The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1884.

Evening Star, Issue 6759, 26 November 1884, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1884.

Mr Alexander Wfllis is private secretary to the Premier.

The ratepayers of Outram propose to borrow LBOO for a water supply. The Government have decided to purchase the battery of 9-pounder breech-loaders offered by the Home War Department for L9OO.

The 1 Argus ’ speaks encouragingly of the Early History Society of Otago, and recommends the formation of a similar society in Victoria.

The following tenders were received for the Hindon tunnel contract of the Otago Central Railway:—Accepted i Gore Bros., Dunedin, L 20,560. Declined: Barr and Co., Dunedin, L 22,902 ; Matheson Bros., Dunedin, L 22.985; N. Reid and Co., Dunedin, L 25,079. The Dunedin and suburban Volunteers paraded last night, Lieutenant-colonel etavely in command. The staff were also represented by Major Wales, Adjutant Gordon, Sergeant-major Johnston, and Staffsergeant Harrison. The City Guards had on parade—2 lieutenants, 1 color-serceant, 3 sergeants, 34 rank and file; North Dunedin —1 captain, 2 lieutenants, 1 color-sergeant, 4 sergeants, 35 rank and file; Wakari—l captain, 2 lieutenants, 2 sergeants, 35 rank and file; South Dunedin—2 lieutenants, 1 color-sergeant, 2 sergeants, 36 rank and file; Garrison Band—l bandmaster, at bandsmen,

The accident by which two lads lost their lives near Ashburton on Sunday is thus reported by the ‘ Press ’" Two lads, aged respectively twelve and fourteen years, mot their death by drowning in a gravel pit, adjoining the property of their father, Mr John Small, farmer, of Wheatstone, The lads had gone to the gravel pit, which was nearly fall of water, to bathe, and after doing so launched a horse-feed box, with the intention of having a row on the miniature lake. The box sank in deep water, and the lads, being unable to swim, were drowned beforo assistance conld reach them.”

It may be, and it not infrequently is (says the Christchurch ' Press ’), a dead loss to the country to keep money in it. Thus, supposing an article of ordinary consumption is produced in the Colony at a cost of LIOO which could be got from England, say, for LBO, there is a direct loss of L2O; bat that is not all. Many people will say: "Aye, but the LIOO has been spent in the Colony, and the Colony has got the benefit of the employment of labor and the consumption of its own products in maintaining the laborers,” whereas the truth is that if the LI 00 had been spent in a profitable industry, producing an article of export, the Colony would have got the benefit of its expenditure all tho same, and tho product would have been exchanged in' Europe for c mmodities worth Ll2O or more in the Colony, Thus the Cplony would have gained L2O instead of losing L2O on tho transaction, and tho incidcntaj advantages would have been all tho same;

The anniversary soirde of the new %esbyterian Church at Port Chalmers was held in the Foresters’ Hall last night, and, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, there was a very large attendance. There were thirteen tables supplied by the following Mesdames PoAon, Cook, M'Dermid, Goldie, Cameron, Dodds, Cable, Menelaus, Gardner, Ryley, Watson, Thoms n, Sutherland, Lciek, Watson, jun., Messrs Reid, Leek, and D. Marr. After the tea an adjournment was made to tho new church, when the Rev. Mr Ryley took the chair, and gave a short address, in which he referre 1 to the success that had attended the efforts of the Building Committee during the past year. He trusted that the time was not far distant when they would meet together for worship in a building free from debt. Apologies were received from the Revs. Mtohie and Finlay son and Mr Maoandrew, M.H.R. Professor Salmond addressed the meeting, reviewing the history of thaGhurch during the past twenty-five years. Addresses were also delivered by the Revs. Messrs Gillies, Todd, Andrew Cameron, M’Kie, Thomas, Grant, and by Mr J. A. D, Adams. Between the addresses the choir, Under the leadership of Mr Harrison, sang several hymns, Mr A. Bott presiding at the organ in the absence of Mr A. J. Barth. Solos were sang by the Misses Hardison, Kelly, Baton, and Messrs Cleghorn and Mackay. Votes of thanks were accorded to tho ladies, the choir, the speakers, and to the Mayor and councillors for the hearty fupport the latter had given the clock project,. The proceedings were brought to ft close h'y.ipp Mf,Crapt Hi®: benodjctigp.

Ths sittings of the Wesleyan Conference were brought to a close last night.

At the annual meeting to-day of the Clutha County Council Mr William Dallas was re-elected chairman.

The Wellington ‘Post’ gives a denial to the statement that serious differences hWe arisen between the Premier and Sir Julius Vogel. "*jMajor Keddell goes to Wes'port and Mr J. N. Wood to Greymouth. The ‘ Tuapeka Times ’ says that Mr Stratford is Mr WwhcPs successor at Lawrence.

In the Appeal Court yesterday judgment was given for plaintiffs in the case •of Kligenstein-v. Walters .(Christchurch), and far Cotterell v. Young (Christchurch), The Choral Society’s performance of the "Messiah ” will most probably take place on the 23rd December, A very successful rehearsal of the oratorio took place last evening. . ; ’J

The thirteen year-old son of Mr D. J. M’Donald, of Waitahuna road, died on Sunday morning from injuries received the previous day through being thrown from a horse which he was riding bare back. A Correspondent Of the ‘ Lyttelton Times ’ asserts that there is now living in Wanganui Edward Archer, who was sailmaker on board ’the Osprey at the time of the rescue of the B ilia’s boat after the loss of that vessel.

The Naaeby paper is responsible for the statement that theraisttess of the Hamilton school has been received into the Mount Ida Hospital buffering from brain fever. Our contemporary says she is " another victim of our high-pressure system of education,”

The Governor;will arrive in town at 6.20 : this evening, and’on the arrival of the train will be met by the Mayor and City Councillors. The City Guards and the Dunedin •Hussars will respectively furnish a guard Of honor and escort. , His Excellency, who will stay at the Club, will to-morrow visit the Art Exhibition and the Show; and in the evening will open the All Hattons’ Fair. It was proposed to employ Baker Pasha in connection with Lord Wolseley’s expedition to Egypt, but the project was peremptorily vetoed by the Queen. Her Majesty took advantage of the opportunity to announce that her decision on this subject is unalterable, and, therefore, she wishes to hear no more about it. The personages who urged in favor of General Baker were sharply snubbed.

According to our Lawrence contemporary, Mr J. C. Brown, before leaving Wellington, had an interview with the Premier on the subject of removing ifhe School of Mines to Lawrence, and Mr Stout is in hopes that effect will be given to the suggestion at no distant date. It appears that some remarks in that paper’s issue of Saturday, in which Professor Black was made to contrast the relative values of a School of Mines and a Minister of Mines, were never made by him, but are the opinions of the editor of the paper. : Several members of the British Association, on their return from Canada and the United States, complained of the niggardly conduct of the Philadelphians, into whose hands they fell while visiting tbo American scientists. They said that publicans, dabdrivers, and others took outrageous advantage of rhoir innocence, and swindled them unmercifully in hotel and other charges. On the other hand, Professor Goldwin Smith writes indignantly to a Toronto newspaper regarding the personnel of the British scientific excursion party. He alleges that it was composed largely of Manchester " bagmen,” who came to America to sell goods for the firms they represent, and that they were really conducting trade under cover of philosophy. Referring to the charge of cannibalism against the survivors of the ill - fated yacht Mignonette, the 1 Law Journal ’ says: —“The story of the yacht Mignonette raises no legal objection about which thcrcan be any real doubt. English law does not recognise necessity as an excuse for crime. Hunger is no defence for a charge of larceny, still less is it a defence to a charge of murder. There is authority in the books for saying that if two drowning men grasp a plank which will only support one it is not homicide for one to push the other off. This is looked upon as a sort of act of selfdefence, and is as far as the law goes in admitting the plea of necessity. Ordinarily, necessity in English law means compulsion by threats of life and limb.” The efforts of the Victorian Railway Commissioners to popularise the lines of that Colony are succeeding. They recently reduced the price of yearly tickets, which enable the holders to travel over all the lines, ejesept the suburban ones, from LIOB to L 75, with the result that there has been a large demand for them. They also issued L 26 yearly tickets between Geelong and Melbourne, and so successful has this experiment been that the Commissioners have been compelled to extend it ti six other towns. The rai way returns also continue to exhibit most gratifying increases. The estimate for the year ended Juno 30 last Was L 1,900,000, and the actual receipts L 2,083-000. From July I to October 30 L 663.000 was received, against L 581,000 for the corresponding period of 1883.

Before bis release, the Claimant wrote the following letter to Mr Quartermaine East:— " I shall be pleased on all occasions to join my supporters in all their movements, so long as they are conducted in a quiet, lawful, and orderly manner; but to be a party to any clamorous demonstration is a thing I do not intend to do. That being so, I have taken it upon myself to ask the authorities not to allow the time and place of my release to be made known, except to one gentleman whom I have named. Therefore let me beg of my friends and supporters not to form any demonstration upoa my release, for it will lead to disappointment only. Besides which, after so many years of incarceration, I wish for a few quiet days, which I feel sure those who really respect mo will grant me. I dread going to Pentonvillo. The treatment I received there ten years and a-half ago is as vivid now as when endured, and will never be effaced from my memory or feelings were I to live for a hundred years.” Two deputations waited on the Minister for Works at Christchurch yesterday. To the Chamber of Commerce, who inquired if there was any chance of a reduction of the grain tariff this season, the Minister replied that he would bring the matter before the Cabinet, but he did not hold out much hope. The deputation also complained that the railway carriage rates from Lyttelton to Christchurch were higher than od the Port Chalmers and Dunedin line, and that a charge of Is 6d per ton was made at Lyttelton for haulage and handling of geods landed from steamers, Mr Richardson said he would bring both matters beforo the Cabinet. In answer to a deputation from the Industrial Association, Mr Richardson said tho Government would probably call for tenders in the Colony for ten or a dozen railway engines of a stnal'er class, to be delivered in two years. Tho Government would do what they could under present circumstances to remove the anomalies from the railway tariff, but he thought the best remedy was the management of the railways by a non-political board, a scheme for which was in preparation. While there are still many sources of friction between Germany and Franco, the Prime Ministers of those countries are, odd'y enough, indulging in effusive mutual admiration. Premier Ferry, when he received Count Herbert Bismarck in Paris tho other day, heaped upon him assurances of the very distinguished consideration which ho entertained for his father, Prince Ilismarck. The latter has now returned the compliment with interest in an interview with a leading diplomat at Berlin. The rugged old Chancellor assured the diplomat that he had a very high opinion of the French Premier, and he continued “M. Ferry is the one Frenchman with whom it is possible to negotiate, whose hand one can take without the fear of grasping something concealed. M. Ferry is a steady man, like a German. Without parade, without making great professions, and without special gifts of oratory; ho is resolute, strong, and capable. Ho has proved by his own force of character that tho French are easily governed if you will ignore their foibles. Don’t combat them, don’t prohibit them; close your eyes to them and go on with the work of government as though they did not exist, The trouble with the French is that •dljoy have been badly governed before. Now they are well governed, ami, in fix-.i, no people gp curjth obey better than the French 'if they feel the

A musical competition took' place at the Milton High School recently for prizes a ward el by Mr John Grant. Mr Charles Norman acted as judge, And hss awarded the prizes as folldfra: pittances OlSot, 1 {..Mary fAnn Albert, 2. Piano plajffiig: Morrison, *1;; Frances Grant, 2. . , Owing to the resignation of, Judge rlxeaie there is a vacanoyAmthe Senate of thtsfew l^^hd -ijmverßSw It wM|ba fiUw- tip when the Senate meet in Auckland in March, and it is probable (says the ‘Herald’) that Tc will.be filled up by the election of one of the of the Auckland University. How mad Melbourne people get over their Cup may be inferred from the fact that the leading drapers'and dressmakers "of that city applied to the Chief Secretary for a temporary suspension of the dlause of the Factories Act rendering it unlawful to employ -females in their establishments for -longer , 'than eight hours per day, .. An extension of two and a-half hours' a day was granted for a month, so that the fashionables might have their costumes in time foi* the event, i The annual meeting of the Social Purity Society of New South Wales Was held on November 13. In the report the following passage occurs“lt is to be noted that the supporters of the Contagious Diseases Act in Brisbane have been repeating the sophisms which have been so often refu ei in England and France. It has been shown by high medical authorities that compulsory examination as carried out cannot, and proved by experience that it does bot, abate thq, spreadof the disease which it .is-supposed'to pre* yent. On the contrary, 'there is strong reason to suspect that'it may be itself a most efficient agent of infection. At any rate,, it is gratifying to, learn that since the discontinuance of the practice in England, there has not only been a marked improvement in the order and diminution in the. crime of towns formerly subjected, but also, in some cases, a . striking decrease in the death-rate. A petition in favor of the repeal of the G.D.A., signed by ever 5,000 persons, was recently presented to the Queensland Parliament. Mr Archibald Forbes thus discourses of our new admiral:—There has been a fresh shuffle in the arrangements of our Admiralty, and Commodore Erskine’s successor op-the Australasian station is not to be Admiral Richards, but Admiral Tyron, C.B. “George,” as his officers used to call him when he commanded that fine frigate the Raleigh. Admiral Tyron will not earn the personal goodwill which Commodore Erskine will leave behind him when he quits the Australasian command. He is a personage of considerable, pomposity, with .rather a tendency to condescension! nor can any man hold a higher opinion of Admiral -George Tyron than does Admiral George Tyron himself—if, indeed, so high. But he is an officer of admirable efficiency, and has no hesitation in the assumption of personal responsibility. He has been in difficult situations, necessitating a man to think and act for himself with promptitude, and admitting of no reference Homei-r instructions, and he has acquitted himself with credit to himself and the flag under which he serves. The French Admiral before Tunis could get no change ont of Captain George Tyron, as he stood on tho quarterdeck of his ironclad, and remarked that in a certain case it would become bis duty to open fire.

Lodge St. John Kilwinning, 662, 8.0 , meet to-morrow evening. The Fire and Marine Insurance offices will be closed to morrow afternoon.

~Tha preliminary programme of the Otago Annual Regatta to be held at Port Chalmers on B jilng Day appears In this Issue. Fifteen races will take place, and the value of the prizes will be announced later.

The management of the All Nations Fair have issued a elxteen-paged pamphlet, in which are given short sketches of the Anglican Churches in the city and suburbs. The frontispiece Is very neat. The pamphlet is turned out by Lister, Hutton, and 00. The Oommitt'-e of the Arthur street school district having requested the Governor to attend the concert to bo given in the Lyceum Hall on Friday evening in aid of the prize fond, received a reply by telegram yesterday granting H ! s Excellency’s patronage.

- A cricket match between teams from the Bank of New Z island and the combined banks will be played on the Caledonian Ground to morrow. The Union Steam Ship Company p!ay< the New Zealand Loan and Meicantlle Agency Company to-morrow, also on the Caledonian Gloand. 1

'Woodyoar’a circus will open on Saturday night on the Southern Market Reserve. A portion of the company arrived by the Waihora to day, and the remainder are. passengers .by the Hauroto, which is due at Port Chalmers to morrow. The company have done very good badness In New South Wales. Mr Alfred Wyburd (late of the Marionettes) Is sgent. There are three choir scholarships vacant fas Christchurch Cathedral. The value of the scholarships Is LSI, and they sire tenable at the Cathedral school which now numbers seventy boys, and is under the supervision of the Rev. W. H. Elton, precentor of the Cathedral. The oholr-soholars all live together in the boardinghouse attached to the school. A scholarship reduces the total annual cost for a boy at the school to L2O. When boys leave the Cathedral choir they receive exhibitions at Christ’s College, in consideration of work done at the Cathedral.

The following applications for patents are gazetted: -Parnell Babridgo, of Christchurch, for an Improved armature for eleotro motors, dynamo, or magneto-electric machines; James Grove, of Wakefield (Nelson) for an Invention for heating, cooling, or attemperatlng ale. wine, or any other liquid or substance; David Miller, of tha Thames, for Improvements in threshing machinery and the apparatus applied therein; Frank Oakden, of Dunedin, for a tram-rail cleaner; John David M'Kean, of Panmute (Auckland), for Insect-repelling scrim; Bobert Baker, if Auckland, lor an Invention entitled ‘ ’ The Colonial Gonorete Machine”; Chi istopher Wood, of Auckland, for a cement made from Mahutangl lima and river mud or other Ingredients, to resemble as nearly as passible Portland cement; James Grove, of Wakefield (Nelson), for an Invention for rooting up briars, gone, etc.