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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4794, 3 August 1876, Page 2

nuw. I 1 It may be presumed that tho adjournment i of tho House of Representatives over yester-. . day was tho causo of the unwonted circum- . stance of the " Lords " having an audieucc. A close observer might perhaps have counted half-a-score heads in tho strangers' gallory of ' the Upper Houso at i p>,m. The unusual fact ' o£ the presence of the oi pottoi was not how- ' ever sufficient to draw forth' tho latent 010-1 1 quence of hon. gentlemen, for the business was !• got through ero the usual adjournment hour l> had arrived,

The' ordinary fortnightly meeting of the City Council will be held this afternoon at four o'clock. ; The ; Union Beach Mining Company, Coromandel, has up to the present time paid close on £15,000 in dividends. - Colonel WhitmoreV seeing the "small amount of business on the order paper, of. the Legisla- • tive ) Council, has given "notice ithathe_ will move to-day that the Council at its rising should adjourn forfourteen daysf'" A Masterton contemporary learns that the - ne.w;road across the Opaki rapidly," and will be passable for traffic in about Six weeks. Thirteen, men are : at present employed upon it. ' ' "' ■ In the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday one person was charged with drunkenness, and amannamed Richard J. O'Grady, seaman onboard the s.s. Napier, was fined 40s. and costs on two; charges of assaulting Capt. Butt. This was all the business. , . . ■ A return furnished to the Victorian Parliament shows that eighty-three fatal mining ac- : cidents : occurred • last year—sixty-nine to Europeans, fourteen to Chinamen. More than half of those'killed were married men, leaving 178 orphan children. j Miss Lizzie Morgan, an actress who gained considerable popularity in Wellington during the Darrell season, which lasted over six months, [has arrived in Wellington under en- ', gagement to the Bates Company, and will ap- ' per this evening as : Barbara Hare in "Bast Lynne." , An advertisement elsewhere states; that Messrs. Mclntyre and Co.'s steamer Moa will make the first Saturday afternoon trip round the harbor, weather permitting, next Saturday. She will leave the breastwork at 2.30 p.m., and call in at certain parts of the bay. _ We have no doubt that these excursions will be largely patronised. - ! We understand a lai-ge number of the civil engineers and architects of i the colony_ have memorialised the Government to prevent civil servants from competing with them in their professions. The memorial has been forwarded to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary,. but as yet no reply has been made. .:'.".' The last quarter's revenue of Queensland amounts to £302,000, being an increase on the corresponding quarter of £30,000. The revenue for the year is £1,263,000, which shows ; an increase on the year of £21,000. The expenditure for the year amounted to £1,315,000, showing a deficit of over £50,000. A Bill has been introduced in the Victorian Assembly to amend the law relating to bills of sale, to do away with renewing such bills, and the prevention of frauds, by requiring a statutory declaration that the giver is able to pay all just and lawful debts beyond the amount of . the bill of sale. A meeting of the committee of the Wellington Benevolent Institution was held on Tuesday afternoon. Present—Bishop Hadfiekl (elected chairman), Rev. J. C. Ogg, Rev. J. Paterson, Rev. A. Reid, Rev. B. W. Harvey, Archdeacon Stock, Rev. W. H. West, Messrs. J. G. Holdsworth, J. Woodward, p. Lewis, L. Levy, and the secretary. Subscriptions received—Mr. B. Dixon, £1; Mr. C. Govett, £1 ; Hon. R. Stokes, £2 2s. 6d. Madame lima de Murska and Company appear this evening, the last but one on which the public of Wellington will have an opportunity of witnessing the wonderful performances of the greatest artiste that has ever visited the Australian colonies, whose reputation indeed is world-wide. A special. treat is offered this Mdlle. lima De Murska will sing the grand aria "Bel Raggio." A erowded house may be expected, and therefore those who purpose attending should be at the hall as early as possible; but such advice should be almost unnecessary, as previous experiencehas shown that to be late at these popular concerts is to stand a good ohance of being 'unable to get inside. The company appear for the last time on Saturday evening, as announced in our | advertising columns. A Canterbury paper says that the rumor that S. Brighting, the well-known Christchurch fish-hawker and bottle-collector, had come into an enormous fortune, is now fully substantiated. Brighting and his wife who, the other day, were living in a state of extreme indigence, have now almost unlimited credit at every business establishment in the city, and, figuratively speaking, they roll in riches. They are leaving substantial reminiscences among their old acquaintances in the shape of costly presents, and intend proceeding to England in the. American mail boat. The gross amount which Mr. Brighting has inherited is, it is affirmed, over £IOO,OOO. Considering that he occupied the lowest social position conceivable, this is one of the most marvellous strokes of fortune on record. The following illustration of the popularity attained by the Small Farm Association has been published : —On Saturday last a deputation from the Maoris residing in the neighborhood waited upon the secretary and tendered 'the names of some seventy of their number desirous of becoming members. As a further guarantee of good faith they handed over their admission fee in accordance with the rules. Having some doubts on the point the proffer was declined by the secretary. The question how far this class are eligible to become members will, we understand, be submitted to a meeting of the committee of directors. The writer of "Notes" in the Timaru Herald says :—" Apropos of Dr. Featherston, a curious piece of what we may call secret history has transpired, which speaks much for that noble quality of single-mindedness attributed to him by those who knew him best. It is stated that some years ago, when the fatal disease which has now carried him away began to manifest itself unmistakeably, the doctor's physicians assured him that the only chance of saving his life lay in immediately going to a hot climate. At that time, asit happened, the Imperial Government were engaged in tho annexation of Fiji; and the circumstances referred to coming to the know- , ledge of Lord Carnarvon, he offered the invalid the appointment of Governor. Dr. Featherston, however, considered himself in duty bound to remain in the service of New Zealand, and with singular devotion, refused the offer of a post in which his years might very probably have been prolonged. It will be remembered that prior to the announcement of Sir Arthur Gordon's translation frein the Mauritius to Fiji, a report prevailed in New Zealand, and gained considerable credence, to the effect that Sir Donald McLean had been fixed on for the Government. This report was, if we remember rightly, publicly contradicted by Sir Donald j and we have little doubt now that it arose out of a misunderstanding of the offer which was really made to Dr. Featherston." Wo (New Zealand Herald) understand that the Sharebrokers Association have roceived a circular from tho Acting-Inspector of the National Bank of New Zealand, which is likely to throw obstacles in the way of business between client and broker, and which must, necessarily, affect the company's stock. Hitherto transactions of this kind have baon done in the usual manner, but according to the new regulations, issued from the headoffice at Wellington, it is necessary, before a transaction can be completed, that a certain form be filled in with the name of the transferrer or his broker, and forwarded to tho Wellington office, when a transfer is returned, which then can be filled up, and handed over to the buyer. It will be observed that ten days or more elapses ere the transfer can be received from Wellington, while tho transferrer may probably live somowhere in the country, and as it is necessary that bis signature bo attached after it is received from Wellington, it is evident that it will cause infinite delay. Tho rule, no doubt, emanates from the London office, whore communication with the most distant part of the kingdom can bo had within 48 hours, but in a now country like this such a stipulation as that imposed by the circular is out of tho question. In this province, at any rato, bank shares aro sold usually under a pressure for money, or another channel opening suddenly for investment of a moro profitable naturo, henco it is desirable that ' restrictions of all lauds betwoou buyer and

seller be as few as possible.; We understand i that the Association.have .placed themselves in ] communication with I the bank authorities,"" i pointing out the inconvenience regulation i inflicts upon all partiesconcerned. i Writing of the recent floods, the Wairarapa ' News says :—" Late information to hand confirms the report that although the floods of last . week were severely felt throughout the district, no serious damage or detention was occasioned.- On the - Forty-mile-Bush* road - some ten or twelve landslips occurred. Many of them were so trifling as to bfilTOXorthy.of record. The heaviest took place at/one of the blue clay cuttings, situated \ about ■ seventeen miles above the Scandinavian Camp. It is estimated that rat this slip? alone 1000 cubic yards of stuff came down. Gangs of men were at once put on to clear away the debris, which was accomplished without delay. The rivers along the road were very high, the Manawatu and Tiraumea in particular.' At the crossing of the former it is estimated that the flood was at least twenty-four feet above the ordinary water level. A portion of the : road formation was swept away, but the damage is not serious. The through coach to Palmerston, which reached the Manawatu on Thursday, was unable to proceed further. The passengers were ferried across in a boat, and proceeded to Woodville on horseback. Next day (Friday) the water had gone down, still it was too high to admit of being forded. The other river crossings were high, but not impassable." ..", . .