THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1881.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6065, 26 April 1881, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald. AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, APRIL 26, 1881.

<p '■— ■ '■ The engineers are about to do for our ' ocean what nature has done for /the Mediterranean or the Baltic. The great : nations will acquire in the ' Panama Canal an outlet which will ■ soon he of far vaster importance than ' I the strait at Gibraltar, not to speak of ' the sound, which is only the entrance i to a by-water. Already not only the ' merchantmen but the navies o£ the ' various maritime Powers are to be seen iii the Pacific, for Russia has a \ j seaboard in one direction; Prance has ' just enlarged her insular possessions hi s . another; Germain , - has aspirations in this way; America has a station at Pago- ° pago,- and the rich colonies of Holland * flank the great basiii. Our sea is fast bec6ming : a highway for the nations, c and all maritime information conecrning them has its interest here as well u as at the other side of the globe. An ', officer of the United States Navy, Mr. ( King, has just published a book on the Navies of the World, in which, from ° statistical returns and personal observa- J 1 tion, lie gives us the latest intelligence, and by his work, supplemented from v other sources, we are able to obtain a r comparative view of their present a standing. c -Just now a navy has two great C 'divisions—the ironclad, which repre- !! sents the old line-of-battle ship ■ and the fast cruiser, which of late has come into so much attention and favour. The mere number of ironclads does J* not tell much. There are such eon- ' stant changes that the model approved c ; a few- years back is now in some cases

onsiclored doubtful, and in others discountenanced altogether. Russia, for instance, has.29 ironclads, but of these we are told that only five can be nowregarded as fit for sea-going or otherwise effective ; and she has built no more since 1576. France has by far and away the greatest navy after England. It includes 42,000 men. In particular, her coasts of Normandy and Brittany, which abound with hardy fishei'men, furnish her with numbers of excellent sailors. Italy conies after France, but with a long interval. Her ' fleet is manned by 10,000 men. The fine peninsular position of Italy, now that she has unity and free, institutions, will make her some day again a great maritime power. Just now sfie has a craze for building enormous ironclads. Austria possesses a very limited seaboard ; but the Dalmatians, who man her fleet, are notably good seamen. Her navy contains SIOO men. The German fleet is small; but the vessels are powerfully armed, and are stated to be in a very complete condition. The seamen and marines are 7300. The strength in men of the Russian navy is not exhibited, for the returns say over 41,000, which is ridiculous. It is supposed that these figures include the labourers in the various dockyards; but, even no, the statement must be au extraordinary exaggeration. There are very few large effective armoured ships, as of late years the. Government has gone in altogether for vessels of the cruiser stamp. When there was lately the excitement of expected war, £700,000 was raised by private subscription, and five fast vessels were purchased in ■ Anierical i The Government also built many, and purchased others, botli in Europe and America •_ and a hundred torpedo vessels were constructed . in . 1879. , Four or five years ago 'Turkey ranked"' next to France in the number of ironclads: But such a fleet is a costlyshifting thing, requiring to be ,con-.... stantly improved and even- renewed;' and in other respects also her navy is ■ on ai; artificial, temporary basis.. There „ is a difficulty in keeping up the supply of sailors. >_Many-rare obtained from : : Albania and from the dependencies on the Barbary coast.; but the Turk, .who is a good, soldier, is no sailor, and the • Greeks, .who are the bulk of the marine : population in the ports, cannot 1 ., of-; , ' course be depended on now. Among..■'<-": the lesser maritime states Holland, it is stated, possesses a fine new fleet of--, cruisers, many of them on' the station '-' of "her,- East ; .lndian; colonies. , The Spanish.nayy,-Mr. King says, has 9000-j good seamen, but'the vessels, ironclads and others, are in very bad condition. : * ;; We see that in- England the naval. . estimates for 188 0-81 : provided. . for 59,000 menTT-of: which .13,000 are- ' marines. There is' ! besides a Naval': Reserve of 20,000. The United States can'scarcely be said _to have.ahylnavy- - now, and Mr. King complains■■ hard-of the inaction of successive administrations in • this way. '/.He . should not forget, however,, that., this is a,; ; well-understood matter of policy with his Government. The United States,, which introduced /the ironclad; ;seem. to be particularly- doubts ful about its future. As their politicians say, " It is for the European States to settle the great dispute between guns and armour, and when they have done so. we will reorganise our "; navy.' . They do not care to spend vast sums,,as is done in Europe, over what is still.an" experiment, practically untested by war. They have- a suspicion that the ironclad .may go out as suddenly as it came in,. and the cost is tremendous. When the Italians constructed the Dandolo and Duilio, each of 10,400 tons displacement, the French built the Admiral.l)uperre of the same size, and the. English built the Inflexible a thousand tons larger. Thereupon the Italians placed- on-the stocks, two more; vessels of still vaster dimensions—the Italia and the Lepanto—each to be of 13,500 tons, and to run 16 knots an hour. And each of these monsters will cost £730,000, without , counting the ._ expense of armament! No wonder that.the Press is at last crying out about this extravagant rivalry over what, after all, may turn out to be useless. It is noticeable that the Germans as well as the Russians are of late devoting their dockyards to a different class of vessels. As for the . difficulty of managing ironclads, we see in the evidence lately taken before Lord DuiTerin's committee, that one admiral, Sir Sydney Daeres, " does not think they can cruise : in" company with safety," and another admiral, Sir Thomas Symonds, believes that "they are unable to save themselves under the commonest circumstances." It is admitted on all hands that the ship in armour "is at best a compromise," which may any day be ended by the developments of the ram or torpedo. But to return to Mi-. King, and sum up. Compared with the two big navies, all the others are of diminutive extent. Italy has a few enormous ironclads. Germany has a small but efficient fleet of all sorts. The Russian is pretty nearly confined to cruisers, some of them belted with armour above the '. water iine. The United States has not a navy at present. - The English and French are the only great fleets, comprehending both ironclads and cruisers. England's are not only superior in number and in facilities for increase, but her ships are at all points the most eflicient. So says Mr. King, who may be accepted as an im- ".'. partial observer. As for the opportunity for improvising additional sruisers, England has 419 merchant steamers, ranging from 1200 to 5000 tons.

The Supreme Court was occupied the iTX of yesterday with the case, the SSual Bank v. Bedell and Field, which Ld not concluded when the Court rose The further hearing was adjourned to Wednes,Hv at 10 The case of Palmer and Bruce tv-is fixed for Thursday next. Jurors summoned for to-day will not be required. Air F D Fenton presided at the District Court yesterday and disposed of the undefended cases which were on the cause list. The defended cases were a 1 adjourned. Several others were dealt with. Mr. Cunningham officiated as Clerk of the Court, by virtue of his appointment as deputy during the absence of Mr. J. B. Stoney.

A number of defended cases in the Resident Magistrate's Court, which were postponed from the rezular sitting of Thursday, were taken yesterday before Mr. Barstow, R "\I None of the cases were of public importance, but an outline of the proceedings is published elsewhere. The case Napier v. Cailliau and others (the Muse case) stands adjourned until Thursday next. The returns from Coromaudel, published in yesterday's issue, were not quite complete, as smelting of gold from the Success mine, exclusive of quartz specimens and general dirt, were omitted. They are as follows : — 260z3. 9dwts., 21ozs. Sdwts., Iloz3. lSgrs. ; total, oSozs. 17dwts. lScrs.

The people of Bpsom. in. particular, and tlioao who travel generally on the Onehunga road, are very much gratified by the dispatch made by the Government in removing the great danger which existed on the road near ttie Epsom Hall. The work was started about three weeks ago, and it is now almost completed. The work is of a most efficient and complete nature, reflecting credit upon the engineer-in-charge, the workmen engaged, and all concerned ; for in addition to to the danger which it has removed, the crown, of a hill, which was a perfect tyrant for tired horaes with heavy loads, lias. been taken away for filling, leaving the site, practically speaking, a level road. There are still a few places on the road between Onehunga and Newmarket which require attention, and it would be a graceful as well as a just, thing if the Government made a complete work of what they, have so well begun. . • ;-.:

Yesterday afternoon was held' a special meeting of - tlie council of; the Acclimatisation Society. It was called to consider the action of :the Government in l'egard to the prohibition of shooting ken pheasants -in the Auckland province. This action is unwise oa their part, especially on the eve of a general election. The pheasants are so numerous in many parts of this province that they are au unmitigated pest to-the toiling -settlers,'-who would be. glad to see them far leas numerous than;they now are. ■ This action: on the. part of the Government' will excite a strong hostile feeling through-; out the province,, as it will be interpreted to mean a tendency on the part of the Govern - ment to go strongly in for game preserves;Thia will be further confirmed when : it is re- 1 memberedthat the present Premier was one of the" very few; who succeeded ;in passing the firetgameilaw inthe colony many years ; ago. The society are- opposed; to '■ the ■ course the Government have resolved -upon,'ami a deputation has been appointed to waifcuipon the Attorney-General on the subject, and to endeavour to obtain their right,': as in former years, to shoot hen. as well as cock pheasants during the open season in. all the province: of Auckland where the settlers desire to exeiV ci3e such a right.

On our third page will be found, the result of several experiments made'yesterday with the Australian lithofracteur, of which Messrs. T. and S. Morrinare the local agents. ; - '■"

The monthly meeting of the Graf ton District School Committee was held last Friday evenitig'atthe Nugent street: school-room at 7.30 p.m.' Present-: Messrs. Laishley (Chairman), Rushbrook, Thomas, and Lankliam. Several-letters and circulars were read from the Board, including letters relating to'the. removal and appointment of teachers, the introduction of the saying stamp system, and tha enlargement of the present'sehbol-build-ings. The committee offered no objections to the Board's proposals in, reuptict of the removal and appointment of teachers,'and preferred not totake any steps towards the introduction of the postage stamp saving system, at the same time expressing no opinion as to its desirability as a system. The committee then adjourned till May 27. A most amusing case will come on. for hearing shortly; at the Police Court, the circumstances of which may be. thus briefly detailed. A week or two ago a man, George O'Brien, charged his partner, a pedlar named Davis, with larceny, but, as it was shown on the trial, that Davis had disposed _of the goods in the way of busines3. (though at a remarkably low .-figure) to a man named Moriarty.he was acquitted. O'Brien, failing to get satisfaction at law, went up to Moriarty's ',house,...and took it out of the goods by ; . smashing them. . Moriarty thereupon rushed for the police-station to j take out a warrant against O'Brien : for malicious destruction of property ; .but, true to Milesian instincts and .training— " wherever you ,-see.. a. : head,r hit it !"r—he could not: resist,the temptation of ■ punching tho head of.ah .old acquaintance whom, he encountered on his way tbjthe lock-up. The result was that he and ; his friend went, to the lock-\ip in company with a constable, and both got 14 days' imprisonment for the parts they had: respectively played in .the new- difficulty. : Moriarty's , sentence lias just expired, and,, true to his. original intention, he has taken out a warrant against O'Brien, but this time he carefully, controlled his feeling 3 till.he obtained it, as, he has learned to hi 3 sorrow, the soundness of the aphorism of the Hebrew seer—" There is a time to hate, a time of war, and a time or peace.". ..■• ■ -...-. > .■ " . :, ■ '■:

A very interesting meeting was held last uifht atthe Young Men's phristiau Association Rooms, ori the occasion of bidding farewell to the Bevi C. H. Pym. Mr. Pym has been for several'months in New Zealand, and has conducted mission services in the prmcipal centres of-population. ■ During his stay in Auckland he has been-most enthusiastic iu his work, not sparing himself iu any way, | arc! the recognition which, he received last ni -'lit was richly deserved. Mr. Pym is an Au£;lieau minister, and now returns to England to take charge of a parish. - - The water police, under Sergeant Martin, were engaged yesterday afternoon, at low tide, in dragging Brick Bay for the bodies of the unfortunate men, Druinmond and O Sullivan, drowned on Sunday evening last. One of the men who was saved accompanied them, but as tlie boat's prapnel fell out in capsizing, thus mooring her, there was no difficulty in finding the locality of the accident. Thesearch was unsuccessful, and will be resumed to-day. . , '

In the account of the drowning case reported in the Herald of yesterday Mr. Allen was made to appear as a single man. We have since learned that he., has-been marriedupwards of six years, and is the lather of four little children. Mr. Allen has been employed for a considerable .time past in the Union iSash and Door. Company's. Works, Mechanics' Bay, and lives with his family m Bath-street, Parnell. ; : . : :

The proposed debate on the Separation and Federation of the Australasian Colonies did not eventuate at the meeting of the St. James' Glas3 last iiight. : After considerable discussion on a motion for 'adjournment,some of the members retired from the meeting, and a count-out was the result.

The barque Loch Dee was berthed yesterday, and the New Zealaud Shipping Compmy are sparing no efforts to facilitate the discharging. As much, however, depends on the consignees as on the agents. Some are in urgent want of their goods, others may not be so situated, but as the Customs require all entries passed before allowing the discharging to commence, it is of the greatest importance that all should pass their entries to-day, for even if any are not in immediate need of their goods neglecting to do so it ma}- seriously incommode their fellow importers. Another reason why a helping hand in this respect should be given i 3 that there is a great quantity of produce of various kinds awaiting shipment to London, and the quicker the vessel is discharged the earlier she will be in a position to load for London.

Messrs. L. J. Bagnall and "W. Wilkinson have baen appointed members of the Licensing Courts for the districts of Hauraki and Thames, in the place of Messrs. E. W. I'uckey and VT. Souter resigned.

A New Zealand Gazette issued on the 14th inst., contains a proclamation giving the right to kill cock pheasants and Californian and Australian quail in the Auckland district, from the Ist May to the 31st July. Licensee to kill such game are to be issued for 40s. each, and licenses to sell game at £5 each.

The increased attendance at the suburban public schools has necessitated the extension of school accommodation for the children. At Newtcn East School (Mr. Bhutan's) a further addition is now being made, but owing to the limited area of the ground on which the present buildings stand, it ha 3 been found necessary to purchase three building allotments on the opposite side of Upper Queen-street, having a frontage of 14.5 feet, by a depth of 100 feet, upon which the new building will be erected. It will be subdivided into three large rooms, 40 x 22, with verandah at back for shelter in wet weather, and will give accommodation to •200 children. The area for playground is very small, but it was impossible to obviate this defect. to the inequality of the ground, the foundations have been made of brick. Me3sr3. Hewsou and McComish are the contractors, and the cost is £1300, including fencing, out-offices, &c, bufc does not include desk furniture, &c. A belfry will be placed on the building. ; The plans were made out by Mr Alwright. Inspector of School Buildings. It is anticipated that when the new building is finished it will be made a girls' school, and a number of the girls drafted to it from Newton East, so as to give accommodation to the boys now being turned away by Mr. Bindon,, owing to' want of room for them. ' . .

■ Some of the Chinese; residents in the suburbs; are under the impression that one of their countrymen , has met foul play, and he appears to have disappeared mysteriously. The police fire liot, however,:.of.that >yay of thinking ; and incline to the opinion that lie may,have gone further into the;country .to obtain work.. ; ; - '.' ,-■■ _._■! : .

. The new addition to the Pousonby School buildings is ; well advanced towards completion. On the default-6E the successful con : tractor, the tender of the : next competitor;■ Mr. E. Mills, was accepted. His estimate was almost £90 higher than the first man's.

It js anticipated that' the; new/Church of St. Sepulchre Svill be finished to' contract time—26th of May.' The whole of the exterior has been completed, save the covering of the spire. lii !the iuterioi: the whole of the flooring, lihing,"&c, .has been dohe'with the exception of the "dado and chancel screens. The seats, &c, are in progress of construction, so-that no time will be lost in putting in the necessary fittings'. , ; .;;

We have had.ithe pleasure of seeing some, photographs beautifully coloured by Miss Stuart. These works of art are the productior of the well-known, photographic artist, Taber, of San Erancisco, who was also the author of the picture of Emily Melville, as Josephine in " Pinafore, ". coloured and exhibited by Miss Stuart in .the late Exhibition, and which deserved and obtained such-high encomiums. . • •: --.'•■■■

The social gathering of the members'of the Saturday Afternoon-Recreation Club has been definitely fixed for Friday evening, May 6. The committee have arranged a programme; and a pleasant termination to a: most successful season is anticipated.

A special meeting of ratepayers of the Ponsonby Highway District. will take place this evening at 7.30, in the Ponsonby Hall. It is understood that the business is about the accounts of: the Board, although, in view of possible legal proceedings, it has not been deemed politic to state the business in definite terms. . A lively meeting is an-, tieipated. . ..:!.'.■. '

The by-law enforcing the numbering of the houses in Auckland is to be brought into operation, and owners failing to comply with the terms thereof are liable to a fine of 40s, and the expense of inimbering such premises. The enforced numbering: of the houses is causina no little annoyance amongst business people'as many of the numbers will be changed. Some'complain that such an act will seriously affect their business. '

According to the Mar ton paper, Gaelic is not yet a dead language in New Zealand. Recently au ancient " Hielan man" waited upon tlie Raiigitikei- Highway Board with a Ion"-string ot complaints, and he being unable to give intelligent expression to his idea in the language of the once hated "Southern," the acting-chairman, Mr. A. Simpson, came to the rescue, and put matters straight in a " jiffey" by talking to him in the language of his fathers. The old man was so delighted at hearing Gaelic that he departed quite satisfied, though he had come with the intention of fighting his battle out to " the bitter end."

The Wairarapa Standard says :—' We are informed that the necessities of the telegraphic servants have been so great, in some instances, from reductions and.the expenses they have been put toin consequence ot their removals, that they have been compelled to borrow money from their fine fund to enable them to provide the necessaries of Me for themselves and their fam.l.es. .Whatever may be our financial difficulties, it is to be hoped that members of the House will lay, this fact to their hearts, and, in the desire tospare the calls on. the colonial chest, will not infiiet needless privation on a body of men who perform the hardest work in the service on the lo\vest pay."

A curious story is related by the Rangitikei Advocate. An individual, whom. it_ calls MeFull, had been imbibing rather copiously, and was getting home in a dray in company with a. bottle of whisky and severaTother ■ friends. In the course of the journey, McluiU must have fallen out from the tail end ot the dray, where he was sitting in company with the whisky bottle, foratter the friends had "ot about live miles lrom the township, they°became aware that lie was missing. ■ They pulled up, proceeded to make a search, and found him about half-.vmilo in the rear. They brought him along to where the horse was standing, and inspired by " bold John Barleycorn," he began to punch the horses head. The animal, not liking this unprovoked ii-sault "went for him," and striking him with his fore foot over the left eye, rushed right over him, and bolted at the top of his speed The unfortunate man was picked up senseless, and his companions had to go back to the township from which they hadstarted for: a conveyance in which to carry him home.

There were only two prisoners in the lockup last evening, namely, Theresa Hand and jfargaret Leeks, arrested on warrant for maliciously breaking three panes of glass, the property of Jane Avery.

An example of sangfroid worth noting was given recently at Breslau by the compositors of the Schlesiche Zeitiing. A serious fire having broken out in one of the buildings of the oince, the compositors of the office went on steadily with their work, in spite of the raging of the flames in the adjacent building and the bewildering turmoil and excitement which prevailed. The tire was subdued by the time the compositors had finished their work, and the paper was published without the loss of a minute.

The following is the state of Her Majesty's Gaol, Auckland, for the week ending April 23rd, ISSI :— On remand, 12 males; awaiting trial, 2 males; penal servitude, 3S males ; hard labour, 91 males, 23 females; default of bail, 2 males, 1 female; received during the -week, 2G males, S females ; discharged, 22 males, 7 females ; total in gaol 145 males, 24 females. The following is the report of the Auckland Lunatic Asylum and Old Hospital Auxiliary, for the week encing April 23 : — Remaining last week, 237 ; admitted, 3 ; discharged, 3 ; died, 0. Remaining : Males, 165 ; females, 72 : total, 237. Thanks are returned to the Trustees of the Whau Public Library, for two large packages of illustrated papers, kiudly sent'per Mr. Gleuuy, for the amusement of the patients. Notice.— T. B. Hill takes this opportunity of returning his sincere thanks to all his friends, old customers, and the public in general, for past favours, and to inform thorn that he has resumed business, and will bo glad to see all the old faces again, and as many new ones as possible. -Pharmacy and General Medicine Warehouse, opposite the Theatre Koyal, Queen-street, Auckland. , '_ The anniversary soiree of the Wellesleystreet Baptist Sunday-school will take place this evening at 0.30 p.m., at tho rooms of the Young Men's Christian Association, when interesting addresses will be given on special topics by the Kevs. D. W. Runciman, T. Hodgson, It. F. ilacnicol, and James Guy. A notice appears in our advertising columns that tho jurors in the case of Palmer v. Bruce need not attend until Thursday at 10 o'clock. ' Messrs. Hunter and Nolan a.rii to sell at , the premises of Mr. J. D. Freeman, Papatoitoi, on - Saturday, his dairy cows, horses, farming implements, { etc., as ho is leaving the colony. ... '. The annual meeting oL members of the .] Onehunga Perpetual, land, Building, and Invest- ( ment Society is advertised to be held on the 29th instant at S o'clock. ' . ■ . ,