News of the Week.

Otago Witness, Issue 1341, 11 August 1877, Page 15

News of the Week.

Mii« Solomon,' of the School, has been appointed schoolmistress at Outram. ' We have received from Mr Wheeler, of Stafford street, the August number of Bradthaw's Guide. Mr B. Rutherford, Mayor of Caveraham, has been appointed aJ. P. under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876. .Mr Douglas St. George has been appointed Registrar of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, and also Vaccination Inspector, for the District of Waimate. Mra Lomas's store, adjoining the Danrobin Hotel, Heriot Hundred, lr&a ournt down on Friday evening. The stock was insured for £450 ia the Victoria Company. ' The employes of the Evening Star Office held a very enjoyable re-union in the Oddfellows' Albany street Hall on the 3rd inst., About 100 persons were present.

Mr W. D. Meares, of the Victorian Insurance Company, has been appointed General Manager of tho Union Fire and Marine Inrorance Company of New Zealand,

Sevaral of the mining claims at the Blue Spur'arenow paying* handsomely; Messrs Hales and Hinds' claim there during the last two months ha 3 paid £550 per month.

The Gazette of the 26th ult. has notices constituting various "rabbit districts" under the Rabbit Nuisance Act. The oyster bed at Half-Moon Bay, Stewart'a Island, has been closed.

The case of George Turnbull v. the Corporation of the City of Dunedin, in which the plaintiff claimed £200 for damages to his property iD York Place, resulted in favour of the Corporation.

Mr H. C. Brewer has been gazetted Clerk of the Court ia Maclaggaa street, vice Mr W. Somerville, promoted. Mr J. P. Simpson has been appointed to the placo in the R.M. Court office formerly held oy Mr Brewer.

A Dunedin firm ba3 received a telegram, of which the following ia a copy, from the Victoria Sugar Company, Melbourne : — "Reduced prices: Wo. 1, £33 to £34 10a, 2*™s** to quality ; No. 2, £32 ; No. 3, £30 10s. ;

The Churchman records with satisfaction agift which has been made to the Church of England, by an anonymous donor, of "twenty-five acres of land in one of the best farming districts, together with fire acres at the Bluff."

Messrs Cargills, Gibbs, and Co. have re ceiyed a telegram from London, advising the arrival of the Canterbury from Lyttelton, on the 16th July, after a passage of 88 days; and the Auckland, from the same port on tho 2681 Joly, in 77 days.

The Bruce County Council has a credit balance of over £1400 in the Bank. One of the Councillors was quite jubilant over this satisfactory position of affairs yesterday^ when the Treasurer's report was read at the monthly meeting of the Council, \

The North Otago Times mentions that " There is some talk of an independent party being formed, with either Mr Macandrew or Mr Ballance as leader. They will eschew the question! of Separation, Land Fund, etc., this session, and merely go in for adminis* trative reform.

The annual examination of pupil teachers will be held at the different centres on Tues. day, September 11th, and on the following days. The head masters are requested to furnish their annual report upon the conduct and progress of pupil teachers as boou «? possible. Candidates in classes 1 and 2 are reminded that they mast give ihe Seoretary two weeks' notice of the extra subjects which they intend to take. ' ■ 1

The usual monthly meeting of the Dun: edin Fire Brigade was held on Monday at the Engine Station. Messrs Matheson Bros.; Keligher, J. B. Luks, W. S. Dougia*, an 4 J. E. Hutcheaon, were elected honorary members. Mr J. Stewart, of George street! was proposed as an honorary member. Th| Ball Committee reported that the tickets were selling well. Tha other busineaa donl was of only a routine character. - :

The Taieri County Council appears to hays rapidly gone from one extreme to the other in the matter of toll-bars. A few meetings ago it decided to abolish them within the limits of its district, but this resolution was afterwards rescinded. Judging from the discussion which took place on the 3rd, before long a traveller in the Taieri dißtiiit will nbt be able to proceed far without being called upon to pay for the use of the road, j

The curious little pony that arrived here the other day was brought to the Bale yards to ba disposed of on Saturday afternoon. l£ created quite a sensation, and when going up Stafford street into the yards, 1 was followed by an admiring crowd. After a short and spirited competition, the little thing, with its trap, was knocked down to Mr Thornton! of the Royal George Hotel, for £50. The pony was bred ia France, and is just turning Bix years of age. ' The Resident Magistrate's Court at Queenstown was, we learn . from the Wakatip Mail, occupied on the 25th ult. in hearing a case wherein Mr H. J. Finn, barrister, was charged with feloniously altering a certain affidavit known as a proof of debt. Mr Johnston conducted the prosecution. The case occupied nearly five hours, and a number of witnesses were examined. No evidence to substantiate the charge was produced and accused was discharged.

At a well-attended meeting in St. Paul's Vestry last Monday, the Right Rev. Bishop Nevill presiding, it was resolved that a Church of England loung Men's Society should be formed for the purpose of gathering the young churchmen together for social intercourse and general improvement Rooms have been secured at the Danedin Athenaeum for the new society. A general meeting of intending members will be held in . St. Paul's Schoolhouse on Monday evening next.

For many years past those whose business it was to attend the public meetings of the Waste Lands Board were subjected to considerable inconvenience, in consequence of the limited accommodation provided by the room in which the meetings were held. Thiß state of things will exist no longer, as, in addition to offices for the Chief Commissioner and the clerks, a very commodious public room has also been provided, with every convenience for agents, reporters, and the public.

We have received from Messrs Law, Somner, and Co.; a copy of their catalogue of seeds for the current season. It contains a list of seeds for both the farm and the garden, and is illustrated with numerous cuts, as samples of the grown plants, including grasses, turnips, mangolds, onions, peas, etc., as well as flowers and foliage plants of many sorts. Instructions as to the growth and treatment of plants are also given, with lists of garden requisites, both useful and ornamental.

The Clutha Railway bridge is fast drawing towards completion. The whole of the cylinders are in position, and the greater part of the superstructure iB in place. The masonry on the Balclutha side has yet to be built ap, but the whole work, it is thought, will be out of hs>nd in about six or seven weeks. As two wooden bridges of rather large size have to be constructed between.

the bridge and the township/ six months willelapse ere the railway will be ap~ to the' station at Balclutha. :

The Municipality mania shows no signs of abatement. The boundaries of the proposed West Harbour Municipality have been determined upon, and it has been ascertained that there are more than enough houaes to (satisfy the requirements of the Act. A petition is now in course of signature, and it will be forwarded to Wellington on Saturday. The North- East Valley petition, which has been signed by nearly 150 householders, will also be ready to bs despatched to the seat of Government by Saturday.

On the 26th nit. a cablegram reached Dunedin : — "There are vague rumours of an alliance between Russia and Italy. The Russiau Press alleges that if the British squadron enters the Hellespont Rus9ia will encounter it as an alien squadron." This appears in the Sydney Morning Harald in the following form :— " There are vague rumours about an alliance between Russia and Italy. The Russian Preaa alleges that if a British squadron enters the Hellespont^ it wilJ encounter an Italian squadron." f

The following "special Parliamentary" telegram is receiving extensive currency in the North: — An amusing incident occured at the Occidental Hotel this morning. The housekeeper of an. Otago M.H.R., whom to name ia needless, arrived unexpectedly, and demanded to see his ' wife. An altercation ensued on^ the stairs, which was prolonged for some time, much to the entertainment of the by-standers. At length Mr Coker, the landlord, compelled the honourable member and the two ladies to seek fresh quarters. The affair caused great amusement in town. :

The 12th anniversary of the Court Bruce,* A.0.F., was celebrated , on Friday evening by a soiree and ball in the Volunteer Hall,Milton. The annual statement showß that there has been expended during the year— On medical attendance, sick pay, &c, the atim of £204 Is 6d; on the funeral fund, £19 12s 6d ; incidental expenses, £68 19s 2u. There was a credit balance at the last anni versary of the sum of jE2I2 18s lid. The sum ot £331 18s 2d Ha 3 been received during the present year, and there is consequently a balance now to the efedifc of the Society of £257 9ssd. . ■

A meeting of ladies and. gentlemen was held in Mr J. R. Jones's office, Milton, on Tuesday night, to make arrangements for a concert in aid of the Church of England. The Rev. Mr Rowlinaon was in the chair. Rome 21 performers promised their services. It was stated that another concert was on the tapis for the benefit! of the Bruce Cricket Club, and it was suggested that a deputation should wait on the Oiub, requeuing them to postpone their concert. This, however, was, objected to by some present, and it was decided that the concert should take place on 18th September. . At a meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Otago Agricultural and Pastoral Societyj held at the Secretary's office 6a Wednesday evening, it was decided that • the general meeting of the Committee should be held at Wain's Hotel, Manse street, Dunedin, on Tuesday, the 21st instant, at 2 p.m., thereby giving sufficient time for the delegates from the various country Societies to make arrangements to be present. • The programme for the intended show will be submitted for approval at the same time. We understand that, with one exception, the whole of the country Societies" have appointed delegates to attend.

A cablegram, dated London, July , 24th, appearing in- the Sydney Morning Herald, states: — -The enquiry that, was commenced on the 9bh April, at the Wreck Commis^ sioners' Court, Westminster, respecting the loss of the iron chip Great Queensland, during a voyage from London to Melbourne, has terminated. The judgment of the Court attributes the loss of the vessel to an explosion of two tons of patent safety powder, which had been improperly made ; .and blames the shipowners for sending in the same vessel 32 tons of ordinary powder. It is probable that legal- proceedings will be taken against the owners. •

At last week's meeting of the Taieri County Council, a letter was received from the Chairman of the Cook County Council, forwarding a circular requesting the cooperation of the Council in securing the passing of a Bill this session, with the object of so amending the Waste Lands Act that the Waste Lands of the Crown may be vested in the County Councils of the district within which the lands are situated. The letter askedfor consideration and suggestions, aud that the matter should receive early consideration, so that whatever action may be taken will be combined and expeditious. It was referred to the Finance Committee.

The proposal for the abandonment of the Pass scheme, and, by way of a recompense, the taking of a railway up the Valley of the Waitaki, which will now receive the efforts of the Oamaru members, is not entirely novel. We are in a position to say that it was about a month ago seriously urged upon the Oamaru representatives 'and those taking part in the Pass agitation, but it would not then be listened to. Better counsels have, however, prevailed. The line for which Oamaru will' now strive will open up the Waitaki Valley, and valleys branching from it on Otago side, and by means of bridges the Canterbury valleys, and also the extensive M'Kenzie country,

When discoursing on the text, " Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness," at St. Paul's Church on Sunday morning, the ; Right Rev. Bishop Nevill referred at length to the Education question. He contended that the clergy of this Colony should be allowed similar privileges to those of the Home clergy, who commenced the system of voluntarily instructing the children in the day schools, and the <3ountryhad de* clared that it was not unlawful. In order to dispel the apparent isolation of the clergy from the people, the Bishop recommended that the ministers of Dunedin should be increased, so that they might more frequently discuss educational and other mattars of importance.

. An accident happened on Clutha Railway line on Wednesday last. WiUiam Dick-s son, a coloured man, when walking along the line of railway between Mosgiel Station and Todd's Crossing, was overtaken by the

4.30 train from Dunedin. He was on the right' side "of tha litie,"a 'strong* wind' was blowing from the west, and he did not hear the engine approaching. The engine Btruck him on the shoulder and threw him forward, the result being that his left; arm and two or three ribs were broken. He was at once taken into the train, which went back with him to Mosgiel, where he was examined by Dr Inglis, and cutei uily attended to by Mr Kelt, the stafcionmaster, and sent to the Hospital by the last train. The outgoing train was a little later than usual, and it was rather dark when the accident happened. As soon as the engine-driver saw a man on the line he stopped the engine, but was unable to prevent the accident.

The Committee of the Dunedin Canary and Poultry Association met ia the Bull and Mouth last Monday. There was a good attendance. Mr Farley occupied the ohair. The programme for the Annual Show wa3 submitted and passed. It was decided to hold the fifth Annual Exhibition in the Temperance Hall, on Friday and Saturday, 7th and Bth September. The Association's prizes are to be-rlst, ,15s; 2nd, 10s; 3rd, hoii. certificate., Special prizes have been presented by the following gentlemen : — His Worship the Mayor (R. H. Leary, Esq.), Messrs Jaa. Marshall, W. A; Harper, R. Wilson, H. M'Lean, J. F. Jones, J. Chalmers,' W. M'Lennan, Dunning Bros., J. Hislop, Banks and Barron, A. .Mercer, Harold and Bain, Clifford and Morris, T. Allan, H. Green, J". H. Jewifct, G. Matthews, R. TC. Murray, D. J. Stohr, and Thomson and Co. A special prize will also be presented by' Mr -/. B. Bradshaw, for the besb Belgian canary under twelve months bred in the Colony, regardless of colour. "The monthly meeting of the Dunadin branch of the Otago Educational Institute was held in the Normal School on Saturday, when about 20 members (including the ReV. Dr Stuart) were present. Mr Reid,' of the North-East Valley, presided. Mrs Browne, Professor Black, and Professor Macgregor were elected members of the Institute. On the motion of Mr White, it was resolved— " That with regard to the Wellington correspondence, the Education Bill at present being under the consideration of Parliament, any expression of opinion must be sent direct to the. members of Parliament. Further/ that this Association concurs with the resolution that a meeting of the teachers of the colony be held in Dunedin, and suggests that such meeting be held on the occasion of the first annual meeting of the Institute, if suitable, in March, 1878." On the motion of Mr Fitzgerald, who .thought that the opinion of the Otago Educational Institute would have weight with the Legislature, the Association went into Committee to discuss the new Education Bitl.

The annual meeting of the Ayrshire Asso : ciation was held on the 3rd at the Douglas Hotel, Mr W. Calder in the chair. Mr George A.' Findlay, in paying his subscriptions, gave a donation of £2 to the Association. ' ' Mr A. Ingles also presented five guineas. The Secretary's and Treasurer's reports were read and adopted. The following members were elected for the ensuing year : — Messrs Calder, President ; Findlay, Andrews, Vice-Presidents ; R. Campbell, Treasurer ; M'Lean, Secretary ; H. Armour, W. Richmond, J. Scott, A. Ingles, A. Mor f rison, J. Mugray, Town Directors ; Haswell, Blair, C. Samson, J. Allan, W. Hewitson,' T. Craig, Country Directors ; Murray and Richmond, a Relief Committee. - The Chairi man drew the attention of the meeting to the erection of a statue to Scotland's poet, Robert Burns, at Kilmarnock, and it was unanimously resolved to get subscription lists printed and Jissued to the members of the Association, for the purpose of. sending money home towards defraying some of the expense in electing the statue. , . .

When the people of the " Flat" determined to throw off their allegiance to the Caversham Road Board, and form themselves into two municipalities, an adjustment of accounts became necessary, at least so thought the Board. As some portion of the land to be included in the several municipalities of St Kilda and South Dunedin was not in a township, a special Act had to be framed and passed' to enable these municipalities to annex this "no man's land." But the Caversham Road Board, fully alive to their own interests, obtained' \ trough their member, a clanse inserted in the Act. appointing Mr I. N. Watt an assessor, to determine the liabilities of the two municipalities. On Wednesday last the first sitting was held in the library of the Supreme Court, Mr Duncan representing South Dunedin, Mr Brady St. Kilda, and Mr Rutherford Caversham. From a statement made by the latter gentleman, the municipalities of South Dunedin and St. Kilda are indebted to the Caversham Council to the amount of £396 17s Bd. After a short discussion, the case was adjourned for a fortnight, the contending parties in the meantime to arrange the verious' issues to be submitted to the assessor.

The first number of the Missionary Record juid Monthly Magazine, a publication for the Presbyterian Church of Otago and Southland, and edited by the Rev. , Professor Salmond. has been issued. "Our purpose," ifc is set forth in the introductory article,, "'is to make this publication religious and" not ecclesiastical — to move rather m the calmer regions of Christian thought and work, and as much as possible avoid the etormy region of ecclesiastical politics. This purpose does not arise from any morbid dread of controversy." It is further remarked:—" It will be observed that our publication' names itself a 'Magazine ' as well as a * Missionary Record.' Our Church is, meanwhile, small and our work at Home and abroad not mean', while extensive, and we could' scarcely furnish even a Missionary Eecord of such compass with fresh information esery month and we do not desire to be mere borrowers from richer neighbours or the mother churches at Home. Meanwhile, therefore, a considerable portion of our. contents will necessarily be such as might 'suit a general religious publication. This is by no means in all respects a disadvantage, although we may hope to see the day when our Church shall have grown to such dimensions that the one element of news from Home and abroad will be sufficient for one periodical, and the Magazine and Record elements will have to be sundered, each to its own place,"