THE PROPERTY TAX RETURNS

Up to this morning the sums received in payment of Property Tax amounted to jei57,263, the contributions of the respective districts beingsofar as follows : —Wellington HeadOffioe, .£46,696; Wellington PostCffice, £1263; Christchurh, 27,325; Auckland, .£24,836; Dunedin, .£22,Bl6; Napier, £Bso4,; Timaru, .£5669 ; Invercargill, <85,387 ; Wanganui, .£4239; Oamaru, .£2878; Taranaki, .£1181 ; Gisborne, ; Greymouth. .£835; Blenheim, .£524; Hokitika, ,£314 ; Thames, .£258; Westport, ,£l4B. Largo sums still continue to be received from country places, all remittances bearing the postmark of Ist March being accepted as payment made in due time. Tho 10 per cent, peaalty is being strictly enforced on all late payments, and will continue to be rigidly exacted in every caso.

Colonel Reader yesterday telegraphed to Colonel Roberts to know if any tents could be sent down from Opnnake for the Volunteer Encampment to be held in Wellington, ! and the reply received was that not one could be spared. It appears that the tents used for the volunteers at Parihaka were old and dilapidated, and many of these have been ustd to patch up others. An efforb will be made to get sufficient tents for tho encampment, but at present it does not appear clear, where, they will be procured from. Tha attention of trustees in bankruptcy and others is directed by Gazette notice to the fact that the co3t of prosecuting fraudulent bankrupts is, by the Fraudulent Debtors Act, 1876, and the Debtors and Creditors Act, 1876, made a first charge on the estates. The Government offer a bonus of .£IOOO for the production of 300 tons of pig iron of marketable quality, from ore produced in New Zealand. The bonus must be claimed before the end of December, 1833. The City Councillors and City Engineer left to-day to visit the Wainui o-mata waterworks. The following dates of. the -sitting of the District Cotrt for the Wellington District have been gazetted :— At Wellington, n the Courthouse, for the despatch of civil business only, on tho second Friday of every month,, excepting in the month of December. At Masterton, in the Resident Magistrate's Conrthouse, for the despatch of civil business only, on the fourth Friday in each of the months of January, April, July, and October in each year. At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day the action Till v. Morgan again cropped up. Mr. Shaw appeared for the plaintiff and Mr. Izard for defendant. Tho previous action had been brought against Morgan for voting on a contraot in which he was interested, and judgment was given against him for £50. A distress warrant was is«uei and forwarded to the clerk of the Bench at Masterton ; but that person at once sent it back with an intimation that the plaintiff must first forward £2 to cover any expenses the clerk might be put to in the matter. While this delay was going on Morgan seized the happy opportunity of instructing hia solicitor to take steps to declare him a bankrupt, and this was done. Mr. Shiw said the only remedy he had was to deal with defendant by judgment summonses, and the question now was whether or not the bankruptcy covered the liability under the circumstances. He urged that the debt waa not covered, and further that it was not oven provable in bankruptcy, and he asked for an order for imprisonment it default of payment. After some argument, the case was adjourned for the production of affidavits. The City Council held a special meeting last night to consider an alteration in the by-laws. It was proposed that in lieu of the present charge of one shilling per pas enger for gome on the wharf, cabmen should only be empowered to charge sixpence per head extra. A deputation of cab proprietors waited on the Council to protest against any alteration in the existing by-laws. They allege that in the case of having only one passenger the extra sixpence would have to be paid for wharfago, and they would have nothing to compensate them for the trouble and risk of taking their cabs on the wharf ' Councillor Logan stated that the amended by-law did not accurately express the alteration desired by the Counoil. The intention was that in the case of there being only one passenger, he should pay Is extra as at present ,- but that each subsequent passenger should pay only sixpence extra. Eventually the by-law was negatived, it being understood that the resolution might be brought up again in the shape mentioned by Councillor Logan. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Standing Committee of the Wellington Diocsin Synod did not take place yesterday afternoon, owing to the absence of several members, including the President. The meeting now stands postponed to Thursday next (9th inst.), at 4 p.m., when some important business relative ta the position of the General Church Fund and St. Peter's Parish will have to be dea't with Last evening there waa the same overcrowding of the tramcars to which we drew attention recently. '1 his was partly averted in the case of one or two trams by having a second horse-car following the first. But this precaution was not adopted with respect to the tram in the latter part of the afternoon, notwithstanding that those are commonly tho moat crowded of all becaune conveying many workpeople, and it being a rainy day it might have been anticipated that there would be a great demand for car accommodation Accordingly, the crush was exceedingly disagreeable, and elicited some warm remarks on the part of the victims, not at all complementary to the tramway management. A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a Masonic lodge under the Irish Constitution was held at the Mason c Hall last night, Mr. R. C. Hamerton in the chair, when it was resolved to apply to the P.G.L, Auckland, for a dispensation to" establish a lodsre to be cal'ed St. Patrick. Bro. R. C. Hamerton was elected W.Mr, and Bros. Arrow3tnith and Fownes Senior and Junior Wardens respectively. The appoints ment of other office-bearers was postponed till a future meeting. Bros. Hamerton, Arrowsmith, and Fownes, were appointed to draft by-laws, to be submitted at the next meeting, to place on Wednesday. The Williamson Company open at the Theatre Royal this evening, in " Struck Oil," and it is expected there will be a large audience. We are requested to call attention to alteration in the hour of meeting of the Wellington Lodge of Freemasons for this ertmng. A horse race, for a-side, took place yesterday, the contestants being a couple of steeds belonging to Mr. Wilson, of the West Coast, and Mr. Sievers, of Makara. The jockeys were respectively T. Smith, of the New Zealander Hotel, and Brummey, also of Wellington. The distance was a mile and a-quarter . The first gallop resulted in a dead heat, which on a second trial waa won by Wilson's animal with half-a-head to Bpare. A meeting of the Regatta Club was to have been held at the Pier Hotel last night, but was adjourned till Tuesday next.

It was mentioned by Councillor McKenzie last night that Measrs. Bethnne and Hunter had offered to present the Wakefield memorial, which had been in their possession many years, to the City Council, on condition that the latter would erect it in some public place. Councillor McKenzie stated that it had eight columns and a very handsome entablature, and stood abont 13 feet high. He suggested that it should be made into a drinking fountain, and erected on the Basin Reserve. The matter was referred to the City Engineer for a report. A cricket match will be played at the Lower Hutt to-morrow afternoon, between the Wellington and Taita Crioket Clubs. The fo'lowing are the names of the Taita cricketers :— Cudby (captain), G. Welch, W. Welch, A. Pringle, Mason, Dayah, A very, Harris, Judd, Mabey; emergencies, W. Bussell and Buit. Mr. C. Baker, of the firm of Baker Bros., while practising sculling in one of the Star Boating Club's single outriggers last evening, capsized opposite the Queen's Wharf. He was promptly rescued by Messrs. CorniEh and Symonds, who put off to his assistance. On the recommendation of the Eesident Magistrate, the City Council last n'ght resolved to pay each returning officer engaged in the recent licensing elections two guineas for his services. The Mayor stated that the Public Works Committee had been considering the matter, and the next elections would be more economically conducted. The Wesl<-yan Mutual Improvement Society held an open meeting last night, at which there was a good attendance. An essay on " The Poets of the 16th Century" was read, and several readings and recitations were afterwards given. It appeara that there is a great difference of opinion at Thorndon in regard to the never-to-be-forgotten Glenbervie Terrace. The original proposal was to make a new cutting through the Botanical Gardens, but since then an ngitation has been started for widening and deepening the present narrow defile, lowering the grade and making the thoroughfare 20 feet wide instead of 10 feet, as at present. Two deputations, with counter-memorials, waited on the Council in reference to the subject last night The one in favour of the original proposal was i signed by 41 persons, and the other by exactly 40. Both were referred to the Public Works Committee. It should have been stated that the tobacco plant, referred to in our local columns on Wednesday, was grown at the Albion Hotel, Taita. A meeting of the brewers and licensed victuallers of the city was held at the Central Hotel last night, to consider the question of a return match with the brewera and licensed victuallers of Nelson. A letter was read from Mr. Harley, of Nelson, stating that it would be inconvenient for the Nelson team to play for some time to come, as hop-picking kept them busy at present. It was decided to await the pleasure of the Nelson men. It was then resolved to arrange a match between the Thorndon and Te Aro licensed victuallers and brewers. A cricket match will be played in Barber's paddock, Brougham-street, to-morrow, at 2 6' clock sharp, between the Albert Cricket Club and the Blue Star Cricket Club. The following players will represent the Blue Stars-.— W. H. Cook, W. Dryden, J. Edwards, r H. Cook, K. Do Castro, E. Prideaux, S. Nioholls, S. Stinson, H. firth, J. Mundel, J. Topp. Emergency, J. Elton. On our fourth page will be found the report md balance-sheet of the New Zealand Drug Company, Limited, which will well repay jareful perusal. It shows this important local industry to bo firmly established and in a most flourishing condition, the profits >f last year's operations being Borne 20 per sent., out of which it is proposed to pay a 10 per cent, dividend, carrying' forward the balance of .£6201 for future operations. The Company secured the Government bonus of £500 last year for the manufacture of sulphuric acid, and expect to earn it again this year, while the manufacture of nitric and muriatic acids, and artificial manures, is about to be commenced. The undertaking 3eetna to have every prospect of a brilliant future. The Star of Wellington Lodge, No. 2, working under the jurisdiction of the R.W.G. Lodge of the World, held its weekly Bession last evening at No. 9 room, Athenaeum. Bro. 'Ihompson, W.C.T., occupied the chair. Three candidates, after passing the usual examination, were duly received as full members. A number of persons were proposed for candidature. A presentation was made, on behalf of the several lodges in this jurisdiction, of a gold Albert by t*. W. S. Bro. W. Prioe to Bro. Douse as a small token of their regard for him. Bro. Douse made a suitable reply. It appears that this gentleman has received an appointment under Government in a northern part of the colony. Messrs. Laery & Campbell will hold thoir usual market and horse salo3 to-morrow. Messrs. Dwan & Co. will sell to-morrow, tea, sugar, flour, furniture, &c. Mr. Francis Sidey will sell to-morrow, clothing, &c. Messrs. Croskery, Hasell & Co. will sell to-morrowj produce, &c. George Thomas will sell to-morrow, fruit, poultry, 4c.