Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4511, 4 September 1875, Page 2

In our report of Sir George Grey’s speech yesterday, he is made to say, when challenged, that he did not remember the names of any of the constitutional lawyers except that of Freeman, who held to the doctrine that no change in_ a constitution could take place until after a dissolution. We are assured by him that what he did say was, that he need not mention the name of any of them except Freeman, who had summed up the whole argument. The Church of England Diocesan bazaar finally closed yesterday evening. The net proceeds of the sales were upwards of £920. Too much praise cannot be accorded to the ladies’ committee and their numerous auxiliaries for the skill which they have exhibited in the preparation of. the various exhibits, and for the indomitable zeal ’ which has characterised their efforts from the initiation of the bazaar until the crowning success of yesterday evening. It may, however, be added that they were worthy of the great cause to which the proceeds are to be devoted. William Nutting, a seaman on board the Teviotdale, rwas given into custody yesterday afternoon by the mate on a charge of broach-iu-r cargo. The prisoner, who was accused of breaking into a case of brandy, appeared to be in a state of semi-intoxication at the time of his arrest.

In yesterday's report of Parliamentary proceedings an error occurred. Mr. Takamoana was made to speak instead of Mr. Wi Parata. Our reporter had evidently got the names of the native members in some way mixed up, Mr. Parata complains also that he did not refer to the Governor and Tawhiao, but to the General Government and Provincial Government. In all probability Mr. Parata intended himself to be understood as referring to the two latter institutions ; but as a matter of fact he referred to neither Tawhiao, the Governor, the General Government, nor the Provincial Government. What he did speak of was there being two chiefs in the. colony. Many of our readers will no doubt remember the volunteer amateurs who before Wellington was able to support a regular dramatic company through long seasons, used so often give enjoyable performances in aid of various public purposes. These amateurs have not now appeared for nearly three years, but the propriety of giving a performance in aid of the funds of the Benevolent Society having been suggested to some of the amateurs, they have, we learn, consented to appear for this occasion only, in aid of this very deserving object. Monday fortnight has been fixed for the performance, and the pieces chosen are the drama of “ A Bird in Hand is worth Two in the Bush,” and the farce of “A Thumping Legacy,” two pieces which this company played with great success some years ago. As the theatre is closed for alterations, the performance will have to be given in the Odd Fellows’ Hall. A' meeting' of the committee appointed to select the fifteen to represent Wellington against Auckland, was held yesterday afternoon, when it was resolved to defer the selection of the team at present, so as to enable the members of the committee to take notes of the relative merits of the players in scratch matches, to bo played this afternoon and next Saturday. We trust, therefore, to see a strong muster on each occasion, so that the committee may have every opportunity of picking the best team. The whole of the Featherstou Wesleyan reserve, consisting of fourteen building allotments, which were recently advertised to be leased, has been taken up, so tho local paper tolls us. A couple of absurd typographical errors occurred in our report of Mr. Carrington's speech published in yesterday’s issue, which completely altered the sense of tho hon, gentleman’s remarks. Corrected, the speech will read thus ;—“ He adverted to the financial advantages, and said the advantages were such that it was not an Abolition Bill. It was not a destroying Bill, but was a building up Bill. In fact, ho would suggest that tho title should be altered to the Provincial Consolidation and Ratification Bill, 1875.”

A ploughing match took place at Tauherenikau, Wairarapa, on Wednesday last. There were five competitors. The prizes were, but the ploughing and ploughmen were not, first-class. To encourage good ploughing these matches should be regular ; spasmodic efforts, however liberal, are ineffective. In theKesidentMagistrate’s Court yesterday, before J. C. Crawford, Esq., il.-M ~ Anno Greer and Mary Anne McGregor were brought in from the Hutt charged with drunkenness and vagrancy. The Bench committed both prisoners to gaol for one calendar month with hard labor. There were throe civil cases, two in which the Bench gave judgment for the amount claimed. In the third case there was no appearance. The Wairarapa Standard has heard of applications being made to the Government for hiring vacant immigration cottages, but they are refused unless the applicants are new arrivals. Now that the number of immigrants who arrive are less numerous than formerly, it might be judicious to relax this regulation somewhat with respect to letting these cottages. Some few weeks back much sickness prevailed in the township of Masterton. During the latter half of August the same kind of sickness—an affection of the lungs and low fever—pervaded Greytown, with almost the intensity and universality of a plague. Few families seemed to escape, one or more members being laid up, and in some cases brought nigh unto death. The illness prevailed alarmiugly, but the last few exceedingly fine days have wrought a very general and rapid improvement. Several children died, and public feeling was very sensitive. The funeral of Mr. Hastwell's only son was perhaps tho largest In the,. Wairarapa. One of the last attacked was Mr. Humphries, who caught a severe cold, and quickly sank under a strong attack of bronchitis or inflammation of the lungs. He was one of those men whose sterling character and severe and economical industry give stability to the material progress and the institutions of a colony. From small beginnings he had acquired an almost independent competency. He was an excellent example of a good colonist, and earnest and unselfish to an extreme in the performance of his private and public duties, in which latter he was beginning to take a more prominent part. A large family suffer deeply the affliction of his loss. Many of our readers may have noticed the unusual appearance of illustrations in The Times in the shape of the small charts which have been appended to the daily weather reports since the Ist May. This measure has been the long-postponed carrying out of the line of action indicated by the Meteorological Committee in their report for last year, and the chart in its present form differs but little from that printed as a specimen in that report. The method of preparation of that chart seems simple enough at present, but it had been the fruit of much thought, as the problem of producing, in the space of an hour, a stereotype fit for use in a Walter machine has not been solved without many aud troublesome experiments. In the first place, a material had to be provided which would admit of being engraved rapidly without burr or chipping, and would without further preparation servo as a mould for type metal. Secondly, drill pantographs had to be adapted to engrave the lines, and to be furnished with a guage, so as to vary their depth at pleasure. The actual process is as follows :—The outline of the line is kept standing, and tho composition is run in a mould bearing the outline on one face. The block, which is now an outline a chart of the British Islands, is then placed under the pantograph drill, which reduces the original drawing, furnished from the Meteorological Office, to one-fourth. The barograms aud wind-arrows are put on direct from the drawing, the figures and words by means of templates, in order to insure uniformity in the type. The instant the block is engraved it is ready to be stereotyped, aud then it is a simple matter to adapt it in the usual manner to the cylinder of the machine. The initiative in tins new method of weather illustrations is due to Mr. Francis Galton, and the practical details have been carried out by Messrs. Shanks and Johuson, of tho Patent Type Founding Company. It is hardly necessary to allude to the value of such charts as these as a means of leading tho public to gain some idea of the laws which govern our weather changes. As soon as they appear in our afternoon papers, we may hope for a more intelligent comprehension of the difficulties which beset any attempt to foretell the weather of these islands for the space of even twenty-four, hours. We may safely say that with these charts we have not seen the end of weather illustration, which was set on foot more than four years ago -by Sir W. Mitchell in the Shipping Gazette, and has been continued daily ; but, whatever improvements may hereafter be introduced in the process, it must be remembered that the credit of breaking the egg is due to the gentleman we have named.

A man named Kitts was charged at the Emerald-hill Court one Saturday with feloniously and fraudulently uttering a summons, and then serving it on a female who owed 55., as a hona fide document. This false summons had been obtained in another case on the 11th June, and as it had remained in Kitts’ hands he had coolly erased names, amount, date, and signatures, and substituted others, so as to adapt it to another person. It was thought, probably, that the female debtor would be intimidated, and at once pay the small amount due ; but instead of that she appeared on the day named—on a Tuesday—and then the discovery was made that she had been served with a fictitious summons, and proceedings were taken against Kitts. The accused admitted that he had altered the document as alleged, but stated that collectors of debts are in the habit of issuing “ preliminary ” summonses to frighten persons into a settlement; and not having a copy of the usual form he had made the alteration with the view of saving expense to the debtor. He was committed for trial on a charge of felony. The Irish Times, of May 22, says ;—“ Miss Sophia Baker is not learned, but she is determined that no young lady shall interfere with her own Henry, for Henry Smith had won her young affections, 'and asked the momentous question. She softly murmured yes, and her Henry was in Paradise. But somehow Henry dawdled about the matter, and allowed a whole year —twelve long months—to pass slowly by without calling upon the clerk to put up the banns. Perhaps his ardour has cooled down ; perhaps his mamma had interposed ; perhaps he found Sophia to be so pleasant while he courted her, that he was in no haste to risk his happiness by transforming his sweetheart into a wife. It might be that a fair one other than Sophia had got round Henry, and wished to capture him as lawful prize. So, at least, Miss Sophia Baker seems to have suspected, for she published in an Oswego newspaper this threatening notice : ‘March 13th, 1875. I forbid Eny One marrying Henry Smith, for i was engaged to him March the 11th, 1871 ; for if ho gits married ho will haf to Suffer the Penalty of the Law.—l remain, as ever, his intended wife Sophia Baker.’ The orthography of this notification is not such as might be expected from the pupils of the Alexandra College, hut the meaning of it is unmistakable. Henry Smith is her property, and she warns all young ladies off the premises. She casts no imputation upon her Henry, and yet she threatens only him with tho penalty of the law. He has evidently been flirting, and she knows it. We apprehend there is a rod in pickle for that same Henry should he ever return to fulfil his plighted vows. It would be a shocking thing it such an American practice were to be naturalised here. That would be worse than the Colorado beetle.

All the theatres in New York gave the gross proceeds of the performances on the afternoon of the 29 th of April last, for the benefit of the five orphan children of the late Dan Bryant, the “ nigger minstrel." At the Fifth-avenue Theatre* a clergyman, the Kev. 0. B. Frothingham, presented himself on the stage, not for the purpose of condemning theatrical entertainments, but, as he said, “to do honor to one who was a good and generous man.” Speaking of the deceased actor, Mr. Frothiugham went on to say:—“ I wish that I could say that I

had ever done him as much good as he did to me. He was a benefactor in the nobles*, sense of the word, for his minstrel hall was a temple of innocent mirth, and with joyous laughter he did his good work in aiding to Cleanse the fowl bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart. Although a fortune had passed through his hands, his widow and children now depend upon our benevolence, because he was always ready to give to those who were in need, and never was able to keep the money of which poorer men were in want. In olden times the priests used the dramatic profession to impress upon the masses lessons of morality and kindness, and it seems to me that there is something of the old religious leaven in an occasion like this, when we assemble together—actors, priests, and'laymen—to do good to the poor and the afflicted. Since that olden time the profession may have degenerated. Perhaps it has: but of what other profession may not the same thing be said ? What lawyer, what physician acts up to his ideal ? and what clergyman can say that his life follows the upward course of his winged-prayers ?” Mr. G. 11. Vennel will this day, at 12 o’clock, offer for sale, at Plimmer’s AVharf, the schooner T&uranga, 01 tons register, well found, and ready for sea.