News of the Week.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 50, 6 January 1872, Page 12

News of the Week.

The tenders for the erection of the Provincial Government Buildings on the Reclaimed Land were opened on Wednesday. Seven tenders had been sent in, the lowest being that of Messrs Gascoigne and Parsons, at £5530, which was accepted. The contract will be commenced almost immediately, as, according to the terms of contract, that portion of the building in which the Provincial Council will meet at its next session, must be ready for that purpose early in April. As we have before announced, the building will afford accommodation for the carrying on of several branches of the General Government, as well as a hall, in which will be held the meetings of the City Council. This is the second result, in tangible form, accruing from that part of the legislation of the last session particularly applicable to Wellington. Among the passengers by the Rangitoto for the South were Mr John Blackelf, the Assistant Engineer, and Mr C. E. Haughton, Under Secretary for the Goldfields. Mr Blackett proceeds to Canterbury for the purpose of arranging certain matters in relation to the railways in that province ; and Mr Haughton visits Otago and Westland for the purpose of bringing into effect the provisioos of the Public Works Act relating to water supply upon the goldfields. A meeting of the directory of the Patent Slip Company was held on Thursday afternoon, at which it was decided that the work should now be proceeded with as rapidly as possible. A good deal of inquiry having been made recently as to what progress has actually been made, those interested in the matter will be glad to hear that a number of important surveys have had to be made, in order to start the work in a proper manner. These have been entirely and satisfactorily completed, and instructions have been given for the immediate starting of the works, which will be pushed on with all rapidity. A good deal of the material is expected to arrive in the Queen Bee, that most required being a quantity of cement, which is on board that vessel. The public, having been somewhat anxious in the matter, may naturally have thought that there had been considerable delay, which, however, was more apparent than real, as good reason is offered in the fact that a great amount of preliminary work had to be got through before it was possible to apply that expedition with which it is now intended to prosecute the work tothefinish. For the last two or three days it has looked as though the long and trying period of dry weather which has prevailed from the beginning of last month was about to end and the much wished for rain coming, for the dark heavy banks of clouds that rolled over from N.W. gave strong indications of a heavy fall, but the barometer throughout has been high and pretty steady, and the air dry. On the 2nd the barometer fell steadily from 29-90 to 29 40 and the sky was almost overcast with black dense rain clouds, the air was most oppressive, and the degree of moisture increased rapidly; wind moderate, but still from N.W. Throughout the day threatening drops of rain fell, but passed off; the maximum temperature in shade was 71 deg. At about 5 p.m. thick small rain commenced, and increased towards night to a heavy fall, which continued until 8 a.m. yesterday morning ; the wind also increased at night, and blew with considerable violence. The amount of rain that fell during this time was 25 inches, nearly twice the quantity that fell for the whole of last month. This morning (4th) the wind still blew fresh from N.W., but the sky cleared off, barometer commenced to rise, and the weather became bright and pleasant. Owing to the previous parched state of the ground and the great amount of evaporation, it seemed hard to believe that such an amount of rain had fallen during the night. Articles of agreement between the Grovernment aud Mr John Martin for a fourweekly steam postal service between Picton and Manakau are just published in the General Government Gazette. The contract dates from the 14th of October, 1871, to the 13th of April, 1872, the payment for the complete trip both ways to be £3OO. Mr N. Valentine occupied his new premises, Railway Hotel, Hutt, on Saturday last. The house is situated at the corner of the two roads leading to the new bridge. The building, when complete, will be one

of the most commodious and convenient in Wellington. Private apartments have been set apart for families and visitors to the district. The hotel is situated in a most commanding position, having an extensive panoramic view of the valley, the harbor, and Wellington. We wish our enterprising friend every success in his new enterprise, and have no doubt his many friends will rally round “ old Nat,” and give him a helping hand. It is expected that the great bridge across the Rangatata river, Canterbury, will be opened for traffic in May next. We learn from the “ Timaru Herald” that the eighth pair of cylinders are now down and concreted to the top, and the ninth pair are in course of being sunk. The sinking of the eigth pair was comparatively easy to that of some of the other columns, and as yet the sinking of the adjoining pair has been exceptionally good, a fault or drift below the layer of boulders giving a good eighteen inches to the depth almost at a single drop. Of the girder work, the seventh span is just about being completed. The weather and the crops are matters which have occupied no inconsiderable amount of attention daring the past fortnight in all parts of the colony. From the southern provinces we hear of the withering effects of the drought, the accounts from Nelson speaking of the crops and the prospects of a good harvest as being completely ruined. In our own province the fears are equally strong, the meteorological records showing rain to have fallen on four days only throughout the month of December, and in quantity infinitesimally small. Farmers coming to town speak in terms of woe on the likelihood of a profitable result to their labors, a condition of things corroborated by the general complaint on the part of the citizens of an insufficient supply of water for household purposes, this of course being explained by the fact that we have as yet in great measure to depend upon rainfall for water for domestic use. As regards this latter want, requirements will be temporarily supplied by the seasonable and welcome downpour which set in yesterday afternoon and continued throughout the evening. Whether the area over which the effects of the rain will be felt will be sufficiently extensive to benefit the farming community it is impossible to say, but it is thought by its direction and density, as experienced in town, that it must have extended some distance inland. It is to be hoped that its beneficial influence may have been in some small measure felt by those who require it at least as much as do we in Wellington. Last session an Act was passed for the better regulation of the business of sharebroking and protecting the public against a recurrence of the swindles that dishonest brokers have perpetrated at Auckland and the Thames. It was brought forward almost entirely in the interests of Auckland, and it was understood that it should be put into force in that province for the present, power being given to the Governor to proclaim it in force in any province as he might think fit. We see by the Auckland papers that the sharebrokers of that place are seeking signatures to a memorial to the Governor, praying that he will not bring the Act into force until after the next session of parliament. The memorial states that the act will be a great burden upon the province and deprive many deserving men of a honest livelihood, and that the interests of the public are at present protected against fraud by penal laws. The committee waited upon the Superintendent, but he declined to interfere. The annual school fete was held at Johnsonville on Boxing Day, at which therewasa fairattendance, considering the other attractions for holiday-seekers. The weather was such as to add to everybody’s enjoyment. The sports consisted of the usual foot racing, hammer throwing, vaulting, &c ; and some of the competitors in these'country sports, although uuknown to fame, so far as Wellington is concerned, showed that with practice they would take a good place among the athletes of the province. The vaulting, for instance, was very good, the winner clearing nine feet easily, eighteen inches higher than was done in town on the same day. The standing high jump was a tie, at four feet one and a-half. The representatives of the fair sex amused themselves with various round games, and largely patronised a wheel of fortune, while a sinister-looking “ Aunt Sally” persisted in smoking short cutties, notwithstanding the frantic efforts that were made to knock them out of her mouth. The scholars were regaled with a good tea in the evening, after which the Rev Mr St. Hill distributed the prizes to the school children. In doing so, he made an earnest and appropriate address to the scholars, especially impressing upon them the necessity of being regular in attending •chool —a necessity as urgent as that of application while there. He complimented the recipient of the chief prize—Donald Cameron—upon his diligence and attention, and called for a cheer for him, which was heartily given. The rev gentleman concluded by wishing the children a happy New Year, which they acknowledged by

giving him three cheers. Dr Taylor, the Chairman of the School Committee, thanked Mr St. Hill for his kindness in comiifg to present the prizes, as did the master for his useful admonitions to the scholars and their parents on the subject of attendance. The days’ proceedings were the most pleasant of their kind which have taken place in the district. The coming of the New Year following so closely in the passage of time on the footsteps of a scarcely departed Sabbath day, the customary and appropriate rejoicings were necessarily of a subdued and becoming character. The patient watchers at some of the places of worship ushered Id. the yet virgin era in the span of existence with religious hope and fervid devotion, while the traditional observances of the Gaels and Celts were carried out with less solemn though with equally sincere feelings, in the desire for “ peace and goodwill toward men.” For sometime succeeding the hour at which it is said, figuratively, churchyards oscitate, the “ first footing” was carried on briskly, the full-handed being welcomed and made merry as a necessary proceeding in tuning the pipes for the morrow’s festivities. Last Sunday afternoon a man named William Jones, employed as a blacksmith by Mr Chew of the Ferry Mill’s died under rather suspicious circumstances. He had previously been drinking and while under the influence of liquor is reported to have been the subject of practical jokes, which possibly were the immediate cause of his death. On Christmas Day a coroner’s inquest was held on the remains, and the jury permitted the mau to be buried, though a general feeling prevailed that further inquiry was necessary. It has also been thought that the case was one where a post-mortem examination should have been made. Though, perhaps, undesignedly, it is believed that the man was actually poisoned, and dissatisfaction is felt at the result of the inquest, because it did not settle this important point. The Pahaufcanui Yolunteers fired for choice of representatives on Friday last. The ranges were : —2OO, 300, 400. 500, 600 yards. Corporal W. Jones, Private James Barrow, and G. Carter gained the honor of representing the company, their respective scores being:—7l, 67, and 66. The sum of two hundred and fifty pounds has been voted by the Provincial Council of Auckland for the purpose of boring for water on the artesian principle, with the view of ascertaining whether the city of Auckland can be supplied with pure water by this plan. The proposal to amalgamate the two branches of the legal profession in Victoria has been the subject of a meeting of the Victorian bar, presided over by the Attorney-General. A resolution was carried objecting to the proposed change. The “Wanganui Chronicle” mentions as an instance of the depreciation of property that a property at Turakina was recently sold for £l7O by a mortgagee who had advanced £3OO upon it some time ago. The unwarrantable if not impudent liberties taken by some and the destruction caused by the thoughtless acts of others of those forming the picnic parties who periodically visit the Domain reserve has had the effect of putting an end to the use of the ground for such a purpose in future, the Board of Governors having issued a notification to that effect. Whether the Board has power legally to enforce its mandatory intentions is in a matter of the kind a subsidiary consideration, for it cannot be supposed that the labors of the conservators of the Domain as well as those of the Acclimatisation Society are to be wantonly sacrificed to the indulgence of the empty-headed pranks of the larrikins and snobs who visit the grounds in the pursuance of no sensible object, for we believe it is in reality the representatives of the supercilious and and the rowdy classes who make the havoc for which the sensible and the respectable will have to suffer. There certainly are the objections to the holding of picnics in the grounds that the juveniles of the party are never or seldom restricted to reasonable limits, and there is always left behind in beautiful disorder the indigestible fragments of a carnivorous repast —ham bones, remanent of giblets, the tibia of lamb, &c.—articles which in no way tend to heighten the admiration of the beauties of “ spring’s enamelled floor.” This is one kind of nuisance; another class is that of which an incident of a few days ago cannot fail to convey a fair idea of the aggravating occurrences complained of. The gardener, ever watchful, planted his eye on several young gentlemen, of whose conduct he entertainedsomedoubts, and after a little delay in settling down, they finally did so in the midst of a nursery bed of choice rhododendrons, two of which weretrampled level with the ground, and their form completely destroyed. It is high time such proceedings were put a stop to.

Speaking of the adventuring expedition to New Guinea, the “ Sydney Morning Herald” says :—This project, which Mr Keith Collins initiated here many months agis nowin a fair way of producing practiresults. Recent visitors to Papua having

confirmed the statements that gold is to be found there, has attracted the attention of some of the mining population, and a meeting of persons interested in the matter was held last evening at Punch’s Hotel. Their object was to make arrangements for a party well equipped and armed to leave immediately for Redscar Bay and prospect its vicinity. For this purpose a committee of seventeen was appointed to arrange all details connected with the expedition. It was decided to accept eighty men, each of whom is to pay £lO, for which they will be provided with a free passage there—and back if necessary—together with provisions for three months. In order to make the affair bona fide it was resolved that each applicant for membership should pay a deposit of £l.

The “ Otago Daily Times” strongly complains of the delay in the publication of the last number of Hansard. We may inform our contemporary that the delay complained of is due chiefly to the neglect of lion members in not having corrected their MS report before leaving Wellington. In some cases members in the hurry of departure took the uncorrected reports of their speeches with them, and did not forward them to the chief reporter for some time. It was impossible to print simply those speeches which had been corrected, because in most cases they referred to the remarks of other members who had not furnished the chief reporter with their corrected reports, and without them would have appeared stupid and irrelevant. We take the following from the “ Otago Daily Times” : —lt will be of interest to lovers of the rod to learn that the trout in New Zealand does not rise to the natural fly as it does at home. This is accounted for by the fact that the ground food in our streams is very abnndant, and also that there are numerous shoals of small fish upon which it is known the trout feeds. There is no doubt also that this abundance of food sufficiently accounts for the immense size to which the trout attains in this country. We mentioned last week that several trout had been observed recently in Shag River, which were estimated to weigh about four or five pounds ; and we have since learned that trout as large have been seen in other streams in Otago where these fish were liberated by the Acclimatisation Society. We have heard also that, a short time ago, a trout weighing about which must have been a year younger than the Shag River fish, was found dead in the upper partof the Water Works Company’s Reservoir. The salmoD trout, however—some of which were lately turned adrift from the ponds at Palmerston—seem to follow instinctively the habits of their progenitors, as they have been noticed not only rising but leaping at the fly. As in Tasmania angling for brown trout was opened to the public about six years after the introduction of the fish, it may reasonably be presumed, after tbe great success on the part of our society in acclimatising the trout, that the rod may be used in Otago in the course of two or three years. However disappointed anglers may feel that there is no prospect of their being able to take a “ rise” out of these noble fish, it will be some consolation to know that they will be able to fill a basket with a “ spin.” A considerable number of applications have recently been received by the Government from persons in Auckland desirous of bringing out their friends at home under the immigration scheme. We learn from the “Edinburgh Weekly Review” that the Rev Mr Cameron, of the Second U. P. Church, Newburg, has been appointed to Otago in connection with the Presbyterian Church. The Melbourne correspondent of the “Otago Daily Times” gives a further illustration of the hold which spiritism is taking on a largo section of the community. He says:—The apostate priest, the “Red” John Tyerman, who was once a dissenting miuister in New Zealand, who then joined the Church of England in this colony, and was appointed to a lay readership while qualifying for tbe position of an ordained clergyman ; who then, finding the time of his examination drawing near, and his feeling of ability to pass it very doubtful, began to exhibit a leaning towards the spiritism he had a few months before been denouncing in very strong language, and was ultimately expelled from the church ; who has since his expulsion been lecturing on spiritism, and under cover of doing so made virulent attacks on the religion of which he was a few months ago a teacher—was a little while ago presented by some of his Sandhurst friends with a cheque for £3lO, as some slight alleviation of the pangs of martyrdom he has been supposed to be enduring in the cause of truth. A recent writer, in reviewing Mr Tyerman’s career, alludes thus to the time, eighteen months ago, when, as a minister of tbe Church of England, he was carrying on an active war in support of the doctrines he had just taken up, and has since renounced. “How he made those infidels, universalists, bigots, and atheists, as he pleasantly called them, to shake in their shoes; How

he waxed fat and valiant on the revenues of that Church, and went forth (so to speak) like another Samson against the Philistines, wielding a particularly deadly jaw-bone (in the shape of a lecture against * Sceptical Objections to the Bible’), and with such dread effect as to slaughter his enemies with an exceeding great slaughter, and leave the field encumbered with the slain ; so that in gratitude to himself, he had the said jawbone and his own prowess immortalised by getting the lecture (still in print) struck off by the press, and distributed among the faithful as a memorial thereof. Are not all these things written in the chronicles of St Mary’s?” He then asks “ When did Mr Tyerman speak the truth ? yesterday or to-day ? or is he reserving the very truth for the next new faith of to morrow? However unmindful of these and many other sarcasms, Mr Tyerman is working on very steadily, lecturing about the country, putting money in his pocket, and advancing the cause of truth at the same time in a way which to him and his followers appears entirely satisfactory. The Australian Eclipse Expedition has proved a total failure. The special correspondent of the Melbourne “Argus” telegraphed on the 16th as follows :—The expedition reached Number Six Island, off Cape Sidmouth, on the evening of the 6th December, and erected all the instruments on the island. Everything was got in excellent order by the 11th inst, and up till then fair weather was experienced. Oq the night of the 11th bad weather set in., A most severe thunderstorm burst over the place. The lightning struck the ship’s masthead several times, discharging itself into the ocean with loud crackling noises. The flashes were so vivid as to take away the power of sight for several minutes. Thick weather continued during the whole of the 12th, the sun being obscured by heavy rain clouds. It was impossible to make any observations by the instruments, but the corona was faintly seen through the clouds, and two glimpses of another phase of the eclipse were obtained. The schooner Matilda came up in the evening. The master and men reported that they had seen the eclipse very distinctly in comparatively clear sky near Night Island, only fifteen miles north of the expedition observatory. They did not know of the eclipse beforehand, and only observed it with the naked eye. We visited the main land, and several of the islands within the Great Barrier Reef on the passage up and down. The “ Daily Southern Cross” commenting ou Mr Gillies’ elegant description of the reason for his voting for the removal of the Assembly to Dunedin says : —Wo do not quarrel with his Honor’s private predilections and antipathies, however much we may differ with the taste that thus humors Auckland prejudices at the expense of a sister city, and endeavors to foster provincial jealousies, which are the bane of our colonial progress. But we think that mere desire to ‘ give a slap in the face’ to Wellington was scarcely sufficient to warrant a vote which will necesitate enormous expense in the removal of the paraphernalia of legislation, and that it does not wholly comport with the principles of one of the leaders of the small patriot band of eighteen who had ‘ only one object in view, and that was to bring the expenditure of the colony to balance with the revenue.’ ”

The first shipment of gold from Auckland to London via San Francisco was made by the Bank of New Zealand, per the Nevada. The quantity was 2,9270zs l7dwts, and the “ Southern Cross” says : —We understand the agents of the California line have undertaken, on very moderate terms, to deliver the gold at the Bank of England, London; and now that satisfactory arrangements for forwarding goods have been completed, we hope the line will be regularly taken advantage of by all the banks for similar shipments. With such shipments as wool, which is subject to a fluctuating and unsettled market, despatch in delivery is a very important consideration, and in forwarding that staple to America the advantage possessed by the mail steamers over sailing vessels very considerably overbalances the small additional cost of freight. It would be hard to find a more cogent reason, or one that will be more generally regarded as such, why so many of the new members ot parliament returned at the late election found themselves supporting the present Ministry during the past session than is given in the following extract from a speech of Mr W. G. Steward, the member for Waitaki, when addressing his constituents recently : “ But what had we to ehoose between ? Between an entity and a nonentity—between a decided policy, and no policy at all—between something and nothing—between a strong Government, which at least knew its own mind, and a weak, unmanageable, ill-tempered, soured Opposition which did not; an Opposition without a defiaite policy, with, so far as I could see, no pronounced ideas, consisting of a heterogenous assortment of some nineteen men, remarkable only for their loquacity, their bitterness, and, so far as some of them are concerned, their utter

inanity. Their leader, Mr Stafford, a gentleman, a statesman, and an orator, had little to boast of in his following, and, towards the end of the session, assumed the role of * the disappointed man, unable to effect anything, with no new ideas to bring forward, and merely holding as it appeared a copy of the celebrated •—‘ No case; abuse plaintiff s attorney. What wonder, then, that the young members joined the Government side; and what wonder'that the Government, notwithstanding personal and political hostilities on the part of some, perhaps many, are firmer in their seats than ever . Mr Stafford's star has set; indeed I question much whether he will ever again-except under some fortuitous combination ot circumstances—hold the reins of power in New Zealand.” . A large block of country including 10,000 acres has been purchased from the Provincial Government of Auckland by Messrs Preece and Graham, immediately opposite Grahamstown. A company is under formation for the purpose of developing the extensive coal deposits thereon. A neat little memento of the FrancoGerman war is on view at the shop of Mr Selig, watchmaker. The subject of the picture is the observance by the Jewish soldiers of the -Prussian army of the solemnities appropriate to the Day of Atonement. The Jews of the army were very proud of King William’s religious toleration, and it is on this account the picture has been struck and circulated throughout the world. The scene is a secluded vale on the battle field before Metz, and there was built up in very few hours and with rude material, the Temple of the Ark, at which is being performed the rabbinical service in the presence of 700 of the Jewish soldiers. The picture though small is very clear and distinct, a division of infantry of the Christian persuasion, placed on the heights, at the entrance to the valley to prevent interference of any kind soever, being well brought out. The photograph is sur- 1 rounded by Hebrew and German poetry of a sacred and patriotic order, surmounted by the inscription “ We are the children of one Father and by one God created.” We learn from Auckland that it has been finally determined to rebuild the Choral Hall, without uniting, as was proposed, with the Auckland Institute. The new hall will be built of such material as will defy the malicious attempts of those who appear to be bent upon destroying every building erected by the Choral Society. It has not yet been decided whether it shall be of concrete or of wood covered with cement. Possibly the walls to the height of several feet will be made of concrete, and the remainder of the building of wood. Whatever material is adopted, special precautions will be taken to make the doors proof against the attempts of any incendiary operating from the outside of the building. *The payment of the first amount at the death of a policy holder assured under the General Government Annuities Scheme was made on Wednesday last, the person on whose death the money was secured being the late Mr Shephard, coach proprietor of Wanganui. The money was paid over to Mr Brown, the curator of intestate estates, as the person legally representing Mr Shephard, for the deceased gentleman though he had adopted a wise means of providing for his family had neglected the next very necessary step to complete the process, that of making a will. It should not be forgotten by intending insurers that the two things go hand-in-hand. The amount of the premium was £SOO, on which M.r Shephard had paid only one premium. The “Taranaki Herald” asserts that the difficulties which beset the settlement of the confiscated land question m the Taranaki province have been lately augmented by the statements made to the natives of the New P ymouth district by the member for the Northern Native District, who landed at New Plvmouth on his return to the paternal acres in the vicinity of the Bay of Islands. The landing of such a distinguished native centlemanh.ot from the runanga—the scene mqnv an animated debate, and where the question of native land often formed the subject of discussion-could scarcely mss unnoticed among the native population Amongst other things he told his native hearers that the Government intended to give up the eonfiscated lands. Our contemporary goes on to observe: - - Bv this time the question is doubtlessly discussed at the great gathering atNgat,niaru, where Titokowarn has summoned I?,!, tribes We hear from the natives that the Civil Commissioner was invited to attend, but we find that he is still in New Plymouth, while the question of the occupation of the confiscated lands is Sans being disposed of without any £„T being present at the meeting authorised to give tke views o the Govern ment on the subject. Instead of the Government leading the native mind m the right direction, they are allowing it to drift until it will be too late to lead 1 into the right track. The fact of the Slitter is that unless the Government

at once take the settlement of the confiscated land question in hand, it will be settled by the natives resuming the whole of the unoccupied portion. Already a portion of Tito’s followers have settled down between Oeo and Kaipokonui, on what they consider their own land. On other narts, natives of shady views are in small parties, quietly resuming their old cultivations.” Protection seems to be rampant in Auckland— always with the exception of any duty likely to benefit the agricultural provinces of the South. The other day Mr Clark and Mr Buckland, the two members for Franklyn in the Assembly, promised to support any measure for patting a protective duty °u butter and cheese. Mr Duffv, speaking of the Legislative Council of Victoria, says—“ They met last vear less than forty times, at a cost to the country of about £4OO a sitting.” On this the “Age” remarks-*' When, during the next session, newspaper readers see the Council budget in the reports of a morning, usually about a quarter of a column, in the various journals, they will no doubt say within themselves, There goes another £4oo!’ Truly,. Mr Duffy has a forcible way of putting it. ’ A very serious coach accident took place last "Wednesday in Nelson. It appears that Holder’s coach, in turning the Post-office corner, at Waimea and Bridge streets, capsized, and caused such injuries to one man, named John Anderson, a miner, as to lead to his death a few hours afterwards. Severe, but not dangerous injuries happened to several others of the passengers. At the inquest on the body of the unfortunate Anderson at the hospital, it transpired that the coach was so overladen outside as to become topbeavy, to which was attributed the cause of accident, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and gave it as their opinion that an Inspector of hackneys should be appointed, whose duty it would be to see that passeuger carriages were not overladen. The Supreme Court of Victoria has recently made an example of a litigous lawyer. We take the following from the Melbourne “ Argus:.”-Tke Supreme Court yesterday gave judgment on the application to strike E. C. Gresson off the roll of attorneys of the court, for misconduct. It was said to. be an application to the extraordinary jurisdiction of the Court. Mr Gresson was guilty of no felony or misdemeanor; he bad not defrauded any client, or been guilty of any breach of trust; and in all the cases in England the applications were based upon one or other of this class of facts. Still though Mr Gresson was guiltless of these crimes, he had fomented litigation, and had not taken opportunities of compromising litigation when he might have done so honestly to his clients. For this reason the Court directed Mr Gresson to pay the costs of the application as between attorney and client, failing which he was to be suspended till payment. Subsequently it was asked that he should be permitted to pay £2O into court to abide taxation, but the Court directed him to pay £IOO at once, in whieffeveuthe would not be suspended. News of two singular deaths reaches. ns from Auckland. In one case, Catherine Conway, aged fourscore years and ten, was found dead on December 9, in a small dwelling in Durham street, where she had lived for a time. “ Old Granny”—for this was the name the old woman was known by—had lived for thirty years in Auckland, having reached the age of sixty before she sailed from old Erin—of which she was a native —for the shores of a new colony. “ Old Granny” had during the last quarter of a century obtained a respectable livelihood as midwife and nurse. On the same day an inquest was held on the body of a female named Christiana M‘Vicar. The inquiry was short, but the details were very terrible. The woman, whilst intoxicated, severely beats her voung daughter, whoruns for protection to a neighbor end is taken in. After this the wretched woman obtains a bottle of rum, half of which she drinks, and places the remaining contents of the bottle close to her. She goes to sleep, and never again wakes. She has died a drunkard s death in one of its most dreadful forms. MARAVILLA. COCOA.—No breakfast table is completa without this delicious beverage.—The “ Globe” says “ Various importers and manufacturers have attempted to attain a reputation for their prepared Cocoas, but we doubt whether any thorough success has been achieved until Messrs laylor Brothers discovered the extraordinary qualities of ‘ Maravilla’ Cocoa. Adapting their perfect system of preparation to this finest of all species of the Theobroma, they have produced an article which superseded every other Cocoa in the market. Entire solubility, a delicate aroma, and a rare concentration of the purest elements of nutrition, distinguish the Maravilla Cocoa above all others. For homoeopaths and invalids we could not recommend a more agreeable or valuable beverage. bold m packets only by all Grocers, of whom also may be had Taylor Brothers’ Original Homoeopathic Cocoa and Soluble Chocolate. Steam Mills—Brick Lane, London. Export Chicory Mills, Bruges, Belgium,

A meeting of the directors of the Caledonian Society took place at the New Zealander Hotel on Thursday evening. There was a full attendance. The several prizes, and the expenses incurred for the gathering on the Ist inst, were satisfactorily settled. The Anniversary Eegatta Committee met on Thursday evening at the Pier Hotel, and there was a full attendance. The programme for the sports was revised, and agreed to, and sub-committees appointed for the purpose of making arrangements for celebrating the 32nd anniversary of the colony. Little over a fortnight has now to elapse before the holding of the regatta, and there is yet no sign of preparation on the part of the crews intending to compete. This kind of apathy may find its reward, should any of the other provinces think it worth their while to send a good, crew to compete in the leading races. It may be all very well to rest on our oars, secure in the belief that because our crews can beat the best of the Nelson cracks, they are equal to anything, but it is a pity that such a feeling should interfere with the chance of the Wellington boat in the intercolonial race. For some time past it lias been the custom of the teachers of the Thorndon Primitive Methodist Sunday School to give the children connected with their school a treat on New Year’s Day, and last Monday, undaunted by the unfavorableness of the weather, they continued the custom. Early in the morning the scholars commenced trooping into the schoolroom —the place of rendezvous—and by 10 o’clock, the hour appointed for assembling, but very few were wanting. Shortly after 10 o’clock they marched, in procession to the Provincial Land Office paddock, which was kindly lent for the occasion, and if we could judge from their merry countenances and hearty shouts, they enjoyed themselves immensely. At mid-day a substantial dinner of sandwiches, buns, lemonade, &c, was provided in the field, and late in the afternoon the children were regaled with cake bread and butter, tea, &c, in the schoolroom. Fearing lest the rain would descend, they were dismissed early in the evening, but before leaving the schoolroom the hearty cheers they gave to the Eev Mr Dean, pastor of the’church, to Mr Johnson, superintendent of the school, and to the various teachers, showed that the endeavor to provide for them a good days’ sport was eminently successful. It having come to the knowledge of the Government that certain infringements of the Stamp Act have taken place, the following notice has been issued : —“ There being reason to suppose that persons are in the habit of giving and accepting unstamped receipts as acquittances for moneys paid by cheque, under the belief that the stamp borne by the cheque exonerates the receipt from liability to stamp duty, the public are cautioned against the adoption of this practice. Such receipts are inadmissible as evidence of the payment of money until properly stamped; and every person singing or causing the signature of any such receipt is liable to a penalty of ten pounds for each offence.” The “ Daily Southern Cross” of the 30th ult, states that Mr Carruthers, the Engineer • in - Chief, is to examine the various projects for water supply to the Thames goldfields, and that the Government are quite prepared to carry out such a work if it is proved that it can be dor* with advantage. On the 7th December the ship Countess of Kintore, from Auckland, took on board gold amounting in value to £24,500 for London. On the 14th of the same month the steamer Hero shipped gold to the value of £52,050 for Sydney. The “ South Australian Advertiser. re p orfcs ; _Wr Westcott has made his arrangements for starting to the Northern Territory on a gold prospecting and mining expedition, a number of Adelaide gentleman assisting in the expenses of the venture. After considerable negotiation, the Government have come to a decision aa to the facilites they will offer to gold-prospectors in the territory, and have agreed to certain regulations of a very liberal character. . The longer the lapse for reflection on the vote for holding the next session of Parliament at Dunedin, the stronger becomes the opinion that the joke was pardonable, but that it has been carried far enough. The following extract from the popular journal of Nelson, and one which holds the opinion that “matchless Nelson” should have been the chosen governmental spot, is interesting, as reflecting the opinion of a large portion of the population of that province. The “Colonist” protests, and concludes an article on the subject thus:—Let Ministers do their plain duty, and advise the Governor to summon the General Assembly next session to the place selected by the Commissioners, a place, too, where very large sums have been expended in building to accommodate the Governor and the Assembly, and where at the smallest outlay the work of the country can be most efficiently performed. There can be no fear of any hostile movement succeeding against the Ministry because of their

taking this proper course. The joke is over, and many who voted for it once will never dream of doing so again ; they will not follow prominentoppositionists against a Ministry daring to act on their convictions for the good of the country. Can there be anything more aggravating than to receive a note from a postmaster in a distant post town in the colony, informing the person to whom he writes that there is a letter for him there detained for insufficient postage ? Why could not the letter itself,instead of this tantalisiug note, be forwarded, with directions as to the amount required to complete the charge for carriage ? According to the present regulation, a person is put to the expense of writing a reply to the postmaster, in addition to forwarding the amount required to release the letter from poundage, but this is a consideration of no weight; it is the month’s delay occupied in corresponding that makes the matter, so annoying. Surely this absurdity might be remedied. The Colonial Treasurer of Queensland's Bill to Amend the Gold Duty Act of 1864 provides for the gradual abolition of the tax. It is proposed that during next year the export duty shall be Is per oz.; 6d per oz. during 1873 ; and after that year, no duty shall be charged. The third clause of the bill authorises the Governor in Council to make regulations for ascertaining the rebate of duty fairly allowable upon the exportation of gold that is mixed or alloyed with any other substance. This will apply to the export of auriferous specimens. The “ Grey Eiver Argus,” in a late issue says :—“ Never was there a district so favored as the Inangahua, with its distinct lines and belts of quartz reefs running north and south, over an extent of country that would employ all the mining population of New Zealand. Every creek is more or less auriferous, coal is abundant, agricultural land surrounds the belt, and if our memory serves us right, the existence has been foretold of the great agent mercury in its richest form.

Several cases of sunstroke amongst children have occurred lately on the West Coast goldfields. The thermometer in some places ranged as high as 90 in the shade. The Colonial Treasurer of New South Wales estimates for the ensuing year a surplus of income over expenditure of £58,000. New South Wales now owes £10.613,000. The “ Social Movement,” as it is called, has extended to Melbourne. The leaders of the agitation go in for placing the land in the possession of the industrious and virtuous of the country, and the advance by the State of money to those who need it for working the laud. A small annual rental to be paid for the land and interest upon money advanced. A disgraceful scene appears to have been enacted in the Hokitika Borough Council on the occasion of the election of Mayor, on Wednesday last. A number of candidates were nominated for the office, and a vote taken, when Mr J. B. Clarke, the late Mayor, declared himself elected, when several members insisted that there had been no election, that they had simply been reducing the candidates down to two, to take a final vote. A scene ensued, during which several members left the Hall; and when the chairman was asked to put to the meeting a motion for adjournment, he refused and left the Hall, and the Council broke up in confusion. Mr Clarke’s election has since been gazetted. The Dunedin correspondent of the “ Grey Eiver Argus,” writes-An agitation against the high rate of insurance has been attempted by the Mayor and some others, and a committee was appointed to interview the agents on the matter. The latter parties have also held a meeting, at which a resolution was passed that they would not patronise Fisli for painting, Duncan for flour, Wilson for \Colomal, or Walter for nobblers—these four being the leaders in the movement; also that they would invite rival tradesmen from the other colonies to compete with them in their businesses. This is completely turning the tables on the agitators, giving them a ‘ Eoland for their Oliver,’ and has caused a good laugh at their expense. Information comes filtering slowly in respecting the time when telegraphic com-, munication with England will be a fact. We learn that as far back as the sth ult. communeation was established from Adelaide to latitude 19.30. At that time the south end of the Port Darwin line was within 300 miles of that point. Arrangements will be made to bring and send messages by horse express until the distance is filled up by the wires. About the end of February we may expect through telegraphy to Melbourne from England. From Sydney we are informed that the Ministry there will ask the other colonies to share the expense of steam communication between the Eiver Norman and the head of the Eiver Eoper. If that be done the Australian colonies will at once be in a position to have weekly messages from the old country, and New Zealand will also get its messages only a week older.

The first criminal sittings for this year closed on Wednesday afternoon at an early hour, there having been only two cases left to be disposed of from the previous day. The charge against Hoani Warena, for horse-stealing, was one of those cases in which it is most difficult to bring home the charge of positive theft, and as nothing was elicited in the course of the evidence to dispel doubt on the point, the prisoner received the benefit, and was discharged. If the native is a man of any substance, the prosecutor has it still in his power to compel him to make compensation for the injury the animal received. The case of George Bent, who had been arraigned on five separate charges for stealing and killing sheep, occupied the Court the greater portion of the day. The precaution of laying such a network of charges against the culprit was owing to a discrepancy of legal opinions on the law as regards sheepstealing, and the Crown Prosecutor was determined to leave no stone unturned so that the ends of justice might not be frustrated. As he succeeded in convicting the prisoner on the second charge, no evidence was adduced on the other three, and the prisoner received a summary acquittal. As it was, most people—the prisoner amongst the number —will think justice has been amply satisfied with ten years’ imprisonment. The fellow was undefended, and had not a word to say on his own behalf, but remained during the whole time as impassable as a stock or stone. It would appear from the appearance of the man, and the evidence taken, that he is one of those cast-off’s of society, who by giving way to theirpropensities gradually succeed in decivilising themselves* and naturally gravitate as far as possible from the reach of the law, by taking a refuge on the outskirts of settlement, where they exercise a mostvicious influence on the natives, already too prone to copy the vices of the more powerful race. His Honor took occasion to denounce in the strongest terms the wicked and ungrateful acts of the prisoner in repaying the kindness and charity of Manihera by teaching his children to become thieves and depre dators. On that account alone, his long sentence must be welcome intelligence in the district where he has resided for many years, better known than respected. The Legislative Council has found a champion in Colonel Brett. At the banquet given by the Ellesmere Agricultural Association the gallant colonel is reported to have said : —He felt pleased, and honored at having a seat in the Legislative Council. He considered itone of the greatest legislative houses in these seas. It included very eminent, talented men, and men who were devoted to the interests of the country—men who had got consciences, and who were determined to raise this country from the lethargy and embarrassment it had been laboring under for the last eight or nine years, at least since he had been in the country. During the last session—of course he spoke under correction—upwards of eighty bills were brought into the House for approval and sanction, and not one of those bills went through without the deepest interest, care, and attention being paid' to it, and its merits and demerits fully discussed for the guidance of young members like himself and others. He was sure that any gentleman who took the trouble to peruse Hansard ought to be proud of that House. He would not make invidious comparisons, but lie contended that their care, attention, and industry, and their desire to do everything for the advantage and prosperity of the country, were not to be surpassed by any legislative body. - Arrangements for the building of the new Lunatic Asylum for the province are rapidly assuming a conclusive form, and before a great many months have passed away we expect to be in a position to announce the good intelligence that the patients of the Karori Asylum have been removed to an institution where curative measures will be more likely to achieve success, and where the recovery of the patients will be a consideration associated with less of doubt than is the case at present These remarks, it is obvious, are not intended to reflect on the management of the Karori Asylum, but on the building itself and its site. The new asylum will be erected on a portion of the Wesleyan reserve, in a position overlooking the town and the harbor, so that the cheerfulness of the surroundings—said by those who understand these matters to exert an influence potential in ameliorating the frailties of the inmates of such institutions—should greatly increase the percentage of cures in comparison with the statistical records of that obtainable at the Karori Asylum. Whatever doubt may yet exist in the minds of sceptics as to the presence of reef gold in the country about Makara and Terawiti, there can be none whatever as to the existence of alluvial deposits in quantity, if the statements are to be believed of a person who, a few days ago, sold to Mr Mulligan, of Lambton Quay, a parcel of gold obtained from Deep Creek. The sample is an exceedingly good one, being composed-of two or three nu f?g6ts about the size of French beans, and many others of a shotty character,

ranging up to the size of peas. A quantity of scaly gold makes the sample up to the weight of about two ounces. The inference to be drawn from the facts stated is, that the seller is quietly making a living, either by fossicking or working out a payable patch of ground. The fact affords encouraging evidence to those in the community, whose belief in the gold bearing nature of the country spoken of goes the length of inducing them to put their hands deeply into their pockets in furtherance of the efforts at present being made to establish the existence of a, payable goldfield in the vicinity of Wellington. Immediately at the conclusion of his Honor’s address to the Grand Jury in the Supreme Court on Tuesday morning, the man Morris suddenly jumped up from amongst the strangers in the lower room, and shouted out, “ Your Honor, I wish to address the gentlemen of the Grand Jury before they leave the Court. I have a charge of treason to briDg against a per son .” By the time he had ejaculated these few words, a policeman had Mr Morris by the collar, and his oustomary whoop of “ Murder" being heard in an adjoining building announced the fact that the monomaniac had been accommodated with a cell. His Honor, being aware of the man’s weakness, passed off his intrusion with consummate tact, although Mr Morris’s warning note was awfully sudden. We are requested to state that the sale of the lease of the bonded store and the wharf has been postponed till Monday next, the Bth instant. An unknown insect of a greenish color has made its appearance in millions in the Oamaru district, creating great devastation among the fruit trees. The recent gale in the South was severely felt at Tokomairiro. Hoofs were stripped, fencing blown down, and great damage done to the gardens and orchards. It would appear that those interested in the building trade intend to make a fresh start with the new year in regard to various little matters in connection with the trade which required to be placed on a more satisfactory footing. On Saturday the working carpenters held a meeting to discuss the advisability of making a demand from the master builders for the concession of a half holiday on Saturdays, without submitting to a corresponding reduction in the weekly rate of wages. The result of the conference was that the journeymen carpenters were tolerably unanimous on the expediency of the step and passed a resolution to that effect. With a laudable foresight in regard to their own peculiar interest, a number of master builders met in the work-shed of Messrs Gascoigne & Parsons, on Thorndon, on Tuesday evening; but as there were many things to be discussed which the meeting did not think required publicity, they preferred to dispense with the services of a reporter. Contractors of all kinds, roadmen, tradesmen, and others have little reason to complain just now of a want for either labor or capital. Tenders for all possible kinds ofwork are being advertised for, from the puttinginofa 200-feet drive for a mining company to the making and repair of main lines of road. The Provincial Government invite tenders for the keeping in repair of the various sections of the Great Northeastern line of road fora perion of three years. The City Council invite tenders for the keeping in repair r J. the main lines of road through the city for a similar period, as well as for other municipal works, and the supply of materials for the use of the corporation for the ensuing year. The carrying on of these works, together with other large contracts already in existence and many about to be commenced, indicate a prosperous condition of affairs during the year. The Wesleyan Annual School treat, which was given on New Year’s Day, was as great a success, as far as enjoyment and the attendance of children were concerned, as could be desired. The youthful array, on pleasure bent, officered by their teachers, and followed by admiring parents, marched in rank and file from the school.room in Manners street to Mrs Leach’s, in Polhili’s Gully. The boys at once dashed into cricket, rounders, and other sports of a congenial nature, while the little misses found recreation in swinging and teazle, their parents and teachers distributing themselves about the hills, enjoying the juvenile revelry going on below them. Luncheon formed a pleasant interlude to theyoungsters, and they again betook themselves to the sports with fresh zest, until half-past four in. the afternoon, when the children were rung in to tea, which had been provided by the school committee. This over, about a hundred visitors and friends retired to a spacious awning, where tea had been provided by Mr Dixon. Altogether a most agreeable day’s pleasure both to young and old was passed, and many flattering compliments were passed upon the zeal of the teachers, and their success in carrying out such agreeable, enjoyable, and innocent beguile ment for a drove of 300 children. The scholars were dismissed at about seven o'clock by the pastor, the Bey T. Buddie, and then retired to their various homes, fully satisfied with their day’s pleasure.