The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1874.

Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1792, 30 September 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1874.

We hare received a letter from Mr. J. W. Adlam, Shortland,. purporting to be an answer to certain implications on the writer contained in the Thames Advertiser. For obTJous roasons we decline to publish the letter: it should appear in the paper in which the allegations against Mr. Adlam were published. With the writer's consent we shall be happy to forward the letter to our contemporary.

It is not'fied by advertisement; in anotber column that Mr. Thomas Skellie, a champion pedestrian, -will run at the Parawai Gardens on Saturday next. ' ■

WnfTKB clothing, consisting of gentlemens' overcoate, real macintosh <?oats, are being sold to suit all purchasers at Josephj^Moses Thames Cloth Hall.—Advt.

The Waio-karaka drain ago cases came on for hearing at the Wwrden'a Court this morning, and were adjourned for a fortnight. A case —Comes v. the Waiotahi G-.M.Co.—for encroachment, was also adjourned for a week. , ■. •

FbepabAtions have been commenced for the erection of new premises for the Union Bunk, at the corner of of Albert and Queenstreets. The new building, which is to be erected on the Bite of that destroyed by fire, will be both ornamental and substantial, and a> welcome addition to the architecture of Albert-street. "

A beli toweb is being erected in Shortland, at the corner of Richmond-street, opposite Mr. TwohillV hotel, on which is to be suspendeded the fire bell to supersede the old triangle which has hitherto done duty in cases of fire alarm. Judging by the massiveness of the timbers, and the extensive preparations for foundation, the new structure will be a substantial one.

Mb. Axraar o'Neii.li brought from the Miranda this morning a specimen of coal from Foot's iand —to work which a company ia now ia process of formation —for the purpose of teating its quality. A number of gentlemen inspected the cool this afternoon in the G-overnor Bowen Hotel —among them Dr. Lee and Mr. Friend, from Auckland, two of the promoters of the company.

The Illustrated Sydney News, with a copy of -which/we have'been favored by Mr. J. H. Jefferson, contains come Very nice engravings as usual. The " Scenes on the Mew Mail Route via San Francisco" have been familiarised by Bachelder's Diorama. "Leaves from an Overland Sketchbook" are interesting, as showing pictures in the Old World. There is also a beautifully tinted colored supplement, " A Serious Matter," and a number of pieces of Australian Scenery.

The Flint GHobe, a paper published in Michigan, saya :—"The Legislature of Massachusetts has lately passed a law fixing a pound and a half as the minimum weight of a dozen eggs. This is a move in the right direction, and we hope other States will follow it up. An egg from a well-fed fowl is heavier and richer than an egg from a common fowl that is only half-fed j and it is time that this old style of buying and selling eggs by number instead of weight should be discontinued. It discourages the breeder of blooded and fine fowls to find that their large eggs fetch no more than the small, and poor produce of inferior poultry."

The Adelaide Observer thus refers to Sir James Fergusson'a retirement from office :— " Sir James Fergusson, it appears, has grown weary of the burden of Yiceroyalty, and has tendered his resignation to Earl Carnarvon. From the first he has displayed an inaptitude /or accommodating himsdf to the uasensational routine of a colonial Governor's duties. His individuality is too strong to allow of his filling with satisfaction to himself or to those over whom he may be set the strictly neutral position of representative of the Crown in colonies possessing responsible Government. This was made painfully apparent in South Australia, and his period of administration in New Zealand has not been one wit smoother."

The following telegram was sent from MW York to various parts of the United Stales on April 28. —" Obadiah, Bound, aged.6o, living at Richmond, Staten Island, went to a newspaper office here yesterday evening, and, wanted the beet reporter on the paper to take home with him last night and prepare a sensation for to-day's reading. The reporter accompanied him home, and, after Bound had spent two hours giving him a history of his life, he coolly exclaimed, ' Mr. Reporter, I shall be a corpse in a few minutes j' he then swallowed a very large dose of laudanum, and, to the horror of the reportor, waa soon dead. Bouud inherited 350,000 dols. a few yeai-s ago, and had run through it all in dissipation."

The Intelligent Vagrant takes Bishop Croks to task for speaking of this colony as "alone isle" thusly:—Until I read Dr. Croke's sermon in Dublin, I never knew what a miserable pluce New Zealand was. Dr. Croke is the Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland, and, when I had the pleasure of knowing him there, ho seemed to be quite contented with his lot. But I see he has " came back to Erin," and in a sermon, has talked of the time he was " living on a lore isle at the Antipodes." Up in Auckland he seemed to bo quite contented with his "lone isle," and, indeed, had a comfortable house, and " lashin's of atin' an' dhrinkia'." Bat now he speaks as if he had been in some miserable corner of the earth. However, I suppose Dr. Croke was only indulging in a little pardonable hyperbole, for I find him connecting the Vatican with Libtrty and Constitutional Government. I conclude, then, that he did not intend to kav« hip words understood literally.

A meeting of the Board of Education was held in Auckland on Monday, from tho report of which, appearing in our Auckland contemporaries, we moke the following abstract of the business transacted having reference to this district:—-On considering a petition which has been received from the teachars of the Thames schools, against their salaries being settled in accordance with the average attendance?, which is affected materially in their district by the state of the weather, the Board agreed that the scale should not be altered, but that favourable consideration should always bo given to exceptional caees.—ln reply to a communication from the Kauaeranga Committee, tht Board regretted that they had no funds at their command for building purposes, and would be glad if the committee could suggest any other means of accomplishing the'object they had in view.-*—Mrs. Skeon wrote, asking whether tfaer* was any difference between certificates granted by the late Board, under the Common Schools Ac f, 1867, and the present.—The secretary was instructed to inform Mrs. Skeen that the question had never been raised, and that the Board had therefore never had occasion to dec de between them— Miss Haselden's appointment as teacher of th* Kauaeranga Girls' School was authorised. —It was agreed that Mr. Compton, teacher in the Waiolahi district, should be paid £100 a year.

The following amusing story of an English nobleman, recently deceased, is told by the correspondent of the contemporary. " The duke," he saya, " was once in a church when a collection was announced for some charitable object. ' The plate began to go round, and the duke carefully put his hand into his pockot and took out a florin, which he laid on the pew before him ready to be transferred to the plate. Beeide him sat a snob, who, noticing this action, imitated it by ostentatiously laying a sovereign aloagside the ducal florin. This was too much for his grace, who dipped hia hand into his pocket again and pulled out another florin, which he laid by the side of the first. The little snob fol lowed suit by laying another sovereign beside the first. His grace quietly added a third florin, which was capped by a third sovereign on the part cf the little snob Out came & forth florin to swell the duke's donation, and then the little snob triumphant ly laid three sovereigns at once apon the board. The duke not to be beaten, produced three florins. Just at this moment the plate arrived. The little snob took up his handful of sovereigns ostentatiously rattled them into the plate, and then turned defiantly towards his rival, as if he would cay, ' I think that takes the shame out, of you.' Fancy his cha'rgrin. when the duke, with a grin smile, put one florin into the plate, and quietly swept the remaining cix back into his pocket."

The Whakatane correspondent of Bay of Plenty Times furnishes another instance illustrative of the inhumanity of the Maorias in the treatment of the sick. He says:—l hare to announce the death of Gabriel Tamaiarohi, Native Assessor, head chief of the Ngatipukeko tribe here, which, event occurred on the 7th instant. His death was caused, humanly speaking, by shameful neglect, as he had been ill for above one month, and treated by the tohungas of the tribe after their manner. The word " tohunga" may be, and (by people who dislike calling a spade a spade) is, often trantlated " doctor." I think, however, I shall be nearer the truth by rendering it as necromancer, witch, wizard, or devil worskipper, if one may be allowed to judge such persons by their'works. The treatment which brought Gabrial to his grave is, alas! too common aaoßgst the Maoris : but, did one such case occur amorgst the more enlightened race of colonists, the parties implicated—■ whether by omission of duty or by overt act would assuredly be indicted for manslaughter. Suffice it for your readers to.know that this worthy man of rank was kept .for two or three weeks on a diet of cold water, and when he became delirious, and not till then, his relations let the settlers near know. One of them having written to the Resident Magistrate, Opotiki, that official sent Mr. Knyland, A.0., to attend upon the sick man. It was, however, too late, as he died (from very weakness, we may suppose) the day after. It will be difficult to find a fit successor to the.deceased in the tribal and Government honors.