SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

m _,, l TMe> Kvoninn, 7.56 HIGH WATER f To . moITOV , Morning, 8.15 MOON'S AGK.-LaatQaartar.Uth, 7.U B.nl.

ARRIVALS.

TO-DAY. Kriemhilda, Boh.. Bathurst, '«"| r^ft haD«aroa Sea Breero, sch, f Sylra, from Tairua

DEPARTURES.

[LAST BVKNINO. Arffyle. 8.8.. Crawford, for Whangarei

IMPORTS.

B^K^rs^=^-

mmmi feet timber: Sea Breezo, from Talrua, wim 8,619 pioceaimber. p nßflfl ii ■ Totura, for Port Oharlos. The brigantino Roderick Dhu is loadins at Melbourne for this port. The schooner Annio Wilson arrived at Mel bourne from this port on Sunday last. Too aohoonerß Albatross, bound '*'Welling- ton, and tho Onward, for TimsifU, loft Lyttelton yesterday. Tho b.». Rns4ii is advertised to leave Qacen streetvnarf, Anokland, for Holti»n(?a, on Mon day at I p.m. i he Anoldand schooner Advance, 59 tons, has boon assigned the letters S.L.N.B. in tho Inter national Uodo Signal Hat.

The throo-maatod BChooner Honda Isle arrived at Port Natal from Now York on October 4th, after a passage ot 73 dayß. Thence she pro cooded to Mauritius on tha 17th to load for an Australian port.

Tho Icotch banta Crnz cleared at the Customs for Klaptira to-day! Kho loads timber thero.ond proceeds south! Tho now Ferry Co.'s steamer Victoria is fast approaching comolotion. Tho engines wero placod in her by means of tho largo crano, during last week, and tho boilers will ba placed on board this evonlng or to morrow. Tho trial trip will probably take plaeo about tho lath lnet.

The barquo Avona, which loft thii port for Naw York on July 4th, reached her destination on I iot. 12, 100 days out. Tho barque Dunkeld flailed for San Francisco on July 15, and arrived, after a passage of 82 days, on Oct. sth. -The barauo Uooh Doon, also from this port I July 17). arrived at San Ifranciaon on Sopt. 2(ith, tho passage thus ocouoylng 71 days. The barquo Kapido left Auckland on Aueust 7th, and arrived at '/risoo prior to Nov. 20th.|

MMrC. Bailey han completed the model of a thirteen-ton yacht, which, aa we hive previously mentioned, Is building to tho order oC an Anck landKentlon'on. Tho raodol shewa very fine lines ova deop-draught olsßi yacht, wiih a nicq o'oar ran fore and aft »nd every appoarance ot being a powerful sailer. She is to have a square ■tern, whloh, of course, will bnt littlo effcot her sailing qualities, but In avory other reapeot tho builder has his own way. with orders simply to maka a BUbotantial and fast boat.

Tho barque Candidate arrived at Nelson (from London) yesterday, nftor a pasfage of 115 daya from port. When off the Cape of Good Hope, Bho encountered a hoavy gale, and a soaman. named Simon, was washed from the wheol, ana had hla leg broken. He is now progressing irvourablyr On Sunday last. John Thomas, tho iaUmaker; died suddenly, whilst in tho act of Msistlngto hoiat a soil. Efforts wero made to restore animation, but, these failiDft.tbo-a;^ Mfaß burled at aundown. ( r

THE P. AND O. COS NEW STEAMSHIP ROME.

Tfco Mowing deiorlption of the Homo is from Mfcferw^CnoCd^^g MaylMt by MewratSud aad Co.. of this town, Sid to «£ the following dimensions: Length. SStoblebridgeßWith the poop and foreoastle. Themusio-room la about 50 feet lomf.and ocou olM tSeentUe breadth of tho ship. The second- S ass pssrei.BO'9 have their quarters at thpatern oftha VBB»el7BO that the usual order of things is Mver«edon board the Rome. The dining saloon "capable of seating all the flnfroUM passengers Shout 160) and the officer* at dinner. The Srninaa as In the music-room, are in oarved watoSt The state-rooms, which ore also on the main deok, are very roomy and airy, 'lhebath rooaiß are all fitted up with solid marble baths hat andl oold water fitted throughout. At the Stern of tho vessel thore is aocom irtodaUon tor 50 second-olasa passengers. The loCer dock ot tha vesael is used for cargo. In oonneo'lon with the cargo, it may bo stated Shat there are st am winohes, fonr powerfnl iteam oranes, and every appliance for tho rapid folding Md dinoharging of goods. The engines «nnaiat of two pa&s of compound - tandem mSlnea with a power of over 5,000 h.p. There S?e two iow-preSiure cylinders, each measuring SHiShe* aoroWand two bi Kh-Pre'. BU™i 4'°<*™ to ditto! Star. Tlis ateam pressure is 001b. on the wuareinon. Each piston rod alone weighs i tonßiß 13 inches in diameter. «nd has a 5 feet SSfke The crank shaft is of VJckers steel, and wSeh's 30 tons. Tho steam is got up by meanß 5 Snr double and two Bingie-ended boiler.., attention seems to have been given to the mMM of toping; the vessel afloat in case of Son or oX'aiaaster. In tho »nrt»»°" alone, there are 9 separate pumps, and lri eScl^ of thn 7 watertight compartments into which the iflMieliß divided, there ate four Buction pnmps. fn OTnolusion, it may bo stated that Messrs Mufr andOadman's Bteam steering gear is used, Kft Qnurosend on the stb of Ootober. Ado (Sda waa reached at 1.45 p.m. on the 25th, and Melbourne on Novembsr 28tb. The mails toonrtt by her collated of 33 bago tor GeelonK, 197 for Melbourne, 50 for Sydnur, 17 for Queens land MI for Noum, 2 for the naval squadron, 38 for Taamanla. and 107 for Now Zealand. Tho nassemsers by the steamer speak in glowimr SS, of the YMBel. both in fine and heavy leather. .

PORT OF ONEHUNGA.

ARKIVALS.

Ksta MoOroKor. schooner, Couch, from Grey mouth.

DEPARTURES. Petfguln; c*, Edie. tor tho South. •<Tha Bohobner Kate McGregor arrived from S& B <Sd strong northerly weather most oi the The as Penanlnloft the wharf for the South fOrtS ports :-180 saoks potatoes. 25 saoftaand 9 oases onions, and Mpaotagea Bundry merchan dise. ~

KAIPARA SHIPPING.

[BY TELKQRAPH.]

HiXBHSViLM. this day. At the nead\l-"Windbound: Marmion ana Colonist, Tb KoPTnWi this day. Loading: Thomas and Henry, Robin Hood. Arrived: Vision. AnATAPO . this nay. ' loadlnu ■ Mary Mildred and Magellan Clond. M MalTarau-Loading: Staf^

Loading! Barque Vivid. Port Albert, this day. ' Loading: Wave, brie. . ... :-, ■ ,

TELEGRAPHIC SHIPPING.

Arrived: Te Anau, from Auckland, 5 am. Bailed: lona, s.a, Jor Whangaroa, 1 a.m. 'Arrived: Argyll.*""" anofciand,B3oafri.

COMMERCIAL.

Evkninq Stab Office, Wednesday. 'Mr R. Artnnr WW a Bttle of Nelson fruits to day aooaebarrfea brought 3}d to ii; oherrles, fid j and aeveral lines of bacon, BJd. TMtr Oeo. Slbbln Bold two orates of assorted earthenware, oonstatlng of dinner aervioes, pink, Swen, afld gold, BOroa. very handsome. There was a large attendance of buyers and marriage able people; The whole sold at firat-olasa prices Mr W. Dowden'a sale of literary worte of every olasa had not concluded when we *wenttoVeßß- The books were selling at high prloes. ____________________

Mail Notice.

Mails wim, Closk as Under.—

This Day. Foe Thames, per Enterprise, at 5.30 p.m.

Thursday, Bth instant. For Walwora, Te Kapa, Craigioburn, ana Warkworth, per Roao Oasoy, at 10 o.m. Per b.O. Te Anau aa follow:— Bor India. China.Japan.Medltoranoan Ports, and Continent of Europe, at 10 a.m. ForGlsborno, Kapler. Southern ports, Aus tralian Colonieß, and United Kingdom, via Suez and ISrindisl, for letters, &c, speolaUy bo prepaid and addressed, at 11 a.m. For money orders, roistered letters, and newspanora, at 10 a.m. For lata letters till 11.20 a.m. For Walheko and Coromandel, par Opotlkl. Ac 10 a.m. for Thames. Per Rotoraahana. at 3 p.m. For Mangawai, per Fingnl, at 3 p.m. For Taurango. Ohinemutu, and Opotikl, per Glono g, at 4 p.m.

Friday, 9th instant. For Whangarol tleads, Paruo, Waipu, Whan- Karei, Tangthna, and Mangapal, por Argyle, at i p.m.

For Australian- Cqionios, ps &.»■ City of Not York, immediately after her arrival from Honolulu. For Lovnka, and Suva, por Taiaroa, three days after her arrival. For Taranakl and Sontharn ports, per Hawea, immediately after arrival of City of New JTork.

B. B. 11133, Chief Postmaster. Chief Poat-ofßoe. Auckland.

Meetings, Entertainments, Etc.

December 7, 1881. Choral Hall-Masonio Ball in celebration of opening of New Freemasons' H»U, Princes street. Theatre Royal—Sir George Grey's address to Elector.!, 8 p.np, Public School, Otara-Mr a. I.nke and the Electors of Franklin North, 7.30 p.m. Hamilton Publlo Hall—Mr Whitaker and the Electors ot Waipa, 7 30 p.m. Onehunga Masonio Hall-Sir G. M. O'Rorke and the Electors, 8 p.m. Eden Torraoa Hall-Mr Reader Wood and Eleotors, 8 p.m. Mount Albert Hall-Mr Tolo and the Kleotora of Eden, 8 pm. Temporance Hall—Supporters of Mr Peaoook'* oandldature for City North, 7.30 p.m. Albert Hall -Supporters of Mr Reea's Candi dature for City N orth. 7 p.m. ■ St. Sepulohre's School—Mr Monk and the Eleotors of Parnell, 8 p.m. Mr J. M. Clark's Committee-Committee Room, High-street, 7.30 p.m. Freemasons' Hall-District Grand Lodge of New Zealand, E.C., 6 p.m. H.A.C. Benefit Soolety—Quarterly Moating at St Patrick's Hall, 8 p.m. Auckland Knglnoer Volunteers—Parade In Drill-shed, 7.30 p.m.

Birth.

B&Cff.-On December 6th, at nor residence, Napier-street, tha wife Of T. Bach of ft daughter. ISAACS.—On December 5. at Melroao Hall Remuera, the wife of Alfred E. Isaacs ot a SOD.

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

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1881.

For the cause that lacks Kslilance, For the wrong that needs resistanc For the future in the distance. And the good that we can do.

Those who disapproved of Sir G. M. O'JJorke's repression of obstruction last session have had their revenge. Human ingenuity could hit upon no more irritating process of political torture than that which compels a statesman of high attainments and position to go through all the worries of a contested election for the mere pur pose of defeating Mr 0. C. McGee. The post of honour which has been held by the late Speaker for so many years, with the approval and admiration of the entire Par* liament and country, would, if courtesy had been a political rule, have spared him this infliction. We should tbink less of it if we could discover one quality in Mr McGe c that might fit him for the office to which he aspires. But unless a knowledge of racing matters, combined with wind-lagigm that may amuse so long as it does not bore an election gathering, are endowments that command confidence in a legislator, Mr McGee's adventure is as unaccountable as it is ridiculous. Sir G. M. O'Korke's opponent has the misfortune to have been bom with an irrepressible disposition to talk, and his oratory is of the most peculiar description. Having in early infancy swal lowed the family copy of "Webster U nabridged," it still lies in a crude and un digested state upon his stomach, The* consequence is that Vhen Mr Mctieo has a story to tell or wishes, to " make a few remarks," ho begins in the middle and starts out by a circuitous route for both ends, In his path fragments of the "Unabridged Webster" are strewn about in a style that is irresistibly comical. The audience laugh immensely, and Mr McGee —innocently supposing tJjat their merrj ment is provoked by his wit instead of his absurdity, rambles on, until weariness supervening upon the first sense of the ridiculous, renders his perorations a bore, and calls for a cessation of the music. Mr McGee would have made his. fortune as a circus clown, but parliament is the very last arena in which Ms friends should set him, His fragrance is of that kind which smelkth sweetest in the quiet seclusion of the country dell. If we could conceive of a prevalent in sanity dominating an entire constituency, we might believe in the possibility of a body of intelligent electors rejecting Sir G. M. O'Borke and electing Mr McGee. It is not necessary that we should expatiate upon the late Speaker's possession of political knowledge and ex perience that would adorn any Legislature in the world ; are these things not known from North Capo to tho Bluff? We ques tion if Australasia has produced a Speaker more thoroughly versed in Parliamentary practice; it has been his life's study, Nor has it been left for us to inform the electors who have given him their unswerving confidence far 21 years tbat he adds to bis public virtues the qualities of a high-'mjiniled, upright, private gentleman. The address he has published through cur columns, appealing to the records of a long and eminent career, and Calmly awaiting the judgment of his fellow-men, is characteristic of the politician who stepped down from the Treasury Benches, resigning place and power, because he could not endure the association of his name wi.th the tactics of the Vogel Ministry. We bold no kind of doubt what the verdict of Manukaa will be. The only chance of disappointment liflfl in general security that Sir G. M. ,o".Rorke is virtually unopposed, which may create an apathy in the polling of hissnpporters, Undue confidence is invariably prodactiye of a state of danger. The electorate includes the Pensioner Settlements, in which ttie exact farce of Mr McGee's doses of the " un abridged "may not be so fairly calculated

as in other quarters of the electorate. Therefore, let Sir G. M. O'Korke's friends rally around him and make the verdict not only absolutely certain, but emphatic. In doing this, the electors of Mannkau will express their resentment of Mr McGee's light estimate of their discrimination, and will do honour equally to themselves and a representative who gains for his con stituency distinction in the Parliament of the colony, and whose reputation has travelled beyond the borders' of New Zealand.

We have sought very diligently, but In vain, through Mr Monk's public utterances for any good reason why he should tako the place of Mr Moss as member for PARNKIA. In his first speech, Mr Monk seemed a littlo doubtful about the matter himself. He spoke of there being a call tor someone, mul modestly intimated that though he did not profess to be the best representative conceivable yet no better offered, and hence his candidature. Whatever the call may nave been that brought Mr Monk Into the Held, we cannot think it is one arising from any general discontent among the electors of Parnell, because we have never seen any sign of it before, nor is any cause discover able in the late member himself, or the way in which he has represented the consti tuency, He is eminently one of the people ; a man of great intelligence, pursuing his ordinary avocations in daily association with those who have sent him to Parlia ment. When men really know and feel that another's entire heart is with them—that hia cares and pleasures, his interests and hopes, are identical with their own,-it takes a great deal to displace him in their regard. This appears to us the relation which Mr Moss has succeeded in establishing with the electors of Parncll, and nn attempt to unseat him is more likely to knit the affections of tho people more closely around him than to achieve any other object. Mr Mos3 has been known in public life since the early days of the colony. Bringing with him a strong love ot freedom engendered in a youth spent rovlnc over the wide grassy plains of South Africa, he became embroiled in the whirligig of politics on the popular sido the moment he got his feet securely planted on the shores of New Zealand. He entered the Provin cial Council of Otago, and became a mem bor of the Executive so many yeats ago that some who wero then boys are now his com panions in the Colonial Parliament. Carried off in the rush to colonise Fiji, wo lind him prominent nmong the planters who banded themselves against a tyranni cal self-constituted despotitm, couraueously working to bring the colony under free British institutions. Returning to Auck laud with broken health and tcuunes, he is first discovered engaged in tho work of puri fying the atmosphere of the old Meohanics Institute, and toiling in the drudgery of a journalistic life, animated by a wish to do something for the intellectual elevation of his fellow-men. While Mr Moss was so employed, whore was Mr Monk? Devoted to the pursuit of. a severely practical life—full of schemes for making money—though building up at the same time a great manufacture which is .a credit to his industry and business talent. But in a life supremely devoted to'lhe task of "getting on in the world" there must always enter a certain hardening process which, unless guarded against very care fully, closes the pores of human sympathy. Their opposite training leavesMr Monk a keen, shrewd, genuine business man, who .would measure men as he would blocks of timber with the foot-rule, and compel them to conform to a given standard of industry, sobriety, and self-denial; it leaves Mr Moss with an equal integrity, mellowed by a full understanding of human nature in all that Infinite diversity of con stitution and temperament which it has pleased the great Creator to stamp upon his last and greatest work, as upon all tho lower orders of his universe in its manifold perfection and endless variety. To what conclusion, as affecting the Dending election, it will be asked, do theso observations lead 1 Clearly this—that if wo wero seeking for a man to manage a great industry we should send for Mr Monk ; but if wo desired one to make institutions that _ would afford expansion to the national life of thinking, feeling men, wo should call in Mr Moss. If the floating opinion of the people of Parnell could be gathered and registered in concrete form with the numbers at the poll, that, we are certain, is the story it would tell. We have, as yet, said nothing o^ tho re lative experience of the two candidates in the business of law-making. And who will deny that law-making is an art to which a man must devote a largo amount of study before he attains anything like proficiency. If Mr Mosk were told that he had gained nothing in knowledge by hia long and active supervision of the ingenious machinery by which the work of tho Sash and Door Company is cariied on, ho would look upon his critic as defective in the upper story ? Is the Parliamentary machinery so much more simple than those dead iron wheels and pulleys, that observa tion of its working is useless ? We think hot; the flowers of a political lifa—except in rare instances— blcora very late in all countries. Unless, thereforo, he has been guilty of some grave fault, a man who "knows the ropes," and is honestly animated by right principles and broad sympathies, is a better representative than one to whom everythingisnew,untried, and of dubious power. Mr Moss was qualified by a liberal mind and excellent training to represent a people, and that ha has done so conscientiously and well, those who have watched his career in Parnell know and feel. It would, on these gronnds, be & mis take to change him. It would be equally a mistake to withdraw Mr Monk from those industrial pursuits in which ha is bound to excel and do good to the country, for- the purpose of placing him in the non-produc tive field of politic* where he would be an almost certain failure.

With the articles on Manukau and Parnell, to-night, we close the promised aeries on the city and suburban constituencies. The time is too far advanced to enter upon the coun try electorates, and perhaps it is as -veil to leave those fields where the candidates have only been partially reported to the electors who have had opportunities of seeing and hearing and judging for them selves, la the districts most distant from Auckland the country papers hare expen ded their resources in ventilating the pros and cons of the struggle. Obedient to a deliberate resolvp we sat dqwn with the full purpose of writing the (ruth as it presented itself to our mind for jie guidance of the electors. The task, when dealing with personal friends, has at times boon a, painful one to ourselves, and unpalatable to those of whom we liaij, to speak, but it has been done. To-morrow, on the eve of the great decisive day, we shall give afewparting ad monitions to the electors.

On the fjrst and fonrth pages of this evening's issue will be found a number of advertisements, including For Sales, Cor poration Notices, Drapery, Business Notices, &c, which usually appear on our third page, but are unavoidably crowded out through press of election matter.

Mr Alison made a statement at the North Shore meeting last night which should not pass without contradiction, He said that our report of the Helensville meeting was written by Mr Hurst. That is utterly un true. It was sent by our regular corres pondent at Helensnlle, and we have since learned that the account did only very partial justice to the utter discomfiture of Mr Alison and his advocate at the meeting. It is a pity that Mr Alison should attempt to further a lame candidature by false state ments tbat are so easily disproved as this one. If he or his supporters have any real doubt on the subject they may inspect the original telegram at our office. The in,» t.esjiity of our reports is one of those things which we have under all circumstances en deavoured to establish.

There have been angularly few election squibs so far, considering the intense interest in the election contests. The only one of any note is a handbill giving that portiop of the report of the Railway Com mission appointed by the Hall Government, of which Mr J, M. Ciark was a member, that refers to the Aucklaud rail ivays. The repojrt ia published without remark, re. liiiuco being j?laoed on the italicising of thp passages jn the reporf; jn which it con dewßo emphatically, one after another, the extension oi (She Wuangarei-Karno railway (which has since fce,<jn undertaken by the Government), the Kaipara railway, the Auckland station reclamation, the Hamil ton.Te.'Aroha railway (sjnee carried on't by the Government), fbe Gyahamston-'le Aroha railway, the Te Anamutu-Now Plymouth and the Tauranga-Rotorua linea. The slips of the report haye been freely circulated in town, and have been the topic of a good deal of didcassifin. Somecufio.'jty has been aroused .as to ths meaning .of the bills And. advertisements announcing a work showing '-'What Sir George Grey has D.on,e ffif the Working Mj&n/1 but as yet no clue is given as to the nature of the work or its authorship, beyond an advertisement in another column that it will be out to morrow.

We understand that the Government have reduced to £5 the fine of £20 imposed some time ago on Mr Hogg, of the Thames brewery.

The opening of the new Freemasons' Hall will be celebrated by a ball at the Choral Hall this evening,

There is likely to be a busy day at the Resident Magistrate's Court to • morrow. About sixty-four small debtor cases are set down for hearing.

The Auckland Amateur Athletic Club Sports, postponed from last Saturday, on account of the inclemency of the weather, will take place in the Domain on Saturday, 10th inst. See advertisement in another column.

The half-yearly meeting of the H.A.C.B. Society will be held in St. Patrick's Hall, Hobson-street, this evening. Tho busineis includes the election of officers for the ensuing six mouths.

At a meeting of the shareholders in the Golden Isle lease held yesterday, the following gentlemen were appointed a com mittee of' management i-Messrs Abbott, Wickens, Graham and Macffarlane. It was stated that there was £250 to the credit ot the shareholders.

A gentleman residing at Onehuuga in forms us that he felt the earthquake reported from the South. Ho was in an upstairs room when the shock occurred, and noticed the building slightly tremble for about thirty seconds. He mentioned the circum stanco to friends beforo the telegram reached Auckland reporting the occurrence in the South.

Last Fridayevening tableauxvivants were shown in the hall of the Young Women's lustitute, and wero so successful that a general request was made by the spectators that they might be repeated in a larger and more public place, It ha 9 accordingly been arranged to repeat them in the Temperance Hall, Albert-atrcet on Friday evening, the 9th inst.

The Registrar of the Supreme Court (Mr 11. Brewer) sat in Banco this morning, and granted an order of discharge from bank ruptcy to Louis Bullin, wno appeared in porson. A similar application was to have been made by Chas. Little, but was post poned in consequence ot tho debtor's absence through illiioa?.

The following persons were charged at tho Police Court this morning, beforo W. J. Hurst, Esq., J.P.:—John Thackaberry, Mary Ann Alexander, and Mary Burko pleaded guilty to drunkenness, afd~~ere lined 5s each. John Cone'dine, a young man, was charged with stealing a pipe, value 3s, the proporty of Wm, C. Porter, v.zi tdinanded until to-morrow.

The several members of St. Andrew's Mutuul Improvement Association held a very promising practice last evening in the school-room, Symondß'Street, and, judging from this and previous practices, we autici pato a very successful ontortainracnt in the Lorne-strcot Hall on Friday eveuing next. The farce to bo played has never been re presented previously in this city, and possesses many points of interest, and is full of animation and adventure. The whole of the programme will shortly be be fore the public.

The Adelaide " Evening Journal " of the 17th ult. gives n glowing account of tho per formance* of Misa Jessie Raymond, (Sirs Glover) an actress of good local reputation in Auckland. This lady is winning very favourable notice in Adelaide by her clever impersonation of Mclanic in the sensa tional drama of "Blighted Lives." The critic says:—"Miss Jessie Raymond plays charmingly as Mclanic, the daughter of Do Villicr, and richly deserved the applause tendered to her.' The performance closed with the farce, or clever little comedy of tho "Bonny Fishwife," in which this lady de veloped a spirit of fun and vivacity quite irresistible. The friends of this artiste will bo glad to hear that she is nuking a good impression in Australia.

An extraordinary pauper has just died at the Warringtoa workhouse, in England. His name was Moses Warren. About nino years ago he came to the workhouse, very well dressed, stating that lie was ill, and was admitted. He took to his bed, and re fused to givo any particulars as to who he was or where he came from. As nothing particularly wrong could be found with him, he was told to "move on," upon which he simulated illness, and never spoke for four years. Ho kept his bed until bo became too weak to rise, and was put on extra diet with an allow ance of wine; but when at the end ot four years vaiious experiments were made, and, under tho belief that ho was sbammincr, his wine and other extras were stopped, bo found his tongue and.began cursing the nurses in a fearful manner. Soon after he died. Ho has cost tho Union over £400. It wss thought that ho was wanted by tho police, and took this method of hiding. The opinion has since gainod ground that he was connected with the Fenian move ment.

A most successful and instructive enter tainment was given to a crowded audience at the Mount albert Hall last evening by the members of tho Total Abstinence Society in that district. Several readings, recitations, and melodies wore well rondeved by the junior members. The dialogue (ia which eight or nine members took part) en titled, " The Local Option Licensing Court," was the hit of the evening. A special interest attached to it, the audience knowing that the next day a license would be applied for, for a house in the district. The sectretary acting as Mayor, with junior members as Councillors, patiently listened to the noisy applicant, poor Widow Grey, and Tommy Jones, the latter's stones being so well told that the Council decided that no license should be granted for the tale of intoxicating drinks in the district, which decision was received with cheers, it buiug considered prophetic of the decision ef tho Licensing Court at Unehuuga to-day, The cnairmau, Rev. J, Haselden, mads some telling re marks. The choir, under Mr Ackcy's leadership, did good service, and after tho secretary had recited that famous piece, "Where there's drink, there's danger," several came up to sign tho pledge book.

An extraordinary attempt at murder in Victoria has just resulted in the sentence of death being recorded against on old man named Hugh Lavery, who, with his step son, John James McColl, had resided on a farm at Roche iter. They had had some monetary transactions, and to a certain ex tent the elder man was in the power of the younger. This fretted him; so one evening he handed the young man a cup of brandy and water, with a strong dose of strychnine in it. M'Ooll, who was reading, tasted it ab oently, but refused to drink the remainder, as it wag no bitter. He became ycry ill, and urged his stepfather tp. fetch a doctoil; but he would neither go himself, nor permit M'Coll to try and obtain help. On the con trary, he loaded his gun, and co terrified the ' young man that he signed a jjumber of papers, parting with ali he possessed. Lavery there upon promised him his life, but subse. quently changed his mind, was prepar ing to put his stepson out of the world when despair gavo M'Coll courage, and he wrenched the gun out of LaverV's hands, and struck him so severely over the bead that he temporarily disabled him, and than escaped from tbo house in his nightshirt, Lavery tried to make out that M'Coll had wished to murder him, but the circumstan tial evidence was too strong against him sejf,

The monthly jneeting of the Acclimatisa tion Society was held ytsstezday afternoon, Mr Bull in the chair. The other members present were Messrs. Barstow, Hill, Macffarlane, J. Rnasell, Bond, Mackechnie, and Hod. 11. Chamberlain. The business before the meeting was not large. The chairman said there were niuety Californian mountain quail in the Society's gardens, and the curator advised that they should be kept Borne time longer until stronger of wing. It was finally resolved to offer halt the number to Mr Firth to be turned out on the Matamata estate, and to Mr W. Ear], to be turned out on his estate at the Bay of Islands, The consideration of the Society and the Domain Board as to the beat way of their working together was postponed, pending the further action of the Govern ment and the Domain IJoard, In respect of the distribution of fish, the Chairman •jaid that the Hon. J. Williamson, had offered a contribution of £20 towards the erection of a fish-houae, tee., j# f.bo Waikato. After some discussion upon Van ;t was re solved, " That the Fish Committee ijp^utho." r. iced to co-operate with settlers of country district:), wfro are prepared to erect suitable fish hatching Ixontieß.-" Mr Hill introduced the subject of tea-plant^ and gaiji thaf a gentlc^iin had palled upon him, stating that he would bp happy to try the experi ment of testing the growth of the'tea-plant, yip:., whether it could be profitably grown in New Ze,a|and. Mr Barsjco^tr considered thas such an opportunity should not fye allowed to pass, anfl if the society \vere not djspose.d tojjay thfl expenses flfthe gentleman re! ferred to by Mr Hill, in visiting Auckland, lje wojild do §0.. It jras therefore ajgrped that Mr Hill should be authoiis'ed jtp luvUe jthegeri^lenian referred to tfl come totoyolJor the purpose .of giving his experience to the Society.

CABLEGRAMS.

IRkutkr'3 Telegrams.J

An English Naval Officer Killed in a Fight with a Slaver. ADEN, December 5. News has reached here of the death of Capt. Charles J. Brownrlgß and four of the crew of Her Majesty's ship London, a store vessel stationed at Zanzibar, while endeavouring to effect the captare of an Arab slave dhow. Captain Brownrigg, in charge of the ship's pinnace, fully manned, came up with the slaver off the African coast, near Zanzibar. He at once attacked the crew of the dhow, which ottered strong resistance^ and des perate fighting ensiled, resulting in Captain Browurigc and four of his men being killed and several wounded. The slaver suc ceeded in beating oil' the pinance and escaped.

AUSTRALIAN.

THK CLONXARF TRIAL.

SxDNKY, Decembers,

Application was made to-day for a new trial in the libel case Mooro (lessee of the Clontarf pleasure grounds) v. the proprie tors of the " Sydney Bulletin," In which a verdict of one farthing damagos and costs was returned for the plaintiff in May last, The application was refused. SMALL - POX. SYDNEY, December C. In the Legislative Assembly last night, a Bill was introduced by the Government for preventing tho spread of small-pox in tho colony.

PRESBYTERIAN SYNOD.

TIIK Aucklaud Presbytery met this morning. Thore were present: Revs. Norrio (Moderator) R. Somerville (clerk), Runoiman, Eraser,] Macnicol, J. Bruce, Mouro, McColluin, Thompson, Macky, S. J, ISeill, Macros, and elders. Collections on behalf of tho Home Mission were re ported. A letter was roceivod from Mr Ciirrutb, refusing to do work at Whangarei as requested by tho Presbytery. The Presbytery expenses report wan received, and "the report of tlte Coromandel Mamie, financial position was delayed. Rev. Mr Macrae resignod the charge at Wnipu, and after considerable discussion it was agreed that the resignation should lio on tho table till next meeting, and that tho congregation be cited to appear In its own mterests. Mr Runciman was appointed to go to Waipu, and preside at a meeting of the congregation. Roy. Mr Sutherland, Otago, who is on a tour in the North, was introduced by Rev. R. F. Macuicol, and iuvitcd to tako his «e»t. ST. JASIKS'S HALL DISPUTE. The clerk read minutes of meetings of St. James's Kirk Session and Committee of Management. The two bodies had adopted resolutions of an opposing nature in referenco to the letting of tho hall, aud Meanrs P. Mackie aud McNab, as members of the Kirk Session, appealed against tho course adopted by their colleagues. It was deoided to hear Messrs P. Mackie and G. R. McNab, appellants, and Messrs Weir and Richardson for tha Kirk Session. Mr Peter Mackie, as one of the appcl ants against the conduct of tho Kirk Session, was heard first. He felt anxions about this matter, as the peace of tho con gregation, if not already brokon, was likely to be so. Tho hall, he said, was built for a Sabbath-school aud other purposes, and the money to build it was subscribed both inside and outside the congregation. It was under stood that the hall would bo so frequently engaged that tho revenuo would, pay the interest, aud assist to reduce the debt. The speaker proceeded to refer to tho letting of St. Jainot'u Hill to St. Matthew's people for theatrical entertainments, which were patronised by the minUtor, otlico bearers, and congregaticn of St. Mutthuw,i. Their presence vouched for the respcctablo and proper character of the gatherings. Mr Mackie then reviewed tho proceedings at subsequent meetings of tho Committee of Management and Kirk Session, by which the spiritual and temporal powers of St. Jamea's Church came into collision. He contended that the hall was not by any means an ecclesiastical building, being vested in trustees, and licensed as a public hall.

Mr McNab was the other appellant, and Messrs Weir and Richardson appeared on tho opposite lido. Mr Weir replied to Mr P, Mnckio. He denied that bo was young to oflicc, as stated. Youun mon immediately connected with the congregation were allowed to pur cbaso a proscenium for theatrical entertain ments, but tbo voico of the congregation was against them, and they were not allowed to use it. He objected, therefore, to the hall boing lot to strangers for theatrical purposes, because it was incon sistent, and proposed then that these things should cease. The Session bad never attempted to interfero with tho Com mittee of Management in secular matters, but thero wero matters detrimental to the interests of tho congregation, in which it was necessary that they should take action. Tuo Committee of Management had mistaken their functions. They daimod to have the right to over-ride the minister, thn session, and the congregation. Tho trustees of the hall had not been ap pointed by the congregation, but by the Committee.

Mr McNab, the socond appellant, then spoke. He did not know that there was any intention on the part of the Session to depart from the resolution of tbo con gregation prohibiting dancing, professioal theatricals, and riuking. If the decision of the Presbytery was contrary to the ex pectations of the people of St. James's, con 1 siderable diflleulty would be experienced in getting together another committee to act.

Mr Richardson then spoko on the side of the opposition. He thought that amuse ments such as those referred to had an un hallowed influence on the minds of tho young, and instanced the fact that only three young persons had joined St. James a Church last year, Their joung people flocked to those places of amusement. Mr Mackie wat allowed the right of reply, He pointed out that worse things than dancing and rinking were at present allowed in the hall, and he contended that it could not be said that Jolly Miller and French Tig, which were allowed, tended to " raise the moral tone of the congregation," The minister should be freed of all secular matters, apd the Committee of Manage ment should bear all the responsibility, MrMcCallum wished to know whether the noise from amusemonts disturbed the minister, and Mr Mackie replied in the affirmative.

Mr John Lamb did not see any objection to ordinary amusements, because the con. gregation must raise the amount necessary to pay the interest. Rev. V. W, Kuncjman said that having been informed that this subject was to bo before the Presbytery today, he took tho precaution of informing himself as to the law and practice of the Free Church of Scotland as to such matters. The following was taken from Sir H.Welwood MoncriefFs book,' a standard authority:—" The Deacpns' Court are not entitled to giye the use of the place of worship, or of the qther ecclesiastical buildings belonging to' the congregation tor any purpose whatever without the consent qf the minister. They we're not entitled tp withhold the use of those buildings fpr' meetings of a 'strictly rcli. gious, ecclesiastical, or charitable nature, which have the sanction of the minister. Bat no one of these buildings could be made use of, either by {he minister or by any other party, tor any meeting which is not directly of a religious, ecclesiastical, or charitable nature, without the consent of the Deacons' Court..'? He m.oved that the appeal be dismissed, and the con gregation be requested to continue in the couise indicated until the law of the church becomes more clear on the subject. Rev. Macrae seconded, Rev. J. Macky moved as an amendment that a committee consisting of. Revs. J. Macky, Runciman,, Sommerville, Fraser, and D. Bruce zeeeb ihe office-bearers of St, James's, and endeavour to bring aboup an amicable settlement of tho difficulty, and that the Presbytery in the meantime sus pend judgment. This v/ap secanijed by Rev. B. Sommer ville.

A further amendment by Mr Thompson fbab the Presbytery Committoe meet the pongregatjojj, was lost. MrTHunciman withdrew his motion, and Rev. J. Macky's amendment was carried. Mr W. J. Hiirst addressed a meeting of tno eleptp'rs at "the Public Hall, Kaukapa kapa last iiight. Qn the motion of Mr Sinclair, Mr F. Dye filled phijir. Mr Hurst in his address gave a general state icer.{.fif his Views, and at its close received a vote of thanks an'J ppnfidence on tho mp'tipn pf tyx ' Bincjajr seconded b.y Mr Shanks. Mi- Hurst fs making a tour of .ofliqr pift-di^tricts in which js 4 yery scattered ppnstituency.

ft to fitted that th.ere anil fihorjfcly be a. large reduction in the number of the Con. atabnlary force now at Taranaki,

ELECTION ADDRESSES.

Waitemata Electorate.—Mr Alison's Address.

Mr E. W. Alison, one of the candidates forWaitemata delivered his first public ad dress to the electors in the Devon port Hall last evening. There was a large attendance, tho building "facing crowded. Several ladies were amongst those present, Mr R, M. Stark was voted to the chair.

Mr Alison, in his opening address, re ferred ton statement in the STAR to the effect that Mr Rees was to appear there to champion him. Now, he wished them to understand that he (the speaker) was quite able to take care of himself. Mr Rees had refrained from coming that evening in con sequence of reports which were abroad that ho was to champion him (the speaker). Mr Alison then proceeded to characterise the report of the Helensvilie meeting, which appeared in the STAR, as being one-sided. It was evidently written by Mr Hunt. Cries of " question " ana uproar followed this statement, and above the noiae the stentorian voice of Mr John Lamb might have been heard from the body of the hall uttering indignant protests. A voice: Behave yourself, John Lamb. Mr Lamb : I won't hear a man slandered. Tho candidate : It is usual for Mr Lamb to interrupt. (Cheers and hisses). The Chairman gravely informed the meet ing that they were not in a bear garden, and this assertion restored silence.

The candidate then went on to te!! the meeting that the report of the Helensville meeting in the Star was one-sided, and not correct, He thought it well that both candidates should address the electors at llolensville on the same evening, and on the same platform, and went there with that object. Mr Hnrst did n»t object to his proposition to that effect tilt they got to Helenuville, but. when that gentleman bean to speak, ho showed conclusively that he did not intend that he should be allowed to make himself heard. Ihrough a clever ni9c between Mr Huratand Mr Rocs, the meeting was detained till eleven o'clock, and he had no opportunity of speak ing, lie had seen Mr Rees that day, and although ho was an elector, and had intended to spook, he had decided not to address them that night because it might bo thought that ho came there on his (Mr Alison's behalf.) The speaker then went on to refer to the enthusiasm which was worked up at the last election in favour of Liberal measures. One ot theie -man hood BtifFrage—had exercised the effect of increasing the Waitemata roll from 900 to 2,000 votes. Mr Hurst had spoken against Sir George Grey on a re cent occasion, and it was bad taste on lijb part to have made such re marks, having been olocted on the Greyite ticket. Without the asjistancc of that party he would not have got into Parlia ment. Ho did not wish them to under stand that he was a Greyite, He was an independent candidate —a free lance. The speaker then proceoded to refer to state. meuta made by Mr Hurst, that he had got votes for works at the Wade, Helensville, Kaukapakapa, and elsewhere. It was not Mr Hurst, he said, but Mr Wood who was to be thanked for obtaining thoso votos. Mr Hurst had taken credit for obtaining tbo North Shore recreation reserve, but he had no more to do with it than him self (the speaker). It was really obtained for tho district by Messrs J. B. Russell, J. Bennett, Reader Wood, and tho Attorney-General. A suitable and workable system of local selt-govcrnment for tne> colony generally was certain to engage tho attention of Parliament at next session, and it was their duty to send to the House a man who would support some good scheme. Ho was in favour of an elective Upper Houso, but ho thought that mon who had distinguished themselves by great public services should bo raised to the Legislative Council. The present Educa tion Act was good and workublo, but it might bo necessary, in the course of re trenchment, to levy small school fees. Mr Bryco had shown himself to be an able administrator, by tho way in which he had grasped the native difficulty, and lie was quite in accordance with the ac tion of the Government on tint question. Tho speaker in conclusion* referred to the Star's remarks in reference to the election, which were not favourable to his candida ture ; but he attributed them to personal friendship for Mr Hurst. Mr Alison sat down after a speech which, with introductions, occupied not more than fifteen minutes.

Mr Bond asked whether tho candidate was not chairman of Mr Reader^ Wood's committee on the occasion of his being elected for Waitemata.

Mr Alison replied that ho was, aud he would like to know " what that has to do with this."

Mr Lamb asked the candidate whether, if any alteration took place in the Education Act, ho would support school fees being charged. The candidate said that •woirid depend upon circumstances. On being pressed for a more explicit answer, ho said he would not be in favour of charging school fees.

Mr Morton objected to Mr Alison apply ing the torm lowost menials to Avorking men. Ho asked if that was tho candidate's description of the working class.

The speaker said Mr Morton did not know what a menial was. There was nothing disparaging about it. A menial was pimply one who woa lower than his superior*,

In answer to Mr Milne,! the candidate said he would use every effort to encourage local industry if elected. He bought only clothes manufactured in the colony, In reply to further questions, Mr Alison said, (1) that he would be willing to reduce the Customs duties on the necessaries of life, if it could be done. (2) Ho would not be ia favour of taking off the duty on bacon and hams. (3) He would support tho Go vernment in a schemo of bonuses for the starting of institutions, such as beet-sugar manufactories. But he thought the Go vernment had given assistance in that direc tion.

Mr Morton enquired if Mr Alison had had anything to do with sending a telegram to Mr Hurst and his brother ratters on their secession from tho Grey party at a critical period in the history of the oountry Mr Alison replied that Mr Hurst was not tho representative of the district then. Mr Morton : That is an evasion.

A printed slip containing a copy of a telegram to the "Auckland Four," was then handed up by Mr Morton and read to the meeting. It expressed the entire approval of the Waitemata electors in the course that the four gentlemen had taken in supporting the Government, They had, it said, acted in the interests qf the colony, and the Auckland press was with them. Mr Alison prefaced his reply with the remark that Mr Morton had very little sense. He (the speaker) was never ashamed of anything he did. This assertion was received with a storm of incredulous "Oha."

Mr Alison was pressed by Mr Jiumb for an answer, and proceeded to state that ho did take part in sending the telegram, but it was to Mr Header Wood, and not to Mr Hurst.

Mr Mays wanted an answer direct. " Did," hti asked, "Mr Alison appro.ro of the four Auckland members going over .to the Government at a critical period in the history of the colony ? r

Mr Alison said he had signed the tele i gram to Mr Wood, as the member for Waitcmata. If he had not believed that their action was in the interests of the colony, he would not have signed, it. Mr O. Mays then asked if bo did agree with what they had done, why had ho se lected one of the number that evening for half an-hour's abuse, (Loud applause). Mr Alison said he was only supporting i statements made before 70 Or 80 electors at the hustings, In reply to further questions the candidate said :—(1) That he would support a land tax; (2) that he had fre quently been offered high rents by China men for the use of their swamp land, which was suitable for gar dening, but he would .pot let them have it. If elected, he would continue the same line of policy towards the Chinese. (3) He would not support a Local Option Bill giving the public the right to close licensed houses, (4) If c would be prepared to give Sir George Grey his support to parry Liberal measures which were introduced fo,r the welfare of the country. (5) That he \yojf}d resign jf a majority of the electors called upon him to d(j sff. (t() I'bgt \p y/as a gVeat fjetrimenj; tothe country jm'at specu lators should get holft of largo' blocks of land and keep them. He was in favour of the Crqwa holding these blocks ef land p\]]. fapraerg catnn quthpre to settle upon them. (7) AU land should pass through the hands of the Government, (8) Tliat he would support the present education system. A voice: Will yon resign Jf you are .caught ratting? Mr Allison : I never '!ra£." Gries of" question" and laughter. A vofce: Will you suppqrt two a day? This question was gather muph for the candidate, and hs did not rpply. Mr J. 5. Russell then came forward and said that credit had been given

him for obtaining the new recreation ground. He had initiated the pro ceedings, but he was told on the best authority that valuable assistance was rendered to the gentlemen who drew up the Bill by Mr Hurst in getting it passed through the House. It was not just that he should take credit to himself, when Mr Hurst was mainly instrumental in getting the Bill through the House. (Cheers.) The candidate: Mr Wood told me that Mr Hurst had nothing whatever to do with

it, Mr Ruasell replied that his authority was the Attorney-General. (Cheers.) Mr Vosper moved, and Mr Hooker secon ded, a vote of confidence in Mr Alison. Mr John Lamb moved as an amendment that a vote of thanks be accorded to Mr Alison. Be thought that it would be a misfortune to that gentleman and to the electors if he were sent to Parliament. Mr O. Mays spoke to the amendment. He thought Mr Alison had taken a mean advantage of his opponent during his absence, by the references he had made to him. The Bpcaker then proceeded'to refer to the painted pig question. The Caairman objected. Mr Alison had made no reference to Mr Hursts artistic design on his pig. (Laughter). Mr Mays went on to say that if any man more than another deserved their thanks and praise, it was William John Hurst. A man who would face the obloquy that was poured upon him by an independent action to remove a dend-lock in the country, de served well of them. They approved of Mr Wood's action ata publicmcetingin thathall, ana why, he asked, should they blame Mr Hurst ? The Grey Government was one of the most incompetent"* and extravagant that had ever occupied the Miuistenal benches. He knew for a fact that Mr Hurst had i»ot the votes for works in the district, and he had the telegrams and correspondence in his pocket. He referred to a vote for £500 for a road to Kaukapakapa, which Mr Alison and others had unjustly diveited from its deserving object, in the Waitemata County Council. It was Mr Hurst who strove to have that injustice re paired, and ho succeeded in getting a vote of £1,250. Mr Alison replied that when he went into office, there was a cooked-up balance sheet similar to those which Mr Mays usually got up. (Storm of hisses.') That balance-sheet showed a credit of £1,250 in the bank. An elector objected to the introduction of local disputes. They had met to hear the candidate's views.

Mr Alison proceeded. Tho appropria tions were £1,600, so that they were really £359 in debt. The road, for which £500 had been appropriated, was really a myth, and a sop to Mr Lamb. He wanted to know why Takapuna ridiog had been neglected. (Cries of "No, no," and hisses.) Mr Alison further stated that the trans action was an attempt to swindle. (Hisses and cheers.) He thought it was bad taste on the part of Mr Mays to get up and object to his candidature. Mr Mays: I did not; I only objected to you blackguarding your neighbour. Mr Milne seconded the amendment. Some of Mr Alison's answers were of such a nature that he could not support him. He believed that general free- trade gradu ally adopted would be ot immense benefit to New Zealand.

The vote of thanks was declared to be carried by 32 to 30, and the meeting con. eluded with a vote of thanks to the chair man.

City West Electorate.—Mr Darga ville's Second Address.

Mr J. M. Dargaville addressed a crowded me«tingot the electors of City West last night m St. James'a Hall, Wellington elrcet.

On the motion of Mr A. Bettany, Mr A. Boardman was voted to the chair, and he opened the proceedings with some general remarks.

Mr DorgaviUe was received with ap- Elause. He said he believed that many of in friends had come that evening in the ex pectation of hearing him speak against his opponents for the representation of City West, but at the outset he wished to die abuse their minds ot any such idea. He intended to allow his. rivals to stand upon their own merits, and if he had occasion to refer to them at all, it would only be in directly, and for the mere purpose of clearing away misapprehensions that had got abroad about himself, or of rebutting insinuations that had been levelled by them against him. In the first place he avowed himself a thorough Liberal, and by Liberalism he understood that lino of policy whose aim was the achievement of the greatest good for the greatest number. The electors were called upon at the present time to select one can didate out of four, aud in view of that fact he was not to bo deterred by false modesty ifrom speaking of himself, and from answer ing some objections that had been made against him. He had been impeached as a capitalist, bat the eharee -was groundless although thanks to a atout heart and a utilisation of his chances in life he had acquired an easy competency. He had made his money in tho country, and he had made it, moreover, honestty, and by dint of legitimate effort. In the part of the country where he had prospered there were but few people resident when he ventured thither, but now there were 2,500 happy settlers and many happy homesteads. It had also been urged against him that he was interested with several other gcntlomen in the acquisition of a large block of land comprising a kauri forest, aud that it was with the object of advancing his interests in that concern that he sought election to Par liament, He was mixed up in no .such affair, howevor, although he could not see why, even if he were, that tho cir cumstanco should act to his detriment with the elector*. It was further said that he was unfitted for being a popular repre sentative through being one of a company of land-sharks, who were striving to buy up large blocks of land on the East Coast. The New Zealand Land Settlement Com pany wa« the company referred to, and its operations were for the express purpose of taking over and completing the title of native lands, cutting them up into small sections for settlement purposes, bringing out from Home purchasers tor these proper ties, and after deducting a third of the proceeds in payment of the neces sary expenses, etc., returning the other two • thirds to the native owners. The effect, therefore, would be to facilitate bona fide settlement, and k at the same time to prevent the natives from being despoiled of their lands by ffnserupulous speculators. He had taken shares in that company, and been induced'to assume a prominent share in its management, but although pressed to accept a salary in consideration of his ser vices, he had refused until he felt certain that the money of the shareholders was to bo made reproductive. The best guarantee of tho honosty of the company's aims was the fact that it was most bitterly qpposed by the great land sharks themselves. It this explanation was not satisfactory enough he would be happy to amplify it and endeavour to make it clearer to any one who chose to apply to him, (Applause). He had ever been a staunch ;vdvocato for the encouragement and protec tion of native industries, and in proof of the statement he pointed to his efforts to have the obnoxious timber duties abolished. He gave a positive dpuial to the assertion made in the " Herald " a few days ago that ho had only favoured the protection of native industries since ho had announced his pan* didature. It was untiue and unjust, (Applause.) There was no sounder oasis fpr the permanent prosperity of a country than the existence of local industries, employing large numbers of poop)o at good rates of wages, and the means, therefore, i taken tq establish and foster the growth of such industries must be of a beneficent character. If elected to Parliament,lie in tended to take a very decided stand with regard to the property tax. He was strongly of opinion that the land tax in the peculiar and excep tional circuiUHtnncss of this colony was a fair levy, inasmuch as it hurt no one, while it laid a fair proportion of our fiscal burthens upon the very classes which had onjoyod the greatest benefit frqna the expenditure of our borrowed, millions—the landed class. The country was indebted to the Grey Ministry for that tax, but the present tfo ycrnnicut, qa acpeding tf. power, repealed it in favour of tlit! existing property tax, which taxed enterprise and industries, and in these wiys reached raoss effectively ti}« working man, besides indirectly injuring him by impeding the flow of capital into tho countjyr-capital which woflld qthjrwise be invested for manufacturing purposes. It also enhanced the price qf the plotting and food of the wording classes, and increased the rpnj; which ' they had to pay. It b,ad boon passed simply in order to re lieve the large landholders of the South fyom thpir fair sharp of the, burthens of the tnxatiqn, and ho would do his utmost to resist it and have it removed. Upon the subject Qf local government he had long held well defined opinions. When con testing the sqperin tendency of the province hi. had suggested the abolition of the Pro vinces and the creation of smaller Boards in their stead endowed with ample administrative, functions, bat denied the

power of legislation, and he beliefs the I suggestion was still worthy of considera- j tion. How much more profitably would - our loans have been spent had they been fairly subdivided among bodies such as these I (Applause.) He was therefore pre pared to propose the establishment of such Boards of Works as these, elected by the people of the various districts, and the handing over to them of all the money in tended to be spent within the territory over which they had administrative power. He was in favour of giving the Licensing Act a three years' trial, and as he approved of the principle of local option he'would be in clined to give the people as much control as possible over tbe working of the licen sing machinery. So far as education was concerned, he was opposed to the introduc tion of religious instruction into our schools. Its proper province was the home. He was an earnest supporter of manhood suffrage, aud also of the triennial Parliaments system, and he likewise thought that when a member took office be should return to his constituents for re-election. Retrench ment had already been satisfactorily com menced, but there was still room for improvement. The Post and Telegraph Departments were amalgamated, and so too the Marine and Customs Departments. The Supreme and Native Lands Courts might be also amalgamated. At present the Judges of the latter Court had immense power in their hands, aud the institution besides was very costly, be claimed to have been the first, during these elections, to have raised the question of extending the railway to Taranaki, and he wa» pleased to see from the "Herald" that the Govern ment recognised the popular feeling on the subject and had given an indication of their intention to take it up. It showed that they were very sensitive to popular opinion and inclined to propitiate it, especially at this time when their retention of office was at stake. He was favourably disposed to the eight hours movement, and in order to give every one a fair share of leisure and recreation he would support to some extent the compulsory closing at stated hours of business establishments, (Loud applause.) The people of Auckland required men of tact, pluck, generalship, and ability, to conserve their interests and fight their Mittles in Parliament against the experi enced and sagacious politicians of the South —against men of the Macandrew kidney, for instance. He had fought an uphill battle through life, and he had fought it successfully, and he was prepared to exert himself quite as energetically at Welling, ton for his constituents. It, after being elected, ho should find that he was not the man for Galway—well, he should leave Galway and go back to Cork whence he came. (Loud and prolonged applause.) Mr Dargaville concluded by complaining that bis name had been associated with the names of candidates for other districts, as though he were acting in concert with them, whereas he was fighting the contest single-handed and on his own merits. In answer to a question as to whether he was a Greyite or not, Mr Dargaville said that he was a Dargavilleite and & Liberal, and that he was prepared to serve under the leader whom the Liberal party chose to elect, no matter who he should be. In reply to other questions the candidate said :— That he was in favour of the Upper House being made (elective, but not of its being abolished; that |he did not know anything about Bellamy's, and therefore could not say whether or not it should be done away with; that, if elected, he would not go to Parliament aa a sup porter of the present Government, but as a member of the Liberal party; that he would support the extension. of the railway line through to Wellington; that if the South vied its preponderant power unjustly to wards the North, he would advocate iiuaucial separation, i.e., after our fiscal bur dens had been fairly allocated; that hewould oppose any attempt to return to the system of paying pensions to Civil Service officials, and also to any increase ot the salaries of already well paid Civil Servants; that he would support an export duty on wool if it tended to promote the manufacture of woollen goods in the country; that be was opposed to aa elective governor; that he would be :ji favour of preventing a further influx of Chinese; that all our public Boards, including the Waste Lands Board, under our representative system should be elective; that he was not favour able to the reduction of tbe honorarium; that he thought all men should have an equal voice in electing legislators, and that property should have no special advan tage; that he would not vote for the imposi tion of school tees; that he would sup port the establishment of a high-class edu cation and universities, etc, by the reservation of lauded endow ments, bat not by the levying of taxes or rates ; that County Councils and Koad Boards should not continue to work as at present, but that the Councils should be abolished as for as possible, and the powers of Road Boards extended ; that he would, seek to advance the interests of the North by the construction of railways ;|that he fancied he would be disposed to oppose proxy voting at Road Board meetings ; that hewould not pledge himself to support any amendment in the Licensing Act until we had had a full and fair trial of it; and that he did not think the Grand Jury system necessary. Mr Dargaville having signified his desire to dispense with any vote of confidence, thanked tho electors for the patient hearing 1 which they had accorded him, and then proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman. 1 his was passed by acclamation, and tho meeting dissolved.

Mr Tole at Eden School House.

Mr Tole addressed the Eden electors at the Eden schoolroom last evening. There was some misapprehension concerning the place of meeting, bat notwithstanding this fact there were close on 100 electors pre sent.

Mr L. Dnrrien was .voted to tho chair, and very briefly introduced the speaker.

Mr Tole, who was received with ap plause, first apologised for the mistake regarding the place of meeting. He had already addressed the electors twice—at Karangahape, and it the nomination—and that would hare been sufficient were it not that two questions detrimental to his candidature had beon brought forward. These he weald reply to later on. He then proceeded to refer to his career in Parlia ment on tho questions that agitated the colony at the last general election. He would have to refer to his opponent, but he would do it in firm and candid terms. His wish was to speak of Mr K. Wood with respect and in accordance with truth. The only Liberal measure carried intact by the present Ministry was tho Triennial Parliaments Act, Mr Murray last session introduced a Bill to amend it. Mr B, Wood absented, himself from the division, though all the otber Auckland members stood shoulder to shoulder and voted for it. That was an instance of the man's insincerity. The great object of the Liberal party had been to reduce tho fran chise to one vote. The present Government introduced a measure—the Qualification of Bleotors Act-having two qualifications, viz., freehold and residential. They ex cluded the leaseholders. His party thought if they had tho freeholders' qualifi cation, they should also have the lease holders', and they were now actually blamed for the striking out of the leasehold qualification. Referring to the .Representa tion Bill, he said they had toe many mem bers in the House altogether. He thought that forty-fire or fifty would be safficiant. In Victoria, with double tho population they had but sixty member?, As they all knew, the Representation Act was passed by the arbitrary conduct of the Speaker, The North Island membors thought that the Maoris should be considered, in dividing the representation, and they stonewalled. Kef erring to the Land Tax, tho speaker said that Sir Ueorge Gray's attempt to impose it had been tho cause of bis party being turned out, He repeated tho pledge he had given in 1879 to_ support the present Educa tion Act, and in doing so referred_ to the {act that the support of the Education Act was one thing to which tho Auckland members were pledged, When Mr McCaughau brought down his motion to curtail the Education voto. by £G4,000, Mr Reader Woqd was again absent from $he Bouse. He (the speaker) was in his place and voted against tho motion. He then referred to the Bill brought down from the Upper House for Bible roading in the schools, It was in troduced by a Government supporter. He and other Northerners voted against the measure, while Messrs Wood and Hurst supported it, He tnen referred to the burning question of local government, It behoved them now to consider what was the heat means of effecting this object. They wanted something to came between the Baad Boards and the Parliament, but it was not for him or any ordinary member of the- House to devise such a measure. Ho animadverted on the abolition of provinces stating that in his little way ho had strenuously opposed the introduction of the Counties Act. He gpe several instances that had oome under his own notice, illustrating the want of an efficient system of, local government. Months and months wera taken up in corres

[ pondence with tbe Government, on trifling local matters which could be settled here in a few minutes. In face of this, Mr Wood and the Government said the request of the people for local government was a mere election cry. He spoke of tb« nece»sity of legislative retrenchment, let them do away with the Leßtala' tive Council, cut down the Hon» of Representatives by one half am) «..« they would luve. sufficient money to support local legislature., that conlj l efficiently attend to their want*. At me sent Wellington .was entirely BUpported h» Govornment expenditure — the taxation drawn from other parts of the countrr Referring again to Mr Wood's deiinl quencies, Mr Tole read extracts from Ban. aard, showing his opponent's action onto* Counties Suspension Bill, for which all th» other Auckland members voted. Mr Wool did not vote for it, neither did he vote foJ the Corrupt Practices Bill-he espedalh. noticed the latter circumstance, Addressing himself to the Land Question, he com. pared the condition of the colony to that rf Ireland, and quoted statistics showW that in New Zealand the 3 monopoly existed in a worse form than in Ireland. And they must remember that the present condition of Ireland wastlw result of centuries of land-grabbine-fa flew Zealand it had been done in 40 yea» At present just one-fifth of the colony wm owned by 161 or 17 persons. Them estates had been made valuable by th« expenditure of their J money-man/ of these big estates had been increased £ value five-fold by the loan expenditure^ yet they could not get at the W monopo. lists. If Sir George Grey brought in a measure to tax the land he was timed out let this sort of thing continue ? They must not. They had 8,000,000 acres still in the hands of the natives, and if they let it bo like the rest they would all become tie tenants of a few vulgar territorial prince! a ud their descendants. A law to protect this land from the monopolists should be to. troduced at once. It should be cut into small blocks, and every man in the colony should have a chance to acquire a little freehold for himself. The interests ot the natives should be protected, and also the interests of the ,'pnblic—sufficient reserve* being made for education and other public purposes. When such a measure was intro. duced some time ago it was killed by Mr Reader Wood. Talking in this way on the land question was not raising class agalnßt class; it was endeavouring to prevent a reign of widespread misery. At the beein ning of his political life he had determined to set his foot on the monopoly of land, and daring his Parliamentary career he had never lost sight of that resolution. Referring to his attending the Land League meeting at Wellington he said his whole and sole reason in doing so was to protest against the land monopoly. No one desired more than he did to keep painful questions out of the colony, and be yielded to no one in his loyalty. He read extracts from his speech on that occasion, and asked if there was a breath of violence in it. He also denied that cheers had been given for Paroell at the meeting at Karangabape. Some strongcomments had been madeonhis action on the third leading of the Licensing Bill, Mr Newman having stated persistently that he (Tole) had voted against it. He had asked that gentleman whether he was doing it in the interests of the temperance cause, or simply as an electioneering dodge, when that gentleman replied "Well, yu." He did net waste any time on a man liko that, but would explain to them his action on the measure referred to. He then made a lengthy explanation of bis voting on the Bill, which appeared to satisfy the audience, Just to show the interest Mr Wood took in the matter of the Licensing Act, he might state that there were 44 divisions on the Bill—Mr Wood voted four times, while be (the speaker) voted on 40 occasions. He denied that Mr Wood had any sympathy with the temperance cause, and quoted ex.' tracts from "Hansard," snowing that bia opponent had objected "to the time of tbe House being taken up with temperance lectures," and spoke, contemptuously of '' frivolous teetotalism," In concluding, ha referred briefly to Mr Wood's candidature, pointing out that the only, reason he gave for coming to Eden was that he believed he would be beaten for Waitemata. The speaker could not claim a constitutional right to their suffrages, but the fact of hip having twice before represented them honestly, gave him a claim to expect their support. (Cheers). In anawer to questions Mr Tole said :— lie would strive to abolish the law of entail in the colony; he was not in favour of rail* way companies; he disapproved of borrow* ing out of the colony; he and six or seven relatives had an estate of 2,000 acres at Waikato between them'; he desired to keep the Licensing Bill intact, but was in favour of granting compensation to old houses closed. If, however, there had been any breaches of the law, he would have no compassion. He had not sent a circular to the publicans claiming sympathy on account othisopposi tion to tbe Bill. Such a statement was a device of the enemy. . Mr H. Shepherd proposed a vote of thanks and confidence. Mr Nairn seconded, Mr Cole proposed, as an amendment, a vote of thanks only, explaining that he was desirous of hearing Mr Wood before he pledged himself to anyone. Mr Waite seconded. Mr Thompson having spoken of Mr Tole's eagerness to bo of service to the district, the amendment and resolution were put' to' the meeting, 'Six hands,were held Up* for the former, the resolution subse quently being carried without one disaen. tient, A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings,

Sir George Grey at Otahuhu.

The public hall at Otahuhu was crowded to excess last night, and Sir : George Grey ■. met with a splendid ovation, every person' in the hall rising to their feet and cheering. lustily. . ■ Sir George spoke for an hour and a-half on manhood sutfrag«,triennial Parliament!, vote by ballot, the land qnestion, the Affirm ation Bill, &c. As he depicted in his ninal masterly manner the effects of large runs being cut np into small farms and holding*, contrasting the present misery of Home countries with the glorious future of ti»is in* fant colony, the people cheered enthuiutk bally. Mr W, 1!, Wills proposed a vote of thanks to Sir George Grey for his address, and unbonnded confidence in him as the * leader of the Liberal party. (Cheers.) Mr Shepherd seconded the motion amid ra newed cheers.—Mr W. F. Buokland here j stepped forward, and said he pnposeda Tote of thanks only, as he considered Sir Gnorge Grey had, no right to meddle' with things that did, not concern him, He had better mind bis own election. At this stage the voice of Mr iinekland was drowned with cries of. "bit down—or speak fairly," groans, and hisses. Mr Bnckland, however, said he would stay there all night, but he Would have his say. The Chairman asked the meeting to allow -Me Duckland to say what he wanted, when a voice called out "We will, if he is not' personal." However, the next word he spoke being distasteful to the meeting, the groaus and hisses were deafening. The noise and uproar continued for some time, when Mr Kelson called for three cheera for Grey—which weie given heartily, wita - groans for Buokland. The Chairman^ last succeeded in putting Mr will* motion of thanks and confidence be fore the meeting. This was c""™ I with immense cheering, only five uwm being held up against it. The meeting then broke up with cheers for Sir George Grey and Major Harris, and thewraal com* pliment to tho chairman.—(Correspondent.)

MINING NEWS.

Queen of Beauty.—There is nothing particular to report. We have got all the main rods in the New Colonial, except the top length, which will be fitted and hang to-morrow. Wo will be near ready iff stoping to connect surface work by tD9 end of the present week.— George BLACK, December 7.

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR. WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER 7.



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