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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 6439, 2 December 1881, Page 4

A meeting of members of the Wellington Teachers’ Association is called for Saturday next.

To-day, &i half-past two o’clock, Messrs T. Kennedy Macdonald and Co. will sell, by public auction, mowing machines, plough?, and stable fittings ; al-o, American organs and furniture, particulars of which are given in our advertising columns. The sittings of the Appeal Court were continued yesterday, when argument* on behalf of tbe plaintiffs in the Christchurch totalisator case, Franck v. Steadand others, were resumed. Counsel addressed the Court during the whole of the day, and, at tbe rising of • the Court, the case was further adjourned till to-day. We hare been requested to draw attention to alteratiou in the date of departure of the s.s. Norfolk from Sydney for London. The steamer is now advertised to leave Sydney on 7th, and Melbourne on tbe the 17th instant, and intending passengers from Wellington will therefore have to leave per Union Company’s steamer on the sth (Monday). The City Missionary, Mr I). Half, gratefully acknowledges the receipt of »be following sums, kindly subscribed f>r his support, in November :—Mr J. S, 5s ; MrsK, 5* ; A. J, os ; Mrs F., 2s 6d ; J. and R. S,, 5s ; H., 3s ; W. B„ 6s ; G. F., £1 Is ; Mrs 2- ; Captain R., 2s 6d ; Union Steam Shipping Company, £3 3s ; Mrs F., 5s ; Rev. S., ; G fc\,2a«d ; Mrsß..2s6d ; E. T., £1 ; total, £7 14s. Al?o, sent to tbe house, a packet of hooks and tracts for gratuitous distribution from the Tract Dei 6t, Manners-street, and a parcel of German Testaments and papers for the fame object from Mr Arundel, a gentleman who recently arrired in Wellington.

Dr. Winter, who styles himself the Great) American Indian Corn Doctor, has arrived in Welington, and announces the place and time at which he may be consulted, and also that he will lecture this evening on the reclaimed land. His cures of corns, bunions, &c., are said to be extraordinary. The excellent band of the Wellington Guards has kindly volunteered its services on the occasion of Mbs Pomeroy’s benefit in “London Assurance” this evening. The band will play through Lambton-quay and outside the Theatre Royal, as also during the intervals of the performance.

A meeting of the Wellington Gardeners’ Mutual Improvement Society was held last night, when a paper on “ The Fruits of the Season ” was read by Mr Wilkinson. The essayist treated the training and pruning of trees in a very minute manner, and his paper proved a very interesting one.

The Mayoral election at Masterton resulted in Mr A. Bish being returned by 88 votes against the 78 polled by his opponent, Mr M. Caselberg. The result was a surprise to the friends of the latter, who appeared to be under the impression that the nomination of their candidate would prove sufficient to ensure his return.

A Southern contemporary advances the opinion that if members of the Legislative Council were unpaid, the result would be similar to that of the appointment of J.P.’s. Instead of 40 or 50 members, there might be 100 honorable?. The fear of the expense keeps Ministries from filling the Council with their friends.

The shore hands usually engaged by the Union Shipping Company in loading and discharging their steamers are on strike. It has been customary to pay these men Is an hour during the ordinary working hours, and after that time extra. They are now demanding an extra 6d an hour, and the Company being determined not to give way, they have ceased to work. The three last steamers, vir., the Albion, Hawea and Penguin, were worked by the boats’ own crews, and this course will be continued, although it may, of necessity, delay the steamers for some hours.

The electoral rolls for the City of Wellington show the following number of persons entitled to vote in the three electoral districts : Thorndon, 1391 ; Te Aro, 1529 ; Wellington South, 1679. —Total, 4599. Of this number the supplementary rolls carry the following;— Thorndon, 286 ; Te Aro, 437 ; South Wellington, 464.—T0ta1, 1187, or more than a fourth of the total number of electors. Even with the rigorous registration which, it is thus evident, has recently taken place, the total number of persons entitled to vote is not an excessive proportion in a population of 21,000. At Mr Johnston’s meeting last night, he was subjected to a most severe catechising regarding all the moat important subjects of the day, but his replies appeared to give entire satisfaction to his oatechizers. A question was asked if he would advocate an export duty on wool. To this Mr Johnston replied “ No,” and gave as his reason that, being a wool buyer and not a grower, he would be compelled to pay the farmer less for his wool to the amount of the tax, and thus it would fall heavily on the small farmer. He would not advocate taxing any of our exports. The members of the Wellington Racing Club, and all who attended the Spring Race Meeting on Wednesday, must have been gratified to notice the quiet and unostentatious visit which was paid to the course by the Hon. Lady Gordon and party. Upon arrival, her Ladyship was received by Sir William Fitzherbert and Colonel Pearce, and conducted to the Grand Stand. Her Ladyship remained to witness all the events except the last, which took place so long after the advertised time that a large number of other visitors took their departure before the flag fell. We regret that in our last issue a misprint should have occurred in connection with this subject, the name of Lady Robinson being made to appear in place of that of Lady Gordon.

Police Superintendent Shearman has reported the result of the proceedings of Detectives Benjamin and Chrystal in connection with the drawing of sweeps on the Hutt Racecourse, and the fact that Sir W. Fitzherbeit and the Hon. J. Martin were purposely concerned in one of these sweeps in order to teat the legality of the question, to the Department of Justice. No steps of any description will be taken by Mr Shearman until he has received instructions. While the action of the gentlemen named is a vigorous protest against what is presumed by the authorities to be the existing law, it will also afford a teat case, upon which the highest judicial authorities in the colony will probably be required to express an opinion.

Why were the Wakatipu’s mails not landed last night ? The steamer arrived in port from Sydney at ten minutes past 7 o’clock, and, according to recent custom and the regulations, was sent to quarantine at Soamea Island. There was ample time for the Health Officer to have visited her and pass the mail bags, if nothing else. At the same time the passengers claimed consideration, as all of them, doubtless, would have liked to have come ashore. But, strange to say, the steamer was net boarded, and the distribution of the Australian mail was in consequence delayed till this morning. We hope this will not be allowed to occur again. We also hope that the quarantining of vessels from Sydney will soon be put a stop to. It is little better than a mere matter of form, and really serves no good purpose.

Messrs E. W. Mills and Co., ironmongers iron merchants, and ship chandlers, hare purchased the premises occupied by the late Mr- Lipman Levy, on Lambtonquay, which have been converted into wholesale and retail stores. The business connection of the firm during the past few months has so overgrown the somewhat circumscribed limits of the wholesale buildings in Featherston-atreet as to render it imperative that further accommodation should be found for the increasing trade, and, accordingly, the premises mentioned were acquired. This branch is apparently a most complete and convenient store, and contains an assortment of cutlery, hardware and American novelty goods which, is certainly moat extensive. The second floor is devoted to the exposition of a most exquisite collection of slate enamelled mantle-pieces imported from New Yor’c. These are really worthy of inspection. Some Carrara marble mantels in the room appear quite common-place alongside these beautiful novel inlaid and artistic floral designs of the American workmen. Extensive stores are situated at the rear of the front premises, and the establishment, as a whole, may be regarded as one of the best designed wholesale and retail ironmongery establishments in the metropolis.

The breaking up of the Chinese gamblimg hell continues to be mentioned in such a manner as though the police bad taken the steps iu connection therewith entirely on their own account. We must do Superintendent Shearman and Senior Sergeant Anderson justice by stating that the arrests were brought about by the petitions of a number of European residents ia Taranaki-street and the employers of a number of Chinamen who were in the habit of visiting town every Saturday for the express purpose of taking part in the game of fan-tan. These men usually returned on the Monday morning, thoroughly incapacitated for all work, both mentally and physically, and invariably with empty pockets, the almost uninterrupted play of some thirty-six hours at a game in which the chances were against them being sufficient to overstrain both mind and body, and deprive them of their earnings of the previous week. The neighbors found the den a great nuisance, which they were naturally anxious to get rid of. The police had no choice in the matter, and they would have been guilty of a gross neglect of duty had they taken no notice of the complaints.

On the first day of the current month the “ Wairar&pa Standard," the oldest-established newspaper in the Wairarapa district, made its appearance under a new proprietary, Mr R. Wakelin, to~whom it owes its existence, having retired owing to ill-health, after disposing of his interest to Messrs W. C. and E. J. Nation, two gentlemen whose names are wellknown, not only in the City of Wellington, but throughout the surrounding districts. Mr W. C. Nation has occupied the position of foreman in one of the departments of the New Zealand Times office for a number of years, and da iug the whole of that time he has not only possessed the unlimited confidence of the proprietary, but also the goodwill and respect of all those who worked with cr under him. We notice his severance frem our staff with feelings of regret, and heartily join in the wishes of his many friends that the anticipationJi which he and his brother may have formed with regard to their speculation may be realised. The members of the new fi m are certain, ere long, to find many sincere friends in Greytown and the surrounding district in which the “Standard” circulates, and with their goodwill to support them *ucOcsa should be assured.

It is significant that among the addresses of candidates throughout the colony, with the exception of Otago and one or two places in Canterbury, there has been hardly a pledge given to support Bible reading in schools ; bat, on the contrary, distinct pledges have been given to support free, secular, and compulsory State education. It is, then, very evident that the subject is not likely to be made a burning question during the next Parliamentary session.

The usual fortnightly meeting of the Waste Lands Board was held Thursday at the Crown Lands Office. The chair was occupied by Mr J. G. Holdswortb, and there were also present Commissioners H. Bunny and E. Pearce. The Chairman reported that no applications for the purchase of land had been received since the previous meeting of the Board. The Chairman laid before the Board the plan of the survey of Mr Strang’s application for 1000 acres of pastoral land in the Tnpurnpuru Block, Wairarapa. After discussion, the Board re. solved “ That the application be agreed to. and that the date of sale by auction be the 17tb January, 1882. A letter was read signed by N. Barrand, B. Johnson, and others, requesting the Board to cut a drain alongFlyger’s-road, in the Kairanga survey district, near Palmerston North. The communication was referred to the Manawatu Highway Board for further information. The Chairman read some correspondence received from the Wanganui Harbor Board relative to the sale of sections in their endowment block in Manawatu. It was resolved that the request contained in the correspondence be complied with. The meeting then adjourned.

Sometui.vg- Beal.—A recent purchase of a case of Beal Irish Crochet Antimacassars, under unusually advantageous circumstances, enables James Smith, Te Aro House, to offer some exceptionally cheap lots. When the readers of this paragraph are made acquainted with the fact that these can be had at prices varying from one shilling to half-a-crown each, no doubt the opportunity will be eagerly embraced. Careful housekeepers and all who study the attractiveness and elegancies of their homes should at once inspect these marvels of cheapness. It would hardly be a profitable expenditure of either time or material to crochet at home antimacassars which could be bought at less than the price of the cotton at James Smith’s, Te Abo Hodse,— [Advt.l

It was thb genius op applicability, or rather the power of utilisation, that prompted Fulton to turn to practical uses the discovery of Watt. It was the identical endowment or gift that enabled the proprietor of Udolpho Wolfe’s Schiedam Aromatic Schnapps to detect certain elements in the Italian juniper berry that, extracted and compounded with other ingredients, would produce a cordial the marvel and admiration of the world. —[Adtt.]