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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4900, 5 December 1876, Page 2

The TK.M S. Zealandia may be expected here about midnight with the inward San Francisco mail. She is advertised to sail two hours after arrival.

A meeting of the Board of College Governors was to. have been held yesterday, but owing to the absence of , the Mayor and Mr, Bunny a quorum could not be obtained, and the meeting was therefore postponed for a week. Messrs. Travers; Jackson, and Brandon were in attendance.. .. ....

As will be seen by an advertisement in another column, Messrs. Shaw; Savill, and Co. have reduced the • rate of freight on wool by their vessels, which is undoubtedly news of au eminently satisfactory : character to growers and exporters. Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co. ! deserve every credit; for having taken the initiative in this matter. i • !; • We understand that the committee of the Wellington Club have entered into an arrangement with Mr. ifausmanh, in virtue of which possession of the present Club-house will’-be retained for the sole use of the members of the Club until the new building is ready for' occupation. By adopting this course the committee have fulfilled the ; > - pledge they ■ gave that -hd effort Would be spared to secure the comfort and convenience of members.: i ■■

A rather'serious accident took place yesterday afternoon iu ; the‘ Adelaide-road. • A daughter; of Mr. B. Hobbin.^whilst' coming;from school met the gaol gang returning froih'work, and whilst stepping aside 'was,; kicked by-A horse, which took fright at the “red shirts.” She was taken home,' and attended by Dr. Munro, but' at' present it is unknown 1 what internal injuries she may have sustained. Whilst mentioning this case, we may again call the attention of the authorities' to the reckless riding and driving displayed round the corner of the. Caledonian Hoteh 'Several narrow escapes have already occurred.

In, the Resident Magistrate’s Court, yester-, day, ft;civil case, Bath, v,, Nowlyn, > caused .considerable amusement...;j The actiomarose upon a guarantee given by. Mr. Newlyn to the plaintiff for the., price of two carved? heads supplied to; Mr. Martin, Powell,- the ventrilo-, qujat, as ‘‘.props.”',for.his entertainment. A, head, was, produced, and one of the officers of the' Court, who has evidently mistaken his vocation, operated upon the effigy, making it open: and shut its mouth in a most original manner, exciting general admiration, ; and: causing;a fueling of, regret; that he, should pass away his time amongst...summonses, and other., legal documents. ?• s The plaintiff stated that his instructions, received; from. Mr. Powell were to carve two “ hugly ’eds,” and he must be congratulated on. having-fulfilled, his. instructions to the very letter. The talented artist was unable to.explain to Mr- “Newlyn whether or not hi® production represented n. male or female ; but this didn’t matter, and the Resident Magistrate, ruled, that Mr. Newly,n'shoujd not write letters like the one produced in Court,,if he' did not intend to guarantee payment for goods,’ and ho was consequently i mulcted ,in £3, the price agreed upon, and costs. ■' “'. '■ ‘ - - ' . .

j The anniversary services in. commemoration of' the opening ,of St. John’s Presbyterian 'Church, Willis-street, will be held on Sunday, the 17th inst., and it is expected;that the Rev. John Emalie will preaoh on the occasion. On the Monday following, a . congregational tea meeting held in the schoolroom, Mr, Laing acting* as .caterer on the occasion. A public meeting; will afterwards be held in the church, ’ when addresses: will be delivered by members of the-General Assembly - and by the clergy belonging to the .Presbyterian Church in the city.

In Melbourne upwards of a £IOOO has been raised for the purpose of erecting a statue to Daniel O’ConnelL i : ’ , 1

The leases of the shops to he erected on the ground floor of the new Athenaeum are 'to be > offered by tender; and advertisements will shortly appear containing terms, &c. 1

Owing to the despatch which has been given to the ship Zoalaudia in loading up, she will be able to clear at the OuStpins earlier than was anticipated, and her date of sailing has consequently been altered from the 13th to the 9th instant. ... .

Mr. Burrett’s “Town and Country Almanac for 1877” isto hand, and l well maintains its previous reputation.' .Tor the small cost, it contains a quantity of valuable and interesting information, and no doubt will meet with a considerable share of public support. Mdlle. Franzini is advertised to appear on Thursday night at the ' Theatre Royal in her byciole performance. This talented lady comes to us with a great reputation, earned in America, and first-class credentials from Auckland, and no doubt she will meet with a large share of public support." ■ Owing to 1 the Abolition Act the places of the Hon. Mr. Fitzherbert and Mr. Waring Taylor on the Board of Governors of Wellington College are now vacant. His Excellency the Governor will be requested .to reappoint these two gentlemen to their former positions, the governors having approved of them by resolution.

Rumors have been current for some time that Messrs. Shearman and Weldon were respectively to be appbinted Commissioners of Police for the North and South Island, and that the Hon. Mr. Bowen would take the Chief Commisaionership, resigning his position in the Ministry asVMinister of Justice., It turns out, as is often the case, that the report was utterly without foundation.

The fine pure-bred shorthorned bull Lord Brilliant 2nd, recently, brought out in the ship Waikato from London, was' shipped to Wanganui yesterday evening 'by the Stormbird. The animal looked : in splendid condition,’and has improved wonderfully since he was landed. We understand he was-bought by Mr. Charles Cameron, of Turakina, who has made’ ( ah excellent purchase, and deserves credit for his enterprise. We understand that Mr. James ’ Ames, collector for the has been appointed to imake the city valuation under the new Bating Act, : passed, at last session of the General Assembly.. It will be remembered that the appointment of some gentleman to perform this duty was discussed at last meeting of the City Council, and the matter was left in the hands of his Worship the Mayor, and on Friday last it was arranged that Mr. Aines should make the valuation.

Mr. George Donne is the successful tenderer for the, purchase of the solo right of advertising on : nine of the colonial lines of railway and their extensions, viz., the Wellington and Maatertonj , Wanganui .and Manawatu,' Waitara and Wanganui, Picton. and Blenheim, Nelson and Foxhill, Auckland and Punui, Kaipara, Westport, and Brunner railways. Mr. Donne previously, held the right of advertising on four of the lines. Local contractors have been successful in tendering for the Napier and Manawatu and Eoxton lines. '

His Excellency the Go /ernor received a deputation from the Hutt Agricultural and Pastoral Association yesterday, who requested him to become Patron of the society, to which he courteously acceded. The deputation consisted of,, the Hon. Mr. Eitzherbert, Mr. Valentine, and Mr.' J, H, Corbett. A show will probably be held in about two months, under, the auspices of the association, and his Excellency has promised to attend, on his return from a cruise, which will'probably extend over six or eight weeks, and on which he proposes to start almost immediately. Amongst the; civil cases tried in the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, that of Porritt y. Jackson raised a question of!, some: importance, viz., the indebtedness of a parent for, a quarter’s payment for board, the ! pupil being withdrawn without notice. The plaintiff, the Key; T. Porritt, of the’ English High .School,; sued the defendant, Mr. Freeman Jackson, for' £l2 10s., a quarter’s board for his son, who had been removed without notice. <Mr Porritt put in a copy of his prospectus, at the foot of which is the following : —“ N.B.—On the removal of pupils, a quarter’s notice is. in all cases requested, and, in the case of boarders, payment will be claimed for the succeeding quarter it previous notice has been omitted.” ■■ The defendant did ' not appear, and > the ; Resident Magistrate gave judgment for the amount claimed, with costs. - | . ... . ;

The Theatre Royal'was .very well attended last evening, the pit being . 'crowded. The drama founded ,on Charles Dickens’ hovel, “Nicholas Nickleby,” was the piece of the evening, and all who, know; it, and are also acquaintedwith the theatrical ability of Mr. and Mrs. Hall, will quite understand that the performance was.really excellent,, and gave the most complete satisfaction to those present. It is unnecessary to say anything of the plot, >vhich? should be .well known ; we will therefore merely refer to the representation, of the different characters. Mrs., Hall impersonated ’ Poor Smike as few could have done. , It is , the best part in the piece, and. that highly-gifted lady made the most of it. The pathos was so admirably ex- . pressed we feel convinced there were few in the Theatre who were not affected by those scenes in which Smike’s varied experiences of misery, dawning hope, and ultimate happiness on a deathbed are so admirably pourtrayed by Mr. Dickens. In the last act, when Smike dies, after disclosing his humble love for the sister ,of his only friend- on earth, Mrs. Hall’s acting was simply,beautiful, and the hushed, stillness that prevailed during the ; scene was suddenly broken at its termination by a burst of applause that had the ; genuine, honest, ring in it." As Newman Noggs Mr. Hall played as . Mr. Hall always does play, betraying: deep feeling and rich original humor by turns, thus giving effect to the work of the man who has been described as'the great master of tears and laughter. His'make-uip was admirable as the old man whose health was broken by undeserved misfortune, while his mind retained its brightness, and his heart its honest worth. It is needless to say that he was the recipient of a’good 1 deal of the applause’bestowed during' the evening, becaUse'Mr. Hall never fails of meeting with 1 appreciation. Mr. Metcalf played the part of Nicholas very well, was quiet and natural, and had evidently studied his text carefully, although he could not have 1 ’had' much time ( in ,which to perform the task. Mr. Oily Deering appeared as Mr.' Squeers, master, of, that 'distinguished academy “ Dotheboya. Hall,” and'while .his acting Was good, his make-up was rCally, 1 astonishing. Evidently conceiving that the character could : not be made to, appear too villainous externally,; he appeared on the stage in a guise that . was simply, hideous, and after the scene at the end of the second act, when Nicholas administers a severe , thrashing to, the unlearned Squeers, Mr. Deering came out again with his face patched up in a most scientific manner, his nose being'seemingly held together with 'sticking plaister,', while . other, portions of his face were adorned with, the same material; and th ( eaudience 7 laughed dong and heartily, his appearance, being so ludicrously pitiable. The - dresses and getup of 1 the ; performers generally were good, Mrs, Stoneham’s particularly so. That lady’s, Mrs. Squbersrivas a wonderful Impersonation;, and she was exceedingly fuhny. when administering to i the' 'scholars ; the brimstone A and treacle,' delicately • dabbing the noses of each particular scholar in turn .with some of the’objectionable compound. Miss Stoneham was also very good r as' Fanny Squeers,■■ and the same can be truthfully said of Miss Morgan, who has become a great favorite with the patrons of the Theatre in Wellington. Mr. Hesford played' carefully, and succeeded very well in 'representing the character of Ralph Nickleby, and Mr. Ingles as John Browdie did the. little he. had to do in' the shape of ' acting creditably enough. The others were -minor parts, and do not call for special mention therefore.; Taking the representation of the piece as a whole, we have never seen anything to'surpass it, and feel convinced that, should the length of the season permit of its

being played a second time, it-would draw a crowded bouse. To-night is a grand command night, the performance being under the patronage of his Excellency the Governor and Captain Murray and officers of H.M.S. Sapphire. The programme will consist of the sparkling comedy entitled “My Friend the Major,” to be followed by a laughable sketch, written expressly for Mr; and ‘ -Mrs. Hall; and entitled “ The Professor.”

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, Henry Harrows, a boy engaged on board the St. Leonards, was charged with being" absent without have. As the proper entry had not been made in the log, he was discharged. Henry Harness was fined 40s. and costs, with the usual alternative, for drunkenness and assaulting the police. Henare Epuni was fined 10s. and costs for drunkenness and assaulting the police at the Hutt, and ordered to pay £2 10s., the value of the,constable’s uniform, which was so injured as to be almost useless. Thomas Coleman, charged with attempted murder, was remanded for a week. This concluded the criminal business. In a letter to the Auckland Herald on the proposed Temperance Settlement, Mr. Brownhall alludes as follows to another community established upon similar principles in America.. “Many,” he says, “have heard of Vineland. I visited the settlement in July last, 30 miles south of Philadelphia. It comprises 50 square miles of land, a wilderness up to Augusts, 1861, when the ‘first stake was cut.’ It had at the census of 1875 11,000 inhabitants, 100 miles of good’roads, streets, and all planted with shade trees, one of which, Landi’s Avenue, is ten miles long, two and a half miles being 100 ft. wide ; nine well-built , churches, a central high-school, with twenty minor schools; eight public halls, agricultural, horticultural, phrenological, historical, floral, and musical societies, . building and mercantile associations, mills, factories, and timber yards, and a large hotel, costing £IO,OOO, was opened a month or two before iny visit. Licenses to sell intoxicating liquors are not issued. The entire community is called together every year, and the question of public-house or not is regularly voted on. Last year fifty-seven people voted for me, but their, vote was nothing against .that of 11,000 inhabitants. To test the fact, I went to the - hotel and asked for, wine, to no purpose ;. then to ■ restaurants Nos. 1,2, and 3, with a like result; but at restaurant No. 4 I was told in a, very lowvoice that a bottle of wine was to be had if I wanted it; in an equally low voice I replied, ‘I do want it.’ ‘Stop,’ said the man, ‘I will go the to chemist for it.’ ‘Friend,’ wasmy reply, ‘ I only wanted to- see if there was anyone ready to violate the law, as I believe there is no law, divine or human, that some one or other is not prepared to violate ; but I will not expose you—next time you may not get off so easily.’ As to the issuing of licenses for the common sale of alcoholic drinks, I think that no magistrate would grant such a license if opposed by a majority of the district, and your settlement of Albertland is a practical; proof. A local option would be a very convenient and desirable law; and I trust at, no late day to see it obtained in England.” ,. 1 A writer in the London News says.:—“ It is not, unfortunately, generally known that in case of fire in buildings containing horses, ’if the harness be put ok (however roughly), the horses will quit their stable without difficulty. A knowledge of this fact may be the means of saving many a valuable animal from a horrible death.”

. During the last five months 130,000 dozen rabbits have, been; trapped on two estates in Tasmania, but notwithstanding the death of this enormous number—over a million and a half—the rabbits are almost as thick as ever.