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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5653, 13 May 1879, Page 2

The Hutt County Council holdaita ordinary monthly meeting to-day. In the Tramway Company case* a suit in which Mr. Davis, engineer, pleaded that he had no right to pay calls on shares held by him because he had taken them up at the instance of Mr. T. K. Macdonald, on the understanding that he was not to be called upon to pay anything—the Resident Magistrate held that there was no defence to the action, and accordingly gave judgment for the full, amount sued for. There are several other persons in the position of Mr. Davis, but it is to be presumed they will accept this judgment and pay up, and look as pleasant as possible under the circumstances.

■A merchant who has not “ gone ” was yesterday heard to complain of the commercial depression it ran away with so much of his time in attending meetings of creditors. “ Gad, sir,” he remarked, “ there are three of us, and to-dayeachoue was engaged withameeting of creditors, and if we had had another three in the firm, there were three more meetings for them to go to.”

A person named Samuel Palmer has recently been robbed of £26 in money and a silver hunting watch. The case is in the hands of the police, and it is to be hoped they will be successful in bringing the culprit to justice. Mr. Vines, of London, who is passing through Wellington, has kindly consented to deliver three Bible addresses under the auspices of the Young Men’s Christian Association. The meeting this evening will be in No. 12 room of the Athenteum, but in the large hall on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. As the evangelistic choir will lead the singing, we have no doubt that these meeting’ will attract large numbers.

The ! directors of the Eastern Extension Company announce that the first instalment of the new Darwin-Singapore duplicate cable leaves by steamer Edinburgh in a fortnight ; that another portion follows by the Scotia soon after that the cable is being rapidly manufactured. The core is being protected from marine insects by brass tape and external wire, each protected, first by adhesive mixture, and then by tape, the whole again protected by two coverings of tape. .There was another good house aP the Theatre Royal last night, to witness the diorama of the American war. At the conclusion of the performance a number of valuable gifts were given away. Mr. A. Reese, of Wellington, has secured the Sentry Hill Workshops Contract of the Waitara-Patea Railway, for the sum of £1445.

We have seen reports lately of large stalks of corn grown in some localities (says the Tuapeka Times), but the following eclipses anything we have known. One of three stalks of short Tartarian oats, promiscuously token from a good, patch grown ,on the hillside by Mr. John Scott, of Waitahuna, was found to contain 335 grains,, and 200 grains for each ear was quite a common thing to find.

Messrs. Samuel:and Co., who hare just started in business in the auctioneer line, hold their first sale to-day, as announced in another column. Mr. Samuel, the senior partner of the firm, is well known in commercial circles as an active courteous man of business, and we have no doubt that the nqw firm will receive a large measure of public support. It will be seen by our advertising columns that a treat is in store for the scientific and the curious in the exhibition of the Phonograph, which is to take place at the Athenseum on Saturday next. ■ We have not yet had an opportunity of judging of the performance of the instrument, but a long and interesting account is given in The Times of Tuesday, the 15th day of January, 1878, while it was being exhibited at the' Royal Polytechnic Institution, Lang-ham-plaoe, London, (from which we quote the following By means of this little instrument words spoken by the human voice can be, so to speak, stored uip and reproduced at will, over and over again, hundreds it may be thousands of times. What will bo thought of a piece of mechanism by means of which a message of any length can be spoken on to a plate of metal, that plate (a piece of tinfoil), sent by post to any part of the world, and the message absolutely, respoken in the very voice of the sender; purely by mechanical agency ? What, too, shall be said of a mere machine by means of which the old familiar voice of one who is no longer with us on earth can be heard speaking to us in the very tones and measures to which our ears were once accustomed ? To this invention Mr.‘Edison, the inventor, has given the name of Phonograph, and it depends for its action upon certain well known laws in acoustics.” The English Mechanic, pi January 25th, also gives a very interesting and amusing account of the performances of this little instrument, and’we have therefore no doubt but what the entertainment will prove highly interesting to those who will patronise it. A meeting of the creditors of I. J. Salmon, convened for yesterday, lapsed for want of a quorum.

The meeting of the Law Students’ Society convened for this evening has been postponed for a week.

Last night the programme at the Imperial Opera House was ah unusually attractive one, comprising scenes from “Henry YUL,” and Coleman’s ever popular comedy’ of “ The Jealous Wife.” In the scene from “ Henry VIII,,” Mr. Creswick, as Cardinal Wolsey, was, of course, the grand feature, and his rendering of the part was fully appreciated, and he received several calls. Mr. Clinton made a yery good representative of bluff Bang Hall, Mr. Elliott played the part of Cromwell very fairly. Mias Ashton appeared to great advantage as Mrs. Oakley, in “ The Jealous Wife,’’ as also'Mr. Creswick as Mr. Oakley, and we must also give special notice to the very able way in which Mr. Stirling White played the part of Major Oakley. At the end of the first act both Mr, Creswick and Mr. White were galled before the curtain.

The racehorse Grey Momus was shipped on board the Ringarooma yesterday for Christchurch.

The Rev. Mr. Harrington will deliver his farewell apologetic lecture at the Bethel, Herbert-atreet, to-night. A considerable attendance is expected. We (Dunedin Morning Herald) hear that there has been a terrificjwaste of forms, including many printed on parchment, in the Government printing and lithographic offices in Wellington. It appears that the authorities went on the assumption that the Marquis of Normanby’s reign in New Zealand was to be perpetual, and printed large quantities of documents, many on parchment, containing the late Governor's titles, &c., at full length. This printing is now of no value, as the new Governor will not sign documents containing erasures of the titles of his predecessor.