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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5233, 31 December 1877, Page 2

The Indian Famine Relief Fund Committee have decided to close the fund and make the final remittance to Jjondon in a fortnight {on the 11th January next). The subscriptions at present amount to £2OOO 10s. lid., of which about £27 has been expended in printing, advertising, telegrams, postages, &c. A balauceVsheet will be published when the account is closed. The secretary, Mr. 0. P. Powles, will receive any further subscriptions that may be forthcoming.

In a Press Agency telegram published on Saturday it was erroneously stated that 11,930 horses had been frozen to death near Bucharest. This, the Agency informs us, should have read “ eleven men and thirty horses were frozen,” &c. The following telegram was received from Carterton on Saturday:—“ The fire which was burning on Booth and Company's property since Wednesday evening last has been got under owing to the rain which fell last nigl t and this morning. No further damage baa been done.”

Two old colonists have died within the past few days, one of them, Mr. Abbot, of Featherston, who expired on the 27th inst., had attained the great !ige of 93 years ; and the other, Mrs. Cording, wife of Mr. E. Cording, of Courtenay-place, who died the following day, had been resident here between 30 and 40 years.

Mr. Armitage has obtained the use of a field at Newtown for the purposes of cricket, and men are employed getting it in proper order. Any clubs wishing to have the use of the ground for matches can do so by applying to him. A second ground is much wanted in Wellington, and no doubt it will be well patronised by lovers of the good old game. At tho Resident Magistrate’s Court on Sate - day, Emily Guttidge, a domestic servant, was charged with being of unsound mind. The Inspector stated that the woman was suffering from the effects of drink. On Thursday last she went out for a walk, and obtained a bottle of brandy. After partaking of -its contents, sho laid down on the Karori-road and went to sleep, where she was found by some people passing by, who took care of her until the next day. The woman, who appeared to be, as the Inspector said, suffering from the effects of oriuk, was remanded for a week. She is a recent -arrival in tho colony, having come out in the Hnrunui.

The stalls, in the Arcade were again well patronised on Saturday night. The building is increasing iu favor as a promenade. Thousands must have visited the place on Saturday, and in the evening the excellent music of the baud engaged by Mr. Sidey enlivened the scene. Several fresh stalls have been opened, and we may expect that in a day or two the whole of the ground floor will be occupied. The Arcade is at present a prominent feature in the business arrangements of r l'e Aro, and when the upstairs stalls are opened, and the Arcade in full swing, it will certainly rival, both as regards attractiveness and utility, any establishment of a similar kind in the colonies.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Saturday, a young man named William Lawrence was charged with obtaining £3 from Mr. Horace Ames, of the Upper Hutt. The accused was remanded until Thursday next for the production of the necessary evidence. —William Jackson, a recent arrival by the Hurunui, charged with being of unsound mind, was remanded.

The St. George’s Hall comic pantomime still continues to bo a great draw. The afternoon performance on Saturday proved to be a great treat to a crowd of little ones, who assembled in large numbers ; and in the evening there was another large attendance. The management announce that the burlesque “ Little Bopeep and Harlequin Jack and the Beanstalk” will be withdrawn after Wednesday evening. All who have not seen the pantomime should not lose the present opportunity. Mr. and Miss Stonoham take their benefit on Wednesday night. Captain Bezer, of the schooner Friendship, informs us (Otago Times) that when last at the Macquarrio Islands he observed the remains of extensive settlements on both the east and west coasts, together with a number of wellhept graves, one of them having a wooden slab at the head bearing the inscription “ William Buckley, died 1830,” - - 1

The usual watch-night services will be held in the Wesleyan churches to-night, and Mr. Woodward will also hold a midnight service at the Oourtenay-place Congregational Church, commencing at 11 o'clock.

The movement (says the Otago Times) to get up a testimonial to Vincent Pyke, Esq., M.H.R., is being warmly supported by all classes in the Dunstan District, and very handsome is likely to be the result.

We observe that amongst Messrs. Money Wigram and Sons’ vessels which are laid on between Melbourne and London, the Kent and Somersetshire will return Home via the Suez Canal. The Kent is advertised to leave Melbourne on the 2nd February, and the Somersetshire in March.

On Saturday two persons were brought into town from Featherston. One of them, William Avery, is under remand on a charge of larceny ; and the other, John Smith, is under a sentence of four months’ hard labor, passed upon him by the local bench, for stealing property of the value of £5.

It is not often we have in Wellington two firstclass entertainments appealing simultaneously to the same order of patrons. The Rev. Charles Clark attracts the most intellectual classes of our citizens, and the same people are naturally found on the subscription-list of the Italian Opera. It is therefore notified by advertisement that Mr. Clark will postpone the delivery of his new lectures on “ Macaulay” and “The Merrie Monarch” until the close of the opera season ; and meanwhile the popular lecturer will visit Wanganui, Taranaki, Blenheim, &c. Arrangements are, we understand, being made to run a steamer at frequent intervals during New Year’s Day to and from the wharf and Lowry Bay. From the great success which .attended the excursion trips to Lowry Bay on Wednesday last (Boxing Day), there can be very little doubt that if the weather proves fine, of which there is every prospect, a very large number of people will avail themselves of this opportunity of visiting one of the most pleasant rural retreats near Wellington, which has hardly been as much appreciated hitherto as it ought to be, owing probably to the difficulty of getting there. It is a long journey overland, and usually the communication by water is scanty. As the capabilities of the place for holiday-makers become more generally known it is sure to become a very popular resort for the citizens of Wellington at holiday times, and those who are laying on steamers just now to convey excursionists there and back at suitable hours and reasonable fares, are the probable pioneers of a local trade which will ultimately be of no little importance. To those of our' readers who may shortly have the pleasure of welcoming to Wellington the favorite Melbourne actress, Ada Ward, who made such a hit in that City in “ Les Danisoheffs,” the folloxving incidents may prove of some interest : —Miss Ada Ward (who is by birth half French and half Irish) was locked up in Pax-is during the whole of the siege. Previously she had joined the Geneva Cross, and at the occupation of Paris by the Prussians she was released, but with great pecuniary loss, and after suffering great hardships. She then returned.. to England, and adopted the stage as a pi'ofession ; and after a short sojoux-n in the provinces, made her first appearance in London at the Haymarket with triumphant success. Mr. Walton and Miss Ward sailed from England at nearly the same time, and both made their bows (though at different theatres) in Melbourne contemporaneously. Her rise in the estimation of the colonial public is something remarkab’e. She will make her first appearance in Wellington sho;' V after the conclusion of the opera season. We believe Mr. Walton will, on the last week of her engagement, act with her. This should be sufficient to ensure the playgoing public a great dramatic treat. A cricket match will be played at Newtown to-morrow (New Year’s Day) between the members of the Star Club, the team that went to the Wairarapa playing an eleven chosen from the rest of the club. The following are the names of the players :—Fixed Stars : Armitage, Glasson, Turner, Willis, Cameron, Howe, Bussell, Fordh im, Kember, Stephenson, Humphries. Wandering Stars : I. J, Salmon, BlacVlock, J. N. Salmon, Kuchen, Gascoigne, Robinson, Haughton, J. Lockett, Inman, Astill, Davey. Play will commence at 11 o’clock, and a coach will leave the Metropolitan Hotel at 10 sharp, taking players to the ground, which is a short distance beyond the Newtown Hotel. Should it be fine no doubt many people will find the r way to Newtown. No charge will be made for admission to the ground, and luncheon will be provided by Mr. Haynes at the Newtown Hotel at a moderate charge.

The Australtxsum of the 15th instant contains the following : —“ ‘ Sir George Grey,’ says a telegram from Wellington, ‘ has refused to inform the House what important service the Government steamer will be employed in during January which wilt prevent her being placed at the service of Sir William Jervois and Colonel Scratchley.’ Sir George Grey never displayed a more prudent reserve in his whole life than on this occasion. Wise reticence is not the most conspicuous quality of this hon. gentleman’s character, and if he showed it on this occasion we may depend on it that he had good reason for doing so. The occasion was one where silence was very golden indeed. It is quite possible that the Premier himself is not precisely clear what that ‘important service’ will be. The vessel may have to be sent on some urgent mission of mercy, or to take Ministers on a picnic excursion. She mav be called on to steam away under sealed orders to the Antarclio Circle, and then to steam back again. But, whatever may be the service she is to render, on one point Sir George Grey is abundantly clear, and that is, that she is not to convey Sir W. Jervois to New Zealand. Since this is his resolve, it would perhaps be quite as highminded and manly were he to say so. But Sir George Grey has often shown that he is not above eking out the lion’s skin with a bit of the fox’s when the emergency requires it. He will, he promises the House, ‘ furnish the steamer's log next session.’ No doubt many things may happen between now and next session to make the execution of this promise superfluous. Sir George Grey’s action in this affair displays the curious mixture of highhanded autocracy and pettifogging indirectness of which his career on several occasions has given evidence.” A Mr. Lewis, writing to a Southern contemporary in reference to a recent fire, says ; “ A pillow-case, well saturated with water, and having a small hole torn in it to look through, placed loosely over the head, will be found an admirable impromptu respirator in the densest smoke. lam indebted to ViceAdmiral Jerningham, who has told me how, when he commanded the Cambridge gunnery training ship at Plymouth, ho made his first experiment with the pillow-case respirator. He had 121bs. of loose powder explode in a confined part of the ship, which, although screened off with fearnought, emitted so dense a smoke that those outside had to lie down on the deck. A common pillow-case, with a small eye-hole, was placed over the head of a man, who, with the hose in his hand, went inside and remained ten minutes, when, to assure his friends outside of his safety, he sang a comic song.”

The colonies have surprised themselves (says au exchange) in their generous contributions towards the Indian Famine Fund. A few weeks ago it was thought that if a grand total of £50,000 could be reached, it would be a remarkable achievement. But that line has been passed, and will he left far behind when all the lists have been closed. Victoria has exceeded £25,000, Now South Wales is likely to exceed £12,000,- New Zealand has already raised £12,000, South Australia has contributed £IOOO, Queensland will send £3OOO, and Tasmania will not lag behind her wealthier neighbors proportionately. So that the whole group of colonies will contribute not far'short of £60,000. This is the biggest thing in public charity yet accomplished on this side of the worjjl. It is said that the Maoris in New Zealand, have heartily assisted the Famine Fund with their donations. This.will not surprise those who know how brightly the virtue of hospitality has always shone in the Maori character.