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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4361, 12 March 1875, Page 2

The population of New Zealand is steadily increasing, thanks to the Immigration and Public Works policy. On the 31st of December, 1874, the total of the European population was estimated at 340,900. The population at the close of 1873 was 295,946, showing an increase in the last twelve months of 44,954. In round numbers, the population of New Zealand was increased by fifty thousand souls last year, being largely in excess of the whole Maori people. The steamer Phoabe, with the San Francisco mail on board, left Nelson for Wellington, via Picton, a few minutes before noon yesterday. The steamer Tararnra for Wellington direct, left Nelson an hour and a half earlier; but it - appears no effort was made by the post-office officials in that town to transfer the Wellington mailbags from the Phoebe to the Tararua. The latter steamer arrived in Wellington last evening at 7.15, and it is probable the Phoebe will not put in an appearance till 10 o'clock this morning, by which hour, had but a little judgment and foresight been exercised by the Nelson postal officials, the mails would have been sorted and ready for delivery from the Wellington post-office.

By Tuesday next the Quarantine Station at Somes Island will, with the exception _of the keeper and matron, be deserted. Eighteen persons will be brought over to-day, and the few- remaining, including those by the barque Malay, will be released on Tuesday next. The wonderful performance by the Girard Brothers again drew an overflowing house at the Odd Fellows' Hall last evening. The programme was the same as that of the previous evening, the curtain rising to Valentine Jacobs, who again performed his sleight-of-hand tricks in a very finished style. Then came the Girard Brothers. It is impossible to describe the innumerable weird and fantastic gyrations and the other eccentricities constituting their wonderful pautomimic performance. The peculiar gnome-like dresses of two of the brothers, is in very striking. contrast to that of the third, whose costume reminds one of Mephistoplieles, and the unearthly music which harmonises with the strange serpent-like motion of the performers, creates a singular sensation. The applause, when the brothers had finished, was tremendous. Mr. Valentine Jacobs, as a ventriloquist, was very amusing' The Girards appear at the hall again this evening. " Airec, the King of the Air," will also give his wonderful performance on " the ladder in the air " this evening ; and on Monday—when the Brothers will perform for the last time in Wellington —Signor Gonzalez, the famous vaulter of the Chiarini Troupe, will add his extraordinary performance to the attractions of the evening.

Yesterday afternoon a young horse, attached to an express belonging to Mr. Pilcher, bolted from the vicinity of Thomas's store on the reclaimed land. The driver was away from the vehicle at the time. The horse shaped its coui'sc down Grey-street and on to the wharf, whore it increased its speed considerably. The reins by chance became entangled in the spokes of one of the wheels, which turned the horse's head, causing the animal to collide with some wool lying on the wharf. The horae was turned over, and then the frightened animal was secured. No damage was done. During the month of February the tdtatos of seventeen persons who died intestate were placed under the charge of the Public Trustee. There were two estates of £2OO, two of £IOO, five of £SO each, and the remainder were smaller in amount. Three of the_ deceased were drowned—two sailors, and a miner ; one died in a lunatic asylum, and one in an hospital. Itobert Charles Earle, Esq., M.It.C.S.E., has beeu gazetted a certifying officer under the 95th section of The Public Health Act, 1872, for the districts of Wanganui and Rangiiikci, iu the province of Wellington; Henry Purdon, Esq., and Arthur Taylor, Esq., M.R.0.5.E., Rangitikei, and J. W. W. Evison, Esq,, Greenstone, as public vaccinators. The son of Ta Whiti, the Prophet of Pariaka, has been on a visit to the town during this week, says the Taranaki Herald of the tith instant, and was accompanied by a white man. This is the first time he has been in town, and it is not at all improbable that we Bhall next hear of Te Whiti himself paying New Plymouth a visit. The steamer Stormbird was ye»terday berthed at the breastwork in proximity to Mills' foundry, and the work of dismantling her commenced in earnest. Among other improvements contemplated are extensive alterations to her fore cabin, and the construction of a promenade bridge for passengers. The mates' and purser's cabins will alio be enlarged and improved.

A meeting- of the Waste Lands Board will be held to-day at noon.

Colonel and Mia. Moule were among the passengers who proceeded North by the steamer Taranaki, which, sailed yesterday. We are requested to draw attention to the notice by the secretaries of the Bible Society in another column.

- -The-steamer Wallace, with the West Coast portion of the San Ifyancisco mail on board, was despatched from Nelson at nine o'clock yesterday morning. The Consul-General lor Italy at Melbourne has nominated Alexander Cracroft Wilson, Esq., to be consular agent at Ohristchurch for his Majesty the King of Italy. We observe from the Gazette that the Inspection of Machinery Act has been brought into operation in the province of Nelson, and Mr. George Croll lias been appointed Inspector for Nelson South.

The New Plymouth Harbor Board Ordinance, 1875, has boon allowed by the Governor ; and the Taranaki Poncing Ordinance, 1875, has been left to its operation—so it is intimated in the Gazette of yesterday. The traffic for the four weeks, ending on the 27th of February, on the Na|3ier and Waipukuraii railway amounted to £715 19s. lOd. The passenger traffic amount was £499 75., and the goods £2 I 6 i2a. lOd. Something like a scene, we learn from Capt. Butt, of the Napier, oocurred at JFoxton on his lost trip np there. Ho desired a berth to unload ; the Harbor-master ordered a vessel then lying there to make way for him ; the skipper of the craft refused ; and on Captain Butt and his men endeavoring to get their vessel alongside the wharf, there were wigs on the green. The result it) some half-dozen or more of very cross summonses. The following interesting notice appears in the Wakatip Mail: —" Public notice. —I beg to inform those persona who have taken a fancy to the flavor of the fruit in my garden, that one piece of fruit on every tree is poisoned with strychnine. Of course, I know the poiooned fruit ; others don't.—BICHMOND BeeTHAM."

Presiding at the last festival given to the employes of the Clyde, Trustees in December, Provost Burn, of Glasgow, stated that—"A century ago the river was from 4ft. to sft. in depth at high water ; it was now 22ft. deep. There were then 200 yards of quay; now there are about 7000 yards. The revenue at that time was £l5O a year; now it was £192,000."

It is whispered, uays the Otago Guardian, that the General fiovernment has definitely refused to confer upon the Dunedin Harbor Board the delegated powers, of which, at the request of the members, Ms honor the Superintendent divested himself. There is not much doubt of the correctness of this report ; and now the question arises—What will be the next move, asks our contemporary ? A township rejoicing in the name of "The New Jerusalem," say* the Otago Daily Times, has been laid out in close proximity to the G'rreen Island railway station. All the houses at present erected arc constructed of brick, so that " The Now Jerusalem " promises to be of a more substantial character than the many mushroom townships which have recently sprang into existence on the surface of " this great provihee," or on the map thereof. We find the following in the Lyttelton Times of the 9th instant:—"Mr. and Mrs. Hoskins, after completing a month's engagement in Auckland, will proceed to Dunedin, appearing there early next month. In Aucldaud they have been playing up to the present time to large audiences, and received a perfect ovation on the opening night in ' The Jealous Wife ' and ' The Serious Family.' In the meantime, Mr. Hoskins is organising a thoroughly efficient company for the South." Writing on the amenities of the mail service the Brisbane Telegraph observes: —"The Ellora, with the Sue?, mail, left Melbourne on Wednesday, clearing the Heads at 9.50 p.m. The Macgregor, with the outgoing mail via San Francisco, was to leave on Saturday at noon. It would never do to push on the Ellora so as to give time for Sydney folk to reply to her letters by the Macgregor. New Zealand, however, must bo courteously treated, so the mails for that colony were forwarded by the fast b.s. Brisbane, which left Melbourne the same evening as the Ellora, and arrived in Sydney twenty-si:* hours before her. The Macgregor was delayed till half-past six. Still no sign of the dilatoi'j Ellora. The universal verdict was, that 'it was done on purpose.' The Macgregor, in going down the harbor on Saturday evening, ran into the barque Meteor, with damage to both vessels, so delay for repairs was necessary, and accident compensated for the discourtesy of the P. and O. authorities. Tho Ellora crept up the harbor about l"i on Saturday night." Victoria possesses a singular newspaper—the Maryborough Advertiser —and a strange newspaper proprietor. Once on a time it was amongst the quietest-going and moderate journals in that land ; now, it devotes itself to the publication of every crime traceable to religion of any land all the world over. Lately a paragraph appeared in tho Ballarat Courier stating that a change of tone would shortly take place in the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser, "owing to its proprietor beginning to have doubts as to tho soundness of the peculiar form of religion which that paper has for the last three years expounded." Mr. Evans, proprietor of the Advertiser, thereupon wrote to the Melbourne papers, contradicting the Courier's statement, which he alleges to be altogether unfounded. "No religion," says Mr. Evans, "has been or is propounded ; but a message is delivered to myself, to the contributors and reactors of the Advertiser, and to all the world which yet lias life, through the columns of the Advertiser. I and mine are devoted to God's service, and I am delighted to do IHb will; I cannot change my opinion, because the reality is within me, and is unchangeable." Since the impression taken of the footprints of the bird or beast by Messrs. Woodfield and Paul, on Monday last, says the hyttetton Times of the Bth instant, the Cooper brothers have made further search. They followed the "sign" into the bush and along a track cut from the old stockyard into the ram paddock, towards Mr. Plaskett'a saw-mill. The impressions appeared to be very recent, and the Messrs Cooper are of opinion that the mysterious bird or animal is living in.the ram paddock, witliiu a radius of half a milo from tho old stockyard, and hope, at no distant day, to have the pleasure of interviewing it. .Since the receipt of yesterday's paper, giving Dr. Powell's opinion that the footmarks wore those of a wallaby, a party from Oxford went again to seo the tracks, and as some of them are well acquainted with tho formation of the wallaby's feet, they' could not reconcile tho marks made with those of a wallaby ; besides, the distance between the footprints is more than a small animal like a wallaby could make, and as to the "one track" found being made by the two hind feet of a wallaby, their being so uniform makes it seem very doubtful. An opinion has been expressed by an Australian settler down here that the footmarks are those of an emu, and thoy certainly appear to be made by a biped of some sort.

A brute, named Joseph Rogers, was before the Resident Magistrate (Mr. Mellish), at Canterbury, a few days ago, and behaving with great levity and want of feeling in the box, received n severe rebuke. The Times reports the incident as follows:—"Joseph Rogers, a young man, was charged with having violently assaulted his wife, Jessio Rogers. Complainant, a young respectable looking woman, who cried bitterly while giving her evidence, said accused treated her very kindly for a short time after they were married, but for some time past he had greatly ill-used her. Shn had never given him any provocation, as she dc3ired to make his home a comfortable and pleasant one if he would let her. She did not wish to press the charge against liim if he woidd only promise to treat her kindly. She had property when married to him, but ho was fast making away with it, and as blic was too weak at present to do anything for herself, Bhe had been compelled to bring the case before the Court. Accused, in defence, said, his wife's family

were the cause of all the unpleasantness that had accrued. His Worship : I suppose her family did not make you beat your wife, and. I don't think you would have done it if she was able to defend herself. Accused, smilingly: No, I should not. Hia Worship : You would not have dared to strike her if she had been a man. Accused, still smiling : No. His Worship: No, you would have been too great a coward. A thing that would strike a woman cannot be called a man, and I only wish the law permitted me to deal with you as you deserve. You are worse than a coward. You first beat your wife, and then come here and laugh over it. Accused, now evidently sobered down: I did not laugh at what I had done, your Worship. It is only a smiling way I have. (Laughter.) His Worship : I shall order you to find sureties of the peace for twelve months; yourself in £SO, and two others in £25 each ; or, in default, to be imprisoned for one month, with hard labor."