New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1877.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5078, 3 July 1877, Page 2

New Zealand Times. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1877.

The comparatively late hour at which the first meeting of the conference on “The suppression of intemperance in Wellington,” held in the Provincial Hall last night, terminated, as well as the extent of our reoort of the proceedings, prevent more than a limited comment in this column. The number ef the speakers and the admittedly influential public positions held by the majority of them invest the proceedings with no ordinary degree of interest. With the exception of that of Mr. Hooper, an intemperate teetotaller - , the speeches were in almost all cases characterised by a moderation, a practical good sense, and a desire to discuss the question at issue in a reasonable manner that was beyond all praise. .Even those gentlemen who honestly believe that drinking alcohol should be put down by Act of Parliament were content last night to admit that at present the realisation of these ideas was simply impossible, and endeavored to mitigate where they knew they could not eradicate. On the other hand, the sensible positions taken up by the Church of England Bishop of Wellington, the Revs. Ogg, Coffey, and Paterson, by Messrs. Travers and Gisborne, M.H.R.’s, by Dr. Grace and Mr. Jonas Woodward, deserve most careful consideration. Those speeches will be found reported in full elsewhere, and, with others, will repay the perusal which Archdeacon Stock, in moving the adjournment of the conference last night, asked for them.

The news from the seat of war published by us this morning resembles a conundrum, and its solution may fairly be given up. We were without Associated Press telegrams for a couple of days, and suddenly some arrived early yesterday, after having been “ hung np” somewhere or another, whilst au Agent-Gene-ral’s telegram reached hero without difficulty on Sunday morning. Now we have news from Singapore, as we often had it previously, to a date immediately precedent to that of issue iu New Zealand. The cause of the delay and the news are equally problems resembling “ the inverse theory of perturbations,” and most difficult of solution. However, one thing seems pretty certain, that the Russians having established a battle of artillery along the Hue of the Danube, from ICalatat to Oltenitza,.have suddenly crossed in some force at Simnitza, and have occupied Sistova as a tele du pout. This by no means includes their ultimate successful passage of the river as invaders, for the operations of the Turkish monitors and land forces may at any moment,cut off the army that has crossed from the main body that has to follow it. The news of events in Asia offers noroom for conjecture. One telegram tellsus that the Russians were defeated with heavy loss at Sevin, and another (that received at an early hour this morning) says that Batum, news is anbtautialiy confirmed by Russian despatches, which state that the Russians carried an advanced entrenchment nearZewin. Now, Sevin is a place at the head of the Arax River, on the road to Erzerum ; and as the left wing of the Russians has already been pretty well thrashed in this direction, we can understand how it has with heavy loss there, but how Russian despatches can confirm this by saying that the troops of the Tsar have taken an advanced entrenchment near Batum, we are at a loss to know.

Once more the miserable, not to say disgraceful, nature of the accommodation provided for the Courts of Justice in this city, has been brought before the notice of the Chief Justice by the Grand Jnrv< We were glad to hear from his Honor that the matter is “ under consideration,” and we trust that it will not be long before a Court House somewhat more adapted to the wants of the public, the legal profession, and the Press is provided. Bad as the accommodation in the Supreme Court is, it is ten times worse in the Resident Magistrate’s Court, as is well-known to almost everybody in the place, and has been the subject of very general complaint for a long time. Indeed, people have been very patient in waiting so long for something to be done in the matter. In England the Queen’s Judges have refused to sit at certain assize towns unless adequate accommodation was provided, and new Courts have had to be built in Consequence of the pressure their Lordshh s brought to bear upon the authorities. Whether their Honors the Queen’s Judges iu this colony could act in the same manner we don’t know, and probably there is .no.-necessity'for them to go to that extent, even if they have the power. The Government appears not to have been wholly unmindful of the matter, although as yet nothing beyond the preparation of plans has been done. We hope this next session these plans will fructify iu a new Court House, which will be a. credit: instead of a disgrace to the city.

Telegrams published by us in an “Extra” yesterday afternoon, and repeated in this morning’s issue, from Singapore, Bombay, and London, appear to have been suspended somewhere in transmission, otherwise we should have received them sooner. It usually does not take more than one day to get a message from Singapore; hut in this ease a telegram sent from there on the 30th June does not reach us until the afternoon of July 2nd, and the dates from Bombay and London of messages reaching us at the same time are June 28th. There certainly appears to be some unaccountable delay in these instances; and it so happens that just now the war news is getting more and more interesting. It is, therefore, rather annoying that at this particular time the suspension in transitu of important telegrams should occur. Wo do not know at present who, if anyone, is to blame in the matter; but it is obvious that hitherto it has not taken —and, therefore, that it oughthot now to take—two or three days for a telegraphic message to get from Singapore to Wellington when nothing is wrong with the wires.