THE Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1874.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3928, 18 September 1874, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1874.

Captain Fraser is always happy in liis.fbietliodV o.DlmtfbduciJagH'a^-su-Bj'ect, and we naturally stop in our perusal of Hansard whenever,; rhis • name.; catches our eye.;- :;> It-is;-very:! seldom, indeed, that we are,/disappointed-in ;our expectations, arid still more: rarely do we find thafc the .Subject:, niattet of tbe !gallant Captain's ,!sp©ecli is, without general public interest. - : Perhaps there is no subject .upon which fche minds of ; social reformers have been more severely exercised of-late years than tfoe; question of prison ■m^nagemfent, prison re- • formation,. prisoii; idiscipiiiie. Iment and feeling halve the 'most opposite, courses^; while reason and experience; have; contradicted both. From; a-barbarity'of treatment j worthy of a savage,^ 'we';were ;i at one jtime on the vei?ge of'using our criminals }so gently as to make the'results of 'crime pleasant. Sometimes the unfortunate victims of a-tendency to murder jare spokentl.of ac'custoimfedlto ispeak of those with-a tendency to conSsumption. Sometimes again, criminals iwere all .alike damned! by"tliose who iheld them to ..be.-mere r,wild blasts, to (he chained^'starved^ :or flogged. It is [not so very^long: ago-thafc":those who "should "Beeii best * qualified to I jspeak upon the> sftbjfect tis6<J to ignore the ! [deterrent u'se.pf !gaol,discipline,: and to look almost entirely to .its ; other purpose [of reformation,,. Of.'course we,are very | [well aware thafc^ihe.whole matter may jat last be traced to a recondite question ;of mental physiology. How far class erimirialsJate- to >hd treated "as* responsible for their condition; how far irresponsible on- c -account- ; .-pf predisposing causes, for which they cannot be fairlj called -to account-.' '-*-■These afelquesti6'ns tather* for the physiologist tbari the Economist; r At-present it'cannot -be said to be settled,' though the most able

doctors of thle craft tell lis that while |A, br;B; Or C is in one 'sense clearly irresponsible for' his adt .at a; paribiculir time, in. another "sense he is accountable ; that, as it has been jiappity phrased, he is responsible for His' irresponsibility." 'Without in any way wishing to seem to decide this question/;we; ; nmy{say;(hat^earlysall of iis are now agreed that to pet our criminals is the "worst of-had policy. That the punishment inflicted by society upon oifenders agalristliet1 rules must be effectively deterrent in its nature, and that that; system -isybest^suited; £o* the end which affords opportunity for change, which does not shut the door to hope, while at the same time it is dreaded and feared Jby possible offenders. We are, qiiite of 'Capt. Eraser's opinion that bur gaol in Dunedin at leastis not nearly unpleasant enough to culprits. -He thus amusingly describes Mblie - system -wb had - adopted with our criminals:— " They were ljuddled together irrespective of lhe na.thire of their offences. They were remarkably well fed, and were, provided With warm beds to lie upon; :: Their work was of a light and pleasant kind, and was performed in. the midst of a sympathising and admiring population. When a Jong sentenced prisoner left a gaol in this Colony, he was a stronger and healthier man. than when he entered it, and a much more determined ruffian." After describing', the system pursued in Millbank and Pentbnville, he thus, expi;essed its effects : —" The prisoners in Millbank who had undergone the system resembled men who had recovered from a long attack of fever and ague; tfeey were all blanched and worn down." C mcerning the need of some more exact classificacation of prisoneis there cannot be two [ opinions we presume. All parties are:

agreed that to a well-managed gaol this is absolutely essential. Whatever the aim and object of confinement may be supposed to be, whether to reform btfi. deter, it is obviously necessary firSfc-"of all to separate and classify* tlieiculprits. Possibly many tender souls miy; object to the re tilt above depicted, and affirm ■ that so-and-so was sentenced to so many years' confinement, but not to a ruined consfci tv tion \ ■ not' .to what may! really prove death. We will not n6w debate the point, which is after all one of de-"' tail. We positively affirm, however, that the present disgraceful state of "our gaols, a state which is owing nob at all to bad management, but to wretched accommodation,, is al ogether unworthy of us as a civilised and intelligent community. "V tar after, year we ,'sing a, little song of triumph-over the fact that our Dunedin gaol is one of the few in the world thafc is a paying speculator; We aye pleased to see it quoted in the London papers as a perfect marvel of a gaol. We desire to give Mr Calo\ well every possible credit; we are well aware that he manages everything io the very best advantage, as far as the means placed afc his disposal enahle him. We cannot but doubt, however,' whether the system under which he works does not sacrifice too much to the desire for direct gain—whether our Gaol would not be : a more useful, one if it paid less well—whether the demand for'prison''' labour in useful work: has! not put. an undue pressure upon the authorities—whether the peine forte et dure has not been too much sacrificed; •-—whether, a criminal's life in Dnnedin; Gaol is not too pleasant upon the whole.; One thing is quite clear. Either we are; wrong,, or the authorities who prescribed, the system pursued in the more modern! English1 gaols are Strong; Either we! are much too lenient, or that is much! too severe. The difference is all Lorn-; bard streetoto a China orange, it is^ greater than the difference between free-? j dom and imprisonment itself. We are; [ quite sure'that *ifc is far better to be a; i criminal in Dunedin than a'poor honest; man in London, "and weare not^uite! certain whether!!!it !js npt.a more com-! fortable thing to be a ; member of the j Dunedin Gaol, than to work for wages' outside its walls. We must again agree; with. Cap^. Fraser that. there is only; one remedy for the present state of n things, ;:"yi%;:-the '-'- establishment of one or two central' gaols. Economic reasons demand pf us ;thafc. ! we ,.-, should nofc establish many;gaols, ■ with all the requisite expensive machinery for their, proper management. Two large gaols for; '*! New: Zealand, situated 'in: "spots where some work of great public'utility might be .carried on,i are all thafcare required; :: Possibly the abolitiop. of .the Northern of putting this matter ,to. rights as far as they are concerned. Capt. Fraser evidently looks forward to something of the ;ldiid j:^ ; It; will he one gain; at I any rate, in the new move, if ;we are able to rectify tHe present state of things, and make imprisonment more terrible.

We must compliment the Board pf Adyice to ,thb /High"School-upon "',] tHe regulations which. jtHey. ili&ve ,drawn-;upi and- which , we.j conceiy.e .are. likely.; to prove extremely, beneficial tothaC" unfortunate institution. Passing over the very important matter of the boarding charges,^concerning .which,we : are still in the dark", and iipon thesatisfaictory arrangement of which the,, future success of the •institution hiust largely depend,' we are inclined toithink that the^mViist'has-*beeiiv done which can be'done by any outside i power : toi galvanise this, whilom corpse.,, We'are hot very sanguine^! indeed, about, '; the result, though we sincerely trust the ' Superintendent! is rights "arid; that this is the dawn of ~ ar brighter dsiy for the High ; SchooL We are riot, indeed, quite content that there should be a lower department, unguarded,,;by ,any examination.; i This department will, in effect, overlap land fififihe ia- rival? to;>the )District Schools. ?We are aware that much has been said ,|about the diftereht' Ltraimrig!'giwen to a ;child who is goiug to the High School fand University from that given to a lad ]whose education will:, probably stop at fifIteen. We do not think that there it so very jmuch in this* argu'me&t^ ancl there is noithing ,whateyer_to secure ; the„cpntinuance io^a.smairbpy atJthb' .&gt!^h^o]J^in'the, :!present ; so, as tOjmake-it.cerT; stain that only those*who.intend :to enternigon the higher branches shall be acU "mitted to thfie lb wet; departineht. ''iAs'a5 auatter of. fact, we* supp'6se that a large proportion -of:the lads: attending at. present might just as well-be at the Middle District School—perhaps far better. We are providing, and are" likely to continue : to provide, s an arißtocratic,school^|Or=what; passes for it in the estimatibhof parents, ;Bpys L will, probably be sent to,.it.*because;it.sQunds better than;a ,District SchooL.' Although: the, education of a character in-: jfinitely inferior ;that ; given An the less" pretentiousestablishmentscosts three times as much, the public pay's—so what does it matter. , ; After all,, the,real point which is untouched is the question of selection of masters, and concerning this-we are now tprite hopeless. Archdeacon Edwards ■went to the root of the matter in Ms remarks—" if the High^Sehool is to remain a High School, and to compete with High Schools - in- other Provinces/ £he masters must be first-ratelmort.'^l.A:fter all it is the men rather than the system to which parents not unnaturally look- iiv sending* their sons to'school.l -We have "no;wish to intimate any distrust of the ability of the Education Board, as now constituted, . io cope -with tfrn-matter. ;We are,quite sure" bf this,tliat:the public will support; them in the strongest measures they may feel it nepessary to.take. Money,.if properly, spent, is! reaUy no object.' Pay any compensation^-.: go, to any . expense, and ; after the bitter experience of the past we shall look upon the outlay as desirable if only we can again have a High School worthy of the name.' ;.c;H;;i >; :>>./ ,--,?-

; The Luna arrived at Wellington at 4 p.m. yesterday,, from Auckland,, with the San Francisco mails on board. The mails were transhipped to the Phoebe, which left \Vellington at a quarter past five o'clock yes-: terday afternoon.., The Phoebe is expected to arrive 'at Port • Chalmers on Saturday

forenoon

A matter involving, it is allegedi the liberty of the subject, is likely to be brought before the public. The complainant's side of the matter is, this :—A man named Wm. Bartlett (the complainant) was brought up before Mr Bathgate on the 14th August on two charges of stealing property, and was, he (Bartlett) alleges, sentenced that .dny on one of the charges to thirty days'imprisonment. On the other charge he was committed to prison for four days on a remand warrant. The Police Court reports of three newspapers concur iv stating that on the 14th August Bartlett was sentenced to.ihirty days' imprisonment, and, besides the three reporters, there are others, we believe, who will testify that on that day Bartlett received sentence. Bartlett was again brought before the Resident Magistrate's Court on the' 18th August, on the secoed cliarge, which was then investigated, awl dismissed. Op to the 18th August, the only warrant under which Bartlett was kept in prison wa>? the remand warrant. On the ISth a warrant was tntde

out, by which, under the hand of the Resident Magistrate, Bartlett was committed to Gaol for 30 days, to begin from date of warrant. Birtlett, who claimed to be let out of prison on Sunday last, claiming that the sentence began on the 14th August, was not released till yesterday, ;the latter being the time fixed by the warrant.! ; The Magistrate and Clerk of Court contend, we understand, that Bartlett was liotsfentenb^d till the 18th August. Bartlett alleges! he>was sentenced on the 14th, being four; days before. Bartlett considers that he has been unjustly kept in Gaol for four days, and has engaged a leading barrister to advise him in the niatter, which will likely come before the public again. The, Dunedin Operative Bricklayers' Society, bf which the unfortunate man Charles .Burgess, who was lately drowned near the Anderson's Bay Bridge, was a member, have handed over a very respectable sum for the relief of the widow and five children bf the deceased man. 'We learned-by telegram from Cromwell last ; night r that, ithe Cromwell Company's manager (Mr Logan) yesterday evening brought down a cake of retorted gold weighing between 1160 and 1300 ounces. The exact weight is not known. The number of tons was not registered, as the stuff crushed was part of a large quantity.stacked afc the mill.

A meeting of persons interested in the formation of a Marine Store and Piggery Com-pany-was held ab,the Universal Hotel last evening. Aboufc 60 persons were present. Ifc was resolved 'ihat the Company should be tstablishediwith a capital of £20U0 in 2000 shares of £1 each. The meeting adjourned till Monday next. .

»The Colonial' Government has accepted the tender of Mr Keith Kamsay for convej ing railway and bridge materials from th^ ships Corona, Tweed, and Christian M'Anslaiid, at Porfc Chalmers, to Oamaru. ...*;.-. .-:

. The Museum ;Was re opened yesterday. Since ifc has been closed -alterations for the better have been iriade in the manner of displaying.the. Hew Zealand fishes. The number of visitors to ti^ is now very large

The Harbour Board will hold a meeting to-day, when a nnmber of questions of which notice of motion has been given will be discussed. The chief interest will no. doubt centre^ in any farther information C.that may be given as r to what has been or will be done regarding tlie paramount'subject—theßaising of the sinews of war. '*' ;•*--

Weunderstand that a keen contest among the butchers,.takes place .annually for the honour of being able to supply their customers JWith '-'the] first U^?d> .o£ the season. We believe, la3t"year,!Mr George Wilson was Accredited'witfr'that"honour,'and have to 'announce that he has heen "again successful. ;; Passing down George street last even ihg, our attentionjwas.. called -to some halfscore of these youngsters harijging in his shop window. They had evidently been fed upon good pasture, as, '.we aie told, they will average about forty pounds.

.-The Naval- Brigade paraded ior inspection at the 'Head-quarters 'Drill 'Shed last evening. Present: Captain Staveley. in .com. mand^3 1••;"heittehanf^lf'petty;pfficeiv and |i 5 viAoxiteera.!fi.fi!A.ll]'fi.,ififi'fi.fi: :fi'fi u l... 'fifii- ..11";!.

;.'The w^ ceiling the Provincial Council Chamber nS'to I be sponjcpinmenced.*,^ ;The present reportersgallery'is tb be removed and ohe; ;ai'.'a'!lower leyel substituted. . The, sleepy hollows, in tHe form of the deep and well-cushioned seats of the members, will be-done'away : withjMand' instead of these cumbrous but j somniferous": arrangements," Kwill-? Be {substituted. Before the Government part i with these venerable^ relics, v ,we., might veniture to suggest "tha^ one fee retained for 'exhibition .in the .Museum, or an arrangejment might be entered into with the (City Councd whereby T ,.fchey. epuld be jtakeii' in'part satisfaetibii of' the unpaid isubsidy of %teer years, that they might hi Jused .-ia^the. Municipal Council Hall. -They 'are just the thing 3 for a sitting, lasting to 1 'a.m. The chairs wliich are to replace the (seats, will be set closer to .the: Speaker's kshair, the object being to bring members to. •gether-so*aS"tosh'ave*business carried on in a jmore ; compact -space) than formerly. The h^t^,w^ r^u shprfcened; hfiy,. 12 feefc; and the jpor.tibn;,cuifc,: off „wilt. be;used;;to give aceomiribdationr which liow is much wanted at ses-'Bion-~time.-;-In -making;: alterations, the sfr^J£sHtmr^ y^ew.-V. Mr Lawson is'the-aitiehitect, 'and -Mr Gore.is.the contractor:' ':.'''.'■''':' ' s,:l' :: ltj

\ ,Br(ythe!rs' the'eontractbfsi 'for...the r I)ebgr£ih r ,Bay, tqnnel,. are...making satisfactory progress with that, section of .the Dunedin arid * Moeraki 'Bailway. Work is being" pushed ahead on 'both sides '<£' the range, and keeps betwieeh'eighty and ninety men employed*-'"Oh the 'Dunedin side the tunnel .has .been driven some eight chains," a^^he^fiuje of jit.is:now injhard bluestone,-: that has been penetrated' about thirly feet,,,and is .still very compact .and refractory.,^ Qn .the,."Moeraki. side";, the to a chains and a half or ;therea.bouts,',and is adv^eing;apa.cie'. through the/prdihary cohgiomerate formation of the locality.' On both sides of the' rangie the approaches' to the^tunnelax^oom^Aeied,. and..ready,fo.r..the laying pf the permanent way.; ■ ; -:.'■; .;•:•

i An accident occurred to a waggon on the Stuart [street; iTetty^yesterday afternoon; The team, werhear, .was; a six-horse. one; Through, some, cause-thej hind- wheels went over the jetty, falling on the deck of a lighter which to -be alongside. Hadit.notbeenior; the % lighter being at the spot itis likely that the waggon and team would have gone over the jetty into the mud below. - As. it was, •yvi*fcli'.,the aid. of "assisfawice. given in men and material hythe manager of the Distillery,-; the '"■ two wheels were raised from the lighter's deck to the jetty, and the driver,«with ■ his team, went oA his way rejoicing. . It does set m' somewhat strange to i'ake'a waggoiraiid :teain down a narrow jetty; where experienced wharf carters have often difficulty, in looking. after their horses and

' Our Lawrence correspondent telegraphed yesterday that a'miner named Carr had been ikilledat Wetherstones by; a fall of earth. ;

: A gentleman having occasion to goto his office on Wednesday night about ten o'clock, rioticed>)just as he w s about to unlock the door, a. sack lying across the doorstep. He laid his hand- onvthe sackj- and;feeling something.within it move, exclaimed, "Ababy!"' The sudden discovery took his breath away, and,-recovering himself, -he with beating heart rushed off for a policeman. " Policeman," he said to the officer he met,' " somebody has left a baby on my doorstep i" The gentleman's tone was very.excited, and very serious; but that may have risen from the sodden , start, and. not from .compunctious visitings of conscience regarding paternity. The policeman* who was not..of an excitable disposition, accompanied the genLleman to the office, ; and as* he was about to open; the sack, which was tied at the mouth, the gentleman said: " Policeman, do not open it till I get a witness?' The man in blue, seeing that the gentleman feared all manner of dreadful things against him in prospective, did not open the sack till the gentleman went to an office, in the window of which he saw a light, and returned with a.third person, who proved to be aii overworked clerk. The gentleman was then satisfied that he had testimony ia his favour should the police attempt to bring him up on any dreadful charge. The bag was now

opened, and 10, and behold, there jumped out a big black cat, who showed himself fleet of limb on regaining his freedo-n. We do nofc know if the gentleman was amused at the climax, but his witness and the constables were. It is said that he has had a lively time of it explaining to his wife how he got so excited. A deer that was picked up by some fishermen in the Lower Harbour on Tuesday was taken to the Port yesterday, and lodged for safety in Dodson's bonded store. It was. a handsome, full-grown doe, and is believed to belong to Mr Larnach ; at any rate, it has been surrendered to that gentleman, and will be removed to his estate on the Peninsula at the first opportunity. The creature was seen swimming past the Quarantine Island as if ifc had come from Portobello. It was picked up below Deborah Bay, having been carried so far by the ebb tide.

A gentleman writing, from America to a friend in Dunedin, says:—VWhcn in New York I went to hear the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, of Plymouth Church. The Con-: gregational ministers have held a convention5 to put him out of the Church. He laughed at them ; he said the church was his own,' and he would preach-any dbctrine he pleased.^ Next Sunday he did preach, and no mistake. * An attempt was also made to turn Swing,! the smartest minister in Chicago, out of the; Church,.but he resigned, and his flock imme-: diately raised one hundred thousand dollars! to build him anew church. Spiritualism is: spreading as rapidly as ever, but I have had no opportunity as yet bf witnessing thelatest and most wonderful phases of the! phenomena. Only, think fi of ibeing .enabled! now, not only to shake by the-hand, but con-! verse with your old friends who left this! earth years; ago.; -I find quite a change in; the people here since! saw them five years ago. Swearing and whisky are entirely played out The atmosphere here will hot; allow me.to iiseteither ih any way. I always' considered them injurious to my^healtb and morals, and I must say that I feel all the .betier for the change." , ■'•. = .-.•:; • :

1 At the Port Chalmers Police Court yesterday Robert Lindsay, a sailor, was arraigned on the dual charge of being drank and disorderly, and for. using, obscene language. The charges werb both 'proved, "and' the defendant .was n fined, i2os or, !in default, 48 hours^imprisonnient;:6n the.first,.and £2 or seven days' imprisonment^with hard labour, on the second,; fififi! fififi ";■ ": "i'l I'l

The Kaitangata Coal Company have .been i boring forcoalin a gaily near their present W9rk'ngsr At a 1 depth of "rather over forty; feet coal was struck, arid yesterday the drill reached the bottom ;of the seam, ;whicb is over twenty-seven feet in • thickness. The appears to be very bright and hard, and will give the -Company much encouragement to extend their operations;, as thelocation is ot easy access fromthe'•nver.'fand a'drivecan be made into the, seW; from a point some yards further.down the j gully 'A; Referring to the, prospects of the; Company, the' Clutha Leader of the; 17tli^says':—'fTheoniy'pbl' btable/now< is -titer watit oi -efficient"means for-the 'fi conveyance -of the- coal -to - Danedin. Two j ;cour^iMe^open'^:'the Com- j pany, and one or both oi which; they,.no doubts will adopt.;.;; THe one* is -the building of "a steamer foVi the.coastal ,;and river "service, other;the laying down of a "failway or 4rainway from the Kaitangata-junction) of ;the Southern trunk line to the.pits. >. The extent and quality %i the Ooai/cbupledlwithithe demand throughout the Colony, is.sufficieut wairi-ant for-the Coinpahy incurring the expense'which would ; thus be - entwleir ;Thatit would; be reord; ; ductive!cahnot fbr! a moment be.abubtfed^f It may be mentioned that in the^ newly 'disr i covered seam'ithere'!-is ; no ,biae:s^it foibg/thfe finest'coal throughout. It may be*added as ! a good evidence .of,-the .superior quality of [this^" coal .that!; notwithstanding .!the excep- ' tionally'yigqrpus efforts pat forth tofraise! the ! character of the-Tokbmairifo coal, the;pro : ~ ;priefor<>f-tlie-Milfcon pottery. wbrks;",liimaeli: :]the owfler Jof a' Tokomairiro ;coal pit,; sends ■ all the .way to Kaitangata, for,opal.,^ ". From j iTuapfekaj^iid elsewhere there.is*a-.fegiiiar(de-;n?.a'°4'„sß4, ey«7Wihe?e theJqiiaHfy of the :coal has given/sfatisfaction. r < ; communication;-; and -thei'magnificeht seam which has now. been discovered, the pros-; p=ets; of-the Kaitangata CoarCompany yaws Mmostjhopeful.-'.' .•'The' perse veranTO. they-have manifested in the past merits success; aiid all1 will be gladr,toiknow>tliat; a richy'reward^M apparently in;store for the shareholders."' '■...

Speaking of the appointment of Mr J,, L. Gillies "as Secretary t<i the Otago 'Harbour Board/ the Clutha Leader' sa^A: -Afi" The Speaker of the -Proviaeial Council -being "by jvirtue of ihi^ is to be presunaed ; lie.i^ill at'.onoe'resign that office.. Whether helcan hold" the Secretaryship to'the' Board, 5 arid jdsd'ihis'seaS" &"mem? her for Waikoiiaiti fin1 the; House ;6f;Bepresehtatives, remains to be seen.- Should it be necessary for.hini;to resign ? we canronly say theeountry wUlbe thelbser."-. .;. :. ?' i

The Clutha Leader says that pheasants are now-very plentiful ia'tlre Kaitan^a dlsl trict, and are flushed diaily in the gullies adjoining the coal pits. > '■' '; -"J'-- '-fi- ■■'■'■fiiA

| The :Press has .a: leading article strongly Condemning Mr Vogel's absence from the' Colony.; The conclusion is as follows:— "W,e are astonished'that His' Excellency has not. thought proper to interpose. Sir J. Fergus-,, son, who understands' /constitutional" usagef must recognise the flagrant impropriety of, Mr; Vbgel'scondtiCt/ j^ wonder, 1 therefore! that he has countenanced it. fii-'l As Governor of N"ew Zealand, he owes .a duty to the. people, and we are surprised that, at, so imf portant a crisis, he should have thought it consistent, withtheobligatiohs of his office toallowthe Premier leave of absencel"/' .' .1 '!

i A correspondent from, the Ashlty district (says the Lyttelfon Times} seiids ns quite' a' curiosity in the way of apolitical novelty. It appears that Mr John.Evans Brown, the member for the Ashley district, instead of calling his constituents together to explain, his conduct, has adopted the novel jplan of sending each a copy bf Mr Vogel's speech on provincial changes— probably to prepare their minds for . his forthcoming address. The speech is printed at the Government printing office, Wellington, and is enclosed in a printed cover, headed ■'On public ser-. vice only, New Zealand Gazette, exempt from postage," ; and signed "J. Evans Brown." Now, we should very much like Mr John Evans Brown to explain upon what terms the Government Printing-bffice supplies him with copies of Mr Vogel's speech for each and aU of his constituents, iand how he obtains the use of the Po3t-office free of charge to circulate the aforesaid speech under the title of a New Zealand Gazette, and by authority of his own sign-manual. Unless he can explain this matter satisfactorily, it would appear that the Post-office and Government Printing-office are at the service of zealous Government supporters, to enable them to do their election business at the public expense.

* A repetition of the previous night's programme attracted another numerous attendance to the Princess Theatre last evening, vrhen each item was given with as much success as before. Young England's somersaults in mid-air were given with such unerring precision as to remove all fear ; and Airec's wonderful balancing powers were all subjects for applause. A change of programme is announced for this evening.

The quarterly meeting of the Caithness and Sutherland Association will be held in Murray's Temperance Hotel this evening.