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New Zealand Mail, Issue 764, 22 October 1886, Page 16

The Wairarapa, with au English (Bdudisi) mail, arrived at Auckland oa Wednesday morning.

A large sheet of iron which was dropped overboard from the Rotomahana, near the wharf on Monday last, has been recovered by Mr Gough, the .diver.

The Hospital Steward acknowledges with thaDks the receipt of illustrated papeis from Mrs Moornouse ; old linen from Mrs S. Pearmau, Martin-square, and Mrs Bull, Boulcott-street.

The Hinemoa left yesterday for the wreck of the Lyttelton, at the Beef BarreUs, D’Urville Island. The object of the trip is to ascertain whether the wreck is any obstruc* tion to navigation. Should this be the case, Captain Fairchild will take steps to remove the obstacle.

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Lower Hutt, on Wednesday, before Mr W. A. Fitzherbert and Dr Johnston, J.P.’s, Henry Fleet was fined £1 with .costs, for allowing a horse to wander on the railway line at Mungaroa. A woman charged with drunkenness, who did not appear (having been released on bail), was Jjyied ss.

**®The Weliing’on Working Men’s Club 3moke concert, held on Wednesday night, to celebrate the opening of the new premises recently secured for the locale oi the club, was a successful and enjoyable affair. At 8 o’clock a large number of members sat down to a capital spread, in a commodious room on the first floor, Mr J. H. Heaton (president of the club) presiding. The concert passed off very successfully, the items being supplied by Messrs Read, Gooder, LyoD, E. J? Hill, Dransfield, Durnett, Maginnitr, Haybittle, Cbeesmsn, Wallace, Lennox, and Morgan. Mr Wright played the accompaui ments very efficiently. The gathering broke up at a late hour, all having thoroughly enj >yed themselve3. Messrs T. K. Macdonald and Cc. report principal sales as follows during the month ending 15th October Allotments 15 and 16 of town acre 315, having a frontage of 79ft t-o Levy-street by a depth of 122 ft, wi:h a family residence, £1275 ; building allotments 50 and 59, Petone, each having a. frontage of 50ft by a depth of 100 ft, £125 ; part of town acre 181, Wellington, having (a frontage of 33ft 4in to Leeda street, by a depth of 63ft 3io, with four-roomed cottage, £275 ; allotment, having a frontage of 28ft to a right-of-way off Abel Smith-street, by a depth of 78ft, with four-roomed cottage, £3OO ; part of allotment 39, reclaimed land, having a frontage of 20ft to Grey-street by a depth of 31ft, on which is erected a two-story building 20ft by 26ft, £I7OO. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday William Harvey was brought up and charged with drunkenness. The offence being proved, the accused was fined 10s, or 48 hours’ imprisonment. George Collins and Frances Currie were charged with having been found by night, without lawful excuse, on the premises of 8. Luke and Sod, Manners-street. Collins pleaded not guilty, and the woman admitted the offence. Evidence befog brought in support of the charge the accused were each sentenced to one week’s imprisonment. Woo Lee was charged with having ill-treated a horse. A fine of 10s was inflicted. Rebecca McLaughlin was brought up on remand on a charge of lunacy. Mr Carvn , Governor of the Terrace Gaol, stated that the accused had now recovered from the effects of her drinkfog bout. She wa3 discharged with a caution. The case against William Chapman for failing to comply with a maintenance order for the support of his five children, was adjourned till Wednesday next.

An interesting schedule of the value of landed property in the streets in Lambton Ward, is given in this mouth’s issue _ of Messrs T. K. Macdonald and Co.’s Wellington Landed Property Guide. The total value is estimated at £1,326,801, made up of £963,426 value of land, and £358,375 value of buildings and improvfinents. The annual letting value ia estimated at £95,815. Tbe total value (made up, as already stated, cf tbe value of land and tbe value of buildings and improvements) in each of the streets in tbe ward, is given as follows :—Aurora-terrace, £7,525 ; Balance-street, £15,015; Boltonstreet, £10,535; Boulcott-street, £39,175; Bowen-street, £1240; Brandon-street.£44,47s; Customhouse-quay, £233,400 ; Featherstonatreet, £95,025 ; Grey-street, £53,290 ; Harbour street, £7,105 ; Hunter-street, £21,470 ; Johnston-s treet, £29 675; Lambton-quay, £426,566; Maginnitv-street, £9,237 ; Panamastreet, £28,400 ; Piimmer’a-terrace, £5,475 ; Stout-street, £8,275 ; Waring Taylor-street. £22,550 ; Waterloo quay, £4,500 ; Welling-ton-terrace, £119,331 ; Whitmore - street, £2.955 ; Willis-street, £136,052 ; Woodward : street, £5,530.

The- Rotorua, which arrived from South yesterday, brought up the Te Anau’s English and Australian mails.

It is said that there are a number of Sydney visitors in Wellington now of the class know® as “ speelere,” generally peculiar to racemeetfog?*

His Honor the Chief Justice is not expected back till Monday next. As Me Justice Richmond is also away on the NelaonBlenheim circuit, neither Supreme Court noc bankruptcy business can be taken this week. We have to acknowledge the receipt of avery neat card containing a list of the pieces played by Mr Wybert Reeve’s company.. Me Reeve gives his opening performance on Monday, and tbe season will be for eighteen nights.

The people of Manchester have determined to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee by holding an Exhibition to show the progress of art acd'. manufactures during tbe Victorian era. A guarantee fund of £IOO,OOO is required, of which £30,000 has already been promised.

We understand that the Government are in negotiation with the Union Steam Shipping Company for a steam service between New Plymouth and the Manukau when the railway connection with- New Plymouth is opened. Im the event of the negotiations being anccessful' the Takapuua will probably be put on that service.

The charges against Allan Whitfield and J. G. Bowern, for having committed breaches of the Stamp Act of 1882, by failing to affix a stamp to a certain bill or promissory note for the sum of £3O, are set down for hearing at tbe Resident Magistrate’s Court today. The cases will probably be adjourned,: for a week, as Mr Jellicoe, who has been retained for the defence, will be away in NelßOU^ The charge against Mr T. K. Macco-iald and Mr Ramadan, respectively Chairman of Dire3tors and Manager of the mills of theWellington Woollen Manufacturing Company, of trespassing on the railway line at Petone, was to have been heard on Wednesday at tbe Lower Hutt. It was decided, however, to postpone the hearing of the ca-e till nextweek. Mr Travers has been retained for the defence. It is probable that the case will be tried at Wellington on Wednesday next. Clement George Harding was charged at the EeddentMagistrate’sCcurton Wednesday, before Messrs J. Lockie and W. M. Maskell,. Justices, with having obtained the sum of £1 9s from Walter C. Wilson, proprietor of the Grosvenor Hotel, by means of a valueless cheque. The evidence was exactly the sameas on the first chargo, on which the prisoner has already been committed for trial. He was also committed on this charge. Accused was further charged with having obtained tbe sum of £1 10s from Harry B. Price, licensee of the Star and Garter Hotel, by false representation, and also with having obtained the sum of £1 from Benjamin Oxoerj proprietorof the Princess Theatre Hotel, by similar means. The evidence in both cases was of a. similar nature to that already taken in Mr Wilson’s case. Accused was committed fortrial in both cases. He now stands committed on five charges of obtaining money under false pretences.-

An exceedingly good imitation of a Bank of New Zealand £1 note was taken by Mr Mee, chemist, during the week. So closely was th® genuine article copied that Mr Mee did not suspect the baduess of his note until he paid it in, or rather was about to pay it in, to the bank yesterday. The clerk, turning soma notes over, detected something strange in this, particular one, and, examining it closely, saw that it was spurious. The note, when carefn ’y iispectel, was found to be made of unusually thick paper ; and a sheet of very thin tissue paper has been pasted on the back of it, apparently with a view of bringing the water mark into prominence. On the back the note is stamped with the stamp of “The Colonial > Bank of New Zealand, London ” ; but whether this is a forgery or not it is impossible to say. If it is, the stamp has been very well imitated. Mr Mee proposes to keep the note on exhibition at bis shop for a few days, in order that tradespeople may see it, and perhaps prevent the possibility of their taking other counterfeit notes.

A rather Important point of law was raised by Mr Jellicoe in the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. Catherine Marriott applied for a protection order against her husband Wm. Daniel Marriott. Mr Jellicoe, who was for the defendant, referred Mr Waraell to the seventh section of the Ma.ried Women’s Property Act, of 1884, which provides that property acquired after the passing of the Act by a woman married before it,, shall belong to her separate - estate. Mr Wardell said that seemed to do away with tbe necessity for protection order® altogether, although they had been made during the last two years. Mr Jellicoe said yes, her property was protected. Mr Wardell asked whether it protected her earnfogs. Mr Jellicoe said it did. His Worship said it was quite a new idea to him, and heshould hardly like to say at once that be could accept Mr Jellicoe’s contention, though it appeared to him to be correct. It appeared that the section did away altogether with protection orders. However, he would consider the matter, and give his decision later on.

A general meeting of the Philosophical Society was held at the Museum last Wednesday night. There was a good attendance of members, and Dr Hector occupied the chair. Dr EEutehinson was nominated to vote at the election of Governors in the New Zealand Institute for the ensuing year. Mr A. McKay read a paper on the " Waihao greenstones and tbe relations of the Ototatara limestones.” This was a paper to controvert certaiu expressions by Professor Hutton on the same subject. Mr W. M. Maskell submitted that a! proposal on the subject of “ Tree Blight,” to the effect that the Society should approach the Government and obtain if possible that the energies of the Forest Department should be directed to a thorough _ instruction of the public in the protection of their trees. Mr Crawford seconded the pro posal, which was carried unanimously. It was decided that the Council of theSociety should be directed to carry out Mr Mask ell’s proposal. Several fossils from. Otago, collected by Mr A. McKay, and a map of the reoeut earthquakes at Charleston, were exhibited. A salmon trout weighing about eleven pounds, captured by Mr Rutherford in the Hutt River, was also shown.

A fiDe grizzly bear arrived lately in Sydney 'from London by the steamship Delcomyn. It Is intended as an addition to the attractions of the Zoological Society’s Gardens in Moore 'SPark. Three other animals wore dispatched % the Bame steamer for the gardens, viz., a •wolf, a jaguar, and a monkey, but they all •died on the voyage. A German newspaper gives some statistics ■as to the railway enterprise of the world. At <tbe end of 1884 the aggregate mileage was *290,750, of which there were in Europe 117,694 miles, in Asia 12,757, in Africa •4075, in America 148,738, and in Australia 7486 miles. Of the total mileage, not les3 than 60 per cent, is in Englieb speaking couu<tries.

The captains of Bussian infantry, says the Novoe Yremya (St Petersburg), are in future to be mounted. In the Rus-io-Turkish war of 1877-78, several Corps d’Armds commanders srecogcised the great difficulty under which the 'infantry captain labors in our day in •directing on foot the movements of his company. This disadvantage is now to be obviated Iby mounting first the captains of the guard, next those of the first Corps d Armds, and -eventually the remainder. When the cases against Charles Cheymol •were called on at the Besident 8 ■Court on Wednesday morning, Mr Bell, Crown 'prosecutor, stated that he did not intend to •offer any evidence. ! The evidence in both on which the prisoner was now charged wai precisely the same as on the first •charge on which the accused had been committed for trial. He did not think it desirable to take up fhe time of the Court in listening to evidence already given. Mr Jellicoe, who appeared for the accused, asked that •each case should be called on and formally -dismissed. This was accordingly done, and ifche defendant left the dock.

At a meeting of the Stock Conference at > Sydney, Mr Lance assessed the cost of the •rabbit plague to New Zealand at half a million a year, while Mr McKenzie added that •where the rabbits were numerous the carrying .capacity of the land was reduced by onethird, the weight of the fleece decreased by lib to the lambing decreased 30 or 40 per cent, and the death-rate increased from 3 and 6 per cent, up to 10 and 13 per cent. Mr Tabart said that in Tasmania for the last six years the number of sheep had decreased by 250,000, and the lambing percentage had fallea from 79, 75, ana 80 per cent, to 50 and 60 per cent. In South Australia, Mr Bsgofc estimated that the rabbits had iuvaded 40,000 ■square miles o' territory. Mr Lance moved, •and Mr Peter seconded, a resolution to the •effect that a bonus should be offered by the •collective Australasian colonies for an effective plan for the destruction of rabbifc3. The motion was agreed to.