SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2092, 4 September 1867, Page 5 (Supplement)

SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

(Simmarisetlftom the Lyltelton Times.) Arorps of Fire Police lias been organized. It consists of fifty members, and is designed to act for the preservation of property at firca. _ Tlio agricultural and pastoral association has fixed tho next show to take plaoo on Nov.!). Extra prizes are to bo given for colonial cured bacon nnd hams; also for the best sample of wrought iioa field-gates. The grain export company has held several meetings to decide upon certain preliminaries previous to-commencing operations. The articles (rf association have been decided upon, and are being prepared for signature. A steeplechase was run at ICaiapoi on Aug. 19. Tho chief event was the Kaiapoi Cup of sUsovs. which was was won by Mr Spink's Merrimac. The Waimakariri Stakes'of :3U sovs., and a Hack race wound up a good day's sport. A boy named Charles Fowles has been drowned in the Avon. He had taken a horse to water at tho river, when tlio animal plunged and threw the rider into tho stream. An inquest was hold on the body, when a verdict of '• Accidentally drowned " was returned.

The first financial vole passed by tho General Assembly was a sum not exceeding £SOOO to cover the expense of making due preparation for tho promised visit and entertainment of His Koyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh. Tho Christcluirch Musical Society lias been reorganized. Tho following <•; ijers liave been uppointed:—Mr A. J. Cutteri:!, secretary; Mr G. Inwood, treasurer; Mr Girand, librarian; Mr M'Cai'doll, conductor; aud Mr C. Bonnington, leader. The annual meeting of the shareholders of the Akaroa Town Hall was held on August 8. The balance-sheet showed a credit balance of £2B. Tho following gentlemen were appointed members of tho committee for the ensuing year;— Messrs 11. Townsend, G. Scarborough. 11. Watkins, J. Waeckcrle, J. D. Garwood, a;d T. Adamt secretary and treasurer. Ij [During the month lectures on various subjects of interest have been delivered. A series of three on " The Milleniuui" have been given at the Wesleyan Chapel, Durham streot, Christchurch, and is to be supplemented by two more. Tho llev. W. J, Habous gave a lectuie on the pamphlet entitled "Napoleon, the Monarch of the World." Mr Dobsongave a lectino on "Fortification," at tho Orderly. Eooin, Christchurch. The weather during the early part of August was very inclement. The plains were deluged with rain, and on tho ranges and lands adjacent a heavy fall of snow took place. Many of tho sheep-farmers aro considerable sufferers by the numbers of sheep buried in the snow. A favourable change has been experienced during tho last fortnight; bright sunny days, with occasional showers, aro now pushing forward the vegetation of a New Zealand spring. A handsome altar-table has been executed for St Michael's church by Mr Detthier, of Armagh street, from a design by Messrs Speeclily and Crisp. It is made of New Zealand wood, darkened. On tho top slab five crosses aro incised—one in tho centre, and one in each comer. Theso crosses are painted crimson. In front a clause of tho To Denm is deeply and plainly incised, the letters being painted crimson and blue, and relieved occasionally by gilding. The fourth annual meeting of subscribers to the Pigeon Bay Library was held in the schoolroom on tho evening of August 15. From the report made by tho retiring committee wo learn that tho number of volumes in the library is now 013. During tho last year there were 65 subscribers, who had taken out on an avorage 10 volumes- each, independent of periodicals. Tho income for the past yoar ainountod to £Bllßs llld, tho expenditure to £3B 9s lOd, leaving a balauco of £46 9s l£d. Mr Ninnis, in connection with Purohas and Ninnis' patent process, by which the rope so successfully brought into tho market by Messrs Jenkins, Jones and Co., is manufactured, is about to start a manufactory in the Halswell district, Mr Ninnis expects to bo in full work in a fortnight or three weeks, tho nocessary buildings having beon completed, and tho ongino on tho ground, only a few fittings being required. Theso are being manufactured by Mr J. Anderson. Wo aro glad to loarn that tho New Zealand rope is meeting with a vory ready sale, and is fast superseding tho imported Manilla. It would seem that an important nativo industry, tho capabilities of which are practically illimitable, is about to be established in this province. The annual ploughing match for the Mandovillo and Kainpoi districts came off on Aug. 30. Tho following is a list of tho successful competitors :—Champion class—Prizo gold modal, William Plaskett; Keetloy plough. Swing plough—--Ist prize, £5, Gharlca Smith, Kcotloy plough; 2nd prize, £3, J. Scoon, Keetlcy plough; 3rd prizo, £2, William Birnie, Barrowman plough. Wheel Ploughs—lst prize, £5, Qcor-,'o Musson, Ilornsby plough; 2nd prize, £3, Thomas Burgun, Hornsby plough; 3rd prize, £2, C. Donovan, Kootloy plough. Boys' clais Keetloy, Kootloy plough; 2nd prize, £2, Meirin, Keetley plough; 3rd prize, Duffol, Keetlej plough. Wo loarn from tho Tasmanian papers, that tho trout in tho Plenty aro now spawning freely, Thoj may constantly bo scon pairing, and making bods in tho gravol on which to deposit their ova, All goes on with thorn as well as could bo desired 1 and quite equal to tho most sanguine expectations. The salmon aro raoro shy than the trout, although known to bo in the river. It is thought, indeed, that the grcator number of them ha?o gone highor up the Derwoat to spawn, than where tho Plenty, their formor brooding ground, falls into that river. Theyiiro oxpecled back, howovor, after spawning at the end of tho mouth. Tho curator of tho Canterbury Acclimatisation Society has boon despatched to llobart Town for a supply of tho ovii, with a view of stocking our rivers, which aro said (o bo well adapted for trout. The Provincial Treasurer's statement of accounts (or tlio quarter ending Juno 30 has been published, The receipts on ordiuary account amounted to £25,003 10s Id, and tho expenditure- to £lß,llll 12s Od, leaving n balauco to credit of £O3BB 17s 7d j but there- was a balauo against tlio account on March 31 of £10,798 12s lid, so that tho balauco to dobit is still £Uo9lslod, Tho receipts on land aud works account amountto to £33,304 3s Od, and tho expenditure

1772.1 Us Id. Tim, added to the balance against tho account on March 31—£8201 a, 3.l_ri TCS I total debit balance of £15,921 17s 4,1 lnn receipts on railway and harbour works account to U7,Oid (is KM. But tlioro w M a credi" balance of i332,fi60 Ids od on Marehai.so that there was still a Imlauco in favour of the account 0f,U10,827105. Tlio receipts on the West Canterbury goldlialds account were fKJ,M r jOi Ud and tlio expenditure £25,127 13s lid, giving g, credit balance of £'11,020 7s Bd. This, deducted, from tho debit balance of JJHUS lis lid on -March .'it makes the balance against the West Const account on Juno 00 .M 3, 123 .'ls 9d. Tlio total balance against the province on June 30 wa» .MH,!Mloaid. Tho recent I're.ili ia tho river Sclwyn has submerged nearly two miles of tho Great Sonth«rn ItniUvay, and made apparent the important fact that thn bridge Ims been put up in a wrong place Ihe river bed at this part is considerably over halt a mile wide, and it appears to he much lower on the northern or Christchurch than on tho southern or lUkaii side; m that tho current rum along the northern side of the bed. The extremities ol tin bridge rn=t upon embankments on tho river bed, and the bridge is so placed that it does not span the loweHpart of tho bed; which instead w crossed by the no/them embankment. Tho MnM(|.ieii.-.M S , l | M t,| l , !(n , rrejll i jdriTi , na(f(linft Ins embankment, and until the river rise" ton height of six feet over the lowest part of it, bed very littlo water passes beneath thebrid-e I" folloffg that, in Hie recent heavy iV«h" the mam weight of the Hood lias pressed a ,', lt inst; the northern embankment, instead ol' Ihidin" a passago beneath the bridge; and t|„. ctQ l bankment he.s given way in more placs th dn one. The north abutment of the bride"., wis indeed threatened with destruction; to pr-.-.eiS which the engineer gave orders that the bank, should be cut through, and the water allowed (~ escape. Thiswai done, and a cutting made of seventy or eighty yards in length, ove.' wlrc'i the rails and sleepers are now projected, formiii" an unsubstantial viaduct/ across the cutting, 'and indicating tho spot where the current ought to have been spanned by the substantial lirid p. Ia view of these facts it seems impossible to avoid the impression that a mistake has been made in placing the bridge in ils present position. Jt anp"are as if the utility of the bridge hid be:"n sacrificed to ils safety. Uy placing it upon high ground it has been saved from the main weigiifof a fresh, but it has been found necessary to make another passage for the stream at the point to which it naturally Hows; and this will of c iurse necessitate the nuking of another bridge or a viaduct, c : ther _to aid or to supersede the former structure. It is proposed to support the sleepers across the cutting upon piles, so as to allow the line to be speedily opened, The following is a deseiiption ol the important agricultural district of Tirau!;a:—lietwe n the Timuka and Opiht liver j, and where the inaia south road crosses them, stood a few years a'o, a bush of considerable extent, of which," by the way, only a few trees remain. This was known a-tin Arowbcnua bush, and sheltered a -Maori settlement. 'When the d strict began to he settled, a considerable number of sawyers found emplovmmfc in the Ini-h, anil located themselves near it.' Rut as settlement progressed, and land was bought, the best laud being found north-jf the 'l.'iioira river, and betweea it and the Orari, tint \us tile district where the farmers settled, and which consequently fast became of chief importance. Tlw result of this was that a Government .own-\i'.> was laid on 1 - on tho north of the Timu';a. and was named Arowbcnua, after tho hush and native settlement on tho other side of the river. Joining the Government township, and to (h; west of it, another township wa3 planned and thrown noon for sale by a private individual, and as from'its position, the main Soutli road natural.> ran through tlii3 private township, there the stor.3 and places of business necessary to sup,,''.- t'uo wants of the extensive neighbourhood were "bull:, and the place has now attained the appeexmee of an incipient colonial town, as will be seen when we mention that it contains two hotels, a'r'ording a considerable amount of good a* commodation, one having a line brick-built A'sembly room attached; three large genera stores, connected with one of which is ut grain store, some 80 feet in length, capable of storing many thousand bushels of grain; a brewery, t;vo"wheelwrights, two biaekiuiitlis, one of whom has just added to his establishment a bras; aud iro i foundry; a livery stable, a chemist's, a painter's", a tailor's, a shoemaker's, a butcher's, a baker's, and a saddler's shop, as we!l as one at present unoccupied J whilst one for a dressmaker, is about b 'ing built. This township was named Walimglbrd, but is never mentioned under this designation by tbo inhabitants; they always term it Timuka, which is tho Maori nairfe for the river, only slightly altered so as to be More easily pronounceable by a British tongue. The name Timuka is also generally applied in the surrounding district. Among a miss of papers and correspondence relating to the claims and counter-claims of the Imperial and Colonial Governments tLre is a letter from the Colmiat Secretary, Mr Stafford, to Deputy-Commiisary-GeiierJ Strickland on the subject of various frauds committed on the colonial revenue on the authority of certificates issued by commissariat olli-ers. The litter is dated Wellington, April 1,1«IS7, and the follow, ing are the most important parts of it:—'the Collector of Customs at Auckland pointed out in his letter of tho 9th October last some grave errors committed in respect of these certificates by commissariat officers, and in his letter of the 19th ot'tliat month furnished a return of nil the drawbacks paid by the Customs on grocery rations for the troops, and requested to be supplied with a return of tbo actual number of rations issued by contractors in each month and at eacli placo since January, 1801. Up to the 12th tilt, this return bad not been supplied to the collector. A return was furnished on the 10th of January last of the gross number of rations received from contractors in the province of Auckland in the year ISS3, and on the 11th of tlmt month nnother was given of tho total number of rations received in the Waikato district, from Ist January, 1861, to 31st August, ISG6; but these returns do not specify what each contractor was entitled to for drawback for rations supplied at each of the stations, and therefore do uot contain the information requisite to enable the Government to ascertain the exact amount of overpayments which had been made. An examination of the returns received shew that in 1863 a contractor, J, Kail, was over-paid tho drawback on 39,810 rations. For the subsequent period (Ist January, ISOI, to 31st August, 1866), a contractor, W. J. Young, obtained certificates from the Commissariat which enabled him to secure over-payment on no loss thau 590,377 rations. The average amount of duty on each ration is about one farthing. Mr Young must therefore have received an over-payment from colonial funds of more than six hundred pounds. It appears that in oue case a certificate was signed twu'o by the same commissariat officer (D.A.C.G. Duun)"in favour of one contractor, 11. Simpson, In another case, tho eertiiieate for certain rations was signed twice by different commissariat officers (D.A.C.G. Graham" and A.C.G. Moore), in favor of oue contractor, J. Hall. And again, oue commissariat officer (D.A.C.G. lunes) signed certificates to two contractors, If. Simpson and \V. J. Young, for the same rations. In all the above eases tho Customs paid the drawback on each certificate. And further, another commissariat ollieer (D.A.C.G. Marshall) signed a certificate in favour of tho contractor, U. Simpson, for rations which had twice before been signed by tbo Commissariat, and tbo drawbacks on which bail twice been paid by tho Customs. It is to bo borne in mind that the Customs Department accepts tho certificates on the faith of the signatures of tho officers of tho Commissariat Department, ou whom rests tho responsibility of preventing unjust claims (vouched by themselves) for drawback of duty being mado against the Colonial Government. All ascertained over-payments on this accouut will accordingly have to be refunded by the Commissariat Department, and it also remains to be considered what steps aro to be taken to prosecute such of tho contractors or other persons as have defrauded or nttompted to defraud the Government.