News of the Week.

Otago Witness, Issue 1340, 4 August 1877, Page 15

News of the Week.

Blacks has declared in favour of the Strathtaieri route.

Nine&y-three of the passengers by the ' Waikato, which Arrived at Lyttelton on the 26th, are tingle girls. The Mutual Life Association of Australasia am commenced business in Dunedin. The ;. agent is Mr J. S. Webb. We understand that shares in the New Zealand Timber and Woodware Factories • Company are going off fairiy. Mr B. Martin's tender for the erection of • carriage repairing shop, Hillside, has been accepted. It amounts to £1278 11s Bd.

The number of births, deaths, and aarv wages for the month ending July 31st, are : as follows:— Births 139, deaths 59, marriages 32. "Is the Bible or Science the Word of Godf wag the question discoursed upon at the Princess Theatre last Sunday by Mr , Charles Bright

On Saturday last, the Portobello Rifles i proceeded with the contest for the two timepieces, which on this occasion W3re won by VoL O. M'Cariney.

The enquiry into the cause of the burning of Mr John M 'Neil's house, which was held - Balclutha on Tuesday, resulted in an open ' Brerdict being returned. The Immigration Officer, Dunedin, received notice on Saturday that the ship James Nicol Fleming left Glasgow for Otago on 18th July with 248 emigrants. The smallest horse ever imported to this colony arrived recently in the Ringarooma, from Melbourne. It is a pony, tiny indeed, its height being only 32 inches. James M'Gregor Weir, formerly Gas Inspector here, was committed for trial on Monday at the City Police Court for forging • and uttering a cheque for £30. The United Fire and Marine Insurance Company of New South Wales has opened in Danedin, Messrs Benshaw, Denniston, and Co. having been appointed agents for Otago. Our Cromwell correspondent telegraphs to us that the -Vincent Couuty Council has accepted Mr M'Cormack's tender for the construction of a bridge over the Clutha river it Bendigo for £4035. : Advices have been received per the Suez . mail. that our esteemed townsman, Mr W. N. Blair, District Engineer, was elected a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, . London, on the 29th May.

The number of shares in the Union In- > surance Company applied for through Mr J. ■ B. Bradshaw last week amounted to 9500. The number applied for in this Province up to the present is about 70,000. The present members of the South Dunedin Council held their final meeting on the 26th , ' when they decided to form a sinking fund by . setting aside 2 per cent, on £3500, and to offer £1500 worth of debentures for sale.

In a discussion which took place at a „ meeting of the Milton branch of the Otago Educational Institute the other day upon the Education Bill, members expressed thoir satisfaction with the principles of the BilL The regular weekly service under the auspices of the Dunedin Yaang Men's Christian Association attracted, another crowded congregation last Sunday at the Queen's Theatre. The singing was excel- - lent.

The deputation appointed at the meeting held at Bavensbourne last week haye been informed that the prisoners now engaged at , Anderson's Bay will be set to work on the Bayensbburne District Road in the course of % week or two. Mr George Aikenhead, of Oamaru, has taken up the challenge of Mr M'Farlane, of the Clutha, to plough any man in the Middle Island for £50 aside. Mr Aikenhead will meet the Clutha man with either a single or double-furrow plough.

The London correspondents of several leading country journals state that Lord Beaconafield was very much opposed to the Qaeen going to Scotland in the present crisis. Other members of the Cabinet, it is said, hold the same opinion. _ A domestic servant, resident in a country district, and who lat9ly was a patient in the Dunedin Hospital, has presented to that 1 inrtitutioc a ton of potatoes, in recognition of the kindress and attention she received 1 while she was an inmate of it. The English iron trade is in rather a depressed condition. In Brooker, Dore, ard Co/b price list for June, Baldwin's sheet iron is quoted at £13 for "Severn" sheets, aad '♦ Baldwin Wilden "B. at £14 10s. Tin plates are in better demand. The travelling public are informed that an alteration has taken place in the honr at which Oobb and Co. 'a coaches leave Lawrence for Qaeeustown. Pa»sengers from Danedin must leave by the 7 a.m. train on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We hear that there is a probability of the residents of Rothesay, Bavensbourne, and contiguous townships agitating for a severance from the North-East Valley Road Board_ and' the erection of the several localities named into a separate municipality. There was a large congregation at St. Paul's Church last Monday when an organ recital was, given by Mr A. J. Towsey. Various selections were rendered by the full choir. The collection, which was in aid of the Sunday School Fund, amounted to £20. Dr J. H. Scott, Professor of Anatomy for the Otago University, arrived by the ftmgarooma. In consequence of a telegram having been received from Adelaide to the effect that there were no passengers by the Suee mail for New Zealand, Dr Scott's arrival was unlooked for. The programme of the New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase, to be held at Timaru on the 27th August next, appears in another column. There are four races, and nominations are to be made by 8 p.m. on the 6th prox., and the entries on the 19th, under the uiraal conditions. Miss Cook, Matron' o! the Milton Grammar School, on the occasion of her leaving for <Jhn*tchuroh, where she has received an ap.poiufaaeat* was presented by the. children

with a handsome gold brooch and set of earrings to match. Miss Young, of Queenstown, is her successor.

We learn by telegraph from our Naseby correspondent that at a meeting of the Maniototo County Council held on Wednesday evening, a series of resolutions proposed by Mr Turnbull in favour of the Railway route to the interior, via Strathtaieri, were carried by the casting vote of the chairman.

In papers by the Suez mail the Grand Dnke Nicholas is credited with having said to » foreign consul : ." Neither Prince Bismarck nor Lord Derby will prevent the Russian army from entering Constantinople. As the Germans did at Paris, we also shall enter Constantinople — only to leave it again."

The Customs Revenue of Danedin for the month jußt ended, amounts to £31,390. For the corresponding month in 1876, it was £28,845, and for July, 1865, the amount was only £24,148. The comparison is one of an exceedingly satisfactory character, and should gladden the heart of the Hon. Major Atkinson.

Mr Chetham, who leased the Milton Pottery Works some time age, has just succeeded in turning out a splendid lot of white ware. Although in respect to colour it is not up to the Home article, he is confident that he wili shortly be able to produce an article whic!i will be equal to that produced in Staffordshire.

A conference of ministers was held in the vestry-room of Knox Church on Monday, for the purpose of considering the religious clauses in the Education Bill now before Parliament. The question was discussed at considerable length, and ended by a resolution being carried approving of the compromise contained in the Bill.

The Vincent County Council has resolved —•"That this Council heartily co-operates wish the movement to const rust a railway between Dunedin and Cromwell, via Strathtaieri, as a means of opening up an immense area of agricultural land, and being portion of an ultimate scheme of connecting the east and west coasts, via Haast Pass, by railway."

A meeting of the Committee of the Dunedin Jockey Club was held in the Empire Hotel on Wednesday evening. The audited balance-sheet and report of the proceedings for last half-year were laid upon the table, and it was resolved that the same should be adopted, and that the annual general meeting of the Club should be held on the Ist of August.

The following appointments in the Postal service in the Otago Provincial district are gazetted :— George Hume, Anderson's Bay ; E. Scanlan, Forbury ; Alexander M'Duff, Manuka Creek ; J. Mackay, Mt. Stuart ; George Dabiftett, Owake ; F. G. Downes, Port Chalmers ; M. Maloney, Port Waikouaiti ; Thomas Connor, Teaneraki : and David George, Weston.

A deputation, consisting of Messrs Rutherford and Moloney and Jones, waited upon His Worship the Mayor on Saturday, for the purpose of representing to him the necessity of the City Council widening the road which leads from Princes street to Kensington. His Worship recognised the desirability of the work being done, and promised to bring the matter before the City Council.

Anglo-Australian, in the European Mail, remarks : — The Emigration Department of the Ageut-General's office had been getting somewhat rusty in consequence of the politic pause in emigration, but it will doubtless be in full swing again, and the demand in New Zealand will meet with a ready response from our domestic servants, ploughmen, farm labourers, shepherds, bricklayers, and carpenters.

The business of the Port Chalmers Magistrate's Court on Tuesday was confined to a few civil cases, of which judgment for plaintiff, with costs, was given in the following ;:— Dench v. Cook, £4; and Miller v. Laing, £5 16s 3d. The case of M'Kenzie v. Couts, to recover £5 for damage alleged to have been sustained by an irruption of defendant's pigs upon plaintiffs potatoes, resulted in a non-suit.

The Beach Road between Portobello and Broad Bay is rapidly approaching completion. ■ The portion now being formed has been most tedious and difficult cf execution, calling for the expenditure of a large amount of labour and the liberal use of blasting powder. As it is, passengers on foot or horseback already use the road, in spite of the nncomplete formation, and the landslips with which it is encumbered.

Dr Hoeken lectured in the hall of the First Church last Monday, under the auspices of the Yosng Mea's Christian Association. His subject was "The Eye," being prepared and delivered in a thoroughly po pular style, and illustrated by carefully prepared diagrams. The lecture was much appreciated. On the motion of Mr A. Rennie, a hearty vote of thaks was accorded the lecturer. Mr Archibald Barr presided.

There was a tolerably numerous audience at St. Paul's Schoolhouse last Friday, when Mr J. P. Armstrong delivered his most amusing" lecture, "An Irish Pilgrim's Tour through the United States." The Yon. Archdeacon Edwards occupied the chair, and the lecture was given under the auspices of the paroshial Young Men's Association. A hearty vote of thanks was passed by acclamation to Mr Armstrong, whose address the chairman remarked upon in complimentary terms.

It is said that Mr H. S. Chapman has offered Mr Ulrich, of Victoria, the position of head of the School of Mines, which it is proposed to eatabbsh in connection with the Otago University. We wonder if our Universify authorities have properly considered the expenses attending the proposed institution. A large amount of capital will be required to provide the apparatus necessary for carrying it on. The Ballarat School has been for some time, and is still, labouring under difficulties.

Mr Henry Lapham, formerly teacher at Switzers, has been appointed to Wallacetown School, in the room of Mr Murray, who goes to the new school at Heriot. Mr Walter Rice, of Cardrona, has been appointed to the newly-established school at

Ngapara. Miss Murray, formerly of the Oamaru Grammar School, and who has been a student in the Normal School since its opening, has beea chosen schoolmistress of the Anderson'o Bay School. At the District Court yesterday, Mr Austin, one of the Jurors, called attention to the undesjrability of appointing heavy cases for hearing on important mail days, and his Honour promised that the grievance should not be allowed to recur. Mr J. P. Armstrong said that for the past 16 years he had been exempt from scrying on Juries, and he askad his Honour to issue instruction" to have him kept on the same footing as his professional brethren. His Honour replied that he could not do anything in the matter. It is pointed out in one of the Oamaru papers that Mr Leary is now on a visit to that town, and a moat comical appeal ig made to his conscience, asking him after he has seen the Oamaru breakwater to make reparation for having " cruelly wronged Oamaru." "It is not too late," the article remarks, " for Mr Leary to make peace with his own conscience." Mr Leary, after being appealed to in this pointed fashion, must be very hardened if he is not evolving some qualms out of his inner consciousness. The successful meeting of the two drives in che Deborah Bay tunnel, near Port Chalmers, was accomplished on Saturday afternoon, the difference between them not exceeding five inches. The engineers and the contractors were quite elated at their success, the meeting having been more speedily effected than was anticipated. A party of gentlemen, including the Mayor of Danedin (Mr C. S. Reeves), the engineers, and the contractors, left Ducedin by the 9 p.m. train on Saturday to celebrate the important event. Mr Joseph Cox, of Hampden, writes to us complaining of the neglect of a medical gentleman, for whom he sent at six o'clock in the morning to attend his wife, who was dangerously ill. It was half-past twelve before the doctor made his appearance. At half- past ten Mr Cox telegraphed for another medical man, who. on his arrival, pronounced the case a hopeless one, but was of opinion that if medical advice could have been, procured earlier, the patient's life might have been saved. She died at eight o'clock the following morning. At the conclusion of the ordinary business of Tuesday's meeting of the City Council, the retiring Mayor (Mr C. S. Reeves) addressed the Council, and reviewed what had taken place during his term of office, and also referred to several matters of interest to the Corporation. Mr Woodland proposed, and Mr Brown seconded, a resolution approving, in the highest terms, of the manner in which his Worship had discharged the duties of Mayor. The other Councillors present cordially endorsed the remarks of the .mover and the seconder of the motion. At Thursday's meeting of the Harbour Board, a recommendation of the Reserves Committee, that Mr Montagu Pyms tender of one-half per cent, for conducting the Board's sales during the next iwelve months, was approved. There were five tenderers— the highest being Messrs M'Landress, Hepburn, and Co., and the lowest Messrs Whitelaw and Co. The matter, caused a good deal of discussion, and Mr Ramsay proposed, and Mr Rutherford seconded, that the tender of Messrs Whitelaw and Co. should be accepted. This proposition was, however, rejected by the Board, and the Committee's report agreed to. A handsome donation has been made to the Dunedin Hospital, and the circumstances under which it has been bestowed are highly creditable to the institution and to the lady who made the gift. A young Englishman died in the Hospital in April, 1875 ; and the kind treatment he met with while in his last illness from those in the institution having | come to the knowledge of his mother, a i widow lady, she, as a mark of gratitude for the oare bestowed upon her deceased son, forwarded a few months ago a donation of £50. The gift was lately received by Mr A. C. Strode, and has been paid into the Hospital treasury. A correspondent at the Arrow telegraphs to us that "The Government distrained on Satmday night last for rent up to lstinst., two years due, upon the Arrow United Company's leases. After so large an expenditure of money, and the promise of the Government to forego rent, such a proceeding is most arbitrary. The system pursued here of crushing people for rents upon mining and agricultural leases is unanimously condemned; such procsedings more resembling practices pursued in the Turkish Provinces, than a Province of Great Britain. The Arrow United Company have only five days' notice to pay, or have their plant sold. We are glad to learn that the Government has reduced the goods tariff on the Dunedin and Port Chalmer3 Railway Line, Mr A. Grant, the General Manager, having | received a telegram (of wrich the following is a copy) on the Ist : — " You are authorised to carry ships' goods from Port Chalmers to Dunedin as class C, which makes rate 5s 2d per ton. J. P. MaxwelL" This order places I.he rates lower than they were before the recent alteration. The new tariff will put the whole of the Olago railway lines on a very satisfactory footing, the tariff being lower than heretofore. The only exception related to the shipping, and that has now been remedied. A petition circulating in the North-Eaat Valley has been numerously signed during the last day or two praying the Government to declare the North-East Valley and a portion of Pine Hill into a Borough under the Act of 1876. The districts of Ravenbourne and Rothesay, on the Harbour side of I;he Road Beard district, are to be excluded, and a3 they are not strong enough to form themselves into a Municipality, and have a great objection to be left to the tender mercies of the Waikouaiti County Council, they are getting up a counter-petition against the North-East Valley people throwing them over. Meetings in the several districts will be held shortly.

A numerously attended mesting of tradesmen, artisans, and factory workers, representing nearly every firm in town, was held on the 27th at the Glasgow Pie House. The meeting waa very enthusiastic, and deter-

mined to protest against the importation of manufactured material by the Government It was felt that every possible means should be employed to support; Mr Burns and the City members in their efforts in this direction. It was resolved to hold a demonstration on Saturday evening, August 4th, with a torchlight procession and open air meeting, weather permitting. The hope was expressed that the workmen of Dunedin will, to a man take part in the demonstration. i '

A number of cases were set down at Monday morning's sitting of the Supreme Court m Bankruptcy, before Mr Registrar Ward, but the list was gone through quickly there being no opposition in any of the cases. Orders of discharge were granted to John M ' Groves and Alfred M. Groves, Duncan Cameron, John Hand, Donald M'Phee, Peter Leith, James Wiikie, John Edward Ortoh, John Joseph Gilmour, and Charles Cartier. Joseph Mackay's case was adjourned for a fortnight. Re Andrew Hyalop, complete execution of deed was declared. Robert Rew was adjudicated a bankrupt. He the estate of Alexander Wilson,- Mr George Grant stated that Mr John. M 'Donald wished to give up the trusteeship. <

A correspondent is anxious that we should warn the public against being imposed upon m the matter of newspaper purchasing at the railway platforms along the line. °At Milton station, the other day, he bought' a paper, tendering a shilling to the vendor who "went to get change," but forgot to return. Smarting under the losa of his change, our friend settled down to read His shilling's worth, but was still further gratified to find that the paper was three weeks old. In the Home country the dodge of retailing stale newspapers is quite common with street boys ; but we appear to have improved upon the Home pattern. At railway stations in England the sale is always m the hands of respectable aad responsible persons.

The traffic on the railway line between Danedin and" Green Island is rapidly on the increase. Two, and frequently three, special fiioods trams a day are necessary to overtake the work, and that, too, in addition to the goods brought in by every passenger train. The Green Island Branch line has proved of great benefit to the district, and is so largely patronised that at the end of the month a signalman will be stationed at the Burnside Junction— where, by the way, the passenger station should be placed. It would then be m a position quite as convenient to the town ; the approach to it would be better for dray and carriage traffic; aad there would be room to extend the station ss might be required, which cannot well ba done where it now stands.

A case of considerable importance to Volunteers was heard at the City Police Court on the lßt Thomas Chalmers Reid, Captain of the Wakari Rifies, charged Donald Mathieson, a private in the same coi-pk, with being absenb without leave from an inspection parade, and he also sought to recover the tine of £1 which had been inflicted.' After hearing the evidence of the Major commanding the district as to the circulation of the General Order appointing the second Thursday in each month as a day for inspection parade, and also that of the Captain and Lieutenant of the Company, Mr Denniston raised an objection after the 'case for the plaiutiff was closed, that no evidence had been adduced to show that the defendant was a volunteei. The Bench held.the objection to be fatal, and dismissed the case.

. Another meeting of delegates from the various trades was held at the Glasgow Pie House last Tuesday. The meeting was attended by 45 persons. Committees were appointed to carry out the various arrangements. The Caledonian Band have volunteered their services, and will head the procession through the town. The night of Saturday will probably be dark, and the torchlight procession will start at 6.30 from the Fire Brigade Station, parading Princes and George streets, returning to some place at Princes street South, where the public meeting will be held. The speakers will be from among the operative tradesmen themselves, and the intention of the delegates is to make the affair a success. The various trades' societies have promised cordial support, and all show a desire to assist; the affair.

We publish this week the report made by Mr «. Hay to the Taieri County Council of the reconnaisance survey made by him of the" further portion of the proposed interior railway, from Blairtaieri to a distance of six miles beyond Naseby. The repoit is of a most satisfactory nature— gradients easy, and cost of formation comparatively inexpensive. The cost of having railway communication from Dunedin to Aimes's (73 miles) is estimated at £297,050, and the amount is in marked contrast to the cost of the cloudcapped and tunnel-driving project of the Breakwater enthusiasts. The report is a most valuable contribution to interior railway literature, and looks exceedingly well when placed side by side with Messrs Thornton and Bull's several schemes of climbing the Marewhenua Jacob's ladder. The sole drawback to the report is that it provides Mr de Lautour with only a branch railway.

Messrs A. and T. Burt have jusfc completed an order from the Corporation of Dunedin for the manufacture of 10 tons of piping for the Water Department. The article turned out of this factory will in every respect bear favourable comparison with that imported — in fact, in seme respects, it is superior. It has a greater thickness, is bet' ter made, and is composed of pure lead, and not of a composition, as" is frequently the case with the Home-male article. Two sizes have been supplied to the Cerporation — one f ths of an inch in diameter, weiahing s Jibs, to the yard, and the other Jmch weighing 641bs. to the yard. As indicating the superioiity of the local article, in one particular at least, it may be mentioned that these weights are from lib. to 2Jlbs. greater than is found in imported piping, consequently it may be safely assumed that the Corporation have a more serviceable kind of piping.

Duriug the quarter ended, June the following business has been transacted in the Otago Post Office Savings Rank Department : — Daring April the deposits amounted to £16,325 16s sd, and the withdrawals to

£14,271 16s 10d; for May the respective amount were £17,012 '2a 9d deposited,' and £15,72253 lid withdrawn ; while- for the month just finished the deposits were less than those of the two previous months, viz., £14,174 0a 7d ; while the withdrawals totted up to £14,904 13s. The Money Order Doparfcment has been fairly busy during the quarter, there haying been issued in April 1579 orders, representing £6010 10s lid; while £4605 7s 5d was paid on 1283 orders.' May showed an increase, 1726 orders being issued, for £6752 I3s 7d ; payments on 1375 orders being made, amounting to £4575 4s sd. In June, 1569 orders were issued, valued at £5709 15s lid, there being paid in the same period £4446 7s 3d, on 1290 orders. The Chamber of Commerce have had an elaborate table prepared of the railway rates between here and Christchurch under the new tariff ; but they had been calculated on an- entirely wrong principle, viz., that rates over fifty miles and a hundred miles were to bs reduced by a penny and two pence per mile respectively over the whole distance. The absurd result was produced' that the rate from Christchurch to Temuka .in class A for instance is brought out at LI 16a lOd per ton, while that to Timaru, 12 miles farther,' is only set down at £1 13s 4d. The proper principle is of course to charge at 6d fot the first 50 miles in this class, and at 5d afterwards up to 100 miles, and then 4d per mile after that, so that over 100 miles there would be three different rates calculated to bring out the proper total. We poiiited this out clearly enough in our columns of 15th June, but the Chamber of Commerce, we suppose, is superior to newspaper information. The error, we understand, is in course of correction. Mr Pykc must feel his influence in the Assembly very much strengthened by a meeting held at Bannockbura this month. The occasion was a special convention of the local Progress Association to take into consideration the advisability of rescinding a motion passed at the former meeting, viz., " That all Parliamentary business go through Mr Pyke." There were about 60 persons present, all parts of the district being fairly represented. It was pointed out that Mr Pyke had broken numerous promises during the last sessionof Parliament ; in fact' that had not kept a single promise made to the electors of Bannockburn. Mr Pvke's truchfulness was forcibly called in question, and one of the speakers said he could not see how they could do otherwise than ignore Mr Pyke. On an endeavour to take a show of hands being made a tumult ensued, but it wa3 finally declared that there were 27 for the motion, and 26 against. The motion was declared carried, but as the confusion only increased, the chairman prudently vacated the chair. The half-yearly meeting of the United Otago District of the A.O.I 1 , was held in the District 1 Chambers, Krull's Hotel, on the 27th. Bro. Pinck, D.0.R., occupied the chair; and beside the District Executive there were delegates from the following Courts : — Pride of , Dunedin, Enterprise, Pride of •. the , Leith, Robin Hood, . St. Andrews,, . Star of Tuapeka, and Excelsior. The minutes of the previous meeting^ere read and confirmed, and a deal of correspondence received and discussed, principal of which w»3 the granting of a dispensation for a new Lodge at Tananui. Funeral money to the amount of £80, and other accounts, were passed for payment. The bal° ance-sheet and auditors' report were read, by the senior auditor, and showed an increase on the two funds of £97 9s 3d for the past quarter. The District Relief Fund amounted to £380 19s .8d ; and the total worth of the Court, £1824 Is 9|d. The following were the . nominations for office : — D.C R. S.D.C.R., Bro. Pinkerfcon; S.D.C.R., Bros. Williamson, Adams, Strattbn, Ireland, and Wilkinson; D.S/, Bro. Woodland; D:T m Bros. Geddes and M'Fie ; D.8., Bros. Hanlan, Williamson, Grant, Ibbotson, and Ireland. Bro. Ibbotson waa elected auditor. A number of the unemployed v ho received promises of work upon the Balclutha and Clinton section of the Southern Trunk Line write to us as follows from Balclutha : " There are 40 or 5b of us at Balclutha now, and another batch is expected shortly. We were sent up here under the impression that we would get work upon the railway from Mr M'Millan, having been told so by. 1 Mr Blair. ' The work is nere for us to do, but we are not allowed to start' at- it, and, as things are shaping, will not be allowed to make a start for a fortnight yet, -and we have no food for the whole lot of us. We went to the storekeepers, but they would not trust us because we had no orders. We do not blame them. We went to one of the managers of the railway, and told him that if he would give us an order he could stop it out of our wages, but he would not do that. They can't; tell us when we will be set to the work ; and when wo do get work, we will not be paid for a week' afterwards, and we cannot live upon wind. We have neither food, money, nor tents." From enquiries made by our reporter at Balclutha yesterday, we are satisfied that the letter is coirect, and that if the men — many of whom are undoubtedly industrious and anxious for work — are not set to immediate employment, they will experience great hardship.