LOCAL AHD GENERAL.

, Ciir Assessment Cotnvr.— -The Judge- of ' the Assessment Court (Mr Hellish) will sit to-morrow, at 11 o'clock, at the City Council j Chambers, for the purpose of heaving the ! City CouncilV6bjection to the assessment. The Shape op a Squaee.— ln the report of the City Surveyor respecting' Cathedral square, read at the meeting of the City Council last evening, that functionary gravely stated, "I can do nothing more how to the square until it is decided what shape it shall jTmiddle Pack Stud Company, —By a ftublegram from Sydney, received yesterday, \Ve learn that the Middle Park Stud Company have purchased St George, yearling colt by Yattondon, dam Lady Chester by atoekwell. The colt is own brother to Chester and Roo'dee, two of the best racehorses ev.er bred in any part of the world. The price 6f St George was 1300 guineas. * Fashionable Wedding. —A wedding which attracted more attention than the fenerality of such events, took place at St ohn's Church yesterday. The bi-ide was a daughter of the Hon W. Robinson, and the bridegroom was the eldest son of Sir Dillon Bell, and is practising as a barrister at Wellington. The officiating minister was the incumbent, the Eev H. G. M.Watson. Preparations were made with some degree of style. The Easter decorations of the church "were still up, an awning was specially erected, and a carpet was laid from the" carriage to the church. The Wedding March was played by Mr Towlo, organist of St Paul's, Mr Barnett being unable to attend. The wedding service was a choral one, and the church ■was well filled with visitors. The G-kea.l Unwashed.— This class of the community mustered in large numbers nt the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, and iv the auditorium there was an array of faces suggestive of some of the least pleasant associations of the iwo course. Ihc cases v/liich produced the unwonted as.sembla«»c ■were to coiue on- at halt pusfc one, but the Magis-tiMto 'li',l not take bis s;wit on the bench until 25 minutes past 2, and then the motley crowd were considerably disappointed. Instead of interesting revelations re little games on the race course, they had to hear lTleoal argument from Mr Joynfc on breach of contract, lifjnklited damages, contentions whether an agreement was a pood agreement, and arguments on matters of fact and matters of law. Ilowevei-, they possessed their souls in patience, and at 20 minuutos past 3 they had the gratification of hearing the longingly ! expected discloeureß

Sale of Racing Stock.— Particulars will be found in another column of the various sales of stock yesterday. Board of Education.— The first meeting of tho new Board of Education for North. Canterbury, is advertised . to take place at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, in the Board-room, Normal School. Thk Latk Fatal Accident.— An inquest will be held to-day before Dr Coward, coroner, on view of the body of-^Mattbew Kinsman, whose death from being run over by an omnibus on the Riccarton road was reported by us yesterday. Mb Clark in Wellington. — Wo hear on good authority that Mr Clark's opinion of the drainage scheme which was drawn up by Mr Climie for Wellington's that the scheme will have to be considerably modified, principally Cthe directions proposed by Mr Napier Bell. Cheviot Election.— The nomination of ididates will take place on Wednesday, May 8, at Kaikoura, and the poll on Friday, May 17. The following are the pollingplaces : — Courthouse, Kaikoura ; Court-house, Waiau ; Mr W. Robinson's woolshed, Cheviot, Hills ; Mr Moore's woolshed, Parnassus. [Mutual Improvement Association. — A inieeting of the above Association was held last evening, at which Mr E. Connal presided. Mr C. F. Exall read a paper on the " Importance of Scientific Study," at the conclusion of which he gave an explanation of the bell telephone, illustrated by experiments. A vote of thanks to Mr Exall for hispaper and address brought the proceedings to a close. "Dear Time's Waste."— The Resident Magistrate's Court was adjourned yesterday mourning till half-past one in the afternoon, but it was riot till 25 minutes past two — a delay of 55 minutes — that his Worship entered the Court and took his seat on the Bench. As a number of gentlemen whose time was valuable were kept hanging about the Court for nearly an hour a little more punctuality would have been -agreeable. Wesleyan Church, Riccarton. — A tea meeting was held in the Wesleyan Church, Riccarton, on Monday evening. The attendance was fairly good. The tables were well supplied with good, tilings by Mesdaines Boon, Carpenter, Topham, Griffiths, and Cowlett. Addresses were delivered by Mr W. Moor (chairman), Messrs Bowbyes, Rapley, Pole, Restell, Griffiths, and Rev J. Crump. The choir rendered good service, Mr T. Pole presiding at the harmonium. After. a vote of thanks to the ladies who presided, the meeting, which was an excellent one, broke up at 9 o'clock. Pbesentation. — On Monday evening there was a large gathering of school cliildren and their parents at Heatlicote Valley, in order to present Mr Alfred Newton with a very handsome and chaste silver tea and coffee service. The Chairman, Mr Perkins, in making the presentation, said the subscribers wished it to-be -understood that the present was a sign of their appreciation of tho master's efforts not only in the day school, but also in a Sunday school which had been carried on for nearly five years by him with the efficient help of his wife and several other teachers. In reply, Mr Newfcon thanked the children and their parents for the costly present they had made him, but added that he should always think more of tho kindness that suggested the gift and the way in which it had been given than of the gift itself, more especially as he could truthfully say that, with very few exceptions, he had invariably received most marked kindness from all the parents and children during tha six years he had had the pleasure cf working among them. During tho evening a most elegant silver egg-stand was shown, which had been given a few days before to Mrs Newton by the boys of her week-day Bible class. Several hymns and songs were sung by the children, in gucli a manner as to do themselves and their teacher, Mrs Newton, great credit. After the usual votes of thanks and cheers by the boys the meeting closed with the National Anthem. . Inquest.— An inquest was held yesterday, at 2 p.m., at the Hospital, before Dr Coward (Coroner), on view of the body of John Day, which was found in a drain near Mr Mitchell's Meadow farm, on the river Styx. John William Ellis deposed that about halfpast nine o'clock on Monday morning last he found the body lying in a drain on ;the Meadow farm. A swag was lying alongside the creek, about twenty yards from the water, a purse and some straps were lying about five feet from the swag. Deceased was lying in the water face downwards. Witness then went and gave information to the police. The depth of the water where deceased was lvinu 1 was 2ft. 6is. The purse and pawn ticket now produced were found near the swag. Witness thought he saw. deceased going in the direction of the spot where the body was found on Saturday night week. Deceased did not belong to the neighbourhood.-. There wasuo appearance of any struggle having taken place. John E. Allpress deposed that deceased was in his company all the afternoon on Saturday week; deceased had been drinking very heavily, and did not seem in his proper senses. Witness parted from deceased between 5 and 6 o'clock in the afternoon ; deceased went down the road to 'the Styx. Witness heard a butcher's boy call deceased " John Day," and deceased answered to that name, and he also told witness that his name was " John Day." Tile witness Ellis was re-called, and stated that he saw the last witness and deceased together at Mr Hawkins' farm on Saturdaj' week. Allpress was perfectly sober; could not say -in- what- state dsceased was. The jury returned a verdict of "Found Drowned." Cricket. — A match was played on Easter Monday between the boys of the Woodend and Waikuku district schools. The game was a very closely contested one, resulting, in a Victory for the Waikuku boys by one run. The following were the scores : — Waikuku, first , inning: 57 : - second. , ; 09 : total, 99. Woodend, first innings, 50 ;' second, 45 ; total, 95. The highest scorer for Waikuku 'was Alfred Peafc, who, in two innings, made 32. For Woodend, Arthur Bramley made 29.— j The Ashley Club played their last match of the season on their ground on Monday, against the Normal School; and achieved "a most decided victory. ; In the first innings each team made 32, Scott alone being credited with double figures. After lunch Ashley went -to the wickets, and provided their opponents with a couple of hours' exercise, and placed to their credit the respectable score of 152, comprising 42 by Good, made chiefly by fours,- 27 by Dixon, 19 by Brock, 16 by Boyle, 13 by Fendall, aud 11 by Thompson. The second innings of the N.S.C.C. only produced the total of 45, Scott's 13 being the only double figures. The home team consequently won by 107 runs. In order to complete the respective elevens, both clubs were compelled to avail themselves of the aid of gentlemen not members of the clubs, the many attractions of Easter Monday having interfered with the attendance of several players. — The return match' was played on Saturday between Wbolston and Sumner, on the ground of the former, who were defeated ia one ' innings by 81 runs. This losult was due to the good bowling of Monck, who in tlie first innings obtained 7 wickets for 6 runs, and to the batting of A. C. Watson 14, fodder 45, Yeats 44, and Day 12. The total of the Sumner innings was 175, of which 31 were extras. Tho local team could only put together 16 in their first innings and 78 in their "second, of which J. Davis claimed 19 and I'amfoi'd 22. Each of these clubs has now won one match. — Tho return match between tho Lccston and Ellcsmere clubs was played on Saturday at Southbridge, and resulted in an easy victory for the former by 7 wiokets. Ellesmere's scores were 27 and 103, Bourn 18, T. Willis 23, Capt. Willis 13, and J. Wilkinson 17, being the chief contributors. Lccston's first innings only produced -tO, but th roo wickets fell for 9(5 in tho second, Barriiijjer 19, A. Loe 18, Baldwin (not out) 12, D. Loo (uot out) 14, and extras 33 proving too much for the bowling of their opponents. —A match was played on Good Friday between teams representing .Greondale and Lincoln road. The eleven of the latter were driven up to West Melton, where the match was played, in a waggonette, and enjoyed a very pleasant holiday. The game resulted in a victory for the visitors by 39 runs, the scores being— G-reendale, 58 and 40 ; Lincoln road, 82 and 55. For the former, Dallnston 13, 'and Komp 28 and 12, were the principal contribu- [ tors. For tho latter, Page 23 and 26 and ■ Diion 22 did best. 4

United Evangelistic Committee.— The prayer meeting last evening at St. Paul's church was, as usual, largely attended. This evening proceedings will commence at St. lam 8 at 7.30, and preference in admission ! will be given to country visitors. ' The Charge op Manslaughter.— The ' adjourned mque3t on the case of the boy Steel, who died on Sunday from an injury received on the head, and whose mothei is in custody on a charge of manslaughter, will bo held to-morrow, at the Crown Hotel, at 4 p.m. Settling Day.— The following are the amounts paid over by the Canterbury Jockey i Club last evening :-Mr H. Ecdwood, £695 8s; Mr W. C. Webb, £247; Mr J W Mallock, £236 10s ; Mr R. Ray, £137 15s j Mr L. Markey, £123 10s ; Mr*D. O'Brien, £85 10a ; Mr J. Lunn, £20— total, £1545 13s. f~I?iEE Brigade Stations and Public vßuildings.— At the meeting of the City Council, held last evening, it was stated that the Mayor, who is now in Wellington, was making application to the Government to connect the fire brigade stations and the public buildings in the city by means of the electric telegraph. Benefit Entertainment. — 'A variety entertainment was given last evening at the Gaiety Theatre in aid of the young man, Q.uarterman, who lately lost both his legs at the Christchurch railway station. There was a fair attendance, and, excepting an interruption by one of the audience, the entertainGment passed off satisfactorily. Vaijiakariri Harbour Board: — The yicvAS and drawings for the dredging plant have been completed by Mr C. E. Dudley, i and from their appearance we should imagine that when the dredge, &c, is built, the Harbour Board will be in possession of a very good and efficient plant, and should not take long in having the channel of the river opened up. Tenders are to be invited for supplying dredge, barge, &0., at once. Entombed Alive.— An accident, which, it is feared, may have had a fatal termination occurred yesterday in a field near the Wheat Sheaf Hotel, Shand's track. A man was engaged sinking a well, and he had got down to a depth of 25ft. About three o'clock in the afternoon a slip occurred, and the man was buried. When our informant left the locality at six o'clock, he had not been dug but, but the rescuing party had gone down some distance and could hear the poor fellow's voice. The lower portion of the sides of the well was boarded. Fatal Accident. — A fatal accident happened on Tuesday afternoon to a little boy, the son of Mr Thomas Quill, of the Commercial Hotel, Ashburton. The poor little fellow was playing in a stable loft, and is supposed to have fallen down tlirough an opening in the floor, receiving injuries which terminated fatally shortly afterwards. An inquest was held yesterday, when the medical evidence showed that death was caused by compression of the brain, injury to spine, and shock to the nervous system. A verdict of " Accidental death" was returned. Accident in Port. — Yesterday afternoon about 5 o'clock, an accident happened to a man named Paul Guarange in Lyttelton. He was at work in the N.Z L. & M.A. Company's shed when a 6tack of wheat gave way and some 70 or 80 bags fell on him. Two other men were with him at the time, but they managed to escape the falling sacks. As soon as the accident happened many willing hands were at work to get the unfortunate man out, and medical aid was at once summoned. Dr Donald was soon on the spot and ordered the sufferer to be conveyed to the casual ward. We understand he has sustained severe injury to his ribs, besides being hurt internally. It is a matter of great .wonder that he was not killed on the spot. The Dog Show. — In connection with the Dog Show of yesterday, a report of which appears in another column, an incident occurred which for a few minutes naturally created considerable anxiety. During the judging, a smell of something burning became apparent, and its source was hunted for without success. As it grew more pronounced, the search was renewed with increased vigour, and then faint wreaths of smoke were to be seen, proceeding apparently from one of the hay lofts. Mr Matson, however, who had gone into the offices, returned at this moment and allayed any alarm that might have existed by the announcement that the smell and traces of smoke arose from the burning of a little rubbish in one of the grates. Kaiapoi Borough Council Chamber. — The plans for the new room and clerks' offices are now prepared, and tenders are invited for the work. The building consists of a Council chamber in the centre, 26ft x 16 ft, lighted by three mullioned windows under a verandah ; a town clerk's office, 12ft x 12ft, with ante-room, Bft x 12ft, from which access is also gained to the Council chamber. At the opposite end of the building similar offices are provided for the Eyreton Jioad Board. The Council chamber will be plastered throughout, and have a dado three feet high of polished kauri. The other rooms will be also plastered. All the inside woodwork will be of polished kauri. The building will be placed on the Ferry Reserve, fronting upon the North road, aud will be a decided improvement to that part of the town. The plans and drawings were designed by the Town Clerk, Mr C. E. Dudley, on whom they reflect great credit. The Standard or the Prophet. — Many people have wondered that in their despair the Turks did not uuf url the Standard of the Prophet. Their forbearance was a necessity. According to the Gazette de;l\ Allemagnc dv Nonl, it is no longer in the, possession of the Porte.; An Italian traveller is declared to have stolen it unobserved by the keepers of the Mosque, and the. relic is now in the Turin;. Museum. This explanation, however, is as~ pur American Cousins : say, a little "too thin." ..: , : .....:.., '„;> .:: : ..,. : . ... , \. ; Pheasants— The /farmers friends, -the • pheasants, appear to have developed a new taste. : We are creditably informed, by more than one suffering agriculturist, that recently they have been repeatedly seen to scratch up, pick to pieces, and eafc,bofch potatoes and man- - golds soon after planting. Jt was suggested that it might have been the grubs in the roots, but on the other hand rit was distinctly avorred that it was the plant itself which was made grub of. — If. Z. Herald. The Wanganui Suicide. — The case of Mr Hart has excited much attention in Wanganui. It appears that ho was in an unsound state of mind at the time that he inflicted the wounds upon himself with a skewer. He soon afterwards sank and died. At the inquest the medical evidence was to i the effect that there was a punctured wound . of the left lung, and a wound transfixing the heart, and one piercing the liver ; there were clots of blood and fluid in the cavity of the chest ; the caiise of death was the wound of the heart ;' there might have been other damage, but these wounds were sufficient to cause death. The jury returned a verdict that Mv Hart's death was caused by wounds Golf •inflicted while he was in au unsound state of mind. < Thij Oamaru Railway Workmen's Strike. — The Oaniaru Mail says that Mr Back, who is now- in Oamaru, seeing to the rectification of several matters urgently requiring) his attention, ha 3 succeeded in healing :l tlio sore under which the railway employes were smarth.g. It appears that the strike was brought about tlirough a misunderstanding, it being the very natural idea of the men that if they worked more overtime during the week than would make an ordinary week's work, they were entitled to additional remuneration, and somehow thought that it was the intention of {.ho railway authorities to award it to them. For the present, in consequenco of representations made by Mr Back, Acting General Manager, the men have resumed work with a right good will, and we trust that such reasonable arrangements will bo made in the future with regard to the treatment of these men that there will not bo a recurrence of such a difficulty, whiah was all the greater because it occurred at a busy time. ' „"'.