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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5488, 29 October 1878, Page 2

A verbal error crept into our leading article of yesterday, which we desire to correct. The amount of the M rebate” at a farthing per ton per mile, calculated for a six-ton truck, is three half-pence per *• truck ” per mile, and not per "ton,” as printed. Two topics have formed the stock subjects of conversation in the town during the past week. The first question that everyone asks—when will the session close, and the answers vary considerably. Good judges have made wild guesses; but when the Wauaka was detained everybody thought that surely Tuesday would see the end of the session of which Mr. Stout boasted that the Ministry had brought down more measures of reform than any previous Government. Even yet the date seems quite uncertain. The other question was, wi£l the Electoral Bill be dropped. Many people in town thought that tlie decided action taken by the House in declining to adopt the amendments introduced by the "Lords” and desiring a conference, was intended to produce this result. Nous verrons. One other question has cropped up at times, viz., will the present Ministry last out the session, and most voices seem to be given in favor of the " ayes " ; but they exist on sufferance only to carry out the wishes of the House, not their own measures, but simply whatever seems best to the majority. The estimates contain ,au item of £SOO for the establishment of a sailor’s home at Wellington ; and a grant of £IOOO to the Wellington College ; also, £2OO for a new clock, repairs, &c., for the Wellington Observa ; tory ; £IO,OOO, expenses for collection of land tax ; £4OOO, bonus on rabbits or rabbit skins exported; £1250, refund to Titanic Steel Company ; £3OOO for anchor and cable testing apparatus for Wellington and other ports, &c. Jealousy of Wellington is none the less strong because more seldom expressed of late. This was shown by the treatment of the Wellington Reclaimed Land Sale Bill. After being stonewalled for a considerable time it was thrown out, Mr. Barton (as usual wheu Wellington interests are concerned) contributing to the defeat of the measure. Later on. the Government introduced a clause into the Financial Arrangements Bill enabling them to sell so much of the land as would yield £120,000 to pay for the Wellington Hospital and the cost of reclamation. At the free conference which arranged to meet on Saturday last upon the Dlaqualific ttion Bill the managers were unable to agree. The conference met again yesterday. Afrer considerable discussion they agreed to a report which was brought up yesterday, and has since received the assent of both Houses. The two most important alterations • introduced are given in full. The following-proviso was added to section 5 Provided always that any member of the Legislative Council or of the House of Representatives holding any office shall not bo disqualified, save under the provisions of section 6, until the close of the present Parliament, by dissolution or by effluxion of time. The subsection in section ,10 was altered as follows:—Any contract for advertising by which a sum exceeding £SO is payable, unless the contract is entered into ‘ after public tender. It is rather to be regretted that certain hon. members of the House of Representatives have little or'no sense of the dignity attaching to the position they occupy. The noisy interruptions of some one or two unruly membersjare most unbearable, and are derogatory, nob only to the hon. members who are guilty of such indecorous conduct, bub to the House as a whole. Expressions of assent or dissent are quite allowable, and form a recognised part of Parliamentary procedure, hut when cat-calls and horrid noises of all descriptions are resorted to clearly with the express object of armoring and interrupting speakers, the mark is a tftfcte overshot. Mr. drew the attention of the Speaker to the matter last night, pointing out that in the House of Commons members who had acted in a similar manner had been requested to leave tho building or apologise. The Speaker said he was glad his attention had been called to it, because although he did not like to interfere with members’ liberty, too frequently ho must say he thought the conduct of some hon. members most unseemly, . , We notice in the list of successful candidates for admission to the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, received by this mail, the name ofO, F, W, St. John, a son of our late gallant fellow-townsman, Lieut.-Col. Bfc. John, and for four years a pupil of the Wellington College. As there , were oyer 130 pandidatos, and his name stands 31st on the list in this which, next to tho Indian Civil Service, is the hardest of the competitive examinations, tho result is creditable to Mr. St. John, and to the school of which ho was so long a pupil. ThcGreat International Circus leftycstorday morning for the Hutfc, whore they intend giving a performance.

The Port Darwin- overland hue is interrupted. " , The Parliamentary librarian.-requests that all books be returned, by to-morrow, in accordance with the library regulations. The Mansard reporters have received a well* deserved addition to ‘ their salary of £SO a year.There was a capital house at tho Theatre Royal , last night to witness- Burtou’s Circus. The performance as usual gave every satisfaction. 'To-night there will be a further change of programme, when the entertainment will be under the patronage of his Excellency, who eupes to present id person. The gentlemen attached to the fire police who' have undertaken to collect'subscriptions for. tho purpose of providing a fire-escape inform us that up to the present subscriptions have nob come in as readily as the importance of tho object iu view seemed to warrant them to expect. We mentioned a few days ago in our columns that in full confidence of tho support’ of the Wellington public, the force had ordered one of Merry weather’s best escapes, for tho use “of those whose lives might be endangered by a fire iu this city. A wooden city, with lofty buildings going up in all directions, is always liable to disasters of tho kind that a fire-escape is specially de-igned to meet. What a lifeboat and its crew is to a storm beaten coast, a fire brigade and its full equipment is to a town built of wooden houses. If our townsfolk will but heap in mind that the insurance companies, in spite of much competition, are said to refuse risks in some of the more densely-built blocks of buildings in Wellington, some idea of the risks that exist may be formed. It is an every-day occurrence to hear people in the street on a windy day remark .that *if a large fire were to spring up to-day half Wellington would be reduced to ashes,” Only-last week, in speaking 'of the narrowness of Willis-street, a friend said, “ Oh, it does not matter ; it will be all burnt down one of these and it can be rebuilt: wider next time.” We trust that before the bill for tho fire-escape' comes in the subscriptions will fully meet it, as the cost only amounts to £IOO. We had the pleasure yesterday of, being present .during .a short interval while the drawing of the lots for tho Working Men’s. Club Art Union was going on. ‘ The lottery was got up with the view of assisting the funds of the institution, and was a great success. ; The first prize was a section of land, valued at £IOO, or the cash down for tho amount if preferred, and a really good cottage piano was the next on the list. A handsome polished cedar table, a very neat and comfortable sofa, and a remarkably nice set of drawers of polished kauri, were among tho more valuable prizes. A good serviceable writing desk and a number of useful and ornamental objects filled up the list of prizes. The club must be congratulated upon the taste they showed iu the selection of the articles, as there was nothing that came under our notice that could be called either “loud” or gaudy. This is more than can generally be said for the usual Art Unions of which we see and hear so much, riia Worship the Mayor kindly presided aft the drawing, aud everything was conducted in a quiet and businesslike.manner. The Patca. Mail says ; —The search for tliroki on the Waimate Plains has led to excursions over land and to places seldom before visited by Europeans, and 44 discoveries” have been made. Passing along the ordinary coach road fche plains appear to be bounded by bush which, gradually rising/extends far as the eye cau reach, and apparently without break. It turns out that' immediately behind the long line' of bush bounding the plains there are extensive Maori clearings, which are cultivated with a care which would do credit to crack European farmers, the land being also surpassingly rich in quality. Clearings are to be met with from 50 to 100 or more acres in extent of the finest grass, which is kept perfectly clean aud free from weeds or the incursions of cattle, and the seed from which will be gathered and sold to Europeans. Some who saw these clearings for the first time were astonished both at their extent and the evidence of care bestowed on them. The immigrants per .City of Auckland were in great request on the West Coast of this island. Wellington was prepared, to .retain a lot of them ; Wanganui and Palmerston were also bidding, as the following extract from-the Manaxcatu Times will show, ; No. doubt we shall shortly hear of other disinterested benevolent intentions by-and-by, but Napier, objected to be deprived of her share of new chums, and we believe they were successfully “run through When the news reached Palmerstoq of the mishap to the City of Auckland, hia Worship the Mayor, with commendable to the Government that he would be able to make provlsion;for at least fifty families. - A reply, however, was received from; the Hon. Robert Stout to the effect that as the immigrants were consigned to Napier, it was not in the power of the Government to forward them elsewhere, ‘ The best laid schemes of iqice and men aft gang aglee,’ and conspirators, whether they be County Councillors or Colonial Treasurers, are sometimes baulked in their little designs. At the meeting of the Wanganui County Council on Thursday night, in secret solemn conclave, the members not only voted fifty pounds as a douceur to induce the stranded immigrants to turn their faces Wanganuiwards, but despatched three of, their best talking men as a deputation to the new chums. Alas for the sequel! When the ambassadors arrived at Foxton, they learned to their dismay that their prizes were on their way to r Wellington, and the chase, as the Chronicle had predicted, was a wild goose one.” Mr. Chaplin, on the occasion of his benefit performance last night, was greeted with an excellent house. The “ Merchant of Venice ” was presented, with Mr. Ohapliu as Shylock, of which character he gave a most scholarly impersonation. The trial scene was not, enacted with that boisterousness which characterises many actors; but there was a finely studied display of expression and emotion far more effective in the depiction of. tho varying feelings of Shylock under the extraordinary circumstances iu which he is placed. The acting of Mr. Chaplin was artistic in the extreme, and ho thoroughly deserved tho very warm call he received at the end of the act. Mrs. ‘ HilTs Portia was a very fair performance. Mr. Steele, as Bassanio, was exceedingly good; and as Gratiauo, Air. O’Brien showed the strides lie is making" in the Mr. Mu*grave also rendered valuable service as the Duke. Miss May Bell, as the daughter of Shylock, gave her lines with excellent precision, and was rewarded with a round of applause for her efforts. Miss Bell promises to become a very talented actress under proper tuition. The other characters were, generally speaking, faiily filled. 41 A Capital Match,” in which Mr. Musgrave appeared as Mr. Sunnyside, sent the audience home well pleased with the performance,., To-uight Mr. G. D. Chaplin will appear Hamlet in the first three acts of the play, aud as Shylock in the trial scene of the 44 Merchant of Venice,” two of his best impersonations. This will close the season.