The Evening Star MONDAY, MAY 15, 1899.

Evening Star, Issue 10932, 15 May 1899, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, MAY 15, 1899.

The President of the Women's Franchise League, in response to the resolutions passed recently relative to " indirect taxation " and the "right of women to be eligible for the Old Age Pension five years earlier than men, has received a promise from the Premier that these matters shall receive consideration.

The literary department of the Trinity Winter Clnb held their weekly meeting on Friday evening, wheD there was a numerous audience. The president (Rev. Mr Fail, clough) occupied the chair. Mr W. Goodlet gave a most instructive and interesting lecture on 'Experimental Chemiatry,'illustrated by numerous experiments. Daring the evening Miss Smith gave a reading and Mr 0. D. Ross a solo, both of which were much appreciated. A hearty vote of thanks to the leoturer oloaed the meeting. A special Sitting of the Warden's Court waa held by Mr E. E. Carew, district warden, this morning, when an application by Messrs Lyders, Lorie, and Isaacs to eurrender taacbino Bites at Mount Hyde was granted..

The Fire Brigade were called out for a false alarm last evening,;'"' On dit that Mr Joseph E. White will ointeat Dtinedin City in the Liberal-Labor interest.

Mr Prouse, of Wellington, is making arrangements for a tour of New Zealand by the well-known Mdlle Trebelli and a concert company, of which Mr Prouse himself will bn a member.

A two-roomed unoccupied house belonging to Mr James Wright, laborer, and situated at Green Island, was destroyed by fire at 1.30 a.m. yesterday. The fire is supposed to have originated through a spark from a fire which was left burning in the place by the owner's children, who were playing in the house in the evening. The dwelling was insured in the Alliance Office for £SO.

The Rev. W. Scorgie delivered a lecture on 'Naples and Mount Vesuvius' in the Mornington Presbyterian Church Hall on Friday evening, in aid of the public school gymnasium fund. The lecturer gave an interesting account of his visit to the district, and "was listened to attentively by a large audience. A number of illustrative lantern views were shown by Mr B. Galloway. On the arrival of the Flora at Napier from the South last week one of the passengers, a man named John Stephen Olliver, was arrested by Detective Benjamin on a warrant from Dunedin charging him with having left that district -without having made provision for the unborn illegitimate child of Fanny Keen, of which he is the putative father. He was brought before Mr A. Turnbull, S.M., in the afternoon, and remanded till the 16th inst.

A fire escape competition, under the auspices of the Dunedin Licensed Victuallers' Association, was held this afternoon from tl e third-storev windows of Mr Shaw's Prince of Wales Hotel, Princes street south. Four escapes were entered, one being Mr Markham Brown's fluffy rope and leather belt contrivance, the other three being on the la'Jder principle. These latter were Mr John Hutcheson's, Mr Olsen's, and Mr 0. Christian's. With the exception of Mr Christian's, all the other escapes have been previously described. Mr Christian's is on v\lfours with Mr Olsen's, save that it is a few inches wider, and, as has previously been stated, there is a ,good deal of similarity between both Mr Olsen's and Mr Hutcheson's. Of the ladder escapes, Mr Hutcheson's v-ns the most rigid and was the quickest to be secured in position and brought into %■&. The rope escape, however, was by far the quickest to get under way, three men being landed on the pavement after the starting bell sounded before anyone had reached the ground by means of the ladders. A prize of £lO is to be given to the escape awarded winner of the competition. The Licensed Victuallers' Committee inspected the various appliances—they did not go up or down them—and also ascertained the respeccive costs. After the competition the judges retired, bub had come to no decision up to the time of our going to press.

The Public Trustee was defendant in a rather peculiar case heard before Mr Carew this morning. In March of last year a party of eight Chinese at Alexandra South agreed to go in for a " spec," and they elected one of their number, named Joe Sing, to act as treasurer. Each man put up £4o—or, i atlw, there were 7£ shares to that amount, but one man could only raise £37. The project was to send to China for merchandise suitable for the festivities belonging to the Chinese New Year—tea, rice, and general goods, including a little wine. Two months later, before the date for sending the money to China, Joe Sing died suddenly, of heart disease, and the Public Trustee was called on to administer his estate. The share money was safe enough in the bank, and the subscribers claimed it. The administrator, in naking his inquiries, was told that the so-called business concern was simply a blind to cover a gambling transaction, so he resolved to have this suspicion set at rest before paying, wherefore he defended the claim made by one of the subscribers for a l-eturn of the £4O. Mr Chapman, appearing for the plaintiff, said he was prepared to contend that even if it proved to be a gambling transaction the plaintiff was entitled to recover if he sued not on the contract, but in repudiation thereof and before the transaction said to be illegal had taken place; but in ihe meantime hewould simply present .'lis "vidence for the information of' the Court.. Plaintiff, under examination, swore positively that it was " a true transaction to do business to import goods " ; he combated the ■suggestion of the cross-examining counsel that the word " chong " in Joe Sing's book meant "gambling-house," and denied that another hieroglyphic stood for a gambling sign, the fact being that it was the Chinese word for " God," though, with the addition of two or three strokes, it would give 4he other meaning. Mr WoOdhouse, solicitor to the Trustee, said that there was no defence further than that the Trustee wanted to be sure before paying. His Worship said he was not satisfied from the evidence that it was a .gambling transaction, and he gave judgment for the plaintiff. No fewer than seven men, one lad, and one woman—were brought before Messrs H. A. Reynolds and W. Robertson at the City Police Court this morning on charges of drunkenness, and all pleaded guilty. Four were first offenders. Two of this party Avere convicted and discharged. The third did not escape so easily. Subinspector Kiely reported that this man gave a lot of trouble when arrested and had to be taken to the station in a cab at the cost of 2s. The Bench inflicted a fine of 7s, in default twenty-four hours' imprisonment. " I'll do the twenty-four hours, sir," was his response, and as he spoke he thoughtlessly made for the door, but was stopped by the court orderly, and when placed in the dock he repented and paid the fine to secure his liberty. The other first offender having .pleaded guilty, the sub-inspector said: "I do not think.this ought to he treated as an ordinary case of drunkenness. It is the ■case of a-man getting drunk on Sunday, and should be treated as something more setiotis than a case of ordinary drunkenness." Mr Reynolds replied: " There is no doubt, as tie sub-inspector says, that Sunday drunkenness is a disgrace to the community, and the Bench have decided to fine you 10s, in default forty-eight hours' imprisonment* The fine was paid. The remaining cases were thus disposed of: John De St. Croix (two previous convictions) was fined ss, in default twenty-four hours; Patrick M'Callion was similarly dealt with ; and Margaret Egmont (nine or ten previous convictions) was fined 20s, in default seven days' imprisonment. An assault case had been set down, Lena Sullivan charging Annie Smith, but as the .complainant did not appear when called the case was struck out.

A special meeting of the Chamber of Commerce will be held to-morrow afternoon to elect representative to the Harbor Board. Wedding presents—Lovely tea seta and dinner sets just unpacked at Montague's, the corner shop.—[Advt.] Ihe Horticultural Society's chrysanthemum show will be hsld on Wednesday in the Agricultural Hall. Entries olose at eight this evening. Try Muir and Moodie (late Burton Bros.) for new and stylish portraiture. Albums of N.Z. scenery made up for presentations.— [Advt.] A programme of the military tattoo, to take place on the Caledonian Ground on Queen's Birthday night, is advertised in this issue. Sergeant-major Towler has kindly consented to act a3 supervisor. The attention of singers and intending new members for the Choral Sooietv is drawn to our advertising columns. The Committee are determined that after to-morrow night no one can Join, at least until after the performance of ' The Creation.' Mollison and Co. announce extensive purchase of a manufacturer's and Home traveller's entire stock of samples, amounting to over 11,000 artioles. To give you some idea of the extent of the purchase, we have only to mention that we have been for the last fourteen days marking off this large collection of samples. It is no ordinary va'ue that we ask you to come and aee, but bargains which must crowd our establishment with eager purchasers. We would strongly advise our lady and gentlemen friends cr» a C v? me rru a, " ,y l n *? e °°me before the fth n T fl 0i ?\ bo , d 0 so * et attention SSnJi O,O V f thißl «ge collection of samples. AH thk extensive lot of samples are now ready for sale.- [Advt.] oauj i'"* ?re