LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2057, 27 July 1893, Page 15

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The Legislative Counoil having adjourned till the 27th, (the Hon. W. D. Stewart returned to Dunedin by the express train from the north' on Thursday evening to attend to some private business.

The system of inspection of public schools, was strongly attacked by the Hon. John Macgregor at the meeting of the Education Board on Thursday. Mr Macgregor having; expressed the opinion that the work of examination in this district was very much overdone, and that the outlay upon the inspection of schools was out of all proportion to the value of the work and to the necessities' of the v case, declared that a great deal of the j work done by the board's inspectors was not only unnecessary, but was absolutely pernicious. The whole system of examination, he asserted, was rotten, and it was his wish that the country should be brought face to face with the enormous, cost involved by it. He pointed out that while the Government subsidy for the cost of inspection of schools was £500, the total cost of inspecting and examining the board's schools was £2139 7s lOd, which amount he characterised as outrageous, considering the mere handful of children who had to be inspected. Mr Macgregor pointed out that the number of school children in the district was 23,000, for whom there were three inspectors ; while Mr Ramsay remarked that the Scottish code showed that there were 25 inspectors for 640,000 children in attendance at the schools in that country.

Mr Macgregor subsequently "let himself loose" upon the subject of the reply forwarded by the Minister for Education to the resolution adopted by the Education Board at their June meeting. That resolution, it may be remembered, was to the effect that the annual examinations of schools that had been seriously affected by the measles epidemic should be dispensed with this year, except in the case of children from the Fourth Standard upwards, unless the Minister directed that the regulation must be complied with; and the reply from the Education department— a reply upon which two entirely different constructions were placed by the two distinct parties in the Education Board, — after suggesting a method of avoiding a high percentage of failures at the examinations, pointed out that the Order-in-Counoil would have to be amended in order to authorise the non-presentation of children. Referring to this reply, Mr Macgregor said that it struck him as being an outrageous redtapeism, and he spoke at some length on the subject. Mr Ramsay re-echoed Mr Macgregor's views, and went a little further, asserting thit he thought it unworthy of a man who took such an interest in education, and who was such a good Minister for Education as the Hon. W. P. Reeves, to let such an absurd, antediluvian Order-in-Couneii stand in the way of the health of the children.

The Yen. Archdeacon Edwards has received a very interesting letter from the Rev. G. W. York, who is in the Holy Land. SpeakiDg of the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, he says : "The fint part of the road has cornfields on either side, and as this is harvest time wo saw the reapers reaping with their sickles and the woman gleaning amongst the sheaves, precisely ss in the days of old. The Ruth window in St. Paul's gives a very faithful interpretation of what maybe seen of the work and costume everywhere here to-day. I was also struck with the resemblance of the new window to one place on the road between here and the reputed tomb of the Kings. We passed along a narrow winding path through the corn, the brightcoloured anemones in full bloom, growing close to the ground on either side, and the olive trees'in the background."

Dr Ogston delivered the third of his series of health lectures, under the auspices of the St. John Ambulance Association, in St. Paul's schoolroom on Thursday evening Mr John Carroll occupied the chair, and there was a fair attendance. With a " Healthy Interior "as hid subject, Dr Ogeton delivered an exceedingly instruotive lecture, in the course of which he caustically commented on the disregard of the laws of health frequently exhibited by individuals and corporations. He laid down as rules to be observed— that a house should be properly built, that there should be a sufficient amount of air space around it, that it should be sufficiently lighted, that its rooms should be of

proper dimensions and should be sufficiently ventilated, that attention should be given to painting and papering, and that a house must be properly cleaned both externally and internally. With regard to the construction of a house he recommended brick, failing stone, as the best material to be used. Wooden houses he could, he said, only characterise as makeshift?, aud those built here were nothing better than packing boxes. If, however, wooden houses must be built, there are certain precautions that should ba observed, and one necessary precaution — which was neglected* here — was that the uprights should be bedded in concrete so that the lower ends might be sealed from the weather ; and the floor should be free from the ground, so that there might be a system of under-floor ventilation. The ears of a country school teacher, who declined to give instruction to a pupil because she was over the statutory age of 15 years, ought to have tingled on Thursday morning when his action was under discussion in the Education Board. The Hon. J. Macgregor, who showed from official documents that 549 pupils had been presented last year for examination who were above 15 years of age — that number, according to Mr Fraer, including pupils at the district high schools — declared that no teacher had ever before raised such a paltry and contemptible quibble. As a matter of practice, he added, no distinction had been made between children who were under 15 and over that age, and every teacher should know that. Mr Green emphasised this latter statement, remarking that the practice was so universal that when there were children to be taught they were taught ; and the chairman, while he did not deny that legally the teacher was acting within his strict rights in declining" to teach a child over 15 years of age, said that, as a matter of discretion, the teacher was altogether wrong. Our Auckland correspondent telegraphs that Mr W. Shepherd Allen, an ex-English M P., gave an excellent address on Thursday night before the National Association on questions of the day. It is believed he has been brought down with a view of showing his paces and running under the auspices of the National Association at the general election for one of the seats. Our Arrowtown correspondent telegraphs : — "A requisition asking Mr W. Fraser, manager of Earnscleugh station, and chairman of the Vincent County Council, to become a candidate for the Lake seat at the next general election, is being numerously signed, and it is understood will be favourably responded to." " As bearing on the efficiency of the staff, as well as on the sanitary condition of the hospital, it was mentioned at last week's meeting of the Hospital Trustees that during the month of June thirty operations— nearly all major ones — were performed, of which only two resulted unfavourably, and in these two instances success was deemed almost impossible from the commencement. The Auckland Star says:— "Proceedings; at the meeting cf the Auckland ' University College Council on the 18th seem calculated to widen the breach between the council and the professor of mathematics. There appears to be no disposition on either side to make the first advance 'towards a settlement ' of the unfortunate dispute on terms that" might be deemed honourable and satisfactory to both parties. It was plainly evident from the discussion that took place that the action of Professor Aldis since the resolution dispensing with his services was passed has prejudiced his case' not only with the outside public but with the members of the council, whose sympathies were at first strongly on his side. There was a very general feeling that the acrimonious nature of the attack and the imputations cast upon the counoil were unwarrantable, and were unworthy the dignity of an occupant of a professorial chair. We believe there are few who will dissent from this finding. It is to be hoped that at the next monthly meeting the council will find itself able to come to a final decision. The present position of affairs is neither creditable nor satisfactory to either of the contracting parties concerned." One. would naturally suppose that the members of the Education Board, more than the members of any other public body, would be able to understand their own resolutions. There was, however, a somewhat amusing discussion at Thursday's meeting of the board, in which it appeared that two interpretations had been placed on a resolution which was passed on Mr Ramsay's motion two months ago. The termß of the resolution were: — "That for the future the board expects the inspectors to overtake all really indispensable work without the help of an assistant." Mr Ramsay said that the meaning of this was that if the work was indispensable it must be overtaken by the inspectors without assistance. Mr Fraer insisted, on the contrary, that the resolution meant that the inspectors were not to have any assistance unless it was really indispensable ; and had the board taken a vote to decide which was the proper interpretation, the latter view would probably have received as much support as the former. The decision, however, rested with the chairman (Mr Borrie), who was called upon to rule whether a proposal by Mr Fraer, that the services of an assistant-inspector should, in view of the late period at which the examinations were commenced, be continued till the end of the year, was in contravention of the previous resolution, and his ruling was to the effect that Mr Fraer's motion did not rescind Mr Ramsay's, because, he said, the word "must" did not appear in the latter, which only said that the board " expected" the inspectors to do without au assistant. The funeral of the late Mr J. B. Blair, who died in Chicago while en route to his native land, took plaGe on Thursday afternoon . A short service was conducted in Enox Church in the presence of the intimate friends of the family. The procession— which was a particularly large one, numbering about 500 persons, and including a number of prominent citizens and farmers from Green Island and the Taiori districts—was then formed, and the funeral proceeded to the Northern Cemetery. At the grave a very impressive prayer was offered up by the Rev. Dr Stuart. The chief mourners were the two sons of the deceased. The Cromwell Argus states that another old identity in the person of Constantine Caloniatis died at Bannockbum on Friday, the 14th. He is reputed to have left a. large sum of money to his relations in Greece, the result of a lifetime's hard toil and self-denial. Though hard. to deal with in money matters, and perhaps even worthy of the word miserly being employed in that connection, he, at the same time, was very charitably inclined. The Southland News, referring to the fact that prohibition has been for some time in operation in the three suburban boroughs of Avenal, East and North Invercargill, says :— " Enough has transpired iv connection with the finanoial and social results, so far as the last borough is concerned, to show that the veto exercised by the licensing committee has not been an unqualified success. For instance, a comparison of the police records for the past 10 years shows that while for the first five of the

term the arrests for drunkenness numbered 23, those for the last five (of which nearly six months have yet to run) total up to 25. At the same time it is notorious that sly grog-selling under the most debasing conditions is carried on, and that the police, owing to the precautions taken by the vendors, are powerless to interfere. As to the financial results, we have the authority of the mayor, Mr George Couling, for saying that one effect of the veto was the raising of the local rates by 6d in the pound. Contributory to this was the depreciation in value of the hotel premises. These were purchased just prior to the withholding of the license by a widow lady — Mrs Hayward — for £800, in the expectation that she would thereby secure a permanent livelihood. On the application of the veto these same premises were sold for £250. These facts are'suggestive, if not conclusive evidence of the possibility that prohibition may not prohibit or be productive of unmixed benefit. On the score of public peace and order, as already indicated, its operation has been rather leas than nugatory. Larrikinism has not ceased to exist. The" • ghost ' that formerly • walked ' still occasionally appears — ohiefly, it is whispered, to those most active in the attempt to exorcise evil spirits." At a meeting of the Enights of Labour, the following resolution was passed : — " That the Dunedin Association of the Enights of Labour enter a strong protest agaiu6t the proposal made in the Cheviot Estate Disposition Bill that the Government shall part with the freehold of portion of the estate." The regular weekly meeting of the Benevolent Institution Trustees held on the 19th, was attended by Mestrs Roberts (chairman), Bridgman, Dallas, and Swan. Accounts amounting to £110 7s 9d were passed for payment. The cost of maintenance for the month of June was £303 135, the rate being 6s l|d per head per week. It was decided that the Visiting Committee should ba empowered to act in regard to some small matters of ventilation at the institution. The Southland Charitable Aid Board wrote declining any responsibility in respect to advances made to a family at one time resident in Southland. It was decided that the trustees decline to relieve the board of the responsibility of the case. The applications for relief were then taken into consideration. o The Auckland Herald reports that a penniless adventurer has for several months past been travelling from place to place in the north, victimising everyone who was foolish enough to lend a credulous ear to his fanciful tales of being heir to a fortune of £50,000. Leopold Auckland Christian, the gentleman in question, who is now safely lodged in Mount Eden Gaol undergoing a sentence of nine months' imprisonment, is a descendant of one of the mutineers of the Bounty, and recently arrived from Norfolk Island. At Awanui, while lodging with Captain Subortzky, he fell in love with a young lady, but her father objecting to him, he ..obtained ' from her a gold watch as a souvenir of Her affection and 'moved on to Rus6ell. Here he gave himself out as heir to £50,000, and, acting up to the part, he was invited to balls and parties. The hotelkeeper becoming BUBpicious, was entrusted with a sealed packet said to contain the papers relating to .the legacy. When he opened it after his guest's disappearance it contained a cabinet photograph and a 'seaman's certificate of discharge. At Whangaroa, passing himself off aB a policeman in close pursuit of a criminal, he borrowed a horse and then appeared at Herekino, where, after victimising a number of persons, he fell into the hands of the police. The Oamaru Mail says it is intended by Mr Studholme to cut up and sell 15,000 acres of his estate, which consists of the best land in South Canterbury. The areas will be from 20 to 200 acres. A persistent and apparently organised attempt was made at Auckland on the night of the- 18th to obstruct and break up the meeting held in the City Hall under the auspices of the Female Franchise League. About 40 or 50 persons were distributed over the stalls who, by hoots, jeers, and offensive interruptions, attempted to stop proceedings and embarrass the lady who occupied the chair. It was evident that out of an audience of not less than 800 people at least fourfifths were 1 strongly in favour of the resolutions moved by members of the league, but the noise created by these outbursts of larrikinism 'rendered the chairwoman's voice quit 9 inaudible in the dresa circle. When she attempted to put the first two motions there were cries of "Go home and mind your kids," " See to your old man." She retorted that she could see and name men in ,that hall who would do well to go home and mind theic children, as their wives were the breadwinners of their families, instead of sojourning where they did nightly. One citizen, Mrs Shakespeare, jumped on a form and told {he disturbers if they were men they would behave themselves decently in the presence of women. Conspicuous in promoting disorder were the larrikin "pushes," who, when the doors of the hall opened, rushed in and entrenched themselves in the pit. The ladies hit upon' the happy expedient of sending round the collection plate to cover the expenses incurred in connection with the meeting. ' This move annihilated the enemy, who beat a hasty retreat from the hall, som^ 600 of the more thoughtful and orderly patt of the audience remaining. The proceedings thereafter went on harmoniously to the end. Apparently the disorder was caused by those who believe that when the women's franchise is accorded the liquor interests will be jeopardy. An incipient fire was discovered at 9.10 o'clock on Friday night in the heart of the city, and was fortunately extinguished before a greater amount of damage was done than will be covered by the expenditure of a few pounds. The fire had its origin in Mr Wills's photographic rooms, above Mr Braithwaite's Book 'Arcade in Princes street, an ashpan containing hot ashes having been carelessly left on the flooring, with the result that the latter took fire and was burnt through to the ceiling of the Book Arcade. Upon the alarm being given, the Fire Brigade, under Captain Mitchell, and the Salvage Corps, under Superintendent Jacobs, promptly turned out, and with the use of a hand-pump and through the agency of a few" buckets of water the flames were quenched. Evidently the ratepayers of Gore are not enthusiastic about the traffic bridge. At the poll to authorise the raising of a loan 239 votes were given in favour of it, 0r.58 Ices than the number necessary to carry the proposal. At the inquest on the body of a child, held on Frirday afternoon, Dr Stenhouse deprecated very strongly the use of patent medicines. The ingredients in many of these, he slated, were of an extremely dangerous character. He expressed an opinion that legislation should be introduced to discourage the sale of the numerous quack medicines that are distributed broadcast about the country. In a conversation with a reporter of this paper Dr Stonhouse instanced a well-known teething powder widely used in

this colony, and in the preparation of which three very poisonous drugs were utilised— viz., tartar emetic, oalomel, and morphia. : ' The doctor stated that he had met with a number of cases wherein children had died from the effects of this compound. ' ' '• The caso of M'lndoe v. the -Jutland Flat (Waippri) Gold Mining Company engaged the attention of Mr Justice Williams at the Supreme Court on Friday. In this case, the "plaintiff sought to recover damages and an] injunction to stay the defendant company, from polluting the Waipori river, which flowed past the plaintiff's land. The case was commenced on the 28th of November last, and was before the court for five days, a considerable amount of evidence being taken during that time. On .the 3rd' of December Mr F. R. Chapman, counsel for the plaintiff, addressed the court and moved for an injunction. On the following dayMr Hosking, who with Mr Sim appeared, for the company, replied in part to Mr Chapman's arguments. Yesterday learned counsel resumed ' Sis' argument, and was followed by Mr Sim,' who challenged counsel for the plaintiff to prove that the company, in carrying on dredging operations at ' their claim, had done anything that' was not expressly authorised by statute, or that was not an inevitable and necessary result of wllat they were authorised to do. It was also pointed out by Mr Sim that if the in junction asked for were granted it would be impossible for the company to carry on operations.. Learned counsel for the defendant also contended that as plaintiff's case was based on the decision in Borton v. Howe it must fail, as the present oase was .distinguishable from that, inasmuch* as in. that case the water which had been polluted \ might have been diverted into a different chanuol from that in which it had been allowed^ flow, whereas the Jutland Flat Company,' immediately after using the water of the river, were bound to return it to the river again. Mr Sim had only concluded his argument at half-past 4. The case was then adjourned until >' next week, when Mr Chapman will reply to the contentions raised by opposing counsel. Dr Jeffcoat continued his lectures on "Nursing and Cooking" in St. Paul's Schoolroom on Friday before a large number ofladiep. He was assisted by Mrs Miller, who prepared a variety of articles illustrating the suitability of special diet for invalids. Referring', to calf's* foot jelly, Dr Jeffcoat condemned some of the gelatine sold, declaring that it was simply the parings and scrapings from the hides of calvop, and was better adapted for making ' portmanteaus than for feeding human beings. Mr Richard Brinsley, secretary '• of the Chalmers Electoral League, has definitely decided to contest the Waikouaiti seat against ' all comers. He was waited upon by a number of residents of the district, who promised him their co-operation and support. ; • While the ancient Church of Romano, at the town of Borissoglebsk, Russia, was crowded with pilgrims, who came to take part in the annual church procession on June 29, a panic was caused by a false alarm of fire, which had been raised by thieves in order to facilitate > their operations. When the firemen arrived they found the door locked, and,' breaking in, witnessed a fearful sight. ' In the mad rush for exit hundreds had been knocked down and trampled upon, -while others had- been Buffocated. The bodies of 126 women and 10 men were taken from the church. Nor was this the total number of victims, as several other persons had been killed and 20 fatally injured by leaping from the windows of the edifice. The arrest of Potter and Clements at Wellington for burglary at suburban hotels was. a clever one. Potter and Clements first entered the White Horse Hotel at Ngahauranga' about 2 a.m., but being surprised,' got" clear; "having made their retreat safe ' by unlocking the doors to the street before making their raid. t Waddington (the landlord) at once telephoned to town, and Detectives Herbert and Gantley set out for the village, which is three miles 'distant. At Eaiwarawara, a mile out, they met Waddington, who had lost trace of the burglars. The trio set out for Ngahauranga, but noticing a light iv the Rainbow Hotel at' Eaiwarawara, the detectives crept up quietly to the hotel, and peeping through the windows saw Potter and Clements hard at work inside .clearing the shelves of liquor and cigars. The burglars soon came out and the detectives attempted'to arrest ' them ; but it was, no easy matter,^ they fought hard, and a desperate "struggle"/' resulted. Potter vainly endeavoured to use the ■•? jemmy," and at one time Gantley was dearly- choked; Eventually the handcuffs were gofroA and'the men were conveyed to town. It Fs believed the men are concerned in several robberies; in the city. Potter only recently camjl "out of gaol after serving a sentence for an?offence pf a similar nature, but so far Clements" is unknown to the polico. „' Our cablegrams intimate that the. Privy Council has dismissed the appeal -ot Makin, who was sentenced to death iji. Sydney for infanticide. As we stated might jfte the case in an article on the 6th May last, it was treated by the Privy Council with great] brevity, bufc reasons are promised later, on.;- As we mentioned then, the case, was in jnany respects similar to the Hall poisoning 4,ase, and the decision supports the view taken'^ by. Mr Justice Williams and is tgainst the decision of our Court of Appeal. In the Hall case when Hall (under sentence for administering poison to his wife) was being $ried-for the murder of Captain Cain by the\Bame agency, our Appeal Court decided that the law did not permit pf evidence- beiDg giv^en of , other poisonings unless somo general abstract question of danger or accident arose, or. there was antecedent satisfactory— 'evidence of administration of poison by the accused. - , The annual meeting of the Otagb Educational Institute, which was an unusually short .one, was brought to a conclusion shortly before 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon. -A paper, was read at the meetiDg on Saturday, by MrW. Eudey on "The Decimal System," a motion being subsequently carried expressing the, opinion of the institute that the substitution^ the metric system of weights and measures and of decimal coinage instead of the,.present'cumbrous modes of estimating weight, measure, and value, would be of very great benefit to education. !■ > ', , Mr Ninian Melville, M.L.A., -of New South Wales, who was invited by the local temperance organisations to give a series of addresses in the colony 'on the question in which thoy are interested, arrived by the express train from the North on Saturday night, and was met at the railway station and welcomed by about 50 ladies and geatlpmen who have charge of the Dunedin mission. On Sunday night Mr Melville, after preaching at the Moray place Congregational Church, gave an address in the Garrison Hall, under the auspices of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand, 1.0.G T. Mr R. N. Adams presided upon the occasion, aud there was a very large attendance, the hall being about three-parts full. rMr' Melville based his remarks, which had reference to the liquor traffic, on the parable of the good Samaritan, comparing alcohol to* a thief who left men robbed and maimed on the roadway of life, as the man in the parable was left at the roadside on his way down to Jericho, and

total abstainers to the good Samaritan, who assisted, the injured ones on their journey. He also made .& forcible appeal to all who had not taken the pledge to join the ranks of those who were waging war against the drink traffio, and expressed his confidence that when women got the franchise' in New Zealand it would be a memorable day for the colony, for no matter what . their political opinions were, they would all vote for the iotal prohibition of the liquor .'traffic/, Mr Melville waß frequently applauded very.heartily during the delivery of his address, and also at its conclusion. On Monday night he spoke at the City Hall on the direct veto.

The fact that the statutory meetings of the county councils for the appointment of chairmen fall upon one of the Dunedin show days was referred to by the retiring president, Mr Mark Sinclair r at the annual meeting of the Ofcago Agricultural and Pastoral Society on Saturday. Mr Sinclair said it was very unfortunate that this, should bapren— and he pointed out that the mayoral elections occasionally fell to be held on the same day as well— but after full consideration it had been found to be almost impossible for the society to alter their dates owing'to the fact that their show followed upon-the North Otago one, and they had to consult the convenience of owners of stock and exhibitors of implements who forwarded their • entries on from Oamaru. For this reason Mr Sinolair did not see how the society could change their dates, but he had no doubt that if the incoming committee could see any possible way of altering the dates they would endeavour to do'so. At the hospital on Saturday Mr J. Johnson, artificial limb maker, George street, exhibited a pair of artificial limbs made for a man who lost both bis legs sin above the knees by an accident in New South Wales. The limbs are highly finished, and, while light, have been constructed' with a due regard to strength. They have been examined by the members of the honorary medical staff of the hospital, and have been spoken of by them in the highest terms." It may be mentioned that the injured man interviewed a firm of artificial limb makers in Sydney, but they would not undertake the work of makiDg a pair of limbs such as would be necessary in this case, offering, however, to import them from England at what was really an exorbitant price. The Dunstan Times is of opinion the'present Bjstem of balloting for land urgently requires amendment, and believes that not more than 20 per cent, of the names of applicants are ■ those of hrnia fde settlers. It further states that at the late Central Otago land sales a speculator put in applications for himself and five or six rabbiters. One of the latter was successful and be at once sold his interest for £100 and dividedthe pool between himself and the speculator. \ Several .deaths from measles are reported from Wellington, where the epidemic is said to he the worst yet known there. The Southland Times reports that Mr James Mentiplay, an old and respected settler, died on Friday at the age of 73. An engineer by trade, he served 'for some time with the P. and O. Company, and afterwards held the position of firs!; engineer of the Chilian warship Eemeralda. On comißg to Invercargill he established an engineering shop. At the extreme age of 93 years another old settler, Mr John M'llwrick, died on Thursday at Waikiwi, where he had resided for many years at peace with all men. He was the father of Messrs W. and R. M'llwrick, well-known farmers in the district. Commenting on Mr Earnshaw's declaration at Masterton that the Government must go a step further and provide for all men and women who are beaten in ,the open labour market, a writer in the Wairarapa Times says :— " Iftjie Government have to provide for all comers seeking employment the. people of the colony will have to be taxed specially to enable the Government to do so, and the tax would be a crushing one, as destitnte people would assemble from all parts of the world in .New Zealand, and people already living here who disliked their employment would surrender it, allow themselves to be beaten, and place themselves on the list of those for whom the State must provide. But, however ruinous such a proposal may be, it is the logical consequence of the labour policy of the party in power, and if it be not accepted by (the leaders of jit, then that policy is a sham and a delusion." . The Dnnstan Times states that Mr Vincent Pyke has received the following telegram from the Premierf— " Self and colleagues unanimously approve of your candidature forTuapeka seat in the Liberal interest. Your life's devotion to the public fully entitles you to succeed, and it would %c a graceful recognition of yeur faithful and itntiring efforts in promoting the .well-being- o|, all in that part of the colony should they s|e fit to return you unopposed." The Costarica Packet claim, which has been frequently referred to in our cablegrams of late, arises out off peculiar incident. In 1887 the barque Costa! Rica Packet was on a whaling expedition 30) miles off Batjan (near Java), -.when a email water-logged, abandoned, and wrecked prow? was fallen in with, and the salvage in her, consisting of a few cases, was removed to -^he Costa Rioa Packet. The occurrence was duly entered on the official logbook, and reported to the Dutch authorities. In 1891 the tjarque set out on another whaling expedition. On the captain going ashore at Ternate he was immediately arrested by the Dutch on a warrant issued in Macassar. No explanation was given as to why he was seized. He offered "to give a bond to return to Macassar at the end of the whaling season, but this was refused. He was kept in prison for 28 days, when he was released as suddenly as ho had been arrested, and without any explanation. * The captain now claims £10,000 damages for false imprisonment and alleged piracy. Tho crew and officers £5000, and the owners £10,000. > )" A correspondent at Alexandra South telegraphs that' •' Mr Rawlins, who will be a candidate for 'the Tuapeka seat at the general election, addressed a large meeting of electors on Saturday night and met with a favourable reception. -j The Taranajki News states that tho parents of "The,Tar£naki Highwayman" are respectable residents -at Westowri, the father being a contractor. The prisoner is 21 years of age and lived with his parents. The fifth anniversary of the Obago Sunday School Union- was celebrated by a social meeting at the Choral Hall on Monday evening. The Rev. D. Borrie (president) occupied ttechair, andther was a large attendance, amongst those present being the Rev/Messrs Hinton (secretary), Gibb, J. T. Pinfold,' 'J. M. B. Bennett, D. Dutton, and A. North.' A programme of musical selections was presented, and gone through satisfactorily. Miss Trewhellar sang ' ' Ora pro nobis," Miss Adams ♦■Tired," Miss M'Chesney "The better land," .Mr Salmond " The pilgrim's payer," and Misses M'Farlano and Eeenan the duet " Life's dream i 3 o'er." Addresses were delivered by the president, who spoke on matters relating to the teaching at Sunday schools ; by the Rev. Mr-M'Korrow, who took for his faubjtct ♦' The Value of Sunday School Teaching

to the Teacher Himself " ; by the Rev. W. S. Salter, who dealt with the question', "Is the Present Method of Working our Sunday Schools the Most Effective?" and by Mr P. Barr, who took for his text, "Were there not ten cleansed; but where are the nine?" During the evening tea and other refreshments were dispensed in abundance. Free education in England now means even more than it does in Ntw Zealand. A memorandum recently issued by the Education department sets forth the right of all parents to free education for their children, and tells parents that they must send their children to school whether there are free places or not, and that though they may, if they choose, pay for books, slates, and other school apparatus, there is no obligation to do so, as the managers are bound to provide them. The Women's Hospital in Euston road (says a contemporary} is unique. It has not only a woman matron and women nurses (of course) and women patients, but a woman house surgeon, women consulting physicians— it is staffed with women from top to bottom. Instead of, being gaunt and blank, clean as soap, but ugly as a conveuticle, like most hospitals," the Women's Hospital is all through like a lady's drawing room : blue tiles, restful colour washes, and a regular gallery of singing boys and smiling Madonnas and babies looking down on the beds from the ward walls in the shape of relief cast — a woman's idea of hospital deooration, of course. The Sydney Morning Herald of the 12th inst. says :— " From private letters which have reached here from New Zealand, it appears that a movement is afoot to organise a sealing expedition to the Antarctic, on the lines of the recent trip made by the steamers from Dundee, Scotland. The proposal is to fit out two steamers of about the size of the Balaena, one of the Dundee ships, and run across to Graham's Land, which lies about 700 miles to southward of Cape Horn. The voyage could be handily performed from New Zealand. The Balaena is a wooden-built screw vessel, barquerigged, and of 416 tons gross or 248 tons net measurement ; and it is contended that as the Dundee people purpose forming a company to carry on Antarctic sealing, steamers of the Balaena description can be readily provided in New Zealand,, fitted out and worked to greater advantage than is possible from Great Britain." Over 200 applications have been received at the Land Office for the small grazing runs in the Maniototo, Vincent, and Tuapeka counties which were thrown open for selection yesterday. Mr R. Martin, who has for many years been known as a journalist of ability in this part of the colony, and who for some time occupied the editorial chair of the Southland Times, has been appointed editor of the Napier Telegraph. After 46 years' experience of the abolition of capital punishment, Michigan has decided to re-erect the gallows by a vote of more than two to one in the House of Representatives, and this decision is confidently expected to secure the concurrence of the Senate. The change in the public sentiment appears to have been hastened by the murder of a keeper in the State prison by a convict who was under sentence to life imprisonment for the murder of his own mother, but the main cause for the change in popular feeling is, it is stated, the large number of murders, many being of a peculiarly atrocious nature, in the State of late years. Another determining cause was the demonstration that, owing to the abuse of the pardoning power, a sentence of imprisonment for life in Michigan is practically tantamount on an average to only 10 years. Perhaps the quaintest post office anomaly mentioned by Mr Henniker Heaton in his article in the June "Nineteenth Century" is the following. It refers to a local post office in the north of London :—" Dear Sir,— The post office is open all Sunday for the sale of, stamps, &c. I asked there this morning (Sunday) for a packet of reply postcards, and was told that ordinary postcards were sold there on Sundays, but not reply postcards." This nice distinction recalls, says Mr Heaton, " the story of the conscientious Scottish inkeeper who would only supply small glasses of punch on Sundays, sternly replying to all remonstrances, 'We dinna sairve lairge glasses on the Sawbath.'" Mr Joseph Macdonald, whose jubilee gift of £25,000 to the funds of the Free Church of Scotland was announced recently, is a Highlander from Sutherland, who early in life went out to New South Wales. Like the Spencers of Tudor times and Sir Samuel Wilson in our own day (says the Echo) his fortune was made as a grazier. Mr Macdonald, who since his return from Australia has bought a seat in Surrey, is an active member of the National Liberal Club, but has no desire for parliai mentary life. / The Rimutaka, which leaves Wellington for London on the 3rd of August, will pass through the Magellan Straits. On her last voyage, when the steamer went by the same route, the passengers were delighted with the scenery, which is said to be very beautiful. Passengers going by this route have an opportunity of witnessing one of the largest glaciers in the world. The increase in crime at Auckland in special forms— house robberies, breaking and entering, ' and safe robberies— appears to be the result of the influx "of criminals from Australia, and not the handiwork of members of the ordinary residents. Notwithstanding the uneasiness thus feltby shopkeepers and householders, no attempt has been made by the head of the Police department to meet the emergency which has arisen by strengthening the detective branch or city police. The force is specially weak, there being only two detectives for the Auckland district, and an acting detective, who is practically a plainclothes man. Many years ago, when Auckland was not so populous, and Australian " talent" were not so much en evidence as at present, there were at one time six, then five, and for a series of years four detectives. Now, with special crimes against the person and property on the increase, we have a detective force ' reduced to a point which inspires the criminal class with contempt, as is evidenced by the residence of tbe very judge himself beingrobbed in open daylight with impunity. The officers are simply overworked, and with the normal duty which requires to be done in connection with the ordinary run of crime have neither time nor opportunity to follow up those slight clues which so often lead up to the successful detection of offenders and the suppression of crime. Our Arrowtown correspondent telegraphed on Tuesday that heavy rain had fallen, and in consequence the rivers were up to flood level, while the weather continued threatening.Mr Justice' Williams was occupied on Tuesday in Banco in hearing argument on the motion for judgment in the case of Fairbanks, Lavender, and Son v. Low Brothers, which was recently tried before a special jury of 12. The action, # it may be remembered, was one to recover £784 15s 3d, for a quantity of saddlery supplied by the plaintiffs, a firm of manufacturers in England, to the order of defendants, who have

places of business in Gore and other country towns, and who refused delivery of the goods ; or, in the alternative, to recover the sum mentioned as damages for breach of contract on the part of the defendants. The case lasted for three days, and a long list of issues was submitted to the jury, who found that the order as a whole had been substantially complied with by the plaintiffs, whose prices were fair and reasonable, and that £10 would be a fair amount to allow the defendants in abatement of the total price in respect of the incomplete compliance with the order. The argument yesterday was of an interesting character, differing widely in that regard from the general run of banco proceedings. The case is one of very great importance to the mercantile community, the gist of the argument submitted on behalf of the defendants being, as the leading counsel on the other side put it, that substantial compliance with the terms of an order is not sufficient, but that it is absolutely necessary, so that a vendor may force upon a purchaser the delivery of goods ordered by the latter according to description, that the goods sent shall literally comply with the terms of the order, and that if either more or less is sent than is actually ordered, the purchaser is entitled to reject the whole of the goods. Argument in the case was not concluded at Tuesday's sitting of the court, and .was resumed next morning. A public meeting was held in the new Town Hall, Pott Chalmers, on Tuesday evening, to consider the best means of carrying~but the celebrations 'on Arbor Day. Mr E. G. Allen (the mayor) presided, but only a dozen other gentlemen were present. It was reported that fully 250 of the trees planted last year were thriving very well. It was decided, owing to 60 little enthusiasm being shown, that there be no procession, but that the speeches, music, and singing by the children be in the school grounds, where the trees 'will be distributed to the children. It was reßolved that the gentlemen present form themselves into a committee to carry out the celebration. Mr Leek was appointed secretary, Mr J. Cook (chairman of School Committee) was appointed marshal, and the secretary was instructed to write to the local band, gardener, and Workmen's Club asking them to take part ; also to write to the Borough Council aßking them for a donation of £5 towards planting trees on the Town Belt. The City Hall was crowded to the doors on Tuesday night on the occasion of a temperance lecture being given there by Mr Ninian Melville, M.L.A., of New South Wales. The subject of the lecture was: "Why we drink, and what we drink." Mr Melville assumed for the time being that they were all "moderate drinkers," and contended, under those circumstances, that the reason they took alcoholic liquors was that they thought such were good for them. He, however, pointed out that the effect of their indulgence in alcohol showed that it was not good for tb/s human system. In referring to the question of what we drink, the lecturer maintained that most of them drank a not pure alcoholic liquors, but liquors adulterated with deadly poisons. In support of this statement, Mr Melville quoted from a book which he said was used in the trade, and challenged any one present to prove that he was stating what waß not true. Before the lecture Mr Melville gave a recitation for which he was heartily applauded. Miss Sears sang "Star of Bethlehem" in very taking style. To-night Mr Melville will make his last appearance in Dunedin. On the date of the suspension of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited) pending reconstruction there were held on the New Zealand register 49,998 shares, representing a paid-up capital of £127,832 105. Deaths from measles are rather frequent in Southland. One death is reported from near. Gore, and an Invercargill telegram states that two young women died at Dipton from the epidemic during Monday night. The Transvaal is being ravaged by an epidemic of malarial fever, following the subsidence of the extensive floods which have devastated the country. It has been especially fatal to the blacks, 10,000 of whom are estimated to have succumbed to it, as well as many hundreds of Europeans. Whole villages of natives have been depopulated, and most of the farms in the neighbourhood of Barberton are represented as having been deserted, owing to every person engaged upon them having been swept away by this deadly fever. One of the most wonderful discoveries in science that has been made within the last year or two is the fact that a beam of light produces sound. A beam of sunlight is thrown through a lens on a glass vessel that contains lampblack, coloured silk or worsted, or other substances. A disc, having Blits or openings cut in it, is made to revolve swiftly in this beam of light, so as to cut it up, thus making alternate flashes of light and shadow. On putting the ear to the glass vessel strange sounds are heard so long as the flashing beam is falling on the vessel. Recently a more wonderful discovery has been made. A beam of sunlight is caused to pass through a prism, so as to produce what is called the solar spectrum, or rainbow. The disc is turned, and the coloured light of the rainbow is made to break through it. .Now place the ear to the vessel containing the silk, wool, or other material. As the coloured lights of the spectrum fall upon it sounds will be given by different parts of the spectrum, and there will be silence in other parts. For instance, if the vessel contains red worsted, and the green light flashes upon it, loud sounds will be given. Only feeble sounds will be heard if the red and blue parts of the rainbow fall upon the vessel, and the other colours make no sound at all. Green silk gives sound best in a red light. Every kind of material gives more or less sound in different colours, and utters no sound in others. A strange story comes from South Africa, where, according to the Diggers' News, a miner named' Gleeson, formerly a sergeant in the British Army, who served in India during the mutiny, has confessed to having murdered the King of Oude, in order to obtain possession of his jewels, which were of almost fabulous value. They were afterwards buried, and the Indian Government has been apprised of their whereabouts. Dr Conan Doyle has made a precisely similar incident the foundation of a recent novel. The most expert thieves in both the old world and the new have been attracted to Chicago by the World's Fair, where they are being watched by the most experienced detectives to be procured on either side of the Atlantic, and their vigilance has frustrated a daring attempt to plunder the Swiss section of the Hall of Manufactures. It had been skilfully undermined, and the marauders were actually boring through the floor when their operations were discovered. Had they been successful, their booty would have included £50,000 worth of diamonds and other precious Btones. According to Mr Haweis, whose biography of the late specialist is just out, Sir Morell Mackenzie earned a very large income. Mr Haweis puts it somewhere between £12,000 and £15,000 a year— and sometimes the fees were very

easily obtained. Mr Haweis says:— l was visiting onejoi Mackenzie's patients in Beaumont street, when enter the great specialist. He goes up to the sick man. "Take your medicine?" "Yes." " Very well, good-bye!" and into his hand is dropped a fee of two guineas, and out goes Mackenzie. I could not help saying to him, "That's rather sharp practice, isn't it?" as we wenb downstairs together. "Not at all," says Mackenzie, "I told that man a fortnight ago that he would die in three weeks, that nothing could save him, that I could do nothing more for him, that the only alleviation he could get would be from the medicine I prescribed. • Very well,' said he, ' then I want you all the same to visit me every day till I die.' ' Very well,' I said. 'You know my fee is two guineas.' ' I know,' said the gentleman, ' and lam quite willing to pay it.' " " Now," added Mackenzie, "some people might get hold of that story and give it an ugly twist, and Bay that I insisted on visiting a dying man every day, and taking his two guineas, when I kneW I could do him no good." -

In noticing the death in Melbourne of Mr Robert Harrold, who enjoyed the distinction of being the first manager of the Union Bank of Australia on the Ofcago goldfields, and first manager at Hokitika, the West Coast Times says:— "He was stationed at Gabriels at the beginning of the rush, when gold was plentiful and communication with Dunedin difficult. Since opening he had been kept busy night and day buying gold, and had filled up all the available space in the two safes at the police quarters, and held a further quantity of 12,0000z, worth about £50,000, in a boot trunk in the little canvas hut which served him for a banking house and private dwelling. He had only been there a little while when the inspector made his first official visit, and after the first greetings were over commenced in the usual way:— •Well, Mr Harrold, I suppose I had better, begin by counting your cash.' 'Count my cash,' said Harrold, 'the boot is on' the other leg, I will have to count your cash.' I have used all the bank's money, and I have used all my own money, and if the diggers bring any gold now I have to give them a deposit receipt or a draft on Dunedin. If they don't like these they just have to take their gold away." Of late years Mr Harrold has resided in Melbourne. The mental distress and anxiety caused by the recent collapse of banks, in several of which he had an interest, brought on a severe attack of angina pectoris, from which he died.