Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5496, 28 June 1879, Page 4

demic. In to-day's issue will be found the commencement of a new story by Miss Clay, an authoress well knowD by her ■writings to our readers, and one who is rapidly taking a foremost place amongst novelistß. The new tale will bo found to sustain the interest of the reader throughout. His Excellency the Governor having expressed a desire to his Worship the Mayor to visit the Provincial Hospital and other public institutions, tliit gentleman made arrangements to carry out His Excellency's wishes. Accordingly, yesterday, accompanied by his aide-de-camp and Mr. Peacock, Sir Hercules visited the hospital. Dr. Philson conducted the party over the wards of the establishment, the appointments and conveniences of which he greatly admired. Passing on to Mr. Worthington's school, Wellesley-street East, the boys' and girls' divisions were inspected, and a half-holiday claimed for the pupils by the Governor in commemoration oE his visit. The vice-regal party then drove out to the Western Springs and the pumping station, which, as well as the reservoir at Ponsonby, were objects of much interest. At the latter place the consulting engineer, Mr. Errington, "tapped" the reservoir, and His Excellency, partaking of a glassful of the water, pronounced it good. A Compensation Court was held yesterday under the 33rd section of the Public Works Act, 1876, to assess the damage caused to the property of James Maxwell, New North Road, by reason of the Kaipara railway passing through it. Mr. Justice Gillies was president of fiho Court; Mr. Buchanan, assessor for the Government; and Mr. Joseph Newman, for the claimant. The claim was for £19S0. Mr. W. Coleman appeared for the claimant, Mr. E. K. Tyler instructed by Mr. P. Dignan, for the Government agent. The Court awarded £600 to the claimant. Tlio particulars of the inquiry is reported in another column. In reference to a paragraph which appeared in yesterday's issue relative to the annual meeting of the Newmarket District Board, we are informed that the reason why the advertisement convening the meeting did not announce, amongst the business, the election of trustees, auditors, and fenceviewers, is that, as the district has adopted the Local Elections Act, the elections of trustees, &c., will take place under its provisions, and the only business of the annual meeting, therefore, is to hear and, if they choose to do so, approve of the annual report to be submitted to them. Some doubt has been thrown on the statement that the oil-painting in Mr. Linabury's possession is "a genuine Murillo." It was stated to us that it was a genuine Murillo, but perhaps it is safer to put it that " it is said to be a Murillo." " Veritas " professes to be able to throw some light on the matter. He says : " The above oil-painting wits sold by auction at the sale of the late Mr. Keesing's effects two days ago, and although the auctioneer's advertisement of such sale stated that this was a valuable oilpainting, the public were only informed that it was said to be a Murillo. There are plenty of art critics in Auckland, and I take it for granted that there are many more connoisseurs in Sydney." In our obituary columns will be found a notice of the death of Mr. Sampson Place, builder. He resided in Cook-street, and was foreman of works at the erection of the warehouse of Messrs. Wm. McArthur and Co., Queen-street. In the early days of the Thames goldfields he took au active part in the erection of some of the first large buildings put up there. He built Butt's Theatre, Kowe'a Hotel on the beach, &c. He died at the age of 59 years, and leaves a wife and family -to mourn their loss. His children are all grown up, and the whole, or the greater part of them, are married. He was a P. P.G.M. in the Oddfellows' Society, Manchester Unity, and has been over 40 years connected with that order. He was one of those who were principally instrumental in bringing about the, reformation in the scale of payments in that order about 20 years ago. This movement cauied a good deal of opposition, as the reformation required was an increase in the scale of payments to make the order financially sound. The reform waa ultimately carried, and this placed the Manchester Unity of Odd' Fellows in the first rank of friendly societies in the world. Mr. Place was a deputy at the annual moveable committee at the time the Koyal Commission inquired into the working of the Friendly Societies in England, from twenty to thirty years ago, and has in other <vays taken an active part in advancing th 9 interests of the order he haß been so long connected with. Since his arrival in Auckland, about 17 years ago, he was the one who began the agitation for the registration of friendly societies, as formerly they were not registered in the colony. At first the scheme was not looked upon with a kindly oye, but at last the order gave him its hearty support, and the registration of friendly societies is now general,—a step which is greatly to their advantage. The funeral of the late Mr. Place will take place on Sunday afternoon, and the members of the Good Intent Lodge, with which he was immediately connected, are invited to assemble at the Cookstreet Hall, to join in the funeral procession. Some time ago we quoted a paragraph from the London Tablet stating that the Rev. George Harold, P.P., of Wicklow, in the Dublin Diocese, had been named by His Holiness the Pope to the Bishopric of Auckland. We have made inquiries, and ascertained that up to the present no intimation has been received here as to whether the Rev. Mr. Harold has accepted the appointment. The Ttoyal Illusionists, advertised to appear at the Lorne-street Hall on Monday, annonnce an entertainment in which the powers of personal deception seem almost invested with the marvellous. They hail from the Egyptian Hall, London. Ihey go through the most extraordinary seances, such as the Davenports, Professor Fay, 'and Mrs. Holmes have made the public acquainted with, but they show that "the spirits" have nothing to do with the phenomena so exhibited. ■ The accounts published of their performance seem to indicate that these " trioks" are wonderfully clever, in the strictest sense of the term.

A correspondent, telegraphing from Alexandra, states that the residents in that place condemn the action of the Government is leaving that place defenceless, giving his reasons for the opinion. -We would be the last : to raise any needless alarm as to our " settlements in the Waikato, bnfc the Government 'ought not to denude them of Armed Constabulary, if it were only for the purpose of preventing panics. Alexandra is the most exposed point; Kihikihi, which was for years after the confiscation regarded as being in the greatest daDger, being sheltered, for the present at least, by Bewi. Bat if fighting were to occur in Taranaki, there would infallibly be a good deal of excitement amongst the Waikatos, and the unquiet spirits amongst them might want some restraining influence. Our Thames correspondent informs us of the death of Riwai ta K iore, a chief of the Ngatimaru, and a man who made his name, famous in the early days of the goldfield. He was a good-hearted, but somewhat irascible and abusive, old fellow. He was always an obstructionist, and he and Mr. Mackay used to bavedire disputes at the meetings. Riwai was, however, beaten from point to point, and he had the good sense, when he was beaten, toaccept the inevitable. There was a small hill at Parawai which the local authoritieswere anxious to cut, ia order to make a road. The work was quite a trilling one, but Riwai resisted for years, considerable public inconvenience being caused by his obstinacy. On one occasion an elaborate attempt was made to win him over. Mr. John Williamson, when Superintendent, was on a visit to the goldfields, and it was arranged that he should ask for leave to cut the road in the presence of a large number of the local anthorities. Mr. Williamson approached the subject very cautiously, and hinted that a monetary consideration would be made, when Riwai jumped up, and declared that he wanted two thousand millions 1 " Wo'll have to get Mr. Vogel to deal with him," gravely said Mr. Williamson. Leave to cut the hill was at length given to Sir George Grey, whoovercame the obdurate old man by driving out in a carriage to his house, and asking for the road for utii for something or another. Kiwai made strong resistance to the construction of the County road by Totara Point, which, having been an Aceldama on one of Hongi's invasions, when the pa of the Ngatimaru was taken, was an exceedingly sacred spot. He was beaten there again by the perseverance and persistence of Mr. Brodie, the County Chairman. Riwai, by the discovery of the goldfiold,. became possessed of considerable wealth, but he did not become Europeanised, as did others. He was too old to change, and he continued a genuine Maori of the old school to the last. Mr. Worthington, head-teacher of the City East School, delivered the fourth and last of his interesting series of lectures on the "Punic Wars" yesterday evening, and although- the evening was in the highest' degree unfavourable, on account of the heavydownpour of rain, there was a large and attentive audience. The lectures were originally intended for the pupila of the city who intend to compete for scholarships at the end of the year, but they were also very favourably received by the teachers, and the general public. They have been carefnlly prepared, and each one was illustrated and explained with the aid of charts and maps, prepared at the cost of considerable tune and labour by the lecturer. The lectures have been listened to with marked attention, and' we trust that those who attended them may find the advantage of having done so, when they come up at the end of the year for the scholarships' examinations. Much credit is due to Mr. Worthington for the time he has devoted to the preparation of this course of lectures, and for the manner in which they were delivered. The explanations were clear and thorongh, and in every way calculated' to enforce the intelligence desired to bo conveyed to the mind of the audiences. Duties will be resumed at the ParneH' Grammar School on Wednesday, July 2 y , when the .repairs now being made to the school buildings will be completed. Wβ wonld remind consumers of water thatif the rates now due are unpaid after the 30th inst. they will be liable to have supplies cutoff. We have received a copy of the Si. James'sChronicle, which has reached its fourteenth, number. It contains a thoughtful papsr by Mr. M. Mariott (St. James's Class), i, poetic effusion by Mr. J. Blaokman ("Little Streams"), and the generilnewa of the various literary societies in Auckland and neighbourhood. Respecting the forthcoming debate at the rooms of the young Men's. Christian Association, under the auspices of that institution, the Chronicle vouchsafes the following information:—"The question to be discussed, we undertand, is 'Has England's treatment of aboriginal natives been worthy of a Christian nation V. Messrs. T. Cooper and T. McMaster willassert the affirmative, and Messrs. W. Speight and P. G. Ewington the negative. A very high official of the association has expressed an opinion that the discussion will have a most disastrous effect in this colony. He Bays that the debate willnaturally turn on the Maori question, certain evil-minded persons will probably communicate what is said on the negative side to Te Whiti and his followers, and they will. be under the impression that they have beenvery badly used." The Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the working of the_ Universities,, Grammar, and High Schools, is holding aittinge and visiting the leading educationalbuUdinge in Dunedin. The comic opera, " Girofle Girofla," was repeated at the Theatre Royal last night. A noticeable feature was the continued im. provement manifested by the performers. The angular edges which at first appeared, and diminished the general effect, have dieappeared, and now thia charming opera is presented to the audiences as a successful whole. Last night, on account of the weather, the audience was rather thin, butthe company played with the greatest spirit, and the warm applause of a wellpleased audience testified that the efforts of the performers had not been in vain. The opera will be repeated this evening, and we would recommend those who appreciate genuine humour, good acting, and, above all, exquisite music, to see " Girofle Girofla " before those twin sistors disappear from the stage. A Commission is sitting at Wellington 6> inquire into certain charges made against the Registrar of the Supreme Court by a solicitor. The gentlemen composing the Commission are, Messrs. Batkin, Audit department ; Langdon, late of the Transfer Department, Nelson; and Loghlin O'Brien, late of the Supreme Court, Auckland. A football match will be played to-day,' on the Metropolitan Ground, between New Zealand and World. The following are the names of the teams :—World : Arniel, Bennet, Broadhunt, Colbeck, Coleman, Cotton, Cooks, Dnnnett, Graves, Hanna, Martin, Merces , , McCormick, O'Hare, Orchard, Phiilips, Reed, Shakespeare, Talbot, Verity, Vereker-Bindon. New Zealand : Barges* (2), Bravewater, Carter, Cotter, Culpan, Davy, Henderson, Lynob, Joughin, Macky, Mears, McGechie, McKay, Sibbin (3), Sims, Webster, White. Kick-off, 2.45. Uniform : World, all colours ; New Zealand, white. The Wellington Post states—"A giant cuttlefish was discovered a few dayß ago on the beach at Lyell Bay. The ci-eature has been examined by Mr. Kirk, F.L.S., who found that it was a ten-armed sepia, of the species known to scientific men as Sepia tenthis. It is an unusally large specimen, measuring ten feet in length. The four smaller arms are fonr feet long, the two longer arms measuring six feet each ; and as a portion of the ear-shaped paddles have been broken off, they must have measured -qnita eight feet long when they were perfect. These arms now measure thirteen inches in circumference at the thicker extremity. Across the body the carcaae measures some twenty-nine inches, and the whole animal mast have been & most formidable denizen of the deep when alive and in full enjoyment of its powers. Giant cuttles have been ere now cast.up on the shores of Newfoundland, and it is believed that the carcase of the one in question is about the third largest of those of which there ia my authentic record. The beak, the cuttle-bone (equivalent to the skeleton of the fish), and the bony circles of the suckers, have been ■preserved, and a full account of this New Zealand example of the devil-6sh will shortly be read before the Philosophical Society. ■ The New Zealand Times of Monday, h&9 the following : —"lnsurance companies aregetting chary of accepting any fnrther risks in the populous parts of the city. We heard of a case the other day where a gentleman was refused the renewal of hiii policy for premises in Willis-street, the local agent informing him that he had strict orders from the head"-office of his company not to take any insurances in the city for Borne time tocome."

IMB q*e~new company engaged by Mr. HH Li»* with Mr. Chaplin and Hiss Rose ■HJjSTrne, will open-in afew days their season Hu 'ft Gilter*' B comedy entitled "Engaged," BM .r Gilbert is allowed by his English oritica to HH we developed a new vehi of humour. We B9 f,re had examples of thie recently in the Hil»iooperas entitled "The Sorcerer," and BSJ i>B Sf- s< Pinafore." *' appears to consist HM „ adapting the dialogue to a preconceived ■BLnof stage bnsinesu. The following exHHL c t from a competent critic, indicates Bβ .ks characteristic in the new play, BBfhich js selected to op?n the season:— Wn the Theatre Royal, Gilbert's charming HHeUedy of "Engaged" has been played ■Hiring the week to horses wonderfully good, ■JBjonsicUrino the state of the weather. ■Hl''Engaged" belongs to that sparkling class IHLf moderp society dramas which contain, the most abeurd incongruities and paradoxes, many shrewd observaIHJjtioDS and much biting sarcasm upon the foibles of the present day. A good K c jny of the events in the play Bjfi occur in Scotland, the marriage law Bjjff which has supplied so many plots, BJB both for dramatists and novelists, and it 13 BBcpon one of these peculiar ceremonies that SB'.he whole interest turns. Tbj> heroine of Jg| (he pl»y, Miss Treherne, a young lady of elastic attachments aad strong talents for BS business, 13 rery charmingly played by Miss jggjl jtose Osborne, a young lady whose popularity Sgg is increasing nightly. The part is one which BB ftquires much womanly grace, aud a strong Bβ s2D5° °f humour, an attractive appearance, B3 and pretty dresses, and all these requireHβ oents are forthcoming in a very marked BB degree. The tart eating scene particularly, HJ in which Miss Treherne delivers a Hβ homily on tae emptiness of human pleaSi sures, while engaged in nibbling pastry, His made intensely amusing by Miss HJ Osbornc's sang froid, and brings down the HJ house every night. Mr. Cliaplin, as the HJ hero, Chevoit Hill a young man who studies HJ economy and is intensely amatory, has a HJ congenial par!-, to which ho does ample jusHj tice. The way ia wbicU he informs every HJ woman whom he meets that she ia "the ■B tree upon which the fruit of his heart H grows," is simply inimitable ; and hi 9 skilful H msnagemenfc of two younj; ladies, to whom he HJ is engaged at one and the same time, is Bf worthy of imitation by all young gentlemen ■g situated under similar circumstances, ■j At tho recent examination of teachers, ■ Mrs. Clarkson passed, or obtained the perBj centage of marks in drawing. The informa- ■ tiou came by the last mail from Welliug■j Earner's fine new diorama of the EnssoH Turkish war wa3 3gain on exhibition at the H Lorne-street Hall yesterday evening, and B a proof of it 3 attractive character and ex- ■ cellence, was the fact that, despite tho ■ weather, there was a large, attendance. Of B course the incidents of this disastrous war ■ being fresh in the minds of the public gener- ■ a'ly, every person is anxious to become acB qaainted with its moat famous scenes and ■ personages connected with it, and Rainer's I pictorial representation of the war, brings them forcibly before the mind. As pictures, the Ecenes are excellent, and further, they they are chosen with great discrimination. .Sir. Stanley's uongs are also heartily appreciated, as well as his concise descriptive lecture. Afterwards came the exhibition of the beautiful mechanical representation of the fnueral of President Lincoln, and then followed a portion of the programme which afforded food for merriment. Of course the nsaal distribution of prizes took place, I but a special prize bad been offered for the I best conundrum on the Russo-Turkiah War. I The following was awarded the prize, amidst I loud cheering: — " Why 13 Rainer's panoI rama of the Russo-Turkish War like a leather merchant ? Because he shews us Russian calf (the legs of the Russian soldiers retreating), aud has a large stock of English leathering ready at hand (British fleet), and, like the Czar, is ready to enjov a good slice cf Turkey (cooked)." This afternoon, at 3 o'clock, there will be a matinee exhibition | of the diorama, to which children will be admitted at half-price, and every child will receive a prize ; and to-night, on the occasion of the last exhibition, there will be an unusually large m>: "ier of valuable prize 3 distributed. Ic aaiii.ion to the usual class of prizes, a live pig will fall to the lot of some lucky individual, a sack of flour to another, a lfg of pork to a third, besides gifts of fowls, potatoes, tea, sugar, &c. In fact it would appear as if the intention was to make it market-night. The proprietor has also intimated to the liberty-men of H.M. s. j Emerald, that as many of them as can make it convenient to be present io-nighfc, will be admitted free of charge. In New South Wales the Commissioner of Railways allows all book-packets, to and from circulating libraries, to be transmitted at newspaper rates, but subject however to the following conditions :—"lst. The sender's name must be legibly inscribed on each parcel. 2nd. Each parcel muet be open at both ends. 3rd. Each parcel must be declared npon the consignment note to contain books only." This arrangement would be a useful one along the railway lines in New Zealand, and diffase knowledge wherever the interior of the country is opened np. "Light" literature, of course, would pass with the more valuable booka, but on the whole an allowance of this kind would do more good than barm. Referring to tho inqnest on the late Mr. McPartlandj'the correspondent of the WairarapaStandard writes :—"I am told that there were eight Good Templars on the jury, and while discussing their verdict the nonaVmtainers among them, appeared to have had a lively time of it, as the Templare fought hard to bring in a rider to the effect that no publican should be allowed to serve a man with more than three liquors a day. In such a case a man ccnld have thirty drinks, and yet only receive three from any trablican." The Standard adds :—" This statute of limitation wili hardly be calculated to answer its purposes in the Wairartp.;!. A man could get 15 drinks in Featheratone, 3 at Tauherenikao, 2in Greytown (and if a member of a club) 12 ; 6 ia Carterton, 3at tha Taratahi, and if he wasn'S ' tight' by the time he got to Masterton, he conld get 12 mote." The New Zealander has the following :— A good many queer incidents arise out of fires on many occasions, and the late eouflagraticn here has given rise to its share. A knight of the shears and thimble was one of the severe sufferers on the cession in question, and ivas flund-.v ed of course in various ways ; but the coolness of some of the appropriated was e rtraordinary. For example : A few days aft- , ? the fire 3. man came to the victim's tcaHKTary plac* of business and said he hed ap;ece of "Jo'!i thai he -td saved from I.be fire, but bs it was w>:y small, a yard or ?o, he did not suppose 'je had any use for it, or would care about its being returned. The answer of the Ticticuised was more forcible than polite, f.nd the cloth came back. Tie wife of the same sufferer was standing at the door of her new home, when she espied three little girls pass, each with a bright new belt on. She at once recognised these articles as haviag been the property of her husband, and knew that they had not been 3old or given away, and at once asked the children tvhere they got them from. The answer was ready, "From Mrs. >"»nd Mrs. was forthwith interviewed. She readily admitted that she bad given the children the bells, though she failed to account for theirpossesbion. The ground on which she justified she gifts was " because she thought their owners would be better able to identify them if they were worn." Whether the excuse was a valid one we leave our readers to judge. In hia speech to his constituents at Kumara, Mr. Barff announced the following startling scheme :—He thought that a State Bank should be established in the Colony, as the trofits of the banks at tho present day amounted to a large sum, and if that revenue vere paid into the tressury it would partly reduce taxation. It would be better for the Government to take this matter boldly in hand, for if auch a bank was ia existence the miners would get a fair price for their gold. He intended moving in this matter next sesaionH it was not taken up by the Government. A Sydney paper sayu :—"A telegram has been received Jrom Dr. Hector, 0.M.G., Executive Commissioner in New .Zealand, asking if it has been fully decided to open the Exhibition in September, as the New -Zealand Commission are anxious to know the exact date. The queetion of the day of opening will probably be settled within a Week or two, as similar inquiries are being received from other .quarters." To the Editor : Sir, —Yon will oblige bygiving tho date or number of the Christian World in which Mr. Arthur Haydon's letter on New Zealand is inserted, which drew forth your remarks in Thursday's leader.—l ani, &c, Header.—[We do not know the dr.te, as yre obtained the letter from the columns of a contemporary where the date of its appearance ia the World was not given.—Ed.] A meeting of the trustees of the Auckland Savings JSauk is advertised to be hs]d on JTednsgda/ afternoon at three o'clock.

r „ A, om ««»e case ia reported in the Palei ie Mail. A man named Charles Quinn atn tended service in the Roman CatholioOhurch «■"??"• and was denounced from the pulpit ; o after the celebration of mass by tho officiate ing priest, Father Ryau, who accused him e with another person, whose name was men. d tioned, with having " cellected money for it the church, and fonnd ifc a profitable busia. ness. The rev. gentleman then proceeded -• to warn his flock against Quinn and his s associate ; but when he went so far as to call ', them "Moody and Sankcy," Mr. Quinn - could stand it no longer, but rising in the g church, demanded to be heard, that he might a clear hii character. The priest said,*""Sit , down!" and •• Go out!" but Mr. Qninn ■. would not resume his seat. The rev s gentleman proceeded: "Will no one , i>at him out ?" but there was no response ; i when he left the pulpit, and pro- .- ceeded in. person to eject the disture ber. Qnin resisted, when several of the I congregation came te the priest's assistance • jr one of them, named O'Shea, using great v violence, and_ forcing Qnin against a half1, opened door, in such a way as to cause him 3 serious injuries. Quin charged O'hhea in ,t the Resident Magistrate's Court, where a if good deal of evidence was taken, but there ,f was very little dispute as to tho faota of the r case. Ihe complainant excused his inters ruption of Divine service, on the ground f that the custom of the Church allowed a l> person under denunciation to rise and !» defend himself ; but the existence cf such a , right was denied on the other side. He - said, "I have heard that if the priest makes I any statement that is not true, iho people , get up and contradict. It only happened 3. once in my life, when I was a boy." The .- priest was placed in the box, aud his refusal , to answer several questions caused a lively s " scene in court." The court dismissed the 0 information, with costs, on the ground that b the complainant had no right to commit a s disturbance in the church. More may yet 1 be heard of the affair, as at the same sittiDg - another case, Quin v. ltyan, was withdrawn, f to allow of it bsing taken to the Supreme 0 Court. ' The Nelson Colonist writes in the following highly enraged .-.train :—" The Government Native Land Purchases Act Amendment Act s is not only iutended, as the Government 1 stated, to facilitate the acquisition of native lands by them, but it reaches, and most , properly, to the confusion of the land-shark - —the pakeha-Maori— the renegade inter- . preter—the traitor, who, having made his . office too hot for him, being oppressed with debt or impelled by filthy appetites, _ flies to Maori sympathisers ; and the ho3t 3 of present aud ex - members of the j General Assembly, who reckon on being paid for their votes and support by a fat 3 bargain in land being sanctioned." It is j lamented by every honest man of whatever r political views, that the pre emptive right, originally held by the Crown, was abandoned under the influence of a knot of wealthy and I unprincipled land-jobbers, who occupy high places in the country, instead of serving it j to some extent by hard labour in its gaols, to which their frauds to have con- ; signed them, and where they would encounter no criminals so vile as themselves. When native land becomes tho property of \ Europeans by direct purchase from the k original owners, it is not long before there is \ an agitation for the construction of roads, \ railways, and other expensive works, which I must then be paid for by the great body of L taxpayers, the Government being deprived of any receipts from the land itself for the , purpose, the purchaser adroitly pleading his right to consideration equally with other . members of the community — then, not ' only is the Maori ewindled, the legitimate settler is also robbed, and all to build up the ' fortune of a gang of sharpers." , Some of the school teachera in Otago have lately been disgracing themselves, if the following extract from the Otago Witness may be believed :—" Until the recent disclosures about the roll-stuffing dominie, we in Otago were accustomed to account our teachevs an honourable body. We scarcely looked to the possibilit3 r of so deliberate an attempt at a swindle from any of them. But the wor3t of it is, that there are painful rumours of more delinquents, aud that the Board will be called npon to deal harshly with yofc another member of the 'honourable body.' The inspectors appear, very properly, to receive strict orders to do their duty. One or two good stories are whispered about concerning cases not yet come to light. One schoolmaster who had entered his own three olive-branches as regular attendants on. each and every day of the quarter was asked by the inspector to trot them out for inspection. The inspector aaw amongst the urchins in front of him no speaking likeness of the teacher, and he had his suspicions. These were confirmed witha vengeance, for the teacher's family of three—all regular attendants—comprised one aged four years, another two-and-a-balf years, and the third six montha. Not even the perils and dangers of early teething had interfered to prevent the attendance of the last-mentioned for a single day. Whether this precocious youngster had indulged in marbles and peg-top was information that even the strong-hearted inspector could not find himself severe enough to seek. At another school, where 40 was the total number on the roll, every mother's son of the 40 was marked as having attended day after day with a regularity quite monotonous. The inspector expressed wonder. The teacher admitted the fact was astonishing, bnt asserted it was true. Then, ' will every boy and girl absent yesterday please stand np ?' asked the inspector, and, while the master looked chopfaUen, no less than six curlyheads, all innocent and guileless, obeyed the snmmons. These are the amusing aspects of tie matter, but the serious aspect is, that men entrusted with the training of children conld be guilty of such dishonourable and disgraceful practices. If these be the teachers, what will the taught become ?' The Tablet hae made a "pot shot" in prophecy, and scores the point:—We feel that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." We have, it seems, been walking about in worse plight than that in which the famous prophetess Cassandro found herself of yore; she knew that her prophetic vision was true, although nobody believed her; but although nobody believed us, we had not the least idea that the foresight vouchsafed to us was likely to be verified. It is very startling to find that we have prophesied truly euch an tmpleaeant and inconv«>nien; event as the burning of the Dunedin AtLecteniß, sbich, to our great regret, took piace«nMor>d»y night hist, or, more strictly speaking, earl; on Tuesday morning. We can only p!ead in excuse that we were bat following the example of a shining light of " Evangelicalism" in England, who attributed the destruction of the Birmingham Hbiravy to Sabbath-breaking. The prophecy was a kind of second-hand affair, and we do not consider that its fulfilment has by any means qualified us to set np a system of fortune-telling. Bat do not our authorities now recognise the danger of openiDg the Museum on Sunday ? It is very patent, and more especially as it was the novel department of the Athena3um that bore the brunt of the fire. The marks of a judgment are perfectly manifest. A Sydney paper says :—Amongst other attractions to visitors during the show, will he the fleet of war-vessels in the port. Two vessels, a man-of-war and a transport, will carry the French flag; Germany and Austria will each send a corvette; and an Italian first-class is to bring the JDuke of Genoa. The Imperial Princes of Kua;ia will arrive in a Russian frigate; nnd us America and Japan have announced their intention of being fully represented, we shall probably have war-vessels from both those countries. It is reported to be the intention of the Imperial Government to favour Uβ with a visit from the Flying Squadron, bo that the beautiful waters of Port Jackson will bo the meeting-place of a maritime congress—this time, of peace and honour." It is understood that Mr. Tarnbull, M.H.R., has expressed his intention not to address the electors before the session. The majority of his constituents are very much annoyed. The second meeting of the Auckland Institute is advertised to be held on Monday evening in the Museum Buildings, at half-past seven o'clock, when several papers will be read. The next concert of the Choral Society is advertised to be held on the Bth July, when Beethoven's Mass in 0, and a selection of secular music will be rendered. A conference of Diocesan Sundey-ichaol teachers is advertised to be held in the hall of the Young Men's Christian Association on Monday evening, at half-past <sevea o'clock, when Mr. Neil Heath will read a paper upon " Facts about Sunday Schools; My Experiences in England, Scotland, andjAmonca." The members of St. Paul's choir are invited by advertisement to meet in the church this evening, at 8 o'clock punctually. ' It will be observed, by reference to our advertisement columns, that a central school and teacher's residence are about to be erected at Maungakaramea. Tenders are invited for the construction, and will be received by the Education Board until the 25th of July. Particulars may be obtained at the Board of Education, or on application to the Chairman of the Maungakaramea school dutrict.