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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4446, 19 June 1875, Page 2

By the arrival of the s.s. Napier at one o'clock this morning we learned that the wreck of the schooner William and Mary, recently capsized with such disastrous results, had come ashore near the mouth ofjthc Manawatu Biver. The hull was bottom upwards, and the centreboard was Bhowing several feet above water Captain Stevens, the master of the William and Mary, and the sole survivor of those on board her at the time of her capsize, was a passenger by the Napier to this port this morning. Consequent upon the action taken by the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Pearce, Mr. Woodward, and Mr. Levin, acting on behalf of the Chamber, and Mr. Hunter and Mr. Bunny acting for the Provincial Government, will form a committee to ensure the representation of the province at the Philadelphia Exhibition. These gentlemen held a meeting yesterday afternoon, but nothing was done beyond drafting an advertisement inviting contributions. The plans of tho committee will develope during the coming week. The Hon. Dr. Pollen was a passenger from Nelson by the Phoebe, which arrived at an early hour this morning. '

His Honor the Chief Justice will hold a banco sitting on Monday, when the remaining cases on the list, postponed from yesterday in consequence of the absence of Mr. Travel's in another court, will be taken. Amongst them is the suit Millar v. the Corporation of Wanganui.

The next criminal sessions of the Supreme Court, which, according to calendar, should be held on the sth July next, will haye to be postponed till the 12th in consequence of the absence of the Chief Justice, who goes to Picton to take part of Mr. Justice Richmond's circuit. The Court will be opened on the sth, but will be formally adjourned till the 12th. The issues in the civil cases have been set down for hearing on the 14th. Mr. Eedward, superintendent at the Immigration Barracks, has at length so far recovered from the fever attack which laid him lowabout the time of the arrival of the Berar immigrants that he is able to resume light office work. Mrs. Eedward and several of her children are still in a very precarious state, though on the road to recovery, and are at present sojourning at Somes Island.

Burgesses who place any high value upon their municipal privileges should take heed that those who do not pay up arrears of rates before one o'clock to-day will be struck off the burgess-list. What may be more effective in securing prompt payment of rates is the intimation that the Town Clerk will shortly put another batch of defaulters into court, who will thus have to pay an increase upon the original amount, for court expenses. The case of cruelty to a horse, which has already been alluded to, will come on for hearing this morning, when the defendant will be charged under an old Act with " neglecting daily to give good or sufficient food to such animal." The horse has been in the pound for the last four days, and will, in due course, be s'old to defray expenses —provided a buyer be found. It's ultimate fate must be the powder and shot treatment, as it is too poor and miserable to become a fit subject for a knacker's yard. Weather permitting, the postponed football match between the Civil Service and the Town will be played this afternoon, on the ground opposite the Albion Hotel. The names of the contestants are as follows:—Civil Service — Palliser, Park, James, Werry (captain), Webb, Sheppard, Bate, Campbell, Stohr, Eyton, Knapp, Potter, Lynch, Russell, Hiekson, Kirk, Turner, Beveridge, Gibbs, Churton. Town— Thompson, Magil, C. McLean, R. McLean, Hedley, McKay, J. Bishop, A. Bishop, G. Bishop, Porter, Campbell, Barraud, Mackay, Isherwood (captain), France, Salmon, Morris, Danks, Brown, Hillsden, Lightband.

Ratepayers as a body are generally very indignant when, through their own neglect, the proper time for remonstrance has passed away. As respects the education rate it cannot be urged that timely warning has not been given of the assessment placed upon property in the city and suburbs, but whether this assessment is fair or not can only be ascertained by persona] examination. The Secretary to the Education Board therefore notifies that the education ratebook for the province will be open for inspection, at the offices of the board, till the end of the present month. Notices of objection must be sent in, in writing-, to the Secretary not later than the Ist July.

Last evening witnessed the best house of the season at the Theatre Royal. All parts of the house being thoroughly well filled, and as a consequence everything went off well. "Pygmalion and Galatea" was the first piece. Miss Florence Colville, Mr. Hoskins, Mrs. Hill, and Mr. Booth all played their parts very finely, and at the fall of the curtain the audience were perfectly enthusiastic. The well-known comedy burlesque of "High Life Below Stairs," was the next piece, and this from beginning to end kept the audience in a perfect roar. Miss Colville, Blrs. Hill, Miss Lilly May, Mr. Hoskins, and Mr. Hydes were really good in their respective characters, and like its predecessor, the piece ran off with eclat. To-night, the sensational drama " Leah the Forsaken" is the bill, and no doubt the house will fill well on the occasion.

Mr. Lee, the Inspector of Schools, gives a most encouraging account of his visit to the Wairarapa district, whence he has just returned. The chief object of his visit was to examine into the working of the various schools, as well as to report upon the adaptability of the buildings and the capacity of the mastei-3. In a word, his duty was to organise —to bring under systematic control the many agencies for disseminating the germs of knowledge which hitherto have been in great measure fruitless from want of proper supervision and direction. It is not attributed to Mr. Lee that he is going to regenerate the educational affairs of the province, but he has before now given ample evidence confirmatory of the judgment displayed in selecting him for the office he fills; and the results of his recent visit, when embodied in the form of an official report, will bo found to be still more satisfactory. This report, it is to be presumed, will embrace a statement as to the number of buildings and school sites in the possession of the board, —or over which it exercises control, for in some cases the land has never been vested in the Board, —remarks upon the necessity for a uniform system of classification of boys and girls in the schools, and hints upon instructions to be issued to the masters. At present the Board can put its finger upon no such memoranda, for the very good reason that none exist. Organisation, then, was the primary object of Mr. Lee's recent visit, and it has been far from profitless. The settlers themselves recognised the necessity for a directing hand, or rather head, and it is some consolation to know that in one half of the province the present educational system is thoroughly successful. The Hutt district, it is true, has suffered under many disadvantages. The school building is ill adapted for the purpose, and the schoolmasters appointed have for some time past turned out to be unfortunate selections. A better state of things will however exist in the future. Mr. Willis, the present occupant of the office, is an excellent teacher and in all respects up to his work, and the residents themselves are becoming reconciled to the measures adopted by the Inspector. The Carterton people have agreed to sink their little differences as to the site for the proposed school, though some little difficulty is still apprehended in the case of the Woodside school, through the desire of the contending parties to have the school erected nearest their own locality. There is one matter to which the Board should devote greater attention in the future, and that is the insufficient quantity of land attached to the schools. The Wairarapa schools are not so badly off in this respect; but in the districts surrounding Wellington, such as Kaiwavra, Makara, Pahautanui, and Porirua, there has been a notable want of foresight exhibited. In Queensland the Education Board decline to put up a country school upon a site less than five acres in extent, and in Otago, close to our own doors, the limit is ten acres. In many cases schools have been erected on pieces of land not larger than an eighth of an acre, which is about the extent of the site upon which the Hutt school stands. The subject is deserving of greater attention, but as it will probably be ably dealt with in the Inspector's report, it is not necessary to allude further to it here.

The popularity of Dr. Caw's seances continues unabated, the Odd Fellows' Hall last evening being full in all parts. The introductory lecture was anti-spiritualistic, and exhibited Dr. Carr in the light of a pronounced opponent, spiritualism being demolished with a vigor entirely satisfactory to tho audience as well as to the doctor himself. The succeeding phrenologic and mesmeric seances afforded great amusement, the character readings being skilful and accurate to a degree that created surprise amongst the friends of those operated upon. At tho close of the entertainment Dr. Carr announced that he would this evening omit the usual preparatory lecture, in order to confine himself to practical illustrations in mesmerism and phrenology, which he gathered from the frequent plaudits were more entertaining to the audience. Dr Carr will visit the Wairarapa next week.

The meeting of ratepayers called for yesterday evening was unavoidably postponed. The next meeting will take place on Friday, the 25th instant.

The rate case Corporation v. Jeffs came "on for hearing at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, and resulted in judgment being given for the amount sued for, with costs. In a couple of other cases the same decision was given, there being no appearance. The address of sympathy with Mr. Pilkingfcon, which is lying at the Athenaeum for signature, has already been very numerously signed. A large number of prominent citizens who dissent from the proceedings adopted and the decision in the case, have attached their names to the address, which will shortly be presented to Mr. Pilldugton. The Taranaki Budget of a recent date says : —" Only one frying pan and fire-place between two families. In trying to dacide who should have first use of it, one woman made a very good attempt at cutting other woman's throat. It appears that two German families, new arrivals, are in occupation of the blockhouse at Waitara. There is only one fireplace. Inconveniences arise in regard to cooking. Yesterday a row arose as to who should have first go at the fire. Words led to the use of the knife, and one of the women made an ugly gash just below the ear [of the other woman. The respective parties appeared before the Resident Magistrate this morning, but the case was adjourned till tomorrow. The woman with the cut was sent to the hospital—the cutter and her husband to gaol." We had always imagined (says a Melbourne paper) that the story of the Irishman sawing through the limb he was sitting on was an effort of imagination by some ingenious scribe, but the Riverine Herald narrates a similar accident in the following circumstantial manner :—A laboring man named Edward Sutton, who lives near the bank of the Campaspe, at the back of Mr. Moore's timberyard, had mounted a tree for the purpose of cutting off a limb for firewood. When he had sawn through the limb, it fell, and brought him down along with it, a distance of some 30 feet, to the ground. He luckily fell on his feet, but at the same time, not altogether fortunately, as he dislocated both ankles by the fall. The story of the Irishman may be true after all. Mr. James Smith requests us to call attention to the extensive unreserved auction sale at Messrs. Johnston and Co.'s warehouse next Monday, at eleven o'clock, of handsome English furniture, mirrors, rosewood pianette, 7oct., by Bord, Paris, eight-day clocks and mantel timepieces, 2 wire phaetons, large assortment of bruskware, glassware, varnish, paints, rosin, tubs, and buckets, etc.

The new draper's shop recently erected for Messrs. Kirkcaldie and Stains, in Cuba-street, will be opened to-night. It is -well arranged in the stock department, and likely to prove a benefit to the neighborhood.