WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1889.

Otago Witness, Issue 1971, 14 November 1889, Page 1

WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE SOUTHERN MERCURY. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1889.

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The inquiry into the charges preferred by Mr A. J. Batbgate against Dr F. Truby King, in the latter's administration of the Seacliff A3ylum, was resumed at 10 o'clock on Thursday morning before Mr F. R. Chapman. The complainant was not present, and at the request of Dr King (who complained -very much of Mr Batbgate's apparent indifference) the deputy-inspector despatched an urgent telegram to him stating that he considered his presence essential. Mr Bathgate wired back that he could not come, and the inquiry had to proceed in his absence. After his witnesses had been examined, Dr King made a lengthy reply to Mr Bathgate's charges which he took seriatim. The inquiry is not yet concluded, as Mr Bathgate will be afforded an opportunity of cross-examining the doctor. We learn that owing to the similarity of name and profession many persons who are unacquainted with Mr A. Batbgate, solicitor, Rattray street, and son of ttie late Judge Bathgate, have fallen into the error of supposing that he is the complainant. As theaame is not a common one the mistake is not perhaps an unnatural one on the pad of those who do notknow Mr A. Bathgate, and it is due to that gentleman that the false impression should be removed.

Messrs W. Elder and J. Morgan, J.P/s, were occupied from 11.30 a.m. until 4 20 p.m. on Thursday at the Port Chalmers Police Court hearing a charge of assault preferred by Elizabeth Craib against Jane Smith Raeburn. Mr Fraser appeared for the defendant, and Mr Platts for complainant, who stated the parties were settlers at Broad Bay, and were both before the court some four months ago, when both were bound over to keep the peace. Owing, however; to some informality the defendant was not called upon to enter into her sureties, since which time tbe said defendant had repeatedly annoyed complainant, while her cattle trespassed on complainant's land. On October 30 the defendant assaulted her by striking her with a stick four or five times, the marks from tbe blows on her arm being visible. A large number of witnesses on each side having given evidence, their Wor- ' ships retired for a short time, and' on returning, Mr Elder said the evidence in the case was very conflicting, but on the whole, however, it was in favour of complainant, more particularly as she showed marks ou her arm. The defendant would be bound over to keep the peace for six months, herself in £20 and two sureties of £10 each, and pay costs, amounting to £1 18s. Mr Fraser gave notice of appeal, as there had been no evidence before the court that complainant was under any fear of bodily harm from the defendant. A cross action was dismissed. The steamer Mararoa, which left Dunedin for Melbourne on Thursday, is provided with accora? modation for 350 passengers. It is expected that as the boat returns on the day on which tbe exhibition opens, -and as the facilities offered by the Union S.S. Company are fairly liberal, a full complement of passengers will be brought over to witness the great event. Owing to the frequent statements made as to the holders of land transferring' sections, the Minister of Lands has had prepared a statement showing the actual transfers from the 21st March 1888, to 30th September 1889. These are as .follows:— Caßh sales: Area allotted, 96,231 acres ; transferred, 10,670. Deferred payment: Area allotted, 88,816 acres; transferred, 3445 acres. Perpetual lease: Area allotted, 361,763 acres ; transferred,' 24,B63 acres. Totals : Allotted, 541,810; transferred, 24,863 acres. The Melbourne Argus in its commercial columns of October 29 says that a financial crash seems to be impending in the Argentine Republic. The gold, introduced at great cost, is rapidly leaving the country, owing to the rise in the premium occasioned by over-issues of paper currency. The premium last advised was 129, which means that 229 paper dollars were worth only 100 gold dollars. The working classes are continually striking for higher wages, and as they get them they find themselves no better off than before, owing to the depreciation of the currency. There is one favorable point in the position as it now exists — viz , that the Buenos Ayres Senate has passed a bill prohibiting further issues of paper money until Ist May, 1891. If this bill becomes law, the crisis will be partly anticipated, but the statesmen dare not go on increasing the danger of the position by continuing to manufacture money, so-called, by the printingpress. In tbe meantime, the industries of the Argentine* Republic, are being steadily developed, and immigrants ore flocking iv at the rate of 200,000 to 300,000 per annum. Brown-Soquard's injection has been tried on over 50 people in Christchurch, by two doctors there, with a very small proportion of beneficial results, and these results small in themselves. In an article under the head of "BudaPesth," tbe Saturday Review of September 7 says:— "The last effort of the Magyars to attract visitors to their capital has been the establishment of the famous zone tariff on their railways. Taking Pesth as a centre, tbe system is divided into thirteeu zones, with a uniform charge between each, irrespective of distance. The general effect is & reduction of about 25 per cent ,and at present the maximum first-class fare from auy part of the dominions to headquarters its eight florins. The scheme was vehemently attacked and characterised jis absurd, but so far as the experiment has gone it has proved a success, even on the railways, without taking, into account the attainment of the main object, an enormously increased swarm of spending travellers, The audacity of- the plan is only

another proof of the progressive energy of the Government, and of their steady purpose to .posh Pesth into more public notice, and to enable it to take a leading position among the great capitals." Sir Robert Stout writes as follows in Saturday's Daily Times :— I desire to point out the change in front of the . Bible-in-schools party since 1887. Then all that was desired was the reading of the Bible without comment at the opening or closing of the school Now we are to have selected passages read with comment, and the teachers' orthodoxy must be approved. If that is not denominational education I do not know how else to characterise it. It is not, perhaps, necessary to refer to Mr-Begg's reference to Freethinkers. They are classed by him along with thieves or j robbers. I think it augurs ill for the good feeling and tolerance of the Presbyterian Chuich that no voice in the synod was heard in condemnation of Mr Begg's illiberal and anti-Chris-tian speech. I do not complain of Mr Begg speaking out, however. He may be speaking the mind of the majority of the Bible-in-schools party, and their aim may therefore be to get State money for church purposes. Of course, were that granted, the present undenominational system would be abolished. The usual monthly meeting of the Gaelic Society was held on the 6th in the Oddfellows Hall, Stuart street. Captain John Gunn occupied the chair, supported by Messrs Dugald M'Lachan and Simon M'Donald. In the concert (which consisted of Gaelic and English songs) Mrs 1 Chalmers, Miss' M'Donald, r and Miss Collins rendered their several contributions admirably. Songs were also given by Messrs Colin M'Kenzis, Andrew Smith, Angus M* Donald, and Duncan M'Millan. Mr M'Millan also recited an original Gaelic poem in honour of the chief, Dr Stuart. Mr J. D. S. Burt danced the Athol jig aqd seauntreus with his wonted ability, and Master W. Smith danced the Highland fling remarkably well. Bagpipe music was supplied by Mr J. M'Kechnie, Pipe-major M'Donald, and MrChas. M'Glashan. The meeting was largely attended, and all present evidently enjoyed themselve3. The following transactions in land have taken place during this week at the Dunedin Laud Office : — Swinburn — Section 3, block 5, 108 alr 15p, Patrick. Hogan, on perpetual lease J 15s on acre. Mount Hyde— Section 34, block 4, 229 a ?r 27p, Allan M'Lachlan, on perpetual lease ; 15s per acre. Hummockside — Section 5, block 4, 592 alr lip, Peter Duncan, on perpetual lease ; 20s an acre. Strath Taieri— Sections 16 and 20, block 10, 590 a3r Bp, Julia Cameron, on perpetual lease, 20s an acre. It is estimated that 25,000 persons attended « the Agricultural and Pastoral Show near Christ' church on Friday. The Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Association, whose Exhibition 1 Show takes place on the 28th and 29th insfc., are looking forward to an attendance equally as good on the people's day here. A rather startling discovery was made at an inquest at West Maitland, New South Wales, pn the body of an old woman named Bridget Collins, said to' be between 70 and 80 years of age, who has been an object of charity to the benevolently disposed' in Maitland for a long time past. It was shown that the deceased, who was of shockingly unclean habits and suffered from cancer, died of natural causes accelerated by neglect, but while the townspeople all thought she was a pauper about £300 io money was found in her house. A Home journal ' says : — '♦ The ReV. . John Milne, secretary of the New Zealand Congregational Union, is now in England, and his proposed a scheme for raising about £10,000 by £100 debentures at 4 per cent, interest, for paying off the debts oh New Zealand Congregational ehurcb.es. At present these , have to pay a heavy interest on their loa.us, and this scheme would greatly relieve them. Trustees are to be appointed for the debenture-holders, and to these trustees mortgages are to be given on the property to which advances are made. The oan is to be granted to churches on one of two nethods 1 , viz. : — (1) For about 25 years at 6 per per cent,, the difference between the 4 and 6 per cent, to form a sinking fund to pay off principal ; or (2) for about five years at 4j per jent,, the principal to be repaid at the end of ;hat time, or the mortgage renewed for a lesser ram, The project has been commended by the :ommittee of the Colonial Missionary Society." To make a quite unexpected " find " on our >roperty of a substance the market value of vbich is about £2400 per ton must be reckoned says a Home paper) among the extra-pleasant surprises. Such has been the good fortune of he proprietors of the Union mines in Cornwall, n which a continuous vein of the rare metal iranium has been brought to light. Uranium wa been found in such small quantities that its ndustrial uses are" as yet but little known. Its »xides have been f ouud very valuable in porceain painting, and- in combination with other nebals it has been proved useful in photography, ,nd as an efficient substitute for gold iv electro* dating. Uranium is further known to possess ;reat electrical resistance, and it is in the -field 1 if electricity that perhaps the most important esuits may be hoped for: If experiments are o be of any great value, large quantities of the Qetal will have to .be forthcoming, and it is atisfactory to note that the vein in Cornwall iromises extremely well. The Home News states that an eccentric man rom the colonies has just passed -away at Granhan, and that quiet town is likely to talk about im for many a year; Five years ago he reurned from the antipodes with a large fortune, le put his money in bank, and proceeded to run hrough ie with an industry worthy of the Jubilee Plunger." It was his aim to buy ostly things and to destroy them, and in general o reverse the customs and ordinary actions of we men. Herewith are indicated some of the reaks in which he indulged ;— " A valuable gold ratch was. smashed up immediately ;• the back £

of a silver watch was wrenched off so as to b more convenient for winding up, he said ; th straw was taken oat of a mattress for pig bed ding; springs taken out of a new easy chaii shelves out of the house for firewood, valuabl clocks broken up and thrown away, bread dail; burnt on the fire; legs of mutton and sides o bacon were buried in the garden ; valuable plant and trees were bought and chopped up." A pi| thwarted his purpose one day by refusing, ti take possession of a boudoir that had been pre pared for it, and the enraged benefactor of th< pig smashed in its skull with a hammer. Th< end.of this eccentric character was, as may bi supposed, peculiarly dismal. He had parte< with all his money, and he virtually died i pauper. The vote on tbe separation of the New Zea land Wesleyan Conference from the Genera Conference of Australasia has been taken by th< various quarterly meetings throughout the colony. Sixty-three quarterly meetings recorded a total of 700 votes, 401 for separation and 29£ against, or a majority of 102. The sale of work in the Young Women's Christian Association rooms in aid of the funds of Dr Barnardo's Orphan Houses was.again well patronised on Saturday, when these who promoted the affair had the gratification of disposing of the balance of the goods, with the result that they will be in a position to hand over considerably over £100 to the institutions above mentioned, after paying all expenses. It appears that the Australian colonies have already contributed over £26,000 to the .fund in aid of the distressed section of the Irish population since Mr Dillon and his colleagues commenced their, labours about six months ago, and that this large amount will probably be iucreased to upwards of £30,000 before thosje gentlemen set sail for their native shores again. Considering that Australia at the same time contributed £30,000 to the dock strike fund, the Home people should be duly impressed. The ' Hospital returns during the past week are as follows :— Remaining from the previous week, 89; admitted during the week, 16. ; discharged, 9 ; — total remaining, 96. •A woman named Frances Nicholson, a resident of Mornington (where her husband's house caught fire on Saturday morning), was arrested later in the day on a charge of drunkenness. She was conveyed to the police station, and the charge was entered against her. She was then observed. to insert her hand in the pocket of her dress and adroitly remove from it a small bottle, the contents of which she swallowed.. It was immediately discovered that the bottle had contained laudanum, and the police communicated with Dr Ogston, who,, upon his arrival, administered an emetic. The woman was conveyed to the boapitalj where Dr, Copland attended to her. For some hours she remained in a very low and critical state, but aboub 5 o'clock on Sunday morning she began to show signs of recovery, and we learn that she is now completely out of danger. At a meeting of the Wellington Bootmakers'' Union it was unanimously decided to send £20 to the members of the Tailors' and Tailoresses' Union now on strike in Canterbury, and give further assistance if required. The meeting also passed a resolution that they intended to refrain from buying any article manufactured at the factory concerned until the directors of the factory consented to the demands of the Tailors' Union. • ■ The Wellington Press states that Mr James Fulton, M.H.R., has been appointed chairman of the Commission on Sweating. The Government are now waiting replies from' gentlemen in the several cities who have been asked to act as , members. Tbe members of the commission in their respective centres will first hold meetings and take evidence, and then a general meeting will be held, probably at Wellington, when, after the several reports hare been handed in and discussed, an endeavour will be made to draw up a report upon the Bubject generally. The Temuka Leader says :— " Nothing has so far been heard as regards the man, the railway employe, who ifc is alleged drowned himself in the sea near Makikihi. There is very little doubt as to his fate. The poor man, it is said, was haunted with the fear that he and his children would be reduced to poverty, and owing to the way the Government were retrenching this preyed on his mind, and doubtless drove him to insanity. He was an upright, honest man, and everyone who knew him when he I lived iv Temuka regrets sincerely that he came j to such a sad end." A London cablegram in the Argus says : — " In connection with the death of -Mr William West- I garth, it appears that he was engaged on work connected with the ventilation of an attic, when he fell into the area beneath and was killed," ' On the Prince of Wales' Birthday over 2000 passengers were conveyed by train to Sawyers' Bay, where ' the Frieudly Societies' bporfcs were held, *nd fully 1200 to to the Taieri races. The other railway passenger traffic was heavy, bub not unusually so, with the exception of the evening trains, in which considerable numbers' of Saturday'excursionists returned to town. The returns of the tramway .traffic must show that immense number of people travelled on the city and suburban trams, and the traffic was correspondingly heavy on the cable tramways. At times the cars were temporarily unequal to the traffic, but they soon overtook it. Great numbers of people visited St, Clair, the Ocean Beach, the Gardens, and xho Vjtlley, and picnic parties were scattered in large numbers all Gver the suburbs. The s.s. < Invereargill made an excursion to the Maori Kaik with nearly 300 passengers, and the pj. Plucky took the members of the Harbour Board and some friends down to the heads to inspect the works there. During the greater part of the day the oity was very qaiet, but in the mornieg'and evening the streets, were thronged

with holiday-makers. Clouds of dust made ! very uncomfortable for the few who were to t found in the streets during the afternoon. A New York correspondent of a Home pap^ telegraphs that the site of the New York Es position has been decided upon. It adjoins, an is in case of necessity to include a portion of th Central Park. The committee estimate th cost and area of the buildings as follows :~ Main building, 25 acres, £500,000; machiner hall, 20 acres, £400,000; agricultural hall, 1 acres, £150,000; horticultural hall, 5 acret £90,000; and art buildings, 5 acres £120,000. At a meeting of the sub-committe it was stated that the determination had beei come to to eclipse the Eiffel tower. They re commend that the committee on the site am buildings should invite proposals for the erectioi of an observatory tower not less than a quarte of a mile (1320 ft) in height, to contain elevators restaurants, and other accommodation. A terrible affair is reported from Odessa. 1 teacher at the Richelieu Lycee, Robert Saus by name, committed suicide by hanging himself His wife, on hearing the dreadful news, lost he reason, and in a fit of homicidal mania killed he five children, cutting their bodies in pieces witl a large carving knife. She afterwards spranj from a window ou the third storey of her resi dence, and was found in a dying condition. - One of the most successful of the man] attempts to develop the technical knowledge o: women is in full operation in Ayrshire, says th< London Daily Telegraph, where the Kilmarnocl Dairy School has now become- one of the mosl important training schools for dairy work in th< kingdom. The Commission on Agriculture anc Dairy Schools recommended that there shoulc be two dairy schools in Scotland, and the Government gave a grant of £500 to each. Several circumstances favoured the scheme, but it found its greatest impetus in the generosity of Lady Odsington, who placed the Holmes Farm, near Kilmarnock, at the disposal oi the promoters. The farm is near Kilmarnock, where the pupils lodge, and which supplies a market for the produce. There is a cheese instructor and aa assistant, and a lady teacher of butter making, Mr Drummond, who has acted with great success as cheese instructor in Canada, and since then in Ayrshire}' has improved the quality of cheese so largely that the price has risen from 5s to 15s per cwt since he began his tuition. The average number of pupils is 30, and they come from all parts of the kingdom, and from Australia, Sweden, and Africa, being drawn from the very classes for whose benefit the school was instituted. The applications for dairymaids exceed the supply, the Duchess of Hamilton, Lady Aberdeen, and many other ladies having engaged their dairymaids from the Holmes Farm. The fees are low— sß a week for instruction being the maximum, and already £120 has been received in fees. The Dukes of Buccleuch and Portland have given a yearly subscription, and the school looks as if it were nob only to be a great advantage to the country, but a financial success. A terrible accident occurred at the Cooperative Ice and Storage Company's works in Sydney to an employe named Henry Thome, chief engineer to the company. He was engaged caulking a leaky rivet in the ammonia drying machine, when the cylinder exploded — the luckless man's head being blown through the roof into the middle of the street, while his body was hurled 30yds away. The ammonia fumes filled the building and thoroughfare for 20 minutes, completely stopping traffic. One young man named Griffin, while passing the works.in a butcher's cart, was overpowered and fell insensible in the street, but was dragged out of danger by a companion. An expressman named Klutbe, in trying to get Thome's body, was almost suffocated. At the City Police' Court on Monday Carrie Beasley, 16 years of age, was charged with having insufficient means of support, — Sergeant- major Bevin stated that the accused, who pleaded guilty, was in the habib of frequeuting Chinese dens in Walker street. She had been caught by Sergeant Gearing on tbe previous night going into the old Munster Arms. This place was a terrible den, and was visited by a number of young women for immoral purposes. The police were trying to put a stop to their going there, but had not been able yet to get hold of any of the girls except the accused and a young married woman named Wilson. The case was remanded so that the police might communicate with Che accused's mother and see if she could get ber info the Refuge. — Mary Ellen Wilson was charged with a similar offence. — It was stated that the accused, who was about 21 years of age, was a married woman, and that she induced young girls to go to the Chinese quarters in Walker street. — Accused denied this statement, and said that she was driven by her husband to frequent the houses of the Chinese. — The Bench convicted her, and ordered her to come up for sentence when called upon. . . I j A Home paper gives the following additional ! details of the supposed murder in the Otepopo i bush :— " The adjourned case against Robert Purves Stewart, a private of the Ist Battalion Scots Guards charged on his own confession with the murder of a man named Muir in tbe Otepopo bueb, was proceeded with on Saturday last. Stewart stated that after burying Muir'a body he walked 17 miles to the town of Amaur [presumably Oamaru], and after remaining there a week proceeded to Tasmania, and shortly afterwards to Scotland. Inspector - Youug eaid that since last woek he had received a letter from a man named Andrew Muir, resid' ing at Northampton, to the effect that be had & brother in New Zealand, but had not heard of him for 15 years, notwithstanding that he had made every inquiry^ He had. saen the re-, port of the charge against Stewart in an evening pap3r, and naturally felt; very anxious. Dr Beevor, surgeon of the Ist Battalion Scots Guards, said'accuaed was a very weak-minded man, and Mb statements were aot to bo relied

upon. Mr Bros remanded the- prisoner again for a week."

The well-known Abbotsford estate bas been subdivided into'' lo farms by Mr Patrick, and- Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co will sell, them- on December 6at the Wool Stores, High street. - . t

Intimation ia given by .advertisement thnt in future the weekly sales of 'stock at Rurnside will commence at 10 o'clook, and that stock wiil bo aold in the following order :— Pigs, .sheep, lambs, fat cattle, store cattle, and dairy cows.