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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5354, 25 May 1878, Page 2

There will be a sitting of the Supreme Court in banco at half-past 10 this morning, when the cases of Joseph and another y. Peters and Gillon' v/ : Macdonald and others will be called on.

The police received information by telegram a few days ago from Melbourne that a warrant for petty larceny had been issued against , a man named Prank James Smith, who was sup?, posed to be oh bbard the Steamer Albion, which vessel arrived here yesterday afternoon. Sergeant Smith was ’oh the qih vive, ‘ boarded the steamer immediately on her arrival, and arrested his namesake from Victoria, who will bo brought before the Resident Magistrate’s Court this'morning.

We print in our columns to-day an abstract of the speech recently delivered by Mr, Donald Reid, the member bf the House of Representatives, to his constituents at Mosgiel, and regret that pressure on' our space prevents us from giving the report in extenso. " At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday the business consisted: In; the dismissing of a person with a caution ' who had imbibed too freely the previous night,'! and 1 the remanding of: Walker Ockendon, charged with stealing a case of spirits from a house at Kaitoke, till Tuesday. Mr. B. J. Duncan, J.P., presided on the bench. 'K- ’ i-n■ K * ; - f ' ’ 1

’A considerable section q£ the people travelled by rail yesterday to the various stations on the Hutt-Kaitokedine,: - Some'idea of the number’s who patronised the railway may be gathered from the fact that'about 1 400 tickets (mostly return) were issued at the Wellington station. The various volunteer corps of Wellington mustered yesterday morning on the reclaimed ground in front of Lambton-quay, and showed the customary mark of loyalty by firing a feu de joie. The following companies were present Artillery, City Rifles, Kawara Rifles, Karori - Makara Rifles. Artillery 'Cadets, / arid. City 1 Rifle Cadets. There were almost 300 volunteers present, under, the,.command of Major Stack.) The companies were marched left wheel into line, and brought into open column, when the usual salute was fired. : The band then played the National Anthem,: and . the ; companies. wore inarched off tho ground under the command of their respective captains. ! ■' The Kaiwarra;Rifles, after.tho parade yesterday morning, proceeded to their butts to compete for prizes presented by Messrs. Brandon, M.H.8,,.Gi110n, Staples, Cameron, and Williams. There were 32 men who' took part in the contest, The ranges were 200, 300, and dOO yards, five shots at .each range. The firing had to bo postponed at the'4oo yards range in consequence of tho lateness of tho hour. ■ The match will bo concluded this afternoon q,t 3 b’(dock. Mr. Brandon, M.H.R., was on the ground, and took great interest in tho proceedings, , , ■ , : J The. annual football .match between the Civil Service arid the Town will take place on the Basin Reserve’ this afternoon. We published tho names of tho players yesterday. Mr."R. J. Duncan advertises for sale on Thursday, the 30th inst.,’ land at Kilbirnia arid Newtown on liberal terms, particulars of which will,be .found, in.; our. advertising columns. ’ fc.ii-'ini; tJiiUi-.i.

| A tea meeting was held at Taitft yesterday afternoon*, in. connection .with the Wesleyan Church, Which 'was • numerously attended byresidents in the locality; and visitors from town, who greatly enjoyed themselves at this pleasant social gathering. ■ passengers by coach between Wellington and Foxton are directed by advertisement to book the day before starting. Full particulars can bo obtained at the booking-office, Mannersstreet.-.' ■ Four or five sailors the worse for liquor perambulated the streets last night and created considerable noise by shouting and singing. The police were very leniently disposed towards them, but eventually they had to interfere, the consequence being that the sailors were taken in charge and looked up. A soiree was held in the Odd Fellows’ Hall last night, for the benefit of the widow and family of Sergeant Brewer, late of the City Rifles. The hall was crowded to excess. Dancing was; started shortly before 9 o’clock, and was kept up with spirit until close on daylight. The music was excellent, and was provided by members of the late sergeant’s company, assisted by Miss Rex at the piano. The proceeds we understand amounted to £2O clear of all expenses, which sum will be handed over to Mrs. Brewer. , Several sailors: belonging to the ship Rialto came on shore yesterday morning, and taking advantage of her Majesty’s Birthday, indulged too freely in the flowing bowl. The consequence was that the alcohol before midday took charge,” , and “ Jack ” began to roll about the streets, much to the annoyance of harmless pedestrians. ■ The police ultimately had to interfere. This, however,!was no easy task, as there were several sailors, and only one policeman. , Fortunately, however, for tho maintenance of law and order, a number of tho force were just leaving the station to relieve the men on duty, and just as the one policeman referred to was in difficulties the relief guard made their appearance, and the sailors were very quickly lodged in the look-up. There was a splendid house at the Theatre Royal last night, especially in the downstairs iportion, which was crammed. The piece chosen for the evening’s performance was the great London novelty entitled “ British Born.” It> is highly sensational, and was well appreciated by the audience. Tom Tulloch, a most amusing character in the play, was sustained by Mr. -Walton. The lady who took the part of Miss 1 Hobson was deservedly applauded. The Vest of the characters were well sustained, and the piece went very smoothly from first to last. - “Family Jars,” a farce in which Messrs. Howard and Stoneham, ware immensely funny, concluded the performance. On Monday night Mr. Sam Howard will take a benefit, on which occasion Mrs. Stoneham, who is deservedly a very great favorite with the theatrical public, will take the part- of Mrs. Hardoastle. To-night “ British Born ” will be repeated. - Mr. A. F. , Hardy, of Gisborne, contradiets the statement made in a telegram to the Auckland Serald to the effect “ that owing to the management of the late Captain Reid’s estate, further writs will be issued in the Makauri matter, and .that the general impression is that a change is required.” He says that the statement is entirely incorrect, and adds that so far as the late Captain Reid’s interest .in the Makauri block is concerned, the order was made by Judge Bogan some months ago for the issue of his certificate, his, shares having been subdivided. The telegrams, he believes, must have originated with one of the plaintiffs, in the private actions pending, which have no connection with Captain Reid's estate."-' '■ . .... .

At the fourth annual general meeting of the Mount Ida Pastoral Investment Company (Limited), says a recent issue of the Chronicle, Mr. W.lnder was called to the chair. After last year’s minutes had been read and confirmed, the, Chairman read tho fourth yearly report, congratulating the shareholders upon the successful operations .of the past year. They would see by the balance-sheet which was before them that the net profits of the year amounted to £5112 14s. 6d., of which sum it was recommended that £3184 should be employed to pay a dividend of 10 per cent., while the balance (£1928) it was proposed should be carried forward to meet liabilities. A good deal of money had been expended on improvements during the year, as also upon the purchase of young : stock, but it was an outlay which he was satisfied would ultimately prove very profitable ; indeed the improvement upon the flocks, now. that all old sheep had been got rid of and others put iu their place, was most marked. Some freehold had also been acquired during the year, and this also would prove ultimately very advantageous, as giving additional safety to the run. He had great pleasure iu moving the adoption of the report. The report was adopted,, and Messrs. Jackson and Barron were re-elected directors.

The Auckland Evening Star, speaking of the prospects of the present season as regards pheasant shooting, says ;—“ The pheasants are in fine condition and plentiful, but most numerous in, localities too far distant for the majority of sportsmen resident near town to follow them. The- birds adhere very affectionately to Maori cultivations, and to new clearings hack in the bush, where small settlers who depend largely upon their crops of maize, wheat, and potatoes, suffer acutely from tho ravages of the pheasants, who ■ fiud abundance of food and convenient shelter. The Waikato will no doubt be largely patronised as usual by Auckland sportsmen this season.” A. M. Denis Mounier has conceived the idea of killing the noxious insect known as the phylloxera, which has ruined so many vino districts in France, with a peculiar, preparation of sulphuric acid. The gas is projected with great force into the ground, and penetrates quite deep enough to free the roots of the vine. Two applications appear? to be ne-, cesSary—the first to kill the adult insects and the second to kill those hatched after the first application. The manner bf dealing with the phylloxera is reported tb have succeeded not only in' Switzerland; where it was first tried, but in France, and the remedy does not seem to do the plant to which it is applied the slightest damage. The Whakatane correspondent of the Bay of Plenty Times, writing to that journal on the 18th inst., says “ One of our settlers is at present engaged gettingbut the timber from Rangiahua and Ohui Rushes for the bridges on the Te Toko and Whakatane' Swamp-road. There is now every chance that in the course of a few mouths this road will be open for public traffic, and our settlement joined by a gbod road to Napier and the central portions of the island, However it must not be forgotten that the road over the swamp will want claying over before, it is of any real use for carts, &c—The Whakatane Cattle Company’s station, under, the able management of Mr. Murphy, bids fair, and the coming season will no doubt show a greatly increased return in the sale of cattle, wool, &o.—The maize season is fast approaching, and the quantity this year is far in advance of that produced in any past ’ season since the war.—The: native school at Galatea will shortly bo reopened.—A large run on tho border of the, Urivvera, country has lately been obtained by Mr. F. Chamberlain, who has appointed Mr. H. P. Bluett as manager. The latter gentleman, as sub-, inspector bf the A. C. Force, is well known tb the natives, who are delighted at his return to their midst.” '

The Thames. correspondent of, tho. N.Z. Herald writes :—“lliad the pleasure of witnessing one of Messrs. Martin and McDermott’s patent rock perforators tested to-day (17th instant). ’The trial,’which was successful in every way, took place in the hill near the Queen of Beauty shaft, and the spot chosen was a hard sandstone face with a vein of quartz running diagonally across it.' The drill being placed in position, a bole 3 feet 3 inches in depth was bored in seven minutes, arid that in rock which would have taken two men fully an hour to boro the 1 ' same depth with the ordinary tools. .When onbe the standard or supporting 1 pillar is fixed the point of the drill can be turned in any direction required by means of a screw' clamp.'Another feature in favor of these drills is; that, although strong, they are light, one man easily carrying thCnv arid in ordinary drives it would not take five minutes to fix them ready for work, l It does not require much labor to turn the drill, for your correspondent took a spell at it without experiencingl any inconvenience. The one I saw at work has been imported to the -order of Mr. ’J, 1 Watson, and is likely to become the property of the Pinko Company, Tho total cost of the. machine, including thirteen drills, of different , sizes, is £25. I expect to see more of these drills imported, for thero is no doubt that they will ho the means of saving both labor and money.” There is considerable'difference (says the Auckland Weekly Ncies) in the estimates made as to the'amount r of land on the left banks of the Waipa and Waikato rivers which Sir George : Grey has promised 1 to return to Tawhiao. ' The 1 estimates range 'from 60,000 acres to 100,000 aores, the 1 latter figure being probably nearest the mark, : Taking the value of this-at 10s. per acre, tho money’* worth is £so,oooi'p :l AiU- a..u.u ■ j. .

Nominations of candidates for the office of City Auditor must be sent in by noon to-day to Mr. James Ames, returning officer.

The Carthusian monks have founded a new monastery near London, and-will cover nearly nine acres of land;with their buildings. New designs, says the Star, are being prepared for replacing: the collapsed portion of the Kaipara- - extension at Heleusville, the former design having been found unsuitable. The Auckland papers record a fact creditable to the local industry of the place. Mr. R. Dickson, requiring a travelling jib crane, to be used in building the breakwater at Patea, sent to Melbourne, and was informed that the; Cost would be £450,- and eight weeks would be required to complete it. Messrs. Fraser and Tinne, of this city, have undertaken the same work for £3OO.