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Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1869, 5 October 1874, Page 2

--We are very much puzzled about the'telegram we published on Saturday, stating that two live moas had been captured at a place called Browning's Pass, in the main range of the province of Canterbury. On the whole, considering all the circumstances, and the fact that uo confirmatory telegram has arrived, we are inclined to consider it rather more than doubtful, People have got to lie suspicious of inoa reports. Time after time, lonely wanderers in the mountaip-solitudes, of . Otago and Canter-! bury have come in with stories of having seen' tha moa, and expeditions have gone out to capture the, birds,; but after long search have 'come back without seeing a trace Aud so it has come, that when any gold miner, wandering in . the mountain solitudes, orone of the "hands" on a lonely station, have reported having seen., a gigantic bird.- stalking, about in the remote solitudes, they : have been set down as romancing, and the moa ha 3 been ranked almost iwith the' biinyip, or the fabled monsters which exist only in the imagination of men, But in this case we are told that the wondrous birds have been got—they have actually' been I roped, and are in custody. The whole story can he easily proved; "If true, the capture o.( the moa is a most important event. It has a 1 European fame, as the most gigantic of birds, and as the representative of a race that has passed away,' These two moas, if in the flesh, are worth £20,000 ; they settle the active, speculations of twenty years. When Europeans first came to New Zealand, they found abundant traditions of the moa existing amongst the; natives; moa feathers were worn by the chiefs, and it was even said that tnere : were men alive who had seen them.' These .native traditions, were, , however,' dim and uncertain;' They said that'the moas; were not uncommon when the Maoris came ta : New Zealand, that they hunted them diligently; forjtlieir. .feathers and.their < flesh, and. that : by-and-by they'became extinct. The natives represented them to be a bird easily caught andi killed, - harmless ■ and' inoffensive; -living- onj vegetable food. And we may remark, by the; way, that tho, : traditionary..character •ofj.the'j moa harmonises' very well'with''the" narrative | sent from Canterbury as to the capture. Soon: the early settlers fouhd^mba'bonesai 1 ' all iparts' of the colony, and especially in the provinces of: Canterbury and Otago. Some of these remains. were in places where'they might have been deposited before the human race came to New Zealand, at all, but others were discovered in native ovens,'along'with the weapons which had been used to hunt and kill them. Moa eggs were also found, and conclusive indications that ] if the race were really extinct, and had to be I classed, jyithjhedodo, as one. of.the.animals ! which had passed away in recent times, we ' had arrived close after its extinction. Dr Thomson, of Clyde,-Otago, found the neck of a moa, with the muscles and skin attached, a few imperfect .feathers, still - remaining adherent to the latter.' But it was-not'certain that it was extinct. The North Island was the only one really peopled by the Maoris. It had been so well travelled over that no moas could possibly remain anywhere in it, Physically, it does not afford such shelter for a large aud ■helpless bird: as does .the South Island. • The North has many mountainous districts, but nothing approaching the great range, of : the' South Island, where'huge"glaciers! cooie from; lofty peaks into deuse forests, and where the: severer climate and distance from the sea,, prevented early occupation. It was always hoped that live moas would be found in these, mountain solitudes, but as district after dis-; trict-was traversed, : and none found, hope had j almost perished. If the birds captured, or said; to be captured, he mother and child, then the; husband and father must be near, and may be; secured, unless he has died, and has left his widow and orpan to the charity of the world of' science. It is'stated that the larger of the birds captured is eight feet high. The bones have been found of birds which must have! reached' thirteen feet high.,

The brig 'Drover,' which left Newcastle on the 24th ult., arrived off Tararu early on Saturday morning, with a cargo of ceals and a quantity of maize.

We. understand that two of the. Messrs Catran are to appear at the Police Court this morning, on a charge of breaking the new lamp at tho JSil Desperandum Hotel. . ,

MrSkellie, the champion ten-mile runner, ran against time at the Parawai Gardens on; Saturday afternoon. He was to have run ten i miles under the hour, .but time won on this occasion. He was an hour and six minutes running the distance. He could have done it, though, tor he came in fresh at tin end of his journey, and did not appear to use any extraordinary effort to win at any period of the race. There was a very moderate number present in the gardens, and it was no doubt the .evident; want of encouragement which prevented the, race from resulting in a victory to the competitor, or at least a closer and more exciting event.. We have been requested by Mr Delaney, who accompanies Mr Skellie, to contradict a report which he is informed has been industriously circulated, that'lie has agreed to Compete in a race on Wednesday with a local pedestrian, he not having been even spoken to on the subject.

There was a crowded house on Saturday night at the Theatre fioyal, the last appearance of the California Minstrels, having been announced. The programme performed was one of the most interesting and amusing yet produced. The singing of Messrs Arnery, Mavor, and : was heartily applauded, and the farces introducad were amusing in them- ; selves and cleverly performed. The company will, we notice, give one more performance to-; night for the special benefit of Messrs Sutton aud Kelly, the two funny men of the'company, and these gentlemen hiving contributed so largely to the amusement of the public during the last week, and in the face of the extra amusing. programme which, is announced for to-night we have no doubt therewill'be a large and and enthusiastic audience present. :

We are informed that for the convenience of those who may; desire "to see the races in Auckland on Wednesday, the steamer ' Golden Crown' will make a special trip from the Thames on that day, leaving early.

We stated a few days ago that some natives had reported seeing the dead body ofaiiuropean floating ia the Piako River, near, the entrance. Since then, search has been made by the police, but nothing has been seen of it.

We are informed that a foot race between Rycroft and Johnson, for £20 a side, 100, 200, and 300 yards, will come off at the Pariwai Gardens' on Wednesday, at 3 p.m; The final deposit, making up the entire sum, was placed in Mr Clark's hands on Saturday evening.

A new plan of the goldfield, compiled by Mr J. M, McLaren, District Engineer, has just been published by Mr F. A. Pulieine, under tho authority of the Provincial Government. The scale of the plan i 3 five chains to the inch, and the boundaries of the various claims, extending from Tararu to tho Hape Creek, have been corrected lip to the present date;'

Of the several tenders received for the lease of the Hauraki S.\w-miHs, plant and bush, for a period of fivo years, that of Mr Robert Davidson (of Messrs fioldship and "Co. 's, Grahamstown) was accepted, subjected to proper security being given. ; : v

In the Auckland Supreme Court on Friday Messrs Thomas Cottar and. T. Nation were admitted as members of the Now Zealand bar. Mr MacCormick applied for Mr Nation, and Mr T, B. Gillies for Mr Cottar.

We have received the first number of a new monthly newspaper entitled the Thames Exchange, issued by Mr J. D. Wickhim. The publication is creditably got up, and contains some well written, amusing matter. The news of the day and comments on local events are served up in a pithy, pungent form, whjpfo can" not fail to be appreciated. This new aspirant to public favour also contains a good show of advertisement notices, and its proprietor and editor must feel flattered with the support accorded hiai by the public of the Thames. We quote a few passages from the Exchange aa a sample of its reading matter. The leading article is on the Thames Hospital squabble, | and concludes by stating that since it was written "there has been a startling change in the proceedings of the sub-committee, They have thrown up "the sponge, and agreed to'refer the matter, to the Provincial Government. .This is simply out of tho frying - pan into the fire. The Provincial Government simply means" Mr John Sheehan. We have no faith in Mr i John -Sheehan, or the company he keeps while at jthe Thames." This is followed by a notice of the banquet to Mr John Sheehan.' We quote':—" When Mr Sheehan, or any other man, gets an Act passed to 'abolish the Native Offiee,' or to 'open the Upper.Thames,'or to 'construct the Thames Valley Kailway,'then, we would say, let him be banqueted to his heart's content; but we do object to all this fuss about nothing, and to i blatantdemagognes attempting to hoodwink the I public, by endeavouring to palin off a private I feed'as a public banquet. The best of the joke is that Mr Sheehan is not the author of the Act. It was drawn' principally by Mr Tole, at the suggestion o£'Mr Williamson,"— i The editor asks leave to "speak his mind," under the heading of. "The Corner," and does so in a humourousvein. lie suggests that the Thames Hospital Committee should succeed the Californian Minstrels at. the theatre. "They could," he says, black their frees and appear ' as tho Satanic Combination Troupe of Minister* hills. Messrs Hill and Mcllhone as the corner men, 'Bones and '.Tambo,' would play up to one another with effect—Rowe as Massa. Johnstone doinE! the chair busiuess with consummate tact. Father Lonergan, as bass viol—big fiddle —would attract some notice. "The soft and buttery Criimp might be accommodated with a very small Mille—a sixpenny one would be suited to his capacity. The gentle Crump professes to teach us poor' sinners the ways of good arid evil. 'Yet, when he is called upon to decide for himself, he does not know which is which.. Were they to;appear, in public, in whatever characters they choose, people would soon 'discern that,' instead of an inquiry, there is a persecution going on—that the intolerant majority of the Thames Hospital Committee are pursuing their ; prey to .the death with the instinctive pertinacity of bloodhounds. ' Unless public opinion raises its voice tocall off the dogsj! -charity, will .'be, worried, arid torn Jo pieces."

There were no fiasis for hiring at the Police Court on'Saturday,morning; . v .- -

The 'Bella Mary,' baque,.McAfthuiy left Auckland on' Saturday' morning' for'' Hobart Town. : Passengers—Mrs.Blake and 2 children, Mr and Mrs Esk,' Misses fisk (2); ;' ; - j

Thes.s. 'Phcsbe,';H..Wor3p,"( in,the Manukau on Friday. from Southern ports. 'Passengers—Hon. W. fl. Reynolds'(Cbmmis'« siouer of Customs); Mr W. Seed. (Inspector of Customs),'. Messrs ■Coupland, : : ; '' ; Funeral, Watts,' Spencer, Urissenden, Roberts, Porter, Mrs Brown, Mrs and Miss Biss, and 2 natives.

The first of the present' month will he'a rather memorable day,-as on'; it 'the whole of the debtors now in custody throughout the colony will have their prison doors 'opened. The Act for the abolition of imprisonment for debt comes into force on that day. - The title of the Act,- however, is rather a misnomer, aud dishonest people, who think that they will be permitted to swindle too oonfidiag creditors without any danger of suffering for it by deprivation of persoual liberty, will find themselves rather mistaken. The Act does not abolish ' imprisonment for debt absolutely. It merely, protects tho honest debtor, whose liabilities have been honestly .incurred, from; being ladged in paol at the will of any of his creditors. The dishonest debtor,; whose' liabilities are the - 'result of other causes than 1 misfortune, will still be liable to imprisonment, - - Mere inability to pay will cease.to.be regarded and.treated.as a crime, while fraudulent indebtedness will be justly punished,—^-Wellington'

The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874, is published in a Piwincial Government Gazette issued on Friday, and is announced to come into force on the loth of October.

: The barque 'Moss Glea' is loading timber at 'Messrs. J. M. Largaville and Co.'s saw-mills, .Kaihu (Kaipara), for Shanghai. She is . expected to 'sail' in about a week, with 450,000 feet timber.

. A telegram from Dunediu say3There is another licensing muddle, as all the night, licenses ia Otago expired last June, and the new Licensing' Act is 'silent on the matter. There is not now a' single' house legally authorisd' to keep open after ten at 'night. The police intend to take steps : to cause "all houses to close at that hour, and nothing cm be done until the Legislature meets,"

The following' appears in the Wanganui Herald in the shape of an adyertisemsnd "For sale, cheap.—The pewter drinking pot given by the Wahganui Rifle Association as a silver cup, at the last spring meeting. Priceany sum exceeding ss. The pot. was given as first prize, the second prize being £2.''

A telegram from Hamilton, dated Friday, says:—"Major Jackson addressed his constituents at the Ohaupo Hotel yesterday. About 85.settlers.were present—Mr A'. Co* chairman. He (Major Jackson) said he met them to see if they were satisfied with his vote on the aboli. tion of the provinces. He would not go to the House as delegate if his constituents were,not satisfied. He would retire for'some other man,' and would even take a decent minority. The resolutions were not Mr Yogel's own; He was compelled to bring them on last session by:43 members having waited upon him promising him support., Mr Koach moved the following resolution:—'Having heard the address of their re-; presentative, 1 this meeting expresses entire approval of his action in the late session of Parliament.';, The resolution was carried unani« mously.'

Tho Colonial Bank has been floated, although the arrangements propounded iu its original, prospectus,have not been fully completed. Tie ! 200,000 shares; one-half of the 'entire Vapitial which it was proposed to issue for New Zealand, have not been taken up. 30,000 o! these have •been reserved, 170,000 only! having"'been allotted. ■' 'j '

We regret to announce, says the Waikato Times, the very .sudden, death of, Mr .P. Falivasser, at Raglan, He dropped dead on the beach. The verdict.of. the jury , was to the effect that he died whilst'in .an epileptic fit. " ' 1 " ;

We (Gross) are informed that the fine musical instruments,in a complete baiid, lately imported by Messrs J. Brown and Sons, Queen-street, have been purchased by the Rev. Father Maguire, and presented to the Hibernian Band, lately... established in Auckland. ' The cost was ono hundred guineas.

It will be satisfactory to our readers to be made aware that the railway liue'ti Drury is in, a condition fit for "traffio. Oil Wednesday one^

of the Fairlie engines was run up the line -,to Drury and returned; yesterday the same engine Was despatched and Air'J.' Stewart, 0.K., was amongst those on board.; lhe line was found to be in good condition, and fit to (ie opened for traffio. For some distance beyond Drury the line has been ballasted and the permanent way laid, and soon auother section could be ready to be opened for traffio if-it were desired.We learn that the ballasting or the line from Drury-towards Mercer is proceeding at the rate of a quarter of a. mile per day, or a mile and a half per week, ■ There is no doubt the line to Mercer could bb opened for traffic by ..Christmas i£ the contractors were inclined to let it be used for general, traffic. flt is to be hoped'that the meeting to be held .to* day at Papakura, will resolve upon some course which will have the effect of making the line so far as constructed available to; the public.-} <?)W.

The meeting held at Papaknra was brief but unanimous in its expression of opinion in favour •of opening the railway line as far as Drury. The contractors are willing to carry on traffic, as conducted by Messrs Brogden on the Auckland and Onehunga line, prior to its being officially handed over to the Government. We (Cross) have reason to believe that the Government will offer no obstacle to an arrangement of this kind, .and are, indeed, desirous to afford;, with the least possible delay, all the facilities which such opening would bestow on the district and the city, which would thus be broughtiso much nearer in tho matter of timely and cheap conveyance of passengers, and goods, and country produce.

For an example oE " colonial cheek, 1 ' we commend the following,' as instanced by the Clyde correspondent of the Southern Mercury. One very cold night recently, as a certain landlord was mournfully contemplating his empty bar, bemoaning the dullness of trade, he was pleasantly aroused by the entrance of a stranger, who quietly sat down by tlie warm stove, the heat from which he seemed thoroughly to enjoy. A little time elapsed, when ie asked the landlord to lend him a knife as he had lost his own,'which no'sooner did he receive tlian he found'he wanted pipe and tobacco also. Promptly these articles were also supplied, the landlord waiting in happy expectation for an order. However,_ our friend was in no hurry, but smoked, in a comfortable, contemplative manner ,by the fire. After a while he drew forth a black bottle from his pocket,' the landlord in the meanwhile eyeing him' curiously.. No sooner was the bottle deposited 'by his side tliau he asked to be obliged with a little sugarj tumbler, and spoon. With these articles was he also furnished, the Boniface being determined to see it out. Thus accommodated our friend deliberately poured some liquor from the bottle into his glass, and, helping himself to the hot water from the kettle on the >tove before him, mixed himself a stiff glass of punch; and he thus smoked and drunk until he had polished oft three, when he arose and went his way, leaving Boniface to rejoice ■ over the profits of his custom, and to dwell upon the consoling reflection, 'Sweetis the memory of departed worth.'.l'

The last mail brought the "intelligence of the action taken by the Italian Freemasons in re•ferenco'to the expulsion of-the Pope from the Order. Our contemporary, the TMet, very angrily denied the accuracy of the statement, ' aiid averted that his Holiness had never be-longed-to the "accursed Order." But our contemporary is riot infallible. We have obtained further particulars from which we learn that Paolo.,M.aetai Ferretti-now Pio Nono■was initiated into the mysteries of Freemasonry at Palermo in 1814, and was for some years a very active'enthusiastic Brother of the Order.: The , decree of expulsion, which has been duly issued from the - -Grand Lodge of 'Italy, sets-forth these. and other particulars, .and it is signed by no less a personage than his Majesty Victor Emmanuel,- : the. enlightened and patriotic Grand Masterof Italy.—Southern Mercury,;

■ The' Bishop of Lincoln (Knglaiid) presided at a lecture by a Wesleyan minister in that town on '.'The Life of John Wesley," and at the close of the lecture expressed, his own views. He said: "He agreed with the lecturer that it would be a very great benefit to the Church of England if the Wesleyans now held , the position which John Wesley held. It would be a great benefit to the Church to have earnest, devoted preachers' allied to her, and receiving withiL their chapels even larger congregations than at present, and welcoming the Bishop of Lincoln among them. That was the olive branch he held eut, but unless they were ordained he would not let them administer the sacraments, He would consider their chapels as preachinghouses, and would be happy, to aecepfc them as Bnch. By accepting the terms which he had sketched out tbey would not only be Wesleyans in name, but true disciples of John Wesley indeed." His lordship concluded by saying that he would be happy to receive any suggestions .which' had for its object the bringing about of a consummation so devoutly to be wished as the union of these two bodies.

Business people have repeatedly complained of the deficiency of copper currency in Auckland (says the Cross), and by none has this been felt more than the publicans, Instances have teen known where the latter have had.to pay as much as twenty-two and twenty-three shillings for a pound's worth of pence, aud as they .cannot possibly do without them as a trade medium, they must perforce pay the percentage. To obviate this difficulty we notice that the Auckland licensed victuallers have now in circulation coppr tokens representing a penny value each. The coin is, about the size of the common Hnglish penny, and has a very neat appearance; on the obverse side in the centre is the imprint of the head of her Majesty, the inscription being " Victoria, born 4iay 24, 1819 " On the reverse side appears the 'following:— 11 Auckland Licensed Victuallers' Association, ' Established, New Zealand, April 4 1871." The Association sent the order for the tokens home to Birmingham, where they were manufactured, and by the ship 'Oxford,' which arrived btfre a short time ago, about £150 ■worth came to hand,

■' A recent issue of the Ghina Mail remarks: —"A rather funny story comes from Macao. The captains of seven coolie ships, now lying 'there, determined to celebrate the last day of the trade in a.-way that would express their contempt of the tyrannical measures which had stopped their occupation. They accordingly hoisted their flags half-mast and fired minute guns throughout the day, not exactly to the gratification of the authorities. We do not know for certain, but'presume that there are port regulations prohibiting cannon being fired, except when in distress, by merchant vessels. The unlucky skippers have all been fined a hundred dollars each,_ which they stoutly refuse to pay They say this is too bad; it is knocking .a man down, and then kicking him because he makes a noise iu falling. The Mac jo Government should have ordered its men-of-war to join l in the demonstration at' quarterminute time and convert the funeral salvos into ' feux de !*

"Kcosse," writing in a Southern contemporary, says According to several critics, the barmaid of the present day is a fort of keeper of the peace to her Majesty's subjects, and ought at least to be toleiaied. ' Snyder' in the Auckland Herald, draws a touching picture of a pretty barmaid patting a drunken man on the shoulder to soothe his ruffled temper, as something for which society ought to feel grateful. I for one fail to tee any beauty in the action. To see a wife trying to soothe the ruffled temper of a drunken husband is distressing ; to hear a daughter pleading ' Father, dear father, come home,' is a spectacle few people can view unmoved; but to see a strange girl patting a drunken man 'on the shoulder is revolting; and for men to be petted and coaxed by a pretty giil, when the worse for liquor — does it really soothe the passions? lam afraid 'Snyder' knows it has quite a contrary effect; it may soothe in the immediate presence of the barmaid, but, like lightning hovering round a thunder-cloud, it is bound to explode somewhere, perhaps with a double fury on the head of a devoted wife or unoffending children; or, worse still, in dens where the law cannot follow, in the society of the once modest barmaid, now a barmaid no longer. And cannot thousands of cruelly illused and neglected wives, point at this moment to these ve>y blandishments, which ' Snyder' thinks so essential to the keeping of the peace, as the remote but true cause of their domestic martyrdom 1"

Even iu Ballarat people do not seem to appreciate the works of art fully. A young man went for his'prize—valued at £l-and after offeringit to two orthree people for 5a lie pitched it into the middle of Sturt-street, and requested a cabman to drive over it and smash the thing .up. On Saturday morning an old man got another of these £1 prized, and offered it to several for half-a-crown, but no one would buy it, On the same day, an elderly Scotch lady, who had won a £5 prize, called for it, and on its being handed to her she examined it very carefully for some time, and- then remarked excitedly to the secretary or his assistaut, " Kb, mercy ice; gi'e me back my puud, an'keep ,yonr pictur I" But the institution would not deprive her of her prize.— in the 4.v4r(dmn k