The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1883.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4669, 21 December 1883, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1883.

Teedebs were opened to-daj by the County Council for widening, fowring, and metalling the Otunui road from the mines to the battery. Three tenders . were received, as follows :r-A; Butler (accepted), £465; S. McCormiok, £478 18a; J. Punch, £527. The successful party are allowed three months in which to complete the work, but it is probable that the present track will be left open till the end of January, to allow the companies to get their quartz to;the r mill, and then be closed entirely while work is going on. It is in good order now for sleighing, and the contractor has over 30 tons of Eureka quartz at the mill:

' The oompetitiye examination for the 12 scholarships offered by the Education Board was finished yesterday. The competitioon this jear was unusually keen, —the number of candidates entered being 160, which ia muoh higher than the number on any previous occasion. The ralue of a scholarship is £40 a year, with free tuition at the Auckland College and Grammar School, tenable for three years. Out of the 160 candidates there k^Tfi-16 from our local schools, or the neighbourhood. We do not consider this n sufficient representation, comparing our schoolgoing population with that of other places, and it is to be regretted that so little interest appears to be taken in the -mattjr. The result of the examination ia not yet known.

r A cbicket match, married v. single, will be played on the Wuio-K*raka Flat tomorrow, wickets to be pitched at 2 p.m. sharp. The following are the namea of the respective teams :-r-Married-rOlark (capt.); .Smith, Airey, Lough, James, Maddern, Harrison, Colhoun, Griffiths, Christie, G-entry, Lucas, Woodward, Hindraan, Egginton, and Fletcher. Single—Coney, Tregonning, Martin, Edmund*, Kowe, Steward, Gellion, Taylor, Douglas, Aliens (Jrubb, feeckman, Cavtwright, J. Thomas, and! Winstanley. Players are requested to roll up punctually.

A :&BAND performance-by the Quran's Variety Troupe is /announced to take place to-night in the St. George's Hall, Pollen street, the upper part of which has recently been fitted up as a theatre. The entertainment will consist of songs, exhibitions on the horizontal bar, rings, and single and double trapeze/ and two farces, the whole being by Thames amateur?. A dance will conclude the programme. The prices of admission are low, and judging by previous performances given by the troupe 1, a pleasant evening is in store for all who patronise the entertainmen t.

" IA man named John Corbett had a narrow escape from serious injury, if not death, while working in the Moanatairi Extended abaft, Waiotahi Creek, last night. His mate had,just hauled a bucket of znullock to the brace and was in the act of landing it, when the fastening became undone, and the bucket and contents fell down the shaft, which -is 100 ft. deep.. Happily, the shaft.is divided into three compartmente, and the man on, top, with admirable "presence of mind, called out to Corbett, who sprang to the opposite side to that on which the bucket was descending. He escape 3 the maBR of the mullock, but one stone etruch him on the shoulder, rendering it Tery painful.

' Inconsequence of. the unsatisfactory state of the weather, the p.s. Patiki is unable to lie alongside Curtii' Wtiarf; in order to take up her trip to Te.Aroha to-niorrow morning. JShe will therefore leave Shortland Wharf at 10 o'clock a.m. instead of 3 a.m. as previouely odfertised. • , ; :■.■■ ,

The Herald's Te Aroha correspondent fairgraphs :-v".lt .is considered here that it; would be inadvisable of the New Find directors to declare a dividend yet, as a good deal of work r quirps to be done on the mine in the way of opening it up by a low level tunnel on" the No. 2 reef.' The mine looks well-as inspected yesterday j also the Colonist. The following are the crushing returns r?ceived from the Battery Company s—Premier (6 days, 10 head), 119|ozs amalgam j Colonist (4 days 2\ hours, 10 head), 106{ozs amalgam ; New Find (4 days 10 head, and 6 days 5 head), 4860zs 14dwts amalgam. All hard squeezed in hot water, worth one third. A retorting is to take placa to-morrow.

Specimbks of au iferous quartz, believed to be from,Wilber*°rce district, were Bbowuin Cbristshurph yesterday. It is stated that £150 has been offered for a 12th-3hare in the company 1 consisti-g of fcwe}ve men. The country is said to be very rough,

JppaMBNI for defendant, was. given in Christchurch yesterday in a case in which a shareholder sought to raoover money paid for a Bhiro in one of the Diamond Prospecting C<M. started during fche diamond fever

Capx. Edwin telegraphs to-day to expect heavy rain within 10 hours, and bad weather approaching, between north-east and north and west j indications of very high tides.

Thomas and Blackburn, the Victorian wrestlers, intend Tisiting Dunedin at an early date, wito a view to arranging matches with Doe aid Dinnie and J. Bobertsbn. Mb J, Evahs Bbow, M.H.R. for St. Albans. was married at Sc. Peter's Church, Wellington, yesterday afternoon. The bride was Mrs Martin, a resident of Wellington. The Dunedin l|ufation Board is going in for retrenehrfleht; "At a meeting Keld yesterday, Mr McKenzie gave notice of a motion for the January meeting, that the Secretary, three Inspectors, and,, three Clerks receive notice of discharge after three months; and that applications be then invited for a Secretary, one Clerk, and two Inspectors, and that all business be transacted by the full Board. A despatch, receired from Australia by the i mail states that the Confederation arid Annexation Bil has been reserved- f:>r the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure. Her Majesty would not be finally advised to assent to this Bill until the result of the recent Conference at Sydney has been received. The man Anderson, who attempted to murder his paramour at Carterton, has been committed for trial. ' - <■■ * A WelhnGton telegram affords us the gratifying intelligence that various Mayors are gazetted Justices of the Peace, but it does noT; cay who they are.; Mb T. W. Hislop has been appointed Crown Solicitor of Oamaru. The Tauranga School Committee have resigned in a body consequent on the persistent obstruction of the Board of Education regarding the second school site. The London Times has favourable reviewed a work entitled "Brighter Britain! or Settler and Maori in Northern New Zealand," written by Mr W. Delule Hay, an old Auckland colont. It compliments bis dramatic and picturesque style, and "considers he has produced a work-which is decidedly pleasant reading. Sib Wm. Fox, West Coast Commissioner, has had his time extended until lßt of July, 1884.-" ■■ / :.. '"-. ■ ■'* - ' ' •.' =.. Ok board the Conference, at Lyttelton yesterday morning, a basket of coal fell on Peter Ealtn, who, it is feared, is badly hurt; -

Thb next sitting of the Divorce Court in Wellington ■ ia-fixed for the; 14fch prox. At present only two cases are set down on the list, viz , Edwards v. Kdwards, in which the application is for a decree nisi; and El well v. El well; in which a decree absolute v asked for.--.; -■; : ■ ■•■ : ■'.:.<*■;

The Minister for Public Works appears to have given satisfaction at.lnvorcargill. The Southland Times says:—" The new Minister of Works, by his straightforward dealing, his candour and rourtesy, has made a favorable impreßsion on this community, amonst which his stay has only been too snort. If we do not mistake, the gener i fcsling is that our interests are Bafe in bis bands, and that be will bo at all times fair and accessible. His career will be watched in the South with a double interest, now that we have bad the pleasure of seeing him, and the hope will be entertained that bis next visit will be paid early and will last longer." . i ' , '

The attention of Thames resident is called to the notification of Mr W. Green, bat and cap maker, of Brown street, which appears in another column. He states that his prices are far below those of any ofcber establishment in town. Such being the case, business must follow, Eead.-—[Advt.] ' '

That Hpsbahd or Mhje is three times the man he was beipre he began using " Wel!a' Health Renewer." Druggists. Moseß, Moss & Co., Sydney, G-eneral Agents.