The Press. SATURDAY,JANUARY 11,1868.

Press, Volume XII, Issue 1615, 11 January 1868, Page 2

The Press. SATURDAY,JANUARY 11,1868.

We observe Council at their leaving the question of fencing in Latimer square to the consideration of the next Cofiicil. r - Their '' tnofiveT -Ui- so wm very seasonable. ; Thejiare within a few days of the, expiration of their term of office, anid may not unnata'rally be averse id committing their successors to, any expenditure beyond what is absolutely required. Still we hope the question 'wift not be allowed to <\rnr,.- : Vt preseWt b'bth /7 Crannier auil 'L iviajcr aquare are Dothing better than ; open pieces of ground, the one remarkable for the extent' to which it is overgrown with weeds, the other for being curiously intersected with footpaths at every possible diagonal. The geometrical maxim thai a straight line is the shortesf; distance ' points is evidently understood: and acted upoA by whoever is In the habit of crossing Latimer square.' Neither of them is turned to any ueeful purpose whatever —for buildiDg -in 'Christchurch hafe ut such a 'pitch of density as to $en.der it desirable to keep some few spots here and there unoccupied, merely; to serve, as ij; were, for breathing; places.: Some day they will be of uSlity even in that view; but in the meantime, l it is a pity that they should' not be utilised somehow ; and the readilsVway of utilising them is to turn them into places o|f recreation—a jp'rfc of public play l ground. r We have seen rone Or twb cricket matches' in*" Latimer square, though it must 1)6 confeßsed that the space was limited, ,J and -would appear ludicrously"" email dfter 4he 'splendid ground the Canifierbury Club have tp show ; nor indeed, should Wβ wish to encourage a habit ~i6f\ 'pottering.:about on a 'ritnall ground, when a ground where cricket., can played as it s.bo.ujld be is available to every one; -b-ut-there ia room enough-iiL-Craiimer or Latiraer sqlrare^fop 1 J juvenile playerp —say, the Union.^or'j.Qhalienge Clubs, and J;liey are well, adapted f-r their use. For football, again, no better place could , be found; nor, ittihe neighbours wduld not tremble t66 ! much fdr their windows, fort iioekey, or any #her gamer of A strip might also be get,: aside for ; quoits—4a fa-YOurite, mi health^gamO;;-and a course might be laid out for foot races. ; A gymnaeiuai woul%j nog doubt, eoqn he in $ variety of ways facilities would <h&\ provided for the 1 practice* L of J ? ou% r -6&ribor "spoirts and athleticexereises. ; ;j .:; Of course we donot expect the City Council to do all this. Their : work wo'u^ d becpnt(ne4 to \ pishing up and levelling , the squares, fencirig theba in and sowing them, ,<jown in ; gra9s ; they Would, 1 then 'M !l them-ori short terms dio proper, p.ubUc Oabs, who would B^y}f'.;'.'^^^ev- i wanted uforiihems!eilve.S:! .vTfaef ma in ,%ing;iß,. to encourage ;the practice pf matilrfiporte by providing sbnie fit and convenient places where they can be 'carriedon; At^KfeehtC/hristchurch has nothing ofthe kind. A game of Cfickiet or football raa| be in Latimer square, bat only oas sufferances; by the "public .no^ : to spoil sport by crossing-in the middle of the A ; A still .drawback is Li tHe groutfd ■ is i!; cut' to pieces jLby: tb-Pii,.footpaths that run across it in all directions. These impediments the City Council have 't6«P "power t£ remove,>and ~&> little money would be well spent in doing so. It would be good for the health of the town; Wtf Afiay" add,' for its moralUy. Dr. Watts was perfectly right;.: if a man,has nothing to do he is sure, .some ..way .car. other, to' get into mischief. Most of the men one sees on a holiday "or a Saturday loafing i«bout in bars, are there, not because they like getting drunk, but because they don't know what else to do 4 wi£h tTieihselves. They have no other amusement,no other way of passing the time. You may preach id- them- for 1 ever of the evils of .drunkenness without the .slightest avail, unless you can offer them some other and better recreation, something in which ' they will take an interest. Then they will; desert the bar fast enough. Cricketers, for instance, are never drunkards. In

this way rational manly amusements act as the most effective rivals to the public-house, and the greatest inducements to temperance. We hope, the new City Council will bear this fact iij mind, and \ffill not begrudge a little money for the purpose of adding to the present deplorably scanty means of public recreation. Acclimatisation. —Some silver carp-havft been received by the Acclimatisation Society a«TrpT««rt-franreaptHiirtfe-u*inß7 of the eliirr J John Knox, brought ov«r by him ? from Sydney, where"they have been introduced and multiplied rapidly. - Bttess's would remind admirers of the poet Burns that a meeting, to arrange preliminaries for celebrating the-anni versary'df his birth, will _rf held this evening at Warner's Golden Age hotel,. commencing at eight o'clock. Kaiapoi Regatta.—On Thursday evening last the committee met at the Pie/ hotel. Dr. Dudley in the chair. The Hon. Secretary reported that thefunds in hand were £46 6s. It was resoTved to empower to .pay'the.prizps at once, together with all outstanding liabilities. St. Michael's -Pa-TSW.— In pursuance of the resolutions "adopted at the recent meeting of the parishioners, the Vestry of this parish have set on foot a subscription list, for the erection of s'schoolroom-for 'girlir and yonng children, on the Reserve on the South Town belt, at the back of Kohler's. Subscriptions' are received by the Dean* of Christchurch, the Churchwardens, or any members of the Vestry. .- f . : Cricket.-!-A match will be played this .afternoon between.the Canterbury Eleven and a team to be. selected from the following .gentlemen :—Messrs Harley,B. P-owys, Turner, Taylor, filakietpn/. Bethune, Reade, Beauford, Brittan, Hobbs, Dobaon, ,JF.. Main waring, Wint^ViSquter,..Speedily, Pycfofr, Hoyle, D,umergue,,Card, and Wood. The game is to begin ii half-past twelve o'clock, and one innfnga J8 to be piayerhon each side. As tlie sixteen will; ' ee >*4tSL ' bowlers, a good match is expected Mb Bishop's Prizk.—-The"firing for the handsome cup offered for competition among t'h'fr' volunteers; 6y\_Cr E. B.ißisMopj asChairman of the City Council last year, takes place to-day at Hilleborough. Competitors, who must find their Uve'n ammunition, 'areiexpected to be on the ground by half-past twelve. We understand that Mr W. Wileon intends to follow the example.of hie two predecessors in the office, Mr. Luck and Mr Bishop, by bestowing a similar cup to be competed for by ■the'volunteer*. Mr Luck% was a "happy thought," and the cup -bids fair to becouSe a yearly institution. Wateespotjts —We "are informed that on' Thursday mornirtg, between , ifive and six o'clock, a succession of waterspouts was seen from Saltwater Greek.' They'aSppeared to be about five miles from land in a south-east, direction. : The first 6ne; seen lasted a considerable initiates; and was travelling seaward at a. great rate. Jt eventaaliy burst wneri almost out of sight. At one period two were seen at the , same time, one of them being .quite perpendicular, and apparently not six inches in thioknees. .This gradually, increased its diameter until it assumed gigantic proportions, and at the end of about eight minutea.it lost its perpendicular burst. , .Altogether six waterepouta were noticed.by our informant. A Fbkae'Of Et-ECTBifeiTT—The "Grey River Ar-gus~" reports a singular accident which was occasioned by lightning to the apparatus in the telegraph office, and ißfforded a strong proof of the highly electrical state of the atmosphere /at/the time.' The instrument called the " relay" was seriously damaged, some of the fused and burnt through, and other parts injured. The counter on whjeh this instrument was placed was scorched in several places, and another portion of the telegraphic machinery waa partially injured. In consequence of the operator being unable to effect the necessary repairs cpmmunjcarion with Hokitikahas since been entirely suspended, and until a nejv instrument can. be obtained the line cannot be worked.. Cat ctjtta Swebp —The drawings ' for : the Calcutta on the Canterbury.v Cup todk place yesterday, evening at Tattersall's. The sweep waif 'worth £200. After the raffle the horses werfr pat up to auction in; , the usual wayV -Mi Barnard officiating as auctioneer The biddings were spirited, and, considering £he)taluej of dhe sweep, yety: high' pri es were obtained. The .following were the prices 'realised and' the names of the purchasers : — Stormbird, Mr Ellis, £20 ; Knottingley, Mr Mallock, £65 ; Belle of the Isle, Mr Mallo-k, £77 10s; Magenta, Mr Parker, £70; Backbiter, Mr Starke, £28 ; Roebuck, Mr Middleton, £7. Calcutta sweeps will be held .every night at .Tattersalls'e till the conclusion oi the races on all the principal events. , Peizb FlEllfff. —The following is the storing of No. 3 Company, C.R.V., for the Quheral Government competitive firing. At Leithfield the firing took place oh Wednesday, Bth inst,; jthe. wind was very moderate, although ,it rained heavily during the greater j par.t'pf tsp pring. The day following at SaH'water'Cfe'ek' the firing commenced 1 i afc two punz: ell superintending, .The. wind was blowing very strongly frein BOUsHJ*reet; in fact, it was; impnaaihln trt make vsrv_.good.Bhop_ting 1 . _Only two men of the Creek. .dmsion, fired. The following arethtrecoreß':-- j '. i -. . ■■. -. .'; ■ ■ : ' '!> :i : .'".' J.; -' ■ ■ IEIXHFIELD. o'SS'S o"S 3 Sergeant Jlorrison... ... 21.] 7 11 39 ... • ... '12 ' -0 11 23 Corporal Pate.i. ;....; All ! 0 5 16 Private J- Cameron ... 17 jl7» 10 44 Private J Stewart 19 ; 19 19 57 _ Private T.jHppd ... ..,,.19; ! 10 7 36 •' -BAIiTWATBB'CREEK, i , ' Sergeant b\ Bull .„ ... J,s': 18 Jl 47 Private D Cameron ...11 ; 6i 9 26 Cantebbuky Riflb Association. — A special meeting of the , - Council of this Association was held last evening at White's hotel.'! Present—Messrs tt. J.Tincred, EtrP. Murray-j Aynsleyy E." B. Bishop; H. W. Barnes, and the secretary (Mir H. E. Alport.) Mr STaiicred occupied the chair. The minutes of. the previous meeting were read and con-, firmed. " A letter was read from' Ensign j "Mfigfeeit, would be inclined to .give a prize to be shot for by Volunteers at the encampment at Woodend. The, stated that he, had .written a reply to tlie effect the letter would 1 be laid j before-the Coumil of-tbe Association, at the 3ame time giving it as his'opiriioh that the etatfj.of-the of the Association would m ot allow of a given.' "The Cppncil approved the action taken by the SecfetaTy in the matter It was decided"that the reports of sub-committees should bis considered at a special meeting of tb» Council to b» held oa Friday, tbe 24th Instank The general meeting of the Association was appointed to take place at the old Town Hall, on Tuesday, the 28th instant, the chair to b'tf tiken at eight o'clock. The Treasurer's accounts, duly audited, were then submitted. The balanceeheet'ehowed a balance to credit of'tbd Asso- - The—bal*»ee-»heet-and report of-the Treasurer were adopted, with the exepption of a portion of the latter relating to the desire expressed by. the Treasurer to resign his position, whi'-h i 6 was deoi&ed to refer to the Trustees of the Association, with whom the appointment rests. HoexicuMiTßAii Society;—A meeting of this , society "was hekPlaet evening in the sideroom of the Town Hall, at which Mr Hielop resumed hie- essay on : " The Education of Aspirants for Horticultural Hdriousa;?' Mr .Dunyaji in the, chair.;., Tiiere; wa* a large attendance of gardeners and otheri intereited

in gardening. The essayist reviewed what he had advanced at former meetings, and went at some 1 ngth into the necessity of giving young gardeners the advantage of a most liberal education, pointing out at the same time the accrue town the adoption of and reading extrude F«»m_ Knbjj-lopffidia of Agribearing on the subject. Several of advanced were rotnbat«d by Messrs Stewart, Dutton, and CKadley,' proving that those gentlemen had studied the subject very closely. After the debate was closed Mr Dutton submitted several Une seedling pelargoniums for ad ■f is£ic&i!ion, wjlim one wae chosen as entitled to a first-class certificate. It was named the Duta of'ErttTrtmygfr: —Votesxrf thanks ~trr -the Sflayjß, aigti clßprmen the proceedings. Waimate Road Boabd.—A meeting of the tfcSa"Ct~Bo!iTd held aT Wahnate on Saturday, the n 4th inst, ~Pre|eßt:— Chairman and Mee?ris"tarter;; •■t'bingdp'stre; and Munmimites of the last meeting were 'teali'aid "ConfiTme3 "A letter was read from the .Census, -Enumerator, requesting statistical itffbWfldfidti '\. and one from Tregotjirig Bros, further extetisipn of time on 'j Keif 'co'ritract on BUbK road, J pnd explaining , l7ie' l in the completion of 'their contract. 'The 'approximate estimate of tWe, ,E!nkii(iee.r''of. the amount required during ' the" cqrre'pt year to keep the main roads be'i t^en't > 'areora n'rid Waitkkiopen for traffic was laid before the Board. It was jnoved, Jjy Mr 'barker,' Wcbrided by Mr Poin'gdestre, and carried. v That a further extension of six hHbnfhe'jfime be grunted to Tregon ing Bros, 'for tlie f*afrying out of their contract." it was resolved, 1 on the mofion of Mr Manchester, "That Mr barker be authorised to employ tabbur 'up to' v a Certain amount! to'repair (lamage" done to roadway by; water at the commencement of the 'Waitaki cutting." A few small amounts having been passed for pajment, the ; meeting adjourned to the first Saturd«y in Feb vary. On Tuesday, the 7th inst., the a'nriu >1 meeting of ratepayers of the district was held at the'Waimate hotel, to elect memb,ers for the Road Board, to "Btl the iffcancre's caused by the retiring" members MesstS MMjJ3tudhpltne and Manchester were proposed and seconded for re-election, and there being no other nomination, the Chairman declared Messrs M Stud olmeand John Manchestei; re-elected members of the Board.