Hawke's Bay Herald THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1878.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5002, 7 February 1878, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1878.

Professor Bon Allah, conjuror and ventriloquist, will make his first appearance at the Theatre Royal to-night. The Professor has been lately playing to crowded houses in the North, and hia performances are highly spoken of^ A number of presents will also be given away to-night, consisting of a silver watch, sewing machine, tea and coffee service, &c. The grain and root exhibition which is to be held in conjunction with the annual ploughing match, will take place on the 7th May next. We observe, by the Gazette of the 31st ult., that Richmond Beetham, Esq., R.M., has been appointed Deputy-Registrar of the Supreme Court at Napier. On Tuesday evening Mr Stock, of the Kaikora Hotel, gave a house warming and entertained a number of friends at a dinner and ball. There were about thirty present, and the affair was very successful. The dinner was provided in a style of more than usual excellence, and the dancing afterwards was kept up until about 6 o'clock yesterday morning. It is pleasant to read good and sensible advice. Judge Gillies recently gave some to a Mr Hesketh, just admitted to practice at the bar at Auckland. His Honor (addressing Mr Hesketh) said :—I am satisfied that you are fully qualified and competent to be admitted as a solicitor of this Court. I can further only say, that if you endeavor to act fairly, honestly, and honorably in your practice as solicitor, you will rise in your profession. You should even avoid the appearance of being connected with conduct that is reprehensible. If you apply your ability properly, I have no doubt you will find yourself in a high position in the legal profession ; you have a good example before you in your principal, and encouragement in the position which he has attained. — Wanganui Herald. Many years ago —on the occasion of the marriage of Her Majesty's eldest daughter to the Crown Prince of Prussia —a ceremony took place in Christchurch of a very imposing character, and one which at the time excited great and universal interest. This was no less than the planting of two Royal Oaks on the Ferry-road in honor of the great event. Beside each of these oaks was placed a stone into which was sunk a metal plate, containing all the particulars in a form that it was thought would \>q read with' pride by future generations. The oaks have flourished and are now fine trees ; the stones still remain, but the plates have departed. Have they been removed for the sake of their value as old metal 1 or has some archaeologist ofSthe Pickwick order borne them off to place among his private curios ? Under any circumstances it is quite time they were returned to their places, or the next thing will be the removal of the stones and the cutting down of the trees. —Lyttelton Times. The statement of receipts of the land fund of the several provincial districts for the quarter ending the 31st December, gives the following results :—Auckland, £625 17s 5d ; Taranaki, £964 5s 2d ; Wellington, £28,191 10s sd; Hawke's Bay, £18,664 lls 4d ; Nelson, £2069 8s Id ; Marlborough, £'595 3s 6d ; Canterbury, £237,582 18s lid ; Westland, £669 13s lid; and Otago, £124,392 7s lid. A greater range of inequality could scarcely be conceived. The total receipts dui-ing the quarter amounted to £413,755 16s Bd. —JV. Z. Herald. A load of 38 bales of wool from Ardgower station, with a wagon, owned by Mr Wood, were completely burned in transit to Dunedin, between Cromwell and Clyde. Every effort to save the property was unavailing. The cause of the fire was spontaneous combustion. Mr T. W. Gudgeon, of Grahamstown, is shortly to issue a book entitled " Reminiscences of the War." Mr Gudgeon has had special opportunities of becom%ig acquainted with the facts of the expeditions which were carried on against the Maoris in different parts of this island, and has put permanently on record many matters of interest which otherwise would have been forgotten. At the sale of unclaimed property at the Christchurch railway station lately, one bidder for a small bag, contents unknown, which was knocked down to him for Bs, discovered on opening the same that he was the possessor of £11. Another purchaser of a shawl and great coat cost 30s found in one of the pockets of the latter a gold watch worth six times the amount of the purchase money.—Press. Something rare, if not altogether new, in connubial alliances has taken place in Port Chalmers. The Otago Daily Times describes it as a " very interesting marriage." It took place at Holy Trinity Church, in the presence of a very large number of spectators, when Mr Henry F. Dench, J.W. of the Port Chalmers Marine Lodge, No. 946, E.G., was united to Miss Gibson, a daughter of a wellknown member of the Lodge. A dispensation from the JEi.W.D.G.M., permitting the brethren to appear in Masonic clothing, had been obtained, and the W.M., with the officers and brethren of the Lodge, were present. On the arrival of the bridal party a wedding march was played by Bro. Bott, organist of the church, and the bride, attended by ten bridesmaids (daughters of the W.M. and several P.M.'s of the Lodge, including three of the bridegroom's sisters), moved up the aisle to the front of the altar, where the ceremony was very impressively performed by the Rev. Lorenzo Moore, incumbent of the church. After the marriage, the W.M., Bro. C. de L. Graham, presented ihe bride, in the name ©f the Lodge, with a very elegant bouquet of white and blue flowers, the centre forming a square and compass, together with a silver holder appropriately engraved. The Rev. J. M. Fraser will preach 'on Sunday next at Mr Pope's, Motuotaria, at 3 p.m. Mr J. N. Spence will preach at Porangahau at 11 a.m., and at Wallingford at 3 p.m.

The European news per cable, which we publish this morning, is of a satisfactory character. There seems now to be little reason to fear that Great Britain will be involved in the war between Russia and Turkey. It is announced that a preliminary protocol for an armistice has been signed, and that hostilitiesbetween the two belligerent Powers have been suspended. It has also been agreed that the questions affecting other of the European Powers in the conditions of peace shall be discussed at a European conference. It will be noticed that the cablegram announcing this is date February 3rd, while we published yesterday a message from London of one day's later date, which did not give any intimation either of a protocol for an armistice having been signed, or of the definitely European conference having been agreed to. This, however, may be accounted for by the fact that the one message was a "special" to the Press Agency, and the other was from Reuter. The British Government are pressing their motion in the House of Commons for a special vote of six millions, and, as was stated in the cablegram we published yesterday, they are sure of carrying it, notwithstanding a proposed amendment which has the support of Messrs Lowe and Goschen. What the nature of that amendment is we are not informed, but it may be inferred to be identical with, or of the same nature as the suggestion which we are told in a later message was made by Mr Gladstone — that i instead of a special war credit vote, an address should be voted assuring the Queen of the united support of the nation for the maintenance of British interests. The debate, it will be seen, was adjourned in consequence of Russia's acceptance of the proposal for a European conference, and it is quite probable, after all, that the Government will not press for the credit vote.

It will be seen from Mr Bold's report to the Waipawa County Council that the laborers employed on the Seventy-Mile Bush road have been discharged. The fact is that it has turned out the road is not a county road, not having been in due form taken over, and the County Council had therefore no other course but to take the laborers off. The consequence, however, will be that the road is likely to become impassable for traffic ; trees may fall across it, and there will be no one to remove them, and however much the roadway may get broken up, it will be no person's duty to repair it. The road is essentially an arterial one, quite as much so as the road from Christuhurch to Hokitika, and, like that road, its maintenance should be a Government work. Last session the sum of £3500 was placed on the estimates for the road, and it is to be hoped the Government will see the necessity of taking the work in hand and of expending the money voted without further delay.

Mr William Harding if i the only prize winner in Napier in the Art Union of the Society for the Promotion of Fine Arts in Scotland. His prize consists of a very handsome statuette of large size, in Parian, the subject being Penelophon, King Cophema's beggar girl, by W. Brown, R.S.A. We hear that the Meanee Hotel has been sold to Mrs Vaughan, on account of the executors of the estate of the late David Vaughan, for £1300. The sale was negotiated through Mr Luckie. Mr Mundy again exhibited at the Theatre Royal last night his panorama of New Zealand scenery and of views in England. The weather being so unpleasant, the attendance was very limited. There was, however, a vast improvement in the exhibition of the scenes ; the light was excellent, and the effect all that could be desired.