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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2008, 11 June 1875, Page 2

It will be noticed from our advertising columns that an alteration has been made in the time-table of the p.s. Hauraki— she came down from Auckland to-day as usual, but will not return until to-morrow at noon, consequently there will be no boat from here to-day.

A vehy small boy—little over the toddling period—was charged at the Eesident-Magistrate's Court this morning ■with stealing coal. The. magistrate remarked with severity upon the practice of parents sending their children in search of fuel, and thus placing them in the way of temptation; and very justly argued that a child such as the diminutive defendant could not be held responsible for a crime of tho nature of. winch' he might bo ignorant, and who was encouraged to go about gathering up goods by those whose duty it was to lead them aright. There can be very little doubt but that the malpractices of mudlarks and other interesting atoms are due chiefly to the neglect or encouragement of pai'ents, and to punish them would be the most likely way to'stop the evil. It is scarcely to be wondered at if children are incited to acts of small piracy by their guardians that they should grow up' with very indefinite or one-sided notions as. to the principles of- vieum ct tiaim.

The following from the Groy Iliver Argus bears out what we said the other flay of the unsatisfactory nature of the present arrangements for reporting the arrival and departure of steamers : —Tho new, system of telegraphing the arrival and departure of steamers at the various ports of the Colony, that has introduced but the other day with such a blast of official trumpeting, has miserably collapsed. The question was reverted to its original phase by the Government, through the Cu»toms, resuming the telegraphing powers delegated for so short a time to shipping agents or their deputies. It is to be regretted that the attempted improvement upon a faulty plan should hare proved abortive, but it appears that unanimity of action on the part of the shipping agencies was lacking, for, whilst some appointed deputies to telegraph the arrival and departure of steamers, others did not, and thus some steamers were not noticed at all. We hope that the subject will not bo permitted to rest as it is, but that another effort will be made to reform the old faulty system which called forth so many and so just condemnations. .

Keferbing to the death of Mr James Mackay, sen., father of Mr James Mackay, of • this province, the Nelson Colonist says :—" Another of our oldest Nelson settlers has been taken from amongst us. Since 1845, when ho first landed here,,he has resided,at Wakapuakk, and ids followed the occupation of a farmer -for^manyi years. :He*-was r beloved and respected, not only by his neighbours, but by all with whom he came into contact. He has been a member of both £he General Assembly and Provincial Council. The deceased gentleman was seventy-one years of age at. the time of his death, the cause of which was a spinal complaint, of "an. injury vreceived-; by; a j/falli some months ago. Although in the early stages of,illness he had suffered great pain,: yet for a short; time (before he died he was comparatively easy, and death carried him off whilst he was asleep. In Mr"Mafikay^'Nelson has lost one of her best and most energetic settlers, but his memory will live long after the grass has grown over his last resting-place."

The Melbourne correspondent of the Otago Guardian says:—Mr Charles Bright, whoso Freethpught Lectures have drawn thronged" audiences i at; the Tem-perance-Hall on Sunday evenings for the last 10 weeks, intends proceeding on a tour through America, and may make a halt in New Zealand on his way. Mr Bright has resigned his position as Secretary, :of the London; arid Lancashire. Insurance' Company. ' He refires with'the character of a first-class business man, and may compare, his,witheraral to that of- Mr; John Stuart Mill from the employ of the East India Company. Mr Bright was formerly head of the Argus reporting staff, and afterwards was known as a' brilliant contributor. . r In that.capacity he undertook to examine Spiritualism, md report upon it in pungent style ; but the Spiritualists made a convert of him.

The Westport Times states that "the Provincial police authorities haying failed to trace the truth of the reports current as jjf the alleged disgraceful conduct of a meTWr of the Provincil Couricial, have abandoned further inquiries on the subject." We (Inangahua Times) are of opinion thatt the investigation has been, altogether too lax, both- for- the -intersta-of-jvistics, as well as for the interests of the party or parties most directly concerned or unconcerned. We may rejoice that we have been spared some very repugnant revelations, but that the offender, if such he should be, is allowed to escape punishment on • account of his former .is a disgrace, and a public scandal. ;

These is, says the Greymouth Star, a township and port somewhere in the North Island of New Zealand whore marriages are few, arid where not many vessels arrive during a year. For some reason best known to the authorities thß offices of Eegistrar of Marriages and; Harbormaster and Pilot were combined in one individual, and this about tyro years,ago placed a couple about to be married in a curious position. * They preferred the simple ceremony in the .Registrar's office to the blessings of the parson, and just while the Eegistrar was busy tying the connubial knot, in rushed a messenger with the news that a vessel was being thumped to pieces on the bar, and that the pilot's services wore immediately j required. - The Eegistrar rushed off precipitately, leaving his work unfinished, and proceeded in a boat to see what was to be done with the vessel. He stayed i away so long that the half married couple grew tired of waiting.and at last departed. Whether they subsequently returned to have the ceremony completedis not clearly known, but report says they did not. {

The Union Bank of Australia and National tendered for the gold from the Manukau to-day—s4o ounces —and the former bank was successful in getting the amount.

A Victoeian exchange says :—'A very pretty family spoctaclo was to be witnessed a few nights ago in a township not a score ©f miles from Kynetori. Time: Midnight. Scene: The centre of tho principal street. Persons of the drama : The father of a family ~and > his eldest son, both more or less under the influence of liquor, engaged in a pitched battlo ; the wife and mother holding a candle for the assistance of the belliejerents, and a group of children, clad only in their nightdresses standing round, and eargerly watching the proceedings.' A neighbor who attempted to put a stop to tho disgraceful affray was quickly made to understand that his interference was not required, and deemed it prudent to beat a retreat.

A" Wist Coast paper ; says :—Mr Shapter, against whom most serious charges have been made, and not publicly refuted, has not only resigned his seat in the Nelson Provincial Council, but has now sold his furniture at his residence at Westport, and has up to the present time so far as we are jiware, made no attempt to clear his character of the stain cast upon it. The Nelson Daily Times says, "As a matter of course,, no more can be said about it, and the sooner such a scandal is covered up and forgotten the better," We do not coincide with this opinion, but consider -that' if the most searching enquiry is not instituted, ifc will be disgrace to the colony in general^and to-.Nelson in particular.

Wj3 (Tuapeka Times) commend the following excellent ruse to the candidates for tho Mayoralty, which was adopted with success by a gentleman once Mayor of Cromwell. The gentleman referred to was a storekeeper, and the ; modus operandi was 'as follows :—When the wives or sweethearts of the electors entered tho plaoc of business of the candidate he would enter into conversation with the fair ones re the coming election, and conclude by betting the ladies a new bonuet, hat/ or a pair of gloves, that

ho would not be the successful candidate. The consequence was that the ladies impressed upon their male acquaintances the necessity of voting for this gentleman so as to enable them to win their bots. This enterprising gentleman, therefore, gained the election by simply working upon the susceptibilities of five's fair daughters. :

The Taranaki News has the following : —"A curious: parallel to i the story told by the Tichborne claimant has recently come to light in England. It is said to be an actual occurrence, which took place in the very neighborhood in Australia where the claimant first appeared. A young English nobleman, having fallen into dissipation, left England, sailed about the world, and finally reached Australia. There he took service as a.shepherd, and for several years kept sheep for a farmer. One day while, packing up something in a piece of an English newspaper, his eye was caught by an advertisement stating that his father had died, and the title and property had fallen to himself, and offering £200 for his discovery. This shep-herd-lord actually managed to get the money offered for the discovery himself, drank it up, but :■ has refused to leave Australia. Knowing the family banker, he sends pretty regularly for money, but he has never, like the claimant now in prison, sent to a different banker-from ithe one with which he himself had ordered his money to be deposited.

Mr Hume, the Superintendent of the Duncdin.. Lunatic.Asylum, has (gays the Guardian) just added another to the mainy "local industries "of that institution :— Bread is now baked at the Asylum for the requirements of both the Hospital and the Lunatic. Asylum, which not only insures a good article being supplied tothe inmates thereof, but on the score of economy will be a Tery great saving. A large and convenient bakehouse has been erected entirely by Asylum labor.- The patient who built the oven (an excellent piece of workmanship, by the way), which is capable of firing 200 loaves, prides himself on being •' a true-born Englishman, and no Fenian," and "the son-in-law of Sir George Bowen."

-The Darwin theory" has received a slight confirmation from an.unexpected quarter. The. performing monkeys of Burton and Taylor's circus travelling in Victoria have been smitten with a disease pronounced by medical d experts to be measles. Two of them have died from the disease. , ,rv „,;■' Y-,'■>,,;..-.

An instance of rare honesty, and showing how.a idog^Ameficanlof course) may desire to pay his board bill, recently occurred in,:FitchburghV Massachusetts. ; A lady saw a dog frequently about her housepickingupodd bits which had been thrown but, and one day she called him I .in f and fed him. The next day ho came 'back, and aa she opened the door he walked in and.placed anegg on the floor, and was' again: fed. The following day he brought another egg to pay for, his dinner ; and on the fourth day he brought the old hen herself, who ifc seems had failed to furnish the required egg! r > - ,

A telegbam to tne Bruca H.erald says :—Despite ? contradictions which hare appeared, it is still authoritatively said that JVCr C. E. Haughton will contest Mr Vincent Pyke's seat for Wakatip at the approaching election. This [will give some honest politicians a chance if such should come foritard.__^~L.

The South Canterbury" Times says:— On Thursday, the 20th inst., an accident occurred to a child of Mr Shappere's, residing on the Great South road, limaru, which, had not timely warning been given, might have resulted fatally. It appears that the child, whilst playing at an open window in the upper part of the building, fell out therefrom, but before passing through the glasswork in the verandah, the father, who ' ad been apprised of the danger tho instano almost that it happened, ran out of his shop, and was on the payment underneath, whereby he fortunately caught tho child in. his arms unhurt.