TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2497, 4 January 1869, Page 2

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Woodend Sports, —A series of rural sports took place on New Year’s evein Mr Ball’s paddock, Woodend, and passed off very successfully. Registrar’s Returns. — Eighty-seven births were registered in the Christchurch district during the month of December, 1868 namely—males, 44; females, 43. The deaths during the same period were 24. Meetings of Creditors, —Meetings of the creditors of Hugh McGregor, James Woodford, and Meshaeh Clements were to have been hold on Saturday before the Registrar in his Chambers, but as no creditors attended, the meetings were adjourned until Saturday next.

Burns’ Anniversary.—The admirers of Burns heldnmeotingntthcLomlon Restaurant on Saturday night, for thopurposcol'arranglmr preliminaries for an anniversary festival There was a large attendance, and it was resolved that a dinner should take place on Hie 29th instant, when it is anticipated that a large party will assemble.

Oxi'oni) Bush Fiue.-A correspondent, writing on Jan, 2, says:—The appearance of the bush is truly awful. Since I wrote Inst another house, belonging to Mr John Day’ bus been burned down, and it lias been with the greatest difficulty Seaview House Mr Kenrick’s, Mr Cusdeu’s, Mr Waring’s, and some others, have been saved. The wind abated on Thursday night, but rose a-niiu next morning from the north-east, blowing -t perfect hurricane, and driving the flames in 11 contrary direction. 'J’hc exertions of the sergeant of police were beyond all praise; he did what he could to preserve the property tlmt appeared to be, tiny way in jeopardy. I ersons living at a distance cannot form any' conception of the injury being done, 1 sit writing here, more than twenty chains from the nearest point of the fire, and yet 1 can hear it very distinctly. Many families will be utterly ruined by it, and it must, in the very nature of things, throw the district back for years.

The Weather,—A mostacceptable change in the weather took place on Saturday morning. The drought and parching north wester which have prevailed for such a lengthened time, gave place to a strong northcast wind, and in the evening rain commenced to fall in refreshing showers. The effect upon the crops will be a most important one, for much anxiety had been felt during the latter part of lost month, and had the drought continued much longer, the loss to farmers would have been very great. In Lyttelton, the swell caused by the high wind was so very heavy, that it was impossible for boats to get down to the ships, and we may safely assert that there has not been such a sea on since February last. Most of the vessels dragged their anchors, but not to a very great extent, and there has fortunately been no damage to small crafts. South Selwyn Presbyterian Church.— The annual tea-meeting in connection with this church was held on the evening of New Year’s Day. There was a very good attendance, and the meeting was one of the best ever held in the district. The speakers were the Revs. J. Campbell and W. J. Habens, and several members and adherents of the congregation. At the close of the meeting, votes of thanks were given to Mr Habens, the ladies, and the chairman. The children attending South Selwyn School, held in the Presbyterian Church, were examined on Dec. 22, by the Rev. J. Campbell and some members of the Committee. At the close of the examination, the children were addressed, and prizes were distributed by the Rev. j’ Campbell on behalf of the members of the Committee, who expressed their satisfaction with the progress the children had made, and the interest they showed in their various lessons. We are glad to hear that arrangements have been made for erecting a Government school in this district, on an acre of ground granted by Mr Brook, one of the residents.

Concert at Rangiora.— Mr Merton’s singing class gave their usual New Year’s concert, on Friday evening last, The concert opened with the glee “ Life’s a Bumper ” well played by the brass band. Subsequently, the band played a march and “Mynheer Vandunck” in capital tune and time. The vocal portion of the programme comprised the glees and choruses “Hark the Lark,” “Swiftly from the Mountain’s brow,” “ When winds breathe soft,” “ Come bounteous May,” and “ Ye shepherds tell me.” All these were executed with remarkable precision and correctness of style, the latter receiving an encore. The only solo sung during the evening was the “Death of Nelson ” by Mr Merton. Although he was suffering from a cold, it met with a hearty round of applause. At the conclusion, Mr Merton announced his intention of giving a series of lessons on music free to all who chose to avail themselves of it. He also announced the intention of the classes to give a concert in aid of No. 4 C.R.V. on Thursday next, after the fair. A dance took place after the entertainment, and was kept up with spirit till 12 o’clock. The attendance was very large.

The Races.—The sites for publicans’ and other booths at the forthcoming Metropolitan meeting, were sold by auction at Barnard’s Repository on Saturday afternoon, and as a whole the result was satisfactory. The attendance was very large, but the only briskness in bidding may be said to have been for the right of vending the ’krect cards. This brought an unusual sum and made up for deficiencies in some of the other lots. The jockey club, profiting by the experience of last year had reserved to themselves the right of accepting or rejecting the purchase of the Grand Stand catering, and whether it was that the publicans did not like this proceeding, or the upset price was too high, we do not know, but it was certainly knocked down to Mr Barnard without a bid. The vendors of pastry and fruit having been informed that no hawkers would be permitted on the ground, better prices were realised for the stands, and the jockey club also announced that they had made ample arrangements for preventing a repetition of the Leeston incorrect card selling. The prices obtained were as follows, the purchasers selecting their sites according to priority of purchase:-Grand Stand, £5O, W. D. Barnard. Publicans’booths—J. W. Oram,£2B 7sJ. W. Oram, £3O; J. Brunt, £27; R. Beattie, £27; F Slee, £24; R. Beattie, £22 10s, Fruit and Confectionery— G. and A, Gee (two sites), £8 Bs, and £5 5s ;-Boot (two sites) £3 each. Cards, £6O, W. Simmonds. Horse yards, J. Brunt, £6128. Amusements, Barlow, £ll. The sum realised was £303 19s, as against £273 4s last year.

Westland Races.—The Spring meeting under the auspices of the Westland Jockey Club, was held on- Dec. 29, 30, and 31 at Hokitika, and appears to have been a great success. The events of the first day were as follows:—Trial Stakes, of 20 sovs, I’■ miles, weight for age ; won by Mr Stafford’s ch m Nebula, 6 yrs, who was not called upon during the race. Mr Arkell’s Kohler, Mr Fowler’s Little Briten, and Mr Smith’s Regalia also ran. Hurdle race, of 40 sovs 2 miles, weight for age ; won easily by Mr Miller’s Brown Stout, aged, five other horses ran. Selling Race; of 20 sovs, l-> miles ; won by Mr Arkell’s Kohler, who was"entered to be sold for £4O. Hokitika Town Plate, of 40 sovs, 2 miles, weight for age; won by Mr Stafford’s Nebula, who was “ never extended | roperly throughout the race,” as the report says, The chief events of the second day were as follows:—Westland Jockey Club Handicap, of 100 sovs, 2 miles and a distance; cleverly won by four lengths by Mr Stafford’s Nebula, carrying lost 12 lbs. The other horses were Mr Marshall’s Mocking Bird, Mr Arkell’s Kohler, Mr Dyson’s Corsair, and Mr Fowler’s Little Briton. Handicap Hurdle Race, of 60 sovs, 2J mileswon by Mr Howerth’s Blink Bonny, aged’ carrying lost 7 lbs, Brown Stout second’ Ladies Purse, of 20 sovs, 1J miles, welter weights; won by Mr Stafford’s Nebula carrying 12st 4 lbs, who cantered in an easy winner by half-a-dozen lengths; Little Briton a bad second, carrying flst 12 lbs. On the third day, no event of importance came off.

Rural Sports Committee.—The committee met at the City Council Chamber on Saturday evening at 7 o’clock. Present— Messrs Alport, St Quentin, Jameson, Captain Wilson, W. H. W. Williams (Treasurer) and G. Gordon (Hon. Sec,) In the absence of the Mayor (President), Mr Jameson was called to the chair. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. The Treasurer stated that the total amount received was as follows :—Subscriptions and donations, £69 9s; entries for the games £l7 ss; platform, £7 7s; concert, £l7l6s’ Total, £llll7s. The balance sheet will be madeup for publication assoonasthe accounts come to hand. The sum of £65 17s 6d was paid in prizes, and the balance of £55 19s 6d remains to pay expenses. It was then decided that a meeting should be called at an early date in order to form a regular association for carrying out. public amusements generally. Mr Wynn Williams drew the attention of the committee to the kind assistance given by the various officers of the police force on the ground in keeping the lines, mid though not in the ordinary course of their duties, as fortunately and happily Iheir services iu this direction were not required, be thought that the thanks of the committee and the public wore due to the police, and begged to move a vote of thanks accordingly. The lesoliition was carried unanimously. Mr Gordon moved a vote of thanks to Mr Hall, Mr Williams’ clerk, for his kind assistance during the whole day as Acting-Secre-tary, Mr Alport seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously, The Secretary toad a letter from Mr Olhvier aplogising for his absence, and sugesting’ that the Sports Committee and the Winter Entertainment Committee should if possible be amalgamated. Mr Alport moved, and Mr St. Quentin seconded, “That it is desirable that an amalgamation of the Sports Committee be made with the Winter Entertmnment' 'ommittee, and that the honorary secretary be instructed to write .to Mr Ollivier, requesting him as chairman to invile members of the Winter Entertainment Committee to meet at the City Council Chamber on Tuesday evening next at seven 0 clock, to effect the above object.” The resolution was carried. The committee shortly after adjourned,

Courtenay.—A treat was given to the children of this school on New Year’s Day. About 150 sat down to tea, which was supplied by the ladies of the district. After tea a meeting was held, Colonel Brett in the chair. The speeches were interspersed with soilgs and recitations by the children, which reflected great credit on their teachers, Mr and Mrs Cheyne. The following prizes were distributed: — Mabel White, and George Leadley, for attention and progress; Annie Lennox, and Frederick W. Painter, for good behaviour. The progress of the children, and the management of the school, appear to give general satisfaction thoughout the district.

Rangiora Annual Sports.—The inhabitants of Rangiora observed New Year’s Day by holding a capitally arranged series of rural sports. These took place in a paddock kindly placed at the disposal of the committee by Mr W. B. Tripe. Refreshments were provided on the ground by Mr C. Sinclair, of the Junction Hotel, Rangiora, and a confectionery booth was kept by Mr Parker. The whole of the arrangements were excellent, reflecting credit on the committee #f management. The police on the ground had ■othing to do, although drinking the time honoured toast of “ A happy new year ” was by no means overlooked by the majority of those present. The proceedings were greatly enlivened by the strains of Mr Merton’s brass band, who played well and contributed not a little to the success of the meeting. A hack race was included in the programme, but in order to prevent it militating in any way against the other sports, the course being some distance from the paddock, it was run at 11 a.m., before the commencementof theothersports. The course on which this race was run, was laid out on some waste land on the banks of the Ashley, which, with some improvements, could be rendered all that could be wished for the purpose. The race was ran by horses the property of men living north of the Waimakariri, and that have never run for public money. Ist prize, £2 10s; 2nd do, £l. Entrance, ss. Distance, 2 miles. There were 5 entries, and the race was won by Mr Bassingthwaite’s Ilit-or-Miss, ridden by Mr Jephson, Mr Keating’s Charley, ridden by Mr Kersey, ran a good second. The tilting match was attended with great success, attracting 19 entries. Mr Pentecost took Ist prize, £7, with 6 rings out of 12; Scoon, 2nd, £3, with 4 rings. The wrestling match went off in all good fellowship, and caused a good deal of amusement, James Brown took Ist prize, £2; Thomas Noble, 2nd, £l. The wrestling was in Cumberland style. The bullock-race resultedin'a walk-overforhalf the stakes, only one entry being made. The three-legged race, was as usual, good fun— Jarret and Evans Ist, 15s; Pope and Mate 2nd, 10s; distance 100 yards. Pentecost took the flat race of 300 yards easily. A sheep, presented by Mr Luxton, was run for, and caused a spirited race. The pole jumping was a capital feature in the programme. It was well contested, and attracted a large crowd to witness it. The wheelbarrow race was a laughable affair, one of the competitors running himself and barrow through a gorse hedge and into the ditch outside, without' injury to himself. All the other events in the programme were contested with spirit, and passed off admirably. A great feature iu the sports was the outdoor dancing, which was spiritedly indulged in by large numbers of both sexes. Last, though not by any means least, we must notice the amusements provided for children. For this purpose £5 was placed at the disposal of Messrs Luxton and Thompson. The sum was expended in races, jumping matches, and scrambling. These amusements were supplemented by Mr Jennings’ round-about, a private speculation, which was well patronised. A hack sweepstakes, got up on the ground, concluded the day’s sports. It was won by Mr G. Bessel’s mare ; Mr Mounsey’s pony, running second.