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Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3839, 24 June 1873, Page 2

The latest telegraphic intelligence last night describes the state of the Waikato as becoming much more settled ; in fact, there appears to be far less alarm on the frontier than in remoter quarters, for the settlers who, on tho first outburst, had quitted their homesteads and farms, are now returning to them. The defensive arrangements are completed, and give universal satisfaction to the inhabitants of the district, who express their confidence in and approval of the steps which have been taken to ensure their security. As may have been expected, the attendance at the theatre last evening was meagre in the extreme. "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Loan of a Lover" were produced, under such dispiriting influences, in a very satisfactory manner.

Telegraphic communication with the West Coast was interrupted yesterday. The new roller for levelling metal was used for the first time yesterday. The Superintendent and the Mayor, as a deputation from the Ball Committee, waited upon his Excellency the Governor yesterday morning in regard to the ball to be given in honor of Sir James and Lady Fergusson. The invitation was accepted, and it was decided that the ball should take pla.ce on an early day next week, which will be announced in due course after being fixed upon. Owing to the inclemency of the weather last night, Mr Carver was prevented from having his' final rehearsal for the entertainment that was to have been held this evening in the Willis street Presbyterian Schoolroom, which has now been postponed till Thursday next, when we have no doubt that the carefully selected programme will command a large attendance. These entertainments have gained steadily in popularity since the course was initiated. In each successive entertainment a happy variety has been aimed at, and some special feature of excellence brought out. The performers seem to have responded to the flattering way in which their efforts were received by the public, [by a display of care and energy not always noticeable in those who give their services for similar objects to that of augmenting the school fund of the Presbyterian Church. The affairs of the Athenaeum at length show signs of life, as may be seen by an advertisement elsewhere, bearing the signature N. Marchant, hon. sec, and calling a special meeting of the subscribers to the institution for this evening at the A.thena9uua itself. It is to be hoped that this tardy appeal will not have been made in vain, and that a sufficient number of members will put in an appearance, so as to give countenance and weight to whatever may be done. The object is to alter regulations Nos 2, 14, and 15, in order to admit of the election of office bearers forthwith. There ought to be no difficulty about this, and the members may fortify themselves with the veritable fact that on whomsoever they may fix their choice the selection cannot be much less barren of good results than the management of the Athenaeum has lately been. If we might offer a word of anticipatory counsel to the meeting, it would be this : Avoid "show" office-bearers ; try to obtain the services of plain practical men who care more for the successful working of the institution than for the doubtful honor of seeing their names figure as office-bearers. The desperate position in which the Athenaeum stands at this moment, is well shown in a letter in another column, over the signature " A Subscriber." One hundred subscribers ! for such an institution, and in a city like this, is not as it should be. Those three words show very eloquently how much the Athenaeum stands in need of a little fresh life and energy. We commend Subscriber's letter to the attention of other subscribers and of the public at large. The Wellington Jockey Club met at Moeller'a Empire Hotel yesterday. Mr Bromley, the treasurer, reported that he held a balance of £90 in hand for next year's races. Some discussion ensued as to the proposed value of the cup annually to be given to be run for, and whether it should be a piece of plate or specie. The Hutt railway was a theme of much congratulation, as the great facilities of transit thus rendered to the public would give an immense impetus to the races, and add greatly to their popularity. It was {mentioned that the trustees of the Hutt park and racecourse were negotiating for the purchase of some land, the non-possession of which had long been a source of annoyance, and a stumbling block to progress. The all-important subject of a grand stand was likewise again brought forward and discussed. Several new members having been elected, the meeting adjourned for a fortnight. The Drainage Committee yesterday considered the report of Dr Hector and Messra Bell and Marchant upon the drainage essays sent in to the Corporation. According to the gentlemen who drew up the report, none of the essays are likely to be of much use to the Corporation in devising a system of drainage for the city. The only one which was considered at all worthy of mention was one marked with square and compasses, and the committee recommended that the premium, if given at all, be given to the writer of that essay. This will be done. The shortest day of this year will be remembered by the fact that its advent was marked by the most beneficial meteorological change experienced in this city for a considerable time. The rainfall since Saturday and the change of wind to the south-east, have done more for the health of the city than the united skill of all the M.D.'s in it could do in double the time. Nor could all the strength at the disposal of the corporation effect in a month what this well-timed downpour has done in a few hours. All the lingering foulness left by the heat and drought of summer will have been dissipated, and the city rendered more tolerable to olfactories. The Artillery Band Ball was held last night at the Odd Fellows' Hall. Considering the miserable nature of the weather, the attendance was remarkably good. The arrangements were excellent. The music and supper were of the best, and the general enjoyment was enhanced accordingly. A very fair attendance of onlookers mustered in the gallery. Dancing was kept up till a late hour, and the pleasure of those upstairs must have been something more than common, for the majority sat out the proceedings. On the ! whole the affair was very creditable. Had the night not been so uninviting, no doubt a considerably larger number would have availed themselves of the opportunity of indulging in the pleasant evening's relaxa-. tion afforded. Some allowance should in fairness be made for the vagaries of editorial pens at all times, and certainly an editor in the height of a disappointing election is specially entitled to charitable treatment ; but the following from the " Otaga Daily Times" is worthy of republication as a specimen of logic: — "We are glad to call an impartial witness into Court — one who has travelled through the length and breadth of the colony with his eyes open and his head clear. Mixing freely with all classes of society — listening patiently to the arguments and opinions of all parties, Mr Anthony Trollope has given to the world the results of his observation. Upon purely local matters we should bo sorry to. accept Mr Trollope' 8 views, as, owing to his short stay in the colony, these could not well be the result of his own observations. But his opinion regarding the financial position of New Zealand would be of considerable value if he gave the subject close attention, without having visited the colony at all." So Mr Trollope being highly qualified, and having taken pains to observe and study local matters, .the editor would "be sorry to accept his views" thereon, as possibly they are not in consonance with 1 his own, and "an impartial witness may

be undesirable." But on colonial finance we are told his opinion would be of considerable value if (oh, that little conjunction !) he had done that which his figures show he has left undone.

The Presbyterian congregation of Inch Clutha, in recognition of the Rev Mr Bannerman's services during the time the charge has been vacant, have presented him with a purse of sovereigns. An American paper, in its column of " personals," says : — Once upon a time there came over to England an Indian gentleman named David Ochterlonv Dyce Sombre, Esq. He was enormously rich, and consequently, though a colored man, got a seat in Parliament and a Peer's daughter to wife— to wit, the daughter of Viscount St Vincent. Mr Dyce Sombre died, and General Forester, son of Lord Forester, married the widow. But about the property a dispute arose, which had to be settled by the courts. It was a long affair, for there was a heavy sum in dispute. However, it came to an end at last, and a couple of weeks since there was paid to General Forester the noble sum of £150,000. The " New Zealand Herald" says : — Three or four gentlemen, in a polite request, ask us to give publicity to the following brief statement of facts : — They say that their private residences are at Parnell, but that their business avocations call them daily to the city, which they do not leave until late at night. That going home they are occasionally met, and have been more than, once stopped, by a stamp of men who at home upon lone bridges, and armed with a bludgeon, accost a solitary wayfarer at two o'clock in the morning, and request him to purchase a razor. These gentlemen wish it to be known that on returning home at night, they never carry money, but they do a " neddy," which they will not scruple to use, as occasion may arise : that if any of these fellows want to know what time of night it is they must find it out for themselves, as gentlemen are not to be intimidated into pulling out their watches ; and further, that the numbers of them being registered at all the pawnbrokers, they will be of no intrinsic value to any one but the owners. These gentlemen go a little further, and desire to be informed why a constable is never, under any circumstance, seen patrolling between the city and the suburbs ?" The Kansas "City News" furnishes a volume of melancholy history in the following brief space : — To-day there is a man going about the streets of this city, ragged, dirty, penniless, subsisting on free lunches and the charities of gamblers, and has not slept in a bed for months, who, during the war, was one of the most dashing cavalry officers in the Union army, and was promoted fr®m the rank of first lieutenant to full brigadier and brevet major-general for brilliant exploits on the field of battle, and who for a long time had a large and important command. The Illinois farmers (says an American exchange) are waging a fierce war against the railways in that State. They have established an organisation known as the "Sons of Husbandry," and in one case have called upon the Judges of the Supreme Court, who rendered a recent decision denying the validity of the Freight Tariff law to resign at once. What will be their doom in default of non-compli-ance does not appear ; but it is time some steps were taken to check the enormous strides our railway co-operations are taking to rule the entire internal trade — commercial, agricultural, or otherwise — of the country. It would not be surprising if other interests besides those represented by the " Sons of Husbandry" should adopt similar measures to secure the reform demanded. The "N. Z. Herald" of the 3rd says : — " With regard to Wellington, we quite understand its position. There is nothing it dreads so much as insular separation. That means a collapse of the settlement on Cook's Strait, and the rapid advance of Wanganui *>nd the West Coast. It also implies the removal of the Seat of Government. But Wellington is impecunious ; it has always been impecunious ; it ever will be 'hard-up.' Wellington, however, has invariably been managed by men with heads on their shoulders ; and never since its foundation has there been a pair of shrewder heeds or steadier hands at the provincial reins than at the present moment. In short, Messrs Fitzherbert and Bunny are head and shoulders above their predecessors in office, and they command the confidence of the Council. Now, it is absolutely necessary that Wellington should borrow £210,000 ; and, as our correspondent well expresses it, ' Fitzherberfc and the Wellington party will back that side who favor the Wellington party.' That is the whole secret. 'Let us get the money,' they say, 'by any means ; and when we have got it we shall see about separation. We may promise what we like, but the Assembly can't grant it ; and with Featherston in London we shall be able to influence the Colonial Office against it. We should make hay while the sun shines, and fool the Southerners to the top of their bent.' We have no doubt that this is the line that Wellington will go upon next session. Meanwhile it is one fraught with danger to the North, and calculated to lead to mischievious consequences in the South. The "New Zealand Examiner and Australian Mail" has changed hands, and has come out considerably improved in appearance — in all respects superior to its former self. Great care seems to have been bestowed on the editing. As that periodical has already done this colony good service with the public of Great Britain, and has it in its power to effect a great deal more in the same direction, we can cordially wish all success to the enterprising proprietary which has reanimated the l&te languid publication referred to. The newly-elected Council of Otago will meet on the 30th instant, merely to pass the estimates and then adjourn till after the session of the General Assembly. We presume that Messrs Reynolds and Bathgate, members of the Colonial Government, deem it necessary to give their attention to Provincial business, and will leave for the South by first steamer. An American paper is responsible for this : — Woman, fierce in her virtue, has added a supreme horror to railroad travel in England. Fancy timid man shrinking in his seat, while this type of female illuminates with a bull's-eye lantern the car compartment, while another lady brandishes a dagger and dares him to his worst. According to Sir Hubert Croft, English women do this to protect themselves from insult in unlighted cars while traversing tunnels. He asks Parliament to compel the railroads to light up their cars. It should certainly do something.

The Nelson "Colonist" is very uncomplimentary to our worthy Mayor. In noticing the advice given by his Worship to the Press of this city as to how they should treat the new Governor, the "Colonist" says : — "As a rule the first officer of a municipal body is not noted for sagacity, and his Worship of Wellington appeals not to be an exception to the rule."

We tinders tand that a new daily news- ! paper will soon be started in Dunedin by ' a joint stock company with a capital of £15,000, half of which is already subscribed. Its provisional directorate is a strong one, and will issue a prospectus in a few days. The '-Dickens Dictionary," produced in America by G. A. Pierce and W. H. Wheeler, and prohibited in England by the holders of the novelist's copyrights, is paralleled by a "Dickens Concordance," by Mr W. F. Peacock, of Mancheater, whose work, now in the press, is said to have occupied five years in its compilation. It is seldom that the public hears of combinations amongst masters, who generally manage their little games, just or unjust, quietly and beyond the public gaze ; but we see by a New York paper that the master carpenters have become dissatisfied with the eight-hour system and wish t© establish the ten-hour arrangement. The men object, and a deadlock is threatened. As a way out of the difficulty the masters offer to pay by the hour ; but that also has been refused, the men resolving to stand or fall by the eight-hour system. Writing of the Nelson City loan, the "Nelson Examiner" has this: — We announced in our last that the greater portion of the loan required to complete our gas works was taken at par, and that all tenders below were rejected. On the following morning the offers for the balance at par were so numerous that the Government had no choice but to advertise for further tenders, and as more money would have to be raised, the amount has been increased to £4800, which we may expect to see taken at a premium.