Christchurch.

Bruce Herald, Volume IX, Issue 984, 3 April 1877, Page 6

Christchurch.

« (From our own correspondent.) March 29. We have bad quite a quiet week, the elements not even having been disturbed by the excitement of a muff match, though there are several on the tapis fpr Good Friday and Easter Monday. It is true that at the beginning of the week there was a regatta on the Heathcote, some four miles from town, but it cau't be said to have roused any very great enthusiasm. Most of the events were pulled off by the Christchurch boats. Even the all important matter of drainage is in abeyance for the present, and will remain so in all probability for several weeks to come, as lithographs are now being prepared for distribution among the citizens, and the Board has given a promise that no portion of the main scheme shall be commenced before May, so that so far public opinion has been too strong for them. The City Council has also come in for a considerable share of the people's indignation. At a very large meeting held about a fortnight ago, the citizens very emphatically pronounced against £30,000 being borrowed for the purchase of a certain block of land. At the meeting of the Council on Monday, Councillor Turner moved — " That in deference to the strongly expressed wish of the citizens, they should not be put to the trouble and expense of having to go tn the poll, but that the Couucil should remain satisfied with the expression of opinion as shown at the meeting." This, however, was opposed by five of the councillors, and the motion was lost by one. So a plebescite has now to be taken. It comes off on Saturday, and there can be no doubt the defeat of the City Council will be very severe. There has been quite a rumpus lately betweeu the Acclimatisation Society here, and the General Government. The Society were of opinion that triis year the opening of the shooting season should be delayed to give an opportunity for the ducks getting stronger on the wing, and better able to get out of the way of the sportsmen. These latter gentlemen, however, did not see it in that light ; and in answer to the suggestions forwarded to the Government by the Society, they forwarded some counter euggestions. and the end of it was that the Go rernment refused to delay the opening of the season, which will accordingly commence on the first proximo. The Society feel that by so acting the Government have outraged one of the finest feelings of our nature ; and at a late special meeting they gave vent to their indignation by a solemn protest that is crushing enough in its severity to hurl the Ministry from their high estate. But I don't suppose it will though ; and more than this — I almost dread to write it, but the fcruth must be told — three of the members of the Council and the Society have absDlutely sent in their resignations. And you may well ask, Where will it all end ? But let us not anticipate the past, as Mrs Par tington would say. The small-pox seem* to have given the Fort Chalmers and Dunedin people a decided scare, and to have stirred up the citizens pretty^ considerably. It has also afforded quite a lively topic for the papers here, all of which have agreed that the Government is very greatly to bUine, in tbe

matter. There have been a good many ] attempts to successfully deal with this matter j r JFhe solution of it appears to me to. be very simple. Re-provision the ship and send, her back to her port of departure. 'No j doubt you will say this is cruel — a bruta! suggestion. Well, it may be ; but it would be still more cruel and brutal to have tbif fearful disease stalking throughout the length and breadth of the land. We all know that Asiatic cholera is a fearful thing; let m remember that Asiatic small-pox may be quite as bad. If this latter disease once got a good hold in New Zealand it would be very difficult to stop its spreading throughout the entire Colony. The Supreme Court commences Dext Monday, and the calendar is heavier than has been known for years. There are, however, no capital offences. A rather singular accident took place the other day. A woman living on the outskirts -of the town bad occasion to go into a neighbour's house for a few minutes. On her return she missed one of her children, a little boy, aged two years, and on making a search he was found lying with his face in a shallow tub that had about six inches of water in it. The little fellow had evidently been trying to pick a piece of china from the bottom of the tub when he fell in face forward, and with a fatal result, for although, according to his little sister, be could not have been in the water more than a very few minutes, every effort used to resuscitate him proved useless. There was yesterday a special meeting of the Supreme <'ourt, under the Lunatics' Act, to try the sanity or otherwise of an unfortunate gentleman, named William Arthur Gray, who is at present an inmate of the Sunnyside Lunatic Asylum. The trial was held on the petition of his two brothers, anrl the result proved that he is of unsound mind and quite incapable of looking after his own affairs. At the same time the jury expressed a very strong opinion that he ought to be kept in a public asylum, and recommended his removal from the scene of his delusions — the principal one of which is, that he is haunted night and day by a man named Pawson, who communicates with him by means of magnetism The brothers will now probably send him to England. Our roofless and almost wall-less Cathedral is to be put to some use on Good Friday (to-morrow), when the Rev. Mr Macartney, who has lately been preaching mission services here, will deliver an address within the walls of the building in question. I sincerely trust the rev. gentleman has good lungs, if not, he will most certainly not be heard by one quarter of the people present. The Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry are a magnificent body of men (in their own opinion j, and meet once a year for the purpose of training. They are this year called out for " six days' training," to commence on Good Fnday. The whole contingent will number about 40, with 12 of a band, and this glorious pageant will set out at one o'clock on their " march" to Southbridge. By hard riding night and day they are expected to reach that place — distant from Christchurch 34 miles — on Saturday afternoon or eveniug, and it is sincerely to be hoped that during their long and exhausting ride the country will not suffer much from the excursions of their foraging parties. The brilliant raids of General Longstreet at the head of his rebellious squadrons Avas nothing compared to this turn out. On Sunday the Christcburch men will meet a full contingent of the Soutbbridge men, and the whole will then have a " church parade " ; and on the Monday they will commence to drill, and keep it up for four or five days. And that during that time they may mobilise themselves iuto 20 corps d'armces, and instil themselves with sufficient skill and bravery to defeat the Russian battalions should they ever land upon our shores, is the earnest prayer of Yours militarily, Raleigh.