Untitled

Bruce Herald, Volume VIII, Issue 790, 31 March 1876, Page 5

The town of Timaru Avas lit Avith gas for the first time on the night of the 28th inst. , The 'Timaru Herald ' states that the Govern- ■ ment are preparing estimates for the Timaru • breakAvater. The ' Times ' has been inforvied that the Wellington Provincial Executive have recommended reserves of 30,000 acres for education purposes. Mr Henry M'Ccllocfi lias been appoiuted 1 Revising Oflijer for the electoral districts of In--1 vercargill, Riverton, Mataura, and Wallace, vice Mr John Turnbull, resigued. 2200 acres of land in tho Chalton Hundred, '. and 2200 acres in the Otakarama aud Landslip > Hill Hundreds lia\ 7 e been set apart for occupation on deferred payments. Mb Deans, the Acclimatisation Society's manager, visited Aliltou on Tuesday. He brought with him eighteen hedge sparrows and an equal ) number of green linnets, which were liberated [ between Milton and Akatore. It is to be hoped j thut these usel'el insectivorous birds AA'ill increase > and multiply. ) The Free Church of Scotland continues to ' maintain regular services in Home. Dr Hugh j M'Millan, of Glasgow, is at present officiating there, and tho leading ministers of the Free ' Church are in turn deputed to conduct operations ) for three months each iv the city of the Vatican. ) We clip the following paragraph from Tuesday's ' Southland News' : — "Painful runois have been . current in town for the last day o<- two concerning the disappearance of a well-known tradesman. He Avas last seen early on the morning of Saturday week, when he appeared to be in good spirits, but since then nothiug has been heard of him by his friends." 1 The ' Times ' states that Mr Deans, of the ' Acclimatisation Society, and Mr Bills will proceed " to Kaitangata about the end of the week. They take a few hundred trout with them for the district, and while there they will make an attempt to catjh some of the Californian quail, which have become very numerous about Inch Clutha. These birds are Avanted for distribution by the Society in other parts of the Province, Messrs G-. Coombe's and D. Carson's racehorses have returned to Milton. Right Bower appears to be in splendid condition. Mr Swanson's Sir William, Mr Parson's Mystery and Clyde, and Mr M'Gregor's No Q-entleman are all at George Reed's stables, and in training for the Tokomairiro races. Mr Reed's Stormbird filly is also doing Avork, and will run at the meeting. Mr H. Yeend's King Philip will probably be brought up to-day. Stablings are very numerous in this district, and several large flocks of these birds have lately been observed in the viciuit.y of the Gorge. Hares are frequently seen all over the plain ; aJjid fjfPse persons who take out licenses for 1 pheasant ghoqjtiwg will have some splendid sport when Jthe season .opens. A Timber of black -wans were saen ikying oypr tUo township the other clay. They were going in ihe direction cf Waihola, and lia„ probably come from 'Lake Tuakitoto. Mr W. A- Mpbbay, M.H.R., passed through Wellington going northwards some days ago (says the ' Ncav Zealand Mail';. He ff/rnjshed poetical news to a few friends. He told them that the Abolition Bill vrould assuredly be repealed next session and the Ministry defeated. He shook his head mysteriously and hushfully when asked who the new Colonial Treasure^ would be. "On their own merits modest men are dumb," or something like it. The quotation is from memory. Xt will be observed, by referring to our report of the Balcl^r-!;-} Town Council meeting, that the newly elected member Councillor Dunne, has at once "gone into tlje .coiiar/' Xc, at' the regular meeting held on Tuesday njghjt, among other things uro_d upon his colleagues the necessity of doing something to the bluffs upon Hasbro' road. Messrs Alfred Jones, J.P., Frederick Wayne, J. P., and Thomas Murray have been gazetted members of the Licensing Court for the following places : — Waihola, Glenledl, towi). of Milton, Crichton, Tokomairiro, Mount Stuavt. ar.d Balmoral. Messrs J. P. Pillans, J. P.. R. Grigor, and J. G. Smith have been appointed members of the Licensing Courts for JCaitaijgal-a, Matau, town of Balclutha, South Molyneux, Clinton, Clutha, Popotunoa, Clydevale, and Catlins. Tuk Free Church of Scotland has despatohed an expedition to Central Africa, with a view to the formation of a mission in the regions discovered and made known to us by the late Dr Livingstone. The "Livingstone Minion Uxpecli* tion," which has been thoroughly aud efficiently organised and equipped, had reached the mouth of the Zambesi when last (advices Avere received, and there a small steamer (the Jlafa), taken : - with their party in a schooner from Algoa Bay, had been fitted up, launched, and found to .answer the navigation of the Zambesi admirably. 'j JBy frhf.o M;ne, doubtless, the I'ala will have ' become & fa'mil^r .object on Lake Nyassa, and the ? future success of thj'J inissi^n yjil ; we are sure, be looked forward to with great interest by phs en : tire Christian AA'orld. It was peculiarly meet that Scotland should tak« the lead in opening up : j psntral Africa to mission enterprise, in eonimemo- , ( ration of ' tiie deeds of the most wonderful discoverer and ,*uost gifted missionary of ;_odern ' times, who y&B co proud of the laud Ayliich. gave kw^k ■••'■■•••■■•■.■■.■ -

i- Two young men travelled from Christchurch to Hokitika, lately, on bicycles. d Wi regret to learn that Mr and Mrs Bates will be unable to appear here on the race nights, they having found it necessary to proceed to Auckn land. )f We wish to draw attention to the fact that this .. is the last day upon which qualified persona h desiring to have their names placed on the electoral roll can lodge their claims. IT is reported that scarlet fever is spreading at r GrahamstoAvn. There has been one fatal cose of r , ? vl ™ le -t type, and fresh cases have been reported Qin widely separated localities in the district. j - w MA *r Mhldiutm, a married woman living at | West Taien, fell down while walking, on Monday i. Jast, and fractured her right leg. She wa3 cons veyed to the Dunediu Hospital. r The following telegram from Dunedin appears 3 in a Southland contemporary :— " The Criterion d _F°S c i - haß chan g ed hands, Mr Thompson, of the Red Lion Brewery, being the purchaser at a price Q withheld." c Mr Dattd Phoudfoot, of Dunediu, was the t successful tenderer for the Blueskin section of Q the Dunedin and Moeraki Railway. The amount is £45,000, and the contract timo is twenty r months. 11 At Napier a movement is on foot to request c the Government to frame regulations to provide - that Civil servants shall not be allowed to compete Avith architects, civil engineers, or any similar profession. At Eeefton, the Rev. Edward Samuel Cross, r Church of England minister, refused to read ,1 the burial service over the remains of Mr H. G. 3 Hughes, chemist, member of the Pacific Lodge of Freemasons. Great indignation is expressed. A collision occurred on the Northern raibvay on Tuesday afternoon, when the Christchurch 2 and Amberly trains ran into each other at i Rangiroa. The passengers were severely shaken, and some slightly injured, but nothing serious is ' known as yet. Cai>t. J. Campbell, of the State Forest Department, Madras, is coming to New Zealand in connection with tho organisation of the State Forest Deparment here. He is expected to 3 arrive by the incoming March mail steamer. Tire educational returns show that 8545 males . and 7597 females are attending the Government l schools in the Province of Canterbury, the average daily attendance being, of males, 4,054, and of females, 3,360. Tho number of children nttend- . ing the .Christchurch schools is 4,219, and the . total number of teachers employed in the 1 Province, 316. A successful attempt to cultivate the plant I from which American brooms are manufactured t has been made at Tuapeka by Mr Pressly at his nursery this season. The plants grow strong ; and healthy, and with judicious management we have no doubt might be successfully grown in large quaaties for the manufacture of the trade ' article. ) i Messrs Smyth, Wain and Co. have commenced platelaying on the Tuapeka branch line between Clavksrille and Glenoro. Work has been carried • on vigorously at the Manuka Creek tunnel siuce ; the hill was pierced, and the men are now onI gaged taking out the bottom lift. The permanent I way on this section of the line wid be finished by the end of May. ! Tiik Tokomairiro Jockey Club race meeting will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday next. , and there is every prospect of a most successful i gathering. Ihe entries' for the handicaps are ■ numerous, and the horses that will compete are . of good quality, while with tho advantages offered [ by railway communication we may expect a much , larger number of visitors from a distance than we have had upon any previous occasion. General ' entries must be made on Monday night before nine o'clock. The gates, stand, booths, and other privileges . connection with the Tokomairiro races were sold by auction last night by Capstick, Duthie & Co. '. The total amount realised was £138 10s, being £17 more than last year. The following are the prices and names of the purchasers: — No. 1 > booth, Mr A. D. Duncan, £39 ; No. 2 booth, Mr F. Julius, £20 ; No. 3, Temperance booth, Mr Lorimer, £8 10s; No. 4, fruit stall, Mrs J. Howard, £5 ; No. 5, fruit stall, Mrs J. Howard, £2 10s ; stabling, Mr G. lteed, £o • gates, Mr J. Howard, £50 ss ; cards, Mr G. Reed, £3 os ; grand stand, Mr Daniels, £7. In another column will be found a report of the enquiry into the origin of the fire that occurred on Friday night last. There was no evidence to show how the fire Avas caused, and the jury returned an open verdict. Mr M'Laren estimates his loss at £1050, the insurances on his property being, £100 in the Victoria Company, £300 in the Norwich Union, and £300 in the National. We understand that the local agents for some of the insurance companies have recommended that one or two persons who did such good service at the critical time, when the fire appeared likely to spread to the adjoining buildings, should be rewarded, We hope the suggestion will be adoptod, or, if the companies followed that course, it will j be a great inceutive to individual exertion at ; future fires. i A PROVIDENTIAL and exceedingly narrow es- ! cape from a fatal accident occurred at Messrs ' Reid and Douglas' steam saw mills, Waihola, on Monday afternoon last. The logs are hauled up ' from life fifke ejde by a pulley, which is attached ( to the engine by 'a conneorhjg i\Qd, and thug | worked by steam power. While" a log was being hauled up to the mill, ono of the hands, named i Dugald Campbell, had hold of the " taut " portion [ of the line, the slack portion became entangled, i and iv Ids endeavors <Q unloose it hiq leg became : entangled in the rope, and his body was "j speedily thrown to the ground, aud wheeled . round until he reached the pulley, over which he Was thrown, where there seemed nq chance of escapp from sudden cp 3 4' hoc him. M L ' Reid, sac- c ing danger, rushed for an axe to cut the ( Vfipe, nfc the same time feeling that escape t was, impossible. At \.h\a moment, however, 3 the belt became detached from the pulley, and r Campbell avq.3 speedily est vacated from his a perilous position, with a severely bruised face and ( leg, but no bones broken. s W J f? ( a^ tLto { livening News') is. it that so many men having a certain (or uncertain) c amount of capital to invest appear to think that they have got a sort of heaven-bom instinct for t keeping hotels. The existence of such, ideas is c very annoying to the travelling public, it spoils l their uOHil'orf, it ruins (heir digestion, and empties t their purses. To balance all which evils it i certainly makes any man long to return to his t own " ingle neuk ; " but alas ! some of us have no , snfili desirable harbors of re.fiige, and are forced s into those dreary wildernesses, yclept holds. The new landlord ia a character par excellence. lie is all smiles and bows, he is prepared to do anything, possible or impossible ; he is so ? complaisant that we cannot help accepting his ; excuses for the shortrconiings p.f his house on * account of its newness, and we resolve firmly. c that an our ne^t, and each successive visit to * the place, we will patronise our frienc]. We t carry out our resolution, i$ we partly carry a ft out. We alight at the Avell known dopr, cold, c Wet, aud hungry, but cheerful; and catching a f glimpse of our irjpnd in a darkened room, ask him to join us in a glass of hot grog, A a muttered command to go to — Hades it sounded j like — is 'all the response ; and then on looking s rouud we see the difference — paper hanging from t p)ie walls, floors dirty, grates fireless, squalid t pniidreu getping \mtie# o^v }o_3, a gppefa} air of slovenliness characterise 'the place Ayhieh • was almost unpleasantly clean and n'eAV on our } former visit. The man becomes a druukard, and i his business, of course, gone to the dogs. Yet •* he says still that his instinct tell? hiui that a kndiovdhjin is hig forte, ' \-

During tho last month the receipts on tho Canterbury Railways amounted to £18,090, as compared with £1_,771 in February 1875. The c Poverty Bay Herald,' alluding to a certain resident in this Province whose name has been mentioned in connection with a few breach of promise cases, suggests that it Avould save an j infinity of time, trouble, and expense if he con- i vened a meeting of all the young ladies he ha? promised to marry, and arranged matters with each of them without going into Court. By the fire which took placo at Wellington on Sunday, many of the lodgers at the Empire lost all but what they stood iv. Several of them, who were commercial travellera, lost a great quantity of jcAvellery. Turnbull Avas insured for about £3500 in various offices, but the budding and stock are valued at £7500. The stock was valuable, having been recently largely increased by tAvo shipments by Ned White and Annie LeAvis. Some thousands of pounds worth of chairs alone were burnt. The stock and gooda in the Empire Hotel were insured for £2500, namely, Standard, £250; New Zealand, £250; National, £1000; Royal, £500; Batavian, £1000. Turnbull was insured for £1000 in the Transatlantic. Mr Hoskins and Miss Colville were amongst the lodgers. Mr David Kennedy, jun., writing of his late visit to New Zealand, says : — " There arc a great many retired military here — colonels, majors, and captains created during the Moari war — and in connection witii this a good story is told, which also illustrates the peculiar composition of Napier society. A colonel, going to a ball, lured a cab, and as luck would lmve it, the cabman, a retire! captain, had also been invited tc the dance. The colonel arrived, and shortly afterwards the cabman returned in full evening costume, and joined the mazy throng. About midnight, the colonel Avas observed leaning moodily in a corner, and a friend remarked : — ' Hullo ! what's up ? what's the matter?' 'Matter!' echoed the colonel, ' Avhy, I wanted to be home home by eleven, and there's my confounded cabman engaged for three more dances !' "