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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4359, 10 March 1875, Page 2

A telegram was received yesterday from Messrs. Vogel, Julyan, Sergeant, and Featherston, stating that the four million loan has been negotiated through Messrs. Rothschilds. The loan has been, issued bearing 41 per cent, interest. Particulars will Shortly follow. A statement has obtained circulation to the effect that a serious robbery of stamps has taken place in .the Post-office, and that Mr. W. Gray, the secretary of the General Postoffice, has held a private enquiry into the matter. This is a misrepresentation of the facts. No parcel of stamps was sent from Wellington to Taranaki by mistake. It is true that a parcel of old stamps was forwarded .from that office to Wellington, and in it was enclosed a parcel of promissory-note stamps. In the course of transmission,' the edge of the parcel appeared to have suffered abrasion, and opened, permitting the 1 enclosed parcel to escape, and it is missing; but there is no suspicion of any robbery having taken place. A board of inquiry has been held, and Mr. Gray has given evidence before it. A small parcel is missing; there is not the slightest suspicion of anything other than au accident having occurred; and that is all the foundation there is for the sensational story of “a, huge robbery" in the Post-officel' 5 ' The news from Australia, by the Tararua—which arrived off the West Coast yesterday morning—includes .the unwelcome item of the wreck of the well-known steamship Gothenburg, during a cyclone, on Flinders 1 Island, on the north-east coast of Queensland. One boat had been picked up, with four men ; but the telegram is of such a character as to lead to but little apprehension of the fate' of - the passengers and crew. So heavy was the wind that the boat was’ blown, away * from the steamer as soon as it readied the water. There were then three boats on the davits, and as these were gone, and no person remained on the wreck, when the party in the first boat returned to the ship on the following day, when the gale had subsided, little doubt is; entertained that the next steamer from Melbourne or Sydney will bring intelligence of the safety of the passengers and crew. It is supposed , they j would laud in Cleveland Bay. The Gothenburg was' well-known in the New. Zealand trade. She -was built originally for the Lowestoft and Norway cattle ; trade,,, and * was, ■ purchased by .the late Captain Hugh Macmeikan, for Messrs. McMeokan, Blackwood, and-Co., of Melbourne, during the first rush to Otago. Her first Australian voyage was made in that trade, under command of Captain Hugh Mackie, and she proved herself a - very profitable ship to her owners. Lately she was thoroughly transformed, hew wooden top-sides were replaced with iron-work, and she was recognised as a first-class vessel for the, tradein which: she was specially engaged —that between the Southern Australian .colonies and .Port Darwin. She was of 601 tonsregister and 120 horse-power. She, had. longbeen commanded by Captain Pearce, under whom she was very successful. Anxiety, as .wellyas curiosity will', be felt until the fate of the captain and crew are ascertained.', .-.-..udu iu'.

:A writ for the election of a member of the House- of •'Representatives, to’ fill' the seat vabated by the retirement of Mr. T. B. Gillies, wits issued on Monday' : by Mr. G-. S; Cooper, ,Clbrk of Writs. ■ j The s.s. Phoebe, with the English Californian mail, sailed.ffom-the Manukau; at half-past 10 o’clock yesterday forenoon for the Southern ■ports. She may be’ looked 1 for’ here in the course of Friday.

• Within the last‘few days Drj Walter Duller has, purchased, at the upset price, between 6000 and 7000 acres of land in the Faroe Karetu block. T.lje purchase is understood to have"been’triade 'birebehalf 'bf principals elsewhere* and the total sum paid is between

k Provincial Government Gazette was issued yesterday, containing a proclamation withdrawing from sale a portion of rthe,,Rangitumau block. The land, withdrawn embraces all the yyaste,-lands ~of . the,„Growix . situate.:and lying to the east of the ‘public : road now being constructed betvyepnj thn of ; ,Master, -ton and Alfredtori;’ and 'forming part of the Eangitumau BlqcJpinjthe Wairarapa district..,

Mr. Watt, Booond officer of the steamer Taranaki, met with: anialccidenti in [the Graving Dock, Port Chalmers, ou Tuesday week. He : wak Superintending the painting'of the steamer outside, and by some mischance slipped and fell from the.'stage ito: the übottota df .the'' dock. ■His arm and side are severely bruised, but, fortunately, no bones.fire brdkenJ h: ..! ■■; An address to Mr. Fox, signed by all the mranhem of the House of Representatives who Voted with him, after the no-confidence debate :against the short-lived Ministry'of Mr; Stafford in 11872 (the vote was 38 to 37), will be presented to-day by as many , of the members of the House as happen to be in Wellington. The address expenses appreciation, of services of r Mr. ’lfox, hot ‘ only as a legislator, but a moral reformer. .It., is, beautifully got up by Mr.' Peiham,' and is bordered by the photographs j, ( likenesses most .of them) of the ‘thirty-eight signatories.

At the Resident day, John Spider, charged with forging a cheque upon Mr.'E. W. : Mills, whs committed for trial. The facts of the case which were deposed, to in evidence: have, already,been recapitulated in these columns. A charge of assault preferred against Lawrence McGovern by George Crowther, was not gone into, in consequence of the non-appearance of the parties. Tlireo seamen of the Avalanche, charged with being absent without leaye, :were ordered on board tbeir ship. Mr. Thomson, the keeper of the Kaiwarra tollgate, again summoned Mr. A. Young for tolls duo by defendant, amounting to £l7 12s. 6d,, for which sum a verdict was given by consent, leave being given to Mr. Quick to appeal. ' Evidence: Was taken in a cose brought by J. Hobbcrley against R. Poftelli, for the value of certain fish which defendant had not received, which was ordered to be transmitted to Picton, where the plaintiff had begun an action for the amount claimed. -

The Wellington Literary Association held another of their regular meetings last night, in the schoolroom of St. John’s Church. There was an average attendance. 1 A clever paper on “ The Life of the late Lord Clyde” was read by Mr. Kenner, and a discussion of an interesting character afterwards took place upon it. Another feature—and a new one—of the evening, was an extemporised discussion on “The Burning, of the Cpspatriok,” each speaker being limited to three minutes. The young men who spoke on the subject did so very well, and gave proof of the value of the institution in bringing out. young talent. The usual weekly meeting of the Wellington Benevolent Society was held yesterday afternoon. Present—The Bishop of Wellington (chairman), Rev. B, W-Harvey, Eev. W. H. West, Mr, L. Levy, Mr. D. Lewis, Mr. O. P. Powles, and Hon. C. J. Pharazyn. The following subscriptions Were received ;—Hon. C. J. Pharazyn, £lO ; H. S. McKellar, Esq., £2 25.; J. C. Crawford, Esq., £1 11s, 6d. The following tenders were received at the Public Works Office, Wellington, for the construction of a stop bank at Overflow, Buller River : —Accepted—J. Mahex and Co, Greymouth, £3388, Declined—J. McLean, Westport, £3480 ; J. Leslie, Westport, £3699 ; Bray Bros., Nelson, £5009,

H.M.S. Rosario, Captain Dupuis, arrived at Sydney from Wellington on the 25th ult. , ' A telegraph station has been opened at Whangarei, in the province of Auckland. Tlje Hon. Colonel -Feilding was among the passengers who sailed yesterday for Sydney by the s.s. Easby.

The Diver—-the winner of the Selling Stakes at the late Wanganui races—was purchased by Mr. T. Ray, of Taratahi, for d£43. The s.s. Tararua, which arrived off Hokitika yesterday morning from Melbourne, may be expected here in the coui'se of .Thursday. In the published acknowledgment of the subscriptions for St. James’s Church Building Fund, Mr. J'. Corbett’s name .unfortunately appeared by error as contributing one shilling in place of one pound. The error, of course, was purely typographical.

The English birds lately liberated by the Hon. H. H. Russell, at Mount Herbert, says the Hawke’s Bay Daily Telegraph, are thriving apace. They appear to have made themselves thoroughly at home in the numerous plantations and hedgerows of that beautiful locality. “Airec, the King of the Air,” whose performances here, when he was a member of the Smith Combination Troupe, will not readily be forgotten, is now in Wellington. Arrangements will probably be made for an early appearance.

Captain Sharp, J.P., one of the Licensing Commissioners for the district of Wellington, Karori, and Makara, has resigned his Commissionership, in consequence of his intended departure for Europe by the next Californian mail steamer.

Mr. Allan, says the Wa'mmipa News, is the successful tenderer for the construction of 197 chains of road from the Opaki to the Mana-watu-road. Mr. Allan has been for some time inspector of the Manawatu end of the Opaki Gorge-road .under Mr. Munro, the resident engineer, and is both a practical and a pushing man.

We regret to learn that Mr. T. H. Rainford, lies dangerously ill at Dunedin. His indisposition dates from the time of his playing in the last act of “ Satanella,” when produced at the Princess Theatre, Dunedin, on’the occasion of the last performance of the company. In his fall, and, while turning to face the audience,' in order to carry out the business of the part, he strained his neck, which caused an immense swelling, necessitating surgical aid. Mr. Rainford is suffering great pain. We mentioned, a few days ago, that an old colonial journal, the Sydney Empire, had; ceased to exist. - The following paragraph appeared in: its last issue : —“The proprietor of this-journal regrets to state that, in consequence of haying received notice of unintended strike by his- compositors, he is • reluctantly compelled to bring .its issue,, as a separate publication, to a close. Having conducted the Empire for nearly fifteen years, without the slightest dispute or misunderstanding with those in his employment, he is determined that'he will not now be drawn into a contest which interested and designing persons are doing their utmost to force upon him. The demands of the men, and the circumstances under which they were made, are such as’ he cannot possibly submit to ‘or comply with. Under these circumstances, the only course open to him appeal’s to be the incorporation of the Empire with the Evening News. This will accordingly be done from this date.” A very stern lesson to jurymen'not to trifle with the responsibilities of,their position, was given the other day by Mr. Justice Fellows—writes the Melbourne correspondent of the Otago Daily Times. A case was being tried before him, in which the prisoner was charged with stealing a coat. The case was left to the jury, who were.. unable .to agree* there being eleven for a conviction, and one for an acquittal. The jurymen complained to the Judge that the twelfth juryman,.in the minority of one, had declared" before, the evidence was taken, that fixe prisoner was not guilty. The Judge said that he had remarked some conduct of the juror in question, which seemed to prove that he had made up his, mind about the, case be(ore ; entering the box, and,to mark.his sense of the gross contempt of Court that;,he had committed, he would, send- him to. gaol for three months. The offending jm’yman was a bookseller, and a respectable man ; and the severity of the course adopted with him, somewhat staggered the public, , But there is good reason to believe that the, effect of the case will be a yery healthy one. ~ In the particular case in question, the offending juryman having made an humble apology to the Court, pleaded that he had no knowledge of the prisoner, and no intention to show him any unfair favor, and excusing'himself for his conduct on the. ground that he had taken a little, too much beer, on the day on which it occurred, Mr. Justice Fellows consented to release him after he had. had a day and night’s imprisonment. The Thames Advertiser exposes a 'somewhat' too common trick on the part of some l xiot too reputable , newspapers. .Our l 'contemporary says.:—“ The Auckland newspapers are making great effox’ts to be well up in news from'OhinomUi’i, to which, of . course, ’ we' cam have ho objections providing the news is honestly come by; : Weywere'..rather [surprised, l however,: 1 to find that the letter of the Mown’correspondent”' of the. Eelu), in that paper of Tuesday last, wain in jxart a verbatim reprint of:a letter from our' owp reporter which appealed ’ in- bur columns on Monday last.” - ■ •■.

We learn : from ,'the \Tkdmes Advertiser that “two petitions—one t signed’by'Te Moananui, Tei HiraJ'and nearly all the natives at Ohiue-mui-i, and the other signed by' Europeanswere recently sent to the Government, ; asking them to appoint'Mr. Lawlbr,' formerly Resident Magistrate at . Coromandel,, as: Resident Magistrate at Ohinemud. It'seems that Mr, Lawler is greatly liked by the, natives,' and was well known to them when he: resided at Coromandel, A letter was recently received by Te Moananui from the Government, stating that they’ did not intend to make any permanent appointments at present.” ' The silver crucifix to be presented to the Rev. Lather Goutenoire was ou view yesterday, reports the Hawke’s Bay Daily Telegraph of the Sth iust. This handsome testimonial to the worth of a pastor from the'Catholics of Napier, has been manufactured by Mr. W. Shanly, of this town, and is a...massive, silver floriated cross, eight inches long, having a figure of Our Saviour, boldly, carved, suspended by the hands and feet, which are attached ■by garnets, representing . the nail heads. The scroll over the head is also fastened by a. garnet, while a glory, in the centre of which is a gem, ornaments the space below the scroll. •

“ Disputes have arisen,” writes the Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, “in connection with the administration of the Ohinemuri goldfield by the General Government. Warden Eraser has issued an order relative to the mode of distributing minors' rights, and Mackay, General agent, annulled it. Mr. Fraser disputed Mackay’s authority, and the miners are puzzled to know who to obey." It is rumored, says the same authority, “ that Dr. Pollen has been interviewed by several influential men regarding the location of Judge Gillies here, and that it is not improbable an alteration will be made in the prograihme.”

A curious difficulty has occurred in Hawke's Bay, which is thus reported by the Telegraph —Our Waipukurau correspondent informs us that a difficulty has occurred in that village as to the housing of the Church of England clergyman lately appointed to that district. Wo must decline to publish the letter wo have received on this subject, but for the information of our readers we may mention a few particulars. It appears that after the acceptance of the Head-mastership of the Napier Grammar School by the Rev. G. M. D’Arcy Irvine, Waipukurau was left destitute of a Church of England minister. There was a large and comfortable parsonage-house empty, and, what was worse, there was a largo and scattered district without a pastor. At length, a Nonconformist clergyman settled at Waipukurau, and in a little time was allowed to take possession of the parsonage. He is in occupation now, we believe, and the English Church minister, who has only recently been appointed, is without a home.

Lurline, we observe, when lately sold in Helboui'ne, was purchased by Mr. Gardner for 700 guineas, and goes into the same stable as Diver (Dakin’s). Calumny was purchased by Mr. Ward,, well known in New Zealand as having been the owner of Tambourini, for 475 guineas. Mr. Cutts has her and Rory O’More in training for the Australian Autumn Meeting. Both Lurline and Calumny are entered for the Australian Cup. . The Otago Daily Times says: —“ A telegram from London, received by Mr. Mills, of the Harbor Steam Company, states that the first of the new steamers for the Union; Steamship Company of New Zealand—the Hawea—was launched on the 17th of February, at Dumbarton. This vessel may, be expected hero in June under the command of Captain Wheeler, so long and so well known in connection" with the vessels of the. New Zealand Steam-Ship-ping Company’s service. The second of the new boats—the Taupo—will be launched in March.” : ■ ' ,

It will be remembered, says the Cornwall Chronicle, (Launceston, Tasmania), that some time ago Mr. Alfred Nicholas purchased the right, title, and interest of the Tasmanian Government in the old line of submarine cable, for a small sum. He has since been enquiring as to the possibility of recovering the cable and re-establishing communication,-and has also been negotiating with the Victorian Government on the subject. Mr. Nicholas now informs us that he has received from the Victorian Government an offer ,of £2OOO cash, and the use of the steamer Pharos for the work, if he chooses to undertake to resuscitate the cable. Mr. Nicholas intends accepting this offer, and will proceed with the work very shortly. “Considerable sympathy has been shown,” says the Hawke’sßay Daily Telegraph of the 2nd instant, “by the commercial travellers visiting Napier, for Mr. Barnes, who was mulcted in the sum of £lO, on Thursday, for flagellating a Mr. Matthews. Without pretending in, the. least to know the merits of the case, we are of opinion it must have been great’provocation, that induced a quiet and respected commercial traveller to commit a breach of the peace. We hear that one-half of the fine \vas at once raised by his friends as a testimony of . sympathy, which, while accepted -with thanks, was immediately handed over to a charitable institution, namely, the Napier Hospital.”