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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5286, 21 January 1879, Page 2

The funeral of tho late James Watt, Esq., who expired at Longlands on Saturday last, took place yesterday, the mournful procession leaving his town residence at 3 p.m. A very large number of our leading merchants, townspeople, and country settlers followed the remains of tho deceased gentleman to the grave. On arrival at the cemetery, the burial service of the Presbyterian Church was read by the Eev. D. Sidey in an impressive manner. A special meeting of the Napier Harbor Board was held yesterday morning at 10.30. Present — Messrs Kinross, Sutton, Vautier, Smith, Williams, and Rhodes. In the absence of Mr Hoadley, Mr J. A. Smith acted as secretary. The meeting was held in consequence of telegrams received from the Marine Department at Wellington, stating that the Governor ) had reconstituted the board, and appointed the 20th of January at 10.30 a.m. as the time for holding its first meeting. The telegrams having been read, Mr Kinross was elected Chairman, on the motion of Mr Sutton, seconded by Mr Vautier. The ordinary meeting of the board was then held. The Chairman stated that in consequence of tho secretary being absent with the books in Christchurch, the business of the ordinary meeting could not be proceeded with. The board therefore adjourned until the 4th of February. Baker and Farron, the celebrated comedians, will make their first appearance at the Theatre Royal to-night, having left Wellington in the s.s. Taupo yesterday. They intend opening in " Struck Oil," a piece that has had an immense run in London, Melbourne, and other large cities where it has been played. Messrs Baker and Farron ; bring with them an entirely new company from Sydney. We hear they have met with remarkable success since their arrival from Australia, having recently been playing to crowded houses at Christchurch and Wellington. The meeting of the Hospital Committee that was to have been held yesterday afternoon, was adjourned to enable the members to attend the funeral of the late Mr James Watt. The meeting will be held at 11 o'clock this morning. ; Wo were shown yesterday, at Mr L. Harris's shop in Hastings-stroet, a very handsomely chased cup, presented by his Worship the Mayor to the Rifle Association as a prize firing trophy. The cup is elegantly mounted, and has an engraving appropriate for the purpose for which the cup is intended. We were also shown a very handsome drawing-room clock under a shade, Mr Haras's presentation to tho Association; and lastly, we had the pleasure of inspecting the cups for the winners in $ie scratch fours in the

1877 and 1878 contests among members of the Napier Boating Club. The benefit performance at the Theatre jj o yal last night in aid of the members o f the Hoslcins' Company detained in jfapier was very largely attended. The <j ranl a " Old Phil's Birthday" was very well performed by Messrs Hodgson, Bear, Mo°Trdgc, and Bull, the lady vcharacterffbeing taken by Miss Marie Wilton and. Miss Graham. A capital musical interlude followed, in which Mrs Hood, Messrs Scott and Edwards took part. The laughable farce of "The Happy Man," with Mr Swan in the title role, concluded the performance. Miss Wilton, Messrs J ermines, Burton, and Ashton, also appeared in the farce, which created roars of laughter and great applause. We observe from the Gazette of the 16th instant that Duncan Guy, Esq., has been appointed Deputy- Commissioner of Stamps at Napier, for the Provincial District of Hawko's Bay; appointment to take effect from the Ist September, 1878. The Right Rev. the Bishop of "Waiapu has appointed the Rev. G. M. D'Arcy Irvine, M.A., Head Master of the Napier Grammar School, to be one of his lordship's Examining Chaplains. With respect to the man Avho has lately been carrying on a gambling business in Napier, we learn that the police contemplated removing him from his location alongside the Masonic Hotel, but when, as a preliminary to forcible means, they asked him to " move on," he showed them a written permission from the Municipal Corporation to carry on his business at the place where he had taken his stand. The permission, we believe, was signed by the Town Clerk, and was given on a false representation made to the Mayor by the itinerant gambler that he had some wares to dispose of. The police arc therefore not to blame in the matter, though we believe that they could have proceeded against the man for gambling, notwithstanding his flimsy device of pencil selling, and we are also of opinion that they could have proceeded against , him for obstructing the thoroughfare, in despite of the Town Clerk's permission. But putting that on oneside, we certainly must say that the municipal authorities are much to blame in the matter. In the first place, the Mayor is not justified in issuing permission to any man to override the law, and in the second, when it was ascertained that the fellow had imposed upon the Mayor, the permission should have been forthwith cancelled, and instructions given to the police not to allow the man to carry on his unlawful and demoralising traffic. There were no cases in the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday. Mr Stuart was absent at Waipawa on magisterial duties. Accidents will happen. We are told (says the Dunedin Herald) that in a public reading-room the other day jja gentleman, after perusing an illustrated newspaper, handed it to another, with a whisper that it contained the portraits of the Kelly gang. Immediately on his taking up the newspaper, the second gentleman looked at the illustrations on the front page, and exclaimed — " Oh Lord, what a bad-looking set of vagabonds they are !" On bringing his glasses to bear upon the type, however, the second gentleman concluded he should have turned over a page or two, as he found that the faces which had not prepossessed him were those of the Ministry | of New Zealand.