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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9124, 4 August 1888, Page 4

The discussion on the Commission Bill in committee of the House of Commons ha* been brought to a close. The Bill will be reported on Monday, and will no doubt, be read a third time and passed withouC further debate. The discussions in committee have been of a very acrimonious character. Mr. Parnell, in his final protest against the measure, said he approached the inquiry with a rankling sense of injustice, but predicted that his party would emerge triumphantly from the ordeal. The British Government are sanguine of the early termination of the "little war in Zululand. It appeal's that the rebels are dispersing, and in reply to a question in the House of Lords, the Colonial Secretary stated that the Government entertained hopes that Dinizulu would surrender. When the history of the Irish Parliamentary Tarty comes to be written, die attitude which the Times has assumed towards it, and the role which that great journal is playing with such conspicuous ability in the Home Rule controversy, will form not the least interesting chapter. I" the House of Commons, on Thursday, Mr. Labouchere, posing in the somewhat novel character of the champion of veracity ant journalistic propriety, endeavoured to make an article in the Times, accusing die Parnellites of mendacity, a question ot breach of privilege. The effort, however, was unsuccessful, and the editor of Truth withdrew his motion. It is stated that Her Majesty the Queen, whose health has been impaired by the accident to her knee which occurred some time ago, is to visit Baden in the Autumn for the purpose of trying the mineral baths at that place. A report obtained currency that her Majesty, while there, would Have an interview with the Emperor of Germeny, but it has since been contradicted. Sir Dillon Bell, who was instructed by the New Zealand Government, to make inquiries regarding the methods in use in Germany and elsewhere on the Continent! for the treatment of refractory ores, is now engaged in that mission. He is also inquiring into the working of the Abt rV'.vay system, which the New Zealand Midland Railway Company propose to introduce on their line. The regular meeting of the Waitemata County Council was held yesterday. -'' estimate of revenue and expenditure i l '; the current year was submitted, and a gooa deal of business of a more or less im;x>rtJ.u character was transacted. The proceeding are reported in another column. Yesterday there returned to Auckland bv theR.M. s.s. Coptic Mr. R. H. Shakespeaia well-known Takapuna resident, who ha? been on a visit to his relatives in the o country. Councillor Swales has given notice that a the next Council meeting he will move t * the engineer be instructed to prepare plans and specifications for drainage wor in O'Neal-stre&t, Ponsonby.

Amongst the passengers by the R.M.s. Cootie which arrived at Auckland yesterday morning, are Lord and Lady Alfred Spencer Churchill, who are making a pleasure trip through the colony, and will return to England by the Coptic. Lord Alfred Churchill is a member of the family of which the Duke of Marlborough is the present head, to which nobleman he is uncle, as well as to the more famous Lord Randolph Churchill. Lord Churchill (who i« an elderly gentleman] visited Australia as far back as 1853, being then on a cruiso in his '200-ton yacht Wyvern. The dishonest bankers referred to in our cablegram on the 2nd instant were wellknown in Warwickshire, the Greenway family having been in business in Warwick for nearly 100 years. They had a branch at Leamington, where for 26 years they conducted a private banking business under the name of Greenway Smith and Greenway. The confidence reposed in them during this period appears to have been unlimited. Messrs Green way Smith and { Jreenway closed their doors some months in consequence of their London bankers refusing to honour their drafts, and their failure caused a great deal of distress and in many cases ruin to those who had reposed confidence in them. Some treasurers of public institutions, and trustees who banked with them were ruined by having to replace ihe funds thus lost. Owing to the fact, that they conducted business as a private bank, their accounts were not open to independent audit, and even after they had failed there was a considerable delay in bringing them to book. It has been conclusively proved that they were helplessly insolvent long before they closed, that tiny were paying interest out. of new deposits, and were living luxuriously and extravagantly on their customers' capital. A statement, was made in the House of Commons that the sum of £300,000 deposited in this bank by upwards of 1000 customers had been lost. During the bankruptcy proceedings it, was stated that Mr. Kelylitre Green way's life was insured for .C20.001K and that he had a life interest in the Halloughton estate comprising l-4()2 acres, and let for £188!) per annum. By a late exchange we note that- the eldest- soil of Mr. Kelynge Greenwav tie red to repay the £1200 draft-, known as the Cowper aft. when he comes of age this year, to save his father from having to answer for i- conduct in a Court of law, but the offer, it was made by a minor, could not be l-.t. ling, and was not accepted. It apv;.."- that Mr. Cowper deposited the draft • ; t'l2oo with the bankrupts for presentation en its maturing, but they fraudulently converted it to their own use. This was : ;.n offence under the English Larceny Act, • the law officers of the Crown advised that a prosecution should be instituted. By the s.s. Coptic, Mr. W. Westgarth, on old Victorian colonist who recently presented the city of Melbourne with a splen-,i:-l drinking fountain, returned to the . nk'S. after an extended tour in Europe wrh his wife and family. Export orders are now pouring in thick nnd ta.-t on the Hawke-'s Bay Timber Comr, it ; v i,a similar organisation to the Auck- ; Kauri Timber Company), and strict crdtr- have been issued to all the mills on no consideration to allow any stoppages for lairs, etc.. during the working hours. We are told (says an exchange) that the a--;.-.:.d manager anticipates some trouble in securing the required ship accommodation. and that the company are seriously considering the purchase of a vessel of their OUT.. Before business was proceeded with at the special meeting of the Helensville Timber Company yesterday, some delay was caused through a quorum not being present, and a messenger was sent in quest < : several shareholders, asking them to attend. An attendance of eight having been secured, it was suggested, as a last resource. that the necessary number (nine) be secured by transferring a few shares to the Hkkai.h reporter who was present. Considering that a good dividend-was in prospect for the shareholders, the pressman ha i no objection ; but his hopes were rudely rushed when at that moment the ninth man entered the room, and completed the quorum.

The polling which is to take place at Onehunga to-day to decide the question of borrowing £2000 to pay off the remaining liabilities in connection with the waterworks, is arousing considerable interest, chiefly on account of the determined opposition offered to the proposal by those who have been opponents of the scheme from the beginning. The advocate? of the loan have had a leaflet printed, giving " Some Plain Facts for the Ratepayers." On the one hand the Council propose to keep the general rate at 9d, while the opponents would raise it to Is 6d. Various other cogent reasons are given in favour of raising the loan, and the paper concludes with the statement that the Council propose to keep faith with those with whom contracts have been entered into, while the opponents would involve the borough in litigation for breaches of contract. One of the principal objects of the proposal to borrow £2000, and extend the repayment of the loan over '20 years is to compel the future inhabitants oi the town to bear their share in the cost of construction of the works. The advantages of the loan to the ratepayers are so manifest, that if they are at all alive to their own interests the result of the poll should be a big majority in favour of the Council's proposal. The Wrtiuku School Committee are running their heads aeainst the Education Act by objecting to the appointment of sewing teachers in the schools of their district, and yesterday a letter was received by the I»oard of Education from the committee recording their opinion that the money so .-•pent was utterly wasted, and requesting that the subject of sewing be eliminated from the time-table in the Waiuku schools. They thought that the money used in the fetching of sewing might be spent in the Pointing of the district schools. The Chairman of the Board said he would reply that the teaching of sewing was required The funeral of Mr. Thomas Boylan, of Ponsonby, which took place yesterday, was very largely attended. The deceased gentleRan was highly respected, as he was a man c ' the strictest integrity and honour in the commercial world, and in private life had end-ared himself to many friends by his kindly and gentle disposition. The funeral procession, which was under the supervision ot Mr. J. Tuckey, consisted of about 30 carriages, and the coffin wis laden with overs. The service was conducted by the Rev. Father Downey at the Symonds-street Cemetery, the chief mourners being deceased's sons, his brother-in-law, Mr. J. T. Boylan, and two of his nephews. A party of Australian and English visiters left Judge's Bay, Parnell, last night on the ebb tide, well supplied with guns and fishing tackle. They are the guests of Mr. A. I). Bennett, on board his trading cutter Czar, and numbered in all 15. Several of the party accompanied Mr. Bennett on last Saturday's cruise, and they speak very highly of the Auckland yachting grounds, and the sport to be found, and think the winter climate not at all severe on board a roomy boat, with good opossum rugs and ample provisions. One gentleman observed that it was a pleasure to live in this climate. The product of last week's cruise consisted of all kinds of fish, water fowl, wood pigeons, rabbits, hares, etc., so that the party enjoyed excellent sport, and they fully enjoyed the cruise amongst the islands and bays of the harbour. The Auckland Institute has just received about 50 volumes of valuable scientific works, most of them of recent issue. They were selected by the Library Committee from the latest catalogues. Amongst them are several standard and costly books on fining and mining machinery. An interesting inquiry under the Lunatics Act was held at the Chamber sitting of the supreme Court yesterday. The object of the inquiry was to decide whether Ralph Green Fenwick, an inmate of the asylum, as of unsound mind and incapable of managing himself and his affairs. The application was before the Court last week, when Fenwick was up for examination by Mr. Justice Gillies. Since then his Honour nad visited the asylum and conversed with •tenwick. A good deal of evidence was taken yesterday. Four medical men swore oiat owing to the delusion from which Fen|\ick suffered it would not be safe to set "m at liberty. It appeared that on every jject but one he was perfectly sane, his « elusion being that Mrs. Fenwick was not us wife. His Honour would only go so far j* to certify that Fenwick on account of jus delusion was of unsound mind, but lat ne was no incapable of managing himc^ 1 01 '' 3 affairs. A detailed report of the e, which was a very interesting one, appears m another column,

Colonel Dawson, as chairman of the late meeting on retrenchment he d at Otara, communicated the resolutions to the Auckland members. He has received the following letters in reply " Wellington, 28th July, 1888. Dear sir, Thanks for your letter of the 24th. 1 can tell you that those who dare to advocate retrenchment here really need a little encouragement. Every person here —man, woman, and child—is opposed to economy, and the member who attempts to interfere with the present order of things soon finds he has trodden upon sacred ground. If there were only twenty determined men in this House, who would band together for the sole purpose of reforming the present extravagant and ruinous system under which we are governed, the whole fabric could be burst up, but they are not to be found here.—Yours, fzc., R. Thompson'." "Wellington, July 28. My dear sir,—l thank you for the papers, and for the kind wishes you convey. The task of reform in this Parliament is, I fear, a very hopeless one. Every effort in the direction of real retrenchment is obstructed. Nothing but a political earthquake will save us. Threelift lis of the men in the present House think that the art of government is prodigality with public money, and that economy is meanness, if this state of things is to last much longer, all prudent men will flee from the country.—Yours, &c., Richard Monk. - ' The cantata "Calvary" was sung at St. John's Wesleyan Schoolroom yesterday evening by the choir of the church, the orchestral accompaniments being played by Mr. S. M. Green and his family, and Mr. Horsley (organ). The soloists were : — Mrs. Bettany and Miss Craig, sopranos ; Mrs. White and Misses Goodacre and Joynt, altos ; Messrs. Bartley and Garland, tenors; and Mr. Carder, bass. The various numbers were excellently rendered, and the accompaniments well played. Previous to the cantata, a concert was held, when solos were rendered by Mrs. Bettany, Miss Craig, and Messrs. Bartley, Ryan, and Waters. Mrs. Bettany and Mr. Horsley rendered a duet, "The Minute Gun at Sea," and a pianoforte duet was contributed by Misses Goodacre. There was a moderate attendance. An inquest on the body of Mrs. Sisain, who died suddenly on Wednesday, was held yesterday at her late residence at Waitakcrci, before Mr. A. Beet-ham, when a verdict of " Death from natural causes" was returned. There were about 140 members of the various Naval Companies present at, the usual drill yesterday evening, at the Drillshed. the Auckland, Ponsonby, Waitemata, and Devonport- corps being well represented. The Royal Horticultural Society are making a new departure this season in regard to their camellia show, and instead of one show there will be three. The first will be held at the Newmarket Public Hall on Saturday next, the second in the city a fortnight later, and the third in Ponsonby a fortnight after that. Committees have been appointed for each district, and it is expected there will be a good deal of rivalry between the districts as to which shall have the best show. Captain Nearing's numerous friends will be pleased to learn that he is now progressing so favourably that the strongest hopes are entertained of his complete recovery. Last week his life was almost despaired of, but yesterday he was so much improved that he was able to sit up and rest on a sofa. Dr. Haines has been unremitting in his attention to Captain Nearing throughout the whole of his present illness. A meeting of the Devonport Mutual Improvement Society was held on Thursday evening last, and despite the threatening appearance of the weather, there was a very fair attendance. Mr. F. J. Hammond presided. A deb'Ue took place on the relative merits of a monarchy and a republic, in which the following members took part : — Messrs. R. Dunne, McKenzie, Dunning, Logay, Sims, Mays, and Little. The Rev. J. Bates, who was present, also spoke, and the motion being put the meeting declared by a large majority in favour of a monarch v.

We have received the report of the Women's Home established four years ago by Mrs. C'ov.'ie, wife of the Bishop of Auckland. from which it appears that very satisfactory results have been obtained during the past year, and it has been kept out of debt in spite of hard times and the entire absence of Government aid ; but without the interest on £1000, regularly given by Mrs. Somervell, it is difficult to see how the expenses could be met. It was much to be wished that Roman j Catholic friends would contribute or start a home for members of their own church. Nine out. of the twenty inmates admitted j during last year were Roman Catholics, but any who were desirous of returning to virtuous living were welcomed, irrespective of creed. There were nine inmates at the end of June, 1887. Twenty had been received since. One is married, fourteen have gone to service, seven had returned to their friends, and seven were now in the home. Nothing had yet been done towards paying the debt off May Cottage. The receipts for the year from all sources, including £I+o 1 Its 10d subscriptions, Mrs. Somervell's interest £77, and £90 14s 8d work done by the inmates, amounted to £372 3s 2d : and the expenditure, including salaries £80, tradesmen's bills £199 lis tid, interest on mortgage £28, carpenter and labour £28 &=, rates and insurance £13 Is, and other items, amounted to £364 ~s 3d, leaving a balance of £7 15s lid. A meeting was held last night at the Newton Baths for the purpose of forming a ■Newton association for the promotion of the breeding of pigeons, canaries, and cagebirds. There were about thirty present, and Mr. Craig was voted to the chair. It was proposed and carried that those present form the Newton Pigeon and Cage-bird Association, and all gave in their names as members. Mr. Goodaore read the rules of the Christchureh Pigeon and Canary Association for the information of the members. It was resolved that eight members form the committee, and the following gentlemen were chosen :—Messrs. T. Yates, Goodacre. Brodie, Elliott, Fawcett, J. Stainton, .T. Niblock, Craig, and Willis. Mr. G. Thwaites was elected secretary, and Mr. Goodacre treasurer. The annual subscrip tion was fixed at 2s 6d. It was decided that the committee draft a set of rules on the basis of the Christchureh association and submit thern for approval at a meeting to be held on 10th inst. Mr. A. H. Grainger congratulated the new association upon the successful start that had been made, and assured the members that if the Auckland Poultry Association could give them any help, he would guarantee its hearty cooperation. About twenty names of persons absent were given in as probable members, and more promised. The meeting terminated with votes of thanks to the chairman and secretary. In connection with the winter course of lectures at the Young Men's Christian Association Rooms, Professor F. D. Brown last night delivered a very interesting lecture on the subject of "Boiling," before a large audience. Mr. J. H. Upton presided. In his opening remarks the Professor said that at first it might appear difficult to say much on such a subject, but he thought he would make it clear that there were a good many points of interest about the question of boiling water or other substances, and the varying conditions under which it occurred. They knew in a general way that boiling changed liquid into vapour or steam. He had on view water boiling in a glass caralfe, and showed that the steam formed at the bottom and bubbled up to the surface, whereas in evaporation the steam formed on the surface. He also explained that boiling took place at a fixed temperature, and the heat could not be raised above that point, thus showing the inutility of getting up a large fire for rapid boiling of food ; and this and other points he proceeded to elucidate by a series of interesting experiments. A cordial vote of thanks was accorded to Professor Brown at the close of his lecture. On Thursday evening a chess match was played between teams from the Auckland and Ponsonby Chess Clubs. Thirty-eight players took part in the contest, and a number of onlookers were much interested in the fortunes of the play, which ended in a decisive defeat of the suburban knights by 12J; wins against 6i. Special interest centred in the game contested between two lady members, who fought a hard and stubborn game to a close and careful finish. A fuller account and one of the games played will appear in our next supplement iin our chess column. The return match ' will be played shortly.

At the Newmarket Hall last evening a football match took place on roller skates between teams designating themselves "Niggers" and "Chinamen in costume. The game resulted in the Chinese beating the coloured men by five points to three. The weekly meeting of the Beresfordstrcet Mutual Improvement Class was held on Thursday evening, the subject being a debate on Is Patriotism Prejudicial to the Interests of the Race?" Mr. J. B. Elkin opened in the affirmative, and Mr. W. G. Ball followed in the negative, after which an animated discussion took place, and when the vote was token the patriots had the majority. Mr. J. Barr Brown, of Waiuku, died suddenly at two o'clock on Thursday afternoon. A pleasing incident in the life of the late Renata Kawepo, whose will was lately being contested in the Supreme Court at Wellington, was related the other day by Mr. Hamlin, native interpreter. Mr. Hamlin, in the course of his evidence, stated that the late chief was a very honourable, straightforward man, and as an instance the witness related something which had come under his own notice. He said that some years ago Renata had undertaken to sell to a Mr. Beamish a block of land containing 4390 acres for £480. The land was put through the court, and the purchase was in course of completion when Mr. Russell, brother of Captain Russell, offered Renata £1 per acre, equivalent to £4390 for the block. Renata, Mr. Hamlin explained, was very angry at this, and said, " What do they take me for ? My word is as good as my bond," and Mr. Beamish got the land for £3540 less than Mr. Russell offered. In another column will be found particulars of a lecture to be given by Mr. Spurgeon on the 9th inst., entitled, "The Apostle of Burmah." Those who are at all acquainted with the lives of Dr. and Mrs. Judson will be glad to hear again the story of their devotion and suffering and success. Perhaps among all the worthies of the mission field, no one is more deservedly honoured than Dr. Judson, and the centenary of such a name may well be the occasion of special interest and effort. A portrait of the missionary and a map of Burmah are to be on view, and the proceeds will be devoted to the mission in India which the New Zealand Baptist Union has undertaken. Although the furniture and stock at Oram's Hotel was lately advertised for sale, it was purchased by the mortgagees, and the Prince Arthur Hotel is still conducted as formerly, no change having been made in the management. The Rcnmera Social Union _ will give another of their popular dances in the hall on Thursday evening next. In an advertisement in another column will be found a notice of a miscellaneous entertainment to take place next Tuesday in the Ponsonby Baptist Church. Judging by the names advertised, it promises to be ot a very interesting nature. The price of admission has been hxed at sixpence. Members of the Ponsonby Choral Society are requested by advertisement to bring copies of the " Revenge" and " Both Psalm to practice on Monday evening. The Stud Company advertise for tenders, receivable up till Friday next, for the supply of -10 tons of oaten sneaves, delivered at Sylvia Park. It is notified elsewhere that tenders for the construction of the Kaihu Valley Railway extension, No. (5 contract, will lie received until noon on the 31st of August, ISBS. Plans and specifications may be seen at. the office of the company. Little Queenstreet, Auckland, or at the office of the engineer, Mr. Morton Williams, at Dargaville.