Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5059, 11 June 1877, Page 2

The number of passengers who arrived in Wellington by sea during the past week numbered 227. Of these 123 came from jSTorthern ports of the colony, 93 from Southern ports, and 6 from Australia.

During the past week 21 steamers and 9 sailing vessels arrived in Wellington, of a combined tonnage amounting to 5909 tons. During the same period 19 steamers and 10 sailing vessels cleared out, registering 53G3 tons.

The City Council will meet this afternoon to discuss matters of importance which were postponed at last meeting, held on Thursday, owing to pressure of business. Anions the items are the proposals of his Worship the Mayor relative to the drainage scheme and the striking of a water rate of Is. in the £, &e. The following is the list of cases for trial at Napier this sitting : —Cartwright and Peters, for obtaining money under false pretences ; Hayman, for housebreaknig ; McEaeban, for larceny ; Ingle, for forgery ; O'Dowd, and others, for forcible entry. The following civil cases are, up to the present time, set down for hearing:—Neal and Close v. Keith and Hunter, for specific performance of contract; John and Arthur Harrison v. J. Palmer ; J. D. Canning v. Heuare Martua. It would appear from this that the large number of Maori cases which it was thought would come on for hearing have been postponed until next sitting. Since Thursday last a man named Thoma s Edwards has been missing at the Pakuratahi, and the circumstances connected with his absence appear to be somewhat peculiar. It appears that he had been for a period of fourteen months employed by Mr. Elliott, of the Pakuratahi Hotel, in the capacity of cook, and recently he came to town with savings to the amount of £43, aud put up at a hotel which bears the reputation of being respectable and well conducted. He remained there three days, during which time he coutrivedjto spend £37. Thinking possibly, aud very properly too, that this was rather lavish expenditure, he returned to the Pakuratahi Hotel to resume his situation, but on Thursday last began to betray uumistakeable symptous of delirium tremens. Mr. Elliott put him to bed and did what he could to help him. On the following morning he was surprised to find that Edwards had during the night left the house. A search for the missing man was at once instituted by Mr. Elliott, constable Lyster, and others, but no sign of him could be found, and although the search was unremittingly continued on Saturday and during yesterday he was, according to advices received by the police, still missing up to a late hour yesterday afternoon, and it is feared that the unfortunate man may have committed suicide. We understand that a rsceipt for the money Edwards spent at the hotel in which he stayed while in town is in Mr. Elliott's possession.

We understand that the drawing of the art union for Mr. Eustace Brandon's pictures of New Zealand scenery will take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. The tickets were taken up with remarkable rapidity, and had all been disposed of by Saturday evening last, a fact which should speak well for the artistic merit of the views, which indeed are very beautiful, that on Lake To Auan especially ; but to our mind the most attractive and best executed is the moonlight scene on Lake Wakatipu, the softened light and shade, and general repose, peculiar to the scene, being faithfully pourtrayed. All the pictures are excellent, and indicate that Mr. Brandon, who bears a favorable reputation as an artist, has made rapid progress in his high art since last wc had occasion to notice a series of works from his pencil. We understand that Mr. Brandon has received a number of orders for copies of the collection now on view at ;Mr. lleichardt's, musicseller, Lambton-quay. The crossings being laid down at various points on Lambton-quay are being made, for experiment sake, on different principles, iu order to arrive at that which will prove to bo of best service. In one direction Portland cement is being used as a bed for the wooden blocks, the same material being put to till in the openings; in another ordinary lime is being used ; and for a third asphalt. Of course the great object is to discover hew to provide in the cheapest way the most lasting means of bearing traffic, and to this a vast amount of attention has been devoted for years in the larger cities of the world.

The quarterly mooting of the AVelUngton Typographical Association was held on Saturday night in the sidcroom of the Odd Fellows' Hall. There was a large attendance of members, and the following officers were elected for the ensuing half-year :—President, Mr. Monaghau ; vice-president, Mr. Gallagher ; secretary, Mr. i'lummer ; treasurer, Mr. Innes ; trustees, Messrs. Bannister and Everett; auditors, Messrs. D. Fisher and Tattle; committee, Messrs. Carson, Grant, Kussell, J. Mitchell, and Archibald. The affairs of the association were reported as in a most satisfactory state, over £IBO being to its credit.

At the Lower Hutfc on Saturday an iuquest was held on the body of Ilobert Johnson, who came by his death by falling over a precipice forty feet deep, the cart he had been driving falling on top of him. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, adding a rider to the effect that the Highway Board should widen the road.

A special general meeting of the Port Nicholson Mining Investment Company will he held at the Company's office, Public Hall, to-morrow, the business being to receive the annual report and balance-sheet, and election of directors and auditors.j

Tile Supreme Court sits at Napier to-mor-row (Tuesday, 12th hist.), before Mr. Justice Richmond.

His Honor the Chief Justice left hy the s.s. Taupo for Nelson ou Saturday afternoon, the object of his visit being to hold a sitting of the Supreme Court at Nelson. A somewhat interesting case as to the value of hoardings for bill-sticking purposes will be heard at the Resident Magistrate's Court today. Yesterday some boys amused themselves by setting fire to the gorse in the neighborhood of the Lunatic Asylum. There is no necessity for pointing out that even at the risk of fettering the liberty of the subject this Glass of amusement can scarcely be permitted. The funeral of the late Mr. Jackson, of the Te Aro Hotel, took place yesterday afternoon. The deceased had lived for a considerable time in Wellington, and his funeral was attended by a large number of friends and acquaintances.

The Napier police have just completed a census of the town of Napier. From this it appears there are 911 inhabited houses, the total population being 5135. The house containing the largest family is the gaol, where on the day of the census there were forty inmates.

The Patea Mail reports that a couple of surveyors, one new to the district, the other an old resident, were backing their opinions at Hawera the other day as to surveys in a certain locality. The new man said there was an error of seven feet right through. And it was so.

The chess match between the Civil Service and Town players will commence this evening at the club-room at S o'clock. The respective teams comprise fifteen on either side, who are divided into five sets of three, each playing one game with three included in the set opposed to him. We hope to see a good muster of chess of chess players assembled on the occasion.

The Theatre Royal was opened on Saturday evening, by a company under the direction of Mr. Sam Howard, with the drama of " Pick Turpin" and a farce, "The Farmer's Daughter." There was a very fair attendance below stairs, the dress-circle not being largely patronised. The same piece will be repeated tonight, with the addition of a musical interlude.

The weather of Saturday, which was beautifully fine, was followed by a strong wind from the N.W. and drizzling rain during yesterday: and consequently the streets were a l most deserted the whole day. Towards evening it cleared up slightly, the wind veering round to the S.E., but outdoor exercise was still the reverse of pleasant, the night being misty and cold, and the streets sloppy. There was only one case on the criminal side at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday last, a man named John Cohen being charged with having been on the evening previous in a state of incapable drunkenness. On being searched a sum of £2O was found upon him. He pleaded guilty, and was fined 55., or 24 hours imprisonment. There were only two cases set down for hearing on the civil sheet, and they were adjourned. The Georgia Minstrels left by the steamer Hawea for the South on Saturday night. Their season in Wellington was eminently successful, the houses on each night being large, Jand the expressions of opinion by the audiences as to the performances being on the whole very flattering. To judge frpm this troupe's experience in other parts of the colony, they will meet with a good reception in Christchurch, where they will appear for a season, afterwards visiting Dunedin, and possibly Oamaruu and Timaru. They then, we understand, will leave New Zealand and " do " Australia.

The usual weekly lecture to the young was delivered on Saturday [afternoon in the Terrace school, the subject being " James Watt and George Stephenson." The lecturer remarked that he had chosen the subject for two reasons, namely, because he thought it would be a fitting conclusion to the three lectures he had already delivered on" The Steam Engine," "Locomotives," and f " Steam and Steam Boilers." He then proceeded with his discourse, and concluded by drawing some instructive lessons from a study of the lives of the great men he was speaking of. After the conclusion of the lecture, the young people were entertained by the exhibition ef model steam engines and locomotives working by steam, kindly lent by Mr. James and Mr. C. W. Mills, to whom the lecturer expressed his obligations. The football match, Civil Service v. Town, resulted in a win for the Town after a hard fought game. The play on the Town side was at times very good, Thomson in many instances coming to the fore, and running the ball well into his opponents' goal, only, however, to be met by the Civil Service and overthrown. The Civil Service mustered 19 men and the "Towneys" 14, the deficiency in numbers being compensated by the good kicking of some on their side. We regret that the captain of the Civil Service team did not put in an appearance, not that the game would have resulted differently, but as a matter of courtesy to his team. Pollen captained the Civil Service and Thompson the "Towneys." Play was commenced at 3.15, Webb kicking off against the wind. The ball was quickly returned, and after several scrimmages, got unpleasantly close to the Civil Service goal,, when it was smartly taken by Durnbell and played up to the Town end, Webb securiug a touch-down, which, however, Campbell failed to goal. Time was now called, and sides changed ends. During this twenty minutes the game did not advance much, Churtou notably making some false play, and Webb, who was again well up, narrowly escaping a touch-down, owing to good play by Speed. During the next twenty minutes' the Civil Service nearly lost a goal, through a false kick by one of their side, who apparently lost his head. Time was again called, and each side braced itself up, for the last "twenty" some very good runs were made by Dumbell, Castelli, and Thomson, who eventually ran the ball through his opponent's goal, and secured a goal beautifully kicked by Walsh. On the whole, the play was much better than on previous occasions, the mauling and holding the ball being less frequent. The extra meain the Civil Service team were more in the way than otherwise, and retarded rather than advanced the interests of their side. One noticeable failing in the play was the absence of backing up the men playing for the " gallery " instead of the game. After three cheers for each side the teams separated. Notwithstanding the general prosperity of the Hawku's Bay district, cases of destitution are not infrequent. The Napier Telegraph of the d'tli inst. says :—"Our Kaikoura correspondent forwards us the following under date of yesterday :—' A case of great distress came to light on Monday evening. A man was found in the Government whare, near the round hill, about one mile from Kaikora. When found he appeared to be on the point of ! death from want of food. He complained of a cramp, and said he had had nothing to eat Since Sunday morning. He is I believe one of the Plj mouth Brethren. Mr. Pritchavd showed him great kindness and sent him nourishing food, and he has also communicated with the police at Waipawa on the matter.' " The state of the harbor of Wanganui is evidently such as to cause serious apprehension in the minds of those interested in the trade and commerce of that important town and district. The Chronicle of the sth inst. says that Mr. Watt! has given notice to move at the next meeting of the Board, on Thursday—" That inasmuch as the attempts made by this Board to prevent the encroachment of the sea into the river, or the river into the sea, have proved unavailing and ineffectual, and are not likely to succeed aa carried on at present, it is not desirable to continue the expenditure of large I sums of money, without some reasonable expectation of being able to accomplish the object in view, viz., the permanently securing the south bank from the encroachment of sea and river." From the Jlerald of the Sth we find that the motion was duly brought forward and discussed, and that a statement of the expenditure of the Board on the breach of the I

south spit up to the 7th June was then read as follows:—Bags, £SSI 13s. Id.; wages, £502 12s. 2d.; scrub, £92 7s. Id.; timber, .f 33 ISs. 9d.; suudries, £l2 ISs. 7d.; total, £1515 9s. Sd. After considerable discussion Mr. Bryce moved as an amendment—" That in view of the anticipated visit of the Board's engineer within a week, it is not desirable to stop the operations at present going on for the protection of the South Spit, especially as a saving could not be expected of more than £3 per day during the interval between the present time and the date at which the engineer i.-' expected to be in Wangamu." The amendia«\ ; was carried. „ ~ ' " '

The bar at the entrance of Wairoa Harbor (Hawke's Bay) is again in a bad condition. The Free Press says :—" It is pretty generally admitted that the mouth of the river is far worse now than it has been for years past. Formerly it was bad but seldom, now it is seldom if ever practicable. Jupiter would not help the man to get his cart "out of the rut who would not put his shoulder to the wheel, and we commend a diligent perusal of this interesting fable to the Wairoa public generally."

Before taking his departure from Napier (says the Telegraph), the Bishop of Auckland strongly recommended the appointment of the Rev. Mr. Stuart to the bishopric of Waiapu. It is understood that both the Bishop of Auckland and the Bishop of Wellington decline to have annexed to their dioceses any portion of the diocese of Waiapu. Says the Wanganui Herald : —lf our local coach proprietors depended entirely upon the passenger traffic arising from the Turakina railway, they would, like the proprietor of the English newspaper at Naples referred to by Mark Twain, become rich very deliberately, very deliberately indeed. OnTuesdaythe morning train brought in one passenger, and for the honor and profit of conveying him to town two coach proprietors presented themselves. Now, Mr. Young, as is wellknown, is in the line himself, and therefore sympathised with the opposition drivers, and would like to have ridden in both could it have been managed. A happy thought presented itself to him, eminently characteristic of the man, and he suggested that the drivers should " toss" for him. The hint was at once taken, the coin went up, and Forder secured the victory and the passenger. The other coach followed close up, and a happy denouement was brought about by Mr. Young " shouting" all round."