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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4992, 23 March 1877, Page 2

At Mr. Travers' meetijig last night he did not allude in, any manner to the New Zealand Times, or the* supposed. writer who has bo much offended him. Some soft influence mast be stealing over him. He explained that he had been engaged all day .observing the stars, and it seems plain that he now acknowledges the rule of some benign one. His, evil planet is now absent, and no one hopes to see it return. To it mußt be ascribed his late follies, for if it be true

That If weak women went astray, Their stars were more In fault than they, it is equally true that " weak men" can thank their stars for much of their erring. " ■ Messrs. Cargills, Gibbs, and Co. received the following cable, message from Messrs. Helmuth, Schwartz, and Co., dated 12th March :—" Since our last telegram sales continue flat. Cross-breds are neglected; Sydney fleece and clothing descriptions particularly uegleoted; Adelaide grease depressed. The good demand for wools of breed ; and quality maintains Itself ; but the bulk of the supplies sells rather easier, particularly inferior and faulty."

An Italian and a German had a civil contest in the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday. The dispute was about a log of wood, which plaintiff alleged he had drawn up on the beach above high-water mark, and which defendant in his absence had cut up and carted away for firewood. It must, have been with considerable difficulty that Mr. Crawford arrived at an understanding of the evidence, for it was most extraordinary, the witnesses being foreigners, with a very limited knowledge of the English language.. Ultimately. Mr. Crawford gave judgment to the effect that ■he ■" did ■ not consider the ownership of the log proved • by plaintiff, and therefore recorded a nonsuit, adding that although the case seemed to be an exceedingly trumpery one, still there were many points of interest and considerable importance in it that the Supreme Court should decide upon. As illustrating his meaning in the latter remark, he pointed out how a dispute about a similar case, in which the-timber forming the subject of the contest was not worth 5»., had caused the expenditure of thousaftdsTdf "pounds in the higher Court before a settlement of certain knotty points was arrived at. While the Napier was on her last passage down from Foxton, and off. the island of Kapiti, Bhe was boarded by a party of gentlemen from Wanganui, who were spending a week fishing and Bhooting on the island. They besought Captain Holmes to.let them have all bread,possible, as for the last two or three days the baker of the party refused duty or could not'bake. properly, therefore recourse had to be had to sea biscuit,- which they did not.relißh. They, were highly delighted with their, stay, wishing that they- could have a month of it The Stormbird called and picked them-up on'her last trip to Wanganui. Iri. the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday a man named/Andrew Synorgan was convicted of indecent behavior in the public streets, and sentenced to twelve months'- imprisonment, with hard Jabqr. ; Such acase were best ..not referred to in a newspaper^-perhaps, but; for the good it is calculated to. affect in acting as a; warning degraded -wretch brought tp, justice, yesterday .was tried privately Mr.. Crawford,,Jß,M',-and MajorPaul, J,P. . ■. Evidence <was taken which showed. • that prisoner had been guilty,of the vilest con?: duct, and Inspector Atchespn stated that -.prisoner had bees offending the same way.for fully a fortnight past,.but; the police were un-' able to catch, him till now.. , A heavy sentence ? was imposed, but we doubt whether the nature of the. offence^would, not have; warranted a heavier one. .In the interests, of -morality, and. for | mercy should'he shown Ito, these, abandoned,creatures,, who j v ui;e air .of „he>yen,-by-their exwtence.' ;■.., -',.■ ~,■ ■-,,.;, ,

There tWas a large and enthusiastic audience at'the Theatre Royal last evening; f* Much Ado *Ab<iutr!Nothing" ..being the; piece produced; •The, described! ass being "enthusiastic.", advisedly.. The term bears a very different; meaning . as applied, in the present inetauoe than it does when referring to political .meetings, irothy -and-' stupid as they sometimes are. The appearance of Mrs. Scott-Siddons :ia the: first: act was the signal for ppplause, so great is the admiration felt for the j talented . actress ,whb; for.- a short ■ space graces the Wellington stage by her presence—whose enchanting, beauty: and'marvellous dramatic ppwerhave created an admiration for her by all lovers of .■ the drania,-the like of whioh' . it seidQra! falls to the lot of any member of 'the ' however exalted the sphere in which she moves, to command.- • The Beatrice of Mrs. Scotjt-Siddoos was perfect—rin saying which of it must be understood that an opinion of any,,'actress :or.-actor must to a very great .extent be formed by the process of < comneedless to-say more, unless perhaps it may be to mention that the audience last night endorsed, to ,the full the. opinion.we have hereexpressed, their approbation being given in a manner which left no doubt of the fact. Mr. jSteele did justice to his part, and the lady menibera, of the : Company well, whilst u Mr. St.:Lawrence, Mr. Howard,' and ;-'Mesßr3>rrMetcalf, Ingles, and Hesford - aIL acted ■creditably,, -the pieoei'being generally:;.well? played. Special attention is drawn to the pro-'. gramme/,for r to-night,-which,iß announced as a granjd command night.; 'Kotzebue's admirable" playj "The.. Stranger,": will: be produced, and'. Mrs.] Scott-Siddons will appear in.the.'charaov. ter of fMv.s.-Haller. U :..'.!J:;3: •, - - - The following account of the,fire at Picton is given" by'.the Marlborough 'Expressi'/ot Wed'n'esday :-r-By yesterday morning's.train some' iron | chimney-pots' were sent down by Mr. Smith, of Blenheim, for, the .Government 'Buildings, Picton.-Duringthe day,'T. Maxted, *Mr. Smith's journeyman, propeededto fix them in ; their 1 respective positions; using for this pur'poßeja- pot i'6f -live; charcoal' : jo' heat his tools, 1 The wirid ; waSgusty'all'thrbugh : day, and /Maxted"'u'Sed the utmost-'teare,: keeping the bottom of the pot wet, but about'a 1 quarter'before five'by ah unlucky 1 ' accident some -sparks f.werej blown out and f caught 'the shihgle roof." He called'to'a personj standing by,for water,. but jwas ; either'' 'not h'eafd'flr' not understood, and went down offHherbof'tp' fetch it himself.: sWhen he returned with-'thej; 3 water and ascended,' having given th'e'aTarw, the fire had got entirely beyond his power, and he had some, "difficulty in making his escape. , The building ' •was if ; kaUrl, eredted-in IB6o,and in thirty -five'' minutes was entirely gutted. When the train from' Blenheim, came .in pi (6.25 , nothing -was left standing except' the strong-room'; Sergeant IScanlan and Constable Kyle lost every.thing except a- few sheets'and blankets, and rJ£rsr| Soanlan was unable to .save even her watch. ' Mr. Green has lost all his iristrumehts,, and-suffers a loss of over £IOO. . The'records olithi Resident Magistrate's Court weresayed.: There was : no insurancei on the building or its; conteiits. Great fears wer.e entertained for the Bafety of the magazine, which at one time was;'" i most' dangerous heatJ- Theiire brigade' ,jy|iß fn attendance, directly, the 1 alarm..was ( j igivenj butPcould render no efficient aid,>s the. machine was not in good wording order,'Mid, ,ph|re was a scarcity-'of 'water.;AU the' \ ijtlnoyt'bf^'their gower','a"h'd 'a'linelwas ,tp the r creek; : water The result was, howeveri - - '" £! -'''! -.i io j ~ . r T r . . j. *- t, r Mr. Eyaup, agent itftidvattce for the Daven- j port Brothers, 1 arrived'-by the* Haweayesterday. | It is.'probabl'e (the: troupe- will appear here during.the"'Easterweek.''*s! ""■ ' ;

Nothing was yesterday seen of -;the transit'! of Vulcan. ~-"-'■ <■ (i; Mr. F. A. OarringtonV health .is reported to/| be improving; He is now at the Hot Springs. The Lydia Howarde,. Troupe farmed by the Tararua from NeUoa yesterday. It is believed the Hon. Mr. Bowen will address his constituents during his present visit to Canterbury; • The .Choral, Society had a rehearsal at Mr.Hunter's, rooms last evening. There was_ a large, attendance of members, and the practice was one of the mostsatiafactory yet had. We have bcen j reff&esttfd to state that the advertisement in re. the Queen's Wharf extension is withdrawn untif the date of receiving the tenders has been.finally decided on. A woman named Louisa M. Plumridge yesterday applied for and obtained a property protection order against her husband Alfred Plumridge. Mr. Fisher, M.H.K., in addressing his ,con: stituenta, said he should always support a scheme of education which should be free, compulsory, and aeoular, a reduction of the duty on tea and sugar, and the imposition of a property tax. We observe that the Otago Guardian, has done us the honor of clipping our report of a recent Bitting of the Supreme Court, at wh?ch the question of seniority at the bar was raided. Doubtless next, mail will bring-ft paper in which the clipping will be acknowledged. At the Hutt Court, which saton Wednesday, Mr. CrawfordjE-M., occupyingthe bench, there were no criminal cases for hearing. The civil cases were as follows y. Johnston, claim £7 165.: judgment for amount and costs. Bearidcje v. Doreen, claim £1 6s. 6d.; judgment for amount and costs.

Horsemen should beware how they ride through the streets in the city—unpleasant consequences sometimes follow. Yesterday a person was charged at the Resident Magistrate's Court with furious riding; but in his case it appeared that the horse he was on, and which he contemplated purchasing, had run away with him. Therefore he was dismissed, but with a caution.

The Paris correspondent of the London Standard thus writes on the above discovery in telegraphy, which has been, briefly noticed already : —"lt has often been said that the science of telegraphy is as yet only in its infancy. What it will be when it reaches the age of maturity it would be difficult to say with certainty, but some idea may be formed from an extraordinary telegraphic discovery just made in Paris. It appears that some inventor has found out the means of sending portraits bytelegraph. . The modus operandi has r not yet been disclosed, but experiments have bean made and—if we are to believe the papers —with complete success. The trial was made by the police authorities of Paris and Lyons. The portrait of a Lyons official was forwarded from Paris by the new telegraphic apparatus, and was at once recoijnised. In return the Lyons police telegraphed to Paris the portrait, accompanied by the usual description, of a clerk who has just absconded with, his master's money, and the Paris police, thanks to the-telegraphic portrait, were enabled to arrest the thief on his alighting from the train at the Lyons railway station. The facts are published on the best authority, and incredible as they may seem, are no doubt authentic. So far, the'ingenious discovery is only being employed for the detection of criminals; but it is evident . that' the police authorities will not be able to monopolise it, and that it will be turned to account by society at.large under the various trying circumstances of life, and more . especially in the cases of deserted wives and husbands, missing heirs, disconsolate lovers, and similar interesting beings." ~.'..'_:. A large audience assembled at the Princess Theatre, Dunedin, when • the ■ Davenport Brothers were to be tied up by Captain W. J. Barry, who was stated'"to have staked £SO that he could tie up the Davenports bo that they could not free themselves. The captain, says the I Daily his appearance with a largV supply of rope, and certainly tied up the brothers in an artistic, fashion, sparing neither knots nor time in the/process. The tying," which occupied forty-five minutes, was perforated in the presence *of Dr. Batchelor and Mr. H. Driver,;- and. in full .view, of _ the ( audience; Captain/ Barry - then said he was confident they would notjfree themselves for ive : weeks, arid that if .they did it was hopeless for anyone else " this side of the line " to" expect that they would succeed in securelytying the Davenports. The brothers were then locked up in the cabinet, and as soon as the;doorfl .were,locked the usual noises were heard. inside... Nine, minutes, after, the closing of the,doors one hand was shown at the small opening in the top of the-cabinet, and 10}' minutes two hands, and at 16} minutes four hands. At the expiration of 20} minutes the doors were opened, and the Davenports Were* discovered unbound, and the ropes piled lip oa. the floor of the cabinet. ,It is mentioned, in connection with this feat, that it is now ten years since the brothers' accepted a similar ohallenge- in New Orleans, when for a wager of 50bddo)Urs they-were-tied-up-by a Yankee planter, who consumed one hour andlthree minutes in the tying process, and in fpurteen minutes the brothers stepped from the cabinet to' claim the. money. The ordeal they were subjected to by < Captain Barry is " the greatest tying up " they ever had.

Mr. H. A. Severn' does not' seem to be well patronised in Christohurch, and on the occasion of his first' 'appearance hespoke his mind on the' subject. 'According,' to the Press—- " The lecturer, in'adverting'to the small num-' ber of persons present;'said h«. appeared' before the audience as ajerfect' btrauger; and he certainly expepted to find ~iina r -city/like Christ-, church, with its iS.OQO'inhabitants, a much larger audience. . in l ,Ta.ranaki,.;wbere he hada right to expect the;',people would not befond; of scientific pursuits, the. hall he had,, and which was nearly as large as the one he. was then in, was crowded for' T six consecutive nights. Before he came to Christchurob. he was aware of there being a, College there, endowed with professors eminent in their respective callings, and he, therefore, expected to find i a very" much' larger audience. He was proud to,see 'Professor Bickerton present, and he, felt very his presence that evening. Men who pursued science for its own, sake bowed to nobody, and, as far as he (the lecturer) was personally concerned, it mattered little to him whether he had only one person or a; large number, to meet him. It only showed him what were the characteristics of the people of Cbristchurch;, In .Wellington he had been begged, to .goi back, and give six more lectures.;. He thought the citizens of Christohurch could not take much iuterjsst in scientific xnattera." ;: ,: The Lyttelton Times says:—"We hear that : one of our legislators has taken to commercial pursuits and ' travels' for some firm. Of course' there is no reason why any of the eighty kings' who pit in the House of Representatives should not take' to an' honest; profession. Some of them want such a thing badly enough, especially if it be lucrative. But it is hard that the, country should pay for the expenses incidental"" to "any "prof /poorly remunerated,,- i-The \ legislator;,in 'question * travelß,'~bowever, so we-hear, with much flourishing of the free pass which he helped tb ivpte himself. Now this ib' hardly-fair to his brother bagmen, who may, with justice, proteat, against this unfair advantage he enjoyßin 1 the general competition;' Now the bagman's trade Ib highly honorable, hone ! more so y but when we see a senatorial free: pass pressed into its service,we areaptite; thinky having an eye to the Bupposedspirit of J the said free pass system, that there ia some- degeneracy. We are at once reminded of sbmefMnoOtf linesr— : -' -' : i ■>. ImperialCffißsraeadand turned'toclay, . '"' Might stop a hole to keep the! wlndaway.'

i Mr. -Speixyy the ; superintendent collector of • agriculturalstatistics forXJtago, has jiiat completed his^task i ' t : According to the • Guardian 'the results are as follows >—Number of; hold r \ ings ■■ Freehold,- 1 2675;'-reiited, 'l3oo','i>a'rt ; ifree, part rented, 477 ; total, 4452. ExtenPof. land jbrdken l 'tip, i but' riot -tinder cultiVatiqn,-70,533,iscr&*;'-in wheat,'4o,799l'aore'ST^esfcii' 1 mate| yield, l,2Bs,393'bußhels; : 'iri"oats, 17;03'4. acres^6Btimated' yield; ' 6fc,882 r - 'bushels ; in barley, CO5l MeM;';i 83,977

bushels ; in hay, 8652 acres—estimated yield, 12,568;' tonsj; iu sown grass, 856,131 1 ,ac»e8 ; in-potatoes, 4805 acres estimated yield, 24,604 46ns; in other crops, 46,000 v acres.— Total number of acres under cropj including sown grasses, 536,753. Quantity of last year's crop remaining in hand : wheat, 1831 bushels; oats, 298,245 do. ; I barley, 10,802 do. Compared with last year's j returns, there is an increase of 280 holdings,'! 285,351 bushels of wheat, and 3680 tons potatoes, and a decrease of 823,938 bushels oats,! and.69,7l4.bushels .barley. The total acreage under cultivation shows an increase of "84,086* acres, and grass land shows an' increase of 65,006acre5." The available export of wheat this year for, the whole colony will be 800,000 bushels, in the face of the fact that Adelaide will only have 100,000 instead of 200,000 tons for export this year, and that New South Wales will be a large importer owing to the damage to her crops by drought, should be very encouraging to the farmers.

Mr. N. J. Isaacs' sale of drapery and tweeds will be continued at 11 o'clock this morning, "he being unable to get through half the goods catalogued yesterday.