THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2532, 16 February 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1877.

Theke was a somewhat long sitting of the Thames Borough. Council yesterday evening, and a good deal of work was got through. There were ahout the usual number of letters read from aggrieved individuals, one of them in particular asking that something might he done to the footpath or pavement, or whatever pseudonym it may be dignified by, in Brown street. It may he remembered that we have, not once only, drawn attention to the state of the pathway here, commenting on it as dangerous, especially by night. The few inhabitants left in the street have at last roused themselves, and' it is much; to be wished j that something' may be done. The law appears to be, as said the Mayor, that those who want footpaths must make them and keep them in order too, and hence instead of decent footpath's we j have those which were once, perhaps, sound, but are now patched up so as to keep within the letter of the law, or else neglected altogether, that what was said by Cr Read was certainly • not wide of the truta when he affirmed that they were dangerous by day as well as by night. Pieces of board of the rudest description are used to cover over holes in the pavement, some 3 inches in length, some as jnany feet, and all so many stumbling blocks in the way of the passers-by, some of whom are pretty sure to cause an accident'unless, they are seen to. We hope that repairs will be made' not only on the western side of Brown street, but "wherever else they are required, which is as much as to - say everywhere. The, damage done by the, late floods was naturally the subject of much discussion, and the Coun- ! cil have, we think, decided '.rightly that the bridge over the Karaka is the work that demands their most immediate attention, and that until that is finished,.' other works, though of, importance, cannot bo taken in hand. It .appears that;a considerable number-of objections have been taken to the present valuation list on the ground, in most cases, that the lates charged were excessively high.. This opens up the ques•tion. as to what standard is to be taken by which to -assess the value of property. Generally speaking property is considered to be worth what it will fetch in the market, either to sell, lease, or rent, and it seems absurd in such a place as the Thames to place a value on ! a house or place of business, say of. £40 a year, when it is well known that if put up to let it would not fetch more than 10s a week, and perhaps not that. Sbme say the Borough want money, and as they can't strike a rate of more than a shilling in the pound they are obliged to manage matters 30 that by taxing all property at an excessive value they get what they require, and that as all property is taxed on the same basis it is as fair for one as another; an argument which, though some may consider specious, is certainly unjust,' and a feeble attempt to condone a transgression of the spirit of the law by evading the transgression of its letter. The law is changed since last year, for then the objections could be made direct to the Borough Council, and if they would not grant the relief applied for the .matter was referred to the [Resident Magistrate in the same way as any other debt would be. The Borough Council then showed themselves so ready, and further desirous of meeting the ratepayers in a "fair spirit that we regret that they have not 'the sanle power now of deciding the cases themselves, without themselves incurring' if unsuccessful, or the appellant, if he be defeated, the expenses of a law suit. They have, however, done what we think is right—in fact, the only thing they can do, and that is, determined to hold a"special meeting and consider the appeals with a view, we suppose, of seeing which are grounded on reason and justice, so that by avoiding defending these, they may reduce the law expenses as far as may be. We cannot agree with our morning contemporary that" by doing ' this they will be " usurping the authority invested in the Judge of the Assessment Court." and. such, we feel sure, is far from their intention. Regarding the difficulty id ' which it is. alleged the Council will he I placed by haviug to decide on .their own appeals, we do not think that any such need really exist, for if an appeal from a Councillor is read—and a Ceuncillor has

as much right to appeal as another man — surely ordinary delicacy of feeling would induce him to withdraw while the matter is under discussion.

After lying quiet for a long lime the Cricket Ground, Para'wai, is to-morrow to be the scene of. a match between Grahanistowu and Shprtland. Sides will be chosen from the following, but we are authorised to say that any one whose name is not on the list but who is desirous of playing will be picked on the ground, if present at the time the wickets are pitched. Grahamstown: Robinson, Carnell, Cannon, Colson, Curtis, Gudgeon, Hargrayes, Hewitt, Hoskins, Lawless, McFarland, Steedman. Shorthand: Bull, Crump, Gellion, Hill, Bell, Brassey, J. E. Macdonald, Nodder, Paul, Mears, Pulleine, Spencer G., senr., Spencer G., junr., West, Whitford. Wickets pitched at 145 p.m. '

WE(Auckland Star) are glad to leai-n that nothing very terrible is likely to be the outcome of the little difference with respect to the custody of the deeds of the Canterbury, which occurred yesterday between Messrs Hunt and Nolan. Mr Hunt has since, as we are informed by. one of his friends, apologised to Mr Russell and to Mr Nolan for the little mistalw, and has paid three-fourths of the purchase money; the apology has been accepted, and a dreadful catastrophe averted. Mr Hunt lias also insured the vessel. The pleasant little cruise amongst the sunny isles of the Pacific, where bananas, cocoa-nuts, dusky Syrens, and treasure trove reward the hardy mariner, will now shortly take place.

Last evening some wags, seeking to amuse themselves at the expense ef other people, constructed a " dummy" man, and after placing it at the corner of Pollen and Sealey streets in the attitude of an inebriated individual who had resolved to make his "lodgings on the cold, cold ground," disposed of themselves at convenient distances to see the fun.' After waiting some minutes an elderly gentleman was observed coming along, and when he was within about a dozen yards of the spot, the confederates : appeared filled with pity for the supposed drunken man while one of them converting his hat into a basin rushed frantically to the standpipe and copiously deluged the unfortunate dummy, saying at the same time "Give him water ! Give him water quick! he'll soon come round. The elderly gentleman above referred'to (as would any body else) rushed on the scene shouting " Give him air," but stooping down to raise the poor fellow's head discovered his mistake and walked quickly away followed by the peals of laughter of the wags. After several others had been taken in to a greater or less degree, an official personage irreverently called by the practical jokers "Old Mull," part of whose duty it -is to take charge, of inebriates, came up, •probably with the intention of arresting the ■personage lying on the footpath. After gazing for a second or two he laid his" hands on the dummy, and discovering that he was the victim of a. joke eased his injured feelings by administering a kick to the pseudo drunkard. When he turned round the wags ha*d vanished.