NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 136, 10 December 1875, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

It was the intention of His Lordship the Bishop to hare discontinued the collection in connection with the Christian Brothers Fund until after the holidays, but it was found that large numbers of subscribers came on last Sunday prepared to pay the first instalment of amounts promised, and the collectors find that to discontinue the list would prove an inconvenience "to subscribers, therefore, His Lordship has decided that the gentlemen who have been kind enough to act as collectors will continue to attend, for the purpose of receiving money on behalf of this fund. Our readers will be pleased to learn that arrangements have been made for commencing the Christian Brothers' School, and we may expect to see these buildings completed during the forthcoming holidays. The Lynch family have been doing their best to draw the patronage cf the Dunedin public during the past week by discoursing some of the sweetest music. The great novelty of music produced by bell-ringing is a feature in their enterLaimnent that should establish a desire with all Avho are admirers of music to see and hear them. It is not every day that one has an opportunity of seeing such wonderful feats of peculiar dexterity that are displayed in the manipulation of these hand-bells ; and, independent of the beautiful and familiar niusic to which we have been treated, it is worth all the money to see the performers working at the bells. Although we are of opinion that the comic clement of the performance is somewhat at variance with the high-class character of the first part of the programme, there •can be do doubt as to the appreciation of the audience. Each evening this part of the programme elicits loud applause, and the common Terdict of all who witness tne comic business of Mr. Koely is summed in the phrase peculiar to the colonies — immense. We see by an advertisement, which will be found in another column, ll'at Mr. Lynch has made arrangements to visit the goldfields, and we arc in a position to promise oar readers in those districts a genuine treat-. At Mr. Reynolds' meeting considerable amusement was caused by a question being put asking, first: If Mr. Reynolds could inform the meeting as to what was the annual appropriation for the New Zealand University ? The answer was, ,£3OOO. "Whereupon enquiry was made, Where is this University to be found? Here the questioner put on a look, which plainly said, I have you now! — whilst poor Reynolds looked sheepish for a while, and then replied, That he could not give the locality of the institution, or say whether it was really in existence or not, although he was aware that £3000 was the annual appropriation. Tub fifth annual meeting of the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society is appointed to take place in Melbourne on the third Wednesday of February, 1876. Business of more than usual itnpor.tanca to the New Zealand Branches is to be brought forward, the proposition to abolish District Boards being the most important. There is no doubt that (.lie present system is unnecessarily expensive, and perhaps the Society would be better without them, but it will be necessary for the branches in New Zealand to express an opinion on the subject. We believe there is a general desire to have the brunches •consolidated under one governing power, and it is stated that the Society could be governed by the Executive directory at one-half the expence which it takes at present under the' District Board system. However, if the Society is fully represented at the next annual meet-

ing there is no doubt a system of government will be devised thafc will be acceptable to all the branches.

At a meeting of the Council of the Acclimatisation Society, held on Tuesday afternoon, a report was received from the manager, showing the number of trout which had been distributed during" the season up to the present time. The total was 9750 fish and 7800 eggs, sent to various localities within and beyond the Province. A well-executed photograph by Messrs. Burton Bros, of the salmon trout recently caught in the harbor was laid on the table, together with a report by Professor Coughtrey of the contents of the fish's stomach. The following resolution was passed : — " That an effort be made to procure, from America, the eggs of the East Coast salmon and of some of the most valuable of the American Lake fish, and with that object the sum of £100 bo forwarded to the United States' Commissioners of Fisheries with a request that he would forward a consignment of its eggs to the Society. The chairman was requested to write to the Salmon Commissioners of Tasmania with a view to ascertaining what facilities the Society would obtain during the ensuing winter for obtaining salmon trout eggs, and at the same time for searching the Branches of the Derwent for the eggs of the salmon. It was also resolved thiit a letter should be addressed to his Honor the Superintendent, requesting him to reserve from sale as many road lines as possible which run along the banks of the streams into which fish have been turned. At the Harbor Board's fortnightly meeting, held on Tuesday, the Engineer reported that the work of deepening and wideningthp channel off Rattray street wharf is gradually deepening, and that in the course of the present month at least 500 ft of additional berfchage, affording a depth of 9ft at low water, will be available alongside the new wharf ; that several contracts had been prepared for approval, comprising wharf extension, removal of training Avail, additional punts and conditions upon which tenders will be received, for iron hull for dredge New Era, and that the plates for the new dredge arrived per Zelandia, and that the work of preparing them, for use in the hull was being proceeded with. The Inspector reported that during November the two dredges had lifted 9877 cubic yards of stuff at a total cost of .£582, which, was much above the average caused by repairs, etc. The Secretary furnished a return showing the work done by the dredges during the past five months. In July 965G cubic yards were dredged at a cost of £o2I ; in August, G766 yards at a cost of .£435 ; in September, 7531 yards at a cost of .£so4< ; in October (five weeks), 9577 yards at a cost of .£531 ,- and in November, 9577 yards at a cost of .£582. Total, =82575. On Mr. Tewsley's motion, it was decided to levy wharfage rated under the Board's Act of last session in place of the dues imposed under the Superintendent's delegated powers. During the past week, the revenue officers of Dunedin have been doing a large business. At last there seems to be a probability of putting a stop to sly grog selling. It is a notorious fact, that from the beginning, Dunedin has, in one way or another, boon the special patron of this trade, and in spite of the strenuous efforts of its police to confine the selling of drink within the limits of the law, so many obstacles have at all times been raised up, that it has hitherto been impossible to do so. A batch of convictions may tell a tale. Opposition is the life of trade. So say the X. Y. Z. Company, wlio, having recently come over from Tasmania, have started business as butchers, and are advertising at prices calculated to cause a panic among the Dunedin butchers. Rumour says that the trade generally are determined to take a stand against these new invaders, and combine, with a view of driving them back to the island from whence they came. Of course all this means cheap meat — at anyrate for a season. 'Tis an ill wind that blows nobody any good. Another deputation have waited upon his Honor the Superindent, and presented a petition signed by 219 householders out of 269 hi the district, asking that South Duuedin might be proclaimed a municipality with as little delay as possible, and in. accordance with the terms of the petition lodged and gazetted some months ago. Mr. JMaloney, who was one of the deputation, explained that only fifteen househoidois had actually refused to sign the petition. — His Honor said that as there was now evidently a large majority in favor of the municipality being granted, there was no doubt that the wishes of the petitioners would be acceded to. The matter had prove.] to be a troublesome affair, and he was very glad they had got to the end of it. In consequence of the counter-petitions which ha,d been presented, Mr. Sessions had to be appointed to visit the householders for the purpose of ascertaining the real facts of the case. — Mr. Maloney said that originally almost all the residents were in favor of a municipality, but the trouble was produced by people outside who meddled with the affairs of the district. He said that he now regretted that anything had been said at the meeting at Forbury to hurt his Honor's feelings. — His Houor said that he did not think that there had existed any occasion for the strong language use Aat that meeting. He would lay the matter before the Executive, and if they approved of it, the municipality Avould be at once proclaimed. We are glad to rce that some of the shanties which disgraced for so long a period the entrance to our city are being removed. We refer to the wretched looking places oi" residence that existed this side oi: Pclichct Bay Station, and which could not fail to give visitors a very bad impression of Dunedin upon their first arrival. Still a large number remain, and the sooner they, too, are removed to make war for buildings of a more respectable and pretentious character the better. We trust some day to see the site of these wretched-looking hovels occupied by stately warehouses and stores. Tiie agent of lima di Murska, the songstress, was a passenger by the s.s. Hero. The great singer is expected to arrive in New Zealand early in January. A musical treat of a high order may therefore be looked forward to by the people of Dunedin. Thk .Province of Canterbury, up to the present time, shows by far the greatest amount of political activity in preparation for the coming general election. It is more than probable that cve ty seat in

Canterbury will be hotly contested, and we should noL be sui'prised to And that many changes in the representation will be made. The residence of Mr. John Hyde Harris, situated in Frederick street, was almost totally destroyed by fire on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Harris on his return home at about 3 o'clock, was told by one of his servants that she was of opinion that the house was on fire, as smoke was distinctly to be seen issuing out of the back door. He endeavored to discover the whereabouts of the fire. The flames shortly afterwards broke out through the roof, and quickly penetrated tlie greater part of the building, which they completely yutted. The Fire Brigade was on the spot as early as possible, and rendered effectual assistance toAvards extinguishing the fire. The house and furniture were insured in the Norwich Union for ,£1,200, and in tlie Victoria for a like amount. The value of the "building was ,£3,300, and the furnitwe and plate ,£3,000. We sco by an advertisement, which will be found in another column, that, the New Zealand Steam Shipping Company arc to issue tickets, during December and January, at half rates for their steamers to all parts of the colony to which they run. Their tickets arc available for return till tlie end of February. Wi: :nv !>lad to find that Iho wounds recently opened amongst ihe members of the Dunedin 11. A. C. 13. Society have been healed, and that they lave resolved upon the golden maxim, of " agreeing to differ." This is as it ought to be, for the object for which they are handed together is to do good, and the only grounds of dispute must be how be«t to do it. When a grievance has no deeper cause than this, the wounds cannot be of a very severe character; hence the speedy pure above referred to. The fact is, the members of the Society have resolved to hold an open-air fete on St. Stephen's Day, and will have full employment in carrying it to a successful issue. This will be the first public display the Society has undertaken, and a» its members comprise many able and willing workers, there cannot be much doubt but what the mantle of success attending former Catholic pic-nics will fall upon the committee of the present undertaking O>* Tuesday night there was a large attendance at the Temperance Hall on the occasion of Sir Dillon Bell addressing those of the electors of AVnikouaiti who reside in Dunedin. Mr. Stout, who was called to the chair, said lie took it as an elector of Waikouaiti, i but al>o as a Provhiciahst, and one who had on almost every occasion i voted against the candidate who was to address the meeting. He recognised Sir Dillon Bell's vast experience in polities and well-known ability, and was sure that ■whatever that gentleman said would be listened to by all with attention. He was not pledged to support the candidate, but was there to hear what ho had to say, and he had no doubt they would give a patient and attentive hearing. Sir Dillon .Bell thanked Mr. Stout for taking the chair, remarking that he could hardly have expected him to preside. He then entered upon the financial position of the Colony, and during an exhaustive and perhaps the mobt able speech that has been delivered in Dunedin for a long time, was listened to with an attention which contrasted strongly with tliat afforded at tlie meeting of our city representatives. At the conclusion of the meeting, a. unanimous vote was passed thanking Sir Dillon Bell for his speech. Ot'R readers will be pleased to learn that arrangements have been completed for the concert in aid of the Catholic School Fund, and, as will be seen by an advertisement which appears this week, the 3rd of January has bom fixed upon as the date for the concert. Mr. J. J. Wood, assisted by lv« vtifc, a lady well known to Dunedin Catholics as an accomplished musician, and so\oral pupils from the Lawrence school have Kindly volunteered to come clown and gh'e us what wo have no hesitation in predicting to be — a grand vocal and musical treat. We have heard a good deal about Mr. AVood as a vocalist and a> the master of many instruments, and we shall look forward to this concert a^ one of the series of our Christmas, holiday festivities. I:\Qrnii7vS having been made as to what would bo the local exhibits for the forthcoming Centennial Exhibition of industry at Philadelphia, our ('Now Zealand Herald') reporter mr.de inquiry yesterday from the Secretary of the local Committee for their collectionlie elicited the following remarkable reply: — "Not a single exhibit has been cither sent, in or promised ; not a single question even has been asked me on the suljeot. In frict, you arc the firat person who has said a word to me on the matter." ly A'ictoria. with her population of nearly 800,000, (,he work oC legislation is done by 150 legislators, at the cost of 4Gs 6d per head of tho population In Now Zealand, with a whole population of about 330,000 the work requires 370 legislator*, and costs something like 65s per he id. }■£ was reported at f lie Hide Association's meeting that forty-five entries had been received from town companies for each of the first, four matches. This number is sure to be largely added to, as country competitors can enter up to the time of firing. A valuable trophy having been presented by Mr. AY. 11. Hay don, it was resolved that it be competed for by the ten highest aggregate scorers sit 200,300, '100, 500, and 000 \nrds ; five shots at each range ; 5s entry ; Colonial shooting regulations for 187(5 ; the time to be arranged at the completion of the lirht fi\e matches. At the quarterly mooting of tbo Licensing Court, held on Tuesday, Vnit cos Elliot made application for a license for the vestibule of the Queen's Theatre. Mr. Harris explained that if the patrons of the theatre vranted refreshment they had to go a considerablo distance for it. The granting of the license would prove as groat a convenience to Ihe frequent era of the theatre 'is to the applicant. The Court wei'o of opinion that, a vestibule bar to a theatre was vicious in principle, and even aflectod, to a certain extent, the character of tho place. Prostitutes and persons of indifferent character were apt to frequent it, and the Police Court records showed how much mischief arose in such places, so tho Court had set their faces against granting any licenses to bars so situated. Persons going to a theatre who might desire refreshment before going home, could get it close by, so that the objection to distance did not apply ; while if persons could not sit out theatrical representations, but must run out for refreshment,^they

should not go at all. The license would be refused. In reply to air observation -which fell from counsel, the Chairman stated that if a license for the now theatre was applied for, the Court would undoubtedly refuse it. A Gazette has been published at "Wellington dissolving the Assembly and summoning the new Parliament to meet on the 2nd February. AT.TnorGn croakers, in the technical sense of the word, have been plentiful enough at the Thames for some time past (says the 'Thames Advertiser'), the introduction of the genuine article in the shape of two real live frogs, by Mr. Severn, created considerable astonishment and no small consternation to some persons residing in his neighborhood. The imported specimens are two large fellows of a bright, green colour, with gold longitudinal stripes. They have powerful lung*. The creatures were liberated on "Wednesday evening in a paddock of green oats at the back of Mi*. Severn's premises, btifc-* they soon made their way to a large pool of water which has lodged at. the corner of Bolleston-street and the Hape Creek-road, just inside Mr. Severn's fence, and hero they started a seranade, much to the astonishment of those residing in the neighborhood. During yesterday large crowds of children, and grown people too, assembled around the fence to catch a glimpse of the strangers. Unless these frogs should come to an untimely end, they will no doubt figure prominently in some of Mr. Severn's experimental lectures, lie has often promised to exhibit to the visual organs the mode of circulation of the blood, and for this purpose we bclievt a frog is Ihe most suitable living creature. The following items are from the 'Tuapeka Times ' : — An apple tree was struck b\ lightning in Mi\ James Lindsay's garden, at the Blue Spur, on Monday. The tree, which was only a few feet from the dwelling-house, was split right through the stem. — A -worthy digger, who resides down the Tuapeka, Creek, narrowly escaped meeting with an untimely end List week. lie was going up one of the spurs leading from the river to the Tuupelsa Mouth road, when he was suddenly confronted by two live bulls in battle array. The hill being steep, and the bulls having the advantage of position, a retrograde movement was neces-sai'y. This was executed with the utmost precision by our friend of the sluice-box, who retire'l somewhat preciI pitately with his back to the enemy. This flank movement was not carried out without some danger, as the bovine warriors charged right gallantly at their foe. After a chase of some few hundred yards they sheered off, and, without further hostile demonstrations, joined the ranks of their tribe. Our friend was thi>n allowed to proceed on his journey witlioiit further molestation. — The "Waipori Gold Mining Co. is employed driving for the main reef. They have not yet succeeded in reaching a payable body of stone. — The Nil Desperandum Co.'s quartz claim at "Waipori is looking well, and good results are anticipated from the next crushing. — The work of clearing out the debris washed into the Waipori Sludge Channel by the late floods is being proceeded with rapidly by miners under the superintendence of Mr. P. Uren. — The crops throughout this and the "WaiUihuna districts are looking splendid after the recent showery weather, and promise an abundant yield. The pastures are luxuriant, and the cattle running thereon are thriving accordingly. Hay-making is now general amongst the fanners. — The waters of the \Vaitahuna river are about to be freighted with trout. In a communication from the president of the Acclimatisation Society, addrci-cd to Mr. J. M'Kay, Mount Stewart, the writer says :—": — " Mr. Dean has handed me your letter, and in reply t hereto 1 may &ay that about 4.00 young trout will be forwarded to Mr. John Sutherland on Saturday. The fish will be tinder | the charge of Macintosh as 'ar ar? Havelock, and Z\lr. Sutherland has promised to turn them into the "Waitahuna as soon as possible. Hoping the trout will succeed with you as well as thoj' seem to be doing in the other streams of the province." — -On a still night the incessant clank of the stamper batteries at the head of Gabi-icl's Gully can be distinctly heard in Peel-street. The strength and solidity of the Breakwater (says the ' North Otago Times ') has been thoroughly tested by the recent gale, and consequent heavy seas, and with the most satisfactory results- No 1 damage whatever has been done to the completed portion, although j the assault of the seas has been heavier than at any time for 12 months past, and was continuous for more than &8 hours. A. centre block, weighing about 150 tons, made only on Wednesday last, however, not having quite set, has been disturbed and cracked j round the edges, but the damage done can easily be made good as** i soon as the weather becomes calm. The contractors' rails at the extreme (seaward) end of the wall have been torn up and twisted, Ijiii nothing' fortunately was carried away. The value of the structure as a shelter to shipping has been most satisfactorily proven, the Mary Ogilvie being able to finish her loading, and the steamer Samson to load and take passengers aboard during the continuance of the storm; while the schooner Zior and ketch Pahnerston. went on with the discharging of their cargo without interruption from the sea, and lay under the left of the wall in perfect safety, and in almost still water.

An exchange says : " The Persian Shah has been receiving a delegation of Catholic priests with such marked courtesy and liberal promises, that the Church is quite hopeful of gaining an entrance into the .Empire." A German paper expresses uneasiness at the decreasing population of Prussia proper. Between 1861 and 186 i (.here was au increase of 8409, but between 186 i and 1867 there was a. decrease of 12,922, and between 1567 and IS7I one of 56,440. Allowing for tho loss of life in the last two wars, and for the Prussian soldiers quartered in France at the time of the census, the loss of population in ten years amounts to 52,200. Over 80,000 visitors on the 15th of August celebrated the Fete of Napoleon by attending High Mass in his memory at St. Augustine's Church, Paris.