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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5349, 20 May 1878, Page 2

We understand that. Councillor Diver intendsto give notloe that at the first ot portunity he will move that the scheme for the drainage lot the t city . propounded by Mr.' Clark, 0.H., be adopted by the City Council; Tile depth of water in the storage reservoir, yesterday was 23fc., and in . the distributing basin 22Et. 'The supply is now on at full presure, yet the quantity flowing into the resec-, voir should bo unite equal to the consumption. The Divorce Court sits. this morning. The eases on the list are, Itenoy 'v. ■ Honey and Moore (Christchurch), Barnes;V;,Barnes and; Martin (Wellington), McMahon v." McMahon and llussell ( Wellington), Woolcock v. Woolcock and Waddell (Wellington), and White v. White and Bennett (Auckland). .*

A few days ago, when referring to the opening of the railway line through from Dunedin to Christchurch, we alluded to the probability of a fast boat being put on between this port and Lyttelton, so as to enable passengers for the South to make a rapid run to Lyttelton,, and then go on by train. This would cause- a considerable saving of time, and would add largely to the comfort of travellers. 11 is stated on good authority that two of the directors of the Union Steam Ship Company, Messrs. Cargill and McNeill,' who are at 'Horae, have in view the obtaining of a vessel that will steam 15 knots, with the view of running from Wellington to connect with the railway at Lyttelton. Should such a clipper be placed on the .lino the trip will be made in fine weathcr considerably under 12 hours. The -Union Company hare given many instances ’pf .enterprise and pluck, and they no dot®* have ..to,.obtain,first ,cla-iS L .bpats. ia,the, best policy to pursue. Their fleet is now a very flue one, and wo are sure that they will in future keep pace with the'demands of the costal cargo and passenger trade. It has been stated that the Government were induced to decline the l acceptance of a tender for .a", steam, postal- service, from" Perirua; to 'Foxton'because the amount of the lowest, that of the New.Zealaucl Steam •Shipping Company, y£2600, was excessive. This is incorrect. . The sum was not considered unreasonable as a subsidy for Tunning a vesssel making a trip’ each way daily, but the land line now arranged for is likely to prove far more punctual and reliable than any steamer could he. The Fine Arts and Industrial Exhibition in connection with the Wellington .Working’ Men's Club-will be held in their Inew premises, next the. .Imperial Qpora. House, Mannersstreet, , ,on or - about; the . 84th; J nue, under the - patronage of his Exceileucy the Governor. Persons having-,wprks’of • art):industrial’ exhibits, geological specimens, nr curiosities of any description, are asked to leud'them for the occasion;; .Policies; of insurance have, been taken out, so as to provide against possible loss, and the committee: therefore hope that unfavorable t reply wilt be given to'‘ their request,’and not later* than the 2Stli instant,' if possible/! Free transit of exhibits by the railway and by many of the steamers has been granted. The club - premises comprise two storeys jithe first flat being occupied by shops.' The large! hall- 66'oupies a space of ; 50ft; in length by 20ft. in width, and about 12ft. : iii height. ‘‘The ‘next room, on- the-same' flat is about -15 ft; in length by lift, in width.''The third floor comprises five rooms, the largest of which is about 30ft. long by 20ft. wide. ‘ Ih- ; tending exhibitors* will please be good enough to. remember that the amount of room at the: disposal of . the committee will not enable them to exhibit articles which would occupy'a .very •large.space: The committee would feel obliged if intending exhibitors would carefully mark the:.cases:in whichvexhibits are sent ns being for the . “ Wellington‘ Working Men’s Club Fine Arts and Industrial Exhibition.” Mr. R. W;..Cary has been:, appointed, manager of the: exhibition, which, if-a favorable response is given to. the; request ofi the 1 committee, pro-' mises to bo a very successful affair. '.' j A firo occurred at Parkvale, Karori, at about half-past 9 a.ra; on Saturday, by which a six roomed cottage belonging to Mr. J. Cole, dairyman, and nearly all ,the furniture in it, were destroyed, - Four little children had a very narrow escape, for they were all in bed at the time the flames broke out, and they were, not taken from their bedroom until they, were'-in great danger ; indeed so little time was there to spare that one girl, three years old, had her nightdress scorched. Mr. Cole was absent in Wellington, and Mrs. Cole had. gone over a hill to turn some.oattle out, aild thus the children were left by themselves. Fortunately Mrs;. Cole returned in : tim.e to get the little ones ■ out, otherwise there would have been but scant hope of their being rescued. There was no chance of saving the building, and almost the only thing of value that was carriedout was a chest of drawers. The cottage was insured in the Now Zealand Company, but 'the.'furniture was not insured, and Mr;' Colo estimates his loss at £2OO. It is supposed that the fire originated in the kitchen; and'was probably caused by some sparks being blown out. '' cV'.'fA; ;■ I

' "'lntending investors ami speculators in land will bear ill mind tlial,. Messrs. T. K. Macdonald and Cio.’a. sale of valuable town and country properties, to which wc have called attention in a previous, issue, will commence at two o’clock- this afternoon. Amongst the list will bo 'found, thirty-four most eligibly situated building sites in Hawker-street, near the residence of Mr. J. IS. Fitz Gerald, C.M.G., ;&c., of convenient size, and having frontages : to streets sixty-six feet in width. The advertiser points out, what is no* doubt a fact, that every- day the amount of , land for first class building'sites in anti'near the city is getting less, - and that allotments of this kind are increasing daily in value,, The terras are liberal, as will be'seen-by reference to-the advertisement. 1 Besides the land in Wellington, there are to be sold town and country lots in the pleasant* suburbs* of Newtown and Kilbiruie, and also at the Hutt, Masterton, Wood-* ■ ville, &o. ' : . We again call the attention of the theatregoing portion of our; readers to the fact that to-day the Imperial Opera House in Mannersstreet will be opened; under, the patronage and in the presence of his Excellency the Governor and suite. The band is announced in the bills to play in the balcony prior, to the opening, ■and •“ God Save the Quocu” will be given by the whole strength of the. company/at sthe commencement of the concert. The programme 'is i a*-varied* one, comprising the third act of* “ Faust,” a concert, and a ballet. A full house, may confidently bo anticipated on this 00, casion.j 1 IV'.y”’,. ' : " Thera was only a short sitting of the -Resident Magistrate’s. Court on Saturday. George Campbell, on?remand,'was charged withrsua-. peoted lunacy,' and discharged.—Clement .1. Carter was charged by bis wife; Eliza Carter, with deserting her at Christchurch on; the Ist April. The accused stated that he had left his wife in affluent circumstances, and that he only came to Wellington to get employment. Ilia Worship _the. Mayor and Captain* Holt,* who were on the bench, remanded the accused until Monday, and allowed him to go at large on ihis entering into a recognisance for £ls. " A number of vehicles were noticed last night being driven through* town'without lights. Some people are in the habit of leaving the town during Sunday afternoon for a drive in the country, and in nine .cases out of ten they . J do~not return until after dark. When they start lamps are not 1 bought of. The consequence 1 is' that" they'have to drive through crowded thoroughfares without" lights, j The police we understand intend taking proceedings in the matter. ; '■’Several'telegrams from the South which wore despatched early, on the afternoon of Saturday did hot reach-Wellington until three or four o’clock yesterday morning, and several of the operators and. clerks were'at the office all night, and until six o’clock in the morning. The messages from Dunedin were -sentiround by the West Coast, the other line working so badly as to be almost inoperative. ' j On Saturday evening reports wore current in town that the 5.30 p.m. train fromKaitoke, • which is timed to arrive in Wellington at 7-30, had met- with an* accident. „-On ..making 1 iniquity our reporter learned that no accident had occurred to the train, but that it was delayed* for a considerable. time in consequence of an engine (unattached to any train) having run off the lino near one of the sheds at the Wellington end. --- * i ■ Wo are requested to state that Mr. Duncan’s great land sale will commence to-morrow at half-past 11 o’clock, and that the first property offered will bo that* of Fatoui township, for which Mr Barton has offered extremely liberal terras—only-10 per cent, cash deposit, balance by btlls every six months for three years. 1 This’ brings it within the'reach of almost everybody to invest in valuable freehold land. Immediately! after this aahriwill be offered 360 acres at>Wo6dville, and then that well-known centrally situated Masterton town acre No. 16, ns well as 1 a great number of other* valuable properties in Masterton; Carterton, J and Taratabi. ■■!!-'.. • •' ~ Yesterday a large, proportion of* the citizens took advantageof the bright sunshiny weather to take walks in the suburbs and in the neighboring country. Round the-rocks to Evans Bay, at the new reservoir, on the Hutt-road, at tho ■ Botanical Gardens, and along the new road to Kilhirnie, there were numerous parties of pedestrians who enjoyed the pure bracing air. < ' The Valuable freehold property at the Upper Hutt belonging to Mr. Alexander Cruickhank, and known as “ Huutly Farm,” is offered for sale by private contract. Particulars will be found in our advertising columns, and any further, information that may be required can he obtained from tho owner, or tho Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. ;.Constable * Coffey while on duty-on) Saturday,night in Manners-street was assaulted by four men. The constable, after considerable i difficulty, -arrested- the ringleader and put him in the look-up. ' The other* three are known to the police, and will be proceeded Mgaittsfe ■

A prisoner named James Connor arrived by the Jane Douglas from Foxton, at which place ho was sentenced to three mouths’ imprisonment for vagrancy. A meeting of members of the chess club will be held this. evening at the clubroom, ■Panama; Chambers, when arrangements will bo made for the forthcoming matches. Dividend warrants in the National Fire and Marine Insurance Company of New Zealand for the half-year ended on the 31st March last are now : obtainable at the company’s office. The Telegraph Department have requested that the following correction be made in a telegram from Eeefton of 16th instant “He (Reeves) strongly supports policy of present Government,” not ‘opposed,’ as sent. Divine service was held on board the ship Rialto yesterday afternoon, and was largely attended both by sailors and citizens. Messrs. Ebenezer .Baker and J, G. Holdsworth took part in the service, and offered up appropriate -prayers. - t' The master of the steamer Alhambra gave two of his seamen in charge yesterday morning for wilful‘disobedience to lawful ‘ commands. The men were lodged in the lock-up, and will appear at the Court this morning. As however the. steamer has left it is doubtful how the .case will "result. - ; ■ ; ‘ At the Theatre Royal oh Saturday night “The Rivals” was produced to a good house. The various’ actors were well up in their parts, and consequently the performance went remarkably well; ’ The programme concluded by a cabinet seance by the Knotingham Brothers, •which' caused a considerable amount of amusement... . . Twenty-three thousand square miles of country, described as the finest grazing laud in Australia, are offered for sale on the 13th August by Messrs. Powers, Rutherford,: and Co., of Melbourne. The property is stated to be the pick of the” northern territory of South Australia, selected by Mr. Sergiaon during his four years’ residence . and: exploration of 'the district. Further particulars will. be found in,onr advertising columns. j ... • A serious accident,' which it is feared will terminate fatally, occurred at a blastingcompound manufactory at Koroit, Victoria, on the Ist instant. A man named Henry Hodsman, fifty years of age,' was beating a dent out of an icon tank containing a small quantity of nitroglycerine, and meeting with' some diffi.oulty in removing'it with a wooden’ mallet, he incautiously struck it with. an • iron hammer. A tremendous explosion followed, arid the man was injured in a- frightful manner about the lower part of bis body, one of diis legs being shattered to pieces, A young man named ■Brown, who was ■ standing by at the time, also received a nasty injury to his thumb. Both men were at once taken to the Melbourne Hospital, l and Hodsman was immediately admitted and his wounds attended to. But very slight hopes' are entertained-of his recovery. Brown, after having his hand dressed, was able to go to his home. 1

A deputation from the aborigines on the Ooranderrk station, Victoria, was introduced to the Chief Secretary on the rlst lust. by Mr. Dow, M.P., for the purpose of m*giug upon tho Government a change in the management of that establishment. The natives appear to be thoroughly dissatisfied with things as they are. They complain that they arc demoralised ; that they are allowed to do. as they like oa Sunday s ; that they ■ are not ! induced tcv work as ithey should; on weekr days y and that 5m short e very thing at the station is going to tho badi It must strike their white brethren as rather asingular. cause of complaint that .they are allowed too much liberty, and that they are not mode to do more work ; but this in itself shows plainly that we cannot deal with thesepeople as wo can with Europeans. - The whole fact of the matter appears to be that* the aborigines cannot forget their late superintendent,. Mr. Green; * It is more than * two years since that gentleman was'removod from his position*, and' the' hlackfellows were full of pathetic laments to: "Mr. Berry*over tho loss‘they had sustained. * The'kindly* personal influence formerly exercised over them is at an end. They put their -views clearly enough-before the Chief Secretary.' They want MivGreen back again, and then they consider everything will go on as happily as in’ “ the good old times.” Mr.'Berry received them kindly, and listened to them .patiently: After hearing what they had to say,-he asked Mr. Dow *if he would undertake to make personal inquires on the station ’ • as* * to their representations, a task , which that gentleman at once undertook. If it was. only to encourage deputations of white fellows to be as moderate in-their demands, it is to he hoped that Mr, .Berry will see his way to gratifying tho wishes of the “ lords of tho soil.”