A MUSICAL GINK'S BABY.

MISS^CHRISTIAN'o BENEVOLENCE.

ONE of the most remarkable disputes for the possession of a child that has occurred since King Solomon delivered his famous judgment is recorded in the Melbourne papers to hand by the last mail. . Some months ago Australian musical circles were greatly excited by the extra ordinary performances on the pianoforte of a six-year-old child named Ernest Hutche son who soon became better known as the " Australian Mozart." Amongst those who took special interest in the boy was the well-known art-critic Mr James Smith, who it will be remembered, lectured in Dunedin a few years ago ; and it fe stated that the eminent Spiritualist smdoubungly believes that young Hutcheson is ao other than the great Mozart re-incarnated. W hen Mr X S. Smtyhe returned to Melbourne from England last August, Mr Smith bron''lit the "infant Mozart" under the notice of': the most travelled manager as a genius who only wanted to be properly brought, out to create a world-wide sensa tion. Being associated in business with the Rev. Charles Clark, MrS.nythe was not in a position to comply with Mr Smiths wishes ; bat, having recently heard most of the musical prodigies in the Old and New World, including the famous slave pi>nist, "Blind Tom," he went to hear Ernest Hutcheson. He came away from the recital firmly convinced that the boy was the greatest musical wonder of tlie age. As such he recommended him to the care of tne favourite vocalist Miss Christian, who is as well-known in Australia for her land heart and charitable disposition as for her charm in cr singing. At the same time, out of con sideration for the child's tender years, Mr Smvthe strongly advised that ho should be kept from performing in public for at least twelve months. This wise counsel the parent* agreed to follow; but it was not Ion"- before serious differences arose on the point The father, who is a blacksmith by trade' believed that his gifted boy was worth a king's ransom, and there seemea to be some danger of the goose being killed for the sake of its golden eggs ; the mother, on the other hand objected.to engagements being made for the child, and wished the harmonious blacksmith to return to his anvil. The quarrels between the parents now became so violent that they separated, and then commenced the strug gles as to who should have possession of this new Ginx's baby. Mr Hutcheson, hav in<r given the child his musical training, considered that, outside any legal claim he mio-ht have, this fact entitled him to its custody ; and in the exercise of this right it was rumoured that he intended to take the child to San Francisco for the purpose^ of letting him to Barnurn or some other Yamcee specufator. Thefearoflosingher"marvellous boy" caused the mother the most poignant <n-ief ; and in the end, her maternal affection overcoming shame and all other consider ations she confessed to Miss Christian that the child was illegitimate. This avowal completely changed the situation. Miss Christian, who from the first had done her best to prevent the child's faculties from bein" over-strained, and to carry out her benevolent intention had advanced a con siderable sum of money to the Hntcne son's determined to prevent the child from bein" ruined by the father's unnatural greed. After consulting a solicitor, she persuaded the mother to apply for a writ of habeas corpus, directing the father to produce the child before a judge in chambers. On the 11th inst. the case came on for hearing before the Chief Justice. In the course of his affidavit tbefathermadethefollowingextra ordinary statement :-That, although only six years and a half old, the child before the Court can play the violin, accordion, piano forte and organ. He can sing and compose music, and'he has. composed- fifteen con positions of a lengthened character. When four years and nine mouths old he could play on the piano upwards of 300 compositions, andean now answer any question m the science of harmony." In giving hisdecision. Sir William Stawell held that the child, being illegitimate, themother was the person entitled to its legal custody and the child was accordingly surrendered by the father to the mother, Rosina Brown. It is stated that, after a short tour Miss Christian intends to send the / ustrahan Mozart to England, that his musical educa tion may beffnishedatthe Royal Academy ofmS of which to^^&SfSS plished vocalist was a pupil. It is. only just to add that in her efforts on the child s behalf Miss Christian was warmly supported by The Rev. Fletcher H. Long, a Church of England clergyman in Melbourne.

A GOOD TEMPERANCE TALE.

■FpoM Ohio comes a capital temperance ±rom uuiu v temperance Surer A of there, > off the SowV: "All of those .who are m youth acquire a habit of drinking whisky, at forty years will be total abstainers or drunkards No one can use whisky for S^Sem-K= Ko^^^or^SthatJ arose, and folding his arms in a dignified manner across his myself as one whose own ex perience contradicts your statement «ft"Are you a moaerate drinkei .' asKea the Judge.^ "Howlong have you drank in modera tion?" " Forty years." ■ . "And you were never intoxicated? "Never." s "Veil," remarked the Judge, pcanmng his subject close from head to foot, " yours is a singular case, yet I think it is easily accounted for. I am reminded by it of a little story. A negro man, with a loaf of bread and a flask of whisky, sat down to dine by the hank of a clear stream. In breaking the bread, some of the crumbs dropped into the water. These were eagerly seized and eaten by the fish. That chcumstances sug gested to the darkey the idea of dipping the bread in the wniskey and feeding it to them. He tried it ;it worked well. Some of the fish ate i*, became drank, and lay helpless on the water. By this stroke of strategy he caught a threat number. But in the stream was a large fish, very unlike the rest. He partook freely of the bread and whisky, but with no preceptible effect; he was shy of every effort of the darkey to take it. He resolved to have it at all hazards, that he might learn its name and nature. He procured a net, and after much effort caught t, carried it to a negro neighbour,and asked his opinion of the matter. The other surveyed the Avonder for a moment, and then said, " Sambo, I understand dis case. Dat fish is a mullet-heat; it hain't got any brains." "In other words," added the Judge, "alcohol affects only the brain, and of course those having none may drink with out injury !" The storm of laughter that followed drove the moderate drinker suddenly^froni the house.

I heard another good child's story the other day. My cousin Barbara is an old fashioned mamma, and always goes into he nursery before dinner to hear her chil dren say their prayers. Last week, after Jack and Harry, setat four and five, had said theirs, Edith, aged three, began. She was a veiy long time before she had finish ed ; she wearied Jack, who gave her punch in. the back. Edith accordingly turned round in the middle of her devotions and said, " I am not going to cry until I have said Amen," and when she had said " Amen " she did cry. J^ *s^*"'*wiwS?; " Marriage is promotion," says George Eliot. In tbe oyas of such a reasoiifc? a man with his third wife would, doubtles - pass for a brigadier-general.

MR GOLDIE'S DISCOVERY OF GOLD IN NEW GUINEA.

Australian telegrams have reported the discovery of gold "by Mr Goldie in .New Guinea, and its verification by the Rev. Mr Lawes, who arrive;! in Sydney on Jan. 3rd, bringing letters and specimens of quartz and gold-bearing wash-dirt, sent by Mr Goldie to hu- agent in Sydney. . The specimens 'procured by c Mr Goldie

of 10 or 12 pounds of quartz, apparently broken .off" from the surface of a reef, and thickly' studded with mica and iron pyrites ; but no gold is visible to the naked eye. The washstuff consists of about two pounds of black sand, in which may be seen numeious specks of gold, some of them about the size of a pin's head. The presence of gold is clearly visible in the sand, and though only in small quantities, it is sufficient to establish the fact of this most^important discovery. &!&£i-*-wi£

With regard to; Mr Goldie's expedition, I it may be of interest to state that it is of a botanical character. He started from Somerset, Cape York, some six or eight months since, and coasted-round the south and south-east parts of New Guinea in his vessel, the Explorer, ani he has made many discoveries in the flora and fauna uf New Guinea that were previously unknown to science. The whole parly comprises five men, three of whom arc natives oft the South Sea Islands. We give below Mr Goldie's very explicit diary, winch will, doubtless, be read with much interest ; — "Port Moresby/ New Guinea, " Pcceinjxii' 12, 1877. "Dear -Sir, —Since I wrote you to last, I

have made a very important discovery. It has long been the opinion of other- tliat there was gold in New Guinea, but no one | has been able lo prove that Mich was the case. 1 have the honor to be Ihe hist European that can prove such to exist. The first discovery of gold was made by one of my black hoys bringing to me a piece of quartz he picked up in the bed of a river that I had not 'visited. I immediately re solved to give a'month in,3 following.up the

course of the .stream. A few extracts from my journal while doing so will not be void of interest. 'Wednesday, November 15. "We -started from our camp, which was situated 20 miles from Port Moresby. To get to this point even, we required the assistance of two tribes to carry our store.?, and we had great diiliculty in finding na tives to assist us further. All our induce ments failed in getting them to go further than£six|iniles. They were in great terror

01 natives further niiaud, s and warned us co sleep with one eye open, in a most char acteristic manner, by closing the one eye and using the word mahuto, which means sleep in the Mafu language. We were at this point thrown on our own resources, and we had stores which took eight men, heavily loaded, to carry ; rivers to ford that were extremely dangerous ; I had only with me three of my South Sea Islanders and one European. Uut tho word ' onward' was our motto, so to get over the difficulty we made a hole in the ground and buried the bulk of our things. " Tuesday, 16' th November. "We started at', daylight, and fol lowed the course of the river, which

was very circuitous. It was a toil- I some march, as the black lads were heavily | loaded. v>'e passed through a native • village; there were no natives about, the doors were all closed, find the village had every appearance of being lately inhabited. We went up to a hill about 1000 feet high, which gave us a fine view of the country. We crossed the river twice—once with great difficulty, as the current was very ,apkl and deep.

i>\ " Friday, 17t!i Nuve.ubar. " We moved our camp a short distance up the river, and prospected the light drift ou the b inks of the river. We found gold iv the black sand at every proapoct ; and the bed of the river was literally strewed ■with quartz, bearing gold and ruuudic, samples of which I forward to my agents in Sydney, Messrs Mason Brothers, 14, Spring-street. We "observed, while taking lunch, three natives clo-ijly following our track; th ;yj were keeping their jeyes

closely hxed on the ground, on the exact track we had come. They were friendly, as they came fearlessly aci-oss the river to us, leaving their spears behind. They went up the river with three of my men, as guides, and they drew the attention of the men to the tracks of a wild animal in the bush, showing great terror of it. This is the first indication of such being in existence. I have seen the tracks ; what kind'of an animal it is I can't explain, but there is not the slightest doubt in my mind, or in the minds of all our party, that such is in existence. The tracks had the appear ance of horse's hoofs with shoes on—quite as large, but with this difference, there was the impiession^of four toes. We know

-well the impression of the alligator,' and it does not in the slightest resemble it. It must be a heavy animal, as we saw the impression of where it had laid down on the sand, and- the natives informed us it lived in the bush, not in the river. I caught an enormous large beetle to-day; it measures six inches long, and is covered with sharp spines all over. It is a Longicorni species. If it is new it will be interesting to the lovers of these beautiful insects. .....^—lll,lll i r ' ■SSSmb

$ Saturday, lStWNovcmborT^ V' We passed through a line tract of country, undulating ; not the ■wild mouutai n ridges I had seeu in my previous journey inland, but a real good productive country, fit to grow any tropical production. To day we reckon to be forty miles from Port iMore.sby, and we have passed through a splendid grazing country, all the way densely covered with good grass for horse and cattle, abuudance of good water, and very few native?. The native populat ion, is

largest in tins part of) .New Guinea on the coast. To-day we came upon a small party of uative men and women ; as they were going our way I easily induced them to relieve the men of their burdens. The country at this point changed entirely ; in stead of open grazing land, it became dense bush, intermixed with numerous climbers, the timber very light; and travelling became very difficult. " Sunday, 19th November. "We camped and rested. We were visited by a party of about twelve natives ; one fine fellow among them over six feet, and well-built. " Monday, 20th. "Buried all but on e^ day's supply of

ffom "toi°s as game here became very ,lown and ate the crown of it, but it maue sick and three of us vomited it up. It this point I suddenly came upon a clump of beautiful tree ferns, with stems up to 20 feet t c first I have seen in the country TheyVesemDle Alosephillnm Yaungii j the Ktem heavier, but not so dark as that variety tnmk about 6 inches m diameter. The last ten miles proved very hard work, and we most reluctantly returned. We ™t\ view of the country before us, and I fhhikl we could have gone a day's journey further we should have come upon a flat, one another. I have named the river Goldie Rive We havo travelled along its bank for at least 40 miles; it runs into Kedscar Bay It is the upper part of the river we have been on, and the distance from its mouth to the point we reached is o\ei 100

«? consider siuce I arrived here I have travelled not less than-iOO miles. Al the geographical discoveries made, I have carefully laid clown on my chart, which will in due time be handed over to the proper authorities, to be published for the guidance of others, as well as scientific information ;—the nature of the land in the different districts I have been in ; like wi-e all information about natives will in due time be given to the public. _ I have likewise collected 1,000 skins of birds. In the collection there are 124 distinct species, some of which are new. 1 have likewise been fortunate in getting 23 birds _ot Paradise — Paradise Ragjjiana species. Twice our lives have been: in great danger, only 15 miles from Point Moresby. % Ihe do" in both cases saved our lives by giving uslimely warning. Both times they made a midnight attack on us ; the first time they were close up to the tent I slept in. The furious barking of the dogs roused all bauds Previous to that the Port Moresby natives warned us that a tribe inland in tended to attack us, and that it would be by night as they were too much afraid of our firearms to face us by day. The second attack one of my black boys nearly made one of the natives prisoner, but he es caped by plunging into the river. Wg have met with a very great loss in the death of our dog. It overstrained itself while hunting kangaroos. We carried it into Port Moresby, but it died the following day. " I should strongly advise that a strong party should first come down here provided with all appliances to search for geld, and that they should be composed of good practical miners, under one leader, legally bound to obey all his orders—as union is strength, and there can be no union except under one head. They should have, at least, twelve packhorses and twelve Kana kas to take charge of ihe horses, and make themselves generally useful. If any liberty should be taken, more especially towards the -women, no white man's life would be safe ; it is needful that such warning should be given, as the natives here are not immoral, that is, with Euro peans ; how they act towards one another it may be different ; that is where I fear the greatest evils may come from, and from that cause alone I should dread an inilux of a European population. They are a very intelligent race, and would be quick to revenge any wrong done them. not on the offending party, but on the first man of the same race as the oilendiug party. The Rev. Mr Lawes leaves this by the Ellengowan, at the same date that 1 send tliis letter away, so the only European that knows the native language well is gone — the lirst white man that has lived with them is gone. He is known among the natives as the good man ; the man that makes pence ; his leaving is a great loss to the natives, and a blauk that the London Mission Society will not easily replace. The Rev. Mr M'Farlane is still at his post, which is either at Murray Island or cruising about in the Mission vessel. He has acted on a different system from Mr Lawes. He does not live with the natives, so the na tives know no more about him than they know .of the captain ot the steamer; and he knows just as little about them. He knows nothing about their language ; and as for having any influence over them, he has none.

"In conclusion, I earnestly warn the public that there should be no rush of Europeans at present. It is true I have found gold, but it wants practical men first to prove whether there is sufficient, to justify a rush of Europeans. No one need try it without pack horses to carry food inland, and food to live on must be brought or know of its arrival; the natives have barely sufficient for themselves. Do not depend on that source. Let the lessons of the Palmer be a warning. I thought it best to report the exact state of affairs, as I am iware the crews of mis-ion vessels know of it, and by being silent, might cause more than by honestly telling all the facts.

'' I send the specimens by the Rev. Mr Lawes; you can question him on all par ticulars, and I assure you he will be glad to grant all information that lies in his power. I likewise send you a tracing off my chart; it will be of great value to the Admiralty as a geographical discovery. I have named the river where I discovered gold after myself. I have likewise given a copy of the chart to the Rev. Mr Lawes ; he will consult with you how best the infor mation on that chart ought tobe used ; any one coming down here without the correct position of the travel would not know where to get gold. The tracks down in red lines shew our course, with the different positions the river can be forded. I have made another discovery within the last few days: a seam cropping up, which looks like coal. I likewise send you specimens of it; it is very heavy. I don't know enough about geology to know; whether it is coal or not; the seam runsjnorth and south ; if it is coal it will be of as great value as gold, as it is not inland but in Fairfax Harbour, close to the water, and one of the finest harbours in the world. " I am, dear sir, yours truly, "ANDREW GOLDIE."

The following letter has been addressed by the Key. Mr Lawes to our morning contemporary :— I left Port Moresby three weeks ago. Up to that time no rain had fallen. The , natives were suffering from the long con tinued drought ; their plantations were burnt up, and the hills, which at this time last year were covered with grass a foot high, have not a blade of grass to hide their barrenness. The drought does not seem to have extended to the south-east end, for the country about South Cape is fresh and green—a striking contrast to Port Moresby and Hood Bay. Since my last letter to you ("S.M.H." October 16) my head-quarters have been principally at Kerepunu, in Hood Bay. I visited from there several inland villages The most important is the village of Kalo on the banks of the Uauikela or Kemp Welch Eiver. It is the largest village I have seen on New Guinea, and cannot con tain, I should think, less than two thousand inhabitants. It has a very war like character, and the Kaloites are much feared by the neighbouring tribes I went a few miles up the Kemp Welch Kiver. It is the finest in that part of New Guinea. Of course it is nothing like the •bly, And, or Baxter Rivers, which drain large areas of low swampy land ; but it is a large body of water, fresh at low tide, and probably navigable a considerable distance lhe banks, as far as I went, were covered with flourishing gardens of bananas, sugar cane, and taro ; while the groves of cocoa nuts seemed boundless. The betel palm too was plentiful. A great contrast to this is the i 'undce River, at the head of the Hood

Lagoon. I went some 15 or 20 miles tid if in my little boat, but it is rather a salt water creek than river. The natives tell me it becomes fresh much further on and that it runs from near Aloma, the village of Keppel Point. Nothing but manof ove : were to be seen on either side as far as I went. The Rev Jumes Chalmers, who is We rij known as the missionary for the last '• ten years on Rarotonga, is living at Staceir Island in the centre of a large population! Twenty teachers are now at work on tlie" : main land of New Guinea, in connection with our mission.

I know the district in which Mr Goldie has been, not from a three weeks' visit, but from a three years' residence. The climate is trying and unhealthy. During the wet season it is almost impossible to get inland The grass is burnt generally in July, and from that month until the end of November it is easy to get about. More could be done in travelling and exploring iv one week after July than in a month before it, and with less risk. A small party of gentlemen prospecting would have every assistance from Mr Goldie, and also from the membera of our mission, but the party should go pre pared to be independent of the natives of New Guinea altogether, both as regards labour and provisions.

I had a long talk at Somerset with two of the South Sea Islanders, who'accom panied Signor P'Albertis up the Fly River and who have preceded him to Somerset! They are both emaciated from fever, and say that Mr D'Albertis and the whole party have Buffered much from it. Mr D'Albertis has made a large collection of birds, &c. but has not reached so far up the river as in the last expedition, and his own report may be expected by uext Torres Straits mail.

I regret that I am not returning to New Guinea. Since I landed at Port Moresby in 1874 I have visited many villages, and acquired much valuable information res pecting the country and its inhabitants. I have slept as soundly in the inland villages as in my own house, and have never been molested anywhere. In our voyages along the coast our little vessels have been sur rounded by canoes literally swarming with armed men, but we have never been attacked. My experience in New Guinea confirms that of twelve years in the youth Seas, and strengthens my belief that where barbarous races are treated with confidence, kindness, and honesty, there is little to be feared from them. Some patience and for bearance is, of course, necessary in dealing with them. A man who is prepared to shoot a native for stealing a stick of tobacco, a knife, or tomahawk, which his own care lessness has left in their w ray, ought never to go to such a place as New Guinea.

New Guinea. — Mission Station, Port Moresby.

New Guinea. — Elvara Island and Village, Port Moresby,\

: yA Portion of -New Guinea, showing the Position of Port Moresby, and the\Locality wheri^Gold was Found by%3fr^Goldie.

BEFORE THE LORD CHIEF BARON.

[" Punch '4 in the following pseudo-report takes off admirably the garrulity of the Lord Chief Baron (Fitzroy Kelly), who is apt apropos de bottes to give his opinion on public and other matters not immediately under his juris diction. His lordship is 81 years of age.] BROWN V. JONES. This was a case of little interest. The plaintiff sued the defendant for money lent upon a bill of exchange. The bill was presented in due course and dishonored. There was partically no defence. The Lord Chief Baron, in summing up, said he was delighted to have this opportunity of addressing the jury upon several subjects of importance. The other day. he had given the Lord Mayor his opinion about the present war—a war which was a disgrace to the Emperor of Russia and a scandal to Europe. On this occasion he would touch upon other topics of international interest. He wished to call their attention to Prince Bismark. To the far-seeing cruelty of this statesman France owed her present painful position. Had the German Premier been satis fied to conclude the war before the Emperor of the French had surrendered at Sedan, there is every reason to believe that a Napoleon would have been seated on the Throne of France at this very moment. To the overthrow of the Empire may be traced the terrors of the Com mune. Bismarck also had a hand in the Danish and Austrain war, two campaigns full of disaster to the natural allies of England. Al though he thought it his duty, sitting there as he did in the character of a Judge of the land, to condemn the conduct of the German statesman in the strongest possible language, he must add, too, that he looked with some alarm at the warlike preparations reported to be making in Italy. Why should Italy arm ? Did she wish to attack the Turks ? Was she playing into the hands of the Russians ? These questions some Judges would leave it to the jury to decide... | He refused to do anything of the sort. He'« though it his duty, as Lord Chief Baron, to rule that the Italians were decidedly wrong. They must take this from him seated on the Bench* His Lordship then severely criticised the con duct of the Khedive of Egypt, and reviewed the history of Spain during the last five years. [At this point the fifth edition of the evening 1 paper was handed in]. The Lord Chief Baron, having hastily glanced at the latest intelligence, continued his summing up. There was nothing . new in the paper before him. Of course, there were a great many rumours ; but the}' might take it from him that rumours must be received with the greatest possible caution. He had no wish to embarrass Lord Beacons field by any remark that he might make while in the discharge of his judicial duties ; still, he though it only right to tell the jury that unless the Premier walked in the ways of the late Lord Palmerston, England's prosperity might become a thing of the past. We had great interests in India, and those interests must be carefully watched and guarded. His Lordship here read several extracts from the works of Caplain Barnaby to prove that the Turk was infinitely to be perferred to the Russian. His Lordship regretted that he had not a large map and a black board, and even a magic lantern, with a few dissolving views. Had he these useful articles, he ventured to think he could have made his lecture if not more intel ligible, at least more entertaining. He re gretted the lateness of the hour prevented * him from saying a great deal more upon the • very interesting subjects that had been attract- . ing their attention. In conclusion, he could have no hesitation in directing the jury to find a verdict against the Russians generally, and in the present case to give the plaintiff the money that clearly was due to him. The "jury (having been awakened by the usher) immedi ately found a verdict for the plaintiff, and the proceedings terminated.

RUSSIAN VIEW OF THE SITUATION

The Golos of St. Petersburg says: "As yet we know at least one thing, that right has triumphed, and that we have not been deceived by the faith and hopes with which we are inspired. The clouds on the horizon have disappeared, and the bright rays of the sun shed life-giving force on the Russian people. In the east all is bright ness, but in the West dark clouds are visible. Germany alone congratulates us on our victory. From the banks of the Thames come other sounds—calls to inter vention and to the stamping out of Russian glory. " Quick, quick ! let us stop Russia in- her victorious career, and snatch from her by a European concert the fruits of her efforts, her sacrifices, and her blood." So we must translate the most favorable polite speeches to come to us from London by telegraph. But the meaning of the Rus sian speeches we can also divine,—bold, independent words, worthy of a great Power, which alone undertook the work, and alone will finish it. Russia will not admit intervention, and will not allow that what has been sown by her should be reaped by others. She alone defended and defends the idea of emancipation, and she will know how to protect at the same time her own interests. "

Mr Gladstone has been challenged as a wood cutter, a tradesman at Claycross, near (Sheffield, having written to him on behalf of a timber feller, who is prepared to stake a sovereign that his tree Would be down before Mr. Gladstone's. The right hon. gentleman regards the challenge as a com pliment, but.says at once he must give in, whatever pretensions to excellence he had having boen lost by age end other causes.

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16

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