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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4222, 1 October 1874, Page 2

We are informed that the flood in the Hutt River during the last two clays was one of the highest known for a long time, and the river still continues very high. The works on the upper section o£ the railway have been damaged to a certain extent, the principal injury being at about eleven and three-quarter mites from.town, where about 130 ft. of concrete wall has been forced out of position and will have to be rebuilt—the wall at this spot is about 14ft. high. The groins placed in the river to protect the railway have stood well, and answer their purpose admirably. The approaches to r two of the bridges have been damaged by the torrents from the hill sides. The other damage consists mostly at the small pipe-culverts along the lino, in connection with the distinct road running parallel to the railway. These do not appear sufficient to carry off the water, but whether they are so or not they became choked with debris from the hill side, and thus, in fact, occasioned the damage in most cases. The repairs will be easily effected. No exact estimate of the cost of repairing this damage can yet be made, but it is gratifying to learn that the amount will not be very serious, considering the magnitude of the flow. The following persons will be tried at the criminal sittings of the Supreme Court, to be held on Monday next : —Gibney, uttering a valueless cheque ; John Wistock, attempt to commit an unnatural offence ; J. Albrecht Halbritter, horse-stealing, littering a forged cheque ; Alfred Aarneh, indecent assault ; Catherine Palmer, stealing from the person ; Frank Bradley, indecent assault. The civil sittings begin on the following Monday, 12th October. The cases set down for trial are as follows :—Tribe v. Watt (special jury), fixed for 17th ; Wylie v. McKirdy (special jury), fixed for 16th ; Steele v. Hutchison ; Keogh v. Hutchison ; Grace v. Diver ; and Mulhern v. Galloway. ■ The attention of the proper officers of the Corporation should bo given without delay to the state of Mulgrave Street, at its junction with Thomdon Quay. The late rains have torn up the roadway in such a manner as to make it dangerous, especially to foot passengers, in the darkness of the night. There is a large amount of traffic of all kinds on the road, and the matter should be seen to. The s.s. Albion, with the Suez mail, sailed from Lyttelton before two o'clock p.m. yesterday, for Wellington. She will probably reach the harbor about six o'clock this morning. If no arrangement is made by the Post-office for the purpose of despatching a supplementary mail by her,'which would necessitate an earlier departure, she will sail again about 7 o'clock p.m. for the West Coast and Melbourne. His Excellency's yacht Blanche returned late o.i Tuesday night to her anchorage in the harbor. Sir James Fergusson, however, was not on board. The severity of the weather lately lias been so great that His Kxcellency determined to send the yacht back from Nelson, and to proceed by H.M.S. Blanche to carry out his intention "of visiting the fine scenery of the West Coast. The yacht has had a most severe time of it, both in Blind Bay and the Strait, where she experienced the full violence of the late gales. She lay-to throughout Monday night, and had both her boats stoved. The following tenders were received at the Public Works Office, for the Pakuratahi contract of the Wellington and M'asterton Ila.ilway ; —\sr, p. Oakos, Wanganui (accepted), £01,979. ' Declined—W. Strachan, Wellington, £02,000 ; C. McKirdy, do., £08,972 ; Jas. Lockie, do., £00,052 ; Samuel Brown, do., £73,000 ; J. Brogdcn- and Sons, do., £57,609 ; Saunders and O'Malley, do., £99,000, It is the opinion of some astronomical savans in this City that the present anything but de-' sirable weather will continue until after the transit of 'Venus, on December S. But, against the verdict of the savans, there is that of the unlearned, who ask whether, if we be liable to another six weeks of this sort of weather until the transit of Venus, we may not be liable to the same afterwards ? Or, argue persons who take another view of the case, may we not, if the wot weather ceases, be scorched up, as a sot off against the tempestuous weather we are now enduring ? . A corresponden*, writing from Petoni (the Hutt) on the 28th ultimo, states that in 1852 there were living at that place, and within sixty chains of the sea, fifty-three persons (exclusive of Maoris). This year the number is 108. During those twenty-two years only five persons have died. One was killed accident: ally ; one was drowned ; one (an aged person) died after a surgical operation ; and the other two were upwards of eighty years of age when they became tho victims of death's "fell shaft." Our" correspondent thinks that, from these facts, Petoni may fairly challenge the world on the score of healthiness. At the Police Court yesterday, a sailor of the barque Ashburton made a complaint against William Young, the master of the vessel, for using threatening language; and the master then charged the seaman with absenting himself from the barque without permission. The cases were curious though frivolous. It appeared from the evidence that the.man had asked permission to go ashore for the purpose of getting' a summons for the captain on the complaint named, but was refused by that officer. Notwithstanding this the sailor did go, and hence tho counter-charge by -the master. : His Worship dismissed the' cases, at the same time remarking on their frivolous nature. Mr. George Thomas commenced the drapery sale in the estate of Pisher and Co., Nelson, on behalf of Messrs. McDowell and .Co., yesterday, with a fair attendance of local and town buyers. . The very unsettled state of the weather having no doubt operated in preventing attendance from out-districts during' the forenoon, tho bidding was slow, but in the afternoon the sale was very animated, satisfactory prices ruling. Altogether about 200 lots were disposed of. As notified, the sale will be continued this day and to-morrow, commencing at eleven o'clock each day.

We are indebted to Captain Davies of the barque Malay for files of the Hobart Town journals to the 18th instant. A sitting of the Vice-Admiralty Court will take place on Saturday next at eleven a.m., when the Strathnaver salvage caie will be heard. - An extensive landslip took place on Tuesday night at the rear of Prosser's stables, doing considerable damage to those buildings. About two hundred tons of earth came down, a part falling into two loose boxes, completely crushing the roof in. Fortunately that evening two very valuable coach horses had been removed from the stalls in question to a part of the stable nearer the street, so that the damage was confined to what could be replaced without very much loss. Miners, contractors, and others may be interested in knowing that an imported rockboring machine, known as the Burleigh, has been successfully tried in Melbourne. It bored holes an inch and three-quarters in diameter in hard Milestone roclc at the rate of three inches per minute. A shot-tower is about to be erected in Emerald Hill, Victoria, by the Murindal Silver and Lead-mining Company. At present, we believe, there is only one shot-tower in the Southern Colonies. It was erected in Hobart Town, on the banks of the Derwent, many years ago. We doubt, however, whether it has been used for some years. The Smith Combination Troupe have been highly successful in the South. Both at Christchurch and Dunedin they have drawn remarkably well, and every member of the company has been highly complimented. We are glad to see that at Dunedin, on the ocaasion of the benefit of " Airec," Miss Nellie Forrester was able once more to make her appearance. Eugene Beda, the indefatigable, has been performing lately in the Southland division of Otago. The weather, the Southland News remarks, has been most unpropitious to him, but nevertheless he had been fairly successful, and he is highly praised for hia courage and industry. What may be done by inexperienced strangers to better their condition, under very adverse circumstances, in this Colony, is very well illustrated by the following, which we take from the correspondence of the Southern Cross : —" Some French vine-dressers arrived in Auckland lately as Government immigrants. They leased a farm at Stokes' Point from Mr. Lusk, and are now engaged in the cultivation of it. These vine-dressers started farming with a capital of £5, and during the last three months they have planted SOO vines and one acre and a-half of strawberries, besides bringing under cultivation half an acre as a vegetable garden. This shows that these people are very industrious, and it would be a boon to the Province of Auckland if it had some two thousand of this class scattered over our waste lands." Jokes from the Bench are often clever, and are usually learned. Even Judges, however, will make a mistake occasionally when aiming at a joke. The other day, in a bankruptcy case at Auckland, a witness said that " she believed she was remembered in her father's will." His Honor Sir George Arney, who presided, remarked that "'remembered' was rather indefinite: he had heard once of a certain Betty being remembered in a will, but the reminiscence was that ' Betty was a thief.'" His Honor may be right, but we rather think that "Betty" was slanderod, and that Sir George was thinking of " Taffy," of the nursery rhyme, who was reported to. be a thief because of a certain missing marrow-bone. A Southern contemporary remarks:—"As an instance of the ignorance that still prevails in America with respect to the Australian Colonies, we may mention that the San Francisco Bulletin, under the heading "Australia," tells its readers that " the Parliament has been prorogued," following this with information as to the length and business of the session. As there are separate headings for Queensland and Victorian news, we may surmise that the Bulletin is under the impression that these Colonies are not in Australia." The Taranaki, which took awaj a supplementary mail on a very bare hope of overtaking the Tararua, has succeeded in doing so by the narrowest chance. The Tararua sailed from Wellington soon after noon on Sunday last, the Taranaki followed on Monday evening. Losing no time at Lyttelton the Taranaki reached Otago Heads just as the Tararua was going out, and transhipped her mail-bags. Cajrtain Wheeler has managed this business very smartly. An amusing ntory comes from Dunedin. It appears that there are two lawyers there who cultivate the custom of the Chinese population considerably. One had a sign placed over his door, on which was an inscription in Chinese, which rendered into English became " Very good barrister—very." His opponent also had a sign placed over his door, but it would appear that on some occasion or other he had displeased the Chinese artist who did the work for him, for when it was put up the Chinese read it as "Him no good." The artist was, perhaps, something of a rogue as well as a wit. AUCKLAND. A street organist is amongst the latest importations. He has found his way hither from Sydney. HAWKE'S BAY. Preparations are being made, says the Jfaivl-e's Bay Herald of the 25th September, for. a large Native meeting and great feast at Waiapu. Major Ropata, and all the Maori aristocracy on the coast, will be there, with supplementary visitors from various parts of the country. Captain Porter and others from Poverty Bay have been invited to attend. Whether the meeting has any political significance or not, we are unable to say. OTAGO. Mr. Bathgate adopted a merciful course yesterday, says the Daily Times of the 23rd ult., in the case of a young woman who pleaded guilty to a charge of theft, but who had hitherto borne a good character. Instead of sending her to gaol, and most likely making' a criminal of her for life, he made her enter into her own recognizance for her good behaviour for the next two mouths. In cases where prisoners of previously irreproachable character are charged with offences, this course might be more frequently followed with advantage. The death of Dr. Dick, of Naseby, has cast great gloom over the district. Dr. Dick was a young and rising man in his profession, and iiad obtained the confidence and respect of the community amongst which he has been practising for the past two and a half years. The immediate cause of death is stated to have been inflammation of the bowels supervening on a cold caught in his hurry (in a halfdressed state), to attend on an unfortunate patient who attempted suicide. The Heads whaling crews met with success on Saturday, says the Guardian of the 22nd inst. They were just going to haul their boats up on the beach, thoroughly disheartened by non-success, and give up the enterprise altogether (not having caught anything during all the last season), when they noticed that the Waikouaiti boats were on the chase, and thought that they would give chase at once, and the two companies combined in one for the day. They reached the whale off Blueskin Bay, and won their prize, which was at once towed to the Heads and brought up to the Rock, where it will be tried down. It is considered about a seven-tun whale (about £3OO worth), and will just be sufficient to clear the crews' expenses for tucker during the season. It is stated by the Bruce Herald that Mr. Coombe was offered, but refused, 400 guineas for Flying Dutchman, when at the Bluff. WESTLAND. A curious case came under the observation of the Resident Magistrate at Greymouth a few days ago. It waa reported by the Argus as follows :—John Mitchell was charged with not having any lawful visible means of support on 19th September. The accused, who is a strong, tall, able-bodied man, was found on the day named in the bush at Sawyer's Creek under peculiar circumstances, and not being able to give a sufficient account of himself he was arrested. Inspector Hickson said complaints were mado to tho police that the

defendant wa3 likely to perish ill .the. bush, where he was lying under the partial shelter of a piece of old blanket, but he was all but exposed to the full force of the inclemency of the weather of last week. He was offered work and money, but would not take either, and the singularity of his conduct altogether justified them in having him arrested, to have a professional examination made as to the state of his mind. Dr. Morice said the defendant was not insane. He was coherent and rational in his speech, and apparently in good mental health generally. Two other witnesses were examined as to the state in which the defendant was living in the bush. He had no tent nor any covering except the piece of blanket mentioned. One of these witnesses offered the defendant money to get something to eat; but he declined the proffered assistance. The defendant said he had been working at Titter's brick-yard, and at McCarthy's brewery; but he had not received any wages. He said he lived under a blanket, because he had nothing else for a covering ; he had a good fire, and he was not lazy as alleged, and he defied anyone to prove so. He asked for a remand to procure the evidence of the people for whom he worked to show that he was not a vagrant. The defendant, who was recognised as an old mining resident of the Little Grey and Ahaura-, was remanded. If the Heathen Chinee is peculiar for ways that are dark and tricks that are vain (says the Oreymouth Star), he is no less singular in his way of making money in ground that w'rald starve the European miner. We have noticed lately that every Melbourne bound boat has taken a number of these interesting copper-colored Asiatics from our shores, and previous to their departure a visit is invariably paid by the emigrants to the Custom-house for the purpose of paying duty on parcels of gold. They resolutely refuse to dispose of their metal at the Banks, although the price is quite equal to that obtainable in Melbourne. We asked one of these amiable individuals where he was going the other day, and he replied with child-like simplicity, " Little splee in Melbourne, by em by come back." From which we infer he was quite satisfied with the West Coast as a goldproducing district. The W.est Coast Times of the 19th ult. has the following :— ■" The police lost no time in shipping away a very undesirable immigrant in the shape of the man Leonard, who was remanded yesterday by the Resident Magistrate to Napier, on a charge of forgery. The Charles Edward was fortunately sailing in the forenoon, very shortly after the remand had been granted, and the accused was booked through to his destination. Mr. Cother, the purser of the boat, was sworn in as a special constable, and Leonard was given into his charge for delivery at the port where his presence was required. In the meantime Mr. Commissioner James telegraphed to Greymouth, Westport, Nelson, and Wellington, the points at which the steamers conveying him touch, and the police at these places will keep a vigilant look-out for their visitor and prevent the possibility of his escape en route. Though twice acquitted there is no moral doubt of this man being in league with his less fortunate accomplice, Kersting, in the robbery to which the latter pleaded guilty. It is satisfactory to find that the meshes of the net of justice have not been large enough to allow the subtler rogue of the two to escape altogether. Last week a purse of 71 sovereigns was presented to the Rev. Mr. Ryley, of Otepopo, by the ladies of his congregation. On dit, remarks the Grey River Argus, a case will come on for hearing, at the next sitting of the Supreme Court, of great interest to that large class of persons who prefer to conduct their own cases in Magistrates' Courts, and who, being their own lawyers, generally have the reverse of wise men for their clients. The action is one to recover damages for alleged slander, arising out of a case recently heard before the Resident Magistrate's Court, Ahaura. Damages are laid by the plaintiff at £SOO.