LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3148, 15 March 1871, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Supseme CotmT.—There is only one case clown for hearing before Special juries, — the caao of Morgan v. Richards which will come on for hearing this morniug at 10 o'clock. Payment of Jukohs. — The case of Palmer v Field being the last on tho paper, his Honor Mr Justice Johnston discharged the remaining jurors from attendance. In doingso hisHonor pointed out the anomalous state of affairs at present in existence with reference to the pay- ' menfc of jurors. A3 the law stands a juror, residing in town receives 3s a day, while a man coming a distance of twenty miles only receives 8s in the event of being ballotted for to try a case. Another part of the anomaly was that jurors in town might get on to six or semi cases, whi^o a man who came from a distance in the country might never bo placed on the jury in any case at all, and consequently would get nothing. His Honor expressed a very strong opinion that there should bo some alteration made in this matter. Waieaiupa Coaches. — An advertisement in another column notifies that Mr W. RHastwell has altered the days of leaving Wellington for the Wairarapa to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the coach leaving Masterton for Wellington on the same days. Passengers will be taken over the Rimutaka on horseback during the temporary stoppage to the road, and a coach will meet them at either sido of the hill and convey them to their destinations. The thanks of the travelling public are duo to Mr Hastwell for this arrangement, which we have no doubt will be appreciated under tho peculiar condition of the road. Imi'oktei) Hoeses. — The attention of our readers is directed to an advertisement inserted by Messrs Bethune & Hunter, informing the public that they have on sale a very valuable importation of horses and brood niaves, landed in excellent order and condition from the brig Prairie, which arrived from Hobart Town on Sunday evening. We have been assured by persons thoroughly competent to express an opinion, that this shipment includes some of the finest and most valuable animals ever landed in this City. Cricket. — A cricket match -will be played on the ne-sv cricket ground on Saturday next, between the Cnxlon and Empire Clubs. The » following persons will represent the latter Club :— Messrs W. Waters, S. Waters, Bock, J. Churchill, W. Dixon, Wilkinson, Kinniburgh, Clary, Howe, Minifie, and Wills. Play to commence at 2.30 p.m. sharp. Gazette. — A General Government " Gazette" issued yesterday, contains a proclamation by his Excellency the Governor further proroguing the meeting of the General Assembly from tho Bth day of April to tho 22nd day of May next. Hilton. — Owing to tho uncertain tenure of the Provincial Council at tho Odd Fellows' Hall the entertainment of the Hiltons is further postponed. Inspection Paeade. — Tho monthly inspection parade of all the volunteers was held last night on tho reclaimed land, there being, including bands and officers, about 250 men present, by far the finest muster we have seen for many a day. On the general appearance of the men we cannot refrain from oxprcssing a word of commendation. They appeared well-drilled, there was nothing Blovenly perceptible in their general appearance, and their accoutrements were in good order. In making a few observations about our volunteers, wo feel bound to remark that the observance of strict discipline in the rankß, and the frequency of parades, such as that of last night, will do moro to stimulate tho spirit of -volunteering, and to strengthen that esprit de corps which properly should exiat among our volunteers, than any other species of inducement. It would be nothing discreditable to the most extreme of our military men of tradition, or to the most rigid disciplinarian, to say that he was a member of either corps on the parade ground last evening, the manifest efficiency of the men reflecting the highest credit on tho officers commanding the respective companies. The Artillery fired five rounds from each gun, and after some other manoeuvres, tho companies formed fours, and marched through tho principal streets of tho town, headed by the Garrison Band, the Artillery Band playing second fiddle. We must congratulate the Volunteers and tho city on possessing two such really good bands. The Garrison Band is certainly entitled to its position of precedence for length of existence and in point of general excellence, but from tho rapid strides being made by the gentlemen who have been facetiously dubbed the " ragged regiment" and the proficiency they exhibit, they promise to become formidable rivals to their friends of the Garrison Band. While on the matter of the parade of last night, we feel it to be a duty to point out to his Worship the Mayor, that it is in the power of the City Council to offer some little encouragement to the Volunteers, by having the Reolaimed Land cleared of some of the unsightly heaps of rubbish which have accumulated and are rapidlyjboing added to, to such an extent as to make it absolutely impossible to find sufficient clear space for the purpose of company or battalion drill. Wo simply make a suggestion which forced itself upon üb, and we hope we have said sufficient to have the matter remedied. Masterton Flax Company. — We congratulate the Masterton Flax Company, Limited, as it could not have been launchod in a better moment. Slips and docks are excellent things in a harbor, but there must be also vessels to be repaired in them ; and, without developing the industries of the colony, and particularly of our province, we cannot expect to see many vessels in our harbor. Public Meetings, &c. — The Congregationaliscs hold a service this evening in their church, Woodward street, to recognise their newly settled minister, the Rev. W. H. West, 8.A., of Melbourne. The announcement as to tea, &c, appears in our advertising columns, and, from the unusual circumstance of the ordinary week night service of several other denominations having been given up for the occasion, a full gathering; will sure to take place. For no previous service do we recollect the various churches thus combining, and it argues so well for the Christian liberality of the ministers and people of the various denominations that we hope it may not be the last we shall have to record. The week night services cannot necessarily often be broken into in this way, but when they can for special occasions like the present, we are sure that what various congregations may lobb in one way they more than make up in another. A Dear Theeepen'oeth.— ln the Supremo Court yesterday morning the action Palmer v. Field, claim for damages for false imprisonment, came on for hearing before his Honor Mr Justice Johnston and a common jury. The facts of the case, which are fully detailed in our report, went do show that tho plaintiff, who followed the vocation of a firewood dealer, had picked up in tho Wanganui River a piece of drift wood, unanimously estimated by all the witnesses questioned in the matter to be worth about 3d ! It seems that on the occurrence of a fresh in the river the tortuous and sinuous stream is always laden with forest babes and giants, which being deposited on the water's margin are duly appropriated by these timber hawks as their legitimate prey. All the evidence on both sides went to show that on such occasions the pursuit of these waifs and strays was a legitimate practice, and that priority of possession aecured the much to be desired nine points, and, indeed, one over — for the right was never questioned. In following out their profession the plaintiff and his mate came across one of those itinerant logß lying opposite the defendant's premises, " but below high-water mark," and thiß wsb construed into an abnegation of any claim

any other person might have had upon it, for it was evident, from marks of the destroyer's, or rather improver's, hand that it had been previously " waifod." The plaintiff then proceeded on his way rejoicing, and on his arrival at Wanganui he found the defendant Field in company with a policeman awaiting hia arrival, whereupon plaintiff was charged with stealing the aforesaid valuable piece of wood and given into custody on a charge of larceny. The case was hoard before the Resident Magistrate's Court at Wanganui and dismissed, the present action being tho sequol. In view of the unwarrantable proceeding on the part of the defendant, in having placed tho plaintiff in the position of ft felon without reasonable, ground the jurj found a verdict for the plaintiff, damages £50, intimating at tho same time that there was not the slightest evidence of a felonious intent on the part of the plaintiff in tho whole transaction. A lengthened and learned argument between his Honor Mr Justice Johnston, Mr Travers, and Mr Allan took plact during tho hearing of tho case, during which all possible phases of the question of possessory right were introduced, his Honor ruling with Mr Allan on nearly all the points raisod. Music fob the Million. — If any one, aftor the repeated advertisements of Mr E. Greaves Smith, did not attend yesterday, and secure a thoroughly good piano at a very moderate price, he or she is much to bo pitied, but no oue can be blamed. Wo are informed I that the pimos were sent out as a first consignment to this market, and we expected that the demand for them would have been greater. However, while wo cannot hold out the hope of buying pianos any cheaper, we are able to say that they will always bo kept in stock, and any one who desires a really good instrument, at a moderate price, will not be disap pointed. The pianos are made in the factory of Mr Smith's father in London, and having shown by the sale the clnss of instrument there made, and the desire to introduce them to New Zealand, we can only oxpect that they will be much sought after, and the undertaking will be at once profitable to the makers, and popular with tho music-loving portion of the community. A Journalistic Detective. — Wo had occasion to reprint from a Timaru paper a letter signed " John M'Laren" on the Port Chalmers Dock. The letter contained figuros rebutting certain assertions made by Mr Stafford regarding the dimensions of the dock. We merely reprinted tho letter as an item of news, and so far we are not aware the substance of the letter has been contradicted. Our evening contemporary, however, has taken umbrage — not at tho lottor itsolf or its figures, but because it reflected upon the immaculate judgment of Mr Stafford, and is signed "John M'Laron." Of Mr M'Laren we know nothing, and caro less, and consider the name of no consequence. But our contemporary, evidently forgetting the promise of reform he made the othor day, and perhaps anxious to display his converaancy with the history of Colonial criminals, which he appears to have at his finger's ends, tells us that Mr John M'Laren is a loafer, and. gives us all his other aliases, as well as his geographical course through the colony. Wo accept tho kind intentions of our contemporary for posting us so well in M'Laren's fortunes. Wo have no knowledge of tho man ; but we presume the " Post" knows all about him— very likely. No doubt the public will feel easier now when they discover they are guarded by such an able journalistic detective, and Inspector Atchieon and Sergeant Monaghan pleased to have such an able coadjutor to make use of in any thief-taking emergency. Accepting the accuracy of the writer's knowledge of the criminal facts connected with this matter — the light shed on the antecedents of the notorious Captain Melville, Price's murderer, some time back by tho saino paper — and tho general acquaintance with the criminal notabilities of all tho Australias, we submit with becoming grace. It is quite evident the columns of the " Post " do not afford sufficient scope for the display of a profound knowledge on this peculiar topic, and there is no counterpart in New Zealand of a publication highly relished by a portion of the London public — tho Newgate calendar. Hero's a fuir field to begin with, but we don't know about the favor. A Peculiar Fish was caught at the Orawaiti on Thursday last, variously called the elephant fish and scorpion fish. The body is about three feet long, of a light silvery color, and not unlike that of a shark. The dorsal fins are large and strong, tho pectoral fins are also exceptionally large, while the ventricle fins were enormously developed, and altogether disproportioned to the size of tho fish ; tho head is large and square, with a considerable frontal projection, and a most peculiar organ about a foot in length, extonds from the note, having very much the appearance of an elephant's trunk; — " Westport Times," February 28th. Sudden Death.— A late "Colonist" says that Mr Henry Truefit Flowers, of Surburban North, died suddenly, while stopping down, chopping some pieces of wood with a tomahawk, when he put down the tomnhawk, rose upright, and immediately fell back dead. He had been snffering many years from enlargement and other disease of the heart, and had been forwarned by his medical man that he might expect to die suddenly at any time.