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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5330, 27 April 1878, Page 2

The Hon. Colonel Whitmore, Colonial Secretary, returned to Wellington yesterday by the Taiaroa from the South. In order to enable the representatives of the Press to telegraph Sir William Pitzherborb’s speech from the Upper Hutt, Dr. Lemon has; arranged to have two wires working on Monday evening from that station. An extra instrument and additional operators will be necessary. Thii arrangement will bo a very great convenience to the reporters. The vacancy in the Senate of the University of New Zealand caused by the resignation of the Hon, Thomas Eraser has been filled by the appointment of Professor J. Sband,

Many residents at Wellington and at the Lower Hutt are anxious to hear Sir William Fitzherbert’s address to- the electors at the Upper'Hutt on Monday evening, and it would be a great public convenience if the Government would arrange that a train should run so as to enable people to be present at the meeting and to return home after its close. If the matter is represented to the Minister of Railways he will no doubt kindly afford facilities for running trains. The New Zealand Gazette of Thursday contains a list of lands at Opuhiti, Unuhia, Tokakoporu No. 2, Tunapohapoke, Arawhatatora No. 2, Waihoauga No. 2, and Tekaru, in the provincial district of Auckland, which are declared to be waste lands of the Crown.— The resignation of Hugh Hart Lusk, Esq., M.H.R. for the electoral district of Franklyn, of his seat in the Assembly, is notified.—The following have been appointed commissioners for classifying rural lands within the land district of “Otago ;—James William Thomson, Esq,, M.H.R, Horace Bastings, Esq., M.H.R., and William Arthur, Esq., chief surveyor of the provincial district of Otago. The Hon. J. Ballanco is gazetted Commissioner of Stamps.—The following Treasury appointments are notified :—Philip Sidney Knight, to be a junior clerk, as from the 23rd instant, vice John Gaudy, resigned ; Arthur Osborne Gibbes, to be a cadet, as from the Ist January, 1878 ; Charles Perrin Skorrett, to be a cadet, as from the sth March, 1878 ; Charles Edward Ohitty, to be a cadet, as from the 6th March, 1878 ; Edward Herbert Eisher, to be a cadet, as from the 18th March, 1878 ; Edward Henry Rufus Giesen, to be a cadet, as from the 20th instant. The following appointments are also notified : The Hon. Robert Stout to be a Land Claims Commissioner under the Laud Claims Settlement Act, 1856, and the Laud Claims Settlement Extension Act, 1858 ; James McKerrow, Esq., to be Secretary for Crown Lands, Immigration, and Gold Fields ; Oliver Wakefield, Esq., to be Under Secretary for Gold Fields, from the Ist of February, 1878 : Huntly John Harry Eliott, Esq., to be Under Secretary for Crown Lauds and Immigration ; James Chesney, Esq., to be a Commissioner of the Land Board of the Land District of Westland ; the Rev. William James Habens. 8.A., to be Inspector-General of Schools ; Robert Johnson, Esq., to be the officer to sign pilotage exemption certificates. Messrs. J. Grindell and George De Thierry are appointed interpreters under the Native Lands Act. The return of James Green, Esq., as M.H.R. for Port Chalmers, is gazetted.

The Government steamer Stella, now absent on a lighthouse cruise, was at Centre Island yesterday, and will proceed thence to Puysegur Point. The contractors for the erection of the lighthouse and the keepers’ dwellings there have finished work, and will leave by the Stella. Mr. Mills, who has charge of fitting up the lighting apparatus for the department, is now engaged at Centre Island, and when he has got through his work there he will erect the apparatus, lantern, &c., which have been already landed at Puysegur Point. When both these lights are shown captains making for Foveaux Strait from the west, or running through from the east, will be relieved from very much of the anxiety they now experience when approaching the laud at night. The Victorian steamers will largely benefit, and many hours in a trip will at times be saved.

■ It has been suggested that the pilot station and both the signal stations should be connected with the Custom House buildings by wire and telephones. At first sight the idea seems an admirable one, but there is, it appears, this drawback, that if a wire used for a telephone is carried on posts to which other wires are attached, its working is interfered with, and the sounds rendered indistinct. It is quite possible that as fresh telephonic discoveries are made this difficulty will be in some way got over. At present a telephone is worked between the pilot station and the outer signal station, and the latter is in telegraphic communication with the city. The telephone should prove an excellent means for keeping up a connection between the various lighthouses and the keepers’ houses, and it is likely that it will be applied to this use. Of late years the various life insurance companies and societies have in many ways offered greater facilities to insurers for protecting their polities, and tire plan of setting the surrender value against premiums due and unpaid has been found to be of the greatest advantage to persons who have insured their lives. Fori instance, if.A, who, is in..; receipt’ of!, a fair 'lncome, -insures his!life for £IOOO, nud after ten years finds that he is unable to opntinue payments, his policy is not forfeited as it used to be, neither is he compelled to surrenderit for a small consideration. The value of the policy is estimated, and the company or society continues to pay the premiums until the sum so paid reaches the surrender value at the time when the payments by the insured ceased. The following instance will prove clearly the great value of such a system :—ln December, 1872, Mr, X insured his life for £5()0 in the Australian Mutual Provident Society, and paid the premiums until June, 1876, when for some reason or other he omitted to do so. Further payments were made by the society, and on the sth November last Mr. X died. The surrender value of the policy had been sufficient to cover all premiums up to that date ; but on the sth December another would have fallen due, and there would not have been anything to cover it unless Hr. X had provided funds. The total amount paid as premiums, including those! credited by the society, was £6l 55., and yesterday a sum of £519 19s. was paid to “the widow, the £l9 19s. being the value of the bonus that had accrued.

The neighborhood of the Eirautaka tunnel would seem to be a pretty lively one, and the existence of sly-grog shops appears to have caused a deal of disorder there. The proprietor of pne of these establishments was summoned to the Eesident Magistrate’s Court ypsterday and fined 20s. and costs. This apparently unexpected call upon defendant to contribute to the revenue was mat by him by prompt payment on the spot. .i A somewhat serious affray was brought under the notice of the Eesident Magistrate’s Court yesterday. A Frenchman named George Josef, employed at the Eimutaka tunnel, summoned William Ournow for assaulting him.. Complainant stated that he was knocked down by prisoner and kicked so severely‘that, three of his ribs were broken. A totally different complexion was put upon the case by the,witnesses for the defence. Complainant withdrew the criminal case, and- 1 proceeded by a civil suit to recover damages, claiming £25. He obtained judgment for £5 and costs.

The following tenders have been received at the Public. Works Office, Wellington, for the Kingston wharf contract of the Wintbn and Kingston railway:—Accepted: Mr John Whittaker, of Dunedin, £2068 3s. Declined : Mr. J. B. Blair, of Dunedin, £2679; Messrs. Topham and Angus, of Invercargill, £3320'95. 5d.; Messrs. M. Hughes and 00., Invercargill, £1479 7s. 6d.

The football season commences this afternoon on the Basin Reserve, when a scratch match will be played. It is to be hoped there will ho a good muster for the first practice. In all probability Wellington will be visited by several clubs this season.. Nelson intends sending a team, and so does Blenheim ; Auckland last season hinted that they would send a team round the island. It is to be hoped that the players will put in a good attendance. Cases of hardship often occur to employers of servants through the carelessness of the latter. We recently alluded to one here— Snow v, Twohill—in which plaintiff recovered £IOO damages caused by a horse ridden' by tt= servant of defendant bolting, knocking a man down, and breaking'his leg. The master did not appear morally to blame, but legally no doubt was liable. A case not quite on allfours with that, but one in which the same principle was involved, was recently tried in Melbourne, and also resulted in a verdict for plaintiff. The Argus of the 15th inst. says In the County Court yesterday, Dr. L. J. Martin, of Oollins-street, was sued by Henry A.uton, a dairyman, for damages caused by the negligent driving of defendant’s servant. It appeared from the evidence for plaintiff that on the 29th November last, his horse and cart wore driven along Swanston-street at a pace of about seven or eight miles per hour, when the defendant’s horse and carriage, driven by his Servant, came tearing along at a great speed a little on the wrong side of the roadway, and ran into : the horse and conveyance of the plaintiff. The horse : was so much injured that plaintiff had to destroy it. A policeman, who witnessed the collision, attributed it .to the fault of defendant’s coachman. Dr. Martin himself admitted that bis .horse and conveyance were going at about twelves miles au hour, but ho also stated that he considered the boy who was driving the milk-cart caused the accident, as he was looking behind him at the time, and his horse, being blind, did not keep straight. His Honor Judge Cope found a verdict for the' plaintiff, with £25 damages.

The annual dinner of the Builders’ and Contractors’ Association will bo held at- the Metropolitan Hotel on Thursday next.

We understand that Mr. G. E. Barton will move on Friday for a decree in the case of Gillon v. Macdonald, as prayed in the declaration.

Theatre-goers will regret to hear that those favorite artists, Mrs. Walter Hill and Mr. John Musgrave, are leaving Wellington. They proceed to Auckland to-day by the Rotorua, under engagement to Mr. DeLais. Yesterday morning the depth of water in the storage reservoir was 21ft. and in the distributing basin 10ft. The quantity in the reservoir very .considerably decreased in twenty-four hours.

Tenders are invited for the summit water supply contract, Wellington and Mastertou railway. Tenders are to be sent in by the Bth May. Full particulars thereaneut will be found in another portion of this issue.

The City Inspector has taken proceedings against two people who have been detected during the last few days in throwing a quantity of offensive matter into the harbor from old Custom House-street.

To-morrow the Roman Catholic Church at Pahautanui will be consecrated by the Right Rev. Dr. Redwood, Roman Catholic Bishop of Wellington. Mass will be celebrated by the Bishop at 11 a.m,, and he will administer the sacrament of confirmation.

We give in our shipping columns a weather report and forecast, for which we are indebted to the courtesy of Captain Edwin. In future, similar information, made up to a late hour on the previous evening, will be published daily by us. No doubt many of our readers have been made aware through, the local journals of several petty thefts that have taken place in and about Wellington during the last month. The police have been constantly on the watch endeavoring to detect the thieves, but until yesterday evening could obtain no clue. We are new however p'eased to be able to relate that the whole affair has been cleared up. The thefts have it appears been committed by a baud of young boys, between the ages of nine and twelve, who have been in the habit of travelling about together after dusk and breaking into schools and private residences. As yet there is only one of the youngsters who has been arrested. His name is L. Handcock, ten years of age. It appears that he with his young band of accomplices broke into a Mrs. Jarvois’ house at the top of Taranaki-street, and abstracted 15s. from a small box, which they burst open. Mrs. Jarvois happened to return home unawares, and seeing the boys about had her suspicions. The police were communicated with, and young Handcock was caught. He has confessed that he was concerned with the other boys in the robbery of the Te Aro school, from which they took five shillings’ worth of coppers and two flutes, The other boys will be taken in charge to-day. It is very satisfactory for the community at large that these young gentlemen have been caught, and nipped in the bud as it were. Had they not been detected, it is possible that these lads might have gone cn from bad to worse, and committed more serious depredations. The road metal laid down in such quantities on Lambtou-quay seems likely to remain for a long time in a loose and shifting state. The stones appear to have become more or less rounded at the edges, and roll about when a conveyance passes over them. The use of a heavy roller would remedy this, and would ■ make a road that would last longer than the present is likely to do. It might bo well for the City Council to consider whether it would hot be worth while to purchase a steam roller. During the next few years many miles of streets will have to be metalled, and judging by the experience gained in other places, the cost of a steam roller would soon be recouped. The inconvenience caused to people driving over newly-made streets would be reduced to a minimum, for a steam roller would at once bring a newly-made street into a condition fit for all kinds of traffic.

“ Richelieu” was produced at the Theatre Royal last night to a moderate house. The piece on the whole was creditably produced, and was well received by the audience. The part of Cardinal Richelieu was taken by Mr. William Dillon, and De Mauprat by Mr. J. F. Graham. The piece was nicely put on the stage, and the principal performers were several times honored with a call before the curtain. The evening'h amusement was brought to a close by a musical farce: 1 To-ulghtr " 33clphegor” will be produced. We have to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the “ Wellington Monthly Price Current” of this day’s date. It is as usual very well got up, and reflects credit on its editor and proprietor, Mr. S. Carroll, the Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce. In the present issue the editor observes that with the present issue the “ Wellington Monthly Price Current” enters its sixth year of publication, and the proprietor takes the opportunity of again thanking subscribers for their continued support. The quotation sheet has been carefully revised and re-arranged. In its present shape the proprietor believ es it will be found to be much improved as to clearness and facility of reference, as also to represent more fully and faithfully the Wellington market. Being printed in smaller type it also leaves room for the insertion of much interesting matter of a class which has often had to be excluded hitherto for want of space.

Deferring to the murder of the Earl of Leitrim, reported by cable on the sth inst., the Brisbane Courier writes;—“The terrible crime perpetrated near Miiford, a small town in the County Donegal, is a grievous episode in a grievous history. For many years past the late Earl of Leitrim and the tenantry on his estates at Donegal have been at enmity. He was a man whose ideas of the" rights of the lord of the soil belonged to the old feudal times, when the swnor of a large estate was master of the lives and fortunes of all who resided upon it, and they were merely his serfs. The ways of his tenantry were not as his ways, and they were not prepared to adopt his newfangled notions. He did not recognise in them any right to their farms, but the narrowest they could claim under short leases, high rents, and hard conditions. They believedin sticking to the land on which thoyaud theirs had for generations lived, and when their leases fell in, they claimed renewals, payment for improvements, or other concessions. .He on the other hand was anxious to get rid of those whom he could not band to his will. Thera also existed between them other causes of feud, religious and political ; and he, using the means the law furnished him with, did get rid of most of them. When their leases ran but he would not renew, on any terms, and his agents, accompanied by what in Ireland was familiarly known as ‘ the crowbar brigade,’ and protected by largo bodies of armed police, evicted those who clung to their holdings, and would not give up peaceable possession, by levelling their cabins to the ground. Some of these evictions, occurred under circumstances of peculiar severity, and attracted attention all over the kingdom* and severe comment from the Press both of England and Ireland. The evictions took place in the depth of winter, and old and. infirm persons, women and children, were put put in the snow on tho mountain side, absolutely without shelter. Of course, when this onee occurs throughout a whole village, itmeans terrible destitution and misery. If we remember rightly, these events created so profound an impression that The Times sent over a commissioner, who travelled through Donegal and Leitrim, visiting most of tho large estates, and reporting on the condition of the tenantry. His published letters led to some severe comments in Parliament on the harshness of Irish landlords.”

Concerning the New South Wales defences the Sydney Morniny Herald writes: —“ The Bill repealing the Act giving to volunteers of five years’ efficient service a grant of 50 acres of laud has passed both Houses of Parliament. 1 The sole cause of the decadence of our volunteer force is thus removed, and the Government intend in a few days to submit to the Legislative Assembly a proposal for the reorganisation of the force. Colonel Soratohley, accompanied by Colonel Roberts, has completed a minute inspection of the batteries for the defence of Port Jackson, in order to ascertain the most economical mode of remedying the defects noticed by Sir'William Jervois in these works. ■ The following are the principal alterations which are to be made It , has been decided to introduce, as far as practicable, in the magazines and storerooms most of the improvements adopted in England in regard to the lighting, fittings, ; and arrangements for the expeditious serving of the ammunition to the guns. Additional precautions are to bo provided, mainly m the powder magazine, to lessen the risk of accidents. Traverses are being constructed between the guns by working parties of the permanent artillery, in order that the destructive effect of* shell fired from'.an..euemy s ship may bo restricted—and in some cases to prevent the guns being enfiladed. Bombproof chambers are to bo constructed m the

sunken ways between the guns, in which to store the numerous implements required for .working the gnus, such as rammers, sponges, tackle, *• blocks, lifting-jacks, tools, spare articles, &c. At present, from waut of proper accommodation, these articles are kept in tire shell-rooms. Other more important alterations and improvements are in contemplation, but they are still under consideration, as it is imperative that they should not interfere during execution with the use of the gnus. The observing and firing stations for the torpedo defences are rapidly approaching completion, and Major Craokuell is ready to commence laying the cables. It is not proposed to provide a permanent system of submarine mines for closing the entrance to Botany Bay, a more careful examination of the locality by Major Oraokuell and Colonel Soratculey having led those officers to decide upon mechanical mines protected for the present, and until the permanent work on Bare Island, by guns of position on shore. The best positions for these gnus have been selected by Colonel Roberts. At Nesvcastle platforms are being laid for four 80-pounder rifled guns, and placed behind a temporary earthwork, to be constructed by a detachment o£ permanent artillery. Observing and firing stations are in course of construction, and when they are completed the torpedoes will be laid. The designs for the remainder of the works recommended by Sir W. Jervois are being proceeded with. Designs for barracks at middle and south heads, prepared by the colonial architect’s department, have been approved, and a site plan is being prepared. The Colonial Secretary's authority will be obtained to proceed with these buildings as soon as possible.” During the hearing of a charge at the Criminal Court on a recent date (says the Argus) one of the witnesses for the prosecution was a girl about nine; years old. Mr. Justice Molesworth asked her if she knew what an oath was, and she said she did not ; but in reply to other questions said that it was bad to tell a lie and good to tell the truth. The Crown Prosecutor contended that this was sufficient to justify the reception of her evidence. His Honor did not agree with that view, saying that her statement as to the nature of an oath was not satisfactory. Tutored answers were of very little value. The child’s evidence was not taken, but enough testimony was given by other witnesses to procure a conviction.

The following notice from the War Office appears in tie London Gazette of January 22 ; —“Eighth Hussars—Sergeant Frank James Oaraudini, from the Ifith Lancers, to be second lieutenant, viceL. H. Jones, transferred to the sth Lancers.” Lieutenant Oarandiui is a son of Madame Carandini, who has for so many years been known to us as a popular vocalist. We have reason to know that his promotion from a non-commissioned to a commissioned officer has been earned by genuine merit, as may be gathered from the fact that in the official communication conveying the intention of the Duke of Cambridge to promote him it is stated by the military secretary that the promotion was “ with a view to the adjutancy of that corps.” ■ ■ The first case for infringement of the Victorian Pharmacy Act came before the Fitzroy Court on the 15th iustaut. J. M. Paul (says the Aigus), who had been carrying on business as an unregistered pharmaceutical chemist, was proceeded against under the 25th section of the Act, and fined £l, and costs. The Hoharton Mercury states that the Government intend at once to take steps to raise a corps of 300 rifles and 150 artillery in Hoharton, and 150 rifles and 50 artillery in Launceston.