TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 1892.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 140, 14 June 1892, Page 4

TUESDAY, JUNE 14, 1892.

During the visit to Auckland of the Hon. Mr Seddon, he has shown tha t there is the ring of true metal about

him. He is one of the many instances which the Australasian colonies "afford of a man, by sheer force of character* rising to a high position in colonial affairs. In old English days, Statecraft was an art which few were supposed to possess or acquire. Statesmen were said to be born, not made, when the aristocracy — Whig; or Toryclaimed and filled every position of. eminence in the State. At rare intervals the " Commoners " furnished a Walpole, a Pitt, a Peel, a Disraeli, a Gladstone, who, . r-by; their brilliant, genius, fought their way upwards to the highest, positions in the State, and, except Mr Gladstone, all entering the charmed circle of aristocracy. Still, though " Commoners," not one of them really belonged to tbe common people.

The "divine right" of Kings to govern has disappeared from amongst English-speaking people. The right to rule—not very dissimilar —so long reckoned the exclusive privilege:; of the aristocracy, is passing away.before the general diffusion of knowledge. Merit and administrative ability are rapidly winning the positions formerly monopolised by those *' born in the purple." In this respect, as in so many others, the Australasian colonies have demonstrated that statesmen are " made/ and that no man is "born " to rule his fellows, and have set an example which England is slowly following. In New Zealand one Premier once kept a small tobacco store, another began life as a farmer and bul-lock-driver. The present New Zealand Ministry is no exception to what is rapidly becoming the rule. Almost every man of them has* risen from the ranks. The Premier begamlife;as an ironmonger, the Minister ot Lands as a shepherd, and the Mintsteiuof-Public Works, Defence and Mines, the Hon. Mr Seddon,- has worked his way up from a working miner. Sir George Grey's "dream," as it used to be sneeringly called, of a career for the humblest, has become, a fact in the personnel of the Ballance Ministry, a fact which cannot :but be very satisfactory to the; Great.- Proconsul,. whom,,neither jood' birthnor great achievements has prevented from becoming himself " A IV-fan.vbi' th"c Pecpe;'' W"Vouch;, with their sympathies and aspirations, and a valiant defender of their rights.

Lofty rank, sycophancy and diplomacy are no longer the L.S.D., the

"open sesame" to office and power they once were. In our days—in these colonies at all events—a Government has not much chance of usefu_n_ss unless it springs from the people,.'exists -?/ the people, and labours for, the peopled _It is no new thing"'for "us to say in these columns that the Ballance Ministry fulfils these conditions better than any previous New Zealand Government.

They were left by their predecessors with a great deal of work to do, and very little to do it with. In the days of the "borrowed millions," there was a "sop" for this and a "job" for that supporter, a bridge for this district and a railway for that, with work and money for all, and naturally, with a larder full of millions, there was feasting all round, and everything went merrily as a marriage-bell as long as the money lasted.. Now, the larder has not much in it but scraps and bare- bones to satisfy appetites unduly whetted by an extravagance which can no longer be gratified. ..

[n consequence, the present Ministry, through no fault of their own, find themselves in the position of a cook who is expected to provide a passable dinner from a very bare larder. We think they are doing that fairly weli, assisted, as they undoubtedly are, by a return to reason and good sense by the people generally, who, like the prodigal of old, having wasted a good deal of their own substance.or other folks', are sensibly and resolutely cutting down expenses and going to work disposed to depend upon themselves. Finding our Fortunatus' purse empty or thereabouts, like the demoralised drayman of old, for a while we were inclined to call upon Jupiter to help.us out of the mud, only to find that our Jupiter—like the one of old-—tells us out of sheer necessity to put our own shoulders to the wheel.

Mr Seddon is a plain man and calls a spade a spade without any rhetorical flourishes. He advises us to be selfreliant, to help ourselves. He tells us that, having taken measures to equalise burdens, the Government have no intention either to shift or increase our burdens. He says they don't want to worry people by keeping open a sore. Having been compelled to provide for the requirements of the colony by making those contribute who had hitherto not paid- their fair share of taxation, and relieving those who had been unreasonably taxed, and having brought the country to a healthy condition, the Ballance Government has no intention of doing more than to require wealth to contribute its fair share of taxation. Like a wise doctor, Mr Seddon tells us the Government do.nat intend to continue the heroic treatment; there being no longer any need to apply the blisters

and doses which, having restotec! tM patient to convalescence, as a matter of course, are no longer necessary. : • Mr Seddon, in his numerous inter* : views with deputations on various sub" 'I. jects, has. had many requests made* Some of these he has granted, others he has promised to bring under the notice of his colleagues, some he has refused. To . every request for any enterprise-requiring money to be bor* rowed,* he has given a firm denial. With an open mind, common sense and an honest and enlightened, desire f. to help people.to help themselves, Mr ■ Seddon has at least sent his interlocutors away with the conviction that their requests have been listened' to in a kindly manner, and that ._ the Minister has done what he could to help them, without encouraging; them to look to.the Government to do^ work wliich they ought to do and can ' do foR themselves. *;

The report Mr Seddon gives of the operation of the co-operative system he has introduced on railways under construction, is very encouraging. Though we are not amongst those who believe that contractors and other middlemen cari be altogether disspensed with, we fully recognise the importance- of giving the labourer a fairer share of what be earns.. For no careful observer can fail to j see that the struggles between Capital. - and Labour in every country are every day becdming imore severe and more destructive to the real,interests of both. In previous articles'we have strongly expressed our conviction that in conciliation and co-operation He the solution of "one of the most menacing, dangers of our times; We therefore - welcome Mr Seddon's introduction ol the co-operative principle as a wisa. and statesmanlike effort in the right . direction. In doing that, he haa1 made no small contribution to th«j good work of replacing enmity by good^ will.

The Hon. R. J. Seddon, with Col. Frager.. M.H.R., MessrsHoliis, Hamer, etc., arrived J at Paeroa on Sunday, and was interviewed-. ' ' by tiie County Chairman. Mr Seddon pro- ■ mised £ for £ towards the Karangahaka Bridgo, also to supply a design for the same. This bridge will cost about £1,000 or. £1,100. The Minister left'for Te .Aroha, after lunch, arriving, in the evening, and left at half-past eight nexb morning to Vie*"? ' the railway works. ; V In reply to a Bureau Jnquh'y.,..M : r-H<'y ' _ _Tergu3son- has received" tho following tele: - erg m from tfie local agent at Gisborne :—* " More . bush-feliing contracts out; together'about 1,000 acres, in areas of 75 to> , ' .lOOacrW Could place two good fencing * hands. Blacksmith seeks employment. A- - Two men from Auckland obtained engage* "-yf nient,day cf landing." ••' " At the Supreme Court this morning, in .' Judge_,Chatnbers, probate was granted id the estates of Wilfred March, Andrew Brown, Agnes Wallace, Henry Aspden,.* ~ ,;y Alexander Finne)', Richard Simm. Letters -y of administration were granted to execu- y tors in the estates of Michael Cassino and ..; Charles Winter. In tbey matter of tha , ' :.i Chattels Transfer Acl^is69^-ii-d ofan in-'."'.';.■,: strument dated April 6th, 1887, made be*y v y? tween Jane Dunbar HoUoway. andAVm. : y Thorne and others/ 'Mr Thorne; moved to .V y extend the time for .filing affidavit of renewal. An order was made extending the '/, time for tiling till tho 15th inst. Be Gavin Weir (deceased) Mr Buddie, moved by petir tion that notice be given to creditors to : come in and prove. The amount of the estate was "staled to bo about £500, and the debts, in New South Wales and South.Aus- y'i tralia. An order was made for insertion of •, -ff formal notices tp creditors in local and 'Australian papers. """,..' i The Hauraki.Steamship Company o_.'".' y , Auckland have relinquished their.trade between this port-and the Upper Thames distrie., and are now conttning.;fchetnse.l,yeß io :; y;"" the running to Mahurangi, Matakana, and ,;V adjacent localities by the steamers Maori y,fy and Ruby. The management have sold ' their new steamer, Paeroa to the" Northern p:i^ Steamshin Company, and that Company ; will in * future conduce the Auckland- . y Paeroa trade, in which their steamer ;;y Ohinemuri is already engaged. The terms •■'"; which formed the basis of the negotiations t f wero satisfactory, and both parties have ', agreed to refrain from running in opposition to-any porb. The Northern Company | will now have a monopoly of the Upper ;; Thames trade. This arrangement haa ;■ been come toy in consequence of the recent very severe competition between the ; two companies with their new steamers built specially for the Upper Thames trade', ■".*** which started running to Paeroa. via;way ports about the end of last yeaiv.havmg been built and equipped at a cost of several thousands of pounds each. As a result ol; the competition, the rival companies were at one time carrying passengers between Auckland and Paeroa—a distance of nearly ,: seventy miles-fora shilling, and cargo for half-a^crown a ton. v

There are a number of pickpockets and other undesirable characters in town just | now from other centres that want looking ' after by the detectives. During the time the Hunt Club Steeplechase was being run ab Ellerslie on Saturday, s°™° ono went, into the secretary's office and ransacked the drawers, only to nnd nothing worth taking. A handbag belonging to Mr James Dickey, however,, was opened, and a .pair of' binoculars stolen. Detective Chrystal was informed of the fact- and he promptly made search tor the thief/but* without -success. The dressingrooms in, the grand stand, at Potters Paddock were also visited on Saturday, ana Branson, of the Grafton Club, had tl its extracted from his trousers pocket.

The following petition to the Licensing Committee for Auckland East is being numerously signed :-" We, the undersigned adults, residents or ratepayers oi tho Auckland East Licensing spectfully request that your Committee will be pleased to renew the -license*- the Pacific Hotel, Queen-street, inasmuch a W meets the requirements of, and_ is a convenience to the public ; that it iis and haa. been for many years (we are informed lot some 40 years) the recognised resort w bhoserequiring hotel accommodation more especially that section of the P«b he™; from a variety of circumstances, do nob use hotels of a more pretentious chafer' that ib bears tho reputation of a well-con ducted hotel; that its closing would be g inconvenience to the public, and bhat its continuance as a licensed house v, Jiytf J any wav likely to interfere wibh the good order and quiet of its neighbourhood. To the Editor : Sir,-In your morning contemporary a notice appears of a dea™ from in&ammation of the lungs of a county Stler in my house. Will you kmd'y insert this contradiction, as no one nere has any illness whatever, an lg**V much oblige ?-Yours, etc., S. Mokesby. A project to construct an esbensive^lina of __EKy in the island of Tahiti (Socio* Group), in order to provide adequate troj ci Hag round the island, is. s^jjj Sance at-Papeete." A «fernmeet grant of land has been made for the purpose. .

!■_■* The Hon. R. J. Seddon has instructed the Survey Department to supply to Mr P. Oliphant, a skeleton map on the King ;Country, which Mr Oliphant haa underItaken to fill in, so as to show'the systenaof ' survey thab has been adopted in America for parcelling oub public lands, and enabling settlers to go on their sections without subdivisional survey. The survey.linos under this system go either north: and B outh, or east and west, and Mr Oliphanb believes ib mighb with advantage be adopted by the New Zealand Governmenb.

The jury found the following verdict in the case of Edward Parker, the guradigger < who died in bhe, brain while on bhe way from Henderson \to Auckland :—" Thab deceased died from double pneumonia, aggravated by wanb of nourishmenb and excessive drinking."

' Several French Governmenb officers, including a lieutenant of police, a medical officer,"and an official of the Judicial Court, are at presenb in Auckland, having arrived here from Prance, via Sydney, on their way ! down to the French colony of Tahiti. They leave-for Papeete by next trip of the Island steamer Richmond.

An accident occurred this morning in Queen-street to tho little five-year-old son of Mr Hudson Williamson. The boy was with his mother at the corner of ShortlandBtreeb and ran ahead on bhe crossing. In 1 doing bhis he came inbo contact witb a I horse and trap belonging to Mr Broken. Shaw, of Avondale. Fortunately the vehicle was being driven slowly at the time. and the driver was able to pull up before much damage was done. Mr Piggott picked up the child and carried him to Mr Aitken's shop. Here an examination was made by Dr. Philson, who stated thab beyond a scratch no injury had been received.

A fire took place at Colonel Dawson s premises at Ellerslie last night, resulting in a stable and coach-house boing completely destroyed. Only ono horee happened bo be in the stable, and this was burned to death, and bhe harness, feed, etc., was also burned. The origin of the fire is a mystery, but Colonel Dawson says it broke out in the feed-room of the stable. Efforts were made to save the horse and building, bub without success.

Owing to the Rev. Father Hackett suffering from a severe attack of influenza, he was r unable to be present at the monthly meet- . ing of the Leaguo of the Cross, which was ■' held on Friday evening last in St. Patrick's Hall, Chapel Square. Mr O'Brien, the vico-president, occupied the chair. It was unanimously decided on the motion of Mr Buckley that a letter of condolence bo sent , to Father Hackett, expressing the regret of the Society, at the recent death of his late sister. An excellent programme was well rendered, Misses Nolan and Martin acting as accompanists.

Anti-Chinese legislation is now beginning to engage the atention of even the Government of bhe libtle French colony of

Tahiti (Society Islands). Chinamen are j. more numerous in Tahibi bhan they are in 1 Auckland.

■it Lieut.-Colonel Goring inspected the Chapel-street School boys in their drill, and passed them, so that they will now take up the physical drill, which, besides ; being, more interesting, has a splendid | effect in improving the carriage. In the course of his remarks to the boys the

Colonel told them that they went through Vtheir drill better than the boys ab any other • school. This reflects great credit on their instructor, Bombardier Reid, who has been most painstaking.

' The French warship Saone, which "^recently left Fiji for a cruise amongst the Islands en route to Tahiti, has cone to Waljis Island (between Fiji, and Samoa), in 'connection with the appointment of a new French Resident ab thab island. Wallis Island is under French jurisdiction.

,The Helen Mar, Arctic whaler, hailing ;rom 'Frisco, on her last trip harpooned a )ig whale, which tried out several hundred jarrelsofoil and an old-style harpoon marked *J.B. Morse.'' The J. B. Morse has not Seen whaling for the last fifty years, thereipre the whale must have cruised about yifch that harpoon for half a century or Jiore. 7

[ John Cheringfcon, a. gumdigger^ 67 years \of ago, dropped dead in his whare yesterday morning ab Ngapipito, a place aboub 14 (tniles from Kawakawa. Sergeanb Sbagpole

,Baß had the body removed to Kawakawa, where the customary inquest will be held. M A contributor to a contemporary pays :— f There are five groups of spots upon the tfw. These are plainly visible with an Ordinary binocular, the eye, of course, projected by a piece of stained or smoked jglaßs. One group is visible with the naked leva, jlt is, roughly measuring, 100,000 ""piles long and 20,000 miles wide, and many of the spots in this group would easily let

Ihe earth drop through, or even Jupiter, /wbo tbe centre of the sun. I have watched *:e sun for many a day, but have never

-en it so covered. My telescope is a good ota. We ought to have good auroras and magnetic storms, according to theories."

■ The adjourned meeting of the Auckland : -Saab Licensing Bench takes place toll morrow, when the question of renewing ; the licenses of two hotels will be considered. ? -There is a good deal of popular competition -vgoing on at present amongst the fclothing,*ncfcorie3 as to which will be the "/-irsfc to.bera complete Union factory. Yesyerday, from one establishment - alone reoventy-one girls enrolled themselves at the toffice of the Union, Queen-street. This /speaks volumes for the spirit ab work amongsb bho girls, and bhey aro to be heartily congratulated for the wisdom and good sense they have displayed. Another meeting is to bo held nexb Friday evening in bhe Wesley Hall. Rev. J. Berry will r preside, and the meebing will be addressed by Misses Morrison and Johnston, Mr Aldridge and other popular speakers. .

[ At the Foresters' Hall, Panmure, on -Triday next, 17th June, Amy Vaughan's Amazon Burlesque Company will appear in their sparkling burlesque, "Black-Eyed Suaan." Miss . Vaughan is taking out a very large company of eighteen artistes, find a full chorus. A dance is announced to be given after the performance, and the .bases will leave the Academy of Music, JLorno-street, ab 5 o'clock Friday evening.

■' General Booth addressed a series of meetings ab Plymouth on April 15. Alluding to his scheme for tho rescue of the " submerged tenth," he remarked that people complained that ho had not done ail he had promised ; but he never promised to set all the schemes nt work in 12 months. Altogether £106,000 had been subscribed, and wibh. the exception of £25,000 sot aside for the over-sea colony the whole of ithad been spent. They had also committed themselves to an expenditure of £20,000 more. He stipulated tor an annual guarantee income of £30,C00, but that had nob been forthcoming. He did nob see how bhe public could expect him to fulfil , ms part of tho bargain if they did not fulfil j theirs. The site of the over-sea colony had | not yet been selected. During the last ) seven years no loss than 6,000 ex-prison'er3 havo gone through the Australian homes lof the Army. No less than 47 officers are I 3et apart for prisoß-gate work in Cape colony.

j* Ie Tasmania. Proud Teuton, J. P., after hearing the charge : " John Jones?, I haf kuown you one long time: you can go to prison for dree veeks." "But, your Wor- ', ship," whispered the clerk, "ycu must ask -' him whether he pleads c guilty' or * not ■ guilty'first." "Ferjry well,"said his Worship. "How do you pleat? kilty cr not \ «lty!•» "Notguilty, y'r Wasshup." "Den i give ycu dree veeks, and yc-ur mate can go nut* you,"*-

The following paragraph of interest to I old Imperial soldiers is from the " Southland News" (Invercargill) of the 27th ult. :— •*' Knowing of the existence of the 'Glasgow, Crimean, or Indian Mutiny Veterans' Association,' Mr John Patterson, late of the 72nd - Highlanders, who served through both the Crimea and in the Indian Mutiny wars, recently took steps to form"a branch of the Association here, 'and as tbe result of an advertisement inserted in this journal received the names of nine others who had similarly served. These names he communicabed to Mr James S. Gardner, of the Glasgow Society, from whom he has received a reply, the writer incidenbally claiming Mr Patterson as an old comrade in the ,72nd Highlanders. After remarking : ' Little did we think we had a branch Association on the other side of the globe,' the writer goes on to detail the progress the parent Society is making in its efforts to obtain from tho British Parliament, for those who require it, aid in the shape of small pensions in their old age. He goes on to state that as bh& resulb of bhe Association's petition bo the War Office, the Secretary of State for War came to the conclusion to pension off' one hundred men yearly who had had fourteen years' service at the time of discharge, but that he (Mr Gardner) had bold Mr Stanhope bhab bhab would nob do, as he would nob now find 30 men who had hud that amount of service. In view of this the Secretary for War had decided to make ib a hundred men yearly of ton years'service, the allocation of the pensions to commence from March 31st in the present year. To enable him to give effect to fchis promise it was the intention of.tho Secretary of State bo introducea Bill during the present session of the Imperial Parliament. Mr Gardner concludes with informabion as to the channel through and manner in which claims are to be made by those enbibled bo make them. They are to be addressed to bhe Secretary, Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, S.W., accompanied, by each applicant's certificate of discharge from the Army." Mr John Patterson, Secretary to the Veterans' Association, Dee-street, Invercargill, will give any information on the subjecb to persons applying to bim.

Last evening was the musical and elocutionary evening of the Eden Terrace Primitive Methodist Mutual Improvement Society. Songs wore given by Miss McDonald and Messrs R.~Herbert and J. H. Hawes, and bwo violin brios were given by Messrs J. H. Hawes and L. and H. Rayner. The following gave recitations: —Misses E. McDonald and J. Lovey, and Mr L. Rayner; and the following gave reudings —Messrs J. Hewlett, J. Kennerley, W. Moor and R. H. Wheafcley. Mr W. Moor, the President, was in the chair.

The interest in the Gospel Tent Mission at North Shore continues increasing. Last night Mr Edwards preached from bhe bexts '' God is Lighb" and "God is Love," showing that God must be consistent with Himself in sending forth the message of salvation, and therefore there could be no mere passing over of the offences of His creatures to be consistent wibh Himself in righteousness and holiness. Bub in the Gospel a remedy was provided by God Himself which satisfied His'every claim for those who receive it, because "He spared hob His own Son, but gave Him freely " as bhe subabibuto; bub to those who neglect or refuse ib is unavailing, and bhereforp they are exposed to the •'righteous judgment of God " against sin. Mr Edwards will preach every evening at 7.45. ':"'.';',

By the double execubion which took place ab Dorbmund, Germany, on April I3th, a mother and her son paid the penalby for a peculiarly horrible murder which was perpetrated nearly a year ago. The scene of crime wa3 a little village, named, Lbh, nob f_r fron.D6rtn.uhd.*-A* miner^Who was no longer fit for work was there, on May llth, 1891, deliberately murdered by his wife and two "sOh's, who liad conspired together to get rid of him in this manner. The woman and her two sons were tried and convicted of the murder, Frau Kruse and the elder son, W-lhelm, being condemned to death, while the younger son was sentenced to penal servitude for life. According to the custom which obtains in that part .of Germany, the condemned criminals wero beheaded with ah axe. Wben six o'clock struck Wilbelm Kruse was led oub to the courtyard, where a scaffold with a block upon ib had been erected. Nob a'moment was lost in carrying, bub the lasb penalby. Kruse submitted quietly while his shirt was unbuttoned at the neck and folded back. This done, he was laid upon the scaffold. The executioner then raised his axe, and with one swift, powerful stroke severed the murderer's head from his body. The truncated corpse having boen placed in a coffin which was in readiness, the blood-stained block was sluiced with water and fresh sand was sprinkled oil the ground, which had also been deluged with blood. The female prisoner was then led out. She walked with a firm step, and was remarkably self-possessed to the last. She was delivered over to the headsman in the same manner as her son, and in a few seconds her head also rolled upon the ground. Both executions were performed with wonderful celerity,.occupying between bhem hardly ben minutes.

This evening Mr Walter Impett's first chamber concert is to take plac6 in St. James's Hall, and from the' excellence of the programme .to be presented it i? safe to predict a large house. Amongst the vocalists announced are Miss Rimmer, Mrs Cooper, Miss E. Reeve, Mr G.M. Reid, Mr W. H. Stebbing, and Mr W. George. Two string quartettes will be given by Messrs Clough, Triphook, Cox and Edger. Mr Impett is very favourably known in Auckland as a musician and pianisb, and his firab concert deserves esbensive pabronage.

A railway, which " will require no engines, firemen, brakemen or conducbors," is now, we (" Iron ") are assured, being constructed to connect tw New Jersey towns. The track, which resembles a broad fence, is about 3fb high, and is surmounted by a light T-shaped rail, while the rolling-stock consists of "peculiar shaped" bicycles, which the passengers are to mounb and operate bhemselves. There will be bwo tracks, so as to remove the possibility of '*head collisions," bub it is feared thab collisions from bho rear will be frequenb unless some plan is devised by which bicycles propelled ab differenb rates of speed in the same direction on the same track may be prevented from colliding with each other. It would appear to require a very skilful arrangement of the American railway peculiarity, known as " train-de-spatching" to accomplish this; and yet there seems to be no provision for despatches, block signals or telegraph stations on this remarkable line. A string of bicycles scudding along on the top of an apparent fence would certainly be a curious sight, even in thab country which is so prolific a birthplace of bizarre ideas.

The greab war between Chili and Peru is already ancient history, crowded out of mind by the more recent civil war in Chili, but a traveller who has jusb returned from South America states thab on bhe battlefield of Tarapaca, in the desert, the dead are still lying just as they fell. There were 4,000 of them, and nearly 1,000 horses are left unburied, for the Chilians, who were marching through a horrible region of drouehb and deabh, had no time to dig sepulchres. But it never raine on Tarapaca, and the sun has dried the corpses and the nitrate in the soil has preserved them, and up on the plateau 5,000 mummies lie in ghastly confusion, with their broken swords and bayonets all as fresh looking as on the day of that memorable battle. There is no bird or beast or insect in that horribJ. desolation, and if nobody interferes with t -c relics they will remain the same for cc- buries,

A special parade of the Volunteer Companies in tbe Garrison is called by district orders for to-morrow evening, when the Hon. Mr Seddon will make a presentation of a gold medal to Sergeant Doughty and a rifle to Gunner McCallum, of the "A Battery, in addition to a number of other prizes to marksmen. A full attendance ia expected.

The irrepressible sea-serpent is to the fore once more—this time ab Tahiti, in the Soubh Sea Islands. The " Messager de Tahibi" of. a few weeks back, 'records in thrilling' language an exciting encounter which one Captain William Davie, of bhe schooner Teva, had m6b with a supposed marine monster off the coast of Tahiti. The vessel waa at sea one morning when she was struck bn bhe water line by _ome unknown object, a large hole being made in her side. To avoid sinking, the hole was covered with sails and the clothes of the female passengers, and the pump was kept going, port was eventually made safely. The " marine monster " of the skipper was mosb probably a whale.

The usual monthly meeting of the Newton Excelsior Band of Hope was held in the schoolroom, Edinburgh street, last evening, when an admirable programme was rendered by the gentleman members of the Society before a large and appreciative audience. During the evening the Chairman, Mr Enoch Wood, delivered a forcible address on "Gambling."