NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XVIII, Issue 2553, 7 July 1871, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A proclamation in the Provincial Government Gazette of yesterday summons the Council to meet on July 14 at two o'clock.

At a meeting of - the farmers in the Sefton district, held lately at Leithfield, it was decided to hold the annual ploughing match at an early date. A committee was appointed of which Mr Luton is secretary.

Mr Woledge kindly officiated as auctioneer at the gift auction, in connection with the Wesleyan Bazaar in Lyttelton on Wednesday evening. The prices realised wtre rather poor. We hear that it is intended to call a public meeting at Eyreton soon to discuss the merits of the Oxford tramway question in relation to the route. Of course the Eyreton folks are presumed to be in favor of the surveyed route close past their ojvn homesteads.

Wc'are glad to learn that at last communication has been established by means of a boat placed on the Jower gorge of the Waimakariri between Oxford and the Jlalvern districts. This work has been accomplished by the Oxford Itoad Beard, assisted by some Government aid.

The weekly meeting of the Kaiapoi Mutual Improvement Society took place on .Wednesday evening .last,. Mr G. H./Blackwell being voted to the chair, and there was a fair attendance. Mr J. Atkinson read a paper on " Sabbath Schools aucl their influence." A discussion ensued. On next..Wednesday instead of the usual meeting, a varied entertaiumerit is to take place in the Wesleyan schoolroom, consisting "principally of readings,music, &c. ; The second of the series of Winter Entertainments at S. Michael's schoolroom took place last eveuing, and considering , the very powerful attractions elsewhere, was fairly attended. An excellent programme or vocal and instrumental music, readings, Sec, was gone through very successfully, and the entertainment concluded with the National Anthem. We understand that another entertainment of a similar nature is fixed to take place in about a fortnight.

Mr Barlow's entertainment at the Canterbury Music Hall last evening was exceedingly well attended, despite the counter attractions elsewhere, and the programme was if possible more successful than on the preceding night. This evening the company will appear at the Theatre, which has, been renovated and thoroughly cleaned for the occasion. A new programme has been issued in which a large number of novelties, including the celebrated song, " Put mc in my little bed," which created such a furore in Melbourne, will be introduced. With the improvements which Mr Barlow intends to carry out at the Theatre, and. the fact that the orchestra will be under the leadership of Herr Biinz, we predict an equally successful career for these clever artistes in their new sphere of action.

The annual general meeting of the members of the Licensed Victuallers' Association was held last evening at Morton's Commercial Hotel. The president, Mr Geo. Oram, occupied the. chair, and there was a very large atteudance of the trade. The minutes of the preceding meeting having been read and confirmed, the secretary read the annual report of the Managing Committee, which was received and adopted. The cash statement of the treasurer was also brought up duly audited, which was passed. From this it appeared that there was a credit balance in favor of the Benevolent Fund of the association, including land, improvements, and cash at Bank of £472. The election of officers for the ensuing twelve months was then proceeded with, when Mr G. Oram was re-elected as president; Mr Charles Green as treasurer; and Mr F. C. Tribe as secretary. The following gentlemen were elected as a standing committee for the ensuing twelve months, viz—Messrs J. "W. Morton, W. Schmidt, W. F. Warner, D. McCuinuess, and C. E. Bird Votes of thanks were passsd to the president and committee for their services during the past year, and the meeting adjourned.

The Kaiapoi Popular Entertainments Committee deserve hearty congratulations npon the undoubted success of their special entertainment given on Wednesday evening last, in aid of the Institute Library funds. It .took piftCQ ift $c lecture ball, and. 160

persons must hare been present. Dr Dudley announced the various pieces, the first be : ng given by the Bey. J. W. Stack, who delivered a reading ftorn P. T. Barnum's life. Miss M. Morgan then sang " Milly's Faith," and was applauded. The members of the Mendelssohn Society. Messrs B. Parker 1 (piano), G. F. Hewlings (violoncello), G. Palairet (violin), R. Palairet (cornet), and Jameson (flute), followed with " Selections from Cherubini," the music being superior to anything of the kind before presented, and was highly appreciated. Mr G. F. Hewlings, in his j happy style,., read an account of " Colonel Quagg's Conversion." Mr F. S. Funston I sang " Yesterday," and was well received. Mr E. Parker sang "The Village Blacksmith,;' which the auditory greeted with a deserved encore, and Mr Parker replied. Then the membere of the Mendelssohn Society gave the waltz, " Woodland's Whisper," which was a great musical treat. This concluded the first part. In the second. G. li. Mellish, Esq., led off with a very entertaining reading, the title of which we were unable to secure, and was well applauded. Miss M. Morgan sang " The Garden Gate," and, iv reply to an encore, repeated it with equally good effect. A duet "La Prophete," by Messrs Parker and Palairet (piano and violin), succeeded eminently in pleasing the audience, who showed their 'intense delight by their continued plaudits. Mr J. McNicol read " Kory O'Moore's present to the. priest." Mr ¥. S. Funston sang, il Dermot's farewell," but not quite so well as we have heard him sing usually. The Mendelssohn Society's members gave a second instrumental piece, "Selections from Don Giovanni," equally as well as their first piece, Mr Hewlings gave his vocal extravaganza "Kobinson, Crusoe," Mr Parker playing the accompaniment. The house was fairly convulsed with laughter. The members of the Mendelssohn Society then played "a grand orchestral march" (S. Clarke), and thus brought a pleasant evening to a termination. The proceeds were over £8.

■An Australian contemporary says :— Another venture in pearl-shell fishing, promising, if possible, even more successful results than the speculation noted several mouths ago in various colonial journals, will be undertaken shortly under the auspices of Captain Edgar, late of the -schooner Emma . Paterson, which was wrecked a short time ago at Fiji. Captain Edgar, who is (in so far as has yet been ascertained) the sole survivor from the lost vessel, arrived here from Sydney yesterday, and has brought with him specimens of the pea 1-skeli alluded to, They are veiy large, and of fine quality, and are said to be lnuch superior and jnore valuable than any which have yet been seen here. The precise locality where this shell is to be had is of course known only as yet to Captain Edgar, and it is said there are persons in Sydney ready to take the matter up.

The South Australian Register has been "shown a memorandum from Mr A. G. Burt, of the Northern Telegraph party, section C, beyond Macdonnell ranges, accompanied by a specimen of spider web, bearing very much the appearance of floss silk, being yellow in color and of considerable strength. Mr Burt says in the memorandum that the spiders are in great numbers, so much so that in riding through the bush both rider and horse get covered with, the webs, which he has seen extend for 20 or 30 feet. The specimen which he sends was taken from a piece 6 or 7 feet in size, and was broken off while the writer was riding through the Mulga Scrub. The fibre is quite as strong as Bilk, and is very tough when first taken, although he did not know whether it would continue so. It it could be turned to any account, immense quantities could be easily obtained. Mr Burt concludes by stating that he had heard that some of the advance parties had made the material into crackers for their whips."

A Scotch paper by the mail, the People's Journal, gives its readers some singular intelligence. According to \i his Excellency Sir George Bowen, with a large party of excursionists, has. achieved the unprecedented feat-of walking overland from .New Zealand to Queensland. The news is headed with sensational lines announcing "the loss of an English man-of-war and three mail steamers, and the drowning of a ship's crew." We give our readers the full benefit of the paragraph to which we refer:— : " By the arrival of the steamer Ajax from Honolulu, advices have been received from Sydney up to Ist March, and Auckland to the 7th. The English war steamer Clio, having on board the Governor of New Zealand, and a large party of excursionists, struck on a rock in Blega Sound, and was compelled to run into Bounty Harem. The party succeeded in reaching Queensland overland with much difficulty. Attempts would be made to repair the vessel. The steamship Lady Young, of the Australian Steam Navigation Company, went ashore near Poit Stephen whilst on the voyage to Brisbane, and it was doubtful if she could be got off. The directors of the company have accepted the captain's resignation. The steamship Avondale, carrying southward the last San Francisco and European mails to the 15th of January, has been totally wrecked near Taranaki." The mails and passengers were fortunately saved —the vessel having run ou the rocks during a dense fog in consequence of the deviation of her compass. The steamship Rangelite, having on board the Suez mail, foundered in the neighborhood of Pictonrou on' the 27th February, but the crew and passengers are understood to have been saved. The Banshee was also totally wrecked on the coast of Otago, and all on board, with the exception of the captain, were drowned."