THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1883.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6840, 19 October 1883, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1883.

The extraordinary series of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. which has marked the last few years does not seem to have yet terminated. There occurred the other day that terrible event which overturned villages and killed thousands of persons in the island of Ischia, in the Bay of Naples. It was quickly repeated in another part of the world, and on a. more appalling scale — indeed almost or altogether unparalleled—for it seems to have changed the face of nature in and around the Straits of Sunda, and i destroyed 75,000 of the inhabitants. Now we hear by telegram of earthquakes once more at several places on the coast of Asia Minor, where, three years ago, Chios or Scio, the gem of the Greek archipelago, was desolated; and, as well as we can judge from the names obscured in the transmission, that beautiful island would seem to have suffered again. Though houses are in ruins, fewer deaths are reported this time, but there is no knowing how soon the shocks may recur, and in these visitations - during the last few years: some..places appear to have a special liability. The calamity was also experienced before, and then too with great loss of life, by Ischia, which many tourists will remember as another of the most picturesque spots in the Mediterranean.

We seem to he just now in a period of unusual volcanic activity. The subterranean fires which cause earthquakes and tidal waves and volcanic eruptions, and sometimes all; three together, show their influence almost ■ simultaneously in opposite quarters of the globe, and the manifestations have a frequency which would likewise appear to be unexampled. The philosophers tell us the globe, is gradually cooling, and so we may presume the fires below acquire more force, i£ there be truth in the idea, while somebody has expressed " chat everything works itself out by its opposite." But, of course, our knowledge is limited of what happened in this particular way in past times, and we need to be diffident in forming a comparison. Half the globe was not known to the other half until the close of the fifteenth century, and the means of communication remained very imperfect down even to the present day. For the conveyance of news our grandfathers had not the steam-engine; our fathers had not the electric wire. Travel "and transport occupied so much time that intelligence easily became bald and disjointed, and thus we may in some sort understand the statement that the first full and detailed account of an earthquake was not until 1755, when the Lisbon one, which killed 30,000 people, occurred. Nevertheless, granting the influence exercised by the comparative difficulties of communication, we must remember that there were scientific associations a hundred years ago as well as now, and men in them as able as any of the present day, and as zealously ready to collect facts, and such event as the simultaneousness of a disastrous earthquake in the Mediterranean, and within a few weeks another far away in the Indian Ocean, if they had then happened, most certainly would have been noted and commented on, no matter how long the news might have taken to arrive. So, too, the strange continuity and diffusion of those volcanic manifestations three years ago, when, after a of destructive shocks at Agram, in Croatia, a series of earthquakes pervaded the Mediterranean islands and mainland, reached the volcanic Azores and Canaries in the Atlantic, while, like an echo beyond the ocean, a harmless shock was experienced at Quebec. All that, so calamitous to life and property, would have been duly noted by the scholars of Europe and handed down to posterity if it happened even a couple of centuries back. The phenomenon of so many disastrous events occurring wide distances asunder successively in brief time, sometimes almost simultaneously, would assuredly be made matter of history. But we have no record of anything so remarkable in this way as what has taken place recently. There has been nothing like it for centuries, whatever may have occurred in the remote past. Our planet is of late exhibiting a good deal of that restlessness of the ground which Dante depicted in his "Inferno."

A remarkable fact about volcanoes is that they are nearly all close to the sea. The only great exception is Thian-shan Mountains . in . Central Asia, and even there it is believed there once rolled an inland sea. Our particular ocean was named the Pacific from the general tranquility of its waters, but contemplated from another point of view it might have obtained a'very different name. The basin of the Pacific is the great volcanic region of the globe. Its islands and surrounding countries have five or six times as many of those burning mountains as all the rest of the -world together. Of the twenty-four -which the Continent of Asia possesses half are found in Kamschatfca, a peninsula of

this ocean; "The peninsula American .'side, v Alaska,'"is" lit • volcanic,, and the Aleutian which are a link between the' t shores, contain no fewer than forty Jl°, volcanoes. Then of the.eighty Wwhlu belong to America North and Sonft most are in the Andes, which with th continuing cham through Centr I America, front Wf the Pacific J t l one long line of active cones. % Atlantic has also many volcanic island' bufcnot in the same great number»' our ocean. T'-e Pacific and Atlanti islands together are said to contain 181 volcanoes. Through the Kuril. Archipelago and Japan a chain rota and New Guinea, between our water' and the Indian Ocean, and it is an off shoot from this line which traverses the Sunda - Islands, and Java, ani j Sumatra. ■ Africa, so far as is known has twenty-seven volcanoes, and si' belong to the Mediterranean islands. The European Continent contains only one outlet of the kind in activity but this is the formidable Vesuvius Europe has, however, several regions which, like New Zealand, were°once volcanic, but where the fury o f the subterranean fires is now extinct. Such are the Hbineland, Hungary, a n d Auvergne—that mountainous province of Central France. Those countries are, like ours, remarkable for their mineral waters/ and just as much so for the superior quality of their vintages. For one of these advantages which are associated with a volcanic soil New Zealand is already becoming conspicuous, and perhaps this island may some day be equally conspicuous for the other..

The extension of the internal and ei. tornal trade of a country is one of the principal aims of the inhabitants of every country living under a civilised form of government. Especially should this be the desire of those liTing in young coun. tries such as New Zealand. In young countries the internal trade required by the people is generally eatily supplied, as the' population is but limited ; but sjs. tematie efforts should be ui.ido to produce in abundance such articles us will find a ready sale in markets outside the colony. Where and other circumstances are such as permit the production of high- ! priced articles in constant demand, chief attention should be given to them. Tie rearing of ostriches in confinement, i'or the I sake of tho valuable feathers they yield, I has been found to be highly profitable in South Africa, and in a large portion of the Auckland province there is reason to believe that the ostrich would thrive admirably. No attempt has yet been made to put the question to a practical teat. For a .long time the Government offered a bonus for the introduction o! ostriches for breeding purposes, but no one took the necessary etepe to secure it.: If any of our readers contemplate action in this direction the present appears s very favourable opportunity. The Port Elizabeth Telegraph of the 7th July xemarks that, though the price of ostrioh feathers is still well maintained, a serious fall in the price of oatriohes has taken place. Breeding birds, which a little more than Werre months ago would have brought from £100 to £200 each, are now being sold for £10 to £20. The paper referred to statee that at Grahamstown the previous week 88 fine birds about two years old, with young feathers, were offered, for salo by auction. The bidding went up only to £5 per head. They were then put, the purchaser to take the pick. Twenty pairs were sold at £7 03 por bird; ten pairs at £5 16s per bird; and fourteen at £4 15s per bird. Other sales equally low are recorded. These low prices bespeak the degree of commercial depression which prevails at present in the South African colonies, and ahow that a favourable op« portunity exists for intending New Zealand purchasers obtaining birds at reasonable prices. The value of feathers obtained from a full-grown bird per annum considerably exceeds the price at which the above-mentioned young birds were sold. In South Australia, at Gawler, the ostrich industry appears to be firmly established, and from there probably a supply of birds could be obtained. Several hundreds of healthy birds are now there, and two consignments of feathers have been sent to the London market. The first consignment, although the birds plucked were chiefly young ones, realised at auction an average of £4 per bird. The returns for the second consignment have not yet come to hand, but they are expected to be more favourable than the first. "With the prospect of such profits, it is to be hoped that some one will adc ostrich feathers to the list of Auckland'i exports.

It is now generally admitted that Auckland is the most progressive part of the colony of New Zealand. Though long unwilling.to admit the fact, this concession appears to be now generally made by the inhabitants in the more southern portions of the colony. This ig ahown in some degree by the large number of business men from the South, who have either removed wholly to Auckland, or have opened large branch establishments in this city. And yet there hae been no expenditure of Government money in the Auckland district to canse this large increase of trade. We have had no inflation, but a healthy state of trade, the result of steady progress manifested in Auckland city, and indeed in the whole of the Auckland provincial district. This ■ advance is due to the gradual and-orderly development of the natural resources- of the district. While this healthy state of trade and general development of internal resources continues, the aorthern end of the colony will become still more attractive to settlers from a distance. The general condition of trade in the Auckland district is fairly reflected by the financial statement issued during this week by the , Harbour Board. The quarterly return is made up to the 30th of September last. A comparison of this return with that of the corresponding period of last year, shows a large increase on all the principal items, amounting in the aggregate to considerably over one-third of the total amount, the revenue for the quarter ending 30th September, 1882, hating been £6430 17s 4d, while that for the quarter just ended amounts to £8(551 9s 7d. These figures show a veiy large expansion of trade. It may be said that the increase is largely due to increase of rentals from endowments, but while these show a substantial increase, the increase in this item is small as compared with the grand total. The rents are shown to have advanced from £117017s 2d in the September quarter, 1882, to £1984 9s 6d in last quarter, an increase of £Sl3 12s 3d; but the total increase upon the whole items of which the revenue is made up, is no lees than. £2220 12s 3d. As this large increase is obtained by a regular expansion of the various items of tho Harbour Board revenue, it indicates a satisfactory extension of the general trade at the port of Auckland.

At the meeting of the City Council l«t night, complaints were ; made by several councillors of the way the building regi\l»* tions are being carried put. The question of the manner in which the building regnUtionaare being carried out by,, the Surveyor was referred to the" Streets : Ceiß* mittee to report upon.

Oar cable meaaagea this morning report that according to a statement in the Pans Figaro the natives at Hue were massacred by French sailors, even the wonnded being brutally butchered. By the earthquake at Anatolia, a province of Asiatic Turkey, 1000 lives have been lost, and 20,000 persons rendered homeless. The"Maclver expedition to New Guinea is being well supported. Twenty thousand pounds have been subscribed for the purpose, and five hundred applications have been received from young men of means anxious to join the expedition.

The Supreme Court wa3 occupied the whole of yesterday, from ten o'clock a.m. to twenty minutes past five p.m. with the case Patrick Quinn v. the Mercury Bay Timber Company, in which the plaintiff claims £1000 for damage done to his land and other injuries caused by the defendants driving timber logs down the Kaimarama River, in the Mercury Bay district. The proceedings are reported in another column. The. , defendants paid £75 into Court. For the defence it was contended that the floods (25th February and 7th of July) were exceptional, and such as the defendants could not have anticipated, therefore the damage was caused by the " act o£ God ;" that the damage claimed wae excessive ; that the plaintiff know the character of the river and watercourses when he bought his land. The case had not concluded when tho Court rose, and the hearing will be resumed this morning at ten o'clock.

A meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took place yesterday, a report of which will be found elsewhere. Bishop Cowic, who presided, said in reference to a remark that the clergy had not exhibited much interest iu the matter, that the establishment of such a. society had been proposed by the late Rev. S. Edger two years ago, and he (the Bishop) had two conferences with him respecting the project. Mr. Edger's health am , , other matters prevented action being the" taken, but the question had never been los : ' sight of. As to the necessity for the existence of such a society, various gentlemen testified yesterday afternoon. Mr. Larkius stated that frequently cattle were kep'- in sale yards for three days without food and water; Mr. Brassey said he had noticed Waikato cattle trucks overloaded, and sheep piled upon each other in a way which was utterly shocking ; Mr. Burtt said when going to the Thames recently ho could not help noticing the ill-treatment of the sheep stock on board. It was enough to make a man's blood boil to see the usage to which the poor brutes wen; subjected.

The Sugar Company's Works are now making a good show. The brickwork for the engine-house, which fronts the harbour is much advanced, and extensive dam operations are being pushed forward. A pleasing relief to the dun brown fern around is )he street of workmen's cottages on the jloping spur Eibove Duck Bay, and which presents a neat appearance. A new store nas been erected on the same line.

The attendance at the City Baths at present is about JSO a week, a smaller average than for the same period of last year, but this is accounted for by the unusually boisterous weather which has prevailed during the present month.

The Auckland Gas Company have advices of the shipment by the Piako, which sailed from London on the 23rd inetant, of about ten miles of gas mains of various gauge?. One of the fint worke to be undertaken when this plant comes to hand is the laying on of gas to the Lunatic Asylum.

The man M. White, who fell down the forehold of the Tarawera, sustaining severe injuries, remained in a very precarious condition for some time after his admission to the Hospital, but is now recovering.

The fineness of the day yesterday attracted a large crowd down to the Queen-street Wharf to witness the departure of the Union Company's steamship RiDgarooma for Melbourne via Southern ports. Amongst the passengers who left by this vessel, we noticed the nams of Mr. Puflett. This gentleman, it will be remembered, has been acting as manager here for the Union Steamship Company during the absence of Mr. Thos. Henderson, jun., and it is almost unnecessary to say that Mr. Pnflett, whilst here made many friends by his urbanity and straightforward business dealings, and it is in no spirit of reflection upon our own worthy manager, when we Bay that Mr. Puflett's departure was greatly regretted. Mr. Puflett proceeds to Lyttelton, at which port he occupies the position of manager.

The weekly sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court was held yesterday. There was a lengthy cause list, but a considerable proportion of the cases were settled out of Court or "confessed," and several others were adjourned pending settlement ; but notwithstanding this fact tho Court was occupied until four o'clock ia the afternoon. None of the cases were of .very greai public interest. The proceedings are reported in the usual column.

Alluding to Biiron Hiibner, who is at present travelling in New Zealand, the Melbourne Age Bays :—"He seems to have retired from active employment since the abrogation of the concordat with Rome, disapproving of the liberal policy of recent Austrian Premiers, but, although over 70 years of age, his thirst for information gained in travel seems insatiable. After visiting the colonies, he intends to travel through California and Mexico."

Ws have received a lengthy communication from an ex-patient of the District Hospital, which contains a number of statements reflecting on members of the departmental staff, one of the visiting medical staff, and the interior economy of the institution. No good purpose conld be served by their publication in their present form, and if our correspondent is satisfied of the accuracy of his statements, he will show that he is acting in a bona. fide manner for the public good by preferring his charges to the Hospital Committee, who will no doubt thoroughly investigate them.

The Auckland Fire Brigade Amateur Dramatic Club has been formed for the purpose of giving dramatic entertainments in aid of deserving public charities, and for assisting the Fire Brigade Library and Sick and Accident Funds. It is intended to have in constant rehearsal one or two plays, so that an entertainment can be got up promptly on any emergency arising. The first entertainment will be given shortly at the Opera House, and will be tc raise funds for obtaining properties for the Dramatic Club. We may mention that Mr. J. J. Welsh is the stage manager, and Mr. M. H. Keesing secretary. As one of Quick's cabs was coming down Symonds-street near St. Francis de Sales Church, .about eight o'clock last evening, one of the horses stumbled, and the driver, in trying to keep the horse upon its legi, broke the reins, when it fell on the roadway. Fortunately it did not plunge about or injure either itself cr the .srriage. The driver, with the aid of bystanders, got the horse released from the traces. The only injury it had received was having its knees barked, and the driver was able to proceed on his way homewards after some temporary repairs to the harness.

The glass manufacture industry, we are glad to learn, is pushing its way. Messrs.Cook and Sons are shipping a good many orders to the South, latterly to Lyttelton. Among the newest articles being manufactured at tha Freeman's B»y Glassworks are milk-testere and coloured glass vases as bouquet holders.

A meeting of the Royal Arch Chapter was held last evening in the Freemasons' Hall when a considerable amount of important business was transacted.

Some surprise has been expressed since the recent accident to Constable Burns, through falling through a verandah skylight, that the by-law regarding the proper protection of verandahs, passed some time back, has not been generally enforced. The building bylaw, No. SS, is as follows: " All windows on verandahs must be protected on top with ■wire netting, resting on iron bars of sufficient strength in the opinion of the Building Surveyor, not more than twelve inches apart." By-law No. lOC imposes a penalty of £5 for a breach of its provisions, and £5 for every day thereafter till breach is remedied. The Building Surveyor has made a start to enforce the by-law on. Queen-street shopkeepers, commencing with Lower Queen-street. Some of. tb.e shopkeepers are, however, s;re»tly puzzled over 6he terms of By-law No. 90 : " All verandahs already erected, which do not comply with these by-laws, shall be removed within twelve months, on notice to that effect being given by .the Building Surveyor." They nold the by-law to mean that they have a year's gr?ce in which to make the alteration, the penalty for non-observance being simply the removal of the verandah.

The question of filling up the lower part of Grey-Btreet was settled last night at the meeting of the City Council, by being ordered to be considered that day eix months, ■

As the time for the election of Mayor of Auckland approaches, greater interest is taken in the matter. Up to the present there ia only one candidate before the public, Mr. W. R. Waddel, whose long service in the City Council (he being the senior member of that body), aa well as in ihe Harbour Board, have kept him prominently before the public. A requi»ition to Mr. Waddel, rei-y numerously and influentially signed, has been got up for presentation to that gentleman, asking his consent to hie being nominated ; and when it is mentioned that this requisition was got up entirely by the friends of Mr. Waddel, and without the aisistance of paid canvassers or agents, tho large number of signatures attached must be highly gratifying to that gentleman.

The "Innocents Abroad" Pantascope was again exhibited at the Opera House last night. The fine aeries of pictures and the cx'plauatory lecture by Mr. Pickcrsgill was repeatedly cheered. At tlie close of the entertainment a distribution of valuable gifts took place. Mrs. Rule, Albcrt-atreet, won the handsome suite of furnituro; Mrs. Sonierville, Arch-hill, the silver tea and coffee service. About a hundred other gifts were bestowed amongst the audience. The Pantascope will be again on view to-night, and on Saturday there will be, in addition to the evening exhibition, a matinee at halfpast two p.m., to enable families and country settlers to be present. Every juvenile will receive a handsome present.

In pursuance of the powers and authorities conferred by the Contagious Diseases Act, 1569, upon His Excellency the Governor, he has made the following provisions for the moral and religious training and instruction of the persons detained in the female reformatory at Auckland known as the Auckland Lock Hospital. Among other things, it is provided that the inmates shall attend Divine .service therein, according to thoir respective denominations, ami that clergy of all denominations shall have the opportunity of conducting service. A separate register shall be kept of the names of the wemen and of the creed to which they shall declare they belong, such register to be open to inspection by all visitors to the reformatory. A book shall also be kept in which the dates of all visits paid by clergymen shall be entered by them, with such remarks as they may deem appropriate. .Stated days and hours shall be appointed, subject to the approval of the Mayor, on which ministers may visit women of thoir own persuasion in the reformatory, these to bo so arranged as not to interfere with the period for relaxation. Iu cases of dancerous illneas ministers may visit at other hours. No woman detained shall be required or invited to attend any religious service, or to join in it, conducted by a minister or other person of different denomination to that to which she belongs ; but she may be permitted to attend, on making a requisition in writing, or orally, before witnesses, to the matron. Ministers of religion and visitors are prohibited from any conversation on religious or controversial subjects, with inmates not registered, as of their own denomination, unless at the special request of such inmates I themselves, conveyed through the matron.

It was recently suggested (says our Hamilton correspondent) that the slaughtering establishment for the Auckland Meat Freezing Company should not be at Patetere, but somewhere on the Hue of railway between Ohaupo and Ngaruawahia, aa it would be unreasonable to suppose that Waikato sheep and cattle-ownere would send their stock two or three days' jdurney to Patetere to be slaughtered there, and then pay back freight upon the carcases. The matter has been talked over, and it is understaod that the company will have no hesitation when required in erecting a slaughtering establishment at some central point on the railway line, probably at fiukubia or Frs,nkton, to which the cattle and sheep from the Waipa, Waikato, Piabo, and Lower Waikato districts may be driven, for it is a generally admitted tact that if the meat is to be in anything like a fit condition for the home market tho cattle must ba killed in the district, and the carcases forwarded in proper cooling carriages, and not sent alive by railway to be slaughtered near the freezing depot.

"C.W." writes:—ln Monday's Hekald you have inserted a paragraph stating that: " We believo it may be s*i><, without fear of contradiction, that the longest repoft of any single speech ever delivered in New Zealand appeared in this- journal, namely, when Sir George Grey delivered his admirable address in the Theatre Royal in June last. On that occasion the addrese was reported verbatim by three members of our reporting staff, and filled eight columns of the Hhkald." I have not the files to my hand, but I think if you will turn to the memorable separation debate in the House of Representatives,, at Wellington, in 1565, you will find that the speeches delivered by Mr. Thomas Russell aid the late lamented Mr. John Williamson extended to at least nine columns for each speaker of the Daily Southern Cross and New Zealand Hekald of those days, and which were reported by your humble eorvant.

The furze nuisance, as it is called, is causing (writes our Hamilton correspondent) quite a stir throughout Waikato, and one district after another. After noticing and threatening landowners in vain, is at last about to put the machinery of the Public Works Act to enforce clearance of furze upon tho public roads, into operation. A tow months, however, may produce a revolution in the feeling against this plant, for it is understood that certain partioa have sent home for furzs-crushing machines, by the aid of which it can be converted into one of the best of winter provendors for horses and cattle. There are places, however, where it should be got rid of at once under any circumstances, and one of these ia the property oE the Government in the centre of Hamilton, part of the railway reserve, whore its proximity to the station endangers the public buildings, goods, &c.

The A Battery Artillery had their weekly drill last night. All the officers were present, and there was a fair muster of the battery. The instruction and drill was confined to square gun drill in detachments, and it was maintained for about an hour, Sub-Lieutenant Geddcs taking the command. Captain Fayne and Lieutenant Norrio gave instruction. Staff-Surgeon Tennent was also in attendance. After drill a new member was elected by ballot. Captain Payne informed the battery that on Thursday next a Hpecial extra inspection parade wonld be held. It would require two-thirds of the company to constitute the parade, and all who had not put in tho requisite number of parades and were absent would be fined. He further stated that the firing for the belt would take place next; month, and that in addition to the belt there would be a number of other prizes to eomps-te for. In reference to the forthcoming Rifle Association prize firing, he further reminded them that according to the regulations ouly "efficient" volunteers would be allowed to compete for tho belts.

Since the departnre of the Penguin for Fiji, another passenger has been added to her passenger list, the name given being *' The Duchess." This incident gave rise to great speculatioin amongst master mariners as to who this noble visitor could ; be, all envying Ciptain Cromarty his good fortune in carrying a3 passenger a tilled lady. Other incredulous ones suggested tnat it was a " Duchess " sewing machine, transposed from the cargo to tho passenger Hit which was the real explanation of the social phenomenon. It turns out, however, that the ancient mariners and the unbelievers were both at fault in their conjectures, and that it was a barmaid consigned to a Fiji hotelkeeper from Dunedin. 'JL'he shipping authorities could not ascertain the lady's name, and therefore jotted down her sobriquet with the habitue's of the bar—"The Duchess." Many of the residents of Parnell were disgusted when they saw it announced in the Press that the Tramway Company intended to leave Parnell out of the tramway syßtem owing to the exacting conditions imposed by the Parnell Borough Council. It is rumoured that there is some talk of getting up a petition in Parnell in favour of joining the city. The Tramway Company cannot see why they should give better terms to Parnell than is accorded to the city of Auckland, and which are mutually satiafactory. Among the conditions laid down by the Parnell I Borough Council are said to 'be the follow-

iug :—A trip to be made bot;h ways every ten minutes, which would be .practically a five minutes' service, extending from sevon a.m. to eight p.m. ; that do goods traffic should be undertaken on the line; and that the sections of the line between St. Stophen'a Avenue and Hobaon's Bay Eoad, and thence to Newmarket, should be available to any new company working a circuit Remuerawards.

There were five prisoners in the lock-up last evening, all on charges of drunkenness.

The New Zealand Tobacco-growini; and Manufacturing Company, in process of formation in this city, have resolved to continue the invitation to farmers for two weeks longer to apply for seed and the necessary instructions for growing tobacco. Those ■who make such applications have to state the area of ground they desire to cultivate, and get seed in proportion. They also have to enter into an engagement to sell the grown leaf to the company. This acts as a double benefit. It will prove advantageous to the company to obtain a Urge supply of cured leaf; and it will be to the advantage of the farmers to know of a certain ready market at a remunerative price. Printed instructions are given with the seed supplied ; and as the crop advances, it is intended to send out skilled persona to those who have , engaged to grow the leaf, and give them the instructions they appear to require. A list was shown to us by Mr. A. Volbaeht, of 3G fanners in various parts ot this province who had engaged to grow from a quarter oE an acre upwards, until, a total of over 160 acre 3 was made up. In consequence of the cold and severe weather which has prevailed of late, the promoters of this company are convinced that there ia atill a couple of weeks yet within which stops could be taken to make an experimental trial of tobacco growing. In addition to the list of growers to which reference is made above, there is a considerable number of people who have agreed to grow in the Taranaki, Wellington, and Poverty Bay districts. \t is to be hoped that steps will be taken to have the company formed and registered, so that work may be carried on in a systematic manner. The tobacco trade is a large one, and we have no doubt will yet afford employment to a largo number of hands, and a very considerable I amount of capital.

The erection of the Factory for the Union Soap and Candle Company near Fisher and Cβ.'s slaughtering establishment, St. Ann's Bridge, Otahuhu, is proceeding apace. It is being built of concrete, and is situate close to the railway, to which it will in due time have a siding.

The field of public lecturing has been rather uncultivated of late, and consequently more than ordinary attention may be directed to the lecture to be delivered this evening by Mr. H. W. Farnall, in the hall of the Young Men's Christian Association. In one sense it may be regarded as a counterblast to the lecture recently delivered by Mr. Redmond, for Mr. Farnall propases to explain the cause of the " Fenian," or " Phoenician " enmity to the Anglo-Saxon race, in accordance with the theory that in is not religious but race hatred, thit it had its origin in the distant eastern heme of the two races, and that the vexation given, unceasingly by Celt to Sassenach is merely the fulfilment of the oid doom, they " shall be pricks in your eyos and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land, wherein ye dwell." The inquiry is a curious and an interesting one, as is also the other inquiry into the origin as well as the destiny of the British people. The progress at present being made by the Eng-lish-speaking race is simply astounding; it ia impossible to close the eyes to the fact that iii a generation and a half from now, if matters' proceed as at present, a confederation or union of the English-speaking race would be able to rule the world. The finger of events points nnmietakably to coming greatness and power such as was never possessed by any one race before. The subject is full of interest, and if Mr. Farnall and those who think with him, can illumine that future with the light of prophecy and Scripture, it should be gratifying to the heart of every true Englishman. The lecture should be an exceedingly interesting oue.

The Waverley Hotel license litigation ia, we learn, about to enter a nev phase, some of the legal points involved being about to be arsjusd before Judge Gillies in a few days. The best legal talent available has been retained for the licensee, Mr. Panter.

For some months past a Bible reading has been given in connection with the Ladies' Christian Association by the Rev. J. S. Hill, in the Young Men's Christian Association Rooms, on Friday afternoons, from throe to four o'clock. A new series upon " The Second Coming of our Lord " will be commenced this afternoon, at three o'clock. The meeting is open to ladies only, and all are cordially invited to attend.

The annual meeting of the Northcote and Ponsonby Ferry Company is to be held at the ofiico of Mr. Mitchell, S Mercantile Chambers, Queen-street, this morning at ten o'clock sharp. At this meeting the directors' report and balance-sheet will be presented.

It is tho intention of Professor Cailliau, we understand, with the aid of his Operatic Class, to reproduce the "Barber of Seville" about the end of the year.

The Auckland Weekly News (illustrated) is tho best and largest weekly journal pub lisbed in the colony, and contains an ample and well-assorted collection of general, commercial, political, mining, agricultural, and sporting intelligence; tho latest English, American, and Continental cablegrams, recording the principal events throughout tho world;' special contributions from our travellingcorrospondents; tales by the most popular novelists ; and interesting items relating to art, lltoraturo, science, music, and tho drama—the whole combining to render it the most attractive and readable weekly journal published in Now Zoaland. An cxccllont engraving of Mr. J. Shcehan, M.U.E., is given in this week's issue.

Messrs. B. Tonks and Co. will sell to-day, at twelve noon, the gates, booths, etc.. for the Pakuranga Hunt Club's Meeting, which is to be held on the 27th instant.

Messrs. John Moir and Son (Limited), of London, Aberdeen, Seville, and Wilmington (U.S.A.), havo been awarded a gold modal at the Grand International Fisheries Exhibition, 18S3.

The time for receiving tenders for the erection of the Barbour Boaid oilice building libb beon cxtondad to the 13th proximo, whon the tenders must be sent to the office of Mr. David Ito's, F.E.1.8.A.

The Band of Hope Onion Choir will perform tho ontata, " The Itescuo of Harry Gray," in the Theatre Royal on Monday, 29th Inst.