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Thames Star, Volume IIII, Issue 1739, 30 July 1874, Page 2

Thb Provincial Secretary of ;Auckland lias been authorised to frank free from payment. of postage, letters or packets posted en tho public service. A sitting of the Native Lands Court will be opened at Shortland on the 4th September,, for the investigation of claims to certain blocks of land in the Hauraki district. I» the Resident Magistrate* Court this morning a female was charged with drunkenness and punished in the usual manner. This was all the business. The attendance.at tho Theatre Boyal was very poor .last night;, but the Company played as though there bad been a full house, Master. J. IToley especially taking pnina to please those present. Thr, batteries on the flat are now all in full swing again; a;small bufe tiiiiiely supply of Coal being to hand from th© Bay c f Islands, but tho Thames will require larger and more constant _ supplies as the necessary Bteam power increases. ! ; ..■ >; !, ■ I -'• • "Wb are much grieved to intiaiate to pur readers the sudden demise of our respected friend Eli Kettle, who, sifter a severe and painful illness, succumbed to the weakness of all flesh ; and we trust, that his good qual tie^ will long be remembered by all his friends and relations. lT;will be (bseryed from our advertising columns that'the Rojui'lCuglish Opera Company purpose giving v short season at tHe -.Theatre» Royal, comrreucing on^-gaturday, 'i August .-Sffi, andthatlibeipricesfor-admiasion hove been arrnrged on a reasonable Fcale. , W.ti txpecfc ; to; see- tlie Company liberally patronised, aiVd'wo fL.biild-.be■; lor.scd to fin'tl that the inducement offered here was sufficieat; to'e'eciiro a longer stay thaia that contemplated. There is co'mention of season lickets, we notice, .but possibly the management will see their way to effmrg extra inducements to families in this direction. Of the meritß.of the company the preES of the colony hftve'pronounceil radßt favorably.

We nro in receipt; of the following papers from the Government Pi inter:—New 7<«]aacl Gazette No. 39 ; the Financial Statement of the Honorable the Colonial Treasurer 5 atid Nob. 3 and 4 New Zenlnnd .Parliamentary Dftbatep. The Financial Statement comprises fifty-four pages of matter, including numerous tables. Is Pollen-street some very necessary works ire in progress, namely replacing the old box drains across ther«ad by Bibstantial culverts. The work has been completed across from Mary-street, and the contraclora arc now at Sealcy-f trecf^, a point which has long required attention, the foot-bridge haying been in a dangerous state for a long time. The " High-ways Act] 1874," and other Acts passed by the Provincial Council of Auckland during the late cession, and assented to by bis Honor the Superintendent, having been laid before the Govenor, His Excellency kas not been advised to exercise hia power of disallowance in rogpect to them. No reference is made to tho amended Education Act. # "We notice on a table included in the Financial Statement tbat the revenue from the Telegraph Department shows a large increase ohth<> previous yeer. In 1872-3 the revenue from this source was £41,450 5s 7d; for 1873-4, £51,082 18s 9d ; showing an incr'ase of £9,632 13« 2d. The successful working 1, of this department is creditable to the officials of all grades ; and they especially are deserving of the bonuses proposed to be distributed by the Treasurer. . The Bill passed during the late session pf the Otago Provincial Council, intituled " The Otago Gold Duty Repayment Ordinance, | 1874, " has been disallowed by the Governor.'! This Bill proposed a rebate of sixpence per ounce of the duty on gold raised in Otago, and we regret the disallowance, not so much on,account of the gold producers as. the feelings of our contemporary, who devoted a leader to the subject .the other day after inti« mation hal been received here that the Bill had been disallowed. Another of our respected settlers has "pas.-cd away." Mr.'A. C. P. Macdonald, well known to many of our old settlers, died at Wellington on Monday, the 27th. At the time of hia death he held the official position of Assistant Under Secretary. Deceased entered the Government service upwards of twenty years ego, during the whole of which period he served in the Colonial Secretary's Office. Mr. Macdonald leaves a widow and three children. He was tho eldest son of tho late Captain Macdonald, Commanding Officer of Pensioners at Howick, and brother to Mr. Angus Macdonald of the Union Bank of Australia.- His age was about 40 years. He was a gentleman Tory much respected by all who knew him, and his loss ie especially regretted by those brother officers with whom his duties brought him into daily contact. Mr. Mecdonald resided in Auckland for many years, but was transferred to Wellington on the removal of the Beat of Government.-— Herald. Move* probably by the fact that the Koyal families of England and Russia are now connected by the marriage of tbo Duke of Edenburgh, tho Melbourne Daily Telegraph, eugges's that the Russian guns in tho Melbourne Botanical Gardens should be removed out of sight. "In a botanic garden they are particularly out of place, and tht-ir exhibiiion anywhere is a paltry piece of bravado, the more particularly as tho allies had nothiiog to be specially proud of at Sevastopol, where the defence was as heroic, and the critics aay more skilful than the attack. In Eogland the .work has just been commenced.' Colchester returned her guns to the Royal Arsenal in April last; and her example is being generally followed by thii towns Which obtained cannons from the cuptured fortress, and the Royal Arsonal itself, only a few pieces of profaßsional interest are preserved—such a3 a gun with a ball fired from the British battei-ias jammed in its muzzle. Iv our Isnd, and in" our . Botanic Gardens in particular^ we wish the foreign visitor to see no tokens but those of ' peace on earth and good will to men.' The Russian trouhies, at all events, have had their day," * The Dublin Evening Post (1849) eontaia s the following account of an adventuro of Charles Dickens and Mark Lsmon :—" At the Marylebono Police-office on Tuesday, Mr. Charles Dickens and Mr. Mark Lemon preferred a'charge of attempted robbery against Cornelius Hearne, aged 19.. Mr Lemon, on boirg sworn, «aid: I reside at No. 3, Saint Anne's ■Villas, Netting Hill. Last evening, about 9 o'clock, as I was walking. with my .friend, Mr. Dickons, along the Edgew.ire Road, I felt a hand in my coat-pocket, and on turning round saw the prisoner draw his hand therefrom. I gave him a rap with my •tick, when he abused me and ran away. land Mr Dickens ran after him, and he was Bhortly afterwards taken. He was extremely violent, and he kicked me severely on the knee. —Mr. Broughton : Did you misi: anything from your pocket ? —Mr. Lemon t I did not, sir.—Mr. Charles Dickena :- I live at No. 1, Devonshire-terrace, Regents-park. I was with Mr Lemon, and saw him turn suddenly round upon tho prisoner, who speedilj ran away; we pursued him, and when ho was taken he was most violent; he is.a very desperate fellow, .and he kicked about in all directions, . There was a mob of low fellows close by when lib tried Mr. Lemon's; pocket, and we determined that lib sh'onld riofc effect his escape if we could prevent it.—Barkley, an officer of the D. division, deposed to Lia having known the prisoner for years as a reputed -thief.—Mr. -Dickens: When at tho the itation I said I thoughtX knew the prir soner, and that I had seen him at the House of Correction.—Prisoner: Now your Worship, he must havo been in 'quod'there himself; or he couldn't have B'cn m-\ I knew these two 'gentlemen well no better than swell-mob men, and-get their living by buying stolon goods (laughter). That one (pointing to Mr. Dickens) keepß a' fesce,' arid I? recol? leot him at. tho prison, where he "Was put in' for Bix months while I was there for only two. —Both gentlemen seemed to enjoy, amazingly the.-honour which the prisoner had with such unblushing effrontery conferred upon them; but, as may be readily imagined, neither of them confessed to having any con-' neclion whatever with that' highly respectable body,' the swell mob, or to obtaining a living by dealing in stolen good*.—Mr. Broughton, after remark-ing 'upon the coneunamato impudence of the prisoner in making the allegations which he had agaimt gentlemen of so much repute in the literary world, committed him to hard labour in the. HoußO'of Correction for three months. 'Box' and bis friend left tho Court." . . .

The portable engine for tho Crown Princ 0 Goldminiri!? Company was landed 10-day m placed in tho now engine house, Alberfc-strosfe' Thh following are the " objects " of tho Cooperative! ca!tle-deali# and butchoring comply, proposed to bo started in Wellinglon, as stated in the company's prospectus :—The objects of the. Society afo to purchase Live (block from the farmers and settlers of tho Province of Wellington, to slaughter them, and to supply its members with joints at the lowest price possible, to sell to the Retail Butchers live animals or carcases, to preserve meat for exportation if desirable, and to break up the existing monopoly, in supplying the inhabifantsof the city with meat. The sweets of office are •omotimes' pecuniary disadvantages. This would appear to be the caee with the firm of auctioneers who have hitherto hcted in that capacity to the Harbour Board. Mr. Morton having been elected chairman to tha Ponsonby Highway Board, his firm hflß been compelled to resign their appointment us auctioneers to the Harbour Board, as that gentleman will, in due course, t»ke a seat on the latter Board by virtue of his office. For the same reason Mr. Holdship has relinquished his timber contract, in coneequencb of the City Council having nominated him to a peat on the Board, in the room of Mr. P. A. Philips, resigned.—N. Z. Herald. , „..;. The Cross correspondent telegraphs tho following abstract of the " Bill to amend the Constitution " introduced to the Assembly :— Tho bill introduced by the Hon. Dr, Pollen in the Upper House, to amend the Constitution Act, in its preamble sets out that in caeca of difference on any bill arising between the two Houses, it is expedient that such bill should be condemned by members' of both Houses sitting together as one chamber. A bill thrown out by tho Council, after passing the House.of Representatives not to be deemed a rejected bill, unless \a bill substantially the same ha i been rejected in tho immediately preceding session. The Governor by proclamation may order such bill to be considered by bolh tho Houses, sitting as ona chamber and to eocene them for that purpose, the Governor alone to determine, and without appeal, what, are rejected bilb. The Speaker of the Legislative Council' obe Speaker of the combined chamber, 35 persons to be a quorum, and tho questions to bo decided by a majority. The combined chambers may sit during the session of the Assembly or during any prorogation thereof. If the rejecteJ bill bo passed by the combined chamber, to have tha same force as' bills now passed by both Houses. The combined chamber may alter money bills. The other provisions are too formal.