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Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1908, 2 December 1874, Page 2

.The sa, ' Taranaki 'with the Auckland por« tion of the Suez mail on board,' arrived in the Manukau last evening. The Thames'portion need not be looked for > before to-morrow evening.;; , . t i; I The p.s. 'Manaia,! withOhinemuri excur*." sipnist?, came down yesterday morning''and' .. landed her.;passengers about 4 o'clock. " The Jtn(i 'Lalla I!ookh' did not' return, the 'Manaia 1 Winging on her'passengers. Dalton piloted the vessel down, and pronounces her" " very suitable for the river'service,' The river iil is, unusually low . at'; present; 'and .considerable difficulty was experienced in.inducing the pas. sengers to assist in navigating the vessel over the shallow places by Occupying the forepart of the steamor occaswnally., There were about 130 passengers on hoard,'and the vessel ; ;was ~ caught on several mud-banks, on one of which* Bhe \?as detained some time, to the great annoy*' . ance of the excursionists;' The visitors appear to have enjoyed their trip lmfhensely, the w.eather being very suitable for<'tfte purpose. The ' Lalla Robkh' returned :i ye^eifday'after*' noon, and leaves again at'noon to-day.

A young woman named Andrew, who resides " with her parents near the -Una tramway rowly escaped serious • injuries .by fire 'on Sunday, The family were about proceeeing to church, and Miss Andrew was engaged at Bome household work near the kitchen'firej when'her brother happening to come into the kitchen at : j! the time, noticed that Her clothing was on' fire, • and called outito her. The fright;caused; her: to lose her presence of mind completely, and| , instead of allowing her brother to extinguish the flame she ran from him into the parlour. The cur? • rent of air, of course, increased the flame. Her brother, a lad of 16, had his hands severely burnt while endeivourihg to extinguish -the fire, and her father was also i'njuredj but, singular to say, the young lady herself escaped, • There is no doubt,■: however, that she, , owes her life to the prompt measures,adopted ~( for extinguishing the ihme. ■

We understand that the Kauwaeranga School Committee have resolved to bave • the examination in their schools on Friday, the 18ch, and Monday, the 21st December. It is also proposed to have an entertainment at the Vo'unteer Hall on the evening of Monday, the 21st, when the prizes awarded at both schools will be distributed. The schools will resume on the 11th of January.

A narrow escape from serious injury occurred last week through the carelessness of some school children who were annoying a horse, on the Parawai road. It appears that Mr Qulnlivan's Belle of the Isle had been.taking exercise, attended by one of the owner's sons, and • when returning along the road a number of ' school v oys frightened the animal to such an extent tlut she stumbledand fell, the youth falling under her, and sustainiug serious injuries in consequence, He was confined to the house . for some days after, but is now progressing :; favourably towards recovery. The animal sustained no injury. It is a pity such violent urchins are not introuducedto the notice of the.. R.M., who would doubtless administer a caution to them.

The usual' weekly meeting of the Northern Pioneer Lodge, 1.0. G.T., was held last night, in their usual place of meeting. The attendance was large. Fifteen candidates were; initiated, including * several of our principal citizens, The number of members of the Loyal Waikato Lodge joined the procession at Tararu to wrongly stated in our paper at 190 instead of 100. The name of P.G., W. H. Jenkins, of the Charles Bruce Lodge, waa inadvertentlv omitted from the list of officers present at the soiree. There was no business at the Police Court yesterday, not even a drunkard, and, consiler« ing that it was the morning succeeding a general holiday, it speaks well for the sobriety and good order of the community. We are informed that by intelligence received by the last k ail from America: the Hon. S. D. Hatings, the P.R.W.G.T., who was expected about this time, has been very seriously ill. -&t date of last advices he was slowly, recovering, but it was understood that his proposed Journey would have to be postponed for a fewrmonths. It will be seen by advertisement that tenders are required by the Government from persons willing to cater for the colonial representatives at the forthcoming assembly 'at Parawai for prize-firing.' 1 The "successful tenderer will have the exclusive 'right of the 'canteen at the firing camp, under the control of the officer commanding. ' ! , The children attending the Roman Catholic schools in Willoughby-street and Walter-street and those of,the Sunday schools, enjoyed their annual treat at tho Tararu Gardens yesterday. 'There was a very large muster, probably about ;500 in all, and these accompanied by their iteachers and friends, and headed by the flibermail Society's brass band, inarched to Qrahamstown to the train. They occupied 4 carriages and 8 trucks. ' Admission to the gardens .wa3 kindly given gratis by the proprie-. tor, Mr Robert Graham, through Mr Wilson. Swings were provided and games got up for the children, and many of those of riper years enjoyed dancing on the green to the music provided by the band, which continued in attendance all day. The weather was very pleasant, there being a nice breeze blowing from,the sea, which tempered the heat.' Cake, fruit, syrup, lemonade, and tea were provided and heartily enjoyed. ; There was an abundance'of strawberries to increase the store of good things so liberally distributed, and Mrs Fraser very kindly sent a Bupply of fresh milk. After a'day's fun, to which, the children- willdoubtless look back with pleasure'for months to come, the procession re-formed'and the youngi people were conveyed back to' Grahamstown in the train. Onarrival in Grahamstotvn' at 6 o'clock in the evening, they "dispersed'to their several homes,-perhaps considerably fatigued with their exertions during the day. ;;'

Good Teinplarism continues to prosper at the Thames. At the meeting of the Northern Pioneer Lodge, held last evening, no less than fifteen new members were initiated. The number included a distinguished member of the Masonic body at the Thames,' who presided at • the St Andrew's Day commemoration banquet of the ?ir VYa|ter Scott Lodge on'.'the' evening. .' 1

The balanco of goods unsold; at the lat_ baaaar will be offered -at auction , to-day at Ji Edvvin. Binney's. njivt..

We are informed that the Rev Br Cowie, Bishop of Auckland, during his stay at the Thames, visited the Parawai Sunday School, and distributed a number of prizes provided, and subsequently addressed the children. There were about 70 scholars in attendance.

We have to acknowledge receipt of £1 towards the funds'of the Thames Hospital from the lawyer who won it by his superiority in the "Olympic Sames" as practised at Tararu on Monday, and 10a for the Miners' Accident Eelief Fund from James O'Donnell, collected by him for a boys' race which did not come off.

Brumagem half-sovereigns clumsily made are afloat in Wellington, and may find their way here. The "smasher" is describe.! as a man of middle size, fresh complexion, sandy hair, moustache and beard of the same colour, and trimmed off; and dressed in a blue cloth suit.

Mrs Colclough (Polly Plum) announces in a letter to the editor of the Melbourne Telegraph the subject of her next lecture before the people of that city. She concludes her letter as follows" Who can wouder when women have become so reduced by ages of dependence that they ,are ready to consent to undertake the holiest duties and the highest responsibilities fropi such motives,'marriages are fewer and old maids are plentiful ? I mew to consider this question fully, and beg all my opponents to muster strongly and dispute with me, face to face, when I lecture next week on the momentous question, ' Why don't the men propose ?'*'

•Last night's _ Auckland Star says:—We understand that the young girl (Cecilia Allen) now in custody on a charge of setting fire to the dwelling-house of Mr Howard, on the Mapuna road, has made a confession, or part confession, this morning to the police. She has stated with some hesitancy that she set fire to the stable which was destroyed about a fortnight since. She intimates, moreover; that she set fire to the house which was destroyed on Friday last, ahd that she had attempted to fire other pldces in Auckland, but was. prevented from' carrying , her diabolical plans into execution through the intervention of neighbours, The girl appeara to be about thirteen years of age, but as she is small of stature, she may be a year or .two ..older.: She. is very guarded in replies to the officers of police, and is deficient neither in shrewdness nor intelligence. Me is a native of Auckland, and about eight months ago lived with a person in Elliott-street, where she'first r began to exhibit her mischievous proclivities. It would seera, therefore, that Incendiarism; is a kind of monomania with; this girl, as she cannot assign any reason for her wilful misconduct, beyond that of seeing a blaze. The case will be heard before the Police Court on Monday next, when it is expected some curious revelations will be male, which may be of service to the phrenologist and the friends of educational progress. The Herald indulges in a facetious article on the Ohinemuri question, and in a round-about way confesses its inability to fathom the negotiations which hive been going on .for the opening of the country. This. funny article (we had almost; said-, stupid) concludes : as follows "Suppoiing;that.we should happen to read, in double large capitals, th it Ohinemuri is opened up—really and truly .opened up—not by report as.wehave so often bad it, but opened up, as"we have said, really and truly—what then f ■What follow? npon Ohinemuri being opened up? It has been tried for gold. The hills have been searched and the valleys have been dug into and dug up. V Often and oftentimes again we have read in large caps, in the Thames Advertiser, Gold ip Ohinemuri,' 'A three-ounce nugget from Ohinemuri.' (Alluvial diggings at Ohinemuri.' But no gold has come to band, andthe assayers and melters or smelters of gold at the binks are innocant of ever having handled Ohinemuri gold beyond report What, then, will be the result of the opening up of Ohinemuri ? If it be agricultural laud that is wanted by the people of the Thames district, there are thousands .upon thousands of aiirea whereon to grow their potatoes and wheat, if they be so minded. Why do not Te Moananui and his dusky friends Oj.en up Ohinemuri ? It will do them no harm; it will please Mr Mackay, and relieve the columns of the t hames Advertiser, bo that its large capital letters can be uted for some other sensational line than the ' Opening of Ohinemuri.'"

The Echo says:—"A correspondent wants to know whether it is true tbat Captain Fraser paid the Star's costs in the recent action for libel? We really are not aware. The Star has forgiven the Warden, which looks like it But, on the other hand, we have heard it said that the Sla.r paid the Warden's bill, which would put a rather different complexion on the matter. Of one thing we believe there is no doubt—a reconciliation actually did take place between the gent'eman who criminally accused the Star proprietors and the individuals who so recently emerged from the place of accusation Our contemporary has not said so, but we believe it is understood that Cap'ain Fraser is not suitable for the captaincy of the Forty Thieves, but would be better fitted for a commission (say as colonel) in the host of Heaven. It is arranged that the Colonial Government, instead of at once removing Captain Fraser from his seat as a magistrate, is to promote him into the position soon to be vacant by the resignation of Sir George Arney. It is also a settled matter that the sp»cimen'crushe'rs of the Thames are a most respectable body of men; it is arranged tbat the police may be hanged; and the mite owners who conspired to prosecute (and who, after all, are but a set of land sharks). may go to—well, generally speaking, it is settled that they may follow the Thames people to the warm quarters kindly set apart for them by the Star not long ago On the other hind the proprietors of the Star are not criminal libellers, who for the sake of filthy lucre blackened the Warden's character. By no means I Quite the contrary. They are the guardians of the people's morals and the defenders of the bench of justice. Some little explanations of thi< kind, we understand, led up to the mutual forgiveness which has edified the public in this matter. But speaking seriously, the whole affair is a strange one, and leaves the Warden of the Thames in no very enviable position. He was either a good deal too angry a month ago, or he has been a good deal too sdly ■ since then. Who is to believe in the horrible injustice of the libel so earnestly insisted upon by Captain Fraser a month ago in the face of the hobnobbing which has followed ? If the Thames Warden can shake hands and be friendly with Messrs. Reed and Brett he must surely feel very much ashamed of himself for having put these worthy gentlemen into such an undignified Btate of fright. We certainly are not surprised that the forgiveness comes so gracefully from them. It was a serious thing to make all that fuss about nothing. It was cruel to have reduced tbem to writing so many laudatory paragraphs of the Chief Justice in expectation of tlm trial. It was altogether unfeeling to have diluted for month's the vinegar tf the Evening Star all about an injury in which the person injured believed so little himself. On the whole, if the Warden did not pay the costs, we think he ought to have done so. We should strongly advise him however to keep up the friendship so auspiciously commenced. If he- does not, he may look out next time. He frightened our contemporary it is true once, hut since the discovery has been made that his roaring is like the roaring of any suckiug dove, matters will no doubt take a very different complexion on any future occasion."

Captain Hamlin, Lieutenant King, and Private Currie, of the Waiuku Volunteers, (writes a correspondent of the Gross) have qualified themselves for firing for Colonial Representatives, They have the best wishes of the Waiuku public, Captain Hamlin being present (and prospective) holder of the Champion Belt, and I gather from Major Gordon's report that Private Currie is justly entitled to the Cadet Champion belt for 1873.

Of the wive 3 married in Victoria last yew (says the Melbourne. Telegraph), no Iceb than 1839 were of Australian birih, 1402 being Victorians. The English maidens who received promotion numbered 1404; the Irish, 1089; and the Scotch, 438; so that it mil be seen Australia is rapidly securing a monopoly of its orn marriage market. The return also shows that nationality tells greatly in courtship, the Irish marryihg Irish, the Knglish giving the preference to English, while the Scotch take Scotch or English lasses indtffe eatly, but draw the line at the Emerald Isle, and Victorian bachelors display an overwhelming prediction foe Victorian maidens.