The Evening Post. THURSDAY, JANUARY 28 1875.

Evening Post, Volume X, Issue 288, 28 January 1875, Page 2

The Evening Post. THURSDAY, JANUARY 28 1875.

We have never been apologists for Dr. Feathers&n, and have never hesitated to expose the many shortcomings of -which he has been guilty. We_think. lipw/jyer,.,, 'ttetf £ gomr tl&ar^of Ifomenled blame" has been thr own upon. him. in, reference to the Co^patrick. fii the first' place, as soon as news of the disaster was received it was immediately assumed" that the fire was indirectly attributable to his negligence, in having allowed to be included in the cargo something which had either catised the fire or enabled it to spread with the dread rapidity recorded. We need scarcely sAy that there is not a tittle of evidence to support suck an accusation, and that the strong probabilities of the ease are altogether opposed to it, .and favorable to the: Isnpposiwon Wat the filre broke >ottt in the immigrants' quarters, and was probably caused by some carelessness on the partjdfthe passengers. This absurd accusation has been followed by others equally bafeetJ«s«. rDr. Fe^herßtonriicreere*telyjbjtep«ed %WAuckMtd paper W not having telegraphed officially to the Government here, giving a full account of the disaster, and a list of the people on board the vessel. We s think the strong probability is that JJt; i^Wer&oy drftfflgM l with Keuter to send the telegvamsreceived by the Press Associa* tion mjttelbonrne. They were unusually 3 fall, ancTwe doubt whether Renter would hav&sentalLtherdetailsjhe did without a dubWy n or Wggeftiotf Worn onr AgentGeneral, who thus saved the very large amount of money which an official account of the disaster— probably adding nothing to what we already know — would have cdsWf f^-tp'eendirig?dfftf fcy^ telegr^pl the names of all who sailed in the ill-fated .vefeSeT^he idea-'is;tjreposterbtisi'//Th^ exvenae would have been enormous, and vr. tfeatnersfoifaoiild °Va*&?*MetV n'otlriiig to the information already in the colony. The official record" (book, of passengers by each ship, forwarded here in duplicate by mail after the ship has left, contains a complete list of all who leave in any vessel, and all the information in the possession of the Agent-Genferal?relsftfng>o th^m, t /The Cospatrick f s Iwokswere received long before the news of her fate, and one was, retained taTUMitett office' here-mtV itS otnef 'forwarded to the immigration officer at Attckr lahVf tfrWSit the sTiip^arriVal/' f If somebody must be blamed for.the disaster which na#d^ettr/ei:lj>flerhap^ lt'i^ak fkir i&h\h,me Dr. Featherston as any one else, but really we d» I m<il» that' iri'tMs'mlftter'K^has been more culpable than the Government, W&Jsfd ser^an'i fife is^orHhafl the critics who are so ready to condemn him. r , j

.* . Thejtac© Jbetweenr/iiteoStellaf and =Ddlly Vardenwill take place this evening at 5 fOfclockilTh^boatsstart-foom^Ngahaitranga, and finish at the Queen's Wharf, jr The A r vMlincflfe ! isdnSnai^ti| fier'eargo by lighterage, having no chance of a berth "at the wharf, i ' ;- U, isy tttmored j that-'/fchei . EngKsH lOgeifa Company is likely to revisit this city, en route to Sydney, and give a few performances here. \ • "Mot of 'sfiyl&ksV' tapoftecT H-onTtfelsori, have recently been released in Wanganui. ~ A match has been arranged definitely between the yachts Xarifa and Garibrldi. The date-has not, been, fixed yet, but it fir&MblylwilPbe fln ttfe 5 course of a few^ days. The race will be &very r infcerestin&' one to yachtsmen, these two'lfeirig now , the " crack " yachts of the port. The Union Boating Clnb held its final meeting last night, and completed the winding-tip of the club. The property of the defunct club was transferred formally to the Queen's Club, who had purchased it, .and all the oatstanding-debts- were liquiThe n&dVWe\ikltfW&tii& meeting of the Choral StfcTeiy' *#&) be held at Mri Hunter's rooms this evening, beginning punctnaUyflf B' o'clock^* 1 . „ T ASjwej anticipated, yesterdays the search fotttie bedding and'othet^ stray-^aifs supposed to have been washed ashpje from the Berar proved futile, ,n6thingj,of{ the kind being discovered by 4 Csnsiabie Connor from theKorokoro tajtneJE£uts;.,sf ,T. An amateur named, 'Jalneii 7 Smith has challenged Delaney Ho 3 runf'-fhree' events—: quarter of a mile, half a mi?e,.and a mile—for £26 a 'Side/ The time mentioned is <tnree^we^tt&r j 'Btt^ r as B fDelan%9 P isf likely • to*tle¥ve town'^efoY^'^hat^periffel, Ihe ¦^im% w&l fall* th^gtyninWSMtt£ is »&e#trefi tif Mn tae^/Safufday'/'fn^hieh ¦'cWlß!emeyfrqSi^ady; ri ' n ,^ '¦" •; wasj anr, excellent >ho,tise;* atv the Theatre last' night l#o> witness "Leah." s Mra.'/B^te^ is /.parjaeakrijyrgoM ill "her 'delineation of t^e c fo.r||Ken i Jewess, and the other characters, /wjere most/^ efficiently represented^' J '*s,h'e i,entertai|iment * con'cTOa&lJratß,;'^e^ Was "as amusing,,, as .ey.er.j To-night will be re-produced, md, we may again Mmindpla^goera'of^s^BatesXbenefit, "ElfeaDeth" no (ttwl *• tn o'/A fewfwjsekVmgw^oi^iatJflW-WSrTe-«eiife«i'.tQatl &m&#n township efctf Tar an'aM had been named MUton,.?aßdiw#'4tfn*e*tia! tely pointed out the~inconvenience sure to i'eiifltHrbirflhavini'in'Jdmiost lev'ery^^ vince towns bearnigtKeVsfafile name. There are already one or -two Miltons. We are glSd*/s9j/?<»,,thi|t > louif/refflatks /have some effec^thefiQovernnrent of Taranaki having ch^ngfed the name of the township to-;ln^gle^ > QO.4(Jn fj c i rdefr to.avoidithe fincon*-: Yieniences we indicaled." z ;g b fMf#the meeting of the Caletfonlan Society Bftld t} last nigh'tTpaptain.M'firf^'e Jn. 7 ths ciia'irjp^mes to Jw^kmsjn l £w ( Mtepri&; being v^hV'ma> §mo:tnAs%<m* a« tft'e^ate sporte. Two- Vtiry creditable atfd gratifying ins¥&ftte¥'af manly and generous spirit on t)re^art^^Mp^«tbrs; f d^WecFa^'th& 'One of tKe priae^in a Jioys' ratewas awarded to a son of^rttf. E. Pearce, Utlt as he accidentally "had- 'spiked' his tfval, Wilton, althdUgJl in perfectly fair running the ybhtig Pearde 5 at^ otrbeihanded cV^the'm^e^'tb s tl/e t boy r h& "a^'ilffhiten^ tiMsttlyltotP:' 'Again]' trough*^ M'Leafi' 1 wttd acci'dentaliy^haa'fdtJ^d -Johtf'RassßlT in the bicycle T^e4, i on i «feeivmg' the Second -mm. als<y'tran'sfefred it immediately to his rivSl? fi^pnig it Vonld p"ay : fof'fdp'airirig \te ! damaged bicycle. It 1 plea^ sanU'td notice theafe .'iilstancids bf : thd ffne old* t ßHtiSn"^iriif' > of :! genefds% i/ aia r fait* • play, and long as .these are among the results' of CWledoriiatr 'sports, the more we have of them thebetter.- A general meeting; of the society will be Held in a feif days to vote tue ; , interest ;on the Grand; Stand debenture* • ,< ydtwii' l , A.moyement is iibw y &a foot to reausct- • tate^ehamßer of C6intter&&rSnis a cf«y*. The idea, has been, very favorabbr r received by moirtdr the -leading merfchante and bankers who haV-e intention of becoming members.

The twenty-one beautiful wool mats, to • rhieh we drew attention a day. or two ago . s having been manufactured at NeLson by ir. Cook, and brought over here by Mr. • lobertaon, are to be disposed of on the Art i Jnion principle at the pake of Edin•tirgh Hotel this evening 1 . The first ?rize will be a- very hand-some me, consisting of the large wool hearthug, and the beautifully dyed flax nat of Mr. Robertson's own make. As an snconragement to native industry, we hope ;he list of subscribers will be easily filled. At the Resident Magistrate's Court this Morning, Jane Ashbridge, for habitual drunkenness, was sentenced to tliree donths' ' imprisonment with hard labor. Mary Douglas received a similar sentence for Vagrancy, the police giving her a most objectionable character. John Murphy, for drunkenness and vagrancy, was com--mittetl for '* nlonth, ' Thegcivil ""business comprised eight debt summonses, six of. which; were settled out of Court. Theother two were M'MiUan f v. Heaford,, aclaimJ'ior; £8 8r (£ I:ss being paid into CoftrtJ.in which- judgment was given for* the plaintiff for £4 4s including the amount paid in, and Sandy v. Hearfield, a claim for £7 Os 6d, from which £5 was deducted and judgment given for the balance with costs. There ,were also 46 summonses taken out by the Titanic Iron Company agairist- .defaulting shareholders, 1 which jWere .postponed. • v • , 71 , •' A liMber" of Ma6ris collected on the breastwork yesterday tp Watch the divers r "&ti(k r gatd<i on the operations with unspeakable amaze. ,They had an eye, however, to the useful as well as the curious, and collected a quantify of seaweed of a peculiar kind which was found adhering to the stones. The Maoris call >it ¦ par'evgo, and assert that, boiled, it is as gobd as arrowroot, and, oh ! so much cheaper. The ship Humboldt, with immigrants, arrived in port this afternoon,, after having been driven quite out of sight by the recent N. W. gales., The Phoebe Bpoke her, and offered to^ tow her in for £40, a vary reasonable offer, considering that; she was fully 12 miles outside the, Heads,, -and the towage would- have caused the Phcebe to lose a day. The captain- of the Hnmboldt,; however, refused to give more than £25, and as the one skipper would make no advance, and the other no abatement, the steamer went on , her "way and left tile economical Hu'mbpldtfto fight her own battle with ,the"rior J -wester. The Regatta Committee met last night, to consider protests' and pay prizes. Of the former,- three were lodged, of which one lapsed, -arid the. other was dismissed. The third, in reference to the yacht race, was an important one*, and in the end was sustained r by the protestant, and entertained by the judges, < The facts were these : — Mr. Firmiu'syachtXarifa, although coming'dnr'first, placer, according to time by 28 seconds, having to make tonnage allowance to .the Garibaldi. Mr. Firmin, however, complained that ,the Garibaldi, contrary to the rules, while on the port' tack, endeavoured •to weather the Xarifa, which . was ' on the starboard tack, the attempt, resulting in a foul. The evidence supported this .complaint, .and tlie Committee accordingly awarded the Xariffa the first prize, disqualifying the - Garibaldi for second place., -'< The following money i prizes were paid : — Wellington Rowing , Club, £38 ; Star Boating Club, £8 10s ; Queen's Club, £2 ; Mr. Firmin, £7 ', ship Langstone, £6 ; boat Black Diamond, £6 ; ship Jessie Readman, £2; Fire Brigade, £5 j six -competitors on spring pole, JC5.' The re- [ maining events' on the programme will be iiaWenVsW,eatlier» peiittitting v next Saturday afternoon.*; ) ¦ , ' ... Our morning-contemporary pays us the compliment of borrowing (with due acknowledgement) our, V notes" on yesterday's ; criekest; match, i ,Tbi» ifr flattering undoubtedly frojn , the S\ colonial, journal," but we wish, nevertheless, • that ,tne ( New Zealand Timeßjf '^ti en , $„ p rofesses,. to . ;quote our words, would* not insert, a, couple; of original lines criticising the play m style of its awn, ' uThe.l?ostu The.l?ost did not say (as the Times' asserts) * that. ' ' * the r Marton men batted beautif oily,, but their fielding and bowling were decidedly weak," We did not say , so, for , tW f reasons ': — Ist. The Marton uteri had fleith'dr Tiowled nor fielded before we went to press ; 2nd. -That, sleeping 'criticisni is not at all,a'fair one, for, altlibtfgh there was some iiidiyidual loose'tiess,'especially behind th.6 wicket, it' 'was nqt so general as.to deserve this unqualified ¦condemnation. "A^'report of the match appears in another column. ,< ;f u\- Asijthere are a' number of Wellington .-shareholders in .the MosgieL Woollen Facffory, Company, athe f ollowing... from, i the home letter of s the OtagdiDaily/Timesvcra I,r.espondentfwill ptfove interesting :—-The: — -The Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company seems to be in "a prosperous tvay, .'if one may judge from the quantities of machinery, &c, sent from the Clyde by nearly every ship. Mr. A. J» Burns informs me that , ,the , 2jfekon . and : City of Duneduvboth took ia 'quantity of .material , .of various kinds, as well as some , more , hands .for the, weaving department; alao, that 'the damaru, which sails in a fe^ _days^_will have about 140 packages, bedsides another family of workers for the department, and the plant and other material for commencing indigo dyeing. This last-named branch of industry has never yet been started, either in Australia or New Zealand. This extensive export of necessitate(l by'^He ¦greai£ ! } ali<:l gVoymg/demand compahy^s goods." I am glad to learn/nowever, that some of the machinery can now be made as cheaply and as well in Dunedin as in this country, so that the one local industry wjlljgncourage the other. Besides t^ia .machinery mentioned ,aboye« .some m6re4sMn prbcess of mVmifactnfe in Sco^ land, and wiU-Be, shipped by, the Decemßw vessel from thV&yHe?' I^' The ladieSiid£?Ne?!r : York^iUJS., have earned the 'admiration of the sterner sex. The opening-, of othe^opefa*; season thfere ¦ was signalised not so much by the triumphs of jthe^singers^qrithe, splendid appearance of the theatre, as by the singular sight the female portion of the audience presented, I Every female head appeared shorn of jChigno } n,,rat, friz,, and many= other .nameless similar contrivances] The Graphic I says, and we can well believe it, the sight was exbilirating ; heads were quietly and chastely glorified in natural hair alone, [ simplex munditiis. A flower, perhaps, and I a ribbon here and there ; but the simple i grace of flowing bi plaited locks. Hksib'ands I rejoice at the change, however barbers and | dealers in human hair deplore it. „ . | The Melbourne Age 1 says that the ex"- ¦ perfment of low railway fares ' does not appear; to hstve^xiite come up to public expeciation. , Tie traffic returns of tne, Victorian railways for the week ending .on the last day of ,1874, including Christmas j and . Boxing day, show that while, the | length, of the lines open, as compared with ] the corresponding period of -the previous' jyear, had grown from 441 miles to 539, and j the* number of passengers had increased j front 87,357 to 96,404, the receipts from all, {sources had declined from £18,544 tct £17,991 ; or, in other words, the reduction j

in the fare? had counterbalanced the additional receipts which, might othei-wi.-e have been expected to aeorne from the increased mileage open.