Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4315, 19 January 1875, Page 2

It was reported by telegraph lately from London that the first Governor of Fiji would be Sir Arthur Gordon, who lately retired from tho governorship of Mauritius under circumstances 'that were not a little singular. There would appeal 1 , however, to bo still some doubt on the subject. The Home News of the 27th November has the following ’. —“Mr. Edgar Leopold Layard, the brother of our Ambassador at Madrid, it is now said, will be tho first Governor of Fiji. He has, as is well known, been to » large degree instrumental in bringing about tho cession, and rendered great assistance to Sir Hercules Robinson in conducting the negotiations. His experience will fit him well for the post. He has for many, years been connected officially with the Foreign Office, and has filled appointments in tho Capo .of Good Hope, New Zealand, and Ceylon, and has well earned tho promotion which awaits him,” ■

There was a good muster of the Regatta Committee at . the Pier Hotel last evening, when the •; several sub-committees appointed brought;in their reports.. The wharf committee reported that, among- other arrangements it had .made, awnings would be spread and seats provided at one end of the T, especially for the comfort of ladies. . A barricade, at which’ would be collected the entrance money, would be erected, and the Veteran Band had been engaged to perform on that day. Captain Halliday had kindly consented to act as starter, and the secretary was instructed to write to Mr. Edward Pearce, and request him to fill the office of judge. Wednesday evening next was appointed entry night. A member of the committee, to meet the wish of several, of the captains of vessels now in port, proposed an additional race for boats belonging to trading vessels. The committee decided to place a race on tho programme for ship’s sailing boats, the winner to receive £3, the entrance fee to be 10s. 6d. The tender of Mr. P, Donecker for providing the dinner was accepted, the dinner to take place in the Odd Fellows’ Hall. A deputation was appointed to wait on his Excellency the Governor this morning, to request the honor of his presence at the regatta, and also at the dinner. From the manner in which the committee and the old settlers have taken the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the province in hand, the success of the celebration is placed beyond doubt. We see from the report of the drawing for the prizes of the Art-Union of Glasgow for the year 1873-4, just received by the mail, that four of the New Zealand subaorihershave drawn prizes. There were in all 2419 subscriptions of one guinea, and 89 of halt-a-guine», making a total subscription list of £2586 13s. 6d. Mr. William Adams, of Dunedin, drew a prize of the value of £ls ; a water-color painting of Tarbert Castle, by J. Millar, comes to Mr. William Hepburn, Dunedin ; and author’s proofs of the fine engraving “ The GoodNatured Man” (by Mr, W. P. Frith, R.A., after Goldsmith), were drawn by Mr. James F. Peak, Dunedin, and Mr. G. Bond, Wellington. Mr. Mosley’s “ Monthly Price Current and Trade Report for to-day’s outgoing San Francisco mail is before us. Besides the usual amount of commercial information, reports of stocks in bond, &c., it gives a brief but instructive sketch of the progress of the province during the past year. It also has a new feature, namely, a return showing tho amount of stocks in bond during the year, by which at a glance the increase that has taken place in various stocks is shown. We thus see that while in January, 1874, 2624 cases of brandy were in stock, in December last 7383 were held. Similarly we find the stock of bulk brandy has increased from 499 to 788 quarter-casks ; Geneva from 1924 to 2846 cases ; bottled beer from 496 to 3121 cases. The issue further gives a return of the exports from this port for the quarter ending December, 1874, showing the amount to be £85,946, as against £74,705 in 1873; and for the whole year 1874, £527,488, as against £464,636 for the year 1873. Altogether, the present publication is of unusual commercial interest, and reflects much credit on the editor’s energy and care. Tho under-mentioned crews have been selected by the Star Club to compete at the Anniversary Regatta : Senior Four-oar Race : Gair (1), Johnson (2), Ollivicr (3), Gray (stroke). Junior Four-oar ; James (1), Taylor (2), Shepherd (3), Roskruge (stroke). .Whaleboat; Shepherd (1), Williamson (2), Eyton (3), Johnson (4), Webb (stroke). Four-oar Outrigger : Cornish, Griffiths, (Walker, and Walden. These crews are now in active training. The roysterous joviality of the British tar is too much for the Maoris of Te Aro pa. During the past week some Rosario men practised a little horse-play-upon the fences and whores of the natives at the head of the bay, which has caused the Hon. Wi Tako to remonstrate on behalf of his people. A letter of complaint addressed to tho Resident Magistrate, Mr. Crawford, has been forwarded to the proper authorities, and no doubt a timely hint to the rollicking tars will avoid the necessity of further action. A number of the Southern rifle representatives who arrived in the Wellington yesterday, went out to the rifle range in the afternoon for practice. They leave to-day for the North, as also do the Wellington representatives, viz., Privates Robinson and Rountree, Wellington ; Sergeant Mcllvride, Hutt ; Sergeant Bassett, Wairarapa ; Private Purnell, Wanganui; Captain Johnson and Trooper Mills, Rangitikei. The New Year's hall at the Lunatic Asylum, which was postponed owing to more desirable and pressing entertainments offering at that period, came off at the asylum last evening. There were a considerable number of visitors to tho institution, all of whom, as well as the patients, appeared to thoroughly enjoy the evening’s amusement. Dancing was indulged in to a later hour than is usual, leave to do so having been granted Mr. Seager by the official visitors. A foot race for £4, distance half-a-mile, came off on the Basin Reserve last evening between two young amateurs—Messrs. Hale and Ferris. Neither stripped in good form, and, added to, that disadvantage, Ferris appeared to be suffering from the effects of a alight sprain of: one of his feet. . After a couple of laps had been got over, Ferris, who till then led the race, dropped behind, and Hale came in ah easy winner. Time, a few seconds under 3 minutes. The Home News of 27th November reports that “Mr. Holloway, the Commissioner appointed by tho National Agricultural Laborers’ Uniou to report upon New Zealand as a field of immigration, has just returned from that Colony, and reports most favorably of the fine promise of the Southern Britain.” This is a mistake, as Mr. Holloway, it null be remembered, only sailed hence by the Halcione about the time the Home News was published. It is probable that tho favorable report referred to was one forwarded from this colony. Is the Native Ministry about to add a now arm to the Colonial forces? What else can we gather from a paragraph in tho Home News, which states that . “ Sergeant-Major. John Colman, of the 19th Hussars, is a passenger by tho Michael Angelo for Now Zealand; he goes out as an instructor in the cavalry about to be raised there.” The annual treat to be given to the children attending the Wiltis-street and Tory-stroot Presbyterian Sunday-schools will be held on Anniversary Day in Mr, Martin’s paddock, Ghuznee-street. Arrangements have been made to make the treat thoroughly successful, by providing all kinds of sports likely to make the youthful heart rejoice. Nearly tho whole of the cargo in the ship Carnatic, which arrived fx’om London via Pictou on Friday night last, is consigned to tho Hon. Minister for Public Works. The-friends of Mr. John Anderson, who till recently held the post of outward pilot for the port of Wellington, will bo pleased to learn that, ho has been appointed chief officer of the N.Z.S.S. Company’s steamer Taranaki. Three drunkards, two of whom were aborigines, were punished for drunkenness by the Resident Magistrate yesterday morning. Threo civil cases, in all of which judgment went for the plaintiff, who is a lodging-house keeper, comprised all tho business before his Worship. The Education Board held a short meeting yesterday morning, hut there being no business of importance to transact, the Board adjourned till Wednesday. The members present were Messrs., Brandon, Hutchison, Toomath, Phai-azyn, and Bunny. It may he looked upon as rather a good sign that the Chinese are now buying into the best claims and water-races in the Waimea district of Westland. They are also found ready to buy into claims which Europeans are desirous of clearing out of, to try more distant fields. The London Colonies, of date November 27, has the following ;—“ Dr. Sewell, Senior Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, has died at the age of sixty-nine. , He took a distinguished part among the early leaders of the Modern High Church movement. We believ-o he is brother to Mr. Sewell, who is one of the well-known public men of Now Zealand.”

Mr. Sayle, who was' lately drowned at Akaroa, while sailing for the first time his newly-purchased prize yacht 1 Ripple,' was not long a resident of Greymouth, where he was well-known for his fondness for aquatic sports. The Australian mail ’ steamer Mongolia, which arrived in Southampton in November, had rough weather, and fell in with two icebergs in the Bay of Biscay. This must have been a new sensation for passengers who not long before had beeen pretty well baked, if not burned brown, in the Bed Sea. Queensland, it seems, has imitated New South Wales in the release of a notorious criminal. The Government of that colony have lately remitted the unexpired portion of the sentence of a highwayman, named James Maopherson, or “the Wild Scotchman.”. He was a terror to the Western district for some years, and the fact that he is now free from prison is not well regarded by the Brisbane journals. In the last thirteen days of the old year the trans-Australian telegraph wire seems to have been kept very busily employed. The number of messages sent from the colonies was 119, and not fewer than 182 were received. Victoria, as usual,, heads the list, having to be credited with 136 messages, while New South Wales had 86. The number of the South Australian messages was 48, and of New Zealand 37. - The Illustrated New Zealand News, pubHshedin Dunedin, has been guilty of the egregious bad taste of publishing a portrait from a photograph of the notorious Sullivan. There may be a morbid taste to be gratified with such a thing ; but we shall be unwilling to believe that the great majority of the purchasers of this in every other respect agreeable monthly i would not have preferred to see the corner occupied by Sullivan given up to a., more agreeable subject. While writing of him,'however, in connection with the News, quote the ..following paragraph from the Bendigo Advertiser (Victoria): —“ A gentleman has this week shown me a copy of the Inglewood Sentinel of January, 1864, from which I make the following interesting extract ; ‘ Korong.—Mr. Thomas Sullivan is erecting a new Half-Way House on the new surveyed line of road between here and Inglewood, he having purchased a site there at the last land sale, of twenty acres. He pm-posea, I believe, in the course of time, making a pleasure garden there, so as to inform the inhabitants of Inglewood and Korong an opportunity of being able occasionally to spend a pleasant day.’ It seems somewhat singular to read by the light of subsequent events, of a proposition to spend ‘ a pleasant day ’ with so amiable a creature as Sullivan, the Maungatapu murderer.” The American papers, the Melbourne Argus remarks, announce the forthcoming appearance of a work on “Beligiou and Science,” which is likely to create a great sensation, as it is written by Professor Draper, from whose “History of the Intellectual Development of Europe ’’ Professor Tyndall is charged with having borrowed his retrospective, survey of materialistic philosophy. A gentleman who has been privileged to read the proof-sheets of Dr. Draper's new book says that in it “he not only explains the nature and mental scope of the contest, but he tracesits immense issues; and so far from being a mere chronicle of polemics, his book is rather a study of the dynamics of ideas as they have controlled the course of great public events for 2000 years. Dr. Draper uses his terms in the large historic sense as representing great phases of human experience. By ‘religion’ he means those vast systems of doctrine, putting forth supernatural and infallible claims, and using governments in this world, as well as the terrors of the world to come, to repress all independent inquiry. By ‘science’ he understands not merely certain forma of knowledge, .but the free study of nature, the rights of reason, the untrammelled pursuit of truth, and by conflict Dr. Draper means that protracted war of opposing systems, that antagonism of fundamental ideas, which has embroiled society for ages, and led to the most terrible consequences.”