Untitled

Patea Mail, Volume IV, Issue 344, 3 August 1878, Page 2

WANGANUI EDUCATION BOARD. We clip from Qhnmlch report, items pertaining to the district : At the usual tn mtli’y meeting of tho above Board, I add in I heir new offices, Tanpo Quav, on \Vediit-sday, there were present—W. 11. Wait, Esq,, in the chair* Messrs Dairy in ph.-, rfausou,-Williams, J ones, and the Rev J. Ross. Letter was read from (he Chairman of the Normandy School Committee respecting the purchase of site for school-house and residence. Letter Was read from., the Chairman of the Waverley School Committee, re the Compulsory Clauses and other matters. Letters (6), were read from Mr Kenan, of Kohi, respecting the teacher, and matters in connection with school buildings, &c. Letter was read from the Chairman of the Maxwelltown School Committee, re letter returned to him to be couched in more respectful terms. Mr Handley stated that having submitted the letter to the consideration of his committee, they declared th ir approval of it, and reso.wd that it should be sent again to the Board unaltered. Letter was read from the Chairman of the Waitotara School Committee, re site for a school-house and residence. Letter was read from the School Committee, Carlyle, fe school accommodation.' The voting papers for election of ik member, as sent in by the local wore read, the result being a tie between Air J. W. Peake and the Rev James Doull, each of whom was voted for by thirteen committees ; Mr A. F. Halcombe receiving eight, ami the Rev A. Towgood seven votes each. In accordance With the provisions of the Act, a ballot was at once taken of the members of the Board, which resulted in the election of Mr Peake, for whom live of the six gentlemen present voted, tho sixth recording his vote for the Rev J. Duull, whereupon tin; Chairman declared Mr J. Peake duly elected. After some discussion on the necessity of obtaining another site for the school buildings at Normanhy, it was resolved, on the motion of air Williams, seconded by Mr Dalrymple, “ That the matter of the proposed sale of the residence and site at Normanhy, and the purchase of another site, be placed in the hands of the Finance Committee, who be requested to take action with as little delay as possible.” It was lesolved, That tiic Committees of the district be invited to co-operate with the Board in providing military drill in their several schools.

It was resolved, on the motion of Mr Uairymplc, secon !■:<:! by Mr Williams, That the Secretary in fun n all Committees that they can be supplied with maps and o!!i -r requisites by the Board, the cost of the same to he deducted from capitation fees.”—[At the adjourned sit tin": of the Board on Thursday, Air Dalrymplo asked to lie allowed to amend tins mm ion, as on huer consideration he had arrived at thts conclusion that it would give the ohicera ol the Board considerable trmibe The amended resolution read as follows; That the Committees can b.f supplied with maps and other school requisites, by forwarding lln-ir order to the Secretary, n.rr.mgvmenta having boon m ule for tiie supply of the same in Wanganui. Cost to lie defrayed by the Committees.]

Tin' Secretary again ivad the loiter of the Ktihi kS«-ii<»ol « *>siii ll i ll ■ ■e, expressing regret that Mr McGonsisli hid been s<» summarily disnrsse 1, ami stating that the parents of the scholars much Avishel his re-appointment ; but in the event of that not being praciicahlc, hoped that the vacancy would he supplied as soon as possible, as Ihe children wen; losing valuable time, which could never be recalled.—• Tim question of rescan ling the former motion of the Hoard was mooted, and the subject fully discussed ; several members expressing themselves as willing to reconsider their determination, both on account of the pressing need of the youth of tlio locality for imdi notion, and' also because Mr McComi.sh had, since Ins resilience in the neighbourhood, conducted himself in such a manner as to win tlio confidence of the parents. The excellent qualities of Mr McOmisb as a teacher were highly spoken of, and : he desirability of encouraging him in his eif u-Ls at self. contro 1 , was dwelt upon. —After considerable discussion, and to avoid undoing what had been resolved on at previous meeting, it was decided that the Secretary reply to the Chairman of the Kohi School Committee, telling him that the Hoard is unable at present to fill the vacancy, and authorising the Commltte ; to appoint to the position, temporarily, Imy one they might deem fit. By this course it was Thought the Committee would be able to fill the vacancy in accordance with the wishes of the parents, ami the Board would escape the charge of inconsistency. Mr Jones directed Ihe attention of the Board to the letter sent hack to them by the Maxwelltown Committee. He said he had no desire to foster animosity between the Board and the Committee, and on the whole it might he as well to let iho matter drop ; however, he could not hut feel that great want of courtesy had been shown in the sending of this letter. In order to the subsistence of kindly feeling between the Board and the Committee, it was indispensable that mutual courtesy should characterise their dealings witii each other. The rest of the Board coinciding with this Anew, the matter Avas allowed to drop. [to be coxti.veed].

lug, at St M<xry : s Cathedral, Wellington, says, “ The • Rev Fa tin r Henoch -ry preached-at St -Mary’s Cathedral, t» a largo assemblage ol hearers. Tin; service fwas somewhat similar to that held * oh; Sunday i-ven'ng, and in his addr-ss, •the rev. gentleman nr seed that those who failed t > obey the sovereignty or the Church, brought on thems Ives an in‘ovi table punishment.;. and he referred to many Emperors of Home in the past, who had met with unnatural deaths after persecuting religion. Jledenonnc >d in strong terms Voltaire and writers of Ids school, at the same time praising the excellent talents with whom he was gifte.l. At the period when Christianity was reviled, revolutions raced with fearful effect, and society was degraded, women being treated as slaves. The agency 'of priests had amounted upwards of 15,000,000,UU0 Christians. It had been urged that religion should have nothing to do with politics, that the Church is and must be separated from the State. In the name of common-sense and Christianity, he inquired how that could

be. Was not God the author of the State and society, just as well as of the Church ? The legislature, the same as the priest, was the guardian of public morality, and therefore lie termed it ridiculous, and simply- an expression of ignorance, to say that the Church and State must be separated. He further held that Priests and Bishops had no right to be excluded from polities. He associated the downfall of the Napoleons the ruin of Prance, to ignoring’ the Pope’s sovereignty of the Church. Tig* Pope had been brought to France to Bow to the King, and from the moment ho laid his finger on the Pope, everything went against Napoleon Bonaparte.”

Mr G. W. Bussell (lute rev), who is now a resident in Wellington, King present at the Ilev Father Hennebery’s address on the 21st July, and who was referred to in no milk-and-water fashion, retorted in a letter in one ol the morning newspapers, against the attack made on him, and repeated the .statements first made in a West Const paper. The following letter appeared in the New Zealander ol the 2ilnl: “ Sin, —In tin's morning’s issue of your paper, Mr G. W. Bussell, with his usual modesty, repeats his charge that I asserted, in the Catholic; Church, Hokitika, that marriages be-; tween Catholics and nou-Caiholics ure ; no marriages. Tito excellent priest,! Rev Father Marlin, and the whole of his, congregation pubUcly deny the charge, ns I also do emphatically once more. The candid public will judge which party is to be believed. In the presence of circumstances particular in this case, I am compelled to depart from rny usual course, which is not to notice by communications to the newspapers any attacks made on me by the Press or Press correspondents. I am &c., P. IiICNKEJKUV.”

SENTENCE ON O’CONNOR. The ease of William O’Connor (charged With having attempted to poison, by strychnine, Mr Eight, of Barrett’s Hotel), who was recently sentenced to ten year’s imprisonment, lias been a fruitful topic of discussion both by the Press and general public of Wellington. Leading articles, giving various phases of the case, have appeared in each of the newspapers, as well as a number of correspondent’s letters. A public meeting, held on the 23rd July in the Provincial Hall, at which his Worship the Mayor presided, appears not to have aided the cause of O’Connor, so far as may be gathered from, outside reports Friends ot O'Connor consider the sentence unnecessarily heavy, and that he ought not to have been convicted on circumstantial evidence, or the unsupported, testimony of his accuser. Though the meeting was called ostensibly to hear both sides, but one side would be tolerated. However, petition was adopted and resolutions passed, which were backed by a number of leading Wellington men. The Rev A. Stock wrote expressing approval of the petition. On the day for which public meeting was called, there appeared in one of the evening papers an account of the examination of O’Cpnnor’s clothing, which had been in charge of the warden of the gaol. Particles of powder wove found in the pockets, which, on analysis, were declared by Dr Hector to be strychnine. This, by the party opposed to O’Connor’s release, was looked upon as a triumph. The following is a copy of petition: To the Hon. the Minister for Justice. The petition of the undersigned, citizens of Wellington and others, humbly showeth, —

That at the recent criminal sittings of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, held at Wellington, a person named William O’Connor was charged with attempting to murder by means of poison. He was convicted of this crime on the evidence of the person wiiose life was thus threatened, without, so far as your petitioners have been able to learn, any distinctly corroborative evidence whatever. Your petitioners offer no comment on the evidence ; but, taking all the information obtainable in the case, into consideration,and bearing in mind the following facts, —the unsupported testimony of the witness, the absence of motive in the convict, the utter lack of evidence to prove that he had at any time bought or obtained poison,—4hey respectfully submit that the evidence was not sufficient to convict O’Connor of the crime for which he is now undergoing punishment. Yoi.fr petitioners sympathise with the convict in these circumstances, and they view with some degree of alarm, the conviction of an individual on evidence so meagre and unsupported. If such a verdict

were ju-raiiiluu in pas- wiilima pruU-sl and inquiry, it would not only deprive tins prisoner and others of the b.-nefii ol a “ re !■; .rnble doubt” in then' favor (a wcliestablishmi maxim in British law), but ir, migiii sugg> t i a; ('i'ncr.mable i ossdudty oc an} - evi:-n in led nmividual having it m his power, t> injure the character of another by an unsupported statement —a conditio!) oi tiling" which few could contemplate wi hj equanimity. Your petitioners therefore, in the interests of justice, earnestly urge these facts upon your attention, and pray that you will cause furtlmr inquiry to ho made into O’Connor’s case, which is probably’ without a parallel in die annals of tin; New Zealand Courts ; ami having caused the necessary inquiry’ to he made, if the facts are found to be such as your petitioners represent them, that yam will therefore recommend to his Excellency the Governor to annul or commute O’Connor’s sentence, as the interests of law and justice may seem to you to require.

Strangers ami country settlers coming to Carlyle, are veiy often at a loss to know which is the best and cheapest Genera! Drapery and Clothing Establishment in the district. U. A. Adams’ Cardigan House, offers special advantages that can be met with nowhere else in the district. He keeps the largest and best assorted stock of every description of drapery goods, imported direct—and from the best colonial houses ; which, being bought on the most advantageous terms, and having thorough knowledge of the business, enables him to offer goods of sterling quality’at pi ices tiiat cannot he improved on by any other house in New Zealand. Every article is marked in plain figures, from which there is no deviation ; so that inexperienced people are as well served as the best judges, the terms being net cash, without rebate or abatement of any kind. Note the address—lk A. Adams ; Cardigan House, nearly opposite Town Hail, Carlyle.— advt. Holloway's Ointment and Pills —lndisputable remedies for bad legs, old wounds, sores, and ulcers’, if used according to directions given with them ; their is no wound, bail leg, ulcerous sore, or bad breast, however obstinate, or Jong standing, but will yield to their healing and curative properties. Numbers of persons who have been patients in several of the large hospitals, and under the care of eminent surgeons, without deriving the slightest benefit, have been thoroughly’ cured byHolloway’s Ointment and Bills. For glandular swellings, tumours, scurvy-, and diseases of the skin, there is no medicine tiiat can be used with so good an effect. In Tact, for removing the worst forms of disease, dependant upon the condition of the blood, these Medicines are irresliblc.