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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9011, 17 October 1892, Page 4

Oar cable messages this morning state that it is reported in Berlin that Lord Rosebery's tone in regard to the Pamir question is so mild that Russia believes England has no intention of intervening in the matter, an impression which may do incalculable mischief in India unless promptly contradicted. Russia is apparently determined to tear into shreds the last remaining clause of the Treaty of Paris, and has made a demand that her warships when flying a commercial flag should be permitted to pass through the Dardanelles. This is a little ambiguous, as warships are not in the habit of flying commercial flags. The meaning, however, is no doubt that vessels containing Russian transports should be permitted to pass through the Straits. But whatever is the exact nature of the demand the British Ambassador at Constantinople opposes it, and claims if granted that Britain should have a similar concession. The revolt of the Chins is becoming serious, and several British stations are in peril. The French have gained another victory in Dahomey. The result of the court-martial on the mutinous Lifeguards is that the ringleader has been sentenced to eighteen months' imprisonment and dismissed the regiment. A commission has been appointed to enquire into the case of the evicted tenants in Ireland. It is reported that Mr. Morley has dismissed Colonel Turner, Divisional Commissioner of Munster. According to the St. Petersburg correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph, Russia is anxious to secure an alliance with Austria, but from a statement made by Count Kalnoky, Austria has no intention of withdrawing from the Triple\Alliance. The P. and 0. Company's steamer Bokhara is believed to have foundered in the China Sea.

Among the passengers who arrived by the Northern S.S. Company's steamer Gairloch and Union S.S. Company's steamer Takapuna in the Manakau on Saturday afternoon and yesterday were the Hons. P. Dignan and W. Swanson, Colonel Fraser, Major Hamlin, Jackson Palmer, T. Thompson, and J. M. Shera (M.H.R.'s), Mr J. C. Hanna, of the Bank of ISew Zealand Estates Company, and Captain Whitney, of the Ammunition Company. The Takapuna was not able to call at New Plymouth owing to the state of the weather, consequently Sir George Grey, who was to have come up in her, will not reach Auckland for two or three days. A somewhat serious accident befel Mr. Jahn, of Mount Nessing, on Friday last. As far as can be gathered he tied his horse up to the gate of old St. Thomas's, where his daughter is buried, and the horse rearing, struck him a heavy, blow on the head with its fore foot, and trampled upon him. Mr. Jahn must have lain some time before the 'bus passed. The 'bus took word on to St. John's College. Mr. Smallfield, the principal, and Mr. E. H. Barber, one of the masters, who is also secretary of the St. John Ambulance Association, went at once to the scene of the accident. Mr. Jahn was found to be cut about a good deal, but still conscious. Mr. Smallfield, Mr. Barber, and Mr. Bramley, head boy of the College, carried him to Mr. Bedford's, while Professor Carrollo, who was also on the scene, rode off to Auckland to procure a doctor. Mr. Jahn was made as comfortable as possible, Mr. Barber and Mr. Smallfield attending to his wounds, and bandaging his head. After about two hours Dr. Davy and Mrs. Jahn arrived, and Mr. Jahn was placed in a cab, and Dr. Davy and Mr. Barber brought him oh to his home. The patient is still in a critical condition. This is the first reported case in which a member of the St. John Ambulance Association has been able to render any important aid. We understand that the Commissioner of Police contemplates reorganising the detective force. With that object in view a number of transfers will be effected. Chief Detective Kirby proceeds to Napier, and Detective Grace, who has been over 15 years at that station, returns to Auckland, where he formerly served. Mr. Kirby has been for two years in Auckland, and has proved himself a most efficient officer, and is succeeded by another capable and experienced officer well known to many of our old citizens. The transfers have been hitherto made without any definite guiding principle whatever, but this is to be changed. For instance, there have been no less than four chief detectives in succession at the Auckland station within the short period of four years. Just when the officer in Auckland had obtained the requisite knowledge of the criminal classes he was shifted somewhere else, while at Napier Detective Grace was made a fixture, as already stated, for over 15 years, and will remember most of his old acquaintances, professionally, among the criminal classes dead or gone. The officer commanding the district, Lieutenant-Colonel Goring, and Lieutenant Grant, the district adjutant, have been appointed members of the Local Board of Military Examination, notice of which appeared in last week's Gazette.

With reference to the discussion which took place at the last meeting of the City Council respecting Mr. F." William*' chimney in Lower Queen-street, that gentleman writes :—" I have in my employ an engineer who has held a certificate as such for 22 years, and in whom . I have confidence, and he informs me that there is no danger from ; fire whatever, and that he has. proposed through me that if the City Council or Mr. Ehrenfried will arrange that Mr. Jobson, Government Inspector, shall come and examine the chimney, he will be prepared for. them at a few hours' notica, and I will abide by his decision, and I do not think I can do anything fairer." Mr. Williams also calls attention to Mr. Goldie's chimney, and says that if compared with his a great contrast will be noticeable. An ordinary meeting of the .Auckland Institute is to be held this evening at eight o'clock. The chief paper of interest will be one by Mr. J. C. Firth on " The Causes of Fires on Shipboard." After alluding to the general ignorance of the subject, he will proceed to point out the source of danger existing in all our frozen meat steamers from the liability to spontaneous combustion of their charcoal insulators. The opinions and experiments of leading scientific men on the subject will be briefly described, and instances will be given of fires on steamers and elsewhere that have arisen from the spontaneous combustion of -harcoal. The recent outbreak of fire on die ship Timara in this harbour will be alluded to, and the paper will close with some suggestions as to the use of a safe and perfect remedy. The paper will be open for discussion as soon as read, and it is hoped those persons who have some practical knowledge of the subject will attend, and give the Institute the benefit of their experience. The building trade has greatly improved of late, and the amount of work in hand, or for which plans are being prepared, is stated by men in the trade to be in excess of anything experienced during the past five years. A man named Henry Tollas was arrested last night by Constable Mackonochie on a charge of larceny of £24, the property of Mr. William Regan, licensee of the Rob Roy Hotel, Franklin Road. Accused has been, it is said, staying at the hotel for the last day or two. The Boys' Commentary for October, in connection with St. James' Church, devotes a leader to the topic of " How to Make a Sunday-school Fete Interesting:" a tale, correspondence, and " Football Thoughts" by " Back," complete the number. At the Police Court, Onehunga, on Saturday, before Dr. W. R. Erson (Mayor), an old man, named Richard Howarth, was brought up on a charge of using obscene language in Alfred street, on October 10th, in the hearing of persons passing by. From the evidence it appears that the accused was holding forth in the street in a vile strain, and subsequently continued his bad language in the house where he lodges with an old woman named Ingham, in so loud a tone of voice that several small boys assembled on the footpath to listen to him. The old man had been before the Court for a similar offence on a previous occasion, and "the presiding magistrate having commented upon bis disgraceful conduct, committed him to Mount Eden for four months, with hard labour. On Friday evening the annual business meeting of the Tabernacle Band of Hope was held in the schoolroom, which had been decked with flowers by some of the lady members. Pastor Blaikie presided. The secretary read the annual report, which gave a detailed outline of the society's work during the past twelve months, also the treasurer's report, which showed a credit balance of £2 7s sd. The officers for the coming year were then elected as follows : -President, Pastor James Blaikie; vicepresidents, Messrs. Joshua Robinson and William Baker secretary, Mr. F. Ernest Kretschmar; assistant secretary, Mr. Frederick Walton; treasurer, Miss E. Gaze ; delegate, Mr. M. J. Franklin ; committee, Misses Spedding, Stewart, Vincent, Goodwin, Watts, and Emily Spedding, Messrs. William Blakey, and G. E. Crocombe. Since this society was formed eleven years ago 476 persons have signed its pledge.

The Mayor of Onehunga (Dr. Erson) has been actively interesting himself with a view to the establishment of a branch of one of the Auckland banks in that town. The movement is being taken up with cordial approval by the local business folk, and the promised support should be sufficient to result in the attainment of the object. The vacant part of the new municipal buildings is suggested as a central and convenient place for the bank premises. A former resident of Lawrence, who has returned from Melbourne on a visit, thus writes in the Tuapeka Times: "The destitution, which is fearful, is incomprehensible and inconceivable to a New Zealander, who is accustomed only to the comparatively mild form of depression or temporary trade disorganisations of this colony. Soup kitchens have been opened all round the suburbs by benevolent people, and these establishments are literally rushed by crowds of starving men, women, and children. You must see these sights with your own eyes in order to understand what destitution really means. You see troops of women, wan and hollow-eyed, carrying or leading their emaciated children, and you see decent, middle-agad artisans, haggard and wearylooking, but whose respectability is still visible through all their suffering and humiliation— a:l making their daily visit to the soup kitchen. At night these people take refuge in the domain or public gardens, as they have been long ago ejected from their homes owing to their inability to meet the demands of the landlord. Inquiries instituted among these people show that many of them are men and women who were once in good positions and are now victims of the boom, having been despoiled of their worldly possessions and reduced to a state of helpless poverty. In these dark days in Melbourne the Salvation Army has been a blessing, and the good it has done, the suffering it has relieved, and the sunshine and hope it has brought into thousands of wretched homes should form an imperishable record of the Christian and catholic spirit that animates this wonderful organisation. Yes ; certainly, the churches did something, but nothing like what should be expected from them when you look at their great wealth and influence arid organisation. The sphere of their work was narrow, as it always is, and for the most part was sectarian rather than Christian in its width and scope. The churches in their several quarters of the city helped their own people, whereas the charity of the Salvation Army is indiscriminate, unquestioning — given to all, without distinction of creed or caste. A short time since the members of the General Assembly raised £400 amongst themselves and handed it over to the Salvation Army without imposing restrictions of any kind as to the. manner of its distribution. I have met scores and scores of destitute New Zealanders, who left these shores four years ago in hopes of bettering themselves, and are now penniless and drifting about among the other wrecks of the city. I have met many of those who are most anxious to get back to Mew Zealand again, but in their destitute circumstances are unable to do so. Yet, fortunately for themselves, there are many of them returning ; and in the boat that I crossed over in last week the steerage was full of returning New Zealanders, and this is likely to be the case for some time to come. '■* " ' "' - •/'■ ■ The Australasian concludes an article on the " Washers and Mangier* Bill" as follows: —"It goes without saying that the State in new lands has larger functions than in the old world ; but, partly through ignorance, and partly under the impulse of a sentimental Socialism, all the colonies are in danger of charging the State with functions which it cannot wisely discharge. The grandmotherly legislation which must ' protect' this industry and ' regulate' that business, and meddle generally in the private affairs of citizens, is alien to the whole genius of our race, and is condemned by every page of our history. Englishmen do not flourish when State-ridden and State-regulated at every turn and in every transaction. The grandmotherly impulse in its own sphere is natural and amiable ; but it suits children and not men. And the State is never less entitled to the respect of its own citizens than when, under the impulse of a fussy benevolence, it undertakes to ' regulate,' and ' protect,'; and ' inspect,' and ' conciliate,' and * license' every form of industry from making boots to washing shirts." £.v -s* 'r; I :■■■«. is

At a meeting of delegates of Friendly Societies on Friday, the question was discussed as to - fixing a time for the annual Hospital Sunday, and a sab-committee was appointed to consider the matter and arrange, if practicable, that it should be beld on the second or third Sunday in November. Other routine business was transacted before the meeting separated. The store piano warehouse of the Messrs. Hoffmann, in Lome-street, has been leased by Mr. Morrao, the mackintosh manufacturer. Another storey is being pat on the building, and it is being altered for the purposes of a manufactory for waterproof clothing. : Mr. J. L. Holland, builder, has the contract, which will come to about £800. t ': v. --■ .. -. At the City Hall yesterday afternoon Mr. W. H. Jude, the musical evangelist, delivered a most interesting and. instructive lecture entitled " Heavenly Music in the Struggle for Life." Long before the hoar announced f*r the oration—t hi'•» o'clock the hall was filled to its utmost capacity, a large number having to be content with standing room. In the course of his remarks Mr. Jude showed how much good had been done to the world by some of the grand old hymns by Dr. Watts, Cardinal ]Newman, and others. He .played and sang several of these, the audience at his request joining in the singing. His rendering of Eliza Cook's ballad, " The Old Armchair," was given with much pathos and feeling. louring his lecture Mr. Jude was frequently applauded, his audience evidently being quite in.touch with his remarks. Among the announcements made by Mr. Jude was one regarding Signor Foli, the eminent basso, now performing at the Opera House. Mr. June said that Mr. Foli was one of the best men in the profession, and had always occupied a very high place in England. He strongly ad vi»ed all people who were intending .to cultivate tbe art of singing to go and hear Mr. Foii, as it would do as a lesson tor them, and would be money well spent. Mr. Foli knew nothing whatever of the announcement be was then making, but he did so because he was of the opinion that the residents here did not place the proper value upon Mr. Foil's abilities. Mr. Jude proceeds to the Thames to-morrow, where he is announced to give one of his popular and pleasing entertainments. The Steen-Smith combination open their short season of three nights in the City Hall this evening, and from 'all accounts and indications their entertainment should be highly interesting and enjoyable. Some account has already been given in these columns of Madame Steen's marvellous clairvoyant powers, and. \ Professor Steen has earned a great reputation as an exposer of so called spiritualistic manifestations. In addition to these there is an old Auckland favourite in the person of Mr. Oscar Smith, whose capabilities as a humourist and ventriloquist are of a high order. With such talent the programme should be attractive ■ and tbe audiences proportionately large. ' -• •