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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9150, 4 September 1888, Page 4

In our cable news to-day will be found a number of items of general interest relating to home and foreign politics. 6 It is notified by the officer in charge of the telegraph office that mails for Australian colonies only via Melbourne will clow at the Bluff on Wednesday, the sth day of September, at noon. . Ordinary telegrams for the above should be lodged not" later than 11 a.m., and urgents not later than 11.30 a.m. A second batch of our "conscript fathers" returned to their homes yesterday by the s.s. Tarawera, after their arduous labours during the recent Parliamentary session. The Auckland members were Hons. Williams and W. Swanson, .Messrs A. J. Cadman, F. J. Moss, and 11. llobbs Judge Macdonald, of the Native Lands Court, was also a passenger by the steamer. Six boxes of ore for the Melbourne Exhibition have arrived in town, per Kotuku from the Waihi Gold Mining Company' viz. :—1 box No. 1 Rosemont blue ore' 781b, value £200 per ton ; 1 box No. 2 Rosemont ore, B'2lb, value £40 per ton ; 4. boxes Union ore, 4061b, value £40 per ton. Re ore exhibits from Ruakaka mine : The large stone is of 1501b, instead of 151b, as stated in Saturday's issue. During the early part of the fire in Ky'oer Pass Road on Sunday night, Branchmati Stanton of the Kvber contingent of the Auckland Fire Brigade, had his hands, wrists, back, and shoulders severely burnt! During the early part of the tire there was very little water pressure, and he approached so close to the flames that he was caught in them. His burns are very painful, but nos dangerous. When the Mount Eden reservoir pressure was turned 011 a pipe in Gaol Road burst and tore up the street for ,-on» distance, but the burst was soon checked by some of the employes who were presents at the fire. The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court opened yesterday. The calendar was unusually light, although there were upwards of 30 indictments, none possessing features of special interest, and the Judge's charge to the Grand Jury was very brief. Albert Johnson, a youth who, however, had a previous record against him, pleaded guilty to two charges of larceny, and as sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment. Henry Darby pleaded guilty to breaking and entering a counting-house, and stealing coin. He was detected by means of marked coins. His sentence was twelve months' imprisonment: and application to have the case dealt with under the Probation Act being refused. Emanuel Oliver, who used to trade as the American Watch-repairing Company, pleaded guilty to seven charges of illegally pawning, and one of larceny as a bailee The circumstances were all similar—namely, that watches were given to the accused a repair, and he pawned them. An application was made to have him dealt with under the Probation Act, but it was nus recommended by the probation orricer, and it was declined. He was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. James Bloomfield, a very old offender, was charged with breaking and entering. It was not alleged i that he stole anything, but his intention, I according to the evidence, was obvious, I and he" was found guilty. He was sentenced |to seven years' penal servitude. Win. A. Crombie was charged with burglary and stealing from the Thistle Hotel. The burglary was comprised in his breaking one of the hotel instead of into it. The jury found him guilty of larceny, not of burglary, and his sentence was deferred. Edward Prentiss pleaded guilty to stealing from a store at Rangiriri, and was admitted to probation for twelve months under the provisions of the First Offenders Probation Act, and ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution, £30, in instalments of £2 10s per month. The Court sat until nearly six o'clock, and then adjourned until ten o'clock this morning, when the charge of larceny from a dwelling, against Noble and Stewart, will be taken. The man Timothy O'Callaghan who attempted to commit suicide last week, was charged with the offence at the Police Court yesterday. Though recovering from the effects of the dose O'Callaghan is still very feeble, and the case against him was in consequence remanded till Monday next. Five transfers of licenses were granted by the Auckland North Licensing Committee yesterday. Mr. King (chairman) remarked that it was a bad sign to see so many hotels changing hands. The acoustic properties of the Police Court building (if it has any) were subjected to a severe criticism yesterday. Mr. J. P. King had great difficulty in hearing aright; the names which were called out by Mr. Baume, who was making application for transfers of licenses, and in the majority of cases he had to ask that they- be related. Mr. Baume remarked, " This is a very bad place for sound." Mr. King : " Oh, shocking." Mr. Baume went on reading: Albert Hotel, M. Montague to J. AStichbury." The Chairman, writing: '*■ Montague." Mr. Baume and some of the committeemen: "M. — M. Montague. Mr. King: "I thought his name was Moses Montague ?" Mr. Baume : Thats what I thought—it might be Montague Moses— (laughter)—he was known here as Moses Montague." Mr. King, after a ; e, during which he had been writing : " Well? : —F. Montague." Mr. Baume: No; M.--Moses Montague." Mr. King: "Oh, I thought you said 'F.' This is a cursed Court, you know." (Laughter.) The following is from the Havvke s Bay Herald:—"There is a yarn afloat with regard to a hospital in New Zealand, which, if true, reflects more credit on the ingenuity of the local committee than on their honest). The Government, as everybody knows, pa} by Act £1 4s subsidy on all voluntary donations to hospital funds. This particular hospital appears to be rather expensively managed, but the funds seem to roll up well, and no one complains. It is said that there is an intimate connection between the?e three facts. This is how the thing is worked. A. is a contractor to the hospital. He has an account for, say, £25. He is quiet> told to make it out for £50, and it is I' as * and a cheque paid for that amount, o" 0 when paying the money the secretary geH back £25, and pays it into the hospita fund as a ' voluntary contribution,' and the committee claimand get—£3o from t e Government by this smart trick. It l? ■ strongly suspected that in other hospita 3 money received from paying patients is P u down as voluntary contributions." A Well ington correspondent writes :-" It is quite refreshing in these dull times to meet anyone with a beaming countenance who tells you he is doing well. Such was my experience the other day. The happy possessor of the smiling face was a canvasse for the sale of an American publication. told me that he has been earning from r to £4 per week lately, as his commission the sale of a universal history which '°* £1. The thirst for knowledge is. evid ® n .j* superior to the alleged depression 0 times." It is intimated in another column, to shareholders in the Standard I n -' u : m Company, that warrants for the intei dividend may be obtained at the office, Queen-street. The usual Gospel Temperance meeting was held in the Protestant Hall, bat an * hape Road, last Sunday evening- r o x Enoch Wood presided. Sir 1 " duet) gave a very instructive address. * was very sweetly sung by the Misses The hall was well filled. The stakes won at the recent coursing meeting at Plumpton PArk , Papa^ewe, to be paid over to-night, at Kidd s Commer cial Hotel, at eight o'clook.

The following peculiar illustration of the law of average is given in " Social Gossip" in the Australasian"ln London, when the gea son is in full swing, hostesses know to a fraction how many of their invitations will be responded to. The numbers who come are 66 per cent, of the women, and 23 per cent, of the men. Never more, and never less. To the student of civilisation there is nothing surprising in this exemplification of the law of averages. About the same number of persons, year by year, post open a nd unacldressed envelopes with £5 notes in them. All business circulars are replied to in the proportion of 3 per cent. Guests at a party in a country house always drink an average of a bottle and a-quarter of wine per head per day. Guests at a society ball invariably drink one-third of a bottle of champagne a head ; at a Bohemian evening party half -a - bottle a head ; and at a '■ theatrical ball," pure and simple, two bottles a head. A very enjoyable and agreeable concert and social was held on Friday night at Fanmure, on the occasion of Miss Kclls' connection with the public school ceasing. Miss Kells, who has been for upwards of ten years assistant teacher at the Panmure school, determined on leaving the school to five a concert to the parents and children of the school, and this took place on Friday. Mr. Kingslev, the chairman of the =chool committee, presided, and after the first part of the concert distributed a number of prizes for sewing and good conduct. The chairman then alluded to the occasion ot their gathering. Miss Kells lad been teacher in their school for .en and a-half years, and during that long term there had not been a single complaint against her, and on her leaving he had to say that it was not with the wish ; of the committee or the wish of the residents that she was leaving, but in accordance with a rule recently passed by the Board of Education, and she carried with her the good wishes of all the residents in the district. Miss Ellen Rogers then, on behalf of the children, read an address to Miss Kells, after which Miss Kay, on behalf of the children, presented to Miss Kells a very handsome inlaid table and work box combined. Miss Kells, who was evidently affected by her surroundings, made a brief reply of "thanks. After the concert the seat were removed and dancing took place, which lasted till one o'clock, and at the close three cheers were given for Miss Kells. Mr. Thompson efficiently performed the duties of M.C. during the latter portion of the entertainment —namely, the dance. Parroquets are said to be swarming in the bush in the up country districts, says a Southern paper. Once in every six or seven years these very pretty but exceedingly destructive birds descend like a p'mgue on the corn fields, especially in harvest time, when they speedily strip a sheaf of every grain it contains. From present appearances there is reason to fear that the farmers are to suffer from their depredations this year. An Act has passed the Canadian Legislature for the purpose of suppressing gambling in stock or merchandise. It makes it a misdemeanour, punishable by five years' imprisonment and a fine, (1) to make a contract for the sale or purchase of stock in any company or undertaking in Canada or elsewhere. or of merchandise, with the intent to make profit by the rise or fall in price, and without the bona rid-: intention of acquiring anv such stock or merchandise ; (2) to make a contract for the sale of stock or merchandise with intent to make a profit by the rise or fall in the price thereof, when there is no delivery or bona tide intention to give or receive' delivery of the stock or merchandise so bought or sold. This section applies to everyone who " acts, aids, or abets in the waking or signing of any such contract or agreement." It is also a misdemeanor, sublet to a year's imprisonment, to habitually frequent any office or place where such contracts are made, signed, or negotiated. By another section the party charged under the Act has the onus of proving the bona tide nature of the intention with which the contract is made thrown upon him. A writer in the Christchurch Press says : —" The other day I strolled into the office of 0 legal firm to exchange the compliments of the season with one of the partners, when the door opened and the other partner entered with something uncommonly like a grin on his face, waving the while a cheque for an amount which I would gladly have picked out of the gutter. ' Good line this' he remarked, ' cheque from Jones for costs in Smith's case.' 'Yes?' said the partner, ' how much ?' ' Full amount, by Blackstone,' ejaculated t'other, slapping his thigh, and they both laughed insomuch that I asked to be allowed to stand in. ' ell, you see it's funny. Jones retains us to work in Smith's case. We do it. Jones good client, so we do the fair thing. Our charges come to £70 ; really as low as we could make it. We make out account, and are just upon point of sending it in, when we hear that Smith has expressed his intention of having account taxed. Couldn't do it any lower than £70, you know : so we sent, in account for £95, reckoning that £25 would be cut on: and, ecod, sir, account has not been Uxed at all,' and the unfeeling brute waved a cheque for that amount in my face. As I said, there's a moral here." A contemporary justly says that the following extract from a report that appeared in the Wakatipu Mail of 13th June, 1866, of the foundation of an acclimatisation society in that district, will prove interesting. In the light of subsequent events the prophetic and congratulatory tone of the report will be greatly relished: —" Yesterday witnessed as did three years ago, the efforts of a few earnest men. On the first occasion there was a desire to obtain room for the plough ; on the second the object was to encourage sport and ensure additional comfort by letting loose some four-footed animals. . . . At a meeting held the other evening it was resolved that an acclimatisation society should be set afloat, however humble the first movement might be. The fine climate of the Wakatip was dwelt upon, and it was determined then and there to tarry out a long contemplated project, and the introduction of game and salmon, and the letting loose of various animals was fully considered. As the first stage to what there can be no doubt will prove an eventful episode, a number of gentlemen were found yesterday on the ground to let run a number of rabbits kindly presented by Mr. McConochie, of the Lake View Gardens. This commencement was characterised by a hearty warmth, and we trust the same feeling will pervade the movements of the society hereafter." A good " send-off was given last night to Mr. Charles Arnold and the other member? of the " Hans the Boatman" company, by a packed audience assembling at the Opera House to witness their last performance in the city. The piece went as swimmingly as ever, and Hans and his " little kiddies," Lion, and the various -.her actors in the simple yet touching play were loudly and frequently applauded. It i-; a curious anomaly (says a correspondent in a Dunedin paper) that whilst everything is asserted to be prosperous in Victoria the people are by no means content. There are complaints about " starvation wages " and "slack employment," and complaints, says a, leading journal, ''come from the.trades with the highest duties."' The hatters, for instance, ate protected by a duty of 30 per cent., but their trade is "in a very depressed condition." There is a duty of 25 per cent, upon furniture, but the furniture makers receive lower wages than any other artisans. The ■ronrnoulders are protected to the extent 01 '-5 per cent., but work in this trade is ?o scarce that the Unions have had to distribute large sums of money in out-of-work allowances. Then there is the boot and ?hoe trade. It has lost, we are told, ''nearly all its intercolonial business, which has been steadily diminishing year by year, Un til it has dwindled down to practically nothing. Excessive duties on imported boots and shoes temporarily enhance the l Jl 'ice of the colonial article, and, the profit being great, so long as the markets ot the ot her colonies absorbed the surplus production, many persons were attached to the business, with the natural result of overproduction, a glutted market, excessive competition, reduced prices, and last, but II ot least, the establishment of boot and shoe factories in other colonies to such an extent as to practically supply the local demand and close their markets to Victorian goods." With everything fiourish- *"« around them, it is a patent fact that some of the most heavily protected indus,ries are deploring their depressed condition, and are asking Government to a a: 'don the policy of Protection for almost a policy of prohibition. Steel, when hardened, decreases in specific a yity, contracts in length, and increases 111 diameter.

The second meeting of Mr. Oswald's private Shaksperian literary and dancing class, held at Berkley seminary, Parnell, passed off very successfully on Saturday night. Several scenes from the second and third acts of Hamlet were read by the members, and the proceedings were enlivened by some instrumental music and a couple of dances. The monthly meeting of the Pollok Mutual Improvement Class was held on Wednesday evening, August 22. A good programme was gone through, consisting of five songs, two recitations, six readings, and three essays. Master James McLean Clark recited a piece entitled " What is Noble?" He did it very well, considering his first attempt in public. A very fine essay on " The Songs of Ireland" was given. <T. S. Clark gave an essay on " The Spanish Armada. " A second essay on " The New Zealand Civil Service" was given by A. Clark. He commenced by saying :— " This fine colony of New Zealand is about to be ruined by men who have been entrusted by the people, under certain conditions, to manage the affairs of State —men who were filling _ the air, the newspapers, and the people's ears with pledges ana promises only a few months ago to retrench and abolish all evils and growing evils which are weighing down the settlers and other taxpayers with a burden of taxation which is getting so heavy that thev will soon not be able to bear. There are only a small minority in Wellington at present of the members of the House of Representatives who appear to lie honest men, and doing what they can for the good of the people, against a' majority who appear to nave trampled under foot their pledges and promises; such men have been for a length of time misapplying large sums of money belonging to the people, and tens of thousands of acres of the best land of the colony, appropriating them, directly or indirectly, to their own aggrandisement.'" The essayist next detailed some startling accoui.ts of the reckless extravagance going on at Wellington with public money, the excessive number of officials, the enormous salaries to officials, the preposterous pensions paid annually to retiring officials, &c., and said that similar ongoings were the precursors of the civil war in England during the reign of Charles I. and of the revolution in France during the reign of Louis XVI. Mr. James Joseph Niblock, a visitor from Auckland, who was admitted to the class as an honorary member, proposed a cordial vote of thanks to the following members of the House of Representatives, namely, Messrs. R. Thompson, Monk, Goldie, Withy, and Taylor, for their honest, upright conduct in the House in doing their best to put a stop to the downright dishonesty in plundering the public money at Wellington, which was carried with animated acclamation. Mr. Niblock also proposed a cordial vote of thanks, and trusted it would be responded to by the people of New Zealand, to the editor of the \\ airarapa Times, to the editor of the New Zealand Herald. and to the editor of the Waikato Times for their straightforward articles denouncing the , ruinous extravagances in the House of Representatives at Wellington, opening to daylight the dishonest deeds going on with the people's money. The motion was carried by acclamation, and the meeting separated. —[Own Correspondent.]