THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOOK P.M. Resurrexi TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3216, 10 June 1879, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOOK P.M. Resurrexi TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 1879.

*, We understand that at a numerously attended meeting of the Thames Naval Brigade, held last evening, Mr William Burton' was elected 3rd Lieutenant vioe Mr Lawless promoted to 2nd Lieutenancy, and P.O. Gordon 4th Lieutenant vice Mr Browne resigned. We notice that Major Murray will hold the monthly inspection of this company on Thursday evening next, when^opportunity will be taken to present the District Belt to Seaman Armstrong, and the Darling Cup to P.O. Thomes, who has won it for the first time. It is rumored there is to be a change in the management of the Alburnia. By a late gazette we notice the gazetting of A. D. Bennett as Lieutenant to the Wellington Naval Brigade. Sevebal parents of children attending the Waio-Karaka School are complaining that, though there are fire places in the school, no fires are lighted ia these cold mornings, and the bairns come home blue with the cold. The following are the terms on which the Government will accept the services of persons who may be willing to join the Volunteer corps during tha> present emergency in New Plymouth :—Government will accept the services of volunteers during the present emergency, to be enlisted subject to three months notice, and relax the volunteer regulations in the following respects. The uniform usually purchased by volunteers will not be' insisted upon, so long as a blue shirt is worn by the members of the several corps. Volunteers who do not wish to leave their immediate localities, but desire to defend their own homes, will not be called upon to serve elsewhere. To, such volunteers efficient Enfield Bines will be issued. Volunteers who may be willing to assist should any emergency arise, in which additional force is required for a particular short operatien, in whatever part of the district will receive Snider arms.—-G. S. Whitmobe. Anotheb opinion' on Mr McLean's address. The North Otago Times says : —" Mr McLean appears to entertain an aversion to the land tax, but does not speak about it with a particularly certain sound, merely saying, • tax land or anything else for revenue, but do not drive capital away, as the Colony cannot afford to part with it.' Not unnaturally, we looked for something more than this from an ex-Minister, but Mr McLean's speech, as it has been placed before the public, is as barren as the east wind. It is really not worth analysing except for the purpose of exhibiting its emptiness, seeing how .little may be in the utterances of a man who has been a Minister of the Crown, and shewing how small an amount of benefit the public may expect to derive from a party whose very leaders fail to mako anything worthy the name of suggestions for the better government of the country."

Messhs O'Brien and party have now got their reclamation contract fully under way. They hare about a dozen trucks working, and several more are in a state approaching completion. About 30 men are now employtd, a party being at work at the Karaka Creek quarrying the stone for the rubble facing to the embankment.

The only busiuess at the E.M. Court this morning was the disposal of one case of drunkenucNs in the ordinary manner. G. N. Brnssey, Esq., J.P., occupied the Bench.

A pbivate letter from Auckland says that the Governor does not intend to visit the Thames. By a telegram, however, from Wellington, it is stated that he will remain in Auckland about three weeks. If the latter statement be true, there should bo little doubt but we may have the pleasure of seeing our new Governor.

An extraordinary story (says the Herald) comes from Wellington—namely, that Te Whiti is acting under the?advice of Mr Higinbotham, of Melbourne, who has given it as his opinion that the confiscation was invalid. Some eight or nine months ago, a report was current that a legal opinion had been given against the confiscation on the West Coast, and it is just possible that it may be found that there is some; connection between that and the proceedings of Te Whili.

The steamer Ebtomahana, which has been for some weeks undergoing repairs and a thorough overhaul, including several improvements to the machinery, boilers, &c, which will have the effect of materially increasing her speed, was taken out of the dock yesterday morning and will shortly resume her trade between Auckland and the Thames.

The war between labor and capital continues to rage fiercely in the north of England, and at the present moment there are upwards of 100,000 miners out on strike in the Durham colliery district. Here arbitration has failed, but it has failed because it has not been fairly and fully resorted to. The men desired that the whole of the proposed reduction should be arbitrated on; the masters insisted that first a reduction of 10 per cent, on subterranean labor and 1\ per cant, on; labor above ground should be enforced, and then that there should be arbitration on the balance. At the present moment there is every sign of the struggle being conducted with the greatest obstinacy for some time to come.

An individual who had taken a passage yesterday by the Christchurch train arrived just as the train was moving away from the Dunedin platform, when he rushed after it, and managed, after a hair's breadth escape of his life, to secure a seat. "' 7'; : " 7 . ~";! ''•"■ "C;:.'- '' '"''

It is said a tender for reclaiming land at Dunedin for a railway station has been accepted for £68,000.

The Victoria Varieties opened to a very fair house last evening, when the programme gone through oh Saturday evening was repeated, and gave great satisfaction to the audience. To-night an entire change of programme is announced, when several new specialities will be preduced. ■■ ■■.■■ .' \.^ r:-- ■ ■■':':.':i . ■-:■:■... .

: The Oamaru Mail, tells the following story, it is worthy of cpsiderastion, as the only parties who " -jras: fat" in these dull .times : are the ; lawyers and their confreres —trustees :-—" Whilst on our way to the editorial chamber this morning, we were stopped by a citizen, and we chatted awhile with him touching the present awful state of the money market. Suddenly he said, 'Ah ! I hare it. 'In theie days of mealy bugs and Colorado beetles there is only one way of settling matters comfortably. Let 1 the , Government suspend the. functions of all judges, resident magistrates, clerks, and bailiffs on the courts for say three months'; then no writs or summons can issue. What do you think of the suggestion P "< : At; this moment one of our local lawyers joined us, and the matter was referred to him. He exclaimed, .-V Oh P bang it, that .will nerer do unless the GoTernment introduces in the meantime*some system of public works; in order to afford us some other congenial and remunerative, and, if possible, more honorable employment." ;/; ? '„-,•; } The origin of the fire at Onehunga is not satisfactorily ascertained, and no definite information as to the cause of the explosion. The fire, no doubt, was purely accidental. '■.■■]•?'- : '/I ■

An order has been issued by the corporation of Wellington that so long as the demand for corporation work is limited married men are to have the preference, especially married men with families.

A telegbam from the Empire City states that tbe leader of the gold prospecting party now engaged in the vicinity of Wellington called at the office of the Evening Post yesterday, and showed some apparently very rich specimens of gold-bearing quartz, which he stated to have been obtained comparatively near the surface of the ground, not more than a mile from the boundaries of the city. He and his mates are sanguine of finding payable ground.

A local in an Auckland contemporary says some friends of the late H. K. Marlcr have started a subscription for the benefit of his widow and family.

There are evidences of great depression in the agricultural departments of trade. In Kent there are nearly 200 farms now without tenants, and we hear that in Warwickshire over 100 farms were advertised to let last week in a local paper. The farms represent about 50,000 acres, or a twelfth part of the county, and by Michaelmas it is said that thenumber of unlet holdings will be greatly increased. . H;

A wbiteb in the Taranaki Herald says : —I would suggest, as a complete solution of the native difficulty and the question of occupation of confiscated lands in the Provincial District of Taranaki, that immediate steps should be taken to hare the railway line constructed from Stratford to Normanby. For this purpose I would recommend that the Government should employ about 300 men supplied with sufficient arms to protect themselves in case of interruption by natives. From a strategical point of view, in case of an outbreak by the natives, men could, in a few hours, be concentrated at any point found necessary to occupy, and outsettlers protected from any sudden attack; If we 'are compelled to resort; to hostilities^— through railway communication would prevent a recurrence of the deplorable state of affairs with which the unfortunate settlers at Taranaki are already too familiar, and leave us in a position to dispel the illusions of the prophet Te Whiti, and deal in a decided manner with, the fanatical natives of Paribaka.

At the meeting of the Committee of the Mechanics' Institute last night, Mr McGowan gave notice of motion that ho would propose at the next meeting that tho Mayor be requested to call a meeting of the ratepayers, with the object of getting an opinion as to the advisability of the Borough Council taking over the Institute, and administring it under the provisions of the Public Libraries Act, and throwing it open as a free public library.

Bishop Moban mentioned on Sunday at Chriitchurch that a tender for the first portion of tho work in connection with the Cathedral had been accepted for £2,970. As soon as the funds in hand were, exhausted it was intended to stop work on consideration that not a penny of debt should be incurred upon the building. : : ";/;' ;: \ ;' ? S|

We were walking to , Shorfcland this morning using a regular pedestrian stride to make the blood circulate find take ■ the. frost-bitten appearance out of the nose and fingers. We were suddenly stopped by an old man, working on the road, and on somewhat ill-naturedly asking what was the matter, the old boy said, " Say, sorr, phwats yer, 'pinion of the Native muss ? " We didn't know, and didn't care, and informed him ' of the fact. "Well, yer see," he pursued, " its my 'pinion 'fore long thar'll be skin and hair flyin' 'bout. I think that suioon as the Maories at Tyranaky bust up, old Chuckikino and the rest up here will a start murderin' of us." We here ventured to remind him of the volunteers and the two cannons. " Can* nings be dashed," he continued, "we want 40 brass ,cannings at least; an* as for the Volunteers, when there's any fightin' to be did, yell see they'll have poor musters. Beastly ken try." Our talkative friend was abusing " Sir Joolus Vogul" and the " County Council" as we resumed our walk towards the shades of Shortland. An exceedingly amusing And, in its way, important case has recently been tried. The Duchess of Westminster was summoned by a former lady's-maid named Jones, on a charge of having libelled her in a letter to a friend of her grace's, Mrs Arthur Chapman, who had inquired as to her charaoter, In this letter the Duchess had plainly stated that in her opinion " Jones " was out of ,her mind, and therefore not a fit person to engage jn domestic service. Jones's insanity was tolerably well proved and Her Grace of Westminster, therefore, absolved from tbe accusation brought against her. ( ,So far so good. But it transpired during her grace's cross-questioning that the Duchess of Westminster bad, even at the time of Jones's alleged lunacy, given her a general character. Courteously asked by the council in court how she reconciled this with her sense of duty to her neighbors, the duchess naively answered that though she should, of oourse, be very sorry if " other people" found that they had engaged a mad servant, she (the duchess) could scarcely be expected totake the same interest in them as in; her own relatives.—Home News. ; ; ,; , > ;r