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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5102, 31 July 1877, Page 2

It is rumored that Mr. Wardell, B.M. at the Wairarapa, is to be appointed Resident Magistrate for Wellington during Mr. Crawford’s absence. The Press Agency forwarded us yesterday the following correction :—“ This morning’s cable repeated from Bombay reads ‘ Erie railway strike indirectly gave rise to serious riots in Chicago.’ ” The Australia, with the London mails of the 28th June, sailed from San Francisco for Auckland on the 18th July (contract date). The City of New York, with the New Zealand mails, leaving Auckland on the 4th instant, arrived at San Francisco on the 26th. The past week has been unusually brisk as regards the timber trade, no less than about 398,000 ft. having been landed here from vessels. About 146,000 ft. were kauri timber from Auckland, and the remainder, with the exception of a, few thousand feet, came . from Pelorus Sound. The police have received information of an alleged robbery at Greytown of jewellery to the value of about £SO, which is said to have been feloniously abstracted from a house in the principal street of the township during the temporary absence of the inmates. The fancy bazaar in aid of the fund for rebuilding St. Peter’s Church will be opened at noon to-day, by his Excellency the Governor, in the Odd Fellows' Hall. A very large number of useful and elegant articles will be on sale ; and there is every probability, we believe, of this bazaar being one of the most attractive and profitable undertakings of the kind here.

Of late there have been several revolutionary movements in the direction of housebuilding. The old fear, which, by the way, became deep rooted, of building with brick, in consequence of anticipated earthquakes, has begun to die out, and several innovations on the old wooden custom (if we may be permitted so to speak) have been made in the shape of buildings erected entirely of brick. As indicating the increasing demand for this material we may mention that a new brickfield is being started in the Karori district, which will make the second in existence there, the promoter of' this last venture, we are informed, being Mr. Spiers. A special meeting of the Wellington College Governors was held yesterday morning in re the College reserves. There were present— The Hon. Mr. Patterson (in the chair), Messrs. Travers, Buckley, and Brandon. A plan, prepared by Messrs. Coleridge and Davies, of the mode in which it was proposed to cut up about twenty acres of the College reserve into building allotments, was submitted and approved of ; and Mr. Brandon, M.H.E., was requested to prepare a Bill authorising the governors to lease such allotments for a term of forty-two years, in terms of the Wellington College Act, 1872 ; the draft of the Bill to be prepared and laid before the Board at the next ordinary meeting, to be held a fortnight hence. It may be added that the Bill is also to make provision for filling up present vacancies on the Board, caused by the Abolition of Provinces Act, under which the Superintendent of the Province and the Chairman of the Provincial Council were rx officio members. At the annual meeting of St. Paul’s parishioners the Rev. Mr. Harvey mentioned that he had on several occasions held services at Kaiwarra, and that a necessity existed tor a church in that locality, the population having become for a country, or rather suburban district, rather numerous. It is quite easy to see that what the rev. gentleman stated has all the weight of reality, as anyone in the habit of travelling in the direction of Kaiwarra may at any time ascertain for himself. We hail with satisfaction therefore the fact that an effort is being made towards the erection of a church at Kaiwarra. A meeting of the residents there is to be held for the purpose of taking the subject into consideration. It is to be hoped that something definite will be arrived at, and that too of a character which will result in the attainment of the end desired, viz, that of the erection of a building in which church services may be held. Kaiwarra holds a peculiar position in one respect. It is almost too distant from the t uvn to enable persons to come in for the purpose of attending, with ordinary convenience to themselves, either morning or evening church service ; and, on the other hand, it has for a considerable time occupied the position of a thinly-populated district on the outskirts of the city. Now, however, it has assumed the proportions of a good sized village. In any case, we feel sure a humble beginning should be made, and it is satisfactory to note that the inhabitants of Kaiwarra have made an advance in the right direction.

A man named Michael Laffin has obtained an unenviable notoriety in Wellington, by leading a life of excessive immorality, in which brutal conduct towards a woman who had the misfortune to be his wife was a prominent feature. Mrs. Laffin died some time ao-o, her death, there was good ground tor believing at the time, being accelerated by herhusband’s behavior. Since that period there has been nothing in the conduct of Laffin indicative of a desire to reform. He has been doing as badly as possible, and to all intents and purposes may lay claim to the character given him by Inspector Atcheson at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, namely, that of a! loafing vagabond. No specific charge was laid against him, but it appeared that numerous complaints from citizens in Wellington had been received regarding him, such, for instance, as that he has been in the habit of begging for alms, and obtaining money under false pretences. In order to obtain the necessary evidence to secure convictions against the man in several ascertained cases, a remand was asked for till Thursday, and granted. The Wellington Hotel, Mole sworth-street, yesterday changed hands from Mr. S, Cemino to Mr. D. Brown, in whose name the house will now be carried on.

It is- our painful duty to record that a vacancy exists on the Bench of the Poverty Bay R.M. Court owing to the decease of Dr. Nesbitt, late Resident Magistrate of that district, intelligence of which, strange to say, only reached us last evening.

Mr. T. J. Bell, of Johnsonville, baker, hag filed a declaration of his inability to meet his engagements with his creditors. The Corporation of Napier, we understand, have appointed Mr. F. Sutton, M.H.R., to be their delegate at the Municipal Conference to be held in Wellington. The Clutha River Trust is about to undertake the clearing of the Clutha River of snags and other impediments to its free navigation. There was a very fair attendance at the Theatre jßoyal last evening, when the pieces “Susan Hopley” and “Jonathan Bradford” were repeated. A candidate for a seat in the Milton Town Council addresses those who wish to vote for him as “ Those who desire to help me into trouble.” Patrons of the drama will be pleased to learn that during the ensuing week Miss Florence Colville and Mr. Steele will arrive in Wellington, under engagement to Mr. Sam Howard, lessee of the Theatre RoyaL Mr. Hoskins, we understand, will follow later on. Notwithstanding the unfavorable state of the weather last evening there was a good attendance at the Choral Society’s practice at Mr, Hunter’s rooms. The members of this society evidently take pleasure in their work, and are not afraid of turning out on a wet night for practice. We call attention to the City Council advertisements in another column for various progress works in the city, in the shape of drainage and formation of streets, and it is pleasing to observe the active strides that have been made of late in all parts of Wellington towards practical general sanitary improvements.

The inhabitants of North Palmerston and its vicinity are agitating the question of the construction of a bridge over the Manawatu River, at the lower ferry, about four miles from the point where the stream is spanned by the Gorge bridge. It has been resolved to place a petition on the subject in the hands of Mr. Walter Johnston, the member for the district, for presentation to Parliament this session.

The promenade concerts hold their own in point of attraction among the other entertainments iu the city. Last evening again St. George’s Hall was well attended, and the programme was of a character as to its selection and rendering that could not fail of being highly attractive. Miss Howarde and Miss Navaro sang several times during the evening, and were loudly applauded, as they undoubtedly deserved to be. Messrs. Cary and Hunter also contributed in no small degree to the attractions of the evening. The chess tournament, Town v. Civil Service, has now been decided, the latter coming off victorious. The total number of games arranged to be played was 45, each of the 15 players on either side having 3 games allotted to him. The Civil Service has scored 23 victories and the Town 17, leaving 5 games uncontested. A match between five members of the Legislature aud a similar number of members of the Wellington Chess Club has been arranged, to commence on Monday evening next. The match will take place at the club-room.

The Otago Guardian of the 26th inst. mentions a somewhat serious accident which occurred the previous day to Mr. Rnnciman, a well-known miller living at Green Island. He was taking a truck along the branch line between his mill and the railway, and was standing over the brake, when somehow his foot slipped. He managed to throw himself

clear of the wheels, but the shaft of the brake struck him and inflicted some severe bruises.

The traffic on the railway line between Dunedin and Green Island is rapidly on the increase. Two, and frequently three, special goods trains a day are necessary to overtake the work, and that, too, in addition to the goods brought in by every passenger train. The Green Island branch line has proved, says the Otago Daily Times of the 27th inst., of great. benefit to the district, and is largely patronised. A decision of some importance, affecting those who hold licenses from the Government for the occupation of waste lands, was given by the Dunedin Board on the 25th inst. The facts of the case, according to the Guardian, are these ;—Two settlers in the Teviot district applied for leases under the 54th section of the Act. They had complied with the terms of their licenses for the land which they occupied, so far as paying their rent regularly was concerned. The laud had also been fenced, and they had erected dwellings on their sections. Only one of the applicants, however, had resided any length of time on his section, the other living on an adjoining residence area. In neither case had the cultivation conditions been complied with, the reason assigned being that the land was mostly rocky, and unfit for tillage. The Board held that it was for the occupiers to see that the land was of such a nature that they could comply with the conditions before they took it up under license, and that the Act must be stringently enforced in order to prevent evasion and dummyism. It was considered that the applicants having occupied the land for three years, and the terms of their licenses having expired, the land was liable to forfeiture for non-compliance with the conditions, and it was decided to decline the applications.

In the case of Donald Eeid v. the Bank of Hew Zealand, tried before Mr. Justice Johnston at Dunedin on the 25th inst., and in which the plaintiff recovered damages, the learned Judge, iu his summing up, made some strong remarks as to the evidence of Mr. McOwen. His Honor is reported in the Guardian to have said that the case was “one of a painful character, owing to the direct conflict of evidence, and it was for the jury to form its own conclusion upon the evidence, not merely from the demeanor and conduct of the witnesses in the box, but also from the surrounding circumstances and the probabilities of the case a priori. Such a story as was told by Mr. McOwen they would think inconsistent with probabilities."

We noticed a few days ago a case in London where an unruly apprentice got ten days’ imprisonment, and as some misapprehension exists as to the law of master and apprentice in New Zealand, we quote the following clauses from Mr. Justice Johnston’s work, “ The New Zealand Justice of the Peace,” iu reference to the Master and Apprentice Act, 1865. The fourth section of the Act enacts that all masters of apprentices in New Zealand are to have the same powers over apprentices as masters have by the law of England, &c., &c.—“ If the apprentice refuse to serve as just mentioned, or to make reasonable satisfaction to his master, the latter may make complaint on oath to any justice of the peace, and thereupon the justice may issue a warrant under his hand for apprehending the apprentice, to be brought before any two justices of the peace. The justices are to hear the complaint iu a summary way, and to determine what satisfaction should be made to the master; and if the apprentice does not give security to make satisfaction according to such determination, he may be committed to gaol for any term not exceeding three months, besides serving the period of time for which he was absent.”

The law has often, and not inaptly, been compared to a fine net which catches the small fry and enables the big fish to break through it. The Otago Guardian of the 27th quotes this maxim, and illustrates its truthfulness by citing cases in which the Inspector of Nuisances has prosecuted several occupiers of tenements of an humble class for breaches of municipal regulations, and left wealthy landlords, equally if not more culpable, alone. Our contemporary says:—“As there are a number of poor tenants that can ill afford to be dragged to a Court and fined even in small amounts at present, the Inspector will doubtless perceive the advisability of giving them a timely hint in future before proceeding to extremeties. The question of whether the permanent owner or the temporary occupier of property is the most suitable person to be prosecuted for a breach of the sanitary regulations, is one that might very well be taken into consideration.”

Very good progress is now being made with the new Athensum, which in a few weeks, it is expected, will be completed, and handed over to the committee by the contractor. We observe, by reference to Southern papers, that very considerable alterations and additions are being made to the Dunedin Athenaeum, which is to have a lecture hall capable of seating 450 people.

. The Resident Magistrate at Port Chalmers, in a recent case in which a storekeeper sued a laborer for £3 15s. for goods supplied, observed that it was not right to let an account against a , . T o . rer run 80 long, and that in all cases of this kind he should make it as easy as he could for the defendant. He recommended the principals to come to some arrangement out of court as to the payment of the debt by instalments. The great facilities offered in many instances for obtaining credit in all parts of the colony no doubt get many a working man into trouble, which would be avoided if a different mode of conducting business could be arrived at.

The stathmograph, a self-recording instrument for giving the velocity of railroad trains, has been invented by Dato, of Cassel, which, during a trial for a year on a locomotive on the Hanover road, has proved itself perfectly accurate and reliable. By means of this apparatus the engineeer can at any moment ascertain the velocity of the train by looking at the dial, and at the end of the route will be found the record of the transit on a roll of paper. The Prussian Government have decided to introduce the stathmograph on several of the roads leading from Berlin, for the purpose of ascertaining more fully its practical adaptation to the purposes for which it was invented.

The following new works are about to be issued in England : —“ A History of the Banks and Bankers of Manchester” is in the press, and nearly ready for issue. Xt will give details historical, biographical, and anecdotal, and will go into particulars as to the origin and development of every bank established in 'Manchester since 1770. Mr. Deo H. Grindon is the author, and Messrs. Palmer and Howe, of Manchester, are the publishers.—“ Dust to Dust ; Sanitary Modes of Burial,” is the title of a little work by Mr. Samuel Phillips Day, which will be published in a few days by Mr. John Hodges, of King William-street. Charing Cross.—Messrs. Sampson Low and Co. will publish the new work by Captain Burnaby, giving a description of his ride through Asia Minor, his visits to Kars, Erzerum, &c.—Mr.| Spencer Walpole, author of the “ Life of the Right Hon. Spencer Perceval,” is engaged on a History of England from the conclusion of the Great War in 1815. The first and second volumes of the work will be published in the course of the year 1878 by Messrs. Longmans and Co. The Court of Appeal in England has dissolvedjthe injunction granted against the proprietor of Touchstone, or The New Era, which was granted on the ground that it was a, colorable copy of the Era newspaper. Lord Justice Baggally remarked that a man had a right to sail as near the wind as he could. Messrs. Bacon and Co., of London, have published a new and beautifully engraved map of Turkey and Greece ; also a striking panorama of the entire seat of the war, the only one which is constructed to a regular scale of miles; and a large print map of the seat of war. The latter is particularly good, the physical features, railways, forts, and fortified towns being at once easily noted.

Amongst other properties which will be submitted to public competition by Mr. R. J. Duncan at noon to-day, is a very valuable piece of land in Mastertco, the property of Mr. J. Gllligan. It is one of the best building sites in that rising township, and will no doubt be eagerly competed for.

Mr. J. H. Wallace's extensive land sale will commence at two o’clock this day, as announced, when, in addition to Mr. Howlands’ valuable property, there is a large and varied selection of town acres and other properties, to suit the requirements of both small and large capitalists.