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New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4358, 1 November 1875, Page 2

A preliminary meeting of gentlemen desirous of giving a public reception to Sir George Grey upon his arrival in Auckland ! was held on Saturday. The suggestion was very cordially received by many to whom it was mentioned, and it was resolved that circulars should be issued to the friends and supporters of the hon. member for Auckland West inviting their co-operation at a meeting to be held to-morrow. A communication has been addressed to Sir George Grey announcing the proposal with a view to consult his personal convenience as to the form the compliment should assume. Sir George replies that his desire would be rest and quiet. This probably points to a temporary sojourn at the Kawau after arriving in Auckland. A public reception would probably be the form in which the people might all pay their respects to one who defended their rights with unflagging gallantry and persistence, in whatever light his political opinions may be viewed. A hearty demonstration of public respect and recognition of parliamentary service could not fail to be most satisfactory to Sir George Grey himself, and as his convenience after the fatigues of a long parliamentary struggle must be consulted, it is probable the testimonial of honour intended will take this ferm.

The electors of Newton have proposed to do themselves honor in doiDg henor to their representative, Mr. Swanson, M.H.K. The position of Mr. Swanson in the Parliament is unique. His thoroughly independent attitude makes him personally influential. He boasts with justice of being a working man, and for him the working man is the true pioneer and colonist in every part of the world. Upon general topics there is not a better-informed man in Parliament. His experience of a special kind makes him an authority upon some matters. He has been an Auckland member in the truest as well as the strictest sense, and no public reputation in the colony is more deserving of honor. We clip the following from the Wailcato Times of Saturday last:—"ln another column we publish a requisition, signed by residents of Hamilton, to F. Whitaker, Esq., sen., asking him to become a candidate to represent the newly-constituted electoral di«tnct of Waikato in the General Assembly. Our readers will perceive that the requisition has already been numerously signed, although it was only started yesterday. The movers in this matter are anxious that requisitions, with the same object should be simultaneously in course of signature in every I

*the t?WaiEato j); and ■we beKeyeEjMfrjthe plan<iFrilliJ>eitfoperation almosi&as wjorras this iiiihpregsion is -in [the hands|jpf sSjosdnbers. NOiir Alexandra icorthat"a requisition .tcfAi Cox, EsqiV is being- got Alexandra,' for) the Waipa district." The uppermost question at Grahamstown is—What-Hews "about ""the Bright' Smile pump.?, wheii are they going to work ? Thi3. of course cannot he answered, but the eagerness of the inquiry is indicative of the interest attached" to their -working. The "position of the parties directly,affected may be stated thus:—The Bright Smile has been taken possession of by the stern and solid Loan Association ; .they-have, and are now keeping the mine in repair to withstand the influx of water, and are ready to receive applications from the adjoining mines as to the terms they will offer towards paying for drainage, and without which they are not disposed to budge an inch. They have the property, with the pump, andean afford to wait. The Queen of Beauty and City of London are swamped out of their low levels, retiring higher up as the water makes, and certainly are prepared to stand a lengthened siege. They will make no offer. As per agreement made, the Bright Smile or their representatives undertook to pump for them for six months, only four of which were completed ; that in fact there is an action for damages in not completing agreement. They will wait—perhaps the water will not rise much higher; however, they will not take the initiative. No notice was sent to them officially that the pumps would be stopped, and they will not move in the matter. The Queen of the May has plenty to do before they need to work on the low level; they need not mind, it will be surely settled before their time comes, and so it is likely to continue. In the meantime the water is doing damage, and the sooner the difficulty is got over the better. In reply to a letter expressing the views of the leading members of the Thames com" munity, asking Mr. Whitaker to stands as representative for the House of Assembly at the forthcoming election (says our Thames correspondent) an answer has been received declining the proposition, as that gentleman has already signified his intention to stand for the Waikato. This is much to be regretted. Mr. Whitaker, no doubt, would be returned for any constituency in the Province of Auckland, but his return for the mining district of. the Thames would have been appropriate; not that the community have any reason to complain of the gentleman's selecting another electoral district, but it would have afforded electors at the Thames a fittingopportunity to testify the high appreciation of Mr.-Whitaker's exertions on their behalf, his present large interest in every speculation tending to develope the resources of the goldfields, as well as his unwearied perseverance in promoting and nursing the efforts that have been made and successfully carried put in obtaining for the Thames its present position amongst the goldfields of New Zealand. Mr. Whitaker, in addition to his position as senior member of the Bar, is also the ablest metalurgist, assayer, and theoretical miner in our midst, and the ability to pay the compliment of returning the "father" of mining industry as representative for the Thames would have been gratifying to the bulk of the electors and carried triumphantly; but, as it is out of their power to do this, unless Mr. Whitaker changes his mind—which is not likely—the opportunity lost is to be regretted. The anniversary services of the Primative Methodist Sunday sohool were held in the Edwardes-street Chapel yesterday. Three sermons were delivered. The morning service was conducted by the Kev. S. Edger, the afternoon by the Kev. Mr. Tinsley, and the "evening by the Rev. W. J. Williams. The Rev. G. H. Turner was to have preached the afternoon sermon, but was unable to do so in consequence of bodily infirmity. Collections were made in aid of the school funds, as follow: —Morning, £3 18s 9Jd ; afternoon, £2 Is 7d; evening, £4 Ss 7d: total, £10 Sa This oveninjr. the public tea meeting will be neld. The Cluirch Gazette for November has been issued, and contains a variety of interesting papers. The observance of the 30th November as a day of intercession for missions is commended to the clergy and people of the diocese by the Bishop, in accordance with a recommendation from the Archbishop of Canterbury. An account of the present state of the Archdeaconry of Waikato will be read with great interest. The announcement is made that the Rev.

Wm. Floyd, of JLevuka, Fiji, has received the licence of the Bishop of London, under the Order in Council of Charles 1., pending the assignment of the islands to some Bishop able personally to visit. An account of a visit to the volcano of Kilauea by the Rev. Wm. Calder, will be found interesting. The author of the article on "Science and Christianity," which appeared in the September number, replies at some length to the letter of " W.," in the last number. An excellent suggestion, a3 to the propriety of holding "welcome services" for immigrants, has, we perceive, some fruit, and the Rev. C. M. Nelson invites co-operation. The number further contains a digest of the proceedings of the Synod, an interesting instalment of the " Recollections of a Waikato Missionary," and a well-selected assortment of Church news, reviews, &c. The Sundayschool lessons for the coming month, prepared under the direction of the committee appointed by the Synod, will be found exceedingly useful, and have evidently been compiled with great care. The necessity for the immediate establish-

ment of a District Hospital for the Waikato (says the Waikalo Times) is becoming more apparent every day; and we trust the Governt will institute enquiries on the subject, with the view of providing for this serious want—a want which will increase with the opening of railway communication, the consequent influx of population, the risks to life and limb attendent upon travelling, and the establishment of new industries.

Mr. Sinclair, chief of the Confiscated Lands Department, proceeds to the Thames, for the purpose of determining, in conjunction with Mr. Aitken, the Resident Engineer, the various interests connected with the properties through which the waterworks are now being extended and completed, for the benefit of the people at the Thames. This gentleman has already earned the confidence both of the Government and the public for his impartiality in the discharge of difficult duties. He completed the necessary documents for the right of entry and occupation of the several parcels of land required by the Colonial Government for railway, telegraphic, and other public purposes r owners and occupiers may therefore be assured that the greatest care will be taken to deal even-handed justice and equity to all concerned. No more competent officer or impartial person could have been selected. Services were conducted at the Baptist Chapel, Wellesley-street, yesterday, by the Rev. J. T. Hinton, from Sydney, who has come to take charge of the Baptist Chap el at the Thames. The rev. gentleman took for his text, in the morning, John xv., 2; and in the evening, John iv., 28, 29. In the morning he dwelt on the mutual love between Christ and his disciples; and, in the evening, on God's revelation of Himself to man, and man's revelation to his own self. Both discourses were earnest and practical, and delivered with a pathos and originality of style which impressed his hearers and gained their utmost attention.

Two men were taken into custody yesterday for assaulting the police. Constable Graham, it appears, went to a certain house for the purpose of checking disorderly conduct of which complaint had been made, when one of the men rushed upon him and assaulted him with blows and kicks. The constable succeeded in securing his opponent, and the other man then interfered, by taking hold of him and telling him to let his prisoner go. Both men were taken to the station-house, and detained upon the charge made against them. Another man was arrested for assaulting his wife, and his wife for using threatening language towards her father-in-law.

The travelling correspondent of the Waikato Times, writing from Alexandra on the 29th ult., says:—"lntelligence has been received of a murder having been committed

at a settlement called: Otiwa, situate about 30 miles up the Waiuay by, a native named Takaurawa. It appears that he accused another native of impraipriely of conduct with his wife, and the natives held, a runanga.to inquire into the matter, which resulted in the accused being acquitted. Takaurawa waE not satisfied with this, but watched the man, and on the" following morning attacked him stealthily with.an,axe,, and split his skull at one blow.' The injured man lingered for a few'days in great agony, and expired. The natives •■were greatly "excited, and left the village from superstitious. feelings. They have demanded of the Maori King that the murderer shall be punished according to the native law, but as Tawhiao is practically powerless to enforce order, nothing has yet been done. The friends of the murdered man now say that, if the King will not punish Taukarawa, they will capture him and hand him over to the nearest European magistrate, to be tried, by Pakeha law. Some of them have come to Orakau, and I hear they intend to seek advice from the Europeans. Takaurawa, the murderer, was formerly a pupil at Maunsell's Mission School, Port Waikato." The Ohinemuri correspondent of the Grahamstown Star says :—" Wylie and another, both representatives of farmers and others at Ballarat, Sineaton, &c., have lately been to Katikati and the East Coast districts on a tour of inspection. They contemplate the establishment of another settlement similar to that of Vesey Stewart's. Two blocks of land have been conditionally offered them • by the General Government, one in the province of Hawke's Bay, the other on the East Coast of this province. They expressed satisfaction at the suitability of the land for purposes of settlement, .and will report favourably on the scheme." Sir Wilfrid Lawson, the eccentric teetotal baronet, caused great mirth in the House of Commons on a late occasion, by asserting that the. two great dangers threatening England were the Pope and the " Colorado beetle."- The problem of averting the lastnamed plague seems,to have received a satisfactory solution;' by the bold step of " carrying the war into Africa," and eating the enemy. The American sdvans who have led the way in patronising the new delicacy, "Coloptenus soup," deserve well of their country, although it is quite possible they may have partaken of " hopper fritters" with, the mixed feelings of the Western trapper who tackled crow—"l kin eat crow, but darn me if f hanker arter it." The following details of a "hopper dinner" appear in The Garden : —The pest now devastating so much of Western America forms, it appears from the American Agriculturist, good food. A few bushels of hoppers were procured, and placed in charge of one of the best caterers in St. Louis to be served. A number of scientific gentlemen were invited by Professor Riley, and a dinner was set forth at which the lively locust formed the sole animal food. Martyrs to science, some may think ; but so far from this being the case, it was a feast that the veriest epicures might envy. Those men of science began with Caloptenus soup—so fine that, againßt all rules of etiquette, they asked for " more;" then came hopper fritters, vastly better than any oyster fritters, and so on with roast, boiled, fried, and stewed of the same, each better than the last, until the climax of the feast was reached inlocustservedwithhoney. These locusts feed on the fat of the land, and why should not we in turn eat them ? "It is against our prejudices." But when we coolly consider the matter, the locust is really no more repulsive than a shrimp, or even an oyster, and that they are really acceptable to the palate those gentlemen enthusiastically declare. In portions of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and elsewhere, people were actually suffering from hunger, with, all the while, untold quantities of food around them—not only food which will sustain life, but of a palatable kind; and, whatever jocular remarks may be made about this hopper dinner, we think that the gentlemen who partook of it didan eminently good work, and one which in mturo j-,»> = Tr>ny I)rP . vent much suffering. The case of the little boy, Ernest McGratn, an inquest on whom was held on Saturday last, is another instance of almost criminal carelessness "resulting in loss of life. In this case, as the buildings are in the hands of the Improvement Commissioners, it is hard to fix the blame on any one person, and boards are proverbially invulnerable, but it is to be hoped the sad disaster will be a warning to others. It was stated at the inquest that the covering of the tank in which the poor child lost its life was nowhere capable of bearing the weight of a man, and it had always been dreaded by the residents in the vicinity. Heavy responsibility lies somewhere. The public will be very much pleased to learn thatthe sonof our late respected District Judge, Mr. Beckham, has been gazetted to the 2Sth Regiment—the very regiment of which his late father was -a distinguished officer. Young Beckham has also got a firstclass certificate, which is equivalent to two years' service, and of which he -will derive the benefit when he joins his regiment. The 2Sth is now in Hong Kong, and the youug officer will likely be sent there at once. This would have been glad news to the father had he been spared to receive it, as he was very proud of his boy; but it will be all the more cheering to the bereaved mother and sisters. Several shipments of gold were made per Hero on Saturday. The Union Bank shipped for Sydney, 1 box, containing 1324 ozs 4 dwts,. 23 grs., value £5300. For Melbourne, the Bank of Australasia shipped 1 box, containing 1911 ozs. 4 dwts. 6 grs. of gold value £5300; and the National Bank two bozes, 1724 ozs. 14 dwts. 18 grs., value, £5256.

A well known character in Auckland, who calls himself Dr. Coulson, received a caution at the Police Court on Saturday, that is to be hoped will be a lesson to others of his tribe. Coulson was one of those pretenders to medical knowledge who, by advertising to cure secret disorders, are the cause of so much evil among the rising generation. He has lately been circulating bills and advertising, which drew tha attention of the police to his pretensions, and he was summoned on Wednesday last, the case being postponed to Saturday. Coulson made but a sorry appearance, having been " run in" on the previous night for drunkenness. In answer to the Bench, he stated that he had no money or effects wherewith to pay a fine, and was consequently committed to gaol, with hard labour, for two months in default of payment of £10 mulct. It seems that Coulson had, with great coolness, taken his clothes down to the police-station on the previous day, stating that he knew he should be fined, and could not pay it. Ho then left the station, and was subsequently apprehended as drunk.

[ The first of a series of lectures by the well-known phrenologist and " electro-bio-logist, Dr. Carr, was delivered on Saturday night, at the City HalL The lecture, which was entitled "Heads and Faces," was illustrated by a phrenological description of the heads of several peraons among the audience. The electro-biological experiment, with which the entertainment concluded, was highly succesful, the patients succurnbmg in every instance to the mesmeric influence, and becoming completely under control. The lecture, which was enlivened with appropriate music, was attentively listened to. To-night the second of the series will be delivered; subject, "Selfculture.

Owmg to the rain, which fell in torrents on baturday evening, Professor Airec's performance at the Lorn-street Hall did not take place, there being no attendance. Airec's gift-entertainment will take place m the Lorne-street Hall this evening, when Madame Airec will appear. Mr. O'Brien, the Shadow Pantomime, and £15 worth of gifts should draw a good house. The Provincial Government Gazette, issued on Saturday, announces that the Government offices will be closed on Tuesday, 9fch inst. The lease for ninety-nine years of double building sites in Princea and other streets will be shortly sold, by order of the Improvement Commissioners. j

A sitting of the Native Land Court will be held, at Shortland, on the 24th inst.