THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3163, 8 April 1879, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 1879.

Coionel Lton will inspect the Scottish and St. George's Naval Cadet Corps this evening. Major Murray has had a communication from Colonel Whitmore approving of the contemplated trip of our volunteers to the Waikato. Lieutenant Denby and Quarter-master Symington, in full war paint, left by the Rotomahana this morning to make all necessary arrangements in Auckland, and Hamilton for the comfort and convenience of the men. It is intended, we believe, to have an early breakfast ready for the men in Auckland, and billets are to be found in Hamilton for the troops during their stay there. There is every probability of the trip being a pleasant one.

The town clerk is calling for tenders for fencing certain portions of the Recreation ground. Tenders to be in before Thursday.

Mb James Marshall calls attention in our advertising columns to his immense stock of Winter Millinery, Drapery and Clothing. No less than 104 cases of goods have been opened out this last week, and it were well his customers called early. In addition to the above Mr Marshall in connection with his tailoring department, has opened 8 cases of tweeds, friezes, bearers and broad cloths.

Thb following is an extract from the notice of "La Sonnambula" in Saturday's Free Lance, and may be taken for a sample of the style the editor notices the Opera Company:—" Miss Wangenheim was the representative of Amina, and we cannot conscientiously say she quite our conception of the part, however adequately she may have represented her own. Possessed of a voice of thin and somewhat worn quality, marred by a production decidedly nasal, Miss Wagenheim sings without the least animation, and shows to decided disadvantage except I when she is assisted by the composer's florid scale. ... To this must be added the facts that thep?'ima donna's intonation and time are not always perfect, and that her enunciation is so indistinct as occasionally to suggest a possible physical defect."

Me Whitakeb, in reply to a question stated by Mr Seaman on behalf of the Waitemata County Council, has given the following important opinion on the liability of Maoris for rates: "Natives holding under Crown grants are liable, as other persons to be rated; but not holding under certificates of title, when the land is in their own occupation. If it is not in their own occupation the occupiers, are liable. Hates due from natives can be recovered in the same manner as rates from other persons."—Star.

A tket novol as well as effectual mode for landlords to get rid of troublesome tenants has been adopted by a Dunedin resident. He had raised the rent and used every other lawful means to make a

tenant quit a cottage belonging to him, j without avail, and at last he resorted to a piece of stratagem—namely, to take off the roof of the tenement. This, however, did not have the desired effect, owing to the fine weather which has prevailed of late, and he has now taken down all the doors. There is not the slightest doubt this manner of doing business will prove efficacious in the long run. —Herald.

Thebe was a clean sheet at the R.M. Court this morning.

The Auckland Chamber of Commerce is helping the Whangarei and Northern settlers who are agitating for a railway through their districts, for the following resolution was passed at the last meeting of the Chamber:—" That this Chamber would respectfully urge the Government to extend the Kaipara Hail way from the most convenient point northward."

The Waikato Times thinks the deputation which waited on Dr Wallis " have been cajoled into expressing an opinion that his reply was satisfactory." The Times goes on to remark :—" The constituents of the City West electoral district, we take it, are not the drivillers the deputation would make them appear to be, or they must have much altered since they went to the poll a few weeks ago."

Mb G. W. Binney has settled his affairs by paying the Bank of New Zealand 12s 6d in the pound and his creditors 10s, the latter having voluntarily taken that amount cash.—Star.

The petition from the working men of Auckland to the House of Kepresentatives against the Chinese emigration scheme is thirty yards in length, and contains over 9000 names.—Star.

When the doctor announced to the rich printer, who ardently desired a son and heir, that it was a girl, the man of stamps pathetically implored him to mark it " w.f." (wrong font) and send it back to the foundry.

At a meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce, held yesterday afternoon, a communication was read, received from the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, with a resolution which had been passed by that Chamber, and asking the Auckland Chamber of Commerce to co-operate with it. It pointed out the difficulty existing beween America and the colonies in regard to the very high duties imposed on Australian and New Zealand wools, preventing the colonies from sending wool to America on account of these high duties. After some discussion Mr Firth proposed and Mr Holdship seconded "That the Auckland Chamber of Commerce concur with the Sydney Chamber in obtaining the reduction or abolition of duties on Australian wools in America." —Carried.

The following, taken from the Star, is worthy the attention of our settlers having puriri and kauri upon their laad:—Last session one Auckland member of the General Assembly by a timely discovery stopped an order for some hundreds of thousands of sleepers. The Government since called tenders for a large contract, but failed to obtain any suitable local response. The member whose practical acquaintance with the timber business was the means of averting the first mistake, then wrote to the Minister of Public Works, pointing out that the conditions upon which the contract was called practically put the settlers out; that many of the settlers were able to furnish a number of good sleepers, who could not undertake a heavy contract, and he urged that the Government should make arrangements for purchasing any sleepers that might be offered in moderate numbers. The suggestion, it will be seen by the appended letter, has been acted upon by Mr Macaudrew, and settlers have now the opportunity of utilising even thesmallest timber resources on their land. The forethought and exertions of the member referred to in bringing about this result cannot be too highly commended. "Wellington, 31st March, 1879.—Dear Sir, —I have to apologise for not having acknowledged, ere new, receipt of your note. Singularly enough, the suggestions re sleepers were being impressed by me upon the Engineer-in-charge, when your note reached me, and with the exception of the minimum number, we had resolved to do exactly what you recommend. The lowest quantity proposed to be purchased was 500, under the impression that half-a---dozen men might combine to supply that number. I am inclined to think, however, that your minimum of 100 is better, and shall see if we cannot get this arranged. In the meantime, I am glad to say that from the attention which has been called to the matter, we are not likely to be driven outside the colony for sleepers. I think we have seen the last of this. There is a good supply now forthcoming in the Auckland province, and I have just directed 100,000 heart of kauri to be tendered for. What I aim at, however, is that people who are up to the matter would go into the business without tendering at all. It would suit the Government far better to buy in the open market a good article at the market price, and seeing the enormous demand for sleepers, which there will be for years to come, the Government will always be a buyer—so that unless the production shall be all the greater'—no man is likely to have his stock remaining long on his hands. With its puriri and kauri, Auckland possesses a gold mine in the shape of railway sleepers alone, and it only rests with the people concerned to turn it to account. You cannot let it be too widely known that the Government is prepared to purchase almost any quantity at market price, quality of course being sound."—ln haste, yours truly, J. Macamdbew.

By the b.i. Taiaroa, which arrived in the Manukau on Sunday, seven racehorses were brought to take part iv the forthcoming autumn meeting, and were landed without accident, apparently in good condition. They are Mr Walters' Venus Transit and Slander colt, Mr Day's Izaak Walton, Mr George's Resolution, and Mr Mclvor's Peep o'-Day, Loch Lomond, and Uira. They will no doubt pay a visit to the training-ground this morning, and no time can now be lost in getting them into actual work.— Herald.

Ik the trial scene of the nautical drama of ".Black-eyed Susan," it may be remembered, one of the witnesses, when asked what he knows of the prisoner's character, replies with much fervor, " Please, your honor, he plays the fiddle like an angel." It has been reserved for a defendant at the Foxton Resident Magistrate's Court, however, to adduce the possession of a " fine tenor voice " ai evidence of exemplary conduct and integrity. The gentleman in question was charged with horse stealing, and produced a number of testimonials, which stated that the boaior had boon for nino years

a member of a church choir ; that he possessed a very fino tenor voice; and that he would be an acquisition to any church choir." It is needless to add that such a recommendation must have weighed powerfully with his Worship in procuring an acquittal, and the Manawatu Herald, in recording the circumstances, says it would have been a dreadful pity to see a young man with a fine tenor voice wasting his sweetness upon an audience of gaol-birds.

Pbofessob Huxley has been speaking recently at Manchester on the subject of the decay of nations, in the natural decadence of which he did not believe—*• that theory; he was inclined to think, having been invented by cowards to excuse knaves. So far as the old English stock was concerned, his belief was that it had as much vitality and power as two centuries ago, and after pruning and weeding there would be products as good as there were before. The weeds he recognised were three—dishonesty, sentimentality, and luxury.

The respect paid to courage by the warlike tribes of the Anglo-Indian border is strikingly illustrated by an episode of Napier's famous campaign in Scinde. A detachment had been sent against one of the bravest of the native tribes, almost every warrior of which bore the proof of his valour in the green thread tied around his wrist, a badge more prized by the " hill men " than the Cross of the Legion of Honour by a French soldier. In the course of the skirmishing that ensued, an English sergeant, and eleven of his men mistaking the orders given them, advanced to a narrow gully, where they suddenly found themselves coufronted by more than 100 of the enemy. The gallant handful charged without a moment's hesitation, and were slain to a man, after killing nearly thirty of their opponents. Wheu the last Englishman had fallen, the old chief of the tribe, one of the most renowned warriors of Northern India, turned to bis men and said, " How say ye,, my sons ? Were these Feringhees (Europeans) brave men?" "The bravest we have ever met," answered the mountaineers with one voice. " Then," cried the old man, taking the green thread from his own wrist and fastening it to that of the dead sergeant, "bind the green thread upon them all, and not around one wrist only, but around both. Unbelievers though they be, there are no braver souls in Heaven; and it may be that when God sees how we have decorated them He will grudge such heroes to Shaitann (Satan) and give them a place beside His throne. •

The young assistant of a private inquiry agent in a neighboring Colony (says the Melbourne Leader) was instructed not long ago to find out a yoking woman who had drifted down the stream of poverty into oblivion, and who was wanted as next of kin to take possession of an unexpected inheritance of £1500. , The agent to whom the mission was entrusted promised to find the girl in two months, and when the time was up begged for another month. At the end of three months, appearing to be as far from discovering the object of his search as ever, his principal rebuked him severely for his want of zeal and diligence. The assistant took his. snubbing coolly, saying, " Well, perhaps the matter is beyond my skill, but allow me to inform you that I married the young woman eight days ago, and will therefore trouble you for the legacy and my discharge at the same time."

A TAEaET which; by means of electricity, shows instantaneously upon another target set up at the firing station the exact spot where a bullet strikes, and thus does away with the necessity of employing a marker to signal, the result of each shot, has been recently perfected, after years of labor, by a Swiss locksmith. The exact details of the target in its latest form are not yet published, but a description was given a short time ago in a Swiss paper, and also an Austrian military periodical, of a target on the same principle, which was successfully tried last year. In this target the face is divided into a number of concentric rings, and each ring again is divided by two lines drawn right across the faces and crossing each other at right angles at the centre. In each of the subdivisions of the target at the firing station a small hole is pierced, and when a bullet strikes a distant target the number at once appears in the hole in the corresponding subdivision of the target near the shooter, or should the ball strike upon one of the lines dividing the face of the target, numbers are shown in both the adjacent subdivisions. In the trials made with the target the apparatus worked perfectly during the eight days for which the firing was kept up, the only accident which happened being that once the electric wire was cut by a bullet. J

Db Schiieminn, says the London Truth, is again in luck. More earrings, more bracelets have turned up to his fortunate shovel. He has lately unearthed five separate treasures, each composed of numerous bracelets, earrings and lumps of gold. His latest "find" is a bronze vessel, in which were some bronze axes, as well as some silver ornaments ; the bulk of the ornaments, however, consisted of gold earrings, bracelets, beads, and bars of gold. Many of the ornaments are very graceful in shape, and of fine workmanship.

Judging from the statistical summaries contained in the annual report of the Commissioner for Federal Taxes, the amount spent in the United States on smoking and drinking is enormous. During the fiscal year ended on June 30th, 1878, notwithstanding the hard times, 1,905,063,000 cigars were consumed. The report estimates each cigar at, on an average, 10c.; so that the total value of the cigars consumed in the year would be about 190,506,300d01,0rab0ut;£38,101,260. In addition there were also consumed 20,312,4331b5. of tobacco for smoking, the value of which is estimated at 15,000,0C0d01. (£3,000,000). But the expenditure on tobacco is almost insignificant when compared with the sums spent on drinks of various kinds. Thus, 317,465,600 gallons of fermented liquors were consumed, or over seven gallons per head of the entire population (estimated at about 44,000,000), including women and children. Fermented and spiritous drinks cost the people of the United States, according to the estimate of the report, 596,000,000d015. (£119,200,000), or 13dols. 25c. (£2 13s) per head. The figures of the report show furtner that during the last financial year the con* sumption of beer had increased, while that of spiritous liquors had declined, 1,600,000 gallons more of the former and 6,520,000 gallons less of the latter having been consumed than during the preceding year, a fact which perhaps ought to be considered au advance on the road of temperance

English emigration societies (says an American contemporary) hold out great inducements to those who desire to try their fortunes in the comparatively new country of the North-west Territory, Canada. One of them makes this offer to every boD& fide emigrant to Winnipeg : •—"There you may have 320 acres of freehold land, a yoke of oxen, a cow and calf, a sow and boar, two sheep, twelve ducks, twelve geese, twelve chickens, fifty fruit trees, one plough, a rake, a fork, a hoe, a wooden house, seed corn for ten acres, mangel and turnip seed for four acres, potato sets for ten acres, all for £200! " And additional to the foregoing, the company offer to throw in " cabin passage and first-class ticket from England to Winnipeg."

Mb Buskin has made a great discovery, and he discloses it to the readers of Fors. He has found out that music and " precise dancing" are, after all, the only safeguards of morality. All the young hopefuls trained under the auspices of the St. Georges Society are all in consequence to be drilled from early infancy in these accomplishments, and Mr Buskin has no doubt about results. But did he read the evidence in the Detective Case, where the convict Benson said, " I am an accomplished musician. lam both a composer and a performer"? That is only one of an infinite number of similar nuts which it will tax all Mr Buskin's ingenuity to crack. As to the " precise dancing " which is to share with its sister art in this glorious reformation, I know a lady-friend and admirer of Mr Buskin's who allowed two young and pretty servants to go out to nightly dancing classes, much to the Professor's delight. The result has never yet been broken to him. The maids one day were missing—so were their mistress's jewels. But then, as Mr Buskin might object, perhaps they did not dance " precisely." —The World.