TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1635, 13 March 1866, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

The Provincial Elections.—We understand that Mr. T. H. Potts has consented to come forward for the Port Victoria district. With Mr. Hornbrook, the number of candidates for the Provincial Council seats is now complete. Kaiapoi Volunteers. — The fourth monthly competition for the challenge medal of No. 5 Co. took place at the Kaiapoi Butts on Saturday last. The ranges were 500, 600 and 700 yards, with Hythe scoring position and targets. Sergeant Wright- was the winner with 43 points. This is the second occasion on which Sergeant Wright has proved the best shot at the long ranges. Magisterial.—At the Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday, George Webb, charged with being drunk and disorderly, w s fined 5s ; John Burns, charged with disorderly conduct and using obscene language, was fined 10s; John Cameron, charged with being drunk and incapable, was discharged with a caution; and David Marr

charged with drunkenness and indecency, was fined £1. City Council.—The City Council, which has hitherto performed its duties by the uncertain light of a few composite candles, will next week conduct its business amid the glare of gas-light. Men are at tlje present time busily engaged in laying down the necessary service-pipe, and it is expecte,d that the work will be done by next Monday, when the Council meets again. Cricket.—r-The return match between the Leithfield and Rangiora Cricket Clubs took place on the Rangiora ground on the 10th inst.,when the latter club were victorious, winning the game within one minute of the time for drawing the stumps, but with three wickets to go down. The Leithfield men were very unfortunate in their second innings, no less than 3 wickets falling in one over to the slow bowling of Captain Fuller, without adding to the score. We believe the conquering match will be played on the same ground on the 24th inst. The following are the scores made by each club. Rangiora first innings, 41 ; second, 70 ; Total 111. Leithfield, first innings, 51 ; second do, 57 ; Total 108 - u Sydney.—The Argus telegrams give the following items of news from this colony up to March I.—The Governor returned from Braidwood to-day, and attended a meeting of the Executive, at which it was decided to allow the law to take its course in the cases of Dunn and Bertrand. In the Assembly, the Treasurer stated his intention to make his financial statement to-morrow. The new estimates were laid on the table, and show considerable increase on those the late Government proposed. That on expenditure is £36,225 higher, and on Loan £92,500. Gross increase, £123,725 from estimates, including loan account, £2,733,245, against £2,004,644 last year. It is not at all likely that the Government will accede to the request of the Victorian Government for a conference on the subject of the mail service. This Government is responsible for the entire Australian subsidy to the Panama, New Zealand, and Australian mail service, and if Victoria will not contribute to that service, it is more than probable that the New South Wales Government will withdraw its support from the service via Galle. Inquest.—An inquest was held yesterday by Dr. Coward and a jury on the body of Lydia Smith, at the Royal Oak Hotel. Elizabeth Smith deposed; I am the mother of deceased child, and live near the Devonshire Arms, The child would have been nine months old on 26th instant. It was not healthy. I did not suckle it, but brought it up with a bottle. I took it about a month ago to Dr. Prins at the hospital, as it was suffering from sore eyes and diarrhoea. Under this treatment it improved for a while, but on Friday week last it began to get worse, and on Tuesday last I took it to Cook and Ross and got some medicine for it. On Saturday at one o'clock, the woman's husband, Mr. Eley, with whom the child was, called on me to tell me that it was dead. I am not married, and paid £1 a week for the charge of the child. Leah Healey, wife of John Healey, living in Kilmore Street, deposed ; I have had the child in my care five weeks last Thursday. When I received it it was suffering from diarrhoea. I was paid £1 a week for taking charge of it. I _ fed it on arrowroot, wine and milk. It was taken severely ill last Friday week and I sent for the mother, who came down and she went to a doctor, but he was not at home and she went to the druggist's. It seemed a little better on the Saturday morning, but between 12 and 1 on that day it died. By the Jury: I looked after the child myself; at night, if I went out, a little girl looked after it. I was only out one night during last week. My husband was present when the child died. Dr. Deamer deposed: I examined the body of the child. Externally there were no marks of violence, but it was very emaciated. The lungs and heart were quite healthy. The stomach and bowels were inflamed on the surface and the mucous membrane swollen. The stomach and bowels were so tender as not to bear the touch of the finger. I attribute the appearance to disease. The child died of gastro enteritis. The jury returned as their verdict that the child died from natural causes. Another) inquest was held yesterday at noon, at the Lunatic Asylum, on the body of George Leitchfield. It appeared from the evidence that the deceased, who was a Jew, aged thirtytwo years, was brought from Hokitika as a lunatic in December last. He was placed in the Asylum in the month of January, and died on Sunday last, from softening of the brain. Dr. Coward, the coroner for the Christchurch district, conducted the inquiry. A verdict of " Died from natural causes" was returned. The Princess' Theatre. —Last night was a " grand extra night" at this theatre; the extra performance having been resolved upon in order to introduce to the Christchurch public Mr. W. D. Addison, from the Sadler's Wells and City of London theatres. The play was Ingomar, and Mr. Addison enacted the hero. Ingomar is the leader of one of those Sclavonian bands, whose repeated assaults on Roman civilization eventually laid the mighty empire in the dust. But his epoch was before this catastrophe. Though born and nurtured a Goth, it was his destiny to taste the sweets and the bitters too of civilization, and to achieve not only the envied rank of Roman citizenship but the distinction of high employment under the empire; and hence the character is one of great difficulty to the actor. The drama is in its tone of sentiment a tragedy, and is a very admirable composition; but Mr. Addison is not a tragedian, and is therefore not qualified to delineate the conception of its hero; and we regret that he should have chosen the part for his debut. He may be a respectable actor in some other walks of his profession, and from his intelligent countenance and obvious energy we infer that he is; but neither in look, gesture, nor utterance, did he 'exhibit the soul of a tragedy hero. He enunciated the words of tragedy—beautiful words—but the majesty of nature which should be visible behind and through them was but very faintly sketched. He has a facile elocution, and was restless, abrupt, and rude enough for a barbarian chief; but the sublimity of barbarian impulse, and those latent qualities of emotion by means of which he could be captivated by the refined nature of a Greek girl, and subdued to Rome and civilisation were not made manifest. And in the second phase of his career, when he had laid aside the shield and javelin, and become a civilian of Rome, the metamorphosis was so complete, as to leave no reminder of his recent barbarism, which we think it should have done. For all this he pleased his audience well, and was loudly applauded and called for before the curtain when the play was ended. Miss Aitken as Parthenia, had an arduous part to sustain, but she went through it without any loss of reputation. Mr. Dale as Myron was out of his element altogether. No matter what his character or situation, he must be droll, and the expression of his misery as a captive slave in the barbarian camp was greeted with roars of laughter. " That dastard wretch," the coldblooded, mocking devil, Polydor, was very well enacted by Mr. Furby. The afterpiece was the Bonnie Fishwife, which afforded exquisite amusement, and in which we think Miss Aitken, as Maggie Mac Farlane, surpasses herself in any other character.