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Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1810, 21 October 1874, Page 2

Complete arrangements have been made by which a site for a rifle range for the forthcoming inter-provincial matches has been secured. The site is on the delta between the Thames Eiver and Kauaeranga Creek, and is pronounced by competent authorities to be admirably adapted for the purpose. The ground is on the eastern side of the range lately constructed by the District Engineer, , and is easy of accees; another advantage being that from the direction of the range the competitors will fire into the hill which rises behind the position to be occupied by the butts. This hill will net as a stop to the bullets and prevont them from flying off in angular directions, a very common circumstance, and one which Mr. McLaren guarded against in the formation of the range just opened, by covering all conceivablo directions in the line of shot with a solid face. We understand that Rewi has been induced lo

permit the use of this ground for a trifling y,, consideration of £10, through the agoncy of "i^Mr. Tookey, who has used" bis powerful influence with the dusky potentate to some purpoße. It is with greater pleasure that we render unto Mr. Tookey the credit which his icrvices demand, as it is understood that that gonlleman was maiuly instrumental in eecuring to the Government the piece of ground which is now occupied fts the volunteer riflo rangp, and in connection with which nothirg was heDTd of Mr. Tookey. The colonial match will take place lato in January, so thab the volunteers of tho district will have ample time to make the necessary arrangements for the reception of their brothers in arms ; and from the spirit which has always characterised our volunteers previously littlo doubt can bo entertained that the reception will bo » suitable one.

Fkom tho Resident Magistrate's Court ngain this morning there is Jittlo to record, one drunkard being t^o breaker of, tho law. ,

The weekly meet ing of tbo Young Men's Mutuol Improvement Society wHI bo held ibis evening, when a paper on "Criticism" ■wiUbo read.

Wk notion that tho work of repairing Curli-' \T hcrfis being proceeded with, which ia well, ginco tho wharf has been and will ngain be of grf at convenience to shipping;

Tup condition of tlio exchungo to-dny has been du'l, as will be ecen by ouv report of the 6harcma?ket. up to 12 o'clock ; Iho Albuinia is tho onJy slock in ■which sales has been effected.

In our yesterday's Auslraikn telogiums it will have been remarked that Mr. GVttrrcH, tho talented comedian, has married Mies Isabella Carandini. Miss Isabella ia tho youngest of the family.

Mes. I?obikeon's foot'was amputated about four inches above tho onkle by Dr. LetlibrieJge, afeisted by Dip. Poyne and i?eraton, between 11 nd 12 o'clock this day. The cmise of r npnt(itioH was disease of ancle joint. Tho operation has been performed most satisfactorily.

We aro requested to intimaio that, the c?"av;;ng for Mr. Jefferson's Art Uuion will tp^e place on Monday the 26th instant. Mr. Jefferson has ventured on tho speculation vvifch spirit, and, if we may judge :";om'thc eminent Buccess which attended the Auckland Art Union, snd the £,ood for.'mne of tho Thames residents in tho same, there can be little doubt but that tho Art Union of Mr. Jefferson will be well patronised.

Missrs Bbbet and Dewnr, members of the Kauaranga Highway Boavd, paid an official vist to the school of the;? district this morrrog, and express themselves well satisfied v»ith the manner in which tho rcbools ai-c being conducted, as well as the good attendance and general, clearances end dicipHno of the children. The gentlemen made tbemselve» acquainted with the requirements of the schools bb regards increased funituve etc., with the view of at once procuring the same.

Neat little anecdotes of imported " helps" under Mr. Vogel's immigration scheme oro continually being circulated, and fcho cry is " et: 11 they come." Here is the very latest, the tvuth of which may of course be vouched for. A sma 1! specimen of the genus m»id of all work, engaged in the service of an " aristocraehun" in this district was asked by a sympathising member of the sisterhood how the general stylo of the situation Buited. " Well, my dear," was tho affectionate reply, " I find nothin' to complafn of; but master and missis doea talk such very bad grammar." This 'girl has a cultivated taste.

Thb weekly meeting of the Pioneer Lodge, 1.0. G.T., was held last evening, and tho following resolution waßpaesod:—"That this Lodge desires to place upon record its deep sense of the loss it has sustained by the death of Brother Eev. Stcwcrt Wilson, feeling that his services in the cause of the groat reform this Order has undertaken cannot bo over estimated, or the position he has left void bo easily filled. The affability of his disposition, tho integrity of his life, combined with an unflinching advocacy of our principles will ever cause his name to be remembered by us as that of one who was indeed a Father in Israel, and whose virtues may well bo emulated by every member of the Order."

Thb Timaru Herald, in describing an Auckland mob, says:—?' It is a very sentimental mob, always getting into a state of passionate excitement over matters) which do not affect it practically at all. It reads newspapers and listens to orators. Its idols arc rag, bone, snd bottle merchants, gentlemen who have ' b«en in trouble on the other side, *nd anybody who bawls very loud, and looks very dirty. It does not object to wealth so long as it has been earned by the ' sweat of the brow,' and its possessors havo taken no steps to remove the proofs. Many of its favorites aro very rich, but they never wash the filth of their lucro off themselvfe. Theso are the people who used to th?ow stones p.ml mud at Sir George Grey m the streets."

The Ofcago Guardian thus disposes e° a publication which is only remarkable es exposing the consummate impudonco and unparalleled ignorance of its author :— <c Wo have received a copy of the first (and it it to big-hoped the last) number of the Spiritist Exterminator and Free Trade Advocate. The slates that his rsoson tee starting a paper in Melbourne " arises from the fact that he is one of the Ofcago old identities, who had hia brains awakened by tlio Victoria element in 1861, and, being on a visit to Victoria, he find 9 that colony is being ruined through manhood suffrage, coupled with a rotten Press, advocating Protection. Ho thcrefoie find* it to bo his bounden duty, to remain among them until ho remotes the scales from the^r eyes, and lifts the colony from the stage of. degradation to which it is fast - drifting.". When we state that "the proprietor " i 3 the well-known Jock Graham, it will be admitted that comment is unr.oce3eary. But it is pleasing to kriow that Mr. Graham " finds it to bo his bounden duty " to stay in Victoria. There is not a great d-cm<uul for him in ITow Zealand. Wo aro content."

It is stated that an au ographic telegraph j just patented in Washington but wilhhcll iVoai publicity until patented in other countries, is a great improvement on tho present system and may lead to a radical chirgo in telegraphing. 'The principle, apparently, is analogous to that discovered by a Mr. .Bakewell in England eeyoral years ago, and that has been employed with imperfect success in Prnncc—porhapg elsowhero. At each station a cylinder is attached to tho transmitting and receiving instrument. Tho manuscript to be sent is wrapped round one and instantly duplicated on tho other, no matter how distant. Tho procees is almost equivalent of photography, and is instantaneous. It ii perceptible ut a glanco that long despn'chcß, vow sont at so much cost, would be forwarded us cheaply as tho shortest, as they would occupy no moro time nor any more labor. It is rather fearful to think what amount of crude news with all tho worthless details, may be skurriod about when this method is in operation*!; but there is an equivalent in the expectation of receiving Preaidental messages, royal speeches, oiUcial and business reports, at.d statistics, in accurate form and without delay. Something like this has been needed. If the American improvement or discovery surmounts the European difficulties, it will not be long before it will ..revolutionise tho existing eUto of affaire.

We have been viiitcd lately with anything buii cheering weathor, though now tho proapect is of a general change; but the South seems to have fared even worßO. By our Southern files wo notice that tho weather has, during tho month, and for a short timo previously, been exceptionably severe, heavy rains tind powerful winds prevailing. A humbor of townships havo boan flooded by the rising of tho rivers, end considerable damago bus beon dono to property. It is to bo hoped time tho last few days of glorious sunshine whiuh wo have experienced tiere aro truthful signs of a long season of genial weather to jcome.

The subjoined is m odo which appeared iv tho la6t issue of tho Waka Maori—on tho death of Tahana Turoa. The oda has been put into verse by Mr. Gborgo Wilson, author of'Ena":—

May softest winds on downy pinions bear Tahana onward in hiß heavenward ilight, Above Okare in the realms of air, And up, and up tallE.mgitauwbi height. Ghost of Tahan-i! thou'lt be questioned soon, By spirits in that land of whispering Bhade— "Whence com'st tLouP" answer, where Taroa's moon, And sun, and watching stars, rise, chine, and fade.

Cis TME advunc.es hand in hand with civilisation : a fact which, howevor unpleasant to reflect upon, is continually proved by daily observation. Timo was when society terrors in the peraons of professional thioves and cultured swindlers were unknown in tho colony. This is to bo accounted for by two reason s: first, that the prowth of crime in a new colony (undrr a, healthy form of government) is less rapid than in largo cities, vhere tho temptations to crime ere greater and more varied; ond, secondly, tho;field of action being more [limited and profits proportionately less, sufficient; jnducorooi) ts are wanting to attract the attention of thrtae who livo by making thcie fellow men~a prey. Now a,'dttyp, however, we aro not free from such social drawbacks, and we are continually reading of fresh discoveries in our cities of that, class of criminal*—so common in , older countries —who servo an apprenticeship to a systematic trade of plunder, such as burglars, gnrrottors, &c. An alarming number of notoriously bod characters such as the above appear to have been introduced under the auspices of the present immigration scheme, which, however perfect its administration, offers advantages for rice and villainy (clothed with an outward seeming of respectability) to drain itself on our soil and breed infecti.n. The Otago Grunrtfian of October tke 6th notice* the presence in tho City of Dunedin of a gang of night marauders, whoso practice it is to attack pedestrians Under the shadow of night. In noticing a number of cases which have come under its immodiato observation that paper coys:—" Th» police of llio city will find it neceaeary to more careful'y guard the outskirts. Several cases of 'sticking up,' and more attempts at • sticking-up,' have lately occurred in various outlying parts of Dunadin. A fow nights ago, in Dowling-Btreet, a gentleman, on his homeward route, was attracted by tho screams of a femalo apparently in dtslrcss; and oa going towards the locality whence the cries proceeded, be was reized 6 'by a man, who clearly meant mischief, only his intended victim proved too much for hJnv"