SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

HIGH WATMK—This afternoon, 0 S3; to-morrow morning, 7 11 81TN SKT ThJ» evontap, 6 0 SUN KISE-To- Hlorrow rooming, 6 13 MOOK'S AGJB—New rooon, :26th, ?.5O am

ARRIVALS.

Lrovb'rr!. us from the Hou'h Wiyjam Ackers, b^iqvo, from Newcastle

DEPARTURES.

rJJOBDe, s s, for the South

IMPORTS.

Per TVod'ck C'stlfi : 65 ctms pickles. 80 cases Ralart oil, 60 ca»cs vinigar, 30 (uses Albert's sardines, 20 ca«es !rb teis, 5 coses red currant jelly, 2u pases confeo fone>y, 55 casfcs currants, 20 cases c.irrants, 10 cases J?°F nnis*a'd, 15 cases frrsh herrings, 5 cases tartarin »pid, 10 OAKes cocoa and rbrcolate, T case Relaiine lozenpea. 1 ewe gelatine, 4 bales paper baps, 7 bales paper, 200 boxes candles, 3 cases figs, 400 bags salt, 4 cn?e% Stiltar.a ra'sin*. 20 cases Lea and Perrin's »uoi '0 rates enii'e milk. 25 ca«es bottled Bat, 80 Vrga virs nails, 100 kegs Ewbank's nails, 3 bogshetds holloware 2 biles corks. 11 boxes tin plates, 5 cases block-*heaves, 8 crates chinaware, 6 hogsheads glassware, 6 cases galvanised iron, 80 kegs White lead, 10 bales coir rope, 15 bundles piping, 6 cases Munlz tnofal 3 casks sheathing nails, 4 casks 2inc, 8 rolls sheet lead, H. B. Morton. Per Phoebe for the Poutn, 3 cases ironmongery, 1 keg nails, 1 nest clothes baskets, 2 cases galvanised irrn, 3 casks zinc. 1 grindstone, T and S Morrin. Per Eowena, G4 Ife?s, packages, and cases, 112 sash weights, T and S Mowin. Per Ladybird from thcgSouth:—2 cases, cigars— Bflrnetfc and L»vy. 1 trunk —Ireland Bros. 1 case, i bales wool.-Owen and Graham. 53cmsbs, 2 l-Bth, tiercea tobacco, 5 packages, 1 box, 1 coil lead pipe, 1 parcel, 1 cask, 11 trunks. 65 Sacks malt, 11 sacks, 8 qr. casks wine, 10 err. casks turn, 10 lihJs. rum, 2 trusses —W Wheeler, Agent, N.ZS.SCo.

The schooner Elsinnro and the cutter Fawn have cleared for Kussell. the former in ballast and the letter with timber, etc. The cutter Muna has cleared for Tairua In ballast, and the Eob Koy for AVangapoua in the same con dition.

T» c Waiwpr*. schooner, brings 34,000 feet timber from Mercury Bay. The 1 chooner Ocean, also, brings a csrgo of timber from the same plice.

The h s Phoebe left for the South to-day. Pasften gors—Taranakl. Mr and Mrs Little. P Crew, W Cul bert ; forNcltcn Mrs Miller; for "Wellington, Messrs M SheOiy, o T.ntrum, P Tandy H Newport, E Westwond J Woollier, .T Hewitt, J Turner, H Rout ledge, W J mes, J Cwl. G PouUrain, W Hycroft: for tyttelton. Mr ard Mrs Smith, Mr Bloxsom, and Others booked at OnoKinga. I The s.s, ladybird Captain Evans, anivefl at One hnnpa wharf at 930 am this morning, She left Wellington at 2?.opm on the ?2cd. and arrived at Pictorj at 8 20 pin ; sailr-d at 0 30 p m same evening, arrived at >"elsnn at 730a mon the 23rd ; sailed at 720pm snme evening, arrived at Taranaki at 1140 a m on the 24'h ; s«iled at 3 30 p in on same day, arriving us above. Experienced strong westerly winds throughout the pissage Tho Ladybird was detained a week in Wellington to undergo a thorough over haul I'HS'engers—Mra and 'viss Brown, Messrs Lloyd, Ovfrton, Mothias, Feymnnr, Climms, Lynch, Stutbin, M/irsluli, Vincent, Hound, Griffith'!. Gol<ls wor'hy, Thomas, Warns, Pearce. Broomfield (2), Pellng. Harrison an'! 14 in fiesteerage.

The barque William Aclcers, with a cargo of coal consfgm <1 to Messrs Henderson ar.d Jtfaefarlane. is coming up the harb' ur as wo co to press. She has made a lungptsnge of over SO days.

COMMERCIAL.

CU3TOMS RETURNS The following are tho total receipts for to-day :— Duties £774 8 2 Lights 0 9 8 £77-1 17 9 Tho following are the Customs returns for the week ending March 25, 1876 :— Duties .£1603 1 3 Light House Dues 46 14G Merchant Shipping Feos 12 19 0 Arms Fees 11 8 0 Gold Duty 314 It • 2 Other .Receipts 4 0 0 Total £4202 16 11

CHIEF POST-OFFICE, AUCKLAND

Mails will Close as follows:— For Thames on Monday next at 11 ?,0 a m For CorrmaDdul on Tnesdav n*-xt at 10 30 am For Napier and Sou'hern provinces per Colima four hours after arrival For Chatham "Manda on Friday, 31st instant, at 2 prn For L»vuka (Fiji) on Monday next at 4 p m For Whiiian^i on Monday at 4 p m For En-sell, Wangaroa, and Mongonui on Monday at 4 pm For "Wnipu and Mangawai on Monday at 4 p m For Tarnnaki. Southern provinces, and Australian colonies on Tuesday at 8 a m For Waiwera, Mahnrangi, and To Arai, per Anne Mifbank, on Tuesday at 10 am Fof > apier and Gisborne on Tuesday at 3 p m (Signed) S. B. BIBS, Chief Postmaster.

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, The Morning News and The Echo.

SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 1876

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance Vor the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

Among Ihe impertinences wherewith Dr. Pol len insults the province, the last one is not the least. We refer, as found in another column, to his offer of .£5 from his own pocket to enable the unemployed to reach employment. Bud we ask our readers to note how characteristic! this little proposal is of the whole course which; Dr. Pollen has taken in his dealings with Sir George Grey and the province. As we have said again and again, the" object is to bring Sir George Grey to his knees, and to present the province in the aspect of a mendicant, and to; confirm the idea formed of « poor Auckland "■ among such a large proportion of the Southern people, that it is a « paup er province," and dependent wholly on support compassionately meted out by the Central Government. This

view has been sedulously worked up by the Government papers until it is actually believed in the South. Sir George Grey's contention is ! that Auckland simply wants justice, not com passion, and he rejects eleemosynary aid, again and again pressed on him, and determines to wring if necessary through the Courts of Law what is of right due to the province. Thus it was when Dr. Pollen offered the ;£4,000 due to the province, and required for ordinary pur poses to set work agoing at the Thames, saying that if the Provincial Government wanted the money for gaols and hospitals, the .General Government would "come to their assistance." Thus it has been all through the chapter. The General Government takes away our just rights, and then benevolently offers eleemosy nary aid. And thus it is now. The General Government is in honor, if not in law, bound to remove the unemployed from the Thames, as promised by them. But no. Justice will not be done. Honesty to engagement will not be observed; but Dr. Pollen offers his miserable £$ of his private charity to the Thames miners. We may rest assured he wovdd not offer that if he had not a purpose to serve. A man who would skin a flea for the sake of its tallow, and whose relations with his. carters and other employes in former times, and before he had fattened on Government corn, made his very life a burthen to him, is not likely to give £$ for nought. But he is willing to give it in order to be able to show how anxious he was to serve the public, that he offered of his private means to relieve the distress of " poor bankrupt Auckland," rather than allow a penny of the public estate to be wrongfully diverted. Good holy man ! Honest, scrupu lous, conscientious Government ! No ! let Dr. Pollen, if he have five pounds to spare— all of which he has got by sponging on the country, so that he may well affect the magnifi cent —let him apply them to matters of personal concern. Let him distribute them among the brickmakers and brick carters and others of his olden acquaintance, as a salve for the sorrows of the hours the}' used to spend in kicking up their heels in the R.M. Court; but let him not suppose that he will delude a people who know all about it into the belief that he is actuated by generous and charitable sentiments, even though the offered has been received by him from the people's taxes. We shall await with interest and watch the reception of Dr. Pollen's charity among the miners at the Thames. We have been under the impression that gold-miners were an independent, proud sort of people, who would die rather than ac cept the dole of charity. We have indeed our politicians and our journalists of workhouse sentimentalism, who would counsel acceptance of any offered dole, and who will see in Dr. Pollen's a magnificence of generous senti ment, and who will regard the honest inde pendence that would fling it in his teeth as manners. But all we ask our readers is to note how characteristic of political Pollenism is this latest offer of the rewards of meek and docile mendicancy, and to further watch how the leven of mendicancy will work, when thus adroitly set among the community at the Thames. Miners ! who speaks first ? Quick ! Speak out !—first come first served. Two shillings each for the fifty that first hold up their hands. Dr. Pollen offers you five pounds, and this is the cackle over the first egg of beneficence that ever he laid : " That is the way for the friends of the people to show their zeal in the cause, not by calling on Govern ment.—Daniel Pollen."

This is a progressive age, and the colonies are in the van. It does not, however, follow that all progress must bo in the way of im provement, and among the exceptions we must include a measnre which has just received the imprimatur of legislation in New South Wales. A recent cablegram informs us of an enactment passed to give validity to atheist's oaths. Hitherto, we think in all civilised countries, and even in heathen and semi-savage lands and times, the recognition of some superior being taking knowledge of truth and falsehood, has been regarded as of importance in restraining the propensities of man to lying for the sake of some personal gain ; and though the solemn act of legisla tion will have the effect of giving legal validity to an atheist's oath, we can hardly believe that any jury will place much reliance on such. For we think it may be accepted as an unquestionable truth, that no man is really an atheist through honest conviction, and'as a general thing, it may be affirmed that a man who professes to be an unbeliever in a supreme being, has brought himself to that "way of thinking, impelled by the repugnance with which he must regard a Being entirely cognizant of the villainies cherished in the heart, and able to call a man to account for rascalities which have eluded the eye of fellowmen. A man therefore who has brought himself to hope that there is not a great Power over him is, we hold, capable of perjury, forgery, or any other crime which he may be able or hope to be able to commit without detection ; and his " belief " so to speak, of the non-existence of a Supreme Being is simply his hatred of Him as a de tector, similar to that hatred wherewith any lawless man would regard any other who broughfc^him to book for his misdeeds. The law recognises a Chinaman's oath when he blows out a match, or breaks a saucer, and rightly so perhaps. Because there is in it the recognition by the heathen of some one that may blow out his soul, or smash up his corporation. But an atheist's oath, it seems to us, is about as valuable as the swine's grunt with which that animal expresses itself on "questions of hunger and personal dis comfort, and must; be inspired by Bomewhat similar instincts. An Atheist of all men is to be regarded as dangerous, not on any question of a man's [right to cherish what belief he pleases, but because it is evidence of innate badness, aud diabolical tendencies so'Btrong, that he cannot bear to allow him self to believe that there is a God. The validation of Atheist's oaths, cornea appro, ropriately perhaps, from Botany Bay, where the moral taint of feloDy still flows in the veins, but we hope the day is far distant when these fair isles will follow in tins path of "progress."

It requires but a small thing to throw our respected contemporary the Cross into politi cal hysterics, and that little is supplied in the accession of the Hon. W. Swainson to the present Executive Government. Fifteen ministers have come and gone, we are told, since rfche gentleman retired from public life, arid jiow he bursts into the ring crying,

" Resurgain," as he throws off his coat and rolls up his sleeves; an event which is politi cally significant in a high degree, and augurs everlastirjg duration and greatness to the Pollen-Vogfl dynasty, We shall not follow our contemporary in the grandiloquent terms in which lie dilates on the progress of events from the " foasiliferoua era" when Rip Tan Winkle fell asleep. Enough to say that the appointment of Mr Swainson is simply one

of convenience, and of no political signi ficance whatever, that he was similarly ap pointed in the reign of Sir George Bowen, then, as now, to mere'y enable an Executive of two members and the. Governor to meet and act with validity during the occasional visits of His Excellency to Auckland. We don't like to laugh at our contemporary, but really the whirligig into which his brain has been turned by this accession to the strength of the Ministry tries us sorely.

Otjjr readers can learn through our columns to-day how their food is prepared for them in the Newmarket slaughter-house. The report furnished by our correspondent speaks for itself. That such a Btate of things should be permitted to exist is degrading in the extreme. We shall return to the biibject again and again till the evil is removed.

We would direct attention to the letter in another column from Mr Vesey Stewart. It give 3 direct and authentic contradiction to a paragraph which appears in this morning's Herald to the effect that one of the Vesey Stewart settlers had signed a petition as one of the "destitute" at the Thames. It is a pity such a paragraph, evidently inspired by an unfriendly feeling towards this most pros perous and promising settlement should have brfen given insertion, and would respectfully call on our contemporary to mit'te its infor mant give the name and designation Oi the petitioner in question

Tho immigrants by the Erodick Castle were laoekd on the Queen-street whaif to day, by the furry steamer Tainui Most of them seem well adapted for country life, and we do not think they will have to wait long for engagements. They have been accom modated in the immigrants' quarters in tho Barracks restrve.

The letter from the " Happy Pack " states that none of the members were present at the " Freeman's Bay Hurricane," and that thej' have more sense than to disturb a wedding by kettles and saucepans. The "Happy Pack" referred to were not the members of tho Drum and Fife Baud, but the larrikins of the district.

Considerable indignation is felt by settlers in the Remuera district by tho wilful poison ing cf valuable cattle doge, the poisoned •neat having been found lying in the public road. Messrs Byers and Cutler aro among those who have sustained loss in this respect. Steps are being taken to discover the party guilty of the act.

To the Editor : Sir,—l am very sorry to see by the papers that three little children have been drowned by falling into unpro tected wells. I think it is a very cruel thing to leave old wells open, I wish everybody to know that there is a very deep old well; it is merely covered by a few boards ; any child might easily fall into it and be drowned. It is on the allotment in Hobson-stieet next to where Mr Gi een way's house is being built. Excuse my troubling you.—Yours truly, Shall Boy.

Ono of the largest sharks ever caught in these waters will be exhibited in the market house, this evening. This cartilaginous fiah, with its long round body, is said to be of vaster proportions than any »f its lauded pre decessors. Other particulars will be gathered from the bills.

The man Williamson, who wa3 dangerously wounded at Onehunga by Marco Antonia, still is in a precarious nitaation, and ia likely to remain «o for a considerable time to come.

The police are busy in their sparo hours in routing the inmates of houses of ill-famo, and this morning a young person named Carroll was sent to prison on pleading guilty to one of these charges, in'cotnpany with a companion, known as the femme do chamlre of the private cafe known to the favoixred few in Edwardes-street. It appears that Miss Carroll, who is of a decent stock, and with some education, is only thirty-two, and yet for the space of nine years has acted in reality as tho femme de charge of a cosy home for strangers in the city, without being positively caught napping. She has invari ably been of a sober disposition, but unfor tunately on the night of the 24thlinst M this blonde beauty's voice reached the ears of Sergeant Mnlville, who deemed it his especial duty to arrest Miss Carroll, and put a coup de (/race, or finishing stroke to the establish ment, by marching the mistress off to the station. Minnie Burke followed, and the two companions were this afternoon conveyed to Mount Eden. We understand the police have their eyes upon several other rustic residences of like character, and have re solved upon a general clear out.

The Supplement to the Star of thi3 even ing, for which the runner will only ask a penny for the satisfaction of the printer, will con tain a number of good things in season. The stories will be of the healthiest kind, fragrant as fragrant can be, and pure as the running brooks. The first story to which we would call attention is, " My First Love," written by a young lady of Auckland, and which we happen to know is a chapter of her own heart experiences in the delicate province of youDg love. Other stories comprise Charles Oarrington, Esquire, but not of the famous family of the Mile End brewers ; but Charles the Sportsman. Gibb's "Snake," is a slip pery tale. The. Boot Black's story is shrewed but pleasant withal, and as the boy said of the cow, ' thereon hangs a tail.' Widow Barlow, in her weeds, is a life-like specimen of woman in solitude, and her "Peter" is a caution to more persons than Sam Weller, senior. The "Just Judge" will be read with interest as a new importation from prairie land, A " Startling .Railway Adventure" may have a beneficial effect upon railway travellers from Auckland and Mercer. A number of facts and scraps, anecdotes and tit-bits, interspersed with poetic daises and buttercups from pleasant places, make up a good pennyworth for the cotfcer'fl Saturday night by the auld fiie side.

To the Editor : Sir,—l am very sorry that Mr. Robert Norrie should have been put to the trouble of writing a note to the Star of last evening. It was not Robert Norrie who wrote the previous letter which touched the heart of the Drum and File Band, and moved its more sensitive members" to .tears, but your old correspondent, Noggs, a relative of the celebrated Newman, who lives in the living pages of Dickens, as the friend of poor Smike, and Nicholas Nickleby. I had not, for some time heard the merry strains of the Temperance Drum and Fife Band, and wondered whether or not, the musical liveried fraternity had dried up. But on meeting Mr. Jeune, the otber evening, that gentleman assured me that the minstrel boys were as brisk as ever, although several of them had got married. Wishing the little band suocess. 1 am, &c, Richard Noggs.

A splendid programme has been provided for the Templars' Saturday entertainment this evening. The chair will be taken at eight o'clock by a gentleman who holds a very prominent position in the order. Mr Butchskow will preside at the pianoforte.

The subjects of discourses at the various city and suburban churches are announced in our third page.

The Chairman of the Otahuhu Highway Board reminds ratepayers of the new Govern ment measure with reference to those ,in arrears of rates. Defaulters will do well to pay up at once and get their receipts.

A case of some public interest was brought before Mr Barstow, the Reeident Magistrate, yesterday afternoon, in which the plaintiff was Charles A. Taylor, of .the Auckland College, and the defendant, a Mr Melton. The claim, £3 16s, was for the price of a volunteer cadet's uniform, the said youth having been a 'member of the Sir George Grey corps, of which Mr Taylor had acted as captain. Mr Saunders, of Queen-street, had made a number of uniforms by order of Captain Taylor, who, failing to pay for them, was sued by Mr Sounders, who obtained a judgment for the balance, £25. Mr Taylor now sued Mr Melton, the father of one of the volunteers, for the lad's uniform. It was, however, shewn by Major Gordon, that Captain Taylor had received about £IGO in capitation money in the space of four years, hence the question to be considered was whether the uniforms were to be paid out of the capitation money which Mr Taylor had received, or by the parents of the boys. Mr •Toy appeared for plaintiff, and Messrs Kiss ling and Dufaur for defendant. The further hearing of this case, which was one of mneh importance, was adjourned until next Court day.

A deputation, consisting of Messrs M. Shera, Lodder, and W. Adair of Poverty Bay, waited on Sir George Grey yesterday, for the purpose of bringing under his notice the necessity for wharf accommodation at Gisborne. Mr Shera pointed out the want, which was a seiious one, as the recent floods had greatly damaged the old wharf. His Honor said ho agreed with the deputation, but there was a difficulty in reference to the title of the site, which belonged to the General Government. He would, however, communi cate with them, and if a favourable answer was received, would go into the estimates with the intention of furthering their views. The deputation thanked His Honor and withdrew.

The üßual weeldy drill of the Naval Brigade took place last evening. The muster was good and the men gave satisfaction. The members of the band played some excellent airs. The annual inspection of this enterprising company will be held on Friday next, when it is to ba hoped that Captain Le JRoy will be sufficiently recovored in health to be in attendance,

Garrott Brothers for the convenience |of tho public aro now opening a branch shop in Queen-street, next door to Mr Fendelow, ironmonger, where they will supply their customers 20 per cent lees than any other shop in Qucen-stnet. Garrett j ßrothers, Queen and Wakeh'eld stroctn, Auckland, and Devon-street, New Plymouth.

The anniversary sermons of the Ponsonby Baptist t-ahbath school, will be preached on to-morrow morning and evening by the Rev •J. T. Hiriton. The annual tea meeting to be hold on Tuesday noxt.

The Parnell *Wesleyan Sunday-school anniversary sermons will be preached to morrow at 11 o'clock, by Eev A. lleid ; and in the afternoon by llev W. .1. Williams ; and in the evening by Mr Barton. The annual tea meeting on the Tuesday following.

On Mondsy evening next a grand farewell performance will ibe given in the Prince of Wales Theatre by the Lydia Howarde troupe, when Herve's celebrated " Chilperic" and Morton's extravaganza of "La Chatte Blanche" will form the evening's programme, as per advertisement. Mr Gary, the favorite baritone,will appear as Divitiacus the Druid, and all the strength of the company will be brought into requisition. As this is the last opportunity the public will have of hearing these artists, Miss Howarde intends putting on the two pieces in tbe best manner pos sible, as she lias now good material to work with ; and considering ehe has obtained tho services of that favorite baritone Mr Gary, who makes his first appearance in opera, we are looking forward to a real treat, as tho proper carrying out of "Chilpetic" princi pally depends on Divitiaciis, which character he assumes on Monday night. This gentle man, along with Miss Jennie Nye and others, has been engaged to travel with the troupe South. They leave by the [Southern Gross on Tuesday next for Napier.

POLICE COURT.-THIS DAY.

(Before R. C. Barstow, Esq., E.M.) WHISKEY /KD BITTKRS. James Murphy was charged with being drunk for the third time. Defendant said he had been in the book trade and had just heard of a situation, into which he was going next week. His Worship said he waa compelled to find a situation for him"in Mount Eden. 20a and costs, or 48 hours, and seven days imprisonment. Patrick Murphy and Thomas Hawkins were fined 108 each, and James Bloxsome and Jano Goldsmith 5a each for the same offence. ANNK CAREOLL'S ESTABLISHMENT. Anne Carroll, a line grown and smartly dressed young woman, pleaded guilty to being the occupier of a house frequented by thieves and prostitutes, near Wellesley street. Mr Broham described the bouse as one of questionable character, and as Sergeant Mul ville was passing the house on his nocturnal rounds, he observed the woman at the door using language unfit for ears polite. Oae month's imprisonment with hard labour. MINNIE BDKKB. This young person, dressed in butterfly fashion, was charged with a breach, of the Vagrant Act, iv having no visible lawful means of support. Mr Cunningham : Are you guilty or not guilty ?. Prisoner : Oh, guilty I suppose ; might as well soy that as anything else. Mr Broham described Minnie as incorri gible; she had been an inmate of Miss Car roll's house, and had several times been brought to Court for offences. The Court ordered her to prison for six weeks with hard labour. CHRISTMAS AT SEA. Two seaman named Benjamin Knight and John McLean were charged with wilful dis obedience of lawful commands on board the British ship Brodick Castle1, on the 25th December, 1875. The men pleaded guilty; it was Christmas eve and they were desirous of a little enjoy ment according to custom at sea, and it was an act of injustice on the part of the captain to expect them to work on that evening.' The Court considered that orders should be obeyed at sea at Christmas as well as at other times, and sentenced the men to four weeks imprisonment with hard labour. This was all the busihess.

The Brodick Castle again Ashore.

This unfortunate ship has now incurred two serious dangers since rounding the North Head. We mentioned in our last issue the fact of her touching the Bean Bock. Thiß morning she got underweigh at daybreak to come up on the flood, but after a few boards she grounded on the sand spit at the North Shore. Here she has stuck fast during the day till three o'clock, when she was towed off by two North Share Perry Company steamers. Pilot James was in charge and he will doubtless be called upon to explain the grounding of the vessel on these two occasions. Captain Burgess took charge of the vessel this afternoon. It is stated that the bottom of the ship is so foul that she will not work readily. If this is so it would have been better had a tug been engaged at first.

As a stranger was knocking at the door of a house on Second-street, a boy came around the corner, and inquired : ' Got anything to cell ?' ' Yes ; I want to sell your mother a box of tooth paste.' 'Mighb as well get off'n the steps,' oontinued the boy, as a smile broke out around his mouth; she's got store teeth, and she cleans 'em with a woolen

TELEGRAPHIC.

GRAHAMSTOWN.

(From our own Correspondent.) This day. Princq Imperial, Bayiuns tribute, from GO lbb of specimens got 27 oz. 5 dwts. The Middie Star tribute, from 12 oz. 4 dwt3. 12 grains. Moanatairi fortnightly crushing yielded 240 oz. 10 dwts. The Puumping Association have bent a rope on the capstan engine to-day, and will charge the buckets with it this afternoon.

COROMANDEL.

r (From our own CoriOpondent.) zr~z^z This day "" Union Beach. : There are great expecta tions respecting this mine. Gold is showing freely in both ends of the drives. Petde of ToKATBA : Some good specimens have been obtained since yesterday.

KAPANGA : Still in a hard country, a new shooting ground. A man, a notorious character, long sus pected as being a receiver of stolen specimens, has left Coromandel for good, to the relief of shareholders, and directors of mines which have been pillaged.

MAKETU.

(From our own Correspondent). This day. The Governor in the Lake Country. His Excellency the Governor reached Ohinemutu under the care of two constables. His Sscollency Bothered by the Natives- Mnjor Mair and tho rest of the party having lost themselves on the road. He was well received by the natives, but consider ably bothered by their complaints re land and mis-management of Native office official?. At Te Wairoa, his Excellency was met by the Rev S. M. Spencer and a largo party of natives. Here again, after the usual speeches of welcome, he was beset with complaints against F. E. Hamlin, Esq , who is Resident Magistrate for the district, and everybody else con nected with tho Native Office. The goak at last is reported to have appealed to Dr. Pollen, asking him, "Did the people think he was, as Magistrate, to settle all their troubles?" In the evening the Vice-Eegal party adjourned so Te Mv, where his Excel lency was entertained by Lieutenant and iMrs Way. To-night he sleeps at Te Niho ote Kiore, on his way to Napier. He is well pleased with his trip through the Lake districts of Kotorua and ftotomahana.

WELLINGTON.

[Per Press Telegram Atrency.] This day,

Captain J. Campbell Wa'ker, of State Forest Department, Madras, is comiDg to New Zealand, in connection with the organ ization of a t<tate Forest Department here. He is expected to arrive by the incoming March mail steamer.

General and intense dissatisfaction is felt by the public at the sentence passed upon the man and woman yesterday for improper conduct in the Botanical Garden, and a depu tation of influential citizens is about to wait upon the Minister of Justice regarding the matter. An attempt will also be made to get a rehearing of the case.

t&The fourth annual drawing Art Union of Victoria has been fixed forTthe Bth April. Subscriptions and prize list are expected to exceed any preceding.

WELLINGTON.

(From our own Correapoi dunt.) This day. Wellington Botanical Gardens Again

During the past few weeks there has been continued acts of indecency in the Botanical Gardens, but thu curator was unable to identify the culprits. On Thursday, however, he caught a couple highly respectable in appearance, who, are strangers in Wellington, indulging in improper familiarities in the Garden. They were brought before the Resident Magistrate this morning and Ben tenced to oue calender month with hard labour. The severity of the sentence excited sympathy as the case was not a bad one, and the couple intended getting married in a week, while worse cases have been allowed topasa unnoticed, the offenders being in a good position there. The male prisoner in this case formerly was a bank manager, and is now a commercial traveller. A deputation is to wait on the Minister of Justice, to en deavour to obtain a mitigation of sentence. The Evening Post, which a few days ago severely censured indecency in the Gardens being allowed to continue, to-night points out that the sentence is needlessly severe under tho special circumstances of the case. Assumed names are given.

PORT CHALMERS.

[Per Press Telegram Agency.] This day. Arrived : Indian Chief, barque, from Mauritius, with a full cargo of sugar.

NAPIER

(From our own Correspondent.) This clay.

The Bank Tenders for the Harbour Board Loan are causing much discussion. The Bank of Australasia tender was accepted, but a letter published by the manager of the Union Bank, shows that his tender was more favourable. It is reported also, that since the acceptance of the tender, its terms have bepn allowed to be amended in such a way as practically to make them equal to those of other Banks.

Lasb evening there was great commotion among sheep farmers, ib being whimpered by a. certain banker that a manager of another Bank had received a telegram direct from London stating wo»i had dropped 3d per pound. At every street corner people were standing with blanched cheeks discussing the news. It leaked out this morning, that one manager had given the other the news as a secret in order to hoax him, aware that he couldn't keep a secret.

GREYMOUTH.

(Per Press Telegram Agency) This day. Greymouth Races. The races, postponed from Saturday, were held yesterday. The several coetests re sulted as follows :— GOLDMKLDS' HANDICAK. Isaac Walton . ',' ,:, John Hafel ;"*;•... Septimus ... ... ... ... ■ ... Nero ... ... .' ... « 2 Nero passed the winning-post a length a ahead of Isaac Walton, by whose rider c protest was lodged for crossing and Isaa Walton was declared winner. BOROUGH HANDICAP. Isaac Walton ... \ Nero ~ ~, 2 Jasper 3 John Hafel t 0 Black Eagle 0 Nero kept a slight lead until entering the straight for the last time, when Isaac Walton pushed to the front, and raced Nero neck and neck, winning at length by a head. HGTRDLK RACE. > , Sultan ... ... ... ... . it 1 Septimus ... ~, 2 Sultan won by a length. novel race. Dick Turpin ... tii j Rover 2 CONSOLATION RACE. Kingfisher ... -,- , j Banker |# * 2 Kingfisher won by a half head. The weather has again changed, and it is now raining heavily.

A Visit to the Newmarket Slaughterhouse.

Auckland Food, aad the Wajr it is Prepared.

On Thursday last a reporter from tho Stak office, in company with Mr Wrigley, M.P.C., the Chairman of the Remuera District Board, visited the Newmarket Slaughterhouse, and from what he saw has compiled the following report, which will doubtless be read with startled interest by our readers : —

TH*! SITE.

If a dozen clever men were sent upon a com mission to report uponthe very worst site for a slaughter-house they would be certain to agree upon the site ■which the present Newmarket Slaughter-house occupies. Plenty of air and pure water, and good facilities for drainage, are the first requisites for an establishment of the kind. The first two of the*e are gained by selecting an elevated spot in ahealthy neighbourhood. The New market slaughter-house is literally in a ditch. Few people, even among those who pass it constantly in the train, are aware that the dingey looking shed in the hollow on the right hand side of the embankment, just before reaching Newmarket station, is the place where half the meat consumed by the citizens of Auckland is killed and dressed Of those who did not know it, the intelli gent portion who would be able to ca'culate by a-little mental arithmetic the number of beasts required to supply the Auckland market, would doubt the fact if it were told them. Yet it is perfectly true. Bounded by a wall of scoria rock, 30ft high, at a distance of 12ffc from it on the town side, and by the railway embankment springing from its very side to a height of 40ft on the opposite side ; by a steep uneven rise at the Eemuera extremity, and at the north end by rugged rocks through which a narrow chasm allows the collcc'-ed filth to escape into TTobson's Bay, is the site on which the Pro vincial Slaughter-house of Auckland stands. The present building could not be very much enlarged, for there would be no space for the enlargement. Ihe level area on which it stands is perhaps twice its size, but the necessary adjoining enclosures nearly take up the rest of the space. If a house had crushed in the earth beneath it and remained intact in the hole it had made, it would pre sent a picture very much resembling the aspect of the publ'c building I am speakinp of. It is thus effectually closed in on all sides by high ground close to it, and it is only when a hurricane is blowing above that a faint breath of moving air is felt below. As a rale the atmosphere surrounding it is close and fetid, being, as may be conjectured, a stagnant concentration of the foul odours which annoy the lonsr-suffering residents for half-a-mile round. The drainage under these conditions may likewise be imagined. In dry weather the sun blazes down on to the conglomerated blood and filth in the " glory box" (this will be referred to presently) and in the open gutters which serve as drains around—but which act more efficiently as traps for the legs of the horses employed to convey the meat to town—and bakes the liquid filth into fetid life, Which renders the atmosphere pestiferous ; while in wot weather the surrounding hills send down cataracts of turbid water and the overflowings of privies in the vjqinity, which penetrate even the interior of the slaughterhouse, the floor of which iB fully a foot below the level of the outside roadways. On ordinary occasions the hollow is merely the recep tacle of about half the drainage of New market. The site has a solitary advantage "There is plenty of water sir" said one of the slaughter-men to me "that's one good thing" and he turned on a tap in the pig killing house. Phew ! the smell of that water is something to be cut and handled. Let Mr Tunny analyse this water, and if he doea not find it more than half pure sewage, may I be condemned to drink it. Yet in that water, as it is called, is all our pork scalded and washed.

THE BUILDING,

Very little description will suffice for the building. Imagine a flirty, low, oblong shed, G5 ft. long by 33 ft. broad, with a double roof springing from studs not more than 12 ft. high, flanked at the station end by a low rotten roofed den called by courtesy a sheep pen, and a sea of mud and filth enclosed by bich barricades intended for a bullock pen ; together with a small square building about 30 feet removed north from the main structure, and you have a very fair idea of the exterior of the imposing pile. My visit was made at half-past nine o'clock on Thursday night, the day and time being selected as the best for affording a Bight of the place when in full work, for on thin night, unless in very hot weather, when it takes place on the Friday, killingfor Saturday and Sunday takes place, and a truthful impression may be formed of the suitability of the premises for the purposes for which they are intended. Having by the aid of a guide descended in safety the precipitous path down the rocks, slippery to a dangerous degree from the rain during the day, we arrived at the side door admitting to the main building. (Fad there been no perils in the way the horrible smell would have been quite sufficient guide.) We enter, and crossing the sheep slaughter-house, which is under the western roof, ma&e our way at once to the pithing house, as the department is called, at the station extremity where the beasts are slaughtered.

A SICKENING SIGHT

awaits us here, a sight which once seen is likely to haunt an impressionable person. The place is about 16ft square. Its walls are thickly coated with groasy dirt, and the roof, which is not scund enough to keep the rain from dripping through, presents a damp mildewed appearance which is shared by the rafters and beams beneath it. But our eyes are rivetted to the scene which is being en acted on the floor. Six beasts have just been killed by the spinal puncture process, from which the place takes its name, andtheirhead less carcases encumbeF the small available area. They are in various stages of preparation; two have been disembowelled, and others are undergoing the process. On the carcase in the centre, two men are engaged stripping the hide as another turns a windlass,by which the carcase is raised gradually by a rope and hooks attached to the hind-quarters. But look at the floor. It is two inches deep in blood, and at intervals there are heaps of filth just taken from the animals. Against the walls on the three sides are piles of hides, muck, and entrails, mixed in hideous confusion, and two bullocks are partly buried in the horrid mess. " This aint anything," one of the slaughtermen rejoins to my look of disgust. " You should come when there's ten or eleven down, as I've seen'em, and then you'd see a sight." I picture to myself eleven bullocks down at one time in this space of 250 square feet, choked with dung and entrails, and the scene is difficult to realize. A glamour is added to the general coup (Sail by the uncertain light under which it is viewed. The are no fixed lights, but each man has an iron circlet round his head, with a projecting socket in front, in which a candle is stuck, which drips its grease into the carcases as the insides are di vested of the offal. The slaughtermen, in their bloody costumes of bared arms, high boots, canvas trousers, and open breasted shirts, and these strange head pieces, form of themselves a|weird-like group, and resemble demons more than human beings, as they crack their coarse jokes, and sing over their fearful occupation. It is obvious here that there is not one-half of the space required. Two hundred head of cattle are killed in this stifling hole in a week on the average, and sometimes the number of beasts on the floor is so great as not to, allow the men to get through their work without continually interfering with one another, and I was told by one of the men, now and

then a beast ia so smothered in the filth that when it is stuck, the stuff pours into the body • almost as fast as the blood, runs from it ijnfcv now the carcase being hoisted ia dressed sofli far as it can be in such a place, and suspended as it is, divided to the base of the npck is. shifted by a species of travelling cv the "box," where it hangs till taken a\, I by the butcher to whom it belongs, """"ty

THE BOX.

The " box" consists simply of twoheavtf beams running down the remaining length <rf the sheet, a diataiida of ahout 50ft, parallel to one another, about 4ft. apart, and at a "■■ height o{ about, 9ffc. fr^m the ground. Wheii the killing starts the first beast dresseeci is of course run flown to tho further end of tie building,, and the. others a^ they are ready are run doyn, each against the one preceding■" it. On this length' of 50ft., on the occasibii " of our visit, no loss than 36 beasts were./ suspended, and to make room for the other half dozen to come they were jammed so Hf tightly together that it was impossible to squeeze the hand between, more than in three' or four places.- It is this exclusion of the air from the flesh, which, more than the heat of the weather, renders it impossible to keen:•■> the meat sweet when it arrives at the-*' butcher's more than a few. hours, and "at - times actually causes it to stink before ifc arrives there. The ordinary effect is to cauge the flesh to assume a dark look, to become " fired " as the butchers call it, and to be 1 clammy and unwholesome for food. Beef treated like this cannot be properly cured. Yet the half of our Auckland beef cornea •• into town in this condition. The insufficient , height of the beams from the ground, causes » tho necks to touch the ground, and during -'• the night the rats, cats, and dogs which the broken scantling is powerless to exclude ■» have high feasting. Some of the first named S vermin I saw skipping over the floor while we were in the house. A little square closet " in the N.E. angle of the building, I was in formed, was the placa where the Jewish, slaughterer kept his apparatus. Our Hebrew citizens must not flatter themselves that they get their animal food prepared in a less un«-' cleanly fashion than the Christians, for they' don't.

THE SHEEP DEPARTMENT.

This, as I have said, is the part of the main building nearest the town, and is of exactly the same size as the bullock portion;i» The killing place corresponds in size and position to the pithing place, and like it, ir totally inadequate for the business transacted in ir. Five hundred sheep a week are the average number which are killed. From a dozen to twenty animals, after being stuok, and bled on the crutch, are here frequently, to be Eeen reeking on the floor, and the Bur>° rounding offal and muck is so thick as nearly to bury many of them, and effectually pre vents proper dressing. The trough into which the poor animals bleed, that is to say, those who do bleed at all (for some aro so reduced by the cruelty, I shall allude to presently, that they scarce bleed at all); has no outlet, and when full is simply turned over, and its contents made W flood the floor. As this happens to be'1 on a little higher level than the pithing house, most of the blood runs off into that department, and the torrent is the signal for a volley of curses from the men at work there. The accommodation provided for the" suspension of the carcases till their removal, is here again woefully deficient, and they, hang in bunches of two, three, or four, with' the same deliterious effect on the mutton aa I in the case of the beef. The roof in the sheep house is in such need of repair that in wet weather the rain comes through like a shower bath, and when we were there, though it had not rained for hours, the drops wefa falling much in the same way they do in an underground tunnel. It may be sormised that this does the mutton no good. ■ '!:!«

THE PENS.—OUTRAGEOUS CRUELTY;

Bad as the accommodation is in the two killing and storing departments, ihe provi sion mads for keeping the live animals till" their hour of doom has arrived, is tenfold worse, and if this description of the brutal. cruelty its inadequacy involves, does not stir the hearts of all civilized persons in Auckland to compel a reformation at once, it will have; been written in vain. We have all heard of the "Black Hole of Oalcntta," and its horrors. The sheep pen of the Newmarket slaughterhouse can be compared to nothing. i else that I can think of. It is a dismal dun«:. *■ geon 15ft; by 22ft, with a kind of passage adjoining it on the far side Bft by 22ft. The whole area is, therefore, 23ft by 22ft, or nearly square ; it has a roof about 7ft. from the floor so rotten and out of repair,, that one of the men, as I looked in, thrust his hand through it and laughed as he said ''.I1 am in the open air now." We entered, and, of all the filthy holes I ever was in this bears the palm. Our feet, before we are prepared for it, sink into the dung on the floor almost up to our ankles. It is quite dark, and for i t momeat I can only hear a mnffled hurrying' up of many feet, and deep and sharp gasps,* as of animals in the last stage of suffocation. The light which pales and. loses its brillianoy as it encounters the fearfully impure atmos phere, at length sheds a ray by which I can* 1 see that the place is three parts full of sheep] '■ crowding together with instinctive dreaa.j " How many," I ask^ "are usually put in here?" "Well, sir," said one of the men (and I. may here remark that'all* the slaughter, men seemed only too glad.to see someone taking a note of the .evjls,o£. the place and answered my questions readily), "Well, sir, we don't often have more than' ; 200, but last week we had 250, and betwera 30 and 40 of them got down, and if we hadn't seen 'em in time they'd been all smothered in another hour. There was only, one actually dead, but [and hero the manlaughed with a grim laugh] there was plenty of: 'oni didn't want much killing." I ask, if it?jfiK common thing to have tsheep smothered,?''... V " Oh, yes, sir, we don't think much of that.! sheep will crowd up, and perhaps one fallS^ and then it's like when you're in a oro^diji London and fall down—you don't often get up again. You should come in on Wed* nesday evening, sir," one of them goes on, "when the sheep's been put in there hot, and tired, and panting from driviugjyou wouldn't stay in more than you was obliged, and you couldn't have any light." "Why couldn't I have any light?" ■«. Why, bwme the foul air 'Id put it out. Lor'» B15» you've ho idea what it is : you'd be stifled in about five minutes. It's so strong thatit makes you sneeze directly you come In. io. ;. making further inquiries with a viewto testing this man's statement I find that it is literally true, and the fact is enough to make a man blush that he lives in a country where such atrocities are permitted. Surely this state, of things must be kept carefully concealed ' from Sir Geoige Grey, for his kind heart could never permit it to last a day. Tnß floor of the sheep pen is about lOlnohes below the level of the roadway outside, so that the place, to make it worse, is drained^ into instead of out of. There is no calves, ,: pen, so the calves are put in with the sheep, and when the place is crowded they crush the poor animals on all sides. No trough or other convenience for supplying the animals with food or water is to be seen._ In this pen are jumbled together sheep with perhapß forty different brands, and so clotted with dung do their fleeces become after a few hours incarceration, that, it is sometimes utterty impossible to tell one brand from ; another, and often difficult to find the, brans at all. I should mention that at the time of my visit> half a dozen sheep were lying on the floor of the killing house, with their legs bound, and their heads soaking in the stagnant red pool. I kicked one to Bee whether it was alive or dead. ( It made no movement and I concluded it ; was dead. : •«No sir, there just agoing to be killed, said my guide, and then a feble movement on tne . part of on' Xthem told me that, wha—, ? U^ said was \ I had no difficulty fnow in imdei^ she previous remark o* jua-s'treei. -: \

THE EVENING STAR TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 1881.



J COSGRA YE & CO. will hold a Sale of the ivJwle of their Slimmer Drapery and Clothing, previous to opening up their Winter StocJc. The Goods are considerahly redAioed below cost, in order to clear. The SALE commences on WEDNESDA V, Bth March. /~IABLE MESSAGES TO EUROPE ANGLO-NEW ZEALAND TELEGRAPH AG-ENCY. Auckland Agent: Alox. Saundcrs. TRANS-ATLANTIC FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY. Auckland h gent: Alex. Saunders. HotrsE, La>t>, and Estate Agent, Stock , - , , AND ShARIBROKBR, '; ' ALEX. SAUNDERS, 2, Insuranoo Buildings. . WEB-roNa, Wizard On/and Magio Pill .—Have curod more wondorfnl canes of Rheumatism, Gout, Neuralgia, Aches. Pains, Swellings, Caked Breasts, Scalds, Mid Salt-Rheum, upon the human frame, than all the protended remedies have since the world began. These Great American Medicines art. com posed of vegetable oils healing gums, roots atid herbs; and act like a charm upon pain and Inflam mation Price: IMf-a-crowp. Sole Agents,: jKemp thortie, Prosser and Co. Where do you Live ?—ln a salubrious locality, or in a region the atmosphere 'of which is periodically tiinted with malaria ? If in the latter, it ia not unreasonable to suppose that when the regular time for the development of miasma arrives every year, you are just as regularly shaken up with the fever and ague. Ltt us hope not, but if you are,; lose no timo in procuring Udolpho Wolfe's Schiedam Aromatic Sciinappb, which, if used regularly, will protect you from the next visitation.