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New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4899, 30 July 1877, Page 2

The mason work of the (irn-vinc Dnnl: is now in a comparatively advanced state. The weather recently Inn been such that no .stoppage of operations lias been necessary, and tho coffer-dam being now tight, there i* no hindrauce through water. At tho upper portion of the dock the cut stone-worl; in being pushed ahead, and along the remaining poitkm the men are busy with the rubble masonry, which forms the backing for the sides of the dock.

We hare received a copy of " Centaur's Index" for 1377. The work seems to be a very useful one for those who take any interest in racing in Victoria, as it contain.? all the entries for the Derby, Guineas, Great Metropolitan Stakes, Maribyrnong Plat' 4 , Melbourne Cup, Champer Stakes, <tc., a;ui other principal race?, together with the weights attached to each entry, date of acceptance, &c. Besides this it coutains the performances and age, with pedigree, and engagements of every horse of note now running, and as a work of refsrence, as well as of interest, will be very valuable. The price is only one shilling.

Tho shooting season will closc at the end of the present month — to-morrow—and sportsmen generally have been taking their " t-inal shot," but with little success, as birds have m ver becu so scarce before. On Saturday last Mr. C. B. Ed wards and his two .vms had a. tinal day at Motutapu—thanks to tho kindness of Messrs. Reid—and Mr. I<\ Edwards was successful in bringing down, with his first shot, a splendid young buck, weighing 103lbs. The deer was brought to Auckland in the evening, and the skin i.s now being prepared for stuffing. The same sportsmen also had some good wallaby shooting in the afternoon.

The success of the late sham fight has been so great and has been so appreciated by both citizens and Volunteers that it Ins beendctermincd to make it a periodical event, a resolve which, if carried into effect, will tend to the thorough efficiency of the force iu Auckland, and also inspire in the breast of the men that c.spr'd dt corp.« so characteristic of a well-equipped body. In order to prepare the Volunteers the better to undertake and perform with credit these rather complex and exhaustive evolution-', an effort is to be mado to induce Major Husk to consent to the wholw force going through tho monthly in.-pection parade on one and the same night. if thm desire, the wUdoni of which is apparent be gratified, the sham lights will be so arranged as to take place about a fortnightafter each inspection parade, ho that a field night will occur twice every month. The men will be exercised iu battalion drill at the monthly parados whilo in fixing the date for the sham light regard will always be had to the age of tho naoon, so as to secure, if possible, a night such as that of Thursday last. In all probability the scene of the next battle will be Ponsonby, but it is yrt too early to speak with certainty on the matter.

An intjucnt was held on the 10th inst. at tho Christchurclx Hospital on the body of KUen Ahlonr, a middle-aged woman, who died suddenly there on tho previous day. Deceased had on scverM occasions previously been an inmate of the institution, suffering from epileptic fits, and this time had been admitted as, abe said, she anticipated one was coining on. She was treated for this, and the fit averted. About seven o'clock on Tuesday morning, the nurso attending in the ward observed the woman was not lookin ; well, propped her up with pillows, and uii.iu «i'»iug so discovered a bottle of ehlorodyne partly empty under one of the pillows. Tho house-surgeon was called and administered remedies, but deceased did not seem to rally, and died about nino o'clock that night. It was shown that a parcel containing underclothing had been brought in to '•ho deceased a few days previously, and it is supposed the bottle must have been secreted iu this. A person with whom deoeased had lived a few months ago gave evidence that she was in the habit of constantly using ehlorodyne. The po*t niorfo/t examination allowed that death had r< Milted from an excessive dose of this medicine, and the jmy returned a vordiek of "Died fivm an overdone of ebloro.lyjje, taken without tho knowledge of tho ho.«qistal authorities,"

New post-offices ha\a been opened at the following places in the Auckland provincial district : ICamo, Kohukohu, Mititai, Mullet Point, Pollock Settlement, Te Kopurn, and Whangaruiu. A proclamation appears in the JV>w Zealand Gazette of the 10th inst., declaring SO.fiOO acres in tho Katikati and Aongatete survey district to bo waste lands of the Crown. At the Wollesley-street Baptist Church yesterday evening, live persons, the majority of mature years, underwent tho ceremony of baptism in the presence of a crowded congregation. The Kov. A. W. Webb was the officiating clergyman. The following is tho report of tho Auckland Provincial Lunatic Asylum for the week ending duly 28th, 1577 Horn.'lined last state, 175; admitted since, 3 ; discharged since, 1 ; died since, 0. Remaining at present: Males, 1113; females, lil : total, 177. The funeral of Mrs. Morton Jones took place at tho Church of England Cemetery on Saturday laot. The large number of mourning friends, as well as the cortege of carriages which attended, showed the very deep feeling of respect entertained for the deceased, and the sympathy felt for the bereaved husband and his six young children. Tho roturii of the cjuantity and value of gold entered for duly for exportation from Kew Zealand, from the Ist April, 1557, to .'loth June, 1877, shows S,-455,5770z?., valued at £33,00U,5'2(5. Tho gold entered for exportation during tho quarter ended 30th June last, amounted to 99,0'250z5., valued at £-101,5-15. A man named Samuel Fairbairu was arrested on Saturday afternoon at Newton by Constable Abrnms, at the instance of Mr. Jeffreys, who accused him of stealing three earriago springs and other iron work belonging to a carriage. The mail had, it appears, been working on his own account on premises owned by Mr. Jeffreys, a wheelwright establishment.

A meeting of the directors in the New Zealand Copper Milling Company was held on Friday, at Mr. Tyler's olUcc. Mr. Tykr occupied the chair. Mr. .James Maeky has retired from the directory, and has been appointed secretary to the company ; Captain Daldy has been appoiuted director in his stead. A call of Od per share lias been made payable on August 3th, and it is the intention of the directors to commence operations with tho least possible delay. An action fcr damages has been instituted agaiust Mr. l)e Lia'. s , the lessee of the Theatre Koyal, at the instance of Mr. Thornton and other members of the Dram itic Company. The damages arc laid at £100. It appears that tho company rented tho theatre at the rate of £25 per week, and commenced a scries of pei I'ormanccs there last Saturday night, and they played three nights. In consequence, it ia understood, of tho rent nut being pari nightly, Mr. Do Lias's agent locked up the theatre, preventing the company from performing. At this stage, of course, little is known of the merit--? of tho case, but it will no doubt exeitc gnmo interest in theatrical circles if it is brought into Court. A pleasing entertainment took place at the Lunatic Asylum on Friday evening last, at which tho minstrels of the institution took the prominent part, and show that since their last public appearance they have made considerable progress. We have not spaces to particularise, but can say that each did well, ami th';ir songs and choruses were well liked by the company. Mr. Fraser (a gentleman of the district) played on the bagpipes, much to the pleasure o! many of those present. Mr. Fairweathcr and Mr. Tilly gave a song and dance, and were loudly encored. The patients then partook of refreshment, and a few dances brought the ont.n iaiiimrilL to ii clonr;. It is satisfactory to learn that the man Povell, who some time ago experienced *,uch serious injuries by coming into collision with a baker's cart in Priuccs-strcot, is progressing favourably towards recovery at the Hospital. Povoll; it will be remembered, WA3 riding down Princes-street, when lie met a baker's cart coming in the opposite direction, and before they could avoid each other a collision occurrcd, which resulted in the shaft of the crwt being driven through tho fleshy portion of the calf of Povell's leg. It was feared that amputation would have been necessary, but owing to the care and skill shown in the treatment of the wound this extreme measure has been avoided, although several splinters of bone have been taken out of tho wound.

The gauntlet so defiantly thrown down by the Thames Scottish Volunteer Company has been promptly taken up by the Xo. 2 Hauraki Company, and no time has been lost in arranging the preliminaries for a match, 25 men aside, the stakes being £20 each company. Humour has it that other companies are making tho necessary preparations to enter the liits, also, so that the men of Scotia arc likely to have their hands full. Amongst the companies named are the Thames Naval Brigade, and tho Victoria Company, while the rumour before-mentioned asserts that the Auckland Artillery Company intend competing for the palm in drill. It is to bo hoped for the credit of Auckland that this ia no idle tale, for a better selection could not have been made. The Victoria Company is, admittedly, tho crack shooting corps of the city, while the Artillery Company has long been noted for its precision in drill, and for the thorough acquaintance its members evince with the movements in which they are wont to be exercised. Into no bettor bauds then could the credit of Auckland be committed, and if it is so committed we feel sure that the result will not be discouraging.

The Wellington Post is authorised by Mr. J. C. Crawford to state that he lately received from Melbourne thw following report upon a piece of quartz from that district, sent by him for examination :—" Hank of Victoria, Melbourne, 23rd Ma)', 1577. — I have tested tho quartz specimens left with me for assay, and find it to be composed of sulphate of iron. 1 likewise assayed for gold, and from 1000 grains I got button weighing '0.*!4 or I'o92ozs. per ton.—(Signed) .1. Chapman." Mr. Crawford proposes to give full particulars, with information as to the localities in which the .sort of quartz is found, in a paper to be rend before the Wei lington Philosophical Socicty.

The Harbour Hoard invite tenders for certain works as spccificd in an advertisement. Mr. Uetijiimin Strange has been appointed collector to the Borough of P.miell,

X call of Cm I per share has boon made iu the J Tfipc Crock G.M. Co. A call of 3d per scrip shave lias boon made in the Bank uf Kngland G.M.Co. A notico regarding forfeited shares in the Knorgetic G.M. Co. appears elsewhere. The annual mooting of the Taupiri Coal Co. will he held at the company's office, Fort-sfcroet, at o p.m. oil Thursday, August I'. The annual meeting of the ratepayers of the Kpsom Highway District will bo held at the Junction Hotel, Newmarket, at 7 o'clock this evening. bankruptcy notices >v Messrs. Harnett and Levy, 13. C. ITayle.s, Thomas Lonergan, and "William Farrell, will be found in another column.