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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4247, 30 October 1874, Page 2

It is notified by the provincial authorities that 500,000 acres of Crown lands, situated in the Wairarapa and East Coast districts, and in the country lying between the Wainuiomata and the Wairarapa Lake, will be open for sale ou application on and after Monday next, 2nd November. Fourteen sections in the Eangitikei district, containing 3200 acres, are also open for selection. The Alhambra, from Melbourne, may be heard of in 'the course of the morning from Ho'kitika, and the Macgregor or City of Adelaide, from Sydney, from Auckland. The Alhambra was to sail on the 2ith, and the steamer from Sydney would leave that port on the same day. The Tararua has had her usual bad fortune in respect to weather in the mail service. She sailed from The= Bluff yesterday, at one o'clock p.m., and again had to make a start in a gale of head wind. It is as we surmised. The Albion was unable to wait long enough at Nelson to receive the Auckland Suez mail from the Taranaki, and it was, therefore, sent back by the Wellington, to be forwarded from Auckland by way of San Francisco. Captain Jaquemart and the officers of the French transport La Vire, were entertained at dinner' last evening by the members of the Wellington Club. They were afterwards the guests of Lady Fergusson at an evening " at home." It is not flattering to New Zealand that the colony of Tasmania is to sixpply the timber for the erection of the new Government buildings on Lambton-quay. The order for .the, first 50,000 or 00,000 feet has been despatched through Messrs. Beck and Tonks, and it is said that the timber, which is more durable than that of New Zealand, can be landed here at 15s. per 100 ft. This simple fact contrasts greatly with the price of timber at the local mills. < The fact of there being several very important matters to come under the notice of the City Council at its meeting yesterday, and the circumstance that there was a bare quorum of members present, induced the Council to adjourn when not half the business was gone through, until Monday next. Three tenders were received for the preparation of a map of the city, and these were referred to the Survey Committee. It certainly is full time that attention shoidd be given to an obvious want on the Customhouse quay, where so many iron pipes have been shipped lately for the West Coast, and where so much more business might be done by small craft, to the relief of the traffic on the wharf. Not a single mooring pall or ring has yet been' fixed on that quay. The schooners at present lyingrthere are moored to heaps of iron rails, or to the pipes which they are embarking, and one of them actually has an anchor fastened in the roadway to which she is partially moored. This should be seen too without any delay by the Corporation. It is inconceivable that' there should be a fine quay capable of accommodating a dozen or more of the largest coasters, and that when the pipes and rails are removed, there should be nothing to which a chain or a hawser to hold them can be attached. In anticipation of a lively day at Court there was a pretty numerous gathering in the precincts of the police quarters yesterday morning, the chief feature of interest looked forward to in the morning's proceedings being the legal investigation into an exciting passage at arms between Mr. C. White, the well-known accountant, and Mr. B. Cohen, the equally wellknown pawnbroker, which took place a few days ago in the office of the Wellington Building Society. When the case was called on Mi-. Cohen and his counsel were present, but Mr. White (the defendant)', being under tho impression that the case would not come on till eleven o'clock, did not appear. Ultimately it was agreed that the case should be adjourned until this morning at eleven o'clock. It seems to have become an establishe^fact that the export of flour from this colony to England is enterprise thrown away. For several seasons tho merchants of Canterbury, who ship largo quantities of wheat to the London market annually, made experimental shipments of flour, but in no case was the result such as to induce a repetition of the experiment. Theperishable nature of the article, and the varying degrees of temperature through which it passed.during its transit to the old country, interfered so much with its quality that it seldom arrived in first-class condition, and exactly tho same results have been experienced in regard to a shipment of about 100 tons sent Home from this port in The Douglas last year. When taken out of the ship in the London Docks the flour was as " dry as a bone," but through some process which evidently could not be counteracted the contents of each sack were like a block of chalk. Flour, under these circumstances, is not a success as an article of export. The remaining cargo by The Pouglas turned out in splendid condition. Those who have been anxiously waiting during the lasfj two or three years for a fall in the price of timber are likely to experience somo further delay. The severe weather of the past few months has not only shortened supplies, but added a few shillings to the price per 100 ft., so that building operations have been greatly retarded in many cases, and the erection of numbers of dwelling-houses indefinitely postponed. The supplies from the country mills, eacli of which usually turns out from 80,000 to 100,000 ft. a month, have been reduced to 15,000 or 20,000 ft., but the fine weather will no doubt produce a different state of affairs in the course of a few weeks. Tho present rates per 100 ft. are :—Red pine and niatai, 16s. to 17s. ; kauri, 20s. ; totara, 235. to 255. ; which is an. advance of about 3s. per 100 ft. on the rates ruling a few months ago for tho descriptions of timber mostly used. The weekly practice of the Choral Society last evening, though not so numerously attended as could have been wished, gave every promise of a most successful concert. The effects of severe colds were still apparent in the_ solo voices, so that the duet and quartett pieces were scarcely sung with the smoothness necessary to an effective rendering. There was, however, plentiful evidence of hard study evinced throughout the rehearsal, the general result being a convincing assurance of a faithful and intelligent rendering of the composition in hand—Bamett's "Paradise and the Peri"— a work entirely new to Wellington, if not to New Zealand, and one which, without doubt, will always secure a favorable place ia the estimation of musical students and the lovers of music in general. The concert will be given in about a fortnight.

A report of the last half-yearly meeting of the Bank of New Zealand, held iu Auckland, will he found in our commercial columnß. The racehorse Yatterina was a passenger for Lyttelton yesterday by the Taranald, for, the purpose of taking part in the forthcoming races at Christchurch. It is anticipated that by Saturday next all the immigrants who came out by The Douglas will have found engagements, either in the city or the country. The name of the new evening journal about to be published in Auckland in opposition to the star, is the " Echo." It will appeal- early in November. The ketch Alert, from Wanganui to Hokitika with a cargo of sheep, has put into Nelson through stress of weather. She had lost between thirty and forty of her sheep. The Rev. Mr. Westbrook, Deputy Grand Templar of Now Zealand, lias received a communication from the Eight Worthy Grand Templar of America, to the effect that the commission of Brother Mackune, D.D.R.W.G.T., has been qancelled. The civil cases in the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday comprised two claims for rent by Mr. H. Schultz against A. Hamilton (£3 10s.) and H. Douglas (£4 10s.) Judgment was' given for the plaintiff in each case. A meeting is to be held at Messrs. Bethune and Hunter's offices, at eight o'clock this evening, to receive the report of the subcommittee re the new Te Aro Church. The general committee, subscribers, and persons interested in the work are invited to attend. The leading features of the address of Mr. J. Shephard, to the electors of the Waimea, will be found 'in another column. It will be seen that he supports the policy of the Government out and out, and is prepared to vote for the abolition of provincialism in the Middle as well as in the North Island. At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday one drunkard was fined in a nominal amount for drunkenness. Caroline Murch was charged by Ruth Mason with using language calculated to provoke a breacH" of the peace, but the complainant did not appear when called on, and the charge was dismissed. Among a list of prizes awarded at the Waikouaiti Ploughing Match, held a week or two since, was the following :-*-" Best-looking Ploughman—A Pair of Socks, given by a young woman upon her own judgment—John Maxwell." "Happy John Maxwell!" is the comment of the Arrow. Observer. It will bo observed with pleasure by the residents of the Hutt that the Railway Department will run a late train on Saturday night—the night of the secular concert by the English Opera Company. The train will leave Wellington at. half-past eleven o'clock p.m. " The Coming Crisis : a sketch of the financial and political condition of- New Zealand," is the title of a pamphlet just issued by W. L. Rees, Esq., barrister, Auckland, who in nine long chapters discusses " the causes and probable results of that condition." The pamphlet comes from the pres 3 of Messrs. Reed and Brett, of Auckland, and is very well got up. The following tenders were received at the Public Works Office, Wellington, for the Waitaki contract of the Waitaki and Moeraki railway : —Accepted : Middleton and Co., Oamaru, £2009 lis. 9d. Declined : J. M'Leod and T. Webb, Oamaru, £2929/10s.; David Proudfoot, Dunedin, £'lsoß 16s. ; Allen and Stumbles, Oamaru, £4618 10s.; Hector Reid, Dunedin, £6370 2s. lOd. A somewhat serious accident occurred last night in Cuba-street to Mr. Harry Hall, of the Duke of Edinburgh Hotel. He was riding down the street, when his horse suddenly shied and threw him. Mr. Hall fell on Ms shoulder, and sustained an injury to the shoulder-blade. Dr. Harding and Dr. France were sent for, and rendered the necessary assistance. Mr. Hall will be an invalid for some days. Mr. S. Collins, whose performances have added to the success of many pedestrian meetings in Wellington, has engaged the Basin Reserve for the . Prince of Wales' Birthday (9th November), for a day's sports. The great event of the day will be a match against time, Skellie, a coming " star," undertaking to accomplish Bird's great feat of running ten miles withiu the hour. A liberal list of prizes will be offered for competition by local amateurs. A fine new .whale-boat was put in the water yesterday, from the boat-shed of .Mr. Berg, for Mr. Joseph Grainey, to be added to the watermen's fleet of this city. She is a nice model, and measures 27ft. over all, sft. lOin. beam, with a depth of 2ft. amidships. She was manned by a crew from the Star Club for her trial spin, in which, both for speed and buoyancy, she greatly satisfied her owner. Jurymen are not probably aware, remarks the New Zealand Herald, that it is a misdemeanor to take meat, drink, or food of any kind into the jury-room when ordered to retire from Court for deliberation. His Honor, during the late sittings of the Court at Auckland, seeing a juryman with a haversack over his shoulder and mindful of the suggestion it conveyed, gave {this piece of information to the public. The punishment for such an offence is fine, and its repetition would subject the delinquent to punishment for contempt. It may be mentioned, as indicative of the care taken by Mr. Redwood in the preparation of his horses for their engagements in Victoria, that he ships, hence the oats, water, &e., required for them, that they may not suffer from change of food or drink. The precaution is not unnecessary, for the water of the Yan Yean, it is well-known, is for a time not a little troublesome to new arrivals—men as well as . animals. It will not be forgotten. that the English opera troupe, who will return to Wellington to-day from Wanganui, will give a concert of sacred music this evening in the Odd Fellows' Hall. A splendid selection has been made, and many who do not care to cuter a theatre, or to witness an operatic performance, will no doubt take advantage of the occasion to hear and see Miss May and the other members of the company. As the accommodations of the hall are limited, it is necessary that those who intend to be present should secure places and be present early. This mil be the only concert of sacred music the' company will give here, as Saturday night will be devoted to a secular concert, and the company proceed as early as possible afterwards to take .up their engagement at Christchurch.