THE Evening Star PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2508, 19 January 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1877.

The Rev. W. Tinsley is advertised to preach both morning and evening on Sunday next, on the occasion of tbe anniversary services of the Primitive Methodist Sunday School. The Rev. J. T*. Hinton will deliver an address in the afternoon, and there will be hymns sung, and recitations given by the children. Collections will be made in aid of the Sunday School fuuds.

A special meeting of the Hibernian Society will be held at the Hall this evening at 7.30 o'clock to consider the state of the band fund. Tbe attention of members is requested to this announcement.

We had no reporter present at the meeting of the Borough Council last night, and we have to acknowledge our indebtedness to Mr F. 0. Dean, Town Clerk, for the minutes of the proceedings.

We are glad to see that Dr Payne has returned from Auckland, and that he has so far recovered his health as to be able to resume his practice.

The Queen's Minstrels are to appear at the Theatre Royal on Saturday next. More fun is anticipated. The entertainment is, we hear, given by particular desire.

We notice that an exhibition game of billiards will be played on Saturday next at the Shortland Hotel. The match is of a novel character, as far as the Thames is concerned, being a match between a player playing with his fingers, against one playing with the cue. The cueist is to receive the enormous odds of 900 in 1000.

Owing to the General Government not being in a position to sell the Volunteers any ammunition the various companies on this field are beginning to find that their stores are getting rather low. Under these circumstances we understand that the match which was to have taken place to-morrow between the T.S.V. and No. 2 H.R.V. has been postponed until a more favorable" opportunity, the captains of these companies very wisely preferring to husband their cartridges for the district firing, which will take place at the end of this month or the beginning of next.

Consideeing the inclement nature of the weather there was a fair attendance at the Congregational Church last night to see the Panorama of " scenes from Amsterdam up the Rhine, through Germany and Switzerland to Italy." This Panorama consists of 23 large views, and most of them represented very well the places they were supposed to represent. The Rev. R. Laishley acted as lecturer, and greatly interested his audience with descriptions of several continental towns he had visited. Mr Wright performed several pieces on the harmonium during the course of the evening, and at the conclusion everybody seemed satisfied with the evening's amusement. It was announced that to give those who had not seen it a chance to do so, it would be exhibited again on Monday evening.

These are papers and papers. The Advertiser, when detected in an impudent act of literary piracy, attempts to divert public attention from the exposure by writing about pigeons.. Certainly our birds are sometimes dilatory, bufc the Advertiser would not like to confess how often its columns are indebted to our little birds. However, we had nothing to apologise for yesterday, and we did not crib the information from the 'Tizer, but the latter cribbed the report of the Ohinemuri school committee from us. But this ruse of the Advertiser's won't do. Never mind the pigeons, Mr Editor, but what about the piracy of the Otago Guardian's article?

We regret to hear that Mr H. A. Severn of the Bank of New Zealand has resigned the position he has held with such credit to himself in connection with the Mechanics' Institute. The reason of Mr Severn's resignation is, we believe, that he intends to proceed to England. His loss will be ' much felt by Thames people as Mr Severn has ever been most willing, as well as able to devote his talents,time, and money to the furtherance of charitable objects. More especially by the Mechanics' Institute will his loss be felt, as he has considerably endeavourei to further the interests of that Institute by every means in his power. It is needless for us to allude to Mr Severn's abilities as a scientific man. They are two well known to require comment at our hands. We hear, however, that it is the intention of the Committee of the Mechanics' Institute to get up a soiree, and present Mr Severn -with an address on his leaving. It is also probable that the idea will be enlarged on, and the soiree be open to the general public. We hope it may, as Mr Severn has well deserved at our hands.

Absent husbands (says the Dunedin Star) do not always prove so kind as Mr Blackwood, formerly of Wakatipu, more recently of the Diamond Fields, Africa, and now of the world of spirits—let us hope of Paradise, for such a constant husband is deserving of nothing else. During a long absence of ten years from the wife of his bosom, not even the fair charmers of Africa's sunny clime, far less the sable daughters of Nubia, the graceful Kaffresses, or, the plump and adipose Hottentots, could wean his affections from the light of other days. And when Blackwood, having amassed numbers of those shining baubles destined to deck the coronets of blue-blooded duchesses and ball-room belles, pined amidst the sun-scorched valleys of Cape Colony, and shuffled off this mortal coil, he left unto his lonely widow, sorrowing amidst the lakes of Otago for her absent husband, the nice little solatium of £7000, and a diamond or two to shine amidst her widow's weeds.

The Taranaki News records the misfortunes of a family as follows;-—James Brewer and family came out to this district in the ship Hannibal. On the passage out one of the children was washed overboard and drowned, the mother grieving for the loss of her child -became insane, and is now in the Asylum at Wellington, and the father died of consumption on the 7th instant in the Hospital, leaving three orphans in destitute circumstances.

A Dunedin telegram states that in the lible case of Perrier v Reed, the issues were settled in Chambers. The Judge expressed a hope that for the credit of the Press the case would not come on for trial. The defendant applied for a commission to examine Creighton, and a change of venue- to Wellington is asked for by the plaintiff', but not settled."

An amusing paragraph has been going the rounds of the Southern papers under the title of " The bull and the frog." It appears that a certain youthful M.H.R., who, during the late session, endeavoured, uuder shelter of his parliamentary privileges, to traduce the working men of Wellington, has actually received in Timaru the thrashing which threatened him before. The newspaper report says that the " animal of pretentious proportions" grossly insulted a gentleman in social company, and that on the following morning he " was awakened to the fact that hia claret was drawn, and he was kissing mother earth, and his members were all afield. The frog found himself in company where counterfeits were not recognised, and his inflation was soon knocked out, as he richly deserved." An eye-witness says that after the severe pounding "he exhibited a most craven spirit, and humbly apologised." This reminds us of the humiliating spectacle in the House when a certain " honorable member" narrowly escaped expulsion and disgrace for a" cowardly attack on Mr Joyce.—Grey Biver Argus.

The Sunday-school children of the city will rejoice to learn that in return for their missionary contributions they have not been forgotten by the missionaries on board of the Dayspring. This pretty little craft, which all day yesterday was undergoing a shaving, shampooing, and varnishing process, is ballasted with cocoanuts from the South Sea Islands. We learn that there are between 14,000 and 15,000 nuts aboard, tolerably hard to crack, but full, of the milk of benevolence, and that they are to be distributed gratuitously among the youngsters whose united pennies have done so much to keep the little cruiser beyond the reach of pecuniary difficulties. The hold has been opened, and a considerable number were given away yesterday. Doubtless when the fact becomes known the Dayspring will be Tvell patronised by the children who have taken such an active interest in her welfare.—Otago Guardian.

The Melbourne Herald writes: — Visitors to the Victoria Arcade have been startled by the appearance of two men, dressed in a manner so fearful and wonderful as to attract general attention. The same men in the same costumes have occasionally been seen in the suburbs. Their dress consists of a loose suit and soft hat, with the addition of an umbrella carried open in all weathers, the whole being completely covered by small colored handbills. It seems that this is a mode Mr Henderson, of the Victoria Arcade, has adopted of advertising an American notion which he has just introduced to the Melbourne public. In the United States the confectioner's import a mild element of gambling into their business. They make up a large number of packets of confections from which the purchaser selects as he or she pleases. In a certain proportion of these are placed coins of different values so that some purchasers get their confections for nothing and others are considerably in pocket, the majority of course getting nothing but the lollies they purchase. Mr Henderson has adopted this plan, and with success apparently. He places coins of all values, from 3d to a sovereign, in his packets, the smaller ones necessarily being greatly in preponderance. The vendor alleges that his parcels of lollies, which are sold for a shilling, contain full weight, and are according to the present state of the lolly market in Melbourne, full value for the price charged. His version is, that it is the profits arising from purchasing largely and selling expeditiously that enable him to offer the inducement of prizes to his customers. The police have been looking into the matter, but so far do not appear to have discovered that any law has been broken.

The Americans have discovered a new use for paper. It is one which certainly would not suggest itself at fir st sight. 1 hey employ it as a substitute for wood. Paper has for years done duty as linen, but perhaps except when employed by bookbinders we should not expect to find it taking the place of " boards." American growers had found that wine long stored in the wood suffered from the contact. It was certainly a bold idea to abolish wooden casks and wrap.wine in paper.. But it is announced to have been done. And the new fabric is said to have proved so successful that it is to be applied to general purposes of storage. Jit is made by some peculiar process, the^-principal material employed being rye or barley straw. Of course it is waterproof, so that no portion of the wine is absorbed, nor can such a cask become charged with the gases which are set at liberty in course of fermentation. It was a doubtful point whether it could resist the test to which it would be subjected during fermentation, but as one sample was proved to have withstood a strain of 4000lbs, that question may be treated as settled. It is no small part of the advantage of the new casks that they can be packed so as to occupy much less space. They are made in a cylindrical form, and it is calculated that this gives an advantage in stowage amounting to 15 per cent.