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Press, Volume XIV, Issue 1833, 26 February 1869, Page 2

The Waimakabibi.—Yesterday this river was unusually muddy from the fresh, bat the %»ter c did not rise high. : ; - " Tsb Melbotjeke Miit, Sts,riuE;—lt will be from our report 6f the Chamber of Commerce meeting held yesterday, that the A. S. N, Company and McMeikan, Blackwood, and Co., have tendewd f6r alternjatiye services between Wellington and The Government, it seem?, do not" think it prudent to make public at present the amount of aiibeidies asked for; an d, w* - learn on have deferred their decision upon the tenders for a time. 4iccukAnsATioK SociETT. — 0?lio usual feting of the council of the society witt Dβ held at the liiterary lastitute afc three pjaa. to-day.

The Panama Mail.—lt will be observed that the Wellington eailed from Wellington between two and three o'clock yesterday afternoon, so we may expect the Panama mail to arrive at Lyttelton this morning. Theatre Royal.—Wednesday's programme was repeated last night to a good house. To-night a performance will be given under the patronage of the Licensed Victuallers' Association, when tue drama of •' Jessy Vere, or the Wanderer's Return," and a farce bearing the cheerful title of " The Spectre Bridegroom " will be played. Sunday School Union.—The annual meeting of the Canterbury Sunday School Union is to be held in the Congregational Church thia evening, at half-past seven j o'clock. Kowai Pas 3 Eaces.—These races come off on Tuesday. The following entries have been made .-—Open hurdle race, Mr Murphy's Merrimac, Mr Middleton's Albatross. District hurdle race, Mr Watson'a Shamrock, Mr Williamson's Maggie, Mr MaxweH'e Discount. The Maiden Plate, Mr Brabazon'a filly by Camden—Deception, Mr Mossman's Polly, Mr Maxwell's Sunbeam, and Mr Farrell's Homebush Pet. The Malvern Stakes, Mr Moneys Tiverton, Mr Delamain's Patch, Mr Maxwell's Nugget. Kowai Pass Cup, Mr Brabazon'a filly by Bamden—Deception, Mr Middleton'a gr g Albatross, Mr Maxwell's Nugget, Mr Maxwell's Sunbeam. Resident Magisteatb's Coubt.—At the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday, John Taylor was reprimanded for drunkenness. Dennis Ryan was fined 20s for being concerned in the disturbance at the Golden Fleece Hotel on Saturday evening. James Eosser was fined 10s and costs for using abusive and insulting language to James Crowley. Eobert Henry Robinson was sent to prison for seven days for assaulting his paramour. Two or three people were fined for allowing cattle to wander at large. H. B. Huddleatone was fined 10s for assaulting a boy named David Patten. The license for the Rising Sun Hotel, Caledonian Road, was transferred from 0. EV Hallum to James Stevenson. Messrs C. C. Bowen, E.M, and C. J. Harper, J.P., -were on the bench. Chamber of Commerce. —The quarterly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held yesterday afternoon, at three o'clock. Present —Mesers Murray-Aynsley (chairman), J. E. Graham (hon. sec), Turner, Nathan, Coster, Curtia, Cobb, Gould, HaasaLl, Palmer, Ingles, and Matson. After some routine business had been transacted. Mr R. Wood was elected a member of the Chamber. The letter received from the Hon. J. Hall relative to the Melbourne mail service, which has already been published, was read to the meeting; and the Secretary stated that he had been informed by Mr Hall that two tenders had been sent in, ono by the A. S. N. Company for a service from Melbourne and Wellington, thence to Auckland and Sydney, and back to Wellington j and the other by McMeckan, Blackwood and Co. for a service by way of the Bluff, including intermediate ports. The Government, however, did not; think it advisable to made the amounts of the tenders public. Conceet.—Last night a concert was given at the Town Hall in aid of the funds of the Royal Irish Company C.E.Y, which has lately been enrolled. The Hall, which was elegantly decorated, with flags and arms arranged as trophies, was very numerously attended, especially in the back seats. The concert opened with a march by the St. John's Cadet Corps' band. This was followed by a solo on the violin, exquisitely played by Mr Sraeaton. Mrs Long sang, " Father,; Come Home," with much feeling. This ballad was deservedly encored. Mrs Long also played a pianoforte solo, and rendered good serrice by : flccompanying several' of the performers. Miss Rowley obtained an encore for her song from the " Gipsies-Warning." f Miss. Buncle, a lady-who we, has-never yet appeared before a Christchurch audience, although, she-has eung on some occasions in Lyttelton, gave several "Scotch airs with great; beauty of expression, ftncL was loudly ap-. plauded. This lady "possesses a powerful and well cultivated "voice, and promises to be a valuable auxiliary to our musical world. Mr Grey's, comic song, "Larry Doolan's Jaunting Car," which he sang in chai-aeter, was enthusias-; tically received and re-demanded, as was also: the comic song by Mr. Rowley, jun. The : gem of the evening was the solo on the cornet by a young gentleman who the modest title of the " Royal Irish Bugler." His command of hie instrument and sweetnessi of intonation were greatly admired and elicited an unanimous encore. Lieutenant Packer _obligingly accompanied several of the players and singers, sometimes without any previous notice. Mr Taylor sang " Simon the Cellarman" with a good deal of humorous expression. The National Anthem brought the concert to a termination. Waimate Road Boabd.—A full meeting of the Board was held at Waimate on Saturday, the 200 i Inst. Mr G7 B. Tarker" was "elected a member of the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works, in place of Mr H. R. Parker, resigned. The Engineer's report and estimates. of works requiring immediate construction were read and considered. A lengthy discussion as to ways and means ensued ; wnich was: followed by a motion from Mr Bruce that a siipenny rate should be levied for the eonstruotion of district roads; The general feeling of the meeting was that it would be premature and useless to epend money on district roads while the main road is in its state -;• and as Mr Bruce had no seconder; his motion lapsed. Resolved—That the.Board having had under consideration the estimates of the amount required to keep'the main South road open for traffic during the coming winter, and the funds likely to accrue being quite instifficent for the purpose, a copy of resolution of tha board of Ist August, 1868, be forwarded tojthe members of the Board of "Works for this district, requesting them to move in the matter at the next sitting of the board. Resolved—That the report of the Engineer having been read and considered, respecting the Construction of a road" across the swamp near the beach, between Pareora and Otaioj the board fully- recognises the urgency of the work, but consider that owing to want of funds they are ad t in a position at .present to undertake its . prosecution. The meetings then adjourned to the first Saturday in March. ; SiOAxr, Pox xsr Viotobia..—A late Melbourne paper says:—The discussion at the Medical Society upon the nature of the disease that has lately caused so much alarm in this city, was in so'far unsatisfactory that the meeting exprossed no definite opinion on, the

subject. But whether the disease be the dreaded variola (email pox), or only varicella (chicken pox), we have the gratifying assurance from our most eminent medical men that the climate of tMs country is unfavourable to the spread of the former disease, and that 'f it has really made its appearance amongst us, it lias been elFoctually stamped out. We trust that this assurance will remove the exaggerated alarms which have of late been so prevalent on the subject. The GrßEY.—The "Argus" eny3 —During the last few days there has been a steady flow of population up the river, the news from the new ground opened up in the vicinity of Orwell Creek and Noble's (3-ul!y being very encouraging. The load on Napoleon Terrace is proved for a considerable distance, and is found to bo very rich. A rush has taken place to the spur leading down from Napoleon Creek, payable gold having been etruck there at a depth of sixty feet by Cornish Dick and party. New ground Las also struck a little distance from Waterloo Flat, skirting the foot of Wellington Terrace, immediately above the rise of the spur leading down into Noble's Gully. The lucky party in thia instance is the well-known Liverpool Bill, and his prospects are said to bo four pennyweights to the dish. The Mining Essays.—The "Australasian," speaking of the premiums offered by the New Zealand Government for mining essays, says —" Two full months are allowed for the composition of these essays, which are to be sent iv with mottoes and sealed letters, and examiners are to be appointed, and everything else en regie. Wo suppose that we shall next hear that tenders have been invited for the supply of a policy. Nothing can be more absurd than such a method of obtaining political assistance, except it be the subject. There is only one way of keeping gold miners in New Zealand, or any other country, and that is, to offer them all possible facilities for settling with their gains in that country. As to the horrible * drain of Capital , as proved by an excess of exports over imports, we venture to make, even without a hope of any of the prizes, a practical suggestion. Let the New Zealanders place their country in a state of blockade. Let them have no exports and no imports ; then will there be no ' drain of capital;' and we shall see how they will like a few months of this economic millennium. The * drain' is, of course, the exported gold, and the gold is not sent out of the country for philanthropic purposes. As the New Zealand Government seem to go in for the policy of King Midas, they ought to follow the whole of that royal person's example, and to crown their retained gold with the donkey's ears." Meat Preseeyixg.—A late number of the "Argus" says—The efficacy 6f the solution of sulphite of lime, as a meat preserver has been placed beyond question by the experiments that haye from time to time been made, and there is little doubt that this valuable agent will before long be extensively used. A leg of mutton, which has been washed once a day in a solution consisting of one part of sulphite of lime and six parts of water, has kept perfectly fresh and sweet since the 18th January, and another joint which was dipped once in a solution of double the strength, and then Rung inside a barrel containing some of iho mixture, "was found on examination yesterday to be almost in the same condition as when the meat left the butcher's shop. Other experiments have been tried by Messrs Skinner and Co., who are quite confident of their ability to preserve the freshness of any sort of meat for three months at least. The cost of the solution of the requisite strength is much less than that of ordinary brine, so that the new preservative cannot be objected to on the ground of oxpensiveness. The plan adopted by Meesrs Skinner and Co. in the production of the sulphite is to make a solution of lime and water of a certain strength, which is afterwards impregnated with volatilised eulphur. The machinery now employed by the manufacturers enables them, to produce about 500 gallons of the sulphite per week* ■■-=-■■• : ; - ; .' :'-\ ; '- '.