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Otago Daily Times, Issue 1351, 27 April 1866, Page 4

The Musical Soiree in aid of the Building Fund of the St. Joseph's Church Schools was held last evening in the Exhibition Building, and passed off very successfully, there being about 1000 parsons present. The central hall was tastefully decorated with the flags; of all nations, and tbe tables were adorned, with beautiful flowers. The tables were provided and the refreshments dispensed by a nurabrr of ladies connected with the church. During the tea M. Fleury's band attended, and enlivened the proceedings with some spirited music, after which the St. Joseph's Choir, under the conductorship of Mr Mitchell, sang a number of glees and part songs. Mrs Mitchell gave the song " Barney O'Hea" with much archness, and in response to an encore, she sang"Katey's letter." She was also encored in the song, " The Power of Love," for which she substituted •" Home, Sweet Home." The "Sol Fa" duett (Mrs Mitchell and Mr Farrow) was also well .received. The part song, " Stars of the -Stfeirner Night," and the glee, from "Oberon, were the gems of the evening. Mr Sykes was pianist, and he played the " Etrude Galop" in an able manner. At the close of the first part of the concert, the Rev. Father Williams briefly returned thanks on behalf of himself and those connected with the schools, for the manner in which their appeal had been responded to. ■ He impressed upon those present the importance of education, as on it the future prosperity of the country depended^ He was glad to see that so many of other denominations had, by attending, assisted in doing good. It was an epoch in the history of the Catholic Church in this Province, and he hoped to see many similar meetings. The rev. gentleman announced fchafc it was intended to give a tea party to the children attending the schools this evening. The National Anthem having been sung, the room was cleared for dancing, the music being provided by M. fleury'e band. Yesterday, at the Mayor's Court, before W. Mason, Esq., Mayor, Elizabeth Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Lewis were charged with using obscene language, and were each fined 20s and costs. Moss Moss was charged with neglecting to keep a light over the door of his licensed premises, and was fined 10s and costs. George Mason, Fanny Edward?, and Linda M'Farland. were each fined 20s and costs, for neglecting to register dogs in their possession, f We extract the following from the "West Coast Times":—" Since the Camp Reserve, in Revel! street, has been partitioned into sections, and some of them sold, many a longing; eye has beencast on the others, and two attempts made to secure them by jumping: The first was a failure, the whole reserve having been re-gazetted, but the second, at first appeared likely to be attended by a different result, for it having been discovered that the Bank of New .Zealand only possessed one business license for the two sections they occupied under, the Goldfielcls Act,; a daring attempt was made on Monday by a well-known bonded storeman of this town, to obtain possession on this plea. Strange it is that in both cases the jumpers should be staunch Christchurch men— oldL'habitues of " the other side the range." And yet such is the case, and it is almost a pity such ilksuccess should have attended the attempts to secure to themselves the pride of Keyeli street j. for like the :firufc r the second attempt was abortive, as it Is decided that because the ground Is a reserve

no business license % required to hold it;; at least such is the ihfcreoce that we have drawn from certain mformafciaß vouchsafed us. The latest order issued is to the police, who are authorised to eject any ope (by force, if necessary) who shall be found upon the premises of the new rush with jumping intentions." At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, James Ellis Glover was charged;with having, on the 23rd inst., assaulted Frederick Bassett. The defendant is one of the carriers now engaged in the strike, and the complainant, who is a wharf carter, had given offence to the body of carriers, by placing his drays on the road. On the day in question he went into Mr Kirkpatriek's store, and met the defendant, who used abusive language towards him, and then struck him in the face. The defendant pleaded provocation, and said that the complainant had caused the altercation. The Magistrate severely commented upon the conduct of the carriers, stigmatising it as childish and unmanly. He knew that the infliction of a fine would be no punishment ia this case, as it would be paid by the men; and he sentenced the defendant to 21 days' imprisonment, with hard labor. Charles Brodie Cooper was again remanded on a charge of larceny, the prosecutor being unable to appear. John Hughes, on a charge of assault, was sent to gaol for 14 days ; and on a further charge of wilfully breaking a | pane of glass, he was ordered to pay the amount of damage done, or be imprisoned for seven days, in adlitron to hia former sentence. The "West Coast Times" of the 21 er, says:—-"The exceedingly heavy surf that rolled up on Thursday, extending from one end of the coast line to the other, rendered travelling along the beach both difficult and dangerous in some places, but especially where rivers or creeks intersect the line of route. Cobb's coach was once or twice imperilled ; and yesterday we were informed that a sad accident had occurred at the Saltwater Creek, by which a poor woman lost her life. We have not heard the details, but merely that she was crossing the creek in a cart, with a child by her side, whon a monstrou? wave came in and completely overwhelmed the dray, washing the woman out and sweeping her into the surf outside, where she perished; for to aid her was out of the ; question, under such circumstances. Strange t) relate, the child was preserved, not being even washed out of the dray." The complimentary dinner to Messrs Turner and Driver, the Councillors for Leith Ward, was given last evening; at the Water of Leith Hotel. There were between 35 and 40 present; Dr Richardson being in the chair, and Mr T. Redmayne in the vice-chair. Everything passed off successfully; but regret was expressed that previous engagements to be present at the soiree at the Exhibition Building, prevented several gentlemen from attending the dinner. The following account of the death of a miner through excessive drinking, is given in the "West €oast Times" of the 21st inst :— " The folly and evil of intemperance, and the lamentable results which so often accompany it, was shockingly exemplified on the evening of the 15th instant, in the Okarita district ; and from particulars furnished us by the police, we learn that, on the night in question, a party of diggers were drinking and cardplaying in a store on the Waiau River. One of their number, named William Hart, swallowed in the course of the evening over a pint and a half of brandy, and became exceedingly drunk in consequence. When hi s mates left, they placed him on a hand-barrow, and carried him with them, ho being then alive ; but on arriving at their tent, they found, when they attempted to remova him, that he was quite dead. An inquest was heJd upon the body on the 17fch, and a verdict of " Died from intoxication" returned." The adjourned meeting of the Hindon Quartz Crnshing Company (Limited) is to be held this afternoon. At the meeting on Wednesday, the Chairman spoke of a report by '• one of the Government geologist;^' We have been requested to state that the phrase shoul i have been, " one of the Mining Surveyors." The "West Coast Times," of the 21st states that " a rumor was current in town yesterday afternoon that the agents of the Barwon had received a telegram from Nelson, to the effect that on her arrival in Sydney from this port it was found, when her freight of gold dust was discharged, that a box con - taining 1000 ozs was missing. To account for this intelligence reaching Nelson we must suppose that the monthly steamer from Sydney had arrived, which is quite likely* aa yesterday she was duo there, her day of sailing fcora Sydney being the 13th." A seaman named Silverside, belonging to the brig Anna Maria, was brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Port Chalmers, yesterday, charged by Captain Ritchie with wilful disobedience to lawful commands. The charge was proved, and prisoner was sentenced to four weeks' imprisonment, with hard labor. The " West Coast Times "of the 21st inst., gives the following account of a brutali assault, nearly ending in death, at Hokitika :— " A moat brutal scene was enacted yesterday afternoon, at the back of the Dunedin Hatel, Revell street, which nearly resulted in an unfortunate man (the cook of the establishment) losing his life. It aeems that a quarrel took place between the cook and one of the boarders, and from high words- they came to blows, finally adjourning- to-the yard to fight it out; but they bad no sooner cleared the house than six ruffians commenced a most cowardly onslaught upon the cook, knocking him down and kicking him unmercifully, and continued the assault until he was insensible,. Having, without let or hindrance, vented their r rage upon him, they departed, and the poor fellow was at once removed inside, and his. appearance was so deplorable that it was considered advisable to call ia medical aid. Upon examination, Dr. Acheson pronounced the case a most serious one, and would not answer for the man's life* recommending his removal to the hospital as soon as he had somewhat recovered. This was effected an .hoar or., two afterwards, although, in. the mean! time the unforhmatefellow wmainedia a speechless state." Iff mm somewhat atrangethaf Buefia:

murderous attack should be perpetrated in the heart of a town, and no one by to interfere; and wbats is 'stranger still, the police were not made cognisant of tho occurrence tsntil two hours afterwards. They made due enquiries of the inmates of the hoteT, who of course knew nothing save that the cook had received i a beating, and so stands the matter at present. We however sincerely trust that the scoundrels will be traced and made to suffer severely for their dastardly conduct," The correspondent of the ?'Southland Times " at Riverton r under date April 2Otb, says:—"The continuation of severe weather has put a partial stop to all business, as also the transit of goods by boats to Horopuki. On Friday last tho Resident Magistrate's Court was engaged in a serious charge of cattle-stealing; The defendant in the case being Mr George Stevens, of Groper's Bush; and the plaintiff, Mr Lyons.— A remand to this day (Friday) was asked for, and granted, to enable the defendant to obtain professional advice. Bail was granted to the amount of L2OO. The Petrel, of which you have already been informed, landed sixteen passengers from Jackson's Bay for our diggings, which are now) beginning tp assume some importance. Gold is still offered by various parties in small quantities; but it is supposed that a considerable quantity is now in the hands of the diggers. Leonard's party have started for the other side of the Waiau, where he expects to find good ground, and away from those who were previously dogging his footpaths day by day. The usual quantity of men are at work on tho Longwood, but for the present have given up the idea of working the bed of the Moa Creek, being unable to obtain that protection which they sought to enable them to carry out the undertaking. We cannot expect the country to be well pros peeted, unless some encouragement is held out to those who are engaged in the enterprise." The "West Coast Timya" says:—" We believe that Mr Browning has been and is still taking a series of observations for the purpose of determining the exact position of the observatory. When this is effected, the mean time will be telegraphed from Christchurch every day, and due allowance being made for the difference of longitude, we shall thu3 be placed in possession of that which we have so long been strangers to, the correct * time o' day.' We presume that a mast will be erected in some conspicuous position, and a time ball dropped at noon." The Dunedin Volunteer Awillery Regimont will parade in uniform, at 8 o'clock this evening, at the Drill Shed. Arrangements are to be made for the Queen's birth-day. The difficulty of crossing the rapid streams on the West Coast is illustrated by the following accident, an account of which appears in the "West Coast Times "of the 21st :— "An inquest was held on the 14th instant, at Okarita, by Mr Warden Price, upon the body of a man named William Whelan, who was drowned in the Three Milo Creek the previous day. From the evidence, it appears he was a packer, and when crossing the above creek, instead of mounting his horse, whit;Fi is the course usually adopted, he drove tin* animal before him, and held on to his 1 ailOn 'arriving in the centre of fho sU?an. the current proved too powomii, lor. he lost his hold, and was swept into the surf and drowned. A verdict of aceM-mtul death v.-as returned." The Hokitika Gaol is thus dwribed in thr"West Coast Times" of the 10th:— v The! condition of Her Majesty's Gaol ifi HokitliM ! remains a standing scandal to the Gown-: ment, and an opprobrium to the dittrioJ;. Tlw j \ new Gaol is proceeding very slowly—v.:ry i slowly indeed; and in the meantime, there ! are no less than fifty-eight prisoners confined in the ' log huts" that have now become a part of the history of Westland. There are two of these cells, we may repeat for the information of our readers, measuring 10 feet by 12, and in each of these there are thirteen inmates. There are other four, measuring 8 feet by 10, in each of which there are eight occupants. These embrace all classes of confines; the guilty and the unfortunate; the criminal and the debtor; the sentenced man and the man who may be innocent, but who still awaits his trial. There is something humiliating in the recollection how many remonstrances have bten made against, this monstrous scandal without the slightest effect ; how long a time has passed since the Judge expressed himself on the subject in terms of intense indignation, and the Grand Jury put their views on record in their presentment to his Honor. The crying grievance which the free people of this commucily are utterly powerless to abate, would not be allowed to endure for a week, under a despotism like that of Napoleon or the Czar. What is the worth of our boast of freedom, if our hands are thus paralysed in every matter of practical reform? This is only the middle of April. There will be no gaol delivery until July. To what extent will the present state of things become exaggerated, before his Honor has another opportunity of expatiating on the barbarism of the arrangements made for ths confinement, of prisoners in the Queen's Gaol."