Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4370, 15 November 1875, Page 2

£h.e Gold Mining Companies at the Thames *re still resisting the imposition of rates by the Borough Council. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, on Friday, Mr. Tyler said that he had an application to make in respect to three cases which were not on the cause list, —namely, the appeals of the Moanatairi, Waiotahi, and Herald Gold Mining Companies. Notices had been served by these companies, on Saturday last, that they intended to appeal against the rates, but last evening a notice was served on the Borough Council that they tlid not intend to proceed on these notices. He had received instructions from the Mayor, on Saturday last, to carry on the cases. He now applied, under section 226 of the Municipal Corporations Act, for costs of counsel, and claimed a guinea in each case. Mr. Macdonald said they had served notices of appeal which they had withdrawn, and served fresh notices. They had not failed to prosecute, and were now prosecuting, although they had abandoned their first notices. Had they abandoned the notices of appeal altogether lie should not object to pay costs> but they did not come under the category of that clause of the Act. The Court ruled that, having abandoned their first notice, it was only fair to pay the solicitors' costs, and he awarded a guinea in each case. The other cases, in which the Imperial CrowD, Kuranui, Golden Crown, Caledonian, and Manukau Companies were appellants, were adjourned until the 2Gth inst. by consent. The annual gathering of schools in connection with the Auckland Wesleyan Sun-day-school Union took place yesterday afternoon, in the Choral Hall, and was an unqualified success in every respect. The schools represented were Pitt-street, Grafton Road," Union-street, andParnell. The Hall was filled to overflowing, many persons being compelled to go away for want of room. The scholars numbered about SOO, and there could not have been fewer than 1200 persons present. The Rev. W. J. Watkin addressed the audience, and took for his text "Our Father, which art in heaven," and from it spoke some earnest words of advice and encouragement to the children. The rev. gentleman has a happy mode of bringing himself down, so to speak, to the level of the juvenile portion of his audience and speaking to them as one of themselves. This, we think, constitutes the chief element of success in addressing children, and was very conspicuous in Mr. Watkin's address yesterday afternoon. It was exceedingly pleasant to witness the happy faces of the children and hear their sweet singing, and to note the evident interest they had in the undertaking. The large number of parents and visitors present testi fied to their interest in a meeting got up for the benefit of the children. Mr. Bridson led the singing with his usual skill. The Rev. A. Reid occupied the chair and conducted the proceedings. The collection amounted to about £10.

The performance of " Arrah-na-Pogue" on Saturday night was not so well attended as might have been anticipated. The actors, however, lost none of their zeal, and the piece was creditably played. Mr. Collier had a part that suited him, and he seemed to play with a little more than accustomed care. Carelessness and over-confidence are his great faults, and it is pleasing to see him overcome them if only for a night. Miss' Clara Stephenson was interesting as Arrah. Meelish, and the other persons of the drama supported their parts with credit. Mr. Poole surprised his friends with his really excellent acting as Mike Feeny, and the impersonation of that meanly vindictive embodiment of the worst vices of the Irish character was as faithfully interpreted as a critic could desire. To-night the old favourite, "Flowers of the Forest," will be produced, with Mr. Collier, Miss Stephenson, and Miss Lizzie Morgan in the leading parts. Two unfortunate men from the country were on Saturday brought before Mr. R. C. Barstow, at the Police Court, and committed to the lunatic asylum—Hugh Turner, from Mercer; and Richard Freeman, from Coromandel. The first mentioned gave quite a hunt to the constables. He had been for some time manifesting symptoms of mental derangement, and on Thursday last struck off into the bush. Constable Limmer and Mr. Turner at once went after him, and after a long chase, not unattended by danger, as some ugly-looking creeks had to be crossed, returned to Mercer only to find Turner peacefully reposing in his hut. He was very quiet and taciturn when coming here, although it seems that his special delusion is that he is pursued by murderers. Drs. Bayntun and Goldsbro' were the examining physicians for both men, and pronounced them unfit to be at large. Those who confer the greatest public benefit are generally the shyest in putting forward their claims. This is notably the case with the Fire Brigade, the members of which are always to the front when work is to be done or danger encountered, but the struggle once over subside into quiet life content, Briton-like, to have done their duty. A way opens itself, simple and effective, by which the people of Auckland might shew their gratitude to the brave fellows who have so often stood between them and destruction. The brigade are struggling hard to form a small library, and find the work progress but slowly. If everybody who has a book that he has read and no longer wants, or a magazine done with, were to send it to the station, the gift would be warmly appreciated by the men, who deserve much and ask nothing.

Denis Wright, who was sentenced to an aggregate of six months' imprisonment on Saturday for passing valueless cheques, has already been tried for the same offence, but the evidence was insufficient. It is stated that some years ago he obtained quite a sum of money from Dr. Carr by the same illegal practice. He is said to be in receipt of a regular allowance from England, but drinking habits, and apparently a settled aversion to ■work have brought him to his present condition. Thechairmen of the several Highway Boards at the Thames have forwarded the following telegram to the leading goldfields members in Otago and Westland : —"The Hon. Dr. Pollen states that the Government will not subsidise goldfields revenue for last year out of the £SO,OOO voted by Assembly. Cannot united action be taken to obtain such a concession for the goldfields. To give only one-third upon ordinary rates will be a great injustice to the goldfields." The Bank of New Zealand shipped by the ffauraki, from Coromaadel, on Friday last, one box gold for head office, containing about 800 ounces. The Bank of New Zealand shipped by the Hauraki, from Grahamstown, on Wednesday I last, 2237 ounces gold for head office. I

The Ark Lodge of the T.Q.G. Templars Howick, was officially visited iby several officers of the Grand Lodge, on Saturday last, and was also attended by a "large number of officers and"members of the sublodges in Auckland. Two lar<*e 'busses were Mfed"f or theoccasion, and 'some' i thirty-two' Good Templars visited the 'Howick Lodge., The whole of the visitors _:weTe;\ very—kindly received and liberally' entertained by friends' of the Order. A.j meeting of the Ark Lodge was held in the) evening, at which there was a"full attend-; ance of members. The control of the lodge was taken by the Grand Lodge officers. Mr.' Cole acted as : W. C. T. ; Mr. It. Neal, -as L.D. ; and Mr. S. Brooking-was pre-* sent in his official capacity of G.W.S.; The other offices were filled by visitors.; Three candidates for membership were initio ated upon a dispensation from the L.D. At the conclusion of the initiatory ceremony, a Worthy Chief and Treasurer were elected; and the whole of the officers installed. The list of officers is as follows : —W.C.T.,' Bro. Mclnness; W.Y.T., Bro. J. Lynch; P.W.C.T., Bro. Wagstaff; S., Bro. Hi White; F.S., Bro. Henry Coffee; T., Bro. Gregory; C., Bro. J. McMerniau; M., Sister A. Baton;. 1.G., Bro. J. Eagan; 0.G., Bro. Paton; R.S., Sister White; L.5.,-Sister Quigley; A.S., Bro. E. Jtf'itzpatrick; D.M., Bro. \V. Andrews. Complimentary votes of thanks by the lodge to the visitors, and by them to the lodge, were passed, and the session closed with the usual ceremonies at 10 o'clock. The visitors were heartily cheered by their brethren as they left the village. Very satisfactory progress has been made by the Ark Lodge. It was instituted on the 17th September last, •and has since then increased in membership from sixteen to fifty-two.

The' police have made enquiry into the circumstances attending the sudden death of a child at Newton, to which attention was directed in our' issue of Saturday last. AH the particulars published by us were found to be correct, and but little additional information- has been obtained. The accident occurred when the children were playing with the barrow. It appears from the enquiry made by the police that the boy, Peter McCabe, was wheeling the deceased, when the barrow tipped on one side and threw him out. The boy's arm was injured, but not broken, by the barrow falling on it. After two days erysipelas set in, and terminated fatally. No blame is to be attached to the boy McCabe, as the deceased's fall was accidental, and that was not the immediate cause of death. McCabe at iirst flatly contradicted thestatement that hewasnear at the time of the accident, but afterwards admitted that lie was -wheeling the barrow when it upset. There is now no necessity for an inquest, as the whole of the facts have been carefully elucidated ; and for the sake of the relatives of the deceased it is well that the formality of a Crown enquiry should be dispensed with. However, it was a matter of importance that the affair should be fully investigated by the police; and this having been done, nothing more is necessary. Some time since an inquest was held upon a child, whose life had been lost in consequence of a well in the Barracks being left uncovered. This-was-a terrible - sacrifice, considering v how easy the danger might have been obviated. Everyone sees this after the event; and it will be well if in other similar cases precautionary measures are taken. At the present time there is an open well in an allotment off Upper Queen-street, On this allotment, and close to the well, some seven ■ or eight young children play daily, and unless it is substantially covered, a similar accident will probably result. An officer of the police or of the City Council might well be appointed for a day or two to look after dangerous places of this character, and to see to it that measures are taken to prevent accidents from this cause. The annual show of the Auckland Horticultural Society will be held on Friday nesi, the 19th inst. It was intended, in consequence of the unfavourable weather, to postpone the show. Since this decision -was made, a change has taken place in the weather, and the committee have reverted to their former decision. The show will be Friday. The silver ' cup for stove or held in the Government House grounds on greenhouse plants will be competed for on the March meeting instead of the present one, at which a monetary prize will be substituted.

Sermons on behalf of the Wesleyan Home and Maori Missions were preached yesterday in the various Wesleyan churches in the town and suburbs. Collections were made at each service. At the Pitt-street Church the collection in the morning amounted to £9 13s, in the evening to £5 14s. The annual meeting in connection with this mission will be held on Tuesday evening, not Wednesday as advertised on Saturday, at halfpast seven o'clock, in the Pitt-street Church. Several ministers, including two native missionaries, are expected to address the meeting. The rowing season was opened on Saturday afternoon, by a procession of boats belonging to the Auckland and North Shore Clubs. A more favourable day could not have been desired.. The rowers appeared to handle the sculls in a steady and businesslike manner. Our annual regattas have been gradually improving for years past, especially in the pulling contests ; and it is to be hoped that by frequent practice and judicious training, we shall take and maintain the premier position of the colony with regard to these sports. A Provincial Government Gazette was published on Saturday. The powers vested in the Superintendent by the Registration of Brands Act, IS7I, are delegated to the Te Arai District Board. The Totara Highway District is constituted (near Wangaroa harbour). Notice is given, that certain hospital endowments in the city of Auckland will be offered for lease at Tonks's auction mart, on the 15th December. Notice is also given that on the same day, under the Supreme Court Site Act, certain allotments are to be leased in Victoria, Elliott, and Darbystreets. We are informed that residents in Hobsonstreet have petitioned the City Council to have the new footpaths covered with asphalt instead of scoria-ash. As an inducement for the request to be complied with, the petitioners offer to pay one-half the cost of the asphalt. The alteration is a very desirable one, and should the whole of the ratepayers concerned agree to the conditions upon which the request is made, the Council will probably accept their offer.

The Lome-street Hall -was well filled last night by an attentive audience, to listen to one of Dr. Carr's "lay sermons" on "Culture and Progress." The Rev. S. Edger conducted the religious portion of the service, and appropriately acknowledged the lecturer's efforts. The views expounded were liberal. Though not meant as a religious discourse, Dr. Carr's sermon enforced sound moral lessons. Should Dr. Carr prolong his stay in Auckland, the public may expect to hear more from him. Vessels lately arriving in 2S T ew Zealand report encountering a large quantity of icebergs in more southerly latitudes than usual, rt was surmised some weeks ago that the unseasonably cold weather which then occurred had. been caused by large masses of ice floating in the Southern Pacific, but recent news would seem to shew that, at all events, what was spoken of as the cause did exist at the time. As our readers are aware, Sir George Grey delivered a lecture in Duuedin on "The Early Days of the Colonies," and in consequence, since his return he has received numerous applications to lecture. i "We are afraid he will regret the moment of weakness when he agreed to enlighten the people of Dunedin, but we believe he has yielded to one or two of the requests that have been made to him. ' " • 'S' - .: '- There was a good attendance at the Templar entertainment, held in the Young Men's Christian Association, on Saturday evening. The Rev. S. Edger occupied- the chair, and delivered a short and suitable address. As usual, the programme consisted of songs, readings, and recitations.

The Thames Advertiser still complain, of the 'cSSfi M° f the G o ™ 1 ™* not t? indole the goldfields revenue m the rates to be subsidised. It says :-" The cause of this decision we really cannot conceive. At one period the Colonial Treasurer, Major AtkinW meS 6 !^/ 116 Assembly that Ses to ?^ Pa T, 0V J e ? : tte of the subsiBffl IJ a loCal hodxes Aether the Abolition I'dSffi?" n °*> b , ufc he TMsnrolrH to one-third. . n?LaS a S e t f Abolition Bill, a*ftriX e , P r . ovlsi T oi- the out the promis TmXtZ ™T' o£ can 3™£ vited from tteS W n3h ri been in ' shewing the amount counted it? C ° l the shape of rates,- but the gS Ms ° r -Z enne I? not t0 be kdudei Thisls a quibble on the part of the Governmentlrhich u ingemous, but not very creditable We are glad to see, however that +h» i„ ? bodies at the Thames ha ter and have communicated with other ™ldfieds on tue subject. We hope that &! xnn also bring the question under the IS of the Superintendent, because the Govern ment can have really no sound reason for treahngthe goldfields in an exception^ • A good deal of discussion has recently taken place respecting the manner of stowing punpowder in ships coming to New ZeSlind. As our readers will remember, the matter was raised by the letter of the captain of an English ship, and by the nonappearance of the Strathniore, which had thirty tons of powder on board. At nf?lt y T» e -i n 5° f > 3t ssion »-committee of the Legislative Council took some evidence «Et2 ,8 t? U f ]6 £ J he Cu3toms authoritie* stated that the New Zealand Parliament have no power to make any law which would affect the stowage of powder on board fr; 1 ?^ t0 the colon y. bu * they stated that the Government were preparing a memorandum on the subject for the English Government Two captains of English vessels lying m Wellington were examined, "from whose evidence it appeared that" it was the custom to stow powder on the top of the other cargo, just wherever space could be found. One of the witnesses considered that this method of stowage was exceedingly-dan-gerous, while • the other did not see any special risk. Immigrant ship 3, we may mention, are not allowed to carry powder at all, but other vessels, many of which carry a considerable number of passengers, are under no restriction. We believe that the attention of Sir George Grey was drawn, some time since, to the fact .that the Thames has never yet had any representative in the Upper House, and he was requested to communicate with the Ministry upon the subject, and to bring this fact prominently under their attention. A letter has been received, we are told, from Sir George Grey, stating that he placed himself in communication with the Government upon the subject, but with what result remains to be seen. Westland, with a population not much greater than that of the Thames, has five members in the House of Representatives and two in the Legislative Council, whilst the Thames has but two members in the- Lower House. —Thames Atlj verliser. '

The Wanganui Cfironicle vb very indignant at Mr. Ballance, the member for Rangitikei, who, by the way, is the proprietor and editor of the rival paper, for having started a movement to get Sir Julius Vogel as a second member. It says : — "It is only the unseemly haste, the vulgar ostentation, and transparent scheming of the honorably member for Eangitikei which has roused the people of Wanganui to offer a determinedly hostile resistance, not to Sir Julius Vogel, nor to the Ministry, but to the insolent, arrogant, and self-interested dictatorship of an upstart politician." Our excited contemporary goes on. to say :—" The almost unanimous dec"sion will be, that no measure of goc i r ul • ing therefrom would justify Wanganui in. submitting to the dictation of a miserable self-seeker." And then again:—" Their estimation of the character of Sir Juliu* Vogel and of the Ministry assures them that neither he nor his colleagues would experience triumph in riding roughshod over the prostrate bodies of an entire people." The Hon. Dr. Pollen terminated Ms visit to the Thames yesterday afternoon, and returned to Auckland in the revenue cutter Ringleader. The object of this flying visit of the Premier to the Thames and Ohinenmri has not transpired at present, but we have too much respect for the character of such a tactician to suppose that it was without a purpose. It is hinted that be has had several private conferences with several local politicians regarding the forthcoming elections. But Dr. Pollen is understood to have given definite pledges privately about certain road works.— Thames Advertiser. The Tribune states that the Commissioner of Customs has found that goods seized by the authorities in Auckland, and which must be sold by auction, invariably go for something like an old song, when put up in Auckland. He has therefore determined to prevent " the ring" carrying out their little game in that way in the case of a recent seizure, for he had the goods conveyed to Wellington and sold there. We learn by the latest from Melbourne (to the 2nd) that the favourites for the Cup still retain their places. Imperial is the first, at 5 to 1, closely followed byKingsbrough. Goldsborough has advanced considerably, in consequence of making a good appearance in a gallop. • The friends of Miss Lizzie Morgan, and their name is legion, will be pleased to hear that the indisposition which prevented her appearance on Saturday night, has so far succumbed to rest and proper treatment that she will be able to appear this evening.' Tongariro must still be in active eruption, as the reflection from its flames was distinctly visible in Marton just before daybreak on Tuesday morning.— Rangitikei Advocate, 2*ov. 8.

We perceive by advertisment that V.iJ Tonic Sol-Fa Society will give a musical An-f literary entertainment at the Christian Young Men's rooms, on Thursday evening next. Mr. T. L. White is advertised to read, and we understand that that gentleman has been specially requested to recite " The Charge of the Light Brigade." Messrs. Blackmau and Ewin-|ton will also road, and we have no doubt that all concerned will do their best to make the entertainment a success. A call of 2s per share was due in the Queen of the May Gold Mining Company Oil the 10th inst. If not paid by the 20fch hist, legal proceedings will be taken for its recovery. Notice is given by Mr. Jas. Stewart that a cheque on the Bank of New Zealand has been lost between Hamilton and Newcastle. The public are cautioned that the cheque is valueless, its paymenthavingbeenstopped. The annual meeting of the Hazlebank Quartz Mining Company will be held at Grahamstown on the 29th inst. The Imperial Insurance Company will in future transact business in its new offices, Somervell's Buildings. A missionary tea and public meeting trill be held in the Wesleyan Church, Onehunga, on Wednesday evening next, at 6 o'clock.