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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2608, 18 May 1877, Page 2

Fob the Licensing Districts of Thames and Hauraki there have been lodged with the Clerk of the Court 64 applications for renewals of pjublicans' licenses, and four applications for transfers. The sum of £9 was collected by Mr .Robert Urquhart to defray the expenses of burial of the late John 1 Shearer, who died in the Hospital on Wednesday. Of this sum £7 10s was absorbed in the funeral expenses and the balance of 30s was handed over' for the benefit of the Hospital funds. Messes Gudgeon and Co. report a good sale of the furniture and stock in trade of the Caledonian restaurant, Paerea, on Thursday last. Otjk contemporary,over the way forgot to acknowledge that -his comments on the war news in to-day's paper were' copied from the Auckland Star of last night, ; with the latter's spelling slightly altered. One of the N. Z. Herald's war maps would evidently be an acquisition in the sanctum of the editor. ■

The editor of Te Wananga keeps his Maori readers pretty well posted regarding Native interests in the political world. In a recent number of the Wananga referenco is made to the Premier's utterances at Taranaki, and the Wananga says of the mention of the Native Lands Act: —" Beferring to Native lands, he said that the subject was surrounded with difficulties, and required careful handling, but the Government had come to the conclusion that greater facilities should be given for the purchase of Native lands by private individuals and the Government, that an Act could be drawn which would protect the interests of Natives and Europeans. We mentioned some days ago that we had been informed that .this Bill, had been drawn, and we expressed a hope that the Government would take steps to circulate the 1 Bill amongst the Natives. We trust that our suggestion will be adopted by Major Atkinson and his colleagues."

Some time ago a telegram was sent by the Press Agency, stating that Barry^a well known prospector, had found gold in. the Hawke's Bay provincial district. The following letter, which appeared in Te Wananga of April 28, may c possibly have reference to the discovery " or a similar one. It is at least interesting, as showing: the cut^nes.s),of the native to the advantage of .such dis-j covery : —Give a place in Te Wananga for the following :—This is a notice so that all may know it. Gold has been found by an European. It was found in the Porangahau,district. That money (the gold) was like the gravel in size. He (the finder) also had a bag of stones, which were white, which he, said was .quartz. , That European said* that he^has 'surveyed a piece of land for himself, 100 feet long by 100 feet broad. When, the Maoris said to him that he must show che place where the gold was found, he answered that he would not show it.. The Maori said it was not good, we did think you would show it so -that "we the .two people. (Maori and European) might have property in it. The European ran (or went) away with his money (gold). If that European comes, do not give him the Government reward. That man has a red head, is six feet high, and his name is Teene ? (Mr Tierney, or Kane). If you see that he really has gold keep it; and take care of it in your possession. That European went on our land without authority. He also took our,spade, dish, and an American axe, and some of our food, and then he ran away into the forest, where he could dig secretly on our land. If that European comes with his gold, if it is really gold, take charge of him, so that we may hear where he has obtained the gold.—Enough from.r^rl'iPEijK Matua, Porangahauj March 27v>187£. .; ,

A small book of poems'called "Idylls of the Kink," has recently appeared? The Spectator, in reviewing it, remarks:— "This elegant and unpretentions little volume contains some dozen parodies of well-known songs and copies of verses. If they dp not attain to the first degree of merit—we believe it had been calculated that there are only about eight or nine perfect parodies in the language—they afe certainly clever, unaffected, and some of them highly amusing. The best of them perhaps is " The Sinker's Farewell to her Skates, by the Hon. Mrs N." (a parody on a whilom drawing-room favorite), " My beautiful, my beautiful, that hangs so calm and still: " —

Some other foot less soft than mine Must now upon you press ; .-. Some other hand must oil you wheels, And may be, make a mess;" finally winding up with— '*' When last together we did rink ! Away, the dream is o'er ! I could not live a day and know That we shall meet no more. They tempted me, my beautiful! ' Not without cause, I own, For all the rinking *orld knew well' . I broke my collar-bone. Thus, thus, I mount on you again/ &c, But for all this, the amusement so apostrophised is doomed, and we shall contemplate with composure our rhymster's outlook:— .

" Asphalte, asphalte everywhere, And not a soul to link."

The Bishop of Manchester, speaking at Bradford recently, observed that if the Church of England fell through intestine divisions, no heavier blow could be struck at sober arid rational Christianity. ~ Men are talking of re-catholicising the Church of England. By it they meant going back to certain dark ages when superstition overlay faith, and picking up certain medieval customs and importing them into the ritual and ceremony of the Church. But if we could only bring our hearts and minds back to something like ancient simplicity of faith, and nncient earnestness and purity of life, that would be recatholicising the Church of England. In conclusion, his lordship urged upon his hearers the desirability of carrying out the principal of solidarity in the work of the Church. By this term he meant that they ought not to regard their own individual parish, or individual interests, as having an exclusive claim upon their time, efforts and money. The /strength of the Church of England always had

been in the past—he believed would be even more so in the future—in the liold which, through God's grace, it has been enabled to get upon the hearts and affections of the poor. A siNGUiiAii case of lunacy is said to be nndei* investigation by the Academy of Science in Paris. The person is a man named Jean Scipion. It appears that about six months ago he fell ill, and was: reduced so low that death appeared- certain. The doctors resolved to resort t6the operation known as the transfusion of blood, but as nobody could be found generous or courageous enough to part with his blood for the invalid, ;it was decided to bleed a sheep. The operation was performed successfully, but on recovering his health. Scipion was found jq have become a monomaniac. He imagined he was turned into a sheep, and ever since has bellowed and fainted at the sight of a butcher.