TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 2209, 20 January 1868, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

St. John's Presbytery.—A meeting of the members and adherents will be held on Tuesday evening, at half-past 7, for the purpose of moderating in a call for a settled minister,

, Lyttelton Cololnists' Sooiett.--A grand concert, byMons. and Madame Simonsen.will be given at'the institution this evening, in aid of the building fund. An attractive programme has been prepared, and we are glad to hear that there is every probability of there being a good house. ' Nelson Bace MKETiNO.-By telegraph we are informed that the annual race meeting at Nelson will be postponed till the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh, which is expected to take place about the middle or end of April. The Nelson Jockey Club will dffer good stakes.

i The Panama October MAiL.-In the latest telegrams by the Suez mail, it is stated that the Panama mail had not reached London on Deo, 3. This refers, of course, to the October mail from New Zealand. The cause of the delay is no doubt connected with the late earthquake at St Thomas, us an old and slow steamer had to be sent from there with the Australian and West India mails to England,

The Mail Services. Our Wellington contemporary of January 16 states that the tenders sent in for tho conveyance of the Intorprovincial mails have been opened, and that of the N.ZS.N. Company accepted for the following servicesi-From Manukau to Wellington, from Auckland to Port Chalmers, and from Port Chalmers to Manukau. Tho tender of the Pauama Company has been accepted for the'eonvevance of the mails from Wellington to the Bluff, from the -Bluff to Wellington, and from Wellington to Auckland.

_ Tiieatlb RoTAt-.—Our remoto ancestors in Britain believed in the transmigration of souls. L6rd Monboddo held some queer notions regarding the development of man from the monkey, and recent scientific writers have left.an unpleasant impression that tho eccentric Scotchman's ideas wero not altogether wrong. That monkeys have a far-off and horrible restmblnnco to the human species, must ho acknowledged; nor can it he denied that some men are very like monkeys. Anyone who cares to see how far a man may SU ceed in making a monkey of himself, has only to go to the Theatre Royal, when Mr Paul Miirtinotii, in the character of Jocko, will convince him that it iB quite possible to succeed in imitating Nature very closely indeed. Jocko is the drollest, moat mischievous, and most natural little rascal imaginable. SUIAVYN PuKBIIYTBUIAN C'IIUHOH. (hi

Monday week a tea-mectliig was held in the school-room connected with this Church, when a largo number of tho inhabitants attended, and, partook of the refreshments kjn lly provided by thd ladles of the congregation. The Hov John Campbell occupied the chair nnd commenced tho after-proceed-ings by an-Interesting account of thostato and progress of. the Church and school, lie then introduced tho liev Joshua Macintosh, who has jately; arrived from Scotland, being specially commissioned to labour in this province by the colonial committee of the Free Church,. i Mt Macintosh delivered an eloquent address, asdiwas followed! by Messrs Stirling (Treasurer),. ■■ Cunningham* and Stewart. The meeting, which was one of sustained interest to the last, was brought to a closo by devotional exercises,

Tub Somes dOHOUßsuirs.-Wo have to remind our reader* that the competition for the junior scholarships takes place at the GftmmMSohool, to-morrow, and oandldates are requested to ibe in attendance at 10 a.m. Full particular! and Conditions will bo found In our advertising columns of the 19th ult, GAZBWB.-tfhe New Zealand Gazette, No. 1, and dated January 8,I8«B, is entirely occupied with tho Handing ordorg and forms of proceedings relative to private bills. Gazette, No, 2, dated January 11, contains the appointment of Mr W, J. W. Hamilton as Paymaster for the district of the Provlnoo of Canterbury, with tho exception of Westland and tho districts ofTlmaru and Glad■tone, under tho" Public Rovenucs Act, 1867." A copy of a despatch from his Grace tho Duke of Buckingham, to his Kxcelloncy Sir G. Groy, with reference to a caso of leprosy, and enclosing a report on tho subject, is pub. lisiied, It states that leprosy is not contagious, and also recommends attonlion to a more Mcunte registration of births and deaths. Messrs f.Hlll and F. Mai bias are appointed Inspectors of diseased cattle. LieutenantUlonel 11. K. Header Ims been unpointed to the command of the Militia and Volunteers in the Wellington Militia district. Death 1-rom DitowNiNo,—On Friday evening lust a farmer named Lainey was drowned whilst attempting to cross a portion »f the Kaiapoi Island at present inundated by the overflow of the Wuimakiiriri. From the particulars at present to hand it appears that Lainey had been visiting the men at presont employed in making the cutting across the islnnd, and was returning home, when unfortunately attempting to take a short cut across tho flooded land he was washed off his feet and drowned. A friend named Maber was with Lainey when he started to cross the water, nnd cautioned him against taking that particular route. Lainey, however, would go, and succeeded in getting about half way when he looked back as if frightened, and was immediately carried away into deeper water. Mr Maber made every justifiable effort to save him, hut without avail. Lainey at the time of the accident was up to tho waist in the water. The County of WEsiT.AND.-Tn an address to tho Grand Jury at Hokttika, his Honor Mr Justice Richmond made the following remarks ;-I can scarcely avoid noticing a subject which, indeed, is looked forward to most hopefully. I may, therefore, congratulate you on the establishment of the County of Wistland-not as a political victory, or as a political defeat, for that would be highly improper, but as the advent of political rights and political privileges, There is an ugly word which has been used with regard to the establishment of the County of Westland, and that is the" dismemberment" of the Province of Canterbury, Such terms convey an ugly meaning. To talk of t dismemberment conveys the idea of a mutilated trunk and a useless severed limb. Such should not be the light in which the establishment of the County of Westland should be viewed. I look upon it in a very different light; and lam sure the people of Canterbury—if they do not do so now—will ultimately take the same viewviz., that Westland is a hopeful young son, who, coming of age, has taken upon himself the rights and duties of manhood. You, gentlemen, in common with others, have attained certain political rights; but I may tell you, gentlemen, that every political right may be compared to a coin which bears on its obverse the words " political duties." This change will bring with -it onerous duties which, no doubt, you will be prepared to fulfil. If you do not, as the leading inhabitantsof the place, prepare to take up and discharge those duties properly, the result will be that it will bring on misgovernment which will be attended with frightful results, and will, I fear, bring plenty of work to this Court. Every man has duties to discharge to his fellow man, [and to discharge these he must find time to look up from his ledger and bill book.

Magisterial.—On Saturday, at the Magistrate's Court, Chrictchureli, before C. C Bowen, Esq., R.M., and R, J. S. Harman, Esq., the following business was transacted. James Connelly was brought up on remand charged with having been illegally on premises. Some witnesses were examined in reference to the character of prisoner, but nothing was elicited to his disadvantage, and he was discharged. Martha Jones was charged with having been drunk and disorderly. She was fined 10s. Kate Coglan, charged with disorderly conduct and with having used obscene language in a public thoroughfare, was fined 40s. Thomas Mullins attended to hear the judgment of his Worship on two cases which had been heard against him. In reference to the first,, in which he had been charged with having driven a passenger off his beat, and put him down auhe passenger's own house, his Worship said the act was illegal, but as it appeared to have been done out of civility, and had not been charged for, he would not inflict a penalty this time, but the act must not be repeated. In the other case defendant was charged with having carried parcels in his 'bus without a carrier's licence. His Worship said this also was clearly illegal, and was an infringement on the rights of carriers. On this charge he was fined 10s. Herman Jackson and Raphael Jones were charged with vagrancy. Sergeant McKnight said they had come from Hokitika with five or six others, and had been gambling with dice on the raceCourse, and associating with prostitutes. Sergeant-Major I'ardy corroborated the foregoing evidence, and said the prisoners answered to the description of persons who were suspected of having committed robberies on the course; and Sergeant Beattie said they had been under the surveillance of the police at Hokitika and the Grey, where they had kept the company of thieves and proatitutes. The accused denied the charges. His Worship discharged them on condition that they quitted the province at once, which they promised to do.