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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4816, 29 August 1876, Page 2

J Both Houses, of Parliament meet to-day, when Ministerial statements will be made as to the Agent-Generalship. Intense interest ;has deepened into excitement during the past day or two, and no doubt the House -of Representatives will be crowded this afternoon.

The Acting Agent-General telegraphs under date 11th August, that the following immigrant “ships were despatched from Great Britain in July for New Zealand:—Waimea, for Wellington, with 290 immigrants ; Orari, for Auckland, with 279; Inverness, for Napier, with 190 ; Timavu, for Otago, with 345 ; and the Howrah, for Nelson, with 299 ; total, 5 ships, with 1403 immigrants. They may be expected to arrive in October. • As an instance of the numerous political rumors flying about town just now may be mentioned an incident which occurred yesterday. The Hon. Mr. Stafford to meet Mete Kingi, the well-known old warrior, shook hands with him, and for a few moments stood talking to him. Two minutes after a new report had gained currency—Mr. Stafford having obtained Mete Kingi for his Native Minister, had agreed to form a Government. The men, Young, Paul, and Reidal, who were so severely assaulted at the Hutt, are being provided for. Young has got charge of a railway crossing, which is about all that he is now able to do. Paul has also obtained some light work in town. Reidal, alone of the three, remains unable to do anything, and it is feared he may lapse into mental imbecility. It has therefore occurred to the Benevolent Society that the most kindly thing to do for the poor man would be to get him comfortably sent back to Germany, his native country, where he has two sons working in the mines. The Government have undertaken to find a passage for him, and the Benevolent Society will transmit a cheque on some German bank for £9O or £IOO, to be devoted to his use on arrival. The arrangement seems the best that can be made in the circumstances. The money, of course, is a portion of the fund which has been raised for the three wounded men.

Wiltshire, the walker, has been visited by great numbers of people during Sunday and yesterday. Up to our time of going to press he had accomplished about sixty miles. The public interest attached to tliis great performance has been gradually increasing since the start, and every day will make it still more interesting. Saturday next will he a red-letter day at Kaiwarra, as it will be seen by our advertising columns that a running handicap, distance half-a-mile, for a silver cup, will take place during an interval in Mr. Wiltshire’s walking." Other sports will, we believe, be arranged. People in other parts of New Zealand are rather given to saying hard things of the climate of Wellington. It may be out of ignorance, or it may be out of envy. We will charitably assume that the former is the reason, and ask them to forbear their strictures till they can show such evidences of mildness of climate as have been manifested here within the last fevv days. On Sunday a splendid butterfly was caught in a garden at the Te Aro end of the town, and another was seen flying about in another garden. Where else in New Zealand can they show butterflies almost in mid-winter ?

An information was sworn against Charles E. Haughton yesterday on a horrible charge; and the police having communicated with those in Dunedin, Haughton, who left here by the Arawata for Melbourne, was arrested, at Dunedin, where the steamer had touched, and whence she departed at half-past four o’clock yesterday. The choir of St. John’s Church gave a musical and literary entertainment in the schoolroom last night. There was a very large audience, not only every seat being occupied, but numbers of those present having to stand. The entertainment was very successful, the most noticeable portions being the three glees, “Don’t I Dove the Bonny Broom,” “Good Templars’ Festival Song,” and “ Lightly Treading.” The solos, duetts, and readings were also very good, the lady who took part in “ Home to our Mountains ” rendering her share of the well-known duett with much taste and expression. For “ Sing, Sweet Bird ” a fair singer received a merited encore. The readings were also above the average in merit. It will be remembered that some time ago the Government of Victoria and New Zealand agreed to make a joint experiment of the introduction of English salmon ova. Pursuant to this agreement some fifty or sixty thousand carefully selected ova were shipped by agents in Great Britain, per steamer Durham, for the colonies. One-half of the ova was retained in Victoria, and the other half was brought here. The experiment, as far as Victoria is concerned, completely failed—it is supposed on account of the high temperature of the waters. In New Zealand there is, however, a prospect of success. The Guardian says : —-The ova was sent to the salmon ponds of Makarewa, Invercargill, and placed under the charge of Mr. Howard, the curator employed by the Government for the purpose. Concerning the success likely to be obtained various reports have been made. A gentleman who recently visited Invercargill went to see the salmon ponds, and upon the most direct and reliable authority he has supplied the encouraging information that there are now in the ponds about 2000 healthy young fish. These will be retained in the ponds until ready to go to the salt water. It is likely they will be turned out in about 18 months. The advice is that the fish should all be turned out in one river, as to divide them would be to lessen the chances of success, and it is intended to follow this course. Commenting on the result of the East Coast election trial, the Poverty Bay Standard says : —“ Captain Morris can afford to be magnanimous in the victory he has achieved, and we do him the justice to say that he has stood his ground manfully, and fought bravely .; nor has he, to our knowledge, used' any unfair means, or taken the smallest advantage of his opponent. There was no vantage ground on either side, such as often arises where one is more wealthy than the other. In the present instance the warfare was carried on on equal terms in so far as the ‘sinews’ were concerned ; and now that victory has been declared against us, the worst thing wo have to say of the conqueror is, that in having Captain Morris to represent us, we shall at any rate be represented by a gentleman, and by one who we sincerely believe will not allow local jealousies on the one hand, or ministerial influences on the other, to deter him from doing his duty. We trust, and believe, that Captain Bead will bear his defeat as becometh a man who has been a victim to stupid legislation. He has learnt his political lessons late in life ; and although removed from the sphere where he hoped to be of some use, he can still in other ways aid the settlers, and the man who defeated him, in the work before them.”

The -Dunedin Acclimatisation _ Society _is doing a good work in the production and distribution of trout. Tha Guardian says the hatching-boxes at Opoho are very well situated, the temperature of the water having ranged from 41 to 43 degrees. Some of the salmon trout there hatched are still doing well. About 20,000 young brown trout wore obtained last year, and sent to all parts of the province. At the present time there are about 20,000 eggs in the boxes. Some of the ova it is expected will be hatched within a few weeks, and the whole of it before the end of October. The other day about 10,000 ova were obtained by the .process of “ dry stripping ” some brown trout, which had been taken from the Water-of-Lieith. The old trout, thirteen or fourteen in number,- will be placed in a stream in some other part of the province. The work now being done by the society in the distribution of fish is of a utilitarian character, and will pay compound interest upon the labor and expense bestowed upon it.

An entertainment will be given this evening in the Ghuzuee-street school in aid of the St. Mark’s Church fund, i ’

A meeting of the Wellington Rowing Club was held last evening, 'when the annual accounts, &c., were submitted.

The business at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday was confined to the hearing of two cases of drunkenness, the offenders being punished in the usual way. A special meeting of the Board of Governors of the Wellington College will be held on Wednesday, the 30th inst., at-three o’clock, at the office of the Education Board. Business : To consider the sale of College Reserve Bill. It is said the Grey party are in high spirits in consequence of a belief that the possible impending Ministerial changes will give them a chance to scramble on to the Government benches.

The performances of the talented Globe Combination Troupe at the Theatre Royal last night again attracted a large audience. They appear to-night and every evening during the wesk, and have already made one of the greatest successes yet achieved in Wellington. The Hon. Mr. Robinson gave a ball in the Provincial Hall last night to a number of friends. There were over seventy couple present, and the affair passed off with the usual success, the style being something superior to the ordinary run.

The managing committee of the Wellington Fire Brigade met last evening. After the usual passing of accounts, &0., they took into consideration the challenge of the Dunedin Brigade, and came to the determination to leave , the reply in the hands of Superintendent Whiteford and Secretary Tolley.

The following are the players selected from the Wellington College as a team to compote with the Nelson College at the beginning of next month : —Barton, Brandon, Butts, Bannister, Martin, Decide, Taylor (2), St. John, Duxford, Webb, Cooper, Kirk, Morrah, and Burnes.

The report of the Commissioner of Railways, New South Wales, shows that the cost of the lines open, including rolling stock, machinery, workshops, &c., is little over £7,000,000, or an average of £16,500 per mile. The earnings leave a profit of £4 7s. lid. per cent, on capital expended. There has been a very large increase in the traffic during the past four years. The Centennial Commission appears to be somewhat perplexed over the question of distributing free passes for the exposition. Every politician in office, every newspaper man, in fact, everybody who can conjure up the shadow of a reason for the privilege, deems himself entitled to enter the centennial grounds free, and the consequence is that the commission is unable to fix any limit as to where this dead-heading shall terminate. The question of free-trade v. protection is being bitterly fought out in Victoria just now, although the operations of the rival parties are conducted somewhat quietly. There are freetrade leagues and protection leagues, freetrade soirees and protection soirees, and each side is endeavoring to educate the people up to its line of thinking. Under such circumstances, there can be little question that in a short time protection will be wiped away, and the colony freed of the incubus which has done so much to stay its progress of late years.

The expedition which has proceeded from Sydney to the Auckland Islands, with the object of endeavoring to recover the gold lost in the General Grant, appears (says a contemporary) to create quite a stir among the adventurous and speculative spirits in the various Australian colonies. Writing to the Argus, Messrs. S. De Beer arid Co., Queen-street, Melbourne, say :—“ There seems to be a very vague idea floating in the brains or imaginations of your correspondents of the value of the gold carried by the General Grant, every one of your correspondents jumping at the conclusion that it was, or must have been, £500,000. In order to relieve the speculative anxiety of all who may feel interested, we annex an extract from our register of the manifest of the ship General Grant, 1095 tons register, cleared H.M. Customs on May 3rd, 1866.” The details of the manifest are given, and show that the cargo consisted of wool, hides, and other Australian products, and that the gold, which was shipped in two boxes by the Bank of New South Wales, amounted only to 25760z5. 6dwts. Messrs. De Beer conclude :—“You may be surprised, as we are confident many others will be, to find by this that the half-million has dwindled down to about one-fiftieth, namely, £IO,OOO sterling.” The London papers announce a further extension of rapid transit in that city by the completion and opening for public traffic, on the sth April, of the East London railway, which is another of those gigantic underground enterprises for which the metropolis of England is so distinguished. The most remarkable feature of this new work is the fact that a considerable portion of the line is built under water. The commerce of the world may be said to float and navigate directly over a part of the roof of the tunnel, which extends south-easterly, from the Liverpool-street station of the Great Eastern railway, passing directly under the warehouses and water basin of the London docks, thence under the embankment, across and under the Thames river, to the New Cross station of the Southeastern railway, thus connecting all the roads named, and also the London and Brighton and South London lines. At Shad well and Whitechapel, magnificent stations, each 450 ft. in length, have boon erected. The total cost of this new line, which is a little less than six miles in length, has been £3,200,000. Of the advantageous nature of this line to the public the Loudon papers say there is no doubt. That portion of the line under the Thames passes through the old Thames tunnel, built by the celebrated engineer, M. I. Brunei. This work was commenced in 1824, and opened for foot passengers in 1843, but never proved of much value to the public until brought into use several years ago as a railway tunnel. The masonry comprising this remarkable work is 38ft. wide and 22Jft. high, and was carried across underneath the bed of the river by means of a great shield, within which the masonry heading was erected, and the shield then pushed ahead step by step by jack screws, the masonry being built up as fast as the shield advanced.

A writer in the Maryborough Advertiser describes the mode adopted on the Queensland coast for capturing dugongs. He says : “ The crows of the boats are chiefly colored men, and I was much struck with the great skill which they display in their work. They are remarkably quick in detecting the animals where unskilful white men do not perceive them, and they hurl their harpoons a great distance with wonderful accuracy, very seldom failing to strike the animal at which they aim. The dugongs are herbaceous animals, and at certain states of the tide comes into shallow water to feed upon the weeds growing on the rocks, and it is then that the men go about to capture them, and see them sporting about in the water in great numbers. The old dugongs have such groat affection for their young that if a young one is captured the mother will not go away from it, but may be easily taken also ; and likewise, if one of a pair be killed, the other will allow itself to be killed also rather than leave the dead body of its mate. A great number of dugongs are captured without difficulty by the natives, through their remaining close to the carcases of their dead mates or young ones. They are large animals of the herbivorous cetacean tribe— i.e., warm-blooded mammals like whales or seals, feeding on seaweeds, &c. In length they range from 10ft. to 20ft.; their appearance is by no means pleasing—rather the reverse, for they are very un-couth-looking animals ; there is a great resemblance between them and the manatees, found along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. Projecting from their foreheads they have two tusks aboutlft. in length, whichassistthemingrasping and tearing up the seaweeds upon which they feed. At times wo see numbers of these animals floating about the bay with their heads out of water, as they frequently come up to the surface to breathe for a time. The dugongs are exceedingly useful animals, every portion

~dfi them being turned to good account in this; colony by'Mr. Ching. Their skin is uscjd forj various-purposes; their flesh is very nice for eating; their bones are excellent for knifehandles, ,&c.; while the ivory of their tusks is said to be very valuable. But, above all,' particular mention should be made of the useful oil extracted from the dugong, which is undoubtedly very valuable.” A correspondent of the Licensed Victuallers’ Gazette, writing of Wellington society during session time, says : —“ I suppose in no part of the world would you find such an assemblage of nobs and snobs forming what is called society.” This is worse than Mr. Wakefield on the working classes, and it might be supposed this correspondent was one who does not “go out.” But it is evident he does “go out,” for he says : —“lt may be said I am oldfashioned, but I have not been accustomed to to see young ladies put their tongues out as you see in the ball-room, or when I go to concerts have I been used to see the younger members of both sexes grinning, and winking, and passing little notes to each other. I say X may be old-fashioned, but in my time it was not considered ‘good form’ to do these things.” The first thing (says the Pall Mall Gazette) remarked in England by the intelligent foreigner is the poverty of a people wallowing in wealth. Nothing more astonishes the stranger’s mind here than the juxtaposition, the mixture of meanness and magnificence. The cause is soon learned. We islanders will spend thirteenpence out of a shilling, when the continental only spends elevenpence. And why do families migrate abroad for economy ? The price of a pound of bread is much the same in most parts of the civilised world. The truth is, that what we deem necessaries in England we find to be luxuries abroad ; economy results from not paying less, but from wanting less. In England we eat too much meat ; once a day should suffice for all save the hardest worked of working men. We drink too much ; “diffusible stimulants” should not be used, except by invalids, till late in the day; and the modern system of “ drops” and “ pick-me-ups,” vulgarly called “nips,” would ruin the strongest constitution. We smoke too much. Wisely said the Hodges of yore to their heirs, “ Let not the smoke of the pipe go up between thee and the sun!” and the practice of perpetual cigaretting is, if possible, worse than that of “nips.” We ride and drive even in cabs, when we should walk; we pass our evenings at expensive entertainments instead of cheap spectacles; in fact, we do a number of things which make life, so economical abroad, dear in England. The reduction of even small incomes may do immense national good by preaching more simplicity of life.