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Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3888, 15 June 1881, Page 2

In our telegrams from Wellington a portion of the debate upon the Address in Hteply is given. Tbe Gorernment, it" appears probably put up Mr Wakefield, the member for Timaru, to reply to the caustic remarks of Sir George Grey. Mr Wakefield is well known in the House for a; fluent speaker, although he is not by any miaul, highly ;esteemed ' .by -.either party. He suffers from a " diarrhea of words," the disease that Mr Moorhouse said Mr Speight was suffering from, but, beyond being able to say most disagreeable things, and in a most disagreeable way* Mr Wakafield's remarks do not carry mach weight. It is the usual tactics to ridicule the remarks of an opponent when lirs statements cannot well be denied, and in dealing with the speech of Sir George Grey the Ministry no doubt are anxious to detract from its importance, and by putting lip such as man as Mr Wakefield jto reply, to show their very low estimate of it, and to best bring about their wishes. It is well known that Mr Wakefield has little respect for persons, and his usual bad taste characterises his reference to Sir George Grey, whom he accuses of taking upon himself the! position of leader of a party, and retailing old ideas and :; making-- oft-repeated state-, ments. If it is amusing to Mr i Wakefield to see Sir George Grey taking up the position he did and criticising and finding fault with the speech; it is almost as amusing to find Mr Wakefield himself remarking upon the strangeness of, the omission of all. reference to,local government measures,. and pointing put to the Ministry the necessity for proceeding with such at the present season. He also condemned the present system of Government, calling it contraband, and urged upon the Ministry to amend it. Thus it will be seen that Mr Wakefield, who commenced by ridiculing tbe man who found fault with the policy of the Government, ended by doing tb'e same himsflf.. ,

A Mfrcx of' GIW wpjjjjung six tons was recently unearthed at Ijbttivutt. Jt will be worth nearly £200 to the lucky finder, A VOKBBB of delegate* from th« Reehubito Lodge of the Thames;left byrt he Rotouiahana to attend the usual district meeting belt! in Auckland.

Fbom what appeared in the idrertieer this morning the general public might infer that something was crooked in the recent steeplechase match. In reference to tho shore, the parties most interested met at the Bowen* namely, Mettfra €• >y, Walsh, Neal, Wight, Lawlesß,'6teonau t and the rider of Atlanta, and it was -decided that all beta be returned and the stakes drawn. The above decision has been arrired at owing to some statements made by the rider of Atlanta that a. well known Auckland man got at 7dm. The meeting referred to was convened by Mr Wight in order that the fullest light might be' thrown upon the subject, and to satisfy the public that he at least was not concerned in nny swindle. Mr Wight has had quite ' enough of riding matches, and has made up his mind never to ride in suoh|again. The Gr&hametown Volunteer Fire Brigade had a practice last night for the purpose of testing the plugs along Tararu road. A j splendid force of water was obtainable. ! Wb notice that,the. County authorities have taken heed of the question of footpaths in the Riding brought forward by our corresponofent- a r 'few days ago, afad : that several men ate bow engaged in making safer for pedestrians several of the footpaths en Block 27. It is stated this morning that the owners of the racehorse Misfortune, who won money upon .the result of the race. at Parawai pu Monday, upon finding that some unfairness had taken place, have returned the money won by them. This is a very proper course for these gentlemen to take, for although th«y were not at all concerned io the swindle said to have been perpetrated, yet retaining the money might have laid them open to suspicion. Fottk of the local tenders for the Kopu section of the railway are as follows :— £ 1500, £1800, £2200, and £2350. It is said Mr Griffiths' is the lowest tenderer.' •

The Rifle dangers hold their annual meeting on Thursday evening after parade, at which a full muster i« requested. The annual meeting of the members of tbe Thames Naval Brigade will be held in their hall to-morrow evening, when various matters of importance will be brought forward for their consideration ; the question of forming one brigade for the entire colony, with it* bead quarters at Wellington, as suggested by the Wellington Brigade, will again be brought »PA telecmam from Timaru says:—Two comets are now distinctly visible here, one setting at seven o'clock in the evening and the other rising before the sun, about five in the morning. . It is stated that Mr John Sheehan has paired against tbe Government; : Mb B. Whitbon Johnttone, of Auckland, has received £50 damages from Mr John Smith, owing to hie son receiving a compound fracture of the arm while playing in the recreation ground, Barrack Reserve, where defendant's horse, Tim Whiffler, was being trained. i '' Mb Edwabd Thomas has gone to Coro. vDiandel with the object, we believe, of working the large deposit of tailings lying on the foreshore there. It is estimated that two or three tons of.gold have come out of the Union Beach mine and the adjoining chums. The only business at the R.M. Court thi B morning was tbe disposal of a case of drunkenness.

James Tbox, the jockey who fell from Atlanta, writes aa follows :—I noticed in : this morning's issue of jour contemporary a local in which it was stated that when I went to Mr Casey for payment for my mount I asked by him the reason I did not re-mount, and then admitted that I had been bribed to sell the race. That statement is altogether false. The facts are - these : After the spill at the second fence, Mr Casey was at the mare first, and when I got to where she was he wa B excited, and told me that he would not let me mount her again, though I had gone to her for that purpose, and said that he would finish the race himself.

The vessel built by Mr R. Stone, at his yards, Shortland, will be launched to-morrow morning at nine o'clock. It is a neat little craft, and does the builder infinite credit. The rigging is in the efficient hands of Mr Nicholls, Who, we may mention, was working as a: master rigger aboard the Great Eastern.

The Press of Saturday reports an incident' without precedent in the history of Presbyterianism in this colony. On Thursday, the 26th ult., a Congregational minister and bis whole congregation were admitted into the Presbytery of Christchurch. It was explained by the Rev C. Fraser that the Rev d. Sloeombe, Congregational minister at Ashbourne, a suburb of Christchuroh, had intimated his intention of leaving the Congregational for the Presbyterian connection, and that his congregation, with the view of retaining, his services as pastor, were desirous of taking a similar step. On the evening in question the Christchurch Presbytery recognised the congregation as a Presbyterian one, and inducted Mr Sloeombe into the pastorate.

The first prosecution in this province under the Employment of Females Act took place at the Auckland Police Court on Monday. Excuses of want of knowledge of the Jaw will not be received, and when we itate that a breach of the provisions of the Act may be visited with a penalty of £50, employers will see it to their advantage to make themselves acquainted with the Act aud comply with its provisions. The itar says that the Choral Hall was so crowded on Sunday evening fhat late-comers could not find a seat, and numbers wore compelled to return to their homes, without hearin* Mr George A. Brown's discourse on the «' Political Downfall of tbe Apostate Church." The lecture was one of the most vigorous, of Mr Brown's discourses, and some of his pungent remarks tickled the audience so much, that approval found Vent in cheers and clap* piDgs of hands. The lecturer was specially severe upon the popes, church parsons with snug livings, and their church evening begging concerts. He diecanted upon the unhealthy •tate generally of pretenders and their little Bethels. The oration was based upon Bey., o. 17, and was the last of a series of four discourses on what the lecturer termed the " Great Apostaoy." The Herald says :—The Hospital and Charitable Bill repeals fifteen existing Acts and provincial ordinances, including one of Canterbury and five of Otag©. The hew clauses which I mentioned as the only fresh feature of importance in the bill ire Jfos. 89 and 90, added as follows, under heading "Special provisionsi"—"B9. Whereat the date of the passing of this.Act any' hospital fir charitable institution is managed by any voluntary association »f perious. or body corporate, who shall at any Jsime thereafter the Governor in Council uiay; direct that suou asiocUtioa or body ibail goutiuu©

or undertake the nme, subject t.o the provi* ! sions hereinafter contained. 90. Every such i order in Council may be made subject to any special terms or conditions that the Governor thinks fit to impose, and, subject thereto, the following provisions will have effect:—(l.) The association or body affected by any order in Council shall be pud any subsidy <r subsidies which, under the provisions of this Act, would have been payable to the Board of the district, in respect of the hospital or charitable institution mentioned in the order in Council. (2.) Every such hospital or charitable institution shall be subject to , inspection, as provided in the preceding part of this Act;?' .^^ The late Mr Peterson wast, native of Sweden. He arrived in Taranaki in 1864, where men of iiis stamp were very much wanted for the crews of the surf boats, which he joined under Captain Hoi ford. As a skilful and experienced coxswain he" had no equal. He htd charge of the White Clifis surf boat for upwards of three years,' and I although he went up nnd down the coast in i all weathers, he never had a tingle mishap, I which «ays a deal for his tact and skill when we consider the fact that the beach was frequently literally strewn with wrecks. He was a-man much respected by both Europeans and natives, he having endeared himself to the latter by bis brave conduct in saving a chief who had been blown off land in a canoe. But deeds like these were quite in accordance with the noble nature of the humble fisherman that we have seen on the Sbortland wharf during the last twelve years ; but do one, unless those who came into closer contact with him, could form an idea of his generous nature. He may be. said to be the father of the fishing industry, not only here, but also in Taranuki. He leaves a wife and •ix children.

The following is an extract from a letter to the editor published in the lust number of the New Zealand Wesleyan, by the Rev. J. J. Lewis, formerly of Auckland, but now of Waimate (Canterbury) :—" According to the report of the Auckland local preachers' meeting, the Eev. J. Frrry challenged Mr Beaumont with the question, 'Was there any theory of the Atonement announced or set forth in the sormon by Peter on the Day of Pentecost, •When 3000 were converted ?' I can only suppose that amid the multifarious engagements of the last few years Mr Berry has not had time to consider the second chapter in the Acts of the Apostles. Mr Berry's statement that the most successful preachers have ' left unpreuched any and every theory or philosophy of the Atonement,' is utterly groundless. Every great evangelical movement has had some prominent doctrine as its keynote. At the: Reformation, it was justification by faith. On tho conversion of John Wesley the witness of the Spirit came to the front. The truth most honored by God in our own day has been Atonement throug the sacrificial blood of our Representative. It has been the burd.-n of Mr Spurgeoh's preaching for a quarter of a century. We meet it everywhere in Mr Moody's sermons and Mr Sankey's hymns. The wide world over, the heart of man still hungers for that Biblical theory or philosophy of the atonement, ' God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespassed unto them.' "