The Evening Post. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1866.

Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 191, 20 September 1866, Page 2

The Evening Post. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 1866.

By telpgranig neeived from LytteUon this afternoon we learn tliat the s.s Egmont leffc that port for Wellington at 2.15 to-day, with the English Mail on board. We may th^refc f 1 expect her to arrive about ten o'clock tomorrow morniny. The Egniont is atinounred to leave here on (he 22nd instant for Nelson, Taranaki, and Manukau. Last night a letter wus received at the Polioe Station from the District Constable nt Oreytotrn, containing highly important in telligence, relative to the proci'eilings of the natives in the Wairarapa. This morning a copy of it was sent to his Honor the Super internment, and we have been enabled to perusfi It. The constable, writing yesterday, says : — " I beg to inform you that the rebel chief Ngiro'B return here is musing a great stir among the natives, nearly all of whom are going to nee him, hi order to hear his account of the war. He has brought, about forty men with him and they bonst of having forty stand of double barreled gun* with them. They are bounceable, but nothing more up to the present, although certainly causing alarm by going about the Opnki armed." The acknowledged objection to public auction sales of Government land has been the system of sharking which has been pursued in spite of every effi irb to put it dowu. For years no cure to the evil could be discovered, it was so hard to distinguish who of a large concourse of people were bona fide

purchasers, and who were tbe moneyless intrudurs who gained a living by running them up j so the unprincipled practice of sharking increased and flourished umaaingly. At length this system became an acknowledged one j people boldly announced their object in attending land sales to be sharking, and looked upon it as a certain means of earning a livelihood. They have gone on for years, and waxed rich on their extortions; but furtunntely their Nemesis is not far off Tbe Legislature have determined to pub a stop to their nefarious proceedings, and, having carefully weighed the matter, intend bringing in a bill making the practice a misdemeanor, and rendering the extortioners, who in times past made a living by it, amenable to tbe law*, and liable to imprisonment not exceeding two years. The bill goes even further — it provides that any person who shall, either directly or indirectly, offer or propose to [ accept, money, or other valuable consideration, as an inducement to abstain from computing as a purchaser for Crown lands shall be liable to a fine of £200 and imprisonment lor a year. This is indued a step in tbe right direction, and we shall gladly hail the day when the roguery of Government land sales will be put dowu by the laws of the land. Yesterday evening, in the House of Representatives, Mr. llargreaves brought in a bill for the repeal of the Bankruptcy Laws now in force in the Colony, and, after a protracted discussion as to its necessity, the first re.idin of the bill was carried on a division by majority of one. Io would appear frum 111 result of this division that the Debtors an Ci editors Act passed last session has ahno as many backers as it has opponents, bi such in reality is not the case, tbe main ol jetit m opposing the introduction of M liargreave's bill being to pusii on the wor now before the House, and that a matter such importance as the repeal of tbe Ban ruptcy Laws might not be carelessly ai hurriedly discussed at the tail end of t session. The mercantile community all ov tbe colony will be glud to hear of the fii reading of a bill to annul an act, the world of w tiiuh had been detrimental to tli interests and advantageous to unscrupulc and dishonest bankrupts. The head-quarters of the 2nd battaH' „ 14Ui Regiment, under the command of Lieut. i Colonel Trevor, embarked at Wanganui, on Saturday last on board the s.s. Ahuriri for Munuktiu. The wounds received by Captain Ross in the slight skirmish between the rebel natives and Major M'Donnell's little party are progressing favorably. It appears that the bullet with which he was hit, passed through the two bones of the left fore arm, without shattering either of them. In the Odd Fellows' Hall yesterday evening, Mr. Deck delivered the second of a series of lectures on *' The Coming Crisis," the immediate subject of the discourse being Christendom, or the last days of Gentile dominion. As on the previous Wednesday when the first lecture was delivered, the hall was crowded in every part, and many of the audience had to be accommodated on forms placed along the centre of the room. Mr. Deck went more fully into the signs of the times than on the previous occasion, and, by referring to different portions of the Old and New Testaments, proved how all the ec> clesinstical corruption of the age was foretold by the prophets of old. The marked difference between the opinions held by the lecturer and many earnest good men who sincerely believe that the end of the world is not far off, is as regards tbe spread of religion. ' Inste.ul of arguing that the ago ia increasing in godliness, Mr. Deck assorts that it is ¦ getting worse— more infidelity, more dissension in the church, and more corruption of the scriptures; and that such was foretold to >>6 the ease as the end approached, he most clearly proved by the epistles of St. Paul, "he last of the lectures will be delivered in tho hall on Wednesday evening next, and we would recommend any who can do so to attend, for no one can listen to the impressive delivery of Mr. Deck without feeling convinced that all he utters is the sincere and enrnest belief of a man who has for years deeply studied thelbok of Life. Judgment in an action affecting the re sponslbility of owners and agents of vessels carrying passengers, regarding the proper delivery of luggage, will be given by his Honor Mr. Dudley Ward, at the Supreme Court on Saturday moifhlag. The case m dispute is that of a passenger who claims compensation from the N. Z. S. N. Company for the loss of a couple of boxes, to wbioh the

Company plead in defence non-responsibility, all luggage being landed at tbe lisk of the proper o\vn?r. The W.H N. Company's s.s. \V ruanui, Cap Lain Low, Irom Wanganui, arrived iv harbor at daylight this morning, and is advertised to leave again on her return voyage at 4 o'clock to-morrow afternoon Among the passengers who arrived in her was the friendly chief Hori Kingi, accompanied by some influential natives. Tho well-known clipper brig Spartan, Captain Vandervord, from Sydney, with a general cargo, consigned to Mesf-r?. Pearcc, and Co., arrived in linrbor this forenoon, after a passage of seventeen days. The i»parlan has some cargo for LytteUon, to which port she will proceed after di&ehnrginy tiio goods on board for this province. A public tea meeting will bo held at h-ilf-past live o'clock this evening in the school100m behind the Wesleyan Ulmpol in Alunuers street, and afterwards it is expected that the Rev. James Wat kin and other gentlemen will give addresses on subjects connected with Christianity in this province and colony. The adjourned meeting for the purpose of taking steps towards the formation of a boat's crew to represent Wellington at the forthcoming Inter-provincial Rowing Match, was held last evening, at the New Zeiihwutur Mntf) Thm-o u-»<j a larere attendance of c n t s c n c 9 i I i ... uiujii uniiuo. _i iiu crack noat of the;. company, the s.s. Taranaki, under.the command of Captain Francis, will be due here fiom northern ports on Saturday, and will leave at nine o'clock tbe following morning tor Melbourne, via Picton, Nelson, and Ilokitika. She is expected to arrive iv llobson's Bay on the 4th October, and will sail from thence on her return trip on the 9th of the same month. We believe tnafc the s.s. Wellington will take up tho interprovincial service of the Taranaki on the West Coast, and tbe service now performed by that vessel on the East Coast will devolve upon the steamer Queen. The cash box belonging to Mr. Bunny, lately abstracted from Gawith's Hotel, hi s been returned to Its owner. It -was found concealed in some scrub near the residence of Bishop Viard, by a young lad, who took it to the hotel. Some of the documents are unfortunately missing.