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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5763, 18 September 1879, Page 2

A rumor has gained general currency that Captain Hewitt, of the Survey Department, has been summarily dismissed from the Public Service—the alleged cause being that he had interfered in one of the late elections. But we hardly imagine that the Government will venture upon such disreputable conduct, and therefore we shall reserve any further comment for the present. A meeting of College governors was held at the Municipal Chambers yesterday afternoon. Present : Mr. Hutchison (in the chair), Rev. J. Paterson, Colonel Leckie, and Mr. Brandon. A resolution was passed to the effect that Mr. Hutchison, the Rev. Mr. Paterson, and Colonel Leckie wait upon the Hon. Mr. Gisbome, to urt'e upon that gentleman the absolute necessity for the Government making some provision for relieviug the College Trust of its present difficulties. Some formal business was transacted, and the nomination of _ local examiners for the University examinations.Jto take place in Wellington in October, was made (contingent upon the gentlemen named consenting to act), as follows :—English, Kev. W. H. West ; classics, Mr. J. G. Allan ; mathematics, Mr. E. Miller. For the College examinations at Christmas time the following nominations were also made :—"English, Rev. W. H. West ; classics, Rev. W. J. Habens ; mathematics, Rev. B. W. Harvey. A young woman named Mary Smith made an attempt to drown herself yesterday in the harbor. She engaged a boat from a waterman named Glanvill, and went out with him for a sail. On returning towards the wharf after her trip, she suddenly jumped overboard, but was rescued by the waterman with some difficulty. While her rescuer was trying to get her out of the water, she implored him to let her go, and as she appeared to be determined, Glanvill strapped her down in the boat until he got to the shore, when he gave her over to the police. It appears that the police had received instructions to watch the girl in consequence of suspected insanity. She returned from a visit to Melbourne a few months ago, | and was at one time employed as a milliner at the drapery establishment of Mr. _ Clark, Lambton-quay. The unfortunate girl was well dressed, and appeared to be very respectable. She was taken before the Resident Magistrate in the afternoon, and committed to the Lunatic Asylum.

As illustrating the increase of work in the Supreme Court during the past year, we have been furnished with the following figures ; From the year 1850 to the present time, 1809 writs have been issued, and of that number no less than 508 have been sent out from the commencement of the present year. Thus, for the past eight months, the number of writs has been nearly a third of the entire quantity issued for the past 23 years, and is in excess of those issued during the six years previous to 1879.

An impression prevails that a recently elected member for a northern constituency is disqualified by reason of having undergone a sentence for embezzlement some years ago. The following extract from the Constitution Act will show that such is not the case :—“ Provided always, that no person shall be entitled to vote at any such election who is an alien, or who at any time theretofore shall have been attainted or convicted of any treason, felony, or infamous offence, within any part of her Majesty’s dominions, unless he shall have received a free pardon, or shall have undergone the [sentence or punishment to which he shall have been adjudged for such offence. It is a fundamental principle of the English law that any criminal having undergone punishment is held to have expiated the offence.

A special meeting of the general committee of the Choral Society was held yesterday afternoon (the President, Mr. George Hunter, being in the chair), to appoint a conductor for the present season, at which nearly all the members of the committee were present. After the matter had received exhaustive consideration, a resolution was proposed by Mr. George, the treasurer, and carried unanimously,—That the post be offered to Mr. Angelo Forrest, the organist of St, Peter’s Church. The Music Committee were authorised to prepare a programme for the first concert of the season, and to arrange for the practice to be resumed next week at" the rooms secured in Featherstonstreet ; the members of the band to meet on Tuesday, and the vocalists on the Thursdayjfollowiug.

We are informed that a meeting of the Working Men’s Rights League was held on Tuesday evening, when important matters were discussed. No intimation of the intention of the committee to hold such a meeting was given us, and consequently we only notice the occurrence in question on account ,pf its public importance. We shall in future be glad to attend any meetings of the League upon proper intimation being given us, but we object to second-hand information. The principal business of the meeting under notice was to consider the advisableness of waiting upon the Government for the purpose of urging greater facilities being given to working men to obtain laud upon reasonable terms. A motion was made “ that in order to promote the settlement of the land it is desirable, in the opinion of this meeting, that settlements of ten men should be established at intervals of half a mile on opposite sides of the main roads j that the Government should provide the settlers with three days’ work on the roads ; that the price of land should be £1 per acre, to be paid in seven years ; that the Government should provide each ten men with a plough and team, and each man with a cow and sufficient timber to build his house.” This motion gave rise to some discussion, and it was ultimately withdrawn in favor of the following, which was carried-—" That a deputation be appointed to wait on the .Government, and request them to set aside suitable blocks of laud for settlement, and to urge upon the Goyer,nmeßy the necessity for selling the land on reasonable terms, as this is the best way M promoting the settlemenfc of the country.

A. nephew of Wiremu King! Matakatea, one of the Maori prisoners of the Taranaki tribe, died’ of consumption yesterday at the Native ' Hostelry, at Tn'otadcn. The deceased had, by request of Dr. Diver, the unreal officer, been released from custody on nomms-i pan, and was to have been 'sent to his home at Taranaki, but his illness continued to increase to such extent as to render it impossible to remove him. Every care was paid to the unfortunate man, but the disease had taken too firm a hold on his constitution, and ha gradually sank under its effects.

There was a very good attendance at the parade of the Wellington Guards on luevlay evening, and the corps went through its drill very well. After parade Sergeant A. Stout was promoted to be Dram-Major, Mr. Halcomhe has demanded an apology from the Manmcniu Herald, at Foxton, ana a gift of £. r io to the Church of pnglaud at Feilding, for reprinting a s a pamphlet nn ar.icle from a Wellington j mrual, reflecting upon him.

At a meeting of the ILoiklin? Committee of St. Peter's Church, held on Tne-day eveuinsr, the Yen. Archdeacon .Stock pr .-idin_', the question of procuring a new organ was discussed, but the committee d citl;d that the matter did not properly come within their jurisdiction. Mrs. John Mo >re Perrier, better known by her stage name as Miss Marian Moore, died a few days ago in Syduey, whither she had accompanied her husband, who is lecturer for the " Zealandia" Panorama. Mrs. Perrier had long been suffering from consumption. " H.M.S. Pinafore" was repeated last evening in the presence of Sir Hercules and Lady Robinson, and a party from CI ivernrnent Hou«e. There was a large attendance, and the performance passed off with great success. "H.M.S. Pinafore" will be played again this evening. The charge against the man (leorge Brigkting, for house-breaking at the Upper Hutt on the 11th instant, aud stealing the sum of £ls, was yesterday investigated, and a prima facie case being made out, the prisoner was fully committed for trial. As will he seen by advertisement, th»re will be'no meeting if the Young Men's Wesleyan Mutual Improvement Society this eveninnr, as the members intend to be present at the dissolving views entertainment to be given at the Arcade. We have been requested to draw attention to an advertisement informing those who purchased tickets for the service of song, " Kva," aud were unable to obtain admission, that their tickets will Lie available when the service will be again repeated, the date of which will be duly advertised.

A shop in Willis-street, next to the Melbourne Hotel, was yesterday railed some four or five feet above its previous level by means of jacks. The work was commenced in the morning under the supervision of Mr. S. Brown, and was completed after a few hours’ work. The shop is now being refitted, and when completed will present a considerable improvement upon its former appearance. The many friends of Mr. George Darrell in this city will be pleased to hear that he has taken the Victoria Theatre in Sydney for six months for the purpose of producing colonial plays by colonial authors, illustrated by colonial actors and actresses. He opened last Friday with a first-class company, including all the members of his late New Zealand company who accompanied, him, except Mr. Vincent, who has been engaged to play at the Theatre Royal (where ho is at present supporting Miss Dargon) for twelve months. Mr. Darrell will no doubt do a good business, particularly during the Exhibition. The recognised home of immorality—the Theatre Royal—was well filled last evening, when a programme of the usual character was given to the refined patrons of this house, the concluding item, “The Female Bathers,” appearing to meet with special approbation. To night the Loftus Troupe will make their final appearance in this city, and the occasion will be marked by the exclusion of ladies, who will not be admitted should they present themselves at the doors —which is not at all likely to happen. In thanking the patrons of the Theatre last evening, the manager announced a “particularly spicy ” bill for the last night. There was but a short sitting of the Supreme Court in banco yesterday, his Honor Mr. Justice Richmond presiding. The only case on the list was that of Breen v. Gell, motion for a rule nisi to make a Judge’s order a rule of Court. Mr. Ollivier appeared for plaintiff, and Mr. Gordon Allan for defendant. The case was of no public interest, it being simply a dispute as to the costs in an action between the parties, and after the case had been opened it was decided to withdraw it.

The Government steamer Hinemoa is still laid up, her boiler undergoing a general overhaul at the hands of workmen from the Lion Foundry. The repairs necessary are said to be only such as are the result of ordinary wear and tear, and the rumor that injuries of a specific character have resulted from the vessel being overworked is stated to be unfounded. It is, however, a rather peculiar circumstance that such extensive repairs have become necessary to the boiler of a vessel that is not more than three years old, and one that has not been kept constantly at work during that time like ordinary trading steamers. It is evident that the vessel has been called upon to do a considerable amount of hard work since she arrived in New Zealand waters, and if she has not done more than a fair share it is certainly not the fault of the Premier.

A very interesting exhibition billiard match was played yesterday evening at the Occidental Hotel, between Messrs. Cook and Kilkenny. The first game of 750 up was won by the champion, Mr. Cook, who allowed his opponent 180 points. In the early part of the game Cook led off with a break of 119, during which he scored 30 consecutive spot strokes. When the game reached 263 the players wets even, and when Cook had reached 500 his opponent was only 313. After a few minutes interval play was resumed, Cook scoring the remaining 250 without his position ever being challenged by his opponent. Cook finally won with 180 odd points to the good. No other very long breaks were recorded. Cook several times secured hearty applause by scoring off the balls when they had been apparently placed in perfect safety by Kilkenny, Cook’s play is chiefly remarkable for the wonderful judgment of strength which he displays. Time after time all • three balls were brought together in close juxtaposition after they had been apparently despatched on widely divergent courses round the table, Kilkenny was less certain in his play in the first match, but he also exhibited a finished style and a great command over the Jballs. The concluding match was a game at pyramids, in which Cook gave Kilkenny one ball. The game was the best four out of seven, and Kilkenny fairly astonished the spectators. Playing with a certain amount of good fortune in the first game, he apparently gained confidence, and no ball was safe from him. _He more than once succeeded in securing six or eight balls without a miss, and was the winner of the first four games, leaving Cook quite out in the cold. Kilkenny’s play was frequently applauded, the more so probably because it was a somewhat unlooked for exhibition of skill. It is but fair to add that Cook had to contend with a run of ill-luck during the series, as he never once succeeded in getting a really good innings, and was several times so placed that it was almost impossible for him to score. The champion would not begrudge Kilkeuny his triumph after the great beating he had ju -t given him in the first match.

The Hinemoa has burnt her coal to some purpose during the last ten days (says the Otago Witness). On Saturday night Sir George Grey spoke in the theatre, Dunedin, on the following Wednesday In Auckland. The Government yacht and a special train had covered the distance in the meantime —all for the good of the country, of course. _ After three or four days active campaigning in and about Auckland, the Mercurial Premier hies him back again, to be in Christchurch for another mass-meeting oration before the polling day. Somewhere in Cook Strait the overpressed Hinemoa, as is natural, breaks down, and Sir George accepts for the rest of the way the services of the ordinary coast boat. The country is in danger, and our great proconsul is bent on saving it in spite of us. Captious Oppositionists who murmur that public fyuds are being applied to party uses may' he reminded that a country cannot be saved without spending money any more than revolutions can be made with rose-water, or omelettes without breaking eggs. Sir George may rebuke his ungrateful critics as the Hanoverian unmentionable female of the early Georgian period expostulated with the Londoners who mobbed her coach : “ Goot people, ve come for your goot—for all your goots.” The disinterested zeal of this Ministry for “ all our goots ” was sufficiently evidenced by their taxation proposals. deferring to the new member for Lyttelton, the Oiago Witness says :—“ Many candidates who are dlaSsed as supporters of the Ministry have refused to be’ pledged to Sir George. This is the case with Mr. who beaten Mr. Murray-Aynsley for Lyttelton. Even Mr. Andrews, who runs side by side with Sir George Grey for Christchurch, has refused to be his blind follower.”

The Wtsikcd correspondent of the Otago Daily Times' states - than Mr. Seddon, one of the now members for Hokitika, 1 is, according to all accounts, a clever but uneducated man, with immense energy and any amount of cheek.

We are p'cared to notice that Sir Julias Vogel, and Messrs. Domett, 0. <"!. Hawdon, | Y>\ ViU n.andr,. Vbar:-.zvn have been elected Follows of the itoya] Colonial Institute. The sals of part of section 50, on the plan of the Hutt district, containing over 20 acres of land at the Taita, advertised by T. Keur.e iy Maodonald aud Co., to take place on the ll'th instant, has be -n postponed for a few day, but due notice of the date of sale v.ill be given. Jlr. Duncan will jells ermsienr.-ent of Canterbury potatoes, on the wluuf. at - this nr''.?:no^n. Mr. >i.ley will offer by auction n nv.raner of new vehicles of almost every cla<s at the Areata today, at 2 p.m. The hull of the Ilv.Wabvl. tosete.er with the various ship fittings, will be submitted to auction by Mr. J. H. Wallace at 2 p.m. to-.lay.