Untitled

Evening Star, Volume VII, Issue 1997, 29 September 1869, Page 2

Court of Appeal. —This Court commences it' sitHiurs at Wellington on the 12th of October. There is a considerable amount of business on the record. The Commissioner of Police. —We are informed (hat there is no truth in the report going the round of the papers, that Mr Weldon has been appointed Commissioner of Police for Otago in place of Mr Branigan. Volunteer Fire Brigade. —• The anniversary supper of the brigade will bo held on Friday evening next. Should tho weather prove fine, the usual torchlight procession will take place. New Mining Companies. —Tho New Zealand Gazette of Sept. 15 and Sc-pt. 21 contains applications for the registration of 55 new mining companies on the Thames goldfields. The nominally paid-up capital of these companies is L 590,315. The Glass-Blowers. —Mr and Mrs Woodrofo, of the Bohemian glass blow rs, together with their agent, Mr Peachman, were passengers by the Tararua to-day. It is not definitely arranged yet as to the place in which they will give their exhibitions. The Wallace Election. — We understand that Mr J. C. Brown, to-day, received a telegram to the effect that he and Mr Webster polled 58 votes each at the recent election The official declaration will be made on Friday. Accident.— Our Port Chalmers corresdondent telegraphs that the chief officer of the Tararua, on tho passage from tho Bluff, had his right leg fractured, and was otherwise severely injured during the gale last night, by the falling of the trysail boom. He was convoyed to the hospital by the Golden Age this afternoon. Supreme Court. —Mr Justice Ward held a sitting in bankruptcy this morning, when the following businc's was transacted : —On the application of Mr Cook, Thomas Fahey obtained a final order of discharge.— On the application of Mr Wilson, Samuel Collins was declared a bankrupt, ami tie first meeting of creditors fixed for the I2fch prox.—His Honor intimated that be would deliver judgment in the case of Driverv. Hcnuiughain to morrow. Princess Theatre. was again presented last evening to a fairly attended house. The applause elicited by Mr Talbot as the Cardinal, was such as is awarded only to an accomplished actor, and he was honored with a call before the curtain during the progress and at the conclusion of the piece. Mr Talbot is unquestionably great as Richelieu, and, in a large town,’ the piece so powerfully represented would assuredly have a long run. The subordinate characters, too, were creditably sustained Tliia evening Shakespear’s tragedy of “ Macbeth ” .and the sccon I act of “ The Man of the World ” will be presented, at the request and under the patronage of the Caledonian Society ; Mr Talbot appearing in both pieces. Wo may safely predict a very full house.

The Takanaki. — Everything connected with the steamer Taranaki is interesting, and especially what happened to her during her long rest at the bottom of the Straits. From time to time notices have appeared stating how the ironwork and cordage have been encrusted, and how the woodwork has been eaten by worms. Of the latter, through kindness of a friend at Port Chalmers, we have had a sncciracn given to us of a portion of the bridge. It has been stated that it has been honeycombed by teredo navalh, but this does not correctly describe the distinctive forms of the tubes made by the worm. Honeycomb has systematically hexagonal receptacles, but the teredo follows no rule ; and as they are of different sizes, the perforations vary in diameter and direction. Sir Kvcrard Hume, who minutely observed the habits of the worm, says it “ appears generally to bore in the direction of the grain of the wood, but occasionally it bores across the grain to avoid the track of the others ; and in some instances there was only a semitransparent membrane as a partition between two of them.” This is precisely the case with the specimen shown to ns. The tubes have been bored in a variety of directions by worms of different sizes, and the walls that separate them are not thicker than thin paper. Excepting in color, the piece of wood before ns resembles sponge rather than honeycomb. Aff is destroyed but these tissues, and it is as light as if formed of paper.

The Graving Dock.—Tlfe pumping out of the water within the coffer-dam at Port Chalmers is expected to take pi,ice in a few days. Some weeks aro wo gave a notice of the preparations that had been made for this process, and of the two powerful centrifugal pumps that the contractor* have provided for the purpose. The operations were delayed in consequence of a fault in the ground into which the piles of the cofferdam were driven. This rendered it necessary to free it by driving another row of piling down to the rock, and puddling between the two rows with clay. This is nearly completed, and then the work may be expected to ho rapidly proceeded with. To those who feel interested in the progress of large works, it is worth going to see the vast anticipatory preparations—how each stone is prepared prec.sely for its destined place ; and so nicely is this determined beforehand, that an immense amount of labor has been expended in fitting them accurately, although no one has yet he«;n placed upon or litted to another. Many of the large blocks of blucstono weigh from four to five tons each, and they are worked s.s beautifully as if intended for ornamental masonry. Mr Connor, one o,f the contractors, kindly

showed us a model of a section of the dock cut in Oamani stone, in which facsimiles <J cadi block of stone, accurately marked and numbered, are imposition. This is one of the works of genius in which imagination and mathematical certainty combine to raise a structure of practical utility, 'truly poetry is not confined to mere verbal description, but is equally manifested in the creative talent of the civil engineer. Port Chalmers Town Council—(From a correspondent).—After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and confirmed, a letter was road from the contractors for the Graving Dock, in answer to one written to th an by the Town Clerk', calling upon them to use more care in carrying on blasting operations. The r. ading of the letter caused an angry discussion, as a number of ratepayers had sent a letter supported by another letter from James Fulton ’Esq., R.M., calling attention to the careless manner in which the Vasts were fired, and the danger of life and limb resulting from it. Cr O’Donoghuo especially seemed an cry at the a'logatious, although it was stated that some stoms had been projected by the Vasts with such force as to pass through the iron chimneys and weather-boards of bouses, five hundred yards distant from the quarry. One man expressed fear that his children might be killed, and another was so alarmed that lie dared not open Vs door to escape, and said ho nearly lost his life in consequence. Councillor O’Donoghue said that, in bis opinon, the latter was a fellow who had no right to complain about the dock, as tho contractor had promised to repair all damages. [Our correspondent concludes his report here, and adds ; — “I am at a loss to know how tho contractor's promise to ropaT damages should bo hold sufficient to poimit reckless blasting, or how he could keep his promise should anyone bo killed. I think that all this should bo made public, especially as this councilor, who set so little store by our lives, was a candidate for the Mayor’s seat at the last election.]

New Zealand Statutes. The Xelson Examiner, drawing attention to the rapid growth of tho New Zealand Statutebook. writes :—“ On closing the Assembly, His Excellency the Governor gave his assent to 52 Acts, which, with 24 wo have seen in print, make 76 Acts for the session. But we are by no means certain that this comprises all tho Acts that were passed, as others, not yet published, may have been assented to. But assuming the whole number passed this session to be the number stated, these added to 94 passed in 1867, and 81 passed in 1868, give 251 new Acts in three years. These are in addition to the Acts yearly passed by nine provinces. ” The Examiner appropriately utters the following “moral": — “Surely, there never before was a country so prolific in new laws.”

The Inter-Colonial Conference. Speaking of subjects to be discussed at the proposed conference of deputies from the Australasian Colonies, flic Southern Gross says “ New Zealand has the right to demand from the neighboring Colonies to repress the indiscriminate ‘trade in arms and ammunition. '1 here is no room to doubt that a great many of the murderous weapons, which assist the rebel Maoris to maintain their disaffected attitude, arc introduced from other Colonies, in a way which vigilance in those Colonies would defeat. Not alone aro arras and ammunition introduced concealed in packages pretending to bo of another nature, but they arc brought in quantities from the South Sea Islands—to which they are conveyed by small vessels trading from the Australian ports. In the name of humanity, of civilised humanity against savagedom, New Zealand may well ask its neighbors to aid in defeating the foulest and most wicked trade it is possible to conceive. It is difficult to write in temperate terms of the crime which is committed, when men, for the sake of a little more gain than lawful trade would afford them, supply, directly or indirectly, fanatic savages with the means of slaughtering civilised beings.” Mining. —The news from the-various divisions of the Dunstan district respecting the miners is highly favorable—indeed of such a nature as to lead ns to reiterate what we have often expressed, namely, that the gold workings are nearly in their infancy. We are not inflating ourselves with any windy delusions, building castles on the sand, or raising hopes that are never to be realised. On the contrary, the foundation of the little excitement that does exist is solid. Without further comment we may affirm that the’prospects of the district were never so bright as now. The reefs at Bendigo Guliy i.c.. Goodyer and party are still crushing away with the same satisfactory results as it has been their fortune for the last few months to realise. Barnes anl party have applied for a lease of sixteen acres adjoining the Aurora Company’s claim. The shareholders in the company arc principally business men, resident at Cromwell and Clyde. They have already got some very good prospects ; and it is to he hoped their speculation will turn out well. There arc several other companies on tins line of reef, but as none have reached a very great depth, nothing definite can be said of them, excepting that the stone in every shaft that has been sunk contains gold. —Dunstan Times. Hokitika. —ln passing sentence on George Winter, late County Treasurer of Westland, who pleaded guilty at the silting of the Hokitika Circuit Court to four indictments, charging him with embezzling L 1,047 17s, Mr Justice Richmond is reported to have said:—“ Yours is a case, one of a in which no judge can proceed to pass sentence without a feeling of acute pain. It is a pain, however, which is, in your instance, to some degree tempered by indignation You stand there self-convicted of having abused the highest pecuniary trust in the place. You have brought shame not only upon yourself and yours, but upon the official class to which you have belonged—upon the social circle in which you moved. Not only this, but you have shaken that conlidence which should exist between governed and those that govern; you have shaken public confidence ; you have cast suspicion on social respectability ; you stand there a great social scandal. I feel totally unable to yield to those picas that have been urged in your favor, and L feel bound by my sentence to mark my sense of the gravity of the offence. However, while the fact of your position, your education, adds to your crime, there is no doubt that because of that petition, that education, the punishment that it will be the duty of the Coiut to indict will fall upon you with terrible weight. Your habits, inclinations, and tastes will make the discipline of a gaol doubly irksome to you, aud your mind will be racked, so that the

sentence, which you must feel to be severe, will be light compared to that. Without further comment, I pass the sentence of the Court upon you, which is that you be kept in penal servitude for the space of three vears.”—Dr Manuscll. of the Melbourne Hospital, has been elected Surgeon-Superin-tendent of the Hokitika Hospital. ih*ic wore twenty-one applications, ten of which were from Victoria, and the o hers from various places in New Zealand.

We notice that Mr Main will mldre’s the electors at Port Chaim rs on Friday evening next, at 8 o’clock ; and at tne Waitari Hotel, Blucskin, on Monday evening, at 7.30. Referring to the finely cut and polished greenstone brooch and ea 1 rings, mentioned yesterday, we have been requested to slate that the cutting and polishing of the stone were by Mr Ghilcott, but that the mounting and design in gold were the work of Messrs llarrop and Neill, Princes street.