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Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2913, 17 June 1878, Page 2

A.T the vesper service at the Catholic Church last evenings Messrs McComish, of Auckland, and Hobinson sang a spleadid Tantum Ergo.

We have been requested to state> for the information of volunteers interested, that the petition fo^ the redress of the grievance under which some of them lie by the repeal of the Volunteer Lands Ati is now ready for signatures. An impression has got abroad that the Officer Commanding the dis'uict and other officers are opposed to the movement. This, we hear, is wrong,* and further, that the movement has the sanction of the Native Minister, who suggested the course to be undertaken , ,"'

The new reading books authorised by tlie Education Board, having been issued at Easter to the scholars, Mr Pulleine promised a prize fur the cleanest book belonging to a pupil of class 5 who had attended regularly during the quarter. He accordingly attended this morniug to examine the books. Emily Wilkes proved to be the successfr 1 pupil. '1 he Key. V. Lush, who happened to be present, kindly added a prize for Louisa J. May, who produced a book ''most equal in condition, a:d the head master supplemented

this by one for the third in point of excellence, which fell to Olio Yon Bernewitz, whom the.'register showed to hare attended eveiy day..

The Friendly Sociolios of Thames have I taken steps lo procure the services of a competent medical gentleman to attend to their requirements. They have forwarded advertisements to the principal papers^ in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide, setting forlh the probable number of members a, doctor could depend upon having on his list. It is estimated that a guarantee of about 800 can be given, very great unanimity existing amongst members of the various societies as to the desirability of inducing fresh talent amongst them. It has also been proposed to establish a Friendly Societies Dispensary on the cooperative system, so that they might be independent in respect of good drugs and chemicals. The question of medical attendance and dispensary has previously been discussed in some of the societies, but now a practical shape has been given to a movement, which if successfully carried out will place most Friendly Society members in^a position of independence of the general practitioner;

We are informed that some iudividual of despicable character hr:s !ately adopted a sj'stem of letter- vrritingy the object, being to stir up strife between public men. These letters contain scandalous and defamatory statements which, if sheeted home to the authors, might involve them in the meshes of the law. The writers of anonymous letters in newspapers have to give their real names as a guarantee of their bona fides ; the wr'ter of any anonymous letter to one gentlemen of the doing of another is a coward and a sneak.

The Dunedin Star supports Mr H. S. Fish's suggestion that the people of Olago should make some recognition of Sir Julius Vogei's -valuable services to the colony, the latest being his successful' floating of the new loan. -It says, thousands -of people have been enriched through the labors of Sir Julius Vogel, without an effort on their own part, and tens of thousands are living in comfort who, but for his labors, would be struggUng here or elsewhere in poverty.

An amusing scene happened at the camp of the Whakatane Natives yesterday afternoon, when a large number of Earopean visitors were inspecting the carvings. An enoiuious wild sow, which was about to be killed, broke loose, and, rushing between a Native's legs, sent him sprawling into the mud. Not satisfied v/ith that exploit, the porker made a rush at a parLy of gentlemen who wei'e stau'ing near, and these, thinking discretioa the better part of valor, made themselves scarce over the fence. After considerable chasing, the pig was at last, recaptured, and a portion of it has, probably, ero now filled the stomachs of oar dusky brethren. ■

A small English terrier, named Snap got accidentally locked up in this office on Saturday ni^ht, and not being able to derive any sustenance from the old newspapers, pastepot.or.other.legitimate paraphernalia of the business, pressed by the pangs of hunger she actually devoured about two feet off the end of a half inch raw hide whip. This whip was the property of the fighting editor, and had done some good service in clearing out the hosts of importune embryo authors and poets, which not j invade his sanctum, and this morning when he found what Snap had dor c, he gave her an external application of the remainder of the whip, to counteract the evil effects of the portion taken internally.

A bridge of such proportions as the world has never yet seen is proposed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette for the purpose of connecting the two banks of the Thames in the vicinity of the Tower, and the plan has received the approval of the Metropolitan Board. Tlje operation contemplated by the Board consist in building up a structure of steel crossing the Thames in one tremendous span, clearing the water at such an altitude that three-four ih« of tue masted ships which require to do so will be able to pass under the elevated roadway without any hindrance, while the remaining fourth wilt merely have to lower-their topmasts, which they may very well afford to do, as topsails are not carried in the Thames above Gravesend. The case now before us affords a striking instance of the great practical results which are apt to follow from improved processes in the arts. Steel whea perfect in its composition is capable of bearing a much more severe strain than iron, and the improvements have been effect i by Dr Siemens, and others in the manufacture of this metal have rendered it more throughly trustworthy, and have enabled it to be produced at a moderate cost, with nearly double the strength of iron. Hence it is now possible to construct such a bridge as would have be ?n practically out of the question a few years ago.

No charge (says the Mataura Ensign) wa3 more frequently in the mouths of Sir George Grey and his party whilst Major Atkinson sat on the Treasury Benches than that of the Government's having a subsidised Press at their backs. What is the case now that the patriots Grey arid Stout are in power? They have Ijeir company paper in Dunedin bound to support them through thick and thin, and to prove black is white in. tueir^srvvlce. They have established''-'a pape? j\ Wellington, which, having.'to render them similar bond service, has made but a feeble attempt at existence, and is likely to fade quietly oat of existence. Bj the most glaring system of partiality in advertising, they have papers y^.ctically subsidised from one end of the colony to the other to sing their praises whenever called upon to do so, and yet, in the'face of all this, ihey are doubtless coascisas of having given no opportunities to their adversaries for repeating against ihem the accusations they themselves made so plentifully less than 12 months ago. It is just as well that, the Minisbt3 should be reminded of these things, cad that there should be in New Zea'r.nd a few independent journals which, whilst prepared to support certain political principles professed by the Grey Ministry, are yet in a position tV point out to them their faults, and to warn them that as it is alone upon their policy they obtain support they had better be true to that policy if they wish to retain office, for' assuredly personal considerations will find little favour for them from the electors.

We (Wellington Post) understand that afier the close of the present financial year, the Government proposo to charge the whole cost of administration upon the ordinary revenue of the colony. Hitherto the cost of the Agent-General* department has been partially defrayed from loans, on the p:r ciple feat a ftveat portion of the work of tie depr lament Was coa--

nected with the raising of loans This principle is a vicious one, and we are glad to learn that the Government intend to meet all ordinary expenditure by- means of ordinary revenue, instead of trenching upon loans which should be spent only in the execution of public works- This proposal is a step in the right direction, and will tend to simplify our system of colonial finance. ' ' '

We learn thaf it is probable Mr F. A. Whitaker, proprietor of The Waikato Times, will be a candidate for the representation of Waipa, rendered vacant, by the resignation of Mr Alfred Cox.

?• Angio-Austbalian," writing about the visit of the Australian cricketers to England, says:—" As usual, there has been the usual confusion in uninformed, though by no means uninfluential circles, as tp whether the men are black or white, and many have been the queries which have been addressed to Australians upon this subject, but all fear of a cannibal outbreak has been dispelled by the assurance that they are men cf like complexion and degree with ourselves."

' Diamonds belonging to the Prince3s"of Wales and the Indian Treasury, and said to be worth a million, have been sent to the Paris Exhibition. Eight police by day and sixteen by night are in charge.

It is believed that the old wreck which lies in Dusky Sound (Otago) is that 1 of the ship Endeavor, of BCD tons, which left Port Jackson for India in Sept. 1795. Mr Bampton abandoned tho ship there owing to her leaky condition, and he, with those on board, menaged to re: eh Norfolk Island. It is extremely probable, says the Australian Shipping Notts, that the wreck now in Dusky Sound is that of the Endeavor, which was abandoned there in 1795—83 years ag< —and assuming it to be correct; that the woodwork comprised both teak and English oak, it would be an excellent test of the comparative durability of these woods under equal conditions.

Refebring to Mesturs Sees and Hislop's bill of coats in connection with the recent libel action, tbe Timaiu Herald says :— " Apart altogether from the position of the House towards Mr Jones' counsel, is their position towards the member for Auckland City East and the member for Waitaki. If it is sufficient to disqualify a member that he acts as Crown Prosecutor, or barrister under some Act that is not in operation, can members receive thousands of pounds of public money for defending a State prisoner ? Last session Mi Lusk was very severely dealt with because he or his partner had accepted fifty pounds for professional assistance in connection with some Municipal Bill. He was ordered to refund the money, and narrowly escaped being dismissed the House. Yet Mr Hees and Mr Hislop hare accapted some fifteen hundred pounds for defending a person whose prosecution the House had ordered. What will the House or the Disqualification Committee say to that P We cannot guess. It will depend very much upon bow the Government stand by the men, and what the strength of the Opposition is. That it will be made a party question is certain; and it will probably be decided in a manner sufficiently unjust and undignified to form a fitting wind-up to the unjust and undignified Jones case."

The New Zealand Times says':—A Earcel of iron sand from Taranaki is to c sent to England for Sir John Coode, who intends to have experiments made to test its commercial value. Some day the titaniferous deposits on' the Taranaki beach will become of value, and we hope that the tests to be conducted for Sir John Coode may lead to the discovery of a mode of working up the sands that will cause a market demand for it.

Oveb the arch at the entrance to Kaiapoi Runanga the Natives, on the occasion of the Hon. Mr Sheehan's visit, had an ingeniously constructed man of evergreens with a mechanical arm, and as the party approached the mm swung his arm up and down and from side to side, waving a flag in it. The surveys with which the affair worked amused the party greatly, and the Natives were immensely pleased.

An Amevicm paper rep dls that a rey modest young 'ady tiayelli&T from New York to some oth, place, ben* suddenly awakened out: of hai* rle; p, spre-3g. oat of her brnk and jumped overbr: ■ :j wten sbe heurd the captrin orJe^r the mate to " haul down the sluels."

The latest novelty Jti jewellery worn by the ladies of Paris is L'csclavage. It is a •fetter of gold worn on the arm above the elbow, and is rivet ted and soldered by the jeweller, in the presence of the donor, to b3 worn till death, or divorce, or separation. The jeweller, when the operation is over, bids tiae lady call next day to see that the rivet holds firmly. Sue comes without her friend, and the treacherous goldsmith confides to her the secret of a concealed spring by means of wtich she can remove the fetter at will.