THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M Resurrexi. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1877.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2591, 27 April 1877, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M Resurrexi. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 1877.

The Borough Councillors at their meeting last night did the most sensible thing they co^d do in regard- to the sharebrokers' license fees, namely, adjourned the consideration of the matter' for a month. No doubt it is very galling to the editor of the Advertiser and his mentor to find Councillors ignoring the adjurations which have appeared in that "print" during the. last few days, solemnly entreating them to deal with the sharebrokers " to the utmost rigour of the law," but it will be seen how little influence these entreaties have had even upon those Councillors who were indicated by name and held up to the gaze of the burgesses as sympathisers with the "guilty fraternity" of sharebrokers. That the course of action is galling to the editor is apparent from the tone of the local paragraph in this morning's paper, in which the Borough Council are condemned and their motives impugned. Not that it matters much what the Advertiser says, for neither Councillors nor brokers regard its meanderings on the question. The Mayor and Councillors have acted in this matter as public men, not being actuated by their personal feelings or pique at something the sharebrokers have done. They do not wish to see a bad law enforced if they could do so; but • they were further justified in their action by the statement made by a Councillor that the Soli-citor-General or Attorney • General had given, an opinion to the effect that the Sharebrokers Act is defective and cannot be enforced, else the police— the proper authorities to undertake prosecution—would have beeninstructcd to take action before. Then, it appears, the Auckland sharebrokers have taken advice, and are assured that they have a good defence. The Thames Borough Council, knowing these things, have decided to wait the issue of the -test 1 case, which will probably be an expensive one, before involving themselves in litigation. As we see it, the Council have acted wisely, but the Advertiser had made up its mind that the brokers should pay the" £25 apiece, and in its disappointment lavishes abuse on the Councillors, which would be amusing but for the animus which is so transparently displayed throughout towards the brokers. ,

A tiual according to Maorj law took place to-day, which resulted in the male defendant being mulct in damages to the extent of three hundred acres of land and four horses, for being too familiar with his neighbor's wife at Te Aroha recently! It is said that the lady made the first ad^ vances in this little affair of gallantry, but the " gay Lothario " has been made the sufferer; but perhaps he has reason to congratulate himself on the summary character of the proceedings, for bad the case been taken to Wellington to be tried by the Supreme Court under its Divorce and Matrimonial Causes jurisdiction, the consequences would probably hare been more serious to the co-respondent.

The Rev. E. Browne, at one time teacher of the Waiotahi Creek School, and subsequently head master of the Kauaerangaßojs' School, was a passenger by the Glcnlora, which vessel left Auckland for England yesterday. Mr Browne has for some titno been assistant teacher in Mr Mar/is Model Tracing School, Auckland.

Thehe is a marked improvement in the appearance of the workings in the Moanatairi mine, as a reference to our Mining Reporter's notes of a visit paid this morning will show, and which is also confirmed by the telegram forwarded by Mr Comer to the directors to-day, and immediately after placed at our disposal. The show of gold in the winze looks as if the run had widened, as it was not expected to cut it so soon. The improvement ;n the mine has been followed by a rise in the price of shares, and more activity generally at the corner. Tomorrow will be visiting day for the public, when those who have shares can satisfy themselves as to the state of the workings on the now famous No. 9 reef.

We are sovry to see that " Backwoodsman's" letter on the " disparagement of our volunteers " has elicited such a splenetic rejoinder from our big contemporary over the way, and especially that he has to fall back upon a bogus correspondent for a defence, although the Jailer is nothing new. " Backwoodsman " will be surprised to learn that he is "under arrest for a serious breach of military discipline," or that any one in the district is. It certainly was disparaging to our volunteers to say that a Maori outbreak would result in " the discomfiture and total rout of our volunteers, who have had no sufficient training," and the 'Tiser might as well have owned up. Perhaps, however, it will be found a little more difficult to put the extinguisher on '? Backwoodsman " than it was on " Correspondent.' 1 The EdHpr of the 'Tiser ought to have known " Backwoodsman " was only poking fun at him when te suggested that its slur upon our volunteers would " not sound well in Europe."

The committee appointed to collect subscriptions to send to Father Nivard, for the relief of the starving Chinimen at Chefoo, have had returned four lists out of about twenty distributed, and the money collected so far, about £30, is to be remitted to Father JNivard by the Suez mail which closes to-day. There are sixteen lists to come in, and there is something on each, so that the committee will be able to send a further remittance by the next Suez mail, in a month from this time.

Mitch astonishment, says the Weste__i Morning News, has been caused in Barnstaple by the marriage of the Rev. F. Bassett, rector of Heanton Punchardon, within a fortnight of the death of his late wife. The bridegroom is seventy, the bride is a little more than a third of his age, and has hithsrfco been a servant in his household. The rector sent to a brother clergyman, asking him to " come and marry him," but as the same clergyman had buried the deceasf d wife eight daj a previously, he declined to officiate on the second occasion.

The following letter appeared in yesterday's Herald from " Shareholder ": — Sib,—l have to request of you the favor of inserting the following as a protest against what I deem an abuse in the n?^tter of the management of a goldmining company in which I am interested. The company in question is the Queen of the May Goldmining Company, and the abuse consists in the fact of the directors holding, by way of qualification, paid-up shares, Now, any one holding paid-up shares cannot fairly represent both classes of shareholders; that is, those holding shares liable to contribution when called on, as well as those that are fully paid up, and not liable to calls. So, on the other hand, any one only owning contributing shares could not fairly represent those holding paid-up shares as well as shares like lie ones he holds; and I feel sure that any fair-minded person will agree with me that when the company was reformed the qualification should have been doubled, as were the number of the shares, and made 50 paid up, and at least 50 contributing, instead of only 50 shares as before.

A question now being much, discussed in England is whether it is better to drink hard water or soft water. The discussion is particularly timely, on account of the great popularity in fashionable society of Tavnus water from. Germany, which is very hard. In one gallon ihere are about one hundred grains of carbonate of lime and two hundred grains of common salt. Professor Wanklyn, the London- analyst, thinks that hard water is good for children, though he doubts whether it is good in later life. The water in Kent ia remarkable for its purity and the large percentage of lime which it contains. It is regarded as extremely wholesome for young persons, whose systems assimilate the lime and thus make bone ; so that the children of Kent are described as being extremely straight-legged.

"Atlas '"■ writes in. the World:— "From Malta I hear that they are having a very gay time, and that the Duchess of Edinburgh is winning golden opinions everywhere by the heartiness and sans gene in which she takes part in all that goes on. She is especially popular among naval men, having the good sense to mate no secret of the fact that she has a great liking for her royal husband's, profession and all who belong to it.* Even the Maltese nobility, who have rather held aloof from English society since their (quite imaginary) snubbing at the time of the Prince of Wales' visit to the island, have been couquered by the Duchess's kindly "arid unaffected enjoyment of all that takes place on the island her daughter has been named after."

A London evening paper prints the following extract from the' Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 4th, 1754: "Robert Phillips of Whittington, near Hereford, brother of the celebrated • John Phillips the poet, aged 80, to Miss Bowdler, aged near 80, after a courtship of 60 years, the marriage hav?ng been postponed in courtesy to some relatives who disapproved."

Me Walker, "trance medium," who arrived from Sydney the other day, has given a private seance at the house of Mr John McLeod. The medium appears to have gone into a trance at will, while a ledy sang " Sweet Spirit Hear My Prayer,".and then he delivered a lecture on "What is Truth?." professing to be possessed of the spirit of a Bey. Dr. Stewart, who died in 1805. After the lecture a number of questions were asked, which, a contemporary says, the medium adroitly "fenced."