Evening Post. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1878.

Evening Post, Volume XVI, Issue 211, 5 September 1878, Page 2

Evening Post. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1878.

Among the subjects which will moat probably come before the City Council this evening is that- of harbor control. It ought to arise out of the report of the committee of the Chamber of Commerce, presented to that body oil Friday last, and a copy of which, we presume, has been officially sent to the City Council. The question is one of growing importance, and will, we should imagine, form a point that will be more or less regarded in the light of a test during the coming elections. There can, we think, be but little doubt, if any, on the part of unprejudiced mep that the sugge-tions of the Chamber of Commerce in favor of establishing a separate body of administrators of harbor affairs are judi ioua in principle, and for the welfare of the shipping interest and of the port, they, or something like them, should, be carried out in practice. What we said before need not here be reiterated beyond this : that in a body like the Council there will arise diverse interests antagonistic to those affecting a harbor, with a large coastal line, producing difficulties in management wh\ch, under a distinct body of administrators, would be avoided. Moreover, decisions may be arrived at by the Council which may seem for the moment to . hel beneficial-, to the city ; but which m*y ultimately prove injurious to the best interests of the port, and also by rrflo^ influence, in the end injurious to the city itself. Wellington can otter no good reason why she should torm any exception to the general, the almost universal, rule under which harbors are managed. That rule is that the management is vested in trustees, separate and distinct fr.om ( city corporations. An inte ligent and practical correspondent touches on this topic in a letter which we publish this evening and to which we direct the attention of those who take an interest in the subject. He shows clearly how the interests of the community are bound up with the success of the harbor as a port ; and how harbor dues affect the consumers in the direction of the price they pay by Reason of higher port charges on imported goods, and the added profits thereon, which go into the pockets of both the importer and the retailer. Every shilling per ton of port dues, he tells us, is added to the freight charged on the ship's cargo, and is therefore paid by the consumer ; and he illustrates in the matter of coals, for example, how any port striving to rival in attractions and cheapness the port of Wellington, might by the difference of freight and added profits and commissions thereon, cause a difference in the cost to the consumer here of from 15 to 20 per cent, above what would be paid were the local charges at both ports equally low. It may be said that it being shown to be to the interests of the city to avoid this, why should' not the city representatives manage these affairs ai well as those which are purely municipal ? Experience has proved that this cannot be satisfactorily done. The difference in the nature of the two works, — the streets and merely municipal duties, and the manifold and .varied, interests of shipping and purely commer- ( cial affairs,— divide the character of the | administration into two distinct classes, which should be distinctly managed. Had this not been so, we should not now see Wellington as the only solitary, port in the Colony of any pretensions which is not under the control of a -Harbor Board. Doubtless some members of the City. Council may be disinclined to give up to another body the control, or hand over endowments specially intended to be devoted to harbor purposes ; but the Council mast of necessity be properly represented on the Harbor Board, as indeed might be also certain County Councils, like that of the Hutt, which possess a direct interest in the commerce of the port. These are matters of detail, which can hereafter be adjusted ; but, meanwhile, this subjeot should be pressed on for decision and settlement, and the sooner this is done the better will it be for the interests of the port and its growing import trade. The cabmen and cab proprietors of Wellington have presented a petition to his Excellency the Governor, praying that the Wellington Tramway Company m»y be compelled to discontinue the use of steam as a motor, and to substitute horse power. In support of this prayer, they adduce' the following reasons : —

" The use of steam-power in the driving of the company's carriages is i>ot only unnecessary aod a nuisance, but is dangerous, and a serious impediment to the ordinary traffic of the streets through which the tramway cars run, and especially through Willis and> Manners streets, where tbeordinary^tranicir^rjr great, and is daily becoming more'fnd mare crowded. That the width of Willis^street^roitt, side pavement to side pavement is only Sj* fe>et, and the width of Manners-street from;pavetnent to pavement is the same; and your' petitioners humbly submit that in main thoroughfares so narrow, yet so extensively used as those are by all descriptions of vehicles, not only is the use of steam-power in driving cart objectionably but it- is, further, almost necessary to prevent the running of tramway -cars at all there. There is not sufficient room on either side of the tramway for the safe -and comfortable passage of ordinary vehicles when the cars are running, even if steam power were not used ; but horses having necessarily to be brought into close contact with the constantly escaping steam from the engines, are frightened, and hence the special danger and inconvenience to the public. Tiiat the gradients in the various streets through which the tramway is laid are very easy, so that no excessive animal power is required, and steam power is entirely unnecessary." These arguments will not " hold water" for a moment. We grant that it would be dangerous for the engines and cars to run along our narrow streets at a high xate of .speed, or if they could not be stopped easily and quickly. But the truth is just the reverse of this. They travel through the more crowded parts of the town no faster than an ordinary cab, while they can be stopped much more safely and quickly than a horsed vehicle. It is the old cry of Protection over again, and in this age of Free Trade we hope that the cabmen's petition will receive the unqualified rejection its unfairness deserves, although at the same time we sympathise with them in their loss of the profits they have been accustomed to reap." Instead of petitioning and agitating against so useful and already popular an institution as the tramway, let them seek to extend their own trade by improving the comfort and convenience of their vehicles, by fair and moderate charges, by invariable civility and readiness to oblige. There are many parts of the city to which the tramway does not extend, many cases in which it is much more bandy to take a cab than to travel by the tramway, and if the Wellington cabmen follow our advice they will have no just grounds to complain of losing their trado.

Miskolcz, which our English telegrams announce to have been destroyed by a storm, is a large and W4-11-built town in Hungary, twenty-eight miles west of Tokay. The population is 29,000, chiefly engaged in the manufacture of wines and in the iron-mines in the immediate vicini'y. A correspondent signing himself "Tobacco" utters the following plaint and gentle hint to certain of the fair sex who seem occasionally to pervade the smoking carriage, without producing a solitary cigarette .for (their own enjoyment, and yet trench on that o$ others :—: — " Don't you think it is rather 'rough ' on us slaves of the weed to be compelled, through our own gallantry, to crowd into one small compartment of a railway carriage when we wish to smoke while we travel, because the ladies will persist in taking possession of the one carriage set apart for smoking, notwithstanding that the word ' smoking ' appears very legibly on the windows from the outside, while the inside is fittrd with brass spittoons, fixed to the floor? It is difficult to believe that these distinguishing features of our particular domain can be passed over unnoticed ; yet of course it miiit be so, for ladies would never willingly occupy a smoking carriage while there were vacant seats in oilier parts of the train, as I have frequently observed them to do." A man arrested by the police yesterday was found to have in his possession a bottle of rum, labelled " One teaspoonful to be taken for a dose." The patient evidently had great faith in the medicine, and must hay« repeated the dose at very frequent intervals. A meeting of the supporters of Mr. Robert; , Port as a candidate for Cook VVard was called by advertisement for last evining, the object being to form a committee to promote that gentleman's return. The notification appears to have been mistaken rather stupidly for 'an announcement that Mr. Port would address the ratepayers, and the vast crowd of twelve persons, who assembled at the time and place specified (being obviously incited thereto by certain people for interested reasons), bsgan to grumble that Mr. Port did not appear. Some gentleman present indulged their ta-te for speechifying by haranguing the assemblage, and the proceedings closed bibulously. A somewhat interesting point of law came before Mr- Mansford, R.M., this morning in the case of O. Nelson v. W. Jajnes, fen action brought to recover £5, the value of a dog j3 hot by the defendant. Mr. Travers, iun., appeared for the plaintiff, and t fhe Hon. Mr. Buckley for the defendant. It appeared from the evidence of the latter that two retrievers and two terriers were chasing a cow of his (the defendant's) which had recently calved. One of the retrievers, which belonged to the plaintiff, ran away when he came up, and he (defendant) thea shot it. Mr. Buckley submitted that, under the' Act relating to injury by dogs of sheep and other animals, the defendant wad justified in shooting the dog. Mr. Travers argued that this would only apply to cases in which the dog was in " hot pursuit." According to the-defendant's own showing, the dog was running away at the time he shot at it. His Worship reserved his judgment. The regular fortnightly meeting of the Waste Lands B.oard was held at 11 a.m. today. Present — The Chief Commissioner, Mr. J."Gr. Holdsworth (in the chair), Mr. Pearce, Mr Bunny, and Mr. Mason. The Chief Commissioner reported that .the land sales, since last meeting, amounted to 148 a. dr. 24p , and the receipts, on account, to £215. A letter was received from the Chairman of the Patea Harbor Board, requesting that the Waste Lands Board, now tbat the question as to the exercise of scrip at sales of the Patea Board's endowment had been decided in the negative, to proceed with the sale of the Ohutuku reserves as soon as possible. It was agreed that this should be done, and the Board then adjourned. Mr. R. A. Marshall, the custodian of the Theatre Royal, has received a telegram engaging the Theatre for a five weeks' season on behalf of Messrs. Baker & Farron's Dramatic Company, who will be i'oNowed by the Leon Sc Kelly Minstrels. The choir of St. Paul's Church will give another of their attractive and enjoyable concerts at the Athenaeum Hall this evening, in aid of the Choir Library Fund. * Tho programme will be found in our advertising columns, and the tickets are going off so rapidly that we anticipate a crowded house as usual. In the course of a "fencing" case this morning, Mr. Mansford, R.M., said it was the duty of an owner to keep his cattle in, and it i was not .for the adjoining owner to ki ep the cattle out of his property. The case in question was that of D. Hobbs v. T. Hawkins, and his Worship entered a nonsuit. On- the subject of corporation dinners •' Viator " writes : — " In the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court, of Justice on 23rd June, 1878, judgment was given against a Corporation, which had entertained ex-President Grant, on the occasion of opening the Museum, with great display and eclat, at an expense of upwards of £2000, quashing the order for paying the cost . out ol the rates. The case is reported in the Times or Mail of 24th June. An extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders m the Phoenix Gold Mining Company was held last evening', at the offices of Messrs. Ledger & Hickson. Mr. Gwynneth presided. The chairman explained that the meeting was called to take the opinion of the shareholders as to the advisability of going to further expense in the erection of machinery, &c , in connection with the mine. The total liabilities of the company were £1334 6s 2d, against assets amounting to £1201 7s 4d. The uncalled-up capital was £9500, so that they had a large amount of capital to draw, and were about £130 in debt Mr. Guinness, local director of the mine, gave some information as to the workings of the mine, and recommended that a tramway be laid down, and, the sum of £50 expended in another trial. A letter was read from the manager of the New North Clunes Quartz Mining Company, giving the following as the result of the testing ot five tons of quartz sent from the Phoenix mine :—: — From box or mercury troughs, 17dwts. _of amalgam ; beds and blankets, , 2oz. IGdwts. All the pyrites that were' saved were put through the Chilian mills and ground in the raw state, from which was obtained lodwts. of amalgam ; and from the alloy or skimmings of the whole lot Siwts. of amalgam was obtained. Total, 4oz. lldwts. of amalgam. Melted gold, loz. 16dwts. 18grs. ; average, 7dwts. Bgrs. per ton. With such a small quantity of quartz it is impossible with our appliances to save all the pyrites." The chairman, however, remarked tbat the test was valueless to them, because it was not conducted in the way they wanted. The meeting adopted Mr. Guinness's recommendation, and then adjourned. At the Opera House last night, "East Lynne" was played for the benefit of Miss Tilly Andrews, who play<d the dual part of Lady Isabel and Madame Vine very creditably, receiving warm applause. Mr. Hoskins in the ungrateful part of Sir Francis Levison acted with his accustomed skill, and the other parts were fairly sustained 1 . This evening selections from " Hamlet" will be Mr. Hoskins supporting the title rols. As an afterpiece, ••The Crown Prince" will be produced. Tomorrow evening Mr. Hoskins takes his benefit, and bids farewell to the Wellington public.

Sheridan's famous comedy, "The Rivals," will be performed on the occasion, and we anticipate a crowded house. The Public Works Eitimates will not, it is expected,, be issued before the bills embodying the proposals of the Government are brought down. have, we hear, been -¦printed, -but they are necessarily liable to alteration atiny time, and consequently have been kfefrttadK.,^ Only two members of the ministry— Messrs Stout and Fisher — have left with the members' trip to the South. The other members of the Cabinet remain in Wellington to work up arrears of business, and put things in order ready for the return of our legislators. A meeting of the vestry of St. Paul's Parish . was .held last evening, the Rev. B. VX,,Harvey, Incumbent, in the chair. Mr. Powles explained to the vestry the suggestion which had been made at the last meeting of the Diocesan Residence Committee, that each of the Wellington Parishes should give a contribution to the Residence Fund proportionate to its means. He proposed tbat tit Paul's Parish should vote a contribution of £150 to the fund, and that the vestry, not having power of itself to pass so large a vote -without the sanction of a parish meeting, should call such a meeting at an early date, and recommend the adoption of the proposed course. The vestry unanimously agreed to the proposal, and it was decided to call a public meeting of parishioners in the course of a few days. The Working Men's Club at Greytown was formally opened with a diuner on Monday evening. The building itself is a plain twostory edifice with a frontage to Main-street, designed and built by Mr. Edmonds. The ground floor contains a reading room, billiard room, r. freshment room, and domestic offices ; the upper floor an assembly room and suite of' bedrooms. Between fifty and sixty residents and visitors assembled to an excellent dinner provided by Mr. Cox, the custodian of the Club. The chair was occupied by Mr. Barnard, and the vice-chair by Mr. Skeet. At a second parallel table Messrs W. G. Beard acd H. A. Cowper occupied corresponding positions. After the usual loyal toasts, Mr. Wardell proposed the directors and company, to which the Club owed its existence, as the former had built the premises and provided a home for the latter. He strong! v advised members of the Club not to let their establishment degenerate into a drinking saloon, but to preserve it for social enjoyment and rational recreation of an unobjectionabie character. Mr. Skeet, in responding, observed that the working men had entered in the undertaking with a good spirit. There were between 80 and 100 shareholders in the company, and almost all of them were working men. The toast of " The Visitors " was responded to by Mr. R. J. Duncan, of Wellington. In another column is published a requisition to Dr. Newman, inviting him to become a candidate for Thorndon Ward. The acceptance of the invitation is also published. A correspondent writes : — " I would suggest through the medium of your paper that, on the occasion of such an event as the opening of the through line of railway from Christchurch to Duuedin, an event of sufficient importance, I think, to justify the adjournment of the Ass- mbly to enable the members of the House to be present on the occasion, a public holiday should be proclaimed, if not throughout the colony, certainly at the seat of Government. By making a holiday, similar to New Year's Day or Easter Monday, keeping the telegraph and post offices open, it appears to me that the convenience of the public would be suited, at the same time that many of them would be glad of the relief of a day away from the worry of business " If we could have seen the necessity of Parliament adjourning for the opening of the Southern railway, we might have admitted the force of our correspondent's argument, but as we do not see that necessity, we cannot support a proposal to needlessly throw all business out of gear. There was a fair attendance at the performance of the Cheevers, Kennedy and Bent Minstrels at the Theatre Royal last night. The perforates again acquitted themselves to the satisfaction of the audience, the comic business being extremely good. We have received the Church Chronicle for ¦ September, 1878 It contains an unusually large amount of Diocesan news and other information interesting to churchmen. A large number of our streets are formed in a fashion which every modern Macadam would condemn. Many of them are destitute of •' crown," being almost wholly level, and in such a. climate where rain descends in semitropical showers, it is necessary that a good fall should be formed on each side, with a proper slope in the kennels to the drains, so as to carry an ay the waters. As it is the water lies in the centre of many of the streots in large pools, and mud and .slush are abundant in consequence. In some places, too, the want of slope to a drain grating, cause the accumulation of rain water in the gutters where it lies for days. The attention of the City Surveyor is respectfully directed to these facts, and to the flat system in which the metal is being laid on someof our streets and, not least important, to the large size of the stones, which are undoubtedly 'much' beyond the late Mr. MacJadam's maximum dimensions. T. Kennedy Macdonald and Co's next land sale is unavoidably postponed till Monday, the 23rd of September. ¦ The Choral Society practice called for to- j morrow evening is postponed until Monday evening next. The Wananga is rather severe upon - the exIndian Judge Thomas, who is just now meddling and interfering with matters he does not in the least understand, in Taranaki. The Maori organ says : — " We are inclined to con- ! demn any interference of a stranger in a matter about which he shows himself so utterly ignorant, and we wonder at his assumption in giving advice in matters which relate to the native race of Hew Zealand. If our colony has been spoken of as the most suitable residence in which invalids may recruit their health, it does not follow that we are to be annoyed by the insane' meddling of such invalids, whose unstrung intellects prompt them to assume the position of lawgivers. New Zealand is not wanting in able men, yet our oldest and best educated politicians in Maori matters feel a doubt when they attempt to solve the Maori land question. There is not any question less understood by the European than the Maori right to deal with land, and there is not any right to property which a Maori holds with more sacred jealously than his own personal right to deal with his land. We have heard of many suggestions offered by Europeans to deal with the Maori lands, but of all the proposals the wildest and the most impracticable is that which is proposed in the pamphlet in question." The Standard points out that the railway as far as the Greytown landing stage may be expected to open six months before the Carterton section is ready, and twelve months before Masterton. Consequently if a branch line wera constructed to Woodside from Greytown it would, for the first half-year, have the whole traffic of the upper valley passing over it. The Wairarapa Standard states that Mr. Wilda, the unfortunate Scandinavian, of Carterton, who' sustained lately a brutal assault from some of his fellow-countrymen, is now progressing favorably towards convalesence. The stewards of the Castlepoint Races have guaranteed a reward of £50 for the conviction o' the person or persons who poisoned the wellknown racehorse Kakapo in April last. Messrs. J. W. Jackson and J. Fleetwood, of Waoganui, have completed the purchase of the celebrated Australian horse Painter, by the Marquis, one of the best animals south of tne line. Mr. Jackson left on Friday en route for Melbourne to bring the new purchase over. "Should he arrive safely, Painter will' probably be in great demand among breeders. The officers belonging- to the Union Company's fine steamship Wakatipu ore about to present Captain Cameron, who has commanded that vessel since her departure from England, with an appropriate and interesting souvenir on his retirement from the chargo of the steamer to assume other duties ashore. The presentation will consist of the photographic portraits of all the officers of the Wakatipu, suitably grouped, in a handsome frame. Messrs. Wrigglesworth and Binns have executed the photographs iv their usual artistic manner, and the whole will form a pleasant memento. The employees on the Manawatu and Wanganui Railway have agreed to form a Provident Society on the basis of a plan in operation in England on the great railway works. It is considered desirable that all employes on the North Island railways should combine in forming such a society. A committee has been appointed to communicate with the men on the other sections of railway works. The Manawatu Herald writes :— This is a step in the right direction, and we shall be glad to see an attempt made to get the assistance of the Government in the matter. This might be done either by a subsidy, or by an arrangement to make the Provident Society a branch of the Government Life Assurance. Under the heading " New Zealand Steam Butchers," the Dunedin Star publishes the following telegram from its Auckland correspondent : — "Owing to the number of cattle killed on the Auckland-Waikato railway lines, Mr. Macfarlane, M.H.R., has induced Messrs. Conyers and Lawson to issue a circular to the railway employe; that in future all collisions with cattlp must be reported within twenty-four hours, and that inquiry is to be made in every case whether blame is attachable or not ; aud where neglect is shown a black mark is to be made against the driver, and wi 1 operate against bis preferment."

Straws serve to show which way the wind blows (says an English paper.) A tailor was the straw which served to show the British Government the direction the dip'omatic wind was taking during the recent negotiations between ihe 'British Foreign Office and the Russian ambassador to the Court of London — Count Schouvaloff That astute diplomatist, previous to going to Russia to consult bis master, the Czar, appeared to sniff powder, for he countermanded the gorgeous, and consequently highly expensive, new liveries which had been ordered for the servants of the Embassy. Shortly after his arrival at the Muscovite Court, the Count telegraphed to the disappointed Snip the joyful tidings that he was to proceed with those liveries. The news reached the ears of the Ministry, who naturally came to the conclusion that pacific counsels were prevailing at St. Petersburg,. and acted accordingly. Never before, probably, did a tailor play so important a part in diplomacy. The story is no myth. The raffle for Mr. N. Valentine's boatcarriage and break takes place at the Pier Hotel to-night, at 7. [ Frisquette, or ladies' cricket, has been intro- ! duced in New South Wales. The Sydney morning Herald of the 12th ult. says :— " The members of the Alpha Frisquette Club, in the absence of any other as yet formed body, played a scratch match amongst its members on Saturday afternoon last, on Moore Park. The sides, I as before, were well represented by the usual complement of ladies, the highest scorer on this occasion being Miss A. Krauss. The captains were Misses. Cullen and Taylor, the side of the former being again successful, and the finish somewhat exciting by its closeness, the difference in both innings being only 4. It has been represented that clubs are about to be started in some of the provincial towns, and it is anticipated that the rules, ice., of the game will be issued in a fews days." I always thought (writes " Atticus " in the Leader) that the custom of lovers returning presents when an engagement was broken off was a mere matter of good taste, and that the lady might, if she liked, retain the trinkets, and the gentleman the worked slippers which had been given as tokens of affection, if they felt so disposed. Such, however, w not the law as laid down by Mr. Panton, P.M. A young gentleman gave a lady to whom he was engaged several presents, and among them a silk dress, which she herself paid for having made up. The course of true love ran rough, and the match was broken oft; whereupon the lady returned all his presents except the dress, which she considered she was justified in retaining, on account of the money she had invested in it. The lover sued the lady, and Mr. Panton made the order that the dress must be returned on the gentleman paying the cost of its making. It appears to me a queer decision, but the queerest part about it is what the young man wants with the dress, now that he is done with the lady. Can it be that he is already engaged to another about the same size and make as his first love ? And will that other receive a present of a second-hand dress as well as second-hand affections ? A man named Burt, who has resided at Foxton for some time, died suddenly at his house on the tramway on Monday afternoon. An inquest will probably be held. In consequence of the heavy demands made upon the Mauawatu district for the supply of meat for Wellingt >n, the Foxton butchers have been compelled to increase the price of meat to Wellington charges. Some very absurd errors have been made in some of the papers in reprinting the revised scale of railway charges as published in a late Gazette. For instance, school parties are set down at 3s 4d per mile, which ought to have been $d ; milk, 3s 4d per gallon for ten miles, should also have been |d, Is 4d for each additional mile being a misprint for £d. Grain is down as at 21s Id per ton per mile, which should be 2£d, and timber Is 2d per 1000 ft, which should be per 100 ft. There are other minor errors.