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Auckland Star, Volume VII, Issue 1975, 8 June 1876, Page 2

TnE Cross to-day discussed the proposal to close the hotels on the Wairoa river, and magnifies it into a very wide question iifteed. Our contemporary says : —" There is a broad principle at issue, md we hope the Helensville Bench will look beyond the paiby-qucs-tion of the Wairoa R.iv9r, and judge fairly whether a Maine law will prevent the woraer evil of sly-grog Belling." Wo take ifc that the Helenavil'o Bench will bo going very much out of .3 way if it does a lything o* the kind. The Commissioners po3ses3 ample power, under the existing law of New Zealand to refuse renewals of the licenses if they consider there are special circumstances connected with the district thab render the sale of liquor inadv;sable. The power has been exercised repeatedly in this city,without any reference to the operation of Per niasive le^slafcion. Tho rcenses for the trio of drink ia Ch-nceiy-street were withdrawn, because of the brawh that were of continual occurrence in that unsavoury locality, a id the wisdom of the measure is att' <ited by the improvement ?n the neighbourhood. The character of the population and neightourhood is, or ought ft he, taken in"} consideration in a1!. cases where licenses are applied for. The Cross says that the Bench at Helensvil'e, by disallowing the licenses, will undertake therr-T.onsibi'-'ty of inaugurating the demoralization resulting from sly grog-selling. Ie would do noth'-ig of the kind. The duties of the Coirraissigners, we imagine, end with tho deter or nation of tho question whether licenses ought, or ought not, to be granted in a district. They are not justified in assuming that the authorities are nob sufficiently powerful to carry out the law. Ihe " pgt experience" quoted by tho Cross ceitain'.y does not sustain its pleadings. If consumers, previous to the granting of the hotel licjrsn, hfitopay "£1 per bottle for well-watered and doctored rum," our contemporaiy may depend upon it the consumption was very limited. What the Bench has to consider in determining the case, ia not what bearing their decision may have upon the Maine liquor law, but the evidence adduced before* it relative to the evil working of the traffic at Wairoa in the pnt, and the wishes of the settlers residing in the district.

We have to acknowledge for Mrs Bass £1 from Dr Kenderdine.

The other day a man died at the Benevolent Asylum, Melbourne, who, it has since been found, was the owner of two houses and bank and other shares, 'the value of the property being £2000. The asylum has a rule in virtue of which each jumats, on admission, executes a will bequeathing to the aiylum what p;oparty he may be possrssed of, so that in this ca^e the institution will be the heir of the old man, who in his life time thus defrauded it.

Another instance of the insane system of charges on the railway has besn suppK~d us. Some months ago country settlers were informed that their produce would be conveyed to Auckland at the same rate in proportion as charged per ton. Fouaerly if a settler sent 2 cwt. it was charged as a full ton, but this was lowered much to the pleasure of the settler, and, no doubt, to the ultimate g?;n of the railway. Bnfc now a new idea has struck Dome one entras^sd with railway control, and wheu I. )xes or hamp2ra are sent to town full of pro lv 3 they are charged the cheap fare, but when the empty t >xes are returned tho charge is a l(no3t three ti*nes more than when full. As an instance: A settler sent a box of produce to Auckland, for which,he wr" charged the reasonable freight of 7d, but when the empty box was returned it was charg-d Is lid. The satisfaction which tha settler receives upon protc:ting is an intimation that the charge cannot be rectified un'esa complaint is first sent to Mr Passmore, and he haa laid it before the Ministry.

Captain Burng proceeded to Taranabi for the purpose of opening an Orange, and not a Masonic, Lodge, f.g Btated in a paragraph the other day.

Mr G. W. Collier, who has longb^enan active metnl;<w of the various New Zealand dramatic <: impanin, and esr-oifUy in conneciion with the Prince of Wrlea Iheatre, Auckland, is about to v'sit the districts of the Waika 1--) in the character of a public instructor on matters p !rf":n:ng to the stage, assoeiV i with };be charms of literature, music, nd ..ang. Mr Tom Burton, tbeli^h del"neator, vi'l ace as nrvcagev.'aud Mr Milbui i n piat;it. Mr Collier, weundeiatand, pmpces '7ntinu:ng l"'a profession?! tour throuofh tl's Southern provinces. Mr Collier possesses elocutionary. talen'o ?n a marked degree, aut> it is p. siblo that he may make a favourable ia-praaion with his writings c^ other aut'eors have done before him.

.An open meeting of the Excelsior Lodge was held J t ovemng in the Sheridan-street Primitive Methodist Chapel, wHch was pleasantly filled, but unfortunately Borne disappointment wra experienced, rs neither the minister, nor Rev Mr Tinsley, nor Mr Hemus were prpqont. The only speakers being Messrs Atkin and Booth. The chairman wps Mr Carter, who said that the Excelsior had done a gr-^ (J ea i o f good in i"^ way, although miny of its pretended friends had given iHhe cold shon'der. Mr Thomas Booth spoke in a similar at.iiu, and. rec^tted that so much apathy c listed among"Good Templars ; he would give thorn a song. Mr Booth then sang in bis vigorous style, the " Pledge :" riown, dow i with your name, Ynr .\ill. never rrf,'ret. / nd keon the pV.r'-'c for nvar. The epeecl! of Mr Atkin, of the firm of Cousins and A.tki-1, w;i certainly the soeech of the evening. Mr Atkin urged tho claims of the cause in and yet reasonable termo, and gave two sketches from real life, illustrative of the evila of intemperance, end full of pithoß. Mr Cornish rerd the " Story of a Sunting Pirr," frnm a temperance tract. Mis« Knox gave a recitation with much taste, in which a young lass refuses her lover, until he abandons the tavern :— Oh, Willinm, dotr William, the truth T must toll, If "ou v ;i' waste yon' time at the Suffolk Hotel; > id f'rl ik of th<* brandy, tho rum, fid tho wine. Yov- lips, my dear Willie, strJl never touch mine. Messrs Sceats, Jamison, and Green sane songs; alao, Mr Thomr.s Lamb, but unhapp;ly the She.idan choir and the harmonist were absent, and had it not been for the presence of one speaker, the Excelsior meeting would have b'on a dead failure. A son of Mr Charles Sutton, of Baglan. while out phooting, incidentally discharged the sun through the palm of his band. The injury wrs drrss'-d by Dr. ITarsrnt. A grand dramatic and musical entir'-ain-ment is nrnnuHced for Saturday evening in the City H.ill, when £20 wo;:h of jewolleiy will be }Jven away, consisting of v/atch^i, rings, lockets, fito., which are now on view at tin shop of Mr Shortt, of Qu-^n-Ru,*eet. T'ho performance will commence with Oharlrs Matthew's splendid two-act comr ly of " f-Satane'la, or the Mexican's Venee»ncp," in which Mr and Mrs Se.irle, and Mr and Mrs Inglis v."11 apr'nr. lhifi comely wiH be foUowrd by a musical entertainment in which Misß Boat, ice Lister will sing those popular songs " Ftlvor Threris" and " Whip-poor-Will " The ha" will, no doubt, be crowded on thia occasion, e/3 there is no counterattraction.

The first lecture of the Young Man's Winter t-evles will bo j.'ven to-mov/ow evening by Jt iah Mar'in, Esq., Heaci Master of the Mo.lel Training School, on "Nature's Chemistiy," with new Hus'-ratlons. The series of bcaUuKul \lews of the If >Hmabana tci.acirn and other spots of interest v I'l. r i oxribi* Iby Mr Dennes' 'ime-Vghfcapparatus. The lee,are cannot f?;l ia L .ling intorcsiing to a Isrgo nudienca.

Tho Pitt-strret Young; Men's Astociation programme is row publisb( 1. It is one of the boat wo havo seen of this kind. The public may rely upon it that, if they visit; the place to-morrow evening, they -wl'l be well roraid. Tho cost is only Is, and wo fancy that, not to speak of the muaic and literary t>ari; of tho prof,r?mme, tho refreibmenfc wiH be worth the outlay.

Befsr.lng to the remarkß of "A Bachelor" ?i Fi!day's SWB, npon the charge of 5s for a se."!on ticket <") tho Y.M.C.i Course of Lecture,i n be;ig too high, we have been inform i that the ticket will admit either a lady and gentleman, or two gentlemen, so that if iwo young men thought proper to join in i/he purchrte, the charge would OD'y be 23 Gd euch, which fa exceedingly low for ten lectures. We are also informed a single ticket for 3s can be had from tho librarian. The firsfe lecture h on Friday even'ng (tomorrow).

''Southeii Traveller" writes enquring why Mr Broham docs not proceed against hotels which have neither meals nor beds.

Tho writer of London Town Talk in the Melloui aq Argus relates tho following :—The Emperor of Austiia has just done a really pretty ttr'ng. A little fellow of eleven, with a dist' it 3 for his mechanical trade, and a love of letters, addressed the following note the other day to hia Imperial Majesty :— " Mr Einperorat Vienna, —I should like to beapii it or teacher. My father is a poor weaver and has no money. Have the kindness Mr Emperor and send me some money that I may learn to b3 a priest or teacher just as you wish. I salute you, the Mrs Emperor, and the children." This communication rep.ihed tha Emperor's secretary im Vienna, and way duly forwarded to His M&jeaty in Hungary. Touched by its innocent stylo, he caused svl official telegram to be sent to the bargonmtor of the village, bidding him report on the circumstance 3of the case, and thrso turmn3 out to be satisfactory, " Mr Emperor " has ordered the lad to be educated as desired. It is not likely, however, that bo "ori^if\l" a charactar w.'ll turn out either pricifc or teacher, aud cerbainly not "just a^ rnybody wishes."

Tn our notice of the Black and White Exhibition yesterday, it; wr i stated that sketches in Pen and Ink exhibited by Dr. Home, lcok nucommoi^y like engravings ; if they are not, the prf : °,o is the higher. We learn that the Pen and Ink sketch " Ci'.es of Venice," after Galtsno Zompire, £1775, was executod : i Pen and Ink by Miss Constance Home.

A Melbou; jo ■ writer, in noticing the declaration of a dividend of seventeen per cent, by the Bank of New South Wales suggests that the Bnk officers should participate m the x\in by receiving a handsome bonus for their services, which have conduced to so good a result.

The Poverty Bay Standard has an article upon the inequality and smpl'ness of some of the sabri^T paid to Government officers, in the course of which it says :—" We have been led ' o make these rema .'ks from a sense of duty devoh '^3 upon us in reference to the removal, from the public set vice, of our late Postmastsr, Mr Corbett, jun. This gentleman, who is the son of a superanuated Postmaster at Auckland, Mr Corbett, sen., has, we believe, been an officer in the Post-office department for a perbd of ten years, and received the appointment of Postmastar of Giaborne some fourteen months ago. The salary aUached to this office is £2C 3 per annum, out of which, house rent, at tha rate of fifteen shillings a week has to be paid."

Mr H, rlean has leased the Thistle Hotel from Mv Patrick Darby for a term of 21 years at £.10 10s per week for the building and presses. Mr Kearie paid the sum of £2,750 for the goodwill, and takes over the stock-in-trade and furniture at a valuation. The new landlord was well known in his re» cent connection with the Occidental Hotel, and Mr Parkin1? may thank Mr Keane's good m?nagemeat for the preservation of the business of that popular hostelry during his absence. We wish Mr Keane success in his new undertaking.

The Cr^'foiiran legislature has pp^sed a salutary measure imposing a punishment upon wife-beaters of twenty-lashes on the bare-back.