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Auckland Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2322, 24 August 1877, Page 2

Wo must give up for the present any attempt to deiine the movements of Suleiman Pasda, as described by cable. More than a fortnight ago, we were in-

formed rcpeatodlj , from three distinct .sources—the Agent-General, the Press Agency, and our Special Correspondent — that he was on tlrj north side of the Balkans, now a Press Agency despatch states that lie has not yet crossed. Readers must make a certain allowance for the fact that these telegrams ncces-anly come either through Russian or Turkish sources, and should make, a proportionate allowance. We observe that the London "Times" complains of the contradictory character of its telegtams, while those of the " J)aily Telegraph," London " Post," and other anti-Russian papers are so strongly tinged with Turkish sympathies as to have become wholly unreliable. Another second sham fight by the various volunteer companies takes place to-night. Members are reminded of the respective rendezvous at seven o'clock — Scottish, at the lirebell, Queen-street ; Engineers, at the corner of Welleslcy and Hobson-streets; and Victoria, near the Theatre.

The only subscriptions received to-day at this office, on behalf of Mrs Hume and family, are ;L'l from Dr. Kcudcrdinc, and 2s. 6'd. from J. 11. E., which are thankfully acknowledged. Public benevolence is spasmodic. When the s.s. Tauranga was lost, more than £1000 wore subscribed within a week for the relatives of the drowned passengers and crew. The case of Mrs Hume, individually, is as melancholy and deserving as any of those which, in connection with the Tauninga disaster, evoked a universal burst of sympathy. We are glad, to learn that the lint being circulated oh Mrs Hume's behalf is filling in. .1. 11. K. writes inquiring whether Mrs Hume will lie willing to accept a benefit by the Manukau Dramatic and Mini*trcl Club. We learn th;»t she will readily do so. It has been resolved by the City Council to supply water to persons residing beyond the «itv boundary, at a charge of 121 per cent on the valuation of the houses for which they wisli the supply provided. Licensed public halls in the city will be supplied at a charge of 2 per cent, but not for domestic purposes. It will bo seen by advertisement that some interesting foot races are to come oil' at Elleis'i'! Gardens to-morrow afternoon. The race between Mcttam and Dickenson, fur £40 is fixed for tJuee o'clock. Mr f. K. Vinlou, architect, of Hamilton, invites tenders for additions to an hotel at Hamilton. Plans can be see.ii in Auckland at Messrs Whitsoas' brewery. Os the sixth of next month (September) the planet Mars will be visible closer to the earth than the two planets have been tor the last seventy-nine years. From the beginning to about the middle of next month Mars will assume a splendor such a-s perhaps no inhabitant of the earth now living ever noted. His mean distance from the earth in about forty-eight millions of miles, but upon that occassion his distance from us will be reduced to little more than

thirty-five millions of miles. Seventy-nine years will again elapse before he will once more be as favorably .situated for observation, and measures are now being taken by the Royal Society to make the most of fehe present opportunity in utilising hi.s parallactic displacement in cheeking the rosult arrived at through the several observations made of Venus's last transit. Mars is a planet bearing in many respects a .strong resemblance to the one we inhabit, and a searching examination of him under exceptionally favorable circumstances will at his ensuing opposition be made, and will no

; doubt result in further knowledge regarding 1 his physical ooudition, and general geojjrapnical features. j The artizan's petition to tlie Hotisc of I Represai t iti\ s, praying for the manui facutre of railway material in the colony, . was forwar.lcd by the Taupo to-day to Mr Swauson, M.HtB. It bore 1)21 signatures, ; several sheets -yy-Jiick would have brought i up the number to 1,000 could not be got in ■ early enough- The petition will bo pre- ! sented at the same time as the Southern ■ one, now in the hands of Mr Burns, j The "Northern Advocate" writing on j the subject of the claims of North of Auckland says "It is clearly evident that while ; the Southerners have enjoyed their Land | Fund, wo have been taxed to pay interest ; on money borrowed by the Colony to open up and people their territory ; and on those grounds we—North Auckland—have now ! au unquestionable claim to participate in i their Land Fund. Nothing can refute ;or discsia.bli.sh that claim, because i North Auckland has for many years | contributed to the Consolidated Itevej nue over £100,000 annually, and that i revenue has bee*i charged with expenses | which the OtagO and Canterbury Land i Funds should have borne. And as a conj sequence of this. North Auckland has been I deprived, or rather denied, many public j services which the Consolidated Revenue i was unable t» provide owing to those i " Southern charge*" being made upon it." ; An organ recital took place at St. Mat- ] thcw'B church yesterday evening, in presence of a numerous congregation. Mr V. E. Face and Mr Joseph Brown officiated by turns at the organ. ri*ie choir mustered in full numbers, and sang several choruses | very creditably. At the conclusion of the programme, which was wcll-scl cted, the Rev. E. S. Hassard pronounced the benediction. We are pleased to learn that out of the £4S 4s lost by Mrs Smith, £46 odd has boen recovered. There are two pounds in gold still wanting, either given away or lost by tin* youth who picked up the paroel of money. The following are the terms on which it has been decided to amalgamate <*iie Queen of Beauty and City of London mining companies :—Tkc eonsoliafeed company to issue 20.000 scrip shares, of which the Queen of Beauty shareholders will reserve as their quota 10,000, and the City of London 5,000 ; the remainder to be held in reserve by the new company. The battery of the Queen of Beauty and the two winding plants to become the property of the new company, and each company to pay their own costs for the necessary winding up of the old companies The monthly inspection parades of the Artillery and 'Naval Brigades took place last night at the Drill-shed, Major Lusk being the inspecting officer. The men went through tlie various evolutions with credit, if we except one or two who had evidently not attended drill very often. At the finish of the inspection the two corps marched through tlie principal streets with their b mds flaying.

Her Majesty's ship Tourmaline left England for the Cape of Good Hope with her machinery out of repair. A receiving tank burst, trunks snapped, the boilers were lax, the rod-liners wore away, the piston was irregular, and every -wheel and rod went wrong j-n turn. The Chief Engineer pottered by day and worried by night until his nerves were unhinged and his wits unscrewed, and finally he cut his throat in sheer desperation.

We learn that 25-4 essays were written by 119 competitors on the lecture recently given in the Choral Hall by Mr Severn, and that some of these juvenile productions were very creditable. The idea was an excellent one, as it had the good effect of fixing the attention of young persons upon the subjects under review, and enabling them to retain scientific facts. The prizes consisted of standard works of a scientific character, selected by the lecturer,who also examined the contributions.

The Russo-Tuvjeish question came under discussion at a great meeting of agricultural labourers' delegates in Exeter Hall on May 16th. The delegates were to a man on the Liberal *i le, and entirely supported Mr Arch in declaring that the vote of the House of Commons on Mr Gladstone's resolutions did not express the feeling of the country. They were not in all probability, say eyewitnesses, nor aware of all the questions involved, and were possibly as hazy about geography as their superiors ; but they had grasped two ideas clearly,— that the Turkish Government was incurably Oiid, and that war with Russia meant dear bread.

There is talk in London of a new dramatic authors' society, based upon the French principle of a division of profits with the managers, instead of as a present, a fixed price per act per night. One can hardly wonder atthis proposal in these days of long runs. " Our Boys" is said to have produced between £20,000 and £30,000 for the managers, and about £lf)00 for the author. "La Bicheau Uois," in the palmy days of the Parte St Martin, was worth between £18,000 and £20,000 to its authors. Can we wonder if discontent is rife ?

The Waikato aud Ngatimaniapoto tribes are becoming more estranged, writes Major Mair, in his annual report ; indeed, when it is remembered that the former have for the last thirteen years been occupying land belonging to the other tribe, it is not to be wondered at. The Nagtimaniapoto are afraid that the WaikatoSj if permitted to continue their occupation, will eventually bring forward claims to land, and they would gladly be relieved of their presence.

The City Council have granted a permit to Mr Dempsey, the contractor, for blasting on the west side of Hobson-street, at the reclamation works. This has been granted partly with the view of giving employment to those of the unemployed who may be willing to work. Mr Dempsey lias entered into a bond to be responsible for any damage that may be occasioned by the blasting, and care and precaution will bo taken in the due proscutiou of the ■work.

Mr Robert 15. Denniston, the gentleman engaged by the Government to cany on the coalfields' survey in this province, says of Foot's Bridgewater mine, that in his opinion it is the most valuable rainer.il property in the Waikato district. Besides coal underlying a great, part of the area there are several hands of fireclay ironstone, and limestone. The estate, besides being connected with the Waikato river, is only eight miles from the Firth of Thames,with a good line of tramway, furnishing facilities for supplying the tJoldficld.s, and Auckland.

Mr Peter James Mack is very much aggrieved by the poetical lerity occasionally associated with the notices of drunkards in our police report. Mr Mack considers that drunkards are but creatures of circumstances, and their fault is not really a fault, because drunkenness is the result of mental disease. To legalise the sale of intoxicating drinks on the one hand, and line men for getting drank on the other, is, according to Mr Mack's theory, one of the most glaring of human inconsiHteuaies.

Reports from the famine districts of India are of a very painful character. A telegram from llellary, dated "Jilth May, gives the following information :—"There arc no signs of the monsoon, The distress is increasing. The town is crowded with .starving people, mostly women and children. .Some motlters are giving away their infants and children ; others are oll'ering to sell them. Cases have; been khowu of dancing girls securing them. Forty deaths from starvation have occurred this month in the hospital, and some deaths have also happened in the streets. Coolies are still returning from the Hnblee railway works, the weaker being unable to e;irn subsistence the:c. The Collector is absent, in the district. Responsible officers with local knowledge are urgently wanted." The various Native States throughout India have subscribed to the forthcoming loan 7S lakhs of rupees in -11. Nothing more i« expected from this source. Notes will be issued to them at the average price at which the loan is taken up, and the amount offered for public subscription will be independent of this sum «f 78 lakhs.

The natives of Ohinemutu having granted about three acres of laud for a " Public Cemetery" and vested the same in the hands of four Europeans and live natives as trustees, (the trustees) wish to fence and improve, and the number of resident Europeans there being small they have determined to appeal to the general public to assist them. Mr Perkins, of the Occidental Hotel, will receive subscriptions.

Mr William MeArthur, M.P., presiding at a demonstration in favor of Ibir Wilfred Lawson's Permissive Hill, at which the jovial fresh water knight himself was present, said : "It was a melancholy fact that notwithstanding the endeavours to improve the moral, .social, and material condition of the people, the drinking habits were increasing ; for, whereas £100,000,000 used to be spent a year in drink, now it had increased to £150,000,00®, an amount which was sufficient to pay off the National Debt in live years, and this money had been spent in a way which would materially increase pauperism and crime. He expressed himself in favour of giving compensation to the publicans where the houses were abolished." If Mr M'Arthur had been presiding on behalf of the Executive of the New Zealand North Grand Lodge, he would at once have subjected himself to insult and denunciation as a deceiver and violator of sacred obligations.

As old things pass away, new forms arise, as the successive improvements in the streets of Auckland fully illustrate. The old houses in what might be termed "Saddlers' Place," next to the Union, Bank have been pulled down, and in their place will shortly appear a handsome house and shop of qreditable dimensions. The work has been commenced by the owner, Mr W. Mcars, of Epsom, and will shortly be completed. During the period of the erection of the new house,"Mr llobert Webster will carry on his business in a shop in the Theatre Buildings, and when ready, ha will return to the spot of his old quarters, 153 Queen-skoet. The "pop" and "cake" shop, recently in the occupation of Mr S. Worms, lemonadist, has disappeared for ever, and it was quite time that the dangerous old disfigurement was removed, as it had literally become a harbour for hungry rats, whose voracious appetites were nightly appeased with the proprietor's banberrys and buna, until he could stand k, no longer. The boards of the shop were full of rat hole*, many of them covered over with Frank Leslie's wood-cuts. Many stories of the little coffee shop might be told in connection with courtship, love, and marriage, sweetened by conversation lollies and tempered by oranges, but as these stories still live as pleasant memories in the recollection of several young Templar courts, we forbear to intrude further upon such sacred ground.

Mr F. Tomlinson, draper, of Parnell, has completed his new premises, opposite Mrs Georges, and will ooen his new shop to-morrow morning with a lai-Ke assortment of spring and summer goods.

Over 22,000 signatures have been affixed in various parts of the colony to petitions in favour of the Local Option Bill, and it is said that no persons have been allowed to sign, except they had attained the age of sixteen years.

Auckland headed the list of gold exports for the half-year ending 30th June, the yield of the precious metal in this provincial district reaching £216,590, against £99,962 for the corresponding period of the previous year. The value of the gold exported from the different provincial districts during the half-year is as follows: —Auckland, £216,590; Qtago, £203,625; Westland, £168,247 ; Nelson, ; Marlborough, £3,107; making a grand total of 731,712, against £608,793 for the corresponding half-year of 1576. The total amount of gold exported from the colony wnce its first discovery in 1557 up to the 30th June last was 8,458,577 ounces of a value of £33,000,826.