There is a Good Templars'; Lodge on .. board H.M.s. Pearl, which is now visiting Auckland. A A number of the Scandinavian immigrants have joined the coble army .of beggars in Wellington. A The annual soiree in connection with the Waiwera School> 'will; be held to-morrow week, sth May. ' AA ' ; = • '.' '. Six firemen have.been selecte&'at Wellington .. to represent that city, at the forthcoming Ballarat competition. The next English mail, via San Francisco, will., be despatched from the office, here, on Tuesday, first, at 10 o'clock p.m. It is reported that the usual • circulars . have been issued to members of Assembly, informing them that Parliament will meet, on the loth oi June. - - t . Mr Angus Smith, the Opotiki settler whos&ajd £100,000 left him, promises to give the whole if the Waikato Militia injTauranga and Opotiki, "a treat." ....;...- TENDERS are called elsewhere for the erection , of Post and Telegraph offices, at Kaitangata; The plans and specifications may be inspectcd~bri application to the Town Clerk, here. In a recent issue we reported an accident at Waihola Gorge, by which Mr Alex. Sutherland was seriously injured. "We regret to leanr- that Mr Sutherland succumbed to these injuries 'on Saturday last. The members of the Clutha, Tapanui, ' &c., Building and Land Society, will please observe* that a meeting is called for the evening of Monday first, at 8 o'clock, for the clecsion of Trustees and Auditorr. At Nelson Creek, the Grey, a few days ago, a miner named Martin Maloney .fell over a pre•cipice one hundred and twenty feet in depth. Hesustained a fracture of the leg, shoulder, arid severe contusions of the face. Last week two suicides were comihitte'd .in Christchurch — one by a cabman named ''James Kearney, who. drowned himself in the Avon, andthe other by a domestic servant named' Anriy j Thome, whose body was found in the Heathcoto < River. 7 '" A It is reported that the Government iriterid to, support the claims of Mr Fitzherbert to the Speakership of the House of Representatives.' We daresay the Government would be glad thus, to have the old gentleman shelved during ;the coming struggle^ but we Mr belieye Fitzherbert will prefer to -flake his old seat amongst his col-, leagues of the Opposition. ... When Mr Joseph Robertson was digging/potatoes in his paddock in the township the, .other day, he had the curiosity to count >,the number growing from, one plant of'Derwents, and found the extraordinary number of 102 potatoes, many of them being of good size.- .From one plant of kidneys he had 52 potatoes. > Being 'quite' satis-" fied with these, returns he did not pursue his enumeration further. L'"" ! "' ' ' Partridges are now. very plentiful arid apparently very tame in the Kaikiku district. The garden of a settler is the favorite resting place of large covey. On the morning of 'Sunday . last the birds were there as usual ; » hawkmade its appearance oyer their heads, and they rushed off to the dwelling house as hard •as they could pelt, and there hid themselves till their enemy. disappearedL It is to be hopedthey .will never have cause to regret the confidence, jthey would thus seem tp have reposed ,in humanity.. Should they continue At their present quarters 'we believe they won't^ but a change ot abode migh prove dangerous. . *' '■'• '

A pew hours , were spont very pleasantly in the Star of ' Milton Lodge, I.6JG;T,?, onThursday evening, on the occasionof a complimentary visit of about a dozenof the members of the Balclutha lodge. The night -was very dark arid wet, but notwithstanding this thero was a good attendance. After thft lodge had been opened, in the usual manner, the proceedings assumed jthe form of a soiree. 7 i The ; provisions .were, , excellent ; there were some : good cpmphmentary, , speeches, and themusip both vocal arid ir^trumental was also good. . The lodge- was, not closed" till' 11 o'clock, when the brethren and sisterhood dispersed after

having spent a most harmonious 'arid happy evening together. , 'J.J A ' ,:

ABEFOKTj.of.a meeting of 'the subscribers to the Widow : Bain fund, 'will he found in ariother column.' , One object^ of enquiry" 'will suggest W^lf to tke mind of eVery reader," •' ahd that is *■-» ,[ "> tiie identity of the Mrcitdr tfho has been V.' j Swliy pressed to ; prepare a? '■ ioonveyance of a section of ground, hut whb'h'as yei r failed to do so. AcrorQiiij^ to'some speakers he was instructed nine mbnthsagb&ndhasbfeeri. rejjfatedly written to, aiid '^>f ulate .telegraphed [,to ? . but without effect A The delays and jimcerfaintities of law are provepbiaJL, jind/tjus to be a case in point. The delay of .the- solicitor hiss! apparently heen the sole, cause of an accounting of the funds not havingbeen nfade arid which has 'given rise to so many disgraceful surmises .and • strong feeling throughout the community.

A cadet rifle corj.3 is being formed in connechection with the Balclutha School. „

The first meeting of the Tapanui Town Council will be held to-day by order of His Worship the Mayor. -.

An open surgery, where advice and medicine are given for half-a-crown, hais been opened at Wellington by a DrMunro. Tab Taieri anniialraces takes place to-morrow at Mosgiel. "The weather in tho meantime does not seem favorable for the state of the course or the success of the meeting. HAD there been a seed show here, this yeai-, we believe Mr Thomson, Inverteil, would have 'had A good chance of gaining a prize for turnips andjcarrots. He brought a few into town the other day which would be hard to beat.; An Auckland telegram says ?— Beri Turner who has bad his tombstone erected during life, claims that he put up the first house, built the 'first ship, made tlie first laws, and waa. made tha7 first Governor in the colony ; he also started the : first Bank, and first paper. Twenty ; three trucks we're loaded at the Stirling railway station in one day :during this month : eighteen of the trunks carried fully six tons each/ ; This, -says- the % Xjruardian', augurs well for the 'CTutha'i Hue *bf railway, and denotes the reason i why especial trains have, to be put on, of late. ' 'Latest telegrams from Brisbane ; say :— Further official reports from Brisbane state that the rush tbLthe'Hodgkinson Elver is a total failure.. The diggers.' :aro looking for Mulligan tb .lynch him. ;A .,, threat ( ,was made to burn down : tho Cooktown ' Herald ' Office. A riot was expected atthePalmei'. .... „; ' To show. the .extent to which hop-growing' is carried, on. in Tasmania, in the New Norfolk and jHpbart.Town districts, there are some two thousand .five hundred • persons, chiefly women ; and children employed picking. All these earn four to five shillings per day at the prices paid by .the proprietor of the hop grounds. A

* Chinese lotteries, which are becoming numerous in Victoria, are to bo stringently dealt with by a proposed bill in Parliament. According to calculations made by an actuary, a "person wovdd have to invest L 222,790 before he would draw a L7O prizo. '. There aro one hundred and fifty Chinese lottery agents' shops in Melbourne.

," , A. MEETING of the Puerua Market Committee was held in Whytock's Hotel on the 24th inst. 'Mr Wml Morton was called to j>reside. It was > proposed by Mr Shields, seconded by Mr Whytock and carried, that the next market be held at the yards on the 12th. May, and that an auction sale be hold the same afternoon at 2 o'clock. There was no other business.

, That great nightmare of our Tuepeka contemporary—the Round, Hill Tunnel— has at last been pierced, the two leading drives having met on Saturday afternoon. Although there is a curve in tho tuunel, the drives met exactly,: which is something to say in favor of the efficiency of the engineers, employed. As the tunnel can only be Wrought at one end it will yet be some months before the work is completed.

A " harvest-home " was held inMessrs Simpson and Watt's barn, Puerua, on Friday evening. The weather was' very dull and threatening, but notwithstanding this, by7o'clpck, 100 individuals had assembled. Mr D. Whytock was called to the chair, and in an eloquent speech referred to the happy nights many of them had spent in the Old Country on the occasion of the of the harvest. He had no doubt many bf them' still looked back with pleasant recollections to these mirthful scenes, and would rejoice that, "the same was to be established in tho Puerua district, for he hoped their "harvest home" would an annual one. — (Loud cheers.) Ample provision, he continued, had been made to secure their creature comforts that evening, and he hoped that, as they used to do in the Old Country, both old and young .would enjoy themselves to their heart's content." ,The evening was then spent in singing, dancing, &c. ; the refreshments of all kinds were abundant, and the first "Harvest Home" in the Puerua district passed off most successfully.

At the meeting of the Waste Lands Board yesterday, tho members' present were the Chief Commissioner, and Messrs Reid, Bastings, Butterworth, and Strode. The principal business was the consideration 'of the . . applications ,of Messrs Cargill and Anderson. Neil and Shennan, to purchase the land on their several runs thrown open for sale, and the application of Mr. Larnach to purchase the whole of the land. Mr Haggitt appeared to support the applications, and Mr F. Chapman to. oppose on behalf of some intending applicants. .It was decided first to proceed with Mr Neill ? &, application, and after long arguments pro. and con. Mr Reid moved; " That the aplicatipn be approved subject to the reservation of such roads as the Chief Surveyor may consider necessary. All hush lands, and such lands (if any) as may ohi inquiry be found to-contain anymetals or minerals, or which rhay be required for water races br sludge channels, or for public purv poses, to be reserved from. the sale." . The necessity for going to press renders .it imperative to defer the full report until next issue. The Board •decided riot 'to grant, the- applicat'on, ..Mr Reid alone supporting it. Mr Haggltt declined to. press the other applications, which were also refused.

The Matau 'Road Board held , the ordinary meeting on the 24th inst.-. There were presentMessrs Inglis (Chairman), Smaill and Smith.. The minutes of last were; read and confirmed. Mr Smaill reported ;that at Kaitangata punt some blocks were required. Diessrs M'Donald* and Smaill were authorised to provide suitable blocks, those at present in use being unfit for thopurpose. The Chairman , reported having received the second instalment of the General Govern- ■ ment subsidy, and had placed the same in the Bank. In reference to' a previous application, respecting an encroachment on river-bank road in the vicinity of Mfr M'Gowan'a property, Mr Smaill was empowered to have the matter rectified as soon as possible. The Chairman' and Mr; George M'Donald were requested to examine that portion of the river-bank road adjoining Mr Anderson's.property, where the river has been encroaching,- and report as/to the nature' of the works required thereat, and the, probable' cost. It was further reported that at three different places.in the Molyneux * subdivision, three culverts were very badly .wanted, the first on the cross-road hy Mr Hislop's property ; the second, the Railway Station, Stirling, to -prevent the' flow of water from the hill; and .the third at.river-r bank, adjoining Mr .Inglis' property. The Chairman was authorised to have the above culverts placed as soon as possible; . to be constructed, of solid totara planking. i 2"he Clerk was directed 'to give due notice of , the election oi: fresh members, which. takes place bn the second Thursday in June. Account — J. M'Kinlay, Collector of Rates, £10.— Passed.

. A, lodge, of the Ancient Order of DruidFwas" inaugurated in Christchurch, oh "Saturday.: ' •"-•<"■ ■. . .

; Several parties . were brought tip before' the' K.M. Court, yesterday charged with 'shooting -° game on the 31st of March, the day 'before" the' open season. The cases broke down.-; «Theev>'/ dence was not considered quite .conclusive^ and . his Worship gave" the accused the benefit of th c somewhat diminutive doubt. " lie,: however,: ex.-, pressed himself very strongly upon jihe offence, and assured them that if, even another case of; the same kind wero brought before him,, and a verdict secured, tha penalty would.be no.^OsiOne, • but something nearer the full amount— £2o. To-day being the Presbyterian Sacramental. Fast Day, business will be. suspended, throughout;, the several : parishes, . So ; far . as . we, have, been able to, ascertain, the following ministers' from a distance.^ will officiate, to the. respective co'rfgre- ' gations :— Rev; Johnßyley, Otepopo, k't'Puerua and Port Molyneux j Rev. JVC". Paterson, iWdtt: hola, at Warepa:; 7 Rev. Professor Silmondv Dunedin, at BalbluthaL This, we.believ.e,;is.the first time Prof essor Salrriond has preached in, Balclutha.' He has the reputation of being, a very able and accomplished . preacher, and,we haveib. doubt a very, large congregation .wilAassemble to hear the Gospel at his lips to day. " '*" , ' A ,', ' -;*; . '• "7 '•" .- •" ■'•'•> ':r> hi;.: .;>■■; IN the case Hiigbc^ v. Shahd, .Judgg,^illiams gave his decision on Monday,r upon. the,. rule . nisi obtained;by Mr Shand cajljngaipon Miss Paroline , Mason Hughes to ,show cause T#hy the verdict obtained by her should not be set aside^ and a, verdict 'entoreiffor defendant on .the. ground that,' ' there was no corroborative evidence of the alleged promise, of' marriage sufficient' '' toLsatisfy the statute.- His Honor said that although the ad-" missions of, the defendant' might hot' am'ouriir ih; themselves to. absolute proof of promise, yet it appeared to him that they were -very" material- i evidence in support of it ! for the purpose ' of ! corroborating the ' plaintiff's testimony, ~> andfi were. . sufficient to satisfy tho statute.' !Rule discharged with costs. ; Intimation : was given thaj^the, defendant would take tho case to tho Court "of Appeal. .. '. .;:■[> - ,- -. '■/<;•.; ,-,',•.., -

When the Hasborough 1 Road was first opened " many wero the predictions that, accidents would speedily occur. The traffic since then has .very much, increased, but thanks to the care exercised by tho drivers, or other.' causes, nonp ,pf these fearful predictions have yet been fulfilled. Some rather narrow escapes have, however, been experienced, and it is evident.that a continuance of .the utmost care will be necessary to prevent accidents.- Now that the long-mglit?-arS;iilppi:ba"ch-:' ing, and the late trains rendering, driving, after dark a necessity, the danger" is very -much An-* creased. Only the other -evening -an -accident was imminent. The night being extremely dark, arid when turning off tho main road into the Hasborough Road,' the driver of the largo omnibus went over the embankment and dpwri to the flat on the river side. Fortunately the enibankA ment at the spot is hot very stee'p',' arid no bvil consequerice'ensuoclibiit had'tho riiistake occurred at some other parts of the road, loss of life would ! have been inevitable. Any- one can upon^es-A ,-amiuation see- from tho marks of the wheels that*] the passenger vehicles -have been, in some very j dangerou,s positions after dark. We mention these facts not to create unnecessary alarm,, but to induce increased care. Unless such lamps can be procured as will enable the, drivers to see. the road without ■ the possibility of mistake, some other means must be adopted to prevent' acci- ' dents, or tho traffic after dark must be stoppedThe siding constructed; by Mr Cramond at the railway terminus , here, has, now being finished, and we hear from all parties. expressions of the highest ' satisfaction with the facilities it affords for the, dispatch and receipt of goods, produce &c. But for Mr Cramond's enterprise it would be a' physical impossibility to convey goods to or from the railway, as the road between' the ter* minus, .and Stirling station- is impassible,^ .- But even had the road, been good, theroweuldjitil*have been a large saving by using the siding.. The largest grain merchants here, inform, usr that formerly it cost them Bs. a ton, ' besides ' a great deal of personal trouble, to send grain to the Stirling station^ whereas, now they get ittaken from their store arid carted to the railway placed in trucks, safely covered up '&ejy' for five, shillings a ton. This is always a 'consideration in these hard times. It may' not 'be:. .generally] know that Mi- Cramond's 'arrangement -jwith {the, railway manager is that..- all-goods^ forwarded by. him or to his care, at the terminus, are only, "to" be charged, at Sterling rates,; that, is, go charg'4' is niade for- the. distance between! 'Stirling and the terminus. , That is a considerable ; 'con- 1 cession especially in. the case of large.parcels. It'triay also be mentioned that Mr' "Cramond" has just erected a goo'ds-'siied adjoining the siding.J 'Where goods can be scored when re'qrared^ and thus protected against dan^ge from; theweathe r pr otherwise. — There can', be :hoAdoubt.that.th Q arrangements thus "made will 'greatly; t facilita;te the of, goods i tq -, aiid; f vo#i tlie, district, and Mr Cramond d^se^es .to,, be, liberally, rewarded for his consideration and 'enterprise. .. Our Tuapeka friends would seem. to be ,'riiiVch. in the saifte fog as .ourselves, with reference .to' subscription lists, : T.he.fpllowing letter "'arid note appeared in the , l Tuepelca, Times' the other day- : — Sir, — Some" time "since ari'7 adVertis'ement : ap-; peared in the ' Times' ; worded' -'soriiewhatv as' follows :7" Wanted' to Ic'iiowj what has .become of the money collected -for' .the A Widow '•'s&s*■. ihussen. ' Does 'the' Treasurer know ?!'L This, If think, seems to imply j& \ doubt in tho,mind pf ( soihe one as to the proper disposal, of the moneys, collected.. , As a subscriber to the fundAl.am ; anxious to know if ther e are really, any grounds for the above supposition. Will;' the -Treasurer kindly supply the information'' sought ; iri'7 the advertisement ? or. can you enlighten myself and -others upon the. subject •*?• ©ne'o'ther>a\)peal. ; iLi3<j I have "done. ' '^Willthegentleriianiwhojcanyassed , this district Tkindly' tell -iis^to ; whom.; he paid the moneys collected'^by -him ?-h-liam, t( &c., .Sub.-, scbiber.— 'The .STimes'i adds :r-r "We ' cannot' •throw any light .upon this.njatter... The "gentle*: man who; inserted .the adyerjifsoment Acquiring !what had^beconre . of , the . money collectcdAih'-"' formed us that he believed that' ttierte' 'were' close* upon L2OO subscribed^ and Mr.s RasmusSeiii -had*pnly been paid LlO. If siieh. 'i9*~th'e lj ca's©,JLSonle.i person is greatly to'- lilame;' While referring Ast this case, wVirii&lvt as> well* mention another jtjhat. has been brought' to' our moticeji viz 3 f j'th.Q A jljart j and . Herd Memorial |\md. -; Thf .- towards tiiis.fund.were got up v^ith.tibe osterisible^ "object df erecting tablets oyer th^grayes of'tno." two boys'whp were. .recentiyburne'lVto 'deUth at' the ißoss Place fife.' .' "We believe' tne' 'i esidehts 'of l the:district readily fell in jthe'ideafind'slibt' scribed' 'freely." Nd thing/ ■ However,* Ahaa ; ibeeri ma^e public irijebiinctionwiththetransactiens, of the. promoters A and people natuially. . ipfpr 1 that things 'aro • not ias :they I should; ;be. The ' fullest publicity should. bo, given. to the; . disposal •of publio moneys, especially charities. A

~-A'wm^os^^ .Esq.,: of the Merrie -Cijeek. 'Station^ bqs just purchased, the fine race-horse Young Leamington/ which, secured ,the stakes in, one race 'ait the ; recent Tokomairiro meeting. " "The g'etitlt then ofi the turf 'will be much gratified by the acquisition; of ;a gentleman of Mi-Campbell's position; to their, ranksL It'" is •at the' same time; to be expected that Mr Campbell's connection with the, turf will do. something to wai'ds separating' it 'from the mi- r moral practices 'with, which it is . at present.uhfoitiinately so'much mixed up; , ;.."__, „., We believe the Kirk Sessions, of : Puerua, Warepa; 'Balolutha, arid Inch.Clutha, have agreed to recommend that thanksgiving services for' the late abundant- harvest be held on Monday first, . the; day after .the Sacramental Sabbath. On that' ! day,, therefore, the services in the several congre-gations-^vill be held at the usual diets Pf worship.:: We think this is a much better arrageraept, that,. 'the'''bbrigVegatibns in the neighborhood" 'should' 'holdltheir services on the same day. It was some--'.wnatjannoying.fof.ppuntry visitors, .when thoy Acame"to'*tl6 their, shopping" iri Balclutha, to find' ; thb shofw' closed, The'ptesonf arrangoment >m\h obyjateany .difficulty of this kipd.?7j Wp, under-, stand the Rev.: John Ryley, Qtepppp, jvvill preacli' iii the Presbyterian Chui-ch, Balciu'thaAbn'Mon- "• 'day.;/ •= •. :•.-.: ■ :.-.. 'J y-:i-.A: y-..A:-,^y

"'The Kaitangata, Kail way 'was;' Officially in,"•spected by.'MriW/'N.-Blair Districfc.'Bngineeiv on , Saturdayclast. f That gentleman accompanied by. i Messrs. Ackvyorth, ;Ai ' ]j. -7 Smith, j .J, i: .;Wam. and , others ;a,rri#ed! at. Stirling Sjbation frqmt .Dunedin. by. the morning) train*; ai)d , proceeded . along the pine minutely pxanriningjtl^e.same. and^specially ; tho^ bridge across .the creek; ,at . Kaitangata'7 jfej ' Blairs' report :\yill. be.naado in ( the proper quarter but from the expressions Jie made ''use "of ' ther® can be no dbubt;thafc it'willbe favorable' one. Indeed' we are.' inclined tb u tl)rnk' 'he : was"" rather' Surprised at' ilio sweetness '" with' whicli- thY ; .train glided along,' aiid tho : exce'edhigly f 'substantial nature ofi tlie whole \yoi-k' a& well'fts th'eitidy • 'finish' of . the entre 'concern;' 'THe p'artyJ also ex.-; -•amijied the .coal" ! pits i trad' ■ wp^ e^extremely.-^ell,, satisfied' wifcli all Ijhey^Yere.shp^nAaud! tifro'prosA p'ects'bf the Company's" 1 undertakiiigs;' ' ; 'Dinner ' had been ordered at Mrs Murphy's " Hotel, and the dinn e.r party include.dLMessi?s Blair,, S ( mitA TRegd. Macdonald, ,Aitcliesofl,.doatesACrambnd; ; •^am,-' Dr iSmitli, ' 'A'ck'wb'rtiij F'aeverJ Grigor, : Maitland; \ 1 StantfrPbk, : - ftttd ; : iThorrihilh ) . £he . Dunodin geptleiuenL returned,- ; to. j to.Yjn .by ,th c evening 'train. We believe arr'ajigerHfe'rits are being made for tke.fpi , maropeh\n'g ; of theUiiieAoii , : anearly.day. -At • y" ' Ar ty ]•-,-.•: .';.,•■