TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 1930, 25 February 1867, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

. The West Coast Road Murder,—The portion of newspaper attached to the trousers : found near the body has been identified as part of the Lyttdton Times of Oct. 20,1866. The Panama Mail,—The telegraphic dispatch in another column, giving a summary of;the news by the Panama mail, reached our office at 12.30 this morning. The time at which its transmission from Wellington began is not stated in the original. : Practical Phrenology.—Mr Hamilton will deliver his fourth lecture, this evening, Inthe Town Hall. The lecture will be on ;the moral and spiritual nature of man, and :the harmony of phrenology with religion. Mr Hamilton, in order to induce a larger attendance, has reduced the charge of admission to one shilling. : Westland District Judge,—The newly appointed district Judge for Westland, Mr Edward Clarke, arrived in Hokitika by the Gothenburg, from Melbourne, on Tuesday last. Mr Clarke, although appointed, has hot yet received his commission, and will probably have to go to Wellington before commencing his duties. .Theatre Royal.—Saturday night was the last of the season under the late management. Owing probably to this fact and to the reduction in the prices of admission throughout the house, the attendance was a very numerous one. The pieces produced :were "Who killed Cook Robin?" and

. hate List.—The City Council have advertised for tenders from persons desirous of undertaking the work of revising the ratelist for the present year. The tenders are to to be sent to the office of the Town Clerk before 4 p.m., this day, in order that they may be considered by the Council at their meeting in the evening. Full particulars may be obtained of the Town Clerk. Town Hall.—The annual general meet ihg of the shareholders of the Town Hall will be held this day at 2.30 p.m. The object of the meeting will be the reception of the report of the retiring committee, and the election of officers and managing committee for the ensuing year. Previously to the meeting, the members of the existing committee will meet.

v Sneyd's Town.—We are glad to learn that iarrangements have at length been made with a Tiew to having the streets in Sneyd's Town properly formed and drained. The land has been purchased from the agents of Mr Sneyd, .with a portion of the Charitable Aid Fund, and so soon as the necessary legal formalities have been gone through, by which it will be handed over to the Kangiora and Mandeville .Road Board, men will at once be set on to do ' ! the work. We congratulate the residents in having at length some prospect of being provided with comfortable thoroughfares, which, iit is to be hoped, may not be permitted to fall into such a deplorable condition. Marvels of Percj.—These artistes, who have gained a high reputation, both collectively and individually, in Melbourne and Dunedin, and wherever they have played, make their first appearance at the Theatre Royal this evening. The entertainment will consist of three parts. In the first will be produced " Asmodvus" in which Miss Fanny Brown, a versatile and charming actress will take the leading part. The second part will consist of a variety of performance, including Sisnor Abeco on the harp. Signor Abeco is said to possess a tenor voice far above mediocrity. In the third part, Miss Fanny Brown will again appear, Akaroa School.-A public meeting was held in the School-room, Akaroa, on the evening of Friday, the 22nd inst., for the purpose of electing a school committee. Mr H. G. Watkins was called to the chair. Mr J. D. Garwood proposed, and Mr Brown seconded, that Messrs Latter. H. G. Watkins, Sunckell, Cullen, and Penlington be elected as the school committee, which was carried. It was suggested that a treat should be given to the children, and also that prizes should be awarded for proficiency in learning and good behaviour. This, we believe, the new committee intend doing, the old committee, not thinking such things necessary. Magisterial.—At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Christchurch, on Saturday last, James Fry, who had been detained in custody as suffering from an attack of delirium tremens was discharged, he having recovered from that attack. His Worship kindly cautioned him as to abstinence from drink for the future. James Cook, the witness in the murder case on the West Coast road, was brought up as being of unsound mind. I)rs M arshall and Powell gave evidence to the effect that his mind was impaired from some cause, and he was ordered to be taken to the Lunatic Asylum. George Kennedy, charged with having been drunk and incapable, was discharged with a caution as it was the first time he had appeared before the Bench. Mary Anne Hawker was fined £1 for disorderly conduct in the vicinity of the theatre.

Bush Fibes on the Peninsula.—A fire of the above nature took place on Thursday night last the 21st inst., in the Grehan Valley, Akaroa, destroying a quantity of posts and rails, firewood, &c. The principal sufferers were Mr Funnel and Mr Jones, the former losing a quantity of posts and rails and firewood, the latter losing the whole of his bullock ■ gear and other effects. It is passing strange, after the many warnings that have beengivenand thedeslruction which has taken place through bush fires, that no sooner does a day come which is hotter than any other and the wind gustier than usual—that on such days, about Akaroa, flies spring up in all directions us if by magic, and the difficulty is to find who lights them. This was especially the case on Thursday last. Fires were burning at the back of the town of Akaroa, at German Bay, ttobinson's Bay, Duvauchelle Bay, and different places in other parts of the Peninsula. Mebsb.B Cookb and Co's Ciucus.-This company will make their first appearance on Thursday next. The circus is the property of Messrs Cooke, Zoyara, and Wilson, who have been travelling with it both in Victoria and Sydney. They have also performed at Auckland, and more recently at Hokiiika and Greymouth. In all these places, the proprietors have succeeded in attracting a large

concourse of spectators. The performances are to take place in a large marquee to be erected on the ground at the back of Barnard's Repository. The entrance to it will be through the latter, and both (he canvass tent and the Repository will be brilliantly illuminated with gas. The marquee will cover a space of ahout eighty feet, and will be fitted up with every convenience for the accommodation of the public. The stud left Hokitika yesterday, and will arrive in Christclmrch on Wednesday about noon. The programme includes a great variety of entertainments, and Messrs Cooke and Co appear to have left no exertion untried to please the tastes of the community, Mr James Cooke is the manager, and from his long experience the public are justified in anticipating a circus performauce of no ordinary kind. The Governor's Visit to Otaqo.—We have already given a full account of the reception accorded to his Excellency on his landing in Otago. The following is a brief summary of what he he has done since : On Friday the 15th, his Excellency visited the works going on at the new Post-office, snd inspected the plans; in the afternoon he reviewed „the Otago Volunteers, upon the new drill-ground on the reclaimed land at the south end of the city. The review being ended, three sides of a square were formed by the Volunteers, and his Excellency distributed a number of prizes for rifle shooting. To each prize-taker Ms Excellency addressep a few words of encouragement or of comment. In the evening the Governor was present at a grand Volunteer ball. Saturday was spent by his Excel ency the Governor in visiting various Government and public institutions. On Monday the 18th he received the petition on separation, and then held a levee in the Provincial Council Hall. In the afternoon he was present at the fete of the Friendly Societies, at Vauxhall Gardens, and was entertained at a dejeuner; and in the evening he visited the Princess Theatre. On Tuesday, his Excellency received an address from the Masonic body, and in the evening was present at a lecture " On the Law of Development—Spiritual and Physical," delivered by Mr Justice Richmond, in Knox Church, in aid of the library fund of the Young Men's Society of that church.

Provincial Accounts.—A statement of the provincial accounts for the quarter ending Sept. 30, has just beta handed to us. The Government has no doubt some good reason to advance for this delay, but the public are ignorant of it, and till it is satisfactorily explained have ground for complaint, As usual the statement is divided into the four schedules of Ordinary, Land and Works, Railway and Harbour Works, and West Canterbury Goldfields. The receipts under (he first account for the quarter amounted to £17,052 2s 6d, and the expenditure to £15,346 15s 2d, leaving a balance in favour of the formerof £1,705 7s4d. Subtracting this credit balance from the debit balance of the former quarter—£l2,9B3 2s 4d~we find that there was still a balance against the account of £11,277 15s, at the end of September. The receipts under .the head of land and works were £23,958 17s Bd, and the expenditure £16,294 4 s 4d, which leaves a balance to credit of £7664 13s 4d. But there was a balance against the account of £BO6I 15s 7d, from the previous quarter, and the difference between the two last sums, namely, £397 2s 3d, is the balance standing against the account on Sept. 30. The receipts under the head of railway and harbour works account amounted to £33,459 13s 6d, and the expenditure to £31,98319s Id, leaving a credit balance of £1475 14s sd. To this must be added the credit balance of the previous quarter, namely, £44,123, 6s 53, and we have a balance in favour of the account at the end of the quarter of £45,699 0s lOd. The receipts under the head of West Canterbury Goldfields amounted to £38,059 16s sd, and the expenditure to £35,175 14s lid, which leaves a balance to credit of £2883 Is 6d. This sum subtracted from the debit balance of £105,295 5s 7d, from the former quarter, reduces the debt of Westland to £102,412 4s id at the end of September 30. The balance against the province on Oct. 1 was £64,488 0s 6d. It will be seen from the foregoing analysis that although there is still a considerable balance against the province on the aggregate, the receipts for the quarter in each account were in excess of the expenditure. This excess was applied to reducing former debit balances, and in the case of the land and works account it is cleared off with the exception of some £4OO. Inquest.—An inquest was held on Saturday last, at the Hospital, Christchurch, at 10 a.m., before Mr J. W. S. Coward, Hie coroner of the district, on the remains of a body lately found in the Rakaia. Mr George Jones was chosen as foreman or the jury. Sergeant Horniman was the first witneßi. He deposed that on the 17th inst. he went to the north branch of the Rakaia in company with a man named John Campbell, who pointed out to him the remains of a human skeleton. Witness gathered the bones together and searched the shingle and found the knife produced. Witness brought the remains to the Hospital at Christchurch. He found some clothing, the fragments of Bedford cnrd trousers, and a patentleather gaiter. These were on the remains. The body was found about twelve miles below the South Road ferry, towards the sea, He remembered Mr Walter Wilson and a young man named Macdonald being drowned in the Rakaia about twelve or eighteen months ago. Macdonald's body was found but that of Mr Wilson had not been recovered. He witness had made enquiries, and had found that no one had been drowned since that time. The clothing found on the remains corresponds with those usually worn by Mr Wilson. The remains had been shewn to Mr J. C. Wilson, who thought they were those of his son. John Campbell, the man who found the bones, was called as a witness, but refused to give his evidence unless his expenses were paid. He stated that he had already lost some dayß in harvest time. The Coroner remonstrated with him, telling him that if he persisted in his refusal to give evidence, he (the Coroner) would be compelled to commit him for contempt. Campbell still refused to be sworn, and the inquest was adjourned until this day at 4 p.m., at the Hospital. Inquest at Kaiapoi.—On Friday last an inquest was held at Kaiapoi, before Dr Dudley, coroner for the northern district, on the body of a boy named James Wylie, who had met his death by drowning in the blind creek at Kaiapoi on the day previous. Mr W. L. Powell was chosen foreman of the jury, and the following witnesses were examined. William Thomas Keetley, son of Henry Keetley, Kaiapoi, sworn, said that between four and five p.m., he went with deceased to the blind creek to bathe. He undressed, and went into the water, where he stopped about an hour. The tide was rising all the time, and the water, which was up to his waist when he first went in, gradually got deeeper. All at once deceased disappeared in a deep hole. He and another boy who was on the bank at the time put on their shoes and stockings, which were all they had taken off, and ran to deceased's father's house for assistance. They did not see deceased n'se to the surface after he first sunk. He could not swim. Did not think he knew of the water being anywhere beyond his depth. Charles Edward Dudley, Town Clerk, sworn, said that in the afternoon he received information from the aunt of last witness, soon after five o'clock, that a child was drowned. He went to the creek, ami was shewn the spot, when he went into the water, and felt about in the hole where he had disappeared, but could not find him. He then swam out into the shallow water, and went about half a chain further down, when he found the body lying on its face. Took it out, but there were no signs of life. Deceased must at that time have been in the water about twenty minutes. There were no murks of violence or injury on the body. Several persons who had come to the spot endeavoured by artificial respiration and putting their warm clothes on him to restore animation. Friction was also used. Heat mice sent for a medical man. He was sure deceased was quite dead, as he was stiffer when the doctor arrived than he would be if alive. Had no doubt he was drowned, and by getting out of his depth in the water. A verdict of "Accidentally Drowned" was returned. I

Diabolical Inobnoiti.—One Perrot, a Frenchman, has invented three terribly destructive engines—the first, a three barrelled air gun firing 1,000 bullets a minute, the bullets dropping from a hopper without intermission into the gun; the Becond is similar but mounted on wheels; and the third is a steam locomotive, discharging two pounds weight of projectiles per second, and capable of killing 172,800 men in 24 hours, if but one man was killed to every 100 shots discharged. Education in Victoria.—The following is a summary of the recommendations of the Royal Commissioners on Public Education, based upwi the evidence taken by them, and reported upon to Parliament. The report, a very lengthy document, was laid before Parliament :—The alterations in the existing system of public instruction which we would respectfully submit for consideration may be shortly stated as follows :—l. The enactment of a law making the instruction of children compulsory upon parents. 2. The appointment of a Minister of Public Instruction, responsible to Parliament, with a general superintendence over the interests of education in Victoria, 3. The establishment of public schools from which sectarian teaching shall be excluded by express legislative enactment, and in which religious teaching shall be in like manner sanctiohed and encouraged. 4. Public schools to be placed under the superintence and management, subject to the Minister of Public Instruction, of local committees, to be partly nominated by ratepayers and parents. 5. The teachers in public schools to be admitted to the public service upon passing a prescribed examination; to be under the direction of local committees, subject to the authority of the Minister of Public Instruction-; and to be entitled to receive their salaries, and, after a certain period of actual service, an augmentation allowance, and a retiring allowance from the state. 6. The principles of individual examination of children, and of part payment of the teacher by results, to be retained •, but modifications to be made in the mode of examination. 7. The establishment of a training school for teachers. 8. Annual exhibitions at the grammar schools, Queen's scholarships in the training school, and appointments in the civil service, to be given to the pupils of public schools. 9. A capitation grant, to be conditionally given, for a period of five years to non-vested schools now on the rolls of the Board of Education. 10. Encouragement to be given to the denominations, by means of a grant of increased powers, to part with their school lands to surrender their schools, and contribute to the establishment of public schools. 11. A separate grant to be made for the purpose of aiding instruction in the rural districts, and in missionary educational settlements for the aboriginies and the instruction of the Chinese, and for the pnrpose of aiding ragged schools. 12. The levying of a rate in aid of public instruction upon land in Victoria,