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Evening Star, Issue 7416, 11 January 1888, Page 2

About 100 excursionists left for Queenstown by the excursion train this morning. The Colonial Secretary left for Oamaru this morning. The Hon. Messrs Fisher and Fergus leave for Christchurch to-morrow. All these gentlemen return to Wellington by Saturday night’s steamer from Lyttelton. John Hudson, one of the crew of the ship Turakina, lying at the cross wharf, fell from the foreyard to the deck this forenoon. He was attended by Dr dc Zouchc, who found that beyond a severe shaking and a bruise on his knee the mac had sustained no injury.

A German excursionist has just completed his tour of the world. He went from Berlin and back, via Brindisi, Alexandria, Aden, Singapore, Hongkong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York, and Bremerhaven. The voyage took him 185 days, and his expenses amounted to LI 80, or a little under LI a day. He says the tour can be done for lass, but not comfortably.

The Southland Education Board are asking that the alteration from general average to strict average in making out the returns shall not come into force till March 31st next. As the educational financial year closes on December 31, and Parliament has decided that the alteration shall he made, the Minister will not he able to accede to the Board’s request. The amount allowed under this head is only L 32,000, and this is divided over the whole Colony. Inquiries prompted by the claims of some classes of railway employes in Victoria for increased wages Have elicited the fact that the employes in all the boring and mechanical branches of the Railway Department in that Colony are paid much lower wages than men similarly engaged in New South Wales. On the other hand, however, railway officers in New South Wales receive lower salaries than those occupying like positions in Victoria. It is estimated that if the same wages were paid in New South Wales as in Victoria the railways would have shown as favorable returns as those yielded by the Victorian lines during the last few years. An extraordinary affair is reported from the Island of Lewis. It appears that for some time there has been a feeling that there the crofters and cottars of the Lochs district meditated a raid on the deer forest of Park, with the intention of slaughtering all the deer, the outrage being meant as a reprisal on the proprietrix, Lady Matheson, who refused them more land. On November 22 news reached Stornoway that the campaign had begun, large numbers of people, principally cottars, having proceeded to the forest armed with guns and provisioned for a camp-out. It is stated that a regular “deer drive” took place, and that a great number were killed.

I am very sorry for poor old Grcvy (writes Mr Laboucherc in ‘Truth’), as he is a thoroughly honest man, M. Wilson is the son of a man who made a large fortune in gas. He had two children—one a girl, the other the President’s son-in-law. The girl is much older than her brother, and Grcvy was years ago in love with her. He subsequently married his present wife, who was his femme de mena/je. Wilson’s mania was to found newspapers, none of which ever paid. It is said that he annually lost about L 30,000 by them. This money had to bo made, and he made it. Everybody was aware that he “ trafficked,” to use a mild term. His friends say that if he were to make a clean breast, he could triumphantly retort upon many of his accusers. A telegram from Rockhampton states that Mr John Wallis Rutter, Mayor of North Rockhampton, was arrested on December 31 on a charge of forgery. There was great excitement in the town in consequence. The accused practically admitted his guilt. His forgeries arc believed to amount to nearly L 13,000. He was arrested on a charge of forging and uttering a promissory note purporting to be signed by William Whitman on the Union Bank, and two others on the same Bank for LIO,OOO and L3OO respectively, and on the Australian Joint Stock Bank for L 250. Rutter had speculated largely in land and mining. The affair caused great consternation, as the accused was a man greatly esteemed, and was to have been the Liberal candidate for Rockhampton at the next general election. Mr Ollivier, R.M., in dealing with a case under the Probationers Act at Ashburton the other day, said he was afraid that the merciful intentions of the Legislature, as evinced by the Act, were frequently much perverted. With the recent awful examples before them of two women, probationers, one of whom had drunk herself to death, and the other had murdered her child, a doubt must be entertained as to the wisdom of allowing culprits to return at once to their evil companions and ways. He feared the Act was not such a success as it was sometimes claimed to be. However, in the present instance, as the boy was so young, and there seemed to be hope of his reclamation, he would be put under the Act.

We understand that communications have been received by the Minister of Education from Bishops Luck and Moran and Father Kirk relating to the establishment of Roman Catholic industrial schools in the Auckland, Otago, and Wanganui districts. The establishment of these additional institutions would, of course, mean duplicating the cost of the industrial school system. At the Caversham institution there are at present only 127 inmates, of whom forty are Roman Catholics, and as the place is capable of providing for 250 children, it will be seen that it is only half full at present. With only eighty-seven inmates, tho cost of maintaining the establishment would not be diminished to any great extent. There is a Catholic industrial school at Nelson (St. Mary’s), and this, it is considered, should prove sufficient for present requirements.

In reference to a leaderette which appears in the columns of our morning contemporary to-day, it should be explained that the Minister of Education is paying a holidayvisit to this City, Surely after a session of Parliament, a general election, and another very laborious session, a week’s holiday cannot be grudged to a Minister of the Crown before the Cabinet take up the important questions of retrenchment of the public expenditure and readjustment of taxation. Mr Ameliue Smith is not being exclusively retained as private secretary to the Minister, as the article implies. He draws his salary for administering the Local Bodies Finance and Local Bodies Powers Acts, under the direction of the Colonial Treasurer, a position for which he was selected owing to his special qualifications for the office; and he only gets an additional LSO per annum as secretary to the Minister of Education. The public generally will from this short statement of facts, which were easily obtainable, be able to say how fur our contemporary’s strictures are deserved,

Dr King, of the Mount View Asylum, is to succeed Dr Neill as medical superintendent of the Seacliff Asylum. It is likely that Sir John Hall will be asked to represent this Colony at the Postal Conference to be held in Sydney shortly. Playgoers are reminded that the Carrie Swain Company appear to-night at the Princess's for the last time. The season has been a fairly successful one. The Blue Spur School Committee havb nominated Dr Brown and Mr Praer for the vacancies on the Education Board, but we believe that the present Chairman will not seek re-election.

A coiiiplcte reorganisation of the Police and Justice Departments is intended, and several inspectors of police will have their services dispensed with. On ilit that Mr I’ole, Commissioner of Crown Lands at Auckland, is on the list of discharged officials.

Several serious accidents witli the Reming-ton-Lee rifle having occurred lately, the Council of the Rifle Association have condemned the weapon, and in consequence it will not be used at the Oamaru competition. Captain Sommerville will endeavor to obtain a supply of Martini-Henrys.

A gentleman speaking of a friend who was prostrated by illness, remarked that “he could hardly recover, since his constitution was all gone.” “If his constitution is all gone,” said a bystander, “ I do not see how he lives at all.” “Oh,” responded the gentleman, “ he lives on the by Jaws.”

At the Secondary School Conference yesterday it was resolved that they were not prepared at present to suggest any practical scheme for the regular examination of secondary schools, and were of opinion that tie entrance examination of the New Zealand University should be used as far as possible by schools as a test examination of the higher forms. A sudden death occurred at Tuapeka Mouth on Friday last. A settler named James Clyde returned home from his work in the bush, and having had his tea, sat down on the sofa in the kitchen. After reading for a few minutes, he suddenly dropped off the sofa quite dead. Mr Clyde, who was forty years of age, leaves a wife but no family. Heart disease was the cause of death.

A Chinaman ran amuck on January 2 in Gilham’s eating-house, Pitt street, Sydney, where he had gone for breakfast. The proprietor, finding he had no money to pay for his breakfast, set him to work it out by peeling potatoes. The Celestial, however, did not approve of this method of settling the reckoning, and as soon as he got a knife he went for the cook, stabbing him in the head and arm. Another man who came to the rescue was also stabbed, and the proprietor fared even worse, receiving several severe cuts. Finally the irate Celestial was secured by a policeman and taken to the look-up. Yesterday Smellie’s iron smelting and rolling works at Green Island were visited by the Hon. Mr Fisher, Hon. Mr Fergus, and Hon. Mr Hislop. Iron from the scrap stage were put into the furnaces, put through the rollers, and worked through every process until it was finally turned out as rod and bar iron ready for the market. The process was most interesting, and demonstrated in the most satisfactory manner the importance of such an industry to the Colony, The Messrs Smellie informed the Ministers that, although they had an uphill game to play in establishing such a large and important industry, still they required no coddling; all they wanted was fair facilities for getting the manufactured iron into the Dunedin market, and their requests were really of such a fair and moderate nature that Ministers had no difficulty in promising that every facility should be afforded them. Green Island is becoming quite a busy centre of manufacturing industries, and of these the Messrs Smcllie’a smelting and rolling mills is amongst the most important. At the Kaiapoi Court on Monday it was elicited (reports the ‘ Press') during the hearing of a case that a man who, in answer to a question as to the nature of his employment, said he was “ anything,” owned at least four greyhounds, which were stated to have been bought at the saleyards at the small price of Is each. Mr Whitcfoord said he could not understand what the defendant could want with greyhounds. Defendant explained that he was anything, from a horsehreaker to a rabbitter, and wanted the dogs for the latter purpose. The Resident Magistrate thought it was a dear way of keeping such dogs, as before the rabbitting season he must pay two registration fees on each, and if, as was stated, one of the animals was lost, it might even then be committing severe depredations among farmers’ sheep. Recently he heard a case at Akaroa in which the damages from this sort of thing was LICO, and he should not be inclined to show much sympathy with people who kept more dogs than they required, but allowed them to roam about to the injury of their neighbors. If he had his will every greyhound should be taxed to the extent of L 5, for some of these dogs were a perfect nuisance.

Annual meeting of St. John the Evangelist, lloslyn, in hall on Thursday evening. Lodge Otago Kilwinning, S.C., meet at Free masons’ Hall to-morrow evening.

The Masonic Lodge of Sorrow on Friday evening will be attended by members of the English Constitution. Madame Ivons, who recently resigned tho position of housekeeper at the Agricultural College, Lincoln, received letters of regret at her departure from both masters and servants, and an illuminated address from tho students.

We have been requested to explain that in our report of Sproy’s meeting of creditors tho bankrupt should have been made to say: “I paid to Proctors, Jones, and Co., and Mollison, Duthie* and Co. equal to L 34 to pay a fourth of their claims, and the remainder was to be paid them as I collected my debts and sold my stock. I paid others at about the same time.” Mi Leitch and his ‘ Harbor Lights ’ dramatic company arrived to-day from Christchurch, where they have just concluded a most successful dramatic season. They open at the Princess’s Theatre to-morrow evening in the great nautical drama ‘Harbor Lights,’which, to judge by the notices m our Northern contemporaries, will be excellently mounted. In order to give every one an opportunity of witnessing this spectacular production, the prices have been fixed on a lower scale than usual.

The half-yearly meeting of the Loyal Hand and Heart Lodge was held last night, when the officers for the ensuing six months took their seatsG.M., Bro. E. S. Clarke; N.G., Bro. J. A. Hopcraft; V.G., Bro, W. J. Bardslcy; E.S., Bro. J. Hamel; warden, Bro. S. Woods; guardian, Bro. J. Johnstone; R.S.N.G., Bro. O. Hughes; R.S.V.G., Bro. J. Smith; L.5.V.0., Bro. T. Mant. There was a fair attendance of members, and a few visiting brothers were also present. Three candidates were initiated, G.M. Clarke was appointed Lecture Master vice P C. J. Paterson resigned. P. Black wrote informing the lodge of the datp of the half-yearly purple lecture and past officers’ degree meeting. The half-yearly balance-sheet showed that the lodge still continues to bo in a flourishing condition. The receipts were LGO 18s lid. The meeting of Leith Lodge, 1.0,0, F., for the purpose of installing the officers, was held in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Albany street, on Monday, tho 9th inst. Tho attendance was fair. After the usual routine business had been gone through, the applicants for degrees were examined ; the first, second, and third being conferred on successful candidates by the Lecture-master, Bro. J. Alexander, G.T, The Grand Lodge officers installed tho following brethren into their respective chairs for the current term: J.P.G., Bro, Stokes; N.G., Bro. Orr; V.G., Bro. Day. Treasurer Bro. 0. M'Peak and secretary Bro. D. Miller were re elected. Tho subordinate officers appointed were—Bros. Beresford, Engelbert, Scott, Esquilant, Joel, J. Wilson, and J, M. Wilson. Standing and visiting committees, the elected officers; auditors, Bros. Barclay, Joel, and Toomey; trustees, Bros. Reid, Alexander, and Wathen; medical officer, Dr Fcrgusson. The G.L. congratulated tho members on their choice of officers, making special mention of the treasurer. Bro. M'Pcak, and secretary Bro. D. Miller, whose services were much appreciated by the lodge. The principal officers replied. It was resolved to publish a pocket almanac containing a considerable amount of information for members. Bro. E. A. Joel’s name was ordered to he placed on the respect board.