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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5276, 21 February 1878, Page 2

IT. W. Mackinder and M. L. Be La Taste, who stand charged jointly with two other men (Shine and Maher) on suspicion of being concerned iu the late robbery at Pakuratahi, were yesterday liberated on bail, to appear to-day at the Resident Magistrate’s Court, when the case will be again brought before the Bench. At St. Mary’s Cathedral yesterday morning pontifical high mass was celebrated in order to invoke the blessings of the Almighty on the ■priests who wer» about to meet iu synod. Tho church was crowded, and extra solemnity was added to the service by the presence of the Bight Reverend Bishop Redwood, and of priests to the number of twenty-four, who joined in singing tho mass. The Synod afterward met. The proceedings relate only to regulations which the clergy shall observe during the present time. A public tea meeting and entertainment will be given this evening in the hall of the Atheuamm by the crew of the ship Hurunni, which vessel will shortly sail fur London. This gathering, if we remember rightly, is one of the first of the kind that has ever taken place here. An excellent programme has been prepared for tho occasion, and a very enjoyable evening will no doubt be spent by all present. The meeting may confidently be expected to be largely attended. There is now on view at Mr. R. J. Duncan’s auction-rooms a specimen of draughtsmanship of a nature not usually to be met with in these colonies, where time as a rule is considered too precious to exoend on art. Wo refer to the large plan of Kaitoke township, from the office of Mr. D. Picton Davies, C.E., which, both as regards the style of execution and tho artistic management of the colors, reflects the greatest credit upon the designer. It has evidently been executed with the idea of “ distinct vision ” as the main feature to be kept iu mind—the eye is enabled to see at a glance tho various sections, their size and shape, without being in the least confused, the whole presenting rather a pleasant picture than a dry plan to the general beholder, whilst a landscape executed in water color, and showing the nature of the ground, completes a piece of work which does great credit to the skill of Mr. F. Whitcornbe, whose artistic abilities we are glad to see turned in this direction. Between 7 and S o’clock yesterday morning the dead body of a man was found floating in the harbor at the rear of the Empire Hotel. Information was immediately given to the police by Mr. Moxham, who first discovered the body, and it was then removed to the morgue to await a coroner’s inquest, which will be held this afternoon. The deceased has be«n identified as John Blackall, lately employed on board the schooner Ruby, it is said out of pure kindness, by Captain Dalton, to whom the poor fellow was not much use, as he was in bad health, and it is not long ago that the captain paid a doctor’s fee of B 1 Is, for medical attendance The deceased was about 50 years of ago, and held a master mariner’s certificate

Yesterday morning Captains Crowe, Moorliouse, and Best, pursuant to a resolution passed at a moating of the city volunteer corps held the previous evening, waited upon the Hon. Mr. Ball since, at the Government Buildings, to request that the sum of £SOO, voted during the late session of Parliament, should he handed over to them for the erection of a drill-died. The Minister said he saw no reason why the amount should not ba paid to them, provided a trust fund were created. The deputation undertook that this should bo done. The deputation further asked for a grant of an acre, or if that were considered too much, half an acre, on the Thorudon reclaimed land. This question, Mr. Ballance said, would have to be dealt with by the whole of the Executive, several of whom were now absent from Wellington, and until their return he should be unable to give the deputation an answer. Having thanked the Minister for the courtesy with which he had received them, the deputation then withdrew. A meeting of the Fire Police Corps was held at the Manners-street Station last evening, Lieutenant Asher in the chair. Captain Walden tendered his resignation as captain and member of the corps, owing to his duties in tlie above capacity interfering with Ids other engagements. His resignation was accepted, as was also that of Member Ludford, who gave a like reason for resigning. Votes of thanks were passed to these gentlemen for their services. It was then put to the meeting and carried unanimously, that Captain Walden he elected a life honorary member, free of all subscriptions, &o. It was resolved that in future, at the election of members, candidates must be nominated at one meeting, ami that the election be proceeded with at the next meeting. Ml'. J. Bedford was elected a member of the corps. Sundry accounts were passed, and the meeting terminated with a vote of tlianks to the chairman. It is stated that the funds of this very useful body are at a low ebb, and that contributions from such of the public as appreciate their services in preserving law and order, and preventing the destruction of property at fires, will be very acceptable at the present time. In connection with the annual meeting of the Pastor’s College (says the London Ju’ho of the 3rd January), Mr. Spurgeon delivered an amusing lecture last|night in the Tabernacle, on the subject of “Candles.” Some time ago a young preacher, whom he had been advising to use metaphor, asked where lie was to find it ; and he (Mr. Spurgeon) answered that “ a man who couldn’t preach for twelve months about a tallow candle was not worth his salt,” The expression was perhaps rather ton strong a one, lint it sot him thinking himself, and so became the origin of the present lecture. In illustration of las subject, Mr. Spurgeon had a very large collection of caudles of all kinds on the platform, from which, as he used them, either singly or in combination, lie drew an ingenious moral, Tims, with a tallow-dip stuck in a gingerbeer bottle, lie represented the illiterate street preacher. It was more useful than the nicest and most beautiful candle which was unliglitoil, but at the same time it lost none of its usefulness by being put into a silver candlestick (that was to say, that the preacher lost nothing by a little education), and it was then likely to find its way into drawing-rooms and other places from which it would otherwise be excluded. The moral of the candle and the bushel was enforced practically, a real bushel being shown upon the platform. This, Mr. Spurgeon pointed out, might be compared to a man’s business cares, which covered nr choked In's religious principles; but lie showed how the position of things might ho reversed—how the candle would gain by being set upon the bushel, and how a man’s daily occupation might he utilised for the furtherance of God’s work. Then he used a variety of lanterns, some new, some old, some whole, some broken, some dirty, some clean, all of which served to point a moral or enforce a maxim. The lecture lasted nearly two hours, during which time it was followed by the audience witli close attention.

The meeting of the Waterworks Investigation Committee is postponed until Wednesday next, the 27th instant, at 4 p.m. The Bight Eev. Dr. Moran, Roman Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, was a passenger to Wellington by the Wauaka yesterday, and intends proceeding on to Auckland. We are glad to hear that Mrs. Elizabeth Wallace, lately residing at Mr. Windhurst’s, Courtenay-place, who was reported to the police on Tuesday evening to be missing, and concerning whose safety fears were entertained, returned home yesterday all right. Theatrical benefits are not always advantages to those for whose benefit they take place. Mr. Thatcher writes to us to say that out of £52 18s. realised at his recent benefit there were nearly £4O expen-ea. Mr. Thatcher is also a heavy loser by Mr. Levy, the cornet player, levanting to California, as can be proved by unmistakeable evidence. The Edinburgh correspondent of the Dunedin Times states that Miss Thomson, a young American lady, afforded the people of Edinburgh a novel excitement on the 30th November, by having a favorite thoroughbred bay mare belonging to her shod with gold shoes. It seems that two years ago, when on a visit to Edinburgh, Miss Thomson bought this animal, which she took back with her to America, and of which she became inordinately fond. Her affection took the novel form mentioned, the creature being duly shod, on its return to Edinburgh with its mistress, with shoes of solid gold, the nails being of the same metal. The shoes are half nn inch thick, aud the value of the set was stated by the Scotsman to be £2OO. The Review, however, put it down at between £4OO and £SOO, which is probably nearer the true amount. The horse was shod at a forge in St. James Place, at the head of Leith Walk, and then taken to the well-known stables of Mr, Peter Moir, not a hundred yards off, where Miss Thomson mounted her steed, and rode it up aud down the yard, to the admiration of a crowd of gaping loungers aud gamins. In the evening she and her horse left Edinburgh for London, en route for America. It is said that these gold shoes will last as long as ordinary iron ones, though it is difficult to see how that can be the case. The probability is that unless Miss Thomson keeps a sharp lookout after them, they will disappear before their durability has been fairly tested.

I am glad to hear (says “ Atlas” in the World) that the Bishop of Ely is encouraging his clergy to let the glebe-lands, wherever practicable, to the laboring poor, at agricultural rates. Those noblemen and gentlemen who have tried similar experiments have been, in almost all cases, rewarded with success. The late Duke of Rutland became in this way the benefactor of the laboring population on his Lincolnshire and Leicestershire estates, and at the present time there are no fewer than 700 allotments, varying from a sixth to a quarter of an acre, at Belvoir alone. The results of this system are, I believe, even commercially a success, the land being brought into a high state of cultivation, and the rent regularly paid. The present Duke carries out to the uttermost his father’s intentions iu the matter ; and if Lord John Manners indoctrinates his children with the views which are peculiarly his own, the allotment system on the Rutland estates will be not only maintained, but extended. The Sydney Morning Herald records the death under melancholy circumstances of a gentleman for several years connected with the Auckland Press, and who acted very efficiently as manager of the Evening News for some time. When that journal was purchased by Messrs. Read and Brett, and merged into the Star, Mr. Coppock went to Sydney, where he has resided ever since. On the 28th ultimo it appears that his dead body was found lying on the rocks iu Watson’s Bay, with Ida skull, arms, and left leg fractured, and with other wounds about him such as would be produced by falling on the rocks. A coroner’s inquest was held the next day, when the jury returned a verdict that the deceased was found dead, but how the body came in the position iu which it was found the evidence did not show. The deceased had many friends in New Zealand, by whom this intelligence will be received with very sincere regret. That fiction is often a reflection »f fact (says the Echo) may be a truism, but it is a truism too frequently overlooked. Over and over again have pictures been drawn of wrecked ships discovered on lonely shores, which had evidently been beached to prevent their sinking ; of sea-drift encumbering the paths of navigation for miles, and of vessels lying waterlogged and helpless, which had not so much as encountered a gale. But the simple record at Lloyd’s is still more suggestive. It has been said, since Mr. Plimsoll published his book, that he not merely exaggerated, but was guilty of serious blunders. In so large an indictment there were probably errors, both of fact and Inference, but the periodical winter chronicle of disasters at sea—after making all allowance for the terrible forces of Nature, and the deductions to be made on account of ignorant or negligent navigation—demonstrates that a serious average of unseaworthy vessels are continually leaving the ports of Britain. The latest document iu proof is, perhaps, the most suggestive of any. It is the Register of British Shipping for the month of November last alone. Xu this we find that one hundred and twenty-nine ships have been struck oil the list, and among them several not less than seventy-seven years old that is, as old ns the century. What wonder if these out-worn hulls, patched up, of course, and weakened year by year, should be unfit to contend with the tremendous forces they have to encounter, whether on a coasting or an ocean voyage 1 ’They may have been toughly built, and fortunate in escaping calamity ; but no sailor, and certainly no landsman, could be blamed for refusing to embark iu a craft that had stood the buffettiug and decay of threequarters of a century. Assuming that those veterans of the British merchant service, before being condemned to the shipbreakers’ yard, had met with no particular calamities, what of others whose careers may also have commenced iu the year 1300, and of which not a timber remains and not even a record ?