THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATUEDAY, MAY 24, 1879.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3202, 24 May 1879, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISHED AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. SATUEDAY, MAY 24, 1879.

; The anniversary services it connection with the Willoughby street Baptist Chapel will be held"to-morrow, when theEeVj Allan W. Webb of Auckland will officiate at both morning and evening services. On Monday evening a soiree will be held. The price of the admission tickets has been made very low—only Is 6d —and during the evening addresses Will be given by;:Eevs. Webb; Laishley, Watkins, and' GN^lli. - '■■-'-■:''- .. r'' '-•■■•i! •^■■■'V

i Dubinq the time the Eowena has been trading to the Thames under the coincrand !of Captain Crawford—taking the place of ;the Eotomahana laid up for regairi,- the jboatthas become quite a favorite with the .'public, not . soi much; from; ;her sailingj jqualities as from the attention paid to the jwanti and comfort of the travellers, and the amiable qualities of the igentleman in command. Capt. Crawford jhas been in,the employment of the,owners iOf the Kowena, Argyle, Glenelg, and other steamers for some years, and so much; has she gained their esteem an^ respect, and the high opinion they have of his abilities, that he has been given the command of the s.i.Argylo, trading to jWhanjpfarei.ii All' who •' have had the pleasure of Captain' Crawford's acquaint- 1 ance will be pleased tb hear of his advancement,, and although we regret; his reinovaT 1 from the Eowena, still we are pleased that the circumstance is to his advantage. V'

"Thb resolution passed by the Naval Brigade^ some time ago, upon the resignation of Lieut. A. D. Bennett beins; accepted, has been engrossed by Mr Slator, of Auckland, for presentation to Mr Bennett. The Herald, in describing the work, says:—The border is flowers find foliage in different color*—a /acatmife of a charter in the time-of Henry VII. The initial le'tier" A^" is colored in vermillion and blue, and is of the text of the same period, being copied from •• The Chronicles of Thomas ,de Walingham."-. The body of the address is in black letter. Above the address, but inside the border, are the photographs of the Brigade: Hall and Grahamstown, the Brigade colors and the TJnibn Jack and ensign crossed over the 1 'hall/ "This is a present which Lieutenant Bennett will warmly appreciate. No person could, have devoted more time or energy to the promotion of the interests

of a Voluß.teofobnipa.ny than he did to the 'Brigade with which ho was so long connected, and,he wilP.be pleased with their mark of appreciation, and proud of the manner in which it has been executed.

The annual statement of the 'Borough Oounci} published by us yesterday shows a very respectable revenue anticipated for next year and a liberal vote for the construction and improvement of footpaths and streets. It is intended to pay off" the overdraft at the Bank of New Zealand, which at present is over £4 1 000 ( ,,to ) b,uild the Children's Home up the Kauaeranga at a cost of £1050,,and.t0 lay apart £1200. for charitable institutions and relief to the poor and destitute.- I'heprobable incofcrie is shown as nearly two thousand poiindjij jover the proposed »expenditure,; but,* as there is little' prospect of getting thfe amount advanced to the Water Supply Committee, a wise course has been adopted in mot attempting the cprii jjtruotion of worts without'aiFair proispVct of having the means at disposal to complete them. The statement ought to bo gratifying to the ratepayers,and, notwithstanding the hard times,! it will bear a favourable comparison with previous statements,, or those furnished by other local governing bodies, The rate for the year is expected to give £1698, and there is 1 a balance due from former years of £260, not a very large flmonfit to, bftoutstanding. .. ...;., '„.;■ .. „ k . v _ , „. . Mb has left in our office a specimen of stone found up the Hape Creek, a block of which it is proposed to send to the Sydney Exhibition as it is pronounced admirably suitable for building purposes. The iesultOo'f the meeting, of South Ward burgesses re the Water Supply 6n . evening; ,last must beT very gratifying to the members of the" Borough Council, as it shews that their action with respect to the supply is approved of by a very large'section of the. Borough' residents. 1 We believe that the B«ntiments expressed at the meeting are universally entertained throughout , the;" lengthrancl breadthof the Borough, and! the,feeling ;jjiha't ; they have the confidences of the, Burgepses in this matter should greatly strengthen the Hands of .; the Council in any further action they may see;fit to take; > .-.\'t jr :; j; ;.r

!It is"; rumored.. that IMr Bon'ald McDonald' intends,..if .the prospect! of his mine the Golden -Calf 'continue as promising as at present, to undertake Working the Big Pomp to the 400 ft; lerel. -It wants spmedSe like Mr Mcl)onalC;to take the matter in hand, and we believe t^e (9t,her, mines 'benefited,would •■ coa*^ tribute to the expense.of pumping. ' •'•

On Thursday, at ~ Henderson^s" Mill;" Counted Constable ;Bullen ; was gather .}sferiously injured, by a kfekirom ahorse, .lit appears that at the time in question Bullen entered' the 1 stable to saddle a horse, when the animal kicked, out with his hind legs, striking Sullen a violent blow on the fleshy; partrqf the thigh, and' knocking him some 'distance into the yard. The wound was bound up as well as possible, but in the meantime the injared[man had lost a considerable : amount of blood. Constable Bullen was brought slowly into Auckland; ,J)jc iWine, after dressing the wound, stated, that a vein had been severed, but that he did not anticipate serious results. Constable Bullen will be unfit for duty, for several weeks.—Star. . >■■■■■'■'■■ ■■l^.--'.'

Since the prosecution of Mr Robert Graham for residing on native lands at Hotorua, a breach of an Act passed last ; session, the affair, says the Herald, has become a little complicated by news received yesterday.. The Govornment sent a .surveyor and a party of men to make a iurvey of the block, but - the natives resisted, preventing the survey from proceeding, and broke the surveyor's instruments. The piece of land in question is called the Koutu. It is beautifully situated on the shores of Lake Eotorna, and would undoubtedly be the site of a township. The'natives have] placed Mr Graham upon it, and we understand he means to have the case fully tried. It. is alleged that the payment made by the Government is merely a shadowy affair, and that the person or persons who received the money were not, the, proper owners. The argument on the. other hand is, that if the Government bverlook what Mr Graham has-dprae, and permit him.to reside on the land and take possession of it, they will not be able to , jturn off persons all over the Inland) who. have squatted on land, on which publio money has been paid, alleging that they ido so by leave of the native owners. We understand that yesterday 'Mr'''Graham received a telegram from the surveyor who has been-turned: off, asking if the natives had acted under his instructions. What Mr-GrahamJs. answer, was we do not know, but the surveyor must have 'thought him a great deal more verdant than he his if he anticipated an answer in ithe affirmative.^ JNo doubt/-the natives |acted entirely on their own motion.

! Speaking- of;;the'Duke of Gonnaught jthe Home News says he has long since deservedly won the hearts of his-.couutry-;men. He has shown those qualities which Englishmen instinctively most admire,: jand which they rightly recognise as most 'typical of' the English character.! His !manly habits and tastes, his soldierlike bearing; his devotion to the duties of a jprofession which he has studied as earInestly as any officer who trusts for his ■livelihood .to a career of arms,' his repeatedlyiinanifested sense of duty, his un- : affected patriotism—these are attributes which, consistently exhibited, have earned for him an exceptional, degree of .popu- ! larity and esteem. Finally, it will not be forgotten that, at a moment when we are | engaged in a war in a remote, dependency, Prince Arthur has, upon two occasions, been anxious to acquire spme.. of that actual experience of war which has f Fallen so abundantly to the lot of his r distinguished father-in-law. Had his own wishes alone been consulted, he would have borne a part in the most considerable' campaigns which our arms have sustained in the' last few years, and might have reasonably hoped to have won laurels of which anjr young officer would be proud.

We hear of a rather, smart action (says the local,paper) on the part of a constable that occurred lately at Paltnierston/ A. man was entering the coach with his dog to come, inland, when a constable stuck him up and demanded a registration'fee for the dog. Notwithstanding that the* traveller exhibited the authorised collar Worn by the dog, which had been issued by the County in which he was last rdi siding, the constable remained inexorable, and the fee was paid. Taking a-dbg with one on a journey would be rather expensive if a registration fee had to be paid in every County passed through.

An English paper speaking of the new President of the French Eepublio says: Sprung himself from the petite bourgeoisi, Ojrrevy never pretends to give ( himself the 'airs of a gentleman, and receives all ashis equals, provided they are cultivated and honest. Not long ago there was a not wholly unfounded rumor afloat that, he had consented to give his daughter in marriage to Capoul, the celebrated singer. The affair did not come off, it is true, but the possibility of such an alliance taking place shows that the President of the j French Republic is true to the principle bf Liberty, Fraternity,: and Equality, and. that he has not forgotten in his days of splendour that he belongs to the middle classes. The new President is sixty-four years of age, and up to the overthrow of the Second Empire, was chiefly noted for a 1 ; famous ' amendment known "as t^he* " amendment (Jrevy;" Which it must," indeed, Jbe bitter for him" fo recall. to. mjnid, now that he is definitely installed'at the Eljyse'e. The following isi'thV marrow of this famous amendment,, which he. moved in; 1849, when 'Vice-Pretidentrbf :the Assembly. He gravely proposed to abolish the office of President of the. Bepublic?,'" a, functionary as dang^rdus for' the liberty as useless in the direction of affairs 1!'" May we not suppose, since. he has consented to fill this offensive and idle post, that; the, honourable gentleman has slightly changed his opinion since 1849?

Punch has the-:following under the 'heading "A Phrase Book for General Officers:"—(With Mr Punch'si potripli^ inents to Lord Chelmsford.)—On learning that an army had been cut to pieces— "Dear me! You don't say bo!" On losing the baggage train of a division— " Awkward—very ! " Oh receiving an ■officer who has ridden for his life twenty miles through an enemy's country,, capyin g despatches-:" Very kind of you indeed!'" On accepting an offer, to head a forlorn hope—" I'm afraid you are giving yourself a great deal of trouble X",. On seeing a regimental camp in flamesrr"Odd! Isn't it?"j aGnbrW ceiving a pair of regimentsl colors, recoveied after a desperate struggle^-" I'm afraid you must hare found them rather heavy I" On learning that a regiment is .?• Missing ''.—"• Fellows >should talie.mbi'e care-^thjSy 1 should really!"' On' a position 'turned^" I call this qjiite; too provoking!. V . On receiving ' ,tlie' news, that the troops, under his command; H'aye, been Qut-generallej and cut to piieces^-, "Now, yrlxd isi,responsible ),forKthis,? '* And,; lastly^-On, riding up toi three score, of Englishmen who have defended them-•elves.for-thirteen hours from the night assaults of thousands of victorious and bloodthirsty' savages,' and' who have thus saved m army, if not a colony, 1 frbm!|des» .traction —"Thank you all very much for your gallant defence!"

j The Royal plate at Windsor is reported tb be wbrtli £1,800,000. It"includes a gjold service ordered by Grorge IV., which wil^dine!- 14.6 persons, and the iaine inoriareh added to tho collection one. of the fineit wine-coolers in tne .wprld;, v» shield formed of snuff-boxes worth £90C0, and thirty dozen plates worth £10,C^). Theje, are also a Tariety of pieces brdiight from abroad and from India ; the latter includeTa "peabbck of precious "■tones"of eyery kind, worth £30,C3a, .and Tipj>6*a< fpotstool, a.tiger's head with crystal teeth, and a solid ingot of gold for his tongue.

The cost of preparing Her Majesty's ship ( Osborne for a trip ( to; the Mediter? ranean with the Duke and Duchess of Connaught haa been £20,000.

I THEi'teWarda 6f th^'balljto the Governor in Auckland have made the tickets 21s.for,geatlemen and 10s 6d for ladies. . A telegham sayait is understood that Mr Vincent Pyke^ M.H.8., will be invited to turn! the, first sod of the Otago Central Railway, for the construction of which he has been an indefatigable: advocate. ' ; - ■■■'.