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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5762, 17 September 1879, Page 2

A sitting of the Supreme Court in Bankruptcy .was held yesterday, when the following persons received their discharge : —Messrs. Kods, Marks, and Co., Thomas William Neill, and John Disher. The deed of arrangement in the case of Nathaniel Valentine was declared to be completely executed.

The cleclaratien of the poll of the Hutt election took place yesterday, ami lively proceedings were at one time considered imminent. The aff.iir, however, passed off without undue excitera- nt, and the supporters of the defeated candidate had to put up with a considerable amount of “chaff” from the last speaker. Mr. Jackson made a few remarks, in the course of which he said he intended to appeal against the return of Mr. Mason. A report of the proceedings appears in another column. At the usual meeting of the City Council, to be held to-morrow evening, the question of the appointment of officers of the Fire Salvage Corps as fire inspectors, will be considered ; and also the reports of the Hospital Committee of 21st August and 18th September ; the report of the Wharf Enquiry Committee ; the reports of the Public Works Committee of 4th and 18th September. The following notices of motion will be discussed : By Councillor Thompson,—“ That an esplanade be formed in Oriental Bay, and that a committee of four Councillors be appointed to inspect the locality, in conjunction with the City Engineer, and bring up a report as to the construction and cost of same and, “ That new water mains be at once laid down in the principal streets of the city, and of such size as will ultimately fit in with the Wainuiomata water scheme; but, in the meantime, that such new mains be connected with the present reservoir.” By Councillor Fisher, —“ That in future all streets in the city, whether laid out by the Corporation or by private persons, shall be convex in the centre to the extent of not less than 15 inches in the case of 66ft. streets, and 9 inches in the of 40ft. streets and, “ That Mr. J. Keals be reinstated in his former position as keeper of the Queen's Bond.” A special meeting will be held prior to the ordinary one, to consider the question of the alteration of the hackney carriage by-laws re hansom cab fares. We were not very clear last night as to what place should be assigned to Mr. Wright, the newly-elected member for Coleridge, but the following extract from the report of one of his meetings will conclusively show that Mr. Wright must be classed amongst the antiGrey ites In reply to a question, Mr. Wright said he would be in favor of a ten years’ nominated Upper House. He would not support Sir G. Grey. A man who occupied the position of Premier should possess the principle of uprightness and honor. The country had had enough of Sir G. Grey, who should retire. The Liberal necessaries of the country would be carried on satisfactorily without Sir G. Grey or Sir W. Fox. He would favor the abolition of the Native Office. Ocher questions of minor importance were also answered.” There was a large attendance at the Theatre Eoyal last night—in fact the pit and stalls were crowded, while there were about a hundred men in the dress-circle. There were ceveral new items introduced, principal among them being the groupings by the female members of the company, entitled “ Living Statues,” and the comedy of the “ Pink Dominoes.” Of the first it need only be said that in the seven or eight groupings given there was nothing to object to ; but with regard to the other, it was about as vulgar a production as has yet been seen in this city—indeed, some of the “ gag ” of Mr. Atkins was so grossly indecent that he richly deserved to bo hissed off the stage. Several new features will be introduced to-night, principal among them being a farce entitled “ Female Bathers.” The name itself, we should think, would be sufficient to keep people away from the theatre. The Loftua Troupe will make their last appearance to-morrow evening.

The whole of the property of the New Zealand Steam Shipping Company, consisting of the steamers Raugatira, Manawatu, Stormbird, and Jane Douglas, the coal-hulk European, and the leasehold property on Lambton-quay on which the company’s offices are situated, was sold by auction yesterday by Mr. John Howard Wallace. Although there was a large attendance of the public, the bidding was not at all spirited. Mr. Wallace having described the property, and read the conditions of sale, explained that it was offered for sale in the early part of the present year, but as nobody had come forward as a purchaser, the liquidators had instructed him to sell it by public auction for what it would fetch, and it would have to be absolutely disposed of ; and Mr. E. S. Martin, the manager of the company, was present to give any information that might be required. The bidding was started by the Hon. John Martin, who offered £IO,OOO, and after a pause of some minutes, Mr. B. Smith offered £15,500, and there being no further bids, the property was knocked down to him at that price, Mr. Smith was acting as agent for the Hon. J ohn Martin and Messrs. Joseph Burne and David Anderson, three of the largest shareholders in the old company.

Our Dunedin contemporary, the Saturday Advertiser, in its last issue, commenced a new story, entitled “ The Golden Cross,” the first scene of which is laid in Ludgate Hill, London. The tale is from the pen of Mr. J. J. hitting, a gentleman who is at present on the literary staff of this journal. This is not Mr. fitting’s first attempt' in the direction of novel writing, as “ Frank Calvary,” “ Blind Bella,” “Estella,” “Dunedin Life by Day and Night,” and other serial stories, owe their origin to the same fertile brain and facile pen. Residents in Wellington, who have been assessed- for the land-tax, are informed that the collector will attend to receive the same on the Ist of the ensuing month, and following days, from 10 a.m. to i p.m,, at the Custom House.

The public should be again cautioned on the subject of valueless cheques. Passing cheques of this kind is unfortunately very cemmon in this colony, and generally calls forth special remarks from the Judges when addressing the Grand Juries. It will bo seen from our police report that a case of this kind was yesterday heard at the Police Court, but the charge of false pretences not being sustained the prisoner was discharged. There are at the present time several nui ■ sances in town that ought to be abated. We are glad, therefore, to see that the Inspector is fully alive to the importance of this. He yesterday summoned Mr. Pasooe before the Bench for maintaining a nuisance upon his premises in Tory-street, and a penalty of £2 was inflicted, with an intimation that unless it was at once removed a heavier fine would follow. Now that the warm weather is approaching, the authorities cannot be too stringent, and it is to be hoped that the Inspector of Nuisances will summon every offender against the public health, without fear or favor.

We learn that communication between Batavia and Singapore has been interrupted since Monday evening. A special steamer will leave Batavia for Singapore to-day at noon, taking on all telegrams. The usual weekly meeting of the Wellington Benevolent Institution was held yesterday. Preseut :—Mr. J. G. Holdsworth (in the chair), Revs. K. Coffey, J. T. Hinton, W. Kirk, P. Kerrigan, J. Paterson, and Messrs. D. Lewis, J. Woodward, and B. Smith. A number of eases were considered and relieved ; but in some instances assistance was refused, after a thorough investigation into the circumstances of the applicants. In connection with this matter we may mention that a woman has been attempting to impose upon the charitablydisposed public in the city during the last few days, and that it would be as well if the individual in question were referred in future direct to Mr. Johnson, the relieving officer. There was a good attendance of members at the usual weekly meeting of the Wellington Literary Association held last evening, when the question “ Ought life insurance to be undertaken by the Government ?” was discussed, which caused a warm debate, and was ultimately decided in the affirmative by a majority of one. At the next meeting an essay on “ The Winds ” will be read. The police yesterday seized a frame full of photographs exhibited in the window of Smith's oyster shop, and purporting to give a character description of the “ Living Statues,” to be shown by the Loftua Troupe at the theatre in the evening. The photographs were seized on the ground that they were indecent pictures, and we understand that Mr. Smith was afterwards served with a summons for exposing them to public view. The case is likely to cause considerable interest. The fourth representation of “ H.M.S. Pinafore ” was given at the Academy of Music last night to a tolerably good house. The leading lady singer of the company was still unable to appear, her part being again filled by Madame LeCouteur. The piece will be performed again this evening.

The first meeting of creditors in the estate of Edwin William Rodman, late steward and providore of the steamer Huia, and now of the Tui, was called for yesterday, but lapsed through the non-attendance of creditors. The liabilities are stated at £237, and the assets consist merely of the debtor's household furniture, of small, value. His failure seems entirely attributable to misfortune in businesses clearly appears from his books.

We would call attention to an advertisement which appears in another column, inviting all chess players to a meeting to be held this evening at the Panama Chamber*. The object of the meeting is the pramotion of chess, and the conveners of the meeting wish it to be clearly understood that it is not only those who can play who are invited to attend, but also those who cannot p'av, but who may be desirous of learning. Mr. Benbow, the vice-president of rhe Wellington Chess Club, has notified h : s wUiiugutss to organise and struct a ci’i.-s for le-ein:n-rs, should a sufficient number present themselves ; and those who are reallv desioius of being initiated into the mysteries of liiis, the most scientific of all games, should not lose such an excellent opportunity. Mr. J. H. Hudson, of Cuba-street, has charged Mr. O. Mclntyre, Tory-street, with violating his obligation as a Good Templar, in consequence of the action of the litter with reference to the C'osmnp ditan Cafe, and also in having nominated and supported a publican as councillor for Cook Ward. The charge has been forwarded to the G.W.C.T., from whom Mr. Mclntyre holds a deputy’s commission, Mrs. Hardinge-Britten will leotnre, at the Athenieum Hall, this evening, when the audience will have an opportunity of choosing a subject for themselves, so as to fully teat the inspiration powers of this very clever lady ; but should no acceptable subject be selected, she will speak upon “ Popular Astronomy ; or, the Wonders of the Sidereal Heavens.”

Messrs. Cook and Kilkenny, champion billiard players, gave one of their exhibitions of skill in Wellington last night. The attendance was somewhat limited, but those present were very appreciative. Mr. Kilkenny received 250 points from England's champion, who started with a well-played break of 72 (the largest during the match), and broke down through a miscue. Kilkenny, who is a very careful player, made a pretty break of 20, but in playing a rather difficult losing hazard gave a miss. The champion, in his next break, only scored 5, and then Kilkenny, by careful play, brought his score up to 347. Several small breaks followed, and the scores stood— Cook, 210 ; Kilkenny, 371. The game for a while was rather tedious, and nothing brilliant was exhibited. Cook, however, gradually crept up on his opponent, and reached 300 when Kilkenny had scored 423. Cook, at this stage, showed the prettiest play during the match, and made a succession of losing hazards in the centre pockets, the precision with which he brought the ball into position being extremely clever. The scores now stood—Cook, 380 ; Kilkenny, 485. It was now seen that Cook had it all his own way, and could win whenever he pleased. There was a general surprise expressed by those present that what is known in billiard phraseology as the “ spot shot,” was not brought into play more than it was during the match. The champion never did more than seven successively. When half the game was reached a short adjournment was made, after which Cook quickly added breaks of twenties and thirties to his score, and had reached 900 when Kilkenny was only 734. The last “ century” was made in three breaks, and the game stood —Cook, 1000 ; Kilkenny, 760. At the conclusion of the exhibition, Cook performed some marvellous fancy shots with the cue and his fingers. The first issue of the Monthly Review has been forwarded to us by the publishers, Messrs. Lyon and Blair, of Lambton-quay. This new addition to journalism, we learn from the introductory article, “is published for the purpose of bringing before the reading public of the city of Wellington, from time to time, a list of the latest published works by the authors of the day in every department of literature, with original and contemporary criticisms thereon.”

A special meeting of the Kaiwarra Rifle Volunteers was held at the Rainbow Hotel last evening—Captain Thompson being in the chair —to consider a letter received from Lieut.Colonel Reader, as to the advisability of adopting a uniform dress and color throughout the Rifle Volunteer force of the colony. It was pointed out in the communication that in England steps had recently been taken in a similar direction, and the Volunteers were encouraged to select the same colors as those worn by the regiments of the line. The Government would be prepared to obtain the cloth, &c., required, and a sufficient stock would be kept in store to meet all requirements. After a good deal of discussion, the following resolution was carried unanimously ;—“ That this company would gladly accept the uniform as suggested by the Government, but would point out to the Defence Minister that the company has just fitted themselves out, at a large cost, with the grey uniform of Government pattern, and do not feel at liberty to incur such an immense expense at the present time ; but if the Government contemplated providing the suggested uniform free of expense to the various companies, we shall be glad to accept the same.”

The unfortunate man Tyler, whose case has been fully reported in these columns, was yesterday brought before Mr. Manaford, and released from custody, it being stated that temporary provision had been made for his maintenance by the Benevolent Institution. A very pleasing service of song entitled “ Eva” was performed at the Athenaeum Hall last night. There was a very large audience, every space being occupied, and the interest taken in the performance was so great that numbers had to leave who were unable to obtain seats. The service was performed by the Evangelistic choir, assisted by members of other choirs, and was on behalf of the organ fund. Mr. J. G. Holdsworth read the connective readings of the service. These consisted of selections from Mrs. Beecher-Stowe’s wellknown work “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” commencing at that portion of the novel which introduces St. Clair and little Eva to the reader. The narrative is followed throughout until the death and funeral of Eva, the illustrative music consisting of simple harmonies, amongst which we recognised such old favorites as “ Scatter seeds of kindness,” “ Home, sweet home,” “ Far, far away,” “ Safe in the arms of Jesus,” &c. The music was performed in a very pleasing and painstaking manner by the choir, and there were no two opinions amongst the audience as to the merits of the service. While the portion descriptive of the funeral was being read the “ Dead March” was played behind the scenes, and the service was closed with “Pope’s Ode,” the version used however being altered somewhat from the original, although not improved. The entertainment, which was a very enjoyable one, concluded by the whole audience singing the “Doxology,” the benediction being then pronounced. It is not improbable that the service will be repeated in order that those who were unable to find sitting room last night may have an opportunity of attending this performance.

Mr. W. H. Trapp will hold to-day, on behalf of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, the usual monthly sale of wool, sheepskins, hides and tallow.

Messrs. W. McLean and Co. will hold a sile of jewellery, watches, &c., to-day, at their rooms, at 2 pm. Mr. Francis Sidey will hold a sale at 2 p.m. to-day. on behalf of Messrs. Dalgliesh and Reid, of imported furniture of various descriptions.

Messrs. Laery and Campbell will hold a sale of fruit, produce, &c., at their rooms, at 11 a-m. to-day.