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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3935, 26 June 1877, Page 2

At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, before R. Stuart, Esq., R.M., Thomas Phillips and John Kenton were each fined 5s for drunkenness. Richard King, who had been arrested for drunkenness, but who had been allowed to be at large on depositing £1 in lieu of bail, omitted to put in an appearance, and his bail money was ordered to be forfeited. — William Smith was charged with being illegally on the premises of the Napier Club last Saturday night. The prisoner said that he had come in from the country, and was too late to get a lodging ; knowing some person at the club, he had gone there to stay for the night, but had not been there long when he was disturbed out of the qxiarters he had taken up. Sergeant Robinson said that the prisoner had been brought up two or three times for drunkenness. His Worship sentenced the prisoner to 14 days' hard labor, remarking that it would be a lesson to him in making his selection of lodgings to avoid places where he had no right to go. — Mr Sheehan applied for an adjournment of the assault case of Smith v. Pyne, on. the ground that the defendant was in the country seeking work, and the summons, though it had been served on the defendant's wife, had not reached the defendant himself. He therefore asked the Bench not to issue a warrant in consequence of the absence of the defendant, but to postpone the case for a week. His Worship granted the application and postponed the case until next Monday. — Arthur M'Cartney applied for a spirit license for a baU to be held this evening in the building formerly the billiard-room of the Greenmeadows Hotel, Taradale. The application was granted. There was no other business before the Court. We learn that it is intended to have the Napier and Takapau railway line fenced, and that the work will be commenced shortly. The dramatic performance to take place on Thursday evening, in aid of the fund for preparing Clive . Square for a cricket ground, promises to be a great success. Most of our well-known Napier amateurs intend taking part in the entertainment, and the rehearsals, we hear, are going off capitally. The club has also secured the services of two ladies who will be a great acquisition to the performance, and an interesting feature in it will be the manifestation of a "dark seance" bya gentleman amateur who is said to be quite equal to Professor Fay. The programme altogether is an unusually good one, and, we feel sure, will attract a bumper house. The new show-rooms of Messrs Large and Townley having been completed, the occasion was celebrated last evening by an entertainment given by the firm in the new building to their employe's and a few of the friends of the latter, numbering in all about sixty of both sexes. About 6 o'clock the company sat down to tea,

the table being profusely laden with fare of both light ftnd substantial kinds. When justice "Was done to these, the tables Were removed, and singinpf and dancing diversified the amusements of the evening till a late hour. Occasion was taken in the course of the evening to give expression to the kindly feeling subsisting between the employe's and the firm by passing a hearty vote of thanks to Mr and Mrs Large, which was feeling acknowledged in brief but appropriate terms by Mr Large. The design for the Cook County seal, invented by Mr Jarman, of Napier, is described by the P 'overt t/ Bay Herald as being a most elaborate work of art, It is about 2in. in diameter and depicts the Bay with Tuamotu point to the left, and Captain Cook's Vessel in the centre, the gallant explorer being, supposed to nave just^ arrived j and to be in the act of furling his sails. In the foreground are to be seen two or three haughty aboriginals standing and sitting on the beach, evidently astonished at the gigantic seabird, with such a number of strangely shaped white wings, whilst due prominence is likewisegiven to theflax bush and cabbage tree which are ever introduced into representations of New Zealand scenery. The Wairoa Free Press has been informed on good authority " that there is every probability of the Wairoa County Council obtaining a share of the funds coming from the winding up of the late Provincial Government estate. Mr Burton, to whose efforts this will be in a measure due, lets no grass grow under his feet in looking after the interests of his constituents." The Koroit Express says that a few days ago information was received by an old resident of Koroit that he had suddenly become immensely rich. For some months past an advertisement appeared in the Melbourne papers, inquiring for his whereabouts. A friend hajjpened to notice it, and informed the lucky individual of the fact, the result being that he became aware that through the death of a relative he had become possessed of property worth some £20,000 a year. The | bulk of the property consists of an estate in Ireland, but he is also the undisputed heir to a valuable interest in some lead mines and slate quarries in the county of Westmoreland, England. The following amusing story (says the N.Z. Herald) has reached us regarding Judge Johnston : — " His Honor, at the close of the sitting of the Court in a West Coast mining town, whore business was light, not knowing how to beguile his time, asked the Court Orderly if there was any society in the place. ' Well, your honor,' replied the official, ' there's the Oddfellows, there's the Freemasons, [ there's the Foresters, and the Hibernians ; but I should advise your honor to join the Hibernians.' ' Pooh, pooh !' said the judge. ' I did not mean that ; but tell me how was Judge in the habit of spending his time when here V ' Faith, then, your honor, him and the bailiff and meself used to go to the Shamrock and play Forty-fives. ' " A telephone concert is reported to have taken place recently in Steinway Hall, New York, the performers being in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, owing to a heavy rain, nearly one-third of the working force of the electric battery escaped, and the concert was not, therefore, a complete success, which was a great disappointment to all present, inasmuch as two evenings previously the sweetest melodies had been transmitted from Philadelphia by wire. The audier.ee, however, although warned that, owing to the hoarseness of the wires, they would "scarcely hear the echo of an echo," were so desirous to test the wonders of the new discovery that an attempt was made to satisfy them, and "Home, sweet Home" was rendered softly and slowly on the telephone by Mr Boscovitz at Philadelphia. Notwithstanding the afflicted condition of the wires, every note could be heard distinctly all over the hall ; but the higher notes, which had on a former occasion sounded forth loud and clear, were but a whisper in comparison — like the desperate effort of a broken voice to reach a high range. The applause was enthusiastic, and there was immense clapping of hands when the song " Then you'll remember me, ' ' from the ' 'Bohemian Girl," was sung through the wires, although the higher notes were almost inaudible. " Yankee Doodle " and "God save the Queen " were encored, and, but for the storm, the entire concert, it is stated, would ' 'doubtless have been one of the most remarkable on record." A curious custom prevails on Good Friday at the church of St. Bartholomew the Great, London, of throwing down twenty one sixpences on a stone in the church-yard, when the old women of the parish pick them up. The money is said to be the gift of a lady who was buried there, but the bequest is so ancient that no will can be traced, and even the exact place of her grave is not known. The custom is, however, well handed down by tradition, many people assembling each year to observe the ceremony. A number of boys presented themselves last Good Friday under the impression that the money was to be freely given away, but were sadly disappointed to find that the bequest was limited to old women. The distribution was made by the Rev. J. Abbiss. The TaranaJci News has the following : "The natives who returned from the Chatham Islands to this district a few years ago, and were located north of the Urenui, are rapidly becoming extinct. Out of two hundred and fifty only fifty are left." In the hearing of an action for breach of contract that has been taking up much of the time of the District Court in Wanganui, a rather knotty question arose, which the District Judge, H. E. Kenny, Esq., said he had never, during a nineteen years' experience, been called upon to decide. The difficulty, which has excited considerable interest among the legal profession of Wanganui, is this : — Can the defendant in an action obtain judgment for a set-off or counter claim, after the plaintiff had elected to receive a nonsuit, and had thus practically withdrawn the case from Court \ Judge Kenny ruled that at any rate in this instance it was practicable, and gave judgment accordingly. A pattern helmet has been approved by the Queen, and will shortly be definitely adopted as the head-dress for the army. It is not at all German in its lines, being more akin to the police-helmet than the ■p'tckelhaicbe. The material is cork ; the color dark blue for home service, and white in India and on foreign stations ; with a handsome gilt plate and gilt spike. The effect is soldierlike ; while it is lighter, more durable, and a far greater protection to the head than the shako in present use. At a recent meeting of the Belfast Poor-Law Guardians, a member of the board suggested that, in order to lighten the labors of the workhouse chaplains in attending paupers' funerals, the ' ' courteous and efficient" master of the workhouse might so ai'range that a large number of burials should take place at once ! If this bold idea were thoroughly carried out, it would lighten the rates courteously and efficiently. — World. The Prime Minister of . the Ameer Afghanistan, who has just died at Peshawur while negotiating a treaty with the Indian Government, commenced life as a horse dealer. He was as astute a diplomatist as any in the Indian service. A strange occurrence (says the Goulburn Herald) took place lately at Cogenburg. Mr Fulljames, the owner of the estate, had had his buggy brought out about two o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of having it washed, and while the man was doing this a smell of fire was observed, and looking to see whence it proceeded, it was found to arise from one of the lamps of the vehicle. There was

no candle in the lamp, and the spring consequently was up to the highest point, but the calico surrounding it had been set on fire by the rays of the sun concentrated to a,-focus by the glass in the lamp. What makes this still stranger is that the glass of the lamp is square, not round. Two curious cases of breach of promise of mamage are reported in the English papers. One of them, tried at Norwich, was by a widow named Farrow, against a stonemason named Child. The widow [ had been the mother of no less than 18 children, and the judge expressed an opinion that she had attempted to entrap the stonemason. The jury found a verdict for the defendant. In the .other case, tried at Warwick, the ydiing lady, a Miss Elizabeth Field, had had another lover I at about the same time as the one she was suing, and had threatened the said other one with an action, but an arrangement was effected. The judge expressed his astonishment, and intimated that the plaintiff could not possibly marry two men at a time, and thereupon the plaintiff's counsel submitted to a verdict for defendant. On the first of April the new Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Bartle Frere, arrived at Capetown, and landed the same clay. A banquet was given to the retiring Governor, Sir Henry Barkley. In the farewell spoech, Sir Homy expressed a hope that when Sir Bartle Frere left the colony he would bo able to boast that the British flag waved over United South Africa. It was notioed (says a London paper) that when the debate took place in the House of Commons on Mr Fawcett's motion, upon which it will be remembered the Opposition did not desire to vote, Mr Gladstone wore a red rose in his buttonhole, which is with him a very unusual circumstance. In one of Dumas's most popular works, a loading character plays her part with flowers. When certain things are to be done it is a white flower ; when they are not, it is a red. Mr Gladstone's rose was taken by his followers as a hint that action was not the order of the day. The latest thing in Ritualistic stationery consists of a sheet of mourning notepaper, in which the black border, the usual outward and visible sign of sorrow, is tempered with red, the latter, it is presumed, being significant of the spiritual grace of the departed. Envelopes are made to match. Mr Edward Wakefield's late address to his constituents (says the Wellington Argus) is an amusing but characteristic piece of egotism. According to his own showing, he was really the most important and influential member of the House last session. The things he did, did not, and tried to do, were alike wonderful, j As an instance of the increased value of land in the Waikato, the N.Z. Herald states that Messrs Goodfellow, of Alexandra, have had an offer of £15 per acre for their splendid farm, which offer has been refused. Two large sweeps on the Melbourne Cup are already announced in the Hokitika papers — one for £3,000, and another for £1,500. The following telegram, giving an account of the repair of the Tasmanian cable is published in the Sydney Morning Herald of the 14th instant : — " The cable-repair-ing steamer Agnes, Captain G. It. Sims, commenced operations for repairing the Tasmanian cable on the Bth instant, by \inder-running the shore end and repairing the outer covering, where necessary, for about two miles. On the 9th grappled and recovered the Victorian end, the outside of which was found to be greatly chafed and torn by rocks. It was then tested with Flinders, and found that the signals were perfect. On the 10th the weather was too stormy to admit of operations. On the 11th the weather moderated, and the Agnes steamed out to the assumed position of the Tasmanian end. It was grappled before noon, within half-a-mile of the broken end. Tasmania was signalled, and the tests were found to be perfect. Spliced new cable and laid it to inshore buoy one mile, and made final splice at 4.30 p.m. On the 12th the steamer recovered half a-mile of the damaged cable, and as soon as the weather permits the telegraphists will proceed to Tasmania, for the purpose of restoring the shore end prior to returning to headquarters at Sydney. Captain Sims deserves praise for the skilful manner in which he has carried out the work." A fight with a kangaroo is thus described by a corrrespondent of the Goulburn Valley Advocate : — Whilst out kangaroo hunting last week a local hunting celebrity met with an adventure which, though it had its ludicrous side, might have been followed by very serious results. After having had a few good runs, the dogs took after an " old man" kangaroo, about seven feet high. On the hounds catching him a severe hand to tooth struggle ensued, which left its traces on all. At last the marsupial took to an adjacent stream, where he was in a fair way of destroying the dogs, when an excited Hibernian splitter — a new chum — pleaded hard for a ' c sthroke at him with a shtick," and wading in, tried it, but losing his balance, fell within reach of the kangaroo, which closed on him at once. Cries, prayers, and imprecations testified that Pat was getting the worst of it. At last with difficulty he escaped, bearing traces in a torn vest, shirt and trousers, and a severe gash in the thigh, which cooled his ardour. It was not until a noose had been thrown over his head that the " old man " was destroyed. At a recent sitting of the Middlesex sessions Francis Newton, a good-looking young woman, described as a chignonmaker, was indicted on a charge of having stolen a cloak, the property of Joseph Highman, of Clouesley Road, Barnsbury, keeper of a wardrobe shop. The evidence was simple and conclusive, the prisoner having gone into the shop, secreted the cloak under her dress, had been caught in the act, and the jury convicted her. In great grief she then avowed that she had always borne a good rejmtation, and she called upon a respectable young man to testify to the truth of her asservations. In reply to Serjeant Cox, he said he had known the prisoner for a very long time, and she had always held an excellent reputation ; in fact, he had intended to make her his wife. Mr Sergeant Cox : When was it you meant to carry out that idea? Witness: At Easter next, my lord. Mr Sergeant Cox : Do you propose to marry her now if you can '? Witness : Oh yes, my lord ; I should ! very much like to. (Laughter.) Mr Sergeant Cox : Well, if I let her out on recognisances that she may come up for judgment, if called upon, would you marry her at once ? Witness : Yes, my lord ; certainly. (Applause.) Mr Serjeant Cox : Very well, then ; I should be very sorry to let her out with the taint of the gaol upon her. Enter into recognisances for her, and marry her, and I hope sincerely that you may live happily together hereafter. (Applause, which it was impossible for some time to suppress.) Shortly afterwards the young woman and her champion left the Court together amidst renewed plaudits. During the recent voyage ot the N.Z.S.S. Company's ship Piakofrom London to Lyttelton, two newspapers were carried on. One of these, the Saturday Review, has been sent to the Wellington Post, for perusal. It is exceedingly wellwritten and compiled, and must have been found a great relief to the unavoidable tedium of a long voyage. It was ably edited by Mr J. W. M'Neale, who was formerly one of the masters at the Nelson College, and who returned to New Zealand by the Piako. Another pleasant incident of the voyage was a regatta, held while the ship was becalmed in the tropics, the ship's boats being got out, and some excellent races took place, while there was a goodly sprinkling of the fair sex among the spectators.

A singular inoident (says a London paper) occurred before one of the committee of the House of Commons. The Irish Sunday Closing Bill had been referred to a select committee, and one of | the main witnesses against the measure presented himself for examination in such an undoubtedly muddled condition through drink that he narrowly escaped ejection from the room. His examination had to be very considerably shortened. Whatever his facts may have been, his appearance and condition presented an argument in favor, not of Sunday,. but of every day closing. It is announced that the Mentmdre s.tud, organised by the late, Baron Meyer de Rothschild, is riot to be broken up. Miss Hannah de Rothschild, who became its sole possessor on the death of her mother, has placed the stud under the entire management of Mr Leopold de Rothschild and Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, and the working arrangements will be carried out by Mr Markham, the stud gi'oom, as heretofore. The yearlings will be Bold at Newmarket during the July meeting. ' At a football match in Auckland between a team of Colonial players against a team representing the World, the former won by a try to nothing. The local papers state that the game was well contested, the play being good all round.