THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3453, 19 January 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi MONDAY, JANUARY 19, 1880.

Of the sum of £800 voted by the General Assembly for district prizes to Volunteers, the following sums nome to the Provincial District of Auckland :— Adults—Auckland. £51 10s; -Thames, £49; Waiuku, £18 10s; Waikato, £17 10s; Poverty Bay, £5 12s 6d ; Bay of Plenty, £2. Ordnance—Auckland, £10 3s ; Thames, £8 15s ; Poverty Bay, £4 10s. Cadets—Auckland, £7 9s; Thames, £6 11s.

Pastor Chiniqut preached to an overflowing audience at the Theatre Eoyal on Sunday evening, a collection of £21 being taken before the delivery of the sermon. The rev. gentleman left this morning for Auckland en route for the Waikato. We hear there is a probability of his revisiting the Thames, when he will deliver his lecture on " Auricular Confession."

A meeting of the Harbour Board was held this forenoon. Present: The Mayor, Messrs MeGowan, Osborne, Eead, and Wilson. The audited accounts were placed before the Board and were accepted.

A meetikg of the Provincial Grand Lodge, 5.0., will be held on the 6th of nest month, in the Lodge Sir Walter Scott. The Hon. P. Whitaker will take the chair on the occasion.

The annual soiree and concert in aid of the funds of the St George's Sunday School, will take place on Feburary 10th.

The Thames Scottish Cadets resume drill this evening at 7 o'clock sharp

We noticed the crew of the outrigger out this morning for practise for the forthcoming Auckland regatta. The men who have knocked off work for the past fortnight appeared in splendid condition, and were arranged in the boat as follows :— H. Goldsworthy (stroke), Gavin (2), Newdick (3), and Goldsworthy (bow), Le Manquis, coxswain. The men row exceedingly well for the short time they have been in training, their practise speed being about 35 strokes per minute. We hear that four crews will compete iv the race. Our men intend entering solely for the honor, as the prize will not nearly compensate them for their mouths' constant training.

Ik another column it will be seen that His Worship the Mayor has called a meeting of persons desirous to assist in raising a fund for the relief of the distress in Ireland.

The steam cirrus was exceedingly well patronised on Saturday evening. The proprietor by his great good nature has evidently made himself very popular with the little ones.

The exhibition of swordtnansbip at the Oriental iixhibitien on Saturday proved quite a " draw," there bein^ a very good house. The proprietors intend, after a few more days' stay here, to proceed to the Waikato.

There was uo business at the JJ.M Court to-day.

A g-beat many of our residents took advaniage of the special trip of the steamer Te Aroha to Omahu to visit the land offered for sale by the Waste Lands Board. The trip was a most pleasant one, the Te Aroha being a most suitable boat for excursions, and the captain and officers most obliging and attentive. From the deck of the boat a capital view of the country was obtained. The return trip down last night was done very quickly, and the night being fine, a iew very pleasant hours Mere spent on the water.

'1 he Turkish Government at Constantinople has a small, and probably decreasing, revenue of some twelve millions a year; if fiscal reforms could be introduced, the farming of taxes abolished, the payment of tithes, fifths, and other charges on land commuted for a fixed sum ; if honest officials could be obtained to take charge of the revenue; if, in short, the whole system of the Turkish exchequer could be reformed and purified, the central Government would be able »to dispose of a revenue of certainly twenty-five millions, more probably of thirty millions. —Commander Cameron, R.N.

The annual report of the Education department of Great Britain shows the extent to which singing is systematically taught in elementary schools. In England and Wales 697 schools use Mr Hullah's system, 534 use the old notation with the movable do., 44 use more than one system, and 2297 schools use Mr Curwen's Tonic Sol-fa system. The remaining 19,921 —by far the larger proportion—teach by ear. In Scotland, 10 schools use Mr, Hullah's system, 105 use the old notation with the movable do., 25 use more thau one system, and 1338 use' the Tonic Sol-fa. The remaining 1400— a less proportion that in England—teach by ear.

A home paper says that it is stated that E. P. Dutton and Co. cannot priot Canon Farrar's "Life of St Paul" fast enough to supply tho^demand. The first edition was sold before!fc left the pres^.

The Paris Gaulois learns by telegraph from St Petersburg that all the Eussian officei'i,,.on Cleave of absence .have been ordered to join their regiments without delay. The same paper states that the Austrian Minister of War has ordered th^officers of the Staff to study in particular the Eussian language, and that a Bussiaife.class has been Opened in the Military fichool of Vienna.

The Eastern Budget says that in pursuance of the design of denationalising Poland, the liussian authorities at Warsaw have forbidden students, under severe penalties, to use the Polish language either in private or public, and, according to the Molva, the leading financial paper of Eussia, the last Eastern campaign cost the Czar 1,500 million roubles and 200,000 lives. This is nearly twice as much as has, been hitherto assumed. ' ,:'.

The Home letter of the Herald has the following about Mr Gladstone's progress in Scotland :—Scotland for a whole week has been the scene of such a political demonstration as men are nnable to parallel, without going back to the era of Reform Act, and Earl Grey's banqueting in Edinburgh. Throughout the whol» progress of the Eastern question, Scotland had taken up a different line from England. Popular feeling, instead of following the various steps in the great

diplomatic game with .Hussia, has always asserted itsrlf on the side of tho Opposition, or'more properly oi" Mr Gladsione. Various versions jhv {>iven" for that. They say in London that the Northern section of the kingdom is incapable of imperial enthusiasm, being to> much occupied wiih questions like hypothec, the Church, and education—too remote for the arsenals, and altogether too sluggish in the imagination to appreciate a great policy of Imperialism. The reception awarded to the ex-Premier ought to make up for the loss of popularity in the Metropolis. From Carlisle to Edinburgh he ina<lo, with his wife and daughter, nothing short of a Royal progress. The different, stations .where he stopped wero adorned with bunting. Entire populations came out to see him.

The following is the report of the District School Scholarship Committee presented to the Board at Education, Aucklaud. By it it will bo seen that no child from the Thames has gained a scholarship this year, the Wellesley Street School of Auckland showing up well in the number of scholarships and certificates of profi ciency. W. V. Hall, of the Tararu School, is the only child from the Thames mentioned in the report having gained a certificate of proficiency: —

" Your committee have the honor to report on the examination for District Schools Scholarships, held in Auckland and at the Thames in December last. 105 candidates attended—Bß ia Auckland, 17 at the Thames. Of these, 34 were girls (30 Auckland, 4 Thames). Eight scholarships were advertised by the Board. Your committee recommend that a scholarship be awarded to each of the candidates numbered from 1 to 8 on the list appended hereto, and that acerlificafca of proficiency be awarded to each, of the candidates numbered 9 to 14 inclusive, who obtained half-marks or more in each of the prescribed subjects. It will be seen from the accompanying statement that John Poland, of Tuakau, gained the highest aggregate number of marks. He cannot be recommended for a scholarship, as he failed to obtain half-marks in arithmetic. Several candidates, each of whoni obtained a fair number of marks can,riot be recommended for certificates of proficiency, as they failed to reach half-marks in one or move of the prescribed subjects. A larger number of candidates obtained a respectable umber of marks at this bhan at any previous examination.—J. M. CiAEK, Chairman."—The following are the names, ages, and marks of the successful candidates:—'Total number of marks, 830; Fredk. Bettany, 14, Pon sonby, 623; George Lippiatt, 15, Wellesley street, 616 ; Frank Burton, 14, Wellesley stive 1, 598; George Farrand, 12, Paparoa, 578; Robert McPberson, 15, Wellesley street, 574; Charlotte Finlay, 15, Patnmahoe, 567 ; James Ross, 14, Wellesley street, 557; Sarah Purdie, 13, Wellesley street 558. Certificates of proficiency. — Frederick Ohlson, 14, Wellesley street, 549; Emma Coad, 14, Wellesley street, 443 ; Robert Heron, 15, Wellesley street, 539 ; Herbert Brabnzou, 14, Nelson street 521; Georgiua Thomson, 14, Nelson street 498; W. V. Hall, 12, Tararu, 496.

Feom the large native meeting at Waotu, the following by telegram tells its own tale :—The first thing tbe naiives —especially the hauhaus—insist on is that the Government take back advances made on lands. The natives are willing Lo recognise the Government's right to money advanced, and will return the same on condition the Government remove the lien they now have, and so allow the natives to deal with if; in open market. The natives now repudiate five thousand pounds paid by Brissendeu. Major Mair has telegraphed the proposals of the natives to Mr Bryee, Native Minister, The Maories decline to discuss anything else ; and as soon as Major Mair sent the telegram the natives dispersed, and ai'e now waiting the Minister's reply. Advocates of the Government of the country securing the freehold of native lauds will, of course, object to allowing a ring of land speculators to monopolise the land market. Private purchasers are justified of reaping the advantage of past experience and expenditure". The question at issue is undoubtedly highly important, as the future railways will go through these lands.

An important explanation with regard to a political prayer has been given by Mr Spurgeon (says an English paper). It seems that someone lately made a statement that Mr Spurgeon " had openly prayed for a rapid change of Government. 1' Kosuch prayer had been uttered by Mr Spurgeon—at least, he does not remember any prayer exactly to this effect. Writing to the Western Morniug News : —" I pray daily that the Lord would change the policy of our nation from that of blustering and invasion to pace and righteousness. If this means a change of Government so let it be. My polities are not bound up with party, but Ido love righteousness and peace." In other words, Mr Spurgeon prays daily that the affairs of this country be ad ministered strictly in accordance with a policy approved by himself. If Lord .Beaeonsfield adopts aud carries out Mr Spui'geou's polioy well and good —he may remain iv oflice ; but if on the other hand, he cannot or will not mend his ways, then if Mr Spurgeon's prayers are successful, he willhave to leave Downing street. This however is a matter of detail with which Mr Sturgeon does not trouble himself. All that he wants is no " blustering and invasion"—anything for a quiet life ; and ..he prays accordingly.

In view of the probable occupation of Merv by the British some particulars of the city may be of interest to our readers. The following details were published Jay the Vienna Frenidenblalt•—"The cfty consists of an immense wall or foriifica-, f tion, inside which are 2000 houses, 9000' trnLs, and several mosques. Sirdar (Prince) has five palaces there! three of which are used as Government offices. Tfcfere is also in Merv a small quarter for the Jews, separated by a wall from the rest of the city. The present Sirdar, :Sf ILhan, is a man of fifty, more frequently seated on the back of. his horse than on his throne, for lie is constantly occupied in pillaging excursions on the side of Persia and the Eussian possessions on the banks of the Caspian Sea. This does not prevent him from being fond of poetry, for iv his suite are always a Persian poefc and several bards who amuse him of an evening by singing and playing the harp. Besides, Isdigar Khan is himself the author of several Turkish and Persian Poems, in which he celebrates brigaudage as a chivalrous pursuit. The Prince's reyenne is estimated at 500,000 roubles, arising principally from the sale of. prisoners and booty. There is even a special bazaar in Merv where only Persian,

and other prisoners are sold as siavfs. All tho male inhabitants in the country, from their fourteenth year till they are .seventy, are liable to military service, Consequently, the Primia cart easily brin« 80,000 men into tho field. For centuries the people, of Merv have carried on against the Hussiand and Persians, without iiiUuTuption, the 'Dscbihad' (holy war), and they believe themselves authorised to commit all sorts of cruelties or outrages agains;> Cheso two infidel nations."