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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2543, 1 March 1877, Page 2

The work of rebuilding the bridge over the Karaka in Pollen street, accordto the.-plans and specifications of Foreman of Works, is being satisfactorily proceeded with, the suceesssful tenderer waa Mr Mdntosh with a' tender of £227 10s. Other tenders were also received, Ingles and Sinclair, £229 10s; Gribb, £232; Macandrew, £234 15s; O'Brien, £235 10s; Boyers and Oonlon, £24015s ; Heron and Thompson, £263 ; Someiville, £293. It will be seen that the first six tenders were very close to each other, and very close also te the estimate of the Foreman of Works, which was £236 12s. We would remind our readers that today is the day when fresh licenses to keep a dog or dogs must be taken out, and these are issued at the Constabulary Offices, and take the form of.- dogcollars, the charge for each being as usual five shillings. The Clerk of the B.M. Court—a very assiduous officer, but not generally looked upon as a Joe Miller—is credited with having perpetrated a joke. During the bearinp of the case Graham versus Kitt this morning, in which the former sought redress for having been charged with hanging Curtin, the Clerk of the Court is understood to have said that because a man hangs curtains it is no reason why he should be called a hangman.

Thbbe -will be some amusement for those who delight in military evolutions tonight if they go to Parawai about 7 o'clock, as a sham fight has been arranged to take place there. The T.N.8..wi1l embark in boats and proceed up the river to Parawai Gardens, and there endeavor to effect a landing in the face of the T.S.V., No 3 H.E.p and the T.E.R., who will be drawn.up to oppose them.

In the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning John Graham complained that Mathew Kitt had called him " a bloody hangman," saying that he was the executioner of Curtin, and giving currency to ■this rumour, which-has done him (the complainant) a deal of-harm.. There is no question but a charge of the kind made in all seriousnesses calculated to be very damaging, and the defendant was bound over to keep the peace. It is to be hoped that we shall hearno more of the rumor. It is a cruel thing to tax a man with a charge of which he is innocent, and especially so when the charge is likely to hold a man up to the scorn and contempt of his fellows and deprive him of the means of earning a livelihood. Mr Graham has adduced sufficient proof to show that he is guiltless of the charge made against him. . • '

We hear on good authority that Mr It. J. DeLias, the lessee of the. Theatre Royal, offered the Union Steamship Co. a considerable sum to take Mr Emmet and a dramatic troupe to Napier yesterday, on condition that the steamer waited till last night's performance at the Theatre Royal was over. The offer was declined. Mr Emmet and Mr DeLias are placed in a rather awkward predicament by the fact of there being no steamer direct to Napier for more than a week. Mr Emmet and the company are due in Napier to keep a dramatic engagement in a few days, and how they are to get there is at present a difficult problem. It is not unlikely they will have, to charter a; small steamer specially for the purpose. —Last night's Auckland Star.

The following' appeared in the telegraphic columns of last night's StartMr Alderton, journalist, was horsewhipped by C. M. McMurdo, master of the Wangarei school this morning on the wharf while the Argyle was coming in. His assailant had boasted he would do so, as he assumed a character in a serial appearing in the Comet wasa delineation of his own character. Much interest has been taken in "Life for Life," which is published as by D'Arcy Lee. Mr Aiderton took to his heels, as Mr McMurdo is a powerful man. A paragraph in'the paper says that " He who runs away, lives to fight another day;" The end apparently, has not come.

Last night's Auckland Star says :— The death of a veteran lady is announced in our columns to-day. Mrs Ramplin, who died at Mr Hannken's house in Union street, this morning, was 88 years old, and had seen a life of peril and adventure, such as seldom falls to the lot of a lady of the present day. Her first husband was a Mr Otto, who was a storekeeper attached to the Commissariat of the British army. Mr Otto was actively engaged with the^troops during the Waterloo Campaign^ and his wife was at Antwerp ' when the battle was fought, in the Peninsula war, Mr and Mrs .Otto were with "the army during the whole of the campaign. The old lady could tell many stories of the risks they were exposed to during the various phases of the war. She distinctly recollected the siege of Badajos which she was present at, and told how she had a daughter born during the battle of the Pyrennees. Mrs Eainplin's adventurous life seemed to strengthen her constitution, and to her early experience of a soldier's harships may perhaps be ascribed her unusual longevity. She was related to several of our Auckland citizens. [Mr Andrew Otto of the Thames is a son of the venerable deceased.]

The Rev. P. H. Corn ford was welcomed to his new pastorate, the Bathurst street Baptist Church at a tea meeting on February 13th. The Rev. Warlow Davies was present, and said that for ten or eleven years the Rev. Mr Coruford had been a fellow worker with him, and, knowing his worth, he had great pleasure in witnessing the hearty reception accorded by them this evening to his old and dear friend. Mr Cornford came to JNew Zealand with an- intention of following mercantile pursuits, and had every prospect by that means of speedily acquiring a competency. But it happened that, the Baptist Church in Auckland was in extremity of distress,, and without a pastor, when cirenmstanees pointed'to Mr Coruford as a suitable person to undertake the pastorate. Ultimately, Mr Coruford abandoned his own intention, accepted, tho pastorate, aud became foremost in every good work iv that

city. He achieved great success, and bis departure was universally regretted as a public loss. Ouk (Herald) Ngaruawahia correspondent writes :—-Further evidence has come to light relative to the late murder.' About two days before the release by Dr Pollen of the Maori boy who was sentenced with Te Patui, while they were cutting .ti-tree, Te Patui proposed a plan "to the boy to there and then murder Hobson, the warder, with their tomahawks and make their escape. The boy said he would not, or they would both be hanged. Patui then said, ' I will kill some pakeha before I leave JSgaruawahia.' This cvi : dence has been confessed to Mr Barton, oc'.Karakariki, with whom the lad is now staying. Tlie boy and his evidence will be produced at the Supreme Court;"