TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1356, 7 February 1865, Page 4

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Election Matters. — The retirement of Mr. Bowen from the office of Speaker of the Provincial Council will not take the public by surprise, as for some time past it has been rumoured that that gentleman was about to return to his native country. From the commencement of Provincial institutions Mr. Bowen has filled—and very worthily—the office of Speaker of the Council. Endowed with remarkable tact and temper, he has always maintained the dignity of his office without losing the regard of the successive houses which have sat under his direction. Without presuming to make the pharisaical assertion that Canterbury Councils are not as others, we may yet be allowed to think that Mr. Bowen's uniformly urbane yet firm demeanour in the chair has had a great deal to do with the high character which our Council has hitherto borne, and which contrasts somewhat favourably with the doings in certain colonial legislative assemblies elsewhere. The public of Canterbury owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Bowen, and we are sure that all will unite with us in wishing him a long term of enjoyment and repose in the old country. The office of Speaker is likely, we hear, to be the subject of contest. Mr. Ollivier, who for a long time past, has made no secret of his desire to occupy the chair when vacant, has now put forward an address to the members of the Council. The other candidate is Mr. Ross, a member of the Executive, and a nominee of the Government, who, t0 jo them justice, seem to have a very wholesome appetite for power and place. If Mr. Ross is successful the whole of the Executive will then, we believe, be in the receipt of salaries of greater or less amount, and more or lees satisfactory to themselves. (If the relative chances of the two men we know nothing Mr. Ollivier will have the weight of the Government to contend with; but then, lie • 8 «an amazing instance of a pop'lar man." jlr Boss, on the other hand, will be powerfully

backed by the bureauocracy; but out of doors, e nobody. We trust,and havenodoubt, thatthe es man will win. Then there is Mr. Bowen's seafc °5 e Avon to be fought for; and here again we n our hungry Government in the field, in the person or. Cowlisbaw, Provincial Solicitor. A strong overn ment is a very good thing, but so is a strong opposi tion. When a Government gets too vigorous, it is apt to lose the modest demeanour, and forget e proprieties, with which it started in life. Perhaps we have noticed a growing tendency to bumptiousness in our friends who occupy high places in- the pu ic offices, and that makes us indifferent to the success of their candidate, if a better man can be found to supply his place. But there is the difficulty. The leaders of the opposition seem to find it a hard task to induce men who would command the confidence of the public to come forward. At present, have only heard thenameof Captain Anderson mentioned. Whatever his other qualifications may be, he certainly cannot count experience among the number, and his address proclaims him a strong opponent of the present Government. Ecclesiastical. —On Sunday last, Mr. Deck, from Motueka, delivered a scriptural address at the new Town Hall, which was rather numerously attended. The open air services at St. Albans, conducted by "Evangelist" W. Douglas, were continued during the week; a good many persons being assembled on the different occasions. Efforts are being made to found schools in connection with the Roman Catholic Church, in the Ferry road, in order to provide for the education of the young people belonging to that communion. At present, they are possessed of no such advantages; and circulars have been issued with a view to obtain subscriptions in furtherance of the project.

The Governor's Reasons. —A letter has been received by the Superintendent of Otago from the Private Secretary of Sir G. Grey. The first reason, referring to General Cameron, we have heard before. The second is, that in consequence of the meeting of natives at Hangatiki, it would not be prudent to leave. The third reason comprises two facts. First —tha,t a large portion of the escaped prisoners remain at large within thirty miles of Auckland. Second—that about one thousand Tauranga natives have, without any given cause, gone off to the bush. The letter concludes with the expression of a hope "that no lengthened time may elapse before he has the pleasure of seeing " his Honor.

Fire in Cobb's Coach.—On Sunday morning, about 3.15 a.m., one of the grooms, who sleeps in a room in Cobb's large stable, was awakened by a dense smoke. On going to ascertain the cause he found that one of the large coaches was in flames. Water was near at hand, and, assistance having been procured, the fire was extinguished. It is supposed to have originated from the candle contained in a lantern, which was suspended above the coach, having burnt down in the socket; andthe fat, having melted and inflamed, ran down upon a coat which had been left by the driver upon the boot, and thus caused the ignition of the coach. It was valued at £300, and has sustained considerable damage. That the straw and hay, which were in close proximity to the burning vehicle, did not catch fire is almost miraculous.

Horticultural Society. — A meeting of the committee of this society was held last night, in one of the rooms attached to the Town Hall. Mr. W. Wilson occupied the chair. Mr. J. Greenaway read an essay on " Horticultural Societies," of which the annexed is an outline. The essayist commenced his paper by speaking of the progress which had been made in the science of horticulture in every country. He remarked that there were in this pursuit two considerations of primary importance — Ist. The obstacles to be overcome; 2nd. The success to be attained. He remarked that countries which possessed climates oither intensely warm or extremely cold,.were the most unfavourable for the pursuit of horticulture, in the former instance, because, as a rule, where nature does most, there man does least, and in the latter, because the effect produced barely compensates for the labour bestowed. True, with regard to the former, the Botanic Gardens of Australia and those of Calcutta — unfortunately, the latter were destroyed in the terrible cyclone which recently occurred —might be cited in opposition to this assertion whilst the Russians, with all the disadvantages of their inhospitable climate, possess some beautiful gardens. But these were merely exceptional cases. With all its variable climate, he considered Canterbury to be eminently adapted for horticultural purposes,and he by no means despaired of seeing botanic gardens here rivalling those in Australia. He treated his subject rather with a view of showing the influence of horticultural societies upon the progress of the science, than of giving any detailed account of their origin, institution, or results. But he remarked, in passing, that the Inspired Record, the historians and poets, both of j ancient and modern days, had spoken of and described the different gardens both of antiquity and more modern times. These records contained no allusion to any associations for the furtherance of gardening, or of any enactments for its regulation. The first established, in all probability, were those set on foot in England and on the Continent of Europe. They had been well designated in the words attached to their titles, that they were established for the promotion and encouragement of horticulture in all its branches, and to induce as much as possible the introduction of rare and valuable as well as of useful specimens. Our own society had done much to promote these objects, and he hoped to see the day when the Canterbury Society would possess grounds of its own, and be in a position to support the outlay of having a collector attached to it, whose occupation it should be to gather those productions of other countries which should either be valuable from their rarity, or possessed of some intrinsic merits of their own. This might be deemed by some an extravagant suggestion, but he was convinced that at some future period —perhaps "not a very distant one—such additions to our society will be found indispensable. But the object of his paper was not to anticipate the future, but to endeavour to improve the present, and he should therefore throw out a few suggestions which might conduce to this end. In the first place, he thought that too much attention was paid to the size of the plants shown. Now, our greenhouses and plant-houses were at present but small, consequently the exhibition of such large plants prevented competition, because, as it was difficult to rear, with our present appliances, many such large plants, the same plant time after time carried off the chief prizes. He did not object to a large plant gaining a prize if it really deserved it. What he did object to was that it was hardly fair that the same plant should be selected at every exhibition for a prize. To remedy this, it would be a good plan to limit the size of the pots. Another evil was, that plants were too often selected for prizes on account of their showy nature or their rarity, than any other merit. The exhibition-stage was rewarded, whilst the home-stage was neglected. Plants of this description had been well compared by Sir Joseph Paxton to race-horses, which two or three times a year are produced for purposes of exhibition, and then quietl} replaced in their former quarters until they are'again brought forward to undergo the same ordeal. Another idea which he : was anxious to impress upon his audience was this: in his opinion, the society should award prizes to those persons who had succeeded in producing fine specimens of such plants and trees as they could not exhibit, but which ■ might, nevertheless, be invaluable additions to our |

present stock. Tiiis would greatly promote the cultivatfon of ornamental shrubs and fruit trees. And again, prizes should be awarded to those who possessed the best cultivated and the best kept gar dens. This plan had been tried in England with marked success, although it had been almost exclusively confined to what are commonly denominated cottage gardens. Some such proceeding on the behalf of the society, would, he was sure, tend greatly to advance the progress of horticulture i n Canterbury. It would act beneficially in various ways First, the competitors would derive benefit from having their gardens in proper trim; secondly, it would stimulate the gardeners of private gentlemen to greater zeal and energy j n cultivating their employers'grounds; and, thirdly, it would be productive of a mutual good feeling, and of a mutual good understanding between employers and employed, as the former would naturally appreciate the efforts made by the latter to improve and embellish their properties. He rejoiced at the monthly meetings, of which the present was one. They would be valuable aids to the progress and influence of the saciety. He coincided with the idea acted upon by the society, in giving recommendations of merit to those who had raised any new fine' seedlings; but he warned the committee not to fall into the error which had crept into English societies, in which, through a too lavish distribution, the certificates had lost somewhat of their value. The essay was listened to with marked attention; it was a production of great merit, and an interesting discussion took place on various points of it. Mr. Greenaway exhibited some fine blooms of dahlias and roses, whilst Mr. Tumner showed some blooms of the fuschia Colonel Pocquet. A vote of thanks to the essayist terminated the proceedings.

Princess' Theatbe.—Last night the first piece played was the pretty little comedy of " A Wonderful Woman/' and it was very well performed. Mrs. Hall made a very fascinating Marquise, and Messrs. Richardson and Hall enacted the Marquis and Cobbler very gracefully and very spiritedly. But the great attraction was the burlesque of Faust. This is by far the best burlesque that the management has yet given us. It is a most comical affair on the one hand, for the puns are so ridiculously far-fetched, that it is impossible to abstain from hearty laughter ; yet, on the other hand, there is an element of the grotesquely terrible if the paradox may be pardoned, lunßing through it. The plot is a strange compound of Goethe's great work and the old story of Alonzo the brave. Faust, in order to regain his youth, and to win the hand of Imogen, summons Mephistopheles to his aid, and obtains his desire upon the payment of the usual consideration in such cases. Faust was beautifully taken by Mrs. Hall, the sparkling brilliancy of the dialogue losing nothing in her hands. Mr. Hall was the Mephistopheles, and looked and acted the part capitally ; it was really a fine piece of acting, almost too good"for a burlesque. His attitudes were generally graceful, and he moved about the stage with exactly the action of a lithe, mocking demon. His appearance at the window, and his fiendish expression of triumph over Faust, were worthy of all commendation. Alonzo was smartly and spiritedly played by Mrs. South, whilst Imogen, as personated by Mr. South, was irresistibly ludicrous. The scenery was exquisite ; the transparency in which Faust sees Imogen and Alonzo happily engaged in lovemaking, the two gardens, and the final scene, reflect great credit on Mr. Willis. The second garden scene is a very fine piece of stage-painting, the perspective being especially good. The dresses and accessories were excellent; Imogen was classically made up, her—we suppose we must say her—costume being an exact copy of the antique. We were sorry to see so few persons present, but in all probability as soon as the merits of the piece are better known, a fuller attendance will be the result.

Death of Robert Ewart Shaw.—The Southern Cross in a number lately received, says—" Intelligence has been received by the English mail of the death of Robert Ewart Shaw, Esq., of the firm of Shaw, Savill. and Co., of London, who have for a long time been intimately connected with the trade of New Zealand. He was manager of the old firm of H. H. Willis and Co., and afterwards of the rflrrtr of Willis, Gann and Co., which lie left early in 1858, and established the firm of Shaw, Savill, and Co. By the October mail Mr. Shaw's friends received information that he was recovering from a severe attack of small-pox, which had nearly cost him his life. The cause of his death ultimately, however, was heart disease, of which he died on the 24th November."