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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4273, 30 November 1874, Page 2

This being St. Andrew's Day, the Banks will be closed, according to the usual custom.

From a return submitted to Parliament last session, and just published, we see that during the year ending June, 1874, the Native Land Court in the province of Auckland sat for 329 days—that is to say, the Judge on 133 days, and the assessors on 196. In Wellington the sittings occupied 274 days—Judge 129, and assessors 145. In Hawke's Bay the Judge sat on 41 days, and the assessors on a like number —total in that province 82. A lad who was playing on the steps at the Queen's wharf on Saturday morning last, had a narrow escape from drowning. By some means he missed his footing, and slipped into the water. Fortunately he was not alone, an elder playmate promptly seizing him by the hair, extricated him after he had received a severe fright and a good bath. There arrived by the steamer Rangatira, from Napier, on Saturday last, twenty-one statute adults. They were passengers to Napier by the ship Bebington, and are on their way to Christchurch. Without exception, moderate winds and very fine weather have been experienced lately all over the colony, and a further general though gradual increase of pressure took place between Friday and Sunday morning. In pursuance of the motion of Councillor George at the last meeting of the City Council, the committee appointed to inquire into the behaviour of the Inspector of Nuisances will meet to-day. We presume all ratepayers who may have complaints to make as to the injustice of the Inspector will be afforded a hearing. The prospects of the Poverty Bay Petroleum Company are now highly spoken of. It was mentioned by telegraph a few days since that in sinking a well a spring of oil was reached at a depth of only fifteen feet, giving from eight' to ten gallons per day. This oil is much clearer than any sample previously obtained—one of the best, the experienced manager says, that he has seen in an experience of twelve years of boring for oil. We understand that R.C. Bishop Redwood, when in England, secured the services of several clergymen of high reputation, who will arrive here by an early ship. There was room for more than attended at the Theatre Royal on Saturday evening. The company presented a new piece, " The Dead Witness," which abounds with everything sensational, there being a couple of murders, besides several appearances of a spectre. The audience, though not numerous, appeared to thoroughly appreciate the efforts of the performers, applause being both loud and frequent. "The Rough Diamond" followed, in which Miss Stephenson played with great spirit. After three-quarters of an hour had been wasted in false starts and disputes on Saturday morning last, it was decided that the race between Harris and Delaney, for £lO a side, should come off at seven in the evening. Accordingly at that hour the competitors made their appearance, a considerable number of spectators being present. In consequence of Delaney attempting to'gain an unfair advantage by not toeing the line, he was put back a yard. A good start was at last affected, and although Delaney had been allowed four yards in the 100, when little more than half the distance had been run he was passed by Harris, who came in an easy winner. The time was not fast. The cricket match on Saturday afternoon last between the Colts and the Armed Constabulary was rather uninteresting. Wickets were pitched at 2.30, and play continued till 6.30, when the Armed Constabulary were declared victorious, with one innings and 30 runs to spare. Cooper, of the A.O.'s, was the most successful run-getter, scoring no fewer than 34. Lowe, the best scorer on the Colts' Bide, did not reach double figures. The batting of the Armed Constabulary was good, although their opponents' bowling was never fairly on the stumps. The first important match of the season will be played next Saturday, when the Star and Wellington Clubs will compete for the cricket supremacy of Wellington.

A coach haa been started, to compete with the railway between Napier and Havelock. A now journal—new in more respects than one—haa made its appearance in Sydney. It is entitled the Sunday Newsman. It is printed, on Sunday morning, and it appears to be devoted to tho cause to which Mr. James Smith, of Melbourne, and Mr. Frank Weston, of world-wide celebrity, have devoted themselves—to prove that Christianity is the invention of the enemy of mankind, and doing his work. In tho introductory article, the editor writes :—" Those who trade upon the follies and tho ignorance and that feeling of awe, reverence and wonder woven, as Tyadall says, into the texture of men, will find in us bitter opponents. We will not scjff at sacred things, but woe unto tho hypocrites we can expose. Whcnover religion seta itself in antagonism to progress and freedom we Bhall conscientiously strive to show that it does so.. And, unfortunately, religion, or rather the professors of it, continually arc setting, and ever havo set it and themselves against tho advancement of men and the glorious progress to perfection wnich the human race will some day attain through science and its teachings." We fancy we see the hand of the versatile " Wizard Oil Prince" in other than the advertising columns (in which he (igurea abundantly) of tho Sydney Sunday Newsman.

It is stated. by the New Zealand Hqrald that His Honor Sir George . Arney will not leave New Zealand before the end of March, or the beginning of April next. It is stated by the Wailcato Times that a large number of cattle have lately been brought down from the king country and sold in Alexandra and the neighborhood. A person of the name of Durie, supposed to be somewhere in the north of the province of Auclcland, is "wanted," a fortune of £14,000 having lately been left to him by a relative. The Hawke's Bay journals complain that, though Mr. Holloway's visit to New Zealand was protracted over nine months, that province was not visited by him. The Provincial Government is blamed for neglect in the matter. A married woman of Napier, has been sentenced" by the Resident Magistrate there to pay a fine of 405., or suffer a fortnight's imprisonment, for assaulting with a whip a girl of thirteen years of age—the daughter of an immigrant who lately arrived—who was in her service. The girl had been struck on the face as well as over the body, and one of her eyes was blackened. Sir George Grey has not resiled, the Southern Cross observes, from the position he has taken up respecting provincialism and the allocation of the Land Fund as arranged by the compact of 1856. From circumstances which have come to our knowledge we believe that at the next general election Sir George will present himself as a candidate for a seat in the House of Representatives, and it is probable that he will offer himself for one of the seats for the city of Aucklaud. This is what is said of us by strangers. Writing from Levuka, under date the Ist of August, an officer of the Challenger remarks to his correspondent as follows : —" It was with but little regret that we left the shores of New Zealand, it (Wellington) being at this time of year (mid-winter) a bleak, stormy, inhospitable place, void of amusements, and the residents showing but little of the hospitality and kindness we had so recently experienced in Sydney." Excepting as to the number of fish caught, the fishing excursion to the Heads in the Napier on Saturday afternoon was a success. The steamer left the wharf punctually to time, and had hardly been anchored before every line was overboard. The number of fish hooked, however, was not equal to the energy displayed by the fishermen —the most fortunate of whom succeeded in landing seven not .very lai'ge specimens of the inhabitants of the deep. Mr. Carver's art union is positively announced to take place during the present week. An early day would necessarily have to be fixed in order that one of the chief prizes (Troughton and Sims fifty guinea telescope) should be available for use during the coming transit of "Venus. Another reason is that the list of subscribers is very nearly filled up, and all that now remains to be done is to fix a day for the drawing. This will probably be done to-day. The Melbourne Daily Telegraph, speaking of the existing mail lines connecting the colonies with England, says : —"The prospects of the Californian mail service are brightening now that the Hall incubus has been shaken off, and English newspapers to the 22nd September, or of fifty-one days' dates, were landed in Melbourne yesterday, and inight have been here two days before had they come straight on from Sydney. They were taken to Sydney in fortyseven days. Also, the mail which left Sydney on the Ist August arrived to the day in England. It was brought across by the Eagle Company's steamship Schiller, which made the remarkably fine passage from New York to Plymouth of nine days and four hours. She had on board 163 sacks of colonial mails."

Last session a petition was presented to Parliament by Haimona Te Aoterangi, and 167 others, praying Parliament to pass a very stringent law for the suppression of the drinking customs of the Maoris. It was presented by Mr. Fox, to whom it was entrusted for the purpose by his friends, " who are living in sadness on account of this evil." It sets out the evils of drinking very tersely and truly :—" It impoverishes us ; our children are not born healthy because the parents drink to excess, and the child suffers ; it muddles men's brains, and they in ignorance sign important documents, and get into trouble thereby ; grog also turns the intelligent men of the Maori race into fools. Again, grog is the cause of various diseases which afflict us. We are also liable to accidents, such as tumbling off horses and falling into the water ; these things occur through drunkenness. It also is the cause of men fighting with one another." " It is a mistake," remarks the Otago Daily Times, "to conclude that we Dunedinites are music-lovers because Madame Goddard's concerts are crowded. This is not the test of such a matter. We fancy that the musical portion of the community know but too well that such is not the fact. On the contrary, indeed, Otago is wonderfully devoid—to our infinite loss—of true music-lovers. In a German village of half the size there would be found twice the number of people who know enough of the theory aud practice of music to give an appreciative ear to real talent. In Yorkshire and Lancashire even there are hundreds able to take part in a glee or chorus, where Dunedin cannot show a dozen. The test of the question —are we a musical community or not—is to be found not in the crowded house present at the infrequent visit of a star. We should rather ask is the divine art worshipped persistently aud patiently, with much toil and labor, where the opportunities are hardly won, and the means of improvement earned with much zeal ? Taking Otago as a whole, we doubt very much whether it will make much show, subjected to such a tost as this. It is only very lately that the musical societies here have been supported as they should bo to carry out such a theory. Time was, not so very long ago, when the Choral Society was in anguish, and even now every lover of good music knows how rare are not merely good f voices, but anything like sound knowledge of the principles of music. No doubt, such concerts as Madame Goddard's have aprofound educational effect. We must distinguish, however, between tho means and the end. We are not musical because we go to hear artistic music. We may become so, but the end is not gained as yet. To appreciate her chef d'ceuvrcs requires long and patient labor. Such labor the Dunedin world has never yet given, and until it does, we may lawfully speculate upon the various motives of those who crowded the Queen's last Friday." The boating season was formally opened on Saturday afternoon, the muster of boats showing a considerable falling off from that of the laßt and previous years. One of the principal causes of this unfavorable variation was the difficulty experienced in finding skilled workmen to uudertake the repairs required by many of the boats belonging to the clubs. This difficulty and the bad weather experienced until recently necessarily delayed the opening day, and produced a feeling of uncertainty which diminished the interest usually felt in the initiation of the Beason. The consequence was that the procession was not at all worthy of the clubs, in the sense that it did not do them justice. The Wellington Club turned out very few boats. The procession, composed almost entirely of the Star Club's boats, started from the Queen's wharf about three o'clock, and pulled round The Douglas, off Ngahauranga, in the following order:—The Titokowara, whaleboat, steered by Captain Logan; the Taihoa (six oar), by Deputy-Captain Snow; the Ruahura (six oar), by Major Heaphy, V.C.; the Stella (outrigged four); the Star Club's pair-oar outrigger, Mr. Tumbull's wager boat; and threo pair-oar racing boats, one belonging to the Wellington Club; Mr, Bothamley bringing up the rear with his Rob Roy canoe. On rounding Tho Douglaß the crews gave three cheers for Captain and Mrs. Wilson, and then started for a mild race homo to the wharf. Notwithstanding adverso circumstances no fewer than forty rowing men and members "of clubs seated the boats which took part in the procession. i