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New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4460, 29 February 1876, Page 2

Amongst the " very interesting and able letters which appear to-day in our correspondence columns appears one from Mr. D. Pi. Hay, the winner of the cup at the Dunedin tournament, and one of the players in the late match. Mr. Hay writes in a very good spirit, and his explanation as to the disadvantages suffered in the late match will, we have no doubt, be fairly considered by those who take an interest in the game in Auckland. The wish of the people of Otago for another match will, of course, be gratified, and we think the conditions suggested by Mr. Hay are reasonable. We understand that Dr. Philson has paid a visit to the native settlements of Kohimahama and'Orakei, in consequence of sickness being reported in that quarter. He has found that several of the natives are suffering from low fever, although not to the extent that had been stated. " Chilperic" was prodnced last evening for the third time, and drew a good house. The acting and singing were excellent throughout. Indeed, of their kind, these performances are spirited, clever,: and refined as any we have had. Their popularity is sure to increase. Mr. George T. Hartnell, of Port Albert, will find that his question has already been answered in our paper by the person concerned.

; !! A'farewell dinner was given 0. H; Seed, the iate editor and'part proprietor ofthe,Bveiwe/\Star, invtheV-Albert Hotety last "evening. Several valuable were made to tiel guest, and the expressions of esteem and rfespect were frequent, and met "with, in a'very demonstrative manner confirmation fropi all present. . We shall publish, a report o£ the speeches to-morrow, they having been crowded.out of the presentissue. Return of sick treated at the Provincial Hospital for the "week ended Saturday, Fet>ruary2G, 1576: —Remained lastreturn, S7; admitted since, 10; discharged, 1 15; died, 1; remaining, 81 (males, 68; females, 13). Arrangement of cases : —Zymotic, constitutional, 10 ; local, 3S; developmental, 4; violent, 17. One death occurred duVing the week,viz :—T. P., male, aged 41 years, on February 23rd, of pneumonia of rigfcft lung. Thanks are returned to Mrs. Wallace, for a parcel of linen. N.B.—Old linen very onuch .model, \ The ordinary bi-monthly sitting District Corrfc was held yesterday. Tlierev were only two casss for hearing: E. and H. Isaaes v. Underbill, judgment deferred; Berry v. Clarkson, judgment for plaintiff for £12 10s. The case of De Lias v. Holmes referred to Mr. Tonks as arbitrator, was adjourned, the arbitrator not having made his award. The details of the proceedings will be found reported in another column. State of Her Majesty's £aoI, Auckland,, for week ended Feb. £6, ?S7G :—On remard, 1 maleawaiting trial, 6 males; peun.l servii tude, 35 males; hard labour, 71 males, 31 females; imprisonment, 2 females; default of bail, 5 males, 1 females; debtor, 1 male ; received during the week. 74 males, 1 discharged during the week, 13 males, 3 females. Total in gaol, 119 males, 34 females. From our telegrams it will be seen that the celebrated racehorse Castaway was sold by auction at TattersalVs, Christchurch, for 500 guineas. Castaway is own brother to Lurline, the finest racing animal yet bred in New Zealand.

The Lynch Family of Bellringers had a capital house last night for their concluding performance. At the conclusion of the entertainment the company proceeded to the Thames, where they wilt appear at the Academy of Music to-night. The charges at the Police Station last night consisted of three sailors for breach of the Merchant Shipping Act, one man for assaulting his wife, and three or four drunkards. The education rate at Hokitika amounts to £915, but after a good deal of hard work, the collectors only got £120. We understand that Sir D. McLean may shortly be expected in Auckland> The Coromandel Mail has a leading article on the letter which lately appeared iu our columns on the Union Beach mine at Coromandel. Notwithstanding what our contemporary says, we still thiuk that no person has reason to complain of what was said. The writer, as a shareholder, merely wished to know if proper precautions were taken against specimen-stealing, which everybody has unhappily seen but too prevalent on our goldfields. We have every reason to believe that our correspondent was honest and single-minded in his inquiry, intended no insinuation. The Mail says:—A letter appeared in last week's Herald, signed " An Auckland Shareholder." The whole tenor of the communication was intended to show that specimen-stealing was being permitted in the Union Beach mine, and went on to ask what precautions are taken to prevent . the hands engaged from stealing rich stone. Such a letter should not, we think, have been allowed to appear in the columns of a leading journal like the New Zealand .Herald unless the writer had allowed his name to be attached. 111 this case the usual careful supervision exorcised by tho gentlemen controlling the columns of the Herald has been at fault. We do not believe that the writer of the letter containing such grave imputations is an Auckland shareholder, because, if such were the case, he would know that he could have obtained all the information he required by an application to the local directors, who are always willing to give explanations and have never shown a desire to withhold any matter concerning the working of the mine. The letter has been written, if we mistake not, by some disappointed applicant for employment; at least by some one—it may be a resident at the Thames—who has a grudge agaiust the directors or the mine manager, or agaiust both. The Wellington Evening Post has tlie following :—The Government seem to be continually blundering in their management of the railways. The other day we showed how, under its administration, the Auckland and Mercer line was carried on at a serious loss, and now coming hoaie to our own province, we find that a scale of charges is beiug adopted on the Foxton and Palnierston tramway of the most exhorbitant kind. A correspondent of tho Manaivatu Times points out that when the Government took over the management of the tramway, people I naturally looked forward to an improvement in the working and a reduction iu the rates of carriage. They soon found, however, that they had been laboring under a delusion ; the rates in inauy iustances have been trebled, and the improvements have been nil. He then gives a few instances of how people have to pay for any goods not ing to consist of weight for bulk. The matter stands thus: If any person gets au article of furniture in Foxton weighing about lOOlbs., he is charged as on Scwt. for carriage, and in some instances lOcwt., while as much as 4s. of carriage is sometimes charged for an empty butter-keg. The effect of these high rates of carriage is to prevent people in Palmerston sending down shingles, palings, and posts and rails to Foxton. There arc other objectionable features in the system. Jt is said that in the case of goods weighing say a mere fraction over a cwt., the full charge for two cwt. is always exacte'd, and that this amounts to a very heavy rate on goods which may be bulky, but not very valuable. This state of things is creating the utmost discontent in the Manawatu district, and continual complaints are being made by the settlers. The whole system of railway management in the North Island by the Government is radically bad, and we have little hope of its immediate and general amendment.

The Wellington Board of Education has at last given notice to terminate the special agreement subsisting between itself and the Episcopal and Roman Catholic bodies, and practically decided in favor of secular education. In alluding to the subject the New Zealand Times says :—We altogether dissent from the position taken up by Bishop Redwoodi on behalf of the Roman Catholic Committee of Education. It is not equality he asked for, but supremacy. * 4 Give us every thing we demand for our schools, or if you don't, you are persecuting Catholics." Never was a of persecution raised with less eause for it. What possible pretence in fact is there for this imputation in Bishop Redwood's letter ? The Board of Education simply resolves to treat every religious denomination alike. They are to be-placed on precisely the same footing ; —there are to be no special arrangements, no private treaties whereby one religious sect may obtain an advantage over another; and this is what Bishop Redwood declares to be " persecution against Catholics." The plea is too absurd to receive serious attention. No one means to " force secularism in education" on' Roman Catholics; what is demanded is that the State shall not interfere in religious matters, but confine itself to providing an efficient system of school instruction in which all may participate, without offence to conscience.

A correspondent of the Star sends tho following from Port Chalmers :—A severe earthquake shock, followed by two others, the last at 9 a.in., occurred this morning at 3.30 o'clock ; it lasted about 20 seconds, and appeared to travel .from N.W. to S.E._ .Houses were shaken to the foundations, and much alarm was created.".'.

•Tho concert to celebrate the opening of. the Newmarket Public Hall will take place at 3 o'clock this evening, and will be conducted by Mr. Joseph Browne. His Honor the Superintendent will preside.