Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4945, 27 January 1877, Page 2

Messrs. Brogden and Sons have secured certain railway contracts in Queensland, and as the Government seem to regard the firm- favorably it is probable that some of the projected new railways may fall into their hands. A practice match is to be held on the Basin Reserve to-day, when it is expected that all in town of the twenty-nine gentlemen who have been . selected for practice will turn up. The names of those are given in another column. A drawing-room entertainment will be given in the Odd Fellows' Hall, Hutt, this evening, by Mr. and Mrs. Hart and Mr, Luscombe. Searell. The entertainment consists of sonys, dances, etc., introduced in a little play arranged for that pmpose by Mr. Luscombe. Major Atkinson arrived by steamer from Auckland this morning (says the Taranaki Budget of the 18th inst;. lie arrived at too early an hour for there to be anything like a crush, on the. beach. One man took advantage of the Major stepping ashore to open the ball as to a land grievance. ; About a quarter to nine o'clock last night the Te Aro and police-office fire bells rang out the alarm. The Central Brigade, under the commind of Captain Moss, were, quickly on their way to the spot whore the firq was supposed to be, but ,they found on their arrival there that the'alarm was a false one. ■ We understand that " a chimney on fire" was. the cause of the alaYm. There.were not wanting men willing to hang Woodgate. At noon on Thursday a man presented himself at this office, and inquired about the hanging business. He Was a strange looking-man, with one wall-eye, and a general game-chicken appearance. Ha wanted to know if Wooslgatc had been " strung up,'' because, if, not, he was, prepared to perform the operation at a reduced rate. He appeared quite disappointed when .informed Woodgate had settled his last account. Recently a hansom cab was introduced to Wellington, and became an object of considerable attention as a cab, being the only one of the kind here, and being also a slight improvement on many of our shady vehicles. The hansom came to grief yesterday. It was pro; ceediug along Lambtou-quay, when the driver suddenly felt it "waddle," to use-his own expression: Presently orie of the wheels came off and the vehicle capsized. It was considerably damaged. Thb 1 horse was taken out of the shafts : and the'cab dragged home by an express'. l , , , A,rowdy individual named .Tames Webb appeared 'at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, in answer.' to a charge- of assault upon a.Constable in the execution of bis duty. He., had been remanded on Wednesday ; to enable eVidence to be given as to the nature of thb assault., ; From the evidence it appeared that he had entered a fruiterer's shop, the proprietor of -which, on threatening : language being'used to him, called a constable. , The constable requested the proprietor to formally order him out, but the prisoner refused to comply, and struck the constable on the breast., ! Sergeant Farrell gave evidence as to the' prisoner "having been previously rowdy in Ce'minb's, Hotel—evidence which possibly had relation to a second charqe of drunkenness, but which' did {not refer to the specific assault. Sonfeaht Monaglian' read the police record against the prisoner, showing that on the 14th of July .last he had been sentenced to two months' imprisonment for larceny, and to two for malicious injury to property. _He was ordered to pay, £5 or to go to prison for a month. ' Not being a man of means, or being indifferent to prison life, this interesting specimen of humanity declared his intention to take it out, and was accordingly removed.

The competition for Government cadet prizes will take place on Monday. The Taranaki Rifle Volunteer Cadet Corps has been disbanded, a notice to that effect appearing in a Gazette published on Thursday. The regular monthly meeting of the New Zealand Pacific Lodge will be held on Monday evening at the hall, Boulcott-street. On Monday evening the Wellington City Rifles and the Artillery and Rifle Cadets will parade for the usual monthly inspection. Bachelder's Pantascope will be exhibited this afternoon. The Odd Fellows' Hall is to be opened at 2.30 o'clock for the convenience of families ; and the attraction of the show should secure a good house for the evening. Prom the appearance of the weather this morning at 2 o'clock, (the time at which this is written), it is much to be feared that the proposed boat racing will not come off to-day, as there will, in all probability, be a heavy sea on unless the wind changes its direction. The plans for the new Government schools, to be erected on the land presented to the Board by the Government, are now in preparation, and it is intended to proceed with the buildings as soon as possible, as the want of additional school accommodation is very pressing. It was rumored in town yesterday—we know not on what authority—that the Greymouth Knglish match committee intended to apply to the Supreme Court for an injunction restraining the English cricketers from playing in New Zealand till they had performed their contract with the Greymouth cricketers. Should the rumor prove true the application would be very novel. I Mr. E. Pearee, M.H.R., yesterday had.an interview with the Hon. Mr. Bowen, to enquire when he would be prepared to receive a deputation with petition for the division of Te Aro Ward. The Hon. Mr.. Bowen intimated his willingness to receive a deputation at any time they might find it convenient to wait upon him. The petition has attached to it many more than the required number of signatures, and will be presented within the next twoior three days. ' A New Zealand Gazette was published on Thursday. It contain :—Proclamation re deposit of memorial plan of certain lands taken for purposes of the railway from Waitara to I Wanganui (Brunswick contract) ; proclamations of deposits of memorial plans of certain lands taken for purposes of the railways from Dunedin to Moeraki, and from Dunedin to Port Chalmers ; notices of certain lands reserved ; delegation of powers under the Goldfields Act, 1866 ; appointments of Government officers ; Customs returns for the several ports of New Zealand for the last quarter ; and a number of Land Transfer Act Notices. It is understood that a complimentary dinner to Mr. W. R. Hastwell is about to be organised in Greytown. At Masterton we {Standard) leam a considerable sum has been already raised as a testimonial to Mr. Greening, and the feeling in favor of recognising his services as a driver is very general throughout the district. At the same time it ia the opinion of many that another driver on the same line has still stronger and older claims on the consideration of settlers in this district, and that without the promoters of the testimonial recognise this fact, the result of their efforts will hardly give universal satisfaction. Some of the Wairarapa cricketers on their return home on Tuesday night had a narrow escape. The Standard says:—"They were in two buggies. The second one in turning a corner of the Rimutaka touched the bank and capsized. . The horses pulled the pole of the inverted vehicle away, and rushing.on. to the leading buggy capsized it. Beyond a bruise, no one was hurt. Mr. B. Gallagher, who .was crossing the hill on horseback, rendered considerable assistance in putting matters straight, and then rode to Featherston for further help. Subsequently Mr. Gallagher, in leaving Fea- j therston for Greytown on a strange horse which he borrowed in the former township, came to grief himself. The animal shied near Mr. Cox's residence, and commenced bucking, and at last succeeded in throwing its rider, who sustained by the fall a fracture of several of his ribs." The opening night of the Lingards was not favored by pleasant or even moderately f»b** weather. Last night was one oh which mosj people would prefer being at home to visitiDb places of entertaiumerit; but the attraction presented at the theatre was not of an ordinary character, and therefore there was what would generally be considered a good attendance to witness the reappearance of those talented artists Mr. and Miss Lingard, who opened in " Our Boys." As this . piece has been played here before, it is unnecessary to say any- j thing of the plot, and it is almost unnecessary to say much of the performers, as the public are tolerably well acquainted'! with the merits of both. But there is this to be said of the two principal performers : that the more one sees of them the more they delight. Miss Alice Dunning Lingard actually charmed the audience by her appearance and acting in the part of Mary Melrose, cousin to Violet, a character which Miss Lizzie Morgan impersonated in a pleasing and effective manner, while Miss Stoneham's performance as the eccentric inaid-of-all-work Belinda was exceptionally gcod and intensely comical. With regard to Mr. Lingard, the most correct expression would be that his acting is to be excelled, and it is no exaggeration to say that he literally convulsed the audience last evening as the butter merchant, Perkin Middlewick. Critics differ, and consequently there may be differences of opinion as to the acting of Mr. Lingard, but there is, we think, little risk in saying of that gentleman that as a comedian he stands unsurpassed, if not unequalled. Two fresh faces were noticed last evening in connection with the representation of " Our Boys." Allusion is made to Messrs. W. R. Rede and Leonard St. Lawrence, who played the 'parts of Sir Geoffrey Champney and Talbot Champney respectively, and their acting for the first time on the Theatre Royal stage was of a character to create a favorable impression. Mr. Metcalf represented Charlie Middlewick. The piece gave the greatest satisfaction, as was apparent from certain uaVnistakeable- signs exhibited by the audience of being thoroughly amused. " Our Boys" will be repeated this evening." A rather singular civil case was heard before Mr. Crawford yesterday, the parties to the action being Callaghan and Futter, the claim for £l6. It appeared that Futter had a horse which he used to drive in a cab. This horse .had an unhappy habit of falliug down; and that being so Futter wisely disposed of the animal, selling him to a Mr. Bills, who again sold it somebody else.'thepeculiarity of thehorae being that his owners never retained his services for any considerable time. He was too fond of falling down. Having travelled up country, this horse made its appearance in town again, having come with a mob of horses, and Mr. Callaghan then bought him. But his weakness caused more trouble. He fell down five times with Callaghan's man, breaking his knees, and on one occasion pxilling the man from the box. Consequently Callaghan turned him out on a run near the Patent Slip, and he was last seen on the 17th of November. Now it unfortunately happened that there was another horse who bears a striking resemblance to the broken-kneed hero of this case. He belongs to Mr. Futter, who, as it was shown, had driven the horse in his cab for some time, having purchased him at the Hutt sales. Well, on account of this likeness, as it seemed, Callaghan entered a claim for £l6. The defendant produced the horse, and it was clearly shown' that he could not be Callaghan's, inasmuch as his knees were sound, and it had been' proved previously, that within a comparatively short time Callaghan's horse had. been very much in the habit of falling, the result being considerable damage to his knees. A. nonsuit, with costs,, was recorded. Mr. Ollivier appeared for the plaintiff ; and for the defendant Mr. Barton, who complained that there were costs in connection with the action of which tho defendant was not relieved by the judgment, as for instance those connected with the horse produced. As a horse could not be •subpoenaed, the cost of his travelling and feed necessarily fell upon the defendant.

In the Whaleboat Kace to be pulled on Monday the crew of the Danger will consist of Messrs. Howard (coxswain), H. Bradley (stroke), Carter, Brough, Harkiss, and P. Bradley ; whilst the Black Diamond will_ be represented by Messrs. P. Coffey (coxswain), Neilson (stroke), Murphy, Jones,. Hamilton, and another, who will be appointed in lieu of Moore, who is indisposed. The first of the series of organ recitals on the new organ at St. Paul's Church took place last evening, when, notwithstanding the unfavorable weather, the church was crowded to excess. The Rev. B. W. Harvey, the incumbent, entered the reading-desk and addressed a few words to the congregation ; a»d after a short prayer had been said, Mr. A. J. Towsey commenced with Rinck's flute concerto, which he played with exquisite precision and skill. The same indeed can be said of all the pieces, which were announced in yesterday's issue; and the programme being strictly adhei-ed to, it is unnecessary to specify them further than to say that for the offertory voluntary, which was not mentioned, he played Beethoven's andante and variations in G-, and sustained his splendid reputation throughout. The choir also sang the various anthems which fell to their share in. a very creditable manner, although their numbers were much diminished by various circumstances. It is necessary, however, to say some words of praise for the exquisite rendering of the three soprano solos which formed a prominent feature in tKe eveniug'spleasure, namely, " Jerusalem," from Mendelssohn's "St. Paul;" "As Pants the Hart," from Spohr's " Calvary;" and "But Thou did'st not leave," from Handel's masterpiece the "Messiah," the first and last of which were sung by the lady who rendered the latter so effectively at the last Choral Society's concert. The Gloria from Mozart's 12th was also rendered by the choir, with that crispness and exactness which always makes this magnificent chorus sound fresh to the ear. The proceedings terminated with a short prayer and the benediction; Mr. Towsey playing as a concluding voluntary Handel's "Hallelujah chorus," the congregation as usual rising. A private recital will take place this afternoon, at which his Excellency the Governor will be present. The Conference re-assembled on Wednesday morning, at 11.30, at Christchurch. It was agreed, on the motion of the Rev. A.. B. Fitchett, that probationers who attain, at the end of their fourth year, an exceptionally high standard of marks in. their examination, shall receive a year of connexional standing as a prize ; the standard to be fixed hereafter by the Conference.—The Rev. J. Criimp moved, and it was agreed, that a course of reading for probationers be prepared by the Board of Examiners and printed on the minutes of Conference. Revs. Crump, Fitchett, Morley, Wallis, Berry, Taylor, Smalley, and Lewis were appointed the Board of Examiners for the probationers for the ensuing year; and the Revs. Bavin and Isitt appointed to prepare the examination papers for the candidates. The Board were directed to prepare the examination papers for the students in the Three Kings Theological Institution.^—The address of the Conference to the various Wesleyan congregations in the colony was read, discussed, and adopted. A prolonged discussion ensued as to the ■ status of communicants, and the mode of admission of candidates for communion. It was moved that the question should be remitted to the district meetings for consideration. A counter motion proposed that the principle of the recognition of communicants by a full church of members should be affirmed, but that the consideration of the mode by which candidates for communion should be accepted should be remitted to the quarterly and district meetings. ■ The discussion of the whole subject was postponed until Monday.—A discussion ensued as to the relation of baptised children to the Church, and the best modes of securing their pastoral oversight.—Revs. Eitchett, Richardson, and Oliver were appointed a committee to submit resolutions. Moses Stevens and Daniel Richards, the two seamen belonging to the ship Himalaya against whom charges of having committed breaches of the Merchant Shipping Act had been preferred, were again brought up at the" Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday. Mr. Barton made an application for a further remand till Monday, explaining that an information against the mate of the ship was to be laid by another - sailor belonging to the Himalaya, to be heard on Monday, and that it would be more convenient to have the thrse cases heard together. He stated to the Court that the two defendants were penniless, and that the complainant in the other case was penniless also; and he suggested that there should be some, provision made in the Resident Magistrates' Act to enable sailors from foreign ports to have cases heard without payment of the usual fees. His Worship said it had been the habit in that Court to allow summonses to be issued without the fees being insisted upon in cases of poverty; but strong objections to that practice had been made on the part of the Government Audit Office, and.the Cleric to the Court, Mr. Baker, had been informed that he would be surcharged with such unpaid fees if he continued the practice. In fact, the Court was ordered not to give credit. The prisoners were then remanded till Monday. The following civil cases were heard :■ —Raukin v. Cross, claim £4 17s. 6d ; judgment for amount and costs. Gear v. Conlin, claim £B6 7s. 2d. ; judgment for amount and costs. Hagerty v. Barber, claim £7 7s. lid.; judgment for amount and costs. Callaghan v. Eutter, claim £l6; plaintiff nonsuited, with costs. Tnis Hitman Machinery, unlike inanimate mechanism, possesses a self-repairing and self-re-nowing power. Health may be surely preserved and life lengthened by keeping this vital attribute in constant activity and full vigor. Many preparations have been for this purpose, but none have received such empii.tic professional. sanction, or are comparable in point of efficacy, to TTDOtPHb Wolfe's Schiedam Aromatic Schnapps.