LOCAL AND GENERAL.

f DrvoßOE anb Matbimonial Causes. — A Court for the hearing of divorce and matrimonial causes will be holden at Wellington, on November 16. Covet of Appeal. — By proclamation in the New Zealand Gazette, of September 18, his Excellency the Governor fixes November 9 as the date upon which the Ceurt of Appeal shall meet at Wellington. ■ Natubalisation.— His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to issue letters of naturalisation, under the Aliens Act, 1866, to ■ Daniel Pasche, gardener, Christchurch ; Joseph Vangioni, labourer, Akaroa; and Wilhelm Rose, farmer, Ashburton. I Boabd of Education.— The weekly meet- | ing of the Board which was to have been held | yesterday, lapsed for want of a quorum. A i special meeting will be held on Wednesday, | at 3 p.m., in order to clear up all business, [ previous to the members of ; the Board starting I for Timaru. t Local Industby. — Mr T. R. Proctor, I jeweller, of this city, has just completed two handsome P.M, jewels, one to the order of the Loyal Pacific Lodge 1229, E.G., Hokitika, for presentation to Bro. J. R. Hudson, the retiring Master of the Lodge, and another to the order of the Tongariro Lodge ; 705, E.C., Wanganui, for presentation to Bro. J. Pawj son, Past Master of that Lodge. The jewels | are of appropriate design, and of excellent workmanship. They are of eighteen carat gold, solid. An Unpleasant Dilemma.— Mr John Henry, of Dunsandel, had a narrow escape on I Thursday last, when crossing the Selwyn with a waggon and two horses, en route for the Hawkins. The river was high and the. waggon going into a hole the horses were unable to '• pull it out, and after being in the river for a long time, Mr Henry was compelled to release ' the horses by unfastening their hame straps. He then rode ashore, leaving the vehicle in the river. The waggon was subsequently extricated by Mr Thomas Boswell, a resident in the neighbourhood, who, taking in a dray and three horses, succeded with some difficulty in attaching the waggon pole to the dray, I haul d it safely on shore, Lyttelton Fibe Bbigade. — A meeting of the Lyttelton Fire Brigade committee was held in the Council Chambers on Saturday evening. Mr Packard reported that he had ' received £3 2s as subscriptions. A discussion j ensued as to the date of the concert to be given in aid of the funds, and It was decided that it take place on Oct. 15. The secretary i was instructed to write to Mr Harris, Superintendent of the Christohurch Fire Brigade. Messrs Packard and Chalmers were appointed' a sub-committee to arrange a programme, and to solicit the services of the ladies and gentlemen in the town. From the interest taken by the towns-people in the brigade, there is no doubt but that the affair will be a success many of the best amateurs in the town having given their services. Ihe Nobthebn RiVEBS.— The heavy rains of the past two days raised most of the northern rivers to an unusual height last even- [ ing. The Ashley was almost impassable yes- | terday afternoon and was still rising. The Oust was also rising, and the water from the Rangiora main drain was making towards the railway line, between FJaxton and the Waimakariri bridge. It was not very high when the last train passed down from Rangiora, but it was feared that it would interfere with the permanent way before morning. The south branch of the Waimakariri was higher than it has been for the past two months, and the water was being backed up the north branch | when the last train left." Persons resi ing ! near the river were making preparations for a flood, but tho?» acquainted with the river do not anticipate that much damage will be done through inundation. The Government received a telegram from the Bealey yesterday afternoon to the effect that the river was rising fast, and thar, most likely, there would be a flood at Kaiapoi, and a copy of the telegram was sent to Kaiapoi by the Secretary for Public Works for public information. At the time the last train left Kaiapoi l tho water had risen over Revell's wharf. Theatbe Royal.— The entertainment last night commenced with a very amusing comedietta, bearing the title " Advice Gratis." Tho characters were sustained by Miss Vivian, Miss Willis, Messrs Musgrave, Clinton, Hooper, and Lawrence, with success. The cast was a judicious one, added to which all the performers were thoroughly conversant with their parts, and acted with spirit throughout. Mr Turner contributed several songs, the best of which was "Margaretta." He gave this in falsetto, with much taste and careful attention to the music. Miss Lizzie Shapter and Mr E. M'Lean contributed a, broadsword combat in the respective character* of a smuggler and an English tar. The performance seemed to please a large section of the audience. Miss Lizzie Shapter subsequently gave a so-called Scotcli dance, and the comic duut, " The Bold Gens D'Artnes," was sung by Messrs Turner and M'Lean. Mdlle. Zuila, Messrs Loyal and Verletti appeared on the flying rings, introducing several new feats, all of which were done with finished dexterity. Mdlle Zuilaand Mr Loyal also gave a performance on the double trapeze, and it may safely be pronounced one of their best efforts. It was of a more varied and difficult nature than any of a similar kind previously given in Christchursh, yefc every portion of it was executed with apparent ease and tho skill of true artistes. The same programme will be repeated thia evening.

Chief Templabism. — Mr Joseph Malms, Grand Worthy Chief Templar, took the chair on July 8, at the opening session of the Grand Lodge of Good Templars, Bradford. The business transacted was chiefly of a formal character, a large number of degrees were conferred, and a report on the state of the Order presented. There are 210,000 members and 3743 lodges. Sack-making- from New Zealand Flax. — A Northern contemporary states that the manufacture of bags from Nevr Zealand hemp has now been commenced at the works of Messrs Fraser aud Tin no, at the Northern Wairoa. The material is found to be admirably adapted for the purpose, and those who are now working it up into the humble form of bags are disposed to think that it will be well suited for other textile fabrics of a rough kind. A Good Idea. — We understand (says the Southern Cross) that the Provincial Government intends to have views photographed of all the principal seaport towns and centres of population in the province, which, together with the statements having reference to the capabilities of the country for settlement, which are published and disseminated throughout the old country, will, it is expected, induce intending emigrants to the colonies to choose Auckland as their future home. The Tichbobne Case. — In the Courb of Probate, on July 8, the case of Tichborne v. Tichborne, in which the person known as the Claimant, had made a declaration, that the late Dowager' Lady Tichborne having died intestate, he, as her next of kin, was entitled to her property came on for hearing, and as no one appeared in it, the Court ordered the cause to be struck out. A Windfall to a Poob Man. — " A nugget of gold weighing llozs 4dwt, was picked up in Macarthur-street the other morning," the JBallarat Star reports, " the fortunate finder being, as is usually the case, a poor working-man. The discovery was rather singular, as it appeared that he was wearing a pair of almost solelesa boots, and while walking along the street he felt a hard substance pressing against the bottom of his foot. Looking down to ascertain if the cause was a sharp pointed Btone, he saw the point of the nugget sticking out of the ground and soon unearthed .A Neighboubly Act. — The Marlboroxigh of Sept 12 states : — Ouo of thoae neighbourly acts of kindness towards a new comer to a district, which have made New England famous, took place in this vicinity the other day, and deserves to be pliced on record, if for no other reason than it is worthy of imitation, and an example to be followed in all sparsely-populated countries more especially. It appears that aMr Allan has taken Mr M'Lachlan's farm on the Renwiok old road, and his neighbours turned out en masse and gave him a day's ploughing. The New Zealand Wab Medal — The New Zealand Times says :—A presentation of New Zealand war medals to some Natives is thus referred to by a correspondent of an East Coast paper — Ihaka Whanga, Paora Apatu, Toha, and Paora, Rerepu, of Mohaka, have been decorated with the New Zealand war medal; accepted and deserved by the first as his right ; received and acknowledged by the second as Native Assessor of weight and influence; chaffily (if such a word is admissable) by the third ; and made asubject of momentous import by the fourth, who, you will remember, haß made himself conspicuous lately by various eccentricities. Toha — who, by the way, is a bit of a wag— has said that he does not remember any valorous action of his own whereby he should be thus distinguished, and attributes Paora's elevation to the rank of medallist to his exploits in chopping telegraph poles and burning a part of his own pa. A Cubious Question. — The Wellington Evening Post says : — A very important question, affecting medical practitioners and Boards of Health, is now under the consideration of the Colonial Government. Consequent upon a number of deaths having occurred in Invercargillfrom dipthoria, the Town Council caused letters to be sent to members of the medical profession, asking them to comply with the 17th section of the Public Health Act, by informing the Council of any cases of diptheria or other contagious disease. One medical practitioner — Dr M'Clure — declined to comply with the request, on the ground that when admitted a member of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, he was, as a condition precedent to such admission, called upon to make, inter alia, and did make, a declaration that he would hold secret all matters with which he became professionally acquainted, which he contended forbids the poesibility of his obeying in any wise the specific directions of the 17th section. The Corporation Solicitor expressed the opinion that Dr M'Clure was bound to comply with the requirements of the section, but subsequently the latter intimated that he considered himself bound by the declaration he made prior to becoming a member of the Royal College of Surgeons. In consequence, the correspondence which passed between the parties was forwarded to His Honor the Superintendent, as chairman of tho Central Board of Health for Otago. It was considered at a meeting of the Board, and referred to the Colonial Secretary. The Boabding-Out System. — We have now before us the first annual report of the Victorian Asylum for Orphan Children. Nothing can be more satisfactory to those who feel an interest in such institutions. In nine months of last year homes were found for 650 children, who are now incorporated in family life, and who are visited regularly by friends in the shape of the conscientious women by whom this task has been undertaken. Of this number the ladies report that 650 are "clean." that 650 are well clothed, that 647 are healthy, that 641 are well-behaved, that only 7, who are sick, are absent from regular attendance at day schools. These children are growing up now amid the ordinary conditions of life. They are under the nearest approach obtainable to paternal care, and in the institutions they were as far removed from this as possible. They will now receive insensibly that training of the affeclions which comes from a mutual intercourse of young and. old. In the barrack school affection ia crunhed out by machinery, and charity children are proverbially characterised by a total absence of gratitude and love. The one system directly encourages the growth of human relations, and the other obliterates them. Children want affection ; they want personal care ; they want household duties ; they want everything that can train them to honour the bodies and keep pure the souls that God has given them ; these influences are to be found in a home, and unless modern society is a sham, they are to be found in a home only. We would that we could, by any fair persuasion, induce those having the control of our Orphan Homes and school for neglected and destitute children to consider and ponder upon what is being done elsewhere with such a large measure of success.