THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, JULY 2, 1878.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2926, 2 July 1878, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, JULY 2, 1878.

Following is a letter received per the Suez mail by Captain Eraser from Father Nivard. The letter speaks for itself, and willj we trust, successfully appeal to the sympathies of all who are iri a position to contribute ev>r so little towards relieving the dislressf 3 of the famishing thousands in China. It is true that the dreadful necessities of these people have already been brought before the public of Thames, and that a subscription was raised, the amount of which was forwarded to Father Nivatd. More recently a very general effort was made to raise money for the Indian Famine Relief Fund, for the relief of our suffering fellow subjects in India. Happily the necessities of the latter have b^en fully supplied by the liberality of British subjects allpver the world, which resulted in one of the most munificent funds known to modern times. .The Hey. Father, who is still held ?n such general, esteem on the Thames, does not. appeal to us on the ground of the sufferers being our fellow subjects. Some of them are co-religionists; all of them belong to pur common humanity; and on the the latter ground it is that everybody having it in their power is called upon to subscribe towards the sufferers by the famiue in China, which, by.Father Nivard's account, is getting worse after two or three seasons endurance. We hope some public movement to answer the appeal' will be initiated forthwith:— ■.•'.■■ • . Chefo, Shantung, China, April 22, 1878 To Captain IVaser, Eesident. Magistrate, &c, &c, Thames, New Zealand. Dear Sir,—Whilst I was at the Thames you always showed great kindness t vine. I shall net er forget it; and t his vei'y thought decides me to brg of you a favor, which is this :' Our 'fellow men and fellow Christians die of hunger in the western districts of Shantung. The famine continues, and.is much worse.than last yerr. 1 don't talk of other provinces of China where the strong kill the west in .order to eat them, and parent;. kill: their clrldren for food, as it ha" b( on several times publiaKed ?o the TCrigHeb, Shanghai, and Hongkong par pars, which papers do riot exaggerate things —far: from it; but a]' that proves that this famine in China has hardly its. para'lel in the histoi ? of tha world. . v But to you I speak in a speci; 1 manner of Shantung, where my excellent bishop and all his priests ha»e done last year, and continue to do till now their best efforts to save their fellow men from death. They have succeeded in saving many ; but, alas, on account of their small means .they can't ear© as many as they would like to do, and it is a heart-breaking thing.for them to have, }-o witness thopaugs and the death of their fellow men, and in many cr9ea of their owa co-religionists; therefore I mnpf. humbly beg of you, who are a most influential person, t> tell the Thames people to come t j .our help. There there are found many genorous hearts which undoubtedly God will amply reward. Whatever yisu ain'oblaiu s>pnd it by drato to the T.ov."A. Ayrecri, Shanghai; China, telling him for what purpose it i*. On my part be sura you will have my best thanks and prayers. I por'd writ? much more, 'Vling particular fa j!s about this mortal'famine, but of what use, when mi: ionis die of nunger ? The total is enough, I,believe. My Bincere respects to Mrs.Fraaer, and to all those who still remember me.—-Tours most respectfully and cordially,

Ni^apd Jotrru^N. •. "Catholic Prirsfc, O.S.F.

A special meeting of Lodge Sir Walter Scott, S.C., will, be held ?tt the Freemasons' Hall this evening at half-pasl seven o'clock, to receive the JJ.W.P.G-.M;:, Bro:. P. Whitaker, and his officers of the Provincir.l Grand Lodge. • The proceedings will be of a highly interesting character to members of the crafl, as this is.the first official visit of the Provincial Grand Master to Lodge Sir Walter Scott since his accession to the high office he fills ; ard also because to Sir Walter Scott Lodge he owes bis affiliation to Scottish Mrsonry. A^ banquet will be held after the Lodge meeting, for which ticket may be obtained from the Hon. Secretary and the\Tyler.

Seveeali, public housed were, closed yesterday, the \ first day of tbe new licensing year, namely, the Cornwall

Arms, the Saracen's Hrad, and the Karaka, Pollen street. Mr "Angora of the Cornwall.Arms succeeds Mr H. GilleU at the Nil Desperandum, the latter going to Parcoll. jTt'e Karaka was amongst the first" hotels in Shortland, and at one time a Very remunerative business was done there, but in the. present quiet times, and with so many houses of accommodation in the vicinity, we presume it has not paid to keep it open. The JCaraka was a great place oi* resort for the ■Natives. . ''" . . ."

At the Native lands 'Court to-day. Chief Judge Fenton took Ins seat for tbe first time. .Mr Pr£ece, Government Land Purchase Commiss'oner. also appeared in Court officially for tbe first time, and produced his authority under section 107 of the Act of '73 to apprar on behalf of the Government. A long discussion ensued between the Chief Ju.fi ge and Mr Preeej as to the mode of procedure to. be adopted and Mr- Preece'a authority under the above named clause. : The Chief Justice then summpl upr and decided on thaTe Aratiatia and Wafharakeke West blocks, as follows:—Tbe Tangata and Tokokoki conquered this land' many years ago and exterminated the original inhabitants. Ngati-. hinirangi are clearly descended from these ancestors.' They have occupied this land after passing through many vicissitudes, and part of the time were under the protection of Te Waharoa and Wiremu Tamihana. They' have formed connection with Ngatirahiri by ancestry, and some of the Ngatihaua through marriage. At the investigation in the Turangaomoaua case (in 1863), Wiremu Tamihana claimed the land, and put into the grant none but Ngatihinirangis, who were not present. This was a portion of the block now' 1 adjudicated upon. The Court therefore awards this land to Ngatihinirangi and such of the Ngatirahjri and Ngatihaua, as Ngatihinir^pgi'^iidmit'.are connected. with them |^j|j;jp||pitrjr .^and ■ marriage. , The ' Court -.that . Ngatitamaterai

have no ctoinv as a tribe. Nga ¥■ lihifiirangi i'avc fdrnitted that Tavaia has a clai'n -through ancesti-/, and thereforo Mere Tifia will bo admitted. After delivering the decision the Uour.t adjour- ed, for the purpose of preparing a list of tho owners to the block. The hearing of tho celebrated Waiharakekc East case was to commence this afternoon.

The .following table—extracted from t: Registrar General's Heport on the vital statistics of the Boroughs of Auckland, Thames, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch, Duneclin and Hokitika for the month of May—gives the population, number oZ births and deaths, and proportion of deaths to the 1000 of population of each borough :—

We are gh'd to learn that Dr Gilbert Las this day received from Dr Macrae,, Chief Medic .1 Officer of Vicloria, a certificate of qualification and identification. We are also informed that his case has been referred to the Solicitor General by the Premier.

The Dunedin Tablet, referring to the Dunedin City election, says :—" Betwten Mr Beeves and his opponent, Mr. Oliver, there is no substantial difference./' Politically, intelltctually, and morally, they are about equal, so that it is a rriatier of perfect ind:fference which is returned to Parliament. A>dto us Catholics they are both equally hoslile, both are equally advoeateT of godless education, and both e'craally prepar 1 to continue.a sys<em wjieh wrongs, insu'ts, and plunders us. To both, therefore, we are bound to be equally and determinedly opposed."

A telegeam to the Auckland Star says;. In acknowledging the receipt of a large number of communications re its article on Mr Bathgate, the Otsgo Daily Tiires says: "We have purposely and scrupulously refrained from publishing them, considering we have done our duty in giving expression in the gentlest terms to the feelings in the public mind'that have been st uggling for ut'erance. We take credit for very considerable forbearance in this;. for not only havo our motives inattending tJ the matter been misrepresentedi but our riglj,t to touch on it at all have been impudently called in question. We claim the right to handle any matter affecting the public interests, and have only to say that if forbearance to which we have shown is not exhibited in dealing with our exceedingly temperate and considerate treatment of the subject, we shall grasp it more firmly." a

We have to acknowledge receipt from the secretary of the •* Fourteenth Annual Report'■;of "the■. Wellington Chamber of Commerce," very nicely got up in pawphlet form. It contains a list of officers "arid members of the Chamber; Annual Report of the transactions- of the Chamber for .the twelve months past; Retina shewing the value of imports into the several ports of IS^ew Zealand during, the years 1877, 1876, and 1875 respectively ; Report of proceedings at the annual general meeting of the Chamber, and some o^her information of a character likely to be interesting iv .mercantile circles. . Reha-Apebahama of Omahu, Thames, has been appointed an assessor of the Native Land' Court of New Zealand, and. John Alexander Wilson, Esq., has been appointed & Judge of tfie Native Land Court. : ■ ' v The following appointments are Gazetted:—ln the Thames Navel Volunteers, Sub-Lieutenant Thomas Gavin to be Lieutenant; date of commission, 29th April, 1878. Sib.-Liedtenani; ArthurDunrc Jin Benneit to be Lieutenant; date I of cpmmisaion, 29th Apr!l, 1878. J

The prize which is to be shot for at Mr Barlow's rifle gallery to-night, by any one who choosas to invest the iouspensable " Colonial Eobeic " and fire six shots, is a most amusing and well executed p;cture of an ideal Irishman, who, baying set put for* market in hi 3 holiday aitire, provided with an umbrella to pieferre the gloss of his best coat in its integrity,has been intrusted also by his partner Biddy with a well filled basket of batter and eggs; whilst further to r.dd to his responsibilities he bas fo persuade a well f d but erratic specimen of the porcine family to precede him. Having left his " ancestral home "in the bazy distr.ncej Pat is overtaken by a summer shower, which necessitates the expansion of his "gingham,"" and the scene is thereon, depicted of the poor Milesian' with anxious care in eve.y line of his swarthy countenance, his pig having rebelled to seek the fresh young grass in preference t»the stony highway; his eggs jumping from 1 the capacious basket to the ground, and the "gingham " blown by an inopportune gust~ to" smithereens," forms the climax to poor Paddy's trouble. No doubt a keen contest will be seen to night for this weekly prize.

A citizen was seen going into a local banking instituLion this morning. He hr 1 an anxious look on his feco, as if about to he^ra piece of news which must needs be told, but which it was to be feired would be unpleasant. An observer carious in such matters waited fo see the result of the visit.. Presently the citizen emerged, his face l:t up with a pleasant smile. ; In his hand he held a small piece of paperon which were some memoranda. Hailing the first acquaintance who came up, bur i'i'end' said : " It's all right, -——, if you want any money you'd better come at once." And •L —. —-■ immediately weni.—with r.n account in his fingers.

Although the day of Macaulay's I'bvr Zealander is doubtless yet> deep in i.Ue womb of futurity, the Natives are making rapid progress in ttie arts and graces of civilisation. This morning the attention of our peripatetic reporter/was drawn to a large written notice on the door of a " kun-e-kun whare'' or dancing saloon at Shortland. On the upper portion of the notice were some Maori words, and on the lower part was the following, which was evidently a translation of the words alone : " Sbortland, Pollen Street, July 2nd, No.' 3 Volunteer Hall. The natives going to have a dance at 6 o'clock in the evening." They got the Navel band to play here to-night. The ent-ance one shilling. No smokin. aloud & drunken. T?amaria ]j—Chairman JVativc Gomitte." On looking inside pur reporter noticed the "Chairman" and several waihinas wash*' iing and clearing the room as a preparatory step t? the eveniag's festivities.; ''■■.

The travelling agent for the sale of (bo elegantly bound and profusely illustrated work, known as "The History of the Sea " -^-testimonials regarding., tile yaluj of which were recently published in our advertising columns—has, we learn, succeeded ia obtaining three hundred subscribers for the same in this district. He goes from here now, and the books will be d livored in about three months. Meantime any further orders (or the book may be left at the office of this paper. Before leaving Mr Head presented a copy of " The History of the Sea " to the Mechanics' Institute at the solicitation of Mr McCullough, Chairman of the Library Committee.

The late heavy rains have converted many of the unmetalled goldfields roads and tracks into an almost unpayable state, but none are in such frightful gendition as the Te Papa Gully track. -It has become so bad of late th/at the slodgejfs have raised their charges. for one sledge from £1 10s to £2 10s per day. As this increased charge may be the difference between profit snd loss to many of the smell claimholders, who have claims [in that part of the gold field, it i 9 time something were done to improve the track. We understand that the County Council is to be petitioned on the matter.

The New Zealander says : -" A miserably, written 'Chapter from the History of 1873,' narrating a hostile visit by a Russian privateer to Lyt^lton, appearr. in a r< cent issue of the Canterbury Press. The 'Battle of Dorking ' has often been imitated, but we never met with such a wretched attempt as the Canterbury one." -■■.'■

To-day we bad the pleasure of inspecting some splendidly execute d photographic view,s of New Zealand forest scenery at the studio of Mr Frith, photographer, Pollen str. ai. Many of them have been taken ia the lovely Kauaeran^a Valley, the beauty and variety of the sc mery in which are but 'little known 1o our citizens. One of the picture represents Me msrs Eilgoar and Coombes' settlement, situated in a fertile little b» sin i.3veral miles up the river.; and this, perhaps, is one of the most taking r\ the collection, as tUe combination of the sparkling river, back ground of forest-clad bills p>>d p-it little homesteads, give lo the view a charm peculiarly Ms own. There ai ealso pictures illustrating the meth-d by which the forest giant are conveyed honi (be h?:irtof the bush (o the river, there i rjiaain till they are swept by a fiesh ' »the booms at Parawai. Long skids, roll'ng to ds, and dams ai'e all show-vand, 'aken in order, affords a very good id' . of the method of getting timber out of tbe bush. Amongst the views we noticed several -taking- in sections ,of the water race, a*)d also a. few; choice pictures of forest scenery, these latter being exquisitely done, all the minute detail of the ioliage being well brought out. M:' Frith has s^ld about £30 worth of these views to one gentleman alone and their merit should soon cause the remainder to qmckly go off h's hands.

Kefebbing to the value of property near Timaru, the Her;ld■: says :—" We learn that £20, CX) has just been refused fo/ a Mock of land, containing 520 acres, situate d on the Downs, within 2\ miles of Timaru This would be at the rate of about £91 per acre. The owner says he expects to obtain £200 per acre r;l round within a year."

A PEOCLAMATioN appears in the New Zealand Gazette bringing the "Auckland ljogi Nuisance. Act, ..1854/' ; into force within the County of Thames. v

; An exprr ssion frequently he-ird iv bbc Bhop of Mr Wlios, Watch maker and Jewdler, of Sborliand, is, sir :- You have so great a selection of Eavritjga and Eroaches that I do not know which to choose. Ihe same ni?ght truthfully be stid of his fine stock of Watches and Clocks.; Therefore irake an inspection. All articles marked in plai i figure 3— Watchc -, Clocks and Jewellery repaired by Mr J. W'tiCEg, and Gruaxanteed.—[Adtt.]

- Ladies, a continuance of your esteemed patronage' is reap: itfully solicited. Since I introduced Sewing Machines on the Thames seven years ago, I have had the pleasure of adding to the comfort of au imrneuee number of homes, and shall still, do, my best to maintain my reputation for sel'ing the best Machines I can obtain at the Lowest Prices. A large supply just received.—J. GtelGG, Pollen street.—[Advt.] .

Estimated Porralat'OU. Eirths. Total Deaths. P"0 icviiion o2Dei.,Jhsto ?000ofpopi'lalion. Borough. Auckland .. Thames .... WeHhryton.. Nelson .... C. listchurch DuneL'in Holrltika. .. 13,732 5,(125 S),OC7 6,603 33/02 22,^1 3244 * 41 59 77 18 . 42 £8 11 ?9 3 9.0 7 20 16 5 I'SB •55 1-SO l-i J • 1-40 1-54 296 9J __^ T0i.i'...., I .. •