LOCAL & GENERAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2299, 24 March 1898, Page 22

LOCAL & GENERAL

There was a sitting of the Supreme Court v Chambers oa the 15bh, when two judgments wer by his Honor Mr Justice Willianx and some; ordinary Chamber business was deal with. Subsequently a civil case lor defininj the interests ot parties under a will was bearc and determined. This caeewaa peculiar owing to the fact that tbe testator had given a wron( name and an altogether wrong description o one of the legatees, but the court belJ that i' was possible to dii cover who was the person t< whom the testator intended to ca^ke thi bequs»t, imd, acting on the authority cf casei cited, made the decree accordingly. An extraordinary discovery is announced froac Ron,e— none less than that S'gnor Mnrncchi, th< arclra loris!-, has discovered a rough drawing of tho crucifixion, inscribed wilh the Latin namei of tke sol-iieis who wpro standing around th< cross. The conjecture h that ib is the drawing of a soldier who wt.3 actually prestut at tht scene, and of couise such a thing' is not abso 1 lutely impossible. In addition lo ins-criptioni without number, there are still in existence drawings, and even platings, of an earliei date. A special or might j ossibly have reoordec his impressions of tbe execution, and his work, if protected from the air and from desiructioc by come accideni, may possibly have come o'owc to this age. But the probabilities are (the London correßpcudenb of, the Age Bays) very much against it. There is oo very great likelihood that a Roman noldier should have taken anj special tiotice of a punishment frequently inflicted by the authorities of bis country upon c fanatic&l and troublesome people like the Jews. 'It is very unlike'y that he should have attempted to give a realistic represeniation ci the scete if hi were not present at it, or that be should have taken the trouble to add the name? of the soldiery who wtre. S'-iil less is it likely that he wculd hive dared to disfigure the walls of the Palace of Tiber.us with such a drawing. The probability is that the picture ie the work of some second or third century Christian, aad that the names are those o\ eaints or, possibly, of some of his personal friends. Charles Z&noli, charged in New York w'.th having murdered seven pereons for tbe insurance upon their lives, will not suffer punishment for his crimes, because the prosecuting officers car.nob find eviuenca enough to mike a case ' against him. Within a period. of two years and two months (says tbe Argus correspondent) Zinoli lost four wiv<_'S by sudden death. All of these were .healthy and robust women when he married them. During tfce same period th<ra also died suddenly in his household his mother-in-law, his daughter", atd one of his employees. All ot these seven persons bad bsen insured by policies payable to Zanoli, and he received the money 'from the insurance companies. In all the cases the Bynoptcmn of the victinjs were such as might have been caused by the poison known as atropine. But when the arrest of the man for a minor offence disclosed this record of mortality in his family, the ltteat of hi» vict'.m* — if ib b3 assumed that he really is a murderur — had betn in the grave for three months. The body of thi6 fourth wife was exhumed in order that a searching chemical analysis might bs made. Araenic, mercury, and ziuc were found, but aa these subftßLces were constituents of the embalming fluid which had been used by the undertaker the discovery -of "them was of no ■value to the prosecutors. As atropioe is epeedily eliminated, the cbenaisb could scarcely hope to find this poison, if Zanoli had administered it. Faint traces of it were discovered, but these were not sufficient to aiford a basis for prosecution. And so the man escapes, although it is probable that not loss than Seven pereons died by his. fc and. Iq collecting the insurance' money due on one of the policies he was •clearly guilty of fraud or larceny, and for this crime he will be imprisoned for a tew years. A laudable attempt on tbe part of a Nottingham clergyman (says the London Daily Telegraph) to practically illustrate to the workingclass portion of his fleck tbe combined benefits of religion and a tankard of beer has proved unsuccessful. Tie Rev. Prebendary Denjson started, for the social pleasure of his congregation, a club where tbe reverend gentleman or his curate went, atter dispensing theological pabulum in tbe church, and served the members with beer and other corporeal refreshments. The idea was to keep them away from pubiichcuges and to afford them honest recreation with a reasonable amount cf tipple By the rules no man could be served with liquor mora than three times during the night. But the e'ergyman was unaware of the degree if not of original tin at least of bibulous ingenuity among the rcugher classes of Nottinghom. They evaded the rule by clubbiDg together their twop^nces and treating pacS other, so that in the course of the ever-" ; a member was able to obtain half a dos,. «n? even more drinks instead of three, The re.^ult w»s somf-t'meH uupkasant, and tbe Prebendaiy h?.s therefore reluctantly determined to give up the expeiimeat. The Uuder-secre'ary of State for War, in extolling the civil administration of the War Offica ab the tenth annual gathering in aid of the civil service fund, told (the " Westminster Review " says) an interesting ttovy concerning a bottlo of champagne. "-Eleven jears ago Sir Eedvers Boiler, after arriving aS Korti, after the fall of Khartoum, declared to Lord Wolteley that it was impossible for li'm, having been three dajs< out of bed, and practically without sleep, to write a lengthy deepa.tch to the War Office Lord Wol&eley suggested that they fibculd have a bottle cf chanapagpe. Sir Redvers acted on ths former's suggestion, and wrote tho despatch When ia England eight months later, Sir Redvers was purprised to find at the War Office that he had b=en debited with 7s 6d, tho cosb of the bof-.tle of champagne, plus tbe coat of transport of tbe wine to the place lo which ttey partook of jfc Thab in itself, insisted Mr Sb. John Brodrick, wa3 an instance which contradicted th=3 statement so freely made as to the extravagance existing in the department at Pall Mall. Dukes eoem to bo still regarded in Scofland as liUle Itsi than sacred. The presbytery of Dunkeld wishes to have access to a charter siid to be in possession of the Dake of Atholl, in virhue of which he holds the Cathedral Church of Dunkfld in trust for tho inhabitants of the p*ri«h. The local presbytery have been discussing a.t, vast length the quf btion of how they should "approach hia Grace." The solicitude expressed for the feelings of his Grace, the

i? T anxiety to eliminate from the "approaching " deputation members whose names might; ba I. effensive to him, is, the Dandte Advertiser r, sajs, eotceciiing to marvil ar.. Om member '. suggested tbst the deputation • t *p!uoieV' in a c quiet, easy, g&utltuianly way, which he was ', quite sure would be appreciated by hii Grace tbe Duke l 8 At a meetiag of '»Lv Auckland Charitable 1 Aid Board held a T . Auckland on the 15th iasb. 6 { au application irc-'d Dt A. C. P arenas, under j da te the sth Mai en, for thre«* months' leave of - | absence, s,« bon. surgeon of the district hospital j v»s»i drsSiEfd, and it was agietd fco declare the . cftif^ -•catt *.Tid to call for appl <:»i.tioas for the - ( position. In this connection Dr Baldwin, Q j under date March 8, wrots a isotno. to the c ! secietary stating that he had not received any s I official notification that Dr Purchas had left t tor England, and «.» it was his week of duty he g would be glad to know what arrangements were [j to be made for the care of his patients. It was g resolved unanimously — " That should Dr g ■ Purchas ftguin apply for appointment to the ,t | honorary staff ha should bs asked to explain t j why ho did not comply with the hospital 0 , regulations, which provide that he should have c ! arranged with the medical super ntendent for 8 j the care of his patients when he was about to ! leave the hospital." 3 Miss Annia Diut»mond, one of tha blind c laausiciaus who are appearing next week r at the City Hn.il, lost her sight when g only six weeks old through a cold. Sub 0 was trained at .the Royal Victorisn Ing stftute for the Biind. and is said to have q developed a charming soprano voice ot woaderful range. She is also a gjod pi iyer of the 8 violin and picuo. Miss Nellie Andrew was B bom biind. She has a p'e^sant soprano r voice, and also a thorough knowledge of j tbe organ and pi^no. Henry Forder, who wa! born blis»d, is regarded as the most j lalnnted blind instrumfentalist in Australasia. a He is a performer on the pipe organ, piano, . violin, and clarionet, and in addition has a j ! thorough knowledge of all braes instruments, 1 I haviug been bandmaster to the Biiad Institup [ tiou, Melbourue For 'hrne jears ne was . | organist to tiae Prahrcn Indej3",ad«-nt Caureh, % ', and for 13 yeara oosaoied a s-miiar pos-ition to t ) the St Kilda (Vie ) Presbyreriau C-^uica. John i i Irwin Das been blind from iafa:ny, and his f- , musical ability is of a h'gh order, tie can play (; the piano, aaxehorn, viola, and *a?eral other j instruments He is tha only member of the eom5 pany «ho bas previously visited New Zealand, j Aaron Soiomoa went blind when six years of t age. He ie-ired to res^ one night aud wok's 3 j tho ness morning only lo find his Mght was r gone, »nd tha remarkable ocuurrencs has never j been satisfactorily aacoun'.ed for. I At the annual malting of the New Zealand Drug Company, which was held on Thursday, L i the uirectois' report, which recotnmrtudea the . | paymoniiof a dividend at the rateot 7 per cent. . j pec am>um, was Adopted, and the retiring , 1 dirrckrs, Mr B. Hallenstein and Dr O^ston, [„ were re-elected. • The Royal Ccmmissicn of Inquiry into the > Police depar.m'-nt commenced ib» sifeticg? ' in the Town Hall Buildings in Dunedin on ' Thursday. Only one witnesß w&i called, i and his examination was not conduced, 1 i contiDuad to-day. This witntss (Inspector Psrdy) wss under a rapid fire of examination '■ t from 1130 t«ll 5 p.m , and gave a very large i ; anaoUDt of evidence, a greasl> condensed report ' of which is published ehewhere ia these i colutnas. 1 Two questions which have sorely vexed the Education Board at many of tbi-ir meetings in | the past are to be revived in the near future, f Oue of these is tho matter of the regulations 1 ' for the appointment, of teach-srs. Mr P. B. 1 ' Fraser on Tcursday characteristd the prestsnt method of appointment as a bhada, a delusion, ■ and a snare, and iha Hoa. Mr MacGregor admitted that the system had broken down, 1 The other question concerns the bonusse, in which Mr MacGregor will raove at uext mest- ; jog. The board alao considered the grievance ] i in ciaat-ccioa with the Forbury School, aud 1 J after a discussion a minority report prasenbed by I Mr P. B. Fra3er was adopted as against tha ■ majority report of Messrs Bjrrie and MacGregor, (he obher niemberti of the committee oi it-qmry, by five voies to four. This minority report fiuds th&fc Mr Graham, the teacher against whom complaint was laid, was not justified in ptmisbing the boy Burgess, and that in inflicting the punishaienfe He acted contrary to the baara'd regulations. Further aclion in the matter was postponed till next meeting. The trustees of the Benevolent Institution ■ 1 have accepted the following tsnders for sup- ; plies to thp institution for the year ending 31sb ! M»rch, 1599 .—Meat : W. Patrick— l^d per Ib ] all round, with a dis?'>mib of 5 pi->r cent, i Funerals: Wjun arid Hope — adolfcs £1 10s, ; , childrea £1. Milk : Wm, Faulds (Gwen ' I-Hnd)— 4^d per gillon, less 2i psr cno. dis- ■■ count. Bxe*d :A. F. Millar— bi per loaf of j ; 4-ib, less 7J per cmS?. Baots: A. snd T. ' { luglis — as par schedule Coals : J Macfis snd ! Co.—Ntwcss-ld 26t, Kiitangata 19s 6d, Freeman's coal 13s 6.1, Groceries: A. Millar aud ; Co. — arrowroot 2i, paarl barl«v (per cwt) 13s , i 9d, blus 7^d per Ib, salt butter 7d. cand'.es 3i:d, ] j cornflour 2d, cog«e Is and Is 2d (4-4-b per cwb), i ! flour 10« 8d per 100>b, rnaizsna 4JI ocr Ib, lin- ' . seed meal 12s per csro, oa-.en meat 9i lid per ■ 1001b, matches 2* 7d per grost, mustard (Coli matin) I% d per Ib, pea meal 2Jd per Ib, pepper i (in 71b tias) 7-^d, pipes (p-»r dozen) 2|d, rice S (per cwt) 19 ■> 2d, raisin« 5Jd per Ib, eago l^d j psr Ib, starch 5d per Ib (Grfgg'a 4^d), soda ' crystals 4-s 10(3 per cwt, fplifc peat 13* id psr , cwt, eyrup If :i, »ivlt 3- 3i per lOOib ; sugar (Dsr ' cwt), No. 1 20j lOd, No. 2 19* lOd ; tea Is and I Is 3d per Ib, treacle I^-d per Ib, tobacco (Juno) f 4-s 9 i per ;b, vinegar 9J per gallon. Tha tender of A. Millar ami Co. for outdoor relief i groceries was also accepted. . f No traps that human ingenuity ever deviled I could have surpassed in eff-ctiveness the ono j which made a rat a prisoner ia the fish shop of j 1 Messrs Donaldson and Carson, ESanse street, . i on Thursday, When the proprietors of the f hop , arrived in the morniog ab the scene of their ; I daily operations their abtentioa was attracted i ' by a noise which bore & resemblance to spirit- j rapping of a most persistent and aggravated type. Oa pursuing their investigation of the matter still further they discovered an oyster going through movements never hitherto heard j of, aad picking ift up with some degree of i caution, Ihey found lo their astonishment a full- j siz-.d rat hanging from it by the tail. The s oyster had gripped the creature with a vyce-like \ tenacity, and fe*lmg the pregsura the animal , had mide a bound for its hole. Owing to the size of the oj star, however, ib could not get far beyond the orifice, and consequently was suspended in the unpleasant position that it could not get up cor down. Sentence of death was pasccd on tho rodent, and it was quickly despatched. At a sitting of the Police Commission, held ab the Town Hall on Thursday, Inspector PArdy gave important evidence with regard to thp condition of the force in this dietricb. the enforcement of thes Licensing Acb, and other matters. Ia alluding to the question of political

I intf.iference with the foree t ho £?.id that it was not a thing of to-day or j-e&Lerday, bub had been in vog-.it> since tae amalgamation of the proi vioces. Whild Cdpf-ain Russell was the Miniabar ! in c)ij.igfj ot fche Poiica department, the witness Sfrid, there w,s little poi-Mcal influence exerSed; but thrre was uo question ifc had gat worse ■ isir.ee Captain Ru-.s^U's rftirfttnen?. Ha h»d ; not seen so roßray sign" of it during the last ( six months, for, he significantly added, " when - an order has bseo given it has beeu obeyed." i Mr snd Mrs Henry Sutcliffe, of Sawyers' B»y, celebrated their golden wedding on Wednesday, 16th. They w-^re married at Saddleworth Pariah Church, Yorkshire, on March 16, 1848, and arrived at Port Chalmers by the ship Ajax on the 6th January, 1349. ! On several oficas T ous the attention of the ' railway authorities has been directed to tha ■ necessity of haviDg the wharves at Port. Chalmers properly lighted, more especially when one or more of the direct steamers are aljngside tha wharf, a« tbe majority of the crew are strangers and liable t.> trip over the points of the rails on a dark night. Another ' illustration of the nec-s*ity is furnished by an accirienfc that orcurred shortly after midnight on tbe 15ch. Mr Hoidea. the fish receiver at 1 the railway, beard a splaso in the water towards the6tern of the hulk Don Juan At the ' tsose a boat was aloi>g>icie the lauding discharging fi-b. Mr Holiien jumped into the , boat and ..rooee ied towards toe apoi; whence ihe sound c&me, and with the aid of the lantern of the Uuion Company's watchman saw a man iv the walnr bfstween the wharf and the tug X >pufcai They at tnct* gob the aian, ' who was iv an eshnmred condition, isito the 1 boar,, and after he had slightly recov.-reri he was , accompanied on board the steamer Perth 1 hire, 'to which %vs3fl hf belonged. This h tho third occasion on which men have fall«n overboard from the Gct-jge street pier within the l«i«sfc j three naonib.*. The necessity for an ad^quite I lighting of the piern occurs als'> at Dancaio, ! the unprotected jetties being on dark nights a ! positive danger to the unwetrj. ' The weekly meeting of the Banevolent In«ti- ! tnlion Tiustep^, held on tbe IScb, was attended 1 by M^rs C. Allau (in the chair), R. Wilson, i J Green. R. Watson, P Treseder, H Gomley, [ and W. St/fvn, The secretary n-porte'i «hat William Hall (lied in tbe institution on th- 16sb, aged 63. Tha Naw Zi-aland League of Wheelmen sont an hivitt-tion to the old people at the institution to be present at tha cycling sportr. nezf wet-k, and th<* invitation was received, with thxnks. TanoVrs f<»r supplies w^re opeaed aad were referred to the Finance C mmifcfcc-e. The Premier (tho Rijjht Hon. R. J. Seddon) wiltdt-livsr apolitical address at B^lclutna uexc ! Friday evening. | Mr Justice Williams will be on leave after tho 1 end of thft cur;ent month. Co'onel Horatio Williams, whose death is rfported from Adelaide, was appointed lieu enant iv command of the "Sydney ] Volunteers " for the New Zealand M'litia. iv .-epttmber, 1863; adjutant to the left wing (und^r Coloiif-.l fAouiff in April, 1864- : and capta n iv fcho New Zealand Militia iv February, 1865. Whilst serving in this coloiiy he was present with Ganeral Sir Duncan < J| am.f-i i on'« foreea in tbeif advance against th« Maori position at Mrtreniwe, W--ika,to, and &t th« cajjtnrd of Or«kau, and wttb the expedition ary force under Bii^adier-jjfiQeral Carey from the Th&ma* dis'rict to the Queen's Redoubt;. At tha Obago Club on Frid*y night a number of Mr Kddi Ramsay'a bu<ines» friends in Duned : n tenderer? him a cooipliaient-ary dinner prior to his leaving on a trip to Great Britaiu. The chair w&b occupied by the Hon. T. Ferg-is, who was supported om thp right by the guest; of the evening and the H-jn W. D. Stcw*rfc, M L C., and on the left by Mr Scobie .ITacKet z.e, senior member for Duuedin, and Dr Saand, The vice-ch*irs we;e filled by Mr D. B. Theomin and Mr J H Morrison. About 50 gentlemen eat down to the tables, and apologies* for uuavotdable absence wore recrivsrl from the Rev. J. G.bb, the Hon. W. J. M. L>irn»ch, SSasars B. Hallen^teia, J. R >ss, G Fenwick, W. L. Simpson, J. M. Ritchie. J. Davie, W. Hi3lop, T. Brydone, W, Evani«, J Hislop, J. C. Tnom- • son, A. Thoaii«oD, A C. Bsgg, J. Mitchsll, and lA. Michie. After justice had been done to thft ample spread that might have been expected from the steward of the club (Mr F. J Morton), who is undoubtedly one of the besi; caisiniers in tho colony, the toast Hat was taken up. The toast list was interspersed with recitations and musical items, and a most enjoyable gathering w*a brought to a closa with tha , t sioging of " Auld Lang Syne." Mr and Mrs { Ramsay leave Duaediu on Tuesday week. I Thft Acclimatisation Society intended to have | j a number of wingles* birils from Resolution j ; Island sf-nt up for- the Industrial Exhibition. | Mr Henry, tbe ciret-s-kei 1 at R. "solution Islaad, j had them all prepared when the Government , s learner Hinsmoa called, but she only stayed I for a few minutes, and Ihsrefore allowed no time for them to bs shipped. It «aems a regrettable thing that such aa interesting dis- | play should have beeu lost for the want of half j aa hour's slay on the part of the steamboat. j | The inward train passenger traffic on Saturday j ■ was exceedingly large. Tbe morning train from j 1 Oamaru and intermediate stations brought about j 200 passengers, the express from the north about • 500, the south express between 600 atd 700 passengers, and the Otago Central train about '. 150, i ! A slight explosion of firedamp (our correspon- i 1 dent wribea) took place in a section of the shaft , workiogg of the Kaitangata mine, by which four ' men named D. Jcnes-, John Shore, A. Cunningham, and E. D-svis wera partially burnt, the firet-mentionfed being the most severely injured. ; The employees in tbi3 part of the mine were working with locked safety lamp*, bub it appears that one man entsred ib with a naked lijht, having negligently passed the station where all such lights should bs left, There were nine candidates — Dr Charles Chilfcon, A. V. Jennings, F W. Keeble, M. F. ! Woodward, A. 'P. Maetdrton, O. L. J. Morten- > sen, Dr W. B Benham, Dr W, G Ridewood, and the Rev. J. S. Seed — for the post of pro- \ fessor of biology ia the Uaiversity of Otago, ! rendered vacant by ths death of Professor . Parker. A"» is already known, the choice of the board of English educational authorities to whom the task of m*kin? a selection was remitted fell upon Dr Wiliam Blaxland Benham. Dr Benham (our London correspondent writes) ia 37 years ot age, and holds the degrees D Sc. (London) and M. A (Oxford). He took the degree of B Sb. in 1883, and received that of M.A from the University of Oxford honoris causa 10 years later, while two years afterwards that degree was conferred by a decree of convocation. Ho has been lecturer of biology at Bedford College for 10 years, and since 1886 has been associated with Professor Ray Lankester as senior assistant in University College, London. By the Uuiversiby of Oxford he was appoiuted in 1891 Aldrichian Demonstrator. He is the author of a number of valuable papers on biological science. A perfect sheaf of testimonials cordially recognise hit high merits. Perhaps the most ia* :

' terasting ou« in the circumstances is that from Professor Hickson, who says : " In supporting most heartily aud sincerely the application of Dr Bauhana for the chair vacated by the death o\ my friend Dr Jeffrey Parker, I caucob help txprw-'iag my feeling that '.f Dc Benhaai is appointed a really v?orshy succeaaor will be found to follow in tho footsteps of the distinguished zoologist whose loss we mourn." Dr Gonther, F R.S., president of the Linnean Stc:ety, and recently keeper of the zoological department in the British Museum, and Professor Weldon are among others who bore testimony to Dr Benham's qualificat'ons. Dr Benham is a married man and has two children. He will leive England with his wife and family for New Zealand towards the end of March. There was n long silting of tho Police Commission on Saturday, after which, so 'ar as witnesies are concerned, tha proceedings were adjourned until Friday next. The commission will meet to consult documentary evidence and for other purposes, but non-official parsons will not be required to attend the sittings that take place in the interval. Oae object in view is to give some opportunity for the transcription of notas by the official reporters, as in continuous examination a greab accumulation of untran'-cribtd notes is inevitable unless a full staff, is engaged, and the commissioners desire to peruse the verbatim record during tha progress of tha inquiry. At the sitting on Saturday several explanations were made by Inspecto* Pardj respecting tho men. This < iScer spoke highly of the debs ctivjs and. plsiu clothes policemen now under his control. Ho also stated that his remarks as to uutruthcul and unfit men being drafted from the ariiilier? ri'ferced only to a few, and ttxa' fcbe bad ones had bt en weeded out. Mr J. A. Millar gav«j eviduncj respecting iha extent and character oi th« p.ilitioal influence he had exerfctsrf. and on thin point l&spc-ccor Ptirdy WdS also heard in explanation. The other evidencs had refereucs to the supervision tsorcistd by the police in the matter of betting' men, spie'ers. and dissolute characters. Dr Martin, of Wellington, remarked at the. Medical Congress last Thursday that he had tbiervecl that chronic drunkards were rarely caught by the iuflu -i,z\ epidemic ; the moderate drinker was not severely attacked ; but the rank teetotaller supplied the bulk of the patients who sufiered most severely. The Yen. Archdeacon Govett celebrated the jubilee of bin ministration m N<sw Plymouth on ■■he 13fih insfc. Fifty jears ag-> hs walked down tne coast from Auckland to Waikanse, accoaipaoied only by a M ori guide. A memorial hatchment to ih* officers and men of the 65th Regiment who fe'.l in the Maori war wa3 unveiled in the church ah the same service. Ib was painted and presented by the Rev. Canon Wash in commemoration o" the jabiiee and the archdeacon's connection with the regiment. The bogus " interview" by tha New York Herald of Mr C. H. Mac'ar'aue, of Melbourne, who was represented as having a Maori princess, named Tornmatoana, with £7000 a year at her disposal, i 3 enjoying a world-wide uotoriety. An article was published in the Argus lately showing that Mr Macfarlane was .'eceivinyr letters and photographs from brokendowu noblemen all over Europe, asking to be placed in commuaica'ion with the princess and ■ ffencg to marry her ll oul ot hand." Tha latest letter is from * psrson who desires to marry Touomaroanu and hor £7000 " b"-causo of the grand opportunities for saK'iifcific tesetrch which such an income affords." It seem 3 that Pearsort's Weekly, a Locdon publication, reproduced the hoax from tbs New York Herald with terrible ciussquences t:> itself. The editor romplains, with evident bitterness, that hie -.ffice h»s been inundated with a flood of letters from woutd-b^ suitors of tha < uaky princess. "We have," he s*js. "rtcjived thousands — yes, thousands — of applications, bath by letter enclosing stamped envelope for reply and by reply telegram, asking for further particulars. It has tiken five of our darks nearly all the week to do nothing bus rtpty to these letters, and ib rsally looks as though some steamship compaay should charter a special steamer for the purpofe of taking oub these suitors. What a steamship party that would be ! and what a sight would be the landing of the party in Maoriland!" A correspondent writing to the Daily Times mentiens thafc up" to 1844 tlure were about 13 nersoii3 born in the pr<>viuce, amongst'those being Mrs Tayler, Mrs M'Kiulay (Port Chalmers), the late Mrs Captain Badie, same of the K>nn&rd and Bale family, and two brothers of Mrs John Tayler iVSrs Tavler was born a*; Waikouaiti in the year 184-1 and was christened by theKev. Jainea Wntktn, fkit saissionnry o£ Otogo His Excellency the Governor and Lady R&n'urly arrived in towa on Monday, and, after Lord Ranfurly had been officially received by the mayor and councillors at the Town Hall - and presented with addresses, Lady Ranfurly and he, accompanied by the mayor and Miss CargilJ, visited the hospital, the university, and the museum, an escort being provided by the Otago Hussars. In tho evening his Excellency dined at the Ferohill Club with Mr Jtmes Mills, and f-übscqaenUy he was entertained by the mayr.r afc his residence at fcbe Clff*. To- day the Governor will dins with i Bishop Nevill. Ah * o'clock he will hold a j levee at the Town Hill, and at 8 p.m. ne will i open the exhibition. Oa Wednesday morning j his Excellency will attend service at Koox J Church at 10 e'clock, and at half-past 11, afc- ; tended by a guard of honour, ha will leave the j Grand Hotel (where he is at present staying) and proceed to the Town lls.ll to view the Jubilee procession, which ha will subsequently accompany to the sports &t the Caledonian ground. After remaining at the sports for a short time his Excellency will viiit the races. On Thursday he will also attend the races and lunch there wibh the Hon. G. M'Lean, and in tha evening he i.'i to be present at the citizens' j ball. On Friday Lbrd lUnfurly will be present at the regatta and lunch with the Eegatta Commiltse, In the afternoon he will attend a garden party at Fernhiil .Club, and in the j eveuing he expects to be at the Presbyterian . Synod conversazione. On Saturday morning at 10 o'clock he proceeds to Tahuna Park to wit- j ness the children's demonstration there, and at 11 a.m. he leaves Dunedin for Wellington. The appointment of Mr Charles Norman to the sub-eaitorial chair of the Sydnc-y Daily Telegraph reminds ma (write 3an "old Dun- / edinite " in Melbourne) of the success of j journalism on this side of former members of i the Otago Daily Times staff. Mr Sydney | Jenkin?ou, who was sub-editor of the Times for | some years, was the first to be translated to >, Melbourne, and ha was followed first by Mr j Norman and nexb by Mr E. T. Fricker, all | three joining the chief newspaper of Australasia, the Argus. Mr Jenkinson has been on the sub-editorial staff of that journal since he ' joined it, some 13 years now, and it is an cvi- . dence of the trust and confidence reposed in him that during tbe recent absence of a leading member of the staff in England, for 12 months, he was chosen to relieve the editor (Mr Haddon) of his night duties onco a week. Mr Norman, who waa an expert shorthand writer, was ia the parliamentary gallery foe the Arsus x

* fer 11 yearr, and did leading work as a reporter ' otherwise dnring all that time. His duties on ' the Daily Telegraph in Sydney will be of a i niott responsible kind as the night sub-edi f or of tb£b journal, which prides itself juftly 1 on preFenting news to its readers in tne most attractive fashion, and the prepara- ! tion of the news for the public morn- | ing by morning will be in Mr Norman's ' hands. Happily the Telegraph rejoicea in a 1 specially bright and qualified staff, a fact that 1 will materially lighten his labours. Mr Flicker's promotion on the Argus has been most rapid, i Af ler being on the reporting staff only a coupl* I of years or 10, the severance of Mr James I Smith's long connection with the paper gave Mr Fricker his opportunity. He at once stepped into the position of literary and dramatic critic of both Argus and Australasian, with the additional duty of a member—of the editorial staff of the former journal. The promotion of Mr Willougbby from the editorial fctaff to the editorship will probably place increased duties on Mr Fricker's sLouiders. Still another of the old Daily Times' staff who is at present in Melbourne is Mr Edward Downey. ■ Mr Downey was chief reporter of the Times in the days when Mr Marison was editor, and ha , was a nifmber of the New Zealand Hansard staff tor many years. He left the Daily Times some 12 years ago, and on his arrival in Melbourne joined the Argii3 parliamentary staff for } a time, but shortly afterwards forsook journalI i«m to take a permanent position on tne New South Wales Haussird stuff. Mr Downey has been doiug Hanmrd work at the Federation Convention in Melbourne. ; The Minister for Lands (the Hon. John ; M'Kenzie) arrived in Dunedin on Monday af fcer- | no<n. aud was present sit the official reception of bis Excellency by the mayor, councillors, and citiz-nD. The Prensur (the Right. Hon. R. J. Seddon) avrired !ast night by »-be expresß from the north. It is certain that the Ministers will make but; a brief visit to Dunt din on th? present occasion. On Thursday the Premier and the Minister for L&nds j?o to Milton and stay anight | th?re, and on the following day they are to go 1 on to B&lelutha, where the Premier i»to deliver sn address. Both Ministers have been pressed to deliver political addresses at Milton, bub do 'n t care to epeak there in the absence from tbo > colony of the member for that district, as to do • so might be open to misconstruction. The I Premier and the Minister for Lands are to > return from the south on Saturday, and moss probably the Premier will without delay go right ihrougb. to Wellington. i During tie festivities in conaecticu with the Jabi : ee of the Que'n in Jute last a record in the railway tc&flSs m th'S pnrl; of the colony w*s established, but during tbe last few day* this record has been eclipsed. Oa Monday the resource* of the local Railway department was tented to its utmost limits, aud tbe number of persons that, are finding their way to the city is in exreis of all anticipations. Both the M>ulbev» < x ;rws *.nd tbe north express were gre*M< >• h'sdaand. The former arrived after 6 o\ 1 A-. *nd tha lattfr at 10.30 pm. In tb" morning iome 250 passengers arrived from Clinton and intermediate stations, wh'la 300 arrived by the 1 o'clock train from Oamaru. Aoouc 150 camesio from Otago Central at S o'clock The southern express brought in between 6CO acd 700, whilo a !*!,<» train from Ciintoa'had on boarcr about 200. Over 500 were en board til* north t-xoress, 'Tba department anticipate that there will be almoat equally heavy trains to-day. Thore was an interesting littlo personal disclosure in a letter which Air Herbert Spencer s,e»t to The Tinit*s lately :—": — " Dnring the first 12 years of my literary life," he s*id, ''every ona oso 5 ' my books failed to pay for its paper, print, and advertisements, and for many years after failt-d to pay nay small living expenses — every one of them made me the poorer." Neverthel°ss, adds Mr Spescer, following up a statement made the oi.her day by Mr Murstoo, the publisher," the 4-0 millions of people constituting the uaticn of tbe impoverised brainwcrker free gratis copies of each" for the national libraiie?. The Duuedin Painters' Industrial Union oE Workers, after six months' negotiations, h»s succeeded in coming to ati agreement as to conditions of labour, &c, with the principal master p&iutcrg of Dunedin and suburbs. The agreement is to remain is operation for 12 months. Mr H K. Spence, of the local Customs department, has received instructions to proceed to Wellington, haviDg been appointed senior landing waiter .it that port. Mr Spence leaves npxb week, and will carry with him tbe good wi^het of many Dunr-din friends. He will be succeeded here by Mt W. B. Montgomery, from the Bluff. Mr R. !?. Hawkins, S.M., a1;a 1 ; Gore, on Thursday, disbelieved the evidence given by a woman named Sarah Buohauau in a civil case in which her hucb&nd was sued for wages, and committed her for trial at the. next sittings of the Supreme Court at Invercasgill. He felfc, he said, the gravity of tending- anyone for trial for psrjnry, and he deeply regretted the Government or tha Legie'a y ure did no« deem it wise th*fc the msgishrate cculd deal summarily with such cases, for it was a serious matter to send anyone for trial for perjury, where the penalty might bet seven year*' imprisonment. Mr H Barnas, chief clerk in the Christchurch office, has been appointed manager of the New Zealand Shipping Gonap&oy at WelliDg^n, vice Captain Rose, who retires aft the end of the year. Mr Barnes goes to Wellington in June. The architects of the world are invited to compete for the design of- tbe new buildings of the University of California at Berkeley, near San Francisco. A' pious founder has coma forward with &niple provision for the priza fuLd, in the peraou of Mrs Phebe Hearst, whose trustees have deposited 50,Q00d0l in the bar k. The university is- to be the biggest thing in creation. It is already richly endowed by State taxation and Federal grants, and its income will grow 'with the prosperity of the State. It has 2300 students now, ana it will probably have 5000 in 10 years. This last, at any rate, is the number- for which the architect^ have to provide. -The -plans must make provision for the teaching and administrative departments and for the homes of the students. All the able-bodied male students receive military instruction twice a week; the buildings for this purpose will therefore have to be very exteneive. The gymnasia, clubhouses, and infi'mariea must all be-on the same colossal scsle; Mrs Hearst pays for plans only; the mind shrinks appalled from the thought of the cosS of the structure itself. Oxford was nob built in this fashion ; but, then, neither was ife built in a day ; and our cousins are notoriously young men in a hurry. A writer in the Morning Herald his been calculating what Sydney spent in amusements in the fortnight which commenced with the appearance of Madame Albani at the Town, Hall and closed with the third night of Mr Wilson Barrett's season ather Majesty's Theatre, and included the final test cricket match, and he concludes that the fortnight's pleasure cosb £^2,000. The writer conoludes :—•• The figures ca interesting, although, they ace approximate

inly. They show that the holiday has been ! kept up and that the money has not been withheld. They show that Sydney can amuse itself and pay for its amusements. They , Berve to mark a record period and a ! lecord expenditure in the social .history of the community. They prove that Sydney can appreciate visiting celebrities, and show its appreciation in a very practical way. They show that tbe community as a whole is prosperous, cr at least that there is a fair margin of prosperity. They show what is undoubtedly a bright and promising srato of affairs, and if i there it an unfavourable side it is only in the j reflection that a people who can pay so liberally for their amusements have occasionally to be subjected to a great deal of pressure before they will pay for anything of a charitable kind." j Dunedin is a. small place compared with , Sydney, but it would be interesting to know at j the end of this Jubilee week what sum will , have been spent on amusements during it. i Tbe letter written by Mr A. C Hanlon to the Executive Council representing, for reasons which fee advances, that the man Clement.*, who Is under sentence of death for the murder of .bis wife in George street, is a monomaniac has been referred to Mr Justice Deuniston, before whom the man was tris.d,-for his report. His Honor only arrived at Christchurch on Monday on .his return from Hi-kitika, where he had been holding a. sitting of the Supreme Court, so that he has not yet had iitne to forward his reply to the Executive, but on its receipt a decision will be come to as to the fate of tbe prarderer. Mr Hanlon has in the meantime received from the Under-secretary of the Justice department a letter to the eft\ ct that bis representations will receive the careful consideration of the Cabinet. i Mr James MHler, Mayor of Green Island, i will be entertained at a banquet to be given in his honour next Friday evening by the borough councillors end leading citizens of the district. The shooting season for native and imported gams in Otago does not open till the 2nd of Mar, end will last for three months.