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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5087, 13 July 1877, Page 2

With regard to the weekly war telegrams from the Agents-General in London, it may be worth while mentioning that Sir Henry Parfces, .Premier of New South Wales, looks upon the whole affair as, an dmateur attempt to perform the duties: of.itho Press. His opinion .is that the Press, in the collection of such intelligence 'as is expected to be received from the Agents- . General, .can. defeat any Government, and he thinks it possible that the Government tele-grams-will contain what the Press 'will have already received; .nr about tohave transmitted to them. ■He asks, ■ how else can it be? The Agenta-General are in their office, and 'can only get the news from the London Press, which may probaJbly be some hours after its transmission to Australia, They are, furthermore, not likely to get any more news, for intelligence of signal importance to the colonies .would be transmitted direct to the Governors by the Imperial authorities. Sir Henry Parkes agreed to the;,proposal, hot that he expected much from it, but because he did not wish to stand out from what the other Governments so readily agreed to. ' Masterton 'has been proclaimed: a borough under the Municipal Corporations Act The Government has been pleased to appoint Mr. ■R, Wilson first clerk and returning officer. The name of Mr. K. G. Williams is spoken of in connection with the Mayoralty. The polling for the election of mayor is fixed for the 6th August; of councillors on Bth August; and of atditors on 10th August. The Council will first meet on Monday, 13th August. .Palmerston North has also been proclaimed a borough, and the same days are fixed for election purposes, &c., as in the case of Masterton. The football club had a meeting last evening to choose the team' which is to play the Wanganui “kickiats” on Saturday at Wanganui. The following team was selected : —Pollen, Chapman,' Thomson, Major, Budge, Welsh, Nixon, Brandon, .Mclvor, Fitz Gerald, Ohur.ton,Gordon, Speed, ICreeft, Cooper, Hickson (emergency). The team will ffendezvous at the Pier Hotel at 6 o'clock this evening, and leave per Manawatu at 6.30 p.m. • The first of the promenade concerts in connection with the new skating season whs given last evening in St. George’s Hall. Seats were ranged round the floor in a circle, leaving an ■open space for the rinkers. The concert was a complete success, as may be easily imagined when such old favorites as Miss Howards and Miss Navaro, .assisted by other talent, were the performers. The vocal selections wore choice and admirably arranged. Miss Navaro sang several tunes . during tho evening, and her sweet contralto voice found - great favor with the audience. Miss Howarde rendered a number of songs in her .usual masterly style, and the two ladies sang the - duets “ Sainted Mother” and “Ye Banks.” splendidly, eliciting an enthusiastic encore, the voices blending excellently, and the effect was very fine. Mr. Hunter also sang during the evening several songs in capital style. During the intervals tlie, rinkers exercised themselves, so that there was from start tofinishsomething to engage the attention of the audience. These promenade concerts are likely to become as popular in Wellington as they have proved elsewhere, as in addition to the attraction presented by the concert, there is the feature of novelty to be taken into consideration.

Mr. Dugard was to the fore again yesterday, but on this occasion there was nothing of an oscillatory character connected with the programme he attained. It appears that Mr. Dugard recently sold his hotel at the Upper Hutt to Mr. Chaney, and has since been in town. This fact having reached the ears of his creditors, a smart watch was kept on Dugard, and he was ultimately arrested at the door of tho Melbourne Hotel, and taken before the Magistrate’s Court to answer a judgment summons for £22 S.s. -Id., issued at the instance of Messrs. Pascoe and Co,, brewers. On being examined Mr, Pascoe stated that he had every reason to htdievo defendant contemplated escaping from,Welling-ton-ill the barque Australiud without paying his debts, although he was supposed to have a considerable sum of money, and passages for a man and woman had been taken in that vessel. The result of the action taken by Mr. Pascoe was that Dugard, who declined to pay the money, was taken to gaol, his Worship having made an order for instant payment, or in default one month’s imprisonment, a similar order being made in oases brought by G. Dixon, for £7 Is.; J. McDowell and Co., for £6 os. 7d.; and N. J. Isaacs, for £4 11s. 4d. On being searched af tho gaol the only money found on Dugard was £1 some odd shillings.

A man named Bernard Caldwell has been committed to six months’ imprisonment at the Featherstou Court, for stealing some hoots -at Carterton on Tuesday- last.

Telegraph stations aro now opened at Coalgato and Kollestou, both in the County of Selwyn,

A meeting o£ the Royal Arch Chapter of Free and Accepted Masons was held at the Masonic Hall, Boulcott-street, last evening. There was a full practice meeting of the Choral Society last night at Mr. Hunter's rooms.

’Yesterday having been the gala day of Orangemen, a ball to celebrate the event was held in the Odd Fellows’ Hall. It will be seen by our Auckland telegram that there was a procession and certain festivities there. The play of “ Richelieu” was repeated at the Theatre Royal last evening to a better house than the night before, and gave evident satisfaction, the audience applauding frequently. This evening there will be a change of programme, the piece of the. evening as announced being “Still Waters Run Deep.” The performance will conclude with the farce of “ Trying It On.”

A meeting of the Petoni settlers was held last night at the Criterion Hotel to consider what measures should be taken for a road from their homesteads to the public highway, the one that has been in use for the last thirty years being fenced off by the natives. After some discussion, it was eventually agreed to send a memorial to the Hutt County Council to at once remedy the evil. The wonderful progress that has been made in the towns and cities of Australasia within a few short years was very forcibly illustrated a short time ago by two pictures published by the Australasian, of “ Melbourne as it was, 1839,” and “Melbourne as it is in 1877.” Much the same sort of contrast could be made by two pictures, oue of Wellington in former days, and the other of the Wellington of to-day. A step in this direction has been made by Mr. Francis Brady, who has executed a painting in oils of “ Wellington Harbor in 1841.” A few huts on the beach, a number of Maoris with their fishing boats, and the high hills in the background, clothed with thick bush almost to the water’s edge, are the leading features of the picture, which is pronounced by old identities of the place to be a most faithful representation of “Poneke” in olden days. We hope Mr. Brady will shortly produce a second picture— Wellington in 1877 —showing the spacious and handsome stores and other fine buildings which now line the Quay, and extend from Thorndon to Te Aro. More ,convincing evidence of the increase in population and prosperity which this city has made, within a comparatively brief period of time could not be found than that afforded by two such pictures of Wellington. The painting by Mr. Brady, to which we have referred, is a most creditable work of art. It is taken from a drawing by Major Heaphy, V.C., who was at the time alluded to draughtsman to the New Zealand Company, It is on view at the establishment of Mr. Meyers, picture dealer, Lambton-quay, and is well worthy of inspection. The Canterbury Press says :—-Mr. Travers takes credit to himself for having been the instigator of a Parliamentary inquiry intothe matter of adulteration, but that inquiry, as readers of the results recorded in the “Gazette” must have ascertained, was a farce and a fiasco. Their sum total was little more than a supplement to the general belief that Hennessy’s and Martell’s best brands of brandy are not bad liquors of their kind. The inquiry revealed nothing, or next to nothing, as to the character, evil or otherwise, of the spirituous liquors which the humbler commoner consuraes.at .city taps, racecourse booths, or roadside publichouses in remote situations ; and if it is possible to protect him against himself or against the “ quids” or other adulterants of which he is compelled to partake, it would be wisdom to introduce a measure which would do so more perfectly than is done by the existing laws of the colony.. :At present, the unlimited competition, which ja permitted in this particular trade in some parts of the colony, and the high license fees which have to he paid, are simply premiums upon the practice of. adulteration. The Lyltetton Times of the 9th says : Amongst the new railway regulations is one (No. 132) which prescribes that “at all facing points the handle must be held down whilst any train dr vehicle is passing.” It will he observed that there is no provision for the points being looked, as is done on the Home lines; In order, to compfiy with the rule,,it would be necessary that a large number of extra pointsmen should .he employed. At the same time the injunctions laid upon drivers are so strict that any who passed a facing point, which was not held, would render himself liable to .immediate suspension or dismissal. The consequence is that at the end of last week, the drivers in their zeal for the effectual carrying out of the new regulations stopped at the facing points along the line and whistled vehemently. It is needless to say that the traffic was thereby greatly delayed, but it is clear that no blame can be cast upon the drivers. , The. difficulty can apparently only be solved by an alteration in the rule, which cannot be done without the authority of the Engineer-i’n-Chief. Our readers (says the Lyttelton Times) will remember the destruction by fire of the NorthEast Valley Brewery, some weeks ago. Since then, Mr. Kuhtzehas not been idle, and he has now nearly completed the erection of new premises on a far larger scale, and of more solid materials, than before. • The building is of brick and stone. The brew-house and cellars are 60ft. by 3uft., the walls being 18ft. high iu the clear, so constructed that enlargements can be made without any. difficulty, ample space on all sides being- available within Mr. Kuhtze’s fences. The position of the two boilers is singular, they being pdaeed in the side of the hill (which overhangs the main building), one over the other, so as to save time, aud to render pumping unnecessary—two great considerations in brewing. The boilers are each of capacity to brow twentyfive hogsheads, and were manufactured at the well-known workshops of Messrs. Kincaid and McQueen. A contract for a large malt house (also to be of brick and stone), to stand between the main building aud the road, has been let. The contractor is Mr. Alexander Deans. When all is; completed, the appliances will enable Mr. Kuhtze to turn out about eighty hogsheads per week.

Some amusement was caused in the Commissioner’s Court, Fiji, on Monday, June 18, by certain revelations which were made during the hearing of a case in which-an ex-butcher and, his late assistant were parties. The latter sued his former employer for wages, board, and lodging; aud one of the items in the lastmentioned claim, was for maintenance for a period iof three weeks, during which the plaintil!' was unable to work, owing to an injury which he had received while on his employer’s business, during the dark hours of the night. .While giving his evidence, the plaintiff stated that he did not wish to reveal the particular nature of the matter about which he was engaged at the time that he met with the hurt which disabled him ; but upon the defendant saying that he had no objection to the whole of the details being made public, it was elicited that the plaintiff had been sent, during the night, for two “ goats ” —which were carefully slaughtered and disposed of next day to confiding customers. It did not appear they had been positively sold as mutton, and .the learned counsel for the plaintiff suggested that they should be regarded as venison, as there was no doubt they would prove very dear to the defendant.

A New South Wales paper says our readers will remember the brief stay among us of Mr. Gibbos, solicitor, who had been so well-known in connection with the famous Tichborne case. Mr. Gibhes’ cud has been a very sad one. He had been staying at Mr. Simms’ hotel, in Murrunmdi, for some time past, and complained of a choking sensation in the throat, which appeared to cause him great pain. He professed some knowledge of mediciue, and obtained from Mr. Street, chemist, a gargle and some sulphurous acid, which he used, without any relief. ; Mr. Street advised him so consult a medical man; and being then apparently in intense pain, he started to see Ur. Knowles. He never reached the doctor's house, however. Compelled by a sudden spasm to lean against a post, he was seen by a man named Mack, who arrived in time to catch him as he fell. He died almost immediately. At the coroner’s inquest it came out that the unhappy deceased had been again indulging to excess in intoxicants; and the post-mortem showed extensive disease of the brain, producing apoplexy.

Some alarm was caused ia Melbourne and the adjoining suburbs recently (says the Aye) by the shock of an earthquake of considerable violence, followed by two others of less intensity, which was fcdt in several localities. On inquiry at the Observatory, we learnt from Mr. Ellery, the Government Astronomer, that at twenty-live minutes past 3 a.m. a very decided shook occurred, sufficient to rattle windows and crockery. The vibration lasted about ten seconds, and was succeeded by a noise like distant thunder, but no direction of the wave could be observed, the disturbance appearing to act vertically. At 3.37 J a.m. a second but much gentler shock was felt ; and again at 4.8 a.m. a similar phenomenon occurred. Some reports received at the Observatory stated that the direction of the wave appeared to be from north to south. On both sides of the Yarra, at Wairandyte, the shock was very plainly felt, the house of the postmaster being much shaken, and the articles on the shelves caused quite a rattling noise. Mr. Stiggants, a resident of the township, states that about half-past 3 he heard the rumbling noise, and went out to see if it was-cashed by thunder, but was astonised to find the sky perfectly clear, the moon shining brightly. The sensation appeared to him to travel from east to west. Correspondents from Eltham and Parkville also relate similar experience, and in Oolliugwood, St. Kilda, Carlton, Prahrau, number’s of people were awakened and greatly frightened by the trembling sensation. There are no reports to hand of the earthquake having done any damage to property. The Hoharton Mercury records the death of the oldest Anglican clergyman in Tasmania, Archdeacon Browne, which occurred at Lauucestou on the 18th ultimo. The deceased was the eldest son of the late Mr. Henry Browne, of Ballinvoher, and was born Mallow, County Cork, in the year 1800 ; consequently he had at the time of his death exceeded, by several years, the allotted period of human existence. He was educated at Charleville, a few miles from Mallow, and among his schoolfellows was his brother archdeacon, the Venerable Archdeacon Davies. From Charleville Mr. Browne, on the 6th October, 1817, went to Trinity College, Dublin, and it was at that time intended that he should study for the medical profession. After a short z-esidence in college, however, Mr. Browne relinquished the idea of following the profession just mentioned, and turned his attention to theological subjects, to whichhegavehisunremitting attention. In 1821 in graduated as Bachelor of Arts, and in 1828 took the higher degree of M.A. andL.L.D.; the latter honor being conferred upon him somewhat prematurely in consequence of his coming out to Tasmania, and partly, no doubt, because he was an honor-man of his university. Mr. Browne was appointed to the curacy of Whitechurch, on the Blackwater, in the year 1824, and was raised to the priesthood the same year. He was appointed Colonial Chaplain in Tasmania under the sign manual of George IV., on the 4th of February, 1828, He started from the Cove of Cork in a vessel called the Coronet on the Ist May of that year, arriving in Hoharton on the 6th of October, and on the Ist November the Gazette notified his appointment to Launceston. A few years after the Venez-able Archdeacon Davies (though, of course, not then Archdeacon) . joined Dr. Browne, and for a considerable period they two were the only ministers of the Anglican Church in Northern Tasmania; and from the time of his arrival up to his retiring upon Government pension, Archdeacon Browne was always most earnest and assiduous in the performance of his duties ; the only breakage in a long chain of years having been occasioned through severe illness consequent on a fall from his horse in 1838 or 1839. About the years 1851-52, during the bishopric of Bishop Nixon, the clergymen in the north thought it necessary to protest against the High Church influences which were sought to be introduced into the Protestant Church, and the deceased divine not only headed the movement, but - signed what was then known as the famous “solemn 1 declaration.” He was always recognised as the head of the Low Church party, and his liberal views on church government' made. him many friends. But Archdeacon Browne did not confine his influence to church matters only. [We believe two sons of the deceased gentlemen are resident in Wellington.]

Mr. J. H. Wallace will sell to-day, commencing at 12 noon, a choice collection of fruit trees, flowering shrubs, camellias, &c., at Mr. YenneU’s store. By an advertisement elsewhere it will bo noticed that Mr. P. Neary has started a bellows manufactory at Pipitea'Point, near the railway station. We have been requested to state that Mr. Smith’s drapery establishment, Te Aro House, will be closed to-day, in order that preparations may be made for the sale on Saturday.