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New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4789, 23 March 1877, Page 2

Although the end of - March is: near at hand, the claims to be put on the electoral roll for the distriota- around Auckland are yet very few, not more than!fifty,haying ,been received by Mr. Collins for the five districts for which he is the registration officer, the districts of City East, City West, Parn'ell, .STewton, and • Waitemata. The claims sens in this year are fewer in number than during any year for the i&st eight. ''■■'.-..: .....■.-.

The civil business before the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, 'was unusually heavy. Two' 'important judgments were given by the learned Resident MagistrateThe first was in the case of Evans v. ■ the Standard Insurance Company.-:''lt will be remembered.that the conflict of testimony in this case was of the most absolute kind; His Worship gave judgment for the' defendants, the Insurance Company. There will be found in our report of the proceedings an important judgment upon the law affecting calls upon gold mining shares,and other, Junds of stock. There is also an important case upon horse-hiring, which deserves to be read. The Court rose at o o'dock. m-'-j •■-■•

When Edmund Burke drew.', the dagger from under his coat tail, and threw' it' on the floor of the House of Commons, some wag eotlo vocc remarked, "Where is 1 the fork for. that carving-knife I" which considerably stultified the orator's.piece, of Demosthenic acting. When Dr. Wallifl, last night, carried his acting to the unpleasant realism of. producing a rope to hang tho Counties Act, he failed to see that.,he was only caricaturing himself; and ho also forgot that he ran a great risk of getting himself dubbed , the ,"■ County Hangman.*' From the feeling' the exhibition of the rope remedy created'in the meeting, ;it was apparent that not a few present thought that a judicious application of the "end of that ; article plight not be without its uses in restraining the too hasty flights of a badly embellished oratory.

We understand that Mr.'Harineyj of the Union Beaoh miiie/who resigned a few days ago, has withdrawn his resignation, and has been reappointed at a higher salary. ; At a. meeting'of directors of the company, yesterday mornirig.'it was decided that a salary of £500 per' annum should be given to Mr. Hanney, in addition to house rent , free,, and other concessions. , The knowledgoi'of the re-engagement .was received with-general satisfaction, as evidenced by the' improved demand for the company's stock,. ; which rapidly advanced in value, fronvthe previous day's quotations of 40s to 50s. We trust that the despondent view taken of the Union Beach mine a few days ago by-the public, will be a mistaken one, and that Mr. Hanney will in the course of a ; few days turn out :the usual quantity of gold, and convince sceptical shareholders that the panic was solely due to his resignation, and not to the gold being worked out. • - ■ -■ ■■■ ■

A special opening service was held yesterday evening in the new mission church (St. Thomas's), Union-street. >■ The' Bitting accommodation' was found inadequate to the Wants of all who were present, and'not a fewvwere obliged to stand in the porch, and even outside the door of the building. The first lesson.w.as read .by the Rev.; B. T. Itadleyi' i and the , secondby the Bishop bi;;'Melaneeia. I The prayers were read by the/JReVe.'-.E. S. ■ Hassard and CM. Nelson.,, In addition to. 1 these gentlemen, there • were in ; attendance the Keva. "-R. Burrows, J. Bates,..' W.'N; d"e L. Willis, and A: G. Purchas. ' The sermoni Was preached by the Right Bev. J. !R. Selwyn,' Bishop of Melanesia, the text Jbein'g Ist Corinthians, ich.' 3, part df ;r v.' 5,5" Forwe are labourers together with God." , The rev. gentleman began his discourse ?by re--ferring to the celebration that day of the anniversary of United Germany; a union whioh.'after many years of Jpatient ,, . effort,' had been gained by the Emperor William in' • 1870, and proclaimed by him at Versailles. He then'proceeded to point out to his hearers' that they. waging a war.in a spiritual, sense; that the Germans, had'been in a' physical sense. They were'/ fighting fortheir fatherland, the fatherland of God,, and he trusted'that nothing-would oicur , !to render them apathetic or careless, or to diminish the ardour which animated them The speaker earnestly exhorted them;, now that Holy week was approaching," to exert themselves, if they hsdnot already done bo to have the £70 or £80 debt femaihincjon the church cleared off. The sermon Tfas eloquent, and" was well-delivered. The offertory realised a sum of £12 18s j

Vesterday was a red letter'day !on 'Change, the scene between the hours of ill a.m. and 1 o'clock vividly recalling to the' mind the bnsy days of the Caledonian excite-, ment, when Auckland was smitten with the scrip fever. Such a largo number of persons inside the 'Change yesterday has not been witnessed for years, an4.the constitution of the crowd of those 'who paced ih'e : boards is perhaps without parallel in any excitement, other than that 1 : pertaining 'to scrip dealing. From the regular hanger-W of Change, who for several years hat subsisted on goodness know what, to ourrmerchant princes, there was scarcely a ■ single' class of,society absent,' even to the spinster. \ who purchased a few shares, informing her broker that,if she made a "rise" out of the' Moanataiaris she would stand a better chance of getting married, as there, were may men who might marry her if. she had money, but looked on the other side of the street now she had little or none. Even before the hour of receiving telegrams from the Thames, it was evident to a- keen observer that the excitement of Wednesday , was only lulled, and that the. news, if I favourable, would create a greater demand for the Moanataiari than previously existed. On the company's telegram becoming known, that lOcwt. of rich specimens had been broken out, holders scarcely knew what to ask for their shares, and one fortunate holder being pressed, jocularly replied £20 Done, said the buyer, and, with shares standing at £12 the night before, the market opened to £20, and advanced until £22 was reached for a small parcel, when the excitement subsided, and towards evening. shares were easier, but the temper of the crowd congregated on 'Change was such that news of another lOowt. of specimens would ■ have sent the scrip to aa almost fahuioua price.

Dora -Austin, alias Jones, was arrested yesterday on warrant, charged with, stealing a quantity of bod-clothes and night-dresses from Elizabeth "Nicholson, ft resident of Edwaidee-street. '' .'.' The attention, of contractors and others having claims against the City Council is invited to a notice in the Surveyor's office to the effect that all certificates of work passed, accounts for payment, &c., require to be lodged with the City Treasurer before 4 o'clock p.m. on tho day prior to the ordinary sittings of the Council. ~i)r. S. J. Cooper, of Waitangi, Chatham Islands, sends us a copy of a letter he has forwarded to the Minister of Justice, Wellington, ■ relating to certain irregularities, which are.said to have taken place there. We have no doubt the Hon. Mr. Bowen will •give the matter due consideration. - ; " : A correspondent, signing "Fairplay," : writes, reviewing the cases which have lately been brought against publicans, and in which heavy fines have been inflicted. He refers to the case of Kay, and says that on a Sunday steam vessels take moro money than all the hotel-keepers in Onehunga together. We again remind city ratepayers that the second collection of general rate "Ko. ,6, the second collection of the Waterworks Special Rate, the tenth collection of Special Town Kate,-and all prior arrears of rates, require to be paid during tho present month, to enable 'persons being enrolled on the Burgess Roll for 1877; : Persons who fail to pay will'l find themselves otherwise disfranchised. . . ... .....' ' ! ■".'..* . : ' ; __, Although the contractors for the Graying Dock are working with'considerable energy,' yet the works are to »great extent retarded for want of suitable timber.. In the meantime, however, the greater portion of the gantry pilea have been driven, and-the filling in of the reclamation work against the shore 'side of the coffer-dam is making satisfactory progress. . In spite, however, of all the efforts which will be made, a considerable time must elapse before' the water can be again . pumped out and the mason-work, of the dock commenced. . Efforts are being made to establish a flonr mill, under the auspices of the Poverty Bay Agricultural Society. It is surprising that so few gristing mills have been established in Auckland. In the United States of America and Canada, that is the first thing attended to where settlement in a new tract of country is began; in Auckland it is the last. Here our settlers consider it more profitable to send their wheat to the Auckland market, often times a distance of hundreds of miles to be converted into flour, and then convey it back again as flour that - distance, than to erect a small mill in some suitable place in eaoh settlement, and have the locally-grown wheal locally floured. There is no accounting for tastes.

■ The final heat of the match between three crews of the Auckland Bowing Club takes place this afternoon. It will be remembered that the, first heat was won by Henderson's crew last Friday. .The course will be, the same as last week, starting from Judge's Point, 'and coming in at the end of the Queenstreet Wharf. i As the contest will be a close one, we would advise those of our readers who like to see : pluck and'energy displayed to.let Moanataiaris take care of themselves for a short time, and take a turn down the , Wharf, about half-past five, and see the finish. The following are the crews—Manukau Maid: Yates, stroke; Caverhill, 3 ; Mason, 2; Ewen, 1 ; Luckie, cox. Colonist: Henderson, stroke; Shera, 3; Haultain, 2 ; Moss, 1; Wilson,'cox.

We understand that the Rev. J. Wallis has paid several visits to the murderer, Paki, who affirms that he has never been under Christian instruction in any way whatever, consequently is profoundly ignorant oE pertaining to the Christian religion. According to his own account he has never attended any religious service except the Hauhau kdrdkia, if religious service that may be called. He has very little expectation of other than capital punishment for his crime, but endeavours to justify his act on the ground of repeated provocations and curses on: the part of the murdered man. He professes to feel an interest in what is said to him in relation to the subjects upon which he is now instrncted, and it is to be hoped that the efforts put forth to dispel the darkness of his mind may be instrumental in convincing .him of -tha enormity of his crime, which he yet fails to see.

It may not be generally known that yesterday was the 45th anniversary of the death of Johana Woolfgang Von Goethe, the man who has been fitly termed ! the Shakespeare of. Germany. Few writers : have conferred such great and lasting, benefits upon their countrymen and so elevated and purified their mother tongue as Goethe has done, and there are few whose memory is held in such veneration. He was a voluminous and -pleasant prose writer, and, as a poet,, he is, the, greatest that Germany; has ever seen.. Lewes, in writing of him, says :— "In virtue of a genius such, as "modern times have only seen equalled oiice or twice, Goethe deserves the epithet of great; unless we can believe a great genius .'can tbelong to a small mind. Nor is it in virtue of genius- alone that he deserves the I name. It wa» a saying of Merek'a that .whatihe lived was more beautiful than what; he-wrote; and his life, amid all its weaknesses and all its errors, present a picture of a certain grandeur of soul which cannot be contemplated unmoved." ;

■■• in harbour wero gaily decorated yesterday, in honour of. the eightieth birthday 'of :', his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Germany. The representative vessel of that nation, the was brilliantly ...decked out with bunting,' 1 and also HiB.M. gunboat Renard, while many of the private residences of the sons of "United Germany" were easily identified by the display of th« national colours. At the offices of the Consul there was a fine display of flags. At noon the usnal salute of 21' guns was fired, but, in consequence of the wind blowing'from the land, the booming of Krupp's guns were not heard at any great distance from the Wharf. During the day ■the Hon. .Mr. Whitaker, Attorney-General, visited the Augusta, and paid his respects to the officer commanding. In the evening a number of German residents met at dinner at the Thames Hotel Club-room, to celebrate the event; and after partaking of the excellent viands' prepared by Mrs. Grattan, the chairman, Mr. Voider Heyde, gave the. toasts, "The Queen," "The Emperor of Germany," : each of which was drunk with .musical,honours., .-.Mr. H. Kohn proposed "The Health of the German Consul, Mr. Vonder Heyde;"'which that gentleman responded to. The remainder of the evening was pleasantly' spent.

The contractors,-engineer, turncocks, and other employees connected with the water supply, were very busy yesterday examining the' fireplugs, the stand-pipes, &c., and ascertaining that every thing was tight and in working order. The pressure was maintained on the pipes during the greater part of the day, and many exhibited great interest in the stand-pipes and the spring stop-cocks •with which they are fitted. The pressure was so- great that it waa with difficulty the valve could be forced back, and when the water 'did come it was witi; such strength and in such volume that it. was forced a considerable distance, and it was a work requiring skill and judgment to catch a bncketful of - water without at the same time getting one's clothing saturated. The delivery from the stand - pipe is certainly too large if this pressure is to be constantly maintained, and the amount of strength required in forcing back the valve would prevent women and children from obtaining water fromthem. Another thing which requires attention, is the manner in which at least one of the staucl-yipes is fixed, with the discharge over the footpath, facing the houses, instead of over the water-table and facing the . street. Unless this is altered'great inconvenience will be caused to foot-passengers. One of the largo mains at the top of Ponsonby near the reservoir, which had burst the night before last, and which had been temporarily repaired for the start which took place on Wednesday, will be removed to-day and a new length will be substituted.

'There weTe only two prisoners in. : the lock-up at a late hour last night, .-viz., a debtor, and a woman "charged with petty larceny. v ;' : On the arrival of the- schooner Queen yesterday evening, from Hokianga, one of the passengers—a prisoner .who had been convicted under the Imprisonment for Debt Abolition Act—was handed over to Constable Sampson, and by him removed to the police cells, whence he will be conveyed chis morning to Mount Eden Gaol. -The following .players will represent the West End Cricket Club in their first and second eleven matches against the Garlton Cricket Club to-morrow in the Domain :— j; C. Macky, T. Macky, C. Gleeson, B. Mason, "W. Mason, McLean, McKinney, H. Walker, F. Dignan, E. Coleman, C. Western. 2nd Eleven: C. P. Taylor, Hosking, Spry, T. ' Hanna, J. McCoskrie, Cook, Forrest, Caley, Goodwin, Stovin, H. Smith. ; A. lime kiln, has been opened in ; the Poverty Bay district by Mr. John Clements. Kinkiog has been begun at Giaborne in the Masonic Hall. - ■ • - : The East Coast County Council have decided to give their secretary a salary of £200 per annum, and Mr. William Henry Tucker has been appointed to that office. With the exception of Dunedin all telegraph stations in the. provincial district of Utago will be closed on Friday, 23rd instant, the anniversary of the foundation of the province. : ; : The following is the rota of attendance at, the the petty sessions for Tuesday next, March 27 .-—Messrs. T. B. Kenderdine, W. H.. Kenny, l>. M. Lu'ckie, &. S. Kissling, R. B. Lusk, J. May, T. Macffarlane, C. C. McMillan, H. D. Morpeth, L. A. Nathan, H. M. Nation. J. Newman, D. L. Murdoch, and A. O'NeilL - ' ■ ' The Nelson Daily Timei says:—" A rumour is current in well-informed political circles that greatefforts are being made by prominentmembers of the late Opposition, to induce Mr. Fitzherberfc to resign the Speakership and take the lead of their party upon the policy of' reform, financial and fiscal. The wary old gentleman does not see hie way to give a decided answer at present." At a recent meeting of the East Coast County Council, it was proposed to tax every dog in the County 20s per annum, bnt an amendment wae carried reducing the sum to 10s per dog. This will have a tendency to cleivr off a number of the mongrel brutes, which are not only an annoyance to travellers, but a source of loss to settlers, inasmuch as these dogs are very destructive to flocks during the shades of night. The Rev. George Brown, in a lecture recently delivered in Melbourne upon New Britain,. said that the inhabitants never offered any violence to him or his party, but he often found they could not be trusted. They firmly believed in witchcraft, and he found_ it hard to combat the prejudice within them; but yet he had succeeded' within the short space of twelve months to establish six churches and six schools—over which 17 Fijian teachers were now presiding. : The Thames County Council are getting into difficulties with the natives in connection with their road works.. A correspondent of the Tlwumcs Advertiser writes from Ohiuemuri :—r" Mr.R. Cashell and a party of men have started to make a road from Uikutaia to this places (under the - instructions of Mr. Aitken, County Surveyor), which will cat off the Stony Hill entirely." On Friday a native named Tamati Paetai, resident at Hikutaia, wrote to inform Tukukino that work had been started, and the latter at once proceeded to the scene of operations, aud ordered the party, to knock off work. They complied pro tern., but I understand that the work has since been actively pushed on. Doubtless Mr. Tukukino will interfere again, when I hope the chairman and members of the Council will set themselves to face the difficulty manfully, and show the natives that they intend to back up the workmen. I should advise them to go on with the work until a breach of the_ peace ensues, and then call upon Sub-Inspector Bullen to do his duty." Mr. George Fraser writes to the Thames Advertiser: "To the Editor: Sir,—ln reading this morning's issue of your valuable paper, I see mention made of the s.s. Rotomahana having made her yesterday's trip from Auckland to the Thames in less than 4J hours by steam generated from the Miranda coal, which statement i 3 quite correct. We also beg to add that we have tried several tons of the same coal at our works in Auckland, arid we are happy to bear testimony to its very excellent quality. But what I want particularly to draw your attention to is that the coal used on the occasion referred to was not from Fraser and Tinne's land, but from Mr. Foote's mine. That gentleman not only put the' coals on board the steamer, but kindly accompanied them to see for himself the result of the trial, and I am sure he must be highly gratified. The firemen were able to keop" a good head of steam from, the time'the vessel left the Queen-street Wharf until the arrival at Grahamstown. A very great deal of credit is due to .Mr. Foote for endeavouring to develop this most important industry. To my knowledge he has now been several years working hard, and''has had to part with his- cattle and other stock to bring this undertaking to a successful issue. I believe'he has applied frequently to,the Government for a little help, to enable him to get his coals to the market, but they have turned a' deaf ear to his requests. Ifow, sir, as this valuable coal mine (the Beam from which the test coal was taken being 55 feet thick) is within 10 or 12 miles of our Thames goldfield, and as a great , quantity of coal is now being required to develop our valuable goldfields,.l hope_the_County Council will lend a helping hand to Mr. Foote, by assisting from the amount they voted for such' purposes, and thereby confer a boon on themelves."- '.■•.■■•■'■ ' •' -: ; The Bay of Plenty Times contains two letters in respect to the remarks made by Mr. Firth at the last meeting of the Acclimatisation Society, about the salmon ova. sent to Tauranga. Mr: Firth' said that the ova should have been taken possession of; at once, and as this had not been done they all died. Mr. E. G. Nome, the local agent, writes a letter to Mr. Firth, in which: jhe says :—" I am, I believe, the only person in • the Bay of. Plenty who has been placed in a position of responsibility : .then why was I not informed that the fish were being forwarded? The facts, of the case are these : I heard by accident there were salmon lon board the Kowena, and on her arrival I made inquiries," and was informed they were the property of Mr. Comisky (in charge of an inexperienced person), therefore it would have been felony for me to have touched them. I _ saw they were dying, rapidly, and predicted to a gentleman who inspected them with me, that there would not be a fish alive on the following morning. We accordingly went next morning and found them all dead, therefore to have telegraphed you would have' been useless. Had I been satisfied that they were the property of the society, I would have incurred the responsibility of saving, in the best way I could, those that were alive, as I saw clearly they could never so reach Whakatane. Mr. Comisky might, for aught I knew, have purchased them, and in fact I concluded that he had, as certainly Tauranga claims should have preference to his district after having expended so much money, in addition to contributions to the society for the introduction of trout and salmon, and attended hitherto with failure. I speak advisedly, .as undoubtedly the 250 salmon awarded to us on a previous occasion, would have reached here had a few pounds more of ice been supplied by the society. I repeat, if necessary, auch -reflections as referred to,- if cast on any party it should be the Council of the Acclimatisation Society, for sending fish so thickly packed so long a distance, and with a probability of detention here."

The annual soiree in connection with the PaP*« u T a Presbyterian.Chuich will be held on the 29th mat.

"ho mooting of the Auckland Secular Association willbe held thin evening in the Carlton Academy, Hobson-street. Tenders are required for the erection of a now wharf at Gisborne. Plans and specifications can n s , ee the offioe o£ the Auckland Steam Packet Company. A list of shares in the Golden Arro-.v Gold JHimng Company to be sold by auctiou for nonpayment of calls will be found in another column. .