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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5117, 17 August 1877, Page 2

The Legislative Council met for a short time yesterday afternoon ; but after the transaction of a little formal business, the Council further adjourned till Tuesday, to allow of the Colonial Secretary completely, recovering bis health, which, w© are glad to hear, is already beginning to improve. ( The Yice-Admiralty Court was adjourned until to-day, to take argument in the case of Captain Williams against the owners of the Taupo ; but it is probable, we understand, that the case will be agaiff adjourned. On Sunday next sermons will be preached by the Rev. F. Dewsbury, of Dunedin, and the Rev. A. Reid, at the Methodist Church, Ade-laide-road, in aid of the trust funds. On Tuesday evening there will be a tea and public meeting, when several clergymen and lay friends will deliver addressee, and some choice anthems will be sung’ under able leadership. A very great improvement is being made to the approach to Plimmer’s-terraoe. The new steps are built on a sure and firm foundation, and are constructed in two sections, with a large landing between, and the gradient is very easy. It is intended, to put a railing on the outer side, that next the Athenseum, and a lamp is to be placed on the landing as soon as the work is finished, it being the intention to cover the steps with -concrete or asphalt. This will be a great boon to those who live on the Terrace, .and make Plimmer’s steps, as they will no doubt continue to be called, a means of reaching it.

A new church is about to be built at the Lower Hutt, and tenders are invited up to the 31st inst. for the erection of the building. Tenders are invited up to the sth September for the collection of the highway rates for the Wellington District, either as a whole or in wards. ' , The City Rifles and Cadets will parade for monthly inspection at the Central Fire Brigade Station, on Monday evening next, and the City Artillery and Cadets on Tuesday evening. The Diorama at the Odd Fellows’ Hall was again well patronised last evening, and a variety of gifts, many of them of considerable value, were distributed amongst the audience. ■ A meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society will be held at the Colonial Museum on Saturday evening at 8 o’clock, when the following papers will be read; —“ The effects of radiant central heat on climate in past geological times,” by Mr. Travers, M.H.R. ; “ The arrow flight of the Maoris,” by Mr. Coleman Phillips. ' - There was only one case on the criminal sheet at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday. A man named P. C. Morton was fined 55., and costs, or twenty-four hours’ imprisonment, for having been drunk and disorderly. On the civil side judgment was given for plaintiffs in the following oases ;—Jamieson Bros. v. D. Fruton, £4 16s. .lid.; E. Wilson v. J. De Borde, £3 4s. 6d,; J. McDowell v. T. W. Rowlands, £lO 17s. 6d. In the case of M. E. Davis v. D. L. Wilson, a clain for £l4 18s., judgment-was entered for £7 45., with costs. All , the vessels in harbor yesterday had their flags flying at half-mast. On inquiring the reason, we learned with regret of the death at Dunedin on Wednesday night of Captain Griffiths, who was long in the employ of the New .Zealand Shipping Company, and was one of the most popular captains on the coast. The deceased had been ill some for some time past, and his devotion to his arduous duty at a time when he needed rest has no doubt accelerated his death. Captain Griffiths has commanded the Manawatu, Rangatira, Ladybird, and Taranaki, and earned hosts of friends, by whom he was deservedly esteemed. He was, we believe, unmarried, and between 30 and 40 years of age. The Wellington Working Men’s Club has received the following letter from J. C. Crawford, Esq., R.M.“I have much pleasure in becoming an honorary member of the Wellington Workiug Men’s Club. I have long been of opinion that the establishment of clubs for working men was perhaps the most important step that could at present be taken, both for the social welfare of the people and for the growth of temperate habits. Man is a gregarious and sociable animal. He is sure to go to meet his fellows somewhere in his spare time ; and it. is much better that he should meet them at his club than at the public-house. With regard to temperance, one grand advantage of the club is this, that no one considers himself bound to drink for the good of the house. No one cares whether he drinks water or whether he drinks champagne. I believe that a vast quantity of drunkenness takes its rise' from drinking for ‘ the good of the house.’ This club is like the grain of mustard seed. If it is well managed, it will no doubt attain large dimensions, and will be followed by a crop of similar institutions. Wishing it every success, I remain yours truly, James O. Crawford.” There was a very good house last evening at the Theatre Royal to witness the opening performance of the American Vaudeville Company, which gave great satisfaction to all present, Messrs. Gibbons and Davenport being especially good in their dancing and singing, and the latter gentleman in his clever imitations of “ Our German Emigrant.” The programme also included a trapeze performance by Onzalo, who surprised all beholders by his daring flights and astonishing evolutions, although he narrowly escaped a severe accident owing to the narrow space in the theatre, the front of the dress-circle catching him just at the finish of one of his serial flitinga. The performance • closed with an exceedingly funny farce entitled “The Doctor’s Clerk; or, CheraiOptical Experiments,” which kept the house in roars of laughter at the maiden efforts of the would-be physician. The well-known farce of “ Ice on parle Francais” also formed part of the evening’s entertainment, the characters being well sustained by the members of Mr. Howard’s regular company, who all acquitted themselves with their customary success. The News Letter says:—A farmer residing in the neighborhood of Masterton was rather surprised the other day, while digging in his garden, to strike on a human skull. On digging deeper he found a complete skeleton, it having evidently been buried in a sitting posture. A little further on he found a second one hi a similar position. The ground was formerly the site of a pa, and it is probable that a number of bodies were buried in the neighborhood. A new Bill to regulate mining on private property has been introduced into the Victorian Parliament. The principle of the Bill is that the Minister treats directly with the owner of the property, and failing an agreement, an appeal is made to the ordinary Courts of Mines, who are to award what compensation to the owners they deem fit, this amount having to be paid by the persons who apply to the Minister for permission to mine. The editor of an American law journal pays a high compliment to the “New Zealand Jurist,” whilst displaying some ignorance of the condition of the colony as regards its progress in civilization and settlement. He says : —“ It is almost startling that a country, which many of our people are accustomed to regard as the abode of tattoed savages and cannibals, should produce a journal devoted to the cultivation of ■ jurisprudence which is entitled to rank among the best published either in England or America.” This, remarks the “Jurist,” brings us back to the days when the visit of a New Zealand solicitor to the mother country provoked the well-known witticism of Sydney Smith, as to his being “ tattooed six and eightpence all over.”