The Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY. AUGUST 19,

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6092, 19 August 1881, Page 2

The Otago Daily Times. FRIDAY. AUGUST 19,

. The Representation Bill has got into ■ Committee more easily than we ex.Jpected. Two divisions, one of 49 to 16, . and another of 40 to 19, have marked its progress. We may fairly conclude '| that its opponents have done their j worst—unless, indeed, they resort to -"stonewalling" in Committee, which jis hardly probable, because such v [course, in the face of so large a majority, | cannot possibly lead to any good result. jThe Auckland Herald is furious be- | cause the claims of the North Island to j additional representation on account of I the Maori population are not recognised. But the Maori representatives jat present in the House, who surely •speak the views of their own people, j entirely object to the special representation at present enjoyed by tho Maori race being swept away in order to serve the political purposes of Auckland. As wo have before pointed out, tho four Maori representatives are usually controlled by Auckland influences. I They all voted UL'ain-;t tho Govern ment in the no-confidence debate, Mr Siieeiiam having- got them well in hand; and if we add lhe.se four mern:bers to the North Island quota, the j House as constituted by the bill j would consist of -10 North Island to ,55 Middle Island members. Only -15 jof these latter, however, represent (Otago and Canterbury ; and tho rest— jnamely, Nelson five, West Coast three, and Marlborough two—will be as jealous of Otago and Canterbury as Auckland can be. Tho matter will stand thus, then : there will be 45 Otago and Canterbury members against 50 members for tho rest of the Colony, including the Maori representatives. Otago and Canterbury therefore will not have an absolute preponderance, though entitled to it on a strictly population basis. We notice, moreover, that several members have pointed out the very important con sideraiiun insisted on by us in a recent article, that them n-iver has been an instance of Otago and Canterbury members all working harmoniously; together, and there is not likely to bci one. Local jealousies do much to keep; us apart, the ties of party are strong,! Canterbury and Otago interests are! diverse, and there are genuine dif-.

t'erences of opiaion which, will always send one set of mcii into one lobby and another set into the other lobby, even whon it comes to a question of particular public, ■works. Mr Hall very pertinently asked, If the population basis is abandoned, what other basis can we take? The Auckland Herald threatens Separation if this dreadful wrong is perpetrated. We in the South could survive even Unit, if it were forced upon us—Separation would relieve us of many disabilities if only it could be complete. The North Island knows too well that it is not its interest to (separate ; but it is always well to have a grievance, and to make the most of it. The issue, it seems, is to bo fairly raised by Mr Macaxdrew in resolutions which we publish in another column. j It may be as well at this stage of jtho discussion to compare the representation as proposed by this bill with that enjoyed by the different districts at present:— I Dlgtrietp. By l!>o Bill. 'Now. Aiickhiud... ... 1!) ... 18 Hawke's Bay ... 3 ... .'5 Wellii: K '.on ... 11 ... 10 Taranaki ... ... .? ... 3 Marlborough ... 2 ... Ii Nelson ... ... 5 ... 9 Wost Coast ... 3 ... 3 Canterbury ... 21 ... 14 Otitri ... ... 24 ... 21 91 ... 84 Nelson is the chief loser, and its loss is jscvere—four out of nine members. Marlborough loses one out of three; Taranaki, Hawke's Bay, and the West Coast remain as they were ; Auckland Igains one, Wellington one, Canterbury jsevon, and Otago three. ■ ! It is somewhat amusing, in glancing jover the debates of 1879, to observe the eagerness of members of the Oppo sition, and especially of Sir George , Grey, to force this question of adjustment of representationoa the present the Government. Speaking of the bill . broughtinbyhis Administration,which, flit will bo remembered, was framed on a ;|population basis, Sir George said, i speaking on November ith, 1579 : " Thf Triennial Parliaments .Bill is very little 1 good without this bill. To say that I this Parliament shall cease at the end | of three years, and that the representa . Lion shall remain uualtcred, is simply to | say that a number of gentlemen who are 1 here now shall be returned to this ■ House, it does not matter whether for rj three, five, or ten years. This is the ■time to pass the bill, and I call upon "jthe four gentlemen who recf-ntly ileft us to stand by us in the A resolution has 'jbeen come to by many other gentle- | men and myself that no means shall bo 'left untried to secure the passing of the j bill, on which they are satisfied the ipeople of New Zealand have set their J heart.", and have decided that it shall , be carried into hiw." Substantially, the Jbill now before the Hou-e is the same - in principle as that which Sir George J J then advocated, but now it turns lout not to suit Auckland ; and, though > fSir George Grey voted for the • second reading, he said he "attached ! little consequence to this bill. He would support it without spirit, ■looking upon it merely as a step in the ■right direction begun at the wrong 'end." What a change has come o'er jtho spirit of the dream ! Why is that ii which wns all-important in 1870 ;iof no consequence) in 1881 ? UnJdoubtedly, if Auckland is aggrieved ;by the adoption of a population : basis, it has the late Government to | thank for it. Tho Auckland members >:luv.l fair and distinct warning as far 'back as 2/sth September, IS7B, whon I Mr Stout, on a motion in favour of • ithe preparation of a Representation 3! Bill during the recess, spoke as follows : .;"! am very glid to see that honourable 3.members representing country districts ■,'are prepared to give to the towns their 1 fair share of representation, which has ijbeen denied them in the past. I prejlsunie they are all agreed that representation should be b.ised solely on population." —[Hon. members: No.] —"If | representation is not to be based on population, why should those places i with increased population get additional • representation '/ ]f representation is ;not to be according to population, ■ it would be wrong to give thow places .■additional representation. Can any 1 person stand up in this House and ask r:for a ch'iuge in iho representation ; unless he is prepared to accept the :logical conclusion to baso the rppro 'isentation solely on population? What Jt'lse is it to be based on? Is it to be Abased on property 1 Is property in the towns not of more value than property in country districts 1 I know one town where the buildings alone cost two 'itnillious and a half, and I should like to know any country district where such an amount had been expended. i 1 If this resolution is carried the Government will v ;Jot-stand by it that this', House de.iii'r.i that representation should be wholly based upon })opidation." [And it wis carried, twelve Auckland j members voting for it and none against jit. Yet, now this obviously just priii[cipic is cirriud out in the bill before the iHouse, th'j Auckland men make all' jthis coil, and Sir Geohge Grey, their; 'jonce Mtntor and guide, shrinks! from; ' j the consi ijaences of his own policy.) ' With strange inconsistency, though hej voted fur the second reading of the bill, j : ho also voted for Mr Reader Wood's! amendment, which was designed to do! away with the Maori special represen-; Ration, and give the North Island! foi the Maori popula-; !tion its well as for Europeans—a course' opposed, as we have said, to the wish' of the Maoris themselves. I We believe tho basis of population [as embodied in the bill is a just one, j ;and that no case of expediency has I been made out for departing from |it. The principlo is not carried out in jdetail wi'li absolute accuracy: it was jimpos:u'<.i,.> that it should be j but the iue.'piuliii''.! are not great, nor in any '.case such as to afl>ct tho consistency of jthe bill ,it all seriously. The bill will (certainly ii!]'ect an important change of [political p-jwer, but it docs not at all follow, us our Auckland fellow colonists seem to think, that it will materially jle.'-fii'ti th'-ir legitimate inlluonco. Auckiland for a while, by combination witli .Otiig'i, ruled the Colony, and may do jso ii»!iin ; but, on the other hand, it I will hciciil'ter be tho fault of tho South lif tho North takes the reins into its ihands, as, thanks to tho influence of Sir Okokcio OiiEY, for a time it did. Otago has ii') reason to b« particularly jubijlant. If it guts three more morn bore, !Canterbury gets four rnoro; and as Auckland gets one more, tho numerical | relations of Otago members with Auckjland members will only be as 24- to 19 instead of 21 to IS—not such a very serious difference. It is Canterbury :which is the chief gainer, and Canterbury does not love Otago too well. jTire banking returns for tho Juna quarter idiscloso Home important changes in the J relations between the banks and their cunj tomors. f.t will bo seen by a glance at [the comparative return published in j another column that the deposits show a Uleclino of £107,405 on tho previous jrjii'irter, wliilo tho ndvimei's sb-ur an increase of no leas than .£730,780. Tho 'decline in deposits is outu-tjiy in those nt .interest; n considerable iiicruMeis tippuroMt in thoso at call ; Uovurnmont deposits also show a decline; and iha net balance of tho whole is the abovenamed decrease. It is evident that low rates of interest for bank deposits for a

terra are rendering depositors leaa willing to adopt that mode of investment. On the other hand, the increase in advances ■would lead to the supposition that the low prices of wool which have prevailed for some time are causing the runholders to make larger calls on the resources of their bankers. Tho increase in discounts is but slight—only £123,873, while the increase in overdrafts or other advances is £012,913. This absorption of banking capital at the dullest season of the year is somewhat remarkable, and would seem to indicate that money is not long going to remain so cheap and abundant as it has been for some time past. The note circulation doos not exhibit any increase, as it whonld do if the increased advances were chiefly due to a generally brisker state of trade : in fact it shows a alight decline, after having advanced a little in the previous quarter. On the whole, these returns seem to exhibit a fresh starting point after a period of restriction ; tho banks are beginning to do more business, but whether that business is of a profitable nature for the Colony is a doubtful question, which the imperfect information before us can do very little to solve. The Hon. Dr Menzies1 bill to make | Bible-reading in schools permissory, at the option of tho school committees, has got through Committee in the Upper House, i after being amended bo as to prevent any teacher from being compelled to be preisent while the Bible ia being read. The I operative clause of Dr Menzies' bill reads Jas follows :—" Section 84 of' The Educajtiou Act, 187T,' i 3 hereby amended by 'adding to subsection 2 the following i words, namely: Provided nlw.iya that any such committee may if it sees fit jdirect that a portion of the Holy Scriptures ■ shall bo read aloud by the scholars of one or other of the senior classes every morning at the opening of the school; but no ichilil shall bo compelled to attend at the reading herein provided for it his or her | parent or guardian shall inform the C<>mmitteo or tho toacher in writing that they object to Buch attendance." The Attorney!general (Mr Whitakl k) gave notice of his |intention to move an addition to the clausa restricting the time of roading to !20 minutes, but whether ho did so or not ■we are not informed. The bill is a very | harmless ono, and we could wish it a .better fate than it ia likely to meet in the i Lower House. The only plausible objection to it soams to us to bo that it ;may raise a fight in every school district [year after year. But, after all, it is only I tho principle of local option, tho justice [of which has been more than once allirmed jin regard to the licensing laws. If the ■great majority of tho people of any district wish it, and the children and teachor3 : are both protectod from any compulsion, ■we really can see no very strong reason lagainst it. it is a very poor instalment :of religious teaching, if it can be called I such at al), but it ia a small concession to j tho earnest desire of the majority, at least in this Provincial District, without any injury to the minority, and we ithink the House would bo wise if they ; gran ted it. Reports of the Education Board proceedings : yesterday, of the hearing of a charge of unaiiult , it the Police Court, anl Eoveral letters to the edilor appear on our fourth page this morning. In the legislative Council yesterday Mr Reynolds' motion for a reform of the Legislative Cauuci!, by altering its conelitutioji so that districts should be repre.-euted in the name .<roporlinn as iv the Lower House, was lost by 15 votes to 14. : Mr Fyke opened the evening Bitting with a 'seuii-faooti' us, femi-earaest rotice of motion io: n p or.igation, to enable members to recover •;rom their present jaded condition of niiud and inily. Mr Andrews, upou the strength of a I telegram he had received from Mr John Logan, ; vitixlrew some remarks he had made about the Visiting Justices'dutieß iv Duuedin. Thou the Honau v/ont in for nome hard work on bills. Dr WalliV Annual Parliaments Bill wa3 thrown •iul by 11 to 8; Mr Saunders'Protection of iCropa Bill prised its sacond reading; tha Parliamentary Oitha Bill pa3?ed through with smie amendments ; and, after eomo debits, Mr ■Shriimki carried his Kakanu: Harbour Board ; (Sorrowing Bill (to borrow LSOOO), in spite of >,he str mg opposition of the Pruinier. Tho P*iiai.m3 Bill and one or tw> others were dealt with ; r.tid u;> to 1.30 a.m., at which time the 'v.>! -iO'iip'!- ( m>3 closed, tha H'iusa was discu-;s-'ing tho Gold Duty Abolition Bill. Iv tho Lower Houso, Sir Georg-3 Grey gave iiwliua of a bill to open the practice of tho law in c-.urls to any person aulhf-rised by pariias to I* suit—a measure he evidently is introducing j under the eureneas arising from the defeat of ; ais former bill in the Legislative Council. To questions, the Government said they intendad asfimilating penny postago and receipt stamps ; thought giving money to open up tracks was a bettor way of encouraging gold-mining than by offarkg rewards for new discoveries ; could uot ajroe to piovide money to completo the partly-cotj.stracted j-crtion of the Catli&'s River railway to tha South Molyneux road ; and intended to maka permanent provision for tho maintenance by local bodies of tho bjtaiiical domains in Auckland, Wellington, (Jhii\'fehu!ch, find Dunedin. flis Excellency Sir Arthur Gordon is to embark for Fiji ?t Auckland on H.M.S. Emerald, wl.ioh is expected to arrive in Auckhind about the second week in September. A v;ry serious case of ill-treatment of a wife hiw occurred at Oamaru, particulars regarding which wo f;ivo in anothor column. Tho ill. treated womau die.l last evening from the injuries she Lai received. Oiir Wellington correspondent, telegraphing at ]2 15 this motuing, say;:—" Thera was some little excitement in the Houso shortly b-jforu midnight, owing to a report being circulated that Mr Moorhouse, M.H.E,who has long been dangerously ill, waa dea:l. His relatives, Mr Wigley, M.L.C., r.nd Mr Studholms, II HIl., wera suddenly sent for, and Uiia was feared to augur the worst. Ultimately, however, intelligence was received that tho report was incorrect, although Mr Moorhouae U iv a moat critical condition, ftud tha fatal termination, it is foarod, cau li ,rdly be long d-ilayod." The half-yearly ruport and balance-sheet of the Standard Insurance Company, issued to subscribers yesterday, showa a net profit of L 5190 141 Gd. The directora propose that this mm shall be carried forward to next half year. At the meeting of tho E lucation Board vesterduy, A. C. Btgif drew attention to tha fact that certain toaohera were in the habit of iistribntiug tickets for theatrical performances luring school hours. He did not know what 'uducemant they got to do so, but in any c&ae they were acting in a reprehensible manner. li the matter waa again brought tinder his ootica ha would move that it should be thoroughly sifted, wish a view of having those j who were culpable punished. | A very singular CA.se Wfl3 heard at tlio Polfco ; Court yesterday, in which the defendant, a :vomig man, was charged with presenting a luudod revolver at one of his acquaintances and .threatening "to put a bullet in hia heart." j Vb hough the immediate cause of this c induct did not traußpire in evidence, it ia reasonable I in tupposo that a young lady waa in aome wsy ;i:oi:ncc!.!'d with it, especially »h t!:e fond no1, of recent origin, compLinaut lavinjf bi=en R3»aulted in the same manner nomo ,iui)utljß bnfero. Colour iv given to tlm bslief h >y the conduct, of the accused, who, .iltlionsh he I had armed himself with a deadly weapon, and was apparently prepared to proceed to dire ;xtriuiit!t>B, was ntill actuated by a touching irrgnr.l ft.r Lia personal appearance. Thus hia first woiilh to hia opponent upon being disarmed 'wore, "Fit goodness' sake don't mark my face, Martin." A young lady was one of the witnesses, j but she Beeined in no manner ailecled by the : murderous antagonism of tho two disputants, for aho gave her evidence with great heartiness |and solf-possession, considering that some pressure had to be used to bring tier into Court at all. j Tha Committee of tho Duneclin Industrial ! Exhibition Committee yesterday presented Mr i Robert Browulie with a handsome gold albert j and appendages in recognition of his valuable jS3rvice3 in connection with the late Exhibir tion. j Tiie class of " society" journals which have lately sprang into existence in this and the neighbouring Colomen aro notorious for the dißKgard paid by them to ethics which usually yiidn newspapers in the writings which appear ia their c lumns, and the j •umais in question hf Idly invade the privacy of domestic life i:> 'h«-ir rsMrcihf.'iiPih'o n'tfrapfi to pancler to the ■jnorbid tastes of th.nir Rniporiers ; buf. ovpp th.i c'nasMf writir.g t>>be met with intheeeOKjierß haa bfien eclif.sad by r;i articla which appeared in «ih Bruco Stnndird of Saturday last. The 'irticle in question teflects by innuendo on several Mghly-;vßneetabl6 rosideiita of Milton in such a grossly lib3llou3 manner as to have arouse ■

j the utmost|indignation throughout that town No Buoh scandalous piece of wtiliog could have found its way into the columns of a respectable pap3r. The parties against whom the calumnicß it contains are levalled have, we believe, re ceived universal ' expressions of sympathy in the painful position in which thepoißonous shafts of the anonymous elanderer have plue'd thorn, Oar Portobello correspondent writes :—" We h*ve had s-ma remarkably high tides here. On Tuesday last especially the tide was higher by almost i.B inches than it had ever been Been by the oldest inhabitant. On the day referred to the roads round the inlete and round Portobello Bay were completely oub. merged. The jdtty in the bay—or Granton Pior, as it is cillad—was covered to the depth of several inches. There has been little or nc damage done to the roads, fortunately, as the wind did noi; blow in ths right direction U cause a heavy swell to roll on the roads." Nicholas Smith, a Beaman belonging to th steamer Hero, met with an accident at Porl Chalmers yesterday afternoon, whereby his lefi leg wai broken a little above the ankle. It appeals that a heavy chain was being lowered to the chain-drum, when suddenly it took b run, dragging the unfortunate man along witi U, and inflicting the above-mentioned injury. Ha was conveyed to the Hospital, where hie injuries were at once attended to. Considering tha number of Chinamen there are re-sideat in Dunediu, and the wrongs they suffer, one would think that the Police Court autho riLies should be familiar with the manner of swearing them. Some little delay and difficulty occ.irred yesterday, however, before this could be tfLcted.und even after the witness had with fitting solemnity blown out a lightod match, troubles were noi at an end. " Joha" did not speak English, and the interpreter who was procured proved to be almost as unintelligible as hie c.irmtryman, bo that Inspector Wtldontook upon him the arduuus task of interpreting the interpreter* In this his success was only very partial, and after combating with a more than usually mixid utterance for some minutes, he took rofuge in expressing a hope that theii Worships understood i% Their Worship* admitted with great candour that they did not, and the Mongolians escaped further ex&mina tlon. With reference to the importation of sorghun: seed, recommended by the Local Industries Cjmmittee, the North Oiago Times says:— " The Borghum plant, we believe, will grow tc perfection in the North Island, bat there may he some diffisu'.ty in growing it with any profit in the South. Last yeir a gentleman in O.vmiru procured seed from the States of three varieties of sorghum, but waa unsuccessful in his efforts to produce a plant that would bt profitable for manufacturing purposes. However, the season might have boon unfavourable, or some other causa might hava militated j ag'.inat sucsow, and another trhl should bi I made. The North I-ilaui, although incapable of producing whoat profitably, has, there is little d übt, j jhc the climtta that would suh the cultivation of sorghum." At the meeting of the E lucation Board yes tcrday Mr Fraer mentioned, for the bsutfU ol school committees and others interested, the fact that the Legislature had recently provider; that chairmen of school committees h*ve powei to frank and receive, free of postage, lettt-r. I slrictly on school bu.-tiness ; secretaries to edu ! ration boards abo had the po?/er of frankini i or receiving from school committees, or fromanj : other persor.s, letters addro'sed to them atiic-Jj on school business. Mr Fraer, although, i: c-.n-.r3?, ho had the bost intotitioca in thi> maUer, hiw unwittingly made a very cjn siteritbla error. Tbe Postmaster-general, no the Legislature, has provided that chairmtn o education board*, not school committees, maj frank and receive free of postage letteru oi Kubool buMino.!-!; as a!no may secretaries o education board-t. Letters «tnc to such chair men or secretaries uiuit bo ad Iressod " 0 public service only," bus niuit nut be fraukai by tae prrson sending tham, whether such petsm i-i chairman of a school committee or not; an; the letters must be on subjects only connects, with school budcesa. The privilege has beei in force with regard to secretaries of educstioi bohrds for a number of yoara. Tno third of a series of lectures in aid of 3t Matthew's Church organ fund was delivered ii the OJd-J'ellows' Hnll, Raltray streat, by th Rev. C. J. Byng last evening. The subject v the lecture was "Instinct and Reason," am tha lecturei' gave at considerable length am with numerous illustrations his definition o tfeo terms. As usual, the Rev. Mr iSycg wa entertaining and explicit; but his definition would hardly be accepted by students of mento science at tbe present lime, tho lino of distinc tion between instinct and reason not bein generally considered to be very clsarly marked Tho discourse waa listened to wuh pleasure and tha interest and applause of tho auditoi wire secured. On tho Ist of September th fourth of tbo course will be given, and tb su! j ;ct—" St. Paul as an eneaiy cf Christ "- is one that is sure to be eloquently handled. Our Outrain correspondent writes:—" understand that the plonghmon of the Taiei purpose getting up a ploughing team in ords to issue a challenge to all the other counties In all probability tho match will not come efi if tbe challenge is accepted, till next season aa this season is too far advanced." Upwards of two duz^n Chinamen assomblei at the ltssident Magistrate's Court yesterday fr hear the caie of Cheung Iling—trading as Kirn Goon Lee—v. Mok Chung Chin. Tao plaiaiill for whom Mr Strode appeared, sought to re cover tbo sum of L 22 9i 1.1, being tbe balanc dne on goads sold and delivorad to the defen dant, for whom Mr Bathgate appeared. Job: Ah Loo acted as interpreter. The evidenc showed that the defendant purchased good from the firm cf Kuin Goon Yick, who was th manager of a store in tbe Arcade. Five partie had a share in the store, and when the businea ■was wouud up Cheung Hing took the stoc and also the book debts. Thera was no pspe Bigned to this eff-ict, and Mr Bathgate argu6 that the other partners cjuld again cue for th amount in the ovent of the defendant goin back to China. His Woiship faid the partie should try and make a settlement, as the defen dant had no defence on the merits. To this M Bathgnte objected. The summons was the: amended by the names of all the parties in th firm being inserted, and his Worship gay judgment for Ll7 and costs. We notice in the minutes of proceedings o the Institute of Civil Engineers in London that the three Urge railway bridges built bMopshj Prondfoot in the North Island of Nev Zealand for the Napier-Manawatu railway ar referred to us being "excellently-built strut tnres," and " tho workmanship U exceptional!' good. The Enftinosr-iii-ehief has stated that i cannot bo surpassed." The bridges aro on. tb j American trestle principle, and i-pan tbo deo] ravines of tho Manawatu, the Maugarangiora ,-md the Makotoko. Their lengths are -181, GOG ami 22-4 feet respectively, their heights leini SO, S(i, and 7l> feot. Each pier rests upon a bei of concrete. The country wss extremely difli cult to get tho timber over to the aito, and th timo occupied in the construction was twi years. Tho work was performed under th nnptrintendonee of Mr John Oamitbers, en giner-r-iu-uhief, Mr Black.;lt, aanintnnt engineer i::-cldef, supervised l>y Mr C. 15- Knopp am Mr Moxwell, Piiporiult-ndiriff enßineem, Nortl Island ; Mr J. C!arr l-n-iiig thdrosMniiteagiuotT and Mr Fulton bin aosiutfti^. We learn tbn Mr Alexander Graham was Mpsarn Proudfoot'i manager, and that tho whole • f tho wurks wen carried out under bin flnpervHon. Mr Grahau !.an b^tm in j^fn'srs Prcndf^ot's pr»i P l,.y men t f 0; many yours, having built tbo firat Port Cilal mtrn railway pier and viaducts. Ho is nov. ono of Mr Prondfoot'H managers on the Nof South Wales railway contract. Wo would call ppnciiil uttontiou to tbo per furmauco of llio "Pirates" to be giveu to morrow nftornonn by Mr Carey's company ii aid of local cniiritiec. It appoars to bo r gratuitous df r mi tho part of the company to make au acknowledgment of tbe pat.ronngt they have so freely received in Ouuedin, and a: such will no doubt be appreciated by our cit'z'Ds We confidently expect that many young people will attend on tho oocasion, ns the opera is on* which cannot fail to prove thoroughly engagitif to them. The amount received by the Irish Lane League up to Ihs departure of the Suez mai] was altogether LBO.OOO, of which one-half stili rf mains unexpended. Tho Tablet states thai it forwarded to thn address of the treasurer ol tho Irish National Land League, Paris, by last Saturday's mail, the sum of LI7S 10a 31, of which Lll3 was subscribed at Southbr:d,-e. Lecston, and Lincoln, L 25 9j at Arrow, and the balance at Duuedin. The Port Chalmers Naval Brigade celebrated the anniversary of its foundation by a ball on Wednesday evening. The Foresters' Hall was mont tastefully decorated with trophies of fl >gs and ferns, and the .flLvrs of the B.i S iv.l. were iu'Waiigfiblo in tjeir <ff-ircß tn pnt»r t»iu their nuiri«,-iM visitors. F,:lly 200 !>er>;ons were present, mid dancing was topt v with fjreat spirit until an early honr or Ti:ursday morning. Mr M'Donald, the m.ist,i-> of ceremoniep.is entitled to great credit for the ercellent manner in which he performed his duties, '

The "Pirates of Ponzance" continues to draw excellent houses at tha Qaeen'e. Last night all parta of the house were crowded, while many were unable to obtain seats down staira. The opera was as usual enthusiastically received, and several of the solos and choruset had to be repeated. Of the pirates, Ruth (the piratical maid), Mr Cary (che king), and Signor Morley (the apprentice) make the most pleasing impression; while of the picnic party Mr Wentworth, the model maj ir-general, and Mdlle. Murielle, aa Mabel Stanley, are sa great favourites as ever. Those who have not yet seen the opera ahould not lose the opportunity of seeing if; as represented by so talented a company as Mr Cary's. Bishop Nevill lectures thia evening in St. Paul's Schoolroom on "Some Historic Evidence of the Authenticity of Holy Scripture." Admission is free. The " Guardian Trust and Executors Company of New Zealand" publish their full prospectus this morning. We have been requested to direct attention to Messrs North and Scoullar'a advertisement in this issue. Mr Gordon Forlong gives an address in the Queen's Theatre on Sunday evening. A "monster meeting" under the auspices of the Licensed Victuallers' Association is called for this afternoon. Messrs Maclean and Co. sell a freehold property at Ravensbourne on Saturday. Mr M. Pym sells sheep-dip on Saturday. Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. sell horses and drays on Saturday at the Provincial Yards. We are informed that Mr M. W. Groen will, in the course of a week or two, deliver ft lecture under the auspices of the British-Israel Association. We learn that some large parcels of shares have during- the present week bei-n applied for at Dunedin in the East Coast Native Land and Settlement Company, the share list of which Is advertised to close tomorrow, at the office of Mr Bradshaw, and those of the brokers of the Company in other parts of the Colony, and at the various branches of the Colonial Bank. Ab the Company offers not only a guaranteed minimum rate of interest, but the privilege to any shareholder of exchanging his shares (or the land of the Company, it appears to present attractive inducements for investment; and we are pleased to learn that from tho applications received in the northern partsof the Colony, as well as at Dunedin, the share list as subscribed will enable the directors to proceed in opaning up. to settlement a district that has long: been coveted by land speculators. PUULIC XOTICE.-Thia is no novel advertisement, but simply inserted for the purpose of directing the r attention of the working men and the unemployed to |j the (act that I am now selling prime roasting beef from aid per Ib, boilinpr hoof from ljd, mutton from ' 2d per ib, lor cash.—S. G. Smith, City Company, High street.—[Advt.]