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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4966, 21 February 1877, Page 2

In our advertising columns will be found a notification from Mr. William Hutchison, Mayor of Wellington, to the effect that in case of the resignation of Mr. Edward Pearce it is his intention to offer, himself to fill the vacancy in the representation of the • city. The advertisement should have appeared in our issue of yesterday, its insertion having been ordered by Mr. Hutchison. We have to apologise to that gentleman for its omission through inadvertence. A meeting of the Waste Lands Board was held at the Provincial Buildings yesterday at noon, when a deputation from the Masterton Small Farms Association waited upon the Board with a memorial praying that a block of land in the Forty-Mile Bush might be set aside for the purpose of a small-farm settlement under the deferred-payment system. The Board took time to consider the matter. After other business had been disposed of, the Board adjourned. There were several cases at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday in which persons were charged with having committed breaches of the Municipal Corporations Act. ' Some of them were amusing. The first was that of John Maher. He was accused of hawking without a license. Mr. Pilmer described how he had seen the defendant, the circumstances being these : He happened to be in Sydney - street, when he saw defendant come along on a cart, and he w r as singing out to all whpm it might concern, “Apples, oh ! plums, oh ! and fine ripe fruit! ” He looked upon a man who so assailed the ears of the public as a hawker, and upon interrogating the defendant he ascertained that he had no license. Defendant pleaded' that he was driving the cart for his master, Mr. Smith, provision dealer and importer of fruit, and was serving his regular customers —a statement which was corroborated by the gentleman named. Maher mentioned one or two of the customers, and his eye happening to light on a member of the Press, pointed at him with the forefinger of his right hand, tragically, and said: “ There, that’s one on ’em, that gentleman at the desk”—by which ho meant the article of furniture supposed to be for the convenience of members of the Bar.The gentleman referred to stood for a moment in the position of Mr. Phunky, in the celebrated Pickwick trial. He made a fine bold effort to look unconcerned, but looked sickly instead. Mr. Smith, the proprietor of the cart driven by defendant, was then directed by the Court to produce his books to show that the customers he mentioned in Sydney-street were really customers of his. He produced the books accordingly, and the defendant was dismissed with a caution. The total value of timber exported from New Zealand during 1876 was £39,407, as against £24,166 injlß66.

The Presbytery of Wellington will meet at St. John’s Church at 11 o’clock to-day.i : Scarlet fever is reported as having made its appearance at Marton. The Wanganui Herald wishes Mr. Hutchison success in his candidature to represent Wellington in Parliament. - Prom 4' recently published report on the construction arid working of the New South Wales railways from 1872 to 1875 it seems that in 1875 the profit on the various lines was £318,474, or £4 7s. lid. per cent, on the capital expended on lines open for traffic.

The announcement of the firm of Wm. McArthur and Co. intending to carry on business in Auckland as importers and warehousemen appears in another column. The reconstruction follows the recent dispute between certain members of the old firm. The Timaru Herald, speaking of Mr. Travers’ chance of election for Wellington city, says ;—“Mr. Travers is at present, we believe, a strong opponent of the Government; but as he is rather notorious for sudden conversions, there is no knowing what he may be by the time Parliament meets.” The Church Magazine says '“ The Church Advocate has forwarded the verdict in the Kaiapoi case arrived at by the Assessor’s Court to the Primate, who will lay it before the Bench of Bishops immediately after the termination of the session of the General Synod.” A gentleman ventured out yesterday afternoon in a tiny Bob Roy canoe from the Star Boating Club’s sheds, and as there was a high jumbled swell rolling in the harbor his movements were anxiously watched by a number of people from the wharf. He paddled his way safely along close to the breastwork till opposite the New Zealand Shipping Company’s offices, when he was caught in a big wave, which upset his boat and turned him into the water. He, however, managed to regain a hold of his little craft, and held on to it till a passing waterman’s boat came to his assistance and took him on board. The business of the KM. Court yesterday did not occupy the time of his Worship long. The cases were as follow:—Two of drunkenness, in which the culprits were punished; John Maher, charged with being an unlicensed hawker, proved that he was serving regular customers for his master, and he was accordingly dismissed; Douglas Pirman was fined ss. and costs for having a dirty pigsty on his premises ; a man named F. Gratzini was fined Is. and costs for plying for hire with an unlicensed cart; and Frank O’Grady, for allowing his horse to wander, was fined ss. and costs. An instance of canine fidelity under peculiar circumstances was observed on the night of the fire (Sunday). A gentleman was overcome either by the fire or two much wine, and he collapsed in a gutter in Willis-street. There he lay, not like “a warrior taking his rest,” and without any cloak around him; but there was something in the situation too. It was a little terrier dog, a faithful little animal, who, having taken up a position on his master’s body, there mounted guard, and would let no one approach. Two or three gentlemen passing the spot made an attempt to assist the recumbent and helpless one, But the little dog, fearing for his master’s safety, flew at them directly they approached. At the Theatre Royal last night, when “Rip Van Winkle” was repeated, there was a fair attendance, and Mr. Hall’s acting was received with great favor, the applause being frequent and hearty. The programme for this evening is such as should not fail to attract a crowded house. The bill is really a grand one, consisting of Byron’s admirable comedy “ Tottles,” in which Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Hall will appear. This piece has been played in London with immense success. The comedy will be followed by the farce “Spitfire,” in which Mr. Hall will'appear as Tobias, a character in which he is pre-eminently good. If we except Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Hall is unequalled in this part, and all who wish to be intensely amused should visit the Theatre Royal to-night to witness his performance. The Choral Society’s band had a magnificent practice last night. Many of the principal solos from Costa’s “Naaman” were gone through, as well as “ William Tell,” “ Zampa,” “ Cleopatra,” and others. The musical public may expect a real treat in all these overtmes when performed, “ William Tell ” being really grandly played last night. Mr. Edwards conducted in his usual admirable manner. A special practice of “Naaman” will take place on Thursday next, when all members are particularly requested to attend. The Mirror of England was again exhibited last night to a numerous audience, and the beautiful scenery elicited much admiration. There have been panoramas and dioramas exhibited here, but to this artistic exhibition-we must award the palm. There is not a single picture in the whole series that is not a work of art. As the season will shortly close, we advise our readers not to lose the opportunity of seeing the best representation of Old England they will probably ever witness. There will be an afternoon exhibition on Saturday, There are more complaints about the minah. This time a mutilated fig has been presented to the editor, with the communication, “And this is what the minah does ! !! ” Last time it was a peach. Really the minah appears to have much to answer for; but it is more than probable that the bird does more good than harm. In fact evidence of this is to be found in the fact that a gentleman has requested Mr. Denton, the the Acclimatisation Society, to send him as many as he liked, preferring to sacrifice his fruit than lose as he has done by the grub evil. Three civil cases have recently been heard, each having an intimate connection with the other, and being decidedly interesting to contractors. The Bench, too, have given a crossdecision in respect to two of them. In the first case a laborer sued Mr. Edmonds for wages for work done under Mr. Gilbert, who had a sub-contract from Edmonds, and two justices of the peace gave judgment for the plaintiff. Then other men, who had also been working for Gilbert, sued the latter on Monday for money due for work done by them on the sub-contract, and Mr. Crawford, who was on the bench, gave judgment as against Gilbert. Either Mr. Crawford or the Justices must be wrong. The third case was heard yesterday before Mr. Crawford, namely, Gilbert v. Edmonds, a claim of £77 11s. 9d.; Mr. Allan for plaintiff, Mr. Buckley for defendant. Judgment was given for the defendant, with costs. A correspondent has sent the Nexvs Letter some notes on the probable result of the crops on the Upper Wairarapa Plain and the Opaki. He has not, says the paper, included the small patches that are everywhere visible, and sets down the total on the two plains at 25,466 bushels. “ Observer” is careful, as a good farmer should be, not to over-estimate the crops, but judging by one or two actual results which have been communicated to us, we think he has allowed too much. One farmer has made no less than eighty bushels of oats per acre off an average size paddock. Forty bushels per acre of wheat have also been exceeded. But accepting the figures as they are, and adding the excellent returns from Manaia and Te Ore Ore, we may fully reckon on 50,000 bushels this side of the Waingawa. This should do not a little towards stopping the importation of oats, wheat, and flour.

Some few days ago we published a report of the hearing of a charge against a hotel-keeper in Dunedin for allowing billiards to be played in his house, and subsequently a telegram appeared in the Times mentioning that the magistrate had decided billiard playing to be gambling within the meaning of the Act, The following is a full report of the judgment, taken from the Otago Daily Times :—ln the information against John Jenkins for permitting gambling by playing at billiards, I said I would give my judgment to-day. I have carefully looked into the question that Mr. Mallard submitted to me, and compared it with the English Acts, and I have likewise referred to the best dictionaries that I could get hold of for their definition of the word “ gambling.” I find Richardson has it down “ to play for money staked or pledged Webster, “ to play for money or other stakes Latham puts it “to play extravagantly for

money.” All agree that it is to play for money or money’s worth. As to extravagance, I would strike out that construction, because what would be extravagance in one man would not be so in another. Therefore the information must be sustained.—Mr. Bathgate : Might I point out that there is no evidence of Mr. Jenkins knowing that the gambling was going on?—His Worship : He must prove that. I have made up my mind that playing for money is gambling, and that there is no right to have it in a licensed house. —Mr. Bathgate ; Supposing two players subscribed sixpence each and paid the defendant for the table ?—His Worship : The evidence is that he received a shilling for the game thro ugh one of the men, and that makes it gar'.b'ing, I know it is the law, and if informations a.e laid it will interfere very considerably with the custom that obtains here ; but it is very clear, and I have not the slightest doubt in my mind, that not only are billiard tournaments in a licensed house illegal, but also playing for money so that payment for the game is made is also illegal. This is the first information of the kind, and I will make the fine as nominal as I can.

The Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times writes:—“You will be rather surprised in Otago to hear that the first public school in or near Auckland owned by the Board of Education, or any public body—is about to be erected in the populous suburb of Newton. It is to accommodate 500 children, and to cost £BOO. You will not be able to charge Auckland with waste or extravagance in school buildings after this, and I imagine that there are few places in which accommodation for so many children could be obtained for the same sum of money. Of course it is of wood, and is to be in the form of a cross—that is to say, a long central room or rooms, with a large classsroom on each side at right angles to the main building.” The Melbourne correspondent of the Ha milton Spectator says —“ There is some doubt whether we shall ever see the old Great Britain in these waters again. She was expected here some time ago, but letters have come to the effect that it was found impossible to sail her with profit on her old route, so many new vessels with greatly improved machinery having entered into competition for the trade.”