THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3474, 12 February 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1880.

Fob the first time since its conversion for Greyism the Herald on Wednesday gives its private opiniou of SirGeo. Grey. Our' contemporary says:—" Sir George Grey is an enigma. He is very strong and very weak, very, clever and very stupid, vei%y good and not very good. His'aims are high, his utterances noble, and his conduct not always either. He is the most disappointing of>men, he attracts at one time only to repel at another. Possessed of many of the qualifications which constitute a statesmen, he is a statesmen spoilt, because deficient in others which are essential. He is undoubtedly a man of ideas—of good ideas,—-but he does not possess the qualification to give them effect. There is much in him that should and does command respect, but his role appears rather that of an apostle than anything else." In the . above paragraph " the old woman of Wyndham street" in trying to be very sage makes a fool of herself. In trying to analyise the character of the great Prooonsul the editor gets completely out of his depth, and flounders hopelessly on the sand bank of incompetence in dealing wilh the subject. To summarise our august brother's dictum briefly:—He is dice, he is nasty ; he is good, he is bad; is at the same time a Socrates and a man of Gotham, is in .fact a living contradiction, or, as Eackstravr has it, a man who is " a ganglion of antithetical elements, continually at war with one another." We can\t see the drift of the last seutenee calling Sir George Grey "an apostle more than anything else." Perhaps its intended for a compliment! perhaps not. ■

At the R.M. Court this morning the case Powell v. Driscoll for abusive language was called, but neither party appearing it was struck out.- ;#

Peofessoe Feasee, phrenological lecturer, opens at the Academy of Music this evening. So highly is this gentleman spoken of by the Auckland press that we anticipate pleasure for our readers who attend his lectures. The charge is only one shilling, and the title of the lecture is " Heads and Faces."

It is gratifying, to find' that one of our local produc£site; namely,bottled stout brewed by Mr Ehrenfried, of the Phoenix Brewery, has received a prize at the Sydney Exhibition. We are not surprised at this result, for throughout this colony--the'productions, of the Phcenix Brewery are highly spoken of, and the demand for the same is increasing daily.

Me T. Bennett, who - was recently burnt out at the Moanatairi Creek, has gone to the Kawakawa where he has purchased a business. Mi- Bennett is an old resident of .this district, and has been singularly unfortunate, having twice lost his all by fire. We wish him better luck in his new sphere of labor.

The following is the Building Fund Account of St. George's Church Sunday School to 31st December, 1879:—Dr.: Monthly collections from the children. £15 Is lid; net proceeds of children's entertainment, £10 17s 6d ; offertories at early communions, £2 14s Bd. Donations : The.late Captain Goldsmith, £5 ; Eev. V. Lush, £5; Mr D. M. Beere, £2; Mrs McCullough, £1 Is; Miss Gott, £1 Is; the Bishop of Auckland, dbl; Rev. B. B. Comins, £1; Mr Thomas Spencer, £1; Mr Robert Gordon, £1; Mr F. C. ss; Mrs West (Parawai), ss; Mrs J. 10. Macdonald, ss; balance due to the Treasurer/£7 Bs. Total, £54 19s Id. Cr.: Materials for new class room, £28 3s Id; repairs to main building, £1 18* 6d ; painting whole of school-bouse; £24; advertising, 17s*Bd. Total, £54 19s Id.

An incident, which exhibited the kindheartedness of Capt. Farquhar, oeeured the other day. A little girl, the daughter of a settler at Mahurangi, who was proceeding home, had by mistake got on board the Eotoraahana, and did not find out her mistake till the steamer wasfar down the harbour. When the matter w^s reported to Capt. Farquhar he took the child under his charge, and did his best throughout the passage to the Thames and back to reader her comfortable. Some of the passengers also raised a small sum towards her expenses.—Star.

The "New Zealand Punch," of the 10th ult., contains a wicked cartoon. Over a stately portal runs the legend, "Bank of Jew Zealand." The three balls, the Lombard arms swing over the door, aud below is the inscription, "Our National Pawn Shop: The, Three B'Halls. N.B.—Private entrance by back stairs, and perfect secrecy guaranteed." On a sign board is written, " Swamps bought, sold, or exchanged. Highest price given for gridirons. Agents for the Taranaki Harbour Swindle. Central Prison and.Maori War Company (Limited)." Messrs Pyke, Wakefield, aud each with a carpet bag, stand in front of the door with jubilant looks.

A tfiJP broke out in a small cottage in llichmond street yesterday afternoon, occupied by Mrs Glenning, whose husband, a bushman,is at present working io the Kauaeranga. The occupants were out at the time of the alarm, which was given by Mr? 'Warren, a neighbour. Another neighbour, Mrs McQuillen'.'got in at tbe.window, and saved some of t(>e furniture. Before the Brigade were on the spot the flames had got a firm.hold of the building, aud it was only by the exercise of the greatest energy that Ihey were subdued, but considerable damage was done to the house aud furniture. 'live origin of the fire is a mystery. It broke outiu the lining half a, dozen feet from the fire-place. Mrs Glenuing returns thanks tp those who worked so hard to gave her 'dwelling. ,