MESSRS. BROGDEN'S PETITION.

Evening Post, Volume XXI, Issue 145, 23 June 1881, Page 2

MESSRS. BROGDEN'S PETITION.

? The petition of Messrs. Brogden and Sons, in regard to their claims against the colony, was presented to Parliament yesterday. It sets forth at considerable length the alleged grievances of tho petitioners. I hey state that they were induced, by the representations and assurances of the Government and of the Agent-General, to send out to New Zealand 1877 statute adult immigrants, of whom 837 were women and children, a class much more valuable to the colony than to the petitioners, who only needed the men to work on their railway contracts. It was agreed that the Agent-General should forward these people to the colony, Messrs. Brogden paying their passages and taking their promissory note for repayment, on the assurance of tno Agent-General, that the Government were dealing with immigrants on a similar footing, that the plan was found satisfactory, that there were no difficulties in the way of recovering and enforcing the promissory notes, that the law of arrest for debt prevailed in the colony, and was effectual, and that other immigrants would be sent out by Government on similar terms. But directly after this agreement was made, the Government began taking out their own immigrants in the same vessels with those ot Messrs. Brogden, and upon more favorable terms, thus creating jealousy and discontent ; while, subsequently, the Government immigrants were conveyed free of charge, so increasing the bitter feeling of the others who .icuu?ed Messrs. Brogden of defrauding them, and iised every device to evade payment of their promissory notes. Government c?asod endeavoring to recover their own promissory notes, thus, it is contended, showing tho erroneousness of their assurance to Messrs. Broaden that these wonld be effectual securities ; and, say the petitioners, " at length, all possible chance of recovery was extinguished by the repeal of the law of arrest tor debt ; yet tho Government claimed to remain creditor of the petitioners after having destroyed tho security which tho Agent-General had assured them was ample to protect them troin loss." Messr3. Urogden thereupon claimed that they should be relieved of their liability for £18,21') on account of tho passage money in transferr ng to the Government the immigrants' promissory notes. This was refused, and the Government retained out of moneys due to the petitioners on account of their railway contracts £20,739, being the sum referred to, with interest added. Tho matter was referred, in 1878, to a select Parliamentary commit* c, who reported that tne petitioners had i.ot substantiated their case, but it subsequently appeared that all information had not been laid before the committee, including an important letter from the AgentGeneral, who '* recommended the proposals mado by the petitioners for the settlement of their claims to the favorable consideration of the i Government." The petitioners now therefore pray to bo compensated for the loss they have sustained, or that such other relief may be granted as Parliament may think proper.

A return was laid on the table of the House yesterday, to the order of Mr. Gisborne, showing the number of population when tho census was taken in 1878, and also of this year. The increase shown by tho latter over the former is 73,290. The excees of births over deaths during the three years was 49,703, aud there were 17,243 immigrants introduced during the same period. Mr. Beetham M.F.R. for Wairarapa, is to move this afternoon — That a Select Committee be appointed to inquire into all circumstances connected with the increase of the rabbit nuisance, and to consider and report on any measures that may be deemed advisable to eradicate the pest ; to confer with any committee appointed by the Legislative Council. A similar motion i3to be brought forward in tho Upper House by Mr. Holmes. At the request of the Attorney-General, Mr. Waterhouse yesterday postponed his question, re tho enforcement of the Dog Kegistratiou Act, until Tuesday next. Tho Hon. Mr. Menziea is to move in the Upper House this afternoon, "that tho Government bo requested to inquire whether it is not expedient to cause all steaui vessels carrying passengers along the coast of tho colony to fit up tho electric light on board : and, if the same appears t) be practicable, to biing the subject without delay under tho consideration of her Majesty's Government, with, the view of regulations being issued making it imperative upon passengor-carry-ing steam vessels to carry the electric light." To-morrow the Hon. Mr. Dick will move for leave to bring in " The Masterton and Greytown Management Act, 1371, Amendment Bill." It has not yot been decided whether the Hmemoa will be put on to take members to the Dunedin Exhibition. The member 3of tho Government were invited, but of course could not all leave their Parliamentary duties. The Colonial Secretary will, however, represent them there. Dr. Hector, who is now in Jmnedin, having been commissioned to report upon the Exhibition, yesterday afternoon telegraphed to the Colonial Secretary as foilows : — "Have had two hours in Exhibition. It is very interesting aud full of novelties, and is well arranged. Leaving out fine arts and national produce, and taking only industrial manufacturers, there are 95 new exhibitors brought to the front for the first timo, and 22 of the Melbourne New Zealand exhibitors, who show fresh exhibits. Taken as an evidence of progress, it is a highly important Exhibition, and is well worth being visited by the northern members." Mr. E. Shaw, R.M., was to leave Wellington this afternoon to preside over the jury sittings at the District Court at Masterton. He will probably return on Saturday. Arthur Richard Eva,, who was arrested at Christchurch the other day on a charge of deserting his wife, Mary Nalder Eva, and three children, aged respectively 5, 3, and H years, arrived trom Port Lyttelton in the s.s. Hawea this morning 1 . When brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court at Christchurch yesterday morning he was remanded to appear before the Resident Magistrate at Wellington to-morrow, and he entered into a bond, of £100 to perform that obligation. Tho Southern detective authorities watchfd his movements until hi 3 embarkation at Lytteltou, and immediately teleg-aphed to the detective office at Wellington stating the position of the case. Mr. Gully, we hear, has been retained on behalf of the prosecnt:on } but it is said that in case some satisfactory arrangement oan be effected prior to the case being culled on in Court to-morrow morning, the charge will not be pressed. It is stated that tho defendant, on his recent retirement from the Civil Service, was granted a considerable sum of money as compensation. Six civil case 3, in which Mr. Crombie, the Deputy Tax Commissioner, appears as plaintiff, were fixed for hearing at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning, but to suit the convenience of all parties they were adjourned for a fortnight. Lieut. A. da Bate Brandon, of the. Artillery Corps, has been eleoted captain of the Kaiwarra Rifles, and has notified bis acceptance of the position. Quite unconsciously, the chairman at Dr. Newman's meeting at Thorrdonlist night — a Scotchman, by the way— perpetrated a little pun which was the source of a good deal of gipg'iing. In introducing Dr. Newman to tho ratepayers, he dwelt on the desirableness of having ''fresh blood"' in the City Council, and wound up by remarking that " the present was a very good opportunity of returning a now man " If the punster did not " see the joke" for some moments, he | did by and bye, and Dr. Newman was not called upon to produce his case of instruments in order to perform the proverbial surgical operation it is said most Sc9tchmaa require before they can be made, to understand a joke.

The Regulation of Elections Bill is not yet finally approved and circulated. Ihe draft, we believe, came befora a meeting of the Cabinet to-day, and underwent amendment in several respects as to details, but without materially altering ifc3 main provisions. The bill is likely to bo circulated either to-morrow or on Tuesday. A Marton solicitor wa3 fonnd gnilty of contempt at the Supreme Court this morning, and ordered to pay a heavy penalty. Mr. Chapman appeared before his Honor Mr. Justice Richmond, sitting in banco, in support of a rule in re C. E. Madden, which was argued at a sitting of the Court some time ago. On that occasion a rule nisi was obtained by the Wellington Law Society call'ng upon Mr. Madden to show cause why he should not be adjudged guilty of contempt for having practised a3 a solicitor at Marton without taking out the necessary certificates, and the matter was allowed to stand over till to-day to enable him to make an explanation. Mr. Gully appeared on his behalf this morning, when, failing to show the required cause, llr. Madden was adjudged guilty of contempt, and fined the full penalty of .£SO and costs. In re Regina v. Heaphy (for judgment), the rule was discharged with costs, aud the Court then adjourned. A meeting of the creditors of R. W Watson was held in the Supreme Court yesterday. Creditors representing .£234 were present and represented by proxy. The assets wera stated to be merely nominal. The debtor attributed his present position to the depreciation of property in Wellington. He leased a piece ot land in Ghuzneestreet, and borrowed money from a building society and other sources tor the erection of building 3 thereon. Ho had only earned about JsIOOO during the last seven year 3. Ihe mortgagees and leaseholders refused to release him. Mr. Jas. Kirton and Mr. Alderdico were severally proposed as trustee. On a vote being taken it was found that a block had occurred, Mr. Kirton having vote 3 representing £211, and Mr. Alderdice £22— the latter, however, having an excess in point of number. Ultimately, Mr. Alderdico withdrew, and Mr. Kirton was olectod. Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Ollivier and family left yesterday by tho s.s. Wakatipu tor England via bydney. Prior to the commencement of the business at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday afternoon, one of the member3 — Air. W. T. L. Travers— treated his auditors to a little story at the expense of his own profession. He said that, in the course of some conversation the other day with an eminent German scientist, at present on a visit to Wellington, the man of learning remarked that what struck him most in connection with this colony was not its climate, its resources or natural productions, its magnificent scenery or its expensive buildings,but — but the large number of lawyers, who wore as thick en mushrooms, and '" appeared to bo doing devilish well " Enquiring how such a large number of lawyers managed to mako their money, Mr. Travers replied, " By a systematic conrse of robbery— legal robbery, of course," and thi3 seemed to satisfy tho sayan An attempt to introduce religion into municipal matters was nipped in tho bud in the most emphatic manner at Dr. Newman's meeting last night. A Mr. Orr asked the candidate whether it was not a fact that on being recently bolicited for a subscription towards "a religious building "" — to use the questioner's own words — ho declined to subscribe on tho ground that he was a materialist. No sooner had the wo-ds escaped Mr. Orr's lips than there arose a perfect storm of hisses and deafening shrieks of disapprobation, and Dr. Newman was advised to exhibit his disapproval of the question by declining to notice it. At tho conclusion of the meeting, however, the candidate expressed hid dislike to the attempted introduction of religious fai f h on occasions like the ono in question, and he hoped that in tho event of a similar attempt being made on a future occasion it would be as promptly squashed aa in the present ca^e. Those who have business with the Union Steamship Company will regret to learn that Mr. David Mills, the company's able and courteous manager at this port, is about to remove to its Dunedin office. We understand that Mr. Wheeler, who acted temporarily during Mr. Mills' late absence, will succeed him in Wellington. A lunatic named Charles Garland Tressider escaped from the Mount View Asylum about 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, and up to the hour of our going to pre3S had not been recaptured. He is 33 years of ago, sft lOin high, of rather stout build, has dark hair, beard, whiskers, and moustache, and frequently repeats tho words " Praiso tho Lord " On a former occasion when ho managed to escape, he was found in an exhausted condition at Terawhiti. Robertson's lively comedy, " School," was performed at tho Theatre Royal last night before a capital audience, considering the unpropitious stato of the weather. Mr. Carden took the part of Jack Poyntz, and Marston 1 eigh that of Naomi Tighe. Mr. Carden had hardly so much scope for his peculiar Hue of ability as in'some other parts in which he has appeared, but it is needless to say he played carefully and well. Mis 3 Leigh acted, with great vivacity and feeling, and her reading of the love-letter from ' " Jack excited much laughter and applause. Miss Jenny Watt-Tanner, as Bella, played in a somewhat forced and unnatural manner. Mrs. M' Go wan mado an admirable schoolmistress, and Miss Maggie Knight infused a good deal of fun into tho character of Laura. Mr. i.lliott, as Lord Beaufoy, acquitted himself well, as he always does, and the two " old men " of the piece— Mr. Lachlan M Gowau (Beau Farintosh), and Mr. J. J. Welsh (Dr. Sutcliffe), deserve a cordial word of appreciation. Mr. Harry Sefton, as the obnoxious Mr. Crux, succeeded in thoroughly arousing the antipathies of tho audience. Owing to the delay in the departure of tho Albion, tho compauy will play here on Friday and Sat nrday, .instead of terminating their season here to-night as was first anticipated. This announcement will bo received with pleasure by all who have seen their really clever performances. This evening Bulwer Lytton's comedy, " Money," is to bo produced. During a recent trip of the s.s. Huia from Waugauui to Wellington a saloon passenger deported himsolt in such a lordly manner as to create an impression among the stewards and other officers of tho vessel that his Grace the Duke of Manchester must have unexpectedly returned to the colony, and had condescended to travel by the Wanganui line of steamers. He caused the stewards a good deal of trouble in procuring a good substantial supper, and the whole of the berths being occupied by other passengers, he requested to be furnished with a shakedown, sheets, blankets, and the usual complement of bed-clothing. In the middle of the night an incident occurred which had the effect of revealing the stranger iv his Irue light. Becoming noisy, an officer proceeded to enquire the cause, and during tho disturbance whioh ensued the passenger was askod to produco his t : okot and explain his conduct. It then transpired that ho had no ticket to prodnce ; briefly, ho is what was called a " btowaway." On arriving at Wellington he was " run in," and brought before tho Resident Magistrate for travelling with intent to avoid paying his fare, to which charge he pleaded guilty. He stated that he formerly belonged to a ship lately arrived from England, and was out of employment. The Magistrate remanded him for several days in order to see if some employment could not be procured on his behalf. Ihe charge bting again called on this morning, it appeared that Winn— such being tho man's name —had been placed upon the Penguin. The moral of the story is this — Men who happen to be out of employment at outljing ports cannot do better than stow themselves away on board a Well ngtnnbonnd steamer, and besides enjoying the advantage of a free trip, they may be successful m getting a " billet." "To tho Chairman of Dr. Newman's meeting." These wtre tho words appearing on a large official-looking envelope found lying on the table at the meeting of Thorndon ratepayers held last evening. The envelope being opened was found to contain a string of questions purporting to emanate from Mr. George Fi&ber, the rival candidate. Mr. Fisher wished to know whether l>r. Newman "approved or disapproved" of a certain course of action pursued by Mr. Fisher, and certain proposals made by the writer. Dr. Newman's replies were brief a"d to the point. With regard to Mr. Usher's course of action, Dr. Newman would show his disapproval by voting against him on the polling day. (Cheers.) Respecting Mr. FUher's proposals they were so numerous and contradictory that he felt unable to offer any reply, scarcely knowing what they really were. (Kenewed cheers.) A copper medal, supposed to be 111 years old, and to have been given by Captain Cook to the Maoris, has been dug up in a garden in Pelorus Sound. The obverse bears the head of George 111., and the reverse a likeness of the two ships Resolution and Endear vor at s^a. A report of a s ; njulir and astonishing natu-e is publish- d by the Auckland Observer. Ib is said ihat on the fourth of last month a young man mm* i O' Bailey was brought before the Bench ana committed to the Whau Lunatic Asylum, on the medical testimony of two well-known doctors. There ia nothing very unusual in this, but it is also asserted that he was not mad at all but in the height of a fever, and consequently delirious. The informant of the übserver states that he was brought out of his bed before the fever had reached its crisis, and taken to the station ii a cab. After ha came out of Court he was so weak as to be unable to stand, and the constables were compelled to support him. He Bpoke rationally enough to them, and told them he was suffering from fever.

Until after the sentence of banishment to a mad-house had been pronounced he had no idea what it was all about. The most sorrowful part of the story is that a young lady who was engaged nursing the alleged maniac also caught the fever and died There are other matters (adds tho Observer) which have been related to U3 which wo do not care to make pnblic; bnt the whole report is of such a strange nature that for the oredit of the authorities it is to be hoped it will be contradicted. Me=sr3. T. K. Macdonald & Co. will hold to-morrow an important sale of town and country properties, furnitme, &c, particulars of which appear elsewhere. < Messrs. Plimmer, Reeve 3 & Co. will sell to-morrow, produce.

To the wives and families of many honorable members of both Houses of Parliament, now assembled in this city, and also to the ladies resident in Wellington and its environs, it may be a matter of interest to know that lately there have been completed to special order in the mantle making rooms of James Smith, Te Aro House, Cubastreet, some very elegant Ladies' Jackets, in the latest designs. The materials have been rich black Satin de Lyon and heavy pile black Geneva Velvet, trimmed with deep fur, and lined throughout with quilted silk. It is hardly necessary to state that for richne?s of appearance, exquisiteneas of fit, and perfect finish they could not be exceeded by anything from the most fashionable modiste of the West End of London. What more graceful and fitting present could an honorable member make ?— [Advt.l The well-known Drapery Establishment of Mr. J. B. Hamilton, Cuba-street, is preparing for a monster sale on Friday and Saturday. Country residents are specially reminded of the above sale.— [Advt.J Trai.e Mark, Waltham, Mass. — The American Watch Company, of Waltham, Massachusetts, U.S.A., hereby give notice that their trade mark, "Waltham, Mass.," is now registered in the Australian Colonies of Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand. Proceedings will be taken against any copying or imitating same, or any vendors selling or offering for sale watches bearing colorable imitations or in any way infringing our rights. — American Watch Company, Waltham, Mass. — FAdvt.l