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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9145, 29 August 1888, Page 4

Our cablegrams this morning deal with a number of important events in various parts of the world. On the continent some serious fires are reported, in one case resulting in the loss of six lives. The Kaiser William has made a speech, in which he appealed to the nobility to assist in raising up the ideal State, based on honour, region, and morality. The difficulty between Canada and America is not looked upon in the former country as likely to lead to any serious complications so long as the Democrats arc in power. In America Ford, the editor of the Irish World, to whom misguided "exiles" send their dollars for the purpose of assistnig in the dynamiting process of "freeing" Ireland, has cast in his lot with the Republicans, whereupon certain awkward personal disclosures have been made by the friends whom he has deserted, which are not calculated to strengthen his influence during the Presidential campaign.

The City Council again met yesterday evening to consider the retrenchment proposals of the Finance Committee, when extensive reductions of salaries, which will be found detailed elsewhere, were carried. The Council also adopted the clause of the report recommending that the employment of stonebreakers be discontinued on the Ist November next. It has been decided that the remaining recommendations will be brought up for consideration at> the ordinary meeting of the Couucil to-morrow evening.

The regular meeting of thT^TT^^ , Board was held yesterday afternoon fr 1 was a large amount of business tr\i- hfcre of, but the feature which po«*L^ ,pos9 greatest amount of interest ViT i the from the contractor of the Calling rf tte, in regard to the delay which £ f '*• place in coming to a settlement r' 1 letter, which appears in full i n 1 Ul * column, was discussed and then refer i er the engineer for his reply. '""red to Dr. Macgregor, Inspector of a, v , was engaged during the whole of y«&« at the Lunatic Asylum. Ho ZL , rda > panied in his visit "by Mr F < ; vl . accot o The institution was found to be in U " gt ° nimproved condition, although the f ? modation is still very defective in CC ° m ' departments Dr. Macgregor will rel? in Auckland for some" days on b,?= ' connected with the Charitable Aid bS^ The work of shipping the balance of lv horses which are being forwarded to t . ■ by the New Zealand Stud Con n L f" the steamer Bucephalus was ffiij* yesterday forenoon. ■ Although gome of animals evinced considerable timidity 5 fractiousness, they were carefully drirL board and placed in their respective In" : without any accident, each horse v • tethered at both sides, so that Sr having plenty of space for exercise animal can bite another. The hor=e 'n° inspected from the wharf by a lar«e **** ber of persons, as the officers of the a? prudently declined to allow the public board, as the presence of strangers wr V) only tend to excite the animal:--." 4n tity of fodder was served out to the'ammT taken on board on Monday, and the uncon* cerned manner in which the horses munch!i their hay showed that they were well c tent with the quarters provided for th ° n " Captain Walmsley, who is goinjr to m * cutta with the shipment in'the" inter -<• of the Stud Company, is accompanied by Messrs. G. McLean and J. Thorpe T\ Bucephalus sails with her valuable freiohn at daylight this morning. - Matters in regard to the dispute in th > boot trade between the operatives" LV and Messrs. Garrett Brothers are at presenb much in the same position as when tha trouble began by the Union " calling out" the members who were in the employ of Messrs. Garrett because that firm, it was alleged, employed more boy? than wert, allowed according to the basis upon which the last strike was settled. These members of the Union, some employed on piece work and others on weekly \va<*e, beino , well satisfied with the treatment "accorded them by Messrs. Garrett, failed to comply with the Union's order on Saturday, bat ■» rumour was current- yesterday to the effect! that several had left work, and the balance had given notice of their intention to do <o On applying to Messrs. Garrett we learn that such is not the case, as though several were absent with their knowledge and consent, the other?) were still engaged; and had taken no steps towards striking, and vera quite content with the hours they worked the wages paid them, and the class of workmen employed. A meeting of the Bootmakers' Union was held las-t night at the Temperance Hall to consider the situation, but the proceedings were conducted with closed doors, and the result of their deliberations has not transpired.

Our Wellington correspondent state? Mr. Cook, junr., the representative of Messrs. Cook and Sons, of tourist fame, arrived ir. Wellington on Monday night by the Wakatipu to meet Mr. Bilbrough, the Company's New Zealand agent, and arrange for the extension of their business to this colony. Messrs. Cook have established a head-office in Melbourne,and the Victorian Government has appointed them its agents, and ha-? made satisfactory concessions as to the passage of their tourists on the railway?. When Mr. Bilbrough was in Wellington some time ago with Major Dane, the Minister of Public Works was interviewed, and expressed a readiness to follow the example of Victoria in dealing with the firm in regard to facilities in railway travel. Mr. Cook, during His present visit, hopes to complete arrangements in this directionHe intends himself to make a tour of our Wonderland, going north in the first instance. We are desired by the district manager of the Auckland railways to state that there is no truth whatever in the reports currenl that the railway service is unequal to the carrying , of an extra supply of coal should the strike in Australia cause an increased demand upon the local supplies. He Va forms us that the department will fie quit* ready to meet any extra demand for con veyance when it occurs, a circtimstanc* Mr. Hudson is anxious to see take place. An inquest was held yesterday, at the Xaval and Family Hotel, before Dr. Philson, coroner, on the body of W. F. Patterson, who died early on Monday morning. Mr. L. Martin was foreman of the jury. Misi Bertha Patterson, daughter of the deceased, deposed that his age was forty-eight years, and that he had been a widower, his wife having died six months ago. The general health of deceased had been good, except so far as it was affected by drinking. 0:i Sunday he vomited a great deal, and at hi? request witness gave him tea.-poonfuls of rum frequently during the day. During the nighb witness heard her father crying. He was in the habit of lamenting the death of his wife. At 2.30 o'clock she celled to him several times, but received no answer, and she lit a candle and went into his room, when she found that he was lying with his eyes half-open. Shy believed that he was dead, and she ran across the street and called a neighbour, Mrs. Brown. Dr. Boirl afterwards attended, and said that Patterson was dead. Evidence was given by Dr. Bond. The primary cause of death appeared to be excessive drinking. The other witnesses were Mrs. Brown and Mr. W. Wilkinson. The latter said that Patterson, since the death of his wife, had been irregular in his habits, aid took more drink than was good for him. He thought) that he died of grief, accelerated by excessive drinking. The juiy returned a verdict to the effect that death waa brought on by grief at the loss of his wife. The Girls' High School in Upper Queenstreet is to be kept going privately, Mr. J. F. Sloman and Miss E. M. Taylor having decided to re-open it on Monday, September 17th, as a select day and beaming school. The course of instruction wiH in the main be the same as under the Board ol Education, and pupils will be prepared for the various Civil service and scholarship examinations. There will also be a das for boys under ten years of age.

The Auckland Poultry, Pigeon, Canary, and Dog Association held their annual meeting at the City Buffet on Monday evening, Mr. A. H. Grainger presidingIn opening the meeting the chairman pointed out that; poultry produce formed a : considerable item in the food resources oi the community, and trusted that the members of the association would persevere m the breeding of birds. The balance-sheet showed the receipts for the last year to be £201 6s 3d, and the expenditure £194 l* 6d, but there was a large debit balance over from the previous two year?, following officers were elected :—Patrons.. His Worship the Mayor, H. Brett, J. J Clark, T. Gresham, Major A. E. kf?> Capt. J. B. Kennedy, Thos. Morrin, Jou Reid, Jas. Reid, W. Wilson, George Uuickshank, A. Kidd, Ambury, J. Grey, t. iWren. President: Mr. A. H. G , r ai"g er - Vice-Presidents : Major Isaacs and Mr. «■ Huloie. Committee : G. Howard, • Waddell, T. S. Morpeth, G. Bartley, £ Grey, A. E. Dewes, Alex. Aitfcen, J- *• Logan, F. G. Haszard, Geo. Fowler, h-J-White. Treasurer : Air. C. Phillips, Seert tary : Mr. E. S. V. Mowbray. It was* solved " That the committee be instruct* to revise the rules," and on the motion oi Mr. C. Phillips it was decided to how show on the Bth and 9th of *°vemte£ The committee were instructed to ar" u = for the holding of a gift auction to clear their liabilities. , The following is a statement of go> ' mining affairs recently forwarded to Melbourne Argus by their Brisbane corn* pondent:-'"fhe No. 1 North Phcenixjj Gympie has washed up a crushmg,olM of tons for26ooozamagam. A dwidg 2s 6d has been declared. The i n prospectors have crushed M) tons tor i of gold. The Lady Mary £"£»,£ lOOoz gold in specimens. A a > r to ;\ n en(li d gram states that 201b weight of specimens have been brought in froo ■ Anglo-Saxon mine. One piece oi ■" weighing 21b, on being 8 nearly Soz gold. . The claim is lookjjg and is now crushing a parcel r^s , n ine A sixteenth share in the orch , Cr °* r . acr e has been sold for £300 cash. AW 1 lease has been taken up, distinct reefs, from which 116 tons cru^ 3230z0f gold."

A meeting of the .. >;d Institute was },»]d on Monday evcaiiug in the Museum Buildings. There was a fair attendance, anC i in the absence of the president, the vice-president, Professor Thomas, presided. Mr E. Bell was declared to be elected a member of the Institute. The following list of donations received since last meetine was read :—Centennial medal of New South Wales, New South Wales Government; skin of dabchick, Messrs. Hellaby Bros. ; silver ore from Waihi, Mr. S. T. George; silicitied wood, Mr. T. L. White ; fossil? from Ohaewai, Bay of Islands, Mr. \\\ Fidler. A paper was read by Dr. Bakewell on " Darwinism Tested by Logic." ] n io he referred to the profound hold which the Darwinian theory had obtained over the scientific world, and to the statement that the truth of the doctrine now rested on as sound a basis as Newton's law of gravitation. There were a few here and there who still held that the proofs of evolution were " seriously defective in logical force," and he was one of them. Further on he stated that he =a'v nothing impossible in the theory of spontaneous generation, and held that Professor Tyndall had failed to prove Bastian's experiments erroneous. In the course of his paper he adduced numbers of cases in which he held that the evolutionists had argued in a circle, and objected to their " exasperating insistence " in declaring that ''their unproved hypothesis" was fully established as a law of nature. Professor Thomas criticised Dr. Bakewell's paper, and particularly took exception to his views on Bastian's and Tyndall's experiments. In addition to Professor Thomas, Professor Brown, Mr. Stewart, and the Rev. Mr. Campbell, supported the theory of evolution. A paper was also read by Mr. J. Adams, 8.A., on " The Botany of the Moehau Range." By the aid of two large maps he described its position and appearance, and mentioned the many superstitions and legends of the Maoris in connection with the mountain. He stated that the first successful ascent of Te Moehau was made by himself end his son in January last, and they had found the summit a veritable garden for rare plants:. This fact if it had been known would have led botanists to explore the mountain long ago. It was apparently the oldest land formation on the Cape Colville Peninsula, and from the' summit a , very extensive view was obtainable of the surrounding country. In the course of his paper Mr. Adams mentioned a very large number of plants which he had observed on his trip. At the conclusion of the meeting Professor Thomas announced that the next meeting of the Institute would be held on September 10, when he would read a paper on "' Micro-organisms, and their Power on Everyday Life." j

The people of Tasmania appear to be suffering from the same governmental ills that are distressing New Zealand. A Hobart paper says : —" The fact cannot be denied, we think, that public affairs in Tasmania have reached a very extraordinary pass. From a fairly creditable system of Parliamentary Government, under which two well-defined parties legislated for the colony, things have drifted into channels that merely rierine lines along which the ruling party for the time being appear determined to venture at all hazards."

A correspondent, "In Tempcre," writes complaining of the great inconvenience octo several ladies and gentlemen on Monday night through the tram-car, advertised in the time-table to leave the Three Lamps. Ponsonby, at 10.6 p.m., having started ten or fifteen minutes earlier. He expresses the opinion that when an a>.-eration in the usual time-table is made to suit the convenience of the patrons of the Opera House, or for any other reason, the least that the Tram Company authorities should do is to inform the general public of such alteration beforehand by advertisement.

The Rev. Charles H. Kelly, a minister of the P>ritish Wesleyan Conference, has just returned from a visit, as representative to the Methodist General Conference of America, and has given some sketches of what he saw and heard while travelling , in that land. He says the American cities are very rich in benevolent and philanthropic institutions. They abound in New York, where there are homes for the children, for the aged, for the blind, the deaf and dumb. Hospitals and orphanages are also very nu.nerous, some of which he visited with pleasure, and found them admirably at work. Speaking of the unemployed difficulty he thought " the bulk cf the people were doing well, although there were many loafers in the cities, like those to be seen in English cities, who live one knows not how. The poor were fairly dad and in work, and if men will work they can eat. There did not appear to him to be much sympathy in that ' free country ' with the abominable communistic idea that because a lazy man happens to be alive, therefore he has the right to demand that society should keep him, whether he will work or not; consequently he is made to feel that modern civilisation requires that if he wishes to ;at he must work or clear out. He had heard of a Quaker who practically illustrated the case. A tramp begged of him, he pave him food; he asked for drink, it vas given to him ; he begged for tobacco and got it. ' Now, ! said the Quaker, ' thee can go.' •'Xo,'said the loafing wretch, 'I ■will stay all night and sleep here.' 'Indeed, thee will not. I have given thee a rceat-offering, and a drink-oifering, and a burnt-offering, and thee is not content, so I will now give thee a heave-offering, and turn thee out.' And he did. He thought America may yet have to deal, before many years are past, with crowds of those who fiock to her shores in ways more forcible than poetical. So far, he thinks, the Americans hnve grappled admirably with many of the difficulties of emigration, and have been able to assimilate strange people and convert them into American citizens."

Last evening tb* Rev. Mr. Spurgeon delivered a lecture on " Sleep" to the Tabernacle Mutual Improvement Society. The large schoolroom was well filled with | Mi appreciative audience. Mr. E. Bell took the chair, and Mr. Spurgeon opened the proceedings with prayer. After a few introductory remarks from the Chairman, the lecturer began in his well-known humorous style to teach his audience how to sleep, while he kept them wakeful, showing them the advantages of the "beauty sleep" and of early rising, instancing Milton, Wellington, and Frederick the Great as examples of early risers. He then dealt with insom nia and soporifics, showing the evils attending each, and passed on to the sleep of plants and animals, noting the curious fact that the sensitive plant is not sensitive at night. The subject of dreams and trances proved very interesting, and snoring, somnambulism, and sleeping in i church were referred to in a manner which caused much amusement. A few remarks on the similarity of death to sleep brought the lecture to a close. In the course of his remarks the lecturer related many instructive, curious, and amusing anecdotes, and w a3 frequently applauded. On the motion of Mr. Cleveland,' seconded by Mr. Aldis. a unanimous vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Spurgeon for his very able lecture, which was suitably acknowledged. A similar compliment was paid to the chairman, and a short prayer brought a very enjoyable evening to a close. At the Young Men's Christian Association Room 3 last evening Mr. John Moss, physical instructor to the gymnasium, read &p excellent paper on "Physical Education." Theve was a fair attendance of young men, and Mr. Brakenrig, the general seereury of the Association, presided. Mr. Moss showed the great value of judicious physical training to public speakers and singers in increasing the girth of the c hf-8t and lung , power. He gave some Valuable advice to young men with regard to the benefit to general health to be derived from prudent exercise, systematic bathing, and regular hours, &c, and laid down some rules for the guidance rt beginners in athletic pursuits. Mr. M oss then explained the uses of the •Pparatus in the gymnasium, the club and .'umbbell exercise, the Roman rings, paral*l bars, and the means used for lung inJation. At the close of the paper, Mr. ttheatley, on behalf of the members of 'he Gymnasium, presented Mr. Moss with an excellent photograph of 19 members, i° a group, enclpsed in a beautiful gilt tr *me, as an expression of regard and esteem for Mr. Moss by those who have been under his tuition during the last few Months. Mr. Moss returned thanks in a »ew words. Several questions upon the subject matter of the paper were answered b >' th e reader, after which Mr. Adams proP°sed a vote of thanks to Mr. Moss, which *aa carried with acclamation.

At the Blenheim Compensation Court the case has just been decided of Richardson v. the Minister of Public Works, in which £1500 are claimed for land taken for railway purposes and severance matter. Mr. Justice Richmond was Judge and Messrs. Horton and Liffiton assessors, £300, with an order as to costs, were awarded. At Wellington yesterday the second charge of robbery from the person, preferred against Arthur Moeller, was dismissed, the police having been unable to discover the prosecutor, for whose arrest a warrant had been issued. A correspondent signing herself " Mary" has been exercising her mind as to the kind of husband she would prefer, and has written a letter on the subject to a Napier paper as follows : —" Sir, —This is a subject that interests many of your readers, and for their benefit should be thoroughly investigated. I feel, therefore, no hesitation in telling you the sort of a man I should like for a husband. He must have wicked blue eyes, a delicate mouth, a refined nose, a Langtry complexion, anything but straight hair, shell-like ears, legs (in stockings, as they often are) as shapely as a ballet dancer's, and biceps like a blacksmith's. He must be a good cricketer (and never say so himself), a better footballer (and deny it to everyone—as he does frequently). He must recite like 'Enry Irving (as he doesn't just yet). He must never, never ' com-promise himself, but must reserve all his energies so as to thoroughly appreciate the rapturous harmonious state of matrimonial folix' (sic), and cetera.— Mary. " The second performance of "Hans the Boatman" was given last night, at the Opera House, before a crowded audience, and met with unqualified approval from those present, The pathetic portions of the play were finely wrought out with great skill by Mr. Arnold, who at one time moved the audience almost to tears, and at another evoked from them roars of laughter by his ludicrous simplicity. Miss Alice Norton and Miss Jessie Grey sustained their parts well, and were greatly appreciated, while the other members of the company, the Baby Coquette, and Little Fritz in particular, also played with much acceptance. To-day, before Messrs. Clements and Wells, J.P.'s, James McCabe, charged with robbery from the dwelling of Robert McCall, at Taotaoroa, was committed for trial. An advertisement will be found in another column calling for fresh offers to assess some road districts in the Wavtemata County. Attention is called to a sale of furniture, cart and harness. &c., by Messrs D. P. Evans and Co., to-day.at eleven o'clock, at Victoria Avenue, Eden Terrace. Our advertisements show that a treat is in store at All Saints, Ponsonby. The tableaux, etc., for Thursday night, which are entirely in the hands of the youngsters, will be portrayed with great care and .accuracy. The first item, Crowe's waltz, " Fairie Voices," is undertaken by eight little girls and their queen, and will be entirely novel and extremely pretty. The stage is in the hands of ■willing and capable amateurs belonging to the school, and great pains have been taken to make it a compact drawing-room entertainment instead of aiming at too great a theatrical effect, all scenery and paraphernalia being the property of All Saints, and entirely " home made."'

The next lecture of the Young Men's Christian Association course vrill take place on Friday evening next, when Dr. Moore will lecture on " Tennyson." with musical illustrations. The lecturer will give a history of the Laureateship, biographical anecdotes of Tennvson, early poems, critics, controversy with Bulwer Lytton. Idylls of the King, Ode to the Duke of Wellington, Albert the Good, personal habits, family life, interview with Longfellow, lvrical poems (in three groups), dialect ballads, songs. The Poet, Golden Year, Tennyson on New Zealand scenery, his patriotic feeling to the colonies, In Memoriam, fourteen Tennysonian gems, contrasted with Longfellow,— and, filially, a summary of his style and characteristics.

Our Otahuhu correspondent writes : Seldom have the good folks oi Otahuhu had a better opportunity for the enjoyment of a genuine intellectual treat than that which was afforded them on Monday evening in the Public Hall, when Professor Lio Medo delivered to a select and most appreciative audience his splendid lecture on " Matrimony," which was preluded by a recitation from "Macbeth," as showing u.o influence of the woman upon the man either * r weal or for woe. This was delivered in a masterly fashion. The lecture throughout was altogether above anything of the kind that it has ever been my privilege to listen to, and my impressions with regard to it might be summed up in the words, " Take my advice, whether married or single, and hear it for yourself, and you will never either forget it or regret having done so." It will be seen by reference to another column that arrangements have been made by the Otahuhu School Committee with Mr. Medo to deliver a lecture entitled "Parental Affection and Control" (treated phrenologically), in the Public Hall, on Thursday evening next, when the whole of the school children will be admitted free, parents and visitors at the unitorm rate of Is each. Should the lecture prove to be relatively as interesting and instructive as that delivered on Monday night, those who can make it convenient to attend will go away delighted, and the better for having heard it.