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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4902, 7 December 1876, Page 2

The members of the’Committee of the Web .lington Chamber, .of .Commerce met at the Chamber yesterday afternoon, and transacted a variety of routine business, such as passing and ordering payment of the accounts rendered, for furnishing the chamber. It was decided to' lodge the’ sum' Of-£2OO with the Wellington Trust and Loan Company,-and that'the next general quarterly meeting should he held.on Wednesday, the 20th day of De- . 'cember, TB7B, at 3'o’clock. ’ The contract for work on a portion of- what will be known perhaps as the Waikanae line has been finished. .The line, as is known, is one whichrhas been laid’ out and reserved from the Horseshoe at,the Upper Hutt as far as the saddle overlooking Waikanae, that is; within five miles of the coast. Four miles of the line from the Upper Hutt have now been completed. An alternative line, has lately been suggested, an’d‘is’declared practicable, leaving the Hutt railway at the Belmont station, and attaining the dividing range* without a steeper gradient than one .in thirty.. It would cross the .hills to' the;Small -Farm Settlement at Pahautanui; from there-! would run to the Wainui. saddle,, and thence down to ■ the flat country at ,Wainui.

In one respect the ceremoniea attendant upon the opening of the Taueru bridge differed from'those which' accompanied the opening of that at Te Ore Ore. In the case of the Taueru bridge* it was agreed that ’ the speeches after the accompanying luncheon should be made as short as and that ho politics should be introduced. . Both rules were entirely complied with. , We must confess that, like most ordinary mortals, we occasionally make mistakes, and have th plead giiilty : to having been intensely stupid when‘.we sept a-.reporter tp the social gathering of‘the congregation of St. Peter’s Church - ,'Te iA.ro, held'oh Tuesday ; evening, in the schoolroom,'Ghuznee-etreet. Having gone there,as directed, .pur.reporter, .as these gentlemen always did ‘ his duty, and in due time' furnished us with'sufficient copy to have ..filled nearly two Columns, of our valuable space 1 ; and the .setting up was completed before we discoVeredi J tp'our horror, that' hd notice of the meeting' *had l 'been, 'sent 1 to us in the form of an advertisement. A hard struggle then commenced, hut it ended in pur doing our duty, and ordering the galleys to’ be broken up. Taking this course .unfortunately involved our.coMigmng Wohlivioha number of interesting; ;andf in'.spme instances, .-brilliant, which would probably have interested;, many ;pf) ourj-eaders; .and ; might • have , been. the means, of benefiting the object which the conveners of the meeting -had in view when they called it; -, : •, ;; >; 1 We have-received a little work, written by Mr. C. O. Davis, and entitled' V The. Life and Times of PatnoheJ” fhe celebrated ; Ngapui chief. Eruefa.Maihi - Patudne, chieftain of the Ngatihao tribe, Hokianga, whose tdok place 'at hia i residence,' I Wawhararikij North Shore, Auckland, at the advanced age, itis'believed.'of lDß'years,'spfang froma noble line l of ! anceatbrsJHis father,' Tapira, was a renownedjWarrior chieftain of capacious mind, ' and-the priest o’f* hia tribe, i The Pdbt is-fairly written, and-ilfforda very interesting reading. In addition to the observations of the author, and many attrafctivd descriptions of the an-. ;efent'!oMaoH~.'custdms;uf6fmß! of’ belief, and •'strange proj ddices,! Mri.Davia: has: embodied in his work letters and facts gathered from ■wellknown, .missionaries.' 1 The'ib’dok'isf'certaihly worth'perusal,and is valuable as a record of events that occurred, in this colony during the earlier days of-its'exiatenoe. --■> Vi* ff-:,! f

At .the , IL.'M.'.Cohrt'' yesterday, T ohn Sinclair, ’{or being (irurilc and'incapable on Cus’torthonseiqUay/was fint»d'2os. add casts, with she'kfluaT ■ alternative, * and' ‘a' similar penalty was inflicted on’ Thbs 1 . Williams,‘charged with dnmkennest' and' Vvigifanoy. Mary .Lazary was committedf6r,‘;three . months',' with hard labor,' for drunkenness ;at the Maori pa and vagrancy.' ‘ .This 'was all the business before !ihb Court.' ! i

We understand, .that the. board of directors ;pf ;tho ,New iZeakndjfidelity; and, Accident Guaranty Company have had'severaljmeetings tqmeebto;motp?w,!the objectbeing to put matters.in, train so .that the com-' /pany may bef to commence taking risks 1 in Auckland, Christchurch,,Dunedin,, and Wellington on the Ist of January, 1877. Influential ..boards, 0f... directors .hare., been .nominated,, and the’ company will begin business under very favorable auspices,''and with every prospect of doing, a large .and at the same time a safe class 'bf l hußiijeßß;., w ;‘^;,, l ,. T f ' tj ■ .Whilst in the .near, Waikanae .lately. Mr. Beers surveyor, made a singular discovery at an .elevation of 206 ft. above, an,d at a distance of jone.mile, from, spa, level,,, of a piece of .rata timber,24ft..lo'ng, 20inVwide, and 3Jin. through, which,had evidently,at one . time, formed, the. side ‘jj of- ; a' canoe. The = ; timber was ovei*-' .grown by creepers,, and ...was discovered quite accidentally. What is' singular about the matter, fe, that’po-.ratajtrees grow within many, miles How did it get, there ? -

" Yesterday was the Hutt Court day,: but there were •no cases for hearing, hence ' the Court was formally‘adjourned. 1 ' ’

The Rev. Charles Clarke is lecturing in Nevada on Charles Dickens. , ' '

The license of the Family Hotel at Foxton, held by Wakeford, was cancelled yesterday by the Licensing Bench, for disorderly conduct. , ,'; rv j : . i ; Eeferring to the projected departure of the ship Howrah, in yesterday’s', issue,\an etror waisv made as to the time’of sailing. . The Howrah has not loaded yet, and will not leave this port until about Mswch, 1877. The following tenders were received at the Public 'VVotks'offioe,'Wellington, for theNoi 2., perffiahbnt'wajT' contract of the Tokomairiro'Lawrence Railway;—Accepted :■ Job-. Wain.& Co., Dunedin, £6848. Declined: Edmund .Duxbury, Dunedin, £7434; J Mathieaon 8r05.,. Dunedin, £7973;, John- Whittaker, Dunedin, 1 -£8122. ; ' ' | ■ A'humerously attended- meeting of the Star 1 Cricket Club was held -last night at the Pier Hotel, for the purpose of .arranging , a match during the Christmas week with some; neighboring, town. When. it was proposed that Messrs. Garwood and J. A. Salmon' should be; appointed to communioa|:e with New Plymouth; and Wanganui, and report on the same at a' meeting to be held on Monday evening next, when it will be decided which place they in-j tend visiting. i We are glad to see that the Star Club, are so energetic in arranging these, friendly matches, and, we trust that.their challenge will meet with the reward it deserves.

• A meeting of the Karori-Makara' Highway Board was held on Saturday, ’2nd-instant. Present—Messrs. Graham: (chairman), Wright,! ’Cook,’ Bowler,: and Page. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. The clerk then read the correspondence. The chairman' read a copy of the letter addressed by him to’ the City iCounoil, together - with the' Mayor’s reply, but further discussion-on the matter was postponed pending .report 'of 'Public ■ Works Committee. The action of the chairman in’ 1 getting some 'hedesshry repairs made to/the Devil’s 1 Bridge was confirmed;* Considerable 1 dissatisfaction was' expressed at the manner in which the supervision l of the contracts <Was carried on by the Hutt Board, after refusing t» hand them over totliis Board, and the chairman: was instructed to protest .against further sums 'being paid .to the -contractors ’ until "speoifioa-; tiona are carried out A letter from Mr. G. H. Hawkins, South’ Karori, requesting liberty to erect ;a swinging gate, was read, and leave ”Messm. ■ f > age; aud~Bowlet were au/ thorised togetculveftoyer M akara-hillrepaired. Other matters id connection with repairs and extensions were hejd . pvqr ,until the Board should receive the roads’ into their own charge. The’rate collector Brought under the notice of the .Board Mr. Hawkins’ property; .(North ■’Makara, which was intersected by the boundary line of Hutt district. The Board divided valuation between the two districts, and the clerk ’ was* instructed to write to the Hutt Board, asking if they would accept proposed valuation. The treasurer produced vouchers for £230 9s. 7d. lodged in bank. The following accounts were ordered to be paid ; —T. Robinson, commission on rates, £l7 ss. 9d.; T. Robinson, copying rate-book and expenses in connection therewith, £2 10s.; clerk, £3. The circular of the Under-Secretary of Public Works was then read and considered. Mr. Thomas Robinson was appointed valuer under ' Rating, Act. , The Board agreed to hold a special meeting on the 13th inst, to assist the valuer, in completing valuation, that it may be ready in time to fulfil the Act. After beingcom; pleted, it was agreed to . leave the .assessment roll atjMr.-Page’s, Karori,’for a month for inspection. This ending the business of the day, the Board adjourned until that day fortnight, the 16th inst.; when they will hold a special meeting at 10 a.m. Mr. and Mrs. Hall appeared for the last time in the Theatre ' Royal last night to’a full house. The performance-of “Rip Van Win-kle’’-was eminently successful so-far as the acting of Mr. Hall was concerned; but he was not well supported, which we feel convinced that no one present coild doubt for a. moment. In the character of Rip Van Winkle Mr. Hall has acquired a special reputation, which he successfully sustained last night under the. disadvantage to ’ which we have already alluded. The scene with the spirits on the mountain was effective, as was the waking of Rip after the’ twenty years’ sleep. Mr. Hall’s “business” then cannot’be too highly commended. While never losing sight of the importance of theatrical effect, he always succeeds in appearing perfectly natural. The audience were not demonstrative in their applause of the acting generally, but Mr. Hall received hearty commendation. It is to.be regretted that he had hot more efficient support. We , may mention the scene in the last act, for instance, when Rip returns to the village in which he was once so well known, and finds that he is to the people there ah utter stranger.. . The. crowd of villagers that. Rip ’should meet in his (search for a home; were certainly there, but so. far as rendering any assistance to Mr., Hall was-concerned, they might have beenanywhere else without their absence being acutely felt. v.To say the least of it, these villagers would- have' improved ; the piece considerably had they thought it necessary to betray a little animation, which we suppose is common; to villagers as well as other . people;but they apparently did not. <: Messrs. Ingles,. Metcalf, fDeering,. and; Sweeneyperformed their parts very well, although the latter -gentleman- suffered a little from a confused ■ accent. Mrs. Stoneham was a good Dame Van Winkle, and Miss Morgan ■ played her pari, of Alice fairly. It isunneccessary to particularize further.’ In * the piece which followed; the burlesque of “Aladdin,” Mr. Hall had airopportunity of displaying ;his great power as a humorist,- and that he succeeded,, was evinced by the continual laughter and applause he'excited. ! Certainly' nothing so really good in the shape of burlesque acting has been seen on the Wellington stage before, - and,we may go even further and say that it would bo very difficult indeed to discover (anyone. • who could .equal. Mr. Hall as the Widow. Twanky. / Hie business was . intensely comical, .perfectly irre : sistible in* fact. He is undoubtedly a great humorist,, and creates fun for himself. - But here, again, it is necessary to mention that Mi 1 . Hall sdarcely.rebeived fair play; the mechani-cal-part "of the business , was wretched, and ■would/ have disgraced a set of; amateurs. 'The effect of this was. not so, noticeable as it -might- have - been,- for - Mr. Hall - Himself ’smoothed * matters over ,by making two or three stupid mishaps a source of fun. Mrs. Hall’s acting as Aladdin .was*(delightful, and her ’singing.' and dancing -very pleasing. -Miss htorgah l and MisS ' Stonehain; too, deserve praise, and Mr. peering was highly amusing. ; The music , was good) and the singing superior to* that commonly heard in burlesque - bn the colonial . stage. ”/We, regret that Mr.' Hall could not prolong his stay amongst. us, ; but-hope that he, will return, and should he.dqiso he may be, confident of receiving f a/; hearty welcome.,, To-night the Bates-Howafd Company ’ open ’ again. Ah ’ attractive programme has been arranged, and it will be,noticed that a special feature in.-the bill is the announcement that Mdlle. Franzini, “the. .Qneen ot the Eioycle,” will .make her first appearance. >7 (Here is a; novelty at least. ! The following . ’curious’ case of ' mistaken identity Is' related - by the Liverpool Courier of September 16 “A few days ago a mistake was made at Morebamhe which“must delight all believers in the Darwiniah theory; a mistake which is either a gross flattery upon a dead monkey or unconscious satire 1 upon ’human nature. The body of what : was supposed by the discoverer to'be a defunct mortal was found bn the beach at Hbysham, near Morebambe,having undoubtedly beeh'left there by the receding tide.’ The cbmmunijjated with, the cbronei’ warned, and a; jury .summoned, and all the, machinery.for-holding an orthodox inquest was put in force and kept going, uutil the examination of a medical man proved.j;he suspected) human ■ corpse, to be but the.parcase of a monkey which, had probably been thrown overboard .from some ship, and which :bo closely resembled in appearance a , hupiau ;being. as to require a ‘ scientific ex-pert’-to teUjthe difference,” ‘ ;;

i. Miss Carlbtta' Addison, actress, of the Prince of Wales and Haymarket.Theatres, has . been married to Hr. Charles Albert Latrobe, son of the late-Charles Joseph Latrobe, 0.8., once Governor of Victoria.