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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9017, 2 April 1888, Page 5

Paris is a city of political surprises. General Bpulanger, who was thought to have been got rid of, is once more the man of the hour. He has overthrown the Government and scored a victory. The Ministerial situation is now one of confusion. Russia is said to be organising a flying " column for operations in Bulgaria, while that power is strengthening her strategic positions. The Negus has sued for peace. A disastrous mining acci dent is reported from America, one hundred and forty lives* having been lost. The death of Mr. E. Dwyer Gray, M.P., is announced. He was one of the best-known »nd most influential members of the Parnellite party. He was proprietor of the Freeman's Journal, and formerly Lord Mayor of Dublin. The mails which arrived on Saturday morning from Europe and America by the R.M. s-s. Alameda bear dates as follows : — London, February 22nd; New York, February 29th ; and San Francisco, March 9t.h. About half the work of putting in the foundations of the new Custom House has been accomplished- It is proving a heavier work than was anticipated, and over £2000 will be sunk in the foundations, owing to the greater depth to which they have to be carried in some —from 30 to 40 feet —said the influx of water. Overnight from fivo to six feet of water will accumulate in the trenches, which has to be pumped out before the men can do any work. Mr. Kewson, the contractor, thought he would be obliged to put down a steam pump to keep the water under, but fortunately he beard of an American hand-pump by Lewis, of Philadelphia, the only one of the kind in Auckland, and determined to give it a triaL The result was highly satisfactory, as besides being effective, it was much cheaper than steam. One man can work it, and it throws 30C»0 gallons per hour, smell stones, slush, ar.d all being taken up and shot out. The men start with it at six o'clock in the morning, and by eight o'clock the trenches are clear and ready for the concrete work to be gone on with.

In a despatch from the- Department of State to Mr. J. T. Campbell, the United States Consul, inquiry is made as to the whereabouts of a lad named Albert Hezog, aged about 19 years. It appears that the lad left his home in New York some three years ago, possessed with a spirit of adventure. He .was next heard of at Honolulu, and though out of funds., it does not seem that his adventurous spirit was quenched, for it was reported that he had stowed himself away on board of the mail steamer Alameda, bound for New Zealand or Australia. The offices of the various American Consuls are now sought by his anxious parents to discover his whereabouts. A few days ago reference was made to tins retrenchment scheme carried out in Christchurch as an example of what mif'lit be done in Auckland. Mr. .D. oldie, M.H.R., wrote to the town clerk ,in Christchurch for particulars, and received the following reply :— '' Salaries Reduced to Town Clerk, &c. ... £500 ... £350 City Surveyor 400 ... 2.30 Assistant Town Clerk 250 ... 225 Clerk ... - ... • ... 100 ...struck out Collector ... ... 225 ... 200 Inspector - 200 ... 150 Inspector ... ... 200 ... 150 £1875 ... £1325 There are, of course, many particulars in which this table will not bear on the retrenchment schema of the Auckland City Council, but a wholesome example of retrenchment is ses by a vigorous local governing body, which may be of use to the City Council of Auckland when they go into the question of ways and means.

A meeting of the Auckland Presbytery will be held to-morrow, when the Rev. Thomas Adams, late Congregational minister of Newton, will bo formally received into the ministry of the Presbyterian Church, and will receive a call subsequently from the united congregations of Onehunga and Mangere.

A serious accident happened at Onehunga on Friday, whereby a woman, 76 years of age, named "Queenan, was run over by a horse and trap.' The occupants of the trap were Patrick Kavana;?h, Horias Isaacs (of Freeman's Bay), and John Hogan (of Remuera). The latter was driving the vehicle down Queen-street at a, fast pace, and the old woman, in attempting to cross the road, was knocked down. She fortunately escaped being trampled on, but one wheel passed over fisr right leg. Dr. W. R. Erson was stußraeued, and was promptly In attendance, and on examination he found an incised wound, about five inches long, above the ankle, and the arm and shoulder badly bruised. Sergeant Greene and Constable Hajilett followed the trap and arrested the men. as they were about to proceed to Mangere. They were charged at the Police Court on Saturday with being drunk. Isaacs was fined 20s and costs, Hogan £5 and costs, and Kavanagh 5s and costs.

His Worship the Mayor (Mr. A. E. pevore) has written to Inspector Shearsaan, on his retirement from the command f the police force, expressing his satisfaction at the eminently satisfactory manner in which he had performed the duties of his omce. He also refers to his services in driving the vagrant class from the city to the gumflelds where he knows from, his own personal knowledge many of them are now earning an honest living. The measures adopted by Mr. Shearman to prevent incendiarism in Auckland had also been successful, and the Government and the public had been well served. The Mayor expresses hie regret at the decision of the Government to sever the connection so long existing between Mr, Shearman and the police force of the colony.

The Australian freight by the Alameda was so heavy on the,, previous to sailing that the dompany refused to take any more. Two thousand six hundred tons were on the dock, all of which was through freight except 100 tons for Honolulu. The steamer also 1 took 35,000 dollars in silver bullion en route to Bombay. .

The execution of the sentence of death pronounced by the State Court of Missouri en Maxwell (alias Brooks), murderer of Preller, has again been j stayed , pending a petition for rehearing now before the United States Supreme Court.

On Saturday, afternoon a very pleasing < ceremony took'place at the police station, « namely, the presentation of a gold wafeoh to ' Inspector Shearman, by the non-commis-i sioned officers and constables of the Auck- > land police district, on his retirement from I the force. Every branch of the force was represented on the occasion. The preseni taticfn was made by Senior-Sergeant Pratt, . who: said by "the kind permission of ' Inspector- Broham they had been al- ' lowed to assemble'and say good-bye -to '' their late commanding officer. In ad- ' dressing Mr. Shearman, he expressed his - regret that the presentation could nob • have been made at a little later date, ; when the whole of the men including • the men of the suburban stations, would ! have had an opportunity of bidding him i good-bye, as they all desired to do so. They ad found in him an office!- who, while doing his duty to the public, had the welfare of the force at heart, and did his best to promote their interests. Speaking personally, he had been acquainted with Mr. Shearman for *22 years, and joined under him in Canterbury. He had found him to be "an officer and a gentleman." •, That phrase fitly characterised him and his whole career.' He had great pleasure, on behalf of himself and of the other non-commissioned officers and men of the force, in presenting him with a gold watch, as a slight mark of their respect and esteem, and which he hoped Mr. Shearman might long live to wear. The watch, which was a very handsome one, was enclosed in a case lined with blue velvet, and bore the following inscription : —"R. C. Shearman, Esq., Ist class Inspector of the Auckland Police, on his retiring from the New Zealand Police Force in March, ISBS." Mr. Shearman, in acknowledging the splendid gift, thanked the force sincerely* for their expression of goodwill, which he could assure them was mutual. It had always" been his study through life, wherever he was stationed, to place the police force on a proper footing, for without law and order there could be no prosperity in a country. He wished them all God's blessing. To remove a wrong impression which appeared to exist in the minds of some, believing there must be' something to his disadvantage behind the scenes, he might state that he received a letter from the Minister of Justice through the Commissioner, expressive of the Minister's regret " that the circumstances of the colony compelled him to dispense with his (Mr. Shearman's) services and sever his long and honourable connection with the police force of the colonyas also one equally satisfactory from the Mayor of Auckland. He had to commence the world again bereft of his profession at the age of 62, with a large and helpless family, but he had every hope, with the blessing of God, that he would prosper. Mr. Shearman, who seemed deeply affected, then shook hands with every member of the force present, and bade them good-lye. He proceeds to Wellington to see the Government, and then returns to Auckland. The Licensing Committee of Pcusonby district met on Saturday at the offices of the Returning Officer (Mr. S. Y. Collins), High-street. Mr. C. S. Wright was elected chairman of committee, Yesterday morning Messrs. Garlick and Cranwell's tubular bells were rung in the tower of the Free Library. This position was especially favourable for a trial of the bells, and their pealing was wonderfully clear, and was heard at a considerable distance. . At the Police Court on Saturday Henry Thornton Rowe, mining surveyor at the Thames, was charged with an' indecent assault upon his daughter, under twelve years of age, and remanded to the Thames ; James Madden, charged with uttering a valueless cheque for £1 at Wellington, was also remanded. Bail was allowed in each case. Inspector Broham conducted the prosecutions in Court, being his first appearance in that capacity. The Railway Employes picnic was this year held at Mr. Auckland's farm, East Tamaki, and the Britannia was chartered to take the party (some 350) down. Ample provision had been made by the committee, Messrs. Cook, Spratt, Crisp, McFarland, Dickenson, Sergeant, and Moore (secretary), in the way of commissariat. A capitally-arranged programme of athletic sports was v gone through, Mr. McCarthy acting as handicapper and starter, and Mr. i Eliott as judge. The following were the results :—-Railwav handicaps (100 and 200 yards), won by Mr. Marshall, and the 300 yards by Mr., Faulkner; handicap hurdle (220 yards), T. Grier ; handicap mile race, B. Huckstep ; open handicap, W. Purdy ; consolation race, C. Olsen; three-legged race, Messrs. McDermott and Goodman ; married men's race (under 35 years), G. Faulkner; hop, step, and jump, A. Tichbury ; boys under 16, A. Dickinson ; sack race, T. Fleming; married women's race (100 yards), Mrs. T. Faulkner; married men's race (over 35), W. Tait; putting the stone, J. McCarthy (20 feet 2 inches); girls' race (under 16), Miss Reach. The party spent a very pleasant day, and returned home well pleased with their day's outing. On Saturday evening the Salvation Army had a coffee supper, by way of recuperating the soldiers after the " bombardment" of Ponsonby, and a march out. To-day they make an attack upon the Mount Eden district, which it is arranged is to be "bombarded" about two o clock in the afternoon. On Saturday night a woman lay for some little time on the pavement in front of the Clanricarde Hotel, writhing and frothing at the mouth, surrounded by a crowd of spectators. Various inquiries were made as to whether she had a husband or a home, and at last, after a lapse of some time, one taciturn individual in the group broke the silence by saying he was her husband, but he thought beer, rather than hysterics, was at the bottom of her trouble. He was ultimately prevailed upon by the bystanders to remove the woman from the pavement, and take her home.

~ At the last ordinary meeting of the Mangere Road Board, Mr. James Wills, the chairman of the Board, tendered his resignation in consequence of his being about to leave the district to settle in Waikato. Mr. Wills' resignation was accepted with regret, and on the motion of Mr. James Robertson, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Wills for the valuable services he had rendered the Board.

There are si:c cases set down on the civil list for the April sittings of the Supreme Court, but none of those are cases which require a jury. There are also two divorce cases—Campton v. Campton, and Wratt v. Wratt—in each of which a rulenisi is applied for.

! It seems that the battle of the routes) still rages on the West Coast, as between the Central and Stratford routes. We have had the views of Dr. Newman and his confrere on the Central route, in the interest of Wellington, but now Mr. Marchant (member for Taranaki) contemplates making an investigation of the routes, and giving an " unbiassed opinion" thereon. This will be a novelty, as hitherto the views expressed as regards either route have been of a notoriously partisan character, and begotten of self-interest. The Rev. Mr. Fairbrother, formerly stationed at Rotorua, is now in England, and has been lecturing on the Maoris. The Market Harborough Advertiser contains the following notice :—" A large audience assembled in the Jubilee Hall to listen to a lecture on 'New Zealand' by the Rev. Alfred Fairbrother. The lecturer gave an interesting and vivid description of the scenery of the country, and also of " the customs of the Maoris. The earlier portion of the proceedings was enlivened by the presence of several young men arrayed in the picturesque Maori costume, and Mr. Fairbrother also exhibited and explained a' large -number of curiosities illustrative of the manners, social customs, and religious observances of the people. Having given some very interesting details of his missionary work among them, the lecturer proceeded to., describe the progress of an imaginary traveller arriving in Auckland and journeying ' up country' to visit the several points of interest, notably the Pink and White Terraces. This portion of the lecture was admirably illustrated with a series of beautiful photographic slides. These slides comprised portraits of native celebrities, groups of Maoris, and exquisite peeps of , New Zealand scenery, rich in foliage and natural beauty. The lecture closed with some fine views of the worldrenowned Terraces, and of other localities recently • become so sadly _ prominent - by reason of the terrible eruptions. The lecturer gave graphic -descriptions of that occurrence ' and its attendant sacrifice of human life and destruction of the Terraces." Entries for the. forthcoming Society of Arts Exhibition are coming to hand freely.

> In the correspondence which has ap- ' beared in our columns regarding the out- ' break and treatment of typhoid, statements % respecting the rate of mortality among the fever patients at* the Hospstal have been 1 made which we are assured on authority are 5 totally incorrect. Since the commence- ' ment of the present outbreak over seventy ' cases have been treated ih the fever wards, and only nine deaths have occurrod. This is a very low death rate, and speaks volumes 1 for the treatment adopted by the medical V staff and the care and attention' of the 1 nurses. .* , ' , One nomination only—that of Mr. John • Webley— received on Saturday for the i vacant seat in the Newton Borough Council L as representative of the Sussex Ward ; and r the Returning Officer, Mr. J. Currie, , accordingly declared Mr. Webley duly , elected. > The bowling season is now fast drawing ; to a close, and the Ground Committee are i already making arrangements for top- ' dressing the green during the winter > months. The matches for the various > trophies have all been played off, the follow- > ing being the names of the winners not : previously announced Club Cup, J. ■ Scott; champion bowls, J. Billington; ; president's gold medal; J. Billington; r Mirfin's gold medal, R. Saunders; J. Billington's prize, J. Paterson ; J. H. Lyell's prize, J. Frater; Major Isaac's prize, J. Billington. 1 A very large audience assembled at the Opera House on Saturday evening, when "Little Jack Shepparcl "' was produced for the third time, and again received with enthusiasm. The burlesque will be repeated this evening. ( A public picnic will be held to-day at East Tamaki, for the purpose of welcoming the newly-appointed minister, the Rev. W. L. Salter to the Grafton Road Wesleyan Circuit, and of bidding farewell to the Rev. T. G. Carr. The ferry steamer Britannia will leave Queen-street wharf at 8.30 a.m. A public meeting' will be held at 10.30, which will be addressed by the Revs. Tay- ■ lor, Carr, Salter, and other friends. The steamer will return to town at half-past five o'clock in the evening. The Devonport Ferry Company having completed the purchase of the steamers Osprey and Eagle from the liquidators of the Auckland and North Shore Ferry Company, docked them on Thursday last for overhaul, and the Osprey commenced running yesterday. Her consort the Eagle will take up running to-day. By the Alameda Messrs. King, Walker and Co. imported a cock and two hens of the new variety of poultry known as White Wyandpttes. There will be an Easter tree and sale of work to-day in the Onehunga Good Templar Hall, in aid of the new class room vestries for the Wesleyan Church of that township. A correspondent complains of the absence of the Registration Officer of Births, Deaths, and Marriages on Saturday, and says that serious inconvenience was caused by his absence and that of his deputy from the office on that day. On . Sunday morning a small yacht swamped at "her anchorage, just off the watermen's steps. It appears that the owners, two gumdiggers, arrived in her from Riverhead on Saturday evening, anchored her in the position mentioned, - and went ashore. Her gear was all forward, and a rather nasty jobble being on, she took in water gradually and wont down. She will be easily lifted at low water. A poll of the ratepayers of the Mount Albert Licensing District will be held on Wednesday, the 18th instant, at the Christians Meeting House, New North Road, to determine whether the number of publicans' licenses is to be increased or not. The rink mania seems to be setting in strong. We find among the imports by the mail steamer roller-skates for Auckland, for Port Chalmers, for the Bluff, for Lyttelton, and also for Sydney. On Saturday, the legal formalities were executed in connection with the sale of Kawau, and it has now finally passed out of the hands of Sir George Grey, and become the property of the purchaser, Mrs. Eliza Rutherford Thomson, wife of Mr. Jame6 ! Thomson, of Lusatia Park, Woori Yalloak, Victoria. The purchase money was £12,000, of which £9000 remains on mortgage at 5 cent. By the terms of the mortgage deed, which has been drawn up by Mr. W. J. Napier, Sir George Grey's solicitor, the island is to be kept in its present state of cultivation, and all the trees and plants planted by Sir George Grey are to. be preserved. Messrs. Jackson and Russell have been acting as Mrs. Thomson's solicitors in the matter. The incident is a historic one, and will be remembered in the history of the colony. A grand concert and ball will be given by the Christy Minstrel Troupe, in aid of the funds of the Royal Irish Volunteers, this evening, in the Lorne-street Hall. The affair will be under the patronage of the officers of the Auckland Garrison. The Foresters' annual picnic will be hold to-day, at St.Heliers Bay. A varied programme of sports has been arranged. The Osprey, ferry steamer, will leave the Ferry Company's wharf at 9.15 and 10.45, and Victoria Wharf, Devonport, a quarter of an hour later each trip. A mid-day trip has also been arranged for those who cannot leave by the earner boats. , A concert and dramatic performance will be . given to-morrow evening in the Newmarket Hall, in aid of the funds of the Parnell Christian Doctrine Society. The first part of the progamme will be miscellaneous music, concluding with the laughable piece, " Whitebait at Greenwich."