Untitled

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5759, 3 May 1880, Page 4

Sir Robert Douglas, Bart., and Mr. T. Kelly, M.H.R. for New Plymouth, two of the members of the Civil Service Commission, arrived in Auckland by the Taiaroa from the South on Saturday last. Messrs. A. Saunders, M.H.R. for Cheviot, and C. Pharazyn, the other Commissioners, will probably arrive by the Ringarooma this morning from Napier. We understand that the Commission will remain here for a few days, and that they wi'l examine a number of witnesses with reference to the manner in which the business of the various public departments 13 conducted. We believe that the Commissioners will hold their first meeting to-morrow, and that before they leave Auckland they will visit the Thames and Waikato.

At the Police Court on Saturday, a most peculiar assault case was heard before Mr. Baratow, B.M. The plaintiff is Mr. Martio, proprietor of the Captain Cook Hotel, and the defendant, the well-known Abel Fletcher. The circumstances, as related in the evidence for the complainant, are of an extraordinary nature. The plaintiff, with some others, went to Fletcher's house, to negotiate the purchase of a horse, and they went towards the stable, whick was some distance off, to see the animal. Martin finding he had no matches, went first towards a store to procure some, but finding that it was closed, he returned to Fletcher's house. The door was not fastened, but he knocked, and on informing Mrs. Fletcher (whowas in bed), of his business, she told him to come in, and take them off the mantelpiece. He went in and in the darkness missing lis way he strayed into the bed-room, and just then Fletcher returned. He struck a light, and struck at Martin with a carving knife. After hearing the evidence, his Worship reserved judgment, as another case in which Fletcher charges Martin with an indecent assault on his wife is to ba heard. The report of Saturday's proceedings appear in another column. We learn that in all probability Messrs. Hamlin and Harris, the members for Franklin, will address their constituents in different parts of the electorate during next week. Some time since we drew attention to the letters of our correspondents in the North referring to the quantity of dead fish along the sea beach. We have since seen letters from private sources, which confirm the accounts given by our correspondents in every particular. It is stated that the beach outside Whangarei Heads is still thickly strewn with dead schnapper, and large quantities in addition are cast up by every successive tide. The cause of this extraordinary phenomenon is still unexplained ; but this arises from the difficulty of getting j a specimen fish in a sufficiently sound condition to withstand decomposition until some skilled observer can examine it. None of the conjectures already formed are satisfactory. It would ba well if some settler would turn hiß attention to the selection of a few subjects, and place them in a hermeti-cally-sealed vessel, or in spirits. Most of the fish, we understand, are in a semidecomposed state before being cast up by the sea. Mr. Sheehan, it is understood, will ad-. dreßS his Thames constituents at the end of the present week. The goldfields electors are beginning to enquire about his arrival, and not only there, but at Coromandel, they are anxious to have his political opinions before the Parliament opens. Mr. Sheehan has been busily occupied since his return to Auckland, otherwise he would have called a meeting of the electors before. The larrikin element in Auckland is certainly on the inorease. The readiest opening they find for their peculiar dispositions at present seems to be to annoy those who, on Sunday evenings, take up the position of street preachers. Around the places taken up, the larrikin element delights to congregate—not for the purpose of receiving instruction, but in pursuit of their instincts. One preacher, holding forth at the Grey-street fire-bell last night, seemed to be fully alive to the dangers of his position, and was thankful for small mercies. At the close of hi 3 address he said, " I thank you for your civility; I thank you for not throwing stones at us ; I thank yon that you are not pasting us with rotten eggs ; and I thank you that you have not taken out yonr knive3 and let our puddings out!" The crowd, eagerly listening to the latter portion of the address, appeared amnsed at the novel form of thanks, and were dispersed without difficulty by a few members of the police force. We are informed that an information has been sworn against Constable Abrams, of Alexandra, lately in charge of the Newton station, charging him with indecently assaulting a young woman, formerly an inmate of the Industrial Home. The case is to come on for hearing at the Auckland Police Court to-morrow. The Rev. J. Robertson, at Beresfordatreefc Chapel, yesterday, in stating that at the close of the service the Sacrament of the Last Supper would be administered, said that at tne last Church meeting it had been unanimously resolved that unfermented wine should be used in future, and a supply had been obtained.

We hear of general comphdntafrT" farmers and settlers in the cocintrv H f on account of the long continued dronoKf** rain is anxiously looked for by them The Rev. JohuHobbs, o! . who was for more than a quarter of a e » stationed as a Wesleyan Hokianga, contributes the following h 31 of comment on the paragraph In issue, relative to the removal of , of the rata from Papaknra to the ft?® 511 ment Domain :—" I consider the rati f tra " a very valuable tree and worthy of all ** care that may be spent upon it if '' a; mirably adapted for boat kneea, a tern, being in that respect like the pohntni- ' It flourishes largely in the Hokianga Our mission boat was built in g , ciand in a short time needed repairing ey * wood was too soft. We replaced the''l 5 ing with New Zealand timber, the ► being of rata, and twenty years' after*, ? the stern was as sound as erer. The fe l ■ is also excellent for boat-buildm? ,°v • planking, and the heart especially l!? 5 L if not superior to British oak." "' A Mr. Evenden, at Wellington W v haunting the Government offices to as CP f- a what blocks of land are at the disoo«l - the Government, in order to complex lecture upon "Land for, thePeoDlei„,i\ to get it." The lecture was nost™ ? owing to the small attendance, and t • quite clear, notwithstanding the howl k-f land, that a large number of d^odl* quite indifferent as to "how to get it" lte At the annual session of the T • S ,° Q^ U , St !? lia ' I -°; I G - T -(English otf't held at Adelaide recently, a sum ot £SQ voted towards paying the y" Joseph Malins, the celebrated secessiocV to enable him to visit the colonies \r!' Malins is an able lecturer, and waa 'cne = the many enlightened representatives wh" 1 left the- American order in con2eqa eilc , : their declining to recognise the equairHti of the negro as members of the order. e 4 Pedestrians in Queen-street on Satnr<knight were put to much inconvenience bbeing hustled off the footpath by Dlc [. •• crowds collected in front of a place abort the Theatre Koyal, where a Clieai Job, I was holding forth with stentorian" vaunting the bargains which he had jasale, and a little fnrther on a similar crowl was collected to listen to the persuasV eloquence of the man who was laudina tb wonderful speaking machine, as he fejij nated the phonograph. A third crowd obstructed the footpath near the Aib=r' Hotel, where the speaking head tvis "Jj exhibition. The police on duty shocM eodeavonr to prevent crowds occupying th* footpath in this manner, and compel to leave same space clear for pedestrian." The Neio Zealand, Times gays walking mania appears to have taken qufe an extraordinary hold upon a large secticnof the juveniles of the city. Not a tine evenhj passes that does not witness a number ot ty most determined struggles on the Biaj Reserve, and in several other localities whex the ground is open and sufficiently even f. permit of a course being laid out. it appeirt absurd that youngs tars cf ten or twlrj should not only talk of a ' ten mile spa' but actually go through it; yet we are ii j position to say that several contests, c which such a distance had to be corerei, have taken place, the distance being kept ii a most conscientious manner. As some 0; the boys show a very fair style, they on-h; to make good athletes when they hivj reached the age of manhood."

The following extract relating to the prj. oeedings o£ the General Synod on April 2i, is from the report of the Lytlellon Tima:- " Tho Rev. W. P. Tanner then moved, Tai no persons shall be entitled to receive ii; offices of the Chnrch except those sthoa names are on the churchwarden's hook-a having contributed by way of offering certain optional amounts, to be called ckra dues. Provided that the services of tie Church shall be at any time given at fa request of any two members who may be y. the time fulfilling the afore-mentioned iotj.' He spoke in favour of the motion at son; length. The Bishop of Melanesia, in strosj term', deprecated the motion being pat He hoped that no record of it would appa: upon tho minutes. The Rev. TV. P. Tanner wished to make another observation or two, but was met with cries of 'order.' Tz>. motion was not seconded." Oar own correspondent at Kawakawj, Bay of Islands, writes :—" Anxionj inquiries are being made as to whether there is to a Resident Magistrate appointed for this district, in the place" of Mr. Edward Williams, who has retired npon a pension. No small amount of inconvenience is felt by those who must have recourse to the District Court for the recovery of debts. The weather is too fine for vegetation." The inmates of the police cells last n : ;'ai were—one man, on a charge of lunacy; aid seven othors on charges of drunkenness. The Constable in charge of the Dargarii!; station, Constable Burke, came to town 02 Saturday, in charge of three prisoners wb had been convicted and sentenced at the local Court. Two of those, William Henry and Edward Wright, were each sentenced to three months' imprisonment, with hrl labour ; and the third, Alexander Bain, to one month's imprisonment, with hardUboirA prisoner named Gaffney waE also broagit to town on Saturday from flokianga, unfa sentence of a month's imprisonment. Tia fonr prisoners were forwarded on to Mom* Eden. The Southern journals state thatamosi rigorous economy has been practised on tie Civil Service Comraisson. There has bsi no junkettings with heads of depart me;-' summoned to give evidence, but simp-J careful taking of evidence, and a couriers action. A guinea each has to cover all tM expenses of members of the Commission. The Canterbury Press, in an articled " Colonial Defence," expresses a hopeW* the General Assembly will deal with tte question at the ensuing nession in a sitefactory manner. On Sunday morning, just as St. Thou* 5 Church bell rang out for worship, a cp might have been seen tackiDg through right-of-way on the west side of the chc:;! connecting Union and Napier streets. Mf ing from his appearance he must have what is denominated by the Licensing 1 ; ' "a traveller," and had adjourned ir® labour to refreshment. Just as he the side of the church he went heels down the declivity, being brought? by the fence. The incident wa3 a signiE-' commentary on our licensing laws, and Jj£ turned out, a pretty good illustration of old adage, " The nearer the chnrch further from grace." "Agricola" writes that ia his years' exparience in farming he never M? caterpillars to he so bad as they are ,^ season—bad, too, notwithstanding the aodance of pheasants and small birds. visitation is something terrible. One sew * had kept a paddock closed up wr a w _ with the intention of baying s o ® s ,-" 0 stock to put in :t. But jnst before he about to purchase, he discovered t.a - grass was all gone. On some farms a blade of grass can be seen. In ODe ,P " s cular locality another settler, going a ° rl road in his dray, drove throngh or 0 colony of caterpillars, that happen?? crossing the road at the time. wheels were actually wet from era: pests, which were there in ~. Whether the visitation is only general has not yet been disclosed.

At the Bereaford-street Congregational Church, last night, the Rev. J. Robertson nreached the funeral sermon of the late Mrs. Macdonald. The text was—l. Cor., ui. chap., 21, 22, 23 v. There was a large congregation. The New Zealand Times has tho following regarding Mr. Speight's address to the elector.? of City East" We cannot congratulate .Mr. Speight on hia speech m»de last ni'-ht at Auckland. Judging from the telegraphic summary, it must have been the veriest drivel uttered in public since the close of the last session. Mr. Arthur Sketchley, who opens the Theatre Lloyal this evening for a series of entertainments, consisting chiefly of social portraiture, cornea so recommended by the most reliable London critics, that 16 is scarcely possible to doubt he is most amusing and talented as a performer. rs - Brown at the Play" has been an established character for more than one London season. In addition, a new comedy from the French, °r.titled " Love's Duel," will be produced, in which Messrs. Ste ele, O'Brien, and Haygarth, Miss Wilton and Miss Duke, will anpeir. The performance will be under the patronage of His Worship the Mayor (Mr. T. Pc%co:k), Cjmmodore Wilson and. the officers of H.M. s. Wolverine, Captain Shuden aud the officers of H.I.G.M. s. Nautilus. On Wednesday last the telegraphic account of the circumstances connected with the at- ! tempt to burn the offices of the Municipality of Napier appeared under the heading of '«The Suspected Town Clerk at Napier. This was an error, which we corrccted in the following issue, and arose in consequence of being ignorant of the fact that a staff of clerks were employed by tho Borough of Napier. We have received two telegrams from Napier drawing attention to the inadvertency. One state? (C The Captain Bower, had nothing to do with tho matter of the fire, and was never for one instant suspected of it. He is a highly honourable man, much respectcd in Napier, and bears an irreproachable character. The man arrested on suspicion is named Shaw, and wa3 assistant clerk and collector of rates in the Municipal office." The other telegram, which is from a member of the Borough Council, after referring to the heading above quoted—"This heading is a great mistake, as Shaw, the suspected person, was only a subordinate clerk and receiver of rate?. The mistake, if not pointed out, might prove very prejudicial to our Uighlv respected town clerk, Captain Bower. There is not the slightest ground for suspecting any other person than Shaw, and, as a 1:1-: iiiber of the Corporation and personal friend of Captain Bower, I have to ask that you will give prominence to my correction." As previously intimated, the mistake was corrected on the following day, as soon as it was known that more than one clerk wa3 employed by the Borough Council. That " property has its duty" i 3 likely to be found out by Archibald Anderson Watt, Esq., geutlemin, Dnndee, and certain others, executors of the late James Watt, merchant, Napier. A Gazette notice intimates to these gentlemen that unless two snms ot £743 16s 3d and £SO2 ISs 3d respectively be paid to the town clerk of Napier, two town sections will be sold. These sums, it is stated, have been incurred under the Swamp Nuisances Act, for filling in and reclaiming tho sections in question. The Weat Coast Times says There is 110 doubt whatever now, that a contagious disease, which tWJ of our local medical men pronounce to be diphtheria, is rapidly spreading through the town. There are at present about thirty cises, including several adult?, and three deaths have occurred, one, the last, yesterday morning of a girl 13 years old, after 36 hours illness. This was a moat malignant cise, and it is to be regretted that another child in the same family is seriously ill. The Sunday schools were not opened on Sunday, and all gatherings of children especially are to be avoided as much as possible. Two essays will be read before the St. James's Association at the meeting to-night; one by Mr. J. D. Schmidt on "Prejudice," ana another on " New Zealand as a Field for Immigration," by Mr. G. R. McNab. We heard an Auckland citizen grumbling the other day because he had been an hour in the train coming from Onehunga, aud we observe that a Southern paper is complaining because on the Waimate branch line a train took on one occasion forty-one minutes to go five miles, and the second occasion, on the same day, an hoar and twelve minutes. On Saturday the wild beasts were interviewed by a very large number of people, especially in the afternoon and evening. So crowded was the tent in the evening, and so uawilling were the people to leave, that it was long after che usual hour for closing when the tent was elosed. Abstractedly considered, there is nothing wrong in putting dogs into the sea to swim ; in fact, we might go farther and assert tbat it generally is beneficial, as it cleanses and pleases the dog and delights his master. But there are circumstances under which things, in themselves commendable, become sources of inconvenience. Such is the experience of the Water Police with regard to swimming dogs at the watermen's steps. Our canine friends, when they come out of the water, pause upon the steps to shake their dripping coats. This leaves the stairs in a condition which, should ladies' dresses come in contact with them, would sadly injure their apparel, and render them uncomfortable ; and, for the ladies' sake, we would ask those who swim their dogs in the harbour not to do 30 at the watermen's steps. Yeatsrday, the German sailors in the Nautilus's steam-launch had their tempers severely tried. As the barge had reached the steps she did not stop there, but ran under the bridge. Her chimney-stack was a bar to progress ; but there was no such ws>rd as fail, and, as something had to give way to the power of steam, the chimney did. A few moments afterwards considerable activity was displayed in effecting temporary repairs. Of the many preachers who usually hold forth on that favourite promenade—the Queen-street Wharf—on Sunday evenings, not one attended to address tho vast number of persons who resorted thither last night to enjoy the sea breeze or others' company.

The ordinary general meeting of the shareholders in the Kaipara Steamship Company (Limited) is advertised to be held this afternoon at 3 o'clock, at the office of Mr. Tothill, Short-land-street. The members of the Loyal United Friends are requested by advertisement to attend the funeral of the late Brother Bassett, who leaves hi 3 late residence, William-street, to-day at 3 o'clock. A public meeting of ratepayers is to be held in the Thistle Hotel on "Wednesday, at XI o'clock, to consider the formation of a dray road through "Waitakerei South Highway District. To-morrow evening Mr. C. Blomfield will begin a new singing class on the tonic sol fa notation in the Congregational School, Newton, when he will deliver a lecture upon the science and practice cf music. It will be illustrated by a large choir and diagrams. The balance-sheet of the county'of Coromandel for the year ending 31st March is published in our advertisement columns. The total receipts have been £4419 2s lid. "When the year closed the assets were £225, and the liabilities £915 12s sd.