GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5329, 26 April 1878, Page 2

GENERAL NEWS.

The Registrar-General’s report on the vital statistics of the boroughs of Auckland, Thames, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Hokitika, during the month of March last, are published: in the N.Z.. Gazette of Thursday. The total number of births was 297, and of deaths 116, distributed amongst the several boroughs as follows ;

The births registered during March were two mere than in February, and the deaths thirtyseven more. Of the deaths, males contributed 67, females 47. Sixty-one of the deaths were of children under five years of age, being 52'59 per cent of the whole number ; 51 of these were of children under one year of age. There were five deaths of persons over sixty-five years of age : four of these were males, and one female : one male of 72 died at Well’ngton : one male of 77 at Nelson : one male of 74 and 1 female of: 70 at Christchurch, and one male of 68 at Dunedin. When compared with the. returns of the previous month, it appears that there were more deaths at the towns of Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Hokitika in March than in February. At Auckland the deaths fell from 19 in February to 13 last month. Scarlet fever reappeared as a cause of death at Nelson in March. Deaths from fever took place at Wellington, Nelson, aud Christchurch in March, there having been none daring the previous month. The mortality from whooping cough at all towns decreased from 8 deaths in' February to -4 in March. These 4 deaths were at Nelson. The accidental deaths in March numbered 10. A death occurred from a fall on to a billiard table, a child was killed by burns after her clothes catching fire, 6 persons were accidentally, drowned, a warehouseman was killed by injury to his spine, a child was suffocated in bed. In March, 1877, there were 125 deaths in the boroughs. Scarlatina caused 20 of these : 10 at Dunedin, and 10 at Hokitika. This caused a very high death-rate at those towns, as compared with the rate for March, 1878. It seems to be very generally considered that a railway from Wellington along the West Coast to Foxton or Palmerston is one of the public works which ore long must he carried out. What appear to be reliable data prove that there are no great engineering difficulties to encounter, and that the line would pay, and would open up for settlement a large tract of level and fertile land. We understand that Mr. Loudon, of Foxton, waited on April 15 upon the Minister of Public Works in reference to the desirability aud importance of this railway as well as of farther improvements at the port of Foxton, and suggested that a junction with the present line at or near Foxton would be cheaper and better than carrying it to a point further up the river. At whatever part of the existing railway the junction with the Wellington line via the West Coast is made, the great advantages of the latter work being constructed were, brought under the Minister’s notice. Mr. Macaudrew, wo are informed, expressed himself favorable to the undertaking, but stated. what is obviously true, that the work would necessarily involve considerable expenditure, and that Government must have the sanction of Parliament before undertaking it. The formation of this railway is a question of great importance, and we should like to see it again taken up,, either by the Wellington Chamber of Commerce or by a public meeting, or by both, and at as early date as "possible, as the next Parliamentary session is now fast approaching, and ; it is as well that the matter should come before the Assembly in a matured shape. This would strengthen the hands of the House, and if it were made clear that the people of the district were urgent in support of the undertaking, and that it was unquestionably demonstrated, as we believe it can be, that the work will be a reproductive one, there can be very little doubt that it would - be - undertaken. _ The benefit to the West Coast and the capital by the formation of this line cannot be overstated, ■ The return of the Customs revenue at the several porta of New Zealand during the quarter ended 31st March, 1878, are published in a Gazette of Thursday last, and are of a satisfactory character The total revenue during that period is set down at £359,023, and for the corresponding quarter of. 1877 at £298,039. The returns at the undermentioned

A correspondent sends us the following:— By the next mail from Auckland you will receive , the speech of Mr. Hugh Hart Lusk in full to his constituents, on his resignation of liis seat for Eranklin in the House of Representatives. The main reasons assigned for the course the honorable member has thought fit to pursue it will then be found arise from his unwillingness to oppose the policy of Sir George Grey, as ho intended to have done if ho returned hero in July next, and the remarkable statements made about him in the pages of th a Herald by Mr. J. S. Maofarlane. Mr. Lusk, it is understood, has no intention of altogether resigning politics, but will only keep aloof from them until the Grey furore has passed away, and tho public, like some enterprising members of the community, have time to determine what to do with “ unredeemed pledges.” . ( Mr. Colin McDonald, the contractor for the road to Kilbirnio, has commenced work. Should tho weather keep fine the contract will be rapidly completed, and a pleasant walk and drive for the citizens will bo provided.

A new enterprise of considerable magnitude has been launched in the commercial world within the past few weeks, entitled the Colonial Insurance Company of _ New Zealand, with a capital of ,two millions sterling, in 200,000 shares of £lo'bach. The directory is an influential-, one, containing the names .of some of the leading citizens of the place, and the undertaking- promises ,to be a. highly successful one. At » meeting of the Wellington Diocesan Committee on Thursday, April 11, the generous gifts, by Mr. L 0. Crawford of a site at Kilbirnie was-suitably, acknowledged. - The site is more than an’ acre in extent, and is* very eligibly situated. The first of three competitions for a rifle and pictures, presented to the City Rifles, took place on Saturday, April 6. The weather was clear and bright, and this no doubt contributed to the excellent shooting. Private Cording, who was not competing for the prizes, made an excellent score of 72. The following is a list of those who competed, with the shots fired, and the scores made :

The Wellington Cadets made a total of 408; Wanganui, 376 : majority for Wellington, 32. Wo are sorry to hear that Hr. Hooper, of Karori, met with a serious accident on April 5, He had, we understand, been out in the bush pigeon shooting, and afterwards was talking with ■ a Mr. Cole, and , during the conversation laid the gun down on the ground. Some of Mr. Hooper’s children took the gun up, and he, fearing an accident to them, took it from them. By some 'mischance the gun went off, and the contents lodged in his side. We have since learned that Mr. Hooper is now in a' fair way of recovery. At first it was thought that all the shot had penetrated the body, but Dr. Bradford has since discovered that it was mostly turned aside by the ribs. Consequently the wound is not so dangerous as at first believed. There are now 106 inmates in the Lunatic Asylum, and the result is that the place is fearfully overcrowded. It is time that additions were made to the building, as the health of the unfortunate inmates must suffer through the crowded state of the rooms! There is also not sufficient space for the proper classification of the inmates ; though Mr, Whitelaw, the efficient superintendent, does all: that lies in his power to alleviate the condition of those placed under his charge. To add to the drawbacks the institution labors under, there is a scarcity of water, the whole of the establishment being supplied from one well, which is how very low. Some time ago it was urged that the water from the Corporation reservoir should be laid on to the asylum, but we regret to say no action has been taken in the matter. The water should be laid on without delay, as it is extremely necessary that in a building of this nature all appliances should be provided to extinguish fires. It is only a few weeks ago that the lunatic asylum near Auckland was burned to the ground, and a similar calamity here should be carefully guarded against. At present if a fire originated ih the Lunatic Asylum here there would be virtually no water to extinguish it, for, as we have said before, the only well in connection with the institution is now nearly dry. Intelligence has been received that the racehorses Albert and The Diver are in a dying state at Oastlepoint, and it is supposed that they have been poisoned. It would seem that some rascal has been venting his spite in a most cruel aud wicked manner ; or may be troublesome opponents have been got rid of by the owner of other horses engaged at the Castlepoint races. It is intended to have the intestines of the horses Ouida and Kakapo forwarded to Wellington to be analysed. Possibly it may be found that all four animals have been affected by eating some poisonous plant, and that no one has been rascal enough to drug them. A highway robbery was committed on the road between Taratahi and Masterton on the night of the 21st, The victim was Mr. John Joseph Welsh, who was knocked off his horse and set upon by two men, who robbed him of £l7 10s. One of them then took Mr. Welsh’s horse in order to make a rapid retreat, and it was afterwards found tied up to a fence a mile and a half from where the assault took place. Information was given to the police, and a correspondent states that it is probable that the arrest of a person who is suspected of having been one of the offenders will shortly be made. From the particulars which have reached us, it appears that the affair was carried out in a bold and determined manner by men who cared little as to what became of the person they robbed, but intended to make sure of their spoil at any cost. A serious accident, which unfortunately proved fatal, occurred on Wednesday last in Upper Willis-street, to a man named William Power. A number of men were employed excavating and loading drays on Captain Williams* property, when a quantity of loose rocky material became detached from the precipitous bank, and fell on Power, completely burying him. His fellow workmen immediately set to work to extricate the poor fellow ; but while this was being done another mass of stuff suddenly gave way, and killed him on the spot. He was extricated from his sad position as speedily as possible, and attended to by Dr. Harding, who on examination found life was extinct. The body was at ouco conveyed-to the Morgue. Deceased was a single man, 25 years of age. No blame is attached to any one, as it was simply an accident. The telephone connecting the house of the manager of the Patent Slip with the office of the engineer aud secretary, Mr. J. R. George, in Oourtenay-place, is now - working, and answers remarkably well. It has been found to be exceedingly useful, and has already saved many journeys between Wellington and Evans Bay. Those who may be desirous of obtaining a telephone to aid them ih their business operations will be glad to learn that the. total cost of this line, including posts, wire, and instruments, is only £52 ; but a small sum when the very great advantages secured are considered. Attention is attracted at either end by ringing an electric bell. The whole work was undertaken by the Telegraph Department, and has been done in a most complete and satisfactory manner. A circular has been issued from the Colonial Secretary’s office to the various departments, to the effect that civil servants should be informed that they must no longer rely upon the 40th section of the Civil Service Act, 1866, as providing a grant to their widows and families. Officers of the Government are expected to make. provision for those dependent upon them by insuring their lives in the Government Insurance Office, or in some other way. The want of sufficient hotel accommodation, in the proper sense of the words, in Wellington has so frequently been complained of, and has so often formed the subject of discussion at our Quarterly Licensing Courts, that it is a pleasant duty to be able to chronicle anything which may have the tendency to lessen those complaints, and to provide increased accommodation for the large number of visitors who come to our city. We have much pleasure, therefore, in noting the fact that Mr. Tafner has lately made a considerable enlavgment to his Temperance Hotel in Cuba-street, by the addition of sixteen bedrooms, which makes the hotel one of the most commodious here. , There are about thirty-two bedrooms altogether, a drawing-room, parlor, and bathroom fitted up with hot and cold water, upstairs; a spacious dining-room on the ground floor, capable of seating over fifty persons at table, to which is attached a dining-room tor ladies. At the rear of the hotel stands a cottage, which Mr. Tafner has converted into bedrooms, with a parlor attached for the use of boarders in that portion of the building. There can be but little doubt that Mr! Tafner will be sufficiently rewarded for his ‘ spirited enterprise, ns the growth of the city is so rapid, and the influx of travellers so large, that it will bo found that all the available hotel accommodation will still be insufficient to meet the large demands upon it. The west coast of this island still retains its reputation for game. Two of our local sportsmen went to Horowhonua Lake, which lies a short distance beyond Otaki, and in a couple of days succeeded in bagging 50 brace of ducks.

Confirmation services were hold at St. Peter's and St. Mark’s Church on. Sunday, April 7, when a large number of young persons received the sacred rite.

The ’skating rink is beginning again to attract rirddsts, and now of an afternoon., the rink appears quite lively. The skating.season has scarcely’ started as yet, the weather ihaving been hitherto hardly cold enough for-' the proper enjoyment of the sport. ... A largo sawmill at Taratahi, owned by Messrs: Stewart Brothers’ was burnt down on the mornin": of April 6th. The insurances, on the property are as follows;—National-; £2oo on the building, and £IOO on the machinery of which £2OO is reinsured with the South British, and £l5O with the Phoenix. We understand that the machinery is not much damaged. The following appointments in the Minister of Lands Department have been decided upon, and will shortly .be gazetted ;—Mr. James McKerrow, the present Assistant-Surveyor General to be Secretary for Crown Lands, Immigration, and Goldfields ; Mr. H. J. H. Elliott, Under-Secretary for Crown Lands and Immigration ; and Mr. Oliver Wakefield, Under-Secretary for Goldfields. The Hawke's Bay Herald bears that while the census papers were being delivered to the natives at Rotorua aud the Lake district recently, some of them expressed themselves t<p the effect that the taking of the census was merely for the purpose of ascertaining how many Maoris could be obtained to proceed to England to take up ai ms against the Russians. The inward Suez mail, which arrived here on the 10th April by the Arawata, consisted of 387 letters, 95 book packages, and 78 newspapers, via Brindisi; and 344 letters, 156 book packages, aud 86 newspapers, via Southampton. The outward Suez mail, despatched by the same steamer yesterday, consisted of 373 letters, 9 book packages, and 97 newspapers, via Southampton ; and 340 letters, 8 book packages, and 11 newspapers, via Brindisi. We are sorry to hear that a serious accident occurred on April 9th to one of the men in the employ of Mr. Saunders, the contractor. The unfortunate, man, whose name is Murphy, was, we understand, engaged in carting stone along the Kaiwarra-road, when by some means he was thrown down, and the wheels of the vehicle passing over one of his legs so crushed it that on his removal to the Hospital amputation of the limb had to be resorted to. Tenders were opened on April 9th for the construction of a road from the city to Kilbirnie through the Town Belt. There were fifteen tenders, ranging from £242 to £743. It was decided to accept the tender of .Mr Colin McDonald for £319. There were two tenders lower than the one accepted, but as it was deemed that the work could not be carried out for the amounts of the tenders, it was agreed to give the contract to the next lowest tenderer. The road is to be twelve feet wide, and the gradient at. the steepest will not be more than 1 in 18.

It is stated that Major Heapby has been appointed Commissioner of Annuities, the salary for which office is, £SOO a year—at least that is the amount voted by Parliament. Major Heapby is a ver_y old colonist, having arrived here in the ship Tory, in the year 1839, he having accompanied the preliminary expedition undertaken by the. New Zealand Company. ■ Major Heapby has for several years past been Commissioner of Native Reserves, and previously was a member of the House of Representatives for a Northern constituency. It is needless to say that should the above appointment turn out to be true there will be no vacancy in the Wairarapa. The trustees of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Lambton-quay, have sold the church property to the Colonial Bank for the sum of £IO,OOO. The frontage is one of the best in the city, and considering the figures at which property has changed bands lately, the price is ■by no means high. The bank could not have secured a better site iu the whole city. We understand that it is the intention of the trustees of St. Andrew’s to purchase a suitable site at the Thorndon end of the town whereon to erect a handsome and commodious structure. The position on which the church now stands, although in the very centre of the business portion of the city, is not convenient for church-goers, for the reason that there is really but a small resident population in the vicinity. The following tenders have been received at the Public Works office, Wellington, for the Carteiton contract of the Wellington-Master-ton railway :—Accepted : Richard Dickson, Auckland, £51,954. Declined;—J. Jay, Wellington, £53,501; A. Tawse, Wellington, £54,657; H. Reid and Co., Dunedin, £59,587 ; Davies and Co., Wellington, £59,747 ; W. Stocks, Christchurch, £59,879 ; D.. Fallon, Auckland, £61,182; M. Lake, Christchurch, £62,192 ; Denby and Rowe, Wanganui, £62,499; E. O'Malley, Wellington, £63,997; Collie, Scott, and Wilkinson, Wellington, £65,467; Lockie and Dunn, Wellington, £67,077; Taylor and Dannaher, Auckland, £67,322; Proudfoot and McKay, Dunedin, £67,800; J. Brown, Wellington, £71,000; D. Ross, Auckland, £73,607; Topham and Angus, Invercargill, £77,018 ; Sooular and Archibald, Wellington, £81,072.

The first meeting of the new Education Board was held on Wednesday, April 3. There were present—Archdeacon. Stock, Kev. J. Paterson, Hon. W. Gisborne, Hon. O. J. Pharazyn, Mr. Bunny, Mr. Toomath, Mr. Hutchison, and Mr. C. Pharazyn. The first business was the election of a chairman. Mr. Hutchison proposed Sir. Toomath. This was seconded by Sir. C. J. Pharazyn. Sir. Bunny moved that the late Chairman of the Board he re-elected. Sir. Toomath withdrew in favor of Sir. O. J. Pharazyn, and that gentleman was consequently re-elected. The Chairman stated that the estimated income of the Board for the year commencing Ist July, 1577, was £17,695, of which £13,658 had been actually expended during" the last nine months, leaving only £1037 available for the remaining three months. Mr. Bunny stated that the actual balance at the bank was only £136. The following gentlemen were elected a committee of the Board, to inquire and report upon the financial position of the Board The Chairman, Slessrs. Paterson, Gisborne, and Hutchison. A letter was read from the Government, asking the Board to elect a school commissioner in addition to the three nominated by the Governor, namely, Slessrs. J. C. Crawford, 0. P. Powles, and J. G., Holdsworth. Mr. Gisborne was unanimously elected by the Board. The Chairman was appointed treasurer, and Archdeacon Stock and Mr. Gisborne were authorised to sign cheques on behalf of the Board. Mr J. C. Crawford has forwarded a letter to the Committee of the Wellington Benevolent Institution resigning his position as chairman of the society. The following is a copy of Mr. Crawford’s letter :—“ Museum, April 5, 1878. Gentlemen, —I enclose a slip from the Evening Post of this date, in which I find it stated that my holding the office of Chairman of the Benevolent Institution is made an excuse for not subscribing to the funds of that society. 1 proceed at once to cut away the ground of that excuse by resigning the chairmanship. I wish that the reason for my resignation shall bo made public, and I trust that the result will be a large addition to the attenuated funds of the institution. — l have, &c., J. O. Crawford.” At a meeting of the institution on Tuesday it was resolved that Mr. Crawford’s resignation be accepted, and the secretary was requested to forward the following letter to the retiring chairman ;—“ Dear Sir, —Your letter to the committee resigning your office as chairman of the Benevolent Institution, was read at the meeting yesterday, and it was resolved the resignation be accepted. I was directed, in notifying this, to tender to you the thanks of the committee for your exertions on behalf of the institution through the long period of years during which you have held the office of chairman. —I am, &o, C. P. Powles, hon. sec.” The Wanganui Harbor Board, says the Chronicle of the 9th inst., is considerably exercised over a grant of £6OO made to the Borough of Wanganui by the Wellington Provincial Government nearly five years ago. The money was voted to assist the borough in improving, its wharf accommodation. This being so, the Government declined at first to pay it over until the borough was prepared to contribute an equal amount for the same purpose ; but correspondence which took place subsequently having satisfied the Government that Wanganui had already expended more than three times the amount of the vote on the wharves, tho money was forwarded. A Poverty Bay paper of a recent date narrates the circumstances of a narrow escape which Mr. C. D. Berry, of Gisborne, had from an over-dose of ohlorodyne. He had been seized with dysentery, and the landlord, of the hotel at which ho was staying proceeded to administer chlorodyne, but, instead of giving some 30 drops as he intended, he gave about half a wineglasstul. . In his haste he had poured out tho dose in the dark.

The Auckland Star saya ; “ Notwithstanding the very lucid instructions given as to the filling up of the census papers, there are some people who will make mistakes. We have heard of a roan who wrote aa follows in the ‘ agricultural and live stock’ returns : * Won kat, won dorg, an’ rats «d Hb.

A military funeral took place on Friday April sth, when the mortal remains of the late Lance-Sergeant George Brower were followed to the cemetery by the members of the City Rifles (to which corps the deceased belonged), the band playing the “Dead March in Saul ’’ as the funeral procession passed through the streets. The coffin, which was borne on a gun-carriage, was covered with the Union Jack. A large number of people followed in the wake of the procession from the deceased's late residence to the grave.

The 3 lanaimtu Tines, speaking of the recent sitting of' fhe Native Land Court at PalmerstoD) says “ With the'settlement of the AurangL'Block has passed away all cause of dispute, and there is only one piece of land on this aide cf the island about which there can be any. difficulty, aud that is the Taotmi Block, comprising an area of 3000 acres, which was sold by mistake at the same time as the Palmerston one. The Government, however are quite willing to return the land, the only difficulty being to determine as to the partiticular individual natives who have a claim.”

Mr. H. Milner, of Longbeach (says the Lyu tdton Times of April Ist), has been fortunate in having one of the finest crops of oats grown in the county of Ashburton this year. From 28J acres of land of a swampy nature, virgin soil, ploughed only once in August aud September and sown in October, Mr. Milner has realised a total of 1640 bushels, or a fraction over 59 busL, ; U per acre. In some places the yield was over 100 bushels per acre, and the whole crop had suffered by shaking from strong winds to the exte»t of three or four bushels per acre. The oats were of the short tartarian kind. Considering the dryness of the season, the yield is a most remarkably good one. The monthly meeting of the Wellington Teachers’ Association was held in the Thorndon school on Saturday, April 6th, tue president (Mr. Mowbray) in the chair. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Some conversation took place as to the best time in the day to hold the meetings, as the morning was found to be very inconvenient for town teachers, but most convenient for country teachers. It was ultimately decided to let the matter stand over. Letters were read from the general secretary of the Department of Education and the Count de Zaba, in reference to his recent visit to Wellington. It was decided that in future meetings shall be held regularly on the first Saturday in each month. The Government, in a letter to the Christchurch City Council, intimate that they will gladly adopt the principles embodied in a reaolulion passed at a recent conference, viz.:—“That the proper management and support of hospitals, charitable institutions, and charitable aid will be best provided for by districts being defined, comprising counties or groups’ of counties, with contiguous ones, including municipalities which are likely to avail themselves of the same charitable institutions ; that within such districts public charitable institutions should be administered, and charitable aid distributed, by a board representing the Government aud the several municipal bodies and county councils included therein ; that such portion of the cost of these institutions and of charitable aid as is required to be provided by local bodies should be contributed by the several municipalities aud counties interested in proportion to them population.” The Government, however, do not desire to be represented on these boards. They will take into careful consideration the question of endowments for the above institutions, as suggested by the conference, and Government undertake to contribute an equivalent to any sums raised by voluntary subscriptions or contributions which local bodies may make out of their funds, and will make no deductions from the subsidies payable under the Financial Arrangements Act, 1876, to municipalities, etc. Government will discontinue the present system of distributing charitable aid on June 30. A correspondent of the New Zealand Herald says :—“ Few persons in Auckland seem aware of the existence of hot springs in the Awaroa district of the Lower Waikato ; yet hot springs there certainly are in that place, and of a very remarkable character. We had an opportunity of visiting them a short time ago, and were struck with the unmistakeable signs of their medicinal properties, aud the facility with which they could be opened up by a little en-. terprise. The first spring the traveller comes to is a deep pond, about ten or twelve feet in diameter, of bubbling, boiling water, and giving forth a great quantity of steam in the pond, the water of which is quite clear, and so hot that potatoes may be boiled in it. Round the pond are undoubted evidences of the curative powers of the water, in the shape of several holes like graves communicating with the large pond by a very small channel. These have been dug by the Maoris, and when one of them is afflicted with rheumatism, he sleeps all night in one of the holes, with his head alone out of the water, resting on a fern pillow on the bank. We are told of one oldMaori chief in the Waikato who became very rheumatic because he would grope for eels in swampy water, and was just on the point of death through his perverseness, when some of the wise women of the tribe recommended the spring. He was carried there, and by bathing frequently completely recovered.” A supplement to the He w Zealand Gazette of Thursday, April 4th, is filled with the annual report of the Chief Inspector of Stock in the Otago District. The returns show a total of 3,928,500,. being an increase of 20,152 upon last year’s returns, against 55,000 for year previous. 1,401,310 are depastured on freehold property, 2,494,579 on runs, 22,875 on hundreds, aud 9736 on goldfield commonages. 569 stud sheep, merinos only, have been imported dnriug the last twelve months, and these from Victoria, against 498 for year previous, 88,000 sheep were passed through the different establishments for either preserved meats or tallow. Owing to the severe drought in the spring, followed by bad weather during the lambing season, the losses in some localities have been very great, aud as a whole the lambing will not be up to the usual average. Another source of loss, where rabbits are numerous, is unmistakably attributable to this nuisance ; not only is the pasture destroyed by them, but the constant disturbance the stock are subjected to in the destruction of the pests tells severely against both increase and clip. The inspector asserts that in some localities an annual decrease* in the number of sheep is taking place from the above cause. He can still report all sheep within the district of Otago as free from scab and generally healthy. The returns show a total of 47,935 head of cattle; of these 38,907 are depastured on freehold, and 8828 on Crown lauds. It being the first year that a return of cattle has been collected, and ns there are many who are cattle-owners without owning sheep, the number shown on tho return cannot represent the total number within the district, but he is of opinion they can approximately be estimated at 53,000. Tho number of cattle introduced from foreign ports during the year amounted to 34, being five from Great Britain, aud 29 from Victoria. None have been exported outside New Zealand.

The Wellington Choral Society gave a private concert in the Odd Fellows* Hall on Thursday, April 11. The hall was ehosea in consequence of the theatre being engaged, and the limited space compelled the committee to restrict the right of admission to subscribers only ; bat notwithstanding this, there were more present than could be seated. The society is determined not to keep in the background, and must have held frequent rehearsals almost immediately after their last appearance, so short is the time that has since elapsed. If any misgivings were entertained as to their not taking sufficient time to become perfect, the manner in which this, the third private concert of their fifteenth season, was rendered on Thursday evening, justified any such fears being dispelled. The programme opened with Mendelssohn’s grand “War March of the Priests,” from “Athalie.” The orchestra, gave it with spirit, the instruments blending in mutual harmony both a» regarded time and intonation. The quartett, by two ladies and two gentlemen, ‘* The Lord is a spirit,” was given with a subdued melody that secured for it a well-deserved encore. The trio and chorus, •' The Heavens are telling,” from the “ Creation,” were sung with exquisite feeling, and were highly appreciated. The “Hallelujah Chorus,” (“Mount of Olivos”) concluded thefirat pact of the programme. The overture “ Cenerentola" introduced the second part, and was followed by the charming aria, “0, gentle moon, good night,” which was pleasingly rendered. The young lady who played a pianoforte fantasia from “ La Sonnambula ” proved herself an excellent performer, her instrumentation combining those qualities which distinguish an accompl> s b e( l mxisiciau. She earned the enthusiastic plaudits of tho audience. Tho song •*' Oh 'Were I blessed above” was a supremo vocal effort, and the gentleman who sang “Farewell my mountain life” proved himself to be possessed of a rich voice with good registe* dn response to an encore ho gave “ come mto the garden Maud. “ J oy, joy ror ever _(‘ Paradise and the Peri”) w* 3 the finale to an excellent concert. Th> conductor (Mr, Bona Marten) kept the orchestra and singers well together, in fact the accompaniments were played with almost perfect accuracy.

A telegram from Coromandel to the N.Z . Herald states that the Corby claim is turning out exceedingly rich stone.

Montague McMurdo, a son of Captain MoMurdo, of the Mutual Life Association, was thrown from his horse on April 17th at Auckland, and sustained concussion of the brain. It is feared that the injuries are fatal. William Cooper’s house on Whakatautu run has been burnt to the ground. The library ami furniture, valued at £IOOO, were destroyed. The total loss is estimated at £3OOO. No insurance. The policy had just lapsed, A messenger was on his way into Gisborne at the time of the fire to renew the insurance, but arrived too late. . '< A dimmer arrived at Graham-town on Wednesday, D Anril 17th, from the Upper Thames district with some very good coarse gold and two gold-bearing specimens obtained from a new locality. He has shown the gold to the county authorities with the intention of either claiming the gold reward or obtaining assistance from the county prospecting committee. Several parties who are out prospecting are said to have obtained payable returns from alluvial or reef wash. h'rom Oamaru we learn that a farmer named lingers was proceeding home with his dray from Tcanearki on April Id. While passing through a gateway the horses bolted. Rogers either attempted to jump o.t or fell out of the dray, and the result was that one wheel passed over the lower portion of his body. He was picked up insensible and conveyed to Brown’s Hotel at Weston. Medical assistance was called, but Rogers never rallied, and died at three o’clock the following morning. The deceased was a steady young man, aged twenty nine years, and much,respected. Jy painful accident occurred on the afternoon of April Kith to , Mr. Jones, the Timaru District station master. He was in a truck attached to a special goods train at St. Andrews Station, and while going into the goods shed was struck with much force on the side of his face by a large sliding door. He was at once brought iatu.jtown and attended by Drs. Fisher and Mclntyre, who by examination found that the lower jaw was severely fractured and both cars almost severed from the head. The neck and parts of the face were much bruised. The doctors succeeded in setting the broken jaw, and the patient is now progressing as favorably as circumstances allow. A disastrous fire occurred in Cashel-street, ('hristchnrch, on the night of April 13th, completely dcstroyingMcClatoliio’afurnishiug warehouse, and doing considerable damage to the buildings of Anderson’s machine works. The fire originated in a small shed at the rear of McClatchic’s. The cause is unknown, but everything was safe at 10.30, when the last of McClatchie’a men left. MoClatohio was insured in the Liverpool, Loudon, and Globe for £IOOO, but tha’estiraated value of the stock destroyed is £2OOO, and the premises were worth £BOO or £IOOO. -Anderson’s loss comprises the partial destruction of workshops and offices, and the total destruction of a valuable collection of patterns. It was insured in the South British and National for £2OOO. This is far below the damage done. The dispute winch had arisen between Mr. Walker, a frontier Waikato settler, and Ngakau, the King’s secretary, with regard to certain cattle, which ended in the seizure of a team of bullocks and a dray by Mr, Walker, has been amicably settled during Sir George Grey and Mr. Sheehan’s visit. Ngakau, much to Mi'. Walker's surprise, produced a written agreement made some time ago ; Mr. Parker (since deceased) and Walker giving the natives permission to appropriate to their own use all cattle found outside a certain boundary. Walker, on the production of this document, contended that it had been intended to be in force only for a limited period; but Ngakau pointed out that the agreement bore no date. Ultimately, by the judicious intervention of the Hon. the Native Minister, it was arranged that Ngakau should return ten head of Walker’s cattlo which had been seized, on condition that Walker returns the bullocks and dray. During last week Cooper and Bailey’s circus and menagerie performed here, and drew large houses nightly. Settlers from the country, some of them hailing from as far off as Wau"aimi, flocked into town, and the Maoris, who mustered in full force, seemed highly pleased with the entertainment. The “show” is now in Auckland, eu route for South America and the old country. The average attendance per day was about 0000, or 9000 altogether who visited the show during its stay here. It would not bo an easy matter to give the correct amount of money taken, as Mr. Bailey, in a very courteous manner, informed our reporter that he never told anybody as to what his takings were. If the. average is put down at three shillings per head, and we think it may fairly bo put down at that amount considering the largo number who only paid a shilling to see the animals, the total sum might’bo put down at between £I3OO and £ISOO. The amount of the takings at Christchurch (which we heard put down at £8000), and other pluses, must be, we think, greatly overstated. The circus has been very popular wherever it Las visited, and vast crowds have flocked to see it. The largest attendance, Mr. Bailey informed our reporter, was at Ballarat, in Victoria, where 8000 persons visited the show during the two days that it stayed in what used to be called “ the metropolitan goldfield.” A telegram received from Wanganui on Monday, April 15th, stated that Mr. Valentine, of tho.Hutt, had bought a boat-coach. People wondered what a boat-coach could be. It arrived next day by the Stormbird, and it turned out to be a well-built square-stern boat placed on a sort of skeleton drag, and the whole affair looked very neat. What it was meant for was a puzzle to most. Some thought it was intended for crossing flooded rivers, so that when the water got above the wheels the boat would float and carry the carriage ; and others said it was meant to be used in this way ; when a river was reached the boat would be lowered, and the passengers ferried across, while the horses dragged the framework over. On Tuesday night a use was discovered for the boat-coach, and it took passengers to tiic Circus. On a trip one of the horses jibbed in Willis-strcet, and the driver was quite unable to go ahead. -After some minutes’ delay the passengers became discontented. Two seized oars, and tried to shove tliu boat along, but the horse was too strong for them. A third found some steps, and having lowered them over the side, disembarked. Then a four-horse coach was seen approaching, and a nautical man, who sat in the stern of the boat, and seemed to think he was steering, called out “Hard a port!” and the coach passed safely. When most of the crew bad lauded on the footpath, a constable thought it would bo well to prevent the crowd from becoming larger, and coaxed the hor.-c to make a start. This it did suddenly, and several of the passengers were left cast away in the gutter. The following episode (says Vne New Zealand Herald of the 11th inst.j occurred a few days since, and is a good illustration of the progress of education among the native people of New Zealand. A well-known and greatly respected native in Waikato was served with a writ, and lie applied to a well-known lawyer to aid him in defending the legal action against him. According to an Act of the General Assembly the testimony of natives must he taken iu their own language, read over to them in Maori, and their absent obtained to the correctness of the statement taken down in writing. It was necessary to do all this in framing the requisite affidavits containing the materials of the defence, to be filed in the .Supreme Court. The Maori defendant indicated his assent to the affidavit by the usual “kapai” (good). “Mow,” said the lawyer, “ if you will call in a lew days I will be able to report progress. You need not remain any longer.” “Kabore” (not at all), was the Maori rejoinder, “ I want to hear the translation iu English, for people not only make great blunders in writing and translating Maori, but very few English people can either write or speak their own language correctly. Kahore, read me the English,” The lawyer read the English version to his Maori client, who said it was “very good,” We loam the additional fact that the Maori client is a dissenting clergyman in the Waikato, a master of one of the largest native schools in the district for teaching English to natives, and that he is perfectly competent to give lessons to English folks as well as to Maori boys and girls. The native of New Zealand is likely to take a sketch of St. Paul’s before it i» “ in ruins,” or London Bridge bo “ broken down."

Colonel Whitmore, at an Artillery Volunteers' inspection hold in Auckland on Tuesday, April 9th, said in order to provide some harbor defence for the colony the Government intended applying to the Imperial authorities for a number of sixty-four pounder converted rifle guns same as those on board the Wolverine and Nymph. These, in proper positions, would make the harbors impregnable to cruisers. It was intended to entrust them, to artillery volunteers, and encourage that branch of the service. j

The receipts of the Canterbury Board if Education for 1377 were .675,100, and espei ditiire *658,963. |

A miner named Michael Collins at Coromandel has received a letter from a London solicitor announcing that he is heir' to. a fortune of £300,000. A child two years old, the son of Mr. Samuel Harwell, has been accidentally burnt to death in Canterbury by a grass fire ignited by his father.

Margaret Wilson, who was recently committed for trial at Timaru charged with the murder of her iufant child, is now an ungovernable lunatic.

The‘San Francisco mail, which arrived here on Friday, April Kith, per the Taranaki, consisted of 5161 letters, 500 books, and 11,000 newspapers.

Mr. C. Hausmanu, the late landlord of the Criterion Hotel, Lambton-quay, died somewhat suddenly on Thursday morning, April 18th, at the Melbourne Hotel, Willis-street. A new township is about to be laid but at Ohiwa Harbor, iu the Whakatane County, on the Bast Coast. Ohiwa having a good harbor will eventually be the port of the Opotoki and Whakatane Districts.

There are rumors of pending change in the aspect of New Zealand politics, a new party, it said, being likely to he formed under very able leadership, which will not give iu its adherence to the present Government—at all events, not to Sir George Grey. Three allotments in the proposed township of Kensington have been presented by Mr. Finnimore as prizes to be drawn for in the art union promoted by the committee of the Working Men’s Club. The committee will bo glad to receive donations of all kinds, iu land, goods, or cash, in aid of the funds for furnishing the premises now in course of erection for the club.

A general meeting of the members of the Loyal Britannia and Antipodean Lodges, 1.0.0. F., M.U., was held in their now lodgeroom, Lambtan-quay, on Thursday, April 18th. There was a fair attendance ,of the brethren, and Mr. Daniel Susans presided. The chairman read the advertisement convening the meeting, and explained the objects for which it had been called. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed, The seventeenth annual report and balancesheet of the Odd Fellows’ Hall and Building Committee were then read. The.chairman, in moving the adoption of the report, made a few appropriate remarks; and, after-several questions had been answered, the report was adopted unanimously. The report stated the cost of the new Lodge chambers to be £2030 12s. Bd., the contractor’s account being' £1691 165., and £l3B lOs.Sd. had been expended for furnishing, architect’s fees, &c. The property had been made a freehold, and the title is now under the Land Transfer Act. There was an overdraft cine to the Bank of New Zealand of £903 14s. 7c1., on account of cost of new building ; but since the accounts had been made up, £123 had been paid iu, and the rents accruing would bo sufficient to pay the balance iu less than two years, if no other means were adopted to pay the overdraft ; but the trustees were about to take steps to obtain money at a less rate of interest than nine per cent., when the overdraft would be paid off. In concluding their labors, the committee congratulated the members on the handsome and convenient addition to their property, and expressed a hone that it would be the means of cementing the Lodges iu the bonds of friendship, love, and truth, and of spreading the benefits of the institution. The auditors in their report complimented the secretary (Mr. R. A. Marshall) “on the very clear and accurate manner iu which the hooks had been kept,” and the meeting voted a sum of £ls iu recognition of his efficient services. £5 was also voted to the chairman, and £2 each to the committee, to bo expended in the purchase of suitable testimonials, in recognition of their services. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings of the evening. The resignation by Mr. Stafford of his seat iu the New Zealand House of Representatives is a noticeable event. It was not, indeed, unexpected, as it has been known for some time that Mr. Stafford was about to take a trip to England. But at the present juncture, when the political life of the colony is exposed to one of its severest trials, the loss from the deliberations of Parliament of a politician of the experience and ability of Mr. Stafford, whoso influence has been used on the side of moderation, is a serious loss indeed. There have of late been many things which have tended to make parliamentary life in New Zealand distasteful to those who have known it in better days and under better conditions. During the last couple of years there has been in the proceedings of Parliament a strain of virulence, reckless aspersions, and class prejudice that might well operate to make a selfrespecting politician, not bound by any party responsibility, desire to quit so uncongenial a sphere of labor. This is the most dangerous effect of the rampant demageguism which has lately been introduced into . New Zealand politics. Men of respectable character are willing to take their fair share of the victories and defeats of political conflict. But they shrink from a contest in which, if not defeated, they are sure to be befouled and disgusted. And hence the danger that just that class of men who can least be spared—men with a sense of self-respect, a feeling of honor, and a care for reputation—will be driven by sheer disgust to abandon the field to unscrupulous demagogues and adventurers. An experienced New Zealand politician has declared that a great change for the worse has durian- the present Parliament been noticed iu the tone of the debates. The stumping process so assiduously pursued by the Premier, as an appeal from Parliament to the mob, is likely to tend to a further demoralisation of public affairs. We in this colony can betterthan any appreciate the disastrous effect of men of high character holding themselves aloof from public life, and leaving polities to become a gambling game at which sharpers live and thrive and honest men go to the wall. We hope a better destiny for New Zealand, while recognising that, at the present moment, it stands in peril of a similar one. From Haleombe we have received the following from our correspondent, dated April 12 .* — In my last I advised you of the stoppage of work on Nathan and Wilkie s contract. Ihe men who had been employed on the contract ceased work through the non-payment of their wages. Since then I hear that the contractors have filed their schedule. This untoward state of affairs has had the effect of delaying the completion of the line at least three weeks. Great sympathy is expressed for the workmen, who have in some instances lost as much as two months’ wages. These men have given their labor—and labor, too, of the most, arduous kind,—and find, when too late, that it is not a safe thing to put their faith in contractors. TJio Government having undertaken the finishing of the line, work is now in full swing, and it is conjectured that it will be open’ for traffic by the end of the current month.—On the 10th inst., while some men were engaged in working in the Corporation gravel pits, a quantity of gravel off the face, variously estimated at between fifty and sixty tons, came down, and buried a German named Eork under it. The poor fellow had his back to the face of the gravel, and thus was not warned of the danger. Fortunately for themselves, the other men saw what was coming, and just had time to get away. These men at once turned to and made mighty efforts to extricate poor Bork. It is reported that an hour’s hard work had to be done before the body was recovered. Death must have been instantaneous It is supposed that the accident was owing to the cavities left in the earth by the rotting away of the roots of an old tree. These cavities had become filled with water and sand, thus causing flaws tending to the displacement of the whole mass, which was also affected by undermining. At the inquest on the body of the poor fellow nothing transpired whereby blame could be attached to any one, and the jury (taken from the deceased’s countrymen) returned a verdict of death through misadventure. Bork was a highly respectable and industrious man, and leaves a wife and three children to lamant his untimely end. The wife is, I _ understand, entirely unprovided for, and it is to bo hoped that tlie Government and our local public will do something towards the alleviation of her distress As a proof of the capabilities of the soil in this district, I may tell you that I saw a mammoth turnip of the whitestone species weighing 221bs. and measuring exactly U2in. in circumference.

The Nelson cricketers paid us a visit last week, and succeeded in beating the Wellington team easily. The lesson to be learned from this fact is that our men _ must practise of toner and in more systematic style if they would hold their own in these interprovincial contests, -The two teams dined together at the Metropolitan Hotel on the evening of Thursday, April 18th. Mr. G. E. Barton occupied the chair, and Mr. Mace the vice-chair. An excellent spread was laid by Host Beattie, and the usual loyal and patriotic toasts were done justice to. The Chairman proposed the toast of “The Nelson Team,” which was responded to by Dr. Cannoy; and Dr. Oannoy proposed the toast of “ The Wellington Team,” which was responded to by Mr. J. A. Salmon. A very pleasant evening was spent, and the Nelson team were seen away by the Wellington men at midnight.

A discovery is reported of a bed of clay in the .north, supposed to be meerschaum. From Wanganui we learn that Mr. Lowes, of Wellington, has purchased Thompson’s property of 1700 acres at Nukumara for £l2 an acre.

The report of the Inspector of Sheep for Canterbury for the - past year shows that between the Waiau and Waitangi rivers there are 3,307,711 sheep, being an increase, of 58,463 on the previous year. ■ Mr. Lawson, traffic manager, being about to leave Canterbury to assume the appointment of Commissioner of Railways for the North Island, was presented hj the railway department with a silver service and a gold service. The infant son of a farmer, named Winter was burnt to death at Ashburton. The house caught fire while the parents were absent. The child was burned to death before the fire was extinguished. A woolshed on the New Zealand and Australian Land Company's run, in the Rakaia District, was destroyed by fire on April 4. It contained grass seed worth £3OOO and grain of the value of £2OOO. The total damage amounts to £7500. The property was partly insured.

The Canterbury Board of Education report for the past nine mouths gives the estimated number of children between the ages of five - and fifteen at 23,125, and the number attending school 14,249, or a per centage of 61, being higher than any previous year except 1875° when the attendance per centage was 66. On September 30 there were 117 schools, as against 104 in the correspending period of 1876. Residents in Napier and the surrounding districts will be glad to learn that it is the intention of the Government to give a subsidy of £6OO as a grant towards the cost of the construction of the long contemplated bridge which is to connect the eastern with the western spit. It has been estimated that the cost of the work will be £17,000, and the contractors will receive,in addition to the grant of, £6OOO, a lease of tolls for twenty-oue years. The Rev. W. J. Habeas resigned the Secre-. taryship of the Canterbury Board of Education on April 4th, when the following resolution was carried, That the Board of Education, in accepting’ the resignation of the Rev. W. J. Habeas, desire to express their appreciation of the admirable manner in which he has discharged the duties of secretary since Ins appointment, and to place on record the high sense they entertain of the value of his services to the cause of education, and of his special fitness for the high office of Inspector-General which has been conferred upon him.

Some time ago Mr. 0. Brown, the editor of the Kumara Times, issued a writ against Father Henuebery for slander, laying damages, at £IOOO, but it was not served, iu the Hope that Father Henuebery would retract. ' On April sth Mr. Brown’s solicitor received an extraordinary letter from Father Henuebery, covering ton sheets of paper, threatening that if the action were proceeded with the police would he at Brown’s door. Brown then instructed his solicitors to serve the writ at pnee. The libel case will be heard in September next. In the meantime steps will be taken to prevent Father Henuebery leaving the colony. A Waikato correspondent of the Bay of Plenty Times writes saying that Rewi and the natives arc annoyed at the manner in which the Governor hurried through the Waikato, and says that when Rewi found. that the Governor had returned to Auckland he went direct to a frontier settler and requested him to go to Auckland and invite the Governor to return. He demurred on the ground of not having credentials, whereupon Rewi handed him Potatau’s seal, saying, “ Well, here is all that remains of Potatau ; take that, to tho Governor, who will not disbelieve you.” Rewi further said he regarded the Governor as the Queen, adding, “and the Queen .never tells lies.” The general impression in the Waikato is that the Government hurried the Governor through in suclt a manner that he should reap as few laurels as possible, and exhibited a ficlgetty anxiety that he should not meet the natives.

The Wolverene, with the Governor, arrived at Tauranga on Tuesday, April 9th. The Governor, Commodore jHoskings, and’ suite landed at the town wharf, having. left the Wolverene under a royal salute, and yards manned. She was met at the wharf by the Town Board and the principal townspeople. An address was read by Mr. Edgecumbe, Chairman of the Town Board, another by Hohepa Hikutara, a Ngatirangi chief. His Excellency replied, and then walked to the cemetery to see the graves of the Gate Pa heroes, accompanied by Mr. Bradbaut, R.M., and Mr. Edgecumbe, Trevor Quintal, Major Scamer, Bishop of Waipu, and Archdeacons Brown and Williams. Then he drove out to the site of the Gate Pa, and went on board at six.'- The Governor expressed himself much pleased at his public reception. The town and wharf were tastefully decorated. A handsome archway was erected. The Governor, Commodore, and suite started for the Lakes at eight o’clock next morning. At the half-yearly meeting of the South British Insurance Company held at Auckland on Monday, April 8 th, the report and balance-sheet were adopted. The Chairman pointed out that the assets of the company now reached £176,000, and the capital £IOO,OOO. The directors proposed to make a reinsurance fund out of the profits. The auditors (Messrs, White and Batger) were re-elected, and their honorarium increased to £IOOO from £750 ('!). The manager, in acknowledging the vote of thanks passed to the directors, read a statement as to the cost of . the management of the company as follows :- First year, 23 - 7 percent.; second, 1K63; third, 1-K3B ; fourth, 1115; for last half-year, 1617. The English fire insurance companies cost 27 per cent, for working expenses. The working expenses of the South British were 11 per cent, below English or American companies, which latter reached 28 per cent. The report shows the income of the company, including £9688 brought forward, as £80,780, of which the premiums are £06,007, being an increase of £7815 over the corresponding period of last year. Losses and expenses are set down at £62,772. The balance to credit is £18,097. There is a profit on all the'new issue. £18,841 is added to the reserve, making it £58,841, increased to £60,000 by taking £llsß from the balance. The paid-up capital is £IOO,OOO. Tho net assets, £176,849 ; investments, £160,909. A dividend at the rate of 15 per cent, takes £7164; income from investments, £5012 ; losses, £41,174. The Alexandra correspondent of the Waikato Times writes as follows ;—“ Death has been very busy amongst the old native chiefs of late. Weitni Pakukobatu, once the principal chief of the Ngatimaniopoto, died last week at Hikurangi, where he was carried by his people at the request of the King. A large number of his tribe from Mokm, Kniti, and other places attended the tangi. Weitni was a very old and infirm man, and a short time ago, while warming himself at tho fire, fell into it and was somewhat seriously burnt, tho shook of which no doubt accelerated his death. Old Hakoha, of Puniu, shortly after the accident went to see his friend, and condole with him in his way, which he did in tho following manner : —‘ Weitni, you are a very old man, why are you staying so long on the earth waiting to see the end of the world ? It is quite time yon passed away ; you should have done so. before, then you wouldn’t have fallen in the fire and got burnt, and so you would have missed the pain yon are now suffering. I cannot see what use it is for you to live any longer.’ Weitni saw the force of his logic, and determined to follow his friend’s advice. He was buried witli all honors at Hikurangi on March 23.”

A good story (says the Wairarapa llcgistcr) comes from one of the townships in this district. It appears that one afternoon a middleaged woman called at a house occupied by a man who, by his thrift, had managed to build a comfortable little house for himself, and asked whether she might leave a small bundle. She was looking for lodgings, and would return for it so soon as she had found a suitable place. When she came back in the evening she looked tired and ill, and the good-natured housewife readily assented to the request to grant her a night’s lodging. She soon became worse, and a doctor having been sent for, that gentleman declared that she was about to give birth to a child. This was indignantly denied, and a soothing draught asked for. In the middle of the night the doctor was again sent for, aud despite the farther denials, a little baby soon arrived. Of course, mother and child were made as comfortable as possible ; but the worthy hostess probably wondered, and wonders to this day, whether it was accident or design that put her in charge of tho case. It was subsequently ascertained that tho woman is tho wife of a settler in the Eorty Milo Bush, aud she doubtless would have gone to a lying-in hospital had such an institution been in existence.

The member for Waitemata, Mr. J. S. Maofariane, has again presented to each of tho different libraries in the district largo parcels of useful books, appropriating in this manner tho whole of tho honorarium received by him for bis attendance at Wellington.

.We understand that .the receipts arising out of the art union in aid of the Catholic school building fund exceed the sum of £BOO,.

The last outward San Francisco mail consisted of 5099 letters, 229 book packets, and 3390, newspapers for the United Kingdom ; and 270 letters, 5 book packets, and 203 newspapers for America..

, The following is the return of patients in the Provincial Hospital during the month- of March, 1878 : Admitted—Males, 14; females, 8. Discharged—Males, 18 ; females, 3. Died 1 male. Left in Hospital—Males, 40; females, 12. Total, 52. f' ,

Ninety-three births, twenty-four marriages, and twenty-nine deaths were registered , as having taken place in this city within the month of March, and in the Wellington District outside the municipal limits 115 births and thirty-three deaths occurred. , Our evening contempora>-y, the Argus, has changed hands, the purchaser being Mr. Gardiner, late part proprietor of the Sacramento Union, California, his interest in which he recently sold at a good figure. Mr. Gardiner, we understand, is a journalist of ability and experience. , . The funeral of Brother F. W. Thiele, P.D.D.G.M. of Freemasons, and the founder of the Canterbury Lodge, took place at Christchurch on April Ist, and was attended by about 600 members of the order in regalia, representing the lodges in all parts of the province. Special trains were laid on, including one from Timaru. The funeral was witnessed by several 'thousand persons. The cemetery was crowded. The largest brown trout on record was caught in the Shag River recently by Mr. McDonald, who presented it to Mr. D. Stewart, of Dunedin. '; The fish, which was caught with a minnow, weighed 48lbs, measured 2 feet 7 inches in length, and 19 inches in girth. We believe this is the largest brown trout yet caught in the colony. A West Coast paper states that while in Milford Sound, which he visited with Sir George Grey and party, the Hon; Captain, : Fraser discovered a workable vein of statuary marble 12ft; in thickness. .It is situated in Anita Bay, in-a convenient position for shipment. Captain Fraser immediately, reported the discovery to the Minister for Lands, and made application for the ground with a view to worldng the quarry. To meet the increasing wants of the congregation of St. Mary’s Church, Karori, it was lately dete’rmined to hold a bazaar as soon as possible, as a means of raising funds sufficient to add to the building. As, however, all the seats are let, and upwards of twenty additional sittings have been applied for-, the vestry have ; made . arrangements for an advance,, which will enable them to add a chancel, which is to be commenced immediately. To repay this, as well as to provide for absolutely necessary repairs to' the tower, which is found to be in a dangerous state, it has been settled to hold the bazaar in Wellington in December. Subscriptions are being collected, and work commenced in earnest; and it is hoped that enough may be realised to enable the vestry to add a transept also. ' . The Timaru Herald publishes the following extract from a letter written to a friend by the Hon. Mr. Stafford before his departure fer England :—“ As the hour of leaving approaches I feel much depressed. Though only proposing to be absent for some two years, the fact of resigning my seat seems to me like breaking my connection,' both politically and socially, with the land I have so long been bound up with and interested in. There the best years of my life have been passed, all my aspirations formed, and my children born. ■ In short, there every tie existed which binds a man to a country. I can never again form such ties, and what appears to be a rupture of them, even if but temporary, is a cause of sadness to me,”

This is what happened to the Itev. Charles Clarice and a reporter of the Poverty Pay Herald when visiting a gas well at Gisborne : “Yon see,” said Mr. Saunders, “this is the overflow pipe, and until the water runs out here there can ho no gag in the tank.” The lecturer looked as if he didnt’t believe this statement, so he observed, “ But surely there must be some gas in the tank.” Mr. Saunders was sure there was no gas, and just to prove it he lighted a match and applied it to the overflow pipe. Then there was trouble round that tank. Fiz ! fiz ! bihg I bang ! pop ! The sides of the tank swelled and contracted, and eventually the top blew off. The eminent lecturer at the first “ fiz” struck a bee line for a shed, aud our representative was about two blocks off before anyone could say “ knife.” The way that elocutionist travelled was a caution, fle just gave two bounds, cleared the fence, and was non est inventus in less time than it takes to write the words. Mr. Saunders didn’t remain stationary, he moved away too, and with an amount of alacrity which did him infinite credit. After the scene was over the scientific party returned, when Mr. Clarke, in a most solemn manner, exclaimed “ Saunders, there must have been some, gas in that tank.” The bonifaoa didn’t remark anything, but the expression on his countenance seemed to say, “ I believe you my boy.” The Odd Fellows’ Hall was on Sunday night, March 31, crowded by a most attentive audience while Mr. Harrison Ord, with his usual earnestness and power, preached on Mat. xi., 28. He showed that the iuviter ia the Lord Jesus Christ, and that the invitation is to come to Him, and that those invited are all who labor aud are heavy laden ; to those, that is, who work, or who carry burdens of care. He pointed out that Christ has worked, so that we need not work for salvation, but on the contrary must leave off working before Christ can save us, just as a-drowning man must give up struggling and trying to save himself before a swimmer can rescue him. Mr. Ord showed that the rest Christ gives is from God’s broken law, which man cannot obey, from a guilty conscience, from fear of death, which is not the debt of nature, but the debt of sin. Christ has, however, taken away the sting of death as regards all who believe in Him. This rest is also from the fear of judgment aud from the fear of hell. Christ does not sell, but gives it to all who will accept it. The discourse was illustrated by several appropriate anecdotes, and was listened to throughout with marked attention. An after meeting was held, at which Mr. Ord urged anxious ones to leave off trying, aud to trust in Jesus. During each evening of the week he has preached to large and: attentive audiences. Mr. Ord’s visit to this city has doubtless been productive of much good, the results of which will bo seen hereafter, and great regret is felt that his meetings have come to a close so soon. The Evangelistic choir have rendered valuable service in helping on this series of meetings, as they did those of Dr. Somerville. The Timarn Herald thus refers to tho recent speech of Sir C'racroft Wilson : —“Sir Cracroft Wilson's speech to the Cheviot electors at Waikari, is one of tho most comical political addresses that wb ever read. The gallant knight must either be totally indifferent to public opinion, or else he must be so blinded by self-conceit that ho does not know when he is making himself a_ laughing-stock. A great part of his speech ia taken up by abuse of the House of Representatives, and attempts to show that it has never been fit for a gentleman to be in it, since he, Sir Cracroft, left it. So long as he was in it, he says, he was the policeman of the House, aud when hia eye caught the Speaker’s not a tongue dared to wag in a rowdy or improper manner. After indulging in a vast amount of this kind of silly, egotistical bombast, ho seems suddenly to have . remembered that though decrying the House he yet was a candidate for election to it. He therefore proceeded to explain why he was anxious to enter an Assembly which is not fit for gentlemen. His reason is an odd one truly. It is that Lord Normanby has been attacked, and that it is the duty of every man of family and education to come forward to assist him. He goes further. He is prepared to * fight for Lord Normanby, if necessary.’ What a pugnacious old fire-eater he is, to be sure. On a former occasion he wanted to ‘go into the field with a halter round his neck,’ and fight for the provinces. Now he wants to fight for Lord Normanby—who, by-the-bye, only needs assistance on account of his connection with the abolition Ministry. We are told that Sir Cracroft Wilson is a gentleman by birth and education; but certainly no one would suppose so- from his public behavior. The veriest mlyairc riche, the merest‘counter-jumper’in the country could not conduct himself more like a cad than he does. Fancy any man pretending gentle breeding bawling out to a public meeting of twelve electors that is a gentleman, a man of good family and position, and that nothing but the necessity for fighting for Lord Normanby would induce such a swell to mix with the low, common fellows in the House of Representatives 1 If that ia how gentlemen conduct themselves, we should very much prefer to bo, a cad. There ia a story told of a bumptious snob telling a person with whom he had a difference that he was ‘no gentleman.’ *‘ Indeed,’ remarked the other, ‘ are you' a gentleman V ' Certainly,’ was the answer, ‘I am every inch a gentleman. ‘ Oh, then, I am glad I am not one,* was tho quiet rejoinder. A gentleman who forgets his gentility is infinitely more caddish than the greatest cad.”

The Gustoms revenue at Timaru for March amounted to <£1485 9s. sd. , . , : The Customs revenue collected at Grahamstown for March amounted to £2251, against £1539 in March, 1877. "I,

’ .The Canterbury railways have, already conveyed this season over 46,000 tons of grain. The first batch of 4000 salmon fry was placed in the Grey River on March 30. There are supposed to be between twenty and thirty thousand lively fish in the ponds. The balance will be turned out during the following week. At Auckland on April 3rd a large number of citizens presented an address to Captain Logan, of the s.s. Hero, and Purser Cogswell, on the occasion of their hundredth trip. The Mayor presided. A purse containing 250 sovs. was presented to the captain and purser respectively. C. B. Watkins, a youth latterly employed in the Canterbury Foundry, received from the County Council the £IOO voted as a reward for the best scheme for supplying Ashburton with water.

A number of the members of the' Star Boating Club met at their shed on Saturday, March 30, to bid farewell to their late honorary secretary, Mr. G. N, Gair, who is leaving Wellington for Dunedin. Mr. Chapman on their behalf presented Mr. Gair with a handsome liqueur stand, bearing an inscription indicating the appreciation in which his services were held and the regret of the members at losing him. Mr. Gair replied in suitable terms, and the presentation concluded with three hearty cheers for him. The train from Oamaru on March 30 did not arrive till 11.30, owing to an accident at Richmond crossing. It appears that a bullock crossing the line was struck by a cow-catcher, and carried along thirty yards, when the front wheels went over it. The engine was thrown off the line and capsized. The driver jumped down, but the stoker (Mclntyre) had no chance. His legs were' caught under the engine, and one of them was fearfully crushed. The carriages remained on the line, but the engine was broken into several pieces. ; The agricultural statistics for the counties of Akaroa, Selwyn, and Ashburton show 3040 holdings; land broken up but not under crop, 64,049 acres; land in wheat, 76,706 acres ; estimated yield, 1,603,681 bushels ; oats for hay, 6512 acres ; oats, grain, 40,684 acres, 949,614 bushels ; barley ,9053 acres, 212,704 bushels ; hay 6165 acres, 7499 tons ; laud in grasses, 30,199 acres ; potatoes 2936 acres, 17,660 tons ; other crops, 33,366 acres. Mr. Herbert Roberts, the champion handstroke billiard player, who has made a tour through nearly all the townships of the South Island since his last visit here, gave an exhibition of his skill at the Star Hotel on Monday, April 1. Ho first played a game of 400 points, conceding to Mr. Ames, his opponent, 200 points. There were no remarkable breaks in the game, which lusted forty-three minutes, and was won by Mr. Ames.by 130 points. A game of cannons was afterwards played. Mr. Roberts, who scored with his fingers, and allowed Mi’. Ames 25 points out of 50, winning by 13 points. The tournament was concluded by Mr. Roberts exhibiting some of his wonderful finger feats. ; Mr. Clarke’s report on' the drainage. of Christchurch was issued on April 2nd. It strongly condemns the use of the Rivers Avon or Heathcote for the discharge of the sewage, and also condemns Mr. Carruthers’ proposal to discharge the sewage by the present outfall drain into the Heathcote Estuary. He confirms Mz*. Carruthers’ opinion as to the desirability of underground sewers, and the necessity for a pumping station on the East Town Belt, but advocates the conveyance of the sewage, after being raised by pumps, to the Corporation Reserve on the Sandhills, so converting the latter into a sewage farm. He estimates the whole cost of the scheme at about £190,000. The annual expenditure for interest and maintenance would be £12,000. A commercial traveller named Hart, representing Guthrie and Larnach, Dunedin, in going from Marton to Wanganui by rail was standing on the platform of the carriage, and when crossing the bridge over the Rangitikei he was seized with a fitof vertigo, lost his balance and fell from the carriage into the river. He struck his head when falling, and floated, Mr. Arthur Kilgour, a fellow passenger, jumped from the train as soon as it crossed the bridge, and rushing down the bank, threw off his coat, jumped in, and swam out to the body. He seized it and commenced to bring it in. When half way to the bank he was joined by Mr. Charles Chevannes, and between them Hart was brought safely to the bank. He has since recovered, and is going on favorably. The action of Mr. Kilgour was warmly praised, it being exceedingly plucky, aud deserving of a medal from the Humane Society. A few days later at Wanganui Hart committed suicide by stabbing himself with a meat skewer. The Wellington Trust, Loan, and Investment Company (Limited) paid on April 6th the sum of £42,000, being in discharge of shares taken over from the Wellington Mutual Investment Society (Class No. 2),, some five years ago, they having been fully paid up by monthly‘instalments of os. per month. A great portion of this large amount will go to the so-called “ working classes,” who are shareholders, and the putting in circulation such a sum will bo. productive of benefit. The success of this commercial undertaking is another evidence of the' prosperity of the place, aud is a most satisfactory piece of news to record. Some years ago the shareholders in the Investment Company did not look forward very sanguinely to the result of the affair, but they have since been rewarded for their patience. It is obvious, too, that the affairs of the society must have been well managed, or even in prosperous times the shareholders might not have come off as well as they have done. Our correspondent, writing from Palmerston, says ;—The Native Lands Court have decided the dispute about the land between here and Rangitikei, upholding the decision given in 1873 on the sanm subject. The whole dispute seems to have been over a trifle, and was, like many of our own law suits, carried on more as a matter of feeling. In the end all those interested seem satisfied, although during a portion of the proceedings some bitter remarks wore exchanged' by Governor Hunia and Hone Mason, in which allusion was made to the manner in which such disputes would have been settled some time back. In fact the “Governor ” got so enthusiastic as to don his war toggery and parade the square with an air of defiance. All has now ended amicably, and the winning side, the Rangitauas, having given £IOO as a kind of salve to the wounded feelings of their opponents, £25 of this money was expended in biscuits, &c., and two hogsheads of ale, a keg of brandy, sundry cases of wine and old tom, &o. On Friday all this was displayed on the square, and bank-notes to the value of £75 crowned all. Tho several chiefs, after going through the usual amount of speeches aud ceremony, divided the whole amongst those tribes entitled to share ; but as it was quite evening when this was accomplished, the consumption of the good things was postponed till Saturday. I could not help thinking, on glancing at the heap—“ Oh, monstrous ! but one halfpennyworth of bread to this intolerable deal of sack.” Constable Gillespie made some sort of a protest, I believe, but as the Maoris had possession of tho liquor, they just paid no heed, and on Saturday reassembled, and having been successful in their efforts to empty the several barrels and cases, went through a number of war dances. Although of. course such a quantity of beer aud spirits would naturally leave traces of its consumption, still there was much leas riot and confusion than might have been expected, and by. 10-' o’clock the town was quiet. Amongst the many districts of tho colony which are making satisfactory progress, al r though perhaps not so marked as that of some other localities, is the Bay of Plenty, which extends along‘the east coast of the North Island from Opotild to Katikati, and inland to Taupo. The Bay of Plenty Times gives the following result of the census and agricultural statistics lately taken in l the district :—The total population, including half-castes, Chinese, and Maori wives, is 1407 males and 1087 females, the half-castes numbering 167 in a]i. The total number of dwellings is 575, of which 33 are uninhabited or in course of building. The chief centres of population aro Tauranga town, 797 ; Opotild town, 391 ; Tauranga country sub-district, -309 ; Katikati and To Puna sub-district, 304 ; and Waioeka subdistrict, 243. The agricultural statistics show that there aro 169 freehold holdings, 45 rented, and 28 part rented part freehold. The extent of land broken up but not under crop is 1953 acres; in wheat, 414.1 acres sown for grain only, the estimated gross produce in bushels being 9295 ; in oats, 251 acres (for green food or hay), for- grain, 134 acres, estimated gross produce of grain, 2773 bushels ; in barley, 2J acres, sown for grain only, estimated gross produce, 41 bushels ; in .sown grasses (in hay), 630.(1 acres, estimated gross produce, tons ; in grasses, after having been broken up, including such as in hay, 8752 J acres ;' grass, sown, not previously ploughed, including such os in hay, ,7.232/t acres ; in potatoes, 816;]; acres, estimated gross produce,: 1510 J tons; in other crops, 6S3J acres. Total number of acres under crop, ineluding sown grasses, 17,636| acres.

Boroughs. Estimated ' population Total Girths. Total Deaths. Proportion of Deaths to the 1000 of Population. Auckland 13,732 38 13 •95 Thames 5,426 18 3 •55 Wellington 19,037 93 29 1*53’. > Nelson .. 6,603 22 . 20 303 Christchurch .. 13,402 55 18 1-34 Dunedin 22,491 63 28 1*24 Hokitika 8,244 8 5 1-54 Total.. . 297. 116 - - -

ports are as follows : —- Quarter ending Jorrcspcncling 81st March, 1878. quarter, 1877. Auckland ♦. .,.£60,008 . £49,110 : , Thames , .. : 2258 . . 1510 , . New Plymouth .. 2618 1870 Wanganui .. .. 6408 , 5405 Wellington .. 52,751 . ■ 44,880 Napier ■... .. 10,078 . 10;035 Nelson .. •• 16,084 . 8802 Westport .. ’’ .. 2717 2811 GroymoutU .. •• 0470 . 0203 Hokitika .. .. 0754 . 8158 Lyttelton .. .. 05,840 . 19,579 Tlmaru .. .. 5120 , 5003 Oamaru .♦ •• 3090 2873 Dunedin .. .. 101,789 . 84,000 Invercargill .. .♦ 10,421 7260

Name. si ll §*H 1 L1 Private W. Ballinger 3333333 4434444 3334343 71 Private J, Ballinger 3344344 3332444 3332434 70 Captain Crowe 3333343 4434443 4384304 -JO Corporal Bowie .. 8443233 4443433 3433332 38 Lieutenant Hale (Cadets).. 4343334 4483343 3222304 04 Private Nodder 43443231332423312243234 03

The Cadet carbine match which was fired on Saturday, April 6, between the Wellington and Wanganui Cadets, resulted in a victory for the Wellington team by 32 points. The following scores were made by the Wellington Cadets:— Name. si of if 3 . ■\V. Madeley 19 18 11 48 J. Croucher 10 15 13 47 A. Ballinger 18 15 11 44 J. Taylor 17 12 14 43 J. Parker 19 10 8 43 W. Kandell 10 13 9 41 S. Lester 14 10 13 37 NVGooder 10 15 6 37 A. Howlands n 11 12 34 J. Gooder.. 10 12 3 34