Untitled

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2810, 15 February 1878, Page 2

Wb notice that the p.s. Itotoiti wi.U mako a special 1 trip to Ohinemuri tomorrow, leaving Shortland wharf at 3 p.m. She is to liavo Auckland at 10 p.m. to-night, and will take passengers and cargo right throug'. . " i

Mk Lkydon sold by public auction this day the trustee's interest m the property of Mrs Corston for tho sum of £'32 sterling. The stock in trade in the same estate was sold immediately after the above property.

DoNons and workers for the "Wesleyan Church Bazaar are requested to forward their contributions to one of the following ladies :—Mesdames Bunn, Richards, Joynt, Hetherington, Meachem, or Cocks, not later than 21st March.

Mb H. DfltvEß, Pollen street, has just finished painting a beautiful picture of tire Pah farm, Kauaeranga Creek, tJ the order of Mr P. 0. Dean. The picture is taken from a point looking up the creek, which at this place is bounded on each side by gently sloping hills, covered chiefly with tern and ti-tree, with the mugestic giant trees of the New Zealand bush scattered here and there, while the autumnal tints of the foliage, and clear bluo little river winding up the valley till lost behind the distant hi!ls at the end of the gorge, all help to make a striking picture. Mr Driver has also iv hand a view of the river Thames near the Te Aroha mountain, and a fine view of the Gentle Annie mountain taken from Mr Prescott's farm.

An unusual number of persons were attracted to tho auction mart of Mr John Leydon this morning when the sale of bankrupt stock look place. Habitues of the corner were there—merchants, brokers, and professional men, attracted, it was said, by a rumour that a lady interested in the sale had provided herself with a horsewliip, with which she intended inflicting summary chastisement upon a legal luminary if he should put in an appearance, which he did not do, and the fun did not come off.

If the people of New Zealand had been educated in political knowledge to the extent that Sir George Grey has foreshadowed, there would be no necessity for the Press to remind non-electors that duringthree months in theyear—from January Ist to March 31st—they can register for the exercise of the franchise. It often happens at election times —especially when there is any division' of parties, and votes besome valuable—that many persons duly qualified otherwise find they are not on the roll. They do not recognise the fact that they are alone to blame, but try to shi ft the responsibility on to some one else's shov!ders. They plead ignorance, or they assume that " some one should have told ' them ;" or that somebody should have placed their names on the roll. Many excuses are put forth for the want of duo care in seeing that the requirements of the law are complied with. The franchise is so liberal that it almost amounts to manhood suffrage. From the Ist of January to the 31st of March in each year it is competent for every duly qualified person to have his name placed on the roll of electors. If any one neg* lects this duty he forfeits his right to take part in any election of members of the House of Kepresentatives for the following year, and is virtually disfranchised. To obviate this -state of things on the part of any Thames electors we write now, and we would urge upon everybody possessing the necessary qualification to at once register and so entitle themselves to a vote. The coming session of Parliament is likely to be the most important in the history of the Colony. Sir George Grey's Government propose to introduce Manhood Suffrage, and to simplify the course of registration, assimilating it in this Colony to the system which prevails in Tictoria, where by means of electoral rights any person so qualified may vote after six months' residence. Further, it may be remembered, the legislation of next session, as foreshadowed in Ministerial utterances, proposes to deal with the representation of the constituencies, the adjustment of taxation and other matters of importance to the taxpayer 1. It is^ therefore incumbent upon all persons possessing the qualification to be placed upon the roll of electors to register the same. Not one should neglect it, for the issues may be impor.. tant. Moreover, we would urge that it is the more necessary from tbe fact that in certain quarters the Native vote is being made the most of, and it should be borne in mind that the Nalive population have not only votes for the return of European members, but a separate franchise for the election of Native representatives. We have year by year urged upon colonists thenecessity of registration, but we feel it a duty to do so now more forcibly than ever before, because we feel morally certain that the issues to be decided on the strength of the next roll will be of paramount importance, and also from the fact that before the return of the season some other change of a radical nature may be effected in regard to the compilation of the roll; while it may be accepted as a fact that the. latest compiled roll will be taken as the basis of any future compiliatou. We would therefore urge upon every one qualified to register before the 31st day of March.

The " accuracy " of the information afforded by the Thames Advertiser Almanac, especially in the column headed " Anniversaries, festivals, remarkable days, &c," is undoubted, as a reference to the events set down for Thursday, February 14 (yesterday), will prove. It is taking a great liberty with the festivals of the Church !o put the first day of Lent "commonly called Ash Wednesday" three weeks forward, but that is nothing to making Ash W dnesday fall on a Thursday, and perhaps the Advertiser will enlighten us on oie point, namely, if Ash Wednesday falls on a Thursday which day will be Shrove Tuesday P We may state for the information of any who may have been misled by the above error, that Ash Wednesday will be on the 6th March.

We would call the. attention of the proper authorities to the damage done to the Queen of Beauty and other mines by the leakage from the Government water mains near the former company's ground. The country in the vicinity is of a most unsettled nature, and the shifting of the soil has doubtless strained many of the pipes, and the leaking therefrom finds its way through the broken ground to the workings of the mines, so that it is only by the greatest care that accidents through the wet, slidy ground are avoided. There would be a great improvement if the pipes were enclosed in a wooden culvert for a distance of say 100 yards round ■the bad country.

' The installation of officers for the present; term in Lodge Star of the Thames, j£o. 10,1.0. G.T., took place last evening. D.D. Bro. J. Scott acted as installing officer, assisted by Bros. Hammond and Gillan as G.S. and G.M. The list of officers is as follows :—W.C.T., Bro. G. N. Phillips (re-elected); P.W.C.T., Bro. J. 8. Small; W.V.T., Sister Bowie; W.C., Bro. Speight; W.S., Bro. Bates, proxy for Bro. Butemau, junr.; A.S., Bro.'J. P. Jones, (mo. tern.); W.F.S., Bro! Honiss (pro. tcm); *V. P., Sister Cocks ; W.M., Bro. Shelbourne (reeleck'd); D.M., Sister Downcs; 1.0., Bro. Farrell; 0.G., Bro. Fletcher (reelectrd); It.lf .S., Bro. Cook, proxy for Bro. Cain; L.H.S., Sister West. Provious to the installation, the reports of the retiring officers were read and adopted. That of the Finance Comuiillec will be discussed next Thursday, and vrc direct attention to advertisement in another column requesting a full attendance of members, as recommendations from the Committee will be considered, upon which it is very desirable for the future welfare of the Lodge that as many as possible should vote.

SiE Geobge Gbey addressed a crowded meeting at Welling lon last night, and in the course of bis speech he referred to several prominent points of the Ministerial policy. These were readjustment of representation on the basis of population, and reform of taxation, advocating land and property tax, and reduction of Customs duties; manhood suffrage, equitable land law, &c. He appears to have hrd a most enthusiastic reception, and the thanks of the meeting were conveyed to him in a resolution approving his policy.

The telephons is the sensation of the d?iy. Experiments are being conducted under all sorts of circumstances, and we hear of wonderful results. From the instruments, some of a primitive form, great results have been obtained. Paper collarboxes and common thread, even match boxes and cotton have been called into requisition to illustrate the great discovery of the age j and in many instances it has been demonstrated that by simple vibration a conversation can be kept up at a distance of two or three hundred yards. The various forms which the experiments on this new discovery have" taken suggest that some organised and scientific tests should be applied, but it appears that no one in this community possesses the necessary public spirit or the ability to solve the problem. We hear boys at the corners of streets talking with other boys through the medium of Coleman's patent mustard tins, coffee tins, or some other easily obtained metallic tubes, and they derive a certain kind of amusement therefrom. But as regards a really practical trial with electric currency no effort seems to be made. The ordinary vibratory communication seems to be an established fact; but the electric current in connection with the telephone remains a sealed book to the Thames people.

11 Miss Thomson of the United States," as the English papers call her, is making a downright johndonkey of herself in " Yurrup." She has electrified Edinburgh by ordering Messrs Marshall and Long, jewellers, of that good city* to make a set of golden horse-shoes, costing about §1000, for a mare belonging to her.

The animal, says the London Times, was duly shod with the precious metal at the smithy of Professor Baird, veterinary surgeon, St. James' place. The shoes are of rUe ordinary size and shape, and the aiL with which they are fixed are al«" of gold. The work was carried out by William Johnstone (Mr Baird's foreman), under the superintendence of Mr Job" Hill, pf Messrs Peter Moir & Son's hor rep-»oitory. The animal was afterwards i" i^cted by Principal Walley and ProV :■ Baird, wlioexpressed their satisfacv'x" 'Tith the work. The mara was then exa eye tl to Messrs Moir's eßtablishment, where she has been at livery for the past two months, and in the course of the afternoon was mounted and ridden about the yard by Miss Thomson. The animal was purchased for her present owner at one of Messrs Moir'a sales about two years ago, and since then has made a voyage across the Atlantic. Miss Thorn son and her steed left Edinburgh shortly after for London* en route, it is dupposcd, for America. What a blessing a hungry belly and a washtub would be to " that Miss Thomson of the United States!" —S.F. Post.

The San Francisco Daily Post of Jan. 19 says : —lt is to be regretted that the whitefish eggs from Northville, Michigan, which arrived here yesterday for the Nevada State Fish Commissioners, were all dead. They were carefully packed, but had perished in transit, having been placed near the stove. The sawdust in which the boxes were packed was at blood heat when opened. The eggs tor New Zealand, packed at the same time and in the same way, arrived in splendid condition. They had not been so carefully tended by the express company, and, therefore, escaped cooking. A parcel of trout eggs from Wisconsin arrived in prime order.