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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4939, 20 January 1877, Page 2

No claim to either of the sums offered as bonus for the manufacture of paper having been made within the prescribed time, the time has been extended, and the Government will pay a bonus of £ISOO for the production of the first fifty tons of grey or wrapping paper ; and a further bonus of £IOOO will be paid for the production of the first fifty tons of printing paper on the following terms: —That the claim shall be made in writing to the Colonial Secretary on or before the 30th June, 1877, accompanied by evidence that the prescribed quantity of paper has been manufactured in New Zealand by machinery intended to be permanently employed in the manufacture of paper within the colony, and has been actually sold at a fair market price for purposes of trade, and delivered to the buyer prior to the claim being lodged. The case of Toxward v. Hastwell terminated last evening, and resulted in a verdict for defendant upon all the issues. The jury, in effect, found that the accident was caused by the high wind. In addressing the jury for the defence Mr. Travers said he hoped the case would have the effect of drawing the attention of, the authorities to the necessity of framing regulations for the conduct of coaching. So far as strength want,, a coach constructed by-putting an eleven-passenger body upon an eight-paseongor 'carriage might be safe enough, but in a country where ’ dangerous roads, such as could not be found in any civilised country, were made by the Governand tolerated by the people, there at least should be provision made for ensuring the comfort of passengers. Last evening the firebells rang out an alarm, and very soon there was a great commotion in the streets. The Wellington Fire : Brigade turned out quickly, but the cause of the alarm was suppressed before the brigade could arrive on the spot. It seemed that smoke was seen issuing from the workshop belonging to one William Owler, in Courtenay- ; place, and the door was burst open , and the fire extinguished, the alarm having been given meanwhile.. .There is an engine and , boiler in the workshop, near it a quantity ef shavings, sawdust, &c., and it is supposed the refuse took fire owing to a spark from the furnace. Little or no damage was done. The place is insured in the National office for £3OO. | At a meeting of the Regatta Committee held last evening, G. Hunter, Esq., M.H.R., commodore, presided. Entries were taken for the various events very satisfactorily, the total amount received, being £56. Afterwards the committee ballotted .for places for boats in the- various races, information in respect of which may be obtained from the secretary, at the Pier Hotel, between half-past 8 and half-past 0 o’clock on Monday morning. Committeemen may then obtain tickets, and we believe ifhas been arranged that committee-men may bake a limited number of friends on board on paying ss. each for tickets. On regatta day ■the greatest punctuality will be observed, so that intending, competitors -must -be ready -to start at the advertised time of the respective 1 races. In the shop window of Mr. Mulligan, the jeweller, of Lambton-quay, is, or will be to-day, an interesting and curious article of bijoutry, originally intended for presentation ■ to'Madame Ristori, who failed to receive it in consequence of the brevity of her second season in Sydney. It is a necklace composed of denarii, the silver penny of the Homans, circled with gold and joined by links. These coins, whose genuineness is vouched for by Mr. iEdward Reeve, Curator of the Museum of Antiquities of New South Wales, range from the reign of Augustus Csesar to that of Claudius Csesar, and include, besides the Emperors mentioned, wonderfully well preserved specimens of denarii of Vespasian, Titus, Vitellius, Hadrian, Nerva, and Domitian. Their age is over 1800 years, and they were dug up in Sussex, on the site of a Homan ;camp, where they were probably buried pre- : vious to a battle. One coin is especially in-

teresting, viz., a Judcea Oapta, bearing on the reverse a female figure sitting under a palm tree; struck by Vespasian in honor of the taking of Jerusalem by his son Titus. The coins bear the dates of the Emperor’s accession to the consular dignity, which fix the age approximately. The necklace belongs to Mr, Richmond Thatcher, Mr. Emmet’s agent. A man named W. N. Harrison, who is not a kind sort of husband, acted in such a manner towards his better half as to induce the latter to ask for a protection order against him. The order was granted, and Harrison departed for the country, but since then he has contracted the unpleasant habit of travelling to town; occasionally for the purpose of abusing Mrs? Harrison, previously having sustained himself by the acquirement of “Dutch courage.” He would then proceed to the house of hia wife, play havoc with the furniture, and abuse the proprietress. The last performance of this kind was too much for the lady who bore his name, and therefore she laid an Information against him for threatening language, which was heard at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, and Mr. Harrison was bound over to keep the peace for one mouth. The Fidelity and Accident Guarantee Company of New Zealand have commenced business, Mr. S. Carroll is secretary.

It will be seen by our telegrams that the Rev. W. Kirk, of Auckland, is President of the Wesleyan Conference for this year. The register of the medical practitioners in the colony appears in this week’s Gazette. There are 266 on the register. The opening of St. Paul’s Church organ is to take place on Thursday evening, not on Monday evening, as previously stated. The City Council in committee on the drainage question y esterday considered Mr. Climie’s report, and we believe it was generally approved of ; but no decision was arrived at. There were a number of civil cages on the sheet at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning. In most of them judgment went by default, and several were adjourned. The blackbirds are said to have robbed the lessee of the Auckland Domain gardens this season of from £lO to £l2 worth of strawberries. Mrs. Scott Siddons opened at the Princess Theatre on Wednesday night to one of the largest audiences ever seen in Dunedin. She was' enthusiastically received, and her performance was one of the best ever seen there. The following gentlemen have been appointed trustees of the Wellington public cemetery ;—Messrs. Jonas Woodward, David Lewis, Joseph Godfrey Holds worth, Daniel Mclntyre, and Thomas McKenzie. We have been requested to state that at the recent Horticultural Show Mr. Barndorf took the prize for strawberries, and that Mr. Price, not Mr. Brier, was a successful exhibitor of currants, &c. We understand that Captain John McLean, the popular and dashing commander of Messrs. McMeckan, Blackwood, and Co.’s s.s. Ringarooma, will resign on his return to Melbourne, to take a prominent position in connection with the company on shore. Mr. Pharazyn and Mr. Eiddiford were, says the Wairarapa Standard, duly nominated for the Awhea Riding, Wairarapa East, on Friday week, when they were elected unopposed as members of the Wairarapa East County Council. The foundation stone of the new Athenaeum will be laid to-day at 4 p.m. by his Excellency the Governor. Every effort has been made to secure a-suoceseful ceremony, and no doubt it will pass off weU. The Artillery will parade at the Provincial Government buildings, and then form a guard of honor to his. Excellency. This week’s Gazette contains—Proclamations in respect of native lands; Canterbury Sheep Ordinances; reservation of land at Akaroa for a lighthouse ; appointment of C. A. Wray Resident Magistrate, Upper Wanganui ; appointment of W. F. Cheesman, Esq., of Wellington, to be registrar of joint stock companies ; appointment of Andrew Turnbull, Esq., deputy district land registrar for Wellington ; authorisation of the inspector of lunatic asylums to frank letters; &c., &c. An unusual occurrence took place at the Dunedin Gaol last week. The Star says : “ Some four months ago a prisoner waited on the chairman of the Visiting Justices, and made application to be allowed to form a Mutual Improvement and Debating Society among the prisoners, he representing that, in his opinion, it would probably prove a means of elevating the moral tone of the place. Permission was granted on the recommendation of the Governor of the Gaol, and upon the applicant pledging himself for the good behavior of the ’ members. The society was then formed, and conducted in a similar manner to kindred institutions in the city. Papers on various subjects have been brought forward and discussed, and altogether the class has proved itself a decided success. Last Friday evening ar, special meeting was held in consequence of its founder being about to leave the following day, and the members wishing him to carry with him an earnest of their gratitude and esteem for his efforts on their behalf. A testimonial, nicely engrossed on parchment, was got up and signed by all the members and by the chaplain (Mr. Torrance) who was present. Various speeches were made wishing the recipient of the testimonial every success in the future, and Mr. Torrens earnestly hoped that the proceedings of that evening would have a lasting effect on all minds as showing-that a kindly,.spirit can be exhibited under trying circumstances.” In a speech made by the Hon. W. Fox on Tuesday evening last, he said, according to the Rangitikei Advocates report In connection ■with election day, as he observed it in Sah Francisco, he was surprised at the apparent absence of; drinking, and compared it with election-scenes he had witnessed during his visit to England. The absence of drinking and rioting in San Francisco, he found was due to the publichouses being by law closed on election days, and the law being strictly i enforced. Altogether ho thought the Americans were a much more sober people than the English. He failed to see a drunken man in America, but in the city of Durham he had counted as many as 139 in the course of one hour on a Saturday night, just in one portion of the town.