LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2104, 21 June 1894, Page 15

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The Licensing Committee gave their decision on Thursday upon the applications which had bean reserved for consideration. In all 22 publicans' licenses and four bottle licenses were refused, the remainder being granted, but no extensions were allowed, so that all the hotels within the city must close at 10 p.m.

At the meeting of the Harbour Board on Thursday, Mr Mackerras, remarking that the matter of the drift sand at the heads had occupied •their attention for some time, brought under the notice of members a letter he had received from an old acquaintance, Mr David Blair, of St. Kilda, Victoria, with reference to marum grass, which had been extensively and successfully used in many parts of Victoria — notably at Port Fairy — for arresting the drifting of sand. Mr Mackerras suggested that it would be an experiment worth trying, if the board were to obtain a small supply of the grass mentioned. Mr Pinkerton remarked that a grass had been tried by the Tomahawk Road Board, and, where properly planted, had answered very well. In connection with the subject a memorandum was submitted from Mr D. G. Stephens, Inspector of Works, stating that a small parcel of Lathyrus silvestris, which was obtained from the Department of Agriculture, and which was sown at North Heads in the month of September last year, has come on remarkably well, and that, from the trailing nature of the roots, he thought it would prove a very useful plant for binding sand. The board remitted the matter brought up by Mr Mackerras to the Works Committee, with power to obtain a supply of marum grass.

The Board of Governors of the High Schools have resolved to request the Government to -allow the Inspector-general to inspect their schools in conjunction with a primary school inspector from beyond Otago, and it has been decided to ask the North Canterbury Board of Education to grant the services of Mr L. B. Wood, one of their inspectors, to acb along with the Rev. W. J. Habens, in the event of the latter gentleman's services being placed by the Government at the disposal of the board.

The Inspector of Police intends to strictly enforce the Infant Life Protection Act. The provisions of this measure make it necessary that any person before taking charge of a child or children for gain should be registered, together with the house in which he or she lives, and the certificate of registration is only issued on condition that the surrounding circumstances are favourable. At the Police Court on Thursday a person was charged vi'h failing to comply with the provisions of the act. The bench pointed cut that the accused had rendered himself liable to a term of imprisonment for six months, or a fine not exceeding £25. As the police were satisfied, however, that the offence was committed through ignorance, and as that was the first information laid under the act, the acoused would be convicted and discharged.

The Technical Classes Association appear to be very strongly established, and to be increasing their work each session. The roll for the present quarter shows a total entry of 465 students in attendance on 17 classes. At the monthly meeting of committee, held on Wednesday evening, the Technical Education Bill which the Minister for Education has drafted for presentation to the House during the coming session was discussed and criticised. Accounts amounting to £243 14s lOd were passed for payment. The present quarter closes on Friday, 22nd inst., and the classes resume on Monday, 9th July.

A somewhat important proposal was made by Mr E. G. Allen at the meeting of the Harbour Board on Thursday. He tabled a motion to the effect that the Government be approached in order to get the use of prison labour with a view to the erection of a training wall from Maori Kaik to Harrington Point. Objection was taken to such a motion being discussed without notice, and eventually ths matter was referred to the Works Committee to report.

The Cromwell Argus says:— "A singular accident occurred to a rabbiter one day last week on Mount Pisa station," behind Lowburn. He was out poisoning with his mate, J. Clatk, and had occasion to walk out on to a bluff of rock to complete hi? wotk. No sooner had his foot touched the huge boulder, which it turned out to be, than' the whole mass gave way, and he was carried down on the t)p of it. When it struck the ground after falling a good deptb, he parted company with the rock, it going headlong down the mountain in front of him, he bounding from ltdga to ledge of rocks for a hundred feet or more till caught in a clump of scrub. When his mate reached him he was found to be mush cut and bruised, but with no bones broken. The injured mm preferring to go to his home, which is down country somewhere, was taken thence instead of to the hospital. We understand no las'iog injuries are likely to" result from his rou^h tumble."

A curious meeting at sea is reported. Captain Danwell, of the British ship Astoria, 1335 tons, which arrived from Liverpool aff Esquimalt (8.C.) recently reported that off Cape Horn he sighted a vessel which on being spoken proved to be the barque Silver Stream, on a voyage from New Zealand to London. The Silver Stream was also commanded by a Captain DanwelJ, and the ships hove-to while the two brother?, who had not met for many years, spent a few hours in each other's society.

The North Otago Times understands that an alteration will be made in the running of the express trains. Hitherto the express has stopped at only a few fetation*, but on the lbt July it will stop at nearly all the stations, ar d Otill run up to the present timetable.

What do you think of diamonds from anothf r world? asks the New York correspondent of the Age. Well, we havo them in this country, and the statement is made on no less an authority than the Superintendent of the Geological Survey of tfce United States. Tcis is the explanation : Out in Arizona, near the Canyon Diablo, there is a pace called the " Crater," because it resembles the crater of an extinct volcano. Ont of curiosity a party of explorers dug into the crater last year and found large masses of iron. So great was the quantity that they thought they had struck a mine of that metal ; but they soon ascertained that the masses were of meteoric origin. Geologists say that they are fragments of a gigantic meteor which struck the earth at this point age 3 ago and buried itself out of sight, leaving a bole half a mile or more in diameter, which has since partly filled up. This hoe is called the •• Crater," and is about 100 ft deep, with a wall of rock all around it, so steep that animah which fall into it cannot get out again. Some of the masses of iron were sent to Washington and submitted to chemical analysis, when they were found to contain very small diamonds. They are not large enough to be of any commercial value, other than for polishing and cutting purposes, but nevertheless they are true diamonds. As a matter of practical utility (hii discovery ol diamonds from another world

that appeared was supposed to be that of a Methodist clergyman. Some person put a question to the spirit aboub Calvinism in spirit land, and the spirit manifested the utmost ignorance of the merest principles of Calvinism. He believed spirits frequently lost the knowledge they possessed on earth, because he had heard of the spirit of a distinguished Greek who, when spoken to in that language, was found to have entirely forgotten his native tongue. He had never seen a spirit, nor had anyone eke. Spirits had some substance ; they wera made out of a kind of gauze or muslin. — (Laughter.) His whole experience, and that of generations before, was that from the witch of Eudor downwards all this kind of thing wa3 a fraud.

The passengers of {he Rimutaka were admitted to pratique on the 13fch. being conveyed from the Quarantine Island to the railway pier by the tteam launch Tarewai.

The Benevolent Institution Trustees will benefit but in a small degree from the Thomson bequest. Originally the bequest was set down at £3000, but owing to the unsatisfactory nature of the investments left by the legator, together with the heavy calls made by the Equitable Insurance Association and the New Zealand Dairy Association, the amount has been narrowed down to the comparatively small sum of £178 7s 3d. It is questionable if the trustees will even benefit to that extent, for at yesterday's meeting the chairman mentioned tb»t the liability in respect of tbe Equitable

appear in the newspapers. The Revs. A. j Cameron and J. T. Hinton have been appointed I joint secretaries. | At the Toowoomba District Courb, Queens- | land, recently, before Judge Paul, Dr Garde sued E. C. Schmid, a member of one of the local lodges of the Manchester Unity Indepeudent Order of Oddfellows, for £6 8s for professional attendance. Defendant contended that plaintiff, as loJge doctor, was bound under the agreement with the lodge to attend him free, such attendance to include the performance of surgical operations if necessary. His Honor Judge Paul held that the agreement did not include •' surgical operations," and he made a nice distinction between surgery and medicine. 11 Surgery," said Judge Paul, "is an exact science ; medicine is a game of chance," and he therefore gavo a verdict for plaintiff for the amount claimed. This case illustrates the necessity for drawing up agreements between a club and a medical practitioner with the utmost; care. The Rev. W. Saunders, secretary of the Social Reform Association, has received intimation from the Premier that during the approaching session legislation will be intro- ' duced raising the age of consent. The following sections of Crown lands wera ' disposed of at the Dunedin office during the j past week :— Secttong 118 and 121, 3 acres, j Tuapeka East, to Ann Campbell, cash, price £9

Before taking the ordinary business of the court on Friday morning (says the Clutha Free Press), Mr Hawkins said there was an application for a wholesale license from Mrs Collins, of Heriot, before him. Mr Adams had notified him of his intention, to move for a writ of certiorari with respect to the wholesale licenses granted by him as chairman of the Licensing Committee. Under these circumstances he thought it would be unfair to grant any more wholesale licenses until the Supreme Court had settled the question. The conundrum, When is a chairman not a chairman P would have to be left to the court to decide. The death is announced of two old Canterbury settlers. Mr T. H. Anson, who died of pleurisy, was born in India, aud came to Canterbury in 1860. He engaged in pastoral pursuits, bufc took an active part in all public matters, and was for some time chairman of the North Canterbury Education Board. The second death is that of Mr John Bilton, who came out in one of the first four ships to take charge of the church schools in the new settlement. He was afterwards a master in Christ's College. Mr Bilton was organist at the Fro- cathedral in the early days, when Christchurch was the proud possessor of the only organ in the colony. For ths last 20 years he has resided in Timaru. Fresh light will no doubt be thrown upon the dark and tragic story of Khartoum by the book of General Gordon, wfaioU the British Museum

has just received. Ib consists of an Avabic manuscript, and is written entirely by the hero of Khartoum. It is principally a record of life in the besieged garrison, and contains incidental dissertations, in the general's well-known manner, upon his peculiar theological views. It is stated *that only two other "copies are in existence, one having been sent to her Majesty and the other to Miss Gordon. A third copy (says the Chronicle), addressed to the Khedive, became lost in transit, and the mnseum copy has been somewhat damaged by the waters of the Nile. The work has been translated with a view to publication.

" The less educated inhabitants of Florence," says a correspondent of the World, writing from that pleasant city, " have for the last few weeks been complaining of a severe drought and prolonged absence of rain, which they ascribed to 6he incantation of the Indian servants attached to the person of Queen Victoria, who naturally desired that their Imperial mistress should experience the amount of sunshine fcr the enjoyment Jof which she is proverbial. It was useless to argue with the Italians on the matter, and henceforth it will be still more useless ; for on the very morning of her Majesty's departure from the flower town the rain came down in torrents."

The Highcliff Hall was crowded ia every part on Friday evening on the occasion of a concert to provide funds for asphalting the school playground. Mr J. Mathieson, chairman of the committee, occupied the chair. Bongs were given by Misses Payne, Kiddle, M'Donald, Coghlan (2), and by Messrs Hellyer, Sinclair, Henderson, Branigan, and Payne, Miss Annie Coghlan, and Messrs Branigan and Payne receiving encores. Miss Minnie Riddle rendered a solo, and Misses Edwards and.Fairbsirn a duet on the pianoforte, while Master Payne gave some clever step-dancing. Mr Sfcuarb proposed a vote of thankß to the performers, after which the floor was cleared and dancing kept up with spirit till an early hour.

Tho first annual ball of the Caledonian Society was held in the Garrison Hall on Friday evening, and passed off with much success. The building was tastefully decorated, and as many present were attired in Highland costume the scene was a gay and animated one. The gathering was a thoroughly national one, and characterised by all the enthusiasm for which the natives of the " Land o' Cakes " are noted. The mußic was supplied by a band under the leadership of Mr J. Anderson, while the catering was carried out in a generous style by Mr S. Lean. About 100 couples occupied the floor, the duties of M.C.'s being carried out by Messrs P. [Millar, C. Notman, P. Black, J. M'Donald, and E. E. Hungerford, and .dancing was kept up with zest till an early hour this morning.

A bazaar in aid of the funds of the Queen's Drive Boating Club was opened in the new Town Hall, Porb Chalmers, on Friday evening. The interior of the hall had been effectively arranged by Mr David Marr, the decorative artist, who has spared no pains to render it as attractive as poflrible. The walls are draped in artistic bands of coloured materials, the stage carpeted and fitted up for the uso of the orchestra, while the front and sides of the proscenium are hung with richly fringed crimson damask. All the windows have been hung with white lace curtains tastefully draped, and pendent from the beams are a number of pretty Oriental articles, and the whole place is ablaze with harmonious light and colour. There are four large stalls for the display of the articles offered for sale by the ladies in charge of them, and also a refreshment stall and a side show. During the evening the bazaar was crowded, and a brisk, business was done.

A correspondent sends the following to the Post: — "Some short time ago, on opening a newspaper posted to me by a friend in the city of London, I found inside it a letter addressed to a firm in the midland counties of England. The letter had evidently become inserted in the folds of the newspaper in the letter-box where posted. I sent back the letter to my friend as a curiosity of travel. The sequel was passing strange. He found, on opening it (being a commercial paper, it was not sealed), that the sender was his landlord, and he took the trouble to carry the much-travelled letter to him, when to his astonishment, he was told that a third gentleman present was the addressee of the letter. As London has nearly 5,000,000 inhabitants, and the United Kingdom nearly 30,000,000, it bears out the ofttold tale that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction."

In connection with Arbor Day, which this year is fixed for the Ist of August, thefGovernment in a small pamphlet express a desire that in boroughs and cities the council should take charge of the proceedings, which should be made as imposing as possible. It is suggested that arrangements should be made beforehand for having the holes properly dug for receiving the trees, and the attendance of as many professional gardeners as possible should be obtained to assist and direct the planting, so that the trees may obtain a proper start. In order that a record of the progress of the movement may be kept, it is requested that the number of each variety of tree planted should be forwarded to the Department of Agriculture, while an "Arbor Day fund " should be established in eich town and district. The catalogue of trees and shrubs suitable for planting in New ■Zealand, which is compiled- by Mr Kirk, comprises 79 timber trees, 31 shelter trees (of little value for timber), 31 trees and shrubs specially suitable for seaside planting, and 119 ornamental and flowering shrubs. Most of these sorts can be obtained 'from nurserymen at a small cost, and though the list does not profess to be an exhaustive one, it is sufficiently ample for the needs of any school committee or council.

At a meeting held at Clyde a central committee was appointed to consider the best means of perpetuating the memory of the late Hon. Vincent Pyke, and it was resolved to communicate with a number of gentlemen in other districts with a view to securing their assistance.

The Taapeka Times says that a rumour is current that Mr John Ewing, of Sb. Bathans, will be a candidate for Tuapeka.

The Hon. J. G. Ward was waited on while in Oamaru by a deputation from the Harbour Board, who discussed with him the present position of the board, and desired to know if any assistance could be obtained from the Government. The hon. gentleman thought the best way to assist the board would be by a reversal of the railway policy which had destroyed the trade of the port, with a view of restoring tbe trade and bringing back the revenue the board had lost. He said he held very decided opinions upon the subject of the policy pursued by the Railway Commissioners, and his opinions were well known to the Government. It was a monstrous thing that the State railways should be used to ruin communities or a harbour, as had been done here. It had never been contemplated that the railways should be so used as to ruin communities which, under the sancti-n of Parliament, bad incurred heavy responsibilities in order to provide skipping facilities, He ha.4 never scruple^

may not amount to anything, but from a scientific and sentimental point of view it is a matter cf great interest. We have received from "Sigma" £1 to be handed to Mr Torrance in aid of funds he may have for the relief of persons out of employment and in need.

The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times telegraphs :— " The question of the Speakership will not be settled till the party meets. I believe that Sir G. M. O'Rorke's chances are the best, and the Hon. W. J. Steward's next beat. Still it is rather difficult to forecast tbe result.

In the Hokianga district on May 20 (says a contemporary) a half-caste wife presented her half-caste husband with triplets, a son and two daughters. The mother and the children are doing splendidly. The half-caste pair have been married seven and a-half years, and in that time nine children have been born to them —viz., four daughters (four singly), then a son and a daughter (twins), and finally triplets. Both parents had European fathers and Maori mothers. The father of these nine children has heard of the Queen's bounty, and is now petitioning the Qovernment to bring the claims of the triplets under the notice of her Majesty.

In giving evidence at the spiritualistic trial in Wellington, Mr John Bronte, a chemist, said that at the first seance he ever attended he was convinced it was a fr&ud, because the spirit

Association had not yet been entirely extinguished, and if any more calls were made there was no saying what the result would be.

The Presbytery of Duuedio, at the instance of the Rev. A. Cameron, of Anderson's Bay, recently decided upon taking up some ' ' aggressive work," and ib was resolved to invite the other evangelical churches of the city and suburbs to join. The result was a meeting held in First Church Hall on the 12th inst., attended by about 40 gentlemen representing the churches. It was resolved to undertake a house-to-house visitation throughout the city and suburbs with a view to getting into touch with the non-churchgoing portion of the population and securing the attendance of the children at Sunday schools. The map of the city was divided into 14 districts, as far as possible surrounding the different churches. Each church will appoint its own visitors, who will be provided with books and records. It is hoped that this may open the way to much useful Christian effort for the welfare of our city. It is called the " Bradford plan," having originated in that town. It was worked there with immensely good effect, and has also been brought to bear upon the masses in such large cities as Glasgow and Birmingham. It is hoped that this will stir the Christian sympathies of the members of the churches. Before the visitation it is intended to hold a week of special united prayer meetings, beginning on Monday, 25th inst. Full notice of these will

Is 6d ; section 56, block 111, 17 acres, Cromwell, to Richard Olds, cash price £17 ; section 19, block 111, 50 acres, Dart, to Sarah Bolt, on lease in perpetuity, cash price per acre 12s 6d ; section 17, block XVI, 21 acres, Maniototo, to William M 'William, as a village homestead allotment, annual rental per acre Is l-^d.

The Union Steam Ship Company have received a large frame of interesting photographic views of the Tasmanian International Exhibition, Hobarfc, with glimpses of the picturesque country surrounding it. The site chosen for the exhibition is immediately at the rear of the battery in the Domain, and the buildings will enclose 13 acres of ground. The main building, a very fine photograph of which is among those n the frame, has already been erected and presents a handsome appearance with its nicely laid out grounds in front. Two views are shown of the coacert hall, -which is 96ft by 70ft and its accommodating capacity is 3000. These views are taken from either end of the hall, and in the one the fine organ, which has been pur* chased at a cost of £1000, is shown. The frame contains in all 13 pictures, and a plan of the buildings and grounds, but most of the photographs are necessarily of the surrounding country, many of the buildings not yet being completed. From these pictures, which are* the handiwork of Mr J. W. Beattie, the official photographer, and all well finished, may be obtained a good conception of the beauties of Hobart and its surroandiDgs.

to expte3S his decided opinion, either on the floor of the House or elsewhere, that such a policy was utterly bad.

There was a large attendance at Trinity Wesleyan Church on Sunday night, when the Rev. J. J. Lewis delivered the first of a series of lectures to young men, based on the parable of the prodigal son. The preacher commenced his discourse-by depicting the charms of childhood's home and the turbulent self-will of the prodigal as he burst from its sacred influence. He then went on to point out that his ingratitude could not fail to produce a baneful harvest. Though the young man in the parable might have had physical vigour and ambition as well as youth and riches on his side, to an undisciplined mind wealth often proved a curse. Poverty, on the other hand, was bracing to a strong nature, as was shown by the fact that the world's leaders had been self- made men. The after career of the prodigal, the preacher proceeded to show, proved his lack of principle and his alienation front God. The crisis that comes in every man's life found this youth bent on a career of ruin. Though such a character, Mr Lewis in concluding impressed upon his hearers, might be converted to God, yet the wasted years could never be recalled or the bloom of a blasted life restored. Tbe secpnd lecture of the series will be given next Sunday night.

Sir Robert Stout has been lecturing at the Bluff on Samoa. The Southland Times reports Sir Robert as saying that "in his opinion Mataafa, the lately deported rebel chief, was an abler man than King Malietoa, bat the latter was looked upon by the majority of the Samos ns as of higher rank. He thought young Tamaser c, son of a former powerful chief of the same name, might yet be called upon to assume the sovereignty. At present Samoa waß in a bad state, and considerable trouble was caused by defects in the Berlin Treaty which enabled natives to sell land to which they had no proper title, to the loss of those to whom it actually belonged. The land, he explained, was not suitable for cultivation by Europeans, but the English Government might— by buying out German interests if necessary— do what they possibly could to establish firm and beneficial rule and so preserve a beautiful, happy, kindly, and laughirg race. After partly describing some of the splendid scenery of the islands of Samoa, he expressed the hope that New Zealand would recognise its duty in the matter. He considered that this colony should be the centre of Pacific life, and if it aimed at a great destiny, it must recognise that it had a mission with regard to the islands of the South Seas. There was nothing to prevent the Samoans from becoming an educated and intelligent race; physically they were one of the finest races in the world, and it only wanted time and opportunity to make therfl equal intellectually and morally to European people."

The late flood in the • Pohangina river (cays the - Rargitikei Advocate) has seriously endangered the existence of the Pobangina river flat, on which stands two farm houses, the State school and residence, the batcher's shop of Mr Hunt, and the creamery, besides a mile of the Pohangina road. This danger has arisen through the encroachment of the river. No less than three-quarters of*a chain of the bank 100 ft high, opposite Messrs Adsett's old saw mill site, has been washed away. The current strikes the bank near Mr John Roberts's dwelling house, and from there is directed across to the other bank. The engineer of the Pohangina Road Board estimated the damage likely to be caused by the washing away of the bank by another flood at £400, but in our opinion that is an under-eßtimate. There is now only about three-quarters of a chain of bank at this point between the river and a deep gorge, which, if the river once broke into the Pohangina [flat would be doomed, and thousands of pounds' worth of private property washed away. The flat- consists almost entirely of fine sand, and would be carried away by a flood in a few hours, A private offer - has been made to the board to protect the bank at the point of danger, but it was not discussed.

The following is from the Waimea Plains Review: — "With Mr Abram M'Kenzie, in his misfortunes, we sympathise. Abram is a dogtax collector, and in pursuance thereof, under articles of indenture with the Southland County Council, he met with most objectionable treatment. A West plains farmer, to whom he applied for payment, instead of handing over the dog-tax, handed over the dog. The latter did not relisbJiiß taxing-master — either that, or he relished him too well. Whichever was the fact, the dog, in place of contributing to the county revenue, levied on the county official — took a bit out of his nether-parts, and left him to seek redress elsewhere. In these circumstances, Mr M'Kenzie felt very properly aggrieved. He communicated with his employers, pointing ont the grievance of his case, and politely requesting a vote of £5 for the unlawful appropriation, to which he had in his own person been subjected. Evidently Mr M'Kenzie had a remote suspicion the compensation clause would not be too readily acquiesced in, and by way of lubricating their energies, clenched his claim with the remark that 'if the council would not protect him he might have to carry a £un.' We take it that what our county collector really means is an alternative proposition on his part to distribute a few small shot among county councillors themselves. In that ease, the prospects of the county would not eeem to be improving, Riversdsle threateus separation, and the dog-tax collector sudden death. Between the two Southland couuty need not try to persuade us its affairs are not in a muddle."

At the Police Court on Thursday the charge o falleged breach of the Beer Duty Act, which' has already been referred to in our columns, will occupy the attention of the benph. A reverend gentleman who resides in the Taieri district will be charged with failing to deface a stamp placed upon a cask of beer.

At a meeting of farmers, held at Invercargill, a resolution was passed asking the licensing committee to reconsider their decision about refusing the license to the Prince of Wales Hotel. The A. and P. Association are also moviDg in the matter.

Upon the invitation of his Worship the Mayor a number of representative gentlemen met in the Town Hall on Monday evening to consider the question of the propriety of the Government raising a loan at the present time to complete the construction of railways of a repro ductive character already in progress in both islands. The Mayor presided, and there were about 30 gciit't men present Resolu'ions were ULanimously passed in favour of raising a loan, and requesting tie mayor to convene a meeting of the electors of the Duned<n electorate for Monday eveting next, at the Princess Theatre, at 8 o'clock, to consider tbe question. A committee consisting of Messrs Mackerras, James Robin, A Judge, C. S. Reeves, James Gore, E. B. Cargill, G. H&ynes, and J. B. Thomson, was appointtd to prepare resolutions for submission to the public mci ting, and select gentlemen to move and second the same. The opinion was confidently expressed that, seeing the great importance the speedy construction of the Otago Central and {s»tlins lines was to this part of the colony and

the prosperity of the masses, a monster meeting would respond to the invitation. A vote of thanks to the mayor concluded the proceedings.

Prohibitionists from all parts of the Dominion waited in strong force upon the Canadian Government at Ottawa on 27th March, and made a twofold request— that a prohibitory liquor law should be passed ia the present session of the Domiuion Parliament, and that? the Franco-Canadian treaty, which would admit light French wineo into Canadia, should not be ratified. They admitted that the Royal Commission on Prohibition had not yet reported ; but they claimed that the plebiscites in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and Nova Scotia indicated a majority of 150,000 in favour of prohibitory legislation. Bir Johu Thompson's speech was an emphatic negative. No prohibitory bill would, he said, be passed this session. It would be impossible for any Government to provide, without longer notice, for a displacement of some 9,000,000d0l in the revenue of the country, and as to the future he must decline to give any pledge at all. As for the Royal Commission, an interim report would soon be lajd before Parliament, and the Government would be influenced to some extent by the information thus gained. Two other Ministers — Sir C. Hibberb Tupperand the Hon. Mackenzie Bowell — concurred, and the deputation left with the remark of one of the delegates that there was not a ray of hope in the answer they had received.

The district of Sylvaßia, Ohio, was tbe scene of turmoil and excitement on April 15 Early in the morning about 1500 citizens marched to the gaol and demanded that Seymour Newland, a negro, should be handed over to them. This man was awaiting trial on a charge of assaulting a lady 81 years of age. She died from the injuries which, it is alleged, Newland inflicted. As ehe was a white woman the indignation of the citiz ns was intense. The sheriff appears to have bßen advised of what was coming, and had summoned the militia to his aid. A Bmall force responded to the call, but these, with the gaolers, were so totally inadequate to resist the mob that the prison was practically surrendered to them. Newland was promptly dragged from his cell and lynched in the immediate neighbourhood, every armed man in the mob apparently regarding it as a duty to discharge'his weapon into the negro's body.

The Revolting Daughters, or Mothers, have broken out in a new place (says the Pall Mall Gazette). The Ideal Club recently held a meeting for the purpose of gravely considering how they should become soldiers, and what sort of dress they should wear. Apparently the latter discussion took up mest of the time, and nothing very definite was decided after all. A wretch of a man proposed that they should not precisely go into the army, but in a kind of a way hang on to the ambulance part of it. This proposal, we are glad to see, was treated with th-3 contumely it deserved. The meeting was divided on the subject of dress, as divided as the skirt one speaker proposed. There was a weakly element among the audience, which is very painful to think of. These ladies wanted knickerbockers, with a skirt over it hitched on by a button, to be thrown aside when the creature man was out of sight. But the sterner members would have nothing to say to this cowardly suggestion. They wanted knickerbockers and knickerbockers only — with stripes on them, and braid.

Recent advices concerning the rebellion .at Ponape, the principal island in the Caroline group, state that things are being run with a high hand both by the hostile natives and the Spanish authorities. Paul, the first chief of Ponape, Btill holds his own with 500 or 600 well-armed men, and the Spaniards do not attempt, or possibly are unable, to subdue the rebellion. A Spanish cruiser is stationed at Ponape, but the rebellious tribe is firmly ensconced in their end of the island, and the Spanish fear to make any attempt to dislodge them. The white men are placed in a very embarrassing position. The Spaniards are also having lots of trouble in the Philippines, where they are not, according to report, attempting to restore order or good government.

A pitiful story was told at the Sydney Police Court recently, when two brothers named Kendick were charged with having no visible means of support. The men presented a most dilapidated and unkempt appearance. The elder stated that his brother (who was a surgeon) and himself (a draper) came out to the colony in August last, with the object of benefiting his brother's health, as he was consumptive. Gradually the money they brought with them was expended, with no chance of renewing it, until recently they had had to sleep in parks and beg for bread. When arrested they were sleeping in the Domain. The elder brother said all that he wanted was to get to some place where his brother could be cared for, and accordingly the two were sent to the Benevolent Asylum.

M. Bertillon, the inventor of the famous anbhropometrical system of identifying Old offenders, has been narrating the circumstances which led him to elaborate his ingenious system. One day-he was in the courtyard of a police station, and he saw a man being inspected by a number of policemen and detective". " What are you doing ? " he asked " He refuses to tell us his name," they said ; " and we want to find cut who he is." It struck M. Bertillon that this was a very unscientific method of proceeding, and as he walked home he suddenly remembered a passage in a book by M. Broca, in which that writer declared that after the age of 21 or 22 a man's bones rarely vary to any great extent. Thus he was led to devise the anthropo'metric system, now so widely adopted. On one occasion the inventor himself found it very convenient. He had been measuring a number of criminals when he discovered th*t his brand new glossy silk hat had disappeared. In its place was a felt hat, covered with the grease that betokens long hard wear. Referring to the measurements he had just made, he found that there was only one of the men whose head exactly fitted the shape of the hat as moulded by use. The recovery of the lost hat soon followed.

The members of the Grey Charitable Aid Board recently, on the casting vote of the chairman, resolved toreeign, on the ground that moneys due to the board by way of subsidy and necessary to enable them to carry on their funct'ons in a proper manner were withheld by the Education department. A 9 this extreme step appears to have somewhat alarmed the Under-secretary, a special meeting of the board was called, when a legal opinion was read stating that the resolution passed to resign was invalid, and as the powers that be had in the meantime given way, it was resolved to proceed with the business. Two telegrams were read from the Minister for Education. The first stated that the Minister was prepared to recognise as still in office the eight members who did not concur with the resolution to resign. The second stated that he did not wish it understood that he regarded any member as having resigned, but merely supposed the supporters of the resolution would not attempt to act. The following telegram was read from the Rev. W. J, Habens :—": — " The Education department

intended no slight to your board in obtaining a settlement through the Treasury. I hope this assurance may help to induce your board to reconsider a recent decision, and the Hon. W. Reeves authorises me to say that he will be» glad if that is the result." One of the members remarked that the apology would have come with better grace if accompanied with the £44 which the two special meetings had cost them.

The Indian courts are less complaisant than British courts in the matter of the improper distribution of dividends. A bank styled the Himalaya Bank came to grief some time ago, and as it was believed that dividends had tor some time been wrongfully paid, action taken against the directors and the auditor for a refund out of their own pockets to the official liquidator. The case was decided by the judge at Saharanpur, under section 214- of the Companies Act (India), at the close of April. It was decreed by the court that the directors for each halfyear pay jointly and severally rupees 161,328, together with interest at 6 per cent, per annum. The auditor was also ordered to pay jointly and severally for the half-years he audited. The grounds for the orders were that the division of assets by means of dividends was ultra vires of the company, and incapable of ratification by the shareholders, and that shareholders could not ratify the division, having false balance sheets before them.

Information which has reached Sydney by the schooner Lark shows that "head hunting" is still rampant amongst the Solomon Islanders. A head-hunting expedition recently set out from one of the western islands, and, working eastward, swept down on several villages, butchering everyone the warriors could catch. The head 3of the victims weie afterwards used to decorate the houses of the slayers, as the more heads a native possesses the more influential is his position in the tribe. Traders complain that head hunting interferes greatly with trade, and Eoglish residents in the islands are taking steps to obtain the services of a warship to put a stop to these raids.

The mortality among hospital nurses (says a contemporary) comes as a startling surprise. It has been ascertained that a healthy girl of 17, devoting herself to hospital nursing, dies on an average 21 years sooner than a girl of the same age moving among the general population. A hospital nurse at the age of 25 has the same expectation of life as a peraon at the age of 58 in the ordinary community.

The secretary of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society on April 28 communicated to Reuter's Agency a despatch from Mr Ainsworth, the Imperial British East Africa Company's administrator in Mashako's district, 250 miles inland from Mombasa. This despatch, dated January 31, gives details of considerable slave trade in and around Kikuyu. The victims are mainly women and children raided from a small tribe of the Masai, the men being either killed or driven off. It having come to the knowledge of the administrator that hundreds of women were on sale in Kikuyu in exchange for goats, he took immediate steps to block the roads leading to that spot. When sold in small numbers to the Wakamba, at the price of only a few goats, a good trade was done by these natives in reselling them to Arab and Swahili traders, whose caravans are always to be found in the country. When once absorbed into these caravans there is little difficulty in conveying them to the East, whence they can be smuggled to the various profitable markets still open in the British Protectorate of Zanzibar and Pemba. Within the last few months Mr Ainsworth has been instrumental in rescuing more than 100 of these wretched slaves, but the traffic will never entirely cease so long as the status of slavery is recognised in Zanzibar.

Sir Robert Stout, Messrs T. Mackenzie, and R. M'Nab, M.H.R.'s, were among the passengers by Tuesday's north express en route for Wellington to discharge their parliamentary duties, and the Hon. W. M. Bolt, M.L.C., Messrs W. Earnshaw, J. A. Millar, A. Morrison, J. Mackintosh, and T. Pratt, M.H.R.'s, were passengers in the afternoon by the steamer Mararoa. Several legislators left by Wednesday morning's express, to catch the Mararoa at Lyttelton, the Union Steam Ship Company having consented to delay the departure of the steamer for Wellington until the arrival of the train.'

The Taieri Licensing Committee on Tuesday refused to grant licenses to two hotels in their district — viz , the Mosgiel Hotel at Mosgiej, and the Reliance Hotel at Otakia. The application for a license for the Bridge Hotel at Outram was withdrawn ; and Thomas George's application for an accommodation license at Berwick was refused, the house being under five miles from the nearest licensed house.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited) announces in our columns that the necessary reconstruction arrangements having been completed, the company has now resumed business. We are quite sure tbe announcement will be read with very great pleasure throughout the colony.

The Colonial Treasurer has intimated that the land referred to in a telegram which he read at his meeting at Oamaru as offered to the Government at £5 53 per acre while the lat d tax valuation was £1 6$ per acre is situated in the Auckland provincial district.

The Southland News states that in the charge against Michael Thomas Neylon of committing a serious offence on a young girl, who on Thursday would not give evidence, proceedings have been stayed at the instance of the Solicitorgeneral, and accused has been discharged.

The Telegraph department informs us that an arrangement was made at the Paris Conference of 1890 tor the International Bureau at Berne to prepare an official vocabulary of cxle words. This work is now approaching completion, and it is expected that the list, whioh will consist of about 200,000 words, will be issued shortly. The words will be arranged alphabetically, and will be numbered consecutively 000,000 to 200,000. The employmeot of words taken from this vocabulary will become obligatory for all code messages exchanged between stations in the European system after the expiration of three years from the date of its publication. It is expected that the use- of the words contained in this vocabulary will also become obligatory for messages exchanged with the ExtraEuropean system shortly after the next conference. These companies propose to sell the " Code Vocabulary " to the public at cost price, plus an amount to cover freight. Orders for this book should be received before 28th June at the local Government telegraph office.

An old colonist in the person of Mr George Coombe died at Milton, which has been bis home for many years, at 6 o'clock on Tuesday evening. Mr Coomba in the days of the gold fever became the owner of a rich claim at Manuka creek, out of which he amassed considerable wealth. On quitting mining he became the owner of a hotel at Milton, and about the same time purchased the racehorse Swindle from Mr Webb, of Christchurch, and imported The Flying Dutchman, Bar won, and another horse from Melbourne. He also owned Catapult and Right Bower, and won the Forbury Handicap in 1871 and 1875 respectively. His

successes on tl>" turf were not numerous, and about four or hvu years ago he ceased to keep racehorses" altojrother, and devoted himself to the business of ;■. ■> hotel in Milton. He was over 60 years of age, and had made many friends in the course of his long stay in the colony.

The Wellington correspondent of the Oamaru Mail telegraphs :—": — " There is a growing conviction that a colonial loan is imminent. That conviction is only expressed in whispers at present, bat there are evidences of more tangible developments. The fact is, no one seems to care to bell the cat. The flat of the country was so definite that borrowing should cease, and that the strictest economy should be observed, that the leaders fear to say what they themselves think of the idea of resuming it. I have spoken to both politicians and public men on the question, however, and am convinced that consideration of it will be forced on Parliament before long — perhaps during the coming session, certainly during the next. The amount would probably be three or five millions, which would bo apportioned for the completion of public works and the purchase of land and land settlement, so that every part of the colony would get a share. The masses are growing tired of the lack of employment and universal stagnation of business, and believe that a loan is the only panacea." Mr Murphy, secretary of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association, is now receiving entries for the Herd Book for other breeds than shorthorn.