WEEKLY EPITOME.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume I, Issue 24, 11 October 1873, Page 6

WEEKLY EPITOME.

•ii TH - E . f ° undatlc ta stone of the new Catholic Church, Arrowtowb/ mil be laid at 2 p.m. on Sunday, the 9th November next, by the most Key. Dr. Moran, who will deliver, an address on the occasion. A collection towards the building fund will be made immediately after the address. It is anticipated that a large numbe* of people will be present j and -we shall be much snrpri<ed if the spirited people of the Arrow, who have been hitherto- remarkable for the generosity of their* contributions towards all good objects-, will not greatly outdo even their former efforts. Th« design -of the Church, is we understand a very beautiful one, and the structure will be of stone. Well done, we 1 say ; the Arrow people are right in r.iising itp a substantial and permanent building. The age of stone has comWrrced and thai of iron and wood passed away, we trust for ever. Pbd*stb<ans- in the vfrfoity of Princes street cutting, shortly before eleven o clock on Wednesday morning, were alarmed by a loud crash ot timber in front of the buildirig in course of erection for Messrs Thompson Strang and Co. The scaffolding in connection witb the top storey— a height of about forty fret from 1 the ground, and on which were two plasterers— was observed to have given' way at one end, and',i in . a . ffiOment tue whole mass swayed and fell, - with one of th« men chngiwg to a pole, by which he was thrown into the street. Therewas at once a rush to the spot, and 1 three men were extricated from the debris, and sent to the hospital in afn express. The two men on the' scaffolding were George Renton and William Smith, and those underneath it PeterJßamsa-y and Frederick Caley. They were attended to at ( the hospital by Drs Hulme anel Yates, and Smith' who was conveyed home, by Dr Alexander. Their injuries are described to be as follows : — George Renton, plasterer s Cut under left eye, left ankle dislocated, two bones of the foot broken, and som.! internal injuries.— WilliamSmith, St Andrew street, plasterer :• Cuts on forehead and left lee, with a few bruises.— Peter Hiunsey, Taieri, plasterer i Several bruises and scalp wounds. None" of the men are in immediate danger. A Hawke's Bat contemporary, referring to the gross noglect by the immigration authorities of the passeng rs by the Berar, says : !, 'The conviction is forced upon tis- thot it is more than possible the C breakdown of the whole immigration scheme is due to similar causes to those that led to tb» total amd heartless neglect of the late arrivals 1 at Auckland." The complaint is made that the debates in c Hansard ' are mutilated to an exjtent which) destroys them as fair records. The Wanganui c Herald ' gives instances of this. One of these is that Mr Ebx in his speech on the Provincial Loans Bill, excelled himself in hispetty meanness by a mocking description of Mr Stafford's attitude while .speaking. He was severely taken to task by Mr IHtzherbert for bis undignified conduct ; but the part has been carefully excluded from Mr Fox's speech in • Hansard.' All this kind of reporting (the ' Herald ' remarks) spoils ' Hansard' as an accurate record, and on the f ice cf it shows something wrong, for we have important references by subsequent speakers, which appear to be without application to what has gone before. The Printing Debates Committee should take a hint and see that members do not expunge what they have actually said. Ta guogue' Main in 1868 attempted to expunge his blunder ever a well-known incident in Roman history, but Mr Stafford, who had criticised him, protested against it, and the faux pas had to stand. Why is the rule then established, not now curried out ? Some idea, says the Napier ' Telegraph,' may be formed of whafe the high prices of wool have done for this Province, apart from the largu amount of money received for their produce by sheep-farmers, by the fact thaf, within the last few months, through the agency of Mr M. li. Miller, no less than £140,000 of Southern capital has been ioveßted iv land, and the purchase of estates iv Hawke's Bay. This alone speaks volumes in favor of the soil and climate to be found inthis part of the colony, Tlie ' Telegraph' hears that negotiations are in progress for the transference of other station properties- to Southern capitalists, which, when completed, will raise the amount aJieady invested in this way to over £200,000. The ' Guardian,' while advocating to have Otago Harbor deepened at any cost, does not think that Dunedin i 3 in muoh danger of losing its interprovincial export trade. Dunedin, ii remarks, through tae push and energy of its people, lus taken the lead in the colony as a direct importing town j and it possesses facilities for transacting business on a large scale which no other town in the colony can make any pretence to. At the same time, it is not to be gainsaid that if our merchants could transfer their goods direct from the ship's Bide to

their warehouses, and put them on board the inter-provinoial steamers, at the same trouble and expense as they presently incur in sending them to the railway station, their enterprise would b^ much better rewarded. A gentleman in Wellington telegraphß toils that nearly all the Irish immigrants by the Douglas had been nominated by their friends. Tub London correspondent of the • Age ' writes : — " It is confidently stated here by persons likely to be well informed that Sir Charles Gavan Duffy will finally leave Viotoria in April next. He will at that time have completed his sixtieth year, and will be able to leave the Colony without the necessity of returning within two years. Should the general election for the House" of Commons take pluce before the arrival of Sir Charles in England, he will in all probability be nominated in his absence for some Irish constituency." It appears, says the Melbourne • Advooate,' from a statement Sir Gavan himself made in the House, that the rumour is rot incorrect. Mb Eradshaw's Act " to provide for employment of females in workrooms and factories," is now in operation. The Act, we learn from a summary of it in the • Daily Times,' deals with the employment of all women and female children at " all kinds of manual work and labor in the preparing or manufacturing articles for trade or sale, not being contract or piece-work." It prohibits the employment of any female between the hours of 6 p.m., and 9 a.m., pr for more than eight hours in one day ; so that females employed between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., must get one hour during that period to themselves. The Act also orders that every female shall have holiday after 2 p.m. on Saturday, as well as the whole of Sunday and all day a set apart as public holidays, without thereby incurring any loss of wages. Every place in which females are employed must be properly ventilated. Employers guilty of contravening the Act are liable to a maximum • penalty of £50 for each offence, the penalty being recoverable before two Justices in a sntnmary way " by any person who may sue for the same." Although, however, any oue may put the law, in, motion, provision is made for the inspection of work-rooms during working hours. Such inspection may be made by any person who obtains the necessary authority in writing from the Resident Magistrate." We hope this Act will have a salutary effect upon those employers who keep girls at work until Sunday morning, instead of letting them away at a reasonable hour on Saturday evening, and that if this practice continues, steps will be taken to Bee the law enforced. The Bright Smile Company, during the last half-year, declared dividends to the amount of £5,775. The establishment of a Chamber of Commerce at Napier is urged by the ' Hawke's Bay Herald.' # Ax a meeting of the Provisional Directors of the National Building Society, held at the office of Mr C. R. Chapman, a prospectus was approved of, the rate of interest to be charged on loans was fixed, and a Bub-committee appointed to revise the rules. The roll of directors, and particulars with regard to the Society, will be found in our advertising columns. TttE Lyell correspondent of the ' Grey River Argus ' says he would "not be in the slightest degree a»tonished _to hear of a new and extensive gold field being discovered in the unkuown ranges lying between the Buller and Mokihinui rivers. A party of miners have applied to the Survey Department for all the inlormation that can be gathered regarding the nature and lay of the country, with the full intention of making good use of it this summer." P^OPiE, remarks the Auckland correspondent of the • Daily Times,' are much disgusted at the great increase of pay to Ministers, and contrast them, their glory, their travelling expenses, and their private secretaries, with the miserable, almost parsimonious manner in which they are oblige to conduct the t r own Provincial affairs and Provincial Institutions. We read in the ' Ly ttelton Times ' that the Rev. Father Ecuyer is taking steps for the formation of a school committee ; that he intimated to his congregation that of course Catholics would now have to dep«nd on themselves for .the support of their school, and urged upon them the necessity of their being united, so that their school might be efficiently maintained. " Notions " in the Grey River 'Argus' pays tribute of homage to the powers of the Home Rule vote. Referring to the Maori .M.H.R's., heeays; — " Like the Irish members in the House of Commons, the Maoris are sometimes masters of the situations." A Noteworthy Statement. — The Melbourne telegrams to the newspapers, say : "It is considered that the Education Act has broken down." So much for that perfect system. A miner makes this suggestion through the columns of the ' Ross Guardian' : — If the Banks have combined between themselves to reduce the price of gold, thej eby taking a mean advantage -of the miners, why should not the miner* combine and bind themselves to sell their gold at a fair price, say of £3 17s per ounce ? At Macetown, according to the 'Arrow Observer,' a case of attempt at roobery of a tailrace occurred on Sunday, 21st ult., the thief being a Chinaman of the name of Hong Hai, and the victims being Messrs Jenkins and party. A great amount of uneasiness has existed amongst the miners for a long time, there being grave reasons for believing that a systematic plan of robbing the claims and tailraces was being carried on. - Ltr the debate on the Provincial Loans Bill, Me Hunter, the member for Wellington city, remarked incidental that he had obtained information with reference to the amount of deposits in the banks throughout the Colony. There was in all £3.893,000. Mora than two millions out of this sum was not bearing interest at all • the rest bore interest at three per cent. There would have been uo'diffioulty in raising the Provincial loans at or below six per cent. As illustrating the losses by floods incurred by residents in Weatporj;, it is said that only one, among the hundreds in business since its settlement by Europeans, continues in the premises originally erected IT will be recollected that in December last it was reported that a storekeeper named James Hayeß, who bought gold for the banks reported that he had been robbed of 3560z of gold and sundry moneys, while journeying from Ahaura to Greymonth. The offer of a reward of £500 did not lead to ' discovery of any trace of the

robbers; and lecent occurrences led the parties interested to doubt whether a robbery, as reported by .Hayes, ever took place. Hayes haung been brought back from Melbourne on a charge of attempting to defraud his creditors, is now charged with .larceny of £1500 entrusted to him by the Bank of New South Wales in Greymouth ' Messes Kinoaid, MoQtteen; & Co, of the Vulcan Foundry Dunedin, have just completed the hull of a steamer for Messrs Campbell & Richardson of Napier. The steamer is built of iron, and is sixty-five feet in length, thirteen feet beam, and depth of hold six feet, and will be furnished with high-pressure engines of twenty-five horsepower nominal. The highest water-line is three feet, though it will probably, when laden, draw about four feet astern. It will be of about thirty-five tons register, and, when completed, will cost about £2600. It will be under the command of Mr Campbell, one of the owners and is destined for the Poverty Bay and Napier trade. The hull was built at the foundry, and taken on a carriage to the water, the transit being much delayed by the badly formed streets. Messrs Sims & Brown of Auckland have lately laid down the koel ot a new screw steamer to be built by them for a firm at Napier Her dimensions will be 56ffc keel, beam lift 6in, depth of hold sft. She is intended for towmg purposes in Napier harbor, is to be strongly built, and to have engines of great power. ° The follqwing eccentrio advertisement appeared recently in the 'South Canterbury Times ':— « Invitation.— If the person or persons who some time ago took from the Ship Hctfl, Timaru, an old' chiaa tea-cup will cill at the hocel, he can receive the saucers to match, and take tea, bread, butter, and shrimps with the owner." • ;A tremendous hailstorm occurred on the 25th ult., on the plains to tTie westward of Buraham, Canterbury. The hailstones lay on the ground to the depth of fire inches. The six new ships now building for Messrs P. Henderson and Co. of Glasgow, for the New Zealand trade, are to be uained respectively' Wellington, Canterbury, Auckland, Nelson, Dunedin, and fnvercargijj! The Provincial Council, at ii l s last session, empowered the Government "to obtain, as soon as possible, the services of a competent geologist," for the purpose of completing the geological survey of the Province, begun by Dr Hector. Captain Hutton, F.G.S., for many years connected with the Colonial Geological Department, has beea appointed to the situation. Mr Sewjbel, who is said to have a " craze," since he retired from the Fox Ministry, of examining the fin incial positieu of the country, recently stated in the Upper House that the colony owes £10,396,736, and that we have authorised works and incurred liabilities that bv'ms the debt up to £16,446,791. s At the last Patea land sale the prices ranged between £5 to £7 per acre. Competition was most spirited and rapid. Three times the quantity of hftid could have been sold if offered. Patrick Burke, a West Coast miner, bought a large quantity of land, and placed his d'ipont of £800 cash on the table. We are' glad to see that the unjust Education Bill has been thrown out by the Legislative Council. That body having the courage to_ resist the endeavor to tax "the poor for the education of the rich, rejected the clauses providing for model schools. Tlxe Council, it may be mentioned, approved of the cumulative principle, thereby giving minorities a chance of representation. The unrepresented of the Colony, and those in favor of denominational education have reason to be deeply grateful to the Hon. Dr. Grace, and the Hons. Major Richardson, Captain Fraser, Col. Brett, and the other gentlemen who raised their voices in defence of right and justice. The ' Bruce Herald's ' Irish news by the mail consists of a frightful murder by a lunatie'und a' horrible murder by a publican. ° Some ten days ago, says the Queenstown paper, a stalwart son of Vulmn in a neighboring town b;ido firewell to single blessedness, and, to celebrate the happy event, a number of his townsmen adopted the orthodox fashion of " tin-kettling " and other boisterous tokens of showing their friendly feelings. The worthy Benedict became wroth, and made a descent upon his tormentors, more than oae of whom he' rather severely handled. One gentleman got the worst of it, and appealed to the law to vindicate his injured feelings. The result was that each and all — inclu ling the groomsman — were served with summonses. On second thoughts the offended bridegroom declined to prosecute, and the charges were dismissed j he himself was fined 25s for assault. The moral of all this is, that " tin-kettling " should be kept within bounds, and that those who receive the "honor"' should preserve their temper*, and meet the evil half-way. A fatal accident occurred in the bay on the Ist inst., by which a man name 1 Peter Wilson, able seaman on board the ship Peter Denny, was drowned. It appears the deceased and another man, named Andrew Maconochie, went on board the ketch Fanny, lyin» off Carey's Bay, about two o'clock in the morning. Betweo-.i five and ' six o'clock the deceased went up on deck, and the> other man hearing a splash proceeded on fleck, but could not see anything of deceased" The body was afterwards recovered. The last Northern Escort which arrived in town, brought the following quantities of gold : —Queenstown, 1774.3Z3 ldwt ; Arrowtown 81-Boz3 18 Iwts ; Cardrons, 5030zs 18 lwts j Cromwell, 30380z5, 3dwts ; Clyde, 2500z5; Alexandra, U2Bozs ; Teviot," 7430za lOdwtj ; - Blacks' 75Cozs; Dunstan Creek, 600ozs ; Mount Ida, 1190ozs lSdwt • Palmerstou, 109ozs ldwt j MacrutS 1370zs 4dwts. Total 10 5730zs J3dwt. The prospect of the new Tariff of New Zealand causing this Colony in the future to import more of its goods direct from the United. Kingdom instead of via Melbourne, has naturally caused the Melbourne merchants to grumble afc the prospect of a diminution ot their trade. ;

•Harpers Weekly' says:— "Physicians affirm that extraordinary nervous disorders are appearing amohg the children of tl.e present generation. Sleeplessness is not an uncommon malady in children now-a-days. It is believed that the excessive brain wori. in close schoolrooms, which is now demanded of children, is producing the most pernicious results.