The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1887.

Evening Star, Issue 7174, 30 March 1887, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 1887.

His Excellency the Governor has subscribed LIOO towards the Imperial Institute funds. The Arawa is bringing out 201 nominated immigrants, of whom twenty-five are for Otago. Sir Henry Parkcs and ex-Chief Justice Sir Alfred Stephen have declared for the extension of the franchise to the women of New South Wales. An intercolonial medical congress will be held in Adelaide, commencing on August 30, and it is believed there will bo a large and representative attendance from all the colonies. The business of the Congress will be carried on in sections. Papers to be read before the Congress must be sent in by June 30. The Rhine salmon and trout and the Alpine charr ova received by the Tongariro were badly spoiled by imperfect packing, but 10 per cent, of that sent to Christchurch will be saved. The Loch Leven trout and the Tweed salmon ova are reported to be in good condition. The Royal Comic Opera Company successfully closed their season last evening, when “ The Pirates of Penzance ” was repeated. The audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy the performance, and encores were frequently demanded. The company left for Christchurch this afternoon, A return season is projected. Thomas Dorn, who has been twenty-eight months in gaol at Sydney for contempt in refusing to pay for the support of his two children, has been released by order of the Court. Ihe Judge said it was a terrible thing that a man should be incarcerated for twenty-eight months for so small a sum as Ll3 10s. The charge against Daniel Berry and John Reaney of assaulting and robbing Patrick Craddy, which was hoard at the City Police Court yesterday, broke down without the defendants being called upon. They were accordingly discharged, and the Bench complimented the police upon having done their best to arrive at the truth of the matter.

The following is a cablegram sent by the Secretary for the Colonies to the Governors of the Australasian colonies :—“ The Prince of Wales hopes the Governor will organise measures for collecting in each Colony contributions for the Imperial Institute organisation proceeding throughout the United Kingdom. The Queen has published her approval of the scheme.” In delivering judgment in a case under the Rabbit Act at Naseby the other day Mr Wood, R.M., refused to allow a professional fee, and being told by the solicitor for the prosecution that other magistrates usually did so he said: “ That is no reason why I should do the same. This Rabbit Act is a most stringent provision; and the rabbit nuisance is such a severe tax on the resources of both farmer and squatter alike that I think it would be wrong to heap up more expense than that of a fine and costs. Hundreds of persons in this country have to spend in some cases us much as L 25 to L3O per week all the year round in combating the rabbit nuisance. The skins could at one time bo profitably disposed of, but they are produced at n dead loss now. I’ll allow no professional fee.” The adjourned annual meeting of the Dunedin Choral Society was held at the Dresden Pianoforte Warehouse last evening, when the chair was occupied by Mr W. M. Hodgkins (vice-president). Mr G. R. West brought forward his plan for the reorganisation of the Society, placing it under the management of a permanent Committee, and calling it “The Jubilee Choral Society,” but after some discussion it was rejected. The following Committee were then elected for the ensuing year : —Messrs G. H. Marsden, H. B. Smith, R. Greig, M. Arbuckle, J. Wyper, C. J. Ronaldson, and W. Wilson. Mr Brookes was appointed secretary, and the election of the other officers was deferred. Votes of thanks were accorded Mr Brookes for the services he had rendered in the past as assistant-secretary, and also the member of Committee who offered to take LSO worth of debentures at the time it was proposed to issue them in connection with the Society. The Croydon correspondent of one of the London dailies writes: “ Among the list of passengers drowned in the Kapunda is Mr William Field, his wife and two children, Kate Field, and Henry Field. Mr Field was headmaster in the Oval road, Broad schools, Croydon,, until December, and left Croydon for an appointment at Fremantle. He was one of the most genial and successful masters in the employ of the Croydon School Board.”—A Wolverhampton correspondent writes: “One of the most heartrending cases is that of Elisha Griffiths, aged forty-four, a master ironfounder, Willenhall road, Walsall, who, with his wife, Jane, and four sons and one daughter, are all drowned. The eldest son, William, was about twenty years old, and the youngest child, Gertrude, about six, Griffiths’s w'ife had a sister out in Western Australia, and Griffiths determined _to abandon his business and emigrate, believing that Australia offered a more promising opening for his sons. Eighteen months ago an elder brother was a victim in the great colliery disaster at Swintop, near Man’ cheater.”

The weekly meeting of the Benevolent Trustees was held this afternoon; Mr A. Solomon presiding. Some thirty oases of relief were dealt with.

At Christchurch yesterday, Isaac Herman, jeweller, was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment without hard labor for fraudulent insolvency. The New South Wales Government have given permission to the long-sentenced men in Darlinghurst to petition for a remission of sentences on the ground of this being the Jubilee year. The floods in Westland did more damage than was anticipated. The contractors for the railway bridge at Arohura lost their Elant, and the Ross road and Teremakau ridges were washed away. We understand that a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce will be held at an early date for the purpose of considering the present scale of port charges and their effect on the trade of Port Dunedin.

The Auckland Official Assignee is not the champion cheque-drawer, because the Collector of Customs at New York recently drew a cheque for one cent, in favor of an importer who had paid excess of duty to that extent.

Our Tuapeka contemporary complains of the bungle made by the Railway Department in connection with the Burns Statue arrangements. Unless ample notice is given of cheap trains, it is almost useless to run them, as the country people cannot Rave their avocations at a couple of days’ notice. The reign of the Tapaniii Licensing Committee, who refused at their first meeting to renew the license of one of the hotels in the Borough, was a short if eventful one. Mr Re veil, R.M., has declared to be informally elected, as at the nomination, when there were seven candidates proposed, two of the nominations were made by a person who wan not a ratepayer.

Inspector Hill, in his annual report to the Hawke’s Bay Education Board, emphasises the complaints made in other districts of the large' number of children who cannot be brought within the primary schools. “It is to be regretted,” he says with perfect truth, “ that, after the lapse of so many years of educational work only eleven out of every fifteen of the school population of this education district can be accounted for as attending school, whilst at the same time school provision has only been made for forty-six out of every seventy-five of the children liable to attend.”

A two-roomed house, occupied by Mr M'Donald arid owned by Mrs Maule, situated near Halfway Bush, was destroyed by fire, at four o’clock this morning. No cause can bo assigned for the fire, as everything seemed in perfect safety on Mr and Mrs M'Donald retiring last evening. The house was insured for L 65, and the contents for LIOO. The Roslyn Brigade turned out, but the house was levelled to the ground before the alarm was given. Superintendent Carmalt, of the Salvage Corps, was also in attendance.

In the District Court, Queenstown, on Monday, before Judge Broad and a jury, the case T. Scott Smith (a solicitor) v. Fischer (manager of the local branch of the Bank of New Zealand) was heard. The plaintiff sought to recover nominal damages from the defendant for negligently omitting to place before the Wakatipu Trustees his application for the post of secretary. Mr Solomon appeared for the plaintiff; Mr Turton for the defendant. A verdict for one farthing, with L 25 costs, was returned. A strange accident, resulting in the death of a boy six years old, named Tanner, occurred at Cowie Creek, Victoria. The lad’s father, a contractor, when leaving home was asked by his wife to take away a oat which had caused her annoyance. Her husband tried to catch the animal, but it escaped, and he got on the roof of the stable to dislodge it. Tanner threw half a brick at it. This the cat dodged, and the missile struck young Tanner, who, unknown to his father, had gone round to the other side of the stable to frighten pussy down. The brick struck the boy on the head and killed him.

Distinguished people (says the Napier 1 Telegraph ’) are oftentimes put to great inconvenience on our railways through the absence of the necessary rolling stock. The other day a democrat of the first water, warranted by his admirers flawless, had had a carriage reserved for himself, and the arrangement would probably have been carried out had it not been for the fact that a gentleman of doubtful politics had a first-class ticket in his pocket, and not being able to find a seat, successfully insisted on occupying a portion of the carriage which had been reserved for the distinguished one. The officials quivered in their shoes, but the persistent one was not to bo denied, and carried his point, and the reserved carriage speedily became public. There was quite a crowd at the railway station this afternoon to bid bon voyage to friends who arc about to proceed to England. Among these were Mr Oddie (of Ballarat), who intends making an extended tour of the Old Country, and may not improbably return to Dunedin to settle, and Mr Wakefield, of the Bank of New South Wales, at Lawrence, who has obtained leave of absence. Mr R. A. Lowson goes to Wellington for a term to undertake the supervision of the business of Mr Turnbull, architect, who also proceeds to England by the Kaikoura. The opera company also obtained a send-off from a number of professional friends and admirers, A warrant was issued for the arrest of a Dr Sabatowski, a medical practitioner in New South Wales, on a charge of having caused the death of Caroline Yates by performing an operation. He could not be found at his residence, but his body was discovered in the bush, under circumstances which make it clear that he had committed suicide to escape the consequences. Among papers found on the body was a sheet of notepaper, on which was written “ I am Dr Sabatewski, forty-three years old.” Death had apparently taken place thirty-six hours before, but as yet it is not known how he came by his death. From inquiries made, it is ascertained that he left his house in Paddington shortly after the death of the woman. He leavs a wife and a small family. Yates was a young married woman living apart from her husband, and acting as housekeeper for a pawnbroker at Redfern, whom she was to have married when she obtained a divorce from her husband.

It being determined to prosecute the con vict, Charles Augustus Smyth, for bigamy, his wife, who resides near Sydney, has been communicated with by the police. The Sydney police have reported that Mrs Smyth, although willing to give evidence respecting her husband’s extensive frauds, firmly refused information respecting her marriage relations with him. She blamed Miss Dainty, who had gone through the marriage ceremony with Smyth, for not making inquiries regarding him, seeing he was old enough to be her father and a comparative stranger. Smyth, who was looked upon before his prosecution for fraud as a preacher connected with the Wesleyan Methodists, was formally expelled from that body in New Zealand four years ago, for conduct similar to the swindle he worked on Retallick. After being driven out of the Wesleyan body, he came to Victoria, and passed himself off as a Methodist preacher, but he was not recognised by the authorities of the Wesleyan Church. Owing to the refusal of the wife to assist in prosecuting him for bigamy, it will be difficult to undertake proceedings.

The Victoria Musical Society of Dunedin is now being formed. Mr S. W. Gibbs is secretary. Mr W. Smart was last evening presented by his fellow employes at Reid and Gray’s with a tea and coffee service, as a token of friendship on the occasion of his marriage.

The City Gas Department has issued a i pamphlet of a dozen pages, in which are set forth the advantages of a gas supply and directions for using it for domestic purposes. Secretary Taylor is hopeful that the day is not far distant when gas will be generally used in this City for domestic purposes and motive power. The first ram and ewo fair under the auspices of the Otago Agricultural Society is to. be held at Tahuna Park to-morrow, and promises to be a decided success. There are 376 entries, 292 being of rams and 84 of ewes. Messrs G. G. Russell, Driver. Sutherland Bros., E, Grieve, and the New Zealand Land Company are the principal exhibitors. ,