NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 152, 31 March 1876, Page 11

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

A Traveller round New Zealand sends to the ' New Zealand Herald ' the following description of the cone of Mount Eginont : — Standing up before you and the as jet unrisen sun, its peak softened and etherialised by the morning light, you do not vrondi r that it should hare obtained the reputation of being the most perfect volcanic mountain in the world. For a whole day we gazed upon its blended grandeur and beauty, its broad base frequently hidden by the rolling clouds, while its peak stood out sharp and distinct against a blue sky, ■with patches of snow lying here and there in the ravines which other-

wise would have been lost to view ; and on the return voyage we watched it till the daylight failed, and fifty miles away it took on the of the clouds that floated around it, and seemed itself to

be of their evanescent kindred. Its fascination was not broken till night shut out all but the few stars which, through the flying western track, shone and disappeared.

Levttka has, like Greymoutli, its old man of the sea. The larger part of the Fij.an capital is claimed and occupied by the Wesleyan Mission, who acquired the land long prior to any prospect of annexation. Thus the Government is met at every step with difficulties. Suppose it is decided to build a new post office, a court house, market, or what not, every inch of land has to be purchased at a high figure They will not even lease allotments in the town for a longer period than ten years, nt the end of which tenants discover they must pay a greatly increased rent or remove elsewhere. "While this spirit hovers over the "lands of the church," it is certain that no man will put up any permanent building, and that the town will not improve with ordinary rapidity. Were it not for these doubts and difficulties the Fiji Banking and Commercial Company would commence building its new

bank. Wharves and jetties would be run out by private enterprise, and freeholders would Bee about improving their properties in good earnest. — ' Ross Guardian.' Therk is a proof of the Australian cable having more than local advantages (says a Wellington papftr.) Ships on look-out for freight do not now, as they did two year 3 ago, clear for a foreign port on " spec." The captain of the Ned White telegraphed to his owners in New York that there wa3 no freight offering here, and to-day he received a telegram, dated " New York, March 6," directi-g him to proceed to Manilla, there to load a cargo of sugar, for New York direct. Captains of the old school, who had to "go seeking " for car<*o in the India and China ports, may well marvel at the telegraphic wonders of the present day. Simo>*sen's Royal English Opera Company continue to meet with the approbation of the public. The resources of this troupe appear to be boundless, and their repertoire seems absolutely unlimited. Having performed in both English and Italian operas, that were wellknown to us, and in all gained a fair meed of applause, on Monday last, they produced La Fille de Madame Angot, a work hitherto unknown to Dunedin This opera is by Lecocq, a French composer, and when it is considered that comic opera is in Paris esteemed a separate branch of the art, which calls fur a theatre and a company especially adapted for its representation, it mu>t be evident that to attempt it, with anything like success, under other circumstances is very deserving of credit, and bespeaks a high degree of versatility in the talents of the artistes who undertake it. We may fairly say that such is the case with regard to the company in question. La Fille de Madame Angot has added fresh laurels to their wreathes, and will, no doubt, long continue a favorite with the music-loving public of Dunedin. A shocking accident occurred in the the Green Island Railway tunnel on Saturday night last, It was reported at the Caversham depot on Sunday morning that the body of a man had been seen lyin" 1 by the rails in the tunnel, covered with blood. On investigation^ was found that the remains, which were frightfully mutilated, were those of a constable named Henry Vernon, who had been stationed at Green Island for about a year, and who must have been run down by the train coming from Balclutha, which passed throuo-h the tunnel about 8.45 p.m. on the evening in question. Deceased, who was an efficient member of the police force, and much respected, has left a wife and child. It will be seen, by an advertisement in another column of our present issue, that arrangements have been concluded for holding the concert in aid of the schools on Easter Monday evening, in the Temperance Hall. The Committee have been fortunate in securing first-class talent, including a number of ladies and gentlemen who have never before appeared in Dunedin. We notice that Mr. J. J. Woods will conduct the entertainment. The tickets are now ready for circulation. We learn the following particulars of the drought in the back country of New South Wales from the Wilcannia correspondent of the ' Hay Standard' : — " The news from our back is most distr?ssinc. 1500 sheep, Messrs. Gayer and Hamilton's, died out of a flock of ° 10,000 whilst coming into water. The Paroo mailman lost a horse through exhaustion last week, and had to go a considerable distance on loot, carrying the mails over a sandy ground with the sun at 148 deg. If the Government do not soon make tanks on the 'aroo they will find the country uninhabitable, and also that the mail will have to stop running. On Reid's Yarraminee station the sheep are dying by hundreds, and I learn that over 50,000 have started from there in search of feed and water. In the town we have plenty of water, but no feed. Cattle coming in from some distance rush to the river, and greedily drink; and in some instances they drop down, and die through cramps, from taking too much water. On the river, within half a mile of the town, I counted five horses and eight bullocks that died from this cause. The long list of accidents arising from the explosion of kerosene lamps has been increased by another mischance of the kind which occurred at Wodonga the other evening, on the premises of Mr. Bassett, haircutter. It appears, according to the Melbourne ' Age,' that Mr. Bassett, who was about to close his shop, proceeded to extinguish the lamp. After turning down the wick, he rather imprudently blew into the burner, the kerosene inside the lamp at once igniting and causing the lamp to burst with a loud explosion. The burning oil flowed rapidly over the head, shoulders and body of Mr. Bassett, and he rushed into the street a mass of flame. That he was not burned to death, or at least seriously injured, is due to the presence of mind displayed by some youths in the street, who sang out to him to lie down in the dust. Fortunately there happened to be a plentiful supply of the latter article immediately in front of the shop, and Mr. Bassett, acting upon the advice tendered him, at once lay down and rolled over. His efforts to extinguish the flames were ably supplemented by the energy of a fewof the bystanders, who trundled him about in the gutter until the fire was put out, and the sufferer's only danger was death from suffocation. When all was over, it was found that Mr. Bassett was a °-ood deal singed about the head and shoulders, and his hair was nearly all burnt off. The shop in which the accident occurred was very nearly burned down, as the burning oil spread over the floor and set fire to the lining of the walls. The ladies of the Catholic Congregation in Dunedin deserve much credit for the activity displayed by them in promoting the success of the forthcoming bazaar. A measure of this kind has rarely been taken up so energetically on so short a notice, and the spirit shown gives ample testimony to the desire of all parties concerned to advance the welfare of the community, a desire which merits commendation, and affords a most cheering assurance of a future fraught with prosperity to all matters connected with the interests of "religion and the status moral and social of the Catholic "body. The establishment of the Christian Brothers amongst us is, indeed, as it is plainly felt to be, a most importxnt matter, and one t> be hailed with thankfulness, not only by Catholics, but by all persons, who are not prevented by bigotry from recognising, that

it is for the good of the community in general, that each of its sections should be trained to habits of order and rectitude, in the manner which is best calculated to insure this desideratum in their peculiar case, and who have sufficient candour to acknowledge what experience has everywhere firmly established, that the most successful educators of Catholic youth are the members of the various teaching orders of religions.