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Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2946, 25 July 1878, Page 2

A Me J. N. Ingea.m, correspondent of the Hawaiian Gazette, who lately visited this Colony, gave his impressions as follows :—New Zealand has the most attractive mountain scenery in the antipodes. Its fords, inlets, sounds, moun-tain-walled lakes are picturesque. It has higher mountain ranges than Australia. While at Auckland I went out to the gold mines plaza diggings near there, hut about dug out. I also visited their boiling springs, and climbed their lava-covered crater and threw a rock in their little volcano. It sends up an occasional whif of blue smoke large enough for a hat-band, and the 'oldest inhabitants' point to it as one of the wonders of the world. With the rememberance of Holeakala. lingering in my mind, it did impress me very forcibly. If these colonials would see ICilan«a in her glory I think they would die of palpatation of the heart. The crater rises up in a cone (forestcrawned, its top lava capped) to a height of 6000 ft., and stands on the left of the bay as you enter Auckland, as a prominent land mark. Mount Cock, 1000 ft. high, snow-capped, their highest mountain, towers among the blue ranges and uplifted peaks farther eastward. Tasmania has some attractive scenery. There is great jealousy and rivalry and bitter sectional feeling existing between the different colonies.' They levy heavy duties on all colonial productions crossing the border from adjourning colonies. There is no colonial confederation ; each colony has a distinct and separate government, overruled by the British Lion at random. If the restrictions of the Crown Government were removed, the colonies would soon be at war with each other. They hare periodically threatened to break through the reins and fight any-way."

The correspondent of a Honolulu paper sends his impressions of Melbourne as follows: —" On every street corner is a petition as long as a fishing-rod calling out like corn doctors for signatures to a memorial addressed to Her Most Gracious Majesty to overthrow and suppress their own Government. Her Majesty turns a deaf ear to their supplications, and they vent their, rage in smashing newspaper offices, knocking out windows, hooting and brawling about over the city in mobs of boot-blacks and hack-drivers, with sticks, clubs and stones, making divers threats against the Ministry. Our Colonial cousins are not very familiar with American geography. A newspaper here had Chicago located down on the Gulf of Mexico, and got Texas mixed up with the frontier of Canada. A druggist of respectable standing asked me where were the Sandwich Islands. He , wanted to know if. there were any white people living there.' He 'wanted to know' if they ate people there. The European cable is disconnected about nine days out of ten. We get most of our news from California. The Australians are a great sporting people. The papers here devote more space to a chicken fight or a horse race or cricket match than to the Turkish-Russian war. A racer and a smart hound or good setter will command better prices than a good preacher, and about as much reverence."

Canon Liddon is credited with having given utteranco to the following nnti-war sentences :—" If I were a soldier or sailor in her Majesty's service, I should feel obliged to retire from the service, if I could, in the event of a war with Ilussia under existing circumstances. In nearly ninetynine cases out of a hundred a man would gladly leave the responsibility of deciding upon peace or war, entirely and cheerfully, in the hands of the Government; but there are cases when, however reluctantly, one cannot help seeing that our country, under the conduct of a particular Government, may be hopelessly in the wrong, and a conviction of this kind seems to make it necessary to avoid any personal participation that can be avoided in the destruction of human life for an unworthy or insufficient reason."

" That Mr Gladstone is mad," writes "Atlas" in the London World, "must be accepted as an axiom by every public writer ; but I have had the curiosity to trace the disease to its first appearance, and to note the several occasions upon which it has manifested itself with various degrees of intensity. The solicitude of his generous opponents seems to have been first awakened in 1853, when, iv order to reform the tariff and to reduce or abolish many taxes, Mr Gladstone ventured to propose that land should no longer be exempted from the succession duty. In 1860 the malady retuned in an aggravated -form, when the Commercial Treaty with France was carried through Parliament; and again in the next year, when the paper duty was abolished. I do not find any record of another paroxysm until the year 1864, when Mr Gladstone startled the listless politicians upon both sides of tke House by putting his foot down and declaring that Parliamentary reform must be conceded. In 1868 a real panic was created as to his state of mind when he opened' his campaign against the Irish" Church ; aud lastly, in 1876, almost as much anxiety was again produced by the announcement that in Mr Gladstone's opinion • the territorial integrity' of the Ottoman Empire could only be maintained, if the Porto consented to some limitation of its 'independence' in the Christian provinces (which the war has compelled it to concede). I ought, perhaps, to add that a medical lriend of mine, full of crotchets, boldly denies that the symptoms indicate madness, and prefers to describe the case as one of clairvoyance."

An armor plated ship on Admiral Sartorius' plan is to be built at Chatham, England. A kind of torpedo ram-ship : displacement, 2500 tons ; length, 250 feet, with a comparatively small breadth of beam ; draught, 20 feet, or considerably less than that of any of the existing ironclad vessels. She is intended to be employed entirely in offensive torpedo operations, will carry no guna, and will be fitted with a formidable ram, to be used in attacking iron-clad ships at their most vulnerable points—some five or six feet below the water line, whilst at the same time she will be capable of discharging a complete shower of torpedoes from her stem, and also from the sides. According to the plans, tie.vessel will only be about four feet out of water, and will be surmounted by a hurricane deck, as nearly as possible like that of the '" cigar ship." She will be unprovided with masts, and will depend entirely on her steam power, it being intended that she shall have an exceptionally high rate of speed. Her stowage capacity for coal will be very great, in order that she may be able to keep the seas for the longest possible period without requiring to replenish her. fuel.

A fact mentioned in the new number of the Edinburgh JReview, in an article headed " The Present and the Future of tho East," is highly instructive as to the tolerauce practised by Russia in matters of religion. The writer remarks that no minister of another faith than that of the Orthodox Church can even enter the Bussian dominions without the express permission of the Emperor; and the following illustration of the truth of the observation is given. Just before the late war the Anglican bishop of Gibraltar wanted to proceed to Odessa to confirm the children of British subjects residing there; but the' necessary visa of his passport was peremptorily refused, although the British Ambassador at Constantinople personally exerted himself to obtain it. General Ignatieff said he had not the power to grant the visa necessary to enter .Russia to a foreign clergyman.

At the weekly parade of the No. 2 Scottish held last night there were about 50 members present, including Captain Macdonald. The indefatigable drill instructor of the company, Mr Schofield, put the company through the rifle drill, and with few exceptions the members shewed themselves tolerably proficient for the short time they have been in training. At the conclusion of the drill the Captain announced that the nomination of officers would take place on Saturday; and the election that day week. Two or three lieutenants, two sergeants, and four corporals are required.

English papers received at Adelaide by the Tanjore describe Allan as "a crouching panther; " Boyle as ■•" the very devil;" and Spofforth as " the demon bowler." The Sporting Life says, that Horan's defence is simply perfect.

There is a restaurant at Grahamstown, at which the dinners are very small— regular insults to a square meal. A friend of ours, who is noted for his gastronomical and other abilities went to this eatinghouse several times lately, and never could satisfy bis appetite. However, he had it but of them on Saturday, when Jie sang out for two dinners before a whole room full of people, «te them, paid two shillings, and departed satisfied and happy. They now give him a double dinner for a shilling, but to prevent the house being ruined lie has to eat it in a private room by himself, so that other hungiy diners will not try the same game. We don't mention any names, or there might, be bankruptcy proceedings.

At the Theatre Royal last evening Professor Scott, •" The King of Pain," drew a crowded house, aud he kept the audience amused an<J interested for two hours with his witticisms and song, and his wonderful cures with his medicine. He sang several songs, including " Don't let it happen again," and " The war song," all of which were greatly appreciated. A humorous story " The Arkansaw Traveller," was very amusing^ and, indeed, the whole entertainment reminds one of those of Frank Westorn, of Wizard Oil fame, who adopted a similar method of advertising his medicine. At the request of one of Professor Scott's agents, who went about the audience asking "If there was any one 'ire sufferin'," several persons afflicted with sprains, toothache, etc., submitted themselves to the Professor's treat-

ment, and intimated that they had obtained relief by the application of the King of Pain. At the conclusion of the entertaiument. the Professor annouueed that he would appear before them again on Saturday evening.

The Key. S. J. Neill will lecture at the Presbyterian ( hurch this evening on " Tht« Siege of JDerry," under the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Association.

In a garden on Tararu Eoad there is a peach tree in full blossom and green with leaves —suggestive of a reasonably mild season.

We are glad to learn that the Thames County Council are to proceed at once with some very necessary repairs to whrrf and approaches to volunteer rifle range. Captain Murray and Lieutenant Gavin went out this morning with the County representatives, and pointed out the ne> cessary requirements, which the Council have generously agreed to go on with at once.

At the afternoon sitting of the Native Lands Court yesterday afternoon, in the Mercury Bay case, Mr Guilding, who had previously refused to attend, was present, and gave his evidence concerning the payments made to the native owners of the block ; and Mr Bloxome, a storekeeper at Gumtown, also gave evidence. The Court did not think it suffic'snt, and deaired further testimony. At this, morning's session Mr Preece produced a deed, ceding the Waikawau block to the Government. Hirewa te Moananui objected to the hearing of the case, which was then adjourned. The Oteao (Mercury Bay) block was then called on, and Mr P. Quin, storekeeper at Mercury Bay gave evidence, corroborative to that already adduced. The case was adjourned for the production of further evidence. The Government cases have been adjourned till Monday next, and jn the meantime the Ohinemuri cases will be gone on with.

A TOUNa lady known to many residents here, Miss Bella Chapman, died after two days' illness at Hamilton on Monday, at the residence of her brother-in-law, Mr W. H. Pearc, Commercial Hotel. The Waikato Times, remarking upon the young lady's death, says :—" Miss Chapman hud been staying for some time past on a visit with her married sister in Hamilton. At the same house lodged a young man, a member of the composing staff of this journal, who was stricken down with heart disease, the result of rheumatism, and whose case was considered almost hopeless by the doctors. Though a comparative stranger to the family, every care and attention was paid, to him, and one of the most assiduous in this good work was Miss Chapman. Continued watching and attendance on the sick man produced a state of .nervous excitement, but when Miss Chapman came into the room on Thursday last, and found the patient black in the face strangling himself with the pillow-strings torn from the pillows, the shock was so great that after rescuing the unfortunate youth from the consequences of his act, she was seized with a violent nervous paroxysm, and was carried 10 her room utterly prostrated. Brain fever set in, and despite the unremitting care and attention of her family, and the efforts of the medical man, Dr Beale, the young lady died early yesterday (Monday,) morning."