THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3378, 20 October 1879, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1879.

- .The public opening of the Orphanage will take place on-next Thursday at half past two o'clock. Tho Mayor, Cr Graham, Dr Kilgour, and other gentlemen will raako addresses. The bands, .will play during the; afternoon, and in the evening the calico bull will take place at the Academy of Music. All the ladies are to appear in Qalieo dresses, but gentlemen may appear in any guise. The gallery is to. he placed at the disposal of ladies and ,others not wishing to join the ball, and who can spare an hour or so to see the o&jyjmblage. The r'ecipts are nil for the esoiiii«fe:' j'und oi' the Orphanage, so we anticipate a iargc attendance. Dubing the past wtwj; the attendance iifc the Wtiio Karaka School liZ? very mtxeh Increased, and t!ie week's arerage has been tlii? highest eror''attained since tho pstflblisjsnieii^ of Slate schools here. | It wns over 400; and farther de»k acGOtnodaUon had to he provide ;n the junior boys' room. By further provision i» this direction the school e»n be uiitde to accommodate GGO, The teacjjing staff is now 14 strong. Miss Jessi • Wood Patterson having lately been appointed a pupil teacher.

The sale by auction of the well-know ' Waitoki blodk will take place in Auckland on Wednesday morning, the auctioneers being Messrs Coiihrano and Bon. The block, which is lt»Of> acres in extent, is magnificent agricultural land, and has been subdivided into sections of 50, 100, 150 and 200 acres. Tho. property has a large river frontage, adjoins the BroomhaH block, and by the now County roads is about seven miles from Paeroa. The sale offers h rare opportunity tor purchasing first-class land in a district which in a I few years is destined to maintain a large | and prosperous community. The latest steamer is the. Enterprise, which leaves | the Grahamstowu wharf at 1 o'clock tomorrow. We are sorry to hear that people still make it a practice since the fine weather set in of going to the Tararu Cemetnry, and robbing the graves of the departed of flowers and shrnbs. A conviction by the r police of one of these marauders might have a deterent effect ou others. Hebe is a hint for our local voluuteers. The telephone has proved a great success at Wimbledon, it was fitted at the 1000 yards range " by the Royal Engineers," and communicates with the firing points and the Secretary's office.

Sydney has beat creation in cooking electoral rolls. A recent investigation into the Municipal Koll, discovered no less than 7GD dead men's names. It is nothing". All for the gcod of the public. —Free Press.

Two parsons wore fined 10s and cosis for drunkenness at the Police Court this morning, and one person for a breach of a by-law-was fined2osand costs.

We learn that the amount of the fine imposed for a breach of the by-laws at the court this morning baa been subscribed.

Number of cattle slaughtered at Thames in quarter ending 30th September/ 1879:—Oxen, 342; sheep, 1250; calves, 24 ; lambs, 6 ; pigs, 192; goats, 15; total, 3929. ,

The report of the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company for 1878 has been issued, and was laid before the annual meeting held at P'dinburgh, on 4th April, 1879. The figures of the report show that the fire premiums have increased during the year from £908,014 to £915,196. We believe that the company is almost the only fire office that has actually increased its net fipo revenue during 1878. That the business has not been increased at the expense of safety is conclusively established by the fact that the losses were only £472,701, or a trifle over 51 per cent.; 6f the premiums. It is unnecessary to ..add-that such brilliant results as showii by $ie report of the fire branch, must ea^e^-;- strong feeling of satisfaction amoffjj^' the shareholders, and confirm yet more strongly the confidence of the policy-holders. This is a positiun which we venture to say is equalled by few, 'aud excelled by none. To say that the JNorlh British and Mercantile is safer than it was, wouM not be accurate, for there can be no addition to absolute safety; but to . say that it is more ■ powerful and \ prospvrous every year, is not only true, but is becoming monotonous by repetition. It is, however, not au unpleasant subject, and we wish we had^to say it moro often in the course of a twelvemonth than we are able to do at preser>t. Buch colossal corporations as the North British and Mercantile are, however, few and far between, and we must only congratulate the managers of the results of their labours, and hold tho Company up as an example to be followed, «nd as a refuge where inexperienced assurers may fold thoir wings and be at peace. The Auckland agents are Messrs Shera and Co., and Mr Thomas Yealr, of Pollen street, is thsjocal agent.

Mb Fredkkick Bennett, the proprietor of the Tararu gardens, announces through onr columns the reopening of the gardens for the season. We understand that Mr Benuetfc and his assistants have lately expended a considerable amount of labour, in doing up the grounds and that they are now radiant in the full bloom of spring flowers. The strawberries are rapidly ripening, indeed a good number have already found their way into Grahnmstow'n, and with seasonable weather Mr Bennett expects to be able to meet all the demands of his many visitors.

The well-known practical economist, MrT. Brassey, has published his 1 views on the respective valaes of largo and small holdings of land, and writes to the London Times that on the Continent the land is cultivated in much smaller parcels than is customary in England. In France 5,000.000 proprietors possess an average of 7\ acres; 500,000 have an average of 775 acres, and 50,000 an average of 75 acres; in Belgium the land is more minutely subdivided ; in Prussia the greater port of the land was cultivated by the owners themselves, there being 1,000,000 proprietors against 30,000 tenants. He goes on to say :—We have seen from the statement of Hir H. Bitrron how minute is th<» cultivation in Belgium, and the quantities of fruit, meat, eggs, and potatoes shipped to Englaud are really prodigious. We draw similar produce in largo quantities from Fran a*.' Reichensbeger, in -his works "Die Agrefrage," quoted by Mr Kay, assorts that the prosperity of France since 1790, notwithstanding tho tremendous wars and revolutions through which the country has passed, is entirely due to the laws which have led to a more minuto subdivision of the land. The population ol' France has increased in the interval from 25,000,000 to 31,000,000. A _ larger population derives far more nourishment trap the land of France iv the present day than wan obtained under the former regime. The people pay with less taxes 1.300,000,000f., while the old Monarchy fell because it attempted to raiso 500,000,000 annually.

UiNTB are being thrown out to Lord Beaconsfield to recommend Mr Archibald Forbes for the distinction of a Civil Oonv msndership of the Bath, as an acknotvledgei3lent of the services rendered to his country by his ride with the despatches announcing the victorious battle of Ul'indj. Mr Forbes's despatches arrived two days in advance of any others.

Stiuwutcrbiks are beginning to appear ia the shops of our local fruiterers. Eating strawberries and cream at Parawai and Tnrnru Will soon be a portion of the km tige of Sundays and holidays.-

Avtevl W. L. Bees delirercd his 14 hours oration he was happy in the idea that it was the longest talk on record. He felt lerribty taken in, however, when he found he wan licked by a Yankee statesman fojio did an IS hours' oration without turning a hair. Kees' chef d'eeuoris has, however, we believe, never been eclipsed ia the Southern Hemisphere.

"Sojck lililt! oxctU-mi-ut v.us cmsed in Coc-hraiif .street to-day by a runaway horse and cult. The uninml was stopped before any daw ago was done.

A chickut runtch was played between IS bo3 r« of the Union Cricket Club and 8 of tho Siiorllnnd Cricket Club. The Union won the toss, and eventually the victory. Some of tho scoring was very good.

Weekly state of sick in tho Thames (■Joldfleld Hospital, from ths 12th to tiie 13tl» Oct., 1879.—Statistical Nosology: Zymotic Diseases —remained 3, admitted 0. discharged 0. remaining 3; Constitutional—remained 1, discharged 0, remaining 0 ; Locul—remained 9. admitted 4, discharged 1, remaining 12; Violentremained 2, admitted 0, discharged 0, remaining 2. Total —remained 15, admitted 4, discharged 2, remaining 17. Out patients 27.—We are requested by Mr T. Aitkcn, dispenser, to acknowledge the receipt of a large parcel of Illustrated Papers from Mr J. Brown, Tararu, and a parcel of London Punches from the Her. y. J. Neill for the Hospital; a load of mnii'urc for the garden of the Old Men's licfnge- from Mr 0. Griffiths.

Me Edison's agent is about to establish a telephonic exchange in the heart of London, with wires radiating towards the suburbs.

When the House was sitting Thursday night, a messenger.came to the Premier from the Governor, requesting him to come up to sec him. Immediately the House rosy the Premier went, and had a long, interview. The Premier had a message from the Governor to ask for supplies, but did not dare to move it. It asked for supplies to the amount of £200,000, and Mr Mncandrew's amendment was to reduce it to £50,000, explaining that the reason why it was reduced was because the House had no confidence iv the Ministry.—Herald. .

Mr Ponsonby Peacocke, of the Auckland Board of Education, is at present on a fisifc to the Thames with a view of determining the requirements of the several Thames Schools in the matter of gymnastic machines, and apparatus. We believe that the articles recommended by Mr Barlow —c»listhenic apparatus for girls, and gymnastic machines for boys— are to be adopted by the Board for the whole of the schools under their control. TiiE Free Lance in its notice to correspondents has the following :—" Gingeb : Your letter is a little 100 hot. It is 1 worth ' a lot of money ;. our charge for publishing it would' be a life-assurance policy for £10,000, £500 cash down for preliminary expenses, and a substantial fciinranlec for double that amount. We don't allow any libels to appear in our columns. Ginger dear; we respect even (he ' feolins of a augman.' Try the Star." The Herald's Special in Wellington says:—There never was a time when Ni>w. Zealand so urgently required a strong Government, and there never was a time when one seemed less likely. Fresh taxation must be imposed, and a strong Government is required to impose it. Kvery affected interest will resist it, and a Government is wanted that can withstand the force of interested parties, and do what is righh Then it is necessary to have a Government, which, will be able to resist the pressure of localities for works, and which t->e present Government cannot do. Isow we have two parties, almost equal in numbers, struggling for office, bidding for every vote, and promising public works wholesale. One doea not see how any of them are going to get the country out of its* present difficulty. Each party is anxious that it shall be understood that they are nob the parties who are delaying supplies or obstructing tho business. The safe conclusion is, that both are right and both are wrong—especially wrong.

Says Saturday's Herald:—The first consignment of the hematite paint which has been manufactured by Mr Edwards, of the Thames, has been received by Mr James llussell, of the wharf, who is agent in this city. Yesterday a quantity was distributed among the various tradesmen. It has already been tested by one or two of the watermen in painting their boats, and is< also being used for other purposes, and, so far as wo have learned, will receive a fair trial at the hands of the trade, who are desirous of patronising this local industry as far as lies in their power. If it cau be utilised and found suitable for the trade, the supply is practically unlimited, and the powder can be produced at mucli less cost than the imported article.