Hawke's Ban Herald SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1577.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3933, 23 June 1877, Page 2

Hawke's Ban Herald SATURDAY, JUNE 23, 1577.

About a million more bushels of AA'heat and other grain were produced in Canterbury during last season than during the season previous, and Aye hear that the acreage in grain crops will be greater by one-third next year than it Avas last. In fact, if the Eastern troubles in Europe continue, and, Avith them, the present high prices of grain, AA r heat growing Avill soon almost supplant avool growing in a great part of the South Island. Everyone Avhom we have met with, who has recently visited Canterbury and Otago, we find, comes back Avith the same vivid impression of the extraordinary strides that the industry is making in these provinces. One of the most troublesome questions, it will be remembered, that the Minister of Public Works had to deal with, during the recess, Avas the provision of storage accommodation for the corn that Avas incessantly pouring into Timaru and Christchv.rdi from the up-country districts. The question cannot fail to present itself to us, Avhether Avheat groAving, on a similarly large scale, could not be profitably introduced in this district. We are told that our climate Avill not suit it, but it surely has all the advantages on its side as compared with Canterbury, Avliere the climate suits it wonderfully. We have, moreover, a A T ery large amount of country, thesoil of which is unquestionably Avell adapted for it. The reason of the comparative Avant of success Avhich has attended the progress of the industry hitherto among us, has probably been mainly the absence of labor-saving machinery. If a firm or j company possessed of considerable capital Avere to purchase any one of the estates in the district which contains a large quantity of arable land, and Avere to bring it under cultivation Avith all the latest appliances, the A'enture Avould probably be an excellent one in every Avay. In the meantime, the Agricultural and Pastoral Society might do something, perhaps, by making agricultural machinery a prominent feature in its programme, by using its influence to encourage ploughing matches, and in other Avays Avhich Avil] suggest themselves. It is manifest that, Avith the existing prices of grain, three or four times as much is to be made out of land per acre from wheat — so long as as it is suitable for wheat — as can be made out of it from avool. It Avill therefore be for the benefit of the whole community if wheat-growing could be successfully established among us on a scale similar to that on which avoolgroAving is iioav established.

Martinhis Brock to transfer 4-0 acres of land on the Makaretu reserve, selected under application No. 65, to Jans Peterson. A similar application from Hugh Hall for the transfer of 50 acres in the Makaretu reserve to John Farghar was also agreed to. A letter was read from J. Bargrove, requesting to have a road laid off from his land to the road running along the bank of the Makavetu river ; the board decided that the road must remain as originally laid out. A letter was read from the office of the Secretary for Crown Lands, relative to some land at Nuhaka intended for a ferry reserve : the board resolved that the land as originally laid off as a Government reserve, containing 55 acres or thereabouts, should be reserved as a site for a ferry, and that the assent of the Governor be requested to the board's decision. In reference to another letter from the Secretary of Crown Lands, the board decided that the officer in charge of foreign settlements should be requested to forward for the information of the Waste Lands Board a statement of all settlers I who have applied to him for a certificate that they have fulfilled the conditions under which they occupy, and from time to time to forward reports when the conditions of settlement are complied with, and that he be informed that according to instructions from the Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands the conditions could not be regarded as fully completed, nor that the purchase money was paid, unless the Crown grant fee were paid at the same time. A schedule from the Chief Surveyor, showing _ the progress of surveys up to the 9th instant was laid before the board. That concluded the business, and the board adjourned. The second of the Rowing Club's "At Homes" took place yesterday evening in the Oddfellows' Hall, and was, in every respect, a great success. The attendance was more than double as numerous as on the last occasion. Indeed, the hall could not have held more dancers comfortably. In the preliminary musical entertainment, the feature most deserving of remark was " The Old Man's chorus," from "La Fille de Madame Angot, " given in character by the members of the Rowing Club. A very large number of them took part in it. The grotesquerie of the dresses was most effective, and, in many instances, the disguise Avas perfect. Four solos Avere sung by gentlemen, all of them Avith marked appreciation. One especially received enthusiastic applause. The only criticism that we have heard on this part of the entertainment Avas that it was too short. We are informed that the full particulars of the arrangements for carrying on the duties of St. John's Church, in the meantime, are as follows : — Mr Johnstone, as we said before, will act for Mr Townsend as curate-in-charge. The necessary license will arrive from the Primate by next mail. He will also hold the surrogateship for granting marriage licenses. Sen'ices will be carried on as heretofore, and at the same hours. We have much pleasure in stating that the Union Steam Shipping Company are about to have a fortnightly service on this coast. The tine steamships Taupo and Wellington will call here next month, in addition to the Wanaka. The Rotorua will also continue to run to Auckland and Sydne} r . By this means the wants of the travelling public of HaAvke's Bay and the coast Avill be amply provided for. A pupil of the Napier Grammar School, J. Porcy Ormond, has obtained the prize awarded by Mr Severn for the best essay upon his lecture on chemistry, &c. , delivered to the schools of Napier in the Protestant Hall on Monday, the 4th June. The prize winner is, avo hear, the son of Dr Ormond, of Wairoa, and one of Mr Irvine's most promising pupils. A number of Californian mountain quail (says the N.Z. Herald) were brought by the Zealandia on Saturday. They are the property of Mr H. A. Duff, of Napier, Avho Avas s passenger by the steamer, and they Avill be taken by him to his run in Hawke's Bay. The birds seem in fine condition. [Mr Duff arrived by the Rotorua.] A magnificent meteor which Avas seen in Nelson on Monday night is thus described by a correspondent of the Mail. : — " I Avas Avalking doAvn Hardy-street about eight o'clock, Avhen suddenly the houses Avere illuminated by a flickering blue light. For a second or two I could not imagine what Avas the cause, but on turning round I saw one of the most beautiful sights I ever Avitnessed. Just above the Port hills an enormous meteor was passing sAviftly along horizontally from east to west, and I Avatched it for two or three seconds, until it disappeared behind a bank of clouds. It was of a bright blue color, and for a long distance back Avas a clearly denned pink trail, showing the track over Avhich it had passed. This remained visible for some time after the meteor had vanished." At the public meeting held last Wednesday at Waipukurau for the formation of a Horticultural Society, a short account of Avhich Avas published in yesterday's Herald, the folloAving gentlemen Avere appointed as a committee of management, Avith power to add to their number, and to elect a Avorking committee, seven to be a quorum, namely, Messrs H. S. Tiffen, G. Saxby, J. Wood, W. Rathbonc, H. H. Bridge, Lieut. -Colonel Herrick, Hamilton Ferguson, William White, John Nicholson, Rev. Mr Simcox, J. D. Canning, Saunders (gardener to Mr Harking), Fourneau (gardener to H. R. Russell), Arthur Harding, John Harding, Richard Trestrail, Benjamin Kemp, Scotter, Scott (gardener to Mr Rathbonc), J. Mackersey, Charles Mackio, W. L. Newman, Hutchin (gardener to Mr Hunter, Porangahau), Alexander Jones, Sydney Johnston, G. M. Butt, Dr Frood, Rev. R. Fraser, Rev. Joseph Shearman, W. C. Smith, F. Sturm. By the latest Wanganui files Aye notice that the preparations for the colonial regatta, to be held at Wanganui next season, are being proceeded Avith energetically, and give promise of a satisfactory result. The veteran Charles Mathews, Avho has held his place on the stage for two generations, saysithis about growing old : — "Next to the faculty of abstraction I A'alue that of sleep. After a heavy rehearsal and a wearying afternoon of business, trying to stop leaks here and repair damages there, I always snatched even as little as ten minutes' sleep. I always could sleep on demand, and ahvays Avith the same result. I turned over a new page, and began life again Avith all that sense of keen enjoyment. People Avonder why I do not retire, and why 1 travel enormous distances. The ansAver is simple. I like it. An amateur Avould go round the Avorkl with pleasure, and pay his own expenses, to play my parts ; and do j r ou suppose that 1 don't enjoy the fun as well as he / I believe in the maxim of Young Rapid, "Keep moving." Jt cannot keep you from growing old, but it does keep you from feeling old and getting rusty. Look at j T our men Avho retire. They crystallise. I Avill not. The best end a man can haA'e is to die in harness." The oldest newspaper proprietor in the Australasian Colonies — Mr John Fairfax, the owner of the Sydney liJbrnhiff Herald, the oldest journal in these colonies — died recently at a ripe old age. Mr Fairfax came early to the colony of New South Wales, and by his judicious management, his high character, and his knowledge of men, and of the Avants of the colony, he made the Herald the powerful and successful journal it has become. Mr Fairfax was characterised by liberality in his dealings, and in public affairs Avas also a generous supporter of all deserving movements and institutions. He Avas the architect of his oavii fortune, and has left in the Herald, and in other property, a handsome patrimony to his family — the Avork of industry and probity, for Avhich Mr Fairfax's name will long be remembered.— N. Z, Herald.

Mr J. H. Ffrost will give tliis evening, at the Oddfellows' Hall, one of his popular lectures on mental science, phrenology, and mesmerism. Mr Ffrost lias lectured on the same subjects in other places with great success. The Auckland correspondent of the Olago Times thus discourses of Sir George Grey :— " While on this subject, I am sorry to hear that Sir George Grey has suffered from another attack, and is far from as well as a few weeks ago. His complaint is ' suppressed gout,' which to one of his active habits must be extremely irritating. Groat anxiety is ahvaj's manifested to get news of him hero, and I cannot tell you how keen the interest is in his health. There are some who speak of Sir George as ' played out,' but depend upon it he never stood higher than now. "Moth," in the N.Z. Times, says: — " John Wilson opens his winter circus in Lonsdale-street, Melbourne, on Wednesday. Omar Kingsley is going to ride as he did of old— as Ella Zoyara. For over twenty years lie passed as a girl and woman, and during that time won a' thousand hearts and fully as many poundsf worth of jewellery, which these lovers othe women of the stage and the ring in variably present," The London correspondent of an Indian journal writes : — " Among ' things not generally known ' I fancy is the fact that Madame Adelina Patti is a Cockney bred and born. Her father, lam told, was a Hebrew merchant in a very small way of business in the neighboi'hood of Mile End road. With the acuteness characteristic of his race, he soon perceived that his daughter had a voice that might make her fortune and his if properly trained. He resolved to embark his ' little all ' in the speculation, first of all, however, being careful to take sound opinion on his adventure. Adelina was taken to New York, and the speculation seemed so rosy in appearance that the business in Mile End road was thrown over altogether, and the future prima donna was severed from all the degrading connections of trade. Few, probably, of the quondam neighbors of the Hebrew tradesman recognise in Adelina Patti, or rather Adelina la Marquise de Oaux, the ' Addy Isaacs ' whose precocious musical talents were the wonder of the little circle of East-end shopkeepers eight- and-twenty years ago." The Kolnische Zeitung, a German paper, writes : — At this moment, it is true, all parties in England vie with one another in crying "Peace, peace." But every mile passed by the Russians in their approach to Constantinople would increase the disquiet in England, and in the end the English men-of-war would reach Constantinople sooner than the Russian troops, and Mr Gladstone and Mr Bright, dissenters and friends of peace, would be, as it were, swept away. Russia must perceive that she can indeed conquer, but that if she attempted to gather the fruits of her victory she would encounter a strong and perhaps general resistance. "You must not judge a man by his coat," says the Tapamti Courier (an Otago paper), and in support of its observation it submits the following: — "A dilapidated-looking individual, hailing from the Emerald Isle, attended the late land sale. From his appearance, you would not give 7s 6d for all his effects ; and this opinion of his poverty was strengthened when he went into one of the stores, and drawing out a dirty, greasy, old chamois leather purse, produced three coppers, and asked for an equivalent in biscuits to that amount. The goodnatured storekeeper, thinking he was ' hard-up,' and unable to pay for a dinner, gave him at last a shilling's worth of biscuits for his coppers, and was rather disgusted to see tho same lone orphan bidding up to £800 and £1000 for sections of land at the sale. He was a careful man." At the last concert in Launceston given by the Simonsen Opera Troupe, recently, some excitement was caused by the conduct of one or two individuals. The first part of the concert passed oft' very well, nearly all the performers having to respond to encores. Towards the conclusion of the second part, and after Mr Simonsen had given one of his remarkable performances on the violin, Madame Pett, the accompany ist, came on the stage, as usual, to play the accompaniment, and she was followed by a total stranger to most of the audience — a commercial traveller — who commenced to sing the well-known solo "When other lips " in anything but a. florid style, being laughed at and hissed heartily, but, nothing daunted, he finished his song, and retired amidst the most deafening applause. Loud demands were made for a repetition, and Madame Simonsen — who seemed to enjoy the fun as much as anybody — came forward and asked the audience to excuse the gentleman, as he was not accustomed to that kind of business, he having only indulged in a little bit of fun, wanting to win a little bet he had on that he would not dare sing in public. The second part was finished, and after a short interval the third scene of "Norma" was commenced. It had not proceeded far when some one n the gallery was making a noise. The music was stopped and Madame Simonsen said when the disturber was done she would go on. The performance was continued, but had not proceeded very far when a man sitting in the very front row of the pit was observed to be throwing his hands very violently, and shouting out to the top of his voice, " My heart is in it ! My conscience is pricked !" Efforts were made to pacify him, but in vain ; and the door leading from the pit underneath the stage was opened for the purpose of having him removed, but he got worse and would not let anybody lay a hand on him. The orchestra presented a most ludicrous sight, the occupants climbing on to the stage with some of their instruments under their arms. The performers (Madame Simonsen and Miss Ficher) had to retire, and women in the pit were to bo heard shrieking :it the top of their voices. Some persons in the back imagined that an alarm of fire had been raised, and immediately i-ushed to the door. In fact, such a scene of confusion was presented as to defy description. After quiet had been restored, and the performance proceeded a little further, another man near the pit-door was talking very loudly, so much so as to interrupt the audience, and when requested to desist he became abusive, and it took three policemen to eject him from the building.