The Evening Star SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887.

Evening Star, Issue 7188, 16 April 1887, Page 2

The Evening Star SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 1887.

To-day’e, supplement contains correeJiqmlehce, the continuation of our American etter, Mr Justice Williams’s judgment in Isaac v. Mills and others, and a quantity of interesting matter,

The Hon. the Premier returned to Wellington this morning,

Inspector Weldon resumes charge of the Dunedin district on Monday, InspectorMoore returning to Lawrence,

It is stated that Colonel Tosswill has Withdrawn his resignation of the command of the First Canterbury Battalion.

The Burns Statue Committee have decided that the unveiling of the statue shall take place on the Queen’s Birthday. A banquet is to be held in the evening. The further hearing of Sargood and others v. the Corporation of Dunedin has been adjourned sine die, Mr Justice Williams ,having to go to Invercargill on Monday next.

The principal amounts paid in stakes over the Auckland Racing Club’s meeting were— A. Drake, L 729 ; W. Bobbett, L 338 ; J. A. Chaafe, L 317. The total amounted to L 2.212.

The ‘Press ’ says that Mr Leslie Manning, eldest son of Mr S. Manning, of Christchurch, has gained his M.D. degree at the University of Aberdeen, and has gone to Vienna to specially study diseases of the ear and eye. On dil that a well-known member of the City Council has given instructions for the issue of a writ for alleged libel against our morning contemporary, and that the Attorney-General has been retained by the defendant Company. The George street School Committee held their monthly meeting last night (Mr Jago in the chair), but the business was mostly of a routine character. The tender of Swan and Co. for the supply of coal during the current year was accepted. At Winton yesterday, a boy three years of age, the son of Mr C. D. Moore, was severely burned about the body by phosphorus which he had somehow got hold of. His mother and Mrs Hawkins also received bad burns on their hands in endeavoring to rescue the child. The boy died this morning from the injuries sustained, A few weeks ago a man died at the Alford Forest Hotel, Ashburton ; death, as was shown at the inquest, being the result of excessive drinking. As the man had been knocking about the hotel for a fortnight prior to his death, the police instituted proceedings against the landlord, Samuel Thompson, for permitting drunkenness on his licensed premises, and he was yesterday fined L 25, or two months’ imprisonment. The Japanese village and Fryer’s circus was well patronised last evening, the acrobatic feats of the Japanese and the clever horse tricks being heartily applauded. Only three more performances will be given, and we recommend those who have not seen this show to take advantage of these opportunities. It is also announced that the Japanese curios will be sold this evening at reduced prices. There are three psisoners awaiting trial at the half-yearly sitting of the Supreme Court, Invercargill, commencing on Tuesday next, via., William Henry Irwin, burglariously entering a warehouse; Robert Wells, receiving stolen goods ; Sulieman, alleged rape at Stewart Island. There are four civil cases, and one application under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, in which the petitioner, Isabella Kingsland, prays for a divorce from her husband, Daniel Kingsland the younger, on the grounds of desertion and adultery.

The Press Association forward us the following memo. : “ According to Mr Rolleston’s speech at Temuka, as reported m the Canterbury papers, be is represented as saying that the Press Association has been used by Mr Ballance to sing his praises and circulate the latest sensation with which he can divert the public mind. Mr Rolleston has been led into error by seeing a summary of the Land Acquisition Bill printed in a Christchurch paper under the Association’s heading, whereas the telegram really was sent by a correspondent, and not by the Association at all. No such message was ever sent by the Association.” The Palmerston goods train yesterday experienced a narrow escape from being thrown off the line by the engine coming into contact with a largo boulder shortly before reaching the Severn street crossing at Oamaru. The stone got under the engine, and the brake gear was damaged. It was impossible to pull up the train before the stone was reached. It is supposed that the stone was rolled off the side of the hill by some children, and lodged on the railway line, where it lay till the train came along. It is fortunate (says the ‘ North Otago Times’) that the accident did not result more seriously, for, taking into consideration the nature of the line at the place, the derailment of the train would almost certainly have caused loss of life.

The Hobart ‘Mercury,’ in an article on the Ball case, concerning which it declares that a “grosser miscarriage of justice has probably never occurred in any civilised community,” blames Mr Justice Williams for being the primary cause of such a deplorable fiasco. It says: “Judge Williams must have known, or, if he did not know, he certainly ought to have known, that the particular evidence which was objected to by the prisoner’s counsel was inadmissible, and it was his duty to reject it. Judge Johnston has attempted to excuse him by saying that no single Judge could take upon himself the responsibility of refusing this evidence, which, although it comes from a Judge, sounds to us very much like nonsense. What are Judges paid for if they are not supposed to be posted up in the law of evidence ? To decide upon the admissibility or non-admissibility of the evidence that may be proffered during the hearing of a cause is one of the essential functions of a Judge, and unless he discharges it he might as well be absent, and only come into Court to pass sentence after the jury have delivered their verdict. If a Judge is not prepared to take the responsibility of deciding such questions as that raised by the prisoner’s counsel, there really does not appear to be much use for Judges they are more ornamental than useful. If in this ease Judge Williams really had any doubt upon the point, and required time to consider it, there was a very simple course open to him. He might have adjourned the Court till he had time to look up authorities or consult his brother Judges. This would at least have been a safe course, and infinitely preferable to the course he did adopt in admitting evidence which he and all his colleagues were afterwards unanimous in deciding should not have been admitted. He cannot be acquitted of blame in this matter, because he must have been aware, presuming him to be qualified for his position, that the whole result of the triai depended upon the correctness of his decision, and any error on his part would nullify any decision the jury might arrive at. Many more cases of this kind will inevitably lead to the establishment in New Zealand of an institution well known in America, and which despises all legal quibbles and technicalities, viz., Judge Lynch.”

Lecture on Monday in Cargill road Wesleyan Church, by Rev. J, J, Lewis.

Entertainment in All Saints’ Schoolroom on Monday, on behalf of Choristers’Guild. Entertainment on Tuesday in aid of the funds of St. Paul’s Church I adios’Guild. Water consumers are notified that the supply to the high levels will be out off to'-morroW. . .Mr Barron, M.H.R., will address his constituents on Tuesday In Town Hall, Caversham.

Mr Lyall rends us a pamphlet of, nearly sixty pages, in which the rise and progress of the Colonial Mutual Office are sketched.

Mr A. Brunton will deliver the second of U series of lectures on the “Doctrine or Final Restoration” In the Choral Hall to-morrow evening.

The cilrrent number of the ‘ Illustrated Now Zealand Nows ’ contains,a view of the scene of the Bull*.. l disaster. Altogether it is a very readable number.

Messrs Hitchcock Brothers, who have for some time quietly but successfully carried on business as cabinetmakers in George street north, have recently added to their workroom commodious and spacious showrooms, which were generously lent to the bazaar connected with the English Church in the North-east Valley. The furniture at present on hand is of their own manufacture from NOW Zealand timber of various kinds, Of excellent pattern, finish, and design. We imagine no colonist nowadays doubts that New Zealand’s indigenous timber is of great beauty when properly treated in the manufacture of furniture; but should the idea be entertained that wo are behind other countries in the production of ornamental woods, a visit to Messrs Hitchcock’s showrooms will at once set the matter at rest. They have utilised kauri and red and white pine to great advantage in the manufacture of wardrobes, bedroom suites, drawing-room furniture, and bookcases of elegant design and careful workmanship. ThGr advertisement appears in another column,

The first meeting of the second series of the Cargill road Wesleyan Church Bible and Improvement class took place on Thursday. The Rev. W. G. Parsonson (in the chair) strongly urged the members, if they wished to make the class a success, to be regular in attendance, and to take part in the various items that came before them. The class started with a balance credit of LI Is 2d, and with the subscriptions it was intended to purchase scats for the schoolroom, in which the meetings were to be held. During the evening songs were contributed by Misses Little and Duke, Messrs Moreton and Wootton, and a reading by Miss Palmer. Mr A, Lilly gave a pianoforte solo, and Mr Wootton a violin solo. The election of officers took place as follows President, Rev. W. G. Parsonson; vice-presidents, Messrs Cole and Randerson; secretary, Miss Robertson; treasurer, Mrs Hodgson; reporter, Mr Sidney Bridgeman; committee, Messrs Hodgson, A. Lilly, and Dickson. Votes of thanks wore accorded to Mesdames Hobson and Hodgson and Mr O. Hindle.

A short time ago we drew attention to the filters made by Mr W. M, White from filtering stone obtained in the neighborhood of Oamaru. The use of that stone as a filtering material has been long known both in this neighborhood and in the neighboring colonies, as well as the advantage of being easily and effectually cleaned. But Mr White has hit upon a happy idea, which adds materially to their usefulness. Hitherto. the filters have been fornied on the old model; a clock of stone; a basin scooped out of it for reception of a small quantity of water, and when that passed through into a small cistern below, the supply to be renewed. Necessarily,, therefore, the supply of filtered water was limited and slow. Instead of this Mr White inserts a block of stone into a cistern of water to be filtered, which may bo fed immediately from the source of supply; the water percolates through the block, and is drawn off through a pipe into a basin or reservoir. It will be at once seen that by this method the whole superflces of the block of stone becomes a filtering surface, and that thus a constant stream of clean and wholesome water is obtained. For health’s sake every family should have one of these water purifiers. Mr White exhibited one on the Octagon yesterday and to-day, which excited considerable notice.