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New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5370, 1 February 1879, Page 4

Telegraphic communication with Europe is now interrupted ; the lines have been down for the last two days ia North Australia.

It will be seen from our telegrams elsewhere that of 59 deaths which occurred in Welliogron during tho month of January «he large proportion of 28 were from diarrhoea and one from EuglUh cholera. The medical men deel ire that worm*, diarrhcei, and English choU ra prevail to an alarming extent; that the mortali'y ia partly attributable to the hot weather, but maiuly to the impure water supplied from the city reservoir. Complaints that the water is impure hare been very prevalent in Auckland recently, and it is just possible tbat it arisesfrom impurities at the reservoir and in che pipes. A number of people of late have complained that the city water j-upply is not of that pure character which people have been led to suppose. It would be wise on the part of the City Council to have a careful analysis of the water made and published, aud to ascertain how to get rid of the impuri* ties complained of, if they exist.

We believe it is next 10 a certainty that Mr. P. Uignan, solicitor, will be a candidate for the vacancy in City West caused by the elevation of his father to the Legislative Council. A strong requisition is, we believe, being got up to Mr. Dignan. It is probable, however, that there wdl be a contest, and the names of several possible can Jidates have been mentioned, amongst others Mr. Goldie and Mr. Hurat.

It will be seen that the District Engineer calls for tenders for reclamation works in connection with the Waikato and Thames railway. No time has ben lost in this matter since the turning of the first sod. at which time nothing had been done in the way of preparation for work.

The following telegram from Sir George Grey has been published at the Thames :— " Wellington, Monday. Alex. Brodie, Esq., Thames. Your suggestion was received too late to allow of deep strata being examined before the end of this month. I would suggest tbat while it remains possible samples of rock and mineral lodes should be collected by managers of mines. Dr H"Ctor and Professor [Uriah will be in Auckland upon other busiuess shortly; they would then visit the Tuames and examine all such specimens You know, no douiit, tliat the deep works were carefully examiued when the shaft was sunk some years ago, aud I believe that what I have suggested iB the best that can now be done towards extending or e-irrejting the results of that examination.—G. Grev."

Complaints are made of the insufficiency of accommodation piovided for passengers by railway on Sundays—-the first train from

<uukland and the last from beiusj usually overcrowded. Closer adherence to the time*table would be advisable, a* the trains seldom start to tim'*, the last train from the country beiog invariably late on arrival in Auckland.

The last American papers inform us that the celebrated General Benjamin Bulter Iml beeu beaten in the contest for the position of Governor uf Massachusetts by Mr. Talbot. Mr. Talbot, who has attained to such a high position, is a brother of Mr. R. T. Tulb..t, secretary of the Auckland Mechauics' institute.

The annual excursion of the b.s. Hero aid of the orphanages of the city takes place to-day, and the nteamer will leave the Kill way Wharf at 10 a.m., for Motutapu This trip is now looked forward to by the children of the various charitable institutions as one of their red-letter days of the year; aud kg sincerely trust that their anticipations on the present occasion will be verified. The public are invited at a reasonable cosr, anil, wtiile it affords them an excellent- day's outing, their presence renders aid to the charities.

A meeting of the trustees of the Auckland Siviags Bauk is advertised to be held on Wednesday next at 3 o'clock.

In our advertisement columns appears a statement of accounts of the Auckland Improvement Commissioners tor thayeir IS7B. It is seen that on the 31st December la»t the dent due to the Bank of .New Zealand wa3 £27,117 lis.

Two important messages were -received yesterday from the Under-Secretary for Public Works in Wellington. The first one was in reply to a telegram sent by Messrs Uansen, Speight, and Car enter, making inquiry as to the termiui of the railway, anci was to the effect that there would be sUtious at Shortland and Grahamstown. Tue latter will be at the Goods Wharf, aud the former near the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel. I'he second message, from Mr. Knowles, was to the Borough authorities, who had been anxiously inquiring when the works were likely to be started, as labour was abundant and men waiting employment. It stated that the plau3 have been received and passed, and Mr. James .Steward, C.E., the District Engineer, had been instructed to call for temders for the first sectious at once. —Thames Advertiser.

At an interim half-yearly meeting of the Auckland Gas Company, held yesterday afternoon, a dividend of 7i per cent, was declared.

The question of the appointment of a residont minister for St. David's Presbyterian Church, Symonds street, is at leugtti settled. A meeting of the Chmch Extension Committee was hold on Thursday evening, at which the Rev. Chart. 8 Dunn, late of Glasgow, whose administrations have proved very acceptable to the congregation, w;is appointed to the charge of the churoh, and regular Sunday services will now be established.

Baker and Farron's Company was announced to have given the first of a series of three performances at the Lorne-Btreet Hall last evening, but in consequence of the nonarrival of the steamer from the South they could not fulfil their engagement. They will, however, positively appear to-night in " Courad and Lizette," and will give their final performance in X>lew Zealand on Monday evening, as they' proceed to San Francisco by tho mail steamer the day following.

The electric light is already being utilised in the printing-office. The Times machineroom has been thus illuminated since the 17i-h October. The Dundee Advertiser com-posing-room, which, is IUO feet long aud 30 feet wide, has also been lighted with electricity. A large printing-office in course of erection for the Liverpool Daily Post will also dispenßO with gas. The ligut is being utilised in two, at least, of the Dublin newspaper printing-offices.

The disoovery of a new islamdin the Polar Sea is announced by a telegram from Tromso. B. Johannessen, who has just returned there, reports that he penetrated a considerable distance to the east, beyond Novuja On September 3, in longitude 6t> east and. 77.35 north latitude, he discovered an island which he has named " Ensomheden" (loneliness}. It is about ten miles long, and level, the highest point not exceeding 100 feet. It was free from snow, with poor vegetation, bat an immense qnantity of birds. The sea was free from ice toward the west, north and south, but drift ice was seen' toward the south-west.

Tht 6 Rev. Mr. Datton, of Auckland, in apeak!** 1 ? at a Primitive Methodist meeting in Welk 0 ?^ 011 * ® a **' s —" nev>er been %b!e to co/ n P ro k en< * tfie P Q blio schools of thia colov 'ysh"uld be stigmatised af "godlea?." Therv 1 Ha 3 n °thing tanght in them that could th« £:elings of the most godly man in t\ 0 worl '• The proper place to teach reluiou'- Wils the Sunday-school, with all it» Bpintv , *'. ,,urroai,f^D g i '» with all its hallowed associfc tioos. When the Bible was taught at the di *y-school it was looked upon by the children a* a mere ordinary clais-book ; it was in fc. Heir eyes divested of it* Divine character to teach r«ligioo, a mau shoa'd feei' inspired for the work. How could fc.be man, who did not sympathise earnestly with religion, impart it to others ? The .Sunday-school amongstthePrim tive Methodist""* wasdeemed quite sufficient for indoctrinating the minds of the young with the graod and noble truths of religion- The work of the Saaday-school was a holy one ; it wa3 one worthy of the efK irta the most cultivated intellects. It ah. ould 1 uot be left, aa it too often wa?, to mei*©ly the young members of the congregation. . A recent Lord Chancellor of England, who wa.* an ardent >unday-*chool teach r, had de- , clared that he looked upon th-* labours he 1 performed in the Sun lay school as in no way less important than the fuactiona he discharged whilst seated up »n the woolsack. Her Majesty QaeeH' Victoria had once said to one of her maids of honour that she regretted that the dignity of her own position • lid not permit her to assume the office of a Sunday school teacher. He felt confident that they would have nothing to fear for the rising generation of this great colony if the Sunday-schools did their work as it ought to be done—earnestly aud efficiently."

At the conclusion of the sitting of the Supreme Court oa IViday, says the Christ* church Press # a somewhat comical scene occurred. The Registrar had formally declared the Court adjourned hut his Honor had not left the bench. This, however, was unknown to a leading member of the Aar, who proceeded towards the robing-room, whistling a merry tune, evidently delighted at the conclusion of a very arduous day. The strange sounds attracted the attention uf his Honor, who commented oa the apparent disresp :ct shewo to the Bench. Mr, Reea took the opportunity of explaining to his Honor that the gentleman in question, and, indeed, all present ia Court, were un« a Tare that his Honor was on the Bench, being under the impression that he had retired to his private room immediately on the adjournment of the Court. His Honor accepted the apology, aud the matter dropped, but the surprise depicted on the countenance of the legal gentleman when his Honor spoke was someihiugto see.

" Mr. Ooldie, the naturalist, who has passed the last eighteen months in New Guiuea, has," the Brisbane Courier states, (< collected an immense number of animals, birds, and insects, besides valuable botanical specimens, and believei that a large namber <>f these are entirely unknown, tie claims to have found aa en irely new species of kangaroo. He ban brought with him a native from the coast tribes, a good-looking lad of indistinct Malay origin, whose long frizzly hair, tied rouad with a string, is worn standing straight up. The natives of the inland tribes Mr. Gddie states to be entirely different from those on the coar*t in both appearance and customs, but all, he says, are friendly and good-natured, and not given to the deeds of ferocity lately detailed by us on the authority of the residents at & becbe-de-mer station. Mr. Croldie was of the party that made its way to the coast, c.ossing about twenty flooded rivers, and losing horses and baggage, and states that although they crossed some high ranges they never reached the dividingrange, on tho outer side of which the general belief amoogst the party was that payable would be found. The natives in the iuterior are, it appears, so a«edat the sight of a white man as to obviate auy risk of molestation. The custom of a tribe with whom Mr. Goldie's party came in contact suggested to them the p-obable origin of the rumours that have been always current of a race of tailed men in some remote corner of the globe. These natives wear artificial tails of such cunning construction as to entirely mislead a casual ob-erver. They are entirely naked, except for the caudal ornament, which is a plait of gras* fastened round their loins by a fine string, and depending behin i toabou . half-way do;vn their leg*. Poasibly the missing link that has so baffled Darwin has only lately become extinct; in New Guinea, and these descendants, asham-d of their degeneracy, keep up the tiaditionof a noble ancestry by simulating then distinguishing characteristic."

The question of the liabdity of landlords of houses to maintain in good order wellcovers, &c., on their premises, even although they may be in th« occupation of tenants, was established yesterday in Lhe prosc-cutiou against Edward Harvey, the owuer of tho premises in Nelson-street in which the child of one of hie tenants, named Jones, was drowned by falling into thi well. The evidence was of a very confl cting nature, but it transpired that Harvey had employed a carpenter a few days before the accident to do any repairs which might be necessary, aud this carpenter did uot deem any requisite, other than to put a new haodle to the windlass. The presitiug Magistrate commented very strongly upon the culpable negligence of this man, bub allo-ved the fact that he had been omployed to do the work to operate in mitigation of the penalty vliich he would have otherwise imposed tin the defendant. We trust tho fatal accident aad the prosecution will have the effect of stirring up house-ptoprietor3 to perform their duty in respect to their wells and closets, and would recommend any tenants, or others who may have knowledge of the exi-tence of such dangerous trap 3, tj at once give information co the police.

A Wanganui paper states that the owner of a block of land, situated within a hondred miles of auy given poiut of tbe WeliingtouWairarapa railway line (Valley section) had o casion some mouths ago to value his sections in view of an appropriation made for railway extension purposes. £27 sterling per acre was the sum put down on that occasion. Two or three days before yesterday the same authority was required to put a valuation ou the same property for land-tax purposes, and he set it down at the modest sum of £2 per acre.

The pleasant face of the gallant Colonel Warre, who commanded the 57 th Regiment in New Zealand during the Maori outbreak, will not yet have faded from the memory of the earlier settlers. His uuosteutaciou3 and gentlemanly manner was such that would always command respect, and to none had he endeared himself more than to those whom he was chosen to lead, whether in time of poaoe or in "battle's magnificently stern array." Those of the *' Old Die-hards" who obtained their discharges in New Zealand and have ra ide the colony their home, will be pleased to hear that since the recall of the regiment their old commauder has riseu to the post of general, has been created a knight of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, and has been appointed to the import* aut military command of the Bombay Presidency in India. At the express wish of the general a number of his photographs are being distributed amongst the most de* nerviug of the " West Middlesex" who left the regiment here, accompanied with his best wishes for their success and happiness in this the home of their adoption.— Wan ganui Herald.

In the last number of the Melbourne Review is an article on ''The Alodero Pulpit," by the Rev. G. F. Cross. In noticing it, tha Australasian says:—"The writer is evidently au able, thoughtful, contentions man, sincerely desirous to turn his p 'sition as a teacher of religion to worthy account as a means of influencing the thought and conduct of his people for good. And he is compelled by experience to own that though the pulpit ought to supply this means of influence, it quite failed to do so; that as an agency acting on the character and conduct of society, it is virtually impotent and sterile; that the clergy are not only separated by a wide gulf ' from the great intellectual brotherhood of our day,' but even that they are excluded 'from a confidential participation in the secret religious interests' of their people ; and, lastly, that it is by their own fault that these things are so. This condition, which those whom Coleridge calls ' the routiniers of desk and pulpit' stolidly ignore, or secretly deplore, or view with languid indifference, is boldly looked in the face by Mr. Cross, and stated in the most manly, uncompromising, aud courageous language. The case is that the influence of the pulpit ia a dwindling one ; that the share of the clergy in the mental and spiritual life of man is rapidly disappearing, and that it is ao is due to their own sloth, or want of courage, or neglect. This is a serious accusation, and the fact that it is made by a clergyman who deeply feels the humiliation he avows is, at any rate, guarantee of the feeling of responsibility with which the charge is preferred."