WELLINGTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1340, 4 August 1877, Page 6

WELLINGTON.

THE MOOTED COASTAL SERVICE. A new Coastal Steam Company has been talked about amoegst five or six gentlemen here lately, but the thing has been kept exceedingly quiet, and has not as yet assumed an? definite shape. If, however, the Hinemoa were known to be in the market, it might do so, as she is known to be a very cheap boat to work. Plans have also been drawn for the other boats which would be required. The idea is to have these of small tonnage, but of very high power — 13 or 14 knots — with small consumption of fuel, and to have them built of steel. The cabins would be amidshipa, and they would be able todothe trip from port to port so quickly that it would not be necessary to do much in the way of catering, so that the passage money might be greatly reduced. At present, except that the plans have been drawn by a gentleman well skilled in the subject, the scheme has not got beyond the stage of talk, and very few people indeed even here have heard anything whatever about it. THE NEW ZEALAND STEAM SHIPPING COMPANY Have recently purchased the Stormbird from Messrs Turnbull and Co., aad intend, I believe, to have her lengthened. Payment has to^a large extent been made in shares. The Company nov? owns the Manawatu, Stormbird, and Eangattra, and intends, it is said, to get one or two more boats of the same kind, for the West and East Coast trade. Messrs Turnbull and Co.'s other steamer, the Napier, has been sold to a Marlborough firm, and is to run between that Province and this port. There were several would-'oe buyers for this useful little vessel, and the N.Z.S.S. Co. were amongst the number. The old St. Kilda, which has for a long time been laid up at Wanganui, is to be brought into active use again, and be

worked by Messrs Turnbull and Co. in the trade between this port and Dunediri, calling at Lyttelton, Timaru, and Gamaru. SCANDALS. Last week was wonderfully prolific in scandals, chiefly connected with the Press. The first was the horse-whipping of the late editor of the Eeformer, Mr Hooper, by a woman of the town named Baker, and as his contributions to that journal are of a most intemperate, ribald, and libellous character, he received very little sympathy indeed in his misfortune. In fact, he has done a good i deal here to injure the cause of temperance, wuich he espouses with more zeal than discretion. Then came the libel action brought by the editor of the Post againsb the proprietors of the Argus, in which the plaintiff got a verdict for 40s on the one count, and the defendants a verdict on the other count, the result being that the costs yill be apportioned, and all parties except the lawyer? will lose. Even if the 40s had been all profit tc the plaintiff it would, however, be very poor compensation for what he must have suffered by the stirring up of so much dirty water. Most men would have given a good deal to have had the facts which were j brought out, but which had long been for gotten, left undisturbed, rather than have gone to trouble and expense to revive them. The plaintiff, however, seems not to have I enough of law, as on Saturday he attacked a reporter on the other paper who is supposed to be the Wellington correspondent of the Sun, and threatened to do all sorts of things to him in consequeuce of certain remarks in one of the letters. The threatened corre- i spondent intends, I believe, to have the j fighting editor bound over to keep the peace. ! The last and gravest scandal of the week was, however, in regard to a member of the | Civil Service named Langridge, who, it was stated, had been dismissed the service for an unmentionable offence, and given time to clear out. He has, I believe, gone, and there has been a great deal of comment here on the course pursued by Ministers in this case, as compared with that which they took in another case when a similar charge was made some time ago. People are not, however, sorry to be spared the publication of the details of such a case. AMUSEMENTS. Mr and Mrs Morton Taveres have only been drawing moderate houses at the Theatre Eoyal, although they have appeared in a large variety of pieces, ranging from tragedy to faree — from " Hamlet " to "Trying it On." They are, however, both clever artistes, and have some good new pieces, including "Kernoodling," "The Overland Route," " Two Roses," &c. They are decidedly favourites with His Excellency the Governor, who has been, present several times since they opened — was indeed there three times out of the first five nights. Money, however, is not quite so flush now as it was some time ago, and this, I think, is the reason why theatrical matters are not so brisk as they were. Things generally are VERY DULL, Although there seems no great dearth of employment. As for female servants, they are harder to get — and more difficult to keep — i than, I think, I ever before knew them, and fervent hopes are expressed that the Waimate, which has sailed from London for this port, may have a good assortment of single girls amongst her immigrants. A few immigrants arrived by the City of Madras a few dayß ago, but they were for the Feilding settlement.