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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5255, 26 January 1878, Page 2

In' another portion of our columns will be found an address to tlrt electors of Wellington from 'Mr. B. Pearce,' expressing his willingness to bo put in nomination 'for the seat for ,this city in the House of Representatives rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr. .Travers. There can bo but little doubt that Mr. Pearce’s past services to his constituency will, not ho forgotten on this occasion, and that he will be returned at the head of the poll should there bo a contest.

There will be no meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society this evening. The Auckland Press speaks highly of the performances of the United States Minstrels. The Government offices,' banks, and most places of business will be closed oa the afternoons of Monday and Tuesday, on the occasion of the Intercolonial Cricket Match The Wesleyan Conference picnic will be ‘held at Silverstream on Tuesday next. A special ttyain ..will leave. Wellington at 9.30., returning from Silverstream at 6 p.m. , Tenders are invited, up to - noon on the 6th March for the purchase of the property and plant of the Para Para Iron and Coal Company, Collingwood. Mr. C. Bright will lecture at the Theatre Royal ou Sunday (to-morrow) evening on “The Doctrine of Rvolution in Relation to Prayer.” The races postponed on Tuesday last will come off to-day, viz., the junior pair-oar gig race, whaleboat, maiden four-oar in-rigged gig, scullers, senior pair-oar gig, and volunteer whaleboat. A meeting of the twenty-two chosen to play in the cricket match with Australia was held at the Pier Hotel last evening, when Mr. J. A. Salmon was elected captain. The team are requested to meet ou the ground this morning at 11 o’clock sharp. At the conclusion of the match Australia v. Christchurch a single-wicket match was played between O. Banuermau and one of the local team. The Australian was the first to handle the willow, and when time was called had made 44 (not out). In the Supreme Court yesterday Mr. J. H. Wallace asked what time his Honor would be prepared to hoar his application re costs in the case of Wallace v. Crawford. His Honor said he would hear the application on Monday next.

At the Wesleyan Church, Manners-street, to-morrow, the Rev. J. Crump will preach in the morning and the Rev. W. Morley in the evening; at Molesworth-street Church the Rev. J. Berry in the morning and the Rev. W. Lee in: the evening; and at the Adelaide-road Church the Rev. J. H. Gray in the morning and the Rev. J. S. Rishworth in the evening. According to advertisement the Rev. Thos. Harrington will preach to-morrow to the Baptist congregation uowmeetingatthePolyteohuio Hall, Eeatherston-street. Special subjects are announced —that in the morning being “Strength for; weak believers ;” and in the evening the sermon will' be to young men,' though, of course, this will not exclude others. A meeting of creditors in the estate of Doneghue and Parr, of Wellington, coachbuilders, Which was to have been held yesterterday, stands adjourned until February 5. An ! adjourned meeting in R. Barnes’ estate ■ will be held to-day. In the matter of J. Mackenzie, of tile Hutt, there was not a sufficient number of creditors present to make a quorum, and the proceedings lapsed. The assets in this estate were set down at £341, and the liabilities at £446.

Yesterday mortvng the shingles on the roof of Mrs. Carpenter’s house in Boulcott-street were set on fire by the sparks from the chimney of an adjoining saw-mill. , Little or no damage was done; but the result might have been very different. The family residing in the house referred to regard the sawmill, as a dangerous neighbor; but whether they have any legal remedy or not in the matter it israther hard to say. A'spebial meeting of the Volunteer Fire Police . was "held in the Fire Brigade rooms Manners-street last evening ; Captain Walden in the chair. The object of the meeting was to fix the remuneration to be given to those members of the corps who might be told off to, take charge of goods after a fire. The Score - ary informed the meeting that he had put in a claim for 2s. an hour night and day, which had been objected to by one of the insurance companies as being too high. It was decided that the charge in future should be Is. fid. per hour [from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 2s. per hour in the night time and on Sundays. A New Zealand Gazette received yesterday (dated ou Thursday), notifies that the municipality of Green Island is proclaimed a borough under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876. —A list is given of lands taken for the purpose of a portion of the railway from Napier to the junction with the railway from New Plymouth to Waitara at Sentry Hill (Araraoho Junction to the town of Wanganui).—Notice is given of the payment of money on, and entry; into, negotiations for the purchase of native lands in the North Island.—A lease for goldmining purposes has. been granted to John Grange, John Allen, and John Shaw, calling theraselyes “ The Mount Ophir Gold Mining Company," of 16 acres in the Golden Bay Mining District; also to F. H. Guinness and Thomas Snell, calling themselves “ The Excelsior Quartz Mining Company,” of 16 acres in the Golden Bay Mining District.—The following gentlemen are appointed Justices of the Peace, for the colony : Christopher Atwill Harris, jun., Esq. ; George Holdship. Esq. ; John Murray, Esq. ; William Alfred Pitzherbert, Esq. ; George E Imeades Tolhurst, Esq. ; Edward Joshua Riddiford, Esq. ; Barton Ireland, Esq. ; Sam Routledge Dransfield, Esq. ; and William Common, Esq.—Mr. A. D. Cowan, of Mastertou, is appointed an Interpreter under the 12th section of “The Native Land Act, 1873.” Ilia .Worship the Mayor of Wellington received ,by yesterday’s mail the following letter from the Lord Mayor of London :—“ Mansion House, London, E. 0., December 13, 1877. Dear Mr. Mayor,—l have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of October 20. I beg most earnestly to thank you for the steps you have so kindly taken to raise sums in aid of the Indian Famine Fund, and I congratulate you. on the success of your efforts, proved, as that has been, by the payment of many handsome donations through your agents here. I feel sure that English people will be delighted to see that the traditional warmheartedness of British colonists still exists, and that sufferings cannot be found in any part of her Majesty’s dominions, which her subjects in the colonies, as well as at Home, are not anxious to alleviate.—Wishing you and your fellow-citizens a happy and prosperous New Year, I am, &e., THO 3. S. Owdex, Lord Mayor of London.—The Mayor of Wellington, N.Z.”

Our Palmerston correspondent, writing ou the 22ud inst., sends the following items ; The Mauawatu Acclimatisation Society held their second meeting here on the last Sunday in December, when Mr. G. M. Snelson (Mayor of Palmerston, North) was elected vice-presi-dent, and Mr. J. Linton, treasurer. The next meeting is fixed for the 26th. inst. The Manawatu Dramatic Club have three now pieces iu rehearsal, and they intend giving their next performance in about a fortnight’s time. The plays selected are “John Dobbs,” “Cut, Olf with a Shilling,” and “ The Happy Dispatch.” I hear that the pheasants have increased in the district, snd that we ar-e likely to have even better shooting (including pigeons, wild ducks, &o.) this season than usual. A tender for the ereotioa of Messrs, llichter, Nannestad, and Co.’s new flour mills has been accepted,'and they are to be proceeded with at once.,

M. Erere, of the Albury Vineyards, has written to the Albury Banner upon the subject of Australian wines and the Paris Exhibition, recommending special efforts towards securing a market in Europe for the produce of our vineyards, as well as towards obtaining some useful bints for the improvement of our wines. On November 21 the residence of Sir Joseph W. Bazalgette, at Wimbledon Park, near London, was entered by a gang.of burglars, who stole a silver trowel, with ivory handles, which 1 was presented by the Metropolitan Board of Works to J. W. Bazaigette, Esq., in commemoration of laying the first, stone of the Thames embankment; also a salver, a silver inkstand, a japanned tin-box containing about £2O and some papers, a brown overcoat, and four photographs of ladies. , ' Mr, T. K. Macdonald will hold a largo land sal* Mom],iv, the 4th February, at the exchange mart. Particulars will bo found in our advertising columns, where it will bo seen that a variety of desirable pro pottles will bo submitted to public oovopc; ition. They comprise lots at Wellington, Vogeltown, Newtown, Malvern (Canterbury), Featherston, Palmerston, Wondvilio, &0., and are well worth the attention of both large and small capitalists.

We understand that Mr. Travers sent in his resignation .of his seat for the city to , the Speaker yesterday. By the Rotorua yesterday the following letters, books, and papers were received by the San Francisco mail :—From London; Letter-, 3156; books, 731; papers, 9886 ; from' the United States : Letters, 197 ; books,.-54 ; papers, 445. ' The Supreme Court was occupied yesterday with the'.case of Clayton v. Isaacs, which was resumed from the previous day. It was brought to recover £lO paid as a deposit on the purchase of a piece of land sold at auction. After hearing the evidence and the addresses of counsel, the jury, under his Honor’s direction, returned a verdict for the defendant. ' The Wellington Trust Loan and Investment Company (Limited), appears to be in a flourishing condition. , The annual report, which will be submitted to the directors at the fifth annual general meeting, to be held on the 4th February next, says :—ln their fifth report the directors might again have confined themselves to congratulating the shareholders upon the continued prosperity of the company, but the fact that a change has been made during the year in the articles of association, makes it desirable to refer to that circumstance, and to place it on record in the annual report. The change, which was made at a general meeting held on the 25th day of September, 1877, authorised the increase of the capital of the company to £200,000, and empowered the directors to make interim payments on account of the dividends of any year, when they may deem it expedient to, do so. In virtue of the powers thus conferred, the directors have notified to the shareholders that each one is entitled to take up new shares equal in number to those at present held, and have paid an interim dividend at the rate of 4 per cent. The result of the business of the year, as shown by the balauoe-sbeet, is that a profit of £6245 6s. 7d. has been made, out of which £2050 has been paid as above, and the directors now recommend a further dividend at the rate of 6 per cent., making 10 per cent, for the year. This will take £3075, leaving £ll2O 4s. 7d. to be carried on as a nucleus of a reserve fund. Mr. Pearce, one of the directors, retired in the early part of the year, and Mr. Gr. Allen was elected to fill the vacancy. The three directors who now retire by rotation are Messrs. Allen, Burne, and Woodward, all of whom offer themselves for re-eleotioa.

The following letter has been received by a gentleman connected with the Press of this city from a well-known colonial celebrity who has been lost to'the view of the public of these parts for some years London, November 30th, < ,1877.-—Dear Independent,—Although you may-not have heard of the ex-comic vocalist, I must say I have not, been idle all these years. By a catalogue I; post to you, you will see that the great auctioneers, Christie, Manson, and Woods, are selling my collection. I have travelled extensively the interior of China and Japan,- learnt both languages, and had many curious adventures, which some day I may give in a book. I was brought up by my father to the study and sale of old China, but unfortunately I fooled my time away on the stage. ‘ I have made far more money at my legitimate profession than in the palmiest days of my vocation as a vocalist. I return back to China and Japan in January. I mean, if all go well, to go a thousand miles up the Yellow River in China to explore for old porcelain’. I have sold at presenf in London old porcelain to the value of £IO,OOO, and have a large collection yet not sold. 1 lam so full of business that I have to be brief. Remember me to all old Wellingtonians.—Believeme, yours faithfully, CHARLES R. Thatcher.”

At the Supreme Court yesterday his Honor the Chief Justice made the following observations :—“ I desire to say, with reference to a paragraph in the New Zealand Times, that the reporter misreported what took place. No observation was made as to Mr. Barton or Mr. Fitzherbert having led the Registrar into a trap. My observations were made with refer-, ence to a system, and the abuse of it. The law provides that the Registrar may go to an auctioneer, arrange for sale, and conduct sale of land by mortgagees. It appears to be the practice that the mortgagee’s solicitor suggests an auctioneer, the same' solicitor prepares conditions, which are approved by the Registrar. If under these circumstances the solicitor is to be called the solicitor of the Registrar, that is leading the Registrar into a trap. The Registrar is not under the impression that the mortgagee’s solicitor is his solicitor under such circumstances. I reiterate over and over again that my observations were general, and had no reference to any particular person. No imputation was made against Messrs. Beauchamp and Campbell, except this, that there was great difficulty, in getting proof of matters from them about which there should have been no difficulty whatever.” The Victoria Philosophical Institute, London, held the opening meeting of its thirteenth session on Monday evening, December 3; Mr. 0. Brooke, M.D., F.R.S., in the chair. Many new members were elected, including the President of Wisconsin University, and Professor Hoer, of Zurich, the recipient of the Royal Society’s sold medal for 1877. The list of authors of papers for the session included the names of ten professors of English and foreign universities, &c. The number of the society’s members had increased, in spite of those adverse influences which have this year affected almost every society and institution, and now approached eight hundred. The paper of the evening was read by Mr. J. B. Howard, F.R.3., and referred to the advances that modern science had made in regard to nature, and the value of “a slow but sure path of induction.”

The following telegram was received from our correspondent at Palmerston North yesterday afternoon :—Mr. Jonathan Jackson’s (carpenter) house was burnt down at eleven last night. The cause of the fire was the leaving a shirt before the embers to dry. Loss about £IGO ; insured for £IOO in National. Another fire also occurred on the premises of Mr. Jonathan Sharman, nursery gardener, at Kareke. The cause of the fire is unknown. The loss is estimated at about £l5O. The property was insured in the Victoria for £IOO. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, before J. O. Crawford, Esq., R.M., William Smith and William Clarke were each fined ss. for being drunk the previous day. John Sheen, an old offender, charged as an habitual drunkard, was sentenced to two mouths’ hard labor. —Mr. L. Salmon, charged by the Inspector of Nuisances with - a breach of the Municipal Regulations, in blocking up the footpath by allowing timber to be placed on it, produced a written permit from Mr. Page, clerk to tbe Corporation, to place the timber where it was found. The summons, was consequently Mr. Salmon applied to be allowed expenses, but the Bench declined to grant the application.—The , case of Ralph Renner, charged with wasting water the property of the Corporation, was dismissed.—On the civil side judgments were given for plaintiffs for the amounts claimed, with costs, in the following casess:—R. Gardner'y. F. Humphries, £4 15s. 4d.; R. Laurent v. G. Bernascoui, £3 os. 6d.; C. Mclntyre v. J. Howard, £5 135.; D. Anderson v. W. A. Gardner, £l9 16s. 7d.; C., Broadhent v. captain and owners of the Elizabeth, £1 13s.

Mr. Thatcher arrived yesterday to settle if possible the date of the Lc v y season. It had been agreed that the company should open the Manners-street Theatre bn or about the 12th of February; but that house will not be ready, and as the Soldenes appear at the Theatre Koyal ou the 18th, it is scarcely likely that we shall have the great instrumentalist till March is far advanced. In the meantime Levy will play in Gisborne and Napier, probably also at Wanganui aud Taranaki, and possibly the West Coast, before coming to Wellington. The Auckland season is to be extended another week. Miss Ada Ward, the eminent and popular : young actress, whose talents and romantic history have for some time attracted much attention, will opeu at the Theatre Koyal for a short season, supported by the Walton-cum-Howard Company, on the 7th of February. Mias Ward is said to be a very charming woman as well as a clever actress, aud if she appears under favorable auspices she will receive liberal patronage.