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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5071, 25 June 1877, Page 2

Two men were committed to the Lunatic Asylum on Saturday on the'certificate of Drs. Johnston and Bradford. The hanks in New Sonth Wales have £15,670,800 of deposits, equal to £24 Is. Gd. per head of the population. They have out on loan, £14,318,000 ; notes in circulation are £1,152,300. The deposits have increased by S per cent. Two-thirds of the sums are fixed, and one-third are open accounts. Discounts are rapidly growing. The man Heggarty, who prosecuted Richard Gordon for horse stealing at the last criminal sittings’of the Supreme Court, lias, we learn, been arrested on a char_e of setting fire to his house at Carterton in order to defraud the insurance companies. Heggarty will be taken before the Bench at Featherston to-day, and in all probability a remand will be asked for.

A painful case of theft came before Mr. Crawford at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday. A young and respectable looking woman, named Emily Baron, was charged with having stolen a number of -articles — toilet requisites and other things—from Mr. Valentine’s Railway Hotel at the ITutt. The woman, who appeared to be deeply affected by her position,' pleaded guilty. It appeared from evidence taken that she had been for some time in the employ of Mr. Valentine as housemaid, and on leaving his service she too* the articles mentioned in the information. Mr. Valentine stated that he did not wisli to press the case, and asked the Court to deal leniently with it. His Worship lectured the accused, pointing out how sad a thing it was to see in such a position one so young and apparently of respectable connections. He sentenced her to one month’s imprisonment. The Theatre Royal will be re-opened to-morrow evening, when Mr. W. J. Sweeney will take a benefit. As will be seen from the advertisement which .appears elsewhere, an attractive programme has been prepared. The performance will commence with the Irish drama, “ Ireland as it was,” Mr. Sweeney appearing as Ragged Rat. A musical interlude will follow, in which a talented local amateur and Mr. Smith (whose capability as a dancer is pretty well known) and others will perform. The comedy of “ Naval Engagements” will conclude the entertainment. Mr. Sweeney has beeufora long time in Wellington, having been under engagement to successive lessees of the Theatre Royal, and he has always shown himself to he a painstaking and capable actor. He will, no doubt, reap substantial benefit from the proceeds of the performance to be given in his favor. The football match Town v. College was played on Saturday. The weather was fine and the ground ia good order for the match The Town team were the heavier men ; but the College hoped to make up iu activity what was lacking iu weight. The play commenced at 3 o’clock. Thomson captained the Town team (comprising Pollen, Irvine, Major, Hickson, Campbell, Thomson (2), Walsh, Dumbell, Nixon, Mclvor, and others), and Webb the College team. After a short scrimmage, Thomson collared the ball and secured a touch-down, which however Walsh failed to goal. The ball was again brought out, and taken well down the field, only to be returned by Durabell, and kicked behind the College goal. Time was then called, and the College team, with the wind against them, had the worst of it, the scrimmages being frequent iu front of their goal, Humbell getting a goal by a very nice kick just outside one of them, and Thomson another by a nice kick from mark. During the remaining time the youngsters played well, but failed to regain what they had lost in the game j and the Town team won. The result would probably have been different but for the play of the Messrs. Thomson aud the weakness of the College team, caused by two of their best players being absent. A return match will bo played ou Saturday next, when the College boys hope to gain the victory. Eor an exemplification of the truth of the .adage about the “ biter” being occasionally bitten commend us to the following story told by the Otago Daily Times : —A cook, who did a contractor’s business in Dunedin, called his creditors together and offered them 7s. Cd. in the £. This was refused, and he consequently filed his schedule, and commenced the ordinary procedure of going through the Court. Mr, R. H. Leary was appointed trustee by the creditors, who kept him well posted up regarding the grounds for their belief- that the debtor was sufficiently solvent to pay all his debts iu full. Mr. Leary gave notice of the debtor’s bankruptcy proceedings to the manager of the Post Office Savings Bank, aud all the other banks at Dunedin, though lie was not then actually aware that the swindler had any money iu any of them. Things appeared to work very .smoothly for the debtor, and the creditors accepted 10s. in the £, aud gave him his discharge. The trap worked admirably, and the swindler was caught. Thinking that he was now quite free, his wife went to the Post Office Savings Bank aud demanded the handsome balance (over £100) there standing to her credit To her great surprise, she found that though Mr. Leary had not actually been aware of the plant, yet he had been too smart for the swindling pair. Mr. Leary had so nicely managed the estate, that neither the debtor nor his wife —though the money had been banked iu her-maiden name—could getjiny part of the sum without Mr. Leary’s assistance. The very humiliating alternative had to be adopted, Accompanied by his wife, the debtor went to Mr. Leary aud said, “You must come with us to 1 the Post Office Savings Bank before we can get this money out.” They found that bounce had no good effect. The fraud was exposed. The swindler paid his creditors in full, and all the expenses connected with his brief whitewashing in the Bankruptcy Court, and ho had to be content with the balance. For £IOO worth of debts he had to pay no less than £135. In his schedule ho had llio temerity to state his assets as not over £3O. The chairman of the Timaru Harbor Board has received a letter from Sir J. Coode, stating that he could not undertake to contract for the breakwater, as he confined himself strictly to his practice as a civil engineer. His professional engagements having increased, he could not now undertake the duties which would be required of him. The Board could decide upon carrying out works either by the contract system, under his direction, or without the intervention of contractors under some other engineer.

We have received the t( Australasian Insurance and Banking Becord ” for June. yfe have to record the death of Mrs. Charles Hillsden, which occurred ou Saturday morning at about six o’clock. The cause of death was rheumatic fever, from which Mrs. Hillsden had been suffering for some days prior to her decease.

This is how the Tasmanian Tribune winds up an article on political matters We feel sure that the prayer of every honest and independent voter is, that in all time of ouv prosperity, and in the hour of trial, from all such place-hunters and blood-suckers as Messrs, G-ihlia, Tunes, and Fysh, * Good Lord deliver us.’ ”

Captain Sale, an American officer, has invented a new aerial machine, consisting of a slight framework", covered with loose canvas, which becomes filled with air, and thus the apparatus is kept afloat. In order to make observations of an enemy’s camj} at night, the machine is made fast, and a parachute, provided with fire-balls, is sent up the line, which at the proper point explodes, ignites the fireballs, and thus illuminates the surrounding country for a considerable distance, thus disclosing the position of the enemy’s camp. A trial of the apparatus proved very satisfactory, in spite of the bad weather which prevailed. X)r, Macartney, a teetotal lecturer and a member of the new Victorian House of Assembly, has been charged publicly by a political opponent with having been connected with the murder of Mr. Baillie at Fiji. Macartney says the rumor that he was the murderer of Baillie originated with his wife and her paramour to deter him from proceeding for a divorce. Mr. F. L. Smyth, M.L.A., has written a letter to the same journal to the effect that he is the paramour referred to by Dr. Macartney, and he denies all criminility in connection with the rumor. He asserts, furthermore, that Dr. Macartney has been guilty of dreadful illtreatmeut to his wife, ingratitude, drunkenness, and other offences.

The correspondent of the Loudon Tablet, writing from Home, on April 21st ultimo, gives the following items of news in connection with the new Homan Catholic Bishop for the Auckland Diocese The Bishopric of Auckland, New Zealand, some time vacant b} T the resignation of the Right Rev. Dr. Croke, now Archbishop of Cashel, has been filled by the appointment thereto of Dr. Chareyre, a Drench priest of the Diocese of Wellington.” From this it may be assumed that the bishop elect will at once take over the administration of his new charge. We understand that intelligence lias been received from Dr. Moran, Bishop of Dunedin, intimating his intention of paying an early visit to Auckland, and no doubt Bishop Chareyre will accompany him, and be duly consecrated. Father Jean Pierre Chareyre has been in New Zealand for about nine years. He was for several years connected with the Nelson district, and after some time left Nelson city for the West Coast of the Middle Island, from which he removed not long since to Wellington. The Now Catholic Bishop of Auckland is a man of high culture, of attractive manners, and of kindly yet firm disposition. His labors in Nelson province and on the West Coast, were marked with earnestness and self-forgetfulness, and all who knew him—especially those who knew him intimately—entertained for him both and affection. We believe his Holiness the Pope could not have made a better choice for Auckland.”

Most of us in New Zealand nowadays have very little idea of the New Zealand of half a century ago, and of the strange experiences of the very early settlers, most of whom have closed their eyes on this world’s doings for ever. Little scraps of evidence occasionally crop up, however, to mark some singular feature in the early history of the colony since Europeans first came here. We have been shown a very singular document in connection with an equally singular contract entered into between a European settler and a Maori chief over 45 years ago. It is as follows: —“ This is to certify that I, Te Potai, do give up and renounce for ever all claim to Tahe, my slave, to Mr. Chas. Baker, in consideration of payment delivered, in kind as undermentioned, being 2 blankets ; in testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my mark.—December Tth, 1531.” Here fellows the mark of Te Potai, and signatures of the witnesses—W. T. Chapman and John Hobbs. It appears that Potai was a powerful chief in those days, when it was a common custom to kill, roast, and eat natives of low degree for small offences. Tahe was a slave, and having been sentenced to death by the almighty Potai, whose slave he was, would very soon have been. despatched to happy hunting grounds but for the interposition of Mr. Charles Baker, father of Mr. E. Baker, now clerk of the Resident Magistrate’s Court. Mr. Baker purchased Tahe for two blankets, and set him at liberty. The West Coast Times speaks with no uncertain sound on the honorarium question. It says :—“ The experiment of payment of members has been fully tried, has had many years to prove its utility, and has failed signally, in either raising the tone of the Assembly, or in unearthing any latent ability that impecunious village Hampdens were supposed to possess. Such being the case, why not, in nautical phraseology, go on the other tack, pay members absolute expenses out of pocket, and let those who can or will give their time sit in the halls of the Legislature. The public, as a rule, have the very faintest conception as to what the cost of New Zealand representatives at the present time is. Taking last session as a sample, leaving out thousands in connection with it, the expense could not have been less than £24,000 in honoraria alone, whilst the

‘ travelling expenses’ swelled the c6st of members to the country by au awful, but unknown amount. The calculation is easily made. They voted themselves j 6210 each for their exertions, and taking, in round numbers, the House of Representatives at eighty members and the Council at forty, the above sum results. If all the costs could be known they would total many thousands more. Now, can any reasonable person think the legislation was worth the money, or that equal good would not have eventuated to the colony had the honorarium been absent ? There are plenty of good men and true in New Zealand and elsewhere who will servo their country faithfully and honestly without expecting to be made pensioners of the people, if the present preposterous practice is put an end to, and one class that now cumber the Assembly will, in such case, be heard of no more. The time has arrived when New Zealand affairs should be entrusted to those whose interests arc chiefly in jeopardy, and the services of the professional politicians, whose welfare depends on the Parliamentary honorarium, are no longer needed.”

Mr. Octavius March, of Loudon, according to the Furniture Onutte, has recently taken out a patent for certain improvements in window-blinds, window-screens, louvres, fi ro screens, and other articles of a similar kind, which is at once extremely ingenious as well as very useful. Mr. March constructs a win-dow-screen of slips of glass of suitable length, width, and thickness, say 18 inches by 1 inch by J inch, arranged either vertically or horizontally at a proper distance apart in a frame, so that each slip can be rotated upon its axis ; he uses slips of two different colors (yellow and blue, for example) arranged alternately, and by this means he obtains a screen capable of producing five distinct effects. First—When all the yellow slips are arranged with their flat sides to view, and the blue with their edges to view, the whole screen will present a yellow appearance. Second—When all the blue slips present their flat aides and the yellow their edges to view, the whole appearance will be blue. Third— When they are all oblique and parallel, the appearance will be stripes of yellow, green, and blue, the green being caused by the overlapping of the blue and yellow. Fourth— When all the slips are oblique, but at right angles or nearly so, the stripes will be blue and yellow only. Fifth —When all the edges are turned to view, no color will ho seen,_ but only au open space intersected by dark lines. For convenience in turning the slips he connects all the blue together and all the yellow together, with one leuob to turn the blue and another for the yellow.

The Public Works Department calls for tenders for the erection of a telegraph office at the Pilot Station, Worser Bay. The Wanganui Ilcnthl says the creditors of Hoaui Maaka met on Friday afternoon to take into consideration what steps should be taken to protect their interests, it being their opinion that the alleged insolvent possessed property in the shape of land, which ought to be liable for his debts. During the meeting it was elicited that Hoaui had a right to certain laud that had not passed through the Court, but which was leased to European settlers. These settlers had very recently paid Hoaui rent in advance, some three and some five years, so that any claim the creditors may have thought they would have on these leases is of no present value. The object of Hoaui is obvious. He desires to pass Ms laud through the Court, but before doing so is equally desirous of disposing of any claims that his creditors would have upon the land directly the title was individualized, so with a happy thought seeks the white-washing process that has been found so successful by the paladins. Some of his creditors are his tenants, and so fragile is their tenure that their own interests are best consulted by sacrificing their claim and payin'* rent in advance to maintain their leases. The independent creditors, not tenants, must suffer in consequence, and the native go through with flying colors. It is a bad case, not so much in itself as in the example it sets to other natives in a similar position. Our sympathy is strongly with the creditors, and we do trust they will be able to “get at” the native, and wrest their rights from his unwilling and untrustworthy hands.

Mr, N. J. Istiacs will hold an auction sale to-day of general merchandise, wines, spirits, produce, &c. The advertisement states that there will be no reserve.

A very desirable property In the "Wanganui District, is advertised by Mr. It. W. Woon as to be let by tender. The property adjoins Mr. W. 11. Watt's, Westmerc estate.