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New Zealand Herald, Volume XI, Issue 6929, 1 February 1884, Page 5

We learn from our cable messages this morning that Baker Pasha is about to commence operations for the purpose of endeavouring to relieve the besieged garrison at Toka. Hia force consists of four thousand troops, and it is said that twenty thousand Arabs are preparing to oppose his advance. The Egyptian Government are also said to be about to take steps for despatching a strong force to the Soudan in consequence of the threatening attitude of the False Prophet. Among our miscellaneous items by cable this morning it is stated that the amendment to the address from the Throne at the opening of the Imperial Parliament will touch principally on the state of affairs in Egypt. Reports have been received in Paris from Admiral Courbet stating that he considers the town of Bacninh to be too strongly defended to be attacked with the force uuder his command. Bacninh is one of the positions reported to be held by Chinese troops. At the City Council meeting last night there was a good deal of consideration given to general business. The committees' reports were discussed at considerable length, and in some case 3 with soine warmth. One great feature of the business was the reception of the report ot the committee chosen to select the most appropriate and best design for the Public Library and Art Gallery. The report ia published in <xUnso in another column, and it will be read with interest not only by competitors, but by those who take an interest in the question of tbe Free Library and Art Gallery. After this the further busings of the Council, including ten resolutions, cf which notice had been given, was adjourned till next week. The regular meeting of the Crown Lands Board was held yesterday. The Chairman reported the successful land sales held ia Napier, and of the Kawbia township at Auckland. The other business was of the usual routine class. The proceedings arc reported elsewhere. A meeting of the "A"Battery of Artillery was held last evening at the Drill-shed. Captain Payne presiding. There was a yood attendance, over 40 members being prest:iit. I-was resolved that liie battery t>e worked ri;i to its full strengt li, uud that tiie vacancies, caused by resiinationH and discharge*, be j>jled up. .Also that the Volunteer Kegula'■oils he strictly unforced, to the fines for '■on-attendance, etc. A sum,of money was v oted towards the expenses of the battery representatives at the approaching colonial prize firing. An adjourned sitting of the District Court was held yesterday, to enable His Honor (Judge Smith) to give judgment in several ewes reserved. The principal case were iole v. Cozens (to test the validity of the ttotorua township leases). Judgment was ipven for defendant with costs. Mr. Button gate notice of appeal, but did not think the "ppe&l would proceed. The judgment for elendant was given "with costs," but the Act provided that Mr. Daniel Tole (the jovernment officer concerned) was not per«onally liable. The question arisen whether - j Government will pay the costs. The ]u gment will be found in full in another column. Judgments were given In the folowing cases :—Wood v. Graydon, Thomas ' u hen, Mowbray v. Buckland. These judgments will be found in another column. Mr W. P. Moat has issued a circular to tne school committees as a candidate for the ■Board of Education. He refers to his former 011 t^le Board, and as its Chairman t lif statea that he has come forward at the urgent and repeated request of a number of school committeeß;

Te Kooti has written to the Coromandel natives, informing them that he will arrive at Coromandel next Monday. He wrote from Mataora, near Katikati, From Corsmandel he goes to the Upper Thames, and thence to Manukau. He will probably make a short stay at Mangere, opposite Ohehunga, where Poiatau te Wherowhero formerly lived, and where there are still a few Maoris, Te Kooti has 180 followers. Great preparations, it is said, are going on at the settlements of the Coromandel natives to give Te Kooti a reception. Professor W. J. Payne, the champion lightning fancy rifle shot of the world, is engaged by Mr. Abbott to open at the Opera House on February 6. He will arrive in Auckland to-morrow, having been for a fortnight's trip up the Waikato to see a little of the New Zealand interior. The following is the programme of the Artillery Band, to be played between three and five o'clock to-morrow afternoon in the Western Park .-—March, "To Arms" (E. Newton); overture, "Le Motion" (R. Smith); valse, "Boccaccio" (Suppe); grand selection, " Field of the Cloth of Gold " (Victor Bout) ; quadrille, "Rip Van Winkle " (C. D'Albert) ; valse, "Mia Cara" (P. Bucalossi); grand selection, "Martha" (Flotow). God Save the Queen. A. R. Hunter, bandmaster. The annual meeting of shareholders of the New Zealand Accident Insurance Company was held in the large room of the Insurance Buildings yesterday, Mr. D; B. Cruickshank (Chairman of Directors) presiding. The balance-sheet showed tbat after setting aside £4000 towards a reserve tund, the amount to credit of profit and loss account stood at £1498 3s s<i. A dividend was declared at the rate of 6d per share per annum. Messrs. Buddie and Tonks were re-elected directors. A report of the meeting will be found in another column: Abbott's Opera House was well patronised last evening, and the performance of the Court Minstrels was again well received. On Monday next, Messrs. Cowell and Buckley are to take a benefit, for which a careful programme is in preparation. Our Wrtrkworth correspondent telegraphed yesterday that "Dr. Cruickshank, J.P., one our oldest settlers, died this morning at six o'clock, aged 76. The funeral will take place to-morrow, at 3 p.m." The annual meeting of shareholders of the Union Steam Saw, Moulding, Sash and Door Company was held yesterday, at noon, —the Chairman of Oirectors (Mr. Joseph Howard) presiding. The report of the past year's i operations was a satisfactory one, —£28,214 2s 2d being available for appropriation. A dividend of 63 per fully ps.id-up share was declared for the half-year ended December 31. A report of the proceedings will be found elsewhere. The Boston Seranaders had another good house last evening at the Theatre Boyal, The programme given was well gone through, and gave evident satisfaction to all. Tonight is the last night of the season. The search for the body of the young lad Mason, who was drowned on Wednesday near Shelly Beacb, was continued throughout yesterday, but without success. The unfortunate youth stripped and went into the water at the extreme end of the reef, ignorant of the dangerous character of the current there, and on attempting to regain the rook was drawn back and drowned. Shortly after the sad event a young man swam and dived about the spot where he was observed to sink, but nothing was seen of the body. The charge of alleged rape brought by Miss Payne against Henry Goodward was part heard yesterday, and adjourned till two o'clock to-day, the evidence of Miss Payne and Dr. Tennent being alone taken. The prosecutrix, who is a respectable-looking young woman, was subjected to > very severe cross-examination by Mr. Tole, lasting over three hours. During the hearing of the case several smart passages of arms took place between the counsel and SeniorSergeant White, who conducted the prosecution. At six p.m. the hearing of the case was adjourned lor the day. Mr. Tole said Goodward had been in gaol now fourteen days, and complained of the inefficiency of food at the gaol. He was desirous that the man should have his liberty temporarily, and some fresh air. The bail fixed was absurdly high—£loo himself and two sureties in a like amount. He (Mr. Tole) would go £50 bail himself for the accused if necessary. The Bench said the bail had been fixed by the magistrate, and they must decline to interfere. Sergeant White protested against auy reduction of the bail, after the evidence given by Dr. Tennent. He thought it should rather be increased. The upshot was that the prisoner remained in custody. The members of the Otago Board of Education resolved to attend the meetings lor the election of school committees m Dunediu, for the purpose of making any explanations required. The weekly sitting of the Besident Magistrate's Court was held yesterday. There was a considerable number of cases on the business paper, but most of them were adjourned or settled. The principal case heard was McLellan v. Garrick, an action to recover £20 for breach of agreement. The proceedings are detailed in our ordinary report. Judgment was reserved. Te Kooti and his followers, on their way to Bowentown, passed Captain H. Stewart's residence, Katikati, and Te Kooti asked the Captain for some tea, whic-i was given him. His followers then asked Mrs. Stewart to allow them to pick some flowers, which request was granted, provided that only two or three went in at a time. Captain Stewart asked Te Kooti to come into the house, which he did, but was closely followed by his body guard. Te Kooti thought the drawing-room kapai; he and his followers shortly left with flowers in their hats, all their horses being decorated in the same manner. At the Dunedin celebration of the 125 th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, Mr. J. B. Thomson suggested that the four sites of the Octagon ahould be utilised for the erection of statutes of Robert Barns, an illustrious Englishman, an illustrious Irishman, and a second Scotchman. Mr. Kennedy thought it would be best to have the fourth site filled with the statue of an illustrious New Zealander. The annual meeting of subscribers to the Onehunga Library and Free Beading-room was held on Wednesday evening. Very little interest was felt in the matter, as was evidenced by only eight gentlemen being present, who were all members of the committee. The Rev. W. E. Mulgan presided. The report showed a falling-off in the number of subscribers, now only 45. The Reading-room, being free, had been well attended ; 145 new books had been added to the library, and an additional room to the building. The receipts were £100 5s 7d, and the expenditure £96 Ss 9d. The officers and committee were elected, and the meeting closed. Thej nominations for the vacant seats at the Hospital Board of Management was held yesterday. There were four vacanoiea to be filled, and Mr. Garland received the following nominations :—Messrs. Maekechnie, J. M. Clark, T. Peacock (M H.K.), and R. W. Waddel (the Mayor). 'i hrae will be declared in due course the persons qualified to rill the vacancies, and it is to be hoped that in future the Mayor, for ti'ie time being, will be regarded as a member of all such local Boards. Fresh blood ia all these local Boards is very necessary to prevent the working of them getting into ruts or grooves, instead of being conducted for the public good. The annual meeting of the members of St. -fames'a Presbyterian Church was held on Wednesday evening last, —the Rev. R. F. Macnicol, pastor, presiding. The report stated :— The Sabbath services had been well attended. There was an increase of 31 on the communion roll in excess of withdrawals from various causes. The average attendance at communion was about ISO. The Sabbathschool had continued in piosperity antler its faithful ;md devoted superintendent iMr. Peter Mackie) and his deputy (Mr. Kichardson). There-were now 400 s-hoUrs on the roll, with an average' attendance of 303. They had 24 male teachers and 25 female, but more teachers, and especially males, were 're-, quired. Five Rible clasies were carried on, three being for girls' and two for boys. The young men's class for religious instruction flourished under the supervision of Mr. J. C. Macky. The average attendance at the morning school was 93. An addition of more than 200 volumes had been made to the school library, making a total of 631 on the shelves at the present time. Tne money collected in the school during the year amounted to £5116s 3d. of which £10 was paid for tho support of the mission vessel. There wore 133 members on the roll of the Band oi Hope. The receipts for the year amounted to £1118 11a 2d. including balance from previous year of £29 18s 9d ; collections, £501 5s 9d; pew rents, £281 16s 3d; collections Sustentation Fund. £34 13s 8d; collected for debt. £166 9s 6d ; proceeds of soiree, £28 4» 6d ; Christmas tree, £98 12s 9d ; balance from credit of hall account, £11 10s. The expenditure included £196 for manse repairs, £187 5s fid Watson"s account ana interest, leaving s credit balance of £123 3s 6d. Mr. Watt, architect, submitted a plan of improvements proposed to be carried out in the church, which, after some discussion, was I referred to the committee for consideration.

A meeting of cabmen was held laßt evening at the Clarendon (Hotel, in reference to the projected picnic. Mr. Palmer presided. There were about 30 present. It was resolved to engage the Tongariro for next Wednesday for an excursion to Motutapn ; also that tenders be invited for a band, returnable on Saturday, at 8 p.m., addressed to the Chairman of the Cabmen's Committee. Mr. Lindsay was appointed caterer. Two delegates were elected to wait upon the coach, cab, and livery stable proprietors, to see if they were agreeable to give the holiday. The meeting was adjourned to half-past eight o'clock on Saturday evening. A vote of thanks was accorded to the landlord of the Clarendon for the use of the room. Captain John Bruce, of the Lancashire Lass, who received a severe injury on Monday last, expired yesterday. He was engaged in the discharge of his vessed when he received the hurt, and was taken to the Hospital. An operation was performed, and from the effects of this he never rallied. Little hopes of recovery were held out when he was admitted to the Hospital. The late Captain Bruce was a promising young man of 25 years of age, and unmarried. For several years he had been a master mariner, and had a bright prospect before him in the land of his adoption. He was a native of Wick, Scotland, and was the son of Mr. William Bruce, an extensive fish curer in his native town. For the last ten years Captain Bruce has been a resident of Auckland, and his funeral will take place on the afternoon of Saturday first, starting from the Hospital at three o'clock. Mr, H. Barton, treasurer of St, Stephen's Church, sends the following, of yesterday's date: —"In order to prevent misapprehension, permit me to explain that the meeting of St. Stephen's congregation, held on Wednesday evening, agreed to raise the stipend of the Rev. £>. W. Knnciman from £220 to £300, an increase of £SO. The allowance for manse rent is additional, and it is to remain as formerly, £60 10s." In yesterday's issue appeared a paragraph about the Mount Albert Wesleyan Sundayschool. By a misprint the word Albert was made Eden, and the local thus made to refer, mistakenly, of course, to the Mount Eden Wesleyan Sunday-school. There was only one prisoner in the lock-up last evening, a woman for drunkenness. In Canterbury the salaries of the school teachers are paid first to the committee, and teachers are not permitted to communicate with the Board except through the committees. The annual meeting of the Working Men's Club was held last evening in the club-room, corner of Queen aud Darby Streets. The President, Mr. Peter Dignan, presided. A report of the proceedings will be found in another column. At a meeting of the Sports' Committee of Eight Hours' Demonstration held last evening in the Workingmen's Club, to take into consideration the protest lodged by T. Whitside, against W. Mettam in the third event of Demonstration Handicap, it was deoided to adjourn the farther consideration of the matter until to-night. It was decided to run off the tie between T. Whiteside and M. Monnock at the 200 yards distance, on Saturday at six o'clock sharp. The prizes will! bej distributed at the Working Men's Club on Saturday evening at half-past seven. The Auckland Weekly News (illustrated) is the best and largest weakly journal published In the colony, and contains an ample and well-assorted collection of senoral, commercial, political, mining, agricultural, and sporting intelligence • the latest English, American, and Continental cablegrams, recording the principal events throughout the world; special contributions from our travelling correspondents ; tales by the most popular novelists ; and interesting items relating to art, literature, science, music, and the drama—the whole combining to render it the most attractive and readable weekly journal published in Now Zealand. Amongst the illustrations this week is a beautiful engraving, " Yes or No." It will be seen from an advertisement in another column that Slgnor Hug may bo consulted from Monday, February 4, at his rooms. Queen-street, opposite the Bank of New Zealand, and a few doors from Shortland-street.