LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2255, 20 May 1897, Page 21

LOCAL & GENERAL.

At a meeting of the committee of the Technical Classes Association, held on the lObb, at ' which Mr A. Burt presided, it was decided to conclude the negotiations for tho acquirement of the premises in Moray place lately occupied by Messrs Anderson and Morrison. The secretary reported that the class in decorative painting had to be abandoned owing to the paucity of the attendance. It was also reported that five candidates had sat for the theoretical and four for the practical plumbing examination in connection with the London City and Guilds' Institute examination, and four had sat for the mechanical engineering examinatioD, the Education Board's officers having superintended the examinations. The local examiners were Messrs Mathew, Scott (?cott and Hodges), and John Scott (of J. and R. Scott). The committee of the Record Reign Kindergarten Bazaar met en the 11th, Mr James j AlleD, M.H.R., in the chair. The various subj committees reported good progress with business, so that everything points to a most i successful affair during the Record Reign week. Tickets for tha art union are still in great demand, and Signor Borzoni has both adults' and children's dances well in hand, over 103 adult 3 and SO children participating in the same. Special attention is to ba paid to the decoration of the hall, and no pains will be spared to drape the stalls so as to accurately represent the various British dependencies they represent. A special committee has been appointed to see after same. Consideration of the programme for the opening night was deferred till next week's committee meeting. j The Australasian Students' Christian Union, ' organised by Mr Mott and founded by a coni vention of student delegates at Melbourne in June last, is consolidating and extending the work thten begun. Mr Pratt, M.A., of Sydney ■ (the travelling secretary of the union), is ab j present in Dunedin on hi 3 work of visiting all the branch unions ia the New Zealand colleges. ! Commenting editorially on the Royal Commission to inquire into the working of private benefit socitties, the Cnristcburoh Preus, after j bracing the parliamentary career of Mr George Fisher, says : "What the result of the investigation may be is a mere detail. It is not worth notioirig. The main thing is that Mr Fisher has been honoured, and he has got a holiday. We know the Ministry do nob like to see the unemployed, and why should they nob therefore find *»«rk for Mr Fisher and Major Steward? The major has peculiar claims. ■He ' h*B had to give way to Sir Maurice O'liorke and to Mr Guinness. Unlike others who have been denied ■ the position of Chairman of Committees, jhe remains a humble follower of tho I Ministry who have denied him office. When I submitted to indignity his humility and loyalty I are increased. Perhaps if he hivd beeu more self-*ERerbive the call to go up bigher would have been issued to him. A stray commission pleases him, and why then should he grumble ? ' The white flower of a blameless life,' as he has • aaid, he ever wears, and this little holiday will ba well earned by him. As for Mr Tregear, he ia put in the commission to do the work whilst j the others.pofie and talk and eDJoy themselves, and no doubt he will do bis work well — isuch as there is to be doae. We ha»e not the slightest doubt, however, fchai Mr Tregear's ea^rgies could be very much more profitably employed." The Taranaki Herald proudly points to the fact that the dairy produce entered for export from New Plymouth during the quarter ended 31st March was of greater value than the gold exported during the same period from tho whole of the Auckland goldfields. The respective figures were : — Taran-tJci dairy produce, £103,153; Auckland gold, £101,607. Mr J. Reid, 8.A., has been recommended to the Education Board for appointment to the vacancy in the Kaitangata School. The Rev. A. Ager (says the Ashburton Mail) introduced a novel feature in his eveniag ! service oa Sunday. His recently acquired limelight apparatus — an exceptionally good one — was used to illustrate his discourse by means of pictures. The apparatus was placed on tho clock gallery and the light-coloured wall behind the preacher waß made use of instead of a screen, and served the purpose most admirably. I The rev. gentleman took for his gubjecb " The G.fb of God," his texb being those words in the Saviour's conversation with the woman of Samaria at the well, and in illustration of his discourse 12 scenes representing incidents in our Saviour's life were depicted by the apparatus in the course of the delivery of the sermon. Altogether the service wis^Siignt and attractive, and the pictures were well calculated to leave a lasting impression on the minds of the congregation. Mrs Schuyler Van Rensselaer contributes to the "Century Magazine" a paper entitled i "Places in New York." in which she giveß a i picture of interesting phafes of life in tho New j World mecrojDoliF. Mrs Van Rensselaer aays : Mora than 76 per cent, of those who people New York to-ilay were born of foreign mothers ; more than 40 per ceut. were bom on foreign soil themselves ; aad many of these aliens, brought from many different lands, conbinue here to live in clusters with their own kin afber their own kind, Yeb while each of these clusters, and ench of their wandering offshoots, modifies the ! New World metropolis, all of them together jdo not destroy ibs cohesion, tbey simply :'_ intensify its curious composite sort of per- '' Konaiity. They make ib multifariously diverse, j but they leave it an entity. They touch \ every portion of it with pungent exotic " fltvours, but as flavouring an American whole. j They play their several parts in a civic life thab i is cosmoramic beyond the belief of those who j have nob studied it well, but they do nob turn • New York into a cosinopoliban town ; for this means a town which, overwhelmed by its strangers, hss lost, or has never possessed, a character of its own. As an indication of the enormous prices being obtained for houses in the We<t End for the June celebrations, the Daily Chronicle learns tbftt £2000 has been given for the late Siij Juliau Goldsraid-.'s house in Piccadilly for the day oE the procession. Other honsts aro ia b'jc market at even larger prices. Small rooms iv the vicinity of the route, bub wibhout a view of the proceaßion, are commanding from £5 to £10 for the day for luncheon and breakfast use only. On the south side of the Thames, where weekly and monthly tenancies are common, tenants are receiving notice to quit before the great day. Of course tho object of the owners is to let the tenements for the great tpectacle in June, and as £50 per window is the average offer south of the water the loss in rent is an item that can well be ignored. In the suit for judicial separation, instituted ' at Sydney, by Kathleen Tyndall Gore Gillon againsb Dr Gillon, the respondent filed an answer denying the cruelby upon which the peti- | tion was based, and asked for a divorce on the ground that the petitioner had been guilty bf I cruelty towards him, and had committed adulterj on various occasions during 1896. The

parties were married in 1884-, in New Zealand, and according to the petitioner a serious difference arose during their honeymoon in conse- . quence of Dr Gillon examining letters from her relatives found by him in her trunk, in which a suggestion was made that she should institute inquiries about him before her marriage with him. Three months later, during an altercation about an accusation brought by the respondent against her, he ill-treated her. They made up their differences afterwards, and lived amicably for some years. Trouble then arose in consequence of the respondent wishing her to allow a barmaid to call upon her. He said she was a lady, and so she consented ; but afterwards she found two photographs and a small portion of hair in an envelope, with the words "her hair" written on it. Witness said she was ultimately forced to leave her husband because of his treatment of her. Mr Justice Owen suggested that the case should be settled. Mr Ralston, on behalf of the roipondent, said that the insuperable difficulty was that the petitioner had given her story, and his client, as a professional man, could not allow it to go before the world uncontradicted. The official statistics of the Masonic Grand Lodge of New Zealand refer to the steady \ progress that has been made during the past year ; 406 persona have been admitted into tha craft and 166 have joined the various lodges. ■ The loss of members from all sources is only 340, and the total membership now stands at , 4241. The roll shows that 110 lodges own allegiance to the Grand Lodge of New Zealand. The Rev. S. Ironside, a Wesleyan minister, who died at Hobart on the 29bh ulb., at the age of 82, was closely connected with the early history of New Zealand. He arrived in Hobart in 1839, and then came on to this colony, where he laboured for many years among the Maoris. He was the minister who performed the last offices for the victims of the Wairau massacre. He waR also pressnfc at the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which gave New Zealand to England. After serving his church in New Zealand he was appointed to j Sydney, where he spent some six years. After i that he ww moved to Adelaide, and in 1867 to i Hobarb. In 1872 he visited England, and oa his return was stationed at Amherat (Victoria). Thence he went to Porb Melbourne, and on completion of his term there retired from active work after 60 years' active service in the ministry. In 1888 he returned to Hobart, and fiiuce the death of his wife had lived with his daughter. We understand that Mr Andrew Macdonald, son of the late Dr Macdonald, forms rly "rector of the Boys' High School, has beeu promoted to the managership of the Buenos Ayres branch of the New Zealand Insurance Company. Mr Macdonald entered the office here as a boy some 12 yearn ago. During the last few years he has occupied a responsible position m the 1 Auckland office. Mr Maodonald leaves for South ' America almost immediately, after paying a short visit to bis relatives in Dunediu. i No ordinary meeting of the Land Board has j been held last week, the members having been ! engaged instead in ths examination, under the regulations, of applicants for stctiona in the Momona and Tokarahi estates. In connection with tha Record Roign celebrations, the London Chamber of Commercs ocnfc to the president of each chambor of commerce in the colonies iuvitatious to a banquet which the chamber is giving to the colonial Premiers visiting London. Mr G. L. Dannisbou, president of the Dunediu Chamber of Commerce, has replied to the invitation he has received stating thab 9.H it is not his intention to vibib London ab the time ia question he regrets he will be unable to | avail himself of the invitation. j The ballot for sections in ths Tokarahi estate was held ab Oamaru on Tuesday morning. For the 47 lots into which the settlement has been subdivided 1 312 applications were received — 275 in Oamaru and 37 in Dunedin. Some few allotments — mostly of small area — were nob applied for. • Mr J. A. Henderson, of the Railway Engineer's Office, Wellington, has received the appointment of poultry expert, sad has been on a visit to Dunedin. Mr Henderson's first work will be the 1 organising of breeding establishments, from i which an improved class of poultry will bs ' available for distribution amongst the farmers at the lowest possible price. An Order-in-Council has been issued aubhorI ising the construction of the Dunediu and , Kaikorai tramway. ! The Roslyn Tramway Company have pur- ! chased Mr' N. Y. A. Wales's property at ! Roslyn, with the intention, we understand, of carrying the company's line through to Kaikorai Valley. Up to date 900 claims for old nge pensions have been received in Christchurch, nnd 307 certificates issued. The district comprises the Selwyu County. A lar»e audience assembled in First Church on the 12th to hear a lecture by the Rev. James j CHbb on "Pompeii and Vesuvius, with Jottings j of Travel in Italy." The rev. lecburer, in his opening sentences, said that in view of the fact that a cerbain number of people regarded Christianity as a miserable supersbition ib might be as well to consider what sorb of world this was before ib came under the influence of this miserable superstition. He pointed out that until a few years ago the only souroes of information there were as to the condition of tha world prior to the coming of Christ were the Greek and Roman classics, bub within the last few decades a groat deal of new information had been obtained, chiefly as the result of exploration in Egypt, Syria, aud other lands, ' and during tho sirae period the ruins of j Pompeii had been laid bare, for although the ! buried city had beeu discovered 100 years ago, it; was only since 1860 that the excavations had b»Jcn carried on iv a scientific fashion. The lecburer proceeded to show in the light of ancient Paganism what Christianity had really done, and, having stated that as the point of view from which lie proposed to deal with his subject, be described his experiences in Italy from Brindisi to Pompeii, with an account of his ascent of Vesuvius at a time when the ! mouctaiu was in a state of considerable upheaval. This narrative proved very interesting and was not without a distinctly humorous side, which greatly moved the risible facultiea of the audience. The rev. lecturer concluded by expressing his profound conviction that if the nations were to b9 deprived of the Christian f»ith they would speedily descend to the hell of brut»liby, bloodshed, and lusb oub of which the religion of the Son of God, and thab alone, had lifted the human race. A short musical programme varied the evening's entercainment-, Hi 1 Tim«on playing Smart's "Festive March" and Guiimant's " Prayer and Cradle Song " on the organ, and the choir singing the anthems "Holy is the Lord our God" and "Lift up your heads." At the conclusion of the Perth criminal ses-, sions on bhe Ist inst., before the Chief Justice, ib was found thab a man had baen detained in prison for nearly six weeks under peculiar circumstances. Mr Purkiss, who claimed delivery

of the man from custody under the. Habea: Corpus Act, stated that on March 17 last thi man, whose name is Flannagan, was committee ' for trial by tno justices of thepeaoe on achargi which disclosed no orime whatever. The mat ' had picked up a purse in which was 2s 6d ii : silver, a dividend certificate, and certain share negotiable at the W. A. Baßk, which wen ' endorsed by the payee. Though he migh easily have converted the certificate int< money, he, like an honest man, went to th< bank and ascertained the address of thi payee, whom he naturally thought to be thi owner of the purse. He wrote to this addreni stating that he had found the puree, and wa willing to make delivery of it. In the mean time-he noticed an advertisement in respect tc the loss of the articles, and offering a rewarc for their restoration. When Flannagan oam< to deliver the purse he was met by a detective j who arrested him upon a charge of theft. Hi , was brought bsfore the Police Courb and com [ niitted for trial, and since that time had beei ', in gaol. The case was not on the list, and th< charge had evidently been abandoned. Th< i Chief Justice ordered the man to be brough I before him, and as no charge waa forthcoming ; released him. The Attorney-general denies al l ! knowledge of the matter, which appears nevei ■ to have come before him. ! The directors of the Bank of Australasii . have notified their stiff throughout the ooloniei ; that the 10 per cent, reduction in salaries made ' in October, 1895, has been restored ai from the ] April balance this year. This is the result oi the satisfactory business done. We are pleased to be able to state that at i addition has been made to the Art Gallery col- . lection, Mr J. T. Wright having presented tc the trustees H. C. Fox's picture " Windsoi from the Racecourse," purchased by him at Mi Valentine's rsotnt pale. Tho picture is a very ' pleasing sample of Fox's work, and will be t welcome addition to the gallery. ! The experiment of appointing two ladies tc ; the meiical staff oT the Melbourne Hospital ' has, acoording to the Committee of Manage1 ment, proved a success. The chairman, at a meeting last week, in addressing Misses Alfreds Hilda Gamble and Janet; Greig, spoke of frheii exemplary conduct during -the yen. The i ladies d ; d their work quietly and unostentatiously, and he believed that Df Bird was speaking the sentiments of the medical profea ! sion when he stated before tho Medica' ; Association that the appointment had beer , amply justified. He (Mr Godfrey) had hearc | ciily lataly — and he had not heard ifc from tbc ' ]»dieu themselves — thab they liad been sub- ; jeotsd, during tho first months of their sojourn, to unfair, ungentlemaniy, *nd almost brutal conduct on the park of those with whom the) had been associated. Had they chosen to apply • to the committee, tho committee would have | protected them, but they had boldly faced the ; position, and by their dempanonr had lived t down the opposition. He desired to thank i them for having justified the appointment. He j knew that one cf them had been r-eceutly dis- ! appointed in an application foe a position at ' another hospital. He could nob understand | how a committee composed of ladies could not j see that a, woman capable in every other way ! was the proper person to pat into the position. ! He ttusto^r that they might ba ab'.o to look i back on th'sir year oi office with some amount ot' s»tiafacd j:j, aril th*b at any r*ta they bad gained taat exps-rier-c* which would be oi service to them. Tno ladias, having btiefly ■ expressed their thanks for the compliment paid \ them, retired. j An accident of a peculiar and very uncommon , fcvpe recautly occurred at Timajjogae, on the ' Upper Maoie'.y. New South Waits. A i.*k s>nmed Booth, wai out fhhiug at nighi, when * platypus got iat,o &»e neb. Booth did nut , kuow thia. and when ha pat hia h&ad in tfcc \ neb to get tiio fish out the creature is supposed Ito have dug its hind claws into bis wriit. The arm began to swell immediatfcJy, symptoms oi poisoning seb in, and the lad was takea 20 mile/; to a doctor. The platypus xa.i killed, and U wasi discovered thx.t the biudt-v I'Jaw ou the back feefc did tb.9 injary. Tho claw is hollotv, and when it makes a wound the venom ia iajeoted at the same time. It ii said tha poisonous claw is ouly found among the males ; and never in the females. Mr Waite, of tho j Sydney Museum, refers to the incident as follows :—"ln: — "In addition to tbe claw on the hind foot of the male platypus, ii; pos^f-sses a t>pur. A poison glaud coinuiuuic&les with this spur, through which the veooai is injected. 1 have never known of such a serious casa aa thab reported, but still ib is possible for such a potent case to happen." The Sydney Morning Herald of the 3rd insb. says the lrcal consul for the United States (Mr W, C. Brown) is in iveeipb of a communication from Washington intimating th'it tha Government of the Uuited States has decided to reward the captain and crew of the steamer Fifeshire for the heroism displayed by them hi rescuing the officers and crew of the American ship Patrician, whilst on a -journey from Newi ca3fcle to Lyttelton. The Patrician, ifc will to recollected, was dismasted and iv a sinking condition when a boat's crew from the, Fifeshire, at considerable psril to themselves, rescued those in distress. In recognition cf the bravery displayed, the Government of the I United States- propose to present Captain I Wilson with a gold watch and chain, the chief officer (Mr Ross) with a pair of binoculars, and Quartermaster Martin and Boatswain Mouab with gold life-saving medals. Mr G. L. Cook, resident engineer at the Govornmeut Camp, at Capburn. Hyde, having been transferred to the North Island, a large number of friends, officers, and many of the workmen on the Otago Central railway, assembled on Monday night, lOob, to give him a send off, and present him with a tangible token of the esteem in which he is held. The large room of the Public Works Office was packed. Mr R. Wilson was called to the chair, and referred to the regret felt at Mr Cook's departure. Mr L. P. Cabot then, after a neatly turned speech, presented Mr Cook with a very handsome dressing caoe, whioh had been subscribed for by inoit of those present. Mr Cook made a suitable reply. A number of • toasts were honoured, including "Our Guest" (Mr Cook), "HisSucsessor" (Mr W. H. Gavin), and l( The Co-operative Works." A number of songs were suog, and a mosb enjoyable time spent with Mr Cook ou his lasfc nighfc with his | friends and ths officers and men on the Obago '< Central railway. ,- " I The members of the Porb Chalmers Bowling Club and several other gentlemen met a,b the Port Cha'nvrj Hotel on Friday evening for the purpose of bidding good-bye to Mr Sampson, who has occupied the position of postmaster for the last four and a-half years, and ■who is about leaving for Gisborne to occupy a sinvlar position there. Mr R. Bauchop (president of tha club) occupied the chair, and said that, having learned that Mr Sampson was abSut to leave Port I Chalmers, the members of the club had taken J that opportunity of showing their appreciation of him. He was sorry Mr Sampson was going away from them, and he was sure he expressed j the opinion of those present when he said ' thab their guest had by his genial manner and

s I sterling qualities won the friendship of all W&C b I had come iv contaob with him. Mr Sampson's i conduct on the green had shown an example foe s every member to profit by ; and before his i . departure it was deoided that the club should a in some tangible way show their appreciation of s the respeot m which he was held. Every mem* c ber of the club had subscribed towards the t present he was about to hand to Mr -Sampson. i He trusted that Mr Sampson's removal s from Port Chalmers was promotion, and that s Mr and Mis Sampson would enjoy both health s and ' happiness in their new home. — Mr B. Q. i Allen, M.H.R., was sure they all regretted b Mr Sampson's departure from among them, - but trusted bis removal was promotion. As > I postmaster Mr Sampson hod been most; I j courteous and obliging to all, and they would 3 ; look forward with pleasure to hear of his ■ j farther promotion in the service. During Mr 3 j Sampson's stay in the Port he had identified - ! himself with every movement for the benefit of i | others, and be was sure they would all feel his ) loss on the bowling groan. He concluded by 5 • wishing him and his family every happiness. — t ! Messrs John Morgan, John Mill, J. B. Monson, ; ' and Dr Gunninghame endorsed the remarks or I the previous spankers. * The chairman then r ; presented Mr Sampson with a very handsome j marble clock, whioh bore the following int ! scription :—": — " Presented to Mr G. W. Sampson . j by the members of the Port Chalmers Bowling , J Club. May V M, 1897."— Mr Sampson, in ret ; pponding, thanked them for their \ handsome I ' present, and alto for the kind way in whioh they had spoken of him. Before leaving Reef ton he applied for a change for the benefit 1 of the health of his family, bub on the present > ' ] occaiion he had made no application. He had ' i been offered the promotion, which he accepted ; : • at the same time he was sorry to leave : ' Port Chalmers, where he had made »o ' > many friends. Ho thought they had 1 Bpoken too highly of his services on the green. He had only done what he could, > and if there was a green in Gisborne ho should L still follow the game of bowling ; and he . . should always look back with pleasure to the l many friends he had made duriug his sojourn afc i the Port. Tin hoped that in a year or two he : would be nblo to pay them a vnib. He again . \ thanked them on behalf of Mrs Sampson and ■ ' himself. Mr Sampson's health \>bs then drunk \ with musical honours. Atter songs had been ■ ' Rung by Messrs Gardner, De Maus, and C*mpl , bell, and the health of the president and vicei i president of the club had been drunk, the [ ' company separated. ~ At the City Police Court on 13th there was ' a rehearing of the sasa of Maxwell v. M'Laren* 1 . in which the defendant was charged with a 1 - breach of aeotions 63 and 68 of " The Factories ' A<3t, 1894-," in that he allowed a yoang woman in , his employ to remain on his premises after 1 1 , o'clock on Saturday afternoon. When the case | , woo previously before the court the magistrate ' dismissed it oa the ground that as the girl was ■ not actually at rfc at the hour she was found 1 on the premises no convicbioti could bo recorded. &Ir Fraser, vrb-.» appeared for the prosneubion ' yesterday, pressed for a conviction oa the. authority of the decision given by Mr Jufiuca '" "Williams in the case of Maxwell v. Brooke, ia March, 1895. He stated that that case exactly governed the point involved in the present case, anil contauded thas the Basra fact of a female - ; employee beisg allowed to remain on tho premises lifter 1 o'clock was in itself a sufficient bread', of section 63 of the act to justify a conviction. His Worship admitted that he had misread the neb, »nd stated that on the previous occasion bo was reading the amoudsd aot, and ktt took iii tuab the wordiag of the *m«niimeD(i : applied 1 o the whols of the section and not only V) 'apart. After nvidenca had bien given by ,h iaspw (■ <r of factories with regard to tho ; e'aarg 1 p flr Gay- w also snid that a-5 ihfj evidence . bmwwj that the girl was *.51ov/ed to remain ia a, work room after 1 o'clock there must be » i conviction. He, however, thought, under the circumstances of the caie, ft nominal penalty [ would ba sulfiij/Rnti, ?-nd fioed the defendant Is :,yid cosfcii (19s 6d). 1 A hoocking csjo <v few I? depravity oa.raa under th<J r.otioe g\ hlr Carew, S.M., at the Police Cuucb en Tims lay jaaosain^. Two young r ( women, nndev 20 years of age, cf rather pre- : < possessing appearance, were charged with being; 1 ; idle and disorderly persons. Bofcb plaaded guilty to tue change, and manifested a callous iudiff'jraact, to cheir position. Tiia Sergeant of • polica abated that the Salvauoa Army had , endanveured to reolnim one vi them (Louie , !. (I rame) and had given her a trial both 1 i:s the home her* and at Chriatch»rch, ' and had Mao obUiued * situation for her. j Her conduct, however, was very bad j hi the' home, and she only remained ia bhe i situation two days, after wh'ch she returned to ; Lei 1 hvil mode of life, and was very bold in the • public streets. Thft ladies who had interested , *"lie)3seiveß oa her bbhalf thought tti&t a 4urm of imprisonment might improve her. The other ' yoaug woman (Lily Gossi, the sergeant' stated, ' was the associate ot notorious criminals, and had iak<»a a house in one of the suburbs for a man who had been convicterl ot burglary. She »l»o, lika the other woman, was a very bold • character. Hh Worship v -enccd each of bh« Recnsed to 14 days' imprisonment. i It gives us pleasure to annonnoe that tha i Rev. Rutherford "VVaddell received notice by ! inst mail from the secretary of Faculty of the Theological College, Belfast, that thn degree of D.D. would be conferred on him afc the closing iof the college in the first week in April. Dr Waddell's degree should therefore rdaoti him by next mail. The large reservoir of the Lytfcelton water works at Henthcote wa« emptied on Tuesday, 11th (siy=the Press) to allow of its being cleaned and limewaahed. When tha water was drawn off it was found that some 50 American catfish, liberated in the reservoir a year or twe ago, bad: . increased enormously. A large number of the ' fish were put back into the tank, while boesb j were sent away to Ashburton. j The Wellington Benevolent Trustee* do not: ) apparently rely implicitly on the reports of the I assistant inspector of_ charitable institutions I (Mrs Grace Neill). £t the last meeting the j trustees had before them the people who, j according to Mra Neill, should not receive help, and so far as is reported iv the New Zealand j Times the relief T7»s continued in all cases. In j one instance in which Mrs Neill stated that two daughters were supporting their parents by prostitution, tha mother said ehe had only one daughter ia Welliagton, and she was lying very ill. The chairman Baid he knew the woman was reepactable, and the' strictures of the lady inspector were, to say the least of it, a little too severe. Another family were reported aa being of very bad repute. The woman, who wa« j youug and neatly dressed, a»id her husband ! was ill and had earned nothing for nine month*. 1 She bad s'x children, and earned a little by j sewing. The chairman said it was a disgrace I that a little woman, who w»s battling her way | bravely, should be branded as being of bad I repute. The other trustees, without exception, ' agreed in this, and said it was evident that the woman was respectable. One or two of the trustees, who had known the family, said the j statements were astonishing, and anothet trctetea characterised the report as a cruel «tftfc

in tho dark. In two other esses somewhat similar strictures were passed add the relief continued.

During the voyage from Hobart to the Bluff of the 8.8. Wakatipu, Captain Spinks organised a concert in the saloon, which proved most successful, the result being that £5 was obtained. This sum Captain Spinks yesterday handed over to our shipping reporter for the Hawke's Bay flood relief fund.

A Sydney telegram in the Melbourne Argu3 reports :—": — " Some strange allegations were made at the inquest on the body of a married woman named Catherine Ann Maloney, aged 19, who died atAdamatown, near Newcastle, on the 30th ult. It appears that the deceased and her husband had quarrelled regarding Mra Maloney's frequent attendances at dances. With a view to preveniing % recurrence of these visits, her husband endeavoured to detract from her personal appearance by cutting off a portion of his wife's fringe. In a fit of temper the young wife unnoticed threw herself into the fireplace, where the flames ignited her clothes. For some time she bore the torture without flinching or screaming, but her husband at length discovering what had happened, did hi 3 utmosS to put out the flames. The injuries received were, however, so severe that the unfortunate woman died. Deceased admitted to a neighbour that she had tried to burn herself to dealh. A verdict was returned by the jury that death resulted from self-inflicted injuries."

A Gulgong telegram to the Melbourne Argus of May 5 states that an attempt was made to poison a family named Hawkins, living in the township. Mrs Hawkins received through the posb a piece of currant cake, on the wrapper o? which was written, "With the compliments of Mr and Mrs Barton." Mrs Hawkins, her child, iind a visitor tasted the cake, and found is bitter. They gave the rest to a dog, which died in a quarter of an hour. Among the crumbs left oa the paper were found strychnine crysta's. The police are investigating the matter.

- A syndicate has made an application to the Taranaki County Council for a 21 jeara' right to run tramways over the county roads. A committee of the council has reported favourably on the proposal, subject to a number of conditions, amoDgsb others that the promoters must metal the road adjacent to the tramway 14ft wide on each side of the tramway 5 that they deposit a sum equal to the amount required to complete 200 yards of tramway at a time ; pay £10 fixed annual rental for the sole tramway rights, the council to be at liberty after 14 years to acquire the tramway at a price equal to 20 per cent, above the cost of construction, and that all legal, survey, and other charges in connection with the scheme be paid in advance, or guaranteed,* by the syndicate. There seems a fair prospect of Dunedin presenting a brilliant appearance on Record Reign Night, and the projected illuminations should result in a large consumption of gas, for which doubt th >ti- 11 b- d

no aou corporation wi c prepares. Ip addition to tho gas illumination we hear of preparations for an effective display by means of a profusion of candles for window equipment; and a specially good effect will be made in other business premises and private houses , through the agency of coloured lamps, of Melbourne manufacture, large numbers of which are, we understand, being ordered. Altogether Dunedin gives promise of marking its loyalty by illuminations of a very attractive kind.

A man who was arrested on Thursday on a charge- of drunkenness and admitted to bail appeared at the Police Court on Friday in a condition which made it evident that he had' been imbibing pretty freely thxt morning. He seemed in the best of humour with himself and with all mankind, and when the charge against him was read he caught hold of the sergeant of police affectionately by the arm, and observed familiarly to the bench, with a bibulously imperfect utterance, " Here's the best man you've got." Then, turning to a member of the legal profession, ha also indulged in complimentary language with regard to that gentleman, but never for a moment gave any sign that; he was cognisant of being in a court of justice. The Bench noticing his demeanour ordered him to be remanded ia custody until the following day.

Mr J. A. Millar, M.H R., repeated his lecture on "A People's Bank" "at the Trades Hall on Friday evening, under the auspices of the Ofcago Assembly Knights of Labour. There was a fair attendance, and the speaker's remarks were well received and were followed by an animated discussion, in the course of which the BUggesticn was made that the lecture should be circulated in pamphlet form among the kindred organisations and that a public meeting should subsequently be held and be addressed by Mr Millar on the subject.

The first meeting of the Dunedin Horticultural Society's new committee was held on Thursday evening. After full consideration Mr Orlando Graves's protest againsb the award of the chrysanthemum cup to Mr James Rendel was disallowed. Mr Every was elected secretary for the year. The prize list, amounting to £18 17s, was passed for payment, as also accounts to tbe amount of £30 16». A subcommittee was appointed to revise the schedule for the year.

At the regular meeting of the Dunedin F*bian Society, at which Mr A. R. Barclay presided, the Rev. C. H. Bradbury delivered a lecture on " The State in Relation to the Criminal." The lecturer commenced by stating that his knowledge on the subject had necessarily been obtained outside prison walls. He condemned the present system of dealing with the criminal element in society, and contended that punitive methods did not cure crime, even though they might in many cases acb as deterrents to a certain extent. He insisted on regarding criminal tendency as a disease, and the ouly effectual method of dealing with it was that which had been adopted by the Elmira Institution in the State of New York. He detailed at some length the manner of treatment adopted by Mr Brockway, the superintendent of this institution, and quoted statistics from the official report showing how highly satisfactory the results bad been. A discussion followed the lecture, in which nicst of the speakers indicated that they were in accord with the principles enunciated.

The Rev. D O'Donnell (Australian evangelist), who is under special engagement with tha New Zealand Wesleyan Conference, concluded an evangelistic mission at Port Chalmers on Thursday evening with a lecture in tba Presbyterian Church on "Things to Come." The mission meetinga have been held iv the Foresters' Hail, and have been well attended. The results h&va been very encouraging, many having being influenced for good under tbevangelist's earnest and eloquent addresses. A convention of Christians, promoted by Mr O'Donnell, was -held on Wednesday afternoon and evening in the Presbyterian Cnurch, when good audience 3 listened to interesting addresses from the Revs. D. O'Donnell, W. Hewitson, J. N. Buttle, E. C. Tennent, D. K. Fi'her, and T. N. Griffin. On Sunday afternoon upwards of 500 children were addressed, wiiea a iaxse

number came forward to be specially guided and to receive covenant cards. The Bible readings held in the Congregational Church in the atternoons were very much enjoyed and well attended. The three churches are under great obligations to Mr O'Donnell for his faithful, earnest, and inspiring services.

The Rev. W. Morley, the connexional secretary of the New Zealand Methodist Church, arrived in Dunedin on Thursday and proceeded south on Friday. He is visiting several of the churches in Ofcago and Southland in the interest of the Methodinb Home and Maori missions. On Sunday next he will cfficisie at the dedicatory services ia connection wilh the opansng of tho new church at Balelutha. Thereafter Mr Morley proceeds to Tapanui, Gore, Invercargill, and Riverfcon. His work in this district will occupy nearly three weeks.

The Standard states that a sacrilegious trick that calls for the harshest condewaalioa wss perpetrated in tho Gore Cemetery on Monday night, lOsh, wheu tho tombstones on four graves were knocked down. In one case the tombstone was polished granite and was in the shape of a cross, about s:b higb, standing on a stone pedestal counter, to which it was atts.cb.ed by two iron spikes cemented into the counter, and so great was the strength used that tho cross was completely wrenched off and thrown down. In other cases the stones were costly and handsorae marble slabs, apparently cemented to thei? pedestals. Mr Cook, the caretaker, says that everything was right when he left the cemetery at 6 o'clock that evening. There aro no evidences of cattle having been in tho place, and tho only conclusion ia thab the act was perpstrated in a fit of wanton mischief.

The settlers at Rosebrook, near Timaru, aro protesting against tho treatment they are receiving. At the time tho land was opened some settlera got sections of land, their wives securing adjoiuing sections. The3e settlors being practical men immediately commenced fco work the two sections as one, and pub the required improvements on the two places as if they were one, and subdivided their holdings ia Mich a way a3 to effectively work their placss. Now the Government stop in and require that either one or other of the sections be surrendered becauso a house has not been placed on each section and the residence clause has not been carried out. If the surrender is in&iated op, a« appears likely at present, ifc will be simply impossible for settlers with large families to make a living out of their holdings.

A somewhat important decision was given at Ashburton by Mr C. A. Wray, S.M., in a case J. B. Hurdley v. Jobn.Orr. The plaintiff had given the defendant a promissory note for £50, which came due on the sth April, and was dishonoured. The note had been discounted at the Bank of New Zealand, at which institution both parties wero customers, and h?.d not on the 10th April been debited to the defendant. On tho 10th, at the solicitation of the plaintiff, the defendant agreed to renew the £50 promissory note for three months, and took a new note for the same amount without consulting or communioating with the bank, who held the original note. Oa the same day the plaintiff went to the bank, and there discounted another note, the proceeds of which were paid to his account, and out of which funds the bank manager thea paid the £50 without the defendant's knowledge. ■ The plaintiff now ssked the court to compel the defendant to refund this amount and to carry out his contract. His Worship said :—": — " It appears to me that the breach having been caused by the action of the bank in asserting and acting upon ils rights in respect of the bill, the only possible remedy against the defendant would bs in damages. The question then resolves itself iulo this : The defendant having agreed to renew a bill of £50 for three months, which agreement he now repudiates, What damages has the plaintiff suffered io consequence ? On this point no evidence was adduced, damages were not claimed, and the action must fail. Judgment for defendant, with costs."

A curious inquiry was raised in the House of Commons by Mr Labouchere. He wanted to know why the wicked Government which rules the country permitted an arrangement by which a Urge sum of money belonging to the late Czar of Russia was removed from efce Bank of England without paying the death duties. It turned oat that the offence, if there was any, was committed by Sir W. Hareourt, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer in the last Administration. When the Czar died an appeal was made to the Government to allow this money to be taken from the bank without any formalities, and Sir William Hareourt acceded to this request as a matter of international comity. The present Czar thus escaped from paying £7000 to £10,000 death duties. A search has been made for precedents, and one ha? been found in the case of the Royal Family of Portugal, but that tells against the privilege granted to the Cz*r of Russia, for the duties were all paid.

Readers of Da Quincey will remembjr the very touching account which the etsayist gives of a family of children who for two days and two Dights were snowed up in their lonely cottage in Essdale, sajs the Westminster Gazette. The parents had gone to a neighbouring village, were overtaken by a terrible storm, and never came back. The eldest child, a girl of 12 ; who had played the mother to her brothers and sisters in si way which oily some j children can, ■ultimately made her way to c farm house, a search party was got together, I and the frozen bodies of the parents, who bad been unable to make their way against the wild force of the storm, were found near the famous Eaadale Tarn. The incident has frequently bsen the subject of story, and, if we remember rightly, Wordsworth also utilised it. We refer lo it now in consequence of the death of Mrs Hall, the last survivor of the orphan family, at the age of 92. She was the youngest of them all. The story is to ba found in most of the children's school books published.

The case Moritzson and Hopkiu v. William Davies Soper (of Garston), heard at tho Dunedin S.M. Court on Friday, was a claim of £9 7s 6J, for commission. — Mr S-ilomon appeared for the plaintiffs and for Mr J. F. M. Frassr (with him Mr J. White) defendant. — This was a claim for commission at the rate of £2 10s per cent, upon the sale of 500 sacks of barley at 3s 9d per bushel. — The case for the defendant wag that the limit was 4-3 per bushel, ' and the plaintiff j alleged that the limit was 3s 9d p?r bushel. The barley wa3 sod at the latter figure, and the defendant therefore refused to pay the commission. — The evidence was directly contradictory. — His Worship gave judgment for the amount claimed,, with costs.

A curious insurance story comes from New York. A negro had been out of work for some time in coneequeuce of a quarrel with the foreman of the siable in which be had been employed. He was at length re-engaged and expressed a lively satisfaction on being once more in work. Then he disappeared, and a body found in the river was identified by the wife and buried as that of her husband. Armed with tLe corouer's certificate- ehe next collected 491d01, the amount for which fcha

thrifty labourer was insured, and devoted the proceeds to the maintenance of her eight picaninnies. This was in June of last year. But during the present mouth the alleged dead man has reappeared. He sates thab one day on leaving the stable he was seized with an irresistible desire to go south, and worked his way by sea and laud lo Georgia, where he stayed until he saved money enough to return to New York. Thera is no doubt as to his identity. Tho coroner has rectified his certificate, and. the rcaa has a legal right to be in tiie land of the living. The only difficulty is that of the two insurance companies. How are they to recover the money on which tho eight little darkies have been thriviug during the winter ?

The fate of the "multi-murderer " Holmes (writes the New York correspondent of the Melbourne Argus) has not deterred other wretches of his kind from robbing life insurance companies by crimes like those which made him memorably infamous. Dr W. H. Lipscomb, a graduate in one of our oldesb uuiversibies, and a member of one of the most prominent families iv the Southern States, was tried for the murder of c^i> of his patients last week, found guilty, and sentenced, to be hanged. Lipscomb had practised for 37 years in the little city of Ssooba, S;ate of Mississippi. A merchant of the town, named Guy Jack, a man of good repute, had conspired with him to commit the crime, for which li 3 was tried. Insurance to the amount; of _30,000d0l hiving been procured by Jack upon the life of S"uart, a penniless man, Dr Lipscomb murdered Stuart with strychnine, while he was attending the victim as a physician prescribing remedies for his ailments. There is evidence that one Davis, a poor man upon whose life Jsck had obtained IS.OOOdoI of insurance, was murdered by Dr Lipscomb iv the same way a. few weeks before the death of Stuart;, and it; is expected thafc other 6imilsr crimes committed by the conspirators will hs brought to light.

Mr Percival Lowell, in the April " Atlantic," says that the planet Mercury is incapable of supporting any of tho=e higher organisms which we know as living beiugs. Its surface is a vast desert. Whether it ever supported life upon its surface or not, tbe power to do so ha 3 now for ever passed away. Like Venus and for like cause, ib is now a dead worid. And it was tha first thus to reach the end of its evolutionary career, earlier to do so than Venus, inasmuch as tidal action was very muck greater upon ib than on her, and consequently produced its effect more quickly. Mercury has long be=n dead — how long, messu'.ed by centuries, we cannot say, but practicilly for a very long time. Venus must have become so comparatively recently. Botb, however, have now finished their course, and have iv the most literal sense, as Mr Lowell puts it, " entered into their rest."

The Fiji correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald states thab on the arrival at LevukaoS: the Percy Edwards with her band of 98 passengers, calling themselves " Tbe United Brothe-hood of the South Sea Islands," a deputation went to Suva and interviewed the Acting-Governor. Ths secretary read an affidavit stating thab the corporation was incorporated under the laws of the Sbate of California, and thafe they were good citizsna, and intended colonising some island in the Pacific. The ship was well found, and has a cargo of agricultural implement', seeds, &c , for founding the new colony. The Colonial Secretary pointed out that all the islands in the group were either the property of natives or Europeans, but the Crown had some land iv limited areas, but not the richest. The question of the vessel leaving to try the Solomon Islands was discussed, and it was pointed out that probably deaths would occur either from sickness or from assaults by the uncivilised natives. New Zealand was mentioned ai the most inviting place for the pilgrims to start in, but no decision was arrived at.

At tha Ashburton Magistrate's Court on Thursday, H. E. Brodribb was committed for trial on a charge of the larejny of drapery good 3, &3., and admitted fco bail. From the evidence it appeared thab the inform%ut, W. S. Mitchell, and Brodribb entered infej partnership aboub six months ago, and while carrying on business as drapers and clothiers in Ashburton, the firm had been supplying Malcolm Brodribb, a draper in Temuka, with certain lines of drapery. Accused as a rule made up the parcels, and the goods were entered in a separate book. Mitchell became suspicious of some of accused's actions, and on April 26, after a certain parcel had been made up to send to to Brodribb iv Temuka, the lad in the shoo told prosecutor thab accused had opened the parcel and inserted extra lines oE goods. Mitchell intercepted this parbicular parcel, and in addition to tha goods that had been made up and duly invoiced and charged to Brodribb in Temuka, there were, it is alleged, other lines which were not mentioned in the invoice. Projecutor on three subsequent occasions opened parcels and found goods in them wh'ch had not been charged. Some of the missing gcods were afterwards found in the Temuka shop. Accused was taxed with sending away more goods than werd charged for, and was also confronted with a letter which he sent to his brother, but which Mitchell had intercepted. The partnership was thereupon dissolved, and subsequent to the dissolution tbe invoice book was laken out of the shop, and prosecutor had reason to believe fchat the bsok had been taken by the accused.

At Mahia, Hawke's Bay, a sow was found on the bssch in a dying condition. She revived, and two days later gave birth to 16 fine piggies. It is estimated that mother pig had been afloat five days before landing at the Mahia.

With regard fco the recant heavy and nays'.erioub mortality among calves in Taranaki district which we referred to the other day, the following information has been received from Mr Orball, Government inepector of stock, who devoted a good deal of time and attention to the Bubjec j : — Owing to the fact that tha disease was bo sudden in its effect and that farmers who had lost calves ware bo prompt in burying or destroying the caresses, it was gome tima before he was able to secure a portion of a calf that gave symptoms of disease before death. Ha came to the conclusion, however, that tbe deaths were due to symptomatic anthrar, or black water, and hiving forwarded specimens to Mr Park, Government bacteriologirr, a microscopical eraminat on proved the existence of a germ l-5000th to l-2500th part of an inch in length and l-2500t!i jjart of au inch in breadth. The germ, when in connective tissue and outside blood-vesjels, propagates with wonderful activity, and in so doing causes the destruction of the tissues in itn neighbourhood, tbe formation of tumours, and ultimately death from bloodpoisoniDg. The symptoms of tho disease in a cslf are los 3of appetite, dulness, coldness of the extremities, then lameness or stiffness when moved, and generally arching of the back. The coat is staring, and in the majority of cases examination will reveal the presence of a tumor, either oa the shoulder, lo : ns, hind leg, head, or neck, and pressing or handling the tumour will produce a crackling sound, due to the presence of evolved gases under the skin. On the tumours being opened they discharge a dark-coloured foetid fluid, (succeeded by a flow of

citron-coloured fluid. As the disease progresses the tumours enlarge, the animal shows signs of distrefs, the breathing becomes hurried, the temperature rises, and the pulse becomes fast and feeble. The animal lies down and is unable to rise. Ib is usually 24 tours from the time the animal is attacked until death takes place. Mr Orbell cays there is no known remedy, and that the disease is almost invariably fatal. lie strongly advises farmers to burn all calves dying from the symptoms above described, and on noticing any calves sickening to at once report the matter to the stock inspector for the district.

The Minister for Defence and Justice (tbe Hon. T. Thompson) speut two or three days in Dunedin on departmental matters. On Saturday he did not receive any deputations, but was busily occupied during the greater part of the day with departmental matters. In the morning, accompanied by his private secreUry (Mr Matthews) and Mr A. Morrison, M H.R.^ he visited the old and the new gaols and the police sbition, and also made inquiry into other matters connected with the departments within his administration. The Hon. Mr Thompson is during his trip giving attention to matters bearing on complaints that hava been made, but is nob doing so with any view to setting up a Royal Commission. His principal object is to ascertain, as can bssl ba done by personal inspection, the working of variou3 departments and to become acquainted to some extent with the officials, as he considers this will render his administration at or.es less difficult and more efficient. He has already obtaii.ed a great deal of information which he regards as valuable, and it is possible that one result of hia visits of inspection will be that soms changes will be madti affecting police f.nd magistrates in the South Island. When on hia way south the Minister made visits of inspection to the agenciea of hn departments ia Lylteltou, Christchurch, Timaru, Waimate, and Oamaru.

Tae members of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the wurkiug of priv*to benefit societies arrived by the express train from the north on Saturday eveniug, and eommeuc3 to take evidence on Tuesday.

Colonel Pole Penton, commander of the forces, has just completed the inspection of the Southland Volunteers, having visited Invercargill, Bluff, Riverton, Gore, and Riversdale. He inspected the Dunediu corps at the Garrison Hall on Monday evening.

A reception was given oa Saturday afternoon to Mrs J. K. Barney, the superintendent of prison reform in connection with tha World's Women's Christian Temperance Union. Mrs Barney is a fluent and graceful speaker, and, more than that, she has the gift of humour and is well able to speak in the quaint;, striking manner which may be regarded as characteristically American. Her visit to this colony is made at the request of the chieftainess of the World's Christian Temperance Union, Miss Willard, and her object is to encourage and help the unions and to report on their work. In the course of conversation Mrs Barney said that her visit to the C9lony had nothing to do with her special sphere of labour — prison reform, — but that if she could find time to do so she would give attention to pri-on work, though that was to be o? secondary importance. Great courtesy has been extended to her by the Minister for* Justice (the Hon. T. Thompsou), and by the officials of tbe Prisons department, and the jjaols she has visited in tha colony — those in Wellington and Ljttelton — she found very clean and well ventilated ; bub bad not noticed much evidence of the work of prison reform — by which she meant the separation of young girl criminals from hardened ones, and of the practice of keeping paupers in prisons. In the course of her address at the meetiug Mrs Birney made very little reference to prison reform work, merely indicating its necessity ; but she took the opportunity of saying that she was not at all sentimental on the subject She recognised that criminals mu>t ba imprispned ; but abe wanted the conditions to be such as would tend to their reformation. Mr Torrance, the gaol chaplain, who also spoke at the meeting of welcome, said that the qut-Htion o£ prison reform had been constantly before the public all through past years ; but 29 years' experience had convinced him more and more of the enormous difficulty of dealing practically with the question of prison reform. Mrs Barney, at the request of Mr Torrance, conducted service in the Dunedin Gao!.

News was received on Saturday of the death at Greymouth, after a brief illness, of Mr S. J. Loring, traffic manager on the Brunner section of railways. Mr Loring was born in 1840, and spent mesb of his early life in Victoria. Ho came to Duaedin iv 1871 under engag ment to the late Mr David Proudfoot. He joined tho railway service in 1875, and was district stationmaster at Oamaru in 1878. Four years Jafer he was transferred to Invercargill. and in 1884 was appointed goods agent at Dunedin. He was offered promotion in February last as district traffic manager at Greymouth, and after some hesitation accepted it. His illness muit have been of short duration, as letters were received from him on Friday dealing with business and othor matters. He leaves a widow and four Bons and two daughters who only joined him a few weeks ago. While in Dunedin the deceased gentleman tcok an active interest in ambulance work, aud also in the Railway Fire Brigade.

At a meeting held at Lawrence on Thursday evening it was decided to form a Tuapeka Old Identities' Association, membership to be restricted to those who had been in the district prior to the end of 1864. A committee was appointed to draw up rules.

A peculiar accident (saya the Manawnta Standard) happened to a man named John Miles at Longburn on Saturday. It appears that aboub 4- o'clock in the afternoon he went into the Longburn Hotel, and after drinking one glass of whisky hs lay down upon a eofa and became unconscious. All efforts to rouse him proved futile, and the police were then communicated with. Sergeant-mzjor Scanlon despatched Dr Satchell, accompanied by Constable Breen, to investigate the matter. Upon an examination of the patient being made, the doctor ordered bi3 removal to the hospital, where he lies at present in a critical condition. The police are nukiug full inquiries into all the particulars of thia peculiar case.

A telegram in a Sydney paper from Albury, New South Wales, says :— A report from Mitta Mitta states that in an empty hub on the road to Omeo was found a letter as follows: "New Year's D iy. — I am tired of living and miniDg. I once had a. fortune but lost it through a swiudler, bo I am as poor as can be. lam married, and have two children in New Zealand. I came to Omeo and saw people enjojing themselves. I am broken-hearted, go Agnes, my wife and children, good-bye. I will drown myself in the river. — Gougii M'Lean, New Zealand." The polica searched, but found nothing that could lead to the conclusion that the* man had committed suicide.

On Monday morning the Defence Minister (the Hon. T. Thompson), accompanied by Colonel Webb, Major Madocks, Captain Morrison, and

the Hon. D. Pinkerton, went by the Govern* ment lauuch Gordon to Port Chalmers, an<3 thence to the heads, where the. Minister made an inspection oF the defences and the prisoners' quarters. The patty returned to town by the torpedo boat in the afternoon, the journey from the heads to tho Rattray stresfc wharf being made in an hour.

On tho arrival of the barque Hudson, from Glasgow, on Monday, ifc was tound that during the voyage Captain Gasson committed suicide by jumping overboard, and the vessel waß brought into port by Mr Broadway, tho first mate. It appears that on March 5 the captain went on dec's about 7.30 p.m., and after speaking to the second mate jumped overboard. The vessel was hove-to and one of the lifeboats lowered, bub though the second mate had thrown a life buoy to the captain nothing could bo seen of him. After aboub an hour's search the boat returned and the voyage was resumed. Mr Broadway oan give no reason for the cax>fcain's rash act.

A case of some interest to many ratepayers who have bad doubts as to the ability of municipal authorities to recover interest on rites overdue was heard by Mr Carew, S.M., on Monday. The nniu point as to general liability was not contested, bat it was argued that as defendant had called to pay the rates and found the office closed, the plaintiffs were not entitled to recover interest. The Magistrate remarked that it was clear the defendant had not called during office hours, and gave judgment for the amount claimed, with costs.

Oat' of the 312 applicants for sections in Tokarahi the Land Board rejected 80 on various grounds.

The first of a series of united services under the auspices of the Ministers' Association, following upon the exchange of pulpits on Sunday, was held in Knox Church on Monday night, there being a fair attendance on the occasion. The Rev. B. Richards presided, and tho Revs. W. Hewitson, Tennant, I. Jolly, D. Borne, and others occupied seats on the platform. Addresses were given by the Revs. D. Borrie and I. Jolly. The former dealt with the subject of secret prayer, aad pointed out that secret prayer lies at the very root of spiritual life, and that where there whs little of the one there was little of the other. Mr Jolly spoke of devotional reading as holding the second pl&ce in the Christian life.

Dr Colquhoun contributes an article to the Christchuieh L'ress on "Medical Education in New Zealand," in which he points out that there are 29 graduates in medicine who have obtained Ihtir entire education in New Zealand up to the date of obtaining their degree. Of that number 10 have gone to Europe and continued their education j two have taken the Fellowship of the College of Surpeona of England (Drs Christie and Grifii'i) and the Licentiateship of the College of Physicians, London; one has btcame a Fellow of the College of Surgeons of Ediubargh (Dc Barclay) ; six have become members of the College of Surgeons of England and Licentiates of the College of Physicians ; two are now pursuing their atudies at Home. Of these 29 graduates two are ladies (Misses Siedeberg and Cruicksbank). After paying a high tribute to the students of the Dunedin Medical School, describing the course and the possibilities for after studies open to all graduates, Dr Colquhoun says that if the choice lies between a purely colonial training and a Home training he would have no hesitation in saying to a student, Go Home. If, however, the student has a fair prospect of spending a year or more in post-graduate study he is inclined to think he will do better to get the New Zealand degree first. If the choica is between a local education or nothing, the student who is in earnest and has the necessary qualifications can, 1 iv his opinion, get in New Zealand an education and & degree of which he need cot be ashamed, and which will enable him to practise his profess-ion with a fair prospect of success, with the hope, if he docs not assume or is not burdened with heavy responsibilities, that he may be able in a. few yews to save enough money to s>pmd at least a year in Europe, increasing and cot.solide.ting his knowledge.

The Mount Ida Chrouicle states thab the Maniototo Farmers' Club has received a letter from the Under-secretary for Public Works sta'ing that every effort is beiug made to have the Ofcago Central railway opeued to Kokonga as early as pos.-ible, and he expects to be able to carry goods between Hyde and Kokonga, by July next, and to open the line for passenger traffic in September or October.

There has been an extraordinary scene at the United Free Methodist Church at Frieaton, England. The church is under the control of the superintendent circuit minister, but his system of mansging it did nob meet with the approval of the member*.. . Moreover, the preachers *enb Sunday by Sunday did not meet with acceptance, and the church members and ttu3tees, by resolution, instructed their secretary to write the preacher appointed for * recent ' Sunday that his services were' not desired, and - he wiiely decided to keep away. Thereupon tho superintendent minister, the Rev. J. Langford, was invited by the Plan Committee to go io Frieaton himself to ondncfc the service and preach the sermon. When he arrived at the church, however, he found Mr Everitfc, the local preacher invited, in possession of tho pulpit, while the trustees occupied the gangway leading to the pulpit. Mr LangforJ called , upon Mr Everitb to leave the pulpife, but the latter refused. Thereupon Mr Langford's friends tried to forcibly eject him, but after » struggle were repulsed.

Commenting on the expenditure of £450 on a road which runs through the Hon. Me Larnacb'fi property on the Peninsula, the North Ofcago Times says:— "There are no smallminded members about the present Government. When there is any cash in the Treasury they never think twice about distributing it, as the following incident will show. Some two or three months ago the Waitaki County Council was astonished at an offer from the Lands department to spend between £500 and £600 on a road at Shag Point. As the road is within the boundaries of the Waitaki County, the council accepted the offer, and a portion of the money is now, we believe, being spsnt— to open up Crown lands probably, although these are none there. By a curioua coincidence it happens that the road on which the bulk of the money is to be fp°nt skirts the property of the Hon. John M'Kenzie, Minister for Lands. Ah far as wa h-iva been able to ascertain, sections 30, 40, 4-2, <!4, and 45, block IX, Mceraki, are either the freehold or leasehold possessions of the Minister for Lands, and these sections border the road."

A very pleasing caremony was performed oa Monday night at the committee rooms of the National Association, when a handsome clock was presented to the retiring president, Mr A. Sligo, by his colleagues in the council and one or two friends. The presentation was made by Mr Tfcos. Scott, president-elect, who, in few words, paid a high tribute to Mr Sligo for his services to the association during the past year, attributing in no small measure the harmony OI the council meetincs to the skiUo courtesy, and

ability displayed by Mr Sl»go. Several members of the council emphasised the remarks of Mr Scott. Mr Sligo suitably replied, and the meeting closed with cheers for him.

Before leaving Hyde for Hunterville, Mr G. L. Cook, resident engineer on the Obago Central railway, was entertained by the re»ideuts ab Mr Harrington's Commercial Hotel. Mr P. Kinoey, J.P., predded, and there was a large attendance of leading residents. The toast of " The Quest; of the Evening " was proposed by Mr Peter Harrington, who referred to the mpny £Ood qualities possessed by Mr Cook, and expressed the regret generally felt at his departure. Mr Cook responded in a feeling manner. A number of other toasts ■were duly honoured, including that of "Mr Gavin — Mr Cock's Successor" and "The Ladies," not forgetting the genial J.P. who presided. An introduced toast — " Succes3 to the Greeks" — was received with enthusiasm. Songs were rendered by Messrs Callan, M'Enroe, A. M. Beer, Eigan. and A. Trotter. The spread provided by Host Harrington excited general commendation, and a very enjoyable evening was wound up by drinking his health.

The annual smoke concert of the Otago Che3S Club was held on Monday evening, and proved a very enjoyable affair. In the absence of the president, the chair was occupied by Mr A. R. Barclay, and there was a large gathering of cbesiplayers and their friends. A programme of vocal and instrumental items w*s prepared for the occasion, and was gone through in a manner that gave general satisfaction, many of the contributions being so much appreciated that encores were insisted upoo. Song* were rendered by Messrs Wilson, Da Maui, Warsaw, Knox, and Blenkineopp. A feketch was contributed by Mr Walter Kivers, and a recitation by Mr Monteith. Messr-i V. Litolff, sen., F. Litolff, juu,, and A. Lifcolir" played the overture "La Couronne dOr," for two violins and piano, and the music was interpreted with admirable skill and expro>s ion. Toe accompaniments w6re plftyed by Mr F. Bailey. During the evening a number of toasts were alto honoured. Mr John Mouat proposed the to&sb of " The Otago Chess Club," which was respouded to by Mr J. A Millar, M.H.B. Mr Joseph Edwards proposed the toast; of " Kindred Snorts," coupled with the names of Messrs Jobii3tone (cycling), Moody (rowing), Austin (cricket), H. J. Cleland (foothill), Tm»rnas Broan (bowls), and Williams (draughts). Other toasta honoured were " The Visitors," " Press," and " Ladies." While a party of men were excavating behind No. 4- bathhouse at Te Aroha lately, in order to enlarge the building, a ho'j spring was tapped of a tempsraiure of 130 degrees. Messrs L. Maclean, A. Matheson, and J. T. Pram have commenced business as auctioneers, stock and station agents, A-c , under the style of Maclean and Co Mr Maclean will attend at Burnside on Wednesdays to look after consignments. Die next examination at Duuedin in connection with Trinity College, London, will be held as follows : — Musical knowledge (theory), June 5 ; instrumental and vocal in October. The last day of entry is Slay 31. The Railway department announce excursion fares for the Queeu'e Birthday, Dunedin races, and Christchurch winter show holidays.