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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3935, 18 June 1877, Page 2

Mr Severn delivered a lecture on Spectrum Analysis in the Oddfellows' Hall, on Saturday night, to a good house. He exhibited on the screen the spectra of several metals fused in the electric light, and explained the application of the process to the sciences of chemistry and astronomy. The presence of the smallest perceptible grain of salt diffused through ten gallons of water could be detected by it. They might imagine therefore what an effective instrument it was in the hands of the skilled toxicologist. It performed no less important functions in astronomy. By means of it Sechi had classified the lixed stars, and had been able to tell us a good deal about the ingredients which constituted them. Mi- Severn anticipates that, by to-night, Ilia apparatus will have arrived from Auckland by the Cross, and he will then be able to give a variety of beautiful and interesting experiments illustrative; of the action of electricity. Among tho rest we understand that he will show '1:3 how torp"doJ3 live let off, a piece of iufoL niation that may possiblj' not be without its practical value shortly, if things continue to go on in Europe as they have been going of late. The Fire Brigade will assemble at 7.30 on Wednesday evening next, in order to attend the performance of the Napier Volunteer Artillery Dramatic Club. We hope there will be a good muster. Full uniform, with caps, will be worn.

The Revision Court for the Olive district will be held at the Courfc-houso, Wavpawa, at 11 o'clock to-morrow (Tuesday). The enquiry into the election of the Hon. H. R. Russell for the Waipukurau riding will be held at the Resident Magis-ti-ato's Court, Waipawa, on Tuesday (tomorrow), at 11 a.m. A meeting of the Hawke's Bay County Councill will be held this morning, in the Council Chamber, at 11 o'clock. The Public Works Committee will also meet to-day. A correspondent from To Auto sends us the following : — " At a meeting held at the school-room, Te Ante, on Friday evening, the loth inst. , the following gentlemen were appointed a school committee : — Mr Spencer Sutton, chairman ; Messrs W. A. Cannon, W. Ellingliam, Jas. Catherall. As the present school has been in existence since the 14th Maj' last, and there are twenty-five scholars attending daily, the committee deem it quite necessary that steps should be taken to bring the school under the Government educational regulations. The following resohition was proposed and carried unanimously, viz. .-—That a petition be drawn up for signature and forwarded to the Inspector of Schools, Napier, soliciting that the school be placed under Government regulations, also that the usual subsidy bo granted to the schoolmaster. Mr Severn's lecture this^ afternoon, for the schools, will be on Artificial Illumination—its History and Chemistry, and should prove very interesting. Experiments on combustion, oxygen, gas works, candles, oil lamps, and the magnesium lamp will be shown and fully explained, a number of views and photos, the chromotrope, animalculas, &c, will be exhibited, and we hope to see a large audience assemble at the Oddfellows' Hall. The half-yearly meeting of the Foresters' Court Sir Charles Napier, will be held at 8 o'clock this evening, for the election of officers, &c. A somewhat serious accident occurred at West Clive on Saturday afternoon, a man named Walter Golding, through the incautious use of a knife, having received a severe wound in the throat. Dr De Lisle was sent for, and was promptly in attendance. Yesterday the man was removed to the Napier Hospital, and we hear, is progressing as favorably as can be expected under the circumstances. Wo hear that Mr Rees intends delivering a lecture next Thursday evening in Trinity Church, for the benefit of the Sunday school. The subject is to be " The Lost Ten Tribes." I hear a commendable story of the Pope. The other clay, at one of his Holincss's audiences, a lady poured into his car a pitiful story of poverty and want. " Commit your story to paper," said the Pope, and passed on. A few steps further down the circle was a devotee armed with a large bag of gold, which he bestowed with much enthusiasm on the Vicar Apostolic. The latter instantly returned to the indigent female and poured the whole offering into her hands, observing quietly, " Providence always supplies the wants of the faithful." Everyone seemed delighted save the devotee, who, willing to minister to the needs of a Pope, was by no means satisfied at seeing his charity transferred to a pauper. But this is human nature. — Van ity Fa ir. The IVclliiif/tvn Ai'ffu.f says: — "In reference to the wrath exhibited in certain quarters regarding the statement which first appeared in our columns, and which was than telegraphed to southern papers, about rumored disagreements in the Cabinet, the L//((cl(o>i Times, in the course of an excellent article, says : — ' How can a statement regarding Ministerial differences be clever, when all the cleverness is required to prove that the Ministry can remain long a happy family i Is all this wrath poured out simply because journalists decline to see in the present authoritatively described agreement of Ministers, any guarantee for the continuance of their cohesion under the pressure of Parliamentary opposition. These and many similar questions grow out of the wonderful conclusion to the essay under discussion. They are too deep for the ordinary understanding, we give them tip. It seems that the friends of the Ministry are under the impression that some dreadful slander lias been set on foot. They appear to think that Ministers have been accused of committing some crime, or fallen into some delightfully scandalous peccadillo, "What's a' the steer, kimmer ?" Is it so very disgraceful for a body of men to fall out about politics 1 On the contrary, we cannot see anything more likely, or less open to a charge of dishonor. A split in the Cabinet would simply mean a return of some of its members to the political opinions honestly held and acted upon for years. The rumor of a split cannot, therefore, be any reflection on their political characters ; but, judging from the fierceness with which such a rumor has been received, it would seem otherwise. Moreover, when Mr Whitaker joined the Cabinet, he declared that, in the event of certain questions cropping up, he would consider himself free to secede. We cannot see that any rumor which imputes to him a determination to act according to his announced intention, can be in any way to his discredit ; especially when we learn on the authorit}' of people who write essays on the use and abuse of fiction, that one of the very subjects on which this liberty of action was reserved, viz., Separation, is to be brought forward by the Opposition as soon as Parliament meets. Lastly, seeing that, as far as the permanence of their union is concerned, it matters very little whether the rumor in question was true or false, we should like to ask in what way that rumor can damage the Ministry. Altogether, the most astonishing feature of the whole story is the undisguised anger of the Ministerial organs. Were it not for the authoritative assurance that Ministers are a happy family, we should look upon this anger of their friends as a sign that some deadly secret had been surprised.' " In an account of the accident that occurred lately at the premises of Messrs Kirkpatriek, Glendeiming and Co., Dunedin, the Otac/o Duih/ Times says : — " The portion of the premises affected by the accident were the slop department and the silk, millinery, and underclothing department, and the ofueo, all of which were on the ground fioor, also the workrooms, which were situated on the first floor. In these upper rooms there are generally about 50 milliners and mantlemakers employed, about half of whom used to bo engaged in what was termed the dress-making department, the others being in the mantle-making department, which, beyond the disorder produced by the accident, was not much affected by thy occurrence of yesterday. It was not so with the room occupied by the dressmakers, and it was almost completely carried away. However, the time the accident took place was between one and two o'clock, when all the girls, with the exception of six, were at lunch. When those in the room learned the perilous position in which they were placed, they made a rush for the stairs which led from the work-room into the drapery department, where they would he quite safe. But to reach the stairs they had to pass along the Hoor of the work-shop, and only four of them succeeded in doing so in safety. The other two, Miss Black and Miss Galley, were too late, for, as they were going towards the stairs, the floor had become quite dipped, and they were, so to speak, swept out among the debris. Both were severely injured, and were at once taken to the Dunedin Hospital in a cab. They were at once examined by Dr. Tighe, but as they declined to become inmates of the hospital, they did not leave the cab, and were taken to their homes."