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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4206, 12 September 1874, Page 2

To the intense surprise of everyone, yesterday afternoon portions of the streets were watered; those parts, however, which most needed it were left untouched. For instance, down near the Tost Office and the wharf, where a great deal of traffic 1 goes on, the dust was blowing iu as great clouds as ever. It might be as well if the men handling the hose would use it a little more carefully, for, however refreshing it may be, it is not always convenient for a passer by to be half drenched with a shower of water. At the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday one person was fined for drunkenness, and S. F. Hill was fined 10s. and costs, for allowing the chimney of his house to take fire. In the civil business the only case adjudicated upon was Ready v. Kane, £2 175., iu which judgment was given for £2 and costs. As will be ■ seen by advertisement, special services in connection with the anniversary of the Wesleyan Manners Street Church will bo preached to-morrow, in the morning by the Rev. John Aldred, from Christchurch, and in the evening by the Superintendent of the Wellington Circuit, the Rev. W. Morley. We are sure there will be a large congregation to hear Mr. Aldred, who is so well known amongst New Zealand Wesleyans, Then the wellknown preaching capabilities of Mr. Morley will be sufficient to'' draw a large gathering in the evening. In the afternoon, the Rev. R. Neilsen, from Norway, will preach in the Scandinavian tongue, when all the Scandinavians of Wellington are invited. On Tuesday, the annual tea and public meeting will be held.

The Catholics of the Upper Hutt are zealously raising funds to enlarge their present church. The architectural work, in the hands of Mr. Turnbull, architect, will be carried out in the form of a Latin cross; which, when completed, will be one of the nicest ornaments in the valley. The Jewish New Year 5535 commenced last evening at six o’clock; the services in connection will terminate on Sunday evening. On Monday, the 19th, will take place their great fast, or day of atonement. The Rev. Abraham Myers, recently from Hobart Town, has been engaged as minister and schoolmaster for Wellington. The polling for the election of a commissioner for the Kaiwarra Local Board, in the place of Mr. G. Reynolds, disqualified, took place on the 7th inst., at the toll-house. There were two candidates, Mr, A. Cameron and Mr. W. Donald; Mr. W. Donald was elected by a majority of five votes. A meeting of the Kaiwarra Local Board was held on the 7th inst; Mr. W, T. Why at t in the chair. Tenders were received from Mr. Naim and Mr. Ramsay, for repairing part of the old Porirua Road; both tenders being considered excessive they were declined, and it was proposed to employ day labor. A notice was received from the returning officer declaring Mr. W. Donald duly elected a commissioner for the Local Board. A letter was received from Mr. T. Phillips, complaining of nuisance on the premises adjoining Ms residence. Mr. Phillips claimed protection under the 29th clause of the Public Health Act, 1872. The chairman was directed to write to the occupier to have the nuisance abated. The Board then adjourned. A short time ago the Rev. J. T. Warlow Davies, of Auckland, wrote to the Premier on the subject of introducing people into this country from Wales. He has received the following rejfiy “ Sir,—l have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your very valuable and interesting letter of the 18th instant upon the subject of the desirability of inducing emigration from Wales. I have to inform you that the Agent-General’s attention was some time ago directed to this matter, and he has reported that he has increased the number of his local agents in that part of the United Kingdom, and taken other measures to make bether known there the advantages offered by New Zealand for emigration. A copy of your letter will be forwarded to him by the mail, for his information, with the recommendation to give it his earnest attention.—l have, etc., Julius Vogel. Rev. J. T. Warlow Davies, M-A- Auckland.” The Christchurch correspondent of the Otayo Daily 'Dimes writes as follows ; Two vessels with immigrants arrived from Home on Saturday last —the Cathcart and the St. Lawrence. On board the former a mutiny occurred during the voyage, and the captain fired three shots with a revolver among the mutineers. No lives wore taken. I am unable to give you the particulars of the affair, but I may say that I saw one of the immigrants yesterday for a few minutes, and he told me the captain was perfectly justified in the course ho adopted. The worst feature of the case is that a man who was lying quietly in his bunk, and was in no way involved in the fracas, received ono of the bullets in his groin, and I understand that up to the present time all attempts to extract it have been unavailing. Starlings, it is stated, are now numerous in the district of Tokomairiro, and aro soon at times on the plains in large flocks. English larks, also, are numerous. The fact is beyond dispute, says the Express, that Marlborough is able to “ absorb ’’ many more immigrants ithan falls to her lot, otherwise the depot would not be placed under lock and key for want of tenants. The United Presbyterian Presbytery of Glasgow has found it desirable to recommend to all congregations, by solemn resolution, the desirability of discountenancing drinking customs generally, and “ more especially the practice of drinking and toasting at ordination services, and drinking at funerals.” The Clerk of tho Presbytery, in submitting the resolution remarked that “ of late there had been several inductions and some ordinations,” and from a remark which followed, that “he did not interfere with tho liberty of. brethren : his own conscience was a rule unto himsftlf,” we are led to infer that there had been some doings , on those occasions such ns Bums has described in his account of “ the holy fair.”

OTAGO. It Is stated that Mr. E. F. Gillies, who has for some time acted as visiting' officer for-the National Bank of New Zealand at Invercargill, has been appointed manager of the branch of that institution there. Mr. David Hunter, contractor for the Waitaki Bridge, has been accidentally drowned. Duty amounting to £I2OO was paid on drapery alone at the Custom House in Dunedin one day last week. We were yesterday afternoon shown a fish, says the Otayo Guardian, of the 4th instant, supposed to be a salmon, and which was found during the day at Pelichet Bay, near the mouth of the Water of Leith. It was about sixteen inches long, and probably three or four pounds weight. It is likely however it will turn out to bo a trout, a considerable number of which we believe there are at present in the Water of Leith. We are informed by. Messrs. Gillies and Street, the brokers for the Para Para Coal Company, says the Times of the 2nd instant, that, authorised by the Provisional directors, they have completed the allotment of shares, and that the notices of the allotment were yesterday posted to the applicants. The climatic influences of the North Island, remarks the Otago Times,, appear not to have agreed with the robust constitutions of the Southern members who attended the recent session in Wellington. We understand that they complain bitterly of the continuous storms of wind and rain they are subjected to in the Empire City. They scarcely had a fine day during the session, and consequently are rather unpleasantly reminded of the visit by severe colds. In the more genial climate of the Southern Provinces, however, they expect speedily to recover their wonted vivacity. The Southland News has the following :— r “A sailing boat with a party of six men arrived on the 3rd with 94 skins on board. They left Paterson’s Inlet on the 19th ult., and proceeded to Codfish, where six seals were captured, thence to Masons, where ten more were procured. They then sailed for Bedhead, where 46 skins were added to the number, and on the 25th sailed to Mold Island, where they obtained 24 skins, and afterwards proceeded to the South Cape and Western Island, where they raised the number to 94. Considering the short time they have been out, and the price skins are realising at present, they have done remarkably well.” The lessee of the Auckland Islands (Dr. Monckton), says the Southland News, nothing deterred by the difficulties that beset the previous cruise of the Mabel Jane, has lost no time in laying the tight little schooner on again, this time with a cargo of sheep, which experience has shown will be much easier to handle at first than cattle. She takes also several thousand feet of timber and other materials required for the construction of buildings, &c. Mr. K. Mclvor goes in charge of the expedition, and is accompanied by a married couple and two or three single men, whom it is purposed to leave on the island to commence carrying out the works required to be performed in tennis of the lease, together with the construction of the stockyards and houses that will be necessary for the management of the horned stock which it is intended to take down. We may add that the schooner is now fully manned and equipped, and will sail from Riverton with the first slant of wind. From the Lakes district we (Times) learn that the frost has broken up, as far as the lowlying country is concerned. The miners have all set to work, and the supply of water for ground sluicing is plentiful. Farming operations can also be resumed. The wheat crop will this season be a small one; owing to the difficulty of finding a market for that cereal, but little has been sown. It is generally supposed that the losses amongst the sheep farmers, owing to the unprecedently late fall of snow, will be severe, but some time must elapse before the extent of damage can be known.

A thorough appreciation of the advantages of comfortabe board and lodging provided by the Government, is not solely confined to new arrivals. A “heathen Chinee,” one day last week at Arrowtown, made himself conspicuous by refusing to leave the interior of Her Majesty’s gaol in that Municipality when informed by the gaolor that the term of his month’s imprisonment had been shortened by fourteen days, he might depart a free man. For some act of petty larceny, John Chinaman had been sentenced by the Bench to one mouth’s imprisonment, with hard labor, but in “tricks that are dark” this “heathen Chinee” was deeply skilled, and he proved almost a match for his custodians. He certainly would take his wheelbarrow, pick, and spade out with him every morning and afternoon, but he professed a total ignorance of their uses, while his course of instruction by his guardian policeman necessitated so much labor on the part of that functionary that the honest, good-intentioned preserver of the peace found that the sentence of hard work had really fallen upon him, and his dilemma was the Cause of much merriment. The upshot was, that as this “ heathen CMnee” was the only prisoner under sentence, and his offence a,not very venial one, it was decided to extend to him the usual clemency of the law in regard to prisoners undergoing sentence. The wily Celestial, however, thought differently, and notwithstanding that his quarters were considered by Europeans more death-dealing than agreeable, could not lie persuaded to “ savee” this commutation of sentence. An action of ejectment to remove a prisoner objecting to leave a gaol was not to be thought about by the police, although such a course was resorted to by the Provincial Government, desirous of dislodging some obstinate immigrants from the old barracks. Summary proceedings were at once resorted to, and the gaol doors were duly locked, barred, and bolted against this eager candidate for prison fare and lodging. WESTLAND. We learn, says the West Coast Times, that the completion of the Kauieri Lake Waterrace, as far as the Hau Hau, will not be delayed beyond the beginning of tho year. Mr. Tabart, who is chairman of the Board of Directors stated positively that contracts for the remainder of the race would be signed this week, and it was not probable that any hitch ■would occur to prevent the whole of tho main race being completed at the time mentioned. Although tho race has up to the present time passed through country more or less auriferous, tho best country in that respect is considered to bo in tho ground adjacent to the now contracts. From Scribblings’ Creek to the Hau Hau, the land is all highly am-iferoua, and though much of it has been partially worked, yet with a good water supply, hydi-aulicing, and ground sluicing can be advantageously carried on. We hear that it is intended to form a company to work the old leads in the Big Paddock. The same thing was mooted some years ago, but was not carried out owing to the difficulty which then existed of obtaining an adequate water supply. In addition to the ground in the “ Paddocks,” there exists a good deal of sluicing ground about the old Gaspipe and Shallow Rush Leads, that no doubt will command the attention of the minor, and which, we understand, coidd be worked to advantage under the system of special or extended claims. The extensive leading terrace at tho Kauieri, will no doubt also attract attention, aa soon as labor on the various public works is no longer required, and we believe that the Company, ere many months are over, will be induced to construct a branch race to command this, and other likely - looking terraces in the same locality. MARLBOROUGH. Complaint is made in Blenheim that butter, fresh or salted, is not to be obtained in Blenheim, and that, says the local journal, “ in a dairy neighborhood.” A new industry is about to be commenced in Blenheim. Mr. Highley, in conjunction with others, has taken from Fell Bros, the premises with extensive water supply, formerly occupied by Mr. 0. B. Taylor, with the view of starting a fellmongery and wool-washing concern. The Ladybird, says a late Marlborough Express, arrived at Picton and took her departure again before any one in Blenheim was aware of the intention, as no notice was given

by the postal authorities, consequently the opportunity of sending a mail northward by her was lost. The fact is that the officials in Wellington want a rap on the knuckles from the head of the department. We have often before had to complain of such laxity and inattention, and we hope the Postmaster-General may be induced to notice the matter. It is very simple for the offices at Wellington and Nelson to give notice when a mail steamer is leaving for Marlborough, and we have been officially informed that instructions have been issued that such should he done.