THE BANKS AND BANKERS ACT AMENDMENT BILL.

Evening Post, Volume XXII, Issue 5, 6 July 1881, Page 2

THE BANKS AND BANKERS ACT AMENDMENT BILL.

? An important bill has been introduced by the Attorney-General in the Legislative Council to amend the Act drafted by the Statutes Consolidation Commission, and passed last session. It is designed to provide for various matters not adequately dealt with in last year's Act, and treats mainly four subjects — Ist, crossed cheques ; 2nd, cheques payable to order; 3rd, defacing bank-notes ; and 4th, special bank holidays. The first of these occupies a dozen clauses replacing section 21 of the Act of 1881, which is thereby repealed. These twelve clauses contain very minute directions and provisions in regard to crossing cheques, " generally" or " specially," and for the protection of all persons interested in such crossed cheques. Respecting cheques payable to order, the bill enacts that their endorsement by the payee-to-order is to be sufficient warrant for payment. The practice of defacing bank notes with the names or trade marks of persons through whose hands they pass, has grown into a serious commercial nuisance, and it is provided that a penalty of £10 may be recovered by a bank against any person who shall mark or stamp on bank notes any private name or trade mark, unless at the special request of the bank. Such marking of V«ank notes without authority is created a misdemeanor, heavily punishable, the onus of prosecution lying with the bank. Lastly, it ia provided tuat special bank holidays may be appoinied by the chief officer in the colony of any bank on giving due notice as prescribed, and any special holiday so appointed shall come within the provisions of the Banks and Bankers Act, ISbO, the 27th clause of which (relating to this subject) is repealed.

The delivery of the Financial Statement will positively take place this evening, at 7.30 o'clock. In the House yesterday Mr. Weston ask°d the Premier— " Whether the Government will bring down a bill to enable th9m to assist companies prepared to construct or continue mam lines of railway, by concessions of land or oth n rwiso ; and, if so, when ?" The Premier replied that a bill of that character was under consideration, but he was not able to say the precise day it would be brought down, though there would be no unnecessary delay. In reply to a question put to tho Native Minister yesterday, Mr. Holies ton said a bill for the amendment of the law respecting the administration of native reserves was already prepared, and would shortly be brought down. He thought it would make satisfac- j tory provision for the administration of ' native reserves in the colony. Among the notices of motion set down for discussion on Tuesday in the Lower House is the following, tabled by Mr. Bastings :—: — *' 1 hat, in view of the delay in the presentation to the House of the report of the English actuaries, the Colonial Treasurer will lay before tins House the valuation made by Mr. Knight, the Government Actuary, upon the net surplus of profits to policy-holders in the Government Insurance Department." In the Upper House to-day the Hon. P. A. Buckley will move that there be laid upon the table a return of the number of Government Life Insurance policies taken out by members of the Civil Service which have lapsed during the past two years, showing the amount which had been insured by each policy which has so lapsed or been cancelled, and the reason (if any) why any such policy has lapsed or been cancelled. The steamer Hinemoa, which arrived from Lyttelton this afternoon, brought up the Ringarooma's mails, consisting of^Suez and Australian.

The interim report of the Statutes Re- I vision Committee was laid upon the table of j the House last night. It states that a difficulty having arisen which prevents the Bills prepared by the Statutes Revision Commissioners from being considered by the committee of the two Houses, they recommend that a revised order bo passed as follows • — " That th« committee appointed on the 21st June, 1881, to whom are to be referred all Bills prepared by the Statutes Revision Commissioners which a hall be introduced into !this House during the present session, have power to consider all Bdls so prepared as boon as they are introduced into cither branch of the Legislature." A return of the securities held on behalf of the Government was laid upon the table of the House yesterday afternoon. The total amount is set down at jE2.418,769. The securities belonging the Post Office in Feb. last amo anted to £839,009, including Treasury Bills, £280,500 ; Immigration and Public Works Loan, £183,000 ; and General Purposes Loan, £147,800. The securities belonging to the Public Debt Sinking Fund in the same month amounted to £149,600, the Defence Loan being £70,000, and Treasury Bills £50,700. The securities belonging to the Government Insurance Department reached a sum of £431,000; those of the Public Trust Office, £96,400 ; of the Public Works Account, £969,700; of the Nelson Prize Fund, £1000 ; and of the Armed Constabulary Reward Fund, £2000. The total amount of Treasury Bills, held under all the headings referred to was, iv Feb. last, £1,243,900, and Deficiency Bills, £505,000. The Hon. Colonel Brett will to-day move in the Upper House that the Government be requested to bring in a bill during the present session of Parliament to amend clause 4 of the Vagrant Act, 3866, subsection 5, so that the penalty to be attached to the offence therein named be fl.ogf.ig, in addition to the punishment specified in the Act. The subsection referred to relates to indecent exposure in public throughfares. The s s. Wakatipu i 3 expected to arrive here from Sydney to-morrow evening, and will be at once put into quarantine. Mr. J. B. Kedward, the Immigration Officer, visited Somes Island this morning in order to see that the quarantine station was in readiness. An adjourned meeting of the creditors of George North, formerly carrying on the business of a hairdresser, and promoter of "consultations" on Lambton Quay, was held at noon to-day at the office of Mr. S. Carroll, tho creditors' trustee. The meeting was attended by Messrs. Richardson, Casey, and H. Blundell. Mr. Carroll reported that he had settled the solicitors' account, Mes3W. Buckley, Stafford, and Fitzherbert, remaining content with the £25 already received aud waiving the claim of £14. The coats in connection with the attempt to recover the ba'lot-box from Richards, cabinetmaker, amounted to £5 9s. He (Mr. Carroll) had not yet been able to obtain the sum of £9 due from Messrs. T. K. Macdonald and Co. on acconnt of certain uncleared goods sold at the auction, principally owing to Mr Macdonald'3 absence from town. This matter, however, would be settled so soon as that gentleman returned. Mr. Blundell suggested that, with a view to a dividend being dec'ared without further delay, the trustee be allow ed to retain, as compensation for his services, the sum due from Mr. Macdonald. The offer was accepted by Mr. Carroll, and a resolution having been unanimously passed authorising the step, a dividend was forthwith declared of 4s 4d in the £, after which the proceedings terminated. A disgraceful scene was enacted at the Cemetery yesterday afternoon on the occasion of the military funural elsewhere described. Just prior to the commencement of the burial service, a rush was made for the trees surrounding the grave, from the branches of which the proceedings could be comfoit-ibly overlooked by those anxious to witness the whole of the ceremony, and in a remarkably short space of time the trees were Jaden with human freight, whose weight threatened to cause tho branches to snap and laud their adherents on the unfortunate heads of thoge below. The offenders, of course, consisted principally of juveniles, but it was a matter of surprise to Bee their example followed by several adults, including some whose gay uniform rendered them conspicuous objects. Fortunately, they were speedily dislodged by the police. On future similar occasions, however, it would be advisable to exclude larrikins from the Cemetery. It ha 3 not yot been decided when the enquiry into the recent boiler explosion will take place. An information has been laid against Mr. Henry Phillips, licensee of the Prince of Wale 3 flotel, Tory-street, for alleged Sunday trading. It will -be- heard at the Resident Magistrate's Court on Thursday. The House Committee have issued a notice with reference to Bellamy's, which runs thus :—": — " The tariff from this date haa been raised 10 per cent., but discount to that amount will be allowed on monthly accounts, if paid within one week after the date of rendering the s*mo." The last sentence showa that the committee is up to the ways of hon. members. The funeral of the late Dr. Harding, to which we only had time to refer briefly yesterday, was of a most imposing character. The cortege, which extended for a considerable length, assumed the following order :—: — The member b of the Hope of Wellington, Perseverance, and Excelsior Tents, 1.0.0. R., to which order the deceased acted in the capacity of Tent Doctor ; officers and members of Courts Sir George Grey, Robin Hood, Sir George Bowen, &c, A.O.F. ; members and band of the Wellington Guards, the former carrying reversed rifles ; Naval Brigade Baud ; gun carriage bearing the coffin, covered with the Union Jack, &c, in charge of a detachment of Artillery; tho late Dr. Harding's private carriage, followed by Captain Edwin and Messrs. Harold Harding and Lionel Gisborne, as chief mourners ; member 3of the medical profession ; Naval Brigade ; City Rifle 3; Artillery ; and a procession comprising several members of Parliament, the Mayor, City Councillors, and many of the leading citizens in \\ ellington. The Hon. Mr. Gisborne, brother-in-law of the deceased, was too unwell to follow on foot, but attended the funeral in a cab. The procession moved from the deceased's late residence at the corner of Manners and Willis-streets shortly after 3 o'clock along Willis-street and Lambton Quay, in the direction of the P'nglish Cemetery, to the sorrowful strains of the Bead March. Several thousand people thronged the line of route, which was overlooked by hundreds more on the Terrace. The burial service was conducted most impressively by the Yen. Archdeacon Stock ; and on its conclusion the Guards fired three volleys over the grave. The sight was one not soon to be forgotten. Many were to be seen weeping openly ; and the sad and solemn proceedings cannot fail to have touched the hearts of all those by whom they were witnessed. The immense concourse, indeed, composed as it was of persons representing all grades, trades, and professions of the community, afforded indisputable proof of universal eßteem and respect in which the deceased, thus cut off in the very prime of life, was held. There have been one or iwo very bright juries at the present criminal sittings of the Supreme Court. Une prisoner, charged with house breaking, was prove! to have been found recently in a stranger's house, in the midst of rummaged drawers and boxes, the locks of which had been burst open and the contents strewn about the floors, wa3 acquitted by the jury on the ground that "he had no felonious intent." This verdict, however, was capped by that of another jury yesterday afternoon. A prisoner waa found guilty of stealing a ipiano belonging to the trustees in an assigned estate, but the jury recommended him to mercy " on the ground of conflicting evidence." The Committee of the Benevolent Institution met a3 usual yesterday afternoon. Present— Mr. J. G. Holdsworth (chairman), Reve. W. Kirk and H. B. Redstone, Councillors Allen aud Danks, Messrs. B. Smith, C. P. Powles (Treasurer), and A. G. Johnson (Relieving Officer). The monthly account for rations, amounting to £90 0a 3d, was passed for payment. Mr. Robert Hannah, bootmaker, communicated an offer of £3 worth of boots as a donation to the institution, and the offer was gratefully accepted. A number of cases were dealt with according to their respective merits Of these the only one that need be mentioned was that of a man who had been receiving relief from the institution, and whose name, "from information received," it was resolved to strike off the books. The ''information received" was to the effect that a short time ago the man went through the ceremony of marriage with a woman in thi3 city, his first wife still living at Blenheim. The woman, however, declined to prosecute. Mr. J. M. Speed, formerly with Mr. F. M. Ollivier, ha 3 set up on hid o .vn account as a barrister and solicitor. His office 3 are situated near the Academy of Music, I ambton Quay. A very acceptable gift, consisting of twelve handsomely-bound volumes, has been made to the Wellington Workii g Men's Club by Mr. J. S. M. Thompson. We are informed that the cause of Dr. Harding's death was not diphtheria, as at first stated, but inflammation of the lungs, following on an abscess in the throat. The Perseverance Tent, 1.0. R., held its usual session last evening at the Primitive Methodist school-room, bydney-Btreet. Mr. Johnston, C. be., occupying the chair. One candidate, who had passed the usual examinations, was duly received as a member. The financial balance-sheet for the quarter waß read and adopted. It showed that the tent was in a sound position. '

The prospectus of an important undertaking for the purpose of settling the fertile lands of the Fast Coast of this island appears in our advertising columns. A company, entitl d the East Coast Native Land and Settlement Company, Limited, is to be started with a capital of £500 000, in 100,000 shares of £5 each, whereof 70,000 will be allotted to the native contributors of land (called " original shares"), and 30,000 to European Bubecribers of capital (called "capitalist shares"). The proposal is that the native owners on the East Coast shall contribute blocks of land, accepting paid-up shares in the company for the same; the European shareholders contributing capital to the amount stated (£30,000) to be called up in fixed and limited amounts, as may be fonnd requisite for conducting the operations of the company. The capitalist shares will be preferential, having securred to them a minimum of 8 per cent, per annum as a first charge on the profits, with a further division of profits in proportion to the capital investd. An officer of the company will be located in England, to send out special settlement parties for the company's lands, and it is anticipated that the company will be able to dispose of the properties to great advantage. A number of well-known names appear in the list of provisional directors. As will be seen from the advertisement, Messrs. Lidbetter and Cooper are the Wellington agents and brokers for the company. The rumor is being freely circulated in the Manawatu that another volcano has burßt forth —the outcome of the earthquake. It is stated by many, that they have seen the Bmoke issuing from a peak in the Tararua Ranges, and others even avow that flames have been seen by them from the same spot The alleged volcano is said to be situated in the ranges, about midway between Palmerston and Foxton. Many drivers of vehicles seem to have fallen into the practice of ignoring streetcrossings, so far as the rate of speed at which they drive is concerned, and, as a consequence, narrow escapes from serious, if not iatal, accidenta are of almost daily occurrence. An example in. point occurred to-day. Two gentlemen were on the crossing leading to the Bauk of New Zealand, when a butcher's cart approached at a rattling pace, and was within an ace of knocking them down, when fortunately the danger was perceived and avoided. Tnis dangerous practice cannot be too strongly reprehended. The lives of pedestrians ought not to be thus wantonly jeopardised by the misconduct of drivers, and it is to be hoped that the police will keep a vigilant eye upon those who overlook these crossings, as well as upon those who rush blindly round streetoorners. Otherwise, it may soon be our painful duty to record a fatal accident owing to this cause. "The Pirates of Penzance" made their eighth appearance last night, to a splendid house, indeed, one of the best of the season. The "run" which this piece is having ia quits remarkable, but not at all surprising in view of its singular merits alike dramatic, musical, and executive. The special feature in last night's performance was the appearance of a new Frederic, Signor Carmini Morley being, we ragret to hear, a victim not to " duty," but to a severe cold, which totally prevented his singing. His place was kindly filled, and very creditably, although at extremely brief notice, by a local amateur tenor, who has long established himself as a favorite vocalist. To-morrow night Madame Carmini Morley will make her first appearance in Wellington in the part of Ruth, and on Friday night Mr. Barry O'Neill will appear as the Major-General, and other changes will be made in tho cast. We are informed that Saturday is tho laßt night of the performance, as the company Eail for Christchurch on Monday, opening in that city on Tuesday night. A second meeting of the promoters of the Wellington-Petone Steamboat Company is to be held to-night, at 7 o'clock, at the Emgire Hotel. The object ot" the company ia one which, if carried out, will supply a want long felt, in furnishing a readier means of access to various parts of the harbour, and ought to add to the prosperity of the city and its environs. We hope, therefore, it will prove a success. Another entertainment was given last night by the pupils of tho Terrace School, the programmo being tho same as that submitted the previous evening. We understand that the two nights' receipts amount to about £15 The Greytown footballers propose to send two teams of footballers to play the Wellington Athletic Club ; the first fifteen of Greytown to play the first fifteen of the Athletic, and a Maori nil teen to play the second Athletic fifteen. It is also proposed, we learn from the Wairarapa Daily, to give an evening entertainment whilst in Wellington, the first part to oonsist of a Christy performance, and the second to be a "Maori Haka." Special railway arrangements have been entered into for Saturday evening next with a view of affording the residents of the Wairarapa district an opportunity of witnessing the popular opera now being performed co successfully at the Theatre Koyal. On this occasion, » double bill consisting of "The Pirates of Penzmce" and another attraction, will be submitted. Tho 11.15 p.m. train will be delayed till the conclusion of the performance, and will make stoppages at all wayside stations from Wellington to Masterton. Tickets, available fdr return either the same day or the following Monday, will be issued for the return journey at single fares. The St. Peter's Bellringors' Society rang a muffled peal last night as a token of respect for the memory of the late Dr. Harding, who was a member of the congregation of that church ever since his arrival in Wellington. The effect of the muffled bells was exceedingly solemn in the stillness of the night. A " Shareholder " wants to know "why the head office of the National Bank is being removed from Wellington to Dunedin," and hopes that" the Wellington shareholders, and those doing business with the above bank, will insist on knowing the reason why Wellington ia to play second fiddle to Dunodin in this matter, aa the capital of the colony is the proper place for the head-quarters of a ' National' bank." We are requested to remind the members of the Southern Cross Lodge of Odd Fellows of the meeting called for this evening at 7 30 o'clock, for the instal'ation of the newlyelected officers. The members are requested to attend early, so that the business of the evening may be disposed of with despatch. The Te Aro Juvenile Minstrels will give an entertainment at the Princess Theatre on Friday evening, in aid of St. Peter's Church Fund. The farce entitled "The Haunted House," and a comedy called " The Rural Lovers," are included in the programme. The orchestra will ba conducted by Mr. Hautrie West. The London correspondent of the N.Y. World, in telling the story of the gunpowder find beneath the Mansion House, London, hints .that it was "a job" of the London police. He says: —The story, aa told by the police authorities, is doubtless true as far as it goe'J, but the impression among those who kuow something of the inner workings of the force, is that the police themselves " put up the job." The public is nervous, and those frequent discoveries of mysterious powder packages lead to a demand for extra detectives, who are drafted out of the regular force. It is much pleasanter to walk about in plain clothes with extra pay than to trudge in uniform on a monotonous beat. Moreover, the finders of these " infernal machines" are always handsomely rewarded out of the gratuity fund, and marked for early promotion. The Wellington Clothing Manufacturing Company have commenced business in Man-ners-street. The premises are very neatly fitted up, and the windows contain an extensive array of cloths, tweeds, &c. It will be seen from the advertisement in another column that the management of the company has been entrusted to Mr John Coogan. Messrs. Francis Sidey & Co. will hold a sale of furniture to-morrow.