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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8404, 4 November 1890, Page 4

The strike in Australia, although it is rapidly collapsing, is passing through an inevitable and painful phase, the funds of the unions being exhausted, and the appeals to England for monetary assistance having met with no practical response, acute distress is now being suffered by the wives and families of the men on strike. This is likely to be intensified by the inability of the men to obtain work in their old employment, however anxious they may be to return on the employers' terms, owing to their places having been filled by free labour. The action of the officers in breaking away from the Trades Council is bitterly resented by the latter. At home another dock strike appears to be imminent, notwithstanding the efforts of the unionist leaders to prevent it. Our general cable news slates that Messrs. Dillon and O'Brien have met with an enthusiastic reception in America, in spite of the fact—(very probably because of it)—that they are fugitives from English justice. The municipal elections in England, which usually take the form of political party contests, have this year resulted in favour of the Liberals. An unauthenticated rumour is current that the King of Italy has been injured by a fall from his horse. The Greek navy is to be increased so as to make it equal to the Tu.kish. Archdeacon Perowne, of Norwich, has been appointed Bishop of Worcester. Bishop Moorhouse has now a seat in the House of Lords.

Yesterday the Countess of Kintore and Lord Inverurie took advantage of the few hours left before the departure of the R.M.s. Alameda to visit Mount Eden and get a panoramic view of Auckland and its neighbourhood. Subsequently the Free Public Library was visited, Sir George Grey's collection at the Library and Art Gallery inspected, after which they had a look over the collections at the Auckland Museum. The Countess and her son were the guests of Dr. and Mrs. -Wilkins, at their residence, Symonds-street, when they landed, and left in the afternoon for the steamer. There have been rumours going about that the free labourers were being: gradually weeded out at the wharf, and replaced by old unionists. The local manager of the Union Company gives tho statements current an emphatic denial so far as his company is concerned. Ten men in all have been taken back, for special duty—the bulks, lines, and coaling—but Mr. Birch, the company's stevedore, has received stringent instructions not to take on any more. It. is the intention of the company to stand loyally by all the competent free labour which helped it through its strike troubles. Something like a strike on a diminutive scale took place at Helensville in the latter part of last week, which, although small, will probably seriously delay the work of Messrs. Douglas Brothers, engineers, in preparing the ferry steamer Osprey for sea. They had two or three boiler-makers employed in erecting suitable bulkheads to the steamer's hold, in accordance with instructions received from the Marino Department, but had entrusted the task of removing the iron sponsons and bulwarks to some shipwrights employed on board the steamer. On Friday last telegrams were received in town from the firm for more boiler-makers, in order to expedite the job, but instead of the men responding to the call, the secretary of their society was despatched to Helensv'ille, and he " called out" the boilermakers who were already engaged there, the grievance being that iron work had been given to carpenters whilst riveters were available. It is threatened that the trouble thus caused will lead to the boilermakers competing for the next caulking job that may turn up in Auckland in retaliation. It is to be regretted that under the existing state of affairs and late tension in the labour markot harmony should be disturbed amongst the different branches of trade.

Considerable interest was manifested by the public in the progress of the trial of the Maori rioters at the Police Court yesterday, before Dr. Giles. With the exception of Te Mahuki, the prisoners have the appearance of being strong young natives, ranging in ago from IS to 30 years. The majority of them appeared to take a lively interest in the proceedings, although some few were continuously laughing and whispering. When first asked if he would like to put questions to witnesses, Mahuki commenced by demanding " Who brought the name of God to New Zealand?" and " Who brought the sword to this land?" Dr. Giles, however, would have nothing to do with such questions, and when this was impressed upon Mahuki he deigned to ask for information of a more practical and relevant nature. Sometimes he would make some mystical remarks, such as " Kill me that my body may die." One of the witnesses (Mr. Ellis) said that all Mahuki and his followers wanted was to be arrested, some of them having mentioned that they would knock off if enough had been done to guarantee their imprisonment. All the questions in Court were asked by Te Mahuki, the others, being his soldiers, endorsed his remarks. All the prisoners were committed for trial with the exception of Wharuta, who was discharged, the evidence against him being insufficient. We have received a letter from Mr. James Muir, of West Tamaki, stating that he was lately confronted with his signature to an order for an expensive book. The signature had been obtained, he believes, by a trick, and he means to resist payment. He requests that any settlers in his position should communicate with him.

We learn that Mr. William Burton, formerly manager of the Colonial Bank at Auckland, and more recently manager ot the head office of that bank at Dunedin, has now joined tho staff of the Bank of New Zealand. Mr. Burton is popular amongst the business men of Auckland, and his many friends will !• „'lad to learn that his residence will be in this city. Last week the Shop Hours Bill Committee sent the following letter to Mr. J. Joyce, Lyttelton, who has had charge of the Bill during the sitting of tho last Parliament:—"J. Joyce, Esq. Dear Sir,—On behalf of our committee we beg to thank you for the kindly interest you have taken in promoting 'the above'measure in the recent Parliament just dissolved. We are deeply indebted to you for'taking charge of the Bill, and sparing no pains or expense to secure its adoption by the House of Representatives, as evidenced among other ways'by "your "coming to this city tw ) years since to consult our committee on several suggestions. We regret that opportunity was not afforded you last session to promote your Bill, as we deem it more suited to the requirements of the community than the Bill promoted by the Go vernment. However we trust you will b\ successful in being returned to the new House, and that ero long your Bill will pass into law.—We remain, &c.,J. P. King, J.P., T. B. Hill, M. J. Rogers, W. P. Ogilvic, F. Rowe, W. Morgan, R. French. The Council cf the Auckland University College met yesterday. Present: Sir G. M. O'Rorke (presiding). Bishop Cowie, the Rev. A. Reid, Colonel Haultain, Messrs. llesketh, Dilworth, Upton, and Udy.. The Council considered in committee an application from the Taupiri Reserve Coal Company for a reduction of rent, for their lease, and decided to ask the Government for power to make a reduction of one-third. It was resolved to hold the examination for tho second year scholarship in music during the present month. Owing to the state of the funds, ib was decided that neither a Sinclair nor a Gillies' Scholarship should bo offered next year. Mr. Humphries, solicitor, forwards copies of certain communications to us which he has forwarded to the Minister of Justice, relative to' the administration of tho law in the Mercury Bay district by Mr. Northcroft, R.M., and cites several Court cases by way of illustration. He asks for their publication on public grounds, and "submits them to the bar of public opinion," inasmuch as the only reply he his received to his letter is one by the Under-Secretary of the Department of Justice, Wellington, informing him that "the matter will receive consideration." At this stage it would be very injudicious, to publish any ex parte, statements reflecting on the conduct of the Resident Magistrate, Mr. Northcroft. If the alleged grievances are substantiated and well founded, the matter is one which should be dealt with by the Minister of J nstice, rather then through the columns of the Press. At the recent meeting of the Board of Education a discussion took place as to schoolteachers taking an active part in elections, and at political meetings. There was a general consensus of opinion that it was extremely undesirable for teachers so to act, and ib was agreed that an advertisement be published in the daily papers expressing the Board's disapproval. In our advertising columns will be found a notice, signed by the secretary of the Board of Education, " by order of the Board," in the following terms: —"Teachers are hereby notified that the Board disapproves of their taking an active prominent part in election matters." It is rumoured that the Government have called upon Senior Attendant Ness and Warder Clark, at the Avondale Lanatic Asylum, to retire from active service. They are old officers, having had fourteen or fifteen years' service, and will get a retiring allowance. Over a week ago information was sent tc the police authorities that som« men were seen leaving the Domain near the tunnel with their clothes all disordered and torn, and a noise of fighting heard by some of the residents adjacent, intermingled with the cries of a female. On the police Going to the spot indicated, they found some stones bespattered with blood, and two shirts completely wrecked. Inspector Broham, Sergeant-Major Pratt, the constables from the Parnell and Newmarket stations, and so.ne of the town police, beat the bush thoroughly to elucidate tho mystery, but no clue was got. Subsequent enquiries go to show that the locality indicated is a resorb of evil disposed persons of both sexes, and it is believed that the affair was a pre-arranged fight between some of the city hoodlums. The clue obtained by the police was a small one, and as the affair appears to have been an ordinary fracas, and the screams of the distressed female, now believed to be the result of a lively imagination, no further action has been taken.

Among the arrivals by the Alameda were Mr. B.' Fairclough, the eminent tragedian, and Mrs. Fairclough (Miss Elsa May), the young and gifted prima donna. We understand that it is the intention of these distinguished artistes to give a series of unique and high-class performances very shortly. These will consist of recitals without the aid of book, of the first plays of Shakespeare, viz., Hamlet, Macbeth, and Othello, by Mr. Fairclough, intermingled with choice solos by Miss Elsa May. The great success Mr. Fairclough has always achieved both on the London boards, these colonies, and other English-speaking countries, we consider a sufficient guarantee for the delight his audiences will experience in Auckland. The pleasure derived from the vocal efforts of Miss May is too well known to need a comment. A programme is being arranged. In ft paper in Chambers' Journal, entitled " Railway Commission Jottings,"it is stated that on the Great Northern everything except express passenger trains has to give way bo fish traffic, the fresh meat traffic being specially pushed through also ; and that the charges are so enormous as to leave no margin of profit to the fishermen, for the cost of carriage amounts to 50 per cent, of the gross proceeds, The transport of milk is also so expensive as to enable Dutch dairymen to send, it over sea in a frozen state at lower rates. The native discharged yesterday, W'na-rut-a, one of Mahuki's followers, on the ground that the evidence showed ho was not a participant in the proceedings at " the Te Kuiti incident," was last evening informed that he could have a pass for the railway, and go back home to-day with the witnesses from To Kuiti, who will be taken on from Te Awamutu by special train. He is somewhat loth to leave his compatriots, who have been committed for trial. At the last moment, Mr. Kahler, the German artist, decided not to go by the s.s. Alameda to the United States, but to remain over a trip and go on by the next steamer. In the meantime he will sketch the most beautiful portions of the scenery around Auckland, and intends going to the Waitakerei district and doing the Waitakerei and Nihotupu Falls and the lake?. An old man named James Scott broke his thigh on Sunday morning in Albertstreet. He is a widower, and was in charge of the building known as the Clanricardo Hotel, being placed there by Mr. Dignan. He fell on the footpath about four o'clock a.m., having gone outside at that hour because he heard the breaking of some of the window panes, and, naturally enough, wished to discover the reason. He was picked up and removed to the Hospital bj Constable Ward, On Friday morning last, when Mr. G. H. Purchas' party commenced the survey of the Kopururuwai block at Kerepehi, they were stopped by the Maoris, who set on their women to pull up the lining poles. After a heated korero a slight scuffle ensued between Tamahane, the leader of the opposing faction, and Ripikoe, the friendly chief; but they were separated by the women, one of whom received a nasty bite from a dog in the melee. The factions then drew apart; and Mr. Turner, who was in charge of the survey party, effected a compromise by offering to take offsets to show tho points to which Tamehaua wished the lines to run, which conciliated the obstructionists, who then allowed the survey tc proceed. Three first offenders were dealt with by Dr. Giles at the Police Court yesterday morning, two of whom were fined 5s and costs or 21 hours' hard labour, and the other was dismissed. Alfred Ashenden, against whom there were several previous convictions, was fined 20s and costs, or 4S hours' imprisonment.

The low-lying lands around and above Mercer are still flooded by the recent heavy rains. It is stated that the Waikato river is three feet higher than its normal level at this season of the year. It will be seen from our advertising columns that the fourth annual Dog Show, in connection with the Auckland Poultry, Pigeon, Canary, and Dog Association, will be held at Dunblane Auction Mart (late Jackson's), on Friday and Saturday next. The following inquiries for missing friends are from Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper of September 21 :—George Cribb was last heard of in 1880 at Timaru, Canterbury, Now Zealand; his youngest sister inquires. Benjamin Ellis left Liverpool in 1871 for "the Coral Islands"; parents Eg ham) are anxious to hear. John Gandern was last heard of when he left Cressy, near Launceston, Australia, it is thought to po to Now Zealand ; his daughter wishes ior tidings. William Price 16 years ago went to New Zealand ; his mother and pister (who last heard from him 13 years back) are anxious for news. Roderick Wilson sailed from the Albert Docks for New Zealand on April 3, but being taken ill was put ashore at Capetown, and has not been heard of since; his mother is anxious. The Rose Casey will run excursions to Waiwera on Saturday and Monday next nt holiday rates. This affords an excellent opportunity of visiting one of our favourite sanatorium?. A trade sale of new season's Indian tea takes place to-day, at eleven o'clock, at the rooms of Mr. R. C. Carr, Palmerston Buildings, Custom-street. The annual Wesleyan Home Mission meet ing will be held this evening, at lower Remuera, at half-past seven, when addresses will be delivered by the Revs. W. Lee, J. H. Simmonds, and Mr. S. Woods. Collection for home and Maori missions. The annual soiree of the Free Methodist Church, Pitt and Vincent streets, will be held this evening, when Mr. E. Withy, M.H.R., will preside. Addresses will He given by the Revs. T. Sherwood, J. Chew, A. «T. Smith, and iv 0. Perry. Mr. F. La wry will address the electors of Parnell, in the Newmarket Hall, to-morrow (Wednesday), at eight o'clock. A special general meeting of the members of the Auckland Saddlers' Union will be held in the Foresters' Hall, Newton, Beresfordstreet entrance, this evening, at half-past seven.