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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5026, 3 May 1877, Page 2

' By an advertisement in another column, it will be seen that the proprietors of the New Zealand Times purpose issuing maps of the “ Seat of War ” in Europe and Asia. It may be as well to state that these maps are topographically correct as to railways, towns, &c., up to the latest possible date, and that they are as such in advance of any which may be published in other portions of this colony, and which must be mere reproductions of maps drawn several years ago. The Bankruptcy Court sat all day yesterday, hearing arguments in the matter of Tonks’ deed of arrangement. Mr. Allan addressed the Court at great length, in reply to Mr. Barton’s arguments, and the Court took time to consider, first intimating, however, that it was inclined to hold that there had been culpable negligence shown by debtor in making up the lists of his assets and _liabilities and of his creditors. '

This day thirty-six years ago New Zealand was declared independent of New South Wales. Old colonists who recollect the day can scarcely realise the great changes that have taken place since that time, and new arrivals find it quite as difficult to imagine that such progress could have been made. For the information of these latter we may mention that the first Government Agent resident in New Zealand-while she was a part of New South Wales’ territory is- still alive, and is in the Auckland province.

Builders will note by our advertising columns that Hr. Turnbull, the well-known architect, invites tenders for the erection of the new theatre in Manners-street. We understand that’ this theatre is to be the finest int he'colony, and we shall take an early opportunity .of -inspecting the plans and giving our readers some particulars respecting the building., ' ...

i ; Among the civil cases heard at the Eesident Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday was one in which the Heathen Chinee element. made its appearance. A man named Ah Yung sued a person by the name of Flannigan for-15»., supposed to be owing in consequence of certain debts incurred by .the plaintiff. It appeared, however, that Mrs. Flannigan had never received any goods from the' Celestial, asTset .down in the: bill, the articles' enumerated in which comprised a number of curiosities; such as a lady would be unlikely to take a fancy to. His Worship recorded a nonsuit.

Amongst the many beautiful pictures of New Zealand scenery, which abounds in subjects for the artist, beyond, perhaps, any other country, we inspected one yesterday that may, we think, fairly take rank, among the highest productions of the kind. It is a view in water colors of Milford Sound, by Mr. J. Gully, and comprises a charming scene in which the still water, calm as an inland lake, snow-capped mountains, grand and rugged, together with dense and apparently almost impenetrable bush, are, mingled together in exquisite harmony. It is a faithful representation of New Zealand forest, lake, and mountain, as it were, fresh from nature’s hand, before settlement and population marred their beauties, so far as the picturesque is concerned. The painting takes in Pembroke Peak and the Lion Eock, which are prominent features in the landscape, and must be familiar to all who have visited this enchanting spot. To everybody who can appreciate an excellent landscape, a visit to Mr. Jackson’s, Lambton-quay, where the painting is now on view,'will, we feel sure, prove an - intellectual treat. The picture, we understand, is valued at £IOO. As the work of : a local artist, it speaks for the talent there is in the colony ; and as a striking and faithful representation of a gem of New Zealand scenery, it certainly: deserves very high praise. To the painter, the author, or the poet, New Zealand furnishes them innumerable, and opens out mines of wealth which have yet to be worked. Milford Sound is among the most grand and striking pieces of the scenery of these favored islands, and, as pourtrayed by the hand of Mr. Gully, is extremely beautiful. We advise everybody who can appreciate an excellent picture taken from nature, to pay a visit to Mr. Jackson’s establishment whilst this work of art by Mr. Gully is on view. ;

There was a good attendance at the Theatre Royal last night, when “The Govehor" was repeated and warmly received. Messrs. Baker and Farron have earned golden opinions from all sorts of people during their stay here, and all who can appreciate genuine stage comicality will.regret that they are about to leave us. To-night “ Lisa Ecoles,” with the Lilliputian Volunteers, will beproduced for the last time, and we expect to see a crowded house.

The All-England Eleven left South Australia for England on April 20.

A meeting of the Waste Lands Board will be Held this morning.

A man named McCormick was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment, at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, for Vagrancy.

A private telegram received in town from Napier by a gentleman yesterday stated that there was a terrible sea on at the harbor works; a portion of the bank was washed away, and the pile driving was stopped.

It is well to mention that the name of one of the towns which telegrams informed us the Turks were bombarding is “ Anaklia,” not “ Anaoria.” The latter name has appeared in print, evidently as a consequence of some telegraphic blunder. A kind of “ triangular” duel is being fought by the three Wairarapa papers ; in fact, the hitherto happy valley is fast degenerating into an Eatanswill. Where the quarrel will end, unless In the Supreme Court, it is difficult to guess.

In accordance with a request founded on the recommendation of Commodore Hoskins and Lieutenant Dugdale, two gunners acquainted with the latest improvements in the science of gunnery have been appointed to come out to the Victorian ironclad, the Cerberus. It has been proposed by a number of Press men in Wellington that the fourth Caxton centenary shall be celebrated here by a dinner, and the idea meets with a good deal of favor. Up to last evening a good many promises of support had been received, and we have no doubt the proposition will be carried out with spirit.

We were glad to see a good attendance at the Odd Fellows’ Hall last evening, on the occasion of Mrs. Stoneham’s benefit. This lady is deservedly a great favorite with the theatregoing portion of the commuaity, who, as we were sure they would, availed themselves of the opportunity offered of showing their appreciation of her by being present on her benefit night. The hill of fare comprised “ Woodcock’s Little Game,” a sparkling comedy, and the extravaganza “ Medea, or the Golden Fleece,” an amusing burlesque of the celebrated play of Euripides. The pieces ran remarkably well, and elicited frequent applause. Mrs. Stoneham and Miss Stoneham were very happy in the parts assigned to them, and Mr. W. H. Stoneham, who has lately joined the family, was a capital Mr. Woodcock. Mr. Stoneham is a painstaking and risng young actor, who is sure in a few years’ time to make his mark in the profession, and we are very glad indeed to see him here. The entertainment at the Odd Fellows’ Hall last night was a decided success. Referring to the hearty welcome given his Excellency the Governor by Invercargill, the Southland Times says:—“ The cordial reception of his Excellency the Governor yesterday by the people of Invercargill will probably suggest to him that Dunedin is not Otago, that we are loyal citizens here, and that there is no part of her Majesty’s dominions where the Queen or her Majesty’s representative would be greeted with ■ greater respect, or with a warmer welcome. The disloyalty at Dunedin of the semirespectable loafers under the leadership of the Otago Guardian, who have long fattened on the peculations and corruption of a petty Provincial Government, and that of the nonrespectable loafers who own Mr. McLaren as their fugleman, and cry out for work which they have not the slightest wish to obtain, are little known and less trusted in Invercargill. Perhaps his Excellency may console himself under his slight from the Otago city of the past by his reception at the rising Otago city of the future.”

The half-yearly report of the directors of the Bank of New Zealand, presented to the shareholders lately at the ordinary half-yearly meeting, will be found in our commercial columns. As the New Zealand Herald remarks, it deserves more than a passing notice, for the figures of which it is made up are full of instruction,'. The net profit of the business of the half-year (after providing for every debt considered bad) has been £61,687 9s. Od., and the amount' received from premiums on new shares for the same period has been £17,500. The last mentioned sum, together with £7,500, ■taken from profits, making £26,000, has been added to the reserve fund, which now stands at the handsome figure of £275,000. The ordinary •profit above-named, together’ with £8634 19s. lid., balance of undivided profits in September last,’made £70,322 Bs. lid. The sum appropriated for dividend and reserve fund is £87,822 Bs. lid,',' of which £36,250 is absorbed in the dividend declared at 10 per cent, per annum, .£18,125 in a bonus of 5 per cent, a share, £26,000 as already stated to the reserve fund, and a balance of £8447 Bs. lid. to be carried to the next half-year. The only feature in the speech of the chairman was the allusion to diminution of Government deposits, which only , concerned . the bank as one of the elements of their large business. Whatever prospective ..diminution of profit ..there may be under; this head its plape is supplied by the satisfactory • increase (of assets, which now stand at the magnificent figure of £8,800,000, as compared with £7,700,000 of last year, these large figures are analysed and referred to the source from which they proceed, it will 'be found that the substantial progress and trade of the/.country, though less rapid,- is still satisfactory. The Bank of New Zealand, figures in. its balance-sheet-prove, has made a marvellous progress tolits. high, position in the course of only fifteen years. Its advance ris a ‘ proof of the great advance of the trade and commerce of New Zealand.- Since it"'/ establishment two new institutions of the kind have made their mark in the Colony the National Bank of New Zealand, which has existed only some’ four years, and has secured a sound footing, and the Colonial Bank—a local institution,' as its name imports—which, though of still more recent date, is steadily expanding its borders of operation. So with the other banks established' in the country, though belonging to"; other colonies. These all show increase of business, and the steady growth of our national and accumulation of that capital which is the true basis of sound commercial progression. ; Commenting on the fact that Victoria is practically unrepresented at the Sydney Exhibition, the Echo observes :—“ It is regretted by the Australasian that Victoria : has no court at our exhibition. Some of the other colonies have not only courts but special commissioners. Even if Victoria did not find it desirable to make any special effort to send’up goods this year, it might, perhaps, with advantage to itself, have sent one or -more commissioners to inspect and report, and they would have been very cordially welcomed. Our contemporary ascribes the apathy of Victoria this year to the reaction against exhibitions generally, consequent on the failure of that colony to njake a good impression at Philadelphia By way of contrast, our present exhibition has special attractions in consequence of the interest New South Wales drew at the Centennial. If we probe down to the causes of things we shall find that Victorian protection and New South Wales free trade have had, something to do with these different results. Victoria made an effort to show off its manufacturing progress at Philadelphia—a matter in which the Americans took little interest; but it held out no hope of being itself a market for American wares. New South Wales, on the contrary, laid out its strength principally in showing its raw produce, and in expounding its natural resources, and by its free-trade tariff it invited the attention of producers of all sorts to the tree market the colony furnished. If we had the Victorian tariff, we should never have had the American exhibits, for there is little, use in trying to open up a trade with a country which is determined to keep out the foreigner. Whether the Americans will find the footing here that they are anxious to get must be left to the processes of trade to determine. They have a fair field and no favor, bu? at the same time they have no discouragement”

It seems that a method &as been found of rendering the trigger of an apparently 81b. pull Martini-Henry rifle as light as a hair, and advantage has been taken of the discovery, which was until lately a secret, in rifle matches. A correspondent of the Melbourne Argus, writing from Ballarat, speaks of the matter as follows ;—“I have been to-day putinpossession of a secret in connection with the use of the

Martini-Henry rifle, a knowledge of which, I am told, the authorities desire to suppress, but with what object I cannot divine. What has led up to my getting this information was the discharge of Sergeant Dubberlin’s rifle some time ago after he had laid it down in apparent safety on the ground. These rifles are supposed to have a trigger pull of from 61b. to 81b., hut it was shown to me to-day that by a clever art in cooking the gun, the trigger pull becomes as light as that of those known as hair triggers, and in this state it affords great facilities to the marksmen over those who are not in the secret. In setting the rifle on cock, the operator manages to bring the tumbler round in such a way that the edge of it just rests on the triggerlever, and though the rifle I was asked to try was an 81b. pull, the force required to disconnect it was the very slightest touch of the little finger. I don’t wish to insinuate that Sergeant Dubberlin’s rifle was in this state, with his knowledge, at the time be was about to shoot and laid the weapon down ; but it is certain that any of these rifles can be put in that state by those in ,the secret, and there is no remedy for it but to fire it off. When set as hair triggers the gun is extremely dangerous in anyone’s hands, as the slightest shake or concussion ought cause an explosion.” Mr. Stout, M.H.R., receives a Roland for an Oliver from the hands of the Rev. Mr. Oldham, of Dunedin. Replying to Mr. Stout’s remarks as to there being two Church of England clergymen to meet his Excellency the Governor, he writes in a letter to the Times — It is insinuated that the clergy of the Church of England are worshippers of aristocrats. It was a thing long familiar to me at Home, and it revives quite refreshing memories now, to hear the Church maligned in every possible form and manner. It was always thought a safe and popular thing by certain men. It is perfectly safe out here—just as safe as to abuse a marquis, though not worth so much as a factor in the production of popularity.

The acclimatisation of salmon trout in these waters may be considered a sure thing, so many individuals of the species having been taken from time to time. But it was not until yesterday (gays Saturday’s Otago Daily Times) that the long-expressed desire of the Acclimatisation Society for a living fish from which toobtain roe for the further propagation of the species by artificial means was gratified, and we are sure that the gratification will be shared by all true lovers of sport, and we add gastronomic admirers of this most dainty fish. For some time past the society has offered £1 per head for live fish, and at last has succeeded in securing a fine female about 41b. weight. It was caught by Mr. Nicolls, a fisherman living at Quarry Point, near Portobello, and intimation of the fact having at once been transmitted to Sir. Deans, the society’s curator, he hurried down to the port yesterday, and found the fish healthy and strong, swimming about in the barrel in which it had been brought over. He returned to Dunedin with it by the next train, and by this time we daresay it is becoming accustomed to new quarters in the enclosed space provided for captured fish of its kind, near where the Water of Leith joins the bay. The following original production appears in Te Wananga -in the form of a letter to the editor ; —“This.is a .notice so that all may know it. Gold has been found by an European. It was found in the Porahgahau district. That money (the gold) was like the gravel in size. He (the finder) also had a bag of stones, which were white, which he said was quartz. That European said it was found twenty miles from Porangahau. That European said that he has surveyed a piece of land for himself 100 feet long by 100 feet broad. When the Maoris said to him that he must show the place where the gold was found, he answered that he would not show it. The Maori said it was good, we did think you would show it so that we the two people (the Maori and European) might have property in it. The' European ran (or went) away with his money (gold). If that European comes, do not give him the Government reward. That man has a red head, is six feet high, and his name is Teene (Mr. Tierney, or Kane). If you see that he really has gold, keep it and take care of it in your possession. That European went on to our land without authority. He also took our spade, dish, and an American axe, and some of: our food, and then he ran away into the forest, where he could dig secretly on our land. If that European comes with his gold, if it is really gold, take charge of him, so that we may hear where he has obtained the gold.—Enough from Tipene Matad.”

The Mayor of Dunedin has received from the late Lord Mayor of London an acknowledgment. of the receipt of the sum of £IBO, collected and forwarded by the citizens of Dunedin as a contribution to the Bulgarian relief fund, in which the private secretary at the Mansion House says :—“ That amount will be forthwith transmitted to the Central Committee at Constantinople for distribution by thoroughly responsible and impartial hands among those for whom it has been subscribed ;• and I am sure that the announcement of so generous a gift from a source so distant, but yet in sympathy so near, will give the heartiest satisfaction here, and create deep gratitude among the recipients of your bounty in the East.” Such an acknowledgment should be exceedingly gratifying to colonial pride, notwithstanding that some people’s minds will naturally revert to Dickens’s Mrs. Jellabad, when they read of homeless children, whom' the Industrial School will not accommodate, running barefooted and hungry'in the' Dunedin streets." Mr. Fitzroy, addressing his constituents the other evening, said he. should oppose a scheme of deferred payments if applied to the lands of the whole colony, but believed such a measure would be very well it limited in its operation to certain parts of the colohy. If taxation became necessary, he should be in : favor of a property and inconie tax, which latter should be limited to incomes of over £3OO a-year. He should support free, secular, and compulsory education. Separation meant that the North should be governed from Auckland ; the South from Dunedin. He was opposed to such a policy, because it would end in a border tariff at Oook Strait. Should not vote for the Upper House being made an elective body; should support .four -year Parliaments, as a compromise between triennial andquinquennial Parliaments. In answer to a question, he said if more money were wanted it must be had, and he should not support a measure for : taking a poll of New Zealand on the matter. He should vote to reduce the honorarium of members.

Mr. George Thomas had a very large and respectable attendance at his sale of Mr. Clayton’s furniture yesterday, which will be continued to-day, as pet advertisement.