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New Zealander, Volume XVI, Issue 1491, 1 August 1860, Page 3

Canada Buildings. —These large stone buildings, forming as they do an ornament to Queen street, are now finished. The front forms a facade sixty six in length, by nearly forty feet in height; composed entirely of Hobart Town st'me and plate glass. The color of the stone is almost pure white. It is supposed by the bestjudges that the Hobart Town stone will provenpuch l more durable than that which lias been coijijAonly imported from Sydney ; the texture of thjs s\one is close, and it is believed that it will effectually resist those atmospheric influences which prove so destructive to the softer Sydney stone. The buildings have been constructed in ihe most substantial manner, and the workmanship reflects great credit on onr Auckland builders. Mr. (i. Boyd was the contractor for the whole work. The stonework was executed by Messre. Tudehope and McCulsky, the carpenters and joiners work by Mr. Fisher, the iron castings by Kin loch an<l Co , the glazing by Mr. Dickenson, und the whole was carried out after the design and under the immediate superintendence of Mr. Reader Wood, aichitect. We are glad to hear that this speculation of the spirited proprietors will be highly remunerative to them, and we ventuer to hope that it will he an inducement to others to follow the example set by Messrs. Morrin and Jones.

In our notice of the opening of the present Session of General Assembly, we stated that th« salute from Fort Britomart was fired by the Volunteer Coast Guard, We had been informed that such was intended to he the case, and having received no other information we inferred that the first intention was adhered to. Owing, probably, to some fresh arrangements which are being made in the organization of this body, and which have for the time deprived them of the services of their principal officers, the salute was not fired by the Coast Guard, hut by the Marine Artillery, to which fine body of men we thus make the amende. With respect to tiie Volunteer Coast Guard, we hear that the re-organization or alteration of tlieir constitution will lead to their having a Captain and two Lieutenants, instead of a Senior and Junior Lieutenant only, as at their embodiment. There is also some talk of tlieir being increased to a hundred men, and we shall he glad to hear that the Colonial Government sufficiently appreciate the importance of securing the hearty service of such a useful body of men, by as promptly as possible placing at their disposal at least two efficient sailing gun-bouts and two serviceable row-boats.

The Letters “ (.4 C. E.," when first- plncanled on the walls (at that “wooden walls”) of this City, 1 some twelvemonth ago, greatly puzzled our fel-low-citizens. They were soon found out to announce the initiation of a new order of things in the history of our mercantile dining-rooms. “Q C. E.” was personified in Mr. Lewis James, well-known to many a captain of the passengerships now trading here, as keeping one of the best ordered establishments of a similar kind in London. With a view to thesettlement of his family he came to New Zealand, and, while some portion of that family went upon their land, he remained in Auckland to see what could he done in other ways. 1 iis experiment has proved so successful, we trust, to himself, as well as satisfactory to his fellow-citizens, that lie has opened larger mercantile dining-rooms at the foot of Shonland-street, in the principal room of which he can comfortably dine a hundred persons at one time. The whole arrangements have been carried out, after the most approved London style, under the direction of Mr. Vialcu, architect. The opening dinner took place on Monday, and was numerously attended by our leading merchants and traders, one of whom presided. The dinner was in every way worthy of Mr. James's reputation ; and the rule followed was “ early to meet, early to part.” After giving the customary loyal and patriotic toasts, the Chairman proposed Mr. J anies’s health and success to his new undertaking; the want of such an establishment had long been felt by the merchants and traders of Auckland, and now that they had “ the right man in the right place,” it was to he hoped that they would often and long have opportunities of meeting, dining, and conferring with each other —with mutual satisfaction to themselves, and profit to the proprietor.—Mr. James, in replying, referred to the very kind manner in which he had, from the first, as an almost stranger, been received by the people of Auckland, andexpressed his hope that he would be able to keep up his present establishment in a manner worthy of that support and of the wants of the City of Auckland. He also wished to observe, lor the information and encouragement of other immigrants, —especially as there had been some controversy on the subject, —that lie came out as “ a forty-acre man that he and his family had, among them, 300 acres of land at Wangarei; that they had found the land fully equal to their expectations and to the seription given of it; that the land was now in' successful cultivation under his brother’s direction; and that, much us he felt flattered by the kind support of such a company as had met that evening to encourage him in what was certainly an urduousundertakiiig, he looked with great pride and satisfaction on the farm at Wangarei he and his family had received from the Trovince cf Auckland as “forty-acre men.”—The company separated at an early hour, many of them having to complete their despatches for ihe English Mail.

SmciDK : Cokunkk's Isqukst. —On 1 hursdny Inst an inquest was held at t he *‘ Kentish Anns,” llobson-StrcetjOn view of the hodyof Thomas Burrows, a shoemaker, residing in Asher’s buildings of! \ ic-toriu-street—who, while under die influence of intoxicating drink, put an end to hi.s mortal career by shooting himself through the head in the most deliberate manner, on the preceding day. A aerdiet of “ Felo de sc’’ was returned by a majority of one; six out of thirteen of the jury being of opinion that the wretched man laboured under temporary insanity nt the time he committed the fatal deed.—-Also, on the 30th instant, on the body of John Drake n soldier of the 65th Regiment, who was foiind dead in his bed in the Albert Barracks on the morning before. The inquest was held at the Barracks, ami it appeared in evidence that the deceased had been found lying drunk on the Barrack-square on the Saturday evening bv a non-commissioned officer, w ho removed him to Ids barrack room and put him on bis bed without undressing him or taking oil his stock. Most ot the men who slept in the room in question were drunk, and on the following morning deceased

was discovered perfectly dead, lying on his face, with his leathern stock closely compressing his throat. On raising the body, a quantity of rum flowed from the month of deceased. Assistant Surgeon Mr. Shaw made a postmortem examination of the body, and gave his opinion that de.'lth was caused by suffocation, the result of lying on the face, while the throat was compressed and the sensibility destroyed by intoxicat on.