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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4356, 6 March 1875, Page 2

The R.M.S Cyphrenes, with the English mail of the 12th of January, is expected to x-each Auckland in the course ■ of to-morrow, the 7th inst. . Though somewhat slow, the Cyphrenes is a -reliable vessed, and we may anticipate that she will be punctual to her time.

At a special meeting of the City Council, held yesterday afternoon, to consider the subject of -Mr. Jackson’s lease, a letter from the City Solicitor was read, stating that the course he had been instructed to take by the Town Clerk, acting under directions from the Council, was altogether unusual, and might lead to serious complications. It was pointed out that it was usual for the landlord or lessor to execute the lease first, the lessee afterward. .Upon this letter being read, Councillor Gillon remarked that the Council was to blamq for not having fulfilled its part of the contract before calling upon Mr. Jackson, who it seemed was not responsible for any part of the. delay in the execution of the lease. Councillor Dransfield said that when the matter was before the Council upon a former occasion, he understood the Mayor to say that it was not at all necessary that the Council should countersign the lease, but as the City Solicitor persisted that it was necessary, it was the-duty of the Council to do so at once. A motion to that effect was put and agreed to. . Mr. Elliott, Dr. Johnston, and Captain Halliday, yesterday visited Somes Island. The infected family (whose name is Walker), • which arrived in the barque Malay, had been landed, and were, of course, isolated from the Berar immigrants. No fresh case had broken out, but the disease had developed itself sufficiently to enable Dr. Johnston to ascertain its exact nature. He describes it as a hybrid contagion, partaking of measles and scarlatina '•—a similar complaint to that now prevalent in the city. , The. owners of the Malay will today forward a supply, of; provisions to the quarantine station. . It is probable the Malay will be admitted to pratique on Monday next, her cabin and fittings only requiring to be thoroughly fumigated and cleansed;' to render the vessel safe from spreading the; contagion.;

It was stated that the steamer Stormhird, when she last entered the Wanganui River, ran on to ' a sandbank. This, it appears, was slightly inaccurate! The steamer did ground, not on a bank, but in fair mid-channel, where the steamer St. Hilda was also stuck. A strong easterly wind had - been for some time blowing,' and Was Still blowing at the time the Stormhird took the bar, and it is a singular fact that in Wanganui; when the wind is from the quarter mentioned, it always influences, in a 'greater or lesser degree, according to‘ its velocity,' the tide in the river. The wind coming down the stream’ meets the flowing tide, forcing it back, sometimes shallowing the river by a couple of feet.' At the time the Stormhird became 1 fast there was only seven feet of, water in mid-channel.

Owing: to the severe weather which r. prevailed yesterday morning, a boat was .not despatched to Somes Island to fetch across those of the Berar's immigrants who are now, convalescent; If the weather prove fine, today, four adults will be landed from : the quarantine station. A match will be played on the Basin Reserve this afternoon, between the Wellington C.O. and'the Victoria C.C. ; wickets to be pitched at 2 p.m. sharp. The following will be the eleven to represent the latter club' - I. J. Salmon, Maplesden, Platt, Barrett, Mills, Banks, Lambert, Ingpen, Dodsworth, Lawrence, ■ Stevenson., Emergencies Asher, Williams, Anderson, Middlemiss. ■ In ■ the Resident Magistrate’s Court, yesterday, J. T. Bedford was charged with neglecting to. support his wife, Mary Bedford. The evidence showed that complainant had been in nearly all the gaols' in the colony for drunkenness, vagrancy, &c; f and that" if there had been any desertion at all, it was the wife who had deserted the husband. Taking this view of the matter, his -Worship dismissed the case. The scene in court, however, during the hearing of the case was rather extraordinary. In Brown v. Peterson, ah action for possession of a tenement, plaintiff was nonsuited with costs. t We are again indebted to the Government Printer for a most convenient almanac and pocket time-table of the San Francisco and Suez mail lines in one, of the bijou kind, intended for the pocket of the waistcoat. It is a renewal —with the necessary corrections for the first six months of the present year—of a postal guide issued from the Government Printing Office when the joint services were entered upon.

The steamer Stormhird leaves for Wanganui to-day. On her return she will be handed over to Mr. E. W. Mills, Lion Foundry, who has been instructed by her owners to effect considerable alterations and repair to the vessel's hull and machinery. A new boiler, which is now almost finished, will replace the one at present in the steamer, the engines will be taken to pieces and readjusted, the hull and rigging overhauled, and the craft altogether made almost equal to a new boat.

The return match between the Colts and Karori Cricket Clubs, will be played at Spiro’s paddock, Karori, this afternoon., The clubs will be represented as follow Colts—G. N. Barraud, J. Bishop, W. Chapman, C. France, F. Harrison, H. Hickson, R. Lynch, G. Lowe, B. Lurline, H McKenzie, and 0. Webb. Karori Club—-Eagle, Collins, Anderson, T. Cole, J. Cole, F. Cole, Lowers, Gills, Hawkea, Andrews, and Barnes,

The health of Mr. Borlase, we are glad to say, is improving. ■ Yesterday he was able to enjoy a drive.

The Hon. William Fox and Mrs. Fox were passengers from Wanganui by the steamer Manawatu, which arrived yesterday morning.

Mr. and Mrs. Bates, -with their dramatic company, having concluded a successful season at Napier, are on their return to Wellington by the Rangatlra, which, probably, will arrive to-day. The Otago, it will be observed, had a long passage from Port Chalmers to Lyttelton, which she reached at half-past one o’clock p.m. yesterday. Under these circumstances she would not sail from Lyttelton until this afternoon, and therefore cannot reach Port Nicholson before to-morrow morning. By the Eak, barque, which arrived on Thursday morning last . from London, the Wanganui Corporation will-receive 476 packages of their waterworks’ plant. The shipment comprises fittings, and odds and ends. The Rev. Charles Clark had another large and fashionable audience last evening. Every reserved seat was occupied, and. extra chairs were obtained for the use of persons who had not secured their seats in advance. It. was the last appearance in Wellington of the gifted and accomplished lecturer, who chose for the occasion his favorite subject—Charles Dickens. For two hours Mr. Clark, by his eloquence, his inimitable mimicry, his wonderful wordpictures, and his prodigious memory, enchained the attention of his audience ; and at the conclusion of the lecture, a general regret was expressed that this series of intellectual and amusing entertainments had been brought to a conclusion. Mr. Clark might have appeared in the Odd Fellows’ Hall or Theatre for another month, and he would always have attracted good audiences; and if he could make it convenient to re-visit Wellington before returning to Australia, he might count upon receiving a cordial welcome. He proceeds to-day to Lyttelton. The Wesleyan congregations in the city have lately been favored with variety : for the last four consecutive Sabbaths the pulpits have been occupied by ministers from other places, who have been passing through Wellington. To-morrow is not to be an exception, for the Rev. Thomas Buddie, who is expected: by the s.s. Wellington to take his seat in the University Council, will preach in the morning at Molesworth-street, and in the evening at Manners-street.

Strange things turn up at times, remarks “ Peter the Pedler,” in the New Zealand Mail, of to-day. He says ;—“Who would have thought that the English girl who gave Dickens the idea of Dolly "Varden, and who sat for the well-known picture, should now be living at Blenheim ? Yet, so it is ; and she was present at the Eev. Charles Clark’s late lecture there on the works of the popular novelist who made so great a favorite of pretty and wilful Mrs. Dolly Varden, the locksmith’s daughter. In the Odd Fellows’ Hall to-night, Mr. Eugene Beda will give an entertainment, assisted by a young but clever troupe of trapezists, known as the Franconies. He will also be assisted by a number of the amateurs of the town, with whom he is an especial favorite. The entertainment will be a varied one, consisting of performances on the trapeze by Beda and the Franconies, character songs, dances, &C, Beda is a most indefatigable worker, a genius in his profession, and his efforts to preserve his independence and increase his professional reputation deserve every consideration and support. His bicycle ride to-night will, of itself, be most attractive. Those who have never patronised'such entertainments should do so to-night, and those who have done so should do so again. “ Philip Henry” writes in the Wairarapa Standard as follows : —“ The report of Mr. Blackett on the Waiohine is extremely satisfactory to Greytown. It indicates that its settlers can do nothing to help themselves, and that is just what we are capable of doiog, what we like to do, and what we are accustomed to do. It must take a great load off our minds to know that it is all we have to do, or are expected to do. Greytown expects every man .to do his duty in.this matter, and for once we are doing it/and doing it we feel good and happy, and we will slumber peacefully, .and drunk the cup of content till the flood comes, and. even then—if it rises it will fall again. If it cuts a fresh slice out of the town, it may spare my shedifice, and what more do I require ? ‘ Bcquiesc.it in pack,’. will e ver be Greytown’s ..motto—the ..Waiohine’s ‘Eesurgam.’” ■ On Saturday, the 27th of February, an accident occurred, at Wilson’s,,saw-mills, Toko-’ mairiro, Otago, ,by which a man was seriously injured. Some of the, men were shifting a heavy log from a pile ,of timber, when the shear's lost ’ their grip, and it came down upon one of the men, David Cafiield, who sustained a compound, fracture of the thigh and compound dislocation of the ankle joint. The poor fellow was immediately brought down to Dunedin Hospital. The fractured limb was set, and so far the man is doing well. Wellington is about to be revisited by Mr. and Mrs. Case: The Dunedin Star, writing about them,..says:—“After nine years’ ab-, sence, during which they have visited and performed in almost every part of-the inhabited globe, the Cases have come among us again to delight ns with the ‘latest intelligence’ of the oddities ‘they have -met with ■ in their travels. With the large audience that assembled at .the Princess’s last night, wC renewed with much 'pleasure - our acquaintance with the clever little woman whose versatility has so often ■ amused us before, and with her talented husband.' And last night Grace Egertonp with all her old pluck and spirit, introduced'us to a round of characters, whose'variety is alone sufficient to charm, with ' such success-that; one’s only regret is to see the curtain fall. Thoroughly finished and truthful are' her ini-' personations, and, though all are so good-as’ to make comparison-unnecessary,--yet her-Sairey Gamp, the female with a knowledge of every-, body’s business" hht J -her 'bwn, deaf Mrs.Motherby," Miss" Warbler, "or jtlie, languid .swell,' must be singled out as the most, taking. How highly 'satisfied;' the audience were was: shqwn by their disposition- to • encore everything,- and. Mrs. ‘ Case was more,, than, good-natured, to comply with a request to sing a third .time, as. she did in one instance, The short intervals that are necessarily occasioned by Mrs. Case in changing dress are taken, advantage, of-by Mr. Case, who,plays selections on the English concertina in a 'manner that no other performer on that instrument, is capable of approaching, and shows that he is a violinist of no mean order.” ,

A member of ourstaff, says the Marlborough Express of the 3rd inst., this' week visited the site of the new canal,..which is about being cut by the Lower Wairau i River Conservators. Commencing at a point distant about a quarter mile south of Beatson’s gate, it has an outlet in a small creek running into the Wairau River about midway between Beatson’s farm and Dillon's Point. There can be no doubt but that the canal will effect some good in draining these low lands after floods. Whether it will have any effect in regard to lowering the height of water coming down the Opawa at flood time is very doubtful! : It runs through a low-lying raupo swamp,' whioh.it will partially if not entirely, drain, and so do good service to the lands adjoining it. The contractor purpose commending operations next week! It is too bad of “Philip Henry” to mite as follows. What are we to think of his , words?—“ ‘ Billy,' said a provincial teacher of a small country school, .‘Have you done the exercise which I set you?’ The teacher’s heart sang with joy; he knew Billy had not done it, and he was prepared with his cane to avenge on Billy’s person the wrongs and indignities which he. had suffered at;the hands of Toomath, Education Board and Co. ‘ Billy, where is it!’ he repeated, while his eyes watered at the sight of Billy’s fat podgy carcase. * Please, sir,’ said Billy, ‘ Mother said l hadn't time, and please, sir,, mother said would you like a few nice cabbages?’ The sullen brow of the provincial teacher cleared, and his hand relaxed its grasp’ of the worn supplejack. ‘Billy,’ said he, ‘you may bring the cabbages, and for this once, sir, I will excuse the exercise, but for the future when I set you a task to do—Billy, you must do it!’"

We are glad to report, says the T Vairavapa Standard of Thursday, that Mr. Warrington, who last week dislocated his knee while driving a threshing machine, is progressing very favorably under the care of Dr. Spratt, and will, in a week or two, be able to return to his home at Waihakeke.

Prom the March number of the New Zealand yyetslcyan, which has just arrived, we gather that the various Australian Wesleyan Con ■ ferences have met. In the Victorian aiiti Tasmanian Conference, the Rev. John Harcourt was elected President, and the Rev. John C. Symons, Secretary. In the Adelaide Conference, the Rev. James Bickford was President,, and the Rev. Samuel Knight, Secretary. In the Sydney Conference, the Rev. S. Wilkinson presided, and the Rev. J. B. Waterhouse was Secretary. With the exception of the Victoriau Conference, each reported an increase in Church membership. The younger branch of the clergy in this part seem to have given considerable trouble. The Rev. Mr. Ingram, a probationer in his last year, was found guilty of plagiarism, for which he was reprimanded and his ordination deferred. Pour students in Wesley College'were dismissed for attending the theatre. The Rev. Joseph Dare returns from England in recruited health, and takes a circuit in Melbourne.