AUCKLAND.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 2, 4 May 1883, Page 23

AUCKLAND.

(From our own correspondent.)

April 21, 1883. THE sum taken at the Coromandel bazaar in aid of the convent scbcols of that district, amounted to close upon £200. The Rev. Father Cassidy has gone to Puhoi (the German settlement) and the surrounding districts to administer to the spiritual wants of the faithful residing there.

A meeting of the Ladies' Committee of Saint Mary's Benevolent Society was held at Ponsonby last week. Monsignore Fynes, V. G., presided. The meeting was merely of a formal character. Several ladies handed in amounts collected by them during the past three months. Additions are being made to that portion of Saint Mary's Orphanage known as " The Star of the Sea," by the direction of Monsignore Fynes ; this will be a great comfort to the little orphans.

The hour of evening service held each Sunday at St. Benedicts, Newton, has been altered to half -past six .o'clock. This is on account of the change in the season of the year.

There is to be a grand entertainment in aid of the building fund of St. Benedict's Church, and Tuesday, 24th April, has been chosen as a suitable day to bold the same. The Theatre Royal has been engaged, and Monsignore Fynes, V. G., and the clergy are to be present upon the occasion. The well-known name of Mr Seton is associated with the management of the Ethiopian portion of the entertainment, and therefore it is expected that a fair sum will be realised.

At a concert held by the H. A. C. B. Society, a certain sum over and above expenses remained, and this Was divided amongst the orphanages of the district, — St. Mary's Orphanage, 'Ponaonby, amongst others, having received the sum of £7 as its share.

A meeting of St. Benedict's Church Committee was held, on the Ith instant, at Newton. A financial report for the quarter ended 31st March was receipted and adopted by those present after accounts and details had been audited in the usual manner. Five gentlemen were elected members of committee by virtue of a provision contained iv a motion passed at last meeting, viz : — Messrs. Prince, O'Connell. Collins, Jones, and Payne. It was proposed and duly carried that a copy of the financial report be inserted in the N. Z. FrecmaiCs Journal pro bono pxCblioo. The following is an abstract from the report inserted : — Receipts during quarter, £709 16s 6£d ; expenditure, £709 14s 4d ; balance in hand, is 2£d. The liabilities remain as under :— To Colonial Insurance Company, £3153 ; Bank of New Zealand, overdraft, £1618 5s Id ; architect, £114 18s ; Bank of New Zealand, £1 12s 8d ; unpaid contingencies, r*2s 7s lOd ; total liability, £4910 3s 7d. The Reverend Father VaggioM, O.S. B. (who occupied the chair), in a neat speech, spoke of the energy of the people, and their endeavours in co-operating with the priests in order to wipe out this debt, and he warmly congratulated them upon the manner in which they had responded to the calls made upon their incomes. He eaid, further, that the matter of paying off the debt was entirely in the hands of the people, and that they should take pride, as they eeem already to have done, in endeavouring to lessen the encumbrances. A vote of thanks was cordially passed to the Chairman, and several members of Committee spoke as to the efficient and satisfactory manner in which the accounts of the last quarter had been

kept and the financial balance-sheet drawn out. The meeting adjourned therewith. t I have to record the death of Mr. Edward Costley. Mr. Costley has been a benefactor, not only to the city of Auckland, but also to this Colony of New Zealand. He has bequeathed his vast estate to several of the institutions of the city, and made sundry minor bequests to friends who appear to have merited his esteem and confidence. He has, we are informed, left over £120.000 to the following institutions : The Auckland Hospital, the Old Men's Home, the Par* nell Orphan Home, the Auckland Institute, the Auckland Free Library, the Sailors' Home, and the Training School at Kohimararuara. The whole estate is valued at about £135,000. Mrs. Mackie, with whom deceased has been boarding for the last seventeen yean, has a legacy of £3000, she having paid many little attentions to him during that time. It is supposed that each of the above institutions will take, under the will, to the extent of £14,000. This act of philanthropy should not be allowed to go unrecognised. The deceased resided in Auckland during the greater portion of his life, and became a very well-known personage in that busy thoroughfare Queen street. He had reached the age of 89 years, and was unmarried at the time of his death. The executors of the will, Messrs. Samuel Jackson, solicitor,,and David Hean, manager National Bank of New Zealand, by letter.' informed the City Council of the several bequests, which letter was duly published] in the local papers. The funerall passed off very quietly ; gentlemen representing the several institutions being present. The Costley bequests will long be remem* bered by the inhabitants of this city, and ought not to go unrecognised. It is the duty of 'the people to erect some substantial and * lasting monument in commemoration of the name of the deceased, and if a column and statue, standing in some public place, is not the result of this beneficence, the progeny of those who now dwell in and occupy this city of Auckland will have cause to shed bitter tears at the mention of the ingratitude of their ancestors. People are intoxicated with happiness, and even gratitude at times, and lose their wits, but let them have a care in this instance lest, in calmer moments, when the fire of gratitude has gone and the glow remains, they have reason to regret their actions. The legacy duty, which is expected to amount to £10,000 odd, has warranted the executors in corresponding with the Government, so as to exempt the payment of same on such portions of the estate as the public institutions above named are entitled to.

The Society of Arts Exhibition has been a very successful affair. The number of exhibits was very great, and the pictures generally gave pronounced satisfaction. One thing noticeable amongst others was the large number of paintings exhibited by the gentler sex, and the beauty and excellence of the same. There is no doubt every facility in such a tropical clime as this for painting, both on account of the beautiful weather and the infinite variety of subjects in landscape ; for when the Southerner is obliged to go some distance — aye, miles — in order to obtain a subject for a picture, the artist in the North has only to go a comparatively short distance. It is needless to mention any names in connection with the late exhibition, suffice it to say, however, that Lady Jervois and family, during the week, paid sundry visits, and great satisfaction was expressed by her Ladyship as to the number and designs of the exhibits. His Excellency the Governor has been visiting the surrounding country and has already given his opinion, on many of the districts, and especially of the much-spoken-of harbour. He assures the people that their harbour is second to none in the world, and adds that the facilities for commerce of this city are very great. His Excellency "visited the Lake district yesterday, and was shown over the principal places by Mr. W. J. Hurst, M.H.R., the representative of the constituency of that place. Mr. John Lamb's stone wall and some 3000 tons of earth fell the other night, when all had retired for the night. Mr. Lamb has been some years constructing this ponderous structure, and at an immense outlay. It appears that the heavy rains of the preceding week had soaked into the natural crevices of the earth abutting npon the wall, and acted with hydraulic power, thus forcing earth and wall into the street. Much sympathy has been expressed at this loss of Mr. Lamb's. The .scene of the occurrence presents a very peculiar appearance, and has been visited' by great crowds. Miss Jennie J cc opens in the Opera House with " Jo." Miss Eloise Juno has been playing there for some time past to good audiences. Business is improving, but money is still very tight. A large firm took advantage of the clauses of the Bankruptcy Act a few days back, and the public are losers to the extent of tens of thousands thereby. The Auckland Rowing Association holds a rowing regatta in a few days. This Association is formed by the union of the different clubs around Auckland. A splendid and successful regatta is anticipated, as the rowing races at the last regatta actually fell through. DALLY.