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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5320, 15 April 1878, Page 2

There are rumors of pending change in the aspect of New Zealand politics, a new party, it said, being likely to be formed under very able leadership, which will not give in its adherence, to the , present. Government—at all events, hot to’ Sir George Grey.

It will be seen,,by, reference to our telegraphic iutelligence that Mr. Kennedy, M.H.R., has resigned his seat for the Grey Valley district, and it is said that Mr. W. H. Harrison is likely be elected in his place unopposed. The burgess roll of the city of Wellington will be open for the inspection of ratepayers at the Corporation Offices until four o’clock this afternoon.

A telegram received by the Inspector of Police states that- at four o’clock on Saturday morning a fire occurred at Marton, by which £IOO worth of corn stacks were destroyed. They .were not insured. The origin of the fire is not stated, nor to whom the property belonged. Further’particulars will probably be received to-day. tt was. announced at St. Paul’s last evening that services would be held 1 every evening this week. On Wednesday a 1 special address would bo delivered to the’ young, and the service on Saturday was to take the’ character of special preparation for the communion on Easter Sunday.- ’ , The’Foxton coach broke down on Friday evening near Kaiwarra, and the passengers had to proceed oh to town in other conveyances, or oh,foot. We understand that no one was hurt, and that the damage done to the coach is not very, serious, consisting of a broken wheel. Considering the’ rough roads over which our up-country coaches have to travel, the rarity of serious accidents says a good deal for the care and skill exercised by the: drivers. In this case we are informed that no blame whatever is attributable to the coachman.

The management of the Theatre Royal have adopted a policy .which should secure for them liberal public patronage, as almost nightly there Las’ been a’change of programme, and the pieces wefe' produced in a very excellent manner by the; strong company and first-rate stage arrangements. Since the commencement of the season we’ have had ‘several of Shakspere’s immortal plays, and also dramas of a modern date by popular authors, each and all of which have shown most careful rehearsal. On Saturday evening an attractive programme was presented to the audience.’ ’ The first piece, entitled “The Dead, Hand," was one that had not; been played here before. It belongs to the sensational school, the denouement of the plot illustrating the sinister designs of a villain, and the retribution following on his crimes. Mr. Dillon appeared in a double role which was congenial to him, and, Mr. Musgrave also had a suitable part alloted to his share, and-he rendered it in a very natural and attractive manner. The other parts found good representatives. “BlackEyed Susan!’ constituted the afterpiece, and was never played here in better style before. Mrs. Walter Hill made an excellent Susan, her’acting'being 'characterised by care and ability. Mr. Dillon impersonated William admirably, and Mr.: Sam Poole as Twig was extremely funny. Mr. Graham looked and acted well the part of the Admiral. Miss May Bell danced a hornpipe very nicely, and was favored by the'audience with a double encore. The theatre will bo closed during Passion Week, and’reopehed on Saturday next with a new piece. ’, ’ ■■ ; A committee meeting of the Athletic Club was held on Saturday evening, and all matters relative to the arranging and,mauagingiof the Easter Monday sports were 'finally decided. The ’ handicaps appear in another portion of bur columns, and judging from the handicaps, something good in the running line may be anticipated. The wirineriof the championship, the athlete who scores the most points in the four ’ champion ’ teveiits, -wi I receive a > silver medal The medal is.now being made by Mr. Shappere, of Willis-street. The committee intend printing on the'programmes the time at which each, race; ,will start, and ; will punctually observe it. , They also decided;!*) have boys’ races during the intervals between the programmed events, so the public will not have cause to find the time flagging. The entries for all the events not handicaps are very numerous. The weather is now the only matter that troubles the club. The sports bid fair to be even a greater success than those of any previous year. , We may state .that the manner in which the committee of , the Athletic Club arrange and carry out their meetings is unequalled by any society in Wellington, the whole committee working with equal zest and energy.

, The audience at the Circus on Saturday evening was the largest that lias been seen in Wellington. There were nearly 40U0 people present. Many hundreds were turned away from the doors.,: The proprietors request us 1 1 state that they will admit gratis inmates of charitable institutions, provided they come in a body under, proper escort, aud that notice of their coming , is given three’hours’ previously.

The Nelson cricketers have arrived here, and were practising on the Basin Reserve on Saturday afternoon. Seemingly they have a much better manner of practising than the Wellington players. They go in for a regularly organised style, and which we think it would be ■ advantageous to our cricketers to adopt. The match will commence to-day at 11 a.m. ■ ■' ; . , 1 ’

Mi'. R. S. Ledger, the secretary of the Wellington and Hutt Building Society, notifies that the offices have been removed' to Messrs. Hickson and 1 Ledger's, 1 Custom-house-quay; These gentlemen, who'have 'recently entered into partner,-hip, have ' taken : offices iii' the building lately purchased by’ the Loan and Mercantile Agency, Company .from. Messrs. Bethune and Hunter, 1 ‘where they will carry on the business of shareholders, commission agents, &o. * Tenders are' invited *up‘ to the 29th instant for .the lease of the. new and handsome'shops attached to the Imperial Opera House,_ Man-ners-Street. will.b’e'fdund !! iu< our advertising columns,in ■ ti- ‘ V - , J ‘J Thenj will. Ije,,a, : general;meeting ,of, the Ladiea'-'Clirialia'n Association ‘ at' four o’clock itO-ynorrow afternoon in the schoolroom,of St. John's Presbyterian Church, 1 Wiilis-strcot,' at which a full attendance is requested...,-. .. •

Notice is given that the Ban*, of Australasia will be closed to-morrow (Tuesday) for the half-yearly balance of accounts.

A fire brigade has been established at the Spit, Napier, and Mr. Kinross, one of the leading merchants of the place, has made them a present of a suitable-fire engine. A-.

Written tenders are invited by the Engi-neer-in-Chief up to the 15th May , for the Ohaupo contract (formation; permanent way, buildings, &c.) on the Kaipara-Punui railway. The Hawke's Bay Herald of the 12th inst. says that Messrs. Webb and Porter, of ■Gisborne,''have' abandoned 'tßeif intention of starting a Maori newspaper. The Waka Maor i is on "the way. ■ , ...At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Saturday, before Mr,. J. ,C... Crawford, E.M., William Gay was fined TOs., with the usual alternative, for drunkenness, and a married woman’s property protection order was granted to Mary Ann George, her husband consenting.- This constituted the business of the, sitting. ; The following are the names of the Wellington':team which is to play in the match Nelson v.,Wellington to-day and to-morrow. Messrs. Armitage, Blacklock, Randall, Johnson, Hamilton, Kennedy, Lockett, Mace, Speed, I. J., and J. A. Salmon, Willis and Webb (12th man) ; umpire, Eordham ; scorer, A. T. Bate.:

; The Sandwich Islands have recently been suffering from the want of rain. The Honolulu Gazette of the 20th Pebruary says:—“.The drought on the islands is a source of consideration with the sugar planters, and if our advices are not at fault, the result of a, scarcity of rain in time to save the sugar crop of these islands will be fatal to an alarming extent. On the wiiid ward side of the Island of Maut the drought is so general that the cane crop is partially destroyed. The want of rain on the islands does not only affect the sugar crops, but is seriously felt among the raisers of stock. We learn that thousands of cattle are dying all over the islands for want of pasture, the direct result of the absence of sufficient rain to moisten the ground and bring forth a crop of grass.” We (Hawke’s Bay Herald), hear that the secretary of the Bush Mills Settlement made application to the Government, through Mr. Rees, a - few weeks since, that an Order-iu-Council might be issued for the purpose of establishing that settlement on a piece of land applied for by the secretary,. and approved by the Waste Lands Board. Mr. Rees received ail intimation yesterday morning from Mr. Elliott, Under-Secretary for Lands, that the Government approved of the application, and that the Order-iu-Couneil would be issued in due course. The establishment of this settlement, therefore, may shortly be looked on us an accomplished fact. , A contributor to the Otago Daily Times sends the following respecting the population of the world ;—The Russian Empire comprises one twenty-seventh part of the globe. Her religion, is orthodox Catholic; it was established in 1051. She denies the spiritual infallibility of the Pope, and prohibits the celibacy of the priesthood, nor can they perform any spiritual functions, before they are married, nor after they become widowers. The Emperor appoints them to every sacred office ; he is the protector; and defender of the Church. Her population is 85,685,916, of which 54,093,810 are orthodox Catholics; the remainder are Mahomedans, Protestants, and Roman Catholics, &c,,&c. The British Empire is rated at one-seventh of the land surface of the globe, inhabited by 202,546,213 souls. Great Britain and Ireland contain 31,628,236 souls, exclusive of the army and navy. ■ They are divided into 122 religious denominations. The Melbourne papers chronicle the death of a somewhat singular character, known in Melbourne as the “ boy-girl.” Her name was Miss Kate. Johnson, and she was known as the “ hoy-girl ” from the fact that she paraded Oollins-street in a costume more nearly approaching male than female attire. This eccentric conduct was said to have been the result of a wager of £IOOO with a wealthy squatter that she would not appear daily in this dress “on the block ” for a certain period, and judging by the time she was seen there attired as a boy, she had nerve enough to dare public opinion and win her wager. Her parents, who purchased the ex-vice-regal residence at Toorak, are very wealthy, and her sister is married to a ’ Melbourne musical celebrity. The death 1 of this clever though eccentric young person will occasion regret , amongst a large circle of fashionables in the Victorian metropolis, to whom her virtues as well as her singularities were well known.

A serious accident took place near Horsham on the evening of the 21st ult., whereby (says the Times) four men were severely, injured. Three brothers named O’Brien, and a relative of, theirs named Dugan, were blasting stone at the Burnt Creek quarries, near the schoolhouse, and put in a shot, which they were tamping with an iron bar, when it suddenly exploded, and they were immediately buried beneath a shower of stones and ddhris. Fortunately the accident was observed by one of Mr. Kimberley’s men named Andrew Cruet, who, with the assistance of some others, dug them out, a task which took an hour and a half; to accomplish. The men were at once taken to the Horsham Hospital, where it was found that they were all cut about the face. One man lost an eye and three teeth, and another; had three ribs broken ; and his shoulder dislocated, having also internal injuries. Another lost a thumb, besides receiving other injuries. The men are all selectors in North Wonwondah. '

The Calcutta correspondent of The Times, telegraphing on January 27, states : —“A rather sinister rumor of doubtful authority, though transmitted through official channels, reports that the Ameer of Cabul is massing troops at Candahar, This may possibly mean a menace to Persia rather than a hostile movement against us, as there is no doubt that the Ameer is actuated by an equally hostile feeling against Persia as, against England, in consequence of the result of an arbitration, according to the terms of which the province Seistan was awarded to Persia. Russian envoys are represented as constantly passing to and from Cabul, being latterly, it is said, treated with mueh consideration. There can be but little doubt that at the present time Russian influence is paramount in Afghanistan. The Ameer makes no attempt to conceal his enmity to England. After having received a quarter of a million sterling of English money, over 50,000 rifles and other firearms, and 12 guns, he last year , publicly proclaimed a religious war against the Indian Government, and was only prevented carrying the menace into effect by tire determined attitude of Government. The British power is of course perfectly able to protect itself against any aggressive movement by the Ameer, and indeed, if necessary, to conquer and occupy his territory ; but the special significance of his hostile attitude lies in this fact, that hitherto in considering the poosibility of a Russian invasion of India we have been accustomed to regard Afghanistan as an all but invincible barrier between English territory and Russian aggression ; whereas now, for all military purposes, that barrier has ceased to exist. The Russians having the Ameer as an eager ally, the interval of 500 miles is practically eliminated, and the Russian military power becomes at once coterminous with the British power, and an easy avenue is straightway opened for the former to British India, which can be farther improved by Russian intrigue and Russian money.” On the 12th of November, 1852, a trial took place' at Cologne, which caused extraordinary excitement, and attracted the attention of Europe.' Two youthful Communists, Bm'gess ,andi Becker, the latter of whom was called “ the: Red Becker,” from the color of his hair and of his politics, were sentenced (for what crime is not stated) to six years’ imprisonment. Against the condemned there were arrayed three! witnesses, b?ing respectively a police inspector, a constable,'and a lieutenant in the army; Tire subsequent career of the, accused and the accusers furnishes a curious and suggestive'comment on the uncertainties and upsaudrdoWs of life." The police .inspector, after

being promoted to a high -official position in Hanover, committed suicide. The lieutenant was made a bank director in Pomerania; where he ran away with the cash-boa, and then made away with himself. The constable; still lives, broken in health ami out of employ.' So much for the three witnesses ; and m-w as to, the two men who were condemned. One of; them, Becker, is at the present moment Mayor of! Cologne and member of the Prussian House of Peers ; while the other, “Burgess, is a member of the Lower House, and in high esteem. And so the whirligig of time brings round its changes. Today a beggar—to-morrow a prince ; a convict in 1852, and a Mayor and member of the House of Peers in 1877. Such is life. '