Hawke's Bay Herald MONDAY, JANUARY 22,1877.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3828, 22 January 1877, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 1877.

It is, no doubf, an infatuation not far ehort of insanity which prevails at Constantinople, and instigates those who hold the reins of power thereto defy the assembled might of Europe. Still we cannot help admiring it. The question arises what chances would there be for Turkey if she were left to fight it out with Russia single handed, and the impression appears to be gaming ground, that if she could not ultimately repel the invader, the would at any rate make a very hard fight for it. Whatever were the shortcomings of Abdul Aziz's reign, it had the great merit of having been devoted to the making of immense and effective preparations for war, both military and naval \ and it is becoming clear that the Turks of to-day, ferocious savages as they are, are not a whit less valiant than the hordes who fought under the standard of Othtnan or of Amurath. The worst of it is, for them, that there are so few of them. The Christian populations among whom they, dwell would be sulkily neutral if not actually hostile, and. the Mahomedansin Europe number, it is estimated, only about 2,000,000. , They would be aided,- however, in all probability, ere long, by an influx of their co-religionists from Asia. In the end it is possible that many of the outlying provinces would be lopped off, but that at Constantinople a stand would be made, at any rate> for a generation to come.

Mr. Rhodes, we observe, writes to our contemporary, bitterly complaining of a remark which we made, to the effect that he gave a distinct pledge to the Denominationalists at Petane. Both papers report him as having used expressions which might easily be looked upon by a casual reader as conveying such a pledge. According to the Hebaxd, he said, " He was in favor of Denominational schools." According to the Telegraph, " He believed in Denominational education ;" according to neither, does he in any way qualify the statement subsequently. If, therefore, Mr. Rhodes did not intend this as a pledge to the Denominationalists, we think that he was hardly treating them fairly. They I might, surely, readily have, taken it as j such, and voted for him on the strength of |it. ;

This is the day appointed for receiving nominations for the vacant seat in the Napi er Municipal Council. The nominations must be in writing, and each nomination paper must be signed by two ratepayers and by the candidate, and must be addressed to the returning officer, and left with the Town Clerk before noon to-day. The Resident Magistrate will give his decision respecting the Clive and WaipuJrurau elections on Wednesday next. It will be seen from our report of the argument on Saturday, that Mr. Beetham holds that there Bhould not have been plural voting. But. though that is an opinion favorable to the petitioners, it is a question whether the petition will not be dismissed for informality, leaving matters as they were — a very satisfactory conclusion, truly ! We understand that negotiations are again to be entered into with Mr. Bennett, the agent of the English Eleven, who is at present in Taranaki, with a view to inducing the Eleven to visit Hawke's Bay. We feel sure that some misunderstanding must have occurred in the former correspondence with Mr. Bennett, or some definite reply would have been received from him before this. We trust that this new effort to secure a visit from the Eleven will be successful. The Telegraph has somewhat garbled its extract from the Wanganui Chronicle in reference to the Hawke's Bay papers. The words which we have put in italics are omitted by our contemporary, accidentally no doubt. The following is the paragraph, as it appears in the Chronicle of the 15th inst. :— " The Napier journals both continue their successful career, libel actions notwithstanding. The "Telegraph" has enlarged, and is now equal in size to the " Post," and the He bald, a capitally edited paper, is also about to do so immediately. Napier can now boast of as creditable representative organs as any town of similar resources in the colony." We hear it is probable that the Rev. S. Robinson will leave Napier for a month or two, in order to recruit his health. We hope that on his return he will be enabled to hold services in one of the public halls, pending the erection of ' the new church, the subscriptions to which have now reached nearly £900. Owing to Mr. Sutton having announced his intention of addressing the electors at the Oddfellows' Hall this evening, the members of the Mutual Improvement Club have postponed the first meeting of their third season until Monday, the 29th of January. The seasons opens with a debate on " Republican versus Monarchical Government," and on the following Monday there will be a lecture on the "Turkish war," On succeeding Mondays there will be debates on " Triennial Parliaments," " Qualifications of the various candidates now offering themselves for the vacant seat in the House of Representatives," and a lecture from the Rev. D'Arcy Irvine. The Leicester, we notice, has arrived in Wellington with 400 immigrants, a very large number, we should think, in the present state of the labor market. The same vessel has on board the paper upon which the Hawke's Bay Herald will be printed in its enlarged form. Mir. Alfred Buckland held a wool sale at the Haymarket, Auckland, on Tuesday, the 9th instant. The Herald says: — "The general quality and condition of the wool brought forward were somewhat inferior to that brought forward at previous sales, and the attendance was smaller than usual, and the bidding less animated. The few lots which were in good condition brought'., prices,, 'equal ti? those obtained at former , sales,, ranging up to 15d per lb~ Abp.u,t/136 bales .were catalogued, and atl , save two. lots, were sold, and 'these were reserved for .a higher price — 9^d being bid, and the reserve 10^d. The following letter from Mr. A. Leslie Campbell, the honorary secretary of the Napier Cricket Club, appears in the Po- ! verty Bay Standard of the 13th inst. :— \ " Napier, 4th Jan., 1877. W. W. Brown, Secretary Poverty Cricket Club, Grisborne. — Dear Sir, — My committee have requested me to express to you their very hearty thanks for the excessively cordial reception that our team met with upon the occasion of the recent match at Gisborne, and further, that the remembrance of the visit, both as regards the pleasant meeting and the good game, will ever form a most pleasing recollection for those members" of our club who were so fortunate as to be the recipients of such hospitality. — I remain, Dear Sir, yours faithfully, A, Leslie Campbell, * hon. sec." The time for receiving tenders for the erection of the public hall at West Clive s extended. until Wednesday, the 31st nst.

Mr. Sutton will meet the electors of , Napier at tbe Oddfellows' Hall at 8 o'c'ock this evening. A meeting of persons interested in the ' formation of a Laud and Building Society ' at Waipawa will take place in tbe Recha- j bite Hall at 8 o'clock to-morrow (Tuesday) j evening. x A special meeting of the Nap"ier Ifare Brigade will be held at the ordinary p]:Me/i of meeting at 8 o'clock this evening. TIV j question of the uniform and other matteifrsl will be discussed at the meeting. J j It will be seen from our advertising i columns that the Tarauaki Anniversary Races will take place at New Plymouth on Tuesday and Wednesday, the 3rd and 4th April. The principal events of the meeting will be found in the advertisement. . We learn, that Mr. Sydney Johns! on lias kindly granted to the Hawke's Bay Jockey Club, for the ensuing race meeting, the use of the' paddock 'at Olive, where the Spring Race Meeting was held. . The Rev! Mr. Sidey's funeral sermon on Sir.Dqnald M'Leaniwill be published in a few' days by Messrs. Dinwiddi^, Morrison and .Co. , , ; ". We. have been favored with an excellent view of Auckland and its environs^ drawn and lithographed by Mr. S. Begg, jun. The Neio Zedldnd Herald, we beiieve, is about to send it round to its subscribers as a supplement, and has ordered 4000 copies for this purpose. " Agles,*' in the Australasian of the 6th inst. says : — " At the examination of the children attending the Roman Catholic school at Napier, N.Z., a number of parents and friends were present to witness the proceedings. Amongst the invited was a Hibernian saddler, who watched all that occurred with intense interest. He seemed considerably edified until the head master called up the firsfcclass to be examined in Euclid. At that he was startled, exclaiming :— ' Begorra! Do they tache them euchre!' That ' seemed to strike him as liberal education." Diphtheria appears to be prevalent at Wanganui as well, as at Wellington. One resident lost two children within a week. Referring to the retirement of Mr. Richardson from the Ministry, the Lijttel. ton 2imessa.ys: — "We are strongly inclined to the opinion that, in the present and prospective state of the Public Works Department, the continuance of Mr. Richardson, even with his mnny admirable qualities, as its Minister, would not be conducive to the public interests. It was this opinion which induced us lately to state that we did not think that under present circumstances Mr. Richardson would be strong enough for the. place which , he. then* filled. In England, the political Minister of a professional department, such as the Navy or Army, is always, or nearly always, a civilian, and we can well believe that there are strong reasons why that should be the case. We are of opinion that, for exceptional rea- J sons, it was a great public advantage that, in 1872, at that stage of the Public Works Department, its Minister should be a Civi! Engineer. Altered circumstances j would now, in our opinion, turn, at its present and in its future stages, that pnblic advantage into a public evil. There is nothing inconsistent in these two opinions. What is suitable as an exception may be quite unsuitable ag a ! rule." I Our readers will remember (says the j P.B. Herald) that none of the tenders for | the erection of the Waipaoa bridge were accepted, for the reason that the lowest was considered to be too much in excess of the sum set apart for the work. We now learn that plans are about to be prepared on a somewhat less extensive scale, and that fresh tenders will be invited at an early date. Mr. Richards, who was sent to Grisborne to Overlook the erection of the Government buildings, will also ■ superintend the erection of the bridge. The Press, in noticing the decision of the Tuapeka County Council to arrange j for an overdraft of £5000, quotes the ; Counties Act to show that no Council can at present borrow from a bank by way of J overdraft. The section of the Act re- j ferring to this subject, says that " the ] amount of such overdraft shall never at I any time exceed the tota amount of the j receipts of the County fund during the year ending on the 31st day of March ! previous, not including any moneys received from the General Government, or any moneys borrowed, or any moneys received from separate rates." Compliance with the Act, therefore, is impossible. The 156 th section renders Councillors personally liable for any moneys illegally borrowed. | It is not often that one sees the marriage and death of a lady advertised in the same issue of a journal, but two such announcements — one of marriage on the 9th inst., the other of death on the 10th instant — appeared in tbe Otago Daily Times the other day. The Otago Times says: — " We regret to see tbat a : complete amalgamation is to j take place between the Armed Constabu- I lary of the North aud the civil Police Force of the South. Whatever advantages snch an arrangement may have in the direction of economy, we caunot but tuink it will be more than counterbalanced by evils, already noticed." The Otago Daily Times speaks in very favorable terms of a lecture on the eye, its proper care, &c.,- recently delivered in Dunedin by Dr. Schwarzbach, a gentleman who has only very lately established himself in tbat city as an oculist and aurist. Dr. Schwarzbach brought with him pome very excellent certificates of his skill, and no doubt he will soon attract a large practice, as there are no medical gentlemen in New Zealand who make the eye or the ear a . speciality. In reference to the lecture our Dunedin , contemporary says, "Dr. Schwarzbach explained first the theory of vision, the function and properties of the eye, and the pltasuros of sight. The anatomical structure was next explained, and the eye in detail compared and likened to tho 'camera obscura " of /■the' photographers. Nearsightedness and and the cure of these faulty j'refractionsi as also the usfe'and nature of spectacles, were explained at length. On the proper care of the eye,: the lecturer gave numerous and very valuable hints, and much good advice. The symptoms when diseased were a 'so stated ; but it is impossible, in a condensed |['orm, to give a synopsis of the many points referred to and illustrated by reference to figures and diagrams. He pointed out that while the finger nails, the teetb, tbe hair, &c, are carefully cultivated, the eye aud the sight are very often abused to a very great degree. Parents and teachers are often to be blamed for ibis. Direction was given as to what distance the objects should be held in front of the face, and what position the writiug-table should take. Tho causes of cross-sightedntrss or s-tradismus were mentioned, as also how the disease cau be prevented in children. A fittiug tribute was paid to the beaury of the eyes, and to their power of the expression of feeling and thought. Many otticr points were exhaustively deulfc wilu in a masterly manner, A vote of thanks was accorded to tbe lecturer." j