NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 133, 19 November 1875, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

We have received the third number of tho • Monitor/ a monthly journal, published in Melbourne, and are glad Lo sec that it is likely to prove a most übct'ul addition to ihc Catholic Press. We always hail the birth oi a now comrade in the cause .o£ CaLhohc literature with pleasure. In this age of general newspapers, sli.ifud as they are with so much unjust and culiunmoiib matter, the Catholic Press is an absolute necessity, and no family claiming to be Catliolic should be -without their Catholic newspaper. This ib the antidote that will rectify the poison that the general run of newspapers are daily pouring into the ears of old and young alii»c. The Press, it may be truly said, is now governing the world ; its power ior good and e\il is almost unlimited. It meets you m the street, and m your places of business, and follows you to your homes. You cannot escape it ; you are bound to read it, and often the flush of honest indignation will mantle your cheek when you meet the coarse and acuudiiloun articles that have become so fashionable. You think of your children, and jon naturally look round for a weapon with which you may doiend them from the wiles of this subtle and powerlul enemy of your fait li and household. Your only weapon is the Pres^ — the Catholic Press ; and though you may now have to <arry on the ba tie on unequal ground, yet you are bound to draw the sword aud give your enemy a bold and undaunted front. The Catholic Press u> an institution that i^ now commanding the attention oi tlie Catholic authorities all over tl'e world, and, ns it j-, when properly conducted, a powerful educating agency, it will receive sucli support and p.itronage al our hand's us the subject deserves. Let u^, then, foster the Catholic Pre?b an . give it all ihe assistance we have in our power. An in^t.uu o (A yrcat liberality on the part of the Standard Insurance (Jump uiy cinie to light a few days ago. A lire lately occurred at ALilvcm, by whicla a building owned by a gentleman

residing at Christclnu'ch, together with the stock-in-trade it co l^ tamed, was totally destroyed. The owner, Mr. Ford, had omitte** to give notice to the Standai'd Office, where the building was insured, that it had been converted into a store (which, legally, rendered him liable to lose the insurance), but the insurance company took it into consideration that there had not been a,ny wilful negligence, and paid Mr. Ford the full amount of the insiuunce. Last week, in our theatrical notice, an error crept in, which is easily understood in typographical circles, but which must have somewhat astonished those outside of that profession — the word Davis having been inserted after the mention of Mr Jefferson's name. These mistakes are unpleasant when they destroy the meaning of a sentonce, or make it > idiculous ; they are in themselves an evil, bufc that is only natural where there are so many "devils" hovering about. They are often a prolific source of amusement to all except those immediately concerned We Know of a case tint happened in Melbourne, where a worthy Scotchman, who had a predilection for his own countrymen, wanted to employ a cook. He drew his advertisement as follows : — "Wanted a good Scotch cook, &c.," but from some evil cause or other, for which the imps above referred to may be able to account, the word "black" was inserted between the words " good " and " Scotch." Of course it read : " Wanted a good black Scotch cook." Me. Deans, the Acclimatisation Society's manager, sent a tclegvam into town from Clinton, intimating that lie had succeeded in distributing 3,520 trout in the Waiwern, Pomahaka, and other streams in the locality without the loss of a single fish. This is highly satisfactory. A max, while looking for cattle the other day on the south side of the Manawatu River, in a dense bush, saw a sailor's bos lodged in tho branches of a large rata tree twenty feet from the ground. He climbed up the tree, opened the box, and saw a human skeleton wi a^ped in some pieces of blanket. We are authorised by the Committee that tendered the first an niul pic-nic to the children attending St. Joseph's Schools, to state that those pic-nics were initiated and carried to a successful issue solely for the benefit of the schools, and that it was intended to hold them annually for the same purpose. We willingly give publicity to the above .is we understand that a majority of the Dunedin Branch of the Hibernian Society have resolved to hold a, fete for the benefit of a brass band on the same day as the school children have their pic-nic, totally ignoring the object for which those pic-nics were intended. *Wt> are informed that it is their intention to invite the school children to the Jete, but wi hardly think the management of the schools would permit such a thing. They w?re shamefully treated list year and it is to be hoped that the schools will not be made an attraction this year for the purpose of raising money for «i brass baud that has already cost the i ai holies of Dunedin, during tbe last twelve months, close on seventy pounds. Wu wish to not if v to our Lawrence subscribers, that the Tabxet is despatched from our office every Thursday evening, after being carefully checked, and should it not reach them by Saturday morning at tho farthest, they cannot blame us, as the Post Ollice authorities alone are at fault. Tni: -haughraun continues to be the sensation of the hour. The Theatre is well filled each night. The management have certainly struck a "lead," and it is hard to say when it will run out. You hear the word " Shaughran" repeated, on all sides, and one is made to feel at » disadvantage if lie has not seen tho " great novelty." What does (,hc -n ord mean ? is frequently asked. For the information of those who may feel curious on tho subject we define tlie word as follows :—: — The is a person -who is always on the move from one place to another, or who has no definite way of getting his living — a. sort o£ vagrant. The ' Star' (Auckland) appears with an altered heading as follows :—": — " The ' Evening Star,' with which are incorporated the ' Echo/ tbe 'E\ening IN'ews,' and the 'Morning News.'" The following notice also appears :—": — " I havo this day sold to Messrs Reed and Brett the copyright, goodwill, and advertising boards of ihe 'Echo' newspaper, and printing business in connection therewith, and ve'ntin'e to hope that tho support hitherto accorded to the ' Echo ' will be transferred by the public to that firm. — GrE). Jones, jun. — Nov. 12, 1375." The purchase price is understood to bo £1500. The last ' (jrii/^tte' contains the usual quarterly ret irn of imports and exports, which are thui set down :—lmports,: — Imports, £2,0-11,237, as against 1:2,280,513 for the corresponding quarter of last year. Auckland imports are valued at £4^2,207, against £510,598 last year ; YVollingaon, £313.910, a- against £3ib',586 last year; Lyttelton, £355 2b"3, as agauiit £310,591 last year; Dunedin, X' 553,618, as against £751,528 last year. Exports, total value, £707,891, as against; £(J68,788 in the eorrespon ling quirt or of last year. Auckland exports are set down al £175,563, as against £121,083 for the corresponding quarter of last year ; Wellington, £123,990, as against £31,298 last year ; Lyttelton, £137,822, as against £98,-120 last year ; Dunedin, £137,417, as against £210,207 last year. Tjm --hip Calypso, which came into port yesterday forenoon, brought 51 \aluablo long-woolled Lincoln sheep, selected from the celebrated (lock ol Mr. Howard MTnto.--h, of Langton Grange, neai* >pilsby. These valuable animals came out. in charge of Mr. Frederick Woods, and aiv magnificent specimens of the Lincoln sheep. Fifteen of thorn are rams, and the remainder ewes. They have been especially imported lor Messrs- .Stilton .Brothers, of Flint's Bush Station, Soi.fchlaud. The Local Cattle Board resohed that as both foot-and-moutb. diseabe, rinderpest, and pleuro were prevalent iv Great Britiau on the departure of the said ship, the "-lock on board bo ordered to be landed on the Quarantine Island and be detained there tor tbree months. Rosohcd, further, that all bedding and forage in use on board the ship in connection with the said stock be destroyed or landed afc the Island. We may here state that the Calypso contains sheep only, bufc as she left Homo during the prevalence of the diseases above-men-tioned, it was thought advisable to take the action provided in the resolutions carried by the Board.

A number of new chums are finding their way into tie interior, and the stations have had to turn several parties away who offered to ■work for their " tucker." The reason alleged for this state of matters is that the men are unable to undertake the usual run of out-door labor. Under the heading of " Shearing Intelligence," the ' Tuapeka Times' tells us the clip on most of the neighboring runs will be as large, if not larger, than on previous years ; most of the runholders having cleared their runs of cattle since the rise in the price of wool took place. Some of the country butchers are at their -wits' end to procure a supply of beef. Prices rule high, and there is every probability of further increase during th« coming year, unless, indeed, a large supply of imported horned stock should be brought into the market. Railway traffic in Canterbury is increasing at a rapid rate. A comparative return of the traffic and receipts for September of this and the past two years gives the following results : — Merchandise, 14,694 tons in 1874 against 29,383 tons in 1875 ; passengers, 29,983 ia 1874 against 43,052 in 1875 ; receipts, £7,577 in 1874 against £15,159 in 1875. The Canterbury railways are now earning over £150,000 a year. The Manuka Creek Tunnel is to be bricked for a distance of a quarter of a chain at each end. It is expected that the tunnel will be completed by March. Pbeparations are being made by the contractor for the Mosgiel, North Taieri, and Outi am branch rail way line to commence its construction on Monday next. Numbers of Chinamen are congregating in the vicinity -with the prospect of securing employment on the line. A specialj meeting of the City Council was held on Tuesday afternoon, to consider the question as to compensation of the Manse tenants, throxigh the widening of Princes-street. — After a good deal of preliminary business had been gone through, and the reading of correspondence from the respective legal advisers of the Council and Manse-street tenants — Councillor Grant moved that the offer agreeing to w£20,000 be accepted. He stated that he had at first and all along been against the -widening of the street, but seeing that the matter had gone so far, he thought that it should now be settled. — A long discussion took place, after -which Councillor Leary stated that he wished to have the matter settled, but thought that could not be done simply by the resolution which had been submitted. He would therefore move as an amendment, " That the correspondence be referred to the Finance Committee, with power to arrange with the Manse Reserve tenants for widening Princesstreet, provided that the total amount of compensation payable by the Corporation, inclusive of all costs and charges, shall not exceed the cost of .£20,000." He considered that, under all the circumstances, the time had arrived when the matter should be compromised, and more especially as that course had been advised by the Citizens' Committee in recommending the payment referred to. — Councillor Chapman seconded the amendment, and, in doing so, stated that it might even be adopted "by the mover of the resolution. In supporting the payment of such a large amount as that proposed, he would explain that he had always been opposed from the very first to it, and he still thought it altogether excessive. But there were various other matters to be considered in connection with the subject, and one of these was as to what position they might be placed in in. the event of the pending litigation taking a turn disadvantageous to the Council, in whicli case there was tlie possibility of their being- landed into an enormous expenditure, including the ■whole costs besides. He had given the question every consideration, and s Ithough it was with great reluctance, he thought the Council had better come to a decisive settlement, and with that view he supported the amendment, leaving it in the hands of the iFinance Committee. Besides, after the recommendation of the Citizens' Committee, they could not well go behind the proposal. — Councillor Campbell stated that he was only prepard to support .£IB,OOO being offered, and he thought that quite enough. When lie looked over the list of claims for buildings, he could not but feel surprised. There was, for instance, a sum of .£4,000 asked for a little bit of a building put up with splits, and in a, half -tumble down condition, and there were others about the same. A large number of -the citizens in the South were opposed to the expenditure ; but with the view of getting it settled, he would not oppose it, although he felt bound to enter his disapproval of it.- — After some remarks from the Mayor, the question was put, when the amendment was carried. The Choral Society's second concert of the season was given in tho University Hall on Monday evening. The crowded state of the lial is the best proof of the high estimation in which these concerts are held by the pub ie ; and, although every inch of available room -nas occupied, we understand that large numbers had to be refused admission. There were about 60 performers in all, and we ni'e glad to bo able to say that the concert was more successful than the last one. We have been requested to call attention to the postponement of the usual meeting of tho H.A.C.B Society. The next meeting will be held on Nov. 22, when it is probable that important matte is will bo brought up for discussion. The remains of the late Mr. James Copeland were borne to their final resting place, at the South Dunedin Cemetery, on Tuesday afternoon, the deceased gentleman being buried m a family vault in the Church of England portion of the cemetery. The "body was buried with military honors, and the strength of the various companies represented was : — North l^unedin Eitles, under Lieutenant Pell, 40 ; City Guards, under Captain Wales, 11 ; ditto cadets, 24 j ditto band, 7; Naval Brigade, under Captain Stavely, 5 ; Artillei-y, under Captain Jack, 12 ; firemen, under Captain Johnston, 20 : Artillery Band, <fee. There were also present Major Atkinson (Tokomairiro), Captain Andrew (West Taieri), Captain Goldie (P.CN.8.,) and .several meiuLers of country corps. A MEhTiNG of the residents of St. Kilda and Musselburgh was held in the Forburj' School-house on Monday night. Mr. Paloti was Toted to the chair, and efc:ited that at a meeting held on September (>, it was resolved that a committee should be formed to carry out

arrangements for the formation of a second municipality, and in connection with that they had carried out the wort to the best of their ability. The municipality would be gazetted to-day or to-morrow. The Cavershatn Road Board, however, had a claim upon them for £195 15s 4d, which the Board wanted to be guaranteed, and when this fact was made known to him (the Chairman), he had thought it was his duty to call this meeting. He concluded by saying that themunicipality would have been gazetted last week, had it not been for this d' bt. Considerable discussion ensued, ai.d ultimately the following motion was carried : — "That we, the ratepayers of St. Kilda and Musselburgh, are willing to pay to the Caversham Eoad Board all just demands." The drawing of prizes in connection with the art union, in aid of the Catholic Church and School, St. Bathans, came off on Monday, Ist inst., under the supervision of several members of the School and Art Union Conrnnittees. There were ninety -three prizes, and although — aa in all cases of this nature — several of those were of trifling worth, there was a large proportion of really good prizes among them. At the close of the proceedings, Mr Bunny, Secretary to the school Committee, returned thanks for the very liberal patronage extended to th& affair by the residents of St. Bathans of every denomination, both in bestowing prizes and the purchase of tickets, and great aid, he said, had also been given by many ladies and gentlemen living far away from the district of Mount Ida. Mr. Bunny concluded by saying that the art union was a greater financial success than the School Committee had hoped for. We are glad to learn that three valuable prizes fell to the lot of patrons in Dunedin. The picture to be selected by bis Lordship the Bishop going to Mrs. Court, Mrs. Pagan, and Mrs. C. Carroll were the other fortunate winners. The Try Again Company had a cleaning up (says the 'Cromwell Argus') from their last crushing on Thursday, which resulted in a return of 1360zs 13dwts. from. 67 tons of stone. The stuff was taken from a shaft 60 feet below the level of the present tunnel, and the fortunate holders have, we hear, hit on a splendid run of stone showing two feet in width at that depth. They expect a continuation of a body of quartz which "will yield a return equal at all events to that crushed last week. i Mb. J. J. Eageety has been elected Mayor of Green Island for 1875-6. Ho polled 45 votos against 20 by Mr. Pollock and 14 by Mr. Runciman. At the Harbour Board's meeting held on Tuesday, it was decided to order from England a contractor's locomotive at the cost of between £750 and £1,000 and a hundred tons of rails and fastenings ; and a resolution was carried to request the City Council to authorise Mr. Miraniß to consult with the Board's engineer with a view to providing in connection with the proposed scheme of harbor improvement the necessary outlets for sewage. On the motion of Mr. Tewsley, it was resolved that, in calling for tenders for the wharf extension in timber, tenders should be invited for the construction of so many feet of concrete sea wall (tenderers to provide their own plans, &c), and to guarantee their work standing for three years. TnE ' Waikato Times ' says : — Wo are glad to learn that the rapidly increased facilities for travelling iv Waikato, the natural beauty and interest of the scenery, and other circumstances, are attracting tourists to the hot springs hy this route, in preference to that via Tauranga and the East Coast. Amongst the recent travellers by the Waikato route was no less a personage than Lord Lyttelton. and party, lately arrived from Great Britain, and there are general indications that this route is rapidly gaining the ascendancy over all others in public estimation. The healing qualities of the hot springs are highly esteemed in Australia, and their fame has extended to Europe. During the summer there will doubtless be a large influx of invalids from all parts of New Zealand, from the neighbouring colonies, and elsewhere, to undergo a comse of treatment at these famous springs, and some steps should be immediately taken to make the superiority of the Waikato route generally known. The Auckland ' Echo/ an evening paper, has ceased to exist. In the notice announcing" its demise, it says that it has expended ,£3,000 in twelve months, and spared no expense or enterprise, but has come to the conclusion that Auckland cannot support another evening paper, and that it is useless to straggle against a journal so widely circulated and popular as the ' Star.' Facilities >are now offered hj the railway department ioV making the through journey to Invercargill (on Saturdays) in one day. Passengers by the seven morning train reach Matatira bridg^J at about 5 p.m., and are conveyed into Invercargill by special train.^ A new theatre is about to be built in Auckland. According- ta> the plans, it is to hold over 1,000 persons, and the contract price is .£7,300. There will bo an additional contract for intern.il fittings. The general style and decoration of the building is to be Italian, and it is to be finished in seven months. This doesn't look like i bad times.

The total quantity of gold exported from ]\rolbourno since the begi"iiing of tho year to thu end of September has been 586,581 oz., - of which 56,-' 6l oz., wore transhipped from K"o\v Zealand. The total t xports during the corresponding perl d of last year amounted to 803,182 oz., of -which 1107,98 oz were the produce of IS aw Zealand. A. large amount oi' gold is now being sent direct to England, which, may to a certain extent account for the decrease in our present exports of tho pr> eious metal to Molbourne. The following advert isment appeared in the ' Greymouth Star' — " Tho pi rson who, by mistake, removed a white hut and plaid scarf from the Volunteer Hall last night, is requested to keep the same, as the owner, through having to walk home hatless and scarfless in the cold morning air, is now in a galloping consumption and does not expect to have further use for them. Gentle appropriator — Please attend the funeral of your yictim."