Town and Country.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1057, 2 June 1892, Page 35

Town and Country.

We understand that Mr Edwards is preparing a petition to Parliament for redress. Queensland has definitely decided not to be represented at the Chicago Exhibition, The IL.M.S. lonic, which arrived from London on Sunday, brought an English mail, consisting of 34 packages of parcels post matter and 18 bags of mail. Edward James Tamlyn Price, hotelkeeper, of Wellington, was adjudicated a bankrupt on Saturday upon his own petition. The first meeting of creditors takes place to-day. The regulations re the entry of engineer students in Her Majesty’s Navy, and for the entry of students in naval construction, with a view to their being trained in Her Majesty’s dockyard at Devonprrt, are published for general information in last week’s Gazette. Officers of the Johnsonville and Hutt County Gun Club have been elected as follow :—President, Mr A. A. Stuart-Menteath ; treasurer, Mr W. R. McKinstry; secretary, Mr M. Atkinson; committee, Messrs S. Bryant, R. Bould, E. Earpe, G. Waddington, J. Rod, F. Barnes and D. Braid. The great pugilistic encounter between Peter Jackson and Frank Slavin was decided on Monday in London. The Sydney Referee has the following in reference to the contest : —We shall commence to unravel the knotty question as to who is the present champion of the prize ring with the battle which took place on Monday, the 30th inst., at the National Spotting Club, London. The two men—and they are Australians—who have the strongest claims to the titles are Peter Jackson and Frank P. Slavin. These men have never met within the squared circle, although many a noted slogger has fallen before each. Slavin has been accused of running away from Jack--3011 and avoiding a meeting with the coloured champion, and should this battle be brought off, as seems certain, Australians will be able to judge of the truth or otherwise of that impression, A fair field seems assured, and as the men are at the top of the class in their special line, Australians have a right to regard the winn-r as the champion. At all events,

even if this claim be not allowed, we shall be a step nearer the final settlement. JohnL. Sullivan and Corbett fight in America in September next, and when the winner of each contest be known, the answering of the question of ‘ Who is the champion ?' should be narrowed down to two men.

Preparations for giving a fitting reception to Lord and Lady Glasgow to-morrow are proceeding apace. The Town Clerk is writing to the Masonic bodies, Friendly Societies, Trades and Labour Council, Knights of Labour, and in fact the heads of all representative bodies to send delegates to a meeting to be held in the upper portion of the City Council buildings to-night to decide as Jo the order of procession, following which a meeting of citizens is to be held to confer with the Mayor as to the best method of entertaining Lord and Lady Glasgow on their arrival. Mr A. G. Johnson has been entrusted with the task of making arrangements for the procession, which, 011 account of his experience in such matters, he is well fitted . to perform. The Education Board will be asked to grant a half holiday, so that the youngsters and the teachers may join in the procession; the crew of the Ringarooma, which will be in port at the t me, and her officers will take part in the pn.ueedings ; the Town Clerk is going to write to the Defence Minister, asking that all the members of the Permanent Artillery may turn out and fire a salute ; a similar compliment will doubtless be paid by the man-of-war, and the saluting battery on the Thorndon Esplanade is also, we understand, to be used for a similar purpose. The mayors cf the several t o-vus in the district, the clergy, and in fact all the dignitaries in the locality will be invited to participate. An address of welcome drafted by the Mayor has been adopted by the Council, and the Harbour Board’s Secretary (Mr Ferguson) is working most amicably with the other loc il body and Mr Johnson to make the affair a decided success. It was suggested that a paity of Natives shill'd he obt lined from the Wairarapa to dance a welcome, and also that triumphal arches should be erected, but as there are doubts as to the legality of expending public moneys for such a purpose, both these ideas

have had to be abandoned, at anyrate for the present.

The appointments of the Hon William Pember Reeves to be Commissioner of Stamp Duties, and the Hon Alfred Jerome Cadman to be Minister of Justice are gazetted. An enthusiastic meeting of the Nationalist Club took place on Monday, and a proposition on the subject of surplus population was discussed.

By Gazette notice issued on Monday the Speaker formally declares the Rangitikii seat in the House of Representatives vacant by reason of the death of Mr D. H. Macarthur.

A proclamation repealing the Property Assessment Act, 1885, and the Property Assessment Act, 1885, Amendment Act, 18S6, appears in a Supplementary Gazette issued on Monday, H.M.S. Ringarooma reached here at 7 a.m. on Monday from Auckland. During her stay in the northern city she received a thorough overhaul in the Calliope dock. The Ringa* rooma will remain here over a fortnight.

The Taranaki Ne<vs says:—The mortality amongst the Maoris living at the Mangaone Pa, near Ball Block, is becoming alarming, and we consider it high time some steps were taken to prevent the Natives indulging in the hideous orgies and drunken bouts that have been so frequent of late, and which appear likely to continue for an indefinite period.

The Wesleyan schoolroom, Taranaki street, was well filled on Monday on the occasion of a concert given by the choir and friends. Vocal and instrumental selections were contributed by Misses Butler, Emily Fletcher, Bragge and Hill, and Messrs W. J. Harland, Thomson, Billman and Rishworth, the choir also giving some part songs in a very agreeable manner. Miss Butler officiated at the piano and the choir were under the conductorship of Mr VV. J. Harland.

ii—- ■*' A meeting of the newly formed Johnsonville and Hutt Gun Club was.held at the Railway Hotel, Johnsonville, on Monday. The President, Mr A. A. Stuart-Menteath,occupied the chair, and the meeting was well attended. Rules for the proper management of the Club were drawn up, and the business of forming the Club was carried out. It was stated that the membership already numbers over 50, and it is intended to hold a match at an early date.

An Order in Council appears in Monday’s Supplementary Gazette promulgating certain regulations relating to the seal fisheries. The months of June, July, August, September, October, November, and December are declared the close 3ea3on for this year, during which no person shall buy, sell, expose for sale, or have in possession any seal, or the skins, oil or blubber under a penalty of nob less than L 5 and not exceeding LSOO, and a further penalty not exceeding L2O for every seal illegally taken.

A very pleasant concert tendered to Mrs Moran and family was given by the Star Gymnastic Club at the Ptincess Theatre, Tory street, on Monday, at which song?, banjo sketches, trapeze performances, &c., were given by Messrs C. Richardson, J. Reid, A. Johnson, F. Hobbs, Chas. Brown, V. Magee, T. Delanev, W. Conner, J. Phillips, G. Barlow, P. Smith, concluding with a very funny farce entitled ‘Tony the Tailor. The pleasant proceedings terminated with a dance, Mr Boecker officiating as M.C. An amusing example of the working of the grand jury system was supplied at a recent sitting of the Supreme Court, not very far from the Empire City. A certain prisoner was so convinced of the impossibility of persuading a common jury to believe his protestations o£ innocence that he had fully made up his mind to throw himself on the mercy of the Court, and plead guilty.- His modest intention, however, was, unfortunately for the interest of justice, frustrated, for the grand jury threw out the bill, and the prisoner was accordingly released. The criminal sessions of the Supreme Court were opened on Monday morning. The grand jury returned true bills in seventeen cases, and threw out the bills in three others. The jury concluded their labours at 6.55 p.m., and were then discharged, His Honor thanking them for their services in the name of the Colony. Only two cases were heard on Monday. Joseph Rhodes pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to a year’s imiirisonment. The other case heard was that against James Craig, charged with setting fire to a cottage at Silverstream, in which the jury brought in a verdict of not guilty. The order in which the cases were taken on Monday is as follows:—Peter Rummage, larceny ; Walter Lane, burglary ; Tasman Cook and John Brown, larceny ; Constance M. Spargo, bigamy. The case against Robert S. Marsh, charged with cattle-stealing, was taken yesterday, and against H. F. William Kempton, charged with sheep-stealing today. The charges against Leonard A. Langley of horse-stealing have been fixed for hearing on Monday next.

The Hon Mr Ballance has always striven for the simplification of the law relating to land and cognate subjects, and in the approaching session he intends to attempt something more in this direction. He has prepared a measure called the Testamentary Trusts Restriction Bill, which proposes to offer very important facilities for the realisation and division amongst the beneficiaries of real or personal estate which is the subject of testamentary disposition. It is retrospective in operation, and will enable any beneficiary of full. age in an estate which is tied up under, will until the youngest beneficiaries come of age to apply to the Supreme Court for relief. The Court, upon due enquiry, may then order the real and personal property of the testator to be sold and converted into money ; and may order the whole proceeds, if there is no Rife or other limited interest to be provided for out of the estate, or if there be such, after making provision for them, may order the balance of the proceeds to be apportioned into shares corresponding to the directions of the will and tho shares of. the beneficiaries as may be of age to be paid to them, and the shares of all such of them as are not of full age to be paid into the Public Trust Office, there to accumulate at interest until they have come of age. In the case of any person entitled to a life or other limited interest in the property of the testator the Court shall before any distribution of the estate is made order t • bideposited at interest in the Public Trust Offic; a capital sum, the interest whereof, ea'c i'a ed at L 5 ;ser centum pev annum, shall be sufficient to pay the yearly value of such life or other limited estate. The rate of interest to be paid under age and limited interest beneficiaries is fixed at 5 per cent, and is to 1 0 pai l annually. The measure is rot to apply, however, to any will, the property disposed of under which does not exceed LIQOQ in Ya'.ue,