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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5846, 24 December 1879, Page 2

There will be no publication of tho New Zealand Times on Boxing Day ; but the paper will he published, m accordance with our usual custom, eu Christmas morning, .Advertisements will be received up to the usual time to-night. It is now understood that the designs of Messrs. Turnbull (Wellington) and Walls (Dunedin)—the latter gentleman having been once a pupil of Mr. Turnbull’s—have been selected by the hoard appointed by the Government from the large number of competitive designs sent in for the Dost and ielcgraph Offices. As the Board were of opinion that either of the designs would cost something like £38,000, or more than double the amount placed on the Estimates for the purpose, the Government have referred them bade to thy architects for reconsideration. Mr, Turnbull is confident that a building similar to that designed by him can be completed for £17,000, which was the limit prescribed, and as that gentleman has been architect for most of the principal buildings which have lately been added to the architecture of this city, lie should certainly be a competent judge. It is to be hoped, therefore, that he will be able to demonstrate to .the satisfaction of the Government that the much ■required buildings can be erected without entailing a further expenditure upon the country. There is no town in New Zealand where accommodation is so much required as in Wellington. Many persons who have had to do business at night time at the Telegraph Office, especially, have wondered how'human beings could exist in such a polluted atmosphere for any length of time ; and the Post Office is very little, if at all, better. Excursionists by sea will have an opportunity of leaving Wellington to-night by any of the following steamers: —The Jane Douglas will leave at midnight for Eoxtoa, and .will return on Sunday evening, as the vessal will leave Eoxton in the morning. The Manawatu will leave for Wanganui at 10 p.m., and will arrive here on Sunday, as she starts at h o clock on Saturday night" from Wanganui. , The Charles Edward will leave here at 6 p.m. for Nelson, and will return here early on Sunday morning. The Stormbird will leave here at midnight, and will arrive here on Sunday evenin'". The Napier will leave for Blenheim at 6 p.m., and will start fur here on Saturday, The fares by all these steamers will be at very reduced rates,

Then* appears t:> be little probability of AYelii:;;' 4 *-,!; tho anroniit of money from tho G ivommeut which it is estimated will be reqnir--‘i for the purpose of er-criny; new .-choul buiMiair* in the Wellington District daring the next twelve rnoiJhs. ThD sum is £DV'OO, of which no les* than £12.000 is rerpjbvd for Wellington city alone. There was ye-Aoi'dav aA the Board meeting a rather warm disen sion as i: > which- received the most favor, the town or the country. A very strong opinion wus expressed that the time had come wb» o tbe-e e-Mr/mes mud be cut down by oriednß, and ultimately the* whole question w;r-- vt-.f* ’-red to the Standing Committee to deal with. Uis honor the Chief Jns’ice satin bankruptcy yesterday, and orders of discharge were oua.ated in the following :—B. Strachau (MV. Sandllands) ; Hana Svendsen (.Mr. Izard) ; A- C old-mid (.Mr. Edwards) ; and Frank \Mr. if. H. Tj avers). Mr, Fdward.s a>-" applied for the discharge of Martin (/Drum, boardiughou e keeper, but as the appb ftion was opposed by the trustee, Mr. IJimant, the case was adjourned in order that evidence might he taken. The discharge ot J. i-b True was conditionally granted, and the application of Mr. Gordau Allan for the discharge of Charles Pryke was received, but was again oppo.-ed by the trustee. The application was adjourned to January 13, and his honor ordered the debtor to attend at Air. Krull’s office, on December 30, for examination by the trustee. The usual monthly meeting of the "Wellington Board of Education was held yesterday. The business brought forward was not on the whole important, except that in connection wi'.h Government grants for school buildings. At the annual installation at the St. Andrew’s X-odge, No. 639, S.C., Brother Gillon, P.M., acted as installing officer. The following will be the officers : —R.W.M., Brother I>. P. Player; K W.D.M., Brother Press; IbW.S.M., Brother Falconer; S.W., Brother Oloke ; J.W , Brother Carr ; Chaplain, Brother Chatwin ; Treasurer, Brother Scott ; Secretary, Brother Besley ; S.D., Brother Hollis ; J.D., Brother Page ; Jeweller, Brother King ; 1.G., Brother May ; Organist, Brother Kimball, Stewards, Brothers Monk and Finnic ; Tyler, Brother Buck. The balance-sheet for the year, which was duly audited, was brought up and adopted. The steamer Tui, for Wanganui, will leave punctually at 3 o'clock this afternoon, and will arrive at Wanganui next morning at high water (6 o’clock), so that excursionists will be able to spend the whole of Christmas Day with their friends. The departure of the steamer from Wanganui has been altered to Saturday night, instead of Sunday morning ; but passengers will still have three clear days, and we understand that every provision will be made for their comfort, as only a limited number of tickets will be issued. Captain Edwin, the weather prophet, having predicted a change for the better, pleasant weather may be anticipated. “ Balloting out ” is a f?aniliar term among the members of the Boards of Education in the colony, but it is not so well known among the general public. Periodically, three members have to retire out of six who have to stand their chance of remaining ia. It is felt that it would be very invidious if members had to vote other members out, and the happy expedient was hit upon first, we believe, by the North Canterbury Board of Education, of “ shaking in the hat,” to see who should have the honor of retiring. The names of six members of the Board are placed in a hat (the remaining three being exempt from ballot until their turn comes) which is well shaken up, and then the first three names drawn by the chairman are declared to be “ ballotted out.” But in order to act in conformity with the law the actual ballot has then to take place, the same names being placed on slips of paper as were drawn from the hat. It will thus be seen that the “ ballotting " is a farce, and that the members are really put out by a “shake in the hat,” or what may be called a game of chance. And it is interesting to watch the faces of divines who may belong to these bodies, and the interest they take in such a game, although it is undoubtedly a lottery—against which they are generally supposed to set their faces so strongly. And when their own names are not drawn they breathe freely again, and at once proceed to “ ballot out ” their more unlucky fellow members. Surely some means could be devised to decide who shall be retiring members that would be move in consonance with the unities, and bear a less resemblance to gambling. There was another very good attendance at the Theatre Royal last night, when the Mammoth Miuidtrels repeated the programme of the previous evening. The songs in the first part appeared to bo gieatly appreciated, while the funnyisms of the four corner men. provoked loud laughter. Tho concluding item of this part, showing the Flemington racecourse with the winner Darri* well, caused considerable surprise to those who had known that now celebrated racehorse. In the afterpiece the farces again created great laughter, particularly the concluding item entitled “The Yellow Novel Heroes.” The same programme will be repeated this evening, and to-morrow (Christmas) night, there will be a grand sacred concert. The sixth annual general meeting of the shareholders of 4 the Wellington Building Society was held last evening, when a very satisfactory report and balance-sheet were adopted. By our Auckland files we observe that Mr. H Williamson, eldest sou of the late Superintendent of Auckland, and Deputy-Registrar of the Supreme Court in that city, has been admitted by his Honor Mr. Justice Gillies to practise as a barrister and solicitor. Mr. Williamson made many friends while a resident in Wellington, who will be pleased to learn that he bus made another successful step in life.

The weekly meeting of the Wellington Benevolent Institution was held at the Provincial Buildings yesterday afternoon, when there were present—Mr. J. G. Holdsworth (in the chair), Revs. B. Coffey, P. Kerrigan, and Messrs. L. Levy, B. Smith, and D. Lewis. A considerable number of cases were considered and dealt with. A case of stont has been sent by Messrs Stevenson and Smith for the Christmas treat to the hospital patients. Messrs. Turnbull, Smith, and Co., Haroourt and Co., and Whittem, Nicholson, and Co., wholesale warehousemen, have resolved upon closing their places of business from Wednesday evening until the following Monday morning. The usual Christmas display was made last night at To Aro House, and a number of spectators, but more especially ladies, collected round the windows during the time it was lit up. Colonel Reader has received the appointment of Commissioner of Armed Constabulary for the whole colony. No better selection could have been made. There was a very fine display of meat at Gear's shop in Ouba-street last night, and e fountain in the centre added considerably to the effect. Just prior to the departure of Mr. J. J. Wallace, the actor, for Christchurch on Monday, he was waited upon by a number of his admirers and presented with several gifts as a mark of their high appreciation of his dramatic abilities, as well as of his many social qualities as a private gentleman. Among the gifts were a very handsome silver tankard suitably inscribed, a very nice edition of Shakspere, one of Moore, a gold pencil case, and other little presents, which it was requested Mr. Wallace would accept as souvenirs of his visit to Wellington. The tankard and some of the other gifts were purchased at the establishment of Mr. R. Holliday, Lambton-quay, who appears lately to have had quite a run upon his stock in the way of presentations. The Kev. G. M. D’Arcy Irvine, M.A., has resigned the Head Mastership of the Napier Grammar School. Mrs. Irvine’s health has for some time been a source of anxiety to her husband, and has not been improved by the noise and worry incidental to a school. We understand that the rev. gentleman has been presented to an important city parish in New South Wales by the bishop of the diocese, who was well acquainted with Mr. Irvine in England. At the meeting <sf the JBoard of Education yesterday, seventeen applications were received for the position of master at the Newtown school. These were submitted to a committee, which subsequently sat and recommended the appointment of Mr. Lillington, second master of the Mount Cook school, which was sanctioned by the Board at a sitting in the afternoon. The Naval Brigade intend holding their first prize competition on Saturday neat. There are fourteen prizes iu all, to the value of £2O, given by some of our leading tradesmen. As this will be .the brigade’s first competition for prizes at the Kifle Butts, PolhiU’s-gully, some' close shooting will probably result.

There would appear to be a good deal of difference of opinion among the members of the Board of Ed icAiun as to the method of the appomrment of teaches, the Chairman (the lion. C d. FD.i-iZvn; contending that the recommendation should cume from the Inspector, in who* bauds practically the power ; of election would be it such a state of thlons ’ were allowed to prev <sl. The Chairman yrv.er- ! days.id he considered this course ought Übr. ■ adopted, more especially as the members of :f.e Boar! were themselves unable to judge of the capability or suitability of applicant*. To this the Rev. Mr. Putersoii demurred, saying that he, fur one, should feel utterly untit t«> hold a seat on the Board if he w-ve no*, capable of i taking part in the election of teachers. Other members expressed similar opinio:;.*, and ultimately the applications were referred to a committee which sat. immediately afterward.*, when their choice fell upon Mr. Liiliugtou. The proposition that secretaries or in-p-tetors of Boards should .have the power of appointing teachers all ove : ’ the district—for that is practically wha‘ it means—is a novo) and if carried into effect would be highly pernicious for several reason*. A wish having been very generally expressed that the fares should be reduced on the excursion trip to Nelson by the steamer Rotornahana, the Union Company have wi-ely determined to alter the fare from 40s. to 30*. The latter figure will not, however, include meals, but those who may be happily gifted with an appetite will be able to satisfy it at a moderate rate. Those who are on the look-out for a desirable property in a healthy locality, and with a nice climate, will have a good opportunity during the excursion season of paying a visit to that advertised by Messrs. »Sharp and Pickering, of Nelson. There is a dwellinghouse containing ten rooms, and an orchard and kitchen garden, stocked with choice fruit trees and shrubs, which comprise between thirteen and fourteen acres. The property is situated close to the Richmond railway station, and is only distant about eight miles from Nelson. The Lower Hutt parish fete and sports will be held at Mr. Percy’s grounds, Petoui, on Anniversary Day, and arrangements will be made for the train to stop in the ground. At the last meeting of the Otago Harbor Board, a letter was received from Mr. Caldwell, governor of Dunedin Gaol, asking the Board to grant the sum of £l2 fora Christmas pudding for the prisoners. The request was granted. It ia somewhat surprising to find in these days of free education that in Wellington city alone there were last March twelvemonth no less than 1858 children of school ages who were receiving no education whatever. According to the statement of the Ven. Archdeacon Stock yesterday, the number of children in Wellington when the census was taken in March of last year was 4408, of whom only 2555 attended school, viz., 1385 boys and 1170 girls. Things, however, may have improved since then, and the proportion of absentees may not bo so huge at the present time. Excursionists for Blenheim will plea*c note that the Napier will leivc tho Queen’s wharf at 6 o’clock to-night, instead of 7 as advertised. The pretty little church of St. Marks is to be rendered doubly attractive on Christinas Day, floral decorations oa an extensive scale having been eagerly undertaken by a large number of the congregation. The following is a brief outline of the proposed work :—The windows in the chancel are to be outlined with wreaths of holly, laurel, «!fcc., relieved by scarlet geranium*. In the spaces between, the large leaves of the beautiful nikau palm will be placed, each leaf rising from a cluster of evergreens and flowers. Under the windows the text, “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia,” in white frosted letters, on a crimson ground, and a large star in white wool frosted, will relieve the dark colors of the evergreens. The choir seats, lectern, and reading desk will be decorated with white lilies, scarlet amaryllis, &c. The outline of the organ chamber, facing the congregation, will be festooned with wreaths, &c. On the opposite side a very elaborate design will be displayed. The words “ Glory to God in the Highest,” in the form of an arch, and at the foot the words “ Peace on earth,” in white frosted letters, on a crimson ground. In the centre a double triangle interlaced, enclosing the monogram “ 1.H.5.,” in white on a blue ground; the whole wreathed with evergreens and flowers. All the side windows are to be outlined with evergreen* and flowers, and between each circular garlands will be hung, At the foot of the clerestory, and also above the lower side windows, will be placed appropriate texts in white letters on a blue ground. All the pillars will be wreathed with holly, laurel, &c,, interspersed with scarlet flowers. Above the large windowin the westward, the text “ Emanuel, God with us,” in large white letters on scarlet ground, will have a very good effect. The font is to be prettily decorated with lilies and other suitable flowers. The porches, inner entrance, doors, and coromc, will all be appropiiately adorned. The various texts arc to be bordered with flowers and greenery, and shmld present a very beautiful appearance. A choral service is to be held in -the church on Christmas Eve, at 8 o’clock, at which Christmas anthems and carols are to be sung, and organ soloa played. The choristers will appear for the first time in their new surplices. A collection in aid of the organ fund will be made, which we hope will be liberally : responded to. The service ou Christmas Day will be full choral. The attention of sportsmen and others is directed to the sale by Messrs. T. K. Macdonald and Co. of a genuine Westley Richards' double-barrelled gun, which is said to be a reliable instrument, as its owner won with it a silver cup, valued at £2lO ; after which several watches, diamond rings, a collection of books, and some sundries will be offered. Messrs. T. Kennedy Macdonald and Co.’s sale of properties will take place to-day, at 2.30 p.m. The first property to be offered will be the premises lately occupied by Mr. L. Moss, after which the cottages in Cambridge-terrace will be offered. These properties are offered by order of the Registrar of the Supremo Court, and will therefore be sold to the highest bidder. A sale of fruit, produce, groceries, poultry, &c., will be held to-day, at 11 a.m., by Messrs. Laery and Campbell. At 2 p.m,, a mob of young horses will be offered at Tattersall’s.