WELLINGTON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1775, 30 August 1884, Page 2

WELLINGTON.

[From our own Correspondent.] During the last seven or eight days the weather has been something frightful. It is true we have had some partially fine days in the.period, but "they have been few and far between. Although this city is kn6wn as one especially subject to gales and Btorma, we have not suffered nearly so much from the severe weather as other parts of the colony. Fortunately the shipping in harbor did not suffer,

/.'.Last Saturday evening some disturbance /was caused'in Courtenay Place by some members of the Early Closing Association collecting outside Mr Donnelly's draper's shop which was not closed after nine, contrary to the rules of the Association. When the proqrietor found that pressure was brought to bear he showed all the more disinclination to close, and persistently kept open. A very large crowd gathered round the shop, and gibes and jeers were indulged in by the crowd. Just as a lady was entering the shop a rotten egg was thrown in and unfortunately struck heron the head. This raised her husband's indignation to a high pitch, and he wanted to "go for" the thrower of that egg. A gentleman stepped forward to explain that the insult was accidental, whereupon the enraged husband offered fight, and his opponent thought discretion the better part of vUlor. Finally the shop was closed before ten o'clock, and the crowd gave three cheers, because the members of the Association had gained their point. On Monday morning as a young lady named Miss Ingram was passing down Willis-street she. was suddenly made aware of the fact that a parasol which she was carrying folded up, and her dresa were on fire, A gentleman who noticed the flames i;an to her assistance and after Borne trouble succeeded in)

extinguishing the fire, but ; not before the young lady's dress was very much damaged, though fortunately the wearer-escaped without much hurt, As pilot Holmes- was going off to the barque Peter Stuart on Monday he was seized ■ with a violent attack of cramp, and had to be at once rowed home, After being ill for two or three days he has managed to resume his duties, '• .Mr G. Sawkms delivered an address at the Freethought Hall last Sunday evening, and as he is considered a great light in the freethought world many attended to listen to him, The lecture was of a humorous kind, which ridiculed God and the bible in a most outrageous manner, and has caused a large amount of ill-feeling among those having even the smallest regard for things sacred, The barque Peter Stuart has brought out two of the long-talked-of torpedo boats. It appears that each has cost the country about £3500, and I should like to know of what practical use they will be to guard this and other ports from foreign foes, On Wednesday afternoon one of the workmen engaged in fixing up some telephone apparatus on the roof at the old provincial buildings let a heavy iton bar slip out of his hand and it went crashing through the roof and ceiling on to the mantle piece in one of the rooms. The mantlepiece was shattered to fragments, and one of the clerks who had been standing by the fire not two seconds before, had a very narrow escape of being killed. The Rev. Mr W. C. Oliver, minister of |the Wesleyan Church, delivered a lecture at the Athensium Hall on Thursday evening, on "spiritualism," There were a very great many attended, who listened most attentively to the the rev. gentleman's remarks, Mr Oliver said that there was no doubt but that a great deal of trickery had been practised as being manifestations of pints; but for all that he believed that many manifestations .given at seancos were what they appeared to be, but the cause producing them he believed to be of the world and not of spirits, Attompts had been made to expkin spiritualism by various theories; naraely—hnmbug theory, the satanic, the spiritualistic theory itself, and the worldly one. He professed belief in the last named one, because, he said, all the strange and startling manifestations could be traced to purely worldly causes, He had arrived at this conclusion by a long course of deep study of the subject. There were several causes to which he attributed the effects, among those known being electricity, magnetism, animal magnetism, and the adylic or psychic force. After going through a lot of evidence to show that the manifestations which had been given in various parts of the world were purely human and worldly, the lecturer came to the conclusion that the answers obtained from media always corresponded with was fixed on the mind of the questioner, and he brought forward evidence to show that different answers had been given by the same medium on the one subject, simply by the questioner thinking of a different answer each time. He mentioned that it was very singular that when a supposed spirit of a departed 'person who while in the flesh was well educated, came to answer questions, it showed gross ignorance on subjects with which the living body of the spirit had been well acquainted, in some cases the spirit not being able to spell even common words. The lecture was brought to a close amidst loud applause. Affairs in the political world have been as changeful during the last week as they were during the period over which my former letter extended. Mr Thompson failed to form a Ministry. Then Sir George Grey tried his hand at " cabinetmaking," but could not find a sufficient number of pieces with which to construct a good article, so he gave up the job, and advised His Excellency to send for Major Atkinson, which he did, On Thursday evening tlie'Major intimated to the House that he had so tar obtained six names who were willing to be included in the new Ministry-himself as Premier, Mr Hurst as Minister for Lands, Immigration, and Agriculture; Mr Mitchelson, Minister for Public Works; Mr Wakefield, Colonial Secretary; Captain Russell, Posts and Telegraphs; Hon. G. McLean, Commissioner of Trades and Customs. There were other portfolios to be filled and a member of the Executive Council to be appointed. It will be a matter for regret if Mr Bryce does not obtain a seat in ihe Government, as he has been the best Native Minister the colony has ever had. I I think it is the general opinion here that Yogel should have been.included in the present Ministry, for the country is nearly as tired of the Atkinson Government as of Sir G. Grey, and it is thought that if only Vogel and the Major could have been induced to work together for the good of the country; more prosperous times might soon have been seen in New Zealand, However, let us hope that we will with the coming summer soon have prosperous times, no matter what Government is in power.