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Waikato Times, Volume XI, Issue 893, 14 March 1878, Page 2

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Cambridge Farmer's Club.— The next monthly meeting of the Club will be held on Saturday the 16th inst. at 2 p.m., when a paper will bo read on tho rotation of crops.

The Opeea. Conoeet Company, consisting (with the exception of Signora Guadagini) of seven of the principal performers of the Royal Italian Opera Company, lately perf owning m Auckland, will make their appearance to-night m the large room .of the Commercial Hotel. Unfortunately, Mr Le Quesne was moving his store across the road, and had the whole of his stock packed away m the Public Hall. This, at any rate— if it has been Hamilton's loss — has been Cambridge's gain, for the Company will play only once at the former place instead of twice, and twice at the latter.; and, doubtless, many of those m Hamilton, who have not the opportunity of attending the performance to-night, will take the opportunity of doing so at Cambridge, tomorrow night or Saturday. The programme appears m full m another column, and we feel sure that we need do no more than draw . attention to the fact that the first performance takes place this evening.

The New Gaol at Hamilton has been completed by the contractors, Messrs Smith and Hill, and is ready for handing over to the authorities for the object for which it was constructed. As most of our readers, are aware, the old hospital and barrack ragais have been converted into the presen^joal and police quarters. The large room, as it was called, or dormitory of the A.C. men has been, first of all, divided m two, the first half being fitted up as a guard, room. The other half, at the south end of the building, has been partitioned off into three cells, with smoothly-lined walls and a little window, close barred, just below the ceiling, some ten or eleven feet from the floor. The floor, itself, is double planked, a new flooring been laid m a transverse direction over the old one. The door's are solid and heavily ironed, and thtre is a small wicket, through which food can be passed, or a prisoner interviewed or overlooked. The middle cell has a shuti er affixed to the window, so that the punishment of the dark cell can be easily applied to violent of insubordinate prisoners. The passage into which these cells open leads from the guard room along the verandah side of the building. One of the guard room doors opens into the prison yard, a small space fenced off between the two original buildings. Crossing this yard we come to the building formerly used as a kitchen and dining room for the AC. A portion of this is now the prisoners' kitchen. The remainder has been partitioned off into three rooms, kitchen, bed room, and sitting room for the use of the warder, and is entirely distinct from the prison. The other portion of the large building remains as it was, and contains some four rooms required for the use of the police force. As we have said the new goal is ready f or handing over, and all that it wants is inmates. Who, we wonder, will claim the honor of being the first committed for a short period of residenoe to it?

' The Plague op Flies would appear to be one of the relics of the past handed down from the Mosaic period and annually inflicted upon suffering humanity m all parts of the world. Every housewife knows what a nuisance they are, and so (by the way) do baldheaded men. It is satisfactory to find that inventive geniua — American, of course — has set to Avork, and brought forth a fly-trap that is capable of clearing off these little pests m holocausts. Mr G-wynne, of the Hamilton Hotel, lias some seven or eight of these inventions at work, and, when we saw them yesterday, there were about half-a-pint of flies m each trap. The machine is a conical-shaped wire frame, about ten inches high, and five inches across at the base. Inside the outer wire covering is a dome-shaped wire receptacle, which fits down about a quarter of an inch distant from the base of the trap, and inside this is laid a piece of cloth steeped m beer or sugar and water. The flies enter at the bottom into the dome, m the centre of the top of Avhich is a small hole, about a quarter of an inch m diameter, and proceed upwards through this into the wire covering, failing to find their way back through the small aperture m the top of the funnel-shaped dome. "When filled, the trap is placed m an oven for a minute till the flies are killed, the outer covering ,is emptied, and the trap is ready again for another set of victims. These traps were procured from Auckland, and we understand that Mr T. C. Hammond, now m that city, will bring back a stock with him for sale m Waikato. The invention is a very clever and simple one and works effectually, and it is well worth paying a visit to the Hamilton Hotel, to see it m full operation.

A Masonic Lodge Censubed. — The ' New York Times ' has the following : — " Contrary to. the usual course of Masonic matters, the action of the Grand Master of the State of New Jersey, m censuring one of the lodges at Paterson, has been made public, and is causing considerable excitement amongst the fraternity. As the world at large has known for a long time, no man is considered a fit candidate for initiation into the rites of Freemasonry who is not physically a perfect, complete, unmutilated man. This rule or custom has been rigidly enforced against applicants who have lost any important member of the body, like a leg, arm, or hand ; but not against those who have slight disfigurements. It appears that the Paferson lodge m question accepted a wellknown citizen as a candidate, who had lost the thumb of his right hand by amputation, and duly commenced to initiate him. The Grand Master of New Jersey heard of this, and iuformod the lodge that he would be present on Thursday evening when he proceeded to censure the lodge for its action m accepting the ' imperfect candidate,' and suspended the Master of the lodge for the remainder of the year for his non-observance of Masonic rules and customs. The Grand Master of the State also declared all initiations of such persons In this State to be null and void. The Grand Master of the State is the Rev Marshall B. Smith, of Passaic, who is now holding the office for his third term,' being higlily respectad everywhere for his extensive researches and erudition, particularly with regard to the history and customs of the Order of Freemasons, and m consequence the ruling and effective action m this case make it a matter of most serious importance to the entire fraternity. It was probably made known to the public, so that persons suffering such slight disfigurements need not apply for admission to tho Order, and thus bo spared the annoyance of being rejected. It is understood that the Grand Master considers that the permanent loss of any portion of the body is sufficient to prevent the admission of a person to the privileges of Freemasonry.

Tim ' Melbourne Punch ' makes som e fun out of the dismissal of the civil servants m Victoria, by representing- a meeting- between a. dismissed civil servant and a begger, during- which the following interesting- colloquy takes plaou: — " Beggar, ' Give us the price of a meal, sir ; haven't had a mouthful of dinner today.' Gentleman, <My good man, I don't lmow what a good meal is myself. 1 am, or rather was, a civil servant.' Beggar, Poor wretch, here's a sixpence for you. (Aside). 1 know how it is myself.' " But the following paragraph from the ' Daily Telegraph '^uf Monday aliowa there is

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