SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1331, 15 December 1864, Page 3

SOCIAL AND DOMESTIC.

(Summarised from theZyttellon Times firm Nov. H . to Dec. 13.) Oo the 22nd tilt, a man named Kelso was drowned Whilst endeavouring to cross' the Waimakariri. He was a married nian, engaged on the Surveyor's staff. A meeting was held at Kaiapoi on Nov. 22nd, for the purpose of forming a co-operative society. A few shares were taken up. A similar institution has been for some time in operation. Since then, another meeting has been held, when thirty-two shares were taken tip. ' ' , On the'23rd Nor. No. 1 company of the Christchurch Rifle : Volunteers assembled at the Foresters' Hall, when on the invitation of Lieut. Cook, they marched out to his house on the Papanui road, and. in a paddock close by were regaled with ample refreshment; after which, games were instituted, such as vaulting, leaping, wrestling, boxing, single-stick, and fencing. At about nine o'clock the men again fell in, and under the command of their officers marched down to town headed by the drum and fife band,and were disbanded in Market Square. We find that the efforts of those who have taken; such a warm interest in the Sunday and day schools attached to St. Luke's Church havte been very successful. The subscription list published in our last impression shows that a sum of £79 16s has already, been received towards the enlargement of the build-, ihgs, Mr. F. Thompson has kindly made a dona-, tion of the stories necessary for the fpundation, and Mr. T. Kent has contributed a help turret in: addition to drawing the plans. Mr. Rowley supplied, the nails gratuitously, whilst the children and their, teachers have collected nearly £30. A sum of. £50 is still required to complete the work. . Owing to the great number of hands employed in; the streets of Kaiapoi, the town is fast undergoing! considerable improvement, footpaths being formed! where required, the benefit of which to the inhabitants has been fully proved during the late wet; weather. Where formerly after two or three hours' rain, one had to wade ancle-deep through mud ori splash through innumerable pools of water, now are : found well-clayed, shingled, and comfortable footpaths, rendering it a matter of no difficulty to walk; from one end tit the town to the other dry shod.: Neither have the roadways been neglected, as amply, testified by the improved appearan'ce of Peraki, Fuller, and Akaroa streets, which have been re-made and repaired, tho whole combining to give the town a comfortable and respectable appearance that can-; not fail to reflect credit on the members of the Roadj Board for the manner in which the work has been; "laid out and carried through. The Canterbury Musical Society held their general meeting on the 25th ult. The Rev. J. Wil-i son was elected president, and Mr. W. Stringer, vicepresident. The other members of the committee' were re-elected. ] The Church of St. Peter, at' Akaroa, was consecrated on the 27th November. The ceremony was performed by the Lord Bishop of Christchurch, who was met at the usual hour for Divine service by the; minister, churchwardens, and some of the inhabits ants of Akaroa. after the form prescribed, when the ' Rev. William Aylmer, M.A., the incumbent, read - the petition praying his Lordship to consecrate their [ building, to which petition consent was given accord- : ing to the prayer therein contained. , The ceremony of consecration and the dedication immediately followed., The Bishop having received the instrumenl: , of conveyance, presented to him, by which we learnt; J that, the area of ground upon which the church was erecttd had been the gift of Mr. John Watson, Resw 1 dent Magistrate at Akaroa, declared the same to be 1 dedicated to the use of the Episcopal Church, and ' henceforth to be known by the style of St, Peter. 1 Being the first Sunday in Advent the Psalms and Lessons for that day were read instead of those ■ usually chosen at a consecration in this diocese; thej ' second Lesson containing the narrative of the , cleansing of the Temple by our Redeemer. Hia Lordtahip afterwards preached from Matthew, ix; 1 chapter, and 29th verse, " According to your faith :1 be it unto you." His sermon was a plain but 8 forcible explanatoin of the nature and quality of a • saving faith, remarkable for the earnest tone in j; which he strove to bring home the necessity of such! ' a faith to his hearer's apprehension, while he dwelt' strongly upon the privileges which they would henceforth enjoy in making public prayer and supplication E unitedly to Him who had promised that wheresoever 8 two or three were met together there to be present 11 with them. After the conclusion of the sermon the f Holy Communion was administered. The choir had j 1 prepared a musical treat, and sang Jackson's noble Te Deum in F, in a manner which, if it left any- ®

thing open to regret, was only that so inspiring «f composition should not be the rule instead ofthe exception. The chants and hymns chosen for the day, were also well sung, the congregation joining throughout, intelligibly bearing their part in the service. After evening service, the Bishop administered

the rite of confirmation, and addressed in his happy, affectionate, and impressive manner those upon whom he had laid his hands, exhorting them and all those who had preceded, them one another to fight the good fight and never be ashamed'.of the glorious calling whereunto they had been called. If another regret again obtruded, it was only that his Lordship was not able to be a more frequent visitor to the district of Akaroa.

On the 30th Nov., in pursuance of an advertiser ment, a .public meeting of the inhabitants of Kaiapoi was held at 12 o'clock, at the Court House, Kaiapoi; for -the purpose of nominating the members for the Kaiapoi Municipal Council. Upwards of 100 pter-l sons assembled, including most of the influential men of the town. Dr. Dudley, who occupied the chair, stated the object of the meeting. Some time ago a petition, signed by over 100 householders in Kaiapoi; had been forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent, in consequence of which he had been pleased to proclaim Kaiapoi a municipality; and they now met tq take the next step necessary to the formation of the Council, His Honor had also been pleased to appoint him (Dr. Dudley), chairman of the present meeting; but his duties would cease on the formation! bf the' Council. He would now conclude by informing them that they held a very responsible position, which he hoped they would properly fulfil, arid not) elect a Council indiscriminately, but one which irould be some credit to the tow,n. All persons eligible; for election must have been residents in Kaiapoi for six months, and their names must also appear on the Electoral 11011. Any person wishing to proposes t aj candidate could do so. The following were then proposed, and the numbers are the result of the show j of hands :—Dr. Dudley, 50 { Messrs. W. C. Eeswick, 34 ; A. Weston, ,54 ; A. A. Dobbs, 62 ; J. Winterbourne 58 ; E. Locke, 64 : X Keetly, 54 ; J. Hen-; wood, 43 ; W. Hammett, 34 ; John C. Elliot, 34 ; G. F. Day, 18 ; G. C. Black, 33 : G. F. Hewlings, 19 ; Edwin Parnham; 26 ;C. Oram, it 1, M; Hall, 19 ; P. T. Neilson, 29; H. Kite, 19 ; G. H. Wearing;

11. The show of hands was takeßj when the chairman declared it to be in favour of the first nine on the list, that .being the number required for the Council. The Rev. W. Willock then demanded* poll on behalf of the remaining candidates, Which 1 the chairman declared would take place this day (Thursday) at ten o'clock, closing at 4 o'clock, to be held at the Court House. Mr. H. Keetley withdrew from the contest. Dr. Dudley proposed, and Captairi Fuller seconded—" That Mr. G. F. Hewlings and Mr. John Hebden be appointed polling clerk." Carried unanimously. The meeting separated after a vote of thanksito the chair. We note that the City Council have ordered the boring of the next artesian well on the Ferry road, at its junction with Manchester street. The Council seem to have a storge for that portion of the city, and therefore water is abundant', The Council might take it for granted that a fair amount of I able property worth protection is concentrated in and around Cathedral Square, and that a well somewhere in that locality is a desideratum; as in the event of fire, excepting a small supply from a private well in the Square, and that in the garden of Mr. Justice Gresson, none is available. There is alsd a sufficient population at this end of the city to appreciate the benefits of pure water from an artesian spring. . A cricket match was played at Marrow Station (on the River Hinds), the property of Mr. J. S. Rogers, between the station hands there, and the shearers casually employed by him I The former won easily, scoring 108 runs, whilst their opponents! only made 45; majority in favour of the hands, 63. Mr. James Wilson, shipbuilder, recently launched at his yard in Duvauchelle Bay two new boats, constructed for the Timaru beach service. These boats form a portion of the plant provided by Government in the remodelling of that as recommended by the. Timaru Commissioners, in the early portion of this year, and of which plant Mr. Beswickisthe preseat lessee. They were designed by Captain Gibson, the port-officer of the province, and built under his inspection. Their length is 35 feet over all; beam, 10 feet moulded; and depth 4 feet from ceiling to gunwale. These boats are most creditable to Mr. Wilson in their entire construction and finish: so much so, it must be assumed, that at the contract price his profit must dwell in the neighbood of zero As more inferior material and work might have been turned out without violation of the contract, and the nature of the work, from the several requirements in the 'specification, was difficult to estimate. It is to be hoped that the Government will rot puffer Mr. Wilson to be a loser by his honesty and the manner in which he has carried out

his engagement. The boats are constructed on the ! '$rihfeiple df ; th<9' Ybrkhhirt (sobble, as that class of boat is, of all others, that most adapts for th£ peculiar service in' Which they are to be employed. The Sub-Collector at Akaroa weighed one of these boats when finished, and it was found to weigh nearly three toils. To ascertain this, the boat Was first poised on a spar, arid When l in perfect balance its centre of gravity was struck. The boat was then placed on the same spar one foot forward of this centre, when a weight of* 270 lbs suspended from a temporary bowsprit brought the boat again into ba-; lance: the spade between the second position and the weight (plumb-bob) was 24 feet. As 12 inches: 270 lbs :: '24 feet : 2 tons 17 cwt 96 lbs. This method is sufficiently accurate to assume the weight as three tons. It is not known whether the the builder has named the boats " Secession" and " Separation;" but " Attraction" and "Cohesion" would be more suggestive of that union of forces wherein our mutual prosperity as a province consists. The usual monthly meeting of the committe of the Horticultural Society was held on the sth inst., ! in the side-room of the old Town Hall. Several persons interested in botanical pursuits were present. Mr. Armstrong occupied the chair, and Mr. Isaac Stemson read an interesting paper on " The practical advantages of disbudding plants." This he recommended as a substitute for pruning, as the result shows a considerable saving of time and the process also effects a considerable diminution in the waste of the health and strength of the plant. Many greenhouse plants especially, finish their summer enlargement by forming a bud or point at the extremity of their branches. This is caused by the peculiar fold-ing-up of their leaves. This bud should be carefully removed either by the hand or by means of a small,' sharp knife, directly the sap is set in motion. The; essayist stated that the plan had been satisfactorily j followed with hydrangeas, the fuschia fulgens and: all the other hybrid fuschias, and recommended its adoption in all cases in which the foliage of exotic plants is too luxuriant. Some very pretty seedling pelargoniums were showu as well as some pinks. The dark crimson specimens of the former were very beautiful, as was also one of the fancy kind. This specimen was of a lovely white colour slightly tinged with pink, and was named by the grower " Purity." First and second class were granted to Mr. Hislop for seedling; pelargoniums, also a second-class certificate for a plant of the same kind, and a first-class certificate for a seedling pink to Mr. Greena way. Yotes of thanks to the reader of the paper and the chairman terminated the meeting. The jubilee meeting of the Christchurch Total Abstinence Society was commemorated on the sth instant by a tea- meeting, held at the Baptist Chapel, Lichfield street. The attendance was not very numerous, but those present seemed to take a great interest in the proceedings. After tea, furnished in good style by Mr. Aulsebrook, the business of the evening commenced. Mr. J. G. Baker occupied the chair, and amongst those on the platform were the Rev. L. Moore, Dr. Flounce, Messrs. Cutler, Connal, Thompson and others. The annual report of the committee was read; it speaks encouragingly of the position and operations of the society. In the course of the year seventy-four persons have taken the pledge, thirty-five young persons having joined the Band of Hope. Mention is made of the establishment of the new teetotal journal the New Zealand Temperance Messenger, and hopes expressed of its,

influence and success. The Chairman, Dr. Florance,

and the Rev. L. Moore delivered addresses of great interest; the speech of the latter was a very telling

one. Some pieces of music, vocal and instrumental, chiefly executed by Mr. and Mrs. Long, diversified

the proceedings of the meeting.

The preliminary examination of the pupils attending St. Michael's School took place on December 7jj in the presence of the Yenble. the Archdeacon of Christchurch and others interested in its progress. The scholars were examined in history, geography, arithmetic, and grammar, and acquitted themselves very creditably. Mr. Restell, the Government inspector of Schools, who conducted the examination, expressed himself highly gratified with the proficiency of the scholars who appeared to be thoroughly grounded in elemental instruction by the able master, Mr. Hawley. We have seen the working model of a very ingenious machine invented by our C'lief Postmaster for stamping letters with the; date of receipt, &c. The machine stamps letters of any thickness, from a single sheet of paper or empty envelope to a letter half an inch in thickness. The date-stamps supply themselves with ink, the machine counts the number

of letters as they pass through, and shows the num-

ber on a, dial, and gives notice at every hundred by ringing a small bell. Mr. Wright states that on a first trial he stamped 120 letters with it in a minute, 1 and has no dobubt but that a much-larger number

might be done with practice. The machine possesses

the great desideratum in all.machinery of and we havejittle doubt but that eventually come into general use in.large post offices. ' Specimens of the building stones from the various quarries in the vicinity of Christchurch havei beeij submitted to the Commission appointed to report upon the subject. Amongst them are samples from the Governor's Bay Quarries, the property of Mr. Vigers; from Charterisßay; from Mr. F. Thompson's New Reef Quarry; and from the quarries belonging to Messrs. Clegg and (Courtenay respectively. Specimens of tufa have also been supplied by Messrs; Hall Brothers. These stones were forwarded to th 6 Commission in the shape of cubes, for the purpose of being tested. They, have 1 been carved into forms of some elegance by Messrs. Hemingway and Sheriff from instructions given by :Mr. Speechly, and bear upon the face surface the. Sacred Monogram and other designs tastefully and sharply cut and brought out in bold relief.

A young brood of linnets has just made its ap4 pearance at Mount Pleasant, the of Major Hornbrook. The birds are strong and healthy, and we believe that they are the first linnets reared iri Canterbury. Having chronicled this accession to our stock, we have, to record. a loss, for one of the black swans recently imported into the province died a day or two ago. Forty black swans, one hundred fancy pigeons, and an emu have since been imported, and some silkworms have likewise been brought from Sydney. ; Oh Dec. 7th, the horse attached to Redman's advertising car took fright near Birdsey's Hotel, and started off at a furious pace. ; As it reached that portion of the street where a number of men were! employed in . placing supply pipes from the gas. mains to the British Hotel, the elevation caused by refilling, upset the car, and Redman was pitched out, falling heavily on his head. When assistance arrived, it. was found that he was insensible from the effects of the fall, .and had sustained a severe cut.

about an ; inch, in width, on his head. Dr. Iliffewas promptly on the spot, and rendered every possible assistance, The injured man was conveyed in a ; cab to the hospital, and shortly after his arrival at this institution, he regained his sensibility. Not wishing to remain in, the hospital he was taken to his own house, where he is progressing favourably. , On the 7th instant, a dipner was given to Captain Packe, of No. 2 Company of Volunteers, on the occasion of his leaving the province for England. The dinner, which took place at ;the Town Hall, was served up in excellent style l by Messrs. Morton ana Bobertson,. ! About one hundred and twenty partook of the entertainment., After the cloth was removed; the usual loyal toasts were proposed and duly honoured. ; The toast of the evening was the health Of Captain Packe, which was received with a /uror« of applause.,. Captain Packe returned thanks in an appropriate speech. The health of Mrs. Packe was drunk with enthusiasm,,and Captain Packe, in returning thanks, expressed his determination to make New Zealand his ,home, and expressed a hope!that on his return he should find No. 2 Company in as efficient a state as he had left it. He had great con-f fidence in leaving the company in the care of Lieutenant Harman, wbom, he doubted not, would do his utmost in bringing it to the greatest possible position of discipline. The company separated after passing' a pleasant and convivial evening. Mr. John Cuff, proprietor of the Royal Hotel, and one of our earliest settlers, died on the 7th instantj of gastric fever. He was buried on the 10th, with every mark of respect.