NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XVII, Issue 2248, 7 July 1870, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Mr Edmund Barff has been appointed receiver of gold revenue at Kanieri, Westland, vice Mr F. Guineas resigned.

Wβ have received from the compiler, Mr E. B. Bishop, a copy of an " Abstract of an Act to provide for the establishment of Municipal Corporations in New Zealand." The pamphlet is published to enable every one interested to have eorae knowledge of the Ordinance which governs the proceedings of our City Council. The Abstract has evidently been carefully done, and will, no doubt, prove exceedingly useful. The prioe charged ie intended only to cover the actual cost of printing. An inqueet took place on Wednesday last, at Evreton, before Dp Dudley and a jury, of whom Mr PL J. Wood was chosen foreman, on the body of a child of about five months old, a daughter of Mr A. Winter, farmer. It appeared an elder sister, while swinging round her head a boot, by the lace, struck the deceased on the head with it, which resulted in death, on Monday last. The father and mother of the child were examined as to how it happened, and the evidence of Dr Downe was also taken. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death. ,, The third of the series of Sfc Michael's winter entertainments will be given this evening in the schoolroom. From the varied and attractive program mc published in our issue of to-day, we may anticipate a pleasant evening. Aβ the efforts of the committee have been unceasing to supply amusement, we think the parishioners ehould attend these friendly gatherings, more especially as the proceeds of this series will be devoted towards clearing off a long existing liability in connection with the parish. A robbery took place yesterday morning at the City hotel, under the following .circumstances :—Whilst most of the inmates of the hotel were at breakfast, it appears that a person entered some of the bedrooms, and taking a gold watch and chain, and some articles of jewelry, decamped. On the articles being missed, information was convoyed to the police, and in a short time a tall decently dressed man, who had previously stopped a night or two at the hotel, was taken into custody by Detective Feast, with come of the stolen property in his possession. A meeting of the Philosophical Institute was held last evening in their rooms. Dr Haast in the chair. There were present — Messrs Davie, Tancred, Bray, Armstrong, F. E. Wright, Dr Powell, and the Dean of Chrietcburch. Messrs W. H. Lane, Mounier, W. B. Mountfort, and Captain Qorle were unanimously elected members. Mr Cyrue Day c was unanimously appointed vicepresident, and Dr Powell a member of the council. On the motion of the secretary it was resolved to revise the rules, and a section was added to No. 14, providing that in balloting for members all those proposed ehould be balloted for together, and unless one-fifth of the halls shall be blank the whole will be declared elected. Copies of two papers by Captain Hutton, one on birds inhabiting the Southern ocean, and one on the mechanical principles involved in the sailing flight of the albatross, were laid on the table. The Secretary intimated that by a resolution of the council, members were at liberty to borrow for a short period the periodicals and magazines, and which had been two months on the table. Dγ Powell gave notice of a motion for next meeting that the Philosophical Institute should rent; two rooms at the Literary Institute. The meeting then separated.

The 'Hunchback," as Rl ven at tho IW, las evening, was another addition to T really excellent entertainment* w H r l 8 little stage now oilers to the plowing *S lho play, long recognised at ho r n« sterling morit has a frwhnw. to v , i lPrp M °{ orients »n admirable simple from t|. V list Of piw- WO would „r 0 put "" 0U " boar s. IVrhaps Mi«s Bowring w« 9 ath too tragic — and no doubt there was -n nrnsm in other*, but taken altogether M performance was in every W! , v wort j, .* ! '° publio patronage. Mr Steele's MaWwi -bowed careful and judicious netin,- JrNye as Helen was admirable-| v > r ccViJ.f wua perfectly free from vulgarity, « nt l $ orenes with Modus contributed 'in no J, n depree to ttio success of the eveniti" T \r Wolfe must be accorded tho no ineannr ■ of being, as usual, well h-arned in his pm'* support too often misled by the l oa £ characters in travelling engagements. \V O indebted lo Mr and Mrs Ghvle for the n *'° excellent pieces they have been the placing before tho public, und wo are (,1 , confess tho " Hunchback " was such a ßu ,,, that, we should be glad to see it again 't'* night " East Lynne "is repeated. *'

Tho " Wanganui Chronicle "\ m thofolW :rg regarding New Zeuhnd fl ax —V T i»l respect to flax tho news is of a someJw hopeful character. More business had b>-T done in that article than during the pr-viiu month, and in some instances an advance ( 50s per ton had been obtained. Sales how ever, were not large, nnd W«o ottered during tho last week of March w " withdrawn through lack of competition.' Tho circular in question, however, speaks hopefnllv of this article. It says :-lt i 9 quite certain that the secret of dressing tho fibre pro. perlv has not yet been discovered. We how* ever, acknowledge it as our firm conviction that there are properties in this article which will some day be developed, and will raiao it to a very high position amongst fibros; but in the present unsettled state of atTaira we must recommend shippers to use great caution, aud on no account to send homo any but the very beßt drowsed sorts. Tow realised £11 to £14 per ton. One of tho first rope-making firms in London is of opinion that the New Zealand flax will not come into goneral use for rope-making; that it is strong, but rut her coarse looking when made up ; and that it will not be nearly so durable as Manila. As yet, however, they have scarcely had sufficient experience to justify them in speaking positively of it in this respect. They think that it, will wear better tarred than white, and that the latter should be made up in fish oil. They do not see that it ia more suitable for one sort of ropo than another, but would recommend that it should not be used for falls. They are trying it for driving bands, and will be able, in the course of a few weeks, to form an opinion as to its use for general purposes." We firmly bolievo that in the progress of Bcientifio discovery, new and better methods of preparing fiai will be adopted, and that tho JPhormium Tenux of New Zealand will eventuully hold its own against any other production of a similar character from other countries. Our flax dressers must not despair, but porsever* ingly experiment with the view of improving existing processes.

The anti-immigration organ in Victoria thus writes: —The Melbourne unemployed might, with some show of logio, petition a Government which helps new guests to corao to its realms, to " assist " them, its old friends, out. But to what place could they flee? Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Wellington, and Auckland are in a far more pitiable plight than Melbourne. Tho increasing cry of English pauperism has sounded over these seas. In America the misfortune-dogged "unemployed" is worse off than his Australian brother, because the Chinaman and the negro are competing agHinst him. California used to be an Ark of Kefuge, but on tho 2nd April, as we learn from our files, the San Francisco City Commission, as an act of charity, set four hundred starving labourers to work on the grading of the Yerba Buena Park, and we are told further that tbe Commission propose to employ about 1200 men in all. Sympathise as we may with the unsuccessful seekers for employment in Viotoria, we—-who read accounts of the condition of all countries where the English tongue is spoken—could not point out a place where their prospect. would not be more depressing. Tho tiow if so sterile that distance fails to lend enchantment to it.

For the Intercolonial Wine Exhibition of 1870 entries to the number of 225 have been made, of which 153 come from Victoria, 28 from New South Wales, and 44 from South Australia. For Victorian wines alone thora are ten classes—For Class 1, full-bodied red wine, any vintage, there are 9 entries ; fro>-full-bodied red wine, not older than 1868, |» entries ; No 3, light red wine, any vintage,? entries ; No 4, light red wine, not older than 1868, 8 entries ; No 5, full-bodied white winany vintage, 10 entries ; Ho% full-bodied, white wine, not older than 1868, H entries; No 7, light white wine, any ago, 8 onltm; No 8, light white wine, not older than 18fi8, 12 entries ; No 9, red sweet or liqueur wine, 4 entries ; No 10, white sweet or liqueur wine, 4 entries. Five classes are open to oil the Australian co'onieß—No 11, full-bodied red wine, 33 entries; No 12, full-bodied white wine, 37 entries ; No 13, light red wine, 26 entries ; No 14, light white wine, V entries j No 15, sweet or liqueur wine, lj entries. The highest first prize is £12, «« the lowest £6 ; the highest second prize « * & » and the lowest SA.

Tho Victorian Railway department appe»»» according to a local contemporary, to nave resolved upon using the Bessemer steel i r»i» on rhe North-eastern line of railway. in« 7 were adopted at the suggestion of the ftoies* sional Board of Advice in London, as better suited for the colony. The late Governing gave instructions to purchase sixty miles v these rails, and a second order for en a ditional sixty miles went home by the *f mail. Another sixty miles of rails will buLUW for the entire line.

We ("Wellington Independent ) are in formed on very good authority that a it days ago the natives living at Banana, a village some fifty miles up the *«*«£ River, observed a shoal of strange fish clo*>« shore. Believing them to be a recent impor tion, the Maoris refrained from any attflOT to capture them, although the fish .PPJJJ* by m means shy, as they fed on some ptfj toes which the natives threw among i be They were seen again two miles fur river, and were evidently working thou way i towards the source of the """f ™* f thQ natives describe them as somewhat w shape of tbe kawai, and about &*™% Qm more pink in color. We learn that mw

•11 he made to capture one of the shoal, and wlil , j fc t0 Wanganui to ascertain what the Sing*, really are. From an Australian contemporary we take ihe following extract :-Instcad of " woman. ■ hts" might we not liear a more ° man's wrongs?" Some of these are Trme enough. In the record of Saturday* S% Police Court we read .—"James Wilson, i*had assaulted hi* wife, was ordered to ?!? one surety of £20 to keep the peace for fu"! months. James Tobin, who had beer, v of a simil'-r offence, was ordered to und gllI ft surety of £50 to keep the peace for twelve the One of the complainants stated that whusband had ill used her for sixteen year, Id the would no longer bear it. The bruised Zd battered applicant at the Police Court Sine preservation from a brutal busbar dis true of misery made sickening by reiteration. Such ca°'s now-a-days rarely receive notice, yen at the hands of the press, upon whom Smpetition forces the singing of new e» the discussion of the novelties of fh!l hour. And yet what cases these ! The woman appears in court shrinking beneath the malignant gaze of the husband. The blood is still wot upon her Lad E'er features are yet disfigured by hia Lwi Her garments are torn ; her figure is Luciung. yhe dare » uofc even before ,he nitrates, tell the whole truth. The world , 9 ] ier reticence down to her affection. In L C a»es out of three, it is due to bodily fear She knows that at the most the punishment awarded to her brumal partner will be month's or three months' imprisonment. Probably the man will be merely bound over to keep the peace for a like term. If he ie imprisoned, he leaves the gaol with a burning resentment against his victim, which is soon gratified. He leaves it too often to find the miserable woman has rushed to vice for a subsidence. Would not the minds of the intellectual women of the day be better employed if ignoring the suffrage problem, they endeavoured to find out a solution of the brutal husband diffioalty ? The case of the distressed wife is at present truly pitiful.

The following is the memorial of 247 inhabitants of the Wanganui district, which the House has refused to receive:—"To the Honorable the House of representatives of Jftiw Zealand in Parliment assembled—The memorial of the undersigned inhabitants of the colony respectfully sheweth that, whereas the Imperial Government has thought fit to withdraw its troops from this colony, your memorialist are of opinion that the cost of the Governor's salary should for the future be defrayed out of the Imperial instead of as at present out of the Colohial Exchequer. Your memorialists therefore most respectfully request that your Honorable House will refuse to pass the estimate for the Governor's salary, save for inch period as will allow his Excellency ample time to confer with the Imperial Government on the subject, say for Bix months from the commencement of the session. Your memorialists further request that, in the event of the Home authorities declining to sanction the principle indicated above, your Honorable House will not allow itself to be intimidated or cajoled into continuing the payment of the said salary. And your memorialists will ever pray, &c."

Doyne v. Hill is an action reported to have been brought into the Melbourne County Court recently to recover £25 under the following circumstances :—Some time ago the plaintiff went to New Zealand, and while he was there he heard of an intimate friend residing in Melbourne, named Nurmoyle, being in pecuniary difficulties. He thereupon lent him a draft for £25 j but by the time it. reached here Mr Nurmoyle had taken his departure for England, leaving a power of attorney with the defendant to conduct hi* affairs. Shortly after this, Mr Doyne returned from New Zealand, and was told by the defendant that tbe draft had been dispatched to England. Mr Doyne wrote to his friend on tbe subject, and received a reply to the effect that the document had not been received. The plaintiff again communicated with the defendant, who then told him that Mr Nurmovlo owed him some money, and he had lent an order to his agents in England to pay him the balance due, bis solicitors having advised him that he could legally retain the draft. The present action was then instituted. His Honor Judge Pohlman gave a verdict for the plaintiff.

A return laid before Parliament (says a Wellington contemporary) shows the strength of the Armed Constabulary on the 15th June, to hare been 776 of all ranks. Of this number 234 have been enrolled at the Wellington depot, which leaves a balance of 542 of the wiginal force; 32 of the 234 have been discharged, and are accounted for in the return ; 81 are at the depot in different stages of proficiency, leaving a force of 695 at present ia the field. The total strength of the Armed Constabulary, Militia, Volunteers, &o, on active service and pay in the North Island on the 15th June, 1870, was 1084, and of this number only 16 are returned as natives ; 138 Ugatiporou, now at Waihi, are not included, the time for which they were engaged having expired. Mr Branigan's report explains the rules in force at the depot with 'egard to the admission of candidates for the forcevwhich are that each makes application in his own handwriting, and encloses references and testimonials as to character, sobriety, and trustworthiness. If th?se are found satisfactory, and after undergoing the usual medical examination, «c ia taken on probation, which lasts the whole time the candidate is at the depot, generally from Bix weeks to two months. the above period the recruit is care•J*"J drilled under competent instructors, while on probation, if hia conduct should not pw?e satisfactory, he is liable to instant dismissal, but should he succeed in passing his examination, be is clothed, equipped, and j*»t wherever his services are required, ■there are 320 men stationed at the various Posts i Q the Hawke's Bay Police District, extending from Napier along the frontier of the "-rewera country to Taupo—loo of these are permanently located at and around Taupo. oo much for Mr Branigan's report; but it seftes rather strange to return only sixteen [fhves as on pay, when some 800 or 900 of taem have been costing the colony very large 6«ni ß in one shape or other up to a very reperiod. It gives one the idea of some B »ght equivocation.

v J [) f Wellington correspondent of the "any Times" writes as follows, of the financial proposals of the Government:—«• It « probable the debate will last for some time ; tf c ta^in 6 power will be on the side the Opposition. Great speeches are gpected from Mr Stafford, Mr Fitzherbert »r Hall, Mr Cuitis, Mr Stevens, and one or »*o others. The Opposition is wonderfully

strong in gentlemen who make a speciality of finance, while there is not on the Government side a single man, except Mr Vogel, who is capable of stating, comprehending, or solving the simplest problem in finance. Mr Fox i* pitiabiy lost when he attempts to deal with figures, and Mr McLean is great only in native matters Indeed, it is said that these gentlemen are only beginning to bpo the bearing of their own financial policy as set forth by Mr Vogel, and that they are becoming rather alarmed ar what they find themselves committed to. Fot so . c days before tho statement was delivered, it was remarked in the lobbies that Mr iSewell had expressed himself horrified with the financri) propositions submitted by the Treasurer to the cabinet, and that the two gentlemen were on bad terms in consequence. I think there was come truth in the rumor. What course tho Opposition will adopt, I do not know, but there is now no doubt that Mr Stafford will head a large ranjority of the House in opposition to the financial policy of tho Government. On every side Government supporters are casling off their allegiance, and the number of their supporters will be found wonderfully small. But the Government say that if in the House they will go to the country in the hope of getting a moro enHiiuso returned next session. The question is : Will they be allowed to do so ? The opposition has, 1 believe, no desire whatever to step into ofllcs on the eve of a general election ; but there are many of its members who contend that it ia unsafe to leave a Ministry so wild and restless as the present onp in possession of the Government during the six or eight months which mtißt necessarily elapse before a new Parliament can be assembled. These members would go the length of refusing supplies, so that the Government would be at once obliged to retire. I think, however, that more moderate counsels will prevail, and that the Government will be allowed to take the sense of the country if it likes.