CHRTSTCHURCH.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3532, 2 November 1882, Page 3

CHRTSTCHURCH.

November 2

The Canterbury Chess Club's handicap tournament is concluded, with the following result—F. Hornwood first, J. Wood second, and A. M. Ollivier third.

The Young Men's Club, which now numbers 150 member?, opened their new club rooms last night.

An affray, in which Thomas Perry, a balf-caete, lost his life, occurred at Hororata on Tuesday. Perry was very quarrelsome., and seriously annoyed a man named Tnieman Hobbe, and repeatedly challenged him to fight. Hobbs at last consented, and on going outeide the two men commenced sparring. After striking Perry once Dobbs closed with him, and both fell to the ground, from which Perry never rose. On examination he was found to be quite dead. Both men were sober when the fight took place. Trueman Hobbe, who is a blacksmith by trade, is generally spoken of as a sober quiet man. Deceased was a shearer, was unmarried, and had lately been an inmate of the fciunuyside lunatic asylum.

He was very eccentric. The body was taken charge of by the police. There are 1161 entries for the Christchurch agricultural show, with a few still to come. Sheep are 325 in number, cattle 157, horses 11.9, pigs 45, implements 313, dairy produce 60, New Zealand manufactures 110. Poultry are eliminated altogether. Last year there were 1330 entries. The chief falling off is in horses.

The Chairman of the Selwyn County Council has stated that seven millions of money have already been applied for under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act.

One of the two recently consolidated town districts applied for a share of the license fees from the Selwyn County Council, but on the strength of a legal opinion the Council refused to recognise the claim.

Elmswood House, the residence of Mr R. H. Rhodes on the Papanui road, about a mile north of Christchurch, was burnt down yesterday. At about 130 the gardener noticed that the roof of the north-east wing was on fire close to the drawing-room chimney. A mounted man was despatched to the Fire Brigade station, and the '« Extinguisher " steam fire-engine was sent out. It reached the scene of the fire about 2 o'clock. Water was obtained from a pond in front of the house and two jets were played on the burning building. Meantime a number of willing hands set to work to remove the furniture, all the moat valuable portion of which in the lower rooms was quickly carried to a safe distance. Most strenuous efforts were made to save the house, which was a large wooden structure of about thirty rooms, with a slated roof, but the easterly breeze blowing fanned the flames, and to make matters worse, the steam-engine bad to cease working in half-an-hour owing to its being choked with mud. Another one was then sent for, but the delay rendered it apparent that the whole house was doomed. The firemen, aided by other volunteers, did not relax their efforts to save property, and at great danger to themselves, amid the crash of falling timber and slates shooting in small avalanches from the roof, they entered the burning building and carried out all the property they could lay hands on. A fine organ in the drawing-room could not be removed. At 3 p.m. the whole of the upper storey had been consumed, and the lower storey nearly all gutted. All that remains now is a small portion of the lower walls, the verandah, &c. As regards the origin of the fire, it is supposed to have arisen from the chimney of the drawing-room fire-place in the lower storey. Mrs Rhodes' bedroom above the drawing-room was close to this chimney. There had been a fire used in the draw-ing-room. The insurances are said to amount to £7000, the Union and Royal offices being heavy losers. The Customs revenue for October was £18,551 against £16,532 in October last year.