THE New Zeland Herald AND DAILY SOOTHERS CROSS. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1881.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6066, 27 April 1881, Page 4

THE New Zeland Herald AND DAILY SOOTHERS CROSS. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1881.

It is to be hoped that the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce will be wiser than the gentleman who is stimulating it to promote the establishment of a direct line of steamers to and from that! port to England, and that the Union Co. will not be beguiled into the adoption of so imprudent an enterprise". We have a tentative effort at direct communication by the auxiliary steam vessels of Messrs. Money Wigram and Sons, which have made very fair time, and apparently had a considerable measure of success, but they prefer Wellington and Christchurch for their New Zealand ports, and no.doubt for some good reason, because" it might naturally be expected that they would otherwise make tlie ■ chief port of the colony, in some respects, the point of arrival and departure. The proposal made to the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce is that the Government should jjj'e urged to abandon the subsidy to the San Francisco line, and pay £20,000 a year to a direct line, or guarantee three per cent, on the capital invested. .... It -must be admitted that the- monetary aspect of the matter is a very modest one; and we are afraidit must be said very absurd, look at it from, what pqint.of view we may. It is.contemplated that the San Francisco' service' should' be' abandoned, at a time ■when, company is maturing its arrangements for increased speed, when' the United* Slates Government has made a large;'concession in the matter of .an ..excellent" pf6sp"ect" qfra^sp.ls|idy~being _ "c6nceded by. and'.when too every effort is being.inade develop, iv.trade between the two countries. The President and his'- colleague's 'are , so fully alive to the decadence of-the commercial marine of their country as to be prepared- •• to ; assist it with State funds, and Mr. Blair, who has joined the Cabinet of -General Garfield, is the most prominent and active advocate of the system. There is an excellent prospect, therefore,' of the P.M. Co. being subsidised, and seeing its way to launch out. .

The present, then, is not the most felicitous tinie for ..proposing to abolish the service and sever all connection between this colony; and. the States. But even if it was, of what use would a subsidy of .£20,000 or a guarantee, of 3 per cent, be to a direct line? If it were to be a mail line large vessels would be required to maintain a high rate of speed, and as it would have only the trade of this colony to depend upon, a subsidy of ,£20,000 would be laughed at, and no less so a guarantee that at the worst the capital employed should earn 3 per cent. Steamship companies ■would deem this last hope o£ salvation very much akin to perdition. If a direct line be desirable, it is certainly net so at the sacrifice of the American trade by way of San Francisco, carried by a company which costs the colony only about half £20,000, because of the sum recouped the revenue by postages. If a direct line were worked with lai'ge vessels and made a mail line, if it were to be of any use to the colony, it must come to and sail from Auckland, would certainly require a subsidy in excess of that paid to the Pacific Mail Co., only a portion of which would be recouped by postages, and there would be no New South "Wales to halve it with us. So a direct line could not make X>unedin its terminus, and would cost about five times as much as the line it is proposed to extinguish.

There is another feature in connection with this matter. The subsidy to the Pacific Mail Co. cannot be abrogated ■without a prolonged notice, and moreover, the subsidy is a joint undertaking, and New South Wales would have to be consulted. Sir Henry Parkes has a far reaching mind, the commencement of the Panama Canalwill not have been lost upon him, and he would be indisposed to end an arrangement which costs his colony butlittle, and may assume the other and favourable shape of a powerful company making the direct voyage by way of the canal. The Union Co. will smile, we suspect, at the proposal made in Duncdin. It could not use any of its present vessels, and would, therefore, have to construct others. They must be large to attain great speed, and at the same time prove remunerative, and they are asked to do this on the termsweliave indicated, with the certainty that they could not commence the service within eighteen months or two years, and with the knowledge that, in the course of about six years, the Panama Canal would be open, and that they would have to meet the competition of per-

haps several lines of English vessels. The Union .Co. is powerful, and well managed, but in a competition of that kind there would be but one result, a result disastrous to it, and from which Dunedin certainly could never save it No colonial line of direct steamers could contend against powerful English companies. The line of Messrs. Money Wigrarn and Sons had a fine Melbourne trade, the Orient Co. came in with its greater strength, and swept its rival out of the field in a very short time. As soon as the Panama Canal is completed, we shall have an Orient line which will make Sydney its furthest port in these seas and Auckland its nearest. It is as certain as anything not yet done, and what would then be the position of the Union Co. They understand their business a great deal too well to follow any such mirage, and we would think that the Dune.din Chamber o£ Commerce would have far too great sense to supportthe proposition which has been made to it. With the Panama Canal in hand, now is not the- time to touch or alter'lines of steamers. The policy is to rest on our oars and watch events. We shall have a direct line that way, making splendid time, and without receiving. a penny of subsidy. In any case it is absurd to talk of Dunedin as the port for a direct line of steamers, for it has assuredly less claim than any one of those which are the crowning glory of this grand colony. -;

The approaching arrival of 3SO Chinese by the Hero from Sydney, is an event which again brings to the point the question of. Chinese immigration. Another batch of 350 is expected almost immediately,in Sydney, of these probably we shall get a portion, and we are further told that there is to be a large exodus of Mongolians from China; In the meantime" the coal-miners of Newcastle, in New South Wales, are raising their voice against the irnniigration, and contemplate taking "steps to prevent the employment of Chinese in-the mines. ,-Tt is a great pity ; that so wide a difference of - opinion existed at the late Intercolonial- Conference : in Sydney, .because "it is.quite time that this matter were settled on an intelligible basis, and the Conference afforded an excellent .opportunity. The cause of the difference was .the approval by some members of / the .-Queensland Bill;., restricting, but., notuprohibiting, the introduction of Chinese, a measure, the 'success' 'of -"which is ..to a great extent indicated by the fact , that .the influx now' passes that- colony,.and-is poured into? New South iWales and this colony; : -whefe it' "can -enter ' without- any : '6bstrue'tioii. ; ■" There' , reason, why the attention of the.>. Chinese should.'be turned to ■ this colony.; it offers them no particular;,- mining opportunities, nor, so ..far as we are aware, any - such exceptional advantages as they would be likelyy ,tq ; priSe: Governments seldom loolc beyond their noses, but we -trust that in this instance the Premier will make it his duty to ascertain what it is we may expect in the way of this invasion. It would doubtless be necessary .to do- it r by the round-about method of a communication to the Colonial Office through the Governor: the Colonial Office would refer it to the Foreign Office, which would refer it to the British Consuls in China, and probably .some time next year we might learn as much as would necessitate further inquiry .and more delay. . A- cable message, with a request that all information might be sought by cable at the colony's expense would, however, prevent much of this delay, and if Mr. Hall is disinclined to proceed without further information, it is to be hoped he will adopt this means of saving time. But have we not all the information we require 1 Do we not know that Queensland and Victoria have placed a barrier in the way of this immigration, and do we not see that unless we wish to be swamped we must also protect ourselves, though not necessarily in like manner?' The Americans have done the. same, have even gone much further, and it seems to us that during the approaching session of Parliament the Government should introduce a measure which would prevent the colony being overrun with a far from desirable kind of immigrant. If that be not done, a long interval must elapse before the plague can. be stayed, and in the meantime much mischief will have been done. We are much mistaken if the working classes will not raise this question at the general election, and i£ Mr. Hall has any tact he will avert the intrusion of this aberration by anticipating it.

Ou the arrival of the s.s. City of Sydney from Sydney yesterday, the Hon. Fredk. Whitaker, Mr. J. M. Clark (Mayor), Mr. Seymour George (M..H.R.), and several ladies, who had known Lady Gordon at Fiji or in Auckland, proceeded in the Customs launch to meet her Ladyship. Lady Gordon, with the Misses Gordon, Captain Knollys (A.jD.G to Sir Arthur Gordon), and her suite, were conveyed iu the launch to the wharf. There a carriage was waiting, in which Lady Gordon and family proceeded to Onehunga. Our Onehunga correspondent writes : — r "Lady Gordon and family came out by road yesterday afternoon, reaching Onehunga about 2 o'clock. The Hou. the Attorney-General having arrived shortly before, escorted her Ladyship down the wharf aud on board the liiuemoa. Lady Gordon and family remained on board the steamer all night, and will leave about S o'clock this morning for Wellington."

There was rather an animated meeting held by the ratepayers of Ponsonby last night. It seemed to rain libels on every side. Wli.it is to come of this very plain speaking it is difficult to sa}*. The Supreme Court may make the language plainer before long. Wo can only refer our readers to the report.

The additions at the City Baths are now completed, and it is anticipated that the 'baths will be available for ladies either today or to-morrow. All that is lacking is the "danger" flag, which is being manufactured at Anderson and Co.'s. The bathkeeper intends to keep refreshments for sale on the premises, such as tea, coffee, lemonade, fruit, biscuits, &c, which will be a Teat boon Lo visitors. The western side of the baths, which was exposed to view, has been partitioned in front, and a palisading will be put up breast high on the north side, where the platform is within the range of two or three houses in Hardinge-street, and when the latter alteration is made the most fastidious will have no cause of complaint. Probably some dres3ing-rooms will be put up in the ladies' compartment, in order to make it comfortable and attractive.

The twenty-first annual meeting in connection with St. Stephen's Orphan Home, Parnell, was held last night. His Worship the Mayor of Auckland presided. St. Paul's ehoir attended, and sang several musical selections, Mr. Forrest presidingatthe piano. The report and balance-sheet submitted were of a most satisfactory nature. A x-eport of the proceedings is published elsewhere.

The re-numbering of the houses in Queonatrcet, upon which the City Council is bent, is likely to cause a good deal of trouble. From all accounts, too, if resistance is made, more than one case will be brought into the law Courts, in consequence of the damage it is alleged will be sustained by business people who have extensively advertised the number of their premises. It is said th?t the renumbering of the houses was necessitated by the large increase which had been made in the shop 3, &c, since the last' numbers were given by the defunct City Board, but if there is truth in this statement, it appears strange that many have had assigned to them a lower instead'of a highernumber than that by which the premises is now known. One case of particular hardship has been mentioned to us where a firm have long prominently advertise-:! the number of their premises as the place to find such and such things, and by the arrangement made by the City Council this firm is to be assigned a lower number than that now given to the premises, aiid the old number is proposed to be given to another firm in the same line of business six doors further along the street. -Such a- : case is certainly one of real hardship. There was talk yesterday of combined action being taken by the ratepayers on this matter which many view in a seribns light.'

The s.s'. City of Sydney took' a ; large number of passengers .yesterday. Amongst them vj Dr. Moran, R.C. Bishop-of Diuiedin, who is on his way -to Europe,: where.he intends to visit Rome. A large number of the Roman Catliolic clergy and some prominent laymen went to the steamer .to say farewell to the Bishop, who is well-known in this diocese, and for r sbme time administered.its affairs. Some thirty or. forty Mormon converts from Canterbury were also passengers eiiroiite to the Salt Lake, : The Hon. Thomas King", Minister of.Education in South -Australia.'and proprietor of the South Australian Axlvertiser, was .a. through passenger : to Europe. Mr. Euig,,STljo is a self-made man, is accorhpanied by some members of his family.

. .'A great many; will lieax with* feelings of; sincere regret of "the r death of Mr ; Frederick j Hewin, which took place yesterday at T his; residence, Alexandra-street:: :.■ Mlv-Hewin his j •been for many years in businessiiti'tliis city,, first by himself, .and afterwards'in partner-; ship, -with his 'brother, and' his • probity - and : straightforward conduct as a business nian; and a.friend, gained for'him the. esteem of all ,with whom he was brought into contact. : .Mr. .Hewin took a'deep and active interest;! in the -working of the Education Act, and; has been for several years a member- of theCity Schools Committee. He consistently and j earnestly devoted himself to the duties of' his office, and was scarcely ever absent from a meeting of that: body. A few weeks ago : Mr. Hewin was attacked by a paralysis of: Hip. spine, and for ootne time past no hopes; of his recovery have been entertained: The' funeral takes place to-d ay at half-past ■ 3.:

At the last session of the TFesleyan Methodist Conference held at Nelson, the Rev. Alexander Reid was appointed ;the.represtn- l tative of New Zealand at the CBeumenical Council of Methodists, to be held, in London in July next. This general .Council is held ostensibly to bring representatives of all the ■■ various sections of the, Methodist body together for the purpose of conferring together to see" if some common ground cannot be found for the purpose of reuniting the various sections of . this religious body. New Zealand will be represented by one clerical and one lay representative. The lay representative selected is a merchant in Christchurch, who is at present in London. Rev. Mr. Reid was a passenger yesterday by the mail steameronhisway to London, and was tmsilv occupied for some time shaking hands and "bidding farewell to many of his Auckland friends. For several years the Rev. Mr. Reid was the Siiperintendent of the Aucklan d district, and is thus well known and highly re3pectsd. He is now stationed in the Christchurch district, and we believe that h"i3 congregation will provide for the pulpit duties during his absence without making any deduction from his ordinary remuneration. He will probably be absent from the colony about twelve months.

The Thames Star, speaking of the reduction of miners' wages, says : —" Had a thunderbolt fallen in the midst of our mining commuuity, it would not have occasioned more surprise than did the announcement of the reduction of the miners' wages on Saturday. The men arc very sore about it, and we consider the action of the directors of the Moanataiari and Kuranui Hill mines illadvised. In the Moanataiari the reduction will effect a saving of £500 per annum, or' about 9d per share. Now if the haiids m the mine determined to give the shareholders' work commensurate with the wages they are receiving, we feel sure that £500 per annum would be a mere bagatelle to the loss they would susitain. Many may be inclined to favour the depreciation of the value of labour, but the miners are scarcely the first who should be docked. Their occupation may fairly be classed as skilled labour, and in addition to being dangerous, statistics show that the average life of a miner is ten years shorter than the generality of occupations. We have no doubt that other mines will ' follow the example of the Moanataiari and Kuranui Hill, and can foresee that the result will be the miners banding themselves together on the trade-union principle.'

We leam that the congregation of the Parnell Wesleyan Church has been greatly annoyed lately by the larrikinism of a number of boys who congregate outside the church during the hours of Divine service. On Sunday ; nWit the Rev. W. C. Oliver, the officiating mfmster, was compelled to pause during the service until the interruption ceased. \\ c are sure that the attention of the terideut of Police has only to be drawn to the matter for that energetic officer to promptly take steps to suppress the annoyance. The police searched some time yesterday forenoon for the bodies of the men who were drowned on Sunday afternoon, but without avail. The boat was righted yesterday, and the fish which had been caught wero found lying under it, so that it is conjectured that the Witch had sunk where found. At hi"h tide there is a considerable depth of water, but when the tide is low it in quite shallow, probably not exceeding two feet.

On several occasions we have drawn attention to the general state of impurity of the Auckland water supply. It'is not only always more or less subject to the impurity of being a considerable amount of clay and such like mineral matter in suspension, but that it contains organic matter in considerable quantities, i.3 also evident. This has been frequently stated, and is often denied, but of the trutli of the charge there appears tT be little or no doubt. Lately, Mr. Montague had a bottle of water drawn from his service supply which was swarming with animal life, a large number of little creatures were swimming about in the bottled water in a very lively manner. They possessed large, bright, black eyes, and were generally shaped something like tiny flat fish. It is time that something were done to render the water supply fit for human consumption. With such a vast number of creatures swinging about in it it may be suitable enough for extinguishing firC3 or flushing sewers, but certainly not for drinking purposes or the preparation of human food.

In our obituary column has appeared a notice of the death of Mr. Henry Vernon at his residence, Ponsonby. About fourteen years ago there were few citizens in Auckland better known than Mr. Vernon, who for many years had occupied- the position of sheriffs bailiff uuder the late Colonel Balneavis, who was then sheriff of Auckland. Soon after the opening of the Thames goldfield Mr.. Vernon resigned his office and threw in his lot with the new venture. He speculated to a considerable extent in mining interests with varying fortune, but was on the whole unsuccessful. During his residence at the Thames he took an active part in local politics and in Road Board and other matters. For some time past his health has been failing, and he came to Auckland recently. He died at his residence, College Road, after a long and painful illness, on the 25th instant, at the comparatively early age of 52 years. The' funeral will take place today.

William Henry Hales. has been gazetted District Engineer at Auckland. The notice appears in a Gazette published on the. 21st.

The team of Waikato cricketers arrived by the 4.30 train yesterday. They consist of Messrs. Wood, Gleeson, Stafford, Smith,. Tonks, Cotton, Fitzpatrick, E. Pilling, N7 Hunt, Sheath, Stubbing, and Griersoni They play Ofcahuhu to-day at Otahuhii, and will start from the Po3t-office in one of Crowther's drags- ■■■•■/ ,

Mr. Alfred Boardmaii will deliver a lecture on Friday next, at 7.30 p.m., in All Saints'school-room, on " Old England and New Zealand; some comparisons and contrasts suggested by a i-ecent visit to'the mother country, via Italy and Frauce." The; lecture will include brief sketches of Galle,' the Red Sei, Suez, Milan, Naples, Rome,; and Paris. The proceeds will be devoted in : aid of the funds of AH Saints' Church. As the subject is an attractive one,' and com- ; prises topics of interest to every one in these' days of railroad and steamboat travelling,; there will no doubt'be a large attendance.

Among the passengers by.. the. Loch Dee, from London, is an old Auckland resident,: Mr. Frederick. Jeune, who has returned' again to Auckland, after a visit to his native; island home," Jersey, one of.jthe. Chanuclj Islands. He.-will; be remembered; by r old ■ ■ residents .as proprietor of the Excelsior Hall, j Newton,;.where his Temperance Drum and; Fife Bandwere accustomed,, to make things! cheerful, for tlxe residents, and. where many i ;merry junketings in the cause of tempei-ance! place.. He was .angular Sunday'; .visitoi- at the ProvinciaL'Hospital:and,old: Men and Old Women's Refuge, rind the old; folks and the sick at these institutions .will,' .be glad. to. hear of the return of their old; ciriend. .' '■ ■.-, ■'■ ■ ■■.:■■■ ■'■ -.-■ ■:■■■' l \

• A correspondent, 1 using the riomde plume, of "Unit," writing on the' siibject'of •'■' Sing-; ing in Church," refers to our special corres--poudent's remarks about the leader of the: choir at the Kaiwaka Uhurch having glided . in each verse of the hymn sung from one ■ tune to another so clevei-ly, "that none of bU« congregation seemed to notice it," aaya : " Your special's surmises as to the unconsciousness of the ■ congregation are unwarranted ; for he cannot have forgotten the conversation he held with some who were present at the service, when, to his surprise, he discovered that more than himself had noticed the mistake he complained of, but who did not : consider it amounted to an offence. From a personal knowledge of the circumstance, I am disposed to think a little help from so talented a visitor would soon have set matters right, which would have been more gracioua and to the purpose than his attempts to ridicule the efforts of a young lady, whose assistance is cheerfully given° to make our services a little more complete."

Our Waikato correspondent writes in regard to railway charges:—"Mr. Rothwell, of Whatawhata, has a considerable quantity of fungus growing in his bush, and, anxious to hnd a market and a price for it, determined to send three sacks of the fungus to Auckland. When he brought it to the station there was some difficulty under what head to class it, but that was soon got over in a rough-and-ready manner, by charging double the highest rate charged for goods, and Mr. Roth well had to pay 7a for the three bags, weighing lewt. each, or at the rate of about £2 7s per ton. Thus, a new local industry receives a check at its commencement."

An inmate of the Female Lunatic Asylum named Mary Barton died yesterday. An inquest will be held bj Dr. Goldsbro' at 2 o'clock to-day.

Two stowaways on the s.s. City of Sydney, named Duffy and Barnholdt, were given into custody when the vessel arrived yesterday, as a warning to others. The purser said that if they had come forward manfully and stated that they had no money, asked pardon, and professed willingness to work, they might have been let off. But, instead of this, they stowed away in casks, and would not come out until prodded with a pitchfork. Mr. W. W. Cole's Circus is on board the City "of Sydney, bound for San Francisco. The tour in the colonies was eminently successful, Mr. Cole, it is aaid, having netted £40,000 thereby. He adhered strictly to the programme laid out; never broke an engagement; and returns at the preeleterlniueli time. Mr. Cole takes back all the people he brought with him, and a great many more animals, including twelve kangaroos, twelve emus, 500 parrots, and a number of other Australian inhabitants. This monster show will now make a tour through the United States. The City of Sydney lay I out in the stream all day, so that the larrikins were deprived of an opportunity of seein" their enemies the lions, interviewing their friends the elephants, or tormenting the interesting monkeys gratis.

A New Zealand Gazette of the 21st insfc. contains a notification dismissing J. H. Whitelaw, keeper of the Wellington Lunatic Asylum, from the Civil Service of the colony. The N.Z. Times has got hold of the "big gooseberry." It says :—" We have received from our respected fellow-townsman, Mr. Wilkinson, a monster gooseberry, four inches in circumference, and coated with hairs three inches long. It is the juiciest, sweetest, most lusciou& gooseberry we have ever tasted, and was, Mr. Wilkinson informs us, grown from a bush preserved from a stock presented by Sir Walter Raleigh to Queen Elizabeth."

Mutual Improvement Associations are quite a feature of modern times, and there can be no doubt that when they are conducted on sound principles, young men who in earnest about self-culture, find them very helpful. It would be well for many young man who now waste much valuable tiine, and thereby contract indolent habits, if they would associate themselves with some such institutions. As iron sharpens iron, thought sharpens thought, and many a young fellow who lias not taken the trouble to think for himself, would be incited to do so if he conscientiously discharged his duties as a member of a debating club. Some of our lawyers, legislators, clergymen, and commercial men can look back upon their connection with such clubs with unmixed pleasure, and will admit that they were of great service to them. Some of these institutions have been in existence here tor years, and gone on doing a useful work without attracting much public attention—notably St. Sepulchre's Club. It held a very pleasant and useful meeting on Monday evening last. Mr. Brooking gave a remmi of political, Mr. Ewington of literary, and Mr. Ussher of social matters, during the last three months. There was a good attendance of visitors, who, together with the members, took a lively interest in the proceedings. After the paj>ers had been duly criticised, the Chairman (Rev. J. Haseldiue) summed up the questions, and then brought the uineting to a close.

The police have in their possession 13 yards of grey calico, for which they are desirous of obtaining an owner, having every reason to believe that it is stolen.

Mr. Gillies's Industrial Exhibition, Albert Hall, was visited yesterday, among others by His Worship the Mayor and Mrs. Clark, who expressed themselves as greatly pleased with the inspection of the various products of his mechanical skill. Last night a series of dissolving views were exhibited, which afforded much pleasure to those present E.t the, entertainment in the large room adjoining the hall. . . . .

The new convent schools in Hobsonstreet are fast approaching completion, and they are expected, so far as the iuterior is concerned, to be ready for educational purposes next week. The fencing and the alterations to St. Patrick's Hall, adjacent, will take a week: or two to complete ; but when these improvements' are effected, the new buildings will present a pleasing and imposing architectural featnre in the locality.

The treaty prolonging the arrangement between Britain and Switzerland for the mutual surrender of fugitive criminals, is published in a New Zealand Gazette of the 14th inst.

A public meeting of the Auckland Auxiliary of the British and Foreign Bible Society is ad-: Tertised to be held in the Youug Men's Christian Associaton room, on' Monday evening at half-past seven o'clock. Several ministers and others arc expected to address Hie meeting. ■ •■"■ -'- • ' '• : ''.

In another column will be found "an intimation that during the'coming session of the General issombly, a Bill will be brought forward for the purpose of incorporating the Property Trustees in. connection with the Church of Englandin New Zealand. A , copy of the Bill may be seen, at'the office of. Mr. E. A. Mackechnie, solicitor. . . '•■' : -

';A meeting of members,-' and of those ■desirous of joining the Ponsonby "At Home " foir the; ensuing year will be helu in tho Ponsonby Hall to-, morrow evening, at 7.30,- for the purpose of passing the accounts, and electing officers. •• ''.'."..'

Thomas Dawson, late hotelkeeper,' Hamilfiled a ; statement of insolvency, and' a first meeting oi his creditors is advertised to be held on 3rd May, at 3. 1. o'clock.'at lho ; district Courthouse, Hamilton. ..,,., .....!■ ■ .. . . '. : '•'

The' Harbour Board invite tenders for the sinking of a well at the; Pilot, Station, in terms of: specifications, etc., to be seen at the Harbour Board Office.' ■■•■■■■ ■ . ■• ■ ■••-•■■■•

In our advertising columns' a notice appears from the Property Tax Commissioner, intimating that the first instalment of the property tax due by companies for the year 'beginning Ist April, ISSO, will be payable on the 12th of Jlay. and the °nd instalment on the 14th of May, and the place where such tax is to be paid in the Auckland district is tho office of the Deputy Property Tax Commissioner, Auckland. . , . ; , , .. . '

The tolls leviable at the Newmarket turnpike gate.and at the : Kemiiera Road chain-bar for the twelve months beginning on the Bth May 18S1, will Lm offeicd fur sale by Messrs. B. Tonks and Co. on the 4th of May, at noon. < Conditions of sale may be seen at the office of tho auctioneers; ' :

A change is to be made this year'in the issuing of licences to kill game. The Secretary of the •Acclimatisation Society is tho person authorised to issue the licenses this year in place of the Collector of Customs. .Those desiring to obtain shooting licenses will obtain them'on application to Mr. Cheeseman, at tho Museum, on the payment of 40s each; and those who wish to obtain licenses to sell game will obtain what they require at the same placo on the payment of a fee of £5 each. . On Friday, at noon Mr. A. Buckland, will sell tlie race horses Matau, Morning Star, and My Dream, to settle a'partnership account." To-morrow evening a musical and literary entertainment is to be given in the Beresford-street public school. An attractive programme his been prepared, and the'entertainment begins.at half. past 7 O'clock. .•':..:■.-..

Mr. G. W. Binney will offer for sale, today a quantity of friiifc from Hobart, by the s.s. !Te Anau; also, oranges and cocoanuts from tho Islands. ■ ' " . ' ' _ The application to register the JXew Golden Belt Gold Mining Company appears in our advertising columns. The nominal capital of the company is £8000, in shares of 20s each. Mr. i. A. ■White is manager.

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 them that ho has resumed business, and will be glad to see all the old faces again, and as many new ones as possible. -Pharmacy and General Medicine Warehouse, opposite the Theatre Royal, Queen-street, Auckland.