The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1874.

Thames Star, Volume VI, Issue 1779, 15 September 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1874.

The arrival of the Macgregor with a mail from Sail Francisco— and a large mail too—will be hailed with, satisfaction. A difficulty appears to have occurred on arrival iv Auckland, tho master of the steamer refusing to deliver up the mail until the subsidy was paid. The difficulty, however, would be temporary, as the opportune arrival of the Hon. the Premier and the Hon. Dr. Pollen yesterday may be taken as a guarantee that the demands ot the skipper of the Macgregor would be complied with, if legal and reasonable. The European news by this opportunity is merely confirmatory of that already received via the Australian colonies. The ominous signs of difficulties betweea European powers, referred to by ?.1r Gladstone and Mr. Disraeli in .the House of Commons just before prorogation of Parliament, are more portentious now : the protracted Spanish internecine struggle will, it is feared 1, complicate matters between Germany and France, Already we learn that France

has been accused of befriending the Carlists on the frontier; while the German Empire has been foremost amongst European powers to recognise the Spanish Republic, receiving- the thanks of the President. The Homo IRule party have been " demonstrating" in their strongholds; prompted thereto, possibly, by their weakness us displayed by the divi-sion-in the House of Commons befdre the late prorogation. The detail of news by the Macgregor will no doubt be found most interesting, although stale in point of date.

The New Zealand Herald seizes upon the incident of a narrow escape from fire at the Academy of Music on Saturday "to point a moral and adorn a tale/ The moral is, that all our places of amusement and places of worship are inadequately supplied with means of egress in case of fire—or even an alarm of fire. The tale which the editorial comments adorn is that furnished by the Thames correspondent of the Herald, which, it may be said, is highly sensational, and does great crsdit to the correspondent. It is with the moral, however, we have to deal, because we mainly.agree with the Herald. With reference to this same Academy of Music, we have more than once pointed out the wretched provision which it affords to an audience to escape in. case of firo. No longer ago than the visit of the English Ofera Company we called attention to the fact that the passage leading to the stalls and gallery was blocked with cases which prevented the door from being more than half opened, and that v it did not open outwards as required by the .Act regulating these matters. After our strictures a slight alteration was made, j but not sufficient to meet the demands of public safety; and we now once more commend this matter to the Fire Inspector or other officer whose business it may be to see that the Act is complied with. There have been panics before now where no real cause of alarm existed, and it is absolutely demanded that all buildings in which public entertainments are given should be provided with better means of escape than at present existing. Our places of worship — as far as our experience goes—do not often present that crowded appearance which suggests the necessity for greater facilities of egress than they at present possess.