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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5614, 27 March 1879, Page 2

In another column we publish the fifth annual report of Mr. Robert Lee, the Inspector of Schools, so far as it relates to the condition of the primary schools in this city; It will ha seen that the whole tenor,of the report is of a highly satisfactory nature, the general schools having increased the number of pupils very materially. ' The numbers 1 are as follows :

i :i Total increase' .V. CB3 ; In addition .to' the' above" there has beeu;;an increase of 62 scholars in the Mount Cook girls’ school,.making a gross total of 645. In a future’ issue we hope to revert'td-.tli6’report itself, atld if: opyspacevyiff allow to, re-publjsh the more important parts of .the document itself, which is a most exhaustive and interesting treatise' Upon the condition p£. thc."vyhole ,of°the educational system within this proviucial district!' : . It is understood that the Government have the purchasejof between .90,000 and 100,000 a'orgs in. the .Taupb district, hear Tapneharui’a; ir '-‘ a ?,i -' i .ST3f.tr,r ; .'l I -; v"h ;-vi .JJIH-.'UT .2. ,v.

Majer Kemp and several Wanganui chiefs have left, via Taupe, to attend the King meeting. The Ngatikahunuungu tribe have selected Henare Matoa as their candidate for the seat rendered vacant by the death of Karaitiana TaUaomona. ; y' It is authoritatively stated that a million* -acres of land in the Manavvatu district; just 'purchased by the Government, : will bo got Iready to be put up for sale at once. The amount realised is to contribute towards the coat of constructing the main trunk line-of railway along the West Coast of this island. Tenders for the first section between Kaiwarra and Porirua are to be called for before the end of April. Tfie Education Board held" their : regular meeting yesterday, when the usual amount of routine business was disposed pf. A _lofigre-, port from the chairman of the Mount Cook school’ committee was read,’ condemning the' conduct of the headmaster for his behavior towards a lady teacher. The report .will be found in another column. According to a letter from Mr. ■ Young, master of the Terrace school, read , at -the Education Board meeting yesterday, it would appear that Mr. Travers entered the school during school hours for the purpose of finding some boys who he alleged had been illusing a horse. Mr. Travers, according to Mr. Young’s letter, became very excited, and was the means of ’disturbing and upsetting the gravity ol all the children. It is said that legal proceedings will he taken against the legal gentleman.-

The unfortunate man Banks, who was assaulted on board the Loch Fergus, died at the Hospital yesterday. Ever since the affair the poor fellow Had been in a r senli-conscious state, so that no depositions could be taken. An inquest will be held at the Hospital’ to-day before Mr. Mansford, E.M. The annual meeting of-the Chamber of Commerce was held yesterday, when the report for the year.was adopted.- The retiring Chairman (Mr. Krull) delivered an address, in which he spoke somewhat deprecatingly of; the effect of the labors of the Chamber, particularly in the matter, of, increased port accommodation, but he’was emphatic iff urging dh members to persevere in demanding for Wellington that attention which its importance demanded, Mr. Krull eulogised the .Government for the number of promises 'they'had given,'butseemed to think he would like to see some of them performed. A full report of the -proceedings at the meeting appears elsewhere. ... ,

Our readers will reraember'that an address was adopted by the City Counoil to the Marquis of Norrnanby, and read to his Excellency prior ,to hia departure. The - .work of (engrossing the address was entrusted .to Mr. Eustace Brandon, arid certainly its' execution does him infinite credit. It is a really beautiful work of art. The address has been bound in the form, of an album by Mr. Burrett, and with if are a vignette frontispiece of 'Mitre Beak (Milford Sound), and photographs of Government House, 1 Government 1 Buildings, the Parliamentary.- Buildings; and- the , harbor. T The front cover is of heart of totara chastely mounted in silver by Mr. Jenness, of this city, the reverse cover being of mottled kauri. The labors of the several genjdemen.who have been engaged upon the work have resulted in a very handsome souvenir which will doubtless be much admired by the. Marquis of Normariby, and highly valued as a memento of bis sojourn in this colony. .yr :i It is notified through the Sydney Press that in reference to the Exhibition Poem, for which a prize of one hundred guineas has been offered by Messrs. Fairfax and Sons, intending competitors inquire whether any. conditions are imposed as to the length or metre of the, competitors. The answer is in the negative. The donors of tho prize do not wish in any way to restrict the competition, but have purposely worded the notification so as to leave all matters of arrangement and detail to the taste and discretion of the poets who engage in the literary contest.

The Bijou Minstrels made their reappearance in public last night .at the . Theatre Royal last night, after a lapse of some months. The performance was for: the aid of the recreation fund of. the Wellington Lunatic Asylum. The theatre was almost full, and a very’haridsoriie sum will no doubt be handed over, to .the (treasurer. The .first part of the entertainment was confined entirely to minstrel business, and in this the troupe have decidedly improved since their last appearance in public. The choruses' were all well rendered, and , the voices , blended nicely, together,, the evident result of proper and careful rehearsal. The chief drawback, to this particular part of the programme were the jokes by the corner men, the'greater portion of which were conspicuous by th,eir antiquity, i After the had been removed several members of the troupe performed a burlesque on a circus performance. This kept the audience in roars of laughter., The different- representations .wpuld have done credit to a far older and more experienced company, than' the Bijous. One feature in this part of the programme which was provocative -of much laughter was a .lady rider on a dummy donkey jumping through the regular orthbdox ’ paper hoops, blit 1 even this was surpassed when -one of the company appeared on the stage astride of a live ass. This beast, true to -its - natural stubborness, could not be guided with that degree of accuracy which .its rider desired.. The . funeral march, however, which the beast indulged in .was quite’-sufficieut.to. convulse the audi.eqqe; and the curtain dropped amidst deafening applause. After an interval of a few minutes the funny man of the Bijous delivered a stmpp oration in ,a very. oijedßablo manner., 4'song and dance'and a) laughable farce brought one of the,(best, .given'-jby this troupe to "a close.

With regard to the loan! it'may, says the Argus, be .pointed out that: the. reduction of the amount to be borrowed from £5,000,000 to £3,000,000, will affect .the monetary situation more materially than at first appears. About £900,000 of the sum will gq to the shareholders of the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Company, ! and ;o£: this : amount £600,000 will require...to ,paid,, to,. English .shareholders. The banks’ will require to be recouped abnut £4oo,ooo,‘for which they-have • -already drawn upon England, and, ft further sum must remain in London for the purchase of railway material. The probably, will not have much more than £1,500,000 to their credit;Jn ,--£3,500,000; as was’autioipated.

We have redtiVed a pamphlet'entitled “Ai Few Hints How to Make Good Butter.” Our! experience o£ Wellington butter, taking the ; average quality ,o£. (jhe article offered, for con-1 auWp'tlid- in' towhj' is’ such’' that we'hail with | much satisfaction any information the publi- j cation of * : which may tehd to ‘improve the manufacture of that sent to this market. So .far as a cursory examination']of) the brochure! enables us to judge, the hints given are sound and well worthy of being taken and practised. by dairymen. The following extract is full of I sound doctrine, and gives a fair sample of the style :—“ I have no doubt several persons will ; exclaim, ‘ Why, to make butter is an easy ; matter !’ As a townsman said the other day,, ' Why don’t you i settlers make some butter and cheese in your spare time ? ’ That ‘ spare time,’ which we all know is rather scarce with the settlers, is just what ruins the butter. Butter, to be-good, must be one and-all in the mind of the dairyman, commencing at the; milking, and. endihgoat the aending, ; ;off. . A; settler that will turn. out, good butter must first of all get a special rOoin or two for dairy purposes. .As a .rule too. little is spentdn the, necessary outbuildings. 'Extreme cleanliness 1 is the cardinal virtue in'a dairyman.” The pamplet is written by Mr, J. H. Mourad, and published by B. Burrett, of this city. In the Legislative Assembly on the evening of the-18th inst. (says the Sydney Morning Herald), an address to be presented to the Governor, Sir -Hercules Robinson, prior to his . departure for New Zealand, )vas agreed to by 41 votes to 2, the minority being Messrs. McElKone and Terry. It expressed, approval, of his Excellency’s administrative capacities in connection with public affairs.in New South Wales, and stated that hi 4 career in his new sphere of action would be watched with interest. The Speaker was appointed to present the address to the Governor, and did so in due course.

■ : We a?e requested to intimate that pa account of the new Governor having arrived and this day being a public holiday, the meeting of the shareholders of the Gas Company will be postponed until 4r~- p.m, to-morrow at the Chamber of Commerce,

“ If” was performed by the Stewarts at the Imperial Opera House last, night .tpa very good attendance., a thoroughly enjoyable one, "fact which the audience ;juiy,,testified,to : hy J ;their!hearty applause; ,ThS sane piece will .lie this evening. .-.N, ; Mr. Charles Bright, the freethought lecturer,' arrived here, yesterday by the iWellington from Pieton, His first Sunday night lecture will be delivered at the Imperial Opera House nest Sunday, ! .%• cnu-

The Theatre Royal is to be opened on Saturday night for a season of .’five nights only, by the Theatre Koyal Dramatic Company. The first piece, to, be produced is the drama called “The Mariner’s Compass.” . The Lyttelton. Titties says :■ —There were 82,000 bags of grain on Friday night at the various stations along the,Christchurch section. -Over 11,000 bags were carried into Christchurch and Timaru on Saturday.

At last, says the Bruce Herald, something tangible is being done towards the commencement of the Balclutha River- bank permanent protection works. ;-Mr; Mollison and party are busily engaged surveying, and we trust ere long to see all preliminaries settled, and the actual work being proceeded with with the utmost despatch. - - - - - The Lawrence correspondent.pt the Otago ■ Daily Times says:—“ The Weatherstones company are now working night and day, and the stuff ‘ they ’are putting through the battery looks very well. The Premier company (adjoining the Weatherstones) have called for tenders for the erection of a 10-head battery similar to the Weatherstoees. Hands are to be put on at’once to cut out a site for the machine The Black Horse company are pushing on with their permanent shaft, which is now down about 160 ft., but have not yet arrived at the desired blue cement. The Golden Fleece are down about the same depth. The Tuapeka company’s shaft is down about 90ft., and they are novy getting a little gold. The. Dauntless company are down about 84ft., the sinking giving great trouble in the shape of water ; about eighty gallons have to be lifted to one small bucket of cement. They are now working two shifts to try and overcome the difficulty. The cements appear to be of the right kind, and ' full of muhdic. The Homeward Bound company are down 70ft., being quite dry, and good sinking.; The tenderers for sinking the Jeweller Shop and Derry Walls (amalgamated) have finished their contract—viz,, 200 ft.—-which is now at a standstill, pending farther arrangements.”

In another column will be,found an advertisement from the Sydney Visitors’ Agency, which is deserving of the attention-of those who propose to visit the great-Sydney Exhibition, The advertisers, Messrs. Brydgcs and Co., state that “in anticipation of the dif Acuity which will probably be experienced by visitors to theiensuihg Exhibition, parties who contemplate yisiting Sydney at.that time are advised to communicate with the proprietors, who wil secure and guarantee to supply their clients with the accommodation required on receipt of the following information, viz.: Date and duration of intended visit; number and description of persons to be-provided for, is., extent and class of_accomm6dation required. And on receipt of this information, accompanied with the fee of £V immediate arrangements will be made and submitted for approval,' and a contract entered into accordingly, without further charge being made for-the -transaction of the business by this.office.” .

Messrs. Mills and Co., auctioneers, &c., have started a new registry’office in Willis-street, opposite the Bapk of N.ew Zealand. A separate room for ladies requiring-servants will shortly be’ provided, and a female attendant to wait upon ladies. A number of vacancies have already been made known to the proprietors, and considering the great and constant deifiand for servants, Mr.;Mills' establishment is sure, to be well patronised; both 'br : personswanting and by those who offer employment. The proprietors notify in another column that all communications from emf ployers residing in all parts of the-province-will receive the utmost attention, and that only servants who possess testimonials, will be treated with. :

' ,1S7S.- , 1S70. Increase, Mount Cook boys school.. 262 51$ ’ ’250 ‘ To Aio schools ■ :ii-> iv 30i> i • m ws 201 ■ • • 75 : Thorndon school .. 325 Hi ;