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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4963, 17 February 1877, Page 2

In reference to’the proposal of the Mayor, re the extra tax on those who use the water for baths, which was unanimously rejected at the City Council meeting on Thursday, it may be stated that the Mayor informed the Council, at the termination of; the discussion on the subject, that such; a tax was imposed in Auckland, whilst in Dunedin the hotels were made to pay extra rates for water used for baths. This was omitted in our report of the Council proceedings, owing to its length, and the pressure, of other master; but we. consider it only iri accordance v4th fair ptyy tp ihentiom the fact, as ,it ? plapee a, slightly different viewflm the* actions of the Mayor' to that ,in which most people might be inclined to regard it ; and we give .publicity to the statement Of. the Mayor therefore, although not .for’ a moment agreeing with the rejected proposal he’laid before the .Council. j Owing to the advanced hour at .which the fire on board the Himalaya occurred on Friday morning the report furnished by us was necessarily less complete than it might have been had there been time to gather information as to details.' ' However, there is no certainty yet as to how the fire .originated, though of course there are many conjectures, and as everyone is able to imagine for himself half-a-dozen different ways in which the fire might, have occurred, it is quite unnecessary to, give in . this paragraph the opinions expressed by Brown, Jones, or Robinson, though we 4b not for a moment question their value and importance. The damage is variously estiuvited at from £IOOO to £2000.. Holliday and Mclntyre were engaged yesterday making a survey, and we understand that, an average will be levied on the cargo not yet discharged. By advertisement in another column it will be seen that Air. Andrew Young, coach proprietor, and the Railway Department between them have arranged so as to shorten the time of the . journey between Wellington and Taranaki and Wellington and, Napier by a day. By the running of late trains on ,the Feilding and Foxton line passen,gers will' go overland from Wellington to Napier in two days. Passengers for Wanganui will arrive there at 11 o’clock in the forenoon of the day after their departure from Wellington, and will leave the sanm day for Hawera, whence, after spending the night, one day will take them through to New Plymouth. The whole matter has been arranged by Mr. Aiidrew Young, who applied to the Railway Department for the running of late trains. ‘

| Mdlle. Atlanti made her dehut .at ■ the 'Thealre Royal last night in a version of, the ■well-knoWn play “ Leah” entitled “ Deborah.” (MdiUe.-Atlanti appeared in the leading part, .and the audience testified their appreciation of her eff<?Hs by calling her before the curtain jat' the conclusion of the last two acts. The performance will bo repeated this evening.

Mr. Moss not having replied in our columns to “ New Chum’s ’’ letter, the further communication of the latter is held over. His Honor .Mr. Justice Williams has been appointed a member of the Council of the Otago University, vice Dr. Hulme, deceased. Messrs. Thomas U. Cook, Francis London, and Francis Robinson, sen., have been appointed members of the Foxton Harbor Board.

In the case of Levy v. Moss—Mr. Brandon for plaintiff, Mr. Travers for defendant—his Worship by consent of counsel gave judgment nominally for plaintiff, with leave to appeal. The Hon. W, Fox, M.H.R., has invited the total abstainers of the Rangitikei, Mauawatu, and Wanganui districts to a picnic at his seat, Westoe, on Thursday next. Thomas Mason, Esq., has received the apappointment of Commissioner of the Waste Land Board of the land district of Wellington, vice Henry Jackson, Esq., resigned. Alfred Greenfield, Esq., has been appointed to be Commissioner of Crown Lands for the provincial district of Nelson. The appointment takes effect from the Ist January, 1877. It will be noticed by advertisement that Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Hall and Miss Wiseman have been engaged for a season by Mr, Sam Howard, and will we understand make their first appearance on Monday next. A special meeting of the Hutt County Council will be held on Tuesday next at 1 o’clock, to consider a resolution under section 88*of the Public Works Act, 1876, for declaring all roads within the county to be county roads.

In the case of Mr. Levoi, bankrupt, Mr. Fitzherbert, on behalf of the trustees, yesterday moved the Court for a declaration of complete execution of deed of assignment, which was granted, the costs of the application to be paid out of the estate. We would again draw attention to the return cricket match between the Wellington and Star Cricket Clubs, to take place on the Basin Reserve to-day, and to be continued on Saturday next. Play will commence at halfpast one o’clock sharp, and the members of both teams are requested to be punctual. Anniversary services in connection with the Primitive Methodist Church will be held tomorrow, when two sermonswill.be preached—in the morning, at 11 o’clock, by the Rev. J. Nixon, and in the evening, at 6.50, by the Rev. P. W. Jones; and a children’s service will be held in the afternoon. On Tuesday next a tea and public meeting will be held, at which addresses will be delivered by Ministers qnd friends, and recitations will be given by the children. A sad event indeed has to be recorded in connection with the fire on the Himalaya which occurred yesterday morning. At about 6 o’clock, when the firemen and others were down below, the body of a man named Olsen, the night watchman of the vessel, was found lying in the hold under the main hatch. He was quite dead. It was supposed he missed his footing and fell down the hatch, striking something in his fall, but no marks were found on the body. An inquest will be held at the Morgue to-dayi the body having been taken there, A deputation from the Chamber of Commerce, consisting of Messrs. G. Hunter, W. M. Bannatyne, and J. Harcourt, waited by arrangement on the Mayor at 11 o’clock yesterday with reference to effecting some reformation in the regulations respecting the storage of kerosene. Mr. Bannatyne stated that the members of the Chamber of Commerce were of opinion that the premises in which kerosene was at present stored were not at all suitable for the purpose, and that it should be removed to some other place which would be further away from other buildings, and consequently in less danger of being destroyed by fire. Another, object of the deputation was to ask the Mayor and City Council to consider whether any arrangements could be made by which owners of keresene would not be obliged to pay duty on it before storing it. He reminded his Worship that when the duty had to be paid beforehand, if the kerosene were burned, the owners lost not only the article itself but the sixpence per gallon which they had paid as duty also. It they had not to pay the duty. before storing they would not be liable to such heavy losses. Mr. Hunter said the deputation was under the impression that the Council would shortly have to find some other place in which to store kerosene, and they had brought these matters forward in the hope that they would be attended to when the alteration was made. The Mayor replied that the Council had had the question of storing kerosene under their consideration for some time, and were anxious to shift the store to some other place, but strange as it might appear, great difficulty was experienced in finding a suitable site. They had thought of reclaiming a part of the Te Aro foreshore, and erecting a shed there for the purpose, but nothing definite had been done in regard to the matter. "Mr. Bannatyne thought that Te Aro would be the best place in which to erect a store. As to Mr. Bannatyne’s remarks regarding the payment of duty beforehand, the Mayor said he did not think there would be any difficulty .in coming to an amicable arrangement. He promised to bring the matter again under the attention of the City Council at the next meeting. The deputation then thanked the Mayor for hearing them, and withdrew. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday one drunkard was punished ; a case in which George Light ■was charged with damaging property was dismissed, neither party appearing ; another ‘ case, in which Elizabeth Burke was charged with assaulting Margaret .Smith, was also struck out. George Andrews was charged with having maliciously injured certain property belonging to a neighbor. He was ordered to pay 18s. damages, and fined 10s. and costs. Another charge of a similar nature had been laid against him, but it was withdrawn. Ten persons were charged with having unregistered dogs in their possession. Nine of them were each'fined ss. and costs, and the other, against James Boyd, was adjourned for a week, in order that the defendant might procure the assistance of a solicitor.

A meeting of the Anniversary Regatta Committee was held at the Pier Hotel last evening, his Worship the Mayor presiding. There were present —Messrs. Kent; Stewart, Haybittle, Snow, Gair, and Mr. Ellaby, the secretary. Accounts were passed. Tolley’s and Metge’s claims for refunding on account of the unfavorable day, were deferred until it should be seen in what position the committee were as to funds. It was resolved also that .the races - which were postponed should take place on Saturday, the 21th inst., Mr. Gair guaranteeing the necessary funds for prizes for the maiden races, in the event of the committee not having sufficient cash at their disposal.- His Worship the Afayor presented to Mr. Stewart, Captain of the Wellington Rowing Club, the prizes won in the outrigger and senior pair-oar races, in which the, Wellington,Club.were the successful competitors. In presenting them the. Alayor made a 'few remarks appropriate to the occasion, paying a high compliment to the Wellington Club—-a compliment which it will be generally admitted was well deserved, Wellington having good reason to be proud of its boating men. Mr. Stewart returnsd thanks in fitting terms. The secretary was instructed to call a meeting of the committee for Thursday next for the purpose of making arrangements for the races to be held on Saturday.

A New Zealand Gazette was issued on Thursday. It contains ‘.—Proclamation of deposit of memorial plan of certain lands taken for purposes of the railway from Wanganui to Manawatu (Junction and Oroua contracts), Oroua section ; of memorial plan of certain lands taken for purposes of the railway from Wanganui to Manawatu (Eangitawa contract); appointing date for annual meeting of justices in the Mangapoi petty sessions district; appointment of E. W, Puckey, Rina Te Ngahue, and others trustees under the Maori Real Estate Management Act, 1867; sittings of the District Courts of various districts ; appointment of Judges of Assessment Courts under the Rating Act, 1867, and appointment of Judges of the Assessment Courts for counties under the same Act; various other appointments, and a number of Land Transfer Act notices.

It is announced that the s.s. Moa will make a tour round the harbor to-day, leaving the Queen’s wharf at 2 p.m., and returning at 6 o’clock. The Wharf Committee of the City Council have had before them the plans and specifications for the extension of the Queen’s wharf, and will, ,we understand, at once advertise for tenders.

The Advocate says . that the Eangitikei Elver rose again very rapidly on Saturday and Sunday mornings, bringing down huge trees, and on Tuesday, ■ though its waters had considerably subsided, the river was still very high. A considerable portion of the bank on this side of the river below the bridge has been eaten away by the action of the flood. The Mirror o f England, after a successful tour through other parts of the colony, has returned to Wellington to play for a season ; .and no doubt the season will be a successful one. The entertainment is of a most attractive character, instructing while it charms ; in fact, we can scarcely imagine a better way to obtain a couple of hours rational enjoyment than by visiting this show, which opens on Monday next. It has transpired that owing to some muddling the harbor contractors are in a position to defy the Napier Harbor Board. According to the contract, it turns out that the Board can make no stoppages until the whole contract is completed. As at that time there will be only about £3OOO for the contractors to obtain, they can snap their fingers at all the threats of penalties, which they know cannot be enforced. The Daily Telegraph very naturally asks who is responsible. The News Letter inlearning that Mr. Hastwell has purchased the whole of the line of coaches running from Palmerston to Hawke’s Bay. considers that he has thus secured for the Wairarapa the through traffic to Wellington. Mr. Macara, who lately entered the firm as a partner, will have the supervision of the line, and we need scarcely say that his management is the best calculated to make it a success. Whilst wishing him success we cannot help expressing regret that the line to Wellington is about to lose him.