THE AGENT GENERAL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 203, 28 August 1896, Page 2

THE AGENT GENERAL.

Mr Reeves is certainly doing hia besb to disarm the critics who continue to attack him for attending the Eighty Club dinner. At the end of bhis week, bhe Agent-General attends the United Club dinner. The Unibed is, of course, as representative of Conservatism as the Eighty is of Radicalism, and should Mr Reeves speak there after Mr Balfour, he will certainly havo done much to set himself right wibh hia cribics. The Agenb-Genoral is now quite a noted diner-out. Other dinners bhis week are the Cordwainers Club banquet, ab which Mr Chamberlain will Bpeak, and the Royal Socieby annual dinner. On Monday lasb, Mr Reeves senb an authoritative cable received from his Government to all the papers, stating thab bhe Bank of New Zealand was " never

ebronger." Tho news thab a fresh commibtee of enquiry had been formed was in the same official cable, and has since been favourably commented upon in city and financial circles.

Mr Reeves will remain in London throughout Augusb and well on into September. Mr Kennaway, who I regreb to say has been feeling far from well lately, goes away for his well-earned holiday immediately. Everyone hopes it will benefit him. NEW ZEALAND AT THE BURNS FESTIVAL. The Burns Society of Dunedin have requested Mr Reeves to represenb them ab the forthcoming Burns festival ab Dudoon on August lat. Several other well-known Soubh New Zealandera will, I am informed, be presenb, including Mr J. Mills, of Dunedin, who appears to be an enthusiastic Burns worshipper. THE ABORTION CASE : IMPORTANT APPEAL. The petition of Annie Brown (charged with her husband wibh procuring aborbion in New Zealand, and now in gaol at Wellington), came before bhe Privy Council on Saburday laßt, the aaid Annie asking for speciol leave to appeal against a decison of bhe New Zealand Courb of Appeal in May last. The circumstances musb be well known to you. Mr and Mrs Brown were found guilty of abortion at Wellington lasb December. Mrs Brown was tried separately from her husband and convicted, the jury returning a special finding in answer to a quesbion asked by the Judge bhat she was married to the obher defendanb and acted under hia coercion and control. The Judge reserved certain points for the opinion of the Court of Appeal. One was whebher since bhe passing of the Criminal Code of New Zealand in 1893 marital conbrol or coercion was a 'defence, and anobher whether a husband and wife being in law one person could combine or enter into such an agreement or conspiracy as the charge alleged. Of the provisions of the code one was that compulsion by threats of immediate death or bodily harm from a person actually presenb ab the commission of the offence should in cerbain indicated cases be an excuse, bub that no presumption should be made that a married woman committing an offence did so under compulsion only because she committed ib in thepresonce of her husband, The verdicb was sustained by tbe Courb of Appeal on a special case on May 22nd. The Chief Justice held that at common law coercion of the wife by tho husDand was no excuse for hor, unless bhe acb waa done in bhe presence, actual or constructive, of her husband, and that as bhe common law oxcuee of coercion by bhe hußband was now by the Code no longer available to the wife, the conviction waa valid. Tbere could, be also held, be combination or concert, expressed or implied, between husband and wife. Mr Justice Denniston, concurring, eaid the effecb of the Code was to place a married woman in the same position in respecb to coercion as any one elee. The other judges aleo affirmed the conviction. Tbe petitioner now applied for special leave to appeal from bhe judgment of the Court on the ground that the questions at issue were of greab importance in bhe administration of justice, and thab the views of the learned judges were directly opposed to those of eminent aubhorities in bhis counbry. Ab the conclusion of Mr Briscoe's argument their Lordships yesterday granbod special leave to appeal. THE WAIMATE LAUNCHED. On Saturday afternoon Messrs R. ond W. Hawthorn, Leslie and Co., Limited, launched a largo steamer from their shipyard ab Hepburn-on-Tyne. The dimensions of tho vessel are aa follows:—Length, 435 ft; breadth, 54ft; depth, 32ft. Sho haa been builb bo order of the New Zealand Shipping Company, and is especially fitted out for carrying frozen moat. The vessel is fibted wibh powerful duplicate refrigerabingmachineryon MessrsLinde's system, and a large insulabed space, having a capacity of nearly a quarber of a million cubic feeb, ia provided in the holds forward ot machinery space, leaving all tho aftor holds available for general cargo. All the accommodation, including bhe firsb-class passengers' saloon, officers' quarters, etc.. is provided in a large ateol deck house on the top of the bridge deck. Her deck appliances include a steam windlass and ten powerful winches by Messrs Clarke, Chapman and Co., steam steering gear by Messrs Bow and Maclachlan, patenb hand stoering gear and seamless steel boats. Throughout bho ship the most modern improvemonbs have been adopted, and the vessel will be ono of the most "up-to-date in the trade. The machinery, which is being construcbed by bhe same firm, consisbs of a Feb of triple expansion engines, capable of indicating upwards of 3,000 i.h.p., with large single ended steel boilers working at a pressure of 1601b per square inch. These boilers are to be worked on Hovvden's system of forced draught. On leaving tho ways, Miss Lawson, daughter of tho owner's marine superintendenb, named the vessel Waimate. THE REV. MR CALDER.