MEETING OF CREDITORS.

"^srs Flewellyu Bros. * o f creditors in the bankrupt 1 Bros, was held yester estat« ot * , h office o f the OHicial 3fterno^Ll; LssrsHcnvy and debtors), and Messrs W^W^B Lewis, F. Lewis; Me Eyre (creditors). Lea«' yj . ~,i(l (he debtors sworn T).o^; T Son,aid that after in -st atemc- *{■/. Witigate. Burns and TCsti?at"!? ;; : Fatis f ic d that it was valid. C^3ll^ 1 occurred in by the creditors Tl»3 **5n bankrupts were questioned present. x " fe?X&B ns requested to investi- T!io A? g", e!at uio- to a house transac- Pb^H Bhir and O'Bricns contract,, v. to:1 ir: . ,",,«d that there were balances •Mdl- nitTtho book dcbt ? > of E. Dower, dne,a!if,al^ a , j o ] inson , for which ■JISS'HbSm obtained 0 or 7 months s fa r . snorted that he had examined Cf:S3Tvalued in the schedule tbCTO-°t cu^ted that the father should 8t n'.,Vn-etain the timber now at Ins M*#|SSfLs, and that the timber S D& hfc he sokl for LS •' 't », ho could find. agreed to by the it was re.olv^ l nUnn of Mr Eyre, seconded by Mr rf.'TlSedcbt^, Hemy Flewellyn, Kid tipbefoio the Court for public ex bc- 1-nn with a view to his punishment BTr the penal clauses of the Act, eredi "fXS that ho carried on burins bopelesslyinsolvent.'

jltr G. N. Brassey's Estate.

A meeting- of creditors in the bankrupt JU of fir George Nathaniel Bnwsey, Sitor was held this morning in the oUice She Official Assignee. There Avas a large tUnce. Amongst the creditors present L Messrs Cook, Posseneskie, Han u«l A.bbott, Winter, Stephens, Win- Sl^f^ Cran^ll. %r Rigby ■JSred on behalf of certain credi- Kjb Cave on behalf of the OffiMl Assignee, and Air Theo Cooper in behalf of the friends of the bankrupt, Mr Lawsonreadthe -^solution passed at the last meeting and Sum said that lie behoved -thefriends of the bankrupt were prepared tomakeaiecondoffer. _ Mr Theo. Cooper said that since the last meeting ho had, in conjunction with Mr ■ George- . ■ r ■~ ■' „ Mr Abbott: " Speak up, I can t hear. •" Mr Cooper: " I'm very sorry, Mr Abbott, but lam not responsible for that. I can ' not raise my voice.' j ■:. Mr'Abbott: "You're a youngman, and ' I'm nearly GO years of age, Mr G'ooper.and ■ this is the first time in my career that a gentleman has declined to raise 'his voice Vhenlasked him." ; Mr Cooper said that he would try fco speak 'alittle louder. In consequence of his con ference with Messrs Hughes and George he bad now a proposition to make to the meet ,jii»ivliicli lie thought should prove satis factory to all,, and avoid, further trouble. It was simply that the sum of. 20s in the L shoald be paid to Mr Brassey's creditors at an interval of a fortnight from that date. He supposed that they would be satisfied !irith that oiler, and he would ask the creditors to pass a resolution accepting that, proposition and then adjourn the meeting for a fortnight. That time would ■be required,, as the money would have to be raised by mortgage upon certain properties, nd^as they all knew, that would need a itDetime..

Mr Abbott: "Is there any guarantee? TO yon guarantee the payment V" Mr ■ Cooper : " Certainly not We 'limply ask you to wait fourteen days until we raise the money. Mortgages, yon-most be aware, cannot be raised in 24 hours-." .

Mr King thought that the offer was satisfactory. If the creditors placed the natter in the hands of Mr Rigby, he would protect the creditors. Mr Rigby thought that the creditors could desire no more than what \ras oii'ered, and it certainly was not unreasonable to ask for 14 days in which to raise the money. The creditors had the security that the bankruptcy still remained unan nulled. The proposition was of an ample kind, and they should be glad to accept the offer, as it -was really all that they could .desire.

Mr King proposed that as Mr Cooper jjuaranteed the payment within 14 days they accept the pro position, and that the meeting be adjourned for 14 days! .Mr Cooper said that he had not guaran teed the payment, because it was not in his power to do so. He believed that the money would bo paid within the fourteen dayjaskcdfor.but of course he would not positively guarantee payment. Mr Abbott: •'l'm not at all satisfied. I should like some guarantee.'' ilr Rigby said that they all knew Mr woper. He did not wish" any creditor to we the matter any mere unpleasant than was necessary. He thought they should »ke the offer in good faith. The creditors rail retained the power to guarantee the oner being carried out. Mr King said perhaps Mr Abbott would n« to get off his speech before the motion *» pot tc the meeting cr he miehb-wish » move an amendment. Mr Abbott said he wished to throw full «g« anon this matter. Mr Cooper came Jro them that day as solicitor, the fourth I? o,™, aPF«aved on behalf of Mr Brassey. *Mt>e farst. meeting Mrßrassey himself expressed sorrow that his solicitor, Mr iri f' T™ ! 10t Pre?ent- Mr Bi-assey him- Kit made soheitor number two. Then Mr » appeared upon the scene. Later on £S£^^ cs?esadjourhcl] until an offer S! 6 *"b?itted- N<w Mr Cooper was gS^tioned to further adjourn pro ■ m that the money would be forthcoming like' Jt ww a most uobujiiHees tZ:ed^ f a guarantee of payment in 14 *^venh« P?s\ lf sllch guarantee S^Sb^ 1/e really could riottinder- tfcS ] attiUul?- did not vindictive f 7- cmhtor was actuated by and£l fee. hr\ 3 towards Mr. Brassey ; Abbott hSi he, rel»rts Published, Mr W tv ? a<J md thafc N was not .^he*L - c otfer was "nbu.sines.s ---1111'1" t0 a«> because cr«lS J ei![ St time in his experience - m'"ht' state tllafc lie tP^tßd o?Sdfe°!i? itor ' bufcmerelv in 2? I 6 lr' One>'Avould have to be ofiered a, f, to Pay-the creditors as *et the m y wanted was time to kr a bvHn g v? !ook afc the mat *lle«>er S; lness-llkc manner, and say f3ot C 2 nf c. _ They did not ask debts ,3 S ' K but ™thin fourteen days £°f er- S?as alk,? bout rejecting sue], f teac«pt. thafc fchey?houkl J' Cav er Sai(ift there was »° favour • tooaey. ' All "*>' wanted was their n&inwritinS fol n? aml io« ( l f ' l ? Vas moved by Air e »W of the bankrupt and Mrs

Brassey to pay the creditors 20s in the £ within 14 days be accepted, and that upon payment of the bankrupt's debts in full and the cost of the bankruptcy proceedings, the Official Assignee be instructed to ' consent to the bankruptcy being annulled." Mr King suggested that before it was passed they had better give Mr Abbott an other chance to move an amendment. Mr Abbott said that ho certainly should not acrfuieso1 in the* motion, and would reserve "his right, to have the bankrupt ex amined notwithstanding that oiler. There were matters thatrequired careful investiga tion Private ofiprs of payment had been made to 'himself to close the matter, but he had refused them. In the interest of com mercial morality he should, opposo the matter actively. Mr Abbott then left the meeting. After a short desultory discussion the resolution as proposed by Mr King was adopted, and the meeting separated.

AUCKLAND AS A NAVAL STATION.

TSic Premier 'Repeats Hfs Re

marks.

WELLINGTON PAPERS REBUKED.

(BY TELEGRAPH. -OWN' CORRESPONDENT.)

WELLINGTON, this day. The Premier spoke at some length last night in reference to the attitude taken up by the Wellington newspapers in regard to Auckland. The papers, he said, seemed

to bo in great trouble over something he had said in Auckland about a naval station and Auckland harbour. (Cheers). Ho always liked to meet criticism face to face, and it seemed very peculiar that;the three papers whoso duty it should be to discuss the politics of the country in what they called a political crisis should raise provincial jealousies. What took place in Auckland was this:—He said nothing about a naval station or harbour when he addressed a public meeting there ; lie spoke .purely on political .questions. When he visited the dock, it was true, he said privately that this was the only place in New Zealand, he believed, which copld accommodate the largest of Her Majesty's warships ; that he thought it was neces sarily there" that ships .should go for repairs and look upon Auckland as their head quarters. Now, Wellington was in the position which Sir William Fitzherbert had ascribed to it once, namely, that it was a "corner section." What would they think of a man with a corner section who went about/continually Haunting it to other people, "I've got a corner section ! I've got a corner section !" and bo always talk ing about it ? Surely Wellington did nob need to bc!continually reminded that it had gob a good harbour, and was the capital of the colony and centrally situated. He deprecated, this jealousy, on the part of Wellington newspapers, of anything in any other parti-of the colony. They were to have national politics when the provinces were abolished, and a great colonial feel ing : bub now they found the newspapers in the whole of the colony continually harping on local jealousies. If there were any acci dent in Otago, Timaru, or Auckland, it de lighted the newspapers of Wellington that they could chronicle it. They ought to be sorry when any part of the colony was in jftrod. (Cheeii-0 He knew the daily press of the city had no sympathy with the people of Wellington, for the latter were too large minded, and he'hoped that the way he had met them would, teach the newspapers that the Wellington people could rely on their position without continually Haunting" other parts of the colony. (Cheers. >

THAMES NOTES.

(Ei" TELEGRAPH. — OWN.CORRESPONDENT.)

■Thames, this day. Saxox. — A crushing of 135 loads of quartz and OOlbs of picked stone produced 2750zs of gold. I'rixce Impf/rial.—Crushing has been started, there being 25 loads of quartz to put through. Kxpoi'f. Biity on B;uiik Timber. ' The various sawmill owners deputationed the Harbour B.qkrd yesterday afternoon re the proposed export duty of Is Gd per thou sand feet of sawn timber, and G'd per thou sand for baulk. It was pointed out tuat the charge was extortionnte, and would simply have the effect of crippling the in dustry. A committee was appointed to consider the matter. Hie SiMrirt l!©«rt. The lost sitting of the District Court was held yesterday. Orders for discharge of Robert and Samuel Lowry were granted.- Vhm Election! Meetings of friends and supporters of Messrs Frater and MeGowan have been held, and committees appointed to further the interests of each in connection with the coming election. School Inspection. Mr Habens, Inspector-General of Schools, inspected the High School yesterday. 'She Scuool of 3Einc>*. Mr Montgomery left for Coromandcl yes teiday afternoon, forthe purpose of deliver ing a course of lectures there in connection with the .School of Mines.

WELLINGTON NOTES.

(BY TELEGRAPH.— OWN COMtESroXDEXT.)

Wellington, this day.

Midland Railway Cwntracts. The Mayor of Wellington, who has a large I sub-contract on the Midland Railway, has eceived a telegram, from the contractor assuring1 him taut not one single piece of j new harness has been imported by them, as alleged by various papers. They add | that they have only brought into New Zea land a few' sets of old harness which were left over from a contract they have just I iinishecl in Ireland. The trustees of the hospital have decided to make an effort to sustain the institution by means of voluntary subscriptions. "Messrs Turner and Parker, of Auckland, have purchased the chemist and druggist business carried on for several years by Mr Fitzgerald in Manners-street. They take possession on the Ist of September. The business is the largest in the city. A Young Auckland Actor. Mr A. H. Marshall, a native of Auckland and oldest! son .of Mr R. Marshall, manager of the Theatre Royal here, has been {H-e ---sented by his friends with a handsome gold locket, prior to his departure for Australia to till an engagement with Mr Geo. Ldtch, the well-known comedian. The recipient is only '24 years of age, and a most promising actor.

Workmen are to-day engaged demolish ing the two-storey brick, buildings lately occupied by Mr Y\". Mears, in Queen-street. They are to be replaced by a more imposing structure.

Mr Superintendent Thomson leaves for Wellington ue>&Thursday week. Mr Obed Pool's lecture en ''Bee 3 and Bee keeping " advei cised to take place in the Onehunga Public Hall last night did not eventuate, owing to the sparsity of the audi ence, which i)umbered about six.

SIR JOHN HALL.

Canterbury Opinion on his

Speech.

(BY TELEGRAPH—OWX CORRESPONDENT. )

Cheistchdrch, this day. Sir John- Hall's speech is commented upon with a curious difference by the "Press' and the "Times." According to the "Press ;' the moderation of the speech is evidently so natural as to constitute an" additional charm. After dealing with the points in detail the Opposition organ says : " The im. pression which the speech as a whole leaves is that Sir John Hall has carefully considered the present position of the colony in all its bearings ; that he has thought out a means of relieving- it from long-continued depression, and that we have now laid before us a matured policy on which the colony may safely rely for the immediate future."

The " Times," on the other band, de clares that Sir John Hall ha< failed to answer the case for the Ministerial claim to economy actual and compara tive. He does not understand the im portance of the land question, on which he has kept an odd silonce as ■to the pastoral leases, and lie has no ideas of re trenchment himself. He commits himself to little or nothing. He can make out but a poor case againstthe Government, and he altogether sfiirks the duty of replying ho the case made out in their favour. The "Times" further says:--" As Sir John has said, this is a most critical period. A Government united in itself, and having ready a programme of necessary measures, cannot bo disturbed. The rising up of a new leader among our politicians at such a time would be only a disastrous disturbance. The duty of the electors, therefore, who have to choose be tween an aspirant to the leadership and an intending private member—between one who wants to steer some course of his own and one who is ready to help others to steer a course recognised and proved to be safe— is clear. Prudence requires them to choose the able seaman and reject-the pilot. Tlie ship is in difficulties ; she has enough pilots and wantw only a stronger crew."

THE RAILWAY DEPARTMENT.

Absent Magnates

(by telegraph.— own correspondent.)

Wellington, this clay. TirtrtE are now absent on leave from the Railway Department the General Manager, .salary LI ,000 a year ; the locomotive super intendent, L7OO a year; the manager at Napier, L 475 a year; and the stores manager, L 475 a year—four officers frith an aggregate salary of L2,0a0. Mr Richard son is expected to return to Wellington at the elid of the present week. The "New Zenland Times" having de voted a long leading- article to a defence of tho action of the Government in paying- the expenses of Mr j. P. Maxwell, General Manager of Railways, to the Railway Conference at Milan,;both' evening papers denounce the Ministry for the step. The Press refers to it as a job, while the "Post" comes out..with tho following sarcastic article: "Our morning con temporary does Mr J. P. Maxwell a grave injustice in supposing that he has gone Home to learn anything. Mr M.ixv.-.ell is far superior to the weakness of believing that there is anything connected with railway management which he does not already know. His mission to the Milan Conference is to teach, not to learn. The mere management of New Zealand's 1,727 miles of railway has long been insufli cient to sufficiently employ Mr Maxwell's genius: Ho has pined for a wider iield in which to display his ability. It came as an aspiration that .'lie Should go Home to this Milan Conference, .and teach the assembled railway managers of Europe and America their business. He took pity on their benighted state,, and represented their ignorance in such moving terms to the members of- (he Ministry that even Sir Julius Vogel wept, and Sir Robert Stout was overcome by a greater, emotion than he exhibited over his knighthood. In a sobbing chorus, they'said to Mr Maxwell, ' Go, go ; we will spare you for. a time, so that you may tench the world how we manage things in New Zealand, b;it you shall not go with out purse'or scrip, for the Treasury shall providp you.' This is the secret of Mr Maxwell's ftiission. He has gone on a noble missionary enterprise to benefit arid in struct the whole railway world."

WESLEYAN MUTUAL IMPROVE MENT CLASS, ONEHUNGA.

Ax interesting meeting took place on Mon day night in. connection with this class, when Dr. Scott gave a scientific talk on the subject of " Water." The Wesleyan school-room, in which the

class meets every other Monday even-

ing, was filled with an attentive audience, in which the youth of both sexes predominated. The "Rev. R. Bavin, presi dent of the class, introduced the lecturer, who illustrated his subject by a number of interesting experiments showing some of the properties of water, such as its capa bility ot being ignited, its expansion by cold, its non-conducting power, etc. ; and during the talk he explained the. importance and necessity of itfe presence in the atmosphere to moder ate the intense heat of the sun, which otherwise would make existence almost im possible on our planet. As it is, the sun's rays reach the earth so subdued as to con tribute to man's 'pleasure and advantage. It was also demonstrated how the fact of water expanding-by cold contrary to the almost universal law of nature was the sal vation of the world as a habitation for man, as by this ice .was rendered buoyant, whereas,- had it contracted by freezing, the ice would sink and soon by accumulation block up our rivers, and reduce the tem perature of the climate by its presence in the- ocean all over the globe. The sun's power would never reach the masses of ice beneath the surface, and soon this beautiful earth would become a vast howling wilder ness, unfitted alike for animal or vegetable existence. The doctor also touched upon a few of the medical aspects of the subject, and altogether for two hours contributed to the entertainment and instruction of his audience, who, by their earnest attention throughout, evinced their appreciation of this interesting " talk " Avote of thanks, carried by hearty acclamation, closed~the proceedings.

Mr Sobersky, manager for the patent wool-working machine that we noticed in these columns several weekd ago, is pushing the sale of this most ingenious and almost indispensable article with very great success throughout this district, and ere long it bids fair to be as common as the übiqituous sew ing machine or the inevitable piano. Mr Sobersky is staying'at the Albert Hotel, and is quite willing to gratuitously instruct any purchaser in the use of the machine.

Messrs Arthur and Buddie will sell to morrow, upon the premises of Messrs Henderson and Mclvor, Karangahape Kead, their whole stock of household furni ture, which has been manufactured of the best material and under their own super vision,

ELECTION NOTES.

A requisition has been drafted inviting Mr Moss Davis (Chairman of the Licensed Victuallers' Association) to allow himself to be nominated for one of the city constitu encies. Singularly enough, Mr H. Mell hone's name heads the list.

Mr'J. A. Connell will address the electors of Eden in the Newmarket Hall this even ing, when he proposes to treat on protec tive duties, encouragement of native indus tries, and retrenchment.

Mr Osborne is to meet the Manukau electors in the Onehunga Public Hall on Friday night. A meeting of Mr H. T. Garratt's Commit tee was held last evening in the Committee Room, Great North Road. A largo number of names were added to the Committee

Mr Thomas Campbell announces that he is a candidate for the representation of Waipa, and notifies dates on which he will address the electors at Mauku and Whan garata.

Mr Withy will address those electors of the Newton electorate residing in Eden Terrace and surrounding district to morrow evening, at 7.30, in St. Sepulchre's school-room.

The adjourned meeting of Mr Shera's committee will take place at back of St. James's Hall to-morrow (Thursday)evening, at half-past seven o'clock.

Consideracle progress is being made by the -Honourable Mr Tole's committee in connection with his candidature for Newton. Last night's meeting was well attended. The next committee meeting will beheld in St. George's Hall on Friday night at half past seven o'clock. As there are no circulars sent out foi this meeting, Mr Tole's supporters and friends will accept this notification to attend.

Mr Jenkins is very hopeful of the result of his candidature for the Franklin South seat. He says he has addressed about 17 meetings in the electorate, and at 12 of these votes of confidence have been moved.

An informal meeting of the electors of Manukau was held at Newmarket last evening to confer with Mr Osborne as to his candidature. After hearing Mr Osborne's views, a number of those present signed a requisition asking him to contest the seat. Until some idea of the feelings of the One hunga end of the constituency arc ascer tained, it will not be delinitely decided if ho will stand or not.

Eden Electorate.

MR UDY AT MOUNT ROSKILL,

Last evening a good number of electors met at the Three. Kings School to hoar an address from Mr R. Udy. Mr Can in the capacity of chairnian of the Bond Board, was voted to the chair, and in his opening remarks stated that as many wore dissatisfied with the career of Mr Mitchol son in tho House* and surprised at his leaving his old constituency to contest the seat for Eden, it was desirable that he should be opposed by a man whose interests were in this part. In looking over " Hansard," ho was surprised to find that Mr Mitehelson had not a word re corded for him during the past throe sessions, even in such matters as the Hos pital and Charitable Aid Bill, Midland Rail way,Honoiui, and District . Rail ways. Fur chajie notably in the matter of the rail way; he seemed to ignore the importance of making a connection between Auckland and Taraiiaki. He (Mr Can) commended silences on (lie part of members, but at the same time thought that there should be diligence. Ho then called on Mr Udy. Mr Udy wished it to be distinctly under stood that he was bound to no party, and had no desire on his own part to go to Wellington, but if he was convinced that tho electors desired him to represent them he would be at their services, and he had no axe to grind. lie advecated the settlement of the lands of the colony; but "he was afraid that on the lines of tho Village Settlement scheme i'.\ will be a failure. If men of means could be induced to take up land in the neighbour hood so that these small settlers could find employment, he should have a hope ; but to pub a lot of poor people in one place, and no one to employ them after the Govern ment work is stopped, can only end in dis aster to the men and the- colony. Having been .a farmer, he took credit for knowing what bespoke of in this matter; but lie could nob charge Mr Bailance with any other than a good intention in his connection with it. While so many remedies were being advocated for the depression, one thing, to his mind, was positively necessary — re trenchment ; but lie would not begin With the popular cry, 'tlieGbveriiot's salary first,' but with themselves and the Civil servants; then with could we come to the Go vernor. He could not understand the meaning of a remark from a member lately that " reducing the Governor's pay meant a second-rate Governor. "Better a fourth rate man and out of debt, and coming to individuals, " better a threadbare coat and say it's paid for." He did not believe in members making a living out of polities; their expenses and nothing more should be paid. The old Government will find it im possible to retrench, itneedsa radical change for instance, the whole of the civil servants should have twelve months' notice that their services will not be needed after that date under present arrangements. Then make all appointments by tender one mouth before it should take effect; this would afford ample time formakingchanges. Each candi date should be Drepared to give a bond for the faithful discharge of his duty for a term of three years. The saving would be about half the present cost. The tffect would be to get workers and run out drones who have friends in power In retrenchment as affecting education great savings could be made. "He was not of the opinion of some who said the saving could well be made by altering the school age to 7 from 5, for that would be a great injustice to many country districts which would then be deprived of the means of education. The great saving might be made by abolishing the Training College, and insisting on the secondary schools- being more self-support ing and using the endowments, which were becoming very valuable in piimary education. To offer inducements to boys who were sharp he would increase the number of scholarships. There should be one university for the colony. He thought that under any circumstances the Education Boards must not be abolished. They are worked at small cost, teachers have redress in case of trouble ; in fact, the only place of appeal. He pitied the fate of the teacher if matters educational were centralised at Wellington. 'He thought the time had come to sweep away the Native Department as a useless institution. The native trouble now looked suspiciously like a planned affair, to show how important the Department was. Was it not so on two previous occasions before general elections V As to the number of members, it seemed to him capable of being greatly reduced, but he did not like to be too positive about this matter. He could not see why" a man could not represent a much larger area, which very often would mean a wilderness. The Upper House may be a necessity for blocking undesirable measures, but he did not see why they should be paid. (Voice : " Old Men's Re fuge.") Protection should be granted to anything that might be locally produced. Nature showed how it was necessary to pro tect the young. If free trade was alto gether the correct thing, let us get cheap labour in Chinamen or Kaffirs. He said that in his opinion, land tax and income tax should take the place of property tax. A good number of qnestions were asked, and the substance of the answers was as follows:—If the Australians refused to ad mit our products without a tax on them, we »h»*y. tk \ii» sa»e oo their products. He

was in favour of subsidies being continued to the Charitable Aid Boards, as they were in a position to detect frauds. He would put almost a prohibitive duty on things that could be produced here. He believed in local option, and would give com pensation, provided compensation were given for deterioration of property. in the neighbourhood of a proposed public house. He would give woman the right to vote ; was in favour of abolishing free passes on the railway to members outside the time of the session ; was of opinion that Vaile's railway scheme was worth a trial. Mr Greenwood in a neat speech proposed a vote of thanks and confidence, wnich was passed without dissent. In reply Mr Udy said he had been asked by very many to contest the election, but as yet lie had had no formal requisition, whereupon ib was agreed — " That this meeting requests Mr R. Udy to contest the seat for Eden, and pledges itself to further his return."

Address by the Premier.

(by telegraph.—press association*.)

WiTTivnTnv. Tnpsfiav.

The Premier addressed a large meeting in the Opera House to-night. His speech was similar to those latterly delivered elsewhere. He quoted abstracts from the " New Zealand Times," which he urged, despite the denial which had been made, could only bear one construction, namely, that in the opinion of that paper the Government were keeping np an inflated rate of wages on railways, and whereas 5s or Gs now went as far as 8s or 10s formerly they must come down to the lower rates. As to retrenchment, he re marked that a cry went up everywhere for retrenchment, especially in other districts. (Laughter.) His scheme for adjusting the salaries of the Civil Service according to the price of the necessaries of life had been laughed at and sneered at last year, but a high authority on political economy at Homo was now advocating a similar course. Re ferringto protect ion and free trade hepointed out that while the agricultural industry was being helped by the low rate of railway car riage, the State had equal duties to manu facturers, and the Government had tried to carry this out in their Customs tariff. He denied that he had said every free trader was in favour of Kalh'r labour, but he had said that no free trader could consistently object to Chinese or Kaffir labour being imported. He held, however, that it was the duty of the State to protect our own race against Kaf&r labour. Dealing with the land question, he said he had been twitted with saying that land should not be treated as other property, but ho stuck to his opinion still. He had himself seen people driven from a whole district to the High lands and the land given over to sheep. (A voice: "I was one of them my self.") This was what the Government had tried to avoid by bringing in the Land Acquisition Bill. As to education, they would find it was cheapsr to pay for educa tion than for gaols, as they would soon learn if some members of the Opposition had their way.; The system must be main tained at all hazards, whatever might happen to the colony. The Premier spoke for two hours, and was heartily applauded at the end, when a resolution was passed according him the best thanks of the meeting for his very able address.

Gisborxe, thi3 day. Retirement of Blr Lock«*-

Mr Locke, the lato member, addressed a meeting last night, and announced that through continued ill-health he was obliged to withdraw from the contest, The meet ing expressed sympathy with Mr Locke on the causo of his enforced retirement and gave three cheers for him. Mr Andrew Graham, chairman of tho Harbour Board and a prominent merchant, has decided to stand now that Air Locke has retired.

Duxedix, this day. Mr John Graham, of Brighton, contests Taieri beat as an Independent candidate.

EASTERN MAORI ELECTION.

(BY TELF.OIiAI'H - iPKESS ASSOCIATION.)

Naitkr, this day. NOMINATION day for the Eastern Maorj electorate has been lixed for the 17th inst ; polling day September 7th ; writ returnable September 30th.

INCENDIARY FIRE.

Two Men Arrested.

(BY TELEGRAPH •• I'RESS ASSOCIATION.)

Woodvillk, this day. Ax attempt was made last night to burn down Gilbert's Temperance Hotel here, by setting fire to the outhouses. The tire was fortunately discovered before it got a fair hold of the place and was extinguished. Two men have been arrested on suspicion, and have been remannded. till Thursday. The burning of Gilbert's Hotel would have involved the destruction of at least five other shops.

We have to record the death of another old and well-known citizen. We refer to Mr Charles Williams, mlio has for many years carried on business in Albert-street as a manufacturer of washing' fluid, fire-kindlers and other similarhousehold requisites. Tha deceased was a very old colonist. As far back as 1854 lie was the proprietor of a large restaurant and baths in Melbourne. He was one of the first Victorians to arrive at the West Coast when the diggings " broke out " there, and he came to Auck land upwards of 20 years ago, and has been a resident of this city ever since. . Two children a son and a daughter survive him.

At Parnell Orphan Home two large tablets have just been placed in the en trance hall, on which are recorded the names of those who have been promineut as founders and benefactors of the institution. The Home was founded in 1860 by the Yen. Archdeacon Floyd, and two years later Bishop Selwyn set apart an endow ment of land for the purposes of the Home.

Captain Edwin wires as follows, at 1.25 p.m. to-day :—Every indication of an un usually cold night or frost, and very low tides for 24 hours from noon to-day.

Returns from the Cambria gold mine show that 106ozs of gold were obtained from K)3 loads of quartz, and 4Gozs from 351bs of picked stone. The Saxon returns are 2750zs of retorted gold from 135 loads of quartz and 90lbs of picked stone. ,

Mr E Fritchard, writing from Brussels to a Dunedin friend, says: —"When I left Sydney I thought this electric motor busi ness very risky, but vow, after seeing ib, and testing it time after time, I have come to the conclusion that it is a real good thing. It is a really cheap mode of transit, whether adopted from tramcars or yachts I have completed the purchase of the colonial rights of Julien'a system, which is also adaptable to street lighting. The system has been very successfully tested, and has been brought into almost general use. The electric cars have been used in New York, St. Louis, Rio, Paris, Hamburg, and Brus sels, and some are now being despatched to Lisbon. I shall be off to Australia in a few weeks with some of these wonderful motors. I return to London this week, but go back to Brussels to make a complete study of the working of the system. It is simply wonderful to see the cars gliding along the streets noiselessly, and controlled by a boy about ten or eleven years old."

POLICE COURT—THIS DAY.

(Before Messrs W. R. Waddel and T. Thompson, J.P.'s.)

Drunkenness. —Three women were pun ished for this offence, and John Ryan, on the further charge of being guilty of disorderly conduct, was fined 10s and costs. Stealing Fowls. — Maria Grey was charged with the larceny of four fowls, value 10s, the property of Thomas Healy. —The prisoner pleaded guilty. —In reply to the Bench, the accused said she had a husband and three children.—The Bench regretted that she had brought disgrace upon herself and her family by forgetting herself in this manner. They would make the sentence as light as possible. - One month's imprisonment with hard labour. Alleged Larceny.—Thomas Whiteman was charged witli the larceny of sundry articles, value, LI Bs, from the dwelling house of Daniel Gascoyne.—Mr E. Cooper appeared for the defence.—The evidence of prosecutor was that he went away on a trip to the South, leaving these things in a whare at Birkenhead, and when he returned he failed to find the things. They were recovered in Whiteman's tent by Constable O'Brien.—Mr Cooper submitted that the charge was trivial, but their Worships expressed their intention of convicting unless the accused could show where he obtained the goods. — Accused was called, and deposed that he bought the spade from a man in the street for 2s 6d, and the biily at Dickey's. He found the other things tied up in a parcel amongst the titree.—The case was proved, and Mr Cooper appealed to the Bench to exercise the powers vested in them, and in view of this being the first offence, discharge the pri soner. Sergeant Pratt represented that the case was more serious than appeared from the charge sheet, and objected to a dismissal.—The Bench expressed a willing ness to allow the prisoner to be brought under the provisions of the Probation Act, and adjourned the case till Friday for that purpose.

VOLUNTEER NEWS.

The Devonport X avals' Trouble

The troubles of the Devonport Navals at length appear in a fair way towards settle ment. It will be remembered that Major- General Whitmore recently gave the members of the Company permission to re sign, and the captain permission to form a new company. The time limit was till the end of last month, when 52 out of 59 mem bers had sent in their resignations, and of the 7 leftseveral wereabsentfrom Auckland. Captain Fenton, on the other hand, got to gether a number of men to form a new com pany, and submitted a list of names to the superior officer. The list, however, was not considered to be acceptable because it did not include a majority, or any fair proportion of the old Company. Major- General Whitmore recognised that it would be unfair to hand over all the property pur chased by the original Company to an entirely new corps, and accordingly declined to accept the substitutes obtained by Cap tain Fenton. Captain Fenton was then re quested by Majoi'-General Whitmore to send in his resignation, the majority of the Devonport Nuvals being evidently opposed to him as their captain. It is understood that efforts will now be made to re-form the Company on a more satisfactory basis, and it is expected that nearly all of its former members will rejoin.

The Treatment of Refractory Gres.

(To the Editor.)

Sir, —You draw attention this evenfng to a proposal that the Government should offer a substantial reward- say L2s,ooo—for the discovery of a process. for recovering the gold and silver from the refractory ores in the Hauraki goldtields district. This pro posal, from its very nature, assumes : Firstly, that some one process will serve for the extraction of the bullion from all, or most, of the ores of the Thames district; and secondly, that no known processes are capable of effecting the purpose with suffi cient economy. The fact that the ores in question exhibit great variety renders the first of these assumptions highly improb able ; for the second there is no evidence whatever. With the single exception of the stamping battery, none of the processes in common use in other parts of the world have ever been properly tested here, and when it is remembered that these processes are the outcome of a vast amount of accumulated experience, and are the sole practical results of the working of thousands of brains rendered keen by the desire for gold, there does not seem to be much reason to hope the offer of even L 25,000 will bring about the in vention of some new proress which will supersede those already in use. But, I repeat, the old ones have never been tried, and until this is done there is no use in encouraging the people of this colony to waste their means in searching for a process to which the combined experience and knowledge of the world has not attained. If such a reward were offered, the Govern ment would be assailed by claimants endeavouring to palm off specious modi fications of existing processes, and would in all probability eventually pay away the twenty-five thousands for that which it could easily find out for itself for as many fifties. I feel certain that the only legitimate method of facilitating the ex traction of the gold and silver from the ores of the Ha'urato district is that which h p«s been undertaken by the Thames School of Mines, and which consists in erecting the plant necessary to test on a small scale the various processes in common use. A deci sion as to the best of these methods will thus be reached rapidly and economically, and that without having recourse to those gambling instincts of the community which nave already imposed on us sufficient liabi lity.—Yours, etc., Feed. D. Brown.

August 2, 1887,

Mb Ciiakles H. Osmond, strongly en dorses the suggestion that a large bonus should be offered for the discovery of a pro cess that will treat profitably the refractory ores of the Hauraki Goldfields. He says : "How is it that one and all are calling out about, hard times in the face of the facts quoted by the Coromandel writer with regard to the enormous quantity of gold, from two milion ozs obtained from the Thames and Coromandel fields in times not long past ? This thought leads to another—Why is there not the same output now ? The immediate answer from many would be—The finds are ex hausted. This cannot be the reason, as new finds are constantly being made, assays from whiehare taken with often surprising results. It is a well-known fact that although assays show wonderfully rich reefs and deposits the ore has up to the present time, proved beyond our battery and other processes. ■What would be the first effect of a startling reward of L 25,000 ? It seems to me that readers outside would say that the Auck land people must have a very high opinion of the resources of their district, and there must be somethihg worth in quiring about in it. This is ex actly \v\tyj is wanted, that some of the large firms shall read and receive the re ports o£ own experts on what many here are already aware of the wonder ful richness of the district especially in gold and silver ores. This subject is one of the greatest and most important, not only to AucklandJ but to the whole of New Zealand,

A STRANGE OCCURRENCE.

An Onehunga Boy Severely In jured by an Explosion.?

A case of an extraordinary nature boenrred last night to a boy named James McQnoid. aged 16 years, a native of Onehunga Ib appears that yesterday evening he -was at the Remuera sale yards, and on leaving to return home to Onehunga he observed a small paper parcel lying on the road. He picked it up and placed it in his waistcoat pocket, mounted his horse and rodo off, bufc had only gone a short distance when the parcel exploded with a loud report, frightening the horse to that extent that ho bolted for home, the lad becoming immediately enveloped in flames. On reaching home he was in a de plorably helpless state. Dr. W. R. Erson was immediately summoned, and describes the burns as of a very serious nature, the skin from the right arm, side, and leg coming completely away with the clothing as it was taken off. The remains of the contents of the parcel was found in the pocket, representing two short pieces of pipe shank, having a strong sulphurous smell, and not becoming extinguished when placed in water.

Dr. Erson, who visited the lad this morn ing states, that the burns are of such a a nature that it will take some eight or ten days before he can fully determine as to the seriousness of the injuries.- The poor horse is also severely burned, and 'in ' a most pitiable condition. It appears that the boy had been in a swamp cutting flax, and his clothes were saturated with: water. . It is supposed that the combustible, getting damp from the wet clothes, exploded, and caused the foregoing result. The matter is in the hands of the police. ' • X

IMPORTANT JUDGMENTS.

The Duties of Trustees.

(by telegraph-press association.)

Wellington, this day. In the Supreme Court this morning judg* menfc was given in two cases, one arising out of Waring Taylor's frauds and the other out of Water's financial transactions.

In the Northern Land Loan Company v. the City Advance Company. Mr Justice Richmond gave judgment for the full amount claimed, LGOO, with interest from the time of deposit and costs on the highest! scale. He remarked that the conduct of both companies, to say the least of it, re flected no credit on the management oJ either.

In Pharazyn and Others v. Mason and Others, in which the present trustees of Mr B. Rhodes's estate sued the late-trustees for money lost by the defalcations of Waring Taylor, one oi the trustees, His Honor laid it down as a principle that trustee 3 had no right to place or leave trusb moneys under the sole control of any one of themselves. Taylor had been allowed to sign cheques merely countersigned by the book keeper. Had it been necessary to geb the cheques signed by other trustees, most probably the defalcations would have been checked at the start. He gave judgment against defendants for L 6,500, capital sums, and L 437 9s lid due on account of interest was left as a matter of arrangement. -■■■.-

NEWTON EAST NIGHT SCHOOL.

Science Master Appointed.

A special meeting of the Governors of th« Auckland College and Grammar School wat held yesterday afternoon for the purpose of considering the request of the Board of Education that the Grammar School authorities should join with them in the night-school movement, by providing for the services of a teacher of science ab Newton East. Sir 6. M. O'ftorke presided, and there were also present Rev. C. M, Nelson, Hon. Col. Haultain, Messrs A. E. Devore (Mayor), J. H. Upton, G. Aickin. J. M. Lennox, Theo, Cooper, and S. Luke. ■/' ••'■• ■' •

Mr Upton moved, " That the Board ap point a master for one year, whose ■ duty it shall be to teach chemistry and physical science in the night school established by the Board of Education in the Newton Easb School, the salary to be LSO per annum, to be paid by this Board."

Mr Upton, in moving his resolution, men tioned that there were at present 150 pupils at the Newton East]Nightfachool. Consider able discussion followed, the Rev. G. M. Nelson and Col. Haultain expressing the opinion that the granting of such assistance would not be on accordance with the Gram mar School Trust, which they thought pre cluded the voting of money for an institu tion over which the Governors had not sole control. This objection was met by Mr Theo. Cooper and others. Mr Cooper said they might get over the diffi culty by denominating the Newton East school a Grammar School for the purpose'of the trust. They should test the teaching oi science for twelve months, and if there was a man in the community vile enough to raise the question of illegality, the members of the Board would probably have to pay the money personally. He for one was willing to pay his i share. Eventually the motion was put and carried with only two dissentients, Col. Haultain and Mr Nelson. It was then de cided to request Mr Carson, the natural science master at the Grammar School, to undertake the duties, classes to be held not) less than two nights per week.

Mr and Mrs W. White of Eden Terrace, who so sadly lost their little boys by drowning on Sunday last, beg to thank the many kind friends who extended their sym pathy towards them in their bereavement and trouble.

The inspection parade of No. 3 Battalion was well attended last night. Ldeut.- Col. Mahon was in command, and put the men through a number of movements. | |

COMING EVENTS.

Meeting, &c., To-night.

strels, 8. City Hall — Scotch Entertainment arid Scotch Dancing for Championship of New Zealand, 8 Bell's Buildings, Wyndhara-stxeet — Industrial Association's Exhibition, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 7 to 10 p. m Opposite McArthur's, Queen-street— "Hunyadi" and Uypsy Queen, open daily Olyrupia Hall, Grey-street—Skating Rink, open daily. Maketu School—Mr E. Hamlin and Electors of

Franklin South, 7.30 St. Andrew's Church—Evangelistio Service. 7.30 Newmarket Hall —Mr J. A. Connell and Elec-

tors of Eden, 8 Chordl Hall-Skating Rink, 7.30 to 10 St. Sepulchre's School-room—Address by Sir O. Grey to Electors of Auckland Central, 8 Oddfellows' Hall, Ponsonby—Lodge Ponsonby, No. 708, S.C., 7.30 Christians' Meeting House, Surrey Hills—B» view of Mi- Daniells's Pamphlet, 7.30

Auction Sales To-morrow.

Arthur and Buddie, Newton—Stock of Cabinet-

maker, 11 E. Leydon, Rocky Nook—Household Furniture and Effects, 11 ' B. Tonka & Co.. North Shore—Household Fur-. niture and Effects, 11 . < - 1 S. Cochrano & Son—Properties. 12 D. F. ETans, Hepburn-Btreet^Household Furni ture and Effects, U »« ■ j

Rota of Justices at Police Court.

August 4—Messrs H. G. Wade and C. D. Whit combe. ~ . : .

THE AUCKLAND EVENING STAR, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1887,

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