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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4439, 11 June 1875, Page 2

A New Zealand Government Gaxette was published last night. It contains: Notices proclaiming certain lands to have been taken for purposes of the railway from Brcmner to Greymouth; appointing annual meeting of Justices in Tokatoka district ; making and confirming alterations in by-la 'vs, rules, and regulations for Canterbury Railways ; appointment of Mr. C. J. Johnston consular agent for Italy ; appointment of Mr. F. M.. Deighton clerk o£ Resident Magistrate's Court, Wanganui ; John JMemyn clerk of Resident Magistrate's Court at Ahaura ; Mr. C. J. W. ' Griffiths sheriff for District of Marlborough ; and James Doris clerk of Resident Magistrate's Court at No Town; appointment of J. Memyn, James Doris, and T. E. Chichester receivers of gold duty at Nelson ; notice requiring officers holding advances of public money to pay in before 26th June all unexpended balances; Victorian drawback regulations ; appointment of Mr. C. D. Whitcombe commissioner under New Plymouth Exchanges' Act ; Mr. W. J. W. Hamilton Deputy-Commissioner of Crown lands for province of Canterbury; Mr. John T. Robinson Deputy-Commissioner of Crown lands for province of Marlborough ;. Mr. H. E. Gibbert, of Motueka, depositary of duty stamps ; insurance agent ; medical referees under Insurance Annuities Act, 1871; traffic returns of Napier and Waipukurau railway ; vital statistics return ; Land Transfer Act notices, and notices under Gold-mining Act, &c. The attendance at the Municipal nomination booth, Thorndon, yesterday, was of the smallest. Nobody except those personally interested were present. Mr. Pharazyn's nomination (the only one received we believe), therefore, will probably result in his return to the City Council. The ordinary, fortnightly meeting of the City Council lapsed yesterday for want of a quorum. The Mayor is absent from town, and the majority of the Councillors were at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce. The meeting was adjourned till Monday, but as the business to be attended to is unimportant, it is probable the Council will not meet till Thursday. A fire, fortunately not causing much damage, occurred at Mr. Gear's, butcher, Cuba-street, about half-past six o'clock yesterday evening. The fire broke out in a stable attached to Mr. Gear's premises, and was caused in this way : A boy was cutting horsefeed, and placed a lighted candle on a partition close to a horse's head. The horse whilst feeding knocked the candle into a heap of straw, which instantly blazed up. The alarm was given, and Mr. Barlow, manager for Mr. Gear, got two small hose, which are kept on the premises, to ])lay upon the flames, which, with the assistance of some neighbors, were extinguished before they had spread too far, and before much damage was done. At the very first, indeed, five horses which were in the stable at the time were quickly got out, so that they would have escaped had more serious consequences ensued. In connection with this we may mention that an attempt was made to ring the Te Aro firebell, but as it is unprovided with a proper rope, only the feeblest of alarms could be sounded. It is our duty again to call attention to another of the many frequent accidents which have occurred lately in the vicinity of Torystreet, in consequence of its unprotected state. On Monday night a woman tumbled down a well Bome 10ft. deep, and had it not been for the timely and fortunate assistance afforded by four men who happened to bo present, and who rescued her. by means of a ladder, she might have come to an untimely end. As it was, she was forced to make use of the much dreaded cries of "murder" and "rescue" to call the attention of her neighbors to her plight, in order to be rescued. A drunken man who interrupted the proceedings in the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday during the 'hearing of the assault case, was promptly removed to the cells in the rear, by order of the magistrate. He will duly make his appearance this morning. Mr. Rainford, not forgetful of the assistance rendered by tho amateurs at his concerts, desires us to return,his thanks to the ladies and gentlemen' who so kindly aided him in his emergency. Mr. Rainford left yesterday for Dunedin, in the Taranaki. . The weather this week has taken an agreeable change. Instead of the bleak winds and heavy rain with which -we were »isited last week, we have during the past five days been favored with bright sunshine and a sharp invigorating air. Nevertheless, the evenings make us feel sensible of the near approach of winter; frosts are becoming frequent and severe, that of Wednesday night having been particularly so, as evidenced by the appearance of the ground yesterday morning. The lunatics whose removal from Taranaki to Wellington we reported in our last issue, arrived yesterday morning safe. They were received at tho wharf by several policemen, under whose charge they were duly escorted to the asylum. There was a good attendance at the Theatre last evening, on which occasion " Pygmalion ind Galatea," and the "Tractical Man" were ' reproduced. For this evening, " The School [ 'or Scandal" is announced, and doubtless ;he popular comedy will draw well. We have seen a neat railway and mail time- , .able, issued by Messrs. Lyon and Blair, and' ] ikely to be of much public convenience. t Tho present condition of Old Customhouseitreet is a disgrace to the municipal authorises. The mud accumulated in the street ] lamed is some two feet deep, and considering 1 t is one of the most frequented thoroughfares c n the city, it is well worthy the attention of 1 hose who are under contract to preserve the ' treets in proper condition. I a

The Wairarapa News agrees with us in our estimate of Sir George Grey's now somewhat famous letter. Our contemporary has read it carefully through, and professes itself incapable of understanding it. The News further considers that the Standard has been hoaxed and that the letter is a forgery. We notice that at the meeting of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce yesterday, it was resolved to co-operate with his Honor the Superintendent in forwarding to Philadelphia, for the forthcoming Centennial Exhibition, products of the arts, industries, and resources of this province.

The return of traffic on the Napier and Waipukurau railway for four weeks ending May 22,|1575, is given in last evening's Gazette, from which it appears the number of passengers was 5464, yielding a revenue of £4OO 2s. 9d.; parcels, &c, £6 6s. 9d.; goods (816 tons), £273 10s. 9d. Total revenue, £6BO os. 31. The concert which took place at the Hutt on Wednesday last, in aid of St. John's Church, may safely be chronicled as one of the happiest musical efforts which have ever taken place in that district, a result which is greatly owing to the energetic support afforded by a musical amateur lady from Wellington. It is unnecessary to particularise the pieces comprised in the programme, as space forbids such a course. We will in the meantime, however, allude to some of the most prominent features in the performance. The concert pieces were divided into two parts, viz., instrumental and vocal. The former division being most efficiently supplied by a lady and gentleman, amateurs, from Wellington. A solo for the piano, written on Scotch airs, was played with great delicacy of touch and correct interpretation, but did not meet with that warm reception which the undoubted merit of the piece entitled it to. As regards the solo vocalists, it will be invidious to make any special reference as regards the majority of the pieces, one piece, however, excepted, which was the highly artisticandcultivatedrenderingof a tenor solo, sung by the way in Italian, and most warmly applauded. It is to be hoped that the gentleman amateur who rendered this solo, will give his assistance in future to the town concerts, when, should he do so, we may safely predict for him a most hearty welcome. One song not belonging to either division, and yet belonging to both, deserves a special notice. We x-efer to the soprano solo, " I Think then of Thee," by Lachner, with violin obligato, which was rendered in a style and intonation rarely met with in the colonies. It is to be hoped the same will be repeated on some future occasions. It was warmly encored. As regards the instrumental performance it is only necessary to say that it was performed by lady and gentlemen amateurs, already sufficiently well known to Wellington audiences, not to require any further comment. The comic and irresistibly droll portion was supplied by two' gentlemen amateurs from the Hutt, wlio sang "Les deux Gendarmes" in a manner which " struck" the audience wonderfully, and was enthusiastically encored. Before concluding our notice of a most enjoyable concert, we must not omit to call attention to the finished manner in which the accompaniments were played by a lady amateur, and more especially the accompaniment to the last mentioned piece—" Les deux Gendarmes"—which in more unpractised and unskillful hands might easily have come to an untimely end. The concert wound up by the entire musical combination singing " God Save the Queen." English law is funny, says the New York Herald. If Mitchell had lived, Moore, the candidate of the minority, would have had the seat in Parliament, because, under the law, votes cast for a candidate known to be ineligible are not counted ; but Mitchell's death gives the case one more new phase—- - legally.