NEWS OF THE WEEK.

Otago Witness, Issue 852, 28 March 1868, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

[from the daily times.]

Mr. Justice Chapman proceeded to Melbourne by the Tararua. Hj S Honor purposes returning in time to sit in Banco on Monday,

Mr E. P. "Kenyan, solicitor, was, on Saturday, sworn, before Mr Justice Chapman, as % Revising Officer under the provisions of the Registration of Electors Act, 1866.

A company of Volunteer Rifles has been, formed at Hokitika, consisting of twelve commissioHed and non-commissioned officersand eighty-three rank and file. The formation of another company is contemplated.

The only Special Jury case .remaining; untried, is Cameron v. The Otago Daihf Times and Witiiess Company (Limited) j and it stands adjourned until the ,6th May,, when the jurora already summoned are to attend.

By the barque Empress, a valuable collection, comprising 200 birds, consisting off partridges, chaffinches,' greenfinches, grey* linnets, starlings, skylarks, blackbirds, thrushes, hedge sparrows, and yellowhanxmers, has arrived in Auckland.

The Lawrence Town Council have elected. the-Mayor (MrH. Bastings), and Mr RobertBon, as delegates to the • Municipal Conference, which is to he held in' Dunedin next month,— The delegates chosen by the Queenstown Council are Messrs Powell' aadL Malaghan, * '

At the Mining Conference on Tuesday, all the members were present, and the business i>i the day was not^ concluded until five o'clock. The reports have > been published, containing suggestions as to extended claims" and blasting signals, "gere adopted, with a few verbal alterations,; and the Conference were afterwards engaged in re-examining the regulations, and adopting aome further amendments.

We are indebted to the Chief Postmaster for the following returns :— During the month of February, 479 money orders were issued, representing L 2265 17s 9d ; and 293 were paid, amounting to L 1475 17s 6d. Since the commencement of the system, on Ist Sept., 1862, 31,026 orders have been issued, representing L 145 ,443 12s sd; and 14,295 have been paid, amounting to L 69.027 19s Id; In the Post Office Savings Bank Department, the number of new accounts during February was 62, and 231 additions were made to existing accounts. The deposits to new accounts amounted to Ll3Bl 33, and the additions to L 1863 17s sd. The total number of deposits was 293. making 2660 from the beginning of the system on Ist February, 1867, amounting to L 3 1 1 ,156 8s 3d. There were 99 withdrawals during February, im hiding 10 Accounts closed. The amount withdrawn was L 1576 13s 9d. Since the establishment of the system, there have been 710 withdrawals, for the total sum of L 10,539 0s lOd.

At a meeting held a few days ago at Crick - more's Royal Hotel, Port Chalmers, a Literary *ud Scientific Society, of which His Honor the Superintendent has been pleased to become Patron, was formed. It was arranged that meetings be held quarterly, the first one being fixed for the 10th of next month ; after wh?ch a full report of rules, proceedings, &c, will be published. Before the proceedings concluded, a short piece of poetry, welcoming H. R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, was read and presented to the Society by Mr John B»rr ; as to the merits of which, suffice it to say that it's from the pen of " Craigielee." It was unanimously resolved that the Mayor of I'ort Chalmers be requested to present this pie:e to the Princ* on his arrival. After a vote of thanks to the chair, and a special one to Mr Barr for his present, the meeting was adjourned until the 10th of April next.

The Oamaru Times, notwithstanding the evidence of the recent lamentable disasters, continues to argue in favor of a breakwater, and thus urges the construction of another jetty : — ' ' We may be told that it is madness to talk about another jetty, seeing that the one first erected has been destroyed. Not so ! We believe that the principle Tipon which the Government Jetty was constructed was perfectly sound, and there is little, indeed no doubt, that it would have been standing to this day but for an error in detail— a fatal error as it proved —namely, the deck not heing raised at a sufficient height from the sea. We still believe in the perfect practicability of e-ecting a pile jetty, which will be perfectly safe for a moderate sum ; bufc, in any future work, the blunders made in the former case must be avoided by placing the structure end on to the sea, and raising the floor fnlly three feet higher. A jetty ef equal length with the last, run out from the boat - landing, would, on this principle, we believe, be perfectly secure, and when finished, with a crane, would afford the means of loading produce direct into vessels of light draught, would save a great deal of money to shippers, besides greatly economising time, and would also be a great convenience to passengers per steamboat. There ia another saving, and not an unimportant one, which wou'd be effected bvit, namely, the large annual sum which will, under the present circumstances, be required for repairs to the jetty road, which always has been, and always will he, uaiess large protective works are undertaken, a great source of expense to the Government. The whole question is one of vital interest to the town and district, and we are glad to find that there are those in cir Municipal Council who are able to perceive this, and to address themselves to its consideration in a bold and reasonable spirit."

Mr C. B. Fisher, who, it will be remembered, purchased the major portion of his brother's fine stud, has made up his mind to retire from the turf, and the famous Maribyrnong stud is again in the market. Acting on a suggestion made in a Melbourne paper, Mr Fisher has decided on disposing of his horses by means of an " Art Union." The mode of distribution seems to be this : — Two thousand tickets at LlO each, which will in fact be' far below the racing value of the stud. It is arranged that the drawing shall be conducted under the superintendence of a committee of gentlemen in bo way interested, and otherwise of good standing ; that the drawing shall actually be performed by several boys from an institution (the Blind Asylum), to which Mr Fisher will make a handsome donation fer their services, the boys to be changed whenever th« committee think proper. The drawing will take place positively on the 6th April, at the old Exhibition Building, whether all the tickets are or are not disposed of ; but Mr Fisher has announced that he does not wish to retain a single share, if any oDe shouM come forward at the last moment to claim to take t ; his intention is to clear out for the present. The schf-me (says the Argus) certainly offers an opportunity to the sporting public, breeders, and others, to obtain some of the best, most fashionable, and stoutest running blood to be found now in England, and at a measure of value far "below the figure which -would be .required for such blood for exportation from England to Australia, China, or elsewhere.

The Timaru Herald mentions that one or two enterprising, townsmen have ; purchased the necessary" machinery, and are' about to erect » «team flour and' saw mill there. - ■ "The want ota flour null has long been felt, as the nearest is about ten miles distant, and grain grown around Timaru and to the south must of necessity be exported/a s the cartage to and from the nearest mill would involve a loss to the holder of tho grain. As it is be lieved that there will not be sufficient work for the mill the whole "year 'round, it has been determined to make use- of- the steam-power, when not otherwise engaged, in, niaking tongued and grooved"bbards,,&c., all of which are at present imported. The plans for the necessary buildings have been drawn out, and are now in the hands. of \fche contractors. The machinery is ' expected by 'the next steamer from lJuhedin, and in a very Bhort space of time operations will be commenced.

The recent news trom "Victoria contained a statement that a Fenian disturbance in Melbourne, on St. Patrick's Day, was feared. The Age, of the I6tb instant, publishes the following : — "That a Fenian funeral procession was projected for St. Patrick's Day, there can be little doubt, but that the plan will be carried out in the face of recent events is exceedingly improbable. In connection with the aifair, we publish the following letter for what it is worth. It is anonymous, and purports to come from the secretary of the sympathisers. We do not believe, however, that it iB an authorised communication, although we are satisfied that it comes from one of the party :—: — • To the Editor of The Age— Sir— As you have expressed an opinion in the columns of your paper, that the authorities will put a stop to the funeral procession to be held on the 17th inst. in honor of our murdered patriots, Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, might T ask on what grounds they could venture to do so. Is there anything illegal in an expression of sympathy with our poor suffering country, and the victims of English tyranny ? is it in any way incompatible with loyalty, real attachment to the Constitution of this our adopted country, to give expression to our feelings as Irishmen on such a subject ?■ We think not. Therefore, lam directed by the Central Committee to inform the authorities and general public, through the medium of your journal, that at meetings held here in Melbourne, Collingwood, &c. ; also at meetings held at Ballarat, Sandhurst, Kyne ton, Kilmore, Geelong aud Epping, it has been unanimouß'y resolved that the funeral procession shall and will take place at all risks and hazards ; and as each of the above districts are sending large numbers of men to take part in the movement, who will be all suitably prepared for any and every emergency, it is to be hoped that the autho ritits here will avoid committing the fatal mistake of opposing the procession. If they do oppose it there will be some fun, and a slight decrease in our population, to mark the event. However, such trifles are not to be considered when there is a principle at stake. In conclusion, lam requested to state that, as Irishmen and uncompromising haters of British misrule and oppression, we fling back with scorn the foul calumny that would connect us with the cowardly attempt to assassinate your English Prince. — Yours truly, Hibernicus, Sec. of Funeral Procession.'"

The Committee of the Lawrence Athenaeum have resolved to advertise for tenders for the erection of a building. Mr J. C. Brown, M.P.C. informed the Committee at their last meeting — reported in the Tuapeka Times — that " he had seen Mr ffislop with reference to the amount; granted for the Athenreuin, and that he had arranged with him that the sum would not lapse, although it should not be applied for before the end of the month." — The members of a Brass Band, which his been formed in connection with the Athenaeum, have now received their instruments, and have arranged for practice-meetings."

In addition to the Sittings of the District Court of the Otago Goldfielda already appointed, the followng are notified in the New Zealand Gazette of Thursday :—ln: — In the Resident Magistrate's Court at Lawrence — On the 'second Tuesday in June and the second Tuesday in August next. In the Resident Magistrate's Court at Naseby — On the second Wednesday in July and the second Wednesday in September next. In the Resident Magistrate's Court at Clyde — On the Monday next after the second Wednesday in Jnly, and the Monday next after the second Wednesday in September next. In the Resident Magistrate's Court at Queenstown— Oa the Monday second after the* second Wednesday in July, and the Monday second after the second Wednesday in September next.

At a meeting held last week, in Lawrence, - it was resolved to forward to the Commissioner of Police a letter, which ia published in the Tuapeka Times, as follows: — "We, the undersigned cattle owners, and settlers residing in J;ne Tuapeka and Waitahuna districts, beg most respectfully to state that for the past three years we have been victimised to a very great extent by Rome person or persons, who have made it an habitual practice to take away our fat cattle. There cannot be any doubt as to the object for which they were taken, for in no instance has a beast ever turned up after being once missed from a 1 mob. We would therefore humbly request that you" will cause a proper Inspector of Slaughter Yards to be appointed, whose duty it would be to use the utmost vigilance m endeavoring to detect such nefarious conduct as we have endeavored to describe, and which has been carried on, and is still being carried on, to the very great lobs and detriment of the settlers of the above-mentioned districts." i

Mr Meluish'B Exhibition, at the new Post Office, was given twice on. Tuesday. At noon, a performance 'was commenced for school children— the treat having been arranged for by MrJEislop,. acting on behalf^ of the Education Board. * There was a liberal usb of the more amusing "slides;" and the little folks evidently enjoyed the exhibition .very greatly. Mrs Meluish and some of her friends kindly distributed a quantity of ifruit to the children belonging to the Benevolent Institute as they left the Hall.— ln the evening, the exhibition was open to the public for the last time. The hall was crowded ; and some new Home views which had not before been shown, wire received with much applause. .

The sixth of the series of Monday Evening Popular Concerts, was given in St George's Hall on Monday evening. The Hall was thoroughly well filled : there has not beena better audience during the series ; and it must have been most gratifying to the promoters of the concerts, and to the ladies and gentlemen who have taken, part in them, to see how well their efforts are appreciated. The request made officially on bebalf of the amateurs, that encores should not be demanded, was fairly complied with. There was no lack of applause, which was given liberally, and as a rule well deserved ; but there was.no stupid | thwacking of seats and walls with walkingsticks. The ladies who sang showed that they are g.'iin'ng confidence ; and the promoters of these concerts deserve thanks if only for enabling it to be known that there are so many ladies in Dunedin who have abilities and voices fitting them to take part in a public performance, with pleasure to themselves and to their hearers. We do not wish to be understood as implying that there were not noticeable defects in expression or in intonation, if the singing last evening is to be compared with that of trained and tried professionals ; but we do more than imply pity for anybody who .could fail to derive pleasure fr im Monday evening's concert. We shall not att-mpt a detailed notice of the 23 or 24 pieces which made up the programme. It was a varied one, and was good. The pianoforte performances of Mr T White and the two young pupils of his who appeared with him last week, were again loudly applauded— especially Schulhoff's solo, and the arrangement of the overture to " Fra Diavolo." for three players. An addition was made to t:ie decorations of the Hall on Monday eveniag ; the words "God save the Qu< en, and the Royal Family," being florally formed, and coLSpicuously displayed.

The circumstance of Mouday being a holiday was not alone the cause of the Princess Theati-e proving to be, in every part, a crowded house in the evening. In the performance of "Our American Cousin," and the burlesque " Masamello," and in the announcement that Mr Hall was to sustain the leading part in each piece, there was sufficient to induce a large attendance, altogether apart from the holiday character of the occasion. " Our American Cousiri" is another of the series of comedies in which Mr Hall was a successful accor, when previously in Dunedin, aud which, during his present visit, have been re-produced at the Priacess's ; and it is a comedy which, with him as Asa Trenchard, has not usually been played before other than a well-filled house. O- Monday ev«umgit was performed under no disadvantages, compared with previous representations. The present company is, in number and efficiency, capable ot affording a good "cast" for e*-en a better comedy than "Our American Cousin." and therefore each character had either nn excellent or a fair representative. Mr Herbert essayed the part of Lord Dundr-ary, and, although he was not altogether successful in subduing his usually vig rous voice and manner, his Dundreary was superior to some that have been seen on the same stage Mr Wilinot, as Brinney, was unexceptioiiably g-,od in his acting and. axtire ; and Mr Roberts was a proper Abel Mured; Mrs Hall took the part of Mary Meredith; Miss Nye that of Florence. For the three other ladies in the comedy, it is sufficient to '"look" the supposed characters, and that has some attention in that particular. As a whole, with an audience •in no humour to be hypercritical, the comedy was very successful. The burlesque was, if anything, more so. Apart from the incongruous but not less amusing b-.ts of caricature which are introduced in Masaniello, Mr Hall displays his abilities as an actor of high burlesque equally as prominently as in his representation of Azucena, in the burlesque of "111Trovatore." By Mr Morris, who is a useful actor, and by others of the company, he was sufficiently supported, and the burlesque concluded a good evening's entertain meut. It; was significant of the feelings of the audience with regard to the rec nt event in Sydney, that when the words •• God save the Queen" were accidentally or intentionally introduced, there was rapturous applause, and there was a general expression ot satisfaction, aad more than the ordinary indications of loyalty, when, immediately before the fall of the curtain, the Company sang the National Anthem.

The news of an impending Native disturbance at Opotiki seems to have been premature. The expedition which had started to trace the hostile naives having returned to Opotiki without encountering lesistance. All danger of an outbreak is for the present over, and Colonel Haultain has gone to Auckland. Major So. John, with all the men at his disposal, ha? been out several times in search of the enemy, but had not encountered any of them up to the time of the latest advices, and it is supposed the Hauhaus have gone further inland.

■ A lecture was delivered dn Wednesday at the Moray place Hall, under the -Auspices of the Social Improvement Society, which makes that nail- its usual place of meeting', Mr Reynolds, M.H.8.,< occupied the chair. Thej ■lecturer was the Rev. Mr Sorimgeour, and his lecture was announced to be, * " A Glance at the Poets of the Nineteenth Century." The comparative smallness of the attendance -was to be regretted, but regretted only for the sake of those who were no^; at the lecture, ana who might have been. It was to be accounted for, probably, by the Ssat that the occasions of public instruction and entertainmeuthave already during this week been somewhat numerous. The lecture was a little more than its name implied. As described by the mover of the vote of thanks tp the reverend lecturer, it was a "judicious, tasteful, and appreciative" review" of the writings of some of the moat eminent British poets of the century, and of the tendency and influence of the three schools of poetry represented by Byron, Wordsworth, and Shelley — the passionate, the natural, and the idealistic. As separate from this ■ classification,, the poetry of Tennyson and Mrs Browning were treated of, and from the works of most of the poets referred to, brief _ and choice passages were readj ia'illustration more of sentiment than of style. The lecture wascharacterised by many passages eloquent in diction, and generally by genial and generous criticism ; and the reverend lecturer was frequently and warmly applauded. On the motion of the Rev. Mr Dicksnn, the thanks of the audience were, at the close of the lecture, expressed by acclamation, and conveyed to Mr Scrimgeour by the Chairman.

The Balclutha correspondent of the Bruce i Herald of yesterday writes :—": — " A more ! mournful and heartrending story than the one it is my painful duty to furnish you with, could hardly be raked up from the fertility of fiction. Only this ■ night week I was penning for your paper the melancholy details of the death from drowning of Mr William Ford's eldest daughter. To-night, a sad prematurity calls for the record of the fate of the unfortunate man himself. Deceased (as before stated) was one of the punt keepers ; and after completing his day's work on Thursday night; last, left the Balclutha Hotel about nine o'clock, with the avowed intention of crossing the bridge to his residence on the south side. Owing to the very temporary nature of the footway at present laid down on the unfinished bridge, great caution ia necessary in using it as a means of transit to the other, even in broad daylight. On such a night as that of Thursday last, nothing short of motives aris ngfrom his 1 late bereavement could have induced the unfortunate man to attempt it, in order to be at home with his family. That the attempt failed, and that it resulted in the loss of his life, there is only the too convincing proof that he never arrived home, and h=»s ever since been missing. Up to the time of writing, every effort to recover the body, by means of dragging, has been unattended with success. " Deceased leaves a wife and four children totally unprovided for. I trust this brief notice will nob meet the eyes without touching the hearts and opening the purse strings of such of your readers as may be fortunately able to perform the good offices of assisting the widow and the fatherless."

For the past two days a number of the labor gang of the prisoners in Dcinedin Gaol have been employed in the work of reducing the ground in the Octagon to its permanent level. They have commenced the work at the side nearest to George street, -where the bed rock stands highest, and they have already excavated a considerable area, the debris being left for the Corporation to remove, in accordance with the agreement by which the Government consented to the employment of the prison labor in part execution of the work. The aspect of the Octagon itself, and the appearance of the Cargill Monument, will, no doubt, be materially improved by the simple operation of bringing the ground to its proper level ; but that operation is only a preliminary to others on the part of the Corporation which should have the effect of, at least, making the Octagon less of a disfigurement to the city than it has hitherto been.

Mr Allen on several day 3 last week experimented upon a portion of a flock of sheep for the cure of scab at Portobe'lo. A* another dip iB required to eompleta the process, th« second dipping is appointed to take place on the 30th.

The Anniversary Tea meeting of the Port Chalmers Wesleyan Church was held on Monday evening. A large number of persons «at down to tea. A publvc meeting was held in the evening— the Rev. A. R. Fitchett. of Dunedin, presiding. Appropriate addresses were delivered by the Revs. MrJohnston, W. Oliver (the pastor), and S. Smith; and by Messrs Gilbert, Burrell, Morris, and other gentlemen and friends. Each of the speakers touched more or less on the diabolical and dastardly act perpetrated at Sydney, and a feeling of universal horror and indignation ran through the whole assembly. After the opening address, the chairman called upon the meeting to express their horror of the deed, and their loyalty to Her Majesty, by singing the " National Anthem " which all assembled joined in with fervor and solemnity. A debt of some L 40,. which remained on the church, was almost cleared off, by the liberality of those present. The choir of the church sang several anthems dnring the evening, with much taste and with very great credit. Mr Moodie, of .Dunedin, presided at the harmonium. Votes of thanks to the ladies, the speakers, the chairman, and the choir were called fer, which were loudly responded to. :