THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Ressurexi. THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2910, 13 June 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Ressurexi. THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1878.

We learn that Mr J. B. Mason, Borough Inspector under the Dangerous Goods Act, has for . two weeks past been obtaining samples of kerosene from dealers in that article, and t"sting the same. In several instances a most dangerous quality of oil has been detected, .such as comes within the n. • 'strici'.ve f lav. e^ of the Dangerous Goods Act. For the protection of the public, and iv iheir own interests, we would suggest to retail dealers who have obtained certificates as to the safe properties of their oil to make known the fact as publicly as possible, while as regards the persons in possession of the dangerous petroleum, we think that the provisions of the Act prohibiting them from having such oil in their possession should be put in force. The public should be protected against exposure to danger arising from the use of any arL'cle the properties of which they may be ignorant of, yet necessitated to consume and handle da'ly.

The Revising Officer concluded his business this forenoon. A very large number of objections bave b en dealt with, to none of which was - any defence attempted. As our Traders will remember, the majority of those otjectioris were made by the .Registration Officer, Major Keddel 1; tho^e made at the instance of the el ctors came from one person at Coromandel. Tho objections made by the Registration Officer were of two classes — those referring to dead and disqualifi d electors, and those necessitated by the working of the Registration of Electors Act, 1875—viz., by tie provisions of this Act the name of erery person who brs paid rates to any gove-ning body, i.e. County, Municipality or Highway ioard, is submitted to the Registration Officer, and he is bound to treat the list as ordinary " claims to vote." Among the hundreds of names thus supplied many have not a place on the Roll, but the majority have already made their claim, and possess the franchise. It is .therefore necessary .to make a formal objection to the last class of namei to avoid their being duplicated on the roll. It is to be presumed that the proposed amendment of the electoral laws will preclude the necessity and its attendant expenses in the future.

Count de Zaba., according to announcement made after the lecture in aid of the Hospital,' met some ladies and gentlemen in the large upper room of the Pacifio Hotel yesterday" afternoon. There were about a score of ladies present, mostly engaged in tuition, and three gentlemen. The Count gave a short lecture, in which he fully ami lucidly explained his system, and sustained the interest of his small but seledt audience for nearly an hour. Those present, as well as some others who were unable to attend, have possessed themselves of Count de Zaba's chart, pamphlet, and accessories, preparatory to giving his system a thorough trial.

The weekly rifle competition at Mr Barlow's gallery last night was kept up to. a late itourv the value, of ►the prize—a handsome oleograph—causing considerable emulation. A juvenile* named Penk and a Russian gentleman named Jacob Enko made each a score of 23 points. On shooting off the tie young Penk lost his steadiness by excitement, and permitted the Muscovite to carry off the picture, which was valued at two guineas.

The Count de Zaba visited the Eauaeranga Boys' School this morning and heard 'the senior clashes sing several pieces. The Cdunt addresed the boys, expressing his gratification at the excellent execution of the songs, and with the order and general appearance of , the school.., He added that he should much have regretted'leaving the Thames without having inspectrd this the largest school in it; had it not been for a communication from the head master calling his attention to it, he would have been unaware of its existenc3. The boys gave a hearty and spontaneous round of cheers for the Count on his leaving. It is a pity that for some reason or * other no special opportunity has been afforded the numerous teachers and senior scholars of the public schools of hearing the Count de Zaba lecture on his system. In all the principal towns of the Colony which he nas previously visited, arrangements were made for enabling them to do so, and we cannot acquit the local committees of blame in this matter, especially as it is known the Central Board have acquired a number of Count de Zaba's charts, and, we believe, propose introducing his system into the public schools for the benefit of the senior scholars.

Mv Hume's replyto Mr Joseph Reid's letter, re the removd of the Arrow battery, will appear to-morrow.

We are p^ad to notice that Mr W. Brassey, lately practising here, and who from mining and othor speculations was obliged to seek tho protection of the Bankruptcy Court, obtained his discharge at the district Court to-day, Laving some time since arranged to pay his creditors in full all debts due by him.

Tenders were opened to-day at the Borough Council Chambers for the er.ee> tio« of a bridge over Tararu Creek, when that of Mr j. McDermott for £92 was accepted. The otl-er tenders were as follows: — Primrose and Matthewson, £110; Jas. Macandrew, £98 10s; Thompaov? and Co., £99 7s 6d; Boyer, £92 12s; arrt T. Comes. £97. The Foreman of Works' estimate of the cost was. £65 18s. We have no doubt that the bridge when completed will be found, of great service to those persons whose.business or pleasuro takes tbem in that direction.

These has been exhibited in Mr Jefferson's window for some days since the arrival of the last hotre mail an illustrated paper, one engraving in which shows sailors at drill on board ship, " preparing to receive cavalry." Two lads were looking at this picture the other day, when the following conversation was overhe.rd : " What cava]ry can they have to mnet on board ship, Bill ? Bill: " Why, the enemy's horse marines, of course!"

The sitting of the District Court opecc-.i at 10 o'clock this morning before Judge Ff uton. The Eesident Magistrate held his Court in his office. In both Courts was there business in which natives were interested, and the attendance of Maoris was considerable.

It is exnected that there will be a greab influx of Natives to attend the sitting oi' the Lands Cduffc'which opens on tho X9i;ii instant. Mr Preece has just returned from Wellington, and we believe that all the Government arrangements for putting the land through the Court are perfected. It is expected that the Court will be held in the Volunteer Hall. Mr James Mackay will likely be in attendance, and should no opposition be offer'd by the Natives, after the Lands Court is over the completion of Government purchases will be at once proce* ded with.

The project of forming a second company of Tcamss Scottish is finding favor in, volunteer circles, and we.hear that it has been decided by the No. 3 Haurakis to form the nucleus of fie new company. The Scottish are above their full strength* and new recruits are" constantly offering, so that there ned not be any difficulty in making the secoud company up to its full complement of 100 men in a week or two. A meeting will be called in a few days by Captain Macdonald of those desirous of joining the new company.

We would direct the attention of the public to the correspondence published by Dr Gilbert in another portion of today's issue regarding his position as a me dical practitioner. It will be seen from the letters of Dr Fhilson and Mr J. M. Wayland that although Dr Gilbert is not in a" position to claim to be placed on the New Zealand Register of duly qualified practitioners there is nothing in the Medical Practitioners Act to disqualify b;m from practising his profession. The disability be labors under at present, and will continue to do until he is in a position to be placed on the Register, is, that he cannot recover fees, or be employed in official positions. He is, _ however, quite competent to undertake medical charge of numbers of friendly societies, &c, and general practice; and as the doctor has taken the necessary steps to procure a copy of his lost diploma, he hopes in a few months' time to be able to comply with that portion of the Act which will entitle him to placed on the New Zealand Register. '

Some little , excitement was caused amongst the residents of Pollen street, Shortland, last even'ng by the appearance of a herculean Native rushing panting down the middle of the street, followed at full cry by several of his dusky coiviu'yinen, who weie exhausting their breciLii and all the polite words in the Maori vocabulary in their endeavors to catch the fugitive/ The latter ran well, however, but at last was captured at the Volunteer Hall, where he lay down apparently quite exhausted; On the, otner Natives coming up the/ seized the runaway, gave him a sound cuffing, and took him struggling toward the lock-up, where he was taken charge of by the police. In reply to some of the bystanders one of the captors said that the " taurikarika " had insulted a Native woman on tie wharf, and had subsequently "sLouted" for the Natives who had captured him, but refused to p;:y up. They began to threaten, and the Native who had done the generous made a bolt out of the hotel, and the chase we have described took place.