ORDER OF PROCESSION

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 540, 6 January 1858, Page 4

ORDER OF PROCESSION

.'. ■•■• ■-■ -on- .. .. : - • occasion of laying the foundation stone, BY HIS lIONOH .THE BUPEKINTUNOBNT, Or* Wednesday, January. Mi, 1858, after Mominj Prayer. TO FOItM AT THE CIJUECII, POLICE. murton's HUASH lUKO. BAKSEB OF NEW ZEALAND. '

JUSTICES OF TUB PKACE (TWO AND TWO). BANNER OF THE PROVINCE. OFFICERS OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT (TWO AND TWO). HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS (TWO AND TWO). CLERGY (TWO/AND TWO). , TIIIS_LOKD UIBIIOP OF CURIBTCUCHOH. , , THE ARCHITECTS. , , ; ' ÜBIIER OF PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. -„ I ■, • CLERK OF PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. , /MEMBERS OF PROVINCIAL COUNCIL (TWO AND TWO). THE YEN. ARCHDEACON OF AKAROA (Chaplain to the House). CLERK TO EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. EXECUTIVE COUNCIL (TWO AND TWO). HIS HONOR THE.SUPER-INTENDBNT. ST. GEORGE'S BANNER., POLICE, „ - ( On arriving at the entrance to the ground, the Procession will halt, and open to the right and left, to allow the Superintendent to advance between the ranks, the Procession closing in behind him, and entering the ground in an inverted order. Although ir is undeniably right and proper that ceremony should accompany the commencement of an important public work,-we cannot but be struck with some of the particuJars given above. The usual rule in cases of processions is that the most important personages come last; and we take for granted that this rule is intended to be acted upon on tliis occasion, and that the Provincial Council, with1 its clerk and usher, take precedence of the Bishop of Christchurch, only because they act somewhat in the capacity of hosts. This may be satisfactory, but it is not so easy to under r stand why a Judge and a Registrar of the Supreme Court, who are resident amongst us, are to be cut off from seeing and being seen ; why no place is appointed for those dignitaries, nor for Members of the Legislative' . Council or House of Eepresentatives, nor for the Sheriff, nor for the Customs and Post- - office staff, nor for any other officer of the General Government. At the same time the positions which may be occupied in the processionby Provincial Dignitaiies are manifold, and we • should think perplexing to any gentleman who may design to select his place therein; The ' Resident Magistrate may choose whether he will walk among the police, both before and behind, as Commissioner, or a3 a justice of the , peace,- or as an officer of the provincial government, or as a head of a department, or as a member of the Provincial Council. He may thank his stars that he is not now in the Exej.cutive, and that no hole is left open'for him as I M.G.A. or sheriff. T».i<? i s by no means a single instance of the necessity of being iv scleral I places at once on _ Wednesday: many other ' j gentlemen will be so distressed. But what will | turn out, we expect, to be a more difficult task I..still, is the 'opening to the right and left,' as '< directed in the conc'uding paragraph; in case* where there is only one unfortunate gentleman in the file to ' open.' A head of two departments, for instance, walking two and two beside himself to the ground, will ; then halt, and , 'open right and left,'and stand vis-a-vis, to allow the Superintendent to advance between ,? him. Then another com plication foliovvs.1 The " procession closes in behind his Honor; the divided Pluralist again walk's together, and enters the ground arm-in-arm with himself; butr (was ever a Government sohard upon its officers?) henceforward in■'inverted order,V up-. side down, topsy-turvy, on his miserable depart—;mental head.. The whole procession is treated in the same way, at least, 'in inverted,order *.'"" means nothing elseaccordirig to the dictionaries We should have conjectured this to have been ' an error for 'in reversed order,''-if it wag not ' evident what' the intention of: the master off the ceremonies '■ has been throughout; hia' arrangements. ; This will be seen by recourse; - to the principles of vulgar fractions, and we aresure that any one who can 'follow us 'through" this recondite science will give us credit for sajgacity in discovering here the clue to the wholemystery. It is evident that the object has'been-» to construct a huge assemblage out of a small;; number of people, and at the same time, while setting the General Government at4efiance,"to: overpower it by a display of the numeriejal' force of the provincial officers.." We then take bur man of many offices and dividehim'''into as many fractional parts as he possesses titles, say four, and call'each the fraction £; the procession : is- thus four times enlarged! But this is ridfcl ;all; the fraction .'opens right, and< left,' or i* divided by 2, and, we have eight times the original number; in iths. .. This is a mostsuccess- ■ ful experiment, and,even if it went no"'further,' .the idea demands our high praise u>r the'origi;riality of its conception.. But. mark the crown-' ing stroke, of all, a stroke 7 like that Of the Arabian Genie who built Aiaddin-s Palace, orof Cinderella's Fairy. Coachbui ldef: and all -in the business like manner, of a practical dealer ia ; figures. Our arithmetical friends' will 4*ko i their slates and .follow,us.' Yon have a series of ; fractions each representing \ of ari original j unit, and their number' is 8 times1 increased,: Still, they .are only fractions • you have to rd'alce5 them whole numbers, solid and integral, audat thu same time to preserver your number of 80 where you had only, 10 before. What do you do P Mark the simplicity of taletit: you place them * in ( inverted order;' This is the magic of science beyond a doubt; and if it answers aa well on the ground as on paper, it will be indeed a triumph. We venture, however, to recommend preliminary lessons from Mr. Astelle, for fear, of" accidents; ' And po tho Council is to meot ori the 20th inntant. Though "time bail made «ad havoo

with: its members, and many new faces, will greet us from.jold-corners of the charaber,,we do not doubt that r the same interest will, be felt aa of old by the J public/ and that each session will bring us as much! instruction _ and delight as we formerly derived. Who is it that complains in tlie * Standard' of the early meeting P What sort of reason is' therein the argument that because the Gazette announcing the election of Superintendent' and Council has not been fbrwaVdeds to; us yet that we are hot to take-it for granted that there are such facts. If we'were to wanV for Gazettes we should miss many a good tliiijig, the' sale of town* reserves for instanc^vosterday, at Christchurch, which came off at'v,?^same hour as the Gazette announcing'it Was delivered. When there is no doubtf about the' fact of the Council's existence,1 and great' reason" why it should meet early, the M.P.C. who talks about illegality of-the summons must be either a newly fledged bird who has entangled liis wings in a red-tape knot, or a disagreeable ■- factious • oppositionist who is raising a cry to begin with. M.P.C. ought to be glad to; meet; his brethren and the' Executive,. j and should be for the present satisfied with the readiness of tue^ Superintendent to'submit his policy. At any rate lie should be. ashamed of entering upoii his legislative duties predetorininedito'obstruct,' as his letter indicates. We wish, if possible, to be quietly governed., Mr. E.'J;-Wakefield has generously presented a piece of land, in Ohristdhurch to the-Order of Foresters, as a sitei for a.building to be immediately, commenced. The first stone is proposed! to be laid to-day. The" performance of the ' Hunchback,' on Friday; evening last; was extremely well received by a-i well-filled house. There was no bad acting on the stage, arid all seemed remarkably perfect for.a first performance. Julia is evidently a favourite part with Mrs. Foley, and it is the best Un.which-we have seen her perform.; .The farce of -Mischief Making' followed, also!,for the first time; it was well managed, and most '■ successful. The Occasion was Mrs. Foley's beriefifc . :