The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1884.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4975, 19 December 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR P.M. Resurrexi. FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1884.

Thb Borough Council appears to be determined to go in for retrenchment. As will be seen by a report elsewhere, a motion was tabled at the meeting last night to the effect that the subsidies to the pumps be discontinued after the 31st inst., and it was resolved that after to-morrow only the Foreman of Works and two assistants be employed to carry on Borough works. Feom information received from Paeroa, we learn that the police there this morning ar» rested three men on a charge of robbing the till of Mr Walsh's Hotel, Owharoa, last night. Ons of the racing whaleboats which the Thames is to enter afc the coming Auckland regatta, built by Mr Brown, is now completed with the exception of a few finishing touches. Thb Electoral Registrar for the Coromandel District (Mr F. J.Burgess) has been proceeding against several roll-stuffers in the Coromandel district under the " Corrupt Practices Act." The cases were heard before Messrs H. Kenrick, S.M, and J. GHlmour, J.P., and resulted in the committal for trial of Charles Cunningham and J. J. Duross, the former for signing the name of a man named John Bell on an application to be placed on the Electoral Roll without his authority and the latter on a charge of aiding and abbetting in the personation. A third case against Wm. O'Connel under the same Act was dismissed as it wbb shown that the man whose name was signed by the accused was present when tha alleged offence was committed.

A chicket match will be played on the Waio-Karaka Flat to-morrow afternoon, between a team picked from the Waverly CO. and the second eleven of the Thames 0.C., play to commence afc 2 p.m. The Waverly representatives will be selected from :—Cqllins (Oapfc.), Martin, Morgan, Etching, Buckland, O'Brien, Lyncb, Adlam, Harrison, Ladner, Oocke, McLachlan, and Murphy ; and the Thames eleven will be picked from the following : —Newman, Griffiths, Waite, Fletcher, Dobbs, Mills, Beckman, Douglas, Christie, Styak, Hindman, and Lang.

As an instance of the mischief that may be wrought through public men making recklessly extravagant statements (writes a London correspondent.) I may mention that an extract from a recent Bpcsch of Sir William Fox's at Plymouth in which he said that New Zealand was a colony " cursed by the vice of persistent drinking and going down hill," in consequence has been the round of fully fifty or siXty provincial papers, adorned with such bead-lines as " A Drunken Colony," " New Zealand Cursed wi'h StroDg Drink," " Drunkenness in New Zealand," &c, &c. People who do not know that Sir W. Fox is a bigoted teeto'aller naturally attach considerable importance to these allusions, coming as they do from one clearly a distinguished colonist. The Bine Bangers paraded in the Volunteer Hall last night, under Capt. Douglas and T «'«ut. Lucas. There was a very fair attend■L" —* the XBUBtar should count for capitaance, au^. c tion, m , . .. T . "* "was sighted by the THBbnganhneLapwinfe ~! Wha 4 arei letch Eehance (on her way from ° here) on Wednesday morning. She has t . pleted her loading at Mercury Bay, and by this time is fairly on her way to Australia. The Government are taking into active consideration tbe question of tbe New Zealand forests, and arranging to have an exhaustive report on the subjectThe greatest appetizer, stomach, blood, and li»er regulator on earth—Hop Bitters. Look for and read.

Thb new wing of the Hospital has been insured by the Committee for £400, making a total of £700 now on the building. De J. T. Eo¥SB, an old and respected rosident in Lyttelton, who arrived in the chip Roman Emperor in 1860, died yesterday. He was thrown from hia horse last Friday, receiving injuries to his brain. He was Health Offirer of the port, and held ether Grovernxnent appointments. A fat.ii accident occurred at Hokitika yesterday to a Maori named Kahai Aru. He was out on a shoooting expedition with two others, and camped at the Blue Spur. He took the barrels out of his gun, placed the nipple ends in the fire, and blew into tue top of one barrel, a charge of which exploded, killing hi a instantly. At the Auckltnd Police Court on Wednesday, Eeginald Bernard .Fitzpatrick was committed for trial for indecently assaulting Maud Mincham, a girl of nine years of age, on the 11th instant.

The Auckland Inspector under the Food Adulteration Acts reports pepper adulterated with flour from 20 to 40 per cent. A PASTA! accident occurred at Hamilton's, Maniatoto County, on Wednesday, a miner named McDonald being killed by a fall of earth. He leaves a wife and six children. Bx the direction of the Government, the Land Board have reserved from sale all land in Canterbury north of the Eakaia river, in view of the probable construction of the West Coaat Bail way. At the Dunedin Police Court, White and Crowlej were charged with the murder of Meldrum, at Newthorn, and committed for trial.