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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4263, 18 November 1874, Page 2

Lord and Lady Normanby may be expected in Auckland about the 25th instant. They were to sail from Sydney by the Hero, which was announced to leave on the 20th im.t. The Court of Appeal, yesterday, after two days' hearing, disposed of the argument in the Hokitika and Greymouth Tramway Company against the County Council of Westland. Judgment was reserved.' The Napier eases are next on the list, Harding v. Galbraith being the first down for hearing. This case is a very short one, and as it may not occupy more than two hours, Cashmore v. Maney will follow. The Dunedin cases follow those from Napier. The Kesident Magistrate disposed of the following business yesterday morning :—John Jamieson, who was arrested for being absent from his vessel, the Kangatira, was remanded till Thursday, by which day it is expected Captain Lloyd will have returned from Napier. Mr. Hester, City Clerk, requested leave to withdraw the informations laid by the Inspector of Nuisances against Mr. David Anderson, as arrangements were being come to between the parties. Mr. Anderson, in reply to His Worship, stated that he would abide by the decision arrived at by the Council. The case for a ! . protection order, by Elizabeth Dockray against her husband, was called on, but neither party appeared, the advice of His Worship when remanding the case evidently having been acted upon. As the time for the annual Wellington Races draws near, the interest in the several coming events as detailed in the programme would seem to increased Our new Jockey Club appear to spare neither time nor trouble nor expense in endeavoring to make the meeting worthy of the city; and, judging by the substantial support!we hear they are receiving, the Wellington people are not dikdy to be again charged—as was the case a few years since—with being "churlish" and "standing aloof" with respect to the good old English sport. The value of these sporting social gatherings, bringing together as they do town and country .settlers, and attracting visitors, is as well known and appreciated now in all parts of New Zealand as much as it is in tralia.

The soiree advertised by the Star Boating Club to be held on board the ship The Douglas is in a fair way to be "a decided success. About a dozen members of the club' visited the ship yesterday afternoon and conferred with Captain Wilson upon the subject of the general arrapg*ments for .Thursday evening. The captain, was good enough to offer the club the use of all the ship's flags for decorating the 'tween decks, which it is proposed; to convert into a monster dancing saloon. The 'tween decks of The Douglas is a sight in itself, but when lighted by some hundred lanterns, as proposed, with a perfectly smooth floor from stem to stern, and the Artillery Band (which has been engaged by the clnb) stationed in the centre, we can imagine that it will only require the addition of a goodly company to make a reunion there one of the most pleasant possible. Mr. Frank Broughton will provide refreshments at stalls placed at both r enda of the ship, and every arrangement will be made to consult the comfort of the ladies, Captain Wilson having kindly offered some valuable suggestions which will obviate what appeared to be a difficulty at first. The captain has also arranged with the members of the club to make the ship private and snug by spreading the largest awning above the upper decks, and running canvas sides up the man ropes of tho gangway. The ventilation below will then be rendered perfect by all the hatchways being left open, and we are assured that nothing will be spared to make this soiree thoroughly enjoyable to,visitors of both sexes. It is scarcely necessary to remind intending purchasers that tho flag of Mr. George Thomas, the auctioneer, will be flying at Government House to-day. Wo may remind the ladies, however, that the furniture for sale will be on view in the large ball-room,, which will be open to the public from 10 o'clock in the morning. Tho sale will commence at halfpast 12 o'clock ; and catalogues may bo had in the hall..

Twenty-two of the' Star of India's immigrants were forwarded South, by the Taranaki, which sailed yesterday. The Wellington Battery of Artillery marched out Inst evening, talcing three guns with them. They were accompanied by their band. Alfred Colson, for stealing a watch, was sentenced, at Masterton, to six months' imprisonment in the * Wellington gaol. He was brought to town yesterday morning. In justice to Mr. Mountain, of the Taita, whose name appears as defendant in our police report for Monday, it is proper to state that he was plaintiff and not defendant. The trial of the Strathnaver salvage case will commence on Monday next, the 23rd inst., at a special sitting of the Vice-Admiralty Court.

The Wellington Building Society, it will be observed, are prepared to issue debentures for sums of ten pounds and upwards, at the rate of seven per cent, per annum.

A meeting of the members of the Caledonian Society is called for to-morrow night (Thursday) at the New Zealander Hotel, at eight o'clock. The business is to arrange for the forthcoming gathering. Madame Arabella Goddard, Mrs. Smythe, Mr. Skinner, Mr. Rainford, and Mr. Lee, proceeded to Dunedin yesterday by the steamer Taranaki. A number of ladies and gentlemen assembled on ; the wharf to bid Madame Goddard farewell. . .

A rate of one half-penny in the pound has been struck bythe Education - Board of Wanganui for the ensuing year. At the same meeting it was decided to raise the maximum number of pupils at half time schools from 15 to 25. ' ■ 7,""" ; . J,.-,'

ITmng for choice of representatives by the Wellington Veteran corps took place at Polhill Gully yesterday morning. Captain Crowe, Private Bannister, Lieutenant Scott, and Private Robinson were the highest scorers with 87, 85, 83, and 77 respectively. The man Forster, who attempted his life on Monday evening last, is progressing favorably. From the excessive loss of blood which he had sustained, his life on his arrival at the hospital was despaired of ; but a splendid constitution will carry him through. A typographical error in the Court of Appeal report in our yesterday's issue, completely inverted the sense of Mr. Newton's argument as to the reading of the third paragraph of the declaration in the Hokitika Tramway case. The word " thereafter" should have been printed "thereupon." Light and moderate winds seem to have been very generally experienced of late ; but a change has taken place in the appearance of the weather,.which was cloudy at most places yesterday morning. A halo round the sun was plainly visible here between four and five p.m., and towards night the sky became completely overcast. .■'"■■.

On Friday last.a letter was posted-.at Marton for a young woman in Wellington, containing a locket. The letter was delivered in due course, but the locket was not in it. ; Inquiry was made, and it was ascertained that the letter, when posted, did contain the piece of jewellery referred to. What had become of it was the question. The loeket has since been found in Mulgrave-street, to which the letter had been addressed. The presumption is that the trinket had fallen out of the letter while the postman was on his rounds." There is no suspicion that any post-office robbery occurred. A few'minute's after ten o'clock yesterday morning the Thorndon bell announced a fire at that end. of the city. The Central and Wellington Fire Brigades, with their engines, were promptly on the scene, but fortunately their aid was not required. The house in which the fire occurred is in the occupation of a Mrs. Allan, and owned by Mr. Cleland. The explanation given as to the origin of the fire was that in throwing out the ashes some lighted cinders were cast with them, which set fire to the back of the.house. With the assistando of, the neighbors', one of whom procured a small hose, the fire was quickly extinguished. A few pounds will repair the damage. The representatives of the various lodges of Good Templars in Wellington and the surrounding districts met at the Primitive Methodist schoolroom,' Sydney-street, last evening, having been convened for the purpose of instituting a Provisional Grand Lodge. The meeting having been, opened in the third degree, the following officers were duly elected, viz., W. Johnson, P.G.C.T.; H. Budden, P.G.V.T.; H. Crayne, P.G.C. ; T. Lynch, P.G.S. ; A. Bouthorne, P.G.T. ; F. H. Eraser, P.G.C. ; H. B. Parsonage, P.G.M. ; P. Webb, P.G.S, ; C. Collins, P.G.G. The elective officers were appointed a committee to memorialise the Jt.W.G.L., America, for a charter for a Grand Lodge for central New Zealand. A contingent levy of a half-penny per member was made upon the subordinate lodges in connection with this P.G.L.

The animal meeting of the Central Volunteer Fire Brigade was held at the Odd Fellows' Hall on Tuesday evening, Captain Moss in the chair. On the roll being called, a large number of members answered to their names. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The report and balance-sheet were read and adopted. George Hunter, Esq., was present, on behalf of the insurance agents. On the election of officers, Mr. Hunter took the chair. There being no opposition, the following gentlemen were re-elected for the ensuing year : —Captain Moss, Lieutenant Jenkins, AssistantForeman "Webb, Secretary Austen. The offices of foreman and treasurer were not filled up, Mr. Low_ declining to stand for foreman, and Mr. James Ames for treasurer. Captain Moss regretted that Mr. Ames, who had filled the office of treasurer for five years, declined to allow himself to bo nominated for the ensuing year. At this stage,. Mr. George Hunter vacated the chair, and Captain Moss then proceeded to conduct the rest of the business, consisting of the election of a committee for the ensuing year. ' Captain Moss thanked the officers and members for their good attendance during the past year. This being the whole of the business, the meeting separated. A meeting of about forty-five ratepayers of Thorndon ward, who considered the assessment made on behalf of the Council as excessive, was held at the Princess Hotel last evening. Mr. J. M. Cleland was voted to the chair. A question was asked whether a councillor representing the ward had a right to be present, to which replied that be attended the meeting 'not as a member of the City Council but ai.a ratepayer. Some misunderstanding appeared to exist as to how the rate was levied, Mr. Burrett explaining that the assessor appointed by the Council had assessed the value .of property, the Council simply striking the-rate as formerly, namely, Is. in the £. After a deal of discussion, somewhat foreign to the purport of the meeting, Mr. Maginity proposed, and Mr. Cook seconded, the following resolution:—"That a deputation of'. the ratepayers of . Thorndon ward, in conjunction with deputations from jLambton and To Aro wards, wait upon the City Council, to urge upon them the advisability of appointing a commission from the Councillors, to hear appeals against the new assessment, the deputation to wait upon the Council on Thursday first."-—Carried unanimously. The following gentlemen were elected as the deputation to represent Thorndon ward: Messrs. Maginity, Gascoigne, Clelland, and Johns. Some discussion ensued as to how the eo-operation of .the ratepayers of the other wards could be secured, prompt action being necessary, as Thursday was the day appointed for hearing objections. The chairman, as a means of getting over the difficulty, volunteered to wait upon four ratepayers in each of the other wards to-day; and solicit their attendance as deputations in conjunction with the one they had just appointed. Mr. Cook was endeavoring to explain that the ratepayers of the other wards might not feel .satisfied at his selection of their deputations, when a vote of thanks was rather abruptly moved, and the meeting dispersed. We have been roquested to call attention to Mr. "VenneH'fl auction sale of drapery and clothing at Messrß. Henry Owen and Co.'s, on Thursday and Friday at eleven o'clock, and ; on Saturday afternoon at two o'clock.

The new evening journal, the Echo, has made its appearance in Auckland. It is smartly written, prettily printed, and got up with great care.

The A.S.N. Company of Sydney have lost no time in commencing their new Fijian service. The s.s. Alexandra was announced to sail from Sydney for Levuka on the 12th instant, in command of Captain Stuart. In the week ending Friday, the 23rd ult., seventy-three telegraphic messages were sent from, and ninety received in the colonies by the Overland Australian line. Seventy-two were for Victoria, fifty-eight for New South Wales, thirteen for South Australia, nine only for New Zealand, eight for Queensland, and three for Tasmania. It may not be generally known, says the Auckland Echo, that Haricot, the winner of the Melbourne Cup, is half-brother to Major Walmsley's entire Sledmere. Haricot was got by Daniel O'Bourke out of Lady Kirk; Sledmere is also by Daniel O'Rourke. Haricot is owned by Mr. Andrew Chirnsido, who bred and raced him. The single girls by the Duke of Edinburgh, the Canterbury papers report, appear to be of a very superior clas3. A novelty occurred during the voyage, in the form of a sowing competition, in the arrangements of which the matron was said to be ably seconded by the surgeon-superintendent, and by the captain and his wife. Twenty prizes were offered, ranging from one pound to ten shillings, and over sixty pieces of work were sent in for competition. In addition to this, prizes were offered for knitting socks and for fancy work. The steamer Golden Crown, which has for some time been running between Auckland and the.Thames,-and has been bought by a Melbourne company, at the head of which is Mr. George Coppin and Mr. B. S. Anderson, is intended to be used as a passage boat between Melbourne and Portsea and Sorrento —new watering-places on the Point Nepean peninsula. The Golden Crown is already advertised in the Argus by the colonial prince of showmen as " The people's recreation steamer," and capable of carrying 1200 passengers ! Mr. Coppin, we fear, has been drawing upon his imagination. Public disapproval of the projected visit of the Superintendent and Provincial Secretary to England on the newspecial settlementmission (says the Auckland Southern Cross of the 13th instant) has increased since our disclosure of the arrangement. It is evident that, but for our timely discovery and prompt announcement of the fact, the public would have known nothing about the plan until everything was arranged, and the passages taken, and our respected provincial chief, with his right hand man, would have gone away on board the Wonga Wonga on Monday, before any independent journal could have had a chance of remonstrating. Happily, this "little arrangement" we were enabled to frustrate.

We are rather surprised (says the Nem Zealand Herald of the sth iust.) to see an advertisement in a recent issue of a Wellington contemporary, calling for tenders for 150 tons of Newcastle coal for Napier railways. Surely the Public Works Department is ignorant of the fact that we possess in this province one of the finest steam-generating coals in the world —that to be obtained from the Bay of Islands mine. It is rather an anomaly for the Government to be giving out assurances on the onehand that it will foster by all legitimate means local industry, while on the other we find one of its principal departments advertising for the product of foreign mines whilst equally as good an article is lying at our own doors. There . may be some valid reasons for preferring Newcastle coal, but we are not aware of any. On its becoming known to the French residents of Akaroa, says the Lyttelton Times, that their port was to receive a visit from the French war-ship Vii-e, they at once met to consult as to the manner in which they should receive their countrymen, and how they could best express their affection for the land of their birth. The result of the meeting was that a diamond ring was purchased for presentation to. the commander of the ship, the ring being inscribed, "Souvenir des Francais d'Akaroa. Nov., 1874." It was arranged that the pre-, sentation should be made by Miss Le Lievre, and that Miss Josephine de Malmanche should read an address of welcome from the French residents to their esteemed visitors, Miss Victoire de Malmanche also taking part in this portion of the ceremony. The presentation took place on the afternoon of November S, in the presence of the officers of the ship, His Honor the Superintendent, Mr. W. Montgomery, M.H.8., the Kev. W. Aylmer, Mr. J. Aylmer, R.M., Dr. Donald, R.M., and others, the majority of the French residents being also present. Miss Le Lievre having handed the ring in a handsome bouquet to the captain, Miss Josephine then came forward and read the address. At the conclusion, they sang some pretty verses in French, which had been composed for the occasion. Captain Jacquemart, who seemed much moved, replied in suitable terms. At the conclusion of the captain's speech, Dr. Donald, on behalf of the hostess, invited those present to partake of refreshments, and as chairman, proposed in French the health of Captain Jacquemart and his officers, the Rev. W. Aylmer, on behalf of the English present, doing the same courtesy in the Anglo-Saxon vernacular. Lady Fergusson will not leave New Zealand without a very appropriate gift from His Honor the Superintendent of Westland. The Grey River Argus says:—"We yesterday had the pleasure of viewing one of the most appropriate and handsome gift books that could possibly grace the table of any one who desired to cherish remembrances of New Zealand. It was a folio collection of New Zealand ferns, numbering above a hundred specimens, most beautifully mounted and carefully classified by Mr. C. A. C. Hardy of this town, to the order of J. A. Bonar, Esq., and intended for presentation to Lady Fergusson. Mr. Hardy's collections of ferns have enjoyed a wide celebrity, but this last botanical effort of his is equal to anything of the kind we ever saw. Most of the specimens have been only recently gathered, although perfectly matured and dried, but Mrs. Hardy lias also added some examples which have been in his possession for the last toil years, all of which have preserved their color and character intact. : The collection is contained in a. very handsome volumn bound in red morocco leather, snd is altogether a gift of which Lady Fergusson may well be proud." ■ •