THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2866, 23 April 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 1878.

At the B.M. Court this morning the ■... only business was one caso of a horse at linito. The defendant was fined 2s 6d and ccruta. Captain Goldsmith, J.P., was on the Benol^ A cubiottb incident occurred the other day. A gentleman Wail known here proceeded to Auckland in the Eotomabana, leaving Thames at six o'clock in the even* ing On arrival he went straight to the Northern Club, and on looking at the letter rack he found a telegram on urgent business desiring his presence at Shortland. Ho at puce returned on board the steamer, and in due time arrived at Shortland, where he made the discovery that the telegram, which had brought him on a bootless errand, was dated April 3rd,

and that the business had been settled days before. There was just time to cnteh the steamer again, but on this occasion it was goiug round by Waiwera. There'was ii.o choice, and he went, arriving in Auckland at 8 o'clock evening. Moral: Be careful to look at the date as well as contents of telegrams before entering on a journey.

Oijb own correspondent at Ohinemuri advises us of the arrival of another large mob of cattle from Waikato at Paeroa, which will probably reach the Thtmes to-morrow.

Thebe was a grand soiree dansante at Paeroa last night, an account of which we hare received too late for insertion. To-day Mrs Mitchell was to entertain the children attending the Paeroa school at a picnio at her residence.

The Kotomahana brought a large number of passengers from Auckland this morning, amongst others some of those gentlemen who proceeded to Waiwera on Friday last. The latter appear to have enjoyed their stay at the Springs amazingly—in fact, they had what the Americans call "a good time," except one visitor, who was nearly getting his ribs broken by-being undermined while in the swimming bath.

The advisability of securing a title to the site before building an expensive house (says the Wellington Post) would appear self evident, but sometimes is overlooked. Recently a gentleman in this cify built unto'himself a large and costly residence on a piece of ground which he held on lease-from the -Maoris. Apparently he either had forgotten that the lease was all but expired, or else counted confidently on a renewal for a lengthened term of years. At any rate, his house is just completed, and now he finds that a stranger has stepped in and purchased the freehold of the site, including of course all buildings thereon, and not excepting the handsome new house just erected. The consequence is that the late lessee is at his mercy, and can be ejected or compelled to pay a stiff rent at the option of the new owner. By no means an agreeable position.

Me J. W. Pbeece was a passenger to Auckland by the Rotomahana to=day to make arrangements for holding the Native Lands Court here, in order to forward the completion of land purchases in the Ohinemuri district.

When nearing the Auckland wharf yesterday the Tongariro's rudder through some mishap got broken, and she had to be towed up to the wharf. As the vessel is fitted with a rudder on the bow, which was soon adjusted, she was able to return to the Thames last night with a large number of excursionists.

The meeting of directors of the United Pumping Association with the representatives of the Borough and County Coun cils will be held in Auckland to-morrow. It is expected that the proposal of the companies to enter upon prospecting work will be considered, with a view to the resumption by the County of operations in the southern cross-cut, 640 feet level. Other matters of importance will probably be discussed.

The Brothers Spencer, who are referred to in telegrams from Hokitika as having discovered gold at the foot of Mount Cook, we may state, are sons of Mr Thomas Spencer of Parawai, who hare been for some time on the West Coast on a photographing tour. The difficulties and hardships they hare encountered and surmounted may be imagined from a perusal of the following extract from a letter which has been placed at our disposal by Mr Spencer, senior. The brothers are notunaccumstdmed to travel, but their present wanderings in the glacier country of Mount Cook are new experiences to them. The letter from which we extract is from the pen of Mr G. Spencer: " We hare succeeded in getting our camp close to the glacier. We could only pack the things up as far as the forks, and had to carry them the rest of the way on our backs —two miles over • frightfully rough road. Charley has not succeeded as yet in taking many views, owing to bad weather. Sometimes it rains for a week without stopping. It is very trying for us in wet weather, for we cannot light a fire, and our blankets get very damp. We suffer a good deal from fever and ague in a mild form. We have been about three miles on the ice. It is a " rum shop " on the ice, I can tell you— great holes hundreds of feet deep. Nobody has been nearly as far as we have on the glaciers. We are going to try to get over the range to the Great Tasman Glacier. We are about 5 miles from Mount Cook. The left hand branch of the Waihoa, where all the gold comes from, nobody can get up, so we are going to try and get round to the head of it, and see if we can find gold. Waihoa is a frightfully cold river; sometimes when crossing it you have to dodge the blocks of ice. . . . . We had a rough time of it down here, the bad weather has stopped our work entirely for this last month. We have come down for a rope to make a ladder, as the ice is broken away so that we cannot get on to it without one. We have plenty of shooting, in fact we live on birds, with bacon for a change."

A cohbespoxdent of the Dunedin Morning Herald says he hears it reported in several quarters that one of the last acts of the late Colonial Treasurer and Minister of Public Works, before escaping to England, was to pass a voucher for more than jßl9,ooo—on account; of the famous contract for one of the southern railways— and that the said voucher included many items repudiated and refused payment of by the Atkinson Ministry. There is some colour m the iast part of the report, if one may judge by the warlike passages which were reported as having taken Jlace between Mr David Proudfoot and lessrs George M'Lean and Donald Reid. But was it not generally understood by the public, that Mr Blair's notorious award ended the liability upon the above contracts?

The Wellington Post records the death of one of the oldest Australian Colonists. Mr W..T. Hi Liardet, the father of Mrs Charles Broad, of Westport, expired at Vogeltown on the 21st inst., at the ripe age of 79 years. The deceased first came to Australia in 1839, settling in Victoria. He was the first man to convey mails to and from the ships which armed from Home; In 1842 he purchased a run at Mount Macedon, and had the stock brought overland from near Sydney. • He was the founder of Sandridge, and was in other ways inseparably identified with the early days of Victoria. Hii first visit to New Zealand was in 1845, when he came over to visit Captain Francis Liardet, who was in command of H.M.B. Powerful, then stationed at Taranaki. He returned to Victoria, bat about 15 years ago came back to New Zealand, and settled in the

Colony. Me was subsequently obliged to go to England to arrange about the succession to some property, and he but recently returned to Wellington. He leaves a widow and six sons and two daughters, all of whom aro settled in New Zealand, with the exception of the eldest son, Mr John Evelyn Liardet, who was formerly Police Magistrate in New South Wales, and who is now in England, managing extensive estates in Kent and Surrey, and who recently contested the Greenwich election with the Hon. Mr Gladstone, in the Conservative interest. Both Mr and Mrs Liardet are connected with very old families in England. Mrs Liardet is a lineal descendant of Sir John Evelyn, the author of " Sylva," and the introducer of gunpowder into England.

It used to be the fashion when the present Government were in opposition to talk much of a subsidised Press. If there be any truth in the following—and we presume that it is a plain statement of fact—from the Danedin Morning Herald, tome members of the Government are not averse to rewarding out-and-out supporters. The Herald says:—The discussion at the Land Board shows the discontent of the country with the present way of advertising Government land sales. Two country members, Messrs Bastings and Thompson, strongly condemned it on the ground that the Otago Daily Times was not widely seen in the country. Had these gentlemen been aware of all the facti, they would perhaps have had something more to say. We now state them for the benefit of the Board, the public, and the Government, which, although responsible, may not know the truth. In answer to an advertise-ment,-this journal tendered for the Go. vernment land sales, <tc, guaranteeing a daily circulation of 3000 as a minimum for twelve months. No intimation was made as to the result, and, in opposition to rule, the successful tender with the amount did not appear in the Gazette. It may or may not surprise the public io learn that the reason of this unusual reticence on the part of the Government department—the Treasury, we presume— was that the advertising had been given to the Otago Daily Times at double the rate of our offer; our circulation baing double that of the favoured journal. The loss to the Government is probably some thousands of pounds, while they pay twice the sum for advertising that they need have done. If the two members of the Board from.their place in the House demand an investigation, they may aid in exposing an unseemly job, and fixing the responsibility of this act on the right person. The transaction is of a piece with the Auctioneers' compact and the purchase of the Otiigo Daily Times by the select circle which now inspires that newspaper, and extend its secret undesirable influence to the Government of the country. The large country circulation of this journal is a palpable fact; it may be verified by any one who will take the trouble to notice the parcels despatched by train of a morning. Messrs Bastings and Thomson merely state a fact in declaiming against the little publicity which has resulted from an act of the Government at Variance with established rule—the acceptance of the lowest tender, and their keeping the matter secret by not publishing the tenders in the Gazette. We regret to have to make this charge, but it involves the hona fides of a Government department, and we should like to see the action justified. It is an odd circumstance, and worthy of note, that the favored journal's tender this year was accepted at four times the rate paid to that journal last year for the same service. Sed guts custodiet custodet P We call for the publication of the tenders.

Doctobs who hare a large district to cover (says " iEgles" ia the Australasian) cannot devote much time to indiridual cases of illness or accident, and are, therefore, sometimes induced to anticipate dissolution when it appears certainly imminent by giving a certificate of death in advance of the absolute event. A poor fellow somewhere in the direction of Bandenong forest was crushed by the fall of a tree. He lay insensible from fracture of the skull, and was visited by a professional man from a distance. After careful examination, the doctor concluded that his recovery was impossible, and, as other calls required his presence at a long distance, he considerately left behind him a blank-dated certificate of the cause of dissolution. Examining the pockets of the still insensible splitter, some of his mates discovered some £12 therein. Now, after deliberation, it was considered to be the right thing, and due to the memory of th« (shortly to be) dead, that he be waked handsomely. So a large supply of brandy was purchased with the discovered funds, and proceedings commenced at once. Whan the liquor and the money were about at an end it occurred to a few of the least overcome that as Barney was still breathing it might be worth while to take him to the Alfred Hospital. This was at last done, and the happy issue was that the victim of the accident completely recovered. Conscious of the high compliment paid him by his friends, who were so alert in "waking" him, he still thought the money should under the circumstances be repaid him, and he is, we believe, about to take proceedings in the local police courts for its recovery.