THE Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1866.

Evening Star, Volume III, Issue 854, 31 January 1866, Page 2

THE Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 31, 1866.

Erratum. —ln our leader of yesterday we erroneously referred to clause 23 instead of clause 33 of the Otago Municipal ■Corporations Empowering Act. We .understand that Mr Hardy has been dismissed from the- Government service. It appears that the Government requested Mr Hardy to send in his resignation, which polite request he refused to comply with, and was in consequence dismissed. Notwithstanding the verdict of the Select Committee, this gentleman still considers himself an illused individual, and he is, we are informed, about to commence an action against the Government for wrongful dismissal. The Princess Theatre was, considering the crowded audience of the previous day, and the impending attraction of the Burlesque to-night, well attended yesterday evening. The * ‘ Child of the Regi- ■ ment” was repealed, and excellently played throughout. As Josephine, of -course the most prominent character, Lady Don played with spirit, and her songs were all charmingly sung. The subordinate characters deserve praise for their careful attention to the business of the piece, and contributed largely to its success. Miss Dolly Green was a perfect representative of the stately Duchess de Grandtete, and Miss C. Mathews presented a truthful conception of the fussy old Marchioness. Mr Richardson has a rather difficult part to play in the character of the love-sick peasant Guillot, but made all of it that was possible. Mr J. Dunn as the weather-beaten old Cor- / poral Scalade was excellent. Buckstone’s • comedy of the “ Maid with the Milking Pail,” concluded the programme, and enabled Lady Don to repeat the character of Milly. The plot of the piece, if the incidents represented may be dignified by that term, is improbable, but nevertheless amusing and interesting, and Lady Don’s delineation of her disguised character, that of a Yorkshire milkmaid, was intensely natural. Dialect .and t»ye-play were perfect, and she sang the ballad, “The Maid with the Milking Pail” with great effect. To-night “ Orpheus and Eurydice” will be produced, and we learn that great preparations have been made to present it in that style of excellence which it merits as a burlesque require and deserve. ■ The children attending the Sunday School in connection with Knox’s Church ' held their annual pic-nie .on Monday at Anderson’s Mill, Water of Leith, and judging from the manner in which the arrangements were carried out, wo presume that the young folk must have heartily enjoyed themselves. Various healthy recreations were provided, and spiritedly indulged in. The party returnadto town shortly after 6 o’clock, well pleased with their treat.

A SITTING of the Supreme Court under the Debtors and Creditors Act -will be held at the Court House, on Monday next, the sth February. The large at Mr and Mrs George Case’s entertainment last evening ■was a convincing proof that the public only requires fair weather to cause it to patronise all amusements of the sterling character of the one offered by these talented artistes. “ Odd’s and Ends,” the title of the entertainment is appropriate, for a .wider range of characters than Mrs Case presented last night could hardly be'conceived, "Whether as Sairey Gamp, or SinTs Beeves, the individuality of the part was preserved, and although Mrs Case slightly flattered the great tenor by her make-up, her excellent mimicry of his fidgefcty and affected movements before an audience were ‘‘hit off” to a nicety. The delicate Manner he had of arranging his carefully-dressed locks was copied most perfectly, and both of the songs 'with which his name is -identified were beautfully sung-; that of “My Pretty Jane” being perhaps a better imitation than “Come into the Garden, Maud.” The Matrimonial Episode at the close of the first, part ,of the programme was one of the most amusing sketches imaginable, and caused the greatest hilarity to prevail amongst the audience. Mr Case played some selections from'H Trovotore upon the concertina in exquisite style, indeed he fairly divided the honors of the evening by his masterly performances upon both that instrument and the violin. The same programme will be repeated this evening, and as the stay of these artistes is now limited to three or four nights, we recommend all who have not yet seen them to do so, and be heartily well pleased. We .are glad to see by an advertisement in another column that an attempt is about to be made to arrange for a Begatta in our harbor. It has been a matter of surprise to us that possessing as we do facilities for aquatic sports that no Yacht Club has been formed. There are numerous owners of sailing boats in the town, and we believe that they will not be found unwilling to co-operate in the matter. The Nelson Examiner of the 23rd inst. says :—“We can only briefly refer to-day to the important intelligence contained in our columns, of the success which has attended the efforts of General Chute to root out the nests of murderers who have so long been the terror of the country between Wanganui and Taranaki. With a mere handful of soldiers, assisted by a body of the Colonial Forces and Native Allies, General Chute has made himself master of the strongest positions of the enemy, inflicting on them severe losses. General Chute is disposed to carry on the war against the natives as no other officer has before done in New Zealand, to judge from what we are told by the Wanganui papers. The Chronicle of the 13th, says : —‘After the capture of the pah on the Bth, a native, fleeing from the place, was caught and brought, into camp. In conversation with some of the Native Contingent, he confessed to his having taken part in the death of Private Devitt, of the 50th Begiment, who was brutally cut with tomahawks and murdered some time ago. His confession was reported to the General ; it was formally gone into ; and the man making no attempt to deny or extenuate his crime, he was handed over to the 50th ; a file of soldiers were told off, and he met his doom.’ Contrast this with the treatment of the murderers in the Bay of Plenty, who, although found guilty, and sentenced to death, are for reasons which we have not heard explained, still suffered to live. We,would ask whether the treatment of the murderer who fell into the hands of General Chute is not more likely to check these outrages, than the course which has been pursued towards the murderers of Mr Yolkner and Mr Fulloon ? There were no prisoners made in these late engagements, as General Chute, we are told, does not care to encumber himself with such costly luxuries. What a pity General Chute was not sent to New Zealand at the commencement of the native war,”

A Quarterly meeting of Justices under the “ Licensing Ordinance, 1865,” will be held at the Resident Magistrate’s Court House, at each -o| .the following places, viz :—Port Chalmers, Clyde, Queenstown, Oamaru, Waikduaiti, Taieri, Tokqmairiro, Clutha, Hamilton, Lawrence, at noon, oh Tuesday the 6th day of March; 1866, for the phrpose of taking into consideration all applications for Publicans’ Licenses, and for the transfer, renewal, or removal of such Licenses, of which due notice shall have been given to the Clerk of the said Resident Magistrate’s Courts respectively.

We , understand that considerable dissatisfaction is expressed by a number of merchants in town at the inaccuracy of the weights in use in some of the bonded stores in the city. In a recent case, it is stated that the weight of a parcel of sugar was returned at above 2 cwt in excess of the proper quantity, in which case the purchaser, who removed it from bond, would be the loser of the additional duty. Again, it frequently happens—indeed, it is the rule that a cargo of sugar is sold upon the understanding that the buyers will be expected to pay the importer for “ Custom House weights.” Thus, it will be seen that any inaccuracy in the weights and scales used in the bond must entail loss upon either the public or the Government. At present we believe that the former are the victims, but it might happen to be the reverse at some future time, and it therefore behoves the Custom authorities, if only for the protection of the revenue, to look into the matter.