Untitled

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 534, 1 May 1878, Page 2

During:the month o£ April last 81 births, 30 marriages, and 20 deaths were registered in Wellington. '' The following auctioneers have taken out the necessary liceusesior the ensuing year : A. Barnett, Francis Sidoy, F. N. Oanipbell, >7. H. Bethuue, George Hunter, N. J. Isaacs, G. Thomas, and J. H. Wallace. . We understand that one of the by-laws about to be passed by the City Council is to prevent smoldng by the driver, or by any passengers, in any vehicle while being used for carrying passengers.

In our issue of Monday .we stated the fact that; Mr. Isaac .Smith,who hadbeen lost in the bush near Pahautanui since Faster Mom day or Tuesday, had been found on Sunday morning, , and although :in a weak state of health; it was mot anticipated that ahy dangerous results would ensue. .: Information subsequently received Confirms, what has been previously'.stated, 'and. we ;are; glad to hear that; Mr. I Smith ,is in a fair way to recover shortly from the ill effects of the hardship and exposure ho has undergone. We received yesterdaya letter from.a settler in the district,, who points'out, what wilt be‘readily acknowledged, the valuable • services of the search parties who went out day after day to scour the country in order to find traces of the missing man. But. for their, exertions the probabilities are' that Mr. Smith would have died. Our correspondent says:—“On Friday morning a party of seven young men, headed by Messrs. E. Boulton , and. Jones, were out searching in the bush. Mr; Smith was found in a very exhausted state, but after giving him some food he revived. On Sunday morning, at his . request, they, having nothing to eat, started for home, to get more help. They started again at 6.3(7 am, on Sunday, and,commenced to cut a track with their billhooks end knives, and made the West Coast at 11.30 'a.m, They arrived shortly after sundown ’at.,the .spot where they had left Mr. Smith, and found him in the same place. At two o’clock on Monday morning the neighbors, numbering forty-five, proceeded to the spot where Mr., Smith was, in order to bring him homo. The party soon made a stretcher, and after carrying him fifteen miles came out of the hush .at . Mr. Abbot’s, Horokiwi "Valley, whore they got a trap and sent him to his homo at Wainui.” ; ,

.; Now that the laying o£ the tramway has been completed; people are anxious to know how the cars will be made to run on rails that are buried in the metal. ' Before traffic is commenced; the small : groove in the rail will bo cleared out, and.men will bo engaged to keep the line clear by working at it early in the morning before business fairly sets in. In order to prevent stones or other things on the rails stopping the carriages, or jerking them off the line, the engine, or the first carriage when horses are used, will bo fitted with a contrivance, on the same principle I asm oow-catoher on a railway, and these are -so constructed as to clear out the groove in which the wheels run. ■■■ ■

A meeting of creditors in the estate of C. Broadbent, watchmaker and jeweller, Man-ners-street, was held yesterday ; Hr. D. Asher, the trustee, occupying the chair. The liabilities were set down-at £3OO, and the assets at £6O. Mr, Ollivier appeared for the creditors. The bankrupt made an offer of ss. in the £, payable in three and six months, but the creditors resolved that unless the amount in cash were paid within seven days the estate should be realised in the usual manner.

A petition to. a local borough council has’ X think (says “ Algles ’’ in the Australasian)* some good points it it- It should be premised that there had been floods, and loss therefrom, and the prayer is this : —“ That; as your honorable body have not yet been able to devise ahy means of lessening the evil (and were.it to be done by any ordinary means we feel confident your colleolive.wisdom would have 1 discovered the 1 way), you employ Sir John Coodo to report upon the subject. , That until the evil is remedied you willinstrhct all clergymen and ministers to pray for only such a‘ small quantity of rain as your honorable body feel competent to manage.” Several judgments wore obtained at the dissident Magistrate’s Court yesterday against shareholders , in the To Aro Hall and Public ‘Theatre Company, Limited, for unpaid calls.

It has been arranged to hold the next meetting of the Town Council, which takes place to-morrow, at four o’clock instead of seven. Messrs. Archibald and Scoular, Jhe builders of the Imperial Opera House, Manners-street, handed over tho; building to the company on Monday evening. > . The parade of volunteers last night was not largely attended,:'the wet weather having doubtless prevented , many from turning out. Major Stack was in command. We have received : a copy of “Bradshaw's Railway Guide to Now Zealand” for the month' of. May. The present number of this very Useful publication is quite up to its usual standard of excellence.

Workmen are engaged in making one more attempt to lay down proper drains in the grounds at Parliament Buildings. Possibly they may succeed this time in providing for carrying off water that used to stagnate under and near the buildings, v.-": . "

Considering the wretched weather there was a good house at the Theatre Royal last night. 1 “ Monte Christo” constituted the evening’s performance. The piece passed off as pleasantly as on previous occasions. For tonight “ Davy Crockett, or the Backwoodsman’s Bride ” is announced. The Colonial Fire and Marine Insurance Company, to which ,we have palled attention in previous issues, is now fairly afloat in the commercial worldpand promises, from all we hear of. it, to be a most successful undertaking. An advertisement respecting the new company appears in another portion of our columns. The ordinary weekly meeting of the Wellington Literary Association was held last evening ;. but as the attendance was small owing to the stormy weather, it was decided to adjourn the meeting till next Tuesday evening, when the question “ Was Oliver .Cromwell a greater man than Napoleon Bonaparte ?” will, be discussed, after the reading of an essay on “Man.” . . , .

The matriculation examination for intending students in the New Zealand University; is' now being held at the Wellington College. There are; only three -candidates entered — Messrs. Gell, Macgregor, and Cooper. At present several matriculated students are residing in and near Wellington, and we hope that their names will ultimately be found in the degree list. Dr. Hector has analysed the whisky which was supposed to have' been poisoned in Barrett’s Hotel, and has found that it contained more than two grains of strychnine, a quantity sufficient to kill at least four persons. Halt a groin is sufficient to prove fatal. William' O'Connor, who is under arrest on suspicion of having placed the poison in the glass, will be brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court to-morrow. This case has provoked much comment owing to its peculiar surroundings.

We understand that Messrs :W. and E. Lockington, of Ross, Westland, have just purchased an acre of land at Newton with a view to establishing a sash and door factory- The additions to local industries of all kinds which are being made in and near Wellington are highly satisfactory, and afford additional proof of tho high opinion entertained by men of business of the present and future commercial prospects of this city and the surrounding districts,-

The two hoys Carver and Handcocfc were chargedon remand at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday with breaking into the Wesleyan Chapel, Webb-street, and the Te Aro school., Neither of the boys appeared to feel their position, as they both looked quite, unconcerned, particularly the younger of the two, who had a most precocious look during the whole of the case. When they wore removed from the Court to be put in durance vile the elder boy shed a few tears. From their general appearance they both looked to be pretty hardened.