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Otago Daily Times, Issue 4170, 30 June 1875, Page 2

We learn that it is the intention of the General Government to seek power from the Assembly to take under it's control the , Police Forces of the various Provinces. A Bill with this object is to be introduced in the House of Representatives, and in it provision is to be made for the appointment of an Inspector-General of Police for the Colony. The Hon. Mr Bowen, Minister of Justice, and the Hon. Major Atkinson, are spoken of as probable candidates for the office. Our Auckland correspondent telegraphed last evening that the Licensing Bench had refused to grant licenses for houses not completed. In one case the hotel was nearly finished. £2700 has already been expended. It was left without a license for a yearAnother old established third-class house lost its license for insufficient furniture.— Further telegrams between the Superintendent and the Colonial Secretary of a bitter character are published. In one set of telegrams, the Superintendent takes Dr Pollen severely to task for keeping in his possession at Dunedin papers relating to the Auckland goldfields. Dr Pollen replied that the documents were Colonial documents.—The first 20 tons of coal from the Whau VVhau mine, Whangarei, were tested in a steamer to-day, and proved admirable for steam purposes. The mine is fully opened and is convenient for shipping. The supply from this source is expected to greatly diminish the import of Newcastle coal during the ensuing year. —There is a growing excitement re Tairua shares. The Prospectors' Company advanced to-day to 755, equal to £35,000 for the mine, the resources of which are practically untested.—The Harbour Board received only one tender for a dredge, and resolved to postpone the consideration of it till after the arrival of the Hero from Syduey with expected Australian tenders. In Chambers yesterday morning Mr Haggitb applied by summons, to amend the infor. ination of the Solicitor-General against the Manse tenants. Mr Haggitt, with whom was Mr Stout, for tenants, Mr G. Cook opposing. The amendment was to strike out certain paragraphs as being irrelevant. After argument, His Honour allowed the summons, the defendants to have further time to plead. A meeting of the Law Students' Debating Society took place last evening. The liability of a sleeping partner for partnership debts will be argued at the next meeting on Saturday, the 10th July, by Messis C. W. lurnell and John M'Gregor. There has been a great increase in the number of Honorary Members of the Society within the last few weeks, amongst the number being their Honours Judges Ward and Harvey, and H. S. Chapman, Esq. In a private letter to an Otago friend from a gentleman of some standing in Auckland, the writer says :—" What ars you going in for in the South ? I fancy it will be separation here—of the two islands if possible—but of Auckland alone if necessary, rather than imt up with the present provincial starvation much longer." On Saturday evening last, the body of a man was found floating in the Waihapee river, close to the hotel of that name. It was taken to the house, and then identified as that of a man who had been for some months working on the contract, known as " Long Fred," but whose name was unknown. In appearance it was that of a man about 40 years of age, sft. Sia. in height, of very dark complexion, and with full (lowing beard. His Honour Judge Johnston appears to be determined to uphold the dignity of the Bench and the Bar, as far as its relation s with him are concerned. While the dull proceedings in banco were being about brought to a close for the day yesterday afternoon, Mr Barton asked His Honour if a certain summons stood over. His Honour remarked that he supposed so. Mr Barton again repeated his question, whereupon His Honour addressed him: "If it (the summons) is to go on subject to the motion, and the motion stands over, I suppose it stands over." Mr Barton remarked that he was beginning to think that he was not getting courtesy equal to that shown to other counsel. His Honour, addressing Mr Barton by name, said there was a great deal that he had seen in the newspapers about violent altercations between the Bench and the Bar.1 As long as he was on the Bench, there should be none such with him, and if counsel only uuderstoud what he meant, he was sure there would be none. He hoped that counsel would not assume ibere was any antagonism on his part towards any member of the Bar, or that any idea of such a thing occurred to

him. Mr Barton explained tLtafc the reason I fie had asked His Honour whether the sum- i Jnaons stood over was that he did not wish to l be losing time by attending at Chambers morn- < ,iog after morning, on the chance of the case 1 ibeingupon the summons. His Honour replied < to Mr Barton's explanation by saying that 1 he could not suppose for a single moment, < after the way in which things had been dealt i with during the day, that Mr Cook would ] move behind Mr Barton's back. Nothing 3 was so ridiculous. . That the "summons would I stand over he had assumed as a matter of i course; -So much having been said, the < mater ended. " There is a chance at last of the mud traps 1 all over the town being abolished. Last i evening, a gentleman, who had been over > his shoe tops three times in these mud heaps, ! determined that instead of -writing to the papers he would get a Town Councillor to accompany him through a carefully collected heap of mud, and thus enable the city representative to speak practically on the matter at the next meeting of the Council. He was not long in finding his man, and, suggesting a drink, the two crossed at the University corner, for the Empire HoteL The Councillor was on the left, and with a little judicious steering on the part of his friend, he was landed centrally in a heap of well assorted slush. That Councillor swore, he used adjectives, he said somebody would hear something about our dirty streets next meeting. He was last seen with an order paper taking off the thick of the mud, before spoiling a door mat. Example is better than precept. HaJf-a-dozen drunkards were brought before the Police Court yesterday. George Tweedie, and John Adams, were each fined 20s, with the alternative of three days' imprisonment : John Dungwell and John Golligan, were each fined os, and Chas. Walker and John Kennedy, were each fined 10s, in default, 48 hours' imprisonment. The latter prisoner was also ordered to pay 15s for breaking a window in the City Council Chambers. Ah Wong, a Chinaman, charged with having no lawful means of support, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Daniel Sharp was also sentenced to three months' imprisonment for stealing £2 from a bedroom in the Universal Hotel, the property of John Goddard. A further charge against him, of stealing a pair of boots, was withdrawn, the necessary evidence not being forthcoming. Messrs E. ff. Ward!) and C. Flexman were the presiding Justices. The resolution passed by the Port Chalmers Town Council on Monday Dight anent the condition of the road and pathway leading to the Railway Station, was well timed, for the approaches in question are, and have been for some time past, in a detestable condition. The pathway has need of a coating of light gravel, whilst the street would bs all the better for a little metalling. Ifc has to sustain a great deal of heavy traffic. The decision of the Council found partial effect j yesterday, when several labourers were put i on to scrape the mud together. This was done by lining ea«h side of the road with ridges of mud, into which someone would be i tolerably sure to step in the dark. In fact, a nice trap was laid for the passengers of the last train. The monthly inspection of the Artillery Band took place on Monday night, in St. George's Hall, 26 members being present, and 5 absent. Lieut. Muir put the Band through some evolutions, with which Captain Jack expressed his approval. Afterwards the Band played a number of selections to quite a numerous audience, which had assembled to see the inspection. The Band deserve great credit for their smart appearance, and the regularity with which members attend parades and inspection. The business of the Resident Magistrate's Court, Port Chalmers, yesterday, was confined to a couple of civil cases, of which one —Cheesman v. Goldsmith—was ordered to be struck out, neither party appearing; whilst in the other—Thomson Brothers v. Strachan, a claim to recover £97 13s 7d, for goods supplied—judgment went for the j plaintiff, by default. The eighth competition for the medal presented to the Portobello Rifles by Mr Ed- j wards took place at the Company's Butts on j Saturday, 26th inst. The scores were not up ' to the average, owing to the dull sky and i hazy atmosphere. Lieutenant M'Carthy topped the scoring by a fine total of 50. The principal scores were : —Lieut. M'Cartney, 50 ; Sergeant M'Cartney, 44 ; Corporal M'Cartney, 39; Vol. P. Ryan, 38; Vol. John Kerr, 34. A case of very sudden death occurred on the station of Mr Orbell, some three miles from Waikouaiti, on the morning of Sunday last. A man named M'Neill, who had been for some time engaged on the station in the capacity of shepherd, suddenly complained of illness, went to the door of the hut, and fell down dead. An inquest was held on Monday, the body being submitted to a post mortem examination, and a verdict of " died from disease of the heart," returned. A very unwholesome stench at and about the Old Wharf, Port Chalmers, has been caused by the deposition of a lot of refuse stable manure, &c, in the reclaiming space left open alongside the wharf. That is certainly no place for such retuse matter, and it would be well for the Inspector of Nuisances to put his veto upon what may perchance otherwise degenerate into a common practice. The West Coast Times, in an article on the visit of the Superintendent of Westland to the Special Settlement at Jackson's Bay, observes : —" When in Dunedin, he hopes to further the object so much desired by the residents in the southern portion of the Province of opening up communication overland between Otago and Westland The Superintendents of Otago and Canterbury have already evinced their willingness to participate in the cost of such an undertaking, and a bush track at the joint expense of Otego, Canterbury, and this Province, is now in course of completion. As the population increases, it will, no doubt, be found that something more in this direction will have to be undertaken, and an exchange of views on this subject between the Superintendents prior to the meeting of the Assembly may, it.is to be hoped; result in good to all parties." The Nelson Evening Mail is rather severe on Sir George Grey. It remarks:—Sir George Grey, who, in the days gone by, before he took to writing insane letters to the Wairarapa Standard, was about as able a master of the pen as was to be fouud, never gave either a subordinate or a superior a more severe snubbing than that he has received at the hands of the Earl of Carnarvon, for what in a man of less distinction would be called his impertinence, in addressing a petition to the English Government, requesting them to interfere with the action taken by the New Zealand Parliament in its last session. Whether as Superintendent, member of the House of Representatives, ; or ex-Governor, Sir George Grey must have felt remarkably small as he perused the re- ■ ply from tlie Secretary of State for the . Colonies, which appears in our telegraphic . columns. i One of the most amusing incidents we i. (Waitangi Tribune) have heard of for some ' time was related to us by a gentleman, on 5 our late visit to the Waitangi bridge, and we I give it as a proof of the homely manner of i Lady Normanby. It appears that the vice--7 regal party, after inspocting the bridge, J called at the "hotel" on the Otago side of j

the river, and while they were, congregated -T in front of the house, His Excellency expressed his desire to wash, his hands. Accordingly, the loyal subject, with pleasure c beaming on her countenance, ushered the o Governor into a small bedroom, and on re- i turning to the front met Lady Norinanby t entering the house. Not imagining for a i moment that the plainly-dressed lady was i His Excellency's better half, the worthy hostess exclaimed, as she sought to prevent ' her intruding on the privacy of the Governor, " You mustn't come in here now—the Governor is in here." Lady Normanby, who was probably amused at the worthy hostess's misapprehension, replied, "Oh, never mind—l'm the Governor's old woman—it's all right." That landlady vanished like a shadow. The Bruce Herald of yesterday says :— " A public meeting will be held in Milton, to-morrow night, to discuss the question, of forming a company to construct the Tokomairiro Branch. Railway. We have so often urged the importance of this work to the whole district, that it will not be necessary now to repeat what has been said before. Everyone who has the interest of Tokomairiro at heart, must see that without this line of railway our immense mineral resources can never be developed ; and now that we have nothing to hope for from the Government, the work will have to be done by private enterprise. Within the last few days the matter has been taken on hand by one or two practical and energetic men, and we have no doubt that they will be able to afford a deal of valuable information to themeeting." The Marsden correspondent of the Grey River Argus writes, undnr date 15th June : —" A very serious affuir occurred here last night, and thereare apprehensions that it may prove fatal to a Chinaman named Ah Hung. It appears some Chinese, amongst whom was Ah Hung, and a man named Snow, were playing billiards at the Pioneer Hotel. Skylarking commenced, and they then left the Hotel ; when in the street, wrestling and quarreling ensued between them, and Ah Hung was struck with a stone which inflicted a severe and deep cut over the right temple, This took place about half way up the street. Who threw the stone seems doubtful according to general opinion, as stones are said to have been thrown by the Chinese. The version of the Chinese is that Snow struck Ah Hung with a stone in his hand. Sergeant Bissett having been informed of the assault immediately proceeded to Marsden and arrested Snow. Ah Hung was yesterday in a very precarious state, little hopes being entertained of hi-j recovery. After the affair the wound was strapped, and the blood seems to have ceased flowing, but some Chinese took off the plaster, and since, the wound has continued bleeding." 1 he Grey River Argus has the following:— "A very satisfactory test of the firebricks manufactured by the Brunner Coal-mining Company has been made at the Atlas Rolling Mills in Melbourne. The samples have been forwarded by the manager of the Para Para Iron Company for the purpose of comparison with the best-known imported firebricks, and, after being exposed to the severest tests, the Brunner firebricks have have been found to be equal to those from Stourbridge, which are usually considered to be the standard." The Brisbane correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald gives the following details of the Bill for the payment of members which has been introduced by the Queensland Government, and been read a first time. It proposes remuneration at the rate of thrte guineas a day for the first sixty-four sitting days of the House in each year : but absence from his place to involve to a "member loss of pay for each and every day of duration. There is also provision for a travelling allowance of one shilling and sixpence per mile, by the nearest route, from the place of nomination to the nearest seaport or railway station, and the cost of passage by steamer ; such allowance to be paid at the end of eai h separate session, unless the House adjourn at any time for a period exceeding thiity days, when it is to be paid at the end of the sitting immediately preceding such adjournment. Official salary is to be a bar (to the amount of such salary) to receiving any compensation uuder the Bill, the effect of which provision is, to the extent of the payments made 'to non-official members, practically to reduce the official salaries. It will be seen irom an announcement elsewhere that an entertainment, consisting of a concert and dance, is to take place at the Temperance Hall on Thursday week. The entertainment is to be held with a view of aiding a labourer named George Turnage, who was crippled for life at the Chain Hills tunnel some few months ago, and who has just left the Hospital. There will be a well selected programme, and performers who are favourites with Dunedin audiences. These r« commendations, together with the charitable object for which the concert is to be given, and the attractions of a dance, should be sufficient to draw a good house. The Artillery Band have given their patronage, and will play selections. Mr John Moran, on account of the entertainment being for a charitable object, has cheerfully given his valuable services, though, he has to leavs the Province on the following day. Notwithstanding the very unfavourable weather last evening, the repetition of " Eanchon, the Cricket," at the Princess Theatre, was received with undiminished favour by a numerous and enthusiastic audi euce. The various characters were fairly impersonated, particularly those, of Mrs Bates, Mrs Stoneharn, Messrs Bates, Musgrave, and Stoneham. The audience insisted upon having the curtain lifted at the termination of each act. To-night, "The Merchant of Vence " will be presented.