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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9144, 28 August 1888, Page 4

Signor Crispi has had an interview wi>h Count Kalnoky, which is said to "have be* of a cordial character. It is now report ,1 that the object of Signor Crispin visit t the Austrian Premier and Prince Bismarck* is in connection with a project to mal-o the Triple Alliance offensive as well defensive. In France these interviews a'r being regarded with great- uneasin<'«« Outside of America President Cleveland'' message on the fisheries question has fallen flat. It is correctly regarded as an el ec . tioneering device, and in consequence little importance is attached to it. Id Canada it is even thought that were the measure which President Cleveland advocates adopted, the result would be by no m<-an s injurious. However in the States, whore the excitement of the coming Presidential election is already beginning to be felt, the action of the President has occasioned a' -orfc i of furore, and is considered to have "rearlv increased his chance of re-election. 0 Mr Blaine, however, has issued a proclamation" denouncing the message. Major B;,rtteiot Stanley's chief officer, who organised an expedition some months ago to go to the relief of the missing explorer, has been driven back by hostile natives to Stanley Falls, where he and his supporters have been made prisoners.

A meeting of the Auckland Institute was held in the Museum Buildings lust ni<% when papers were read " On the Botany of .Moehau Mountain, . Cape Colville," and Darwinism Tested by Logic." We are obliged to hold over our report till tomorrow.

The matter of the alleged encroachment) on Beach Road, Devonport, by the Messrs. Alison is to come up again at the next! meeting of the Borough Council. No reply, we understand, has been received from Mr. Gwynneth, surveyor, who made a survey of the road some years ago, and who is now in Queensland, but the Council have obtained from Mr. H. N. Warner,, surveyor, who, with Mr. Baber, made the survey in 1870, a duplicate plan showing the results of iris survey then. We understand that at the next meeting of the Council the whole nutter will be discussed with a view of deciding what steps shall be taken. It will be interesting to ratepayers in the various city wards to know who are the retiring councillors for the annual election, to take place next month. They are as follow : —For the Karangaliape Ward Mr. Garratt retires ; for the City East Ward, Mr. Grey ; for the North Ward, Mr. Buchanan; for the Ponsonby Ward, Mr. Swales; for the South Ward, Mr. James ; and for the Grafton Ward, Mr. . Phillipps. Mr. Phillipps, we understand, will not offer himself for re-election, but all the other retiring candidates will stand for re-election. A curious complication 'of circumstances occurs at this election. By the statute the election falls on the 13th of September, and on that day members newly elected have to take their seats. As the Council meets at half-past six, and the result of the election will hardly be known for an hour or twr after, it is probable that business will bt somewhat interrupted.

The ordinary meeting of the Harbour Board will be held this afternoon. In addition to the regular business, tenders wil be received for additions to the Birkenheac Wharf and for the purchase of the weigh bridge.

The interest which has been for sons time manifested in regard to the sending oi a shipment of horses direct from Auckland to India showed itself strongly yesterday forenoon in the large number of persons who took the opportunity of watching the placing of the first batch on hoard the s.s. Bucephalus at the Railway Wharf. The animals were driven down the wharf in a, mob, and walked on board the vessel, and were then led to their respective quarters. The agents of the vessel, with the ship's officers and Capt. Walmsley, had made all the necessary arrangements for the safe carriage of the horses. Each animal is placed in a separate stall, well protected from the weather, while crossbars on the floor give them good foothold should the vessel roll about. A trough is 'supplied for each horse to feed from, and ample quantities of hay, oats, and chaff are on board. As it would be impossible for the steamer to carry sufficient fresh water for so large a number of animals, she is fitted with powerful condensing machines, which produce fresh water daily. About 200 horses are now safely housed on the Bucephalus, all the 'tween deck and part of the upper deck accommodation being taken up. The balance, which will bring the total consignment up to 310, is to be shipped this morning, and the vessel will start on her long voyage in the afternoon. Mr. Justice Gillies, Messrs. E. Hesketh, Mackechnie, Theo. Cooper, Stone, C. Buddie, A. Boardman, E. Waymouth, Vaile, and Wade arrived yesterday at Dargaville in connection with cases in the Compensation Court, Nimmo and Tinnev. Kaiiui Railway.

The students of the Gtago University have started a little monthly publication to which they have given the title of "The Otago University Review.lts object is stated to be to furnish to all students and ex-students an outlet for original compositions, literary and scientific papers, reviews, etc., and at the same time to supply a full account of all University news and of all matters likely to be of interest to persons connected with the University. . The opening article is by Professor and is entitled, " Plato and the Academic \ outh of Athens." This—a learned disquisition occupying nine pages (to be concluded in our next) — followed by an interesting article on Thackeray's " Vanity Fair by Marion S. W. White. To this succeeds " University news," college football matches and other items of interest to students and their friends. The price of the magazine is Is, and it is to be published monthly during the session. The little venture is tidily printed, and will no doubt flourish exceedingly, provided the editors do no 3 allow the " outlet for original compositions " to be choked up with rubbish from those afflicted with an itch for scribbling.

Captain Fairchild, of the s.s. Stella* brought to town yesterday from the her_ madec Islands a number of rare species 01 gannet, native paroquets, mutton birds and also a number of these birds eggsHe also procured many geological specimens and mineral curiosities from the se\er a islets, which have been handed over to -l f - Cheeseman, the curator of the Museum, to classification and safe-keeping.

Two splendidly-executed oil painting from the brush of Herr Lindauer are on view in the window of Mr. Wildman shop in Shortland-street. They are life-size bu» portraits of our respected townsman. ->| r - H. E. Partridge and his wife, and each la splendid likeness ot the original. -Her Lindauer has a number of commissions to similar paintings, which he expects finish shortly, as he proposes to return Europe in six months. The request of the Bootmakers that those of its members who are engag at the factory of Messrs. Garrett Brot ie should leave the employ of that firm, " not been complied with, the men J returned to work yesterday morning. Union men are to meet this evening to sider the subject. It appears tna l . Masters' Association are bound to a c scale of pay, and to regulations concern! the employment of boys and ira P r ° j' but Garrett Brothers do not belong Association, and therefore do not con to the agreement, which it is asserted . the basis of settlement of the pre . strike at this factory. Messrs. Oa , 0 Brothers on their part state that tney not employ a disproportionate n " m , 7 ; a boys, and that they pay the fall V" 10 rates.

Two Christchurch young ladies got a rot>er scare the other day. They were detected by the curator of the Botanical r-u-dens breaking off some wattles and r' rnf! The two fair delinquents were marched off to the Police Station, where hev got a severe lecture from the constable . Charge. After a fearful flowing of tears, the two ladies promised never, never, to repeat the offence," and were allowed to go. The Press contains the following caution: „Some unprincipled individuals are endeavouring to make capital out of the Mount MaedaTa institution by hawking about photographs of some of the dignitaries of [he Roman Catholic Church, ostensibly in the interests of the Mount Magdala Asylum. Father Ginaty writes from Wellington to state that these persons are entirely unauthorised to do anything of the kind, and therefore the public will doubtless be on their guard against purchasing any of the pictures under the circumstances.

"Invalid" writes as follows :—"ln your account of the Band of Hope meeting at Howick, I notice that a Mr. Jenkins made a remark that he once drove out to the hotel here, and on asking for something to eat, he was informed that he could get nothing in the way of solids, but he could have plenty to drink." In justice to the present proprietor of the hotel, Mr. J. Coutts, (late the popular host of the Settlers' Arms, Wiiangarei), I must infer, if not a teetotal joke, this must have occurred some years ao i, when the place was in a semi state of b,.:barism. I can say that the table at present, kept at the Prince of Wales Hotel is. in respect to its appointments and quality of viands supplied, equal to that of any hotel in Auckland. A new suite of apartments has just been added to the hotel, which are entirely unconnected with [he bar portion of it. In these apartments the proprietor will supply tea and coffee to those lady and gentlemen visitors who, like Mr. "Jenkins, affect the ' cup that, cheers but not. inebriates.' Nothing to eat! eays Mr. Jenkins? Why, one of the pleasantest things here is going out for a walk and imbibing about a ton of ozone with the anticipation of the nice little bonne louche the thoughtful hostess will have instructed her cook to prepare for you on your return.

Lord Brarawell recently delivered, before the Institute of Banker?, a most, appreciative lecture on the system of limited liability. He approves it entirely, though he v.-Juki, if he could, compel the promoters of such companies to be more explicit in describing purchases, etc., so that bad properties might not- be sold to shareholders for good value ; would increase the liability of directors; and would have a better system of liquidation, perhaps a liquidation in bankruptcy. We really do not see why we should not strike harder at the root of the present evil, and make wilful misdescription by a promoter, or wilful concealment of important, truth, a criminal offence. Such an act is fraud, and fraud upon the blind. Lord Bramwell incidentally mentioned a fact which, as he says, few people knew—that the shareholders in an insurance company are not always personally responsible. " Life and tire insurance companies are really companies that might be said to have limited liability, because they put in their policies not that the individual members of the society will be liable for the amount, but that the funds of the society shall be liable for the amount; and if by any ill-fortune the funds of t.he society are not- sufficient to pay the debt then upon any claim being made on an individual member of the society, he says, ' I made no bargain with vou other than that the funds of the society should be made liable for paying your debt. lam not liable.'" Lord Bramwell was describing a former condition of the law, bat. according to The Times' report, he means this to be applicable now.

" Atticus." in the Leader, writing on the prayer at the Exhibition, says:—"lt is stated on the authority of one of the Executive Commissioners that an alterat ion in the form of prayer used by Sir James Macßain was insisted on by the Cabinet. Objections, he says, were raised by the Trades Hall Council to the statement ' that all nations of men were made of one blood.' It was considered that this would be admitting the claim of the Chinese to equality, and that in deference to public feeling the prayer was modified so as to show that ' the bounds of their habitation were determined.' In the second paragraph of the prayer the expression, ' at the first bid,' is ssed. Many of the thousands within earshot who had settled themselves into Sunday morning attitudes were galvanised into activity by the familiar words, but they collapsed when they found that business was not to be done. At the conclusion of the excellent prayer a gentleman was heard to whisper to his wife' I have nothing under a shilling; hare you got a threepenny bit ?' He could not believe in an ' Amen' that was not followed up by the plate !"

No wonder that Canada and the United States attract the great bulk of the emigration from Great Britain. Not only are they so much nearer than these colonies, but they offer immense advantages. As an instance, we extract the following advertisement from the Scotsman :—" The Commercial Colonisation Company of Manitoba. N. W. Canada. This company puts colonists on free homesteads granted by the Canadian Government, builds suitable houses, and prepares the land previous to the arrival of the settlers, and advances stock and implements to enable operations to be begun at once, the outlay thus incurred bein? repaid by easy instalments spread ever fifteen years."

Professor Salmond, of the Dunedin University College, sounded a note of warning :o his students the other evening in connection with the "capping" ceremony. He referred to the fact of the occasion having been converted into an academic saturnalia, and he distinctly warned the students that any repetition of such scenes meant a final end of the whole ceremony. The line between liberty and license, between natural ebullition of youthful spirits and buffoonery, could not. he said, be defined ; bub it was easily recognised by good sense and moral tact, and everyone knew that it was transgressed by shooting peas, interrupting speakers, playing on musical and unmusical instruments, or practising with nursery tattles.

The Launceston Examiner of June 30 has the following letter from the authors of the sdv-rtisement warning people against purchasing New Zealand butter :—" Sir, —In reference to an advertisement concerning above appearing in your paper some time ?ince, the authors were credibly informed of the truth of such statement, but finding they ha-d been grossly deceived, and a denial from the New Zealand Government appearing, they at once forwarded a letter to the Premier regretting the misstatement, '-nd apologising for its publication." In a footnote to the letter the editor of the Examiner says : "Itis a pity that similar ®Wans to those by which the slander was circulated were not promptly adopted to it as soon as the ' deception' was dis--OTered."

" Civic," in the Otago Witness, writes 1 twelve years ago Professor Maccontributed to the New Zealand Magazine, of fragrant memory, his ' Pro"''em of Poverty' articles, it probably did not, occur to him that one day he would "•ve to grapple with the problem of poverty in a practical way from one End of New Zealand to the other. That the Fates designed him for such a labour Hercules was mercifully hidden from '®- The Professor did not bottom the problem of poverty even in its theoretical wrn. His articles were never finished—he simply left off writing them ; and I remember seeing in the Athena;um copy at tn end of the last one the pencilled criticism, ' Got tired ot it his-sen.' I won't Ea >' that the Professor—who is now the Professor and the inspector-general of Writable Institutions—has not at last totcomed the problem for practical purple? ; on the contrary, I believe that he ; but before he sees effected the reforms 'ocat-ed in his report, the chances are •&t again he will ' get tired of it his-sen.'"

A lecture on "The Spanish Armada" 68 delivered yesterday evening at the , 'ty Hall by Mr. H. Worthington, in celebration of the tri-centenary of the victory Th r ttie famous fleet of the King of Spain. j,, er ® as but a moderate attendance, t e ' e cture was an excellent one, having n carefully prepared, and the history of r ?. ex P e diti° n of the Armada was graphiy told. Mr. Newcombe presided. The price of silver is put down at 2s 5d t it °? nce ' but we understand that a quan-'-'id Utely been sold in London for

In a remarkably interesting paper contributed by Archdeacon Farrar to the Fortnightly review, on " Social Problems and Remedies," the following occurs, which is not without its significance to us in New Zealand :— is more painful to confess our disappointment as to the high hopes which were once attached to the spread of national education. That the Act of 1870 has produced many blessed effects we most thankfully admit, but it has failed to achieve anything like so much as we had once anticipated. " Popular education," says Professor Gold win Smith "has gone far enough to make the masses think—not far enough to make them think deeply : they read what falls in with their aspirations, and their minds run in the gooves thus formed; flattering theories make way rapidly, and, like religious doctrines, are imbibed without examination by credulous and uncritical minds." A strong and ever stronger conviction is arising in many minds that our existing scheme of national education requires radical revision. It produces poorer intellectual results than the educational system of France and Germany at far greater cost. It is too doctrinaire ; too much infected by a somewhat coarse standard of "payment by resultstoo much an education of books, and facts, and cram, and inspectors, and examinations ; too little an education of the hand and of the heart. It leaves thousands without any means of earning their bread, while it widens the area of bitter discontent. It does not in the least enable us to hold our own against foreign competition. It tends disastrously to multiply the appalling superfluity of struggling clerkdom. "After twenty years of education," says the Rev. S. D. JBarnett. as the result of his experience in the East End, " we have neither taught self-respect nor the means of earning a livelihood ; our streets are filled with a mob of careless youths, and our labour markets overstocked with workers whose work is not worth fourpence an hour."

1 The ninth anniversary of the Pitt-street ! Wesleyan Band of Hope was held yesterday evening in the schoolroom at the rear of the church, the building being crowded. The Rev. E. Best, pastor, occupied the chair. A hymn having been sung, the secretary, Mr. J. W. Wiseman, read the annual report and balance-sheet, the latter document showing a credit balance of £4 '2s sd. The song, " Daddie," was tastefully sung by Miss Best, whilst Misses Marbrook and Messrs. Ambury and Rosser rendered the quartettes, " Mourn Not," and "Happy Peasants." Another pleasing concerted number was the duet, " Flower Gatherers,'" sung by Misses Phillipps and Blackburn. Miss Nettlingham contributed a recitation with much effect. Mr. Lambert, the Church organist, played a harmonium solo. Mr. Johnson sang " Steering Home," and the song, "Revenge," was rendered with considerable success by Miss Harris, whilst Mr. Davis, who played "Home, Sweet Home" as a violin solo, was recalled. A dialogue was spoken by Misses Ruth Jones and Florence Brown. Misses Wiseman and Best, and Mr. Shorland played the accompaniments to the various musical items. During the evening the Rev. W. Salter delivered an interesting address upon the subject of " Temperance."

A citizen writes to say that two gentlemen walked into his shop, said he was burning too much gas in these hard times, got him to take a new gas-burner, which they claimed would save 50 per cent, of gas and give double the light. He took them, but found they burned 50 per ccnt. more gas than the old burner.

The servant girl difficulty (says a Melbourne correspondent) has recently come to an intolerable state. Female servants are not to be had, even at very high rates of wages. For this, to a large extent, the leviathan coffee palaces are responsible, the Federal Coffee Palace, as I am informed, absorbing three hundred girls, the Grand Hotel two hundred, and others in like proportion. The Exhibition has taken a large number of young women to look after the stalls and mind the refreshment bars. One hostelry here, of course a colossal hostelry, lost in one day ninety young women who had received better appointments at the Exhibition. It does not appear so much a question of wages as of the character of the employment. The work at the Exhibition is, of course, not laborious, and the hours are not very long ; besides which the opportunities for flirtation are unlimited. The demand for voung women, therefore, is extremely brisk.

The Melbourne Argus in commen ting on the banking returns, says: —"The deposits at the commencement of ISSO con" trast with the present return as follows : — 1880, £50,875,000; ISSB, £99,724,000. The gain in the eight years has been nearly a double, and as the population has not doubled, the only inference is that of a large increase of wealth. The increase in deposits during the year preceding 1880 was £4,120,000, and it was spoken of as a ' vast stride,' as undoubtedly it was; but the present year increase of £8,781,000 is more than the double. Eight years ago the banks had £10,500,000 in coin and bullion in their coffers, but to-day they have £18,967,000, or 19 millions of gold, in round numbers ; and as nearly the whole of the heavy sum is lodged in the capitals, there is no doubt that the ports in question —for all our capitals are ports—do offer a great temptation to hostile expeditions seeking not only glory but loot, and ought to be protected in proportion to the risk. Perhaps there is a Blucher amongst us now, ejaculating in some language—nob German presumably—' Mein Gott, vot a city for to sack !' The banks have assets in the colonies to the amount of £145,000,000, and before the year is out the total will probably be £150,000,000. The inquirer may wonder at these figures, but he will understand how it is that financial institutions play the large part they do, both in the life and the architecture of our Australian cities."

The cantata "Harry Gray" was admirably rendered on Saturday evening, at the Temperance Hall, by the Auckland Total Abstinence Glee Society, to a crowded audience. The characters were taken as follow : —Alice Gray, Mrs. Bettany ; Miss Sharp, Miss Stevens ; Kate Gray, Master Ryan ; Harry Gray, Mr. Tucker; Mrs. Vane, Miss Nodder; Rev. Vane, Mr. J. Ryan. Misses Service and Jenkinson, and Messrs. Tucker and Carlaw, sang the quartettes, and the trios were rendered by Mrs. Smith, and Misses Service and Rattray. Mr. W. R. Cook read the connecting narrative.

The Welman dredge at Alexandra (says the Dunedin Herald) seems to be pursued by misfortune. Two or three weeks since, when on the eve of proving its excellence as a gold producer, an important part of the dredge machinery was smashed by a boulder. The repair of this occasioned considerable delay, and just when a fresh and hopeful start was about to be made, a heavy flood in the river has sent the unfortunate craft to the bottom, where she now lies. The rapid current swept all the boxes and gold-saving apparatus away, but fortunately the hull and machinery do not seem to be injured. As soon as the river goes down the work of raising the dredge will begin, when it is to be hoped the oftdisappointed shareholders will have a season of sunshine.

A proposal has been made (says an exchange) to dam the Clutha river back at its outlet from the Lakes. It has long been held that the bed of the Clutha is rich in gold, and if the river were dammed back in the way suggested an opportunity would be afforded of gathering the riches at the bottom of the river. It is calculated that it would take thirty days to fill the Lakes above the embankments, and as soon as this took place the waters could be allowed to pour out again, and again be dammed back. Sir Julius Vogel suggested turning the course of the river, but the plan indicated would cost but little compared with his scheme. The proposal is seriously discussed in the interior.

An Otago paper views with favour Dr. L. Ferguson's idea of canals in Central Otago, the railway to stop at Middlemarch, and speaks thus of Mr. Pyke's pet project:— " It is a well-known fact that one train a week will do all the trade of Central Otago via the Taieri, and it is hardly worth while spending about two millions of money on an undertaking that would result in so little. Besides, the risk to human life would not be so great by the canal as by the railway. The tow horses might jib, and the perils of the voyage might otherwise be as numerous and frightsome as those that befel Artemus Ward's Juke de Moses in his navigation of the Wabash Canal, but these would be trifles compared to the tunnels and precipices of the railway."

Dr. McGregor, the Inspector of Asylums, arrived in Auckland by the Mararoa yesterday on his usual visit of inspection.

There was a crowded audience at St. James' Hall, Wellington-street, yesterday evening, when a most enjoyable concert was given in aid of the funds of the Beres-ford-street Congregational Church. The Rev. J. Chew presided. The programme was opened by the choir of the Church, who sang Donizetti's " Rataplan" and also the part song, "Toll Me Where is Fancy Bred ?" whilst in the second part of the entertainment they rendered the " Rhino Raft Song" (Pinsuti) and " The Huguenots." These items were well sung, but the choruses were not well-balanced, the male voices not being in sufficient number. Of the vocal solos, "The Better Land" by Mrs. Bartlett (with violin obligato by Miss O. Chew) was most worthy of notice. "White Wings" was tastefully sung by Miss Davies, and Mrs. Webb rendered "Kathleen Mavourneen." Songs were also contributed by Messrs. Harbutt and James, the latter gentleman appearing in place of Mr. T. M. Jackson, who was unavoidably absent. Mr. Fowlds gave an amusing reading. The programme was noticeable for the number of instrumental selections which it contained, and which had been chosen with great care. The third number was awaited with some interest, as it was a pianoforte solo in which Miss A. Colegrove appeared. This talented lady, who holds a certificate from the Royal Academy of Music, played Beethoven's "Sonata Pathetique " with delightful expression, her technique being faultless. Miss Colegrove also rendered with exquisite modulation somo of- the accompaniments to the vocal selections. There were also the instrumental numbers which were sot opposite the names of the gifted Chew family, and the principal of those was the violin solo by Miss Otie Chew—a fantasia from " Lucia di Lammermoor " —which was contributed in the manner characteristic of this talented young player, who was enthusiastically applauded. A quintette, "Marionettes" (four violins and piano), by Misses Chew (3), Miss Wright, and Mr. Chew, was also encored. Misses and Mr. Chow played a quartette, a sonata by Haydn, with admirable taste. An item of much acceptance was Miss Buckland's violin solo, "Ernani," the lady having to respond to an encore. Mr. Grierson played a piano solo, " Polish Lance."

Early on Monday morning a man named William F. Patterson died suddenly at his residence in Cross street, Newton. He had been ill all Sunday, and about half-past two in the morning he was heard to call for assistance. On going to his room he was found to be insensible, and upon Dr. Bond being summoned he pronounced life extinct. It is understood that an inquest] will be held to-day.

At> the Ponsonby Hall last night a very enjoyable entertainment was given in aid of the Auckland Scripture Gift Association. The chief attraction was a series of limelight views exhibited by Rev. J. S. Hill, which represented scenes in London and and various parts of Europe, each picture when displayed being briefly described for the benefit of the younger portion of the audience. At frequent intervals a number of readings, recitations, arid musical selections were given.

An interesting address on " Physical Education" will be given in the lecture hall of the Young Men's Christian Association this evening by Mr. John Moss, Physical Instructor in the Gymnasium. Valuable information, culled from his long experience as a teacher of gymnastics, with special reference to vocalists, those whose employment is of a sedentary character, and to the physically weak, will be given. The meeting commences at 7.30.

This evening, at 7-'?0, the Rev. T. Spurgeon will deliver a lecture to the Tabernacle Mutual Improvement Society in the upper schoolroom of the Tabernacle. The subject of the lecture is " Sleep," and the rev. gentleman will treat it in a variety of lights. The scientific side of the subject will be dealt with under the headings of Insomnia," "Soporifics," "The Sleep of Plants," &c.; while the humorous element will be introduced by " Dreams," "Snoring," " Somnambulism," " Sleeping in Churchand the serious, by " The Last Sleep." Altogether a very pleasant evening and a crowded house may be anticipated. Admission is free.

Attention is called to the sale of furniture and jewellery by Messrs. D. F. Evans and Co., at Newmarket, to-day,at eleven o'clock. Jewellery at half-past twelve o'clock.