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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5641, 29 April 1879, Page 2

It is stated that the]|Government have decided to call for tenders immediately for tuc reclamation of ten acres of laud on the other side of the railway station site. The first pile for the new railway pier was driven in yesterday alongside the breastwork, close to the spot where Sir Hercules Eobinsou first landed in New Zealand. The pile was driven in by a monkey in the ordinary way, hoisted by a steam-winch.. The barque India, which arrived yesterday morning, has a quantity of hard wood from Port Bsperance for the contractor. Should the supply of timber come to hand at all quickly it will not be very long before a considerable portion of the pier will be erected.

It is so seldom that anyone can be found at a time of pressure to say a good word in favor of the banks that we draw attention to a letter which'appears in another column, in which the writer boldly asserts that the banks are pressed by the public, not the public by the banks. He appeals to the last banking returns to bear him out, and the figures are indisputable. An extraordinary meeting of the shareholders of the Wellington Gas Company was held at the Chamber of, Commerce yesterday to confirm the special resolution which was passed on the 28th March last, as an addition to the regulations for the management of the company. The resolution was confirmed, and reads as follows :—No. 48a. It shall be lawful for the directors from time to time to borrow and take up at interest such sum or sums of money, not exceeding in the whole the sum of £30,000, as they may from time to time think requisite, either on debentures, or on mortgage, or other security, comprising the whole or any part of the real or personal property of the company, and with or without a power of sale. The improvement in the footpaths about town during the past month or two has been very great. Almost the whole of the paths in Manners-street have been paved with concrete flagging. In other parts of the town it is rapidly displacing Hie asphalt and rough gravel paths wherever there is much traffic. The concrete pavement is highly praised by the general public, and the improvement is hailed with satisfaction. We have previously adverted to the want of a crossing over Willisstreot at the corner of Manners-street. We hope that the authorities will provide this much wanted convenience without delay, as during the winter mouths the crossing is very muddy.

We understand that canvassing for the disposal of shares in the Foxton and Sanson railway was not very successful, as only some 250 shares were disposed of, out of a total of 2000 offered for sale. However, the promoters are confident that the balance will be subscribed for by the residents in the district, and the company will be registered to-day under the District Eailways Act. The energy and enterprise of those who have interested themselves in this matter deserve a word of commendation, and if it be true that the gods help those who help themselves, the Sanson people ought to prosper. A rather amusing mistake occurred a few days since, which originated in a coffin being carried into a house in a certain neighborhood of this city. Some observers at a distance mistook the house into which the coffin was borno, and immediately concluded that the wife and mother of the home (with whom they were acquainted) had departed this life. Sorrow for the survivors led to a’ visit of condolence, and upon the door being opened the two sympathisers spoke softly and tenderly. The head of the house appeared just as jolly as ever, and he smilingly invited the visitors in. Being seated, they explained that the reason of their visit was to condole with the household in their sad bereavement, and truly their sad Countenances and soothing words proved the genuineness of the sorrow. The host treated it all in such good humor that the lady visitors were not a little surprised at his good spirits. But imagine their consternation when the good lady of the house entered the room and commenced inquiries as to their health, &c. Explanations followed —a coffin had been seen, but the mistake had been in the house to which it was taken. The grief of the visitors was turned into laughter, and they bade adieu in better spirits than they came. The Chief Justice will hold banco sittings of the' Supreme Court on Wednesday next at XX in the forenoon. There are about six eases on the list.

A rather important judgment will be found in another column in the case of the trustee of Pallant’s estate y. Loubere.

The Patent. Slip Company yesterday declared a dividend of 5 per cent

The Education Board meets to-morrow at 11 a.m.

It is stated that Mr. C. M. Crombie, private secretary to the Hon. Air. Ballanoe, has been appointed Deputy Land Tax Commissioner for the Auckland provincial district. The only notice of motion given for next meeting of the City Council is one by Councillor Fisher for inviting tenders from the banks for the Corporation’s account.

The Manager of the Mount View Lunatic Asylum asks us to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of three volumes, handsomely bound, of 11 African Travels,” from “ Sympathy,” for the use of the patients.

The Canterbury Baptist for April, a religious periodical edited by the Rev. C. Dalkrton, is to hand. Among other items it contains a sermon by the Rev. Thomas Harrington, recently of \V ellington. The secretary of the Sydney Exhibition Committee yesterday received a number of copies of the plans of the building in Sydney. They are on view at the Chamber of Commerce and at the offices of the commission.

The meeting of creditors in the estate of David Jaoobowitch, called for twelve o clock yesterday, at the Supreme Court House, was adjourned, in consequence of a quorum of creditors not being present, until to-day at the same time and and place.

In the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday Captain Pietersen, master of_ the steamer Taiaroa, was summoned for carrying more than his authorised number of passengers. The defendant was fined £2 for committing a breach of the Act, and a shilling a head for each passenger over the authorised number. This was shown in evidence to have been sixteen, which made the fine altogether £2 IGs. and costs. A full report of the case will be found in another column.

The usual weekly meeting of the Wellington Literary Association will be held this evening, when a lecture will be delivered by the Rev. J. Paterson on the subject “ Lessons to be learnt from the lives of William and Robert Chambers,” when doubtless there will be a large attendance, as the meeting will be open to "the public. The chair will |ba taken at 7.30 p.m.

The Rangitikei Advocate says ; —“Mr. R. J. Duncan accounted for a portion of the deficiency in his estate by loss of New Zealander newspaper shares, £175. What 1 after the columns of Government advertisements under which that illustrious journal staggered, and at fancy prices too ? It is very sad. But perhaps it may be accounted for in this manner. We are informed by a shareholder that the Ministerial shareholders who wrote up themselves and their party in its columns, when called upon to pay up their shares, sent in contras for literary services rendered.” The Wairarapa Daily says ; —“ The past season has evidently been a good one for the oat crops. Mr. A. Oockburn, of Mania, has kindly favored us with the following particulars of his adventures :—3O acres yielded 2160 bushels of white oats, or 72 bushels to the acre, and 10 acres returned 1018 bushels of black oats, or an average of 101| bushels to the acre. The oats wore a fine sample. Mr. Oockburn realised 4s. per bushel for a lot of 2000 bushels.”

An interesting contest, says the Dunedin Age, took place at the Ocean Beach on Friday, and was witnessed by a large number of persons. A prominent Good Templar, who has also earned distinction as a contributor to the waste paper basket of several newspaper offices in this colony, challenged a well known publican to run a race for 100 yards, the prize being a bottle of “ square” gin. The struggle was a tough one, but the representative of the whisky selling interest proved too many for his opponent. The cold water man was within two yards of the tape when the publican, who is considerably over six feet high, threw himself flat down, and thus managed to win by a short head.

The Manawatu Herald says ;—“ Some men are born lucky. A few weeks ago a gentleman who is a school teacher in Manawatu, went to the great land sale at Feilding and promiscuously purchased a section of suburban land. A few days after, on visiting his purchase, he was surprised and delighted to find that he had “ struck a patch," as the whole section was covered with splendid totara, which he estimates as worth at least a thousand pounds. We also understand Mr. Halcombe bought a section in the same way, and has since found that not only is totara growing plentifully upcn it, but also (which is unusual in such cases), the soil is of excellent quality.” , At a meeting of cricketers held in Sydney on April 12, the following agreed to form portion of twelve to visit England in 1880 : Messrs. Evans, Massie, Spofforth, 0. Bannerman, A. Bannerman, Murdoch. Garrett will probably form one of the team ; and the Victorians will be elected from Blackham, Horan, D. Campbell, Boyle, and Alexander. Mr. Richard Driver is the promoter ; and should Lay cock now beat Triokett, Mr. James Punch will probably take him to England to row for the championship.

A correspondent of the Christchurch Press says :—“ Apropos of education, there were two young gentlemen pupils of one of our leading educational establishments, engaged the other evening in what I believe it is correct to call ‘swotting up’ for the labors of the ensuing day. The following remark was passed by, let us say, the least industrious of the two—‘You may talk about your telephones and microphones, which I don’t understand anything about, nor more I do about this beastly Xenophon, which I think is the worst of the lot. I wish no one had ever invented him.’ He wished it again next morning when he got his usual imposition.” In the report of the Finance Committee of Westland County Council the following passage occurs;—‘‘Your committee would strongly urge on your hon. Council to take some decided steps to bring the financial position of the West Coast Councils under the notice of Parliament at the ensuing session. Unless the revenues of such councils are augmented in some way it seems impossible for the system to be carried out. Were it not for assistance given from the floods vote it is certain that there would have been no funds available to meet the heavy expenditure of the last three months, and as the whole of the vote has been expended it appears certain that a great deal of the imperative and urgent work in connection with the damage done by recent floods cannot, for the present, be even attempted, while the ordinary revenue is utterly inadequate for the usual works of maintenance devolving on the Council. This state of affairs has been chiefly brought about by the formaHon of boroughs, absorbing a considerable portion of the county revenue in the county, and your committee earnestly trust that your lion. Council will take steps to bring the whole question before Parliament on its assembling.” “ The Loafer in the Street,” writing in the Press, says :—“ Apropos of the present tightness, let us say in financial circles, the following little item comes from the South. The holder of a Bank deposit receipt for £9OO was was about to withdraw his money. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that he had conscientious scruples about taking interest above 10 per cent,, caused him to become an object of the tenderest interest among the money Broking fraternity. He was watched into the Bank, and the transaction being completed, he was immediately surrounded by battalions of brokers, who were conveniently planted a short distance from the Bank door. Each urged in the most glowing terms the advantages of his particular investment, and after a severe struggle, lasting many hours, the monied man fell a victim to one of the fraternity, who, in the course of a short time, placed the money at a very considerable advance on the rate of interest required by the lender. The story carries its own moral, a portion ot which is that the possession of a conscience in these hard times is a very expensive luxury.” The Manawatu Times says “ Paragraphs are continually being written retailing races between horses of flesh and those of iron, but they generally have reference to half-hour spurts. The following, however, is one of a very different character being a contest between the metal charger and a charger of mettle from Wanganui to Palmerston. Mr. Henry McNeil bade some friends good-bye in Wanganui, as they were starting for Palmerston by the train, and in doing so jestingly remarked that he would be at the latter town the first. He then harnessed his horse, and in company with Mrs. McNeil, Mrs. Eobinson, and another lady started along the road, a journey of between sixty and seventy miles. He arrived in Palmerston at four o’clock, and after driving home and depositing his cargo repaired to meet his friends in the approaching train, who as may be imagined were considerably amazed to see him. It may be mentioned that Mr. McNeil turns the scale at nineteen stone, but gallantry forbids us giving the weight of the ladies, although we may say they were neither Aztecs nor Lilliputians.

The J/anawatu Times of April 23 says ; Mr. Hayns, the County Engineer, yesterday received information that the natives at the Horowhenua Block had stopped the work at the back of the Lake, pending instructions from Major Kemp. It is reported that Governor Hunia is the leading spirit amongst the malcontents. Mr. Hayns has telegraphed the information to the county chairman.

The Rangatikei Advocate says : —“ the sitting of the B.M. Court at Bulls on Friday, Mr. C. L. Maclean, solicitor, made a statement to the bench to the effect that several summonses sent to Wellington some weeks ago had not yet been served, although it was well known that the defendant in one case in which he had been retained could be seen in that city daily ; in fact, had his place of business in the same street, and not more than two hundred yards from the bailiff's office. In one instance he said a summons had been forwarded to Wellington five weeks ago, and he knew of another where seven weeks had elapsed since the summons had been taken out in that court, and as yet it had not been served. He said that such laxity tended to frustrate the ends of justice. The magistrate promised to communicate with the K.M. Court at Wellington, in reference to the matter thus brought uuder his notice.”

A special to the Dunedin Star, dated Sydney, April 21, explains the cause of the strike amongst the workmen at the Exhibition. Four hundred carpenters, it says, have struck for 12s. for eight hours’ work. The Government firmly refuse, and will abolish all ornamental work, and, if necessary, use canvas. Six hundred carpenters are now wanted at 10s, fid. per eight hours. In connection with the native troubles now loomin'* in New Zealand it is noticeable what a change has come over the position with regard to the question of the separation of the two islands. This, it will be remembered, was ostensibly one of the chief items of the Ministerial policy of Sir George Grey and Mr. Macandrew, although nothing has ever been done by either of them to give effeettoit. Lately, however, since an outbreak of hostilities with the natives in the North Island has become a possible contingency, the suggestion has been mooted in the South, not, however, with any seriousness, that now was the time for separation. But now it is the Ministerial and Greyite Press which declares that the idea is not to be thought of. Separation, these papers say, “is now an idea of the irrevocable past.” The colony has “ pledged its credit in the money market as a whole,” and therefore “ the two islands must hear their common burden with mutual forbearance and mutual help.” This is true, aud sound, aud unanswerable. But it oddly from quarters where the policy of consolidation was bitterly resisted to the very last, and where this argument was not thought of a couple of years ago, when the Grey-Macaudrew policy of separation was loudly avowed. At any rate, it is now recognised on all sides that the unification of New Zealand is an accomplished, unalterable fact, and the policy of Sir Julius Yogel and Major Atkinson is now accepted aud confirmed by its most strenuous opponents.—Southern paper.

The North American Indians are, it seems, not decreasing in numbers, as is generally believed ; but, on the contrary, are sensibly increasing. This curious fact has come to light from an official investigation of statistics en the subject decided upon last year by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Washington, and which has since been diligently prosecuted by the medical attache of the Indian Bureau, Dr. Kellogg. The rate of increase has not yet been determined ; but the figures examined by Dr. Kellogg, as furnished from more than 70 agencies under the control of the United States Government, put the fact beyond dispute that the births among the tribes are in excess of the deaths from normal causes. Allowance is made even for death from dissipation, and, indeed, for every ordinary causa of death among the Indians, except gunshot wounds or injuries in battle. The census of the Indians shows a total of about 170,000. The popular notion that the “ noble savage” is extinct, or nearly so, seems, in fact, to be a delusion. He still exists, as we have lately found to our cost in South Africa ; and although owing to the influence of civilisation, he is not quite so “ noble” as formerly, he is as much a savage as ever, and all the more formidable now that lie has dropped his nobility. The Dunedin Morning Herald says : —“ The stuff now being operated upon by the Harbor Board dredges is most difficult to deal with. It is pure sand, but so tenacious and adhesive in its character that if a piece is taken and thrown against a wall it will stick firmly. When it falls from the shoots it does not spread out over the floor of the punt, but sticks up on end in ridges. It falls out in pieces like a sugar-loaf turned upside down, and is so adhesive that the cone stands upright, though it drops upon the narrow end. The channel will have to be cut through two large sandbanks consisting of material of the same character as the present, and the dredges have 12 months work in it before them. The shape of the buckets is now being altered, they being made wider at the mouth, and being cut at the top to an angle instead of being level as formerly, the object of the alterations being of course to allow the escape into the shoot of the smd. The shoot itself will be a revolving or endless one, being driven by power from the dredge, and will be ready in a week or ten days. The Board have determined to tackle the hardest part of the work first, not oaring to follow the example of their late contractor, who started work where there was mud, which mixed with the sand and greased the buckets. When the sand banks are cut through there will be a continuous channel from end to end (with a current running through), and the remainder of the work will be to deepen and improve. The new Era is now doing her work very well.” The Otago Daily Times says ;—“ The rapid increase in our railway receipts is really remarkable. For the four weeks ending Bth March the total for the colony was £71,326, or at the rate of £920,000 per annum, while the gross railway revenue of New South Wales is only £860,000, though the cost of the lines in each case has been nearly the same, and New South Wales has a much larger populations. Had the North Island lines yielded in proportion to the Middle Island, the result would have been still more favorable ; but for the period from Ist July to Bth March the 400 miles in the North had only yielded, gross, £121,000, while the 720 miles south of Amberley had realised £374,000. The average of expenditure to receipts is now under 70 per cent., the exact figures for the mouth having been 69.73. Taking all the lines together, we may say that in round numbers they are now paying 5 per cent, interest on five millions of money, which is almost equivalent to the striking off that amount from our total indebtedness.” The Times states that a new army rank, intermediate between the officer and the noncommissioned officer, has been created by the long-expected warrant on promotion in the Army Service Corps which was recently issued. The "warrant-officers, or conductors, as they are called, will be selected from the higher branches of non-commissioned officers, and will wear a uniform similar to that of the officers ; but the patrol jacket will be without lace, excepting the usual knot on the wrist. The rank will not entitle the owner to the military salute, and the pay will be but ss. fid. per day, which is the same as the allowance to sergeant-majors in the same corps ; but the position will be by many non-commissioned officers preferred to an officer's commission in the same carps with the dignity to sustain on 7s. fid. per day. An admirable illustration of the way in which hasty entrenchments and field fortifications may be utilised by a weaker force, to enable it to withstand the assaults of an enemy superior in numerical strength, at all events until reinforcements can arrive (says an English paper) was afforded by the conduct of a detachment of the Austrian army of occupation during an episode in the late operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is described more fully than it has hitherto been in an article published in a late number of an Italian military periodical. The Austrian column—that, namely, which under the command of Lieutenant Eield-Marshal Szapary was directed at the outset of the operations to advance upon Zwornik —found itself unable to accomplish the task assigned _ to it. Not only was it too weak to continue its forward movement, but, being surrounded by insurgent forces largely superior in numbers, it was defeated, and was only able with great difficulty to extricate itself. In much confusion the Austrian column fell back to Doboj, but; arrived there, it found itself _ unable either to continue its retreat, or to again make head in the field. Accordingly it halted in the strongest position it could find, and at once began to entrench itself. To secure itself against attack on all sides, it had to throw up five miles of parapet, and the enemy was pressing it hard ; but, recognising that in the construction of these entrenchments lay their only hope of escape, the men worked with the greatest vigor, and completed betimes fortifications which enabled them to repulse the re-

peated and furious attacks of the enemy, and to hold for fully a mouth, until reinforcements came un, the position which they had artificially strengthened. It is evident from the account now published that, had this defeated Austrian force not utilised the advantages derivable from the judicious employment of hasty entrenchments, it must have either perished or surrendered.

At the Hndderfield Chamber of Commerce in December last, the following resolution.was unanimously passed, and it will be brought under the consideration of the Associated Chambers of Commerce at their approaching annual meeting :—“ That the PostmasterGeneral be memorialised to establish an ‘ express letter service’ in the United Kingdom, such express letter service to he based on the principle that ordinary letters, upon having a threepenny express stamp affixed thereon, shall, on their arrival at any town or village in the United Kingdom, be immed : ately dispatched by special messenger to the parties to whom such letter may have been addressed."