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New Zealand Times, Volume XL, Issue 6886, 18 June 1883, Page 2

Our contemporary the Evening Post is doubtless the organ of Infinite Wisdom, but it bus one slight defect. It is given to false statements. A abort time back we bad occasion to refer to one falsehood published by the Peat with regard to an alleged quotation from this paper. We have now to mention another, which will be tound in the Post’s issue of Saturday last. Any one who reads our issue of last Saturday morning can see for himself that we did not ask—indignantly or otherwise —the question which the Post states w* pub* llshed.

The Skeleton Army, which somebody summoned for “ knee-drill' at BJO on Saturday night, proved to b« only a skeleton. The announcement was a hoax.

The new landing pier in connection with the recently-erected wool sheds belonging to the Harbor Board is now completed, and, with the exception of some slight finishing tenches to the piles, is ready for use. As yet, however, the harbor authorities have mads no provision for lighting the pier. Doubtless this matter will be attended to shortly. A dead cow has been complained of as causing a dangerous nuisance in Polhill Gully. The facts are that a cow, the property of Ashton Fitchett, farmer, died about 200 yards from the road, and lay there a month. The stench has cow disappeared ; bat supposing it to have caused a public nuisance, which is doubtful, the carcase is to be buried without delay. Tho following list of tenders was received by the Public Works Department for Duoback Contract No, 2, Palmerston-Waibemo Branch, Waitaki-Bluff Railway :—Accepted : Miller and Smallie. Oamaru, £4131. Declined : Nelson and Swanston, Port Chalmers, £4583 ; Edgar and Co., Dunedin, £4678; J. McCombs and Co,, Oamarn, £4742 ; J. Black, Waimate, £4787 ; Barclay and McKay, Oamaru, £4792; Jesse Coates, Christchurch, £5003 ; James Sutherland, Dunedin, £5104 ; Smith and Walker, Invercargill, £5179 ; H. Whittaker, Dunedin, £5586 ; A, Watsons, Oamaru, Tho directorate of the Theatre Royal are evincing, by their enterprise, that they are determined to obtain the good opinion of the Wellington theatre-going public. In addition to the erection of the new verandah and balcony the recently-imported chairs will bo shortly placed in position in the dress-circle, and immediately ou the conclusion of the present dioramic season the theatre will undergo a thorough redecoratiou and repainting of the interior from floor to dome. The contract for this work has been let to Mr W. Tinney, of Lambton-quay and Molesworth-stceet. Wanganui gives us a change now and then. Last week we chronicled the arrival of two lunatics from this, the second largest centre of population in the provincial district, and now it is our duty to note the arrival of five longsentenced prisoners, who came down by the Huia yesterday morning, among them being Phssbo Veitch, whose sentence of death for child-murder has been commuted to penal servitude for life. Really, if Wanganui will insist on patting with its population in this fashion, the Registrar-General should have no difficulty in accounting for any freak in the census returns regarding the place. A telegram from Auckland, which will he found in our shipping column, states that the Hons. J. Williamson and H. Chamberlin, and Messrs Whyte, Mitohelson, Tole, Hurst, and Moss are coming South in the Hinemoa, and that probably the Hon. Dr. Pollen and Mr Peacock will also bo passengers. Mrs Whitaker, the Misses Whitaker, and Mesdairea Mitohelson, Hurst, and Tolc are also on board the Hinemoa. Another telegram informs us that Mr Dargaville will leave on Thursday, and that Mr Sheehan is, as yet, undecided as to when he will take his departure for Wellington. The increasing traffic on Waterloo-quay, occasioned not only by the erection of the now woolsheds, but also by the carting for the new buildings of the Wellington Meat Export Company which have just been completed, has cut up tho road to a fearful extent. Many of the numberless ruts which abound near the Lion Foundry are eight and nine inches in depth. The City Surveyor would receive the good wishes of the carters who daily use this portion of the thoroughfare named, and would avert the anathemas which are diurually showered upon his devoted head, if ha were to cause a few loads of metal to be judiciously laid upon the part of the quay indicated. Mr W. Bishop, the now licensee of the Oxford Hotel, which is to be rechristened the Coffee Palace Hotel, on Saturday evening last inaugurated a new departure from the ordinary business of -a hotelkeeper, so far as the mere selling of intoxicants is concerned, which, by-tho-way, would receive the encomiums of either Sir W. For or Mr Price. The innovation referred to is the establishment of a coffee-room, wherein visitors at the theatre, or casual droppers-in may obtain a cup of coffee or chocolate and a Welsh rarebit on the shortest notice. The lounge or vestibule, is well supplied with the Home and Colonial newspapers, and no doubt “ between the acta ” will become a favorite resort.

It 19 stated by Frank Leslie’s Newspaper that "the investigation by a Citizen’s Committee of the Washington (United States) Police Department has disclosed a most extraordinary state of affairs. This Committee has been at work for three months, and it has discovered proofs of the existence of a widespread conspiracy between the detectives and the thieves, whereby the former even went so far as to plan robberies, send for criminals to commit them, and divide the profits with them. The committee has secured the indictment of 34 persons, most of whom were detectives, and the abolition also of the whole detective force by Congress, The investigation has a national interest, inasmuch as the unlawful combination which it has disclosed operated in the interest of more prominent criminals than ordinary thieves, and has seriously impeded the administration of justice in the courts.’’ The Wanganui Chronicle says :—That New Zealand is just now experiencing an abnormally severe winter is made plain by tidings on all sides. We in Wanganui are enjoying frosts, both hail and sleet, and cold winds which find out all our little rheumatic weaknesses, and tendencies to lumbago. So far as snow is concerned, we are content to gaze at it afar off on the top of Mount Ruapehu, or hear of it on the Murimotu Plains. In the Seventy Mils Bush there has been the very unusual occurrence of snow storms, and a gentleman who came through from Hawke’s Bay to Wanganui on Monday, informs us that between Makstoku (the present railway terminus) and Danevirke the snow fell heavily, covering the ground and trees. At the latter settlement, where the bush is more open, and the climate warmer, the snow dwindled down into sleet, but the whole journey by coach was strongly suggestive of travelling in England in the good old days.

The new drillshed at Petone wag opened on Friday night by a ball, which was attended by about 220 ladies and gentlemen, a large proportion of these having gone up from town by special train. The members of the Fetone Naval Artillery bad spared no pains to make tho affair a success, and as they had the hearty co-operation of a number of ladies, they had the satisfaction of seeing their anticipations fully realised. The interior of the building was tastefully decorated with native evergreens, and an abundance of bunting, which had been kindly lent for tho occasion by masters of vessels at present lying in port. Tho refreshment table was loaded with every conceivable variety of appropriate articles, and was laid out in a temporary side room, the whole having been provided by the ladies of the Lower Hutt and Petone. An excellent string band supplied tho necessary music. Dancing was kept up till the small hours of the morning, and the special train did not return to Wellington till nearly 3 o'clock in place of 1.30, a delay having been kindly conceded by Mr Ashcroft. No gathering of a similar nature has ever before taken place in the district, there having been no suitable bnilding until now, nor an occasion for a similar celebration. It is calculated that the net proceeds, which will be added to the bnilding fnnd of the Petone Naval Artillery, will be about £ls.

The police authorities took every precaution yesterday to prevent any act o£ rowdyism from being perpetrated—at least with impunity —at the Salvation Array services which were held at the Princess Theatre, and to this end Sergeant Donovan, with a section consisting of four men, was told off to attend the 11 o’clock drill. From the commencement of the service it was evident that three half-intoxicated men, who occupied a prominent seat in the hall, were determined to create a disturbance. Their language was of the worst possible description, being both foul and blasphemous. At length Constable Milton warned the ruffians that unle-s they desisted he should remove them, and tbs caution, after being repeated, induced them to leave the room. In the street, one of the trio, who subsequently gave the name of Walsb, offered fight to Sergeant Donovan. The officer advised Walsh to go home, but this seemed to incense the man still further, as he rushed on to Sergeant Donovan, whom he seized by the beard, a handful of which he tore out by the roots. The two friends of Walsh, who respectively gave the names of McNamara and McLaughlin, endeavored to rescue their comrade, hut were after some little persuasion on the part of the police handcuffed, and lodged in the city lockup, Walsh being charged with behaving in a manner calculated to provoke a breach of the peace, and aUo with assaulting a police officer ; whilst bis two comrades were charged with interfering with the police in the execution of their duty. The scene for a short while was a most disgraceful one, happening, as it did, at the time when the various places of worship in the vicinity were being dismissed. The prisoners, who were bailed out list night, will appear before the Beiident Magistrate's Court this morning.

“Asmodeus” items will be found on the fourth page. There wag no sitting of the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Saturday last, the watchhouse sheet being a clean one. We are requested to draw attention to an advertisement stating that the days .of grace for the payment of city rates having expired, legal steps will be taken for the recovery of those that are as yet unpaid. The first number of the " New Zealand War Cry ” has been forwarded to us. It is a religious periodical of such a stamp as might have been expected from the M Salvation Army, 1 ' of which it is the organ, Thia evening, at the Theatre Royal, there will be a change of programme, the panorama of the Russo-Turkish war taking the place of that of the American war. On Saturday evening there was the usual large audience, and the lucky winners of the principal prizes were Mrs Mason (WiJlia-street), a bedroom suite of furniture ; Mr Parsons (Murphy-street), a tea and coffee service ; and Sir Sexton (Featberston), a dinner service.

A meeting of the members of the Freethought Association was held last night at their Hall in Courtenay-plaee, at which there was a large attendance and several new members weto admitted. The President read an extract from a work by Mr Babcock, and the Vice-President read his opening address. Many presents of books and other forms of literature were made, and the Secretary then gave a reading from Haslam’s Letters. A man and his wife named Watson, living in Ingeetre-street, managed between them to set their house on fire on Saturday night, though the blaze was quickly put out. The man says she did it, and she says be did it. Both had been drinking, and a lamp on the mantel-shelf seems to have had the chimney broken by one person leaving the door open, the draught chilling the glass, and then blowing tbe flame till it fired the scrim. The damage was slight, Disraeli in his youth was resplendent in attire ; Mr Gladstone reverses the picture, and in his old age is giving way to the seductions of his tailor and tbe demands of fashion. The Premier astonished the House one night lately by the unwonted brilliancy oi bis costume. He was attired in a faultless evening suit of the latest Parisian cut, and what with high-heeled patent shoes and eky-blue silk stockings and gold clocks, his appearance of exuberant juvenility was such as to cause the Fourth Party to turn pale with envy. The Wanganui Herald, a strong opponent of the Ministry, commenting on the reply lately made by the Minister of Public Works to the deputation respecting the central line of railway, has the following :—“ He said that Mr Roohford had been engaged in tbe place of Mr Garkeek to survey the central line. Now, as Mr Carkeek’s route was from Stratford to the head waters of the Mokau, this is what the ‘ Artful Dodger’ calls ’the central fine. 1 The Taupo is no longer the central line, but by a dishonest use of terms the Upper Mokau has been made to nsurp the title. The shuffle of the cards has been neatly effected by starting from Stratford instead of Waitara.” We have received the first number of a new periodical called “ The New Zealand Educational and Literary Monthly,” published in Dunedin. It is well printed and got-up, and the essays are written by Messrs A. Wilson, M.A., L. C. Farnie, M.A., Robert Stout, William Malcolm, and other gentlemen of known standing in the literary world of this colony. In the leading article the following are stated to be the designs of the new magazine “Briefly, then, we purpose to encourage by all legitimate means within our reach, the development of literary learning in New Zealand, and to further the advancement ox education in all its phases, from the work of tbe elementary school to the comprehensive and ambitious schema of the New Zealand University.” We wish our young contemporary full success.

Notwithstanding tha efforts of the Rational •Dress Association, that article of Ladies attire, known as Corsets, will undoubtedly hold its own. Tha result will certainly be a “ survival of the fittest ” and while unsuitable shapes will be swept away, those combining flexibility, unbreakableness, and general adaptability to the movements of the body will be in increased favor. Foremost among these are Dr. Warner’s Ooraline Corsets, at Te Aro House. Those Ladies who have once tried them will purchase no other make, and those who have not yet had them are certainly ignorant of the ease and comfort they are missing. Per Steamer via Melbourne, we have received one well assorted case in all sizes, bought so advantageously that they will be sold at a considerable redaction from usual prices. This is our last shipment for tha season, and as the demand is large and daily increasing, ladies should make an early inspection of Dr. Warner’s Coraline Corsets, at Te Aro House. [Advt.] It has been years since the world first heard of Wolfe’s Schnapps, and to-day its virtues are as fresh and its fame as unclouded as when it first flashed into public notice.— [Advt.] 24 Don't use stimulants, but nature's brain and nerve food—Hop Bitters. See. 15