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Auckland Star, Volume V, Issue 1485, 13 November 1874, Page 2

An apt illustration t>f the manner in which immigrants ate selected at home is furnished in the case of a young girl who is noWj and will fov some time to come, be a dependent on our public charity. This girl, nineteen years of age, lias, since her tenth year, been subject to epUipfcic fits of the most alaraaing kind. She was for many years an inmate of an hospital, but was told that a sea voyage would probably remove the liability to epilipsy, and restore her to health. She made application for passage to New Zealand in the usual manner, and the medical referee appointed for Dr Featherston was her own Hospital medical attendant, a "Dr. Halls, we believe. He certified in due form that she wag an eligible immigrant and she came out as a free passenger in one of the recently arrived sbips. The sea voyage, or some other cause, has made the Gpiliptic fits much more frequent and long continued than ever they had been in the old country. She has been an inmate of the Hospital since her arrival, and yesterday she was brought by Mr Graham, Believing Officer, and Mr Brophy of the Immigration Department to the Superintendent to see if anything could be done in the circumstances. In the meantime, she has been taken into the Immigration Barracks, where she will remain ponding arrangements in relation to her. It is quite possible that with the most stringent precautions a helpless and unfortunate immigrant mighfc find passage among the thousands that are being drafted off to New Zealand ; but where we see a medical officer attached to, and paid by the immigration department, who had been familiar with the case for yearn thus assisting in having an afllictod and helpless girl like this transmitted by fnie passage to New Zealand, wo can hardly help thinking that there is "something rotten in the State of Denmark."

We are glad to observe evidance of a growing feeling in the colony in favour of a discontinuance of the practice of performing coasting trade with the large steamer 3 employed on the San FranciFco mail service. This system, which has been so strongly insisted upon by the Premier, acting in compliance with the wishes of Southern representatives, has been a great barrier in the way of the establishment of a chop and effective service ; and it has been condemned in strong terms by the Australian journals. The Auckland press has unanimously expressed the opinion that the practice conduced to no good end, and was productive of much actual mischief. We observe that the Wellington papers, reviewing the temporary contract made by Thomas Russell, Esq , in which it is provided that steamers shall call at Auckland only, contend strongly for a total discontinuance of the condition under which vessels must proceed to Dnnerlin. The Post says :—" We are not at all surprised to hear that the North German Lloyd's Company, while willing to undertake a ten-knot service to New South Wales, calling at one New Zealand, port, for £80,000 a-year, ask half as mnch again, viz., £120,000, for a service in which the mail steamers have, every alternate month, to perform a coasting voyage from Auckland to Dunedin. If this condition be insisted on, there can be little doubt that in the end New Zealand will be left out of the service altogether, and New South Wales will find it cheaper to arrange a service for itself. A public meeting to urge this course has already been convened in Sydney. This, we are convinced, will be the result of insisting on the coastal service devised by Mr Vogel as a sop to Mr Macandrew. If our Government could only be induced for once to descend to such a vulgar consideration as that of the best thing for the whole of the colony, they would simply require the Californian mail steamers to call at one port." The Timrx also remarks :—" The price of the coastal service is thus £40,000 a year. May we not ask whether it is worth that sum to Otago or to New Zealand? As a matter of fact it is said, that the A.S.N. Company, who are ready to take, as a permanent service, the line from Sydney via Fiji and Honolulu on very favorable terms—on such terms, indeed, as must strongly incline the New South Wales Government to close with their offer and leai'e us out—decline peremptorily even to consider a proposition which shall include a New Zealand coasting service by one of the large steamers. Under these difficulties, we think that great credit is due to our representative in Sydney (Mr Russell) for the skill with which his negotiations have been conducted, and that the loyalty and good faith of the Sydney Government to this colony under circumstances of unusual external pressure deserve recognition at our hands."

We have authority for stating that Mr Reed has resigned to the Superintendent the offices of Provincial Treasurer and member of the Executive Council.

The Exchange is deserted, and our brokers wear countenances lengthened with gloom. Well might they say with Macbeth, to the casual passer through their deserted business hall:

Thou hast no speculation in those eyes, Which thou dost glare with ; for we believe,—in fact, we have it on good authority—that the business of the week would hardly represent £200 worth of stock. The commission on this at 2J- per cent, represents the handsome income of L 5. among a dozen or more brokers, to pay office rent with, and sundry other expenses. How the pot is kept boiling at the price baffles ordinary comprehension. In these circumstances, a piece of intelligence received from Wales should be hailed with delight. We are indebted to the Home Country for much ; might we not in return initiate them into the mysteries and delights of goldmining speculation, at which Auckland people, and particularly Auckland brokers, should be adepts or experience teacheth not. The opportunity for making this grateful return to our mother country is that afforded in the announcement that a company is now in course of formation for working an auriferous reef discovered in Merionethshire Some of the quartz from this reef is stated to have yielded, on assay, at the rate of from 6 oz. to 400 oz. of gold to the ton. The stripping is 24 feet, and gold is declared to be plainly visible in the stone. The locality in which the reef exists is said to have been pronounced by Sir Roderick Murchison to be auriferous, and this opinion has since been confirmed by a gentleman of practical experience in the auriferous and argentiferous regions of North America. " The only drawback to this benevolent scheme is the suspicion which on the face of the announcement there are reasons for entertaining, that some one "lately from the colonies," has been fossicking about the mountains of Merionethshire and is shrewd enough to know, that even if he fails to find gold, there will be no lack of flats, who are looking out for reproductive investments for their spare cash.

A very melancholy Case of insanity, caused | by frieht occurred in Auckland during the , visit St Smith's Combination Variety Troupe | aboub three months ago, which, we are sorry , to learn, has <&htrary to expectation, proved , permanent in its effects. The unfortunate sufferer is a little girl living on the west side of the city, who attended the exhibition and was thrown into a violent state of terror by the appearance of the huge and ugly head oi! " Grandfather " who is made to devour the two little boys, belonging to the Castro family Many children who attended the exhibition, afterwards suffered severe nervous disorganisation, particularly from terrible dreams and startings, but in all iQstan" ces in their sleep, so far as we have heard, with the exception of the poor child nO«r alluded to, the effeota of the fright gradually wore off. In the case of the little eirl mentioned however, reason seems to have been completely unhinged, and the child, previously an intelligent, sensitive girl, shows signs of permanent imbeoihty. lew adults even could false ft f nu'ne lau»h at the repulsive head of Mr Smith's monstrosity, and we are informed that the terror manifested by the young Castros just prior to being gobbled, was as much real as feigned. We hope that wherever "Grandfather" may be now, his proprietor will have had the good sense to withdraw him from exhibition as a source of "entertainment" for children.

The liberal stakes offered by the Auckland Racing Club for the Auckland Cup Handicap, to be run at the Summer Meeting do not seem to have been appreciated in the Southern provinces to the extent that might reasonably have been expected. Keferring to the programme of our Summer meeting the Wellington Tribune says :-" The stakes ftre generally smaller than those previously offered in their Northern capital. The illsuccess of former meetings accounts for this, we suspect. Neither are the entries so numerous as was the case at the last meeting."

"It is a poor heart that never rejoices." On this principle a West Coast paper informs its readers that on one occasion during last session of Parliament all the four West Coast members were present in the House and voted on the same side in division. It was on the motion to increase their individual pay from £100 to £150. Such unanimity was unprecedented in the history of the Westland representation.

Thirfcy-six lashes of the "cat" were last week administered upon the man Fitzgerald, convicted of aa assault on a little girl five years of age. It is satisfactory to learn from the local journals that the operator was up to his business, and not merely drew blood but inflicted such punishment on the wretch as he will bear in lively remembrance as long as he lives.

Most Aucklandera remember how in the first relapse after the scrip fever, and when the Official Agent began to put on the screw, sundry statements of the affairs debtor and creditor of many sufferers from " quartz on the brain," came up for examination by his Honor the Chief Justice in amo3tunaccountable way, as the assets represented on paper were sufficient to cover the amount on the wrong side of the ledger many times over. The anomaly was explained by the fact that a good many £5 and £10 shares on the list represented in actual value something less than the paper they were written on. In our Australian telegrams some time ago a similar thing occurred in the announcement that Miss Frances Hodgson, a wellknown Melbourne litigant, had filed her schedule for £10,104 liabilities, with assets amounting to £31,000. The mystery is explained by the fact that the Fitzroy Town Council is set down as Miss Hodgson's debtor for £25,000, a debs which Miss Hodgson regards as collectable. There is a charming simplicity in this whea it is mentioned that Miss Hodgson has been for years engaged in a fruitless endeavour to recover from the Fitzroy Council the laud she claims as hers. The Californian Minstrels have done a good business in Wellington. The name of Hill was substituted by a typographical error in our issue of Wednesday last, in the paragragh notifying the acceptance of Messrs Gill, Harker, and Adams' tender for the erection of immigrants' cottages at Raglan. Our supplement of entertaining reading tomorrow will contain two capital stories : The tale of "Two Husbands" gives the reverse picture to our last week's domestic scene— "He Slapped Her Face." "Overtaken by Justice," a Clerical Romance, shews how the Rev Titus Tuttle's wife died, and how the Rev Titus endeavoured to obtain consolation. " Fashions Victims " conveys its lessons to both rich and poor. " A Story for Boys," and " An Essay on Chickens" furnishes amusement for the youngsters ; " Marriage is a Lottery" has its warnings to young men, whose love of filthy lucre suggests to their sordid minds marriage for money. '-The Lightning-rod Man's Little Mistake" shews how a pushing tradesman of Blossbury was victimised. An original essay on Athletic Sports, should ba carefully perused by the youth and vigour of Auckland. " The Difficulties of a Man who buy's a new Coat, "comes home to every suffering benedict's heart; and the faccetia, poetry, and other minor extracts, will prove entertaining and instructive to all.

During the coarse of his negotiations with Sir Hercules Robinson, King Cakabau is reported to have passed the following uncomplimentary opinion on a section of the white population :—" The whites who have come to Fiji are a bad lot. They are mere stalkers on the beach. The wars here have been far more the result of the interference of intruders than the fault of the proper inhabitants." The old chief seemed to appreciate fully the position assumed by the Queen in demanding that the cession should be unconditional. He said to Sir Hercules : —" If I give a chief a canoe, and he knows that I expect something from him, I do not say, * I give you this canoe on condition of your only sailing it on certain days, or your nob letting such and such a man go in it, or your only using a particular kind of rope with it,' but I give him the canoe right out, and trust to his generosity and good faith to make me the return which he knows I expect. If I were to attach these conditions he would probably say, « Bother your canoe I can do very well without it.' "

A body has been washed up ashore at Oreelong, winch is believed to be the remains of a man who jumped overboard from the steamer Express. The sad story connected with it is briefly told by the local journal, which says:—"A fair-complexioned young man went on board the steamer in Melbourne on Friday afternoon, seemingly in a state of mental excitement. At first he was thought to be the worse for liquor, but from mutteringa -which dropped from time to time in the hearing of the passengers and crew, it was concluded the man had a deeper sorrow than that supplied by alcohol He was seen to clap his hand to hia bosom aa if in pain, and heard to murmur, <Oh, Louey ! I shall see her no more.' Afterwards the same person overheard him say, < Oh, God! she makes me do it. The poor suicide is believed to be the son of a farmer, whose place is near Una it.

Wife-beatmg seems to be a very popular amusement m Danedin. The police leporfcs a week or two ago announced two cases of the kind. Ihe defence to one waa that defendant did not beat hia wife half so hard as his neighbora beat theirs. We wonder if there are any houses to let in that locality ! In another case a wife accused her protector of ill-treatment and stated that he thre* bricks at her. This was admitted, but his Worship was assured that no harm wag meant; it waa only in fun The Magistrate ordered this humourist to find sureties for keeping the pease, while the gentleman who did not beat hia wife as badly aa other people was scut to jail for a week.

The North Shore lads are only jnst in time with their Rowing Club" to**eave the reputation of their sex. If mortfof outvoting men do not cultivate rowing^gorously they are likely to be outdone by the weaker half of creation. Only this afternoon a lady was rowin<* about the harbour in a small pulling boat, and the way in which she used her scttlls, would have shamed many a member of the Auckland Rowing Club. None of your short, jerky tugs, but a good Bleacly8 leacly stroke which might have been picked up at Oxford or Putney. On enquiry we were told that our fair athlete was the Wife of one of our steamer skippers, and that she is in steady training for the Matakana Regatta for the ladies race, in which she is a strong favorite.

We are sorry to see from our Dunedin telegrams (which give a few later items of Australian news per a.a. Ofcago), that some one ia Sydney i 3 about to ape the irreligious literature of San Francisco, by issuing? a Sunday journal of questionable character. We were not aware that the worthless section of humanity in Sydney were sufficiently numerous or ripe for such an undertaking, and we hope the result will prove that the projectors have miscalculated.

We had the pleasure of being present at the weekly practice of the Harmonic Society last evening, and we must say we were surs prised at the great progress made by thi young and energetic society during the last three months. The strength of the society has been considerably increased by the addition of an orchestra, and we counted no less than nine violins, in addition to the harmonium, flute, reed and brass instruments. Even these wo learn form only a portion of the permanent orchestra. The members are at present engaged on Handell's grand oratorio of "Judas Maccabees," which is to be the subject of a concert to be given in a few weeks time, and if the practice of last evening be any criterion of the Society's powers we shall look forward to the concert with pleasure. We were pleased to see a goodly array of treble?, but^tbe choruses appeared to be rather deficient in basses and tenors. We wonder some of our young men do not come forward to remedy these defeats and we are quite sn*-e *>»*) 9«-*Hw will be only too glad to rect iv© the assistance 0' such people.

A correspondent puts the following query : " Sir. —A backs Haricot at 5 to 4 with B on the Melbourne Cup. How much will B have to pay ? By answering the above you will oblige B."—[ln the form in which the question is put it is difficult to see the exact point at issue, as it is also impossible to believe that such a bet was made. In every bet it is, or outjht to be stipulated, what the bet is in—single pounds, shillings, or hundreds. If no such agreement was m<d , we should take it that pounds were meant, although such a conclusion could not be insisted upon, and if there is any dispute the bet must be off. Thereal point, however, which we assume to be in. dispute is, whether B should pay the 4 or 5. Tai3 depends entirely on the question whether the odds were laid on or against Haricot. It is to be assumed that the odds would be against the hor3e, and much longer than sto 4. In that case B would have rendered himself liable for the 5,-Ed. E.S.]

The Beecher scandal has occupied such a a large amount of space in the Auckland papers that some idea of the personal appearance of the leading figure in it— Mrs. Tilton — will no doubt prove interesting. This one is furnished by Mrs. Burnham, of the St. Louis Republican, who says :—" Theodore gives the world the impression tbat Mrs. Tilton is a beauty ; but Elizabeth is 40, has had seven children, was never handsome, is shapeless, with a dull ordinary face between two rows of corkscrew curls, that give a school-marmy air to her. She's just the woman, if I were a man, that I should go to for a good pattern for a flannel undershirt."

The Horticultural Society's Anmial Flowe Show will be held on Friday next, the 20th instant. Great preparations are being made in order that the show may be successful.

As Captain Burns leaves Auckland for Tauranga on Saturday, to lill a new situation, the Hob3oa Vo'unteer Company, of which he has for a loug time been in command, marched out last evening, headed by their efiioient band, in token of respect for Captain Burns. On their return the Captain ad<ire3sed the men on their general demeanour towards him, expressed his gratitude, and formally handed tlio parade over to the olfioer next in rank.

The NO3 2 and 3 Companies of the Auckland Rifles, and Scottish Company, held their monthly parade last evening, and at the same time the Cavalry Troop and Artillery Volunteers held their usual weekly parade. The Auckland Rifles were under the direction of Lieut. Skinner and Captain Morrow, Captain Mowbray commanded the Scottish. These several corps were subsequently put through the battalion drill by Major Gordon. The cavalry mustered in full force under Captain Isaacs, and were put through their exeroises satisfactorily by Sergeant-Major Wainliouse. Two detachments of the artillery corps were efficiently commanded by Sub-Lieutenant Payne. The men generally were np to the mark, and on the whole, the parades gave satisfaction to the officers in command.

A scratch match between two elevens of the Auckland Cricket Club will be played on Club' 3 practice ground in the Domain tomorrow, commencing at one o'clock p.m. The institution of these scratch matches for practice is very desirable, and likely to improve the fielding, which is such an important feature in the game. The man who fields well in a match and stops runs is as useful in his team as one who gets runs. The ground has been well rolled since the last heavy rain, and no doubt witn constant attention a first-rate wicket will be made.