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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4121, 5 June 1874, Page 2

The outward San Francisco - mail was despatched from Wellington yesterday at four o'clock by the steamer City of Adelaide, which was promptly coaled and prepared for her voyage to Auckland, whence she proceeds to Kandavau to tranship her mails to the Tartar. Both the Alhambra and tho Tararua are announced to sail to-day for Melbourne—one by Nelson and the West Coast, the other by Southern ports. The mails for the Alhambra close at 11 a.m., and those for the Tararua at noon. The Tararua is the vessel selected to convey the Suez mail, and up to the hour letters marked to be so forwarded will be re- . ceived. Tho Alhambra should be in port early this morning, having left Lyttelton at half-past three yesterday afternoon. Among telegraphic items received yesterday it is intimated, from Napier, that Mr. Ormond, the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay, was able to report that, after paying all claims, there will be a balance of £31,331 at the credit of the Province; from Christchurch, that an influential committee has been formed to promote the establishment of the Colonialßank, and that it is contemplated to form a Grand Lodge of Good Templars ; from Duncdin, that the Speaker of tho Council has withdrawn his threat to resign, and that Judge Johnston is to preside over the Supremo Court there ; and from Auckland, that gold prospecting is being actively prosecuted in New Caledonia. Whatever may be tho intention as to Judge Johnston, it is the fact that, meantime, he has proceeded to Napier. The New Zealand Gazette of June 4 contains a proclamation appointing the port of Poverty Bay under tho Marine Act, 1867 ; a proclamation, giving the description, line, and limits of deviation of a portion of the railway from Napier to AVaipukarau—the portion from Pakipaki to the southern margin of Lake Roto-a-lviwa ; a proclamation defining a part of the road from Bowen to Okarito, in the Province of Westland ; and a list of Acts passed by tho Assembly, laid before the Queen, and not disallowed. It is notified that his Excellency has not been advised to exercise his powers of disallowance in respect to the Auckland Municipal Corporations Waterworks Act 1872 Operation Act, 1874, and the Tarauaki Lotteries Ordinance, 1874. Ho has assented to the Tarauaki Provincial Council Ordinance, and the Tarauaki Heads Diversion Ordinance. Tho wanderings of Mr. Joseph Small, comic vocalist, seem to be tmceasing. He pays flying visits—now to China, then to California, and then again to tho Celestial Empire, but he inevitably finds his way back to New Zealand, and is always welcome. His last arrival was made.at Duncdin in company with a numerous party of Chinese and about 300 tons of imports by local Chinese houses. The friends of Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins will be pleased to learn that Miss Colville's (Mrs. Hoskins') debut in California was a decided success. She opened at the California Theatre at a matinee or morning performance on April 25 in Camille, and was enthusiastically received, being called before tho curtain at the end of each act. Mr. Hoskins also appeared on tho same ovening as Dr. Pangloss, and he iB. very highly spoken of in the Calif ornian papers.

i The sittings of the Court of Appeal closed yesterday. The judgment! delivered prior to adjournment will be found in another column. The Hon. W. H. Reynolds, Commissioner of Customs, was a passenger by the City of Adelaide from Dunedin. By a letter recently received from Mr. Buller, we learn that he intended leaving England for the Colony dining last month. The No. 2 (Dunedin Scottish) Company of Otago Volunteers has been disbanded, and the commissions of the officers have lapsed. It is rumored that the General Government intend erecting a new Supreme Court-house in AVellington as soon as an eligible site can be found for the purpose. Mr. McKirdy's tender for the formation of the Mungaroa section of the Masterton railway, has been accepted. The amount of the tender is £57,752. In the Gazette of yesterday there are published four lists of officers and men of the Colonial Forces whose claims to the New Zealand war medal have been admitted. We have received a copy of the Wellington Monthly Price Current, published by Mr. Mosley. As usual, it is an extensive and elaborate collection of facts and figures relating to the trade of the port and Province. A private letter received in Dunedin states that the hairless horse Caoutchouc has arrived in San Francisco, and is causing some little stir there. • He was landed in splendid condition, and was "playing" to crowded houses. Telegrams received in Melbourne from London to the 22nd of May, state that M. Henri Rochefort and those of his companions who proceeded from Sydney by the Californian mail steamer had reached America safely. It is also mentioned that the strike in the agricultural districts was over. Several of the clergymen attending the Anglican Synod are likely to take their departure by the steamers appointed to sail today, but, should there bo a quorum present, the business of the reverend body may be protracted a little longer. We have received, through Messrs. McDowell and Co., a neatly-printed pamphlet named " A Historical Sketch of the Irish Poplin Trade." It is reprinted from the Bcl'jravia Magazine, and contains information interesting to others than those engaged in the trade. With the abundant supply of water now available in Wellington, it would be well if water-fountains were erected, and some simple taps at the localities where cabs and drays are appointed to congregate. The system has been introduced in Dunedin, as it has been in Christchurch, and is worthy of imitation. The resignation by Mr. Edwin Bamford, as Deputy Sheriff of Hawke's Bay, is gazetted, and the appointment of Mr. Francis Gregory Welch, as Deputy Registrar of Marriages, &c, for the district of Shortland, and the appointment of Mr. Todd, of Hokitika, as a Justice of the Peace. Mr Thomas Sugrue has been appointed Receiver of Gold Revenue at Okarito. A Wellington Provincial Gazette, published yesterday, contains a description of the supplies for which tenders will lie received at the Secretary's office up to Friday, June 20. The list includes supplies of various kinds for the gaol, hospital, and lunatic asylum, and for the Provincial Government offices and departments. The P. and 0. steamship Ellora, which conveys the Suez mails between Sydney and Melbourne and vice versa, does not seem to be distinguishing herself for speed. She was beaten on her last run between Melbourne and Sydney by fourteen hours by the A.S.N. Company's Alexandra, and by the steam collier Dandenong by twelve hours. The Rechabite Bazaar concluded last evening with an auction sale, a soiree, and a musical melange, in which several feminine members of the Order. contributed a number of tasteful selections. The articles disposed of under the hammer went at ruinously low figures; but the result of the bazaar is, it is stated, a great pecuniary success. The soiree attracted a large number of persons during the evening, and though the amusement provided was evidently very much enjoyed, the dancing was not protracted beyond midnight. A very admirable, and, no doubt, accurate map of the Province of Hawke's Bay has been published by Mr. Burrett, of this City, under the authority of the Provincial authorities. It lias been compiled and drawn from official sources by Mr. A. Koch, of Wellington, who must have bestowed very great pains, care, and skill'upon its execution. It is one of the best pieces of work of the kind which we have seen in the Colony, and the publisher contributes to its perfection by the use of good paper and by superior workmanship. A late telegram mentioned the death of Sir Roger Therry in England, at the age of seventyfour. The deceased was at one time resident Judge for the district of Port Philip, and lived for some time in Melbourne. Subsequently he became Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which office he held until his retirement from the bench in 1559, after a thirty years' residence in Australia. Sir Roger Therry, who was knighted in 1569, was the author of a very interesting work on New South Wales. A correspondent, who adopts the signature " Signs of the Times," writes thus of the traffic on the Hutt Railway : —" I think some one ought to call the attention of Mr. Anthony Garstin to the fact that there were twenty-two persons—ladies, gentlemen, and children—crammed into that little nook of a parcel van this morning from the Hutt, sinrply because there was no room in any of the carriages. Surely sixpennyworth of fat would grease the axles of aiiotlier carnage. Some people say that by paying your money you have your choice; not so, except Hobson's ; but I can't say that he was a traffic manager." Dr. Jenner, in a letttcr to the London Times, writes of the incidents associated with the wreck of the ship Surat, and condemns the New Zealand Shipping Company for sending a ship to sea shamefully unprovided with charts. In a later number of the same journal, the following reply appears from Mr. J. L. Coster, Chairman of the Company : —" I write to correct a rnisapprehenion under which your correspondent, the Right Rev. Dr. Jenner, labors as to the ownership of the Surat. The New Zealand Shipping Company were not the owners of the vessel, nor did the appointment of her officers rest with them. Those connected with the Company deplore, as much as Dr. Jenner can do, the wreck of the vessel, and the sad disclosures as to the conduct of the master and officers, the former of whom is being prosecuted for a misdemeanor by the proper authorities in the Colony ; but they cannot take especial blame to themselves in connection with the matter. The master and officers were duly certificated, while the ship herself, which was of exceptionally high class, strong build, and suitability for the conveyance of passengers, passed the very complete and searching surveys and examinations of the Board of Trade and Emigration Departments before proceeding on her ill-fated voyage. It has certainly been a great mercy that no lives were lost." In the Nelson Mail's report of the meeting of the creditors of W. Stavert and Co., it is stated that Mr. Ilartman announced that it was his intention to endeavor to upset the assignment of the book debts to Mr. Sclanders. With reference to this assignment it was explained that prior to his assigning to Messrs. Sharp and Buckeridge, Stavert, under pressure, had assigned the book debts to Mr. Sclanders in order to secure to the Union Bank of Australia and to the trustees of Fisher's estate a certain amount of money realised from the sale of Dartuall's stock at Richmond, and which thoy had arranged should be paid, immediately after the sale, to Mr. Sclanders, to hold, pending the settlement of a dispute between them with reference to it. This, Stavert did not do, but paid it into his own account; instead, and the parties interested had secured themselves in the manner indicated. The Mail supplements its report by

saying:—Although there is only a deficiency of £IO,OOO shown in the statement submitted, we understand that as a large portion of the assets is secured to the National Bank and others, and as there are likely to be considerable contingent liabilities which are not alluded to in the statement, the estate is likely to be a most unsatisfactory one for the general body of creditors, and the dividend a mere nothing. CANTERBURY. The land sales for the month of May, in Canterbury Province, realised £55,644. A lifeboat fitted with the newest appliances, and for the use of the Lyttelton pilot station, has been brought out by the ship Ballochmoyle. The Siamese Circus Troupe are giving performances before numerous spectators in the city of Christchurch. The receipts on the Canterbury railways for the seven months ending April 30 amounted to £63,035. During the same period in 1573, the receipts were £43,5(39. The Canterbury Archery Club have closed the season by a match for various special prizes given by members of the club. There was a large attendance of competitors and spectators. Public daily prayer meetings are the fashion in Christchurch at present. From fifty to a hundred persons attend each day. A prisoner named Adams has been killed by a fall of earth at Lyttelton, while he was engaged in some excavations. The immigrants by the Varuna, who have arrived at Timaru, are described as of very suitable trades, and likely to make useful settlers. Rapid progress is being made with the Timaru and Temuka Railway. The rails will, reach Young Creek in a fortnight. The Canterbury Acclimatisation Society has made a request to the Superintendent of the Province to place £3OO- on the Estimates for the introduction of salmon ova. The secretary reported that Dr. Haast had forwarded him an •xtract from a letter from Dr. Spencer Baird, asking why an attempt had not been made to introduce eggs of the Californian salmon into of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington, New Zealand, and stating that they were much more adapted to the New Zealand waters than English salmon ; also that such eggs could be forwarded with comparatively little difficulty.. OTAGO. The Dunedin City Council have resolved to extend their borrowing power for gas and water supply to £250,000. "A Tale of New Zealand Life," written by a lady resident of Otago, and published by Messrs. Sampson, Low, and Co., is expected by the next Suez mail. Messrs. Wilson and Co., of the OtagoFoundry, have just completed a rock-boring apparatus for' Messrs. Straehan and Hunter, contractors on the Lawrence and Tokomairiro Railway. The machinery comprising it consists of a six-horse boiler, which drives an engine and air-pumps. Of an experiment the Guardian says :—The rock-drill was fixed upon a temporary frame, under which were placed two solid blocks of stone, each 2ft. Sin. in thickness, one of which was from Port Chalmers, and the other consisted of Bell Hill bluestone. With an average pressure of 451 b. of ah' a hole was put through the former hi ten minutes, and through the hitter in about seventeen minutes. At a special meeting of the Dunedin City Council, it was resolved, by six to two, to accept the offer made to the Corporatioi i by the directors of the Water Company for the sale of their works. In the Provincial Council, after an animated debate, a resolution, proposing, inter alia, that, "in order to provide special security to the General Government for repayment of the loan, an area of 2,070,453 acres of waste land be set apart," was carried. Tenders have been called for the erection of a passenger station at Dunedin in connection with the Clutha and Port Chalmers railways. From the plans it appears that the structure will be of a permanent nature, and of considerable size. The building itself is to be 206 ft. in length, by 25ft., while the platform, which will project at each end, will be 400 ft.. long by ISft. The Provincial accounts for she past financial year have been laid before the Council.. The estimated income was exceeded by about £IO,OOO, the figures being : Estimated income, £482,743 ; actual receipts, £492,309. There was an increase on all heads of purely provincial revenue. £25,000 had been estimated as receivable from the sale, of reclaimed land, but nothing was taken on this head, and it forms an item in the estimates of income for the current financial year. £51,743 was set down as receivable from General Government repayments, whereas £59,808 was actually paid into the Provincial Treasury. On the other hand, £3OO,CSO was received from land sales, etc., the estimated receipts being £255,000. There was a balance in favor of the Province, on the 31st of March last, under all heads of account, of £103,655. WESTLAND. Mr. Michael Cassius, an early and prominent resident of the Province, has sailed from Hokitika for Europe. Another of Hokitika's oldest identities, Mr. Cheffings, of the firm of Cheffings and Whitting, died lately at his residence, Bealey Street, near Gibson's Quay. The following perilous travelling is reported in the Grey Arytis :—" A feat in inland navigation was performed on the Grey River during the height of the gale on Sunday last. One of Anderson and R-eilly's cargo boats, while returning from Ahaura, got the full strength of the breeze when near the junction of the Grey and Arnold rivers. When passing Langdon's Ferry, all sails were set, and she ran to Snag Falls, off the Greymouth racecourse, a distance of nearly eleven miles, which was done in less than half an hour by the watch. The ' last rag of canvas' was carried away just as the falls were reached, and such was the force of the wind that all control over the boat was lost, and it was eventually blown ashore at Cobden. A number of passengers, some of them females, and the boat horses were aboard during the spin. Considering the difficult navigation of the river, there must have been novelty and excitement in this adventure, for it is not often the sensation of bowling along at the rate of over twenty miles an hour is experienced." The population of the Province is 14,523 — 945 S males, and 5365 females. The population is thus located :—Town of Hokitika, 3391 ; outlying districts, 4117 ; Town of Greymouth, 2540 ; outlying districts, 2422 ; town of Eoss and its immediate vicinity, 1662 ; outlying districts, 691. There are 393 Chinese, and three half-castes. Population, 1874, 14,823. Decrease, 534. Males, IS7I, 10,453. Males, 1874, 9458. Decrease, 995. Females, 1871, 4904. Females, 1874, 5365. The number of houses and huts occupied is 4C3S ; unoccupied, 326 ; building, 10.