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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5835, 11 December 1879, Page 2

A fuss was made yesterday among Opposition members at the withdrawal of the copies of the Public Works Statement which had been first circulated, ia order to correct a clerical error in some of the figures given. The facts of the case hardly warranted the loud expressions of jubilance given by prominent members of the Grey-cum-Macandrew party, inasmuch as the only alteration to be made is one which will tend to make their position even more uncomfortable than it now is. By an oversight the £154,000 due to counties in Canterbury and Otago provincial districts was not subtracted from the gross amount of loan still available for further expenditure. Instead of the amount being £1,872,000, we understand that it will appear as £1,718,000, in round numbers, in the corrected Statement. The House met at the usual time yesterday, and in the course of the sitting transacted a considerable amount of business. Members are evidently determined to get away as soon as possible, and judging from the way in which tm, business is being pushed forward, it is just probable that the House may prorogue on Tuesday. To-day the second reading of the Public Works Bill will take place, and it is quite possible that it may lead to a long debate.

The Council sat till ten o'clock last night, having in the afternoon and evening sittings cleared off a very full Order Paper, and this despite the fact that Messrs. Jackson and Kinross between them occupied over an hour. Both cases were, however, finally disposed of for this session—at least the report of the Petitions Committee on the former was adopted by 18 to 17 votes, while Mr. Kinross's matter was shelved by being postponed for a fortnight. The committal of the Theatricals Bill was again deferred, probably with a view to its being dropped for this Bession. It will be Been from a paragraph in our commercial columns that the first wool sale of this season's clip took place yesterday at the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.'s stores. Mr. Lang conducted the sale, and satisfactory prices were realised. The Reporting Debates Committee yesterday brought up a report recommending that certain portions of Hansard should be translated into Maori at, a cost of £750. The following was on the Order Paper yesterday:—"Mr. Finn to ask the Government, —lf they will grant to the inhabitants of Queenstown an area of land in the township whereon they may erect a gaol by public subscription?" When, however, the question was called on, Mr. Finn covered up his face with his hands and laughed, bnt did not ask it. And the House laughed, too, at the apparent absurdity of the question. The next business of the day was then proceeded with. The Upper House was engaged last night with the Wellington Harbor Board Bill in committee. Dr. Menzies raised the preliminary objection that this Bill and the Te Aro Bill were bound up together, and one should not be passed without the other. Mr. Waterhouse disabused his hon. friend's mind of the idea that the fate of one measure was necessarily dependent upon that of the other, but, to satisfy the objector, agreed that the third reading of the Harbor Bill should bo deferred till the end of the week, when the Reclamation Bill would have been committed. The mo3t important amendment made by the Council in the Harbor Bill is as to the constitution of the Board, the number of members being reduced from eleven to teD, who will be appointed as follows :—Three (instead of two) to be nominated by the Governor ; one to be elected by (instead of the chairman of) the Chamber of Commerce ; the Mayor of the city ; two (instead of four) to be elected by the ratepayers ; one by the Hutt Council, one by the Councils of Wairarapa Bast and West, and one by the shipping community. There was considerable discussion on a proposal to reduce the borrowing power from £IOO,OOO to £60,000, but ultimately the former sum was agreed to. . Mr. Reynolds was most anxious to know if the new Board was to have any endowments as security for its loans. Mr. Waterhouse thought if the Wellington Harbor Board did not get endawments it would not be for want of asking, or for want of a plenitude of examples from all parts of the colony. The elective members of the Board are to be elected on Monday, February 9, and the Ministe • of Marine will appoint a date and place for the first meeting of the new body. The following is the opinion given by the Solicitor-General to Dr. Lemon as to the right of the Government to look through the telegr»ms sent by their predecessors in office : "The General Manager,—l think it is clear that the Telegraph Commissioner would have a right to look through all Government telegrams, although the same may have been sent by a former Ministry. Such telegrams are really the property of the country, and an incoming Ministry would have the right to inspect them. Care should of course be taken that none but Government telegrams are seen. This opinion only has reference to the legal right, not to its mode of exercise.—W. S, Reed." Dr. Lemon, however, in forwarding the opinion to Mr. A. T. Maginnity, assistantsecretary, made the following minute thereon: • —"I entirely disagree with it." A cable message was received yesterday, stating that the Wellington City Waterwarks loan has been temporarily withdrawn by the London agents. This course was taken in consequence of the Five Million Loan having been placed in the market, which, as might have been expected, would not tell favorably in the case of smaller loans. The Dunedin Working Men's Club has » library containing 2000 volumes, and the stock \ of books is to recive some further additions, as the members have resolved to form a circulatI ing library.

The following is the report of the Election Telegrams Inquiry Committee :—“ The select committee to whom w.-.s reterred the question whether the production of papers presented to the House on 13th November, alleged to be copies of certain telegrams concerning the late election, was contrary to law, and to ascertain the total number of telegrams on electioneering matters sent or received by members of the late Government at the public cost, have the honor to report as follows :—That the copies of telegrams referred to in the order of reference were produced in accordance with the law, with the exception of two, which were included by the mistake of a telegraph clerk, and which have been separated from the others without having been examined by the committee. Tuac five others have been ascertained by the committee to have been sent originally as private telegrams, though forwarded on to Ministers from place to place, without the knowledge of the sender, as Governmeut telegrams, and the committee have had these also separated from the rest, without examining them. That the number of electioneering telegrams sent at the public expense by Ministers was fifty-five, and to Ministers twenty-one, or seventy-six in all.” There is a memorandum accompanying the report, to the effect that it is the unanimous opinion of the committee that the seven telegrams sealed up should not again be laid upon the table of the House.

The “ Irish Exile” will be produced for the last time to-night at the Theatre Royal. There was a very good attendance last night, and the piece was got through remarkably well. Messrs. Woodward, Kebbell, and Tolhurst presided at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday. One drunkard was discharged with a caution, and the civil case of Powuall v. Dixon, a claim for £6 11s., was then investigated, the result being a verdict for plaintiff for £1 Is. and costs.

The annual session of the Grand Lodge of Good Templars wag opened in Christchurch on Tuesday. From the G.W.C. Templar's report it appears that there has been a decrease in the number of members during the year ; that the Auckland lodges do not acknowledge the Grand Lodge's jurisdiction ; that there has been division of a lodge at Lyttelton ; and that there is no prospect of an immediate re-union of the Order in the colony. It has been found necessary to take steps to have the Order registered under the Friendly Societies' Act, for the protection of its property. The report claims that for several constituencies members of the Order have been returned to Parliament, and in many cases during the general election the Templar vote turned the tide, and secured the return of those candidates who secured its support. From the G. \V. secretary's report it appears that 23 lodges have been opened during the year, while 21 lodges ceased working. There is a total namber of lodges in good standing of 155, being one less than the previous year. The number of members is 7653, being a decrease of 323 on the year. The Grand Lodge has an exces3 of assets over liabilities of £307 4s. 7d. The following is the latest score of the handicap chess match now being played by the Wellington Chess Club : Winner. Benbowv. Willis Benbow Alcorn v. C. L. Barraud .. .. 0. L. Barraud Alcorn v. Wright Wright W. P. Barraud v. C. L. Barraud .. W. F. Barraud Didibury v. Alcorn Alcorn A performance, under the patronage of hi» Excellency the Governor, is to be given in the Academy of Music to-morrow evening by the Albert Dramatic Club, assisted by leading musical amateurs, in aid of the Kegatta fund. A first-class programme has been prepared, both for the music and dramatic portions. The latter is to consist of a comedy adapted by Mr. Clarke from the " Pickwick Papers," entitled " Jingle," in which the Albert Dramatic Club will make its first appearance.

The total value of the messages, copies of which were laid before the Election Telegrams Inquiry Committee, amounted to £36 Bs. lOd. The " New Zealand Freemason" is the title of a new monthly journal to be published in Dunedin on the 3rd of January. If the new paper is properly conducted it cannot fail to have a large circulation, as the Masonic fraternity in New Zealand is very considerable in numbers. The price is to be 2s. 6d. per quarter, or Is. per copy. An important sale of racehorses is announced io bo hol<l on Satarday next by Mooarn. J. T. Ford and Co., Christchurch, particulars of which will be found in our advertising columns. The pupils of Mrs. Johnson's seminary, assisted by the adult singing class under the tuition of that lady, will give an entertainment at the Odd Fellows' Hall, Lower Hutt, on Thursday next, 18th instant. A small admission fee will be charged, the proceeds of which will be devoted towards purchasing gifts and prizes for the successful pupils at the annual examination, which will take place on the same evening. Messrs. Clarke and Hamilton, photographers, Lambton-quay, have prepared sheets of photographs of the members of the House of Representatives. They are exceedingly well done. A call of five shillings per share has been made in the Wellington Land and Building Company. A meeting of the youths who have expressed a wish to join th<s Naval Cadet Corps will be held at half-past six o'clock to-morrow evening at the Central Fire Brigade Hall. The Arcade was brilliantly lit-up last evening. A very fine display of furniture, carpets, pianos, chinaware, glassware, mirrors, &c, had a pleasing effect, and the building was seen to much advantage. Large numbers of people paid a visit of inspection, and even after th» gas was partly turned out visitors still thronged in to see the goods. Mr. J. C. Williamson and Miss Maggie Moore (Mrs. Williamson) have produced " H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Theatre Royal, in Sydney, with a great amount of success. It is understood that the Williamsons will pay New Zealand a visit in a short time, and it is stated that a large company is being organised for a tour through this colony. The following are the officers elected for the Waterloo Lodge, S.C., for the ensuing year : R.W.M., Bro. H. J. H. Eliott, P.M.; D.M., Bro. Downes ; S.M., Bro. Sievewright; S.W., Bro. Quick ; J.W., Bro. Cutten ; Chaplain, Rev. Bro. Harvey ; Treasurer, Bro. Powles, P.M. ; Secretary, Bro. S. Richardson ; S.D., Bro. Grey ; J. 0., Bro. Richards ; 1.G., Bro. W. Knowles ; Stewards, Bros. Light and Lsatham. Mr. W. T. Charlewood, of Exeter College Oxford, will open a school for boys near the Museum after the holidays. The notices for leave of absence given by Legislative Councillors were one by one withdrawn on being called on yesterday, hon. members being apparently satisfied they will get away soon enough in the ordinary course of things. Captain Fraser expressed his determination to go whether given leave or not, and took the opportunity to urge the Government to let a large body of Southern members who wanted to go on Saturday have the Hinenioa, which vessel could, he asserted, get back in time to take the Northern members away. In support of his suggestion, Capt. Fraser said the ordinary Union Company boat would have the circus on board, and it would be extremely undesirable to pack hon. legislators in with a lot of lions, tigers, and other ferocious wild animals. (Hear, hear.)

A fatal accident occurred on Sunday morning, at Wanganui, to a man named John BverilL The unfortunate man, the Herald states has been noticed lately riding about the town on a roan horse. He went over to the Red Lion Hotel, and took a horse to the river. He entered the water somewhere near the old ferry landing, and almost immediately the horse stepped off the ledge just there into deep water. Everill fell off and endeavored to swim. He only managed, however, to strike out once or twice when he went under. The accident was noticed at this side of the river by the captain of the Waitara, who indeed had in a measure anticipated the accident, knowing the nature of the bank there, and had lowered his boat and pulled over, aided by one of his crew, to where the man had sunk. They reached him just as he rose for the last time, and succeeded in taking him ashore. Dr. Earle was sent for and promptly attended, but could not restore consciousness. The rescue was very promptly made, very few minutes elapsing from the time the man went in the water until he was taken out.

In reference to the discovery of chalk in Canterbury, the Lyttelton Timet has the following : —“ We have received a specimen block of what is, we believe, the only known deposit of chalk in New Zealand. It has been found as an out-crop on a spur of the hills near Oxford, opposite the View Hill homestead, the bush land in which the deposit occurs being the property of Messrs. Ingram and White. According to the Government analysis, as prepared by Dr. Skey, the component parts are — lime 85, and silica 15, but samples are now in Wellington for a further report to be prepared.

It may be observed that, although the specimen we have received exhibit some reaurk-iblY good qualities, it is an aok i'j'.vle Igevl fact that iu chalk formations the few fevt lying uppermost are, as a rule, greatly inferior in quality to that obtained at a greater depth, and the inferiority of the upper portion has been more specially noticeable in the case of out-crops. The value of this particular deposit of the carbonate of lime cannot be fully estimated until the result of the more complete analya’s is to hand, particularly as iu chalk countries the samples obtained in ditferent l-»c niiles arc found to differ mated illy in thvi** c > npodtiou, some containing and .-ulphate lime, chloride of sodium and potash, while others do not present a trace of these substances. The proportions of carbonate of lime and silica also differ materially, the former ranging in published analyses from 95.5 b to G 6.-14,.-14, and the latter from 20.i.'9 t > There can, however, be no doubt that the native deposit of chalk will prove of immense value for many purposes, and to judge • ,, ora the sample block sent to us, we should imagine that for some building requirements it will find a ready demand. As a inauudal agent, chalk may he broadly stated to be valuable in most cases in which lime would be of service, and if an economic output is secured, our agriculturists will no doubt largely avail themselves of the newly-discovered native fertiliser.”

A large sale of pianos, furniture, cupels, mirrors, china and glassware, will be held at the Arcade at ~ p.m. to day ; and the unclaimed lots from the sale at Mr. Mulligan’s residence, will also be put for competition.