THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O' CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1881.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3774, 1 February 1881, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O' CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1881.

It is a pity that the Government at the close of last session abandoned the Gambling and Lotteries Bill. It is wonderful to think how much moneyjs spent on " consultations," "sweeps" and the like, at the present time when the business position of the colony is in a wavering* condition. There are hundreds of men, not only on the Thames, but in all the large cities of New Zealand, who would far rather " invest" five pounds in a consultation rather than pay their butchers, bakers, or grocers. Had Parliament for one -instant reflected upon the notorious' ill effect of the gambling named on the prosperity of the colony, we' venture to think they would have hesitated ere they abandoned the Bill. . It seems strange that whereas a man is not legally able to purchase an orange, or other fruit on the Sabbath, he should be permitted to invest his money in " sweeps," " consultations " . and the like, often to the detriment of his creditors' pockets. .Unfortunately the vice of gambling is increasing its hold on the, public mind, and no matter- how absurd may be the speculation there are always plenty of .people who are willing to encourage the .vice of gambling by- giving it support,* and 'by risking' their- money on iome event —either aquatic or -on ' the turf —and- who would -be far -""more ready to invesjtmoney on a purely chance speculation] than in a project, the safety of which was at any rate reasonably- ensured. Unfortunately, cannot—we say advisedly, cannot—be carried on honestly, and it is generally a matter of who can outwit the otheiC'' Let us for one moment consider the-am'punt of good 'doj&rby gambling. What good does-.it' do? Suppose a man is lucky in some' gaming speculation, it'gives him-an impetus to • continue his investments, and often ends in ruination. If he -is successful, it developes in him a distaste for honest rworlc, and leads him into dissolute • habits. During, - the ' past year, over ',£65,000 has been \ advertised to ; be vgambled for. With such enormous amounts of money ijjmisangi as we maysay, on the turn -'oi^mep die, .what won-der-is there for thesacfc that^thrift and hard work give place to idleness '^iiid dissipation? "We^'fear. that' public, -morality is at a low ebb at present, and the^ same standard appjE^entlyi-obtains with our legislators, who do not seem -to be in a. hurry, to.' introduce measures having for.their object the elevation of the public morals.

v 1 The Town; CJerk notifies that the, entire water supply of the Borough will be-cut off for at; least twenty-four liourß from four o'clock to-morrow morning.

A MEETING of the Thames Orphanage Committee is being held as we go to presß/ v

A MfiETHf© of the Harbour Board was held this afternoon. '

Tendeeß were opened to-day for work on the Kauaeranga Valley Eoad:—Young and Ross, £7*7 15a (accepted) ; Thompson £85 j MoDermot, £86; Teddy, £65 (informal.)

.We understand . that several letters have passed between the Resident Magistrate and the Town Clerk in reference to the disgraceful state of the;drain running from the Government buildings into Kirkw'ood street. A slight misunderstanding appears to "have cropped up as to the representations of the Council. The Resident Magistrate appears to think that the Council wish the Government to make a drain to carry off the refuse water, but such we understand is not the case, as the o»ly wish of the Council is that the nuisance may be stopped. We hear that it costs the Borough 17s Gd per week to counteract the effect of the offensive odours arising from this stagnated pool of fever-breeding and pestilent fluid. .

» Fab away as we are from the Great Baby"lon, the brokers in that city take a lively interest in the progress of the goldfield. Only yesterday the County Chairman received a cablegram from an eminent member of the London stock exchange in reference to some mining property on Tookey's flat. . The cable-*, gram had hardly been, received half an hour when a return cablegram was sent conveying a)l the requisite information, .

The Miner says:—"A curious accident happened on Thursday in one of the mines on the Morning Star Spur. The miners fired a dynamite charge in a drive, and one of the pieces of earth dislodged struck a coat hanging on a tree, in front of the drive, breaking a meerschaum pipe and completely dismembering a valuable silver lever hunting watch.

Wobk has been discontinued in the Bonanza mine, Te Aroha. It' appears that the meeting called of the shareholders for the election of directors lapsed for .want of a quorum, and the legal manager, not wishing to take upon himself the responsibility of expending money has discontinued operations. There is money in hand, and tie delay will only be temporary.

We are pleased to learn that the provisional directors of the Te Aroha Battery Company have succeeded in getting 2500 taken up, and that on Saturday tenders w?'.l be accepted for the erection of the plant.

No more plasant beverage can bs obtained than ginger-ale, which ia to be had at Lawlosb' Empire Hotel. We would advise thirsty souls to repair to tho Empire Hotel. We would advise-thirsty souls to repair to the Empire for ;co.nsolation, where they can have a free consultation on all the events of the period for a less sum than " six and eightpence."

The four-oared outrigger race was started a little after five o'clock last evening. The course was—from Queen-street Wharf to the bastion, three miles straight. Ist prize, £30. Entries : The Auckland representative craw, , the Ponsonby, and Thames. A good s'art effected, Auckland taking the lead, which was kept all the way, the Thames crew maintaining second .position. Both pulled well with.{a steady, even stroke. Ponsonby pulled badjy. Tlie, crews finished as follows : —Auckland arrived at. 6h 14mins 20aees j Thames, 6h 14mins_,53s.sec $ Ponsonby, 6h _15mihs 12secs: ]'There were a large "number of spectators. Great interest was taken in the race. The Thames and Auckland crews were the same that rowed in .the morning.

Q-beat credit is due, to Captain Dalton of the Te Aroha for his promptitude in coming to the assistance of the Mercury Bay boat at the 'sculling match at Auckland yesterday. Although there were numerous steamers within reach, no one but Captain Dalton offered ?td: render assistance.

The "Herald, writing upon the desirability of hating a larger dock for Auckland, mentions the following facts :—Now the Inflexible ironclad is 11,406 tons. What a change from the past times! Henry the Eight's great man of war —the Henri Grace Dieu—was but 1000 tons. Charles the First built one of 1637 tons, and she carried one hundred of the guns of those days. Even within Her Majesty's reign, in 18^9, the largest man of war afloat, the Victoria, was only 3100 tons— little above one fourth the tonnage of the Inflexible. When Columbus, in 1492, Btruck out into the unknown ocean, and was rewarded by finding a hemisphere, of his three small caravals only one was lully decked. We maf well wonder how far the present enlarging movement will go. But the practical, service they can render must impose a limit to the enlargement of ships. The Great Eastern was a failure, not that she was unseaworthy, but because cargo and paßßengers ;could not be found in piying quantity for her capacity, and it wa3 moreover highly inconvenient and dangerous that only certain harbors could- receive her. But whatever may be the' ultimate. limit, ships a few years hence are quite sure to be still moi c huge than they are to-day. The difference to-day and yesterday is a guarantee for that, and the circumstance no doubt will be fully considered in our dock construction.

The following is the State of Sick afc the Thames Gtoldßeld Hospital from 23rd to 29fch , January, 1881; -^ Statistical Nosology >— Zymotic remained- 3, admitted 0, discharged 0, remaining' 3'} Constitutional — remained 1, remaining T; Local —remained, 7, admitted 4, discharged 2,' remainiag 9; Violent- I—remained1—remained 2, admitted 2, discharged j 1, remaining 3.—Total, remained 13, admitted 6, discharged 3, remaining 16. Out Patients, 43.— T. AiTjfEN, Dispenser.—Mr Aitfcen desires ua to acknowledge the receipt of a number of papers from the Athenaeum, Duuedin, to Thames Hospital; also, a quaufeityof peaches from Mrs Peet, Mr Butler," and Mr Ashby, for the sick in the Hospital.

A MERT^Na of tho Building Committee of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, was held yeitprdpf?' In the course of the proceedings it was?.mentioned that Archbishop Croke nad nofc'paid up all his promised subscriptions. This statement was at once promptly denied, it being'found, on enquiry, fchat the l-.ishop paid £300, all he was entitled' to pay, before leaving. A very strong opinion was expressed that this should have been -made .known before, it having been, announced that promises amounting to JESGO.were not fulfilled.

The Canterbury cricket match was resumed yesterday. Murdoch and Slight went to the wickets. The latter was injured, and retired, finishing his iunings when'the-others were out. Murdoch made 111 in a litt'e over lour hours. Slight made 45, not. out, Boyle 32, Blackham 38, Tobin 31, Jarvis arid Alexander 0, Palmer 3. The innings- closed at 5.30 for 323 runs. • There were about 11,000 present. The weather was splendid. -g£ . ,Wb ha*e good news for local growers of oats, and ttie intelligence, if we mistake not, will attract the attention.of the farmers in every part of New Zealand. The representative of an eminent Glasgow firm is now in New Zealand. The firm to which he is attached are large dealers in oats and oatmeal, and their source of supply is now and for years has been the TJnited States. The demand for oats is increasing, aitid the satt>pit;6 of the New Zsaland oats sent homy hero attracted the attention and admiration of rha dealers in farm produce. The firm ref;?red to require an annual supply winch araounta-tG £160,000. Their representative !«-* reoaiveti

a commission to erect oatmeal mills in the colony, which must prove a boon to all concerned, but which will be a source of wealth'to tho whole farming interest in the colony. The question arises will our farmers -^we refer to the whole body, not any particular locality—be' able to supply the unexpected demand*. If they can can give a practical answer in the affirmative, a source of wealth will be utilized' and extended which will open up numerous avenues of employment and permanent industry which will take root and flourish in New Zealand.—B. Herald.

The following are the entries for the Dunedin Jockey Club Meeting:—-Handicap Hurdle Race : Artful Joe, Waikari, Sailor Boy, Little John, Agent, Milo, Corrigari, Clarence.— Tally-ho.Handicap : Sunbeam, Maud, Artful Joe, Waikau, Sailor Boy, Little John, Agent, Milo, Corrigan.—Novel Race : 4 Sunbeam, Maud, Little Nell's filly (Miss Cay), Jasper, Talent, Sultana, Playboy, Moabird, Sir Willium,. Dolly Barwon, Huntington— Steeplechase : Sailor Boy, Little John, Agent, Corrigan, Clarence.—Forbury Handicap ; Custanette Filly, Hilarious, Longlands, Lady Emma, Atlantic, Luna, Fishhook, Natator, Grip, On Dit, Hornby, Mioohief, Governor, Le Loupj Titania, Sylvanus, Volunteer, Randwick, Sir Modred, Virginia Water. —Flying Handicap: Castanetfro Filly, Hilarious, Legerdemain, Natator, Grip, On Dit, Mischief, The Governor, Talent, JLe Loup, Titania, Sylvanus, Volunteer, Randwick, Sir Modred, Tirgima Water, Nautilus, Luna, Jasper, Fishhook.

A West Coast paper says :—Last session of Parliament the sum of £30,003 or thereabout, was voted.for the construction of water races ia the Middle Island. The whole of this sum (according to a reply made to a request that the Mikonui race'should be proceeded with) has been expended. Where has the £30,000 gone P No part o£» the rote has been laid out on the West Coast, and the inference is that Otago has swallowed it all. The people who are interested in" the Pour mile water race want to know a little more about this matter.

A GOOD deal of grumbling was indulged in by the farmers who were in town yesterday. The wheat crop in the Auckland district is now almost wholly gathered in in very good condition. It appears that some of the farmers had been informed that the millers had decided not to purchase any wheat until March, and even then no promise as to the price was indicated. Many of the farmers who were about to begin threshing in the course of a couple of weeks were sadly disappointed. Their stacks afc.presentarenot only subject to the match of the incendiary, but to all the depredations which rat's and mice are capable of accomplishing. These losses and risks must be borne by the farmery and by delaying tho purchase of tbe wheat until March, the Auckland farmer gets no benefit from the earlier climate which is experienced here. Many free criticisms were indulged in by the disappointed wheat growers, and no small discontent when one miller hinted that the probable price might not exceed 4s to 4* 6d per bushel.—Herald.

At • the annual meeting of the Trinity Presbyterian: Church, Cambridge, the Rev W. Evans presiding, the report recounted the success that had attended the holding of services in various districts. At Cambridge there were 93 and at Hamilton 25 1 Church members. The balance-sheet leit a deficit of *$14 10s, caused by non-receipt of the amount, £15 12s 6d, due by Haiirilfcon committee for last quarter's stipend^ The following gentle-.' men being duly Messrs Sharp, ThqmpSOT;:--Gl;ppdfelloWv iteid (junr.), Or. V. Ellis, R. Crickett, Bro.wßj-Bliissell, H. Fergusson, W. Scott, and RTTTißher. Mr P. J. Brooks waß re-elected secretary and treasurer.

Why would the a sassination of Mr Crater be more heinous than an ordinary murder? Because it would be fratricide.

Truth says that the stories circulated to the effect that the Prince of Wales is in an unsatisfactory pecuniary condition and that is the reason he does not visit Australia, are pure nonsense.