GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4788, 27 July 1876, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

The appointment of Mr. Thomson’as Sur-veyor-General for the colony is published. Mr. George McLean on July 4th accepted a portfolio in the Ministry as Commissioner' of Customs. " "'! .' 3 ' ’,7 !7 •, ■ ; - The inward English mail which arrived on July 18th consisted of 3437 letters, 1240 books, and 14,400 newspapers. At the request of the Pacific Mail Company, Government have consented to appoint a coastal pilot for their New Zealand steamers. A reward of £SOO has been offered for the capture of Henare Winiata, who, at Epsom, on 27th January last, murdered Edwin Packer. • , ' Telegrams received on July 18th from’. Mr. Whatton, of Taranaki, report that the. attempt to smelt has not been altogether a-downright failure. The furnace is still clear, and experiments are proceeding. . 7 ; : - The Isabella, the Wellington whaling schooner, is at last happening upon luck. J 'An Auckland telegram states that she secured a humpback cow and calf off the Bay of Islands. The most severe shook of earthquake felt in Wellington for many years past occurred at a quarter past four a.m. on Wednesday, July 19th, being accompanied by an unusually loud rumbling noise. The earthquake was felt in many other places, from which telegraphic advices of the fact have been received. Although the shook was so severe we have heard of no. injury to property having been occasioned by it. The earthquake, however, was the talk of the town on Wednesday. In fact to many sound sleepers who did not feel it the subject was in a way tantalising, the wakeful ones being ,so fond of asking, “Did you feel the shake last night ?” and of asserting, with an assumption of ancient experience quite provoking,,that “it was the biggest thing of the kind, sir, I have felt for years.” To some these inquiries must have had a maddening effect, such for instance as was produced on Mark Twain, the innocent abroad, when in Gibraltar,- where every man he met would persist in relating a certain “ infernal story” about the “ Queen’s chair.” We have not heard of anything serious having occurred in consequence of the shake, but some funny stories are told in connection with it. - In a certain hotel in Wollington.where there is a night porter engaged the earthquake was productive of: a Uttle incident which would have been unknown to the world but for the fact of the porter (who was chiefly concerned) being still alive to tell it. Just: prior to the shock the porter, a simple minded, youth, was cleaning a pair of boots. He was a musical porter, and to. beguile the time and. make his work pleasant he was singing a plaintive melody, some three hundred years old, and entitled “ Oh Take me Home to my Ma !” Ho had reached the 99th verse, when the shock came, and ho positively asserts that he recollects nothing further till next morning, when he woke up to find his head in a saucer of blacking, and a pair of patent leather shoes in' his waistcoat pocket. This story may be true, but the others are too palpably false to be published. At the coroner’s inquest held at Paikakariki, touching the death of Petero, the verdict of the jury was to the effect that deceased was driving a trap on a narrow part of the road, when it was suddenly overthrown inconsequence of one of the wheels passing up the bank, and the deceased fell a distance of 160 ft., whereby he came by his death. The jury begged to. call the immediate attention of the Government to the narrow, dangerous, and insecure Pakikirikiri-road. - ■ A Gazette of July 20th contains a retum of Customs revenue collected at the several ports of New Zealand for the quarter ended 30th June, 1875, and for the financial year ended the same date. The totals are—for the quarter £291,489, and for the financial year £1,225,313. The total for the corresponding quarter in 1876 was £298,364. Auckland exhibits the greatest falling off in the returns for the comparative quarters, the figures being £46,146 as against £58,147. The decrease at Dunedin is slight, and Wellington shows an increase, the figures here being £39,437 as against £34,984 in the second quarter of 1875. Lyttelton also shows an Increase, the figures being £44,313 against £38,808. ■ ' The Waiohine Biver Board have, the local paper understands, completed the protective works they have been engaged on for the lost three months, just at the back of: Greytown, and are*riow extending their operations at a point higher up the stream. One or two of the larger station proprietors in the Wairarapa are importing ferrets from Tasmania. It is anticipated that if they will thrive and breed on the runs they will exterminate the rabbits. The question, however, tho Wairarapa Standard considers, arises as to how the ferrets are to be exterminated when they have demolished all the rabbits, and with a healthy appetite for animal food, attack,. possibly, young lambs, The following rule has been gazetted under: the Begulse Generates; of the Supremo Court! of New Zealand, to come into force on and after-the Ist of August next ;—" Whenever, by any rule of this Court, the practice of. the: Courts of Equity, or of any of the superior Courts in England, is adopted, or may be followed, the same shall be deemed to’be the practice which existed in England immediately , before the Supreme Court of Judicature Aot,i 1873, came into force.”-

According to a contemporaty, nearly £l5O has beßri subscribed for the Wceleyanchurcli which ilabout to be built at Masterton.-’ A /bazaar to ‘aqgmcntj the fund is contemplated. •/'We understauchthat the'Bev./Mr. Coffey, of Milton, Otago/'has beeii &ppointed new Ta>.Ard will’ take charge in -October/' t ; :)l Jfs| V/'-L * .- O, >' hear O. Moody has secured a lease of the Crown and Anchor Hotel site for twenty-one years at £5 a foot. the lambing season .has,, commenced very early dn QaiWijtas on Triesday, ;the : 20th inst., two ewes had dropped a fine lamb each., on the Ta'M*bfAlfKE7rvv.“Esxby.-‘:^ A large number,-of-birds were shipped for. -New-Zealand in the Pym, but- unfortunately a ’ -heavy sea washed a number of the cages off the maiuhatch. The birds that were saved were taken into the cabin of Captain Stapleton and cared for. They arrived in good order, and are intended for distribution in the Patea district;. We regret to say that the Bishop of Waiapu has been obliged; in consequence of ill health, to resign his see. The Bight Beverend Dr. Williams; who came'to New Zealand as a missionary in 1826, ;was consecrated at Wellington in 1859, being the first bishop consecrated in New Zealand. It would thus appear that he hasfbefen actively engaged’in the work or tne Church in this.country for half a century. The’ Halcombe correspondent of a country paper writes Progress is the order of in this settlement—slow but sure; slow from the fact of the rainy season, having set in, and rendering rapid progress at any but-door work impossible.-, The,road to.Feilding from.hereis now'passable for drays, tlie pinches along the line being eased-by. cuttings, and .the creeks all bridged. Nothing' in the way of metalling can, of course, be done until next summer; in the meantime, we must make up our minds to ; get through the mud as best we can, and follow the patient example of our neighbors in Feilding, who had to do without any metalled road out of the town for two winters, i The demand for building timber at the cor- : ppration sawmill, -I am told, is greater than the mill ' can supply—at least fast enough to satisfy all' parties, .It is a healthy sign ; long iriay it continue. ! . 3 ' . i In reference to the smelting of silver at the Thames recently, the Advertiser has the followiug’:—This, we believe, is 3, the first silver smelted in any ' of! the. Australian colonies. The ore, as our readers may recollect, was sent to the Thames in order to enable Mr. Masters to experiment and ascertain the best method of reducing it to a compact marketable article. Having the command of so many appliances on the Thames, which could not be procured in Nelson without a great deal of loss of time and money, Mr. Masters determined to bring the ore ‘to 1 the Pyrites .Works, where he could ’ carry but his - experiments at little cast.’ : 3Mr.-Masters! has had a blast furnace, erected, and in this the first smelting took • place yesterday; The flux used was oyster-shells, - and ’we are glad to say that the ' trial smelting! was a perfect success, and 1 we' congratulate that company on the silvery-bright prospects before them. A successful photo of the proceedings was taken as the silver stream came running out of the taphole, which was opened by the magic wand or iron bar held by one of the employes, and driven with! sledge hammer blows delivered with fight good will by Mr. Masters. The fniueral or metal,iof whatever the “pigs” may be, was assayed subsequently, and proved to be worth rather more than 700ozs. to the ton, besides containing a large percentage of copper. These have to be melted again, and the further process will reduce the debris and mate, the “pig” worth lOOOozs. of silver to the ton. During the night several other “pigs” were poured, and the process on each occasion was watched by large numbers. > The Masterton correspondent of the Wairarapa Standard ■ reports that the Masterton ploughing match on Thursday was in every way a success, the weather being fine and the attendance numerous. The following were the winners of the respective prizes. (Eeid and Morris worked admirably, and deserved especial mention) :—Wheel plough, seven entries— W. Morris,- 1 ; F. Exell, 2 ; A. Taylor 3. Swing. plough—John Morris, 1 ; Beid, 2. Double furrow—Winter, 1 ; Percy, 2. Mr. Exell is ploughman to Mr. Lowes, Mr. Beid to Mr. Cockburn, and Mr. Winter to Mr. D. Donald. Mr. O. Gundy acted as judge, and his decisions gave general satisfaction. The ploughing as a whole was better than that done at Tauherenikau last year, but there is still room for improvement. In the evening about eighty gentlemen sat down to a capital dinner at the Club Hotel, at which Mr. Lowes occupied the chair and Mr. Wardell the vicechair. The usual; loyal and local toasts were duly honored, and, the whole affair passed off in a very pleasant and enjoyable manner. A light trap, with five passengers, arrived in-Masterton on Tuesday night, having been driven from Napier by way of Woodville and the'Forty-Mile Bush. The party left in the afternoon of Friday, arriving at Te Aute, 28 miles from Napier, by train, from whence they proceeded as above. The News is indebted to Mr. G. Bymer, of Napier, the driver of the trap, for the following particulars of the through road and its present condition: —From Te Aute to Waipukarau, a distance of fifteen miles, it is ,a . good well-made road, perfectly level, and 1 otherwise in excellent condition. ' The next eighteen-mile stage is scarcely so good. It Is unmade, but perfectly level, jand although : a little soft just now, in dry weather it ;will be first-class. The succeeding thirty-five miles to Woodville is ■ detailed, arid otherwise in a state of repair sufficient to stand ordinary bad weather. The Manawatu crossing, four miles on this side of Woodville, is perfectly safe, and although there are several other river crossings in the neighborhood, none of them can be called bad. From the Manawatu crossing to Jacobsen’s, twenty-one miles, the road is soft at places, but it is level and otherwise fit for traffic. Be- • ’tween Jacobsen’s and Harvey’s, although made and metalled at the worst parts, at others it is rather soft. Still in dry weather the road will ;be perfectly good. Altogether, our information leads us to believe that,; with a very little attention, the through road between this and Napier would'be made a good available route all the year round. The land through which It passes is desoribed as being of very superior quality, adapted; for agricultural settlement of a high class . . ■ ,

1 Tho Bev. Lorenzo Moore, who was in iWellington some time:'since, and frequently officiated in the : English churches here, is now stationed at Fort Chalmers. He delivered a lecture in Dunedin , recently, in which he gave some account of his rather remarkable life. He said that just fifty years had elapsed since he first set foot in India, not as a chaplain or! missionary, but as cornet In a Native Cavalry, regiment. His, remarks , would refer more to India as it was .half a century ago, than to India as it is at the present day. For upwards of an hour the rev. gentleman, then entertained his hearers with an interesting narration of. ‘men and manners, referring to the moral condition of the Indian army at that period, the policy of the East India Company with respect to. the Christian religion, the character and peculiarities of the men with whom he had come in contact, the means that had led to his conversion, the difficulties he encountered in carrying on Christian work amongst his companions. One incident will give an idea of ,the whole. While his regiment was at Meerut he was acting adjutant, and on one occasion two missionaries paid them a visit, one of them being the late Dr. Wilson, of Bombay. They spoke to the (all natives) and distributed some Christian books. Upon the commanding officer learning what had been done, he ordered the adjutant to collect all the tracts and have them burned, and in addition' to threaten the missionaries if they did not at once leave tho place. This he did through .his apprehension that such proceedings would cause a mutiny among the men. A native soldier, who became converted to Christianity in another regiment, was, after a court of inquiry had been held, struck off the roll. In after years it was at Meerut that the dreadful Indian Mutiny broke out, and the tearful' and Anti-Christrian policy pursued by a professedly Christian was to a largo extent tho cause of it. Incidentally lie narrated the circumstances which led him to give up military life, and,, after i graduating at Cambridge, enter the ministry.

The Grey town paper declines any longer to chronicle buggy accidents, because doing" so casts a reflection on the sobriety of the drivers. They are treasuring as relics in Blenheim thefirst plough brought into the province .and the' cannon with which !the jWairau. plain was bought. •’ ! v The Grey River~Argus reports that -amost unexpected and unfortunate discovery--of-.an infectious cattle disease has been made in the Paroa district in the case of a cow, the prop'ertyUAMrV'James'Dillon, oh his premises' on the South Beach, The following is a return of patients in the Provincial Hospital during and ending the 'month of June, 187G’‘. —Admitted: males, 9; females, 2. Discharged v .males, 12; females, .3. -Died;.-malej T... Delt-ihHiospital: males, ■ .38; females, 8. Total remaining in hospital, 46. Handsome testimonials have been presented to Robert Cunningham, W. Spargo, and James Gull,’ by .the Royal Humane Society, for saving Mr.' McKay, who fell overboard into the River Waikato, Rangiriri, Auckland, New Zealand, on January 4 ; and Miss Coley, who also fell into the River Waikato on January 7. A sample of excellent coal, alleged to have been discovered in a locality near town, was on July sth" brought to this office, and the discoverer alleges that there are large deposits of coal where the specimen came from. The piece exhibited is highly bituminous and glossy. We shall be glad to hear of the discovery being verified and turned to good account. Not a bad story is told by an eye-witness of what is termed a “full-blooded Maori,” who entered,, in high feathers and, stylish attire, Mr. Curtis’s Pacific Hotel at. the Thames, and sat down at .the breakfast table. He was handed the bill of fare,.when, after a careful perusal, he, said, sententioualy, the one word “sassage.” “Sausage one," shouted the waiter, through the kitchen communication. “No ,kapai that!” cried John Maori, ex-citedly-holding-up. four fingers and a thumb, “sassage five !” and he got them. It has been decided to increase the Hansard staff, and the new member appointed is Mr. Geo. Ddwnie, a pressman who has been connected with various papers in the colony for some time past, and has also been chief of the committee reporting staff. Mr. Downie has, always . been recognised aa a very rapid shorthand writer and an accurate and careful reporter,, frequently having been complimented on his work in connection with Parliamentary committee reporting. His gentlemanly demeanor and kindly disposition have made him a favorite with his brother pressmen wherever he has been, and all will be glad to hear of his promotion. The Bill for constituting Education Boards throughout the colony has been circulated. It retains all existing provincial legislation on the subject not repealed .by the present Bill, and so far as absplute'interference with the existing systems of education goes, there is no repeal. All education rates are abolished. Practically existing Boards are to continue in office until February next, when new Boards will be chosen as follows :—Two members appointed by the Governor, one by the Judge in whose district the educational district is wholly or mainly situated, and not less than five or more than twelve by persons on the electoral rolls or holding miners’ rights or business licenses within- the district. Education," with the necessary exemptions, is to be compulsory. Prominent amongst the high-class hotels of Wellington is the Metropolitan. The hotel, as it has been known for years past, has achieved the reputation of being- one of the most , comfortable and select houses in the colony, but recently many additions and improvements hare been made to it, which will enable the proprietor, Mr. Osgood, to carry on a more extensive business than formerly. A large piece of ground in Molesworth-street adjoining the old hotel has been built upon, giving, with other enlargements, some seventeen additional bedrooms, and a very spacious dining-room capable of seating comfortably at table 100 persons. The hotel as a whole is now one of the largest in the colony, occupying with outbuildings a space of one hundred and ten feet, and the internal arrangements for the accommodation of visitors are very complete. Being but of the middle of the city, and adjacent to the public buildings, it is much resorted to by members of the General Assembly, and it is pleasing to note that Mr. Osgood’s enterprise in enlarging his premises is meeting with the anticipated reward. The tenderer whose offer for erecting the New Zealand Steam Shipping Company’s offices had beenaccepted, on July 6th, threw up his tender, on the ground that he had made a miscalculation, and that of Mr. W. J. Roberts, which was very little higher than Mr. McKenzie’s, was accepted, and the work will be proceeded with at once. It may be stated that the buildings are to be erected at the corner of Custom-house-quay and Brandon-street, and from the designs drawn by Mr. O. Tringham. They are to be of the Italian order of architecture, and various ornamentations which have been provided for will add to their general appearance. The block will be 45ft. by 38ft., the front elevation reaching an altitude of 34 feet. In the front there will be some eighteen windows, each being divided by rusticated pilasters, and those in the upper storey surmounted by circular heads, the lower one by segmented heads. The upper and lower storeys are to be divided by an ornamental stringcourse, with carved patereras. So much fox the exterior. In the interior, on the ground floor, will be a vestibule eight feet wide, large public office, boardroom, private office, and a large storeroom ; the upper flat being in one large apartment, connected with the lower storey by a geometrical staircase. The whole of the fittings are to be constructed of cedar polished. The contract expires on the 14th of October next. The governor of the Dunedin gaol, Mr. Caldwell, has furnished his annual report ; The return shows that the earnings from the Ist day of April, 1875, to the 31st March, 1876, amounted to £12,471 10s. 4d., and the ■expenditure to £11,863 Is. 10^d. —showing the earnings to have amounted to £6OB Bs. 5Jd. in excess of expenditure. The estimated value of the labor done outside the gaol is £11,432 135., and of that done inside the gaol £1652 3s. Mr. Caldwell concludes his report as follows ; —“lt would be a matter of the grossest ingratitude were I to close this report without testifying to the excellent manner the officers and warders have discharged their very onerous and critical duties during the year ; their services, ’ both day and night, have been unceasing, and were performed with a zeal, temper, and ability that merit for them every consideration. I know how a prison life will wear down one’s existence. Tn itself it appears nothing ; life becomes, as it were, wrapped up in it; one day’s duties are no sooner done than on comes another. It is the stone of Sisyphus —an endless repetition of toil and constant weight upon - the intellect and spirits, and demanding all the exertions of the faculties, at the same time being compelled to the severest drudgery.” The natives as a rule are not a miserly race; in fact, their character is rather the reverse of that. -However, says the Taranaki Herald, an old native named Tuhangae, but better known as Atu, who has for years been about the town earning money by chopping wood, &c., died on Sunday, 25th ult., in his whare on the Devonline. Mrs. Gyde, we believe, had been attending on the old man whilst he was ill; and on . Sunday evening, the 25th ult., whilst dying, he kept pointing with his finger to something under him, so she mentioned it to Mr. Stockman, who, on looking under the deceased, found a leather havresaok in which was £34 4s. 6d. in half-crowns, shillings, and sixpences, bearing the marks of old age. Three or four years ago when a Mr. Howard, of Auckland, was down here buying wool, he met Atu, and spoke to him, when the native pointed to his breast. Mr. Howard, thinking he was perhaps hungry, was putting his hand into his pocket to give him some money to buy food with, when Atu drew from beneath his coat some dirty rags, and placed them in Mr. Howard’s hand. On opening the package it was found to contain £6O, which Mr. Howard carried into the bank, communicating to the native authorities what ho had done. Mr. Parris tried to get Atu to go to the bank to have the amount placed in his name, but the native refused to do' 'so. ■ Tuhangae belongs to the Taranaki tribes, and was taken when a boy as a slave by the Ngapuhi, but was set free by them, ■ 1

~ -There was an exceedingly large attendance atlMr. Duncan’s sale e£ Petoni laud on July 13th,and every lot was cleared at a satisfactory, price; ,i-, ■. t-i > The r Hon. Sir J. L. C. Richardson with characteristic liberality, has, we are informed, Contributed £3O to the funds of the Provincial Hospital, the money having been forwarded to theJDeputy Superintendent, Mr. Bunny. ; The lion, the Speaker of the Representatives gave his first Parliamentary dinner'at the Speaker’s rooms, Government buildings, on July 10th. A large number of members were entertained,, and a novel and ‘agreeable feature" of the evening was the presence of several -ladies, wives and daughters of members, who .were kindly received by Mrs. Fitzherbert, and whose attendance was not the least gratifying portion of the reunion. • Mr. George X)ixon has , called at this office and exhibited two cancers, one taken from the breast of a female named Styles, of Nelson, and the other . from the l lip, of a man. He states that the disease of cancer has been cured by his wife’s family for a century back, the remedy having been communicated to them by a French physician. The cancer is taken out completely by the roots, without cutting; and in two, or three dozen of cases that he has. known in Canada of persons operated upon it has never grown again. The. Wellington Tramways promoters have so far got on with their work that ; they are calling for tenders for the construction of the tramway and supply of the necessary plant and material. Now that all legal difficulties have been removed the work will be at once pushed on. It is, worthy of note that the promoters have had an unsought offer from Melbourne capitalists to supply all needful capital. The promoters do not need the- assistance, but the offer indicates the confidence that is felt in the venture. ■ ■. The Canterbury Press has the following : Eighteen months ago the two sons of a settler in the Sound were playing with some marbles on the deck of a cutter which was anchored in the bay, on the shores of which they resided, when, as might be expected,, they, very soon lost some overboard. Amongst them was one particularly marked, and which has been recovered in a somewhat peculiar and unexpected manner. Whilst fishing a few days ago a rock cod was caught, which ,on> being dressed for culinary purposes, ‘ was found' to contain the identical and much prized “ alley taw,” to the delight and amusement of the juveniles. The arrival of the ship Camperdown discloses a singular circumstance. .. As'the ship was approaching Nelson she spoke the Edwin Bassett in the Strait. Now,- it happens that Captain Paton, of the Camperdown, has a brother whom he. had not seen for nineteen years, and with whom he has not corresponded for nine years ; and having heard that his brother was in command of a New Zealand collier, he hailed the Edwin Bassett and inquired if his brother commanded her. He was answered “ No ; that his brother was in command of the Robin Hood.” Well, the ease with which information was obtained at sea, struck the first mate, Mr. Woods, and he also has a long lost brother, of whom all he could ever learn was that he was on a collier in New Zealand ; so, on speculation, he hailed the Edwin Bassett, and asked if his brother was there; and the answer was, “No; that his brother was first mate of the Robin Hood,” of which Captain Patou’s brother was commander. It would appear that New Zealand offers peculiar facilities for discovering relations, since the first mate, Mr. Woods, has a brother-in-law also on board of a New Zealand collier, being captain of the brig Neptune. The House of Representatives adjourned on on the evening of July 13 in consequence of the receipt of the news of the death of Dr. Featherston. When the news arrived the debate on Mr. Stout’s Incensing Bill was proceeding, Mr. Wood having just finished speaking. The speech of the debate was undoubtedly that of Mr. Lusk, though it was tinged with a little intemperate language anent the licensed victuallers. He did not attempt to mince matters. He charged them openly with living by the demoralisation of the people of the colony, and pleaded hard for a law against them which should be operative. He denied that they had a vested interest to be considered; but even if the publicans had a vested interest, there were the interests of the general public and the moral and material progress of the colony to be considered as well; and these interests loudly called for restriction in the liquor traffic. He referred to past legislation to show that the policy of the law had for some time leant towards achieving this object, and conceived that there could be no reason why there should be any objection to an Act the sole object of which was to give real effect to laws now ineffective because of the protection thrown around that small but exceedingly influential body, the publicans. The new brick-making machine near the site upon which is to be built the Provincial Hospital, is now fairly in working order. The machine is an American one, and possesses all the latest improvements in those manufactured elsewhere, and many additional advantages. It is capable of producing 11,000 bricks per day of the best quality. The machine is driven by a 14-horse-power engine,.which was purchased in this colony. It will of course be manifest that there is very much less labor attached to the manufacture of bricks by machinery than by hand, it being only necessary to take the clay from the bank and deposit it in the mill, from which the bricks are taken ready for the drying sheds. _ The bricks made by the machine under notice are undoubtedly of a much superior quality to those made by hand. They come out hard-pressed and solid, and require only_ four days’ drying, when they are in a condition to- be placed in the loin ; and being burnt, they have this advantage over the hand-made bricks, that they are not so porous, and will not “take the water,” as it is technically known. As to the general work in connection with the preparations for erecting the hospital (Mr. Toxward is the architect), it may be stated that prison laborers are employed constantly'carrying clay and attending the machine, besides excavating for the site of the new buildings, and making the necessary roads. There is also in course of erection a German circular brick kiln, by which a great saving is obtained in the matter of fuel. Everything is proceeding satisfactorily, and we understand that the foundations of the new building will be laid next spring. Some time ago we mentioned that the Roman Catholic body in Wellington purposed erecting large educational establishments both for male and female children. Plans of the building it is proposed to erect for the accommodation of female children have been prepared by Mr. Thomas Turnbull, and tenders for the work are now out. The school will stand close to the convent, and in place of the old one now in existence. The building is to be of the Gothic will form a fitting addition to the convent, the bishop’s residence, the presbytery, and other handsome buildings, on the elevated plot of land in Hill-street. The main entrance will be by a door facing south, with an ornamental portico. Through this access is gained to a corridor sft. Sin. wide, communicating with the principal apartments down stairs and leading to a large staircase which connects the upper and lower stories. On the ground floor there is first a library, next a study hall 26ft. by 19ft., connected by folding doors, with a schoolroom 86ft. by 26ft., besides a bay 13ft. by 144 ft. This fine room opens out on to- a verandah. At the other side of the building is situate the infant school, a spacious apartment, and there is a second staircase here. A refectory, 29ft. by 19ft., with lavatory and other conveniences, fill up the rest of the ground floor space. In the upper story there is an apartment for the Lady Superioress, and others for the governesses; also dormitories for the schools, lavatories, &c. The plans for the Christian Brothers school have been commenced. This school is to be built in Boulcott-street, and will be a very fine Italian building. The Southland News is responsible for the following :—“ There is a polite, affable, gentleman in town who was * awfully sold ’ the other day. A party had called at his office in the matter of filing his schedule when the gentleman referred to happened to be absent. On returning to the office, this circumstance was duly reported. Not long afterwards the same person—as our friend supposed—came back, and was at once courteously and civilly told

the expense would be the small sum of £5. The visitor seemed astonished, was dumb, in fact; and a glimmering idea seemed to cross the mind, 6£ the official that there ‘ was a screw loose,’ for he put the question, ‘Don’t yon want to lfilo your schedule?’ ‘No,’ thundered the {other, ‘I want a marriage license.’ Tableaux—then prompt attendance to the {wishes of that customer.”