MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1881.

Evening Post, Volume XXI, Issue 148, 27 June 1881, Page 2

MONDAY, JUNE 27, 1881.

Owing to the pressure of mail news and other interesting matter, we are compelled to hold over our leading article and a number of letters to the Editor. The Local Public Works Bill introduced by the Government last session provided for the constitution of an unpaid Board, consisting of the Minister ior Public Works, the Engineer-in-Chief, tho Surveyor- General, and the Public Trustee. The duties of the Board were to be "to pay the rates on all waste lands of the Crown, to pay the rates on all Maori couutry lands, to make grants in aid of the construction of maiu roads, and to advance money to construct district roads." This was the principal machinery provided for afforaing pecuniary aid to local bodies, who by another bill were to be empowered to levy rates on the Crown and native lands, the rates to be paid out of the net proceeds of land sales, placed at the disposal ot the Board above dr scribed. The bill was never fairly discussed in Parliamert, bnt it is notorious that a strong feeling of repugnance was excited to tho proposed Board of Civil servants sitting in the " Big Building," and holding in their hands the at. ministration of financial aid to the local governing bodies throughout the colony. The question was never argued out, so the public aro in the dark as to the grounds on which this plan was proponed, and as to tho reasons that may be argued in its favor. We are no' in a position to state positively whether this particular phase of the scheme will re-appear in the bill shortly to be introduced by the Colonial Treasurer ; it is rumored, however, that it will not be reintroduced, but that a differently-const tuted Board will be substituted, of a character less likely to be obnoxious to the popular prejudice against Boards of Government officers. If it be true that some such alteration is to be made, the bill, cceteris partbus, certainly will stand a much better chance of being generally acceptable to the House and the country. The three men, Ed.yard Hughes, John Connel, and John Hunter, who have just been committed for trial, at Dunedin, in connection with the recent jewellery robbery at Christchnrcb, are_ well known to the police in Wellington, having formerly undergone numerous sentences here for various offenc ;s of more or less serious description, 'lhe police authorities w atchod tneir movefenta so closely, in tact, that the men were very glad tj embrace the first opportunity of shaking tho Wellington dust off their shoes. The police evidently, place great faith in the adage about prevention baing better than cure. There will be a sitting of the Bankruptcy Court at noon 10-uiorrow, when applications for orders of discharge are to De made on behalf of John Laird Morrison, ot Petoni, ropemaker, and Thomas William Pilcher, of Wellington, carr.er.

The f.s. Hawva left O-.ehungi at D.55 t'ui~ mornin?, with the San Francisco mail. Hhe oa'ls at Taranaki on the way down, and if she »s ten r lf-rc:d thereto-night, may be looked for in Wellington to-morrow afternoon. The offer made by the Government to provide work for 20 married men, to be selected from the ranks or tho " unemployed, " seeiip *o have met with very little re-pous? s > f ir ¦ -n Saturday afternoon Mr. A. G. Johnson. the Relieving' Officer, w#s in attendance at tho Provincial Buildings for the purpose of selecting the men to proceed to Patea, but only six put in an appearance, and of this number four objected to accept the whole of the conditions of tha Government. The condition to which partii ular objection was made was to the effect that the chosen men should take their wives and families with them. It was urged — aad it seemq to us not without reason — that this condition was a bar3h one, inasmuch as it would involve tho breaking up of the homes, humble ai the} wore, of some of the men, while several wives were in too delicate a coi.dition to accompany their husbands. Mr Johnson at once represented the matter to the Government, and those men who cannot take their wives and families with them will be allow d to leave the-n behind. The pay will commence from the day on wh eh the m°n report them>elves to the engineer at Patea, and wages will be paid for the first week whether the weather be wet or dry. The snb-committee recently appointed to obtain information in reference to the export of frozen meat met at the Parliamentary Build'ngs on Saturday afternoon t was sta od that a capital of .£IO,OOO would bo required to f-tart a company in Wellington ; that the smallest meat freezing apparatus made would cost .£950 ; that 18 ordinary sheep woul 1 make half a ton in weight or a ton measurement ; that the probable cost of premises w-uld bo .£3OOO ; that the freezing apparatus might be situated some mile 3 from the city without operating unfavorably; that tho New Zealand J.and Company bad taken a contract to deliver t-OflO sheep in Kngland at 6d per pound ; that Messrs P Anderson and Co , of London, had entered into a contract to deliver meat from Victoria at 2<i per pound ; that the estimated number of sheep available for consumption in the colony would be one million, and but for the rabbit pest would be two and a-half millions ; and, finally, that if it was found necessary to establish a line of steamers, it would probably require a dozen, at a cost of .£120,000 to .£150,000 each. To start a company, it is said, 25 per cent, of the capital would have to be raised in the colony, and 75 per cent, might be obtained in Scotland. A special meeting of the Harbour Board was held at noon to-day. Present — Messrs. W. H. Levin, M.H.R. (chairman), F. A. Krull, P. Coffey, W. V. Jackson, Captain Rose, and tho secretary (Mr. H. M. Lyon). Tho principal object of the meeting was to consider the Harbours Act Amendment Bill, especially clause 3, relating to c jmpul=ory pilotage. The Chairman wished to know if it were still the feeling of the Board that pilotage should be made compulsory, and a resolution affirming this view was carried unanimously. Mr. Jackson was appointed to act as Deputy Chairman during the present session of Parliament. Mr. William Poppins, landlord of tho Princess Theatre Hotel, has been summoned for " allowing prostitutes to assemble on his licensed premises." The case will be dealt with by the Resident Magistrate to-morrow. Tho offence is alleged to have been committed in the theatre, not in the hotel portion of the premises ; and the question will be raised as to whether the theatre is included in the defendant's licensed premises or not. Sidney Wolf, of Wellington, professor ot misic, convened a first meeting of his creditors at tho Supreme Courb Hnildings at noon to-duy. His liabilities, aB filed, amount to .£OS 4s, composed principally of small debts due to tailors, newspaper proprietors, boardinghouse-keeper, photographer, bootmaker, hatter, music seller, and bill poster, the largest ci editor being Mrs Dall, boardinghouse proprietor, whose claim amounts to .£ll 12s. There are no assets. Mr. Speed appeared for the debtor. There were about half a dozen persons present, and the chair was occupied by Mr. S. Marks. The creditors wished to know what the debtor had done with the money he had received during the past eight months or so Mr. Wojf said he hid paid it away, and added that ho had made very little money lately. He came here jui^t twelve months ago with £5 in his pocket, and it was some time before he commenced to earn anything by receiving music-pupils. Ihe chairman alluded to a sum ot J640, which tho debtor received some time ago for services rendered at the production of "H.M.S. Pinafore," and also enquired respectii.g the result of the fees of -C 33s and £L 4s per term paid by the debtor's nine pupils. Mr. Wolf replied the money had gone to liquidate debts. 'I ho chairman-con-sidered this was an attempt on the part of Mr. Wolf to swindle hi 3 creditors. If he could not afford to pay his debts, what made him go in so " thick" for dress? Mr. Meyers, another creditor, also accused Mr. Wolf of endeavoring to swindle his creditors, but said he would put a stop to it it' possible — he'd swear that. In answer to further enquiries, Mr. Wolf said he had no offer to make. At that moment he had no engagement with Mr. Cary to travel with the " Pirates of Penzance ; " or rather, it was understood that if the speculation proved successful, he would b^ remunerated at the ri te of .£5 per week, if not he would get nothing beyond his tiavellinsr and boarding expenses. On the mot'on of Mr. Somerville, Mr. EversHgh was elected creditors' trustee, and the proceedings terminated. An awfully sudden death occurred phortly before noon to-day. Mr. Joseph Ballingar, plumber, of this city, was seized with a fit while in tho tram, and shortly after having been removed into the star Hotel, suddenly expired. The deceased, it appears, had been ailing for some time past, and his friends were not wholly unprepared for an occurrence of thid kind. He was about GO years of age. The frost last night and thi3 morning was the sharpest experienced in Wellington for some years, the minimum in the air, a3 shown by a self-registering thermometer (by Negret'i and Zambra) being 30'2deg., or I*B deg below the freezing point. There was ice fully an eighth of an inch thick in the roadside puddles. It is satisfactory to learn that the child Dawson, who met with the severe accident on Friday night, is, although not yet out of danger, progressing favorably under tho care of Dr. Cole. At the Pier Hotel on Paturday night the committee of management for the approaching sculling match between White and Hearu for the championship of New Zealand held a meeting, at which Capt. R. Johnson was appointed judge, and Mr. S. P. Andrews, M.H.H., consented to act as referee. It was arranged that in the event of tho water being smooth on the day of the contest the course should extend from a point half a mile be* ond Ngahauranga to tho south end of the Queen's Whart. In ca^e the water should be rough, the course will be from the ooncrete wall on the Hutt Road to Featherston's Bight. A number of entries were received for the Handicap Sculls, and the following are the crews entered for the rac«, Town v. Civil Service : — Town —G. H. Scales, stroke; J. Thompson, No. 3 ; B. R. Stock, No. 2 ; H. C. Robertß, bow. Civil Service— C. OH. Smith, stroke: G. F. C. Campbell, No. 3 ; W. R. Holmes, No. 2 ; A. O. Gibbes, bow. lhe opening performance of " The Pirates of Penzance " takes place this evening at tho Theatre Royal. The complete cast, together with other particulars, are contained in our advertising columns. A crowded house seein3 inevitable. An emu, belonging to tho Botanic Gardens, was missing from the groun is yesterday afternoon, and was supposed to have been chased by a large dog, taken into the gardens by a party of ladies. The bird was f ounnd uninjured this morning by Constable Campbell. To-morro;v being tho anniversary of the coronation of her Majesty Queen Victoria, the members of the new Bellringers' ftcciety will chime appropriate peals on the St. Peter's bells both morning and evening. Several women of ill-fame, hailing from the neighborhood of 'laraoaki- street, will make tneir appearance at the R.M Court to-morrow, on a charge of having no lawful visible means of support. The Loyal Brittannia Lodge, 1.0 0.F., M.U., will meet this evening, at 7 30, lor election of officers and other business. We understand that Messrs. Gilmer Bros., the well-known hotel proprietors, have added auother to the long list of firac class hotels owned by them, having purchased the Koyal Oak, Cuba-street, recoutly erected by Mr. W. G. Emeny. We are requested to draw attention to an advertisement notifying that the great book sale at Alcorn'a old shop, Lambton C;uay, will be kept open till 9 o'clock every evening this week. For the convenience of members cf Parliament, permission has been granted to three cabmen — Me=srs. boss, Ritaon, and Williams — to stand for hire on the Parliamentary^ jjrouniis direcly opposite to the mam entrance to the bmlaing. Hitherto cabbies ha>e been compelled to stand in the a cl joining street Messrs. J. H. Bethune & Co. will sell torn jrrow, a freehold farm and stook, situated at Tara Ahi, Wairarapa. Messrs. T. Kennedy Macdonald & Co. will hold a sale of housenold fnrniture and effects to-morrow, on the premises, Pipitea-streefc.

Me3-r3. Dwan & Co. will sell to morrow, on the premised, Limbton Quay, anvils drills, nail-", bar iron, <tc. Me-s^rs. Plimm-T. Re & ve3 & Co. will sel to-morrow, produce. In the action, T. K. Macdonald v. Thomn3'>n. --hannon and *'0., a claim preferred und*r eircumst*nce3 previously reported. Mr t-ic g^ral.i, on behaif of the pla ntiff. elected at the Resident Magistrate's Court this morning to accept a nonsuit. To the wive 3 and families of many honorable members of both Houses of Parliament, now assembled in this city, and also to the ladies resident in WeLingtou and it 3: environs, it may be a matter of interest to ki.ow that lately there have been completed to special ardor in the mantle making rooms of James Smith, Te Aro Hout-E, Cubastreet, some very elegant Ladies' Jackets, in the latest designs. The materials have been rich black Satin de Lyon and heavy pile black Genoa Velvet, trimmed with deep fur, and lined throughout with quilted silk. It is hardly necessary to state that for richness of appearance, exquisiieneds of fit, and perfect finish t_ey could not be exceeded by anything from the most fashionable modiste of the West End of London. What more graceful and fitting present could au honorable member make ?— [Advt.]