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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1974, 3 May 1875, Page 2

A ntjmbee of miners came from Ohinenrari and Tairua on Saturday in order to spend a night of comfort, and •Brp.wnstreet was made to look quite gay by the number of promenaders and loungers. Sevebal telegramsrappear in to-day's issue which should have been published on Saturday, but which were unavoidably omitted in consequence of arriving too late.' The : delay appears to have arsien through ;the unusual time occupied in transmission. The monthly meeting of the. Excelsior Loyal Orange Lodge takes places this evening in the Odd Fellows' Hall, Rich-mond-street, at half-past seven o'clock. We notice that Mr C. Curtis, Pacific Hotel, has taken out a license to sell game, so that rion-sportsmen who are not fortunate enough .to have sent to them baskets of game will be able to enjoy the delicacy of roast pheasant—if they possess the means to purchase the birds. Me John Cart weight delivered an address, as announced, in St. George's Hall, yesterday afternoon, respecting his opinions of the Bible, and its prophecy, and the second coming of Christ. He announced his intention of continuing his discourse next Sunday, and the Sunday following. A. good many sportsmen were disappointed at the weather this morning. Instead of a sharp, bracing clear day it was raining cats and dogs, and very few if any sportsmen were brave enough to venture out. In fact it would have been of little use, as the birds would be as shy of the rain as the sportsmen. Theee was no business before the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, except a charge of lunacy against a young man, which was heard in Grahamstown, and the patient was committed to the asylum. The Shortland Saw mill.was started to work this morning, after a six months' spell for want of logs. With a little more of the present weather it will be some time before the mill need discontinue work again, as-the supply of logs will be plentiful.

All of the creeks are now pretty flush, and as the dry season may fairly be assumed to hare ended, there will be no want of water for another season, at least; and there is the large water supply in prospective. The drought which prevailed up to a week ago,made the raitv all the more acceptable when it did come, and the constitutional growlers, who usually l'eject every kind of weather as unseasonable; are wont to smile at the prospect of drizzling rain and sloppy streets because they know how much depends upon the rain in this district. Prolonged suwshine does, not suit the Thames. It dries us up, and dries up the very life blood of those fiery, rattling monsters, the crushing mills, which lie, like naournfuL weather cocks, indicating " calm heat, with no immediate prospect of a .change." Already the creeks are feeling the benefit of the downfall of rain, which is a preliminary introduction to winter, when there is never a scarcity of water in New Zealand. The Shortland Saw Mill, which has perforce remained idle for such a long while, has been enabled to;start/to work upon the logs already got down — some 250—which will keep the hands employed until, others are floated from the heads. To many of the mills, too, the rain has been very acceptable—; those which are constructed to be driven by water as well as steam especially. Tbe Liverpool Post states that_ an action involving the question of the right to throw bouquets to actresses is about to be brought against the manager of a Liverpool theatre.: An eldeily.gentleman, almost 90, for some time took his place in the stalls, prepared with bouquets and threw them with great regularity to i certain actresses at certain points of the performance, sometimes rising on their acceptance, of the nosegays and. acknowledging the honour by profound obeisances. The ruanasrer at length interfered, and legal proceedings - are threatened, Not long since (says the Southland TimesJ a highly respectable settler in the neighbourhood called on our Barrackmaster, being on ; the look-out for a housekeeper. He was introduced <to a girl whom the Barrack-master thought "likely,'' and mutual inquiries were duly made; The result was so satisfactory: to the farmer that he .was induced to alter the terms of his proposal, and found in the fair one not a house-keeper only, but a wife. - •.■;.■'.■ The Californian papers report that the American Government officials have Seized the Los Angelos Distillery. The officials suspected that the distillery manufactured more grape brandy than it was paying revenue for. On February 26th a search was made, and in a corner of the distillery the officers [dug a small shaft, and soon struck an iron pipe with a plug in it. This pipe was found to be connected with several huge tanks, the tops of which were eighteen inches from the surface. The said tanks contained more than sixty-five thousands gallons of illicit grape brandy, for which the.Government ought to have revenue to the amount cf forty thousand dollars. Messrg Tarbox, Curtis, and others, the proprietors, it is believed will lose their premises and plant, they being forfeited to the Government. Great sympathy is felt for the farmers, who are great losers through the seizure, inasmuch as they have not received a single cent for all their grapeß sent this season to the distillery. A butcher at Geelong, it appears, is resolved to test the power of the Coroner to punish for attendance when summoned to an inquest. The other day the question was raised why the butcher did not appear when his n*me was called, and the constable explained that the person alluded to had stated his determination not to attend. The Geelong Advertiser says :—" At the conclusion of the inquiry the Coroner toob the^evidence of one or two constables who at different times have summoned the butcher, but could never persuade him to forsake his freshkilled carcases in order to study, morbid anatomy. .A fine of 20s. was inflicted, and, armed'wiih the Coroner's order, one of the constables called "on the butcher and asked for the money, only to be politely informed that it would not be paid; and that the Coroner—and, for that matter, the police—;could do their best, The usual steps have since been taken to enforce tEe fine, the law authorities having been communicated with,-and the issue of the affair will be looked forward to with some interest."