Army and Navy," was proposed by Sorgt. Garner, and responded to by Sergt. Fox. Sergt. Williams gave " The Colonial Forces," and Major Withers responded. The Chairman then gave " The Officers of the Artillery,"—the toast of -the evening. His remarks were very interesting, as wore those of Capt. Routledge, who made a long and able speech in reply ; but it was intimated that as they referred chiefly [9 the private concerns of the company, they were i;';! ; NifcOMJod for publication. We gathered, however, , that the services oi this efficient corps [

had been duly recognized by the Government, who had testified their appreciation by the gift of a new gun. Lieuts. .Swan- and Brooking also suitably acknowledged the compliment them by the company. Regret was expressed that; this latter popular /officer, %>m press of other engagements, had found it necessary to tender his resignation; Staff-Sergeant Pox and Gun Instructor Larkih were next proposed, and the toast was acknowledged by the latter. Major Withers and Captain Kennedy here arrived, and were warmly received. Capt. Routledge then, after paying a well-merited tribute to Major Withers' ability and sterling qualities, proposed " The Commanding Officer." The gallant Major briefly expressed his gratification at this expression of the esteem of the company. " The Visitors," by Mr Jacobs, responded to by Captain Kennedy, and " The Ladies," by Corpl. M'Roberts, acknowledged by Mr Price, followed. Lieut. Swan, in proposing " Absent friends, and Comrades in Arms at Oraarunui," referred in terms of appreciation to the Hon. Col. Whitmore. Major Withers suitably; responded. "The Press" was proposed by Corpl. Wilkie, and briefly responded to by the representatives of the Times and Daily . Telegraph. By this time it was close upon the midnight hour. One more toast followed, " The Host and Hostess," and the proceedings were, shortly afterwards brought to a close. The programme of toasts was interspersed with songs by members and visitors, and Mr Flood's pianoforte solos and accompaniments contributed greatly to the success of the affair. The most atrocious attempt at„a joke we ever came across, without exception, is the following, which we quote verbatim, from the Wellington Tribune : —" In re MOAS (in remorse) we have, to state Mo-rality is at a discount in Christchurch —for the lnoas though not mort (moa) are perdu." Our sympathy for the writer of the above in his distressing affliction is only equalled by that which we fuel for his unhappy readers. The Wellington Tribune, from whose invective against the Tirnaru Herald we recently quoted a few choice expressions, has, in a renewal of the attack, compressed an equal amount of abuse into a single word. The obnoxious editor is curtly described as " this Thug." In these journalistic ainenties, brevity is a great consideration—the less there are of them the better ; and it must be admitted that in the quality which is said to constitute "the soul of wit," this last effort of the Tribune leaves little to be desired. The libel case tried before his Honor Judge Johnson, Steele & Keogh versus the Daily Tribune, was not concluded when the Star of the South left Wellington on Monday evening last. His Honor was addressing the jury when the boat sailed, and had been so employed for an hour and a-half previous. From the tone and nature of his Honor's charge, it appeared probable that damages carrying costs, would be awarded by the jury. The break-down in the telegraphic system precludes us from obtaining later information. The statement made in the Tribune as to the merits of the " Steele-Keogh " Company were certainly of a singular and perhaps unwarrantable nature. Some of the verdicts of coroner's juries in cases where a death has been occasioned by intemperance, are worthy to rank among the curiosities of literature. An Auckland exchange supplies one of the the latest specimens. "An awful case of sudden death occurred in the Hazelbank Hotel, Brown-street, at about 9 o'clock on the 6th inst. The deceased, a bushman named Edmund Drew, has been for some time in the Miranda Bush. He came across the Frith with some mates on Sunday last, and since then he has been drinking. Last night, about six o'clock, he took a drink of rum and milk, and lay on a sofa, where he slept heavily for about three hours. Nat having eaten anything since breakfast time, the servant girl tried to awake him, but he was dead. Medical assistance was procured, but it was too late." The evidence was plain as to the cause of death ; and the jury, having apparently carefully noted all the technical terms used by the medical witness, returned the following circumlocutory and contradictory " verdict" :- " That deceased died by the visitation of God, in a natural way, of syncope, during an attack of apoplectic coma, superinduced by the habitual excessive use of stimulants." The Auckland correspondent of our contemporary the Herald, whose characteristic communications are occasionally chosen as the medium of a little official information, intimates that the " barrister of colonial reputation " upon whom is to devolve the Herculean task of personally conferring with every road board chairman in the Colony on the subject of constitutional changes, is to be Mr Moorhouse. We also gather from the same somewhat questionable authority, that the Government, of course "by special request," intend giving effect to the "abolition resolutions" during the recess. As Mr Vogel has distinctly stated that the nature of these changes will not be made known till Parliament again meets, it would not bo easy to reconcile the two statements. On the whole we are inclined to accept Mr Vogel's version of the matter, as though it would doubtless be in harmony with his general policy to inaugurate these constitutional changes without consulting the Colony, we do not see how he could possibly have carried out the idea during the rocess, even though he had remained in the Colony for the purpose. The " public opinion '* which is so often quoted in these singular letters is such as never finds expression by any chance in Auckland-itself, hence we were not surprised to uotico that, as interpreted by this correspondent, it strongly supports ftol GoiTjon/a conduct as inspector of volunteers.

The obituary column of the Printer's Register for August, contains several names of note in literary world, among-which wejfiote the following :—27thj :May,"Mr, Joseph Clayton (who, with the 5 late Mr/ Herbert'lngram, originatedthe Illustrated London: News),taged!;77; 26th June, af Eldmonton, aged 76, Mr William Mayor Watts, a learned printer; 13th Juty, at South wold, Miss Agnes Strickland,, the" well-known authoress; 14th July, Mr Henry William Caslon,of theCaslonLetter Foundry. From the ages given, in the obituary column of the journal from which we quote, it might be inferred that journalism is conducive to longevity, most of those whose death is. recorded having attained a good old age. Another " disgraceful interference with the liberty of the subject" is contemplated in Massachusetts. A Bill is before the Legislature of that State, which if carried, will prohibit the employment of children under fifteen years of age in acrobatic or equestrian feats. Offenders will be liable to a fine of SSOO, and mayors and aldermen are to be held responsible for the strict enforcement of the law. It would seem that not Only the public exhibition but the actual employment of children of tender years is thus to be suppresed. This is equivalent to putting down the business altogether, as the education of a professional gymnast must commence at a much earlier age than the minimum allowed by the statute. So far as we can discover) this obnoxious statute has no provision for '' compensation" to the ill-used circusmen. Here we find a lawful and lucrative calling unwarrantably interfered with ; but after the stand Massachusetts has taken in liquor legislation, this is nothing more than might have been expected. Before long, respectable people will have as little to do with " the turf " as with the prize-ring or cock-fighting. Rascality seems to reign supreme. The following recent instance, brought to light in the Adelaide Police Court, is a sample of the way in which racing is often couducted : Henry Rath, irthur Johns, and George Britcher wore charged with conspiring) at the Adelaide races, to defraud Samuel T. C. Getting of £25, by falsely pretending to run the horse Nannygoat against Touch-Me-Not in a fair and honest manner, whereas Nannygoat was purposely ridden inside a post on the course, and becamo thereby disqualified—the going inside the post being done with intent to defraud S. T. C. Getting. In the course of the hearing, the followiHg evidence was elicited from George Alford, the jockey who rode Nannygoat:—" Had instructions from Mr Johns as to how the mare was to be ridden ; they were—' I was to go inside the post, and to come in first,' because he knew the mare was much faster than the other one. Got between £4 and £5 altogether. Mentioned the riding to others. Did not call it unfair riding to go inside a post when, ordered to do so. Told Mr Dickson all about it when askod. Knew that a jockey was not liable if he rode to order. Did not think it dishonest. Could have kept the horse straight if he had chosen. Of course he knocked his legagainst the post. He was ordered to do it as neatly as he could, so he made as neat a shave as he could. (Laughter.) There were plenty of people looking, and they no doubt saw how it was done. When Johns first spoke to witness he told him to go inside the post. The other two defendants had spoken about the running inside the post before the race came off. Rath told witness to be quiet until it was all over; that was said outside the course before the race. After the race Britcher spoke to witness about going inside the post, and asked him, after the decision, to come and have a drink. He gave witness ss, and said, ' You did it well.' Johus never asked him to ride to win." The defendants were committed to the Supreme Court for trial.