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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4892, 25 November 1876, Page 2

The mail 'steamed Australia, which left on the 20th October, airived in San Francisco on the 15th ult., one day before contract time ; and the City of Sydney left there with the New Zealand aSd Australian mails on the Bth ult.) the advertised diy of sailing- ■ , The five mile of spire telegraph cable coiled in a tank off the breastwork at the back of the weighbridge was tested yesterday afternoon by Dr. Lemon, and the, result was that the electrical condition of - tile,y cable was found to be perfect. ’: / \ . ,;, The new hotels being erected on Lambtonquay are rapidly approaching completion, and when quite finished ’will add considerably to the appearance of the street. Hr. J. Brown’s house is a fine building, provided with good accommodation. It is the most advanced of the! three. Then the building next to the Theatre Royal will be a very handsome one, to judge from present appearances. Mr. Moody’s house is a fine building, but has a very, severe aspect, being innocent of the smallest amount of ornamentation. * '

The civil business' of the Resident Magistrate’s' Court yesterday was heard ■ in’ the office of the Resident Magistrate’s Court in > the upper storey, before Mr. Crawford, R.M. There were in ah eleven; cases, but the greater' part: of the time was taken up by the hearing of two cases, Newlyu Y. Balcombe, a claim of £92'l3s. fid. ;■ and Balcombe v. Newlyn for £lO. In the former case" the sum sought to be recovered was the value of goods which plaintiff alleged he had left at the house of defendant, with whom he had- been lodging, and who he stated had refused to give up possession of the goods. It appeared that defendant had never refused plaintiff his property, and a nonsuit was accordingly entered. In the second case a set-off, £7 for tuition, was put in. The Bench allowed part of it, and gave judgment for £4, and costs £1 14s. ■. Mr, Stafford appeared for Mr. Newlyn in both cases, and Mr. Quick for Mrs. Balcombe. The other cases did not occupy much time in bearing, although some of them were claims for large amounts, as follows :—lrvine v. Brook— Claim, £72 17s. fid. Donald v. "Welch—Claim, £4O 14s. 3d. ; judgment for amount and costs. Boyd v. Billings—Claim, £27 10s.; nonsuited, with costs. Some unimportant cases were adjourned. ' , ■ . The annual general meeting of the Wellington Rifle Association was held at Mr. Turner’s shop, iWillis-street, on Tuesday, the 21st inst., at 8 o’clock p.m., Captain Crowe In the chair. The committee’s report and, the balance-sheet presented to the meeting by the hon. treasurer were adopted., Mr. ,J., Turner was elected hon. treasurer, and Captain Thompson was reelected hon. treasury. The following committee were appointed for the ensuing year : Messrs. Ballinger, Turner, France,- Bannister, Menzies, Lancaster,'Dixon, Capt. Crowe, Lieut. Scott,| and Captain Thompson. By-law 26 was struck out of the by-laws. It was resolved that the committee should meet, at an early date to arrange a’ pr°g ramm e for the next meeting of the association. Members of the association-are requested to pay their an-' nual subscription to the hon. treasurer, Mr. J., Turner, Willis-street. A vote of thanks to Mr. Turner was given for allowing the association the use of a room for their meetings. A vote of thanks to the chairman was passed, and the meeting broke up.

Miss Florence Colville made her last appearance at the Theatre Boyal last night, as Lady Gay Spanker, in “London Assurance.” It is a well Known and favorite part, and Miss Colville does it'complete justice; perhaps her most happy hit during the evening was at the end of the third : act,: where, after having announced her intention of captivating Sir Harconrt Courtley, she immediately begins to make the running; • Sir Harcourt, poor man, was nowherb, and bewas compelled to drop to it at once, the fair syren’s charms being altogether too much for-him or any other man.' Mr. F..M. ■ Bates- made his reappearance as Sir Harcourt, and it is quite unnecessary to say that his acting was not only careful i and studied,' but - artistic. He was frequently applauded, and we only regret that owing to Miss Colville’s departure we shall not have the opportunity of seeing the ■ same piece with the same caste; everybody being a little better , up in , their part. Miss Stoneham, as Grace Harkaway, was good as,she ; always is, and Miss: Lizzie Morgan; as Pert, everything that could be desired. - Mr. OUy,Deering’sMax Harkaway was well studied and. effective, and, although - Mr. Sweeney - was la little overweighted as Charles Courtley,.he made a rightdown good effort, and if he only had a little more of this kind of work would bud out from Irish comedy into something better., , Mr. Sam Howard’s Meddle was very good, this applying especially to his make up, which is always original. Dazzle was effectively played by Mr. Metcalfe, and although'Cool Isaacs and James are not' leading parts,- they were satisfactorily played.. A jolly ; farce 1 brought the , performance to a close. I There 1 was a large attendance, and both pieces .were thoroughly ; ■ enjoyed. To-night the sensational drama, the, “Sea of*lce” is announced, with Mrs. F. M. Bates in the ' double part of Laurie de Laseours and Ogirita., 'We. understand that Mrs. Bates has made this •a; study for some few weeks past, and anything which the talented | artiste, likes to do she does well, consequently, we may, look forward to, a genuine treat. The play consists of five acts ; the first on the main deck of the Urania : the second “The Sea of Ice,” occupying the entire stage, and terminating, with mechanical effects upon 1 a scale never before attempted at the theatre ; the third, theipoast, of Mexico, and the distant prairie; , the, fourth, a Parisian saloon ; and the fifth, the Hotel del Monte—the day 1 of retribution. ’ We understand that great pains have been taken in, preparing the scenery, and that in addition to this, the whole company are part-perfect. There should be a full attendance. The engagement of Mr. and Mrs. John Hall is announced. <

The witnesses for the defence in the case of Henry Aldrich, charged with larceny, are, according! to Mr. Barton,'.increasing with astonishing rapidity. That gentleman informed the Bench yesterday, in a friendly way, after the adjournment had been agreed upon, that he Was a sort of legal bee who was gathering fresh witnesses - every' hour.- -/How soothing to the Justices such an announcement must have,been, for at the lowest estimate—that is' supposing the learned gentleman to gather:one witness an hour—he ’will have ■ accumulated by Saturday next about 192,ef them ; and we understand that there is already a good stock on hand. Under these circumstances it is not so difficult to comprehend the fears solemnly expressed by Mr. Barton once yesterday, that the case would probably occupy twenty years, unless they got along quicker- than at the moment of his speaking they were getting-along.

At Ballarat two novel societies have recently been formed—an anti-smoking society, and an early-rising society. Both have already a Large membership.. The early-rising gentlemen are allowed eight hours’ sleep, but any member who, in good health, sleeps longer than the prescribed time is fined Is,

A meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society will be held in the Colonial Museum this evening, when several papers will be read;

The funeral of the late Mr. Hursthouse, who died in the Lunatic; Asylum on Wednesday evening last, took place yesterday. , In consequence of thb time occupied by the larceny case at the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday, a case in which a Mrs. Harris was to have applied foraprotectionorder against her husband was adjourned till Monday.' -The feed through the Lower Wairarapa Talley is- now; luxuriant; and 'stock looks all tallow. No wonder, remarks,, the local paper, that the Wairarapa Boiling Down Works at Tauherenikau invite supplies of allow casks.

Messrs. Kohler, and Bent’s ( entertainment was largely patronised last evening, and the audience were loud in their applause of the performances of these gentlemen. To-night they appear in the Odd . Bellows’ Hall, which will no doubt be well attended. ,

A meeting of the Wellington District Highway Board will be held on Monday at the usual hour, in the office of the Board, which, as we stated in a report of the last meeting,' has been removed from the. old room to the building at one time occupied as a police station. ; ’

; The scratch races, under the auspices of the Star Boating Club, will be held this afternoon, weather being favorable. The crews are : 1. Grayi J. (st.), Gray, W., Grace, Govett. 2. OUivier, Batkin, Grace, Fitzgerald. 3. Sheppard,' Gandy, Morpeth, Barraud. 4. Taylor, Knapp, James, Bethime. 5. Walden, Turner,; McLean, Lahgridge. 6. Webb, Eyton, Smith; Dransfield. ’7. Johnson, Lynch, Wright, Leckie. . ,

At about half-past 7 o’clock on Thursday night, Messrs. P. and M. Smith and H. Adams were proceeding home along Cuba-street, whenthey suddenly saw a drunken man come out ,of the barber’s shop, neai; to Mr. McLean’s drapery establishment, and he said to them, “There’s a fire in there," pointing to the barber’s shop, “go in and put it out.” They at once rushed in, and. found .that,, a kerosene lamp had burst, setting fire to the table and flooring. The three men went energetically to work, and succeeded in putting out the flames. They deserve great credit for their courage and promptitude.

A very painful accident occurred yesterday morning at about 10 o'clock, at the new building being erected on the site of :the Melbourne Hotel. . A man named Peter Gallagher, a laborer engaged on that building, was on the second storey when he suddenly felL His head struck a projecting piece of flooring as he fell, and he landed on the ground bleeding profusely from the mouth and head, being cut in a really frightful manner. No bones were broken strange to say; but the man was seriously injured about the head. He was placed in a jcab by Constable McWilliams and taken to the hospital, where he was attended by Dr. Harcjing. Gallagher is a married man, and lives in Dixon-street. It is stated that the unfortunate fellow is subject to fits. If so he may have been suddenly attacked yesterday and thus caused to fall.

The Standard finds by the entries received for the Wairarapa Pastoral Show on the 30th inst., | that tliis year’s exhibition will, as far as stock 1 goes, be- considerably in advance of any previous one. Last year at Masterton there wereibut 151 entries; this year already 226 entries have been lodged with the secretary, and this number will no doubt be supplemented when all entries are to hand. The 226 entries consist of H 5 for sheep," 41 for cattle, 35 for horses, llior pigs, 8 for miscellaneous class,; 7 for dogs, and 4 for implements. At a meeting of stewards held at Tauherenikau recently, present—Messrs. C. Pharazyn, E. Barton, and J. Donald, it was decided to erect additional pens with a view to provide accommodation for the increased iQimber of entries. The tender of Mr. Baber, of- the Victoria Hotel,' for supplying lunch was accepted.