GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5147, 21 September 1877, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

' '. .The outward European and American ihails despatched per Rotoruapn August 25 consisted of£oo3 letters, 392 books/and.3546 newspapers.’ =The American portionfcmbraced 243’letters, ■BB hooks, and 252 newspapers. \ The outward Suez mail, which was despatchedhytlie s* Axawata 24th August, consisted of 155 letters, 3 book packages, and 36 newspapers via Southampton,, and. 185 letters, 2 book packages, and 83 news-' papers via Brindisi...-, - ............ ....... Mr. Cameron, the chief clerk in the Government Sayings Bank at Wellington, has been transferred temporarily to, ,fhe chief office at Nelson, in the place, of Mr. Jago, who has obtained, three months leave of absence. When the s,s. Wakatipu’arrived'in port from Sydney, on August 30th she was gaily decorated with bunting in honor, of the marriage of Mr; Jacob Joseph, of this, city; ,which took place in Sydney some short time ago. Mr. and Mrs. Joseph were passengers by the Wakatipu. . ; r At the quarterly meeting of the Wellington Typographical Society, held on September Bth, Mr. Mackintosh was elected vice-presi-dent. The report and balance-sheet, were adopted, the latter showing the financial affairs of the society to be in a highly satisfactory state; : ’

The following tenders were received at the Public Works Office,. Wellington, for the Motueka Bridge, contract : —Accepted : Jdhn Brittain, Auckland, £5159. : Declined : A. Watson and Co., Auckland, £5704 ; W. Stock, Christchurch, £5976 ; Blair and Watson, Dunedin, £6600; J. -Goodall, Auckland, £6959 ; Moley and Freeman Bros, 1 , Nelson, £7757,; W. Cameron, Auckland, £7960 ; J. Gibberton, Nelson, £9587. ’ : r Mr. Button, M.H.8., delivered an interesting and instructive lecture on September 10th, at the Woodward-street Congregational Church, on “Oxygen,” illustrated 'by ■:experiments. There was ■a: very., good .attendance, notwithstanding the unfavorable state of the weather, and the audienceiappeared highly pleased with . both the matter of the lecture land the manner in which it was handled. ; • ' ! -■ ■

Messrs. , Goldsbrough and iCo., the 'wellknown,Melbourne,wool brokers, announce that on the 14th February next they will hold an exhibition of ■ merino - wool, and they invite competition front the-woolgrowers of Victoria, New South: Wales/, Queensland, South'Australia). New Zealand, and Tasmania, for the -prizes;- viz.—four ■ gold; cups, which,are to be awarded-to"the ! '.^eß^d^Ve'/ezhihitidDis^ of the best bales'' (notri skirted)' wool in the classes enumerated in the advertisement. i

* 1 'A‘privMeffi¥ttWffbm/Melbourne‘stStes'that we may shortly expCctthe visit, contemplated for sometime past/'of ah Australian eleven, whd 'contemplate playing a series pf 'ericketihatcbes in 1 Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and perhaps also may challenge the - entire 1 'strength' of * the colony in affinal matph at'Christchurch! An agent will come over in ■advance of the team- to arrange the preliminaries.' •

The following is a list of successful and unsuccessful 1 tenders' for the' Clinton '- contract of the Waitako •’ and Invercargill railway,, ■received at the Public WorksofficeAccepted; Proudfoot and McKay, Dunedin, .£37,600. Declined: Henderson and ■ Ferguson; l Dunedin, £37,773; Martin, Hughes, and ' Go'.,’ Invercargill, £38,327; J. 'B. Blair and Go.', Dunedin, £41,180;’ Topham and Angus, Invercargill, £43,050. As the‘Waikato train was entering Huntley, station the engine-driver, saw a cow and. calf rushingfrom the road to cross the line in frontof the train. He reverted the engine , and blew ■ the alarm whistle. The -engine, 1 "however, knocked down the cattle, and ran,on to,them, one being thrown ' inti) the air by the concussion. The stoker was pitched head first out, while the engine was driven several feet off the rails. None of 'the passengers were even shaken. ■ They thought the train had stoppedat the station. A similar instance' which lately happened ; was as • follows'A' .mare * and foal'leape’d from behind a furze bush just in front of /tie engine., /Both beasts; were knocked down by the buffers and crushed into an indistinguishable, mass by the engine. The third annual meeting - of the Rising Star Cricket Club was, held in Dixon-street, on Sept. 11th, when there was a good attendance of, members. .. The report showed the number of members on the,roll to be twenty-one, against twenty-three last year. There have : : been during,,the,,past year eight matches played by the club, in four of which they have come pff victorious.. The treasurer’s statement showed.the receipts, for the,year to have been £29 ,85.,6d.; expenditure, £23 18s. 9d.; balance in hand; £5 9s. 9d. The following office-bearers were .ejected fpr the ensuing season Mr. Carty; secretary and treasurer, Mr. W. - Gi. 1 Tustin ; committee, Messrs. S. Kibblewhite, ’C. Godber, J. Danks, and W. J. Helyer..' Delegates to the Cricket Association : Messrs. Danks, Kibblewhite, and Tustin. Practice is to’ be resumed on the Basin Reserve on Saturday afternoon next. Count Marescalchi,- a native of Bologna, Italy, 1 and the Chevalier L.Marinucci, ConsulGeneral for Italy at Melbourne/ arrived in. Wellington, by the Tararua on' September 9th. The count,-who is travelling round the world (says an exchange), is, a nephew of Marshal MacMahon, President of the French. Republic, and we understand holds an office under the French Government. These two distinguished men visited the School of Mine's,'Ballarat, recently, expressing themselves 1 as, pleased with with what they saw there, and, "under the guidance of their, host,' inspected the Gong Gong works, the Llanberris claim, the hospital, and other places of interest. Afterwards the two gentlemen were, shown over the. city of Ballarat and Winter’s claims by Mr. Andrew Brown, but did not go below, as Signor Marescalchi had had an experience of that sort of thing in New Caledonia. The visitors left Ballarat by the afternoon train, en route for Maryborough and Castlemaiue. The formal opening of the new Odd Fellows’ Hall bn Larubtoh-quay took place on Sept. 13, P.D.G.M. Samuel Waters occupied the chair, the vice-chair being: occupied by the District Deputy Grand Master. There was a full attendance of members, and the officers of the Rose of the Valley Dodge attended in full regalia from that Lodge. The presiding officer opened the Lodge in due form, land called upon Past Provincial Grand Master Marriott to address the meeting. That gentleman spoke of the marked progress of Odd Fellowship all over the world, and also of its advancement iu New Zealand, which now contained a large number of wealthy lodges which were steadily increasing ic their membership, and remarked bn the good which they aocomplished.-Past Provincial Grand Master McKenzie was next called upon to address the meeting. Alluding to the use and steady progress of the Order in this colony, Mr. McKenzie pointed but that' it was now some thirty-four years since the Order was first established here, and that since then it had grown to be a powerful and beneficial association, the advantages of which all its numerous members fully appreciated.. Presentations were then made to Past Provincial Grand Master Collett, to whom-was given, through Mr. Marriott, a beautifully, illuminated emblem of the Order in a handsome frame, and to Past Provincial Corresponding Secretary Bannister a handsome tea service in recognition of his valuable services, as secretary.. Suitable acknowledgements of, these gifts were made by both recipients. Mr. McKenzie then presented a similarly. illuminated emblem to P.P G.M. Marshall, and also to P.P.G.M. Smith a large sized . colored photograph likeness of that gentleman,' who as well received an emblem, one of vvhich was lilsA‘presented to P.ILQ-M. Clark. '-“’The meetmg'thehresolved to celebrate the opening, of this .handsome new hall by a dinner, which, will be duly announced. The hall is spacious; elegantly - furnished, and well ventilated, There is also.a good library attached to' the room, and generally, the had is a credit to the Order.' ‘ " : Thomas Tolly was brought up at the. Resident Magistrate’s Court on August 24th.on two distinct charges of having received stolen property from one James Briggs, the’ property consisting of lead and brass. Further evidence was taken, and at its conclusion Tolly was acquitted on the first charge, and committed for trial on the second, bail being allowed, the prisoner in his own recognizance of £SO, and two sureties in £SO each.

The steamers that were securing the cargo from the wreck of the Queen Bee, arrived at Nelspn on August 24th, bringing news that she hadibroken in two pieces, and the cargo was floating about in all directions. ..£'A large meeting of ladies was held at Napier on September 3rd and passed resolutions establishing a Ladies Benevolent Society. The .matter has been, taken.up .very heartily, and Will be well carried through. The Wanganui Exhibition closed on August SlstwitH great eriat.- The Mayor gave the closing, address. -The attendance was very large ; the gross receipts were £375. The idea of a permanent' museum was favorably entertained. ~ v, ■■■■ .

A public trial of the first piano made in Canterbury, one of Cutler and Farrdn’s manufacture, took place on September sth, with a very satisfactory result; The piano compared creditably W?th-the best English instruments. At Invercargill there were 200 applications on September 5 for deferred payment sections. On McNab’s run the amount paid on deposit,, eighteen-pence per acre, was £3OOO, representing 40,000 acres. There are great numbers who apply for the same sections —the fancy ones!

The second of the present series of Assembly balls took place at the Provincial Hall on 3rd Sept. About 200 persons were present. His Excellency the Governor honored the ball with his presence, and the affair passed off most successfully.' The ! refreshments were supplied by Mr. P. L’aing in his usual excellent style.

, Mr, W. P; Bryan’s funeral was largely attended bn Sejit. 6th. The Wellington Artillery corps, of which deceased was a member, followed his remains to the grave, the baud playing appropriate airs. A number of civilians also took ’ the opportunity of paying a last mark of respect to Mr. Bryan’s memory by joining in the procession. A concert was given on the 11th, by the St. Peter’s choir, for the benefit of his widow and children. Samoan advices state that 1 the war is over. The, victorious party—which now form the present Government-are ‘those who sided with Steinberger. / The chiefs of. the defeated tribes took refugC at the British Consulate. The victors demanded their surrender, guarantee! ng'that they should not’ be injured. The Consul refused,, and called, upon the captain of the schooner’JohnI’Wesley 1 ’Wesley to 1 take his despatches to--the’ Governor of Fiji, with which request he reluctantly complied, as he was bound elsewhere oh missionary Work. .The. \Vaste Lands Board met on September 6th! ■ Present—Messrs’;’Holdsworth (in the chair), W. Johnston,'and T. Mason. The land sales for the last fortnight amounted : to .4637 .-i acres, .-. the . receipts being .£2567; Leave was given to MesSrs. Hastwell and Macara, ’coach proprietors, to occupy 100 acres at Mauriceville. The Chief Surveyor sent in a report of the progress being, made in the surveys. The consideration of from Bketahuha,and Manawatu were postponed until next meeting, : . . v ■ We have received the . eighth 'annual report of the Mutual Life Association of Australasia, which shows very marked progress for the year ending-SOth June,-1877-! The new annual premiums ; exceed by ; over 20 ; :pcr, cent, the £IO,OOO line-which .marks l; thej rank pf firstclass offices in England ; the total premium income has beenviincreasedvby: oyer .37 per cent., and the invested funds have received an addition of nearly 50 per, cent, since 30th June, 1876 ; the latter now amounting, to £61,000.. It is pleasing to observe that , the i branches -established in New Zealand have yielded gratifying results. 'A;, j:--.,; 1 rj .t;:,./• ... —By a New Zealand -Gazette published on August -30, ’it appears that the receipts-on the Dunedin -section .of: the trail way. for'themonth ending 30th June; 1877, wer0:£7417.65. 10d., and on- the Invercargill. section; £2871 17s. lid.—The following justices of-the peace are appointed . H, Hickson, Esq.; Charles Samson! Esq. (Mayor of Green Island) ; and Andrew Dunlop, Esq. (Mayor of Avenel). — Mr. H. L. N. Clarke is gazetted clerk of the Resident Magistrate’s Court' for the district of Blenheim; and 'clerk of the Licensing Courts for the districts of Pelorus and Havelock.—F. Bull, Esq., is gazetted to be accountant at the head office in the department of the SurveyorGeneral; and 'J. B, Redward; Esq;, to be superintendent of the quarantine station at the port of Wellington. - The special-jury in the Waka Maori libel case were relieved .on August 30th of the arduous duty, imposed upon them—that is to say, the Judge having delivered his charge, all they, had to do was. to consider their verdict, which occupied them some little time, the result being, as stated elsewhere, a verdict for the plaintiff bn all issues, damages £SOO. We may mention that the foreman of the jury represented that the fee allowed to' jurymen was quite inadequate- in such ; a case as that upon which they had been engaged, to which his Honor, -while acknowledging the arduous nature of the duties which the jury had had to perform, pointed out that he was powerless to do anything in,their behalf, the Act being distinct in its wording on the subject. The foreman then (by consent of the jury) handed back to the Registrar the amount of the fee, with a request that it might be presented to the Benevolent Society. The Maoris have a figurative and funny way of giving expression to their ideas and sentiments, of which every one who has the smallest acquaintance with the race must be well aware. In connection with the Walca Maori case there have been some comical little incidents of aboriginal peculiarities. As an illustration it may be mentioned that during the evidence taken before the commission one Maori said respecting another, that becoming very angry, he next began to tremble, and then began to sing, the burden of his lay being that he had turned his heart away from an objectionable pakeha, and, to use a vulgar phrase, had put him “ on the outside track.” Yesterday again a gentleman named Kingi Ta Tohunga displayed a delicious delicacy in alluding to a certain complaint not uncommon to fervid souls. He was asked why he did not sign a certain deed at a particular time. Because I was indisposed, said the witness, with the., gravity of a teetotal lecturer. But Mr. Bell, who apparently- has an extensive acquaintance with .Maori character, elicited from the witness that his trouble on that occasion was too much te Waipero, or “aweedrapin his’ee.” From Alexandra we learn , that the Hikurangi meeting concluded on Saturday, August 25th. About 15u0 people' were present. It was a failure, for the King party’s object was to endeavor to get the hill tribes to come in under Tawhiao’s authority at .Hikurangi. The TanU Nga tribe and the Ngakui were the principal speakers of the Kingites. Te Whenu, of the Ngatingao, who is a good orator, quite upset Noakau’s speech. He spoke of the advantage he gained by living in a pakeha district, instead of on the black hills. Hikurangi Te Ngakau evidently was quite unable to refute the arguments of Te Whenua’s statement of the actual benefit; the other derived from living near the Europeans. Te Ngakau, in the name of the King, warned the half-castes and Maoris living at Kdpua in the future never to accompany or allow any Europeans, and especially policemen, to be at Kopua, or any native settlement. Tamati closed the meeting ’by declaring that the heavens would descend on Tawhiao’s side, and advising them’ to ’ come in at once, and he would give them till January next to consider which would. be, the last meeting. Tawhiao himself did not speile, dr’shdw himself. About 10 tons of flour, half a tonuf bacon, and about a ton of Hauhau beef and pork (preserved) were consumed,.with immense quantities of potatoes Tribes were present fromTauranga,Taupo, ■Thames,'KaWuhia. and Ngatiraukawa. Hau Haura was the-only chief of the -Ngatamaniapotos present, Rewi,(Monanui, and Taonni refusing to attend. The split between the tribes is evidently daily widening. Te Ngakau spoke for Tawhiao. "He urged the people to be united, industrious, and moral; to hold fast to their religion/, He said this was a time of Peace, the only power with whom they had to struggle being that Deity." There were more people present than there have been, at any Kingite meeting for several years. Manga (Rewi) did not attend. ' The natives in passing back through Alexandra reported that the Kingites were determined to remain more isolated than ever. No pakehas will be allowed to travel in their district for the future.

A cK^ue^for^J>tf6 y "fias''j£eeir' sent to.tfte Bishop of W for! the {Diocesan fund; The Native Band Court closed at I aupo on August 24th, after, successfully paling w«9. 350J)00 acre's. ’ The hativ.es-.are.all well satisfied with the result of the .sitting.'; - ; . ' .1, The number’of‘births registered as having occurred in Wellington during -the montn ot August is '96 ; deaths, 21 ; marriage licenses ■ rriturn' of ' patients in the Woffington Hospital during the month of August, IS/V, is as follows':—Admitted : 23 males, 1 female , discharged: IS males, 1 female; died: 2 males; left in hospital’;-‘4l males, ,8 femalesThe handsome amount of £29105., being half the gross proceeds of the performances at the Theatre Royal on August 31st, wa* with commendablepromptness and hberahty. handed over to the Queen Bee Belief- 3-und Committee, . and will be distributed' amongst, .the sufferers. _ The Wellington Amateur Temperance Minstruls gave an entertainment on September 3rd in aid of a family in distressed, circumstances.There was a fair'attendance, and the prooramme, which' comprised a concert-and the laughable farce of “The Automaton, was heartily .received by the audience. It is estimated that about 1400 rabbits are brought into Wellington every week from the Wairarapa District, Some of those engaged in the business : of bringing them into , town take fish back again into the country, and are said to be doing very well.. Though ...the rapidity with which rabbits increase makes them a nuisance to the farmers, they make a , valuable addition to the food supply of the country, and by their being so used more extensively an additional stimulus will bo given towards keeping them down in localities where they are too numerous. { Brora the half-yearly report of the'Standard Insurance Company it appears that the balance to the credit of the profit and loss account is £26,739, of whichsum £16,531, will ha required to be set aside as “unearned premium,” leaving an available balance of £10,208, which the directors . recommended , should ■ be' applied as follows Dividend, fid" per share, £1875; bonus to shareholders, £2500; .bonus, to insurers, £2500; reserve fund, £3333, The dividend-and shareholders’ bonus was recommended to be carried forward ,to.the, credit of the capital account, which will then stand at £37,500, and the reserve fund at £9140._ A resolution was- carried, the effect of which will be to abolish the principle hitherto existing of sharing profits with policy holders.. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on, 81st • August a case of some interest to the public, and especially to “ persons about to marry,” was tried; the question being whether a fee of; ss. or 20s. should be paid to the Registrar for the luxury of a marriage license. The plaintiff, Mr. Hugh Traynor, being desirous to enter into the bonds of -wedlock, went to' the deputyregistrar for a license, tendering a' fee of 55., but was told he must pay £l. He paid under protest, and now sued for the balance,- Mr. Wilmer, the deputy-registrar, stated that he. acted in accordance with instructions from the head of his department in charging 20s. Mr. Ollivier and Mr, Stafford appeared for the plaintiff and the Government respectively; and having commented bn, the Acts and statutes bearing on the case; the facts of which were , admitted,- the Court reserved judgment' It will be remembered that a short time ago an agent of the Bank of New South Wales at Kumara, named Hogg, gave himself into the custody of the police as the perpetrator of a robbery of his employers’ gold and notes to a considerable amount. - The lYcst Coast Times says that Mr. Hogg was in the- enjoyment of the munificent salary of £l5O per annum j a liberal increase on thepart of .the institution having recently raised his annual -allowance to that amount. The two . officers, says our contemporary, in full charge of the agency on a new and -extensivegoldficld were earning between them considerably less than an ordinary carpenter or blacksmith in the game, neighbor-’ hood. Giving small pay to persons in responsible situations is bad policy, and has been the cause of many crimes. At the' same time the bank would no doubt' say that they could get plenty of ipen able and willing lo fill .such a position as Mr. Hogg filled on .the same terms and to find security; therefore there was no reason why, they-should pay more than the market price of the article. It is very clear that the “ clerk class” is a little too numerous in the colony. , Hthere were fewer competing for these situations wages would naturally rise. A deputation of settlers-residing in the Wairarapa • District, , consisting of iMessrs. Beetham, M.H.E., C. Pharazyn, D. McGregor, M. Eockel, and W. McCardle, waited upon the Hon. the Minister of Lands on August 24, in support of a petition signed:by :400 settlers, praying that in the Waste Lands Act the conditions 0 as to the - occupation of land on. the deferred payment system might be modified so as to allow five years for the settlement of bush land, . instead of only six months, as at present; and that the roads: in deferred payment settlements should he made, by the Government. The; Hon. Mr. Reid said that the new Bill would meet the wishes of the petitioners, except .that the time'proposed was two years. As to roads, they did not come within the sph.ere;of the Waste Lands Board’s operations, Mr, McCardle. pointed out the difficulties in the way of settling such land as that in the Forty-Mile Bush, where it took at least three or four years before any profit could be made. After some further remarks, the Minister said; he was of opinion that the Bill might ,to he altered'so as to provide specially for land densely timbered, as in the Forty-Mile Bush; but he thought three y sars was the utmost limit that should he allowed ■ for settlement. Having thanked Hr. Reid for the courtesy with which he had received the deputation and listened to their remarks, they then withdrew, ' : On August 28th a musical and literary entertainment was given in the St, John’s schoolroom, Willis-street, The Rev; ; J. Paterson occupied the chair, and there was a-very large attendance, - The programme was varied and entertaining. The Concert opened by- a chorus by the choir, “ Don’t, I love the bonny broom,” * This was sung, with much, spirit, and was loudly applauded. A song entitled “To the woods” was then pleasingly sung, by a lady. The “Death of Nelson” was then very ably sun;' by an old favorite, and elicited loud applause. A Scoth ballad entitled “ Last May a braw wooer” was sung by a Scotch lassie, to the infinite, delight of those who hail from Caledonia, of . whom many were present. A tenor song, “The Mountebank,’’ was ;given with great spirit and feeling by a gentleman amateur, and -.was heartily received. This was followed by a solo on the pianoforte by a' young lady. It was played with great taste and skilful execution. A reading, .“ Up in a balloon,”. followed, by a "entleman amateur, which, after; exciting the feelings of the audience up to the. highest pitch,” finally elicited hearty laughter;from all present. A song from the opera of “La Sonnambula,” “Do not mingle,” was sung with taste and feeling, and elicited a hearty encore. An Irish ballad, . “Peggy, Blane,” ,was then given by a gelitleman amateur. ! !This.wa's followed by a duet entitled “ ‘When 1 the .bosom heaves a sigh.” This was rendered in an artistic manner, the voices blending harmoniously, and was one of the gems of the evening. A song by a young lady, “Oh Erin my country,” was pleasingly rendered and warmly received. A dnet on the piano by-two ladies (a selection from the opera of “ Norrna ”) was, a moat brilliant performance. This Was followed by a.coiriio reading, “ Dropping in to dinner,” which; elicited hearty laughter. . A Christy song; with' chorus, ‘ was - then sung with " great;' taste and feeling by a gentleman amateur, the' refrain being taken up by the choir; and warmly applauded. Next came the favorite duet “Home to'bur moan-, tains,” whfch'”was well rendered. - The humorous Scfltch'sOng “ Hame cam our guid man at e’en” followed, and was so . well rendered as to' elicit a rapturous encore,'when a humorous Scotch rfeading was given, ’the subject being scandal This, from its ' broad humor, was heartily appreciated. The chorus *, “Daylight is{ fading” was then sung by the choir, and went smoothly and well. A very agreeable evening’s entertainment was brought to a conclusion by the singing of the National Anthem. The proceeds of the entertainment will be devoted to the organ fund.

‘ The ipatriqulatioh examination for, the,Um-veraity'of'New-Zealand.’wilL be' held,' onijtbe 17th {December next.’ V-’

. Tbe-Briinner.....Coal-Company.have'struck f -a r magnificent seam of coal bn thecotherl side-of the fault'tflrough--which theyihave"' been; driving some time. ■ * ■ -i The Auckland journal-; record the death-of. one fif.pbq -oldest,settlers-in the-colony,,’M r - Denis Browne Cochrane, at;Hokianga -on: the 19th nit., at the great age-of 96 years. Conner, the man who, caused some talk some time back by visiting Tawhiaojaud; presenting him with -a Fenian flag, is up_ near Kapi A endeavoring to {arrange another - inter-. view with the Maori King. • His visit is kept as secret as possible from .the natives generally. ' ’ - , !• .... . At-a meeting of the "Wellington an.i Tiutt Building Society on ‘ Wednesday evening, September sth, it was resolved that the necessary tteps should be takeh "to incorporate the Society under the Act of '1876 to cqnsqli- . date and amend the laws relating to building societies, by which they would be enabled to increase their borrowing powers and extend their operations. The breach the South -Spit at .Wanganui, from which so much danger was at one time ■ apprehended, is reported to be repaired dr nearly so. The Chronicle says, that the embankment now promises to be substantial and enduring. At last high tide not a drop of water, found its way over. As fast as the.sea beach makes up, the inside is strengthened and ele.vated, and the whole appearance is now that of a permanent undertaking. ,We hear that Air. Barr is most anxious to .lose no time-in proceeding with the stone work, so that, freshets may not interfere with, the reclaraation. The place has a very different appeaance from what it had a few weeks ago. ... - ... , Information was received on September 4th that the mail coach running between Palmerston.and Napier was capsized whilst going through the Mauawatu Gorge, and that a ladypassenger, Mrs. Anderson, had,her arm broken. Considering the dangerous nature of the road at this ; snot, it is fortunate indeed that no one was killed. No blame whatever, it is'saicl, is to be attached to the driver. An accident occurred on AugnstSlst at the Waterworks, unattended with any Serious consequences, but from its miture it is surprising that such was the case. A horse attached to a cart partly loaded was standing near the stables, when, during the' absence of the driver who went away for a minute or two to get a bucket of water, the animal took it into his head to move on, and in turning round went over a precipice, ■ and fell Avith the cart a distance of about 80ft. Strange to say neither horse nor cart was damaged. Since the commencement of these works, although there have been one or two slight accidents; not one of them has been attended with serious results. Our readers may remember that some time ago the Bank’of New South Wales at Kumara was robbed of a quantity of notes, cheques, and coin. The bank agent, Mr. Hogg, stated that he had fired at a man, supposed to be the robber, as he was making his - escape by the back door of the premises..'. The bank was kept open on the, evening- previous until after eight o’clock, when it was-suggested that the supposed offender, concealed himself under a bed .in the outer, office while the agent and teller were engaged- inside. Ik now turns out ' that the whole story about the robber was a fabrication, Hogg, ;the bank-agent, having since confessed to having committed the rob- • bery, for which- offence .he has been arrested; and is now in custody., - kAn explosion of gas took,place;on August 24th"in the shaft of the Greymouth Coal Qompany, by which three men „ were , seriously, injured. There were three men at the bottom of the shaft, and the first intimation of any accident! was a sheet of flame coming .from the shaft, which severely burnt, the man, on the top, and .charred the poppet heads. ~lmme< diately means were taken to rescue-the three, men below, who it was feared were killed, but, on descending, they .were- found alive, One man was comparatively uninjured, but' the other two were severely burned, and one of them had both his armsbroken. They were taken to the hospital, where one of them, John Kerr, died the, following , morning. - At' the inquest the jury returned a,verdictre the death of John Kerr, “That the cause of , the' explosion was the cutting of the fuse, leaving the ragged, edge.” The other three- men are expected to live. . " ■ k ■ At seven p.m. on August - 28th there was an alarm of fire at the Te Aro end of the town, the bells were quickly set ringing, and the fire brigades with commendable promptitude .turned out immediately, accompanied by a considerable section of the people who are always to be found at fires. , On reaching the scene of action it was found that the chimney of a house occupied by Mr. Frederick Cook, ,jn Majoribank-street, had caught fire, ,but the flames were quickly extinquiahed before any serious damage was done to-the building. A nasty accident, however, happened to two men who were riding on the Central Brigade’s fire 'engine. As they" were proceeding,.along>Man r ners-street two or three loose horses came in contact with the vehicle, a smash of the pole followed, and the driver, Mr. Brown, . was thrown out, and severely cut and bruised. Another accident occurred to a member of the Wellington Brigade, Mr., A. Darrah, who, as as he was mounting the engine slipped and fell on ■ the ground, one.of the wheels passing, over his leg arid ancle, injuring him considerably, but we are*'glad to hear not. seriously. In regard to the first accident the prilice last evening were making enquiries as to how the horses got at large, and who-is responsible for their being so, with a view to ulterior proceedings. 1 {, The Canterbury papers record the death of an old Botonist, Air. Henry Phillips, ot Rockwood, who died on Friday last after , a short Illness. * He arrived in New Zealand, in 1850,, and settled shortly afterwards at Rockwood. He paid much attention to pisciculture, and succeeded in stocking the streams in his neighborhood with'acclimarised fish. '

- Most people in New Zealand have heard of the “ Devil’s Half Acre” in Dunedin, which is that referred to in a recent issue of the Guar-dian-.—“lt is estimated that fully 90 per cent, of the drunkards who have figured at the Dunedin City Police Court during the last twelve months have been captured on or near a small block of ground situated between Walker and Stafford streets, known as the ‘Devil's Halfacre.’ The land in question is occupied with miserable dilapidated hovels, and peopled by the worst of characters, but a large revenue in the way of rent ;is derived from this plague spot. Small as its area is, the ‘ HalDacre’ has done more to keep the police and Bench of the city employed night aud day than' all the rest of Dunedin and its suburbs.”

The Southland Times of Sept. 5 says : —- “ The cutter Hannah arrived at the Bluff yesterday afternoon, with a party of,sealers, who have been working the Snares this season. They have had very indifferent success, the whole take amounting to only 236 skins. The sealers have not had a very pleasant time of it, as they were all attacked with sickness,-which they attribute to the bad water on the island. One of the party named Roger Owen, a youth abbrit 20 years of age,'; who had worked very hard, and somewhat strained himself, was landed at! Stewart Island very' ill, and wa regret to say died the next day. ' After burying their comrade, the party arrived here as above.” ■ '

' The encroachments; of the sea at Hokitika are not infrequently productive of considerable' inconvenience and danger to the inhabitants of •that town. In, a. recent number of the Star the S following:, -picture is drawn' of the state of affairs during a gale ; The inroads of , the sea have .again caused some damage to fences and outbuildings at the ' back of Eevoll-street. ■ A, boy. riatried'-Shine was standing on a log, in Marison's, right-of-way, wflou he was washed off. by a'wave, and the log.rolled over him; A lad named .prams ; went in after him, 1 anfl Aviis’ bimse|f,, knocked do wii. A man ' named O’Brien assisted both out of their; dangerous position; ' At' the back of North RevelUstreet a woman got -knocked down by the surf,' and was rescued by some bystanders.! The water washed; through' thfe right-of-way and across Revell street into the. lower portions of the town, but, fortunately not to such an extent as to cause damage -or loss. Some buildings at the back of the Southland Hotel were damaged.

Wellington, is. .to Jhavs,a time gun, the, Go I vernijient flaying offered one pf, suitable call bn for the purpose.' The .offer„hs^,been aceeptei r by the'City Gouhcpl,'who knye -giypri inatrge tionsifor the gun being, brought down froir 'Auckland'without delay. -ii..7,- -... , : It should 1 , certainly be looked upon as an in\ . probable 1 contingency that the flutchers, of thii cityiffliould have to "go outside, .the, provincia district for" a' supply of meat ; yet .{suchifl actually the case. On Tuesday a cousignmepl of sheep was lauded ex-Wanaka from Canter; bury.; The Sheep were. consigned; to>_ Messrs. Barber and Gear; and appeared to be in excel- ■ lent condition. It is thought that this source of- supplvwill have to he-vesorted to largely in the immediate future,,, That - Canterbury should supply us with flour is,-not a-matter, of much' surprise, for owing -to--the natural features iof this province , aud , the. land-being heavily timbered,.our-southern: neighbor,, with its plains ready fo.r the plough, has the advantage of us. However,- the." AVairarapa : and Raugitikei districts flave -always been .famed for the excellence of their.,pastures, and it really; does -seem;,; a, ,reflection :on -the enterprise of - the settlers:',that, they cannot supply their own: markets;,; with meat. :We are informed that.there ,is a great scarcity of fat sheep in the Wairarapa at present, the settlers there having some time ago - boiled, down all their fat sheep, thereby netting some-, tiling like 7s. or 10s: per head. No . provision appears ,to have .been made, fpx; winter,-con-sumption, arid,the consequence pis.--that the butchers of -,Wellington have ,to import sheep from Canterbury at,a cost of: 20s. per head. It is said that in, Greytown .fat sheep find « ready sale, and that difficulty Is experienced in supplying local wants, and,; as the market at present stands, Canterbury competes favorably with Wangauui. In-a- pastoral- province like tins such a state of things may only be temporary ; but we think with a little energy arid foresight our settlers would be able to place this city in a position' iudependerit of any-out-side supply of meat. • The prospectus -of the Northern Loan and Buildiug Society of AVellington has been issued. ; It is proposed to incorporate the company under the Building Societies Act, 1876. The ’ capital is to- be £IOO,OOO, in 19,000 1 proprietary shares 'of £lO each, of which it is proposed to call uj> £5 per share in the following manner :—ss. per share on ap-plication,-ss. on allotment, and the remainder by instalments of 2s. 6d. each, at intervals of one month. The rapid growth and increasing prosperity of the city and surrounding districts of Wellirigton for the past few years warrant' the opinion expressed by the company that' a luin and building society formed under the Act referred to,^- and affording a: wider scope' for the employment of capital than has hitherto been offered, will meet a- want felt by the community; and be a most successful undertaking.' The objects of the. company are, briefly,, to provide a; safe aud profitable investment for capital; to receive money on deposit-; to grant loans on freehold and approved leasehold property ; to assist persons in’ the erection- of dwellings; and generally to afford every legitimate facility to borrowers and investors. Agents will be appointed throughout -the Wellington District. ' By reference 'to the prospectus, it will he seen that it is'-proposed, that there shall be two classes of shares, .viz., proprietary and investment shares. Mr. J. H. Wallace, of Hunter-street, arid the agents of the National Bank of New Zealand will furnish any further information that may he required, ■ and will supply forms of application., The share list closes ori‘the 3ist October. .

In the House of Representatives on Sept. 17 the clause providing f-hat'schools-should be opened with the reading 'of the-Lord's Prayer, .and a portion of. the Holy Scriptures, was struck out, on' the motion of. Mr.Sheehan, without a division. Previously Mr. W. Wood moved that the teaching in thepubliq.schools should be of a purely secular character, wrilcliwas; carried on 1 a . division: by 39. to 19. Mr.. Sheehan's motion was of course the {natural sequence of this, and, the; Bill now. -stands divested of almost every particle of anything which could be looked upon as ;of ,a religious character. . ■ ; Rapid progress is beingmade withthe.com structiori of the tramway, and it certainly promises to be a very substantial affair-; in fact, stronger than .many railroads .we .have seen. The rails are laid on longitudinal sleepers about 6in. cube, which; rest on cross sleepers'of the same dimensions. -There are about three or four hundred yards of the tramway completed on .the Adelaide-read, and judging from this portion, we • certainly think that the line will riot interfere with the ordinary traffic in the streets,. ... ■ Among the visitors recently in Wellington on Parliamentary business is .one wjth whom most West doast travellers have made acquaintance at one tiine or another.. We referi.to Mr. D. W. Virtue, chairman of the Hokitika .Harbor Board, who is here ori a mission the nature of which may be briefly explained, viz. : —To obtain from the Government some aid to local effort in re-opening-the navigation , of- . the Hokitika River, the mouth of which; has been ■ partially closed for the .last, two months.- Asa consequence some fourteen vessels, chiefly from other New Zealand ports, laden with over 3000 tons of flour and general merchandise, are lying! off in the roadstead waiting f°r an opportunity to get iri. 'As may be easily conceived this interruption to business is telling seriously against the commercial and other interests of the place, the periodical bar-blockades of which' the Harbor Board are advised, on competent authority, it . is possible 'to prevent by works involving no great outlay—at all ' events considering the trade of the; port In this connection it may be mentioned that since the opening of the goldfield it supplies the exports have amounted to the value of over six million pounds sterling,andthe^lmports to about four iriillions, while there iris accrued to the revenue at least one million;- Nor, it may he added, is the latter falling off; On the contrary it exceeded last year by £BOOO that-of the preceding twelve months. Taking these faqts into consideration,'with the smaller but -by rib means unimportant' one that upwards of 250 t<ms of goods from this port and Nelaqri are awaiting shipment to Hokotika so soon- as the bar is workable, we .think there are few persons in Wellington, or indeed anywhere else in the colony,,who will not wish Mr. Virtue-suc-cess in his endeavors ito impress, upon the Government the desirability-and expediency of the course he is .here to advocate.- - The Timaru Herald in a recent,issue, says:“We have never seen blight .birds more numerous in this neighborhood than they are at present. From pvery hedge and field they start in myriads, and may bo seen-running, about, the roads in every direction. Seeing that it is only some twelve or fourteen years since they first made their, appearance in the colony, their increase 1 is, ri matter, for worideri’ Another strange fact in ■ connection with them is, that they are now of a much brighter plumage than when they .were 1 first; observed in! Now Zealand.”- '

There is said to be a'great deal of sickness just now amongst 1 the natives at Wanganui. The Chronicle of August 24th attributes this' to. “insufficient food, and lack of attention to sanitary matters.” ' Rheumatic affections are stated to be very prevalent. 1 ' ' . { The following resolutions-were passed at a meeting recently, held in Auckland-in reference to the Oyster, Fisheries Act:—“ That whereas the ppera,tiqn of {the Oyster Fisheries Act has proved ruinous to the people, engaged in the trade, 1 in consequence, of- the restrictions placed Upon tflem, 1 aud,,. ag |ri the, opinion, of this irieeting, it is unneqessary to ; pialce a close, season of four iriontfls each year, because the; consump|tiqn of oysters at not, war-, - rant so arbitrary a nieasure-7-ri , measure which is felt to {beVpppreßßlye, "thjfi,mqetiing humbly suggests that' the montlis.-.of December aritV- Marqfl'be .dqclarqd, open- montfls,for the.sale of bysters in fHe,province qf Auckland.” One gentleman ' thbright' the .be3t, {J mqde-.of wprking-the oysfer-beds of thejprbvirice. would, bo -to group them , ’’|nb(| ;t 'one each year, so that 1 each; iri trirri'would bn-, joy a respite of four, ybaTS.—|“.Thai;'fn{the, .eyent ot the Goverinment .limiting” the period of . the close season to'three tribnths.'thiri meeting suggests that the season should commence in January.”—That the; foregoing : be ‘ embodied in; a memorial to his-Excellency the Governor, and that'Mr. Lowndes be requested to obtain signatures, and ■ forward-the memorial to Wellington.”-—A vote of thanks was

-then 'acc’brded l to -M£i -Waters‘ : fqr ; 'tte use- of the: qoom, and a similar compliment having - bepnqiaid the,jchajrman, ; tho-meeting dissolved;! Referring to the'report'of ' the'ease against ■ Mr.- Gogg,’agent forthe’Bank'-qf ; Neiv 'South Walds .ft Kumara, the Times eaya bo read with much interest, as the prisoner is well kndwri'lri'Hokitika; Ross, and Kumara, where be has. resided for some -time. -During .the whole trial the prisoner appeared to keenly feel hiri pbsitibnlri the dock; arid seldbm. lifted Jiiss eyes from the ground. He ! expressed no disposition-to.-examine-any of the witnesses, except daring a portion of the' evidence given by'Mir. Leuauze, when he prompted his solicitor to put one or two questions. The Crown prosecutes,: and the "prisoner krill'iriake his next - appeariauce before the Chief Justice on the ,17th tof September, at the' Supreine Court Sittings here. Mr. Hawkins intended making an application to the magistrate, to -allow him out on bail until the, trial, but after consulting with the prisoner he stated, to , the. Courtthat he would not make the application he in--1 tended. The prisoner is quite-a yqring man, apparently not' more than 23 or 24 years rof aga. Sonic, of the settlers in the Manawatu and Raugitikei districts desirous of introducing {trout fnto the streams in those localities ■ are ■said to find a difficulty in obtaining the young fish for the purpose. If we are correctly informed-, some of the streams in- Hawkeis Bay arid Auckland are. now well stocked,,: and at Opawii, near Christchurch, a.Mr., Johnson has snoceucled in hatching the greater part of 30,000; trout ova this season,"-- There’• ought, therefore, to be no insurmountable difficulty in obtaining them. : By increasing the number of acclimatised fish in the country a very good work Is being 1 accomplished. The nucleus is being laid of a valuable addition-' and variety to the food supply, arid an additional attraction is being held out to anglers. Every encouragement should be given to settlers desirous of assisting in the.,acclimatisation,of sueh.nonindigenous birds,’ beasts, and fishes as can be converted into food, or made otherwise ■useful, i ■■■■'■'