TOWN & COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVI, Issue 6474, 26 November 1881, Page 4

TOWN & COUNTRY.

Hisur Pabk.—The running course ia BagleyPark it being prepared for the forthcoming sports on Annivereary Day. The which has overgrown the course, •’* heing removed, and tome inequalities in the path levelled. TpKPMOKB KxTSjf*io».—ye«!«rdaj Mr Madding* and hie staff officer, Mr Ocoghrgan, proceeded to Sefton to arrange for the connection between Meant Vacghan end Cordner’a store* at defton and Waikari, and also to attach both of their places of business with the telephone exchange in Christchurch. The advantage of each a connection in a basines* Ukt« Messrs Vaughan and Oordnor’* cannot be over-estimated.

Tna Matoait luenov.—Mr Gapes addr*e*<Hl a medio* of citixeni, la the Academy ef Mutos, k*t evening, Mr S. P. Andrew# in the chsir. A report of the proceeding* up* peer* elsewhere. Th« Wjlxwo&ks.—There wee e fair et. tendance it the exhibition in the Oddfellow*' H»U yesterday. To-day a concession in favour of children is made, admission foHhsm being reduced to threepence etch up to *lx o'clock in the erasing. Button’* Band alao will supplement the other attractions, to that visitor* will hare no lack of entertainment, Waimatb Racing Own.—A meeting of thin Club was held at Dooley's Hotel Waimate, on Wednesday night, Mr M. Stud, holm* in the chair. It wa» resolved to hold the race* as usual on January l t and a programme similar lo that of last m. adopted,. Vmmuk Srosra Awoounov.-A meet* in® of the Popular 8po«* Association was held at the Cuy Council Chamber* yesterday. A number of matter* of detail counseled with the *p«rt* ca Anniversary Bay were arranged. A report of the raveling will he found risewhere.

Oaioßmo von Taut—W. W. Charters was committed at tbs Resident Magistrate's Court yroterday morning to take hi* trial at the next Criminal Sessions of the Supreme Court, on a charge of forsing a bill of exchange. Mr Joyce applied for bail, and his Worship though not disposed to grant the application, said ho would consider the matter, and give his decision on Monday next.

Thb Lima Rites Railway.—On Monday last, the engine expected at Little River to take away some trucks left at tho beach on the last Journey, did not arrive owing to an accident occurring at one of tho crossings at Groenpark. It appears that some stones had broom* lightly jammed between the rail*, causing the engine to bo thrown off tho rail*. No material injury resulted, however, and the engine arrived at Little River the next day, and took away several truck loads of sawn timber, totara posts, firewood, and wooL

CAVT3iBTrsr 800 Show.—A meeting of the Canterbury Bog Show Committee wee held aI The Shades last evening. £54 of the prise money m paid ov<r to the various winners. 'Xhe Committee hue decided to offer aU first prisc-takere the option of taking » diver medal—engraved with the name of the winning dog and that of its owner—in lira of the prise money. If those who are entitled to firat prizes will communicate with the Secretary, Mr W. G. Walker, as to their choice, they esn have the medals engraved for them if they desire it, and any who have r.«< received their prise money can obtain it ou application to Mr E. B. Beacon. a caboa Borough Council.— At, the snooting of this Council on Wednesday last, the Domain Committee reported to the effect that certain lands within the Borough of Albinos had been set apart for recreation and Domain purposes; that no stops were ever tdm either {7 the Provincial Executive of Hie day or the members of the Board them* selves to bring the land in question under the Domains Act of 1872. The Council have already confirmed the principle of taking the Domain in their own hands and relieving the present Domain Board of their trust, as is evident from the Council’s letter of July 12, 1877. This position your Committee still recommend, behaving that sooner or later the Domain management must fall into the hands of the Council, as the only elective body responsible to the ratepayers. The funds at the credit of the present Board are about £lB5. Year Committee further ask to be continued; to enable them to more fully report on the question of bow and when the reserve in question was mode over os a re* creation ground. The report was received and adopted, and further time granted to the Committee to make inquiries. Tii Tajpp Wxslstaw Chuech.— The foundation-stone of the Thi Tapu Wesleyan Church was laid yesterday. The church will he of wood on concrete foundation, the dimensions being 44ft by 40ft. The gothic style of architecture ham wen aaopwtf, ana UU church wm seat 200 persons. It will cost about £SOO. The Bers J. A. Taylor (Chairman of the Canterbury Districl), J. Bailer, J. 8. Smalley, W. Beall, W. Baumber, J. J. lewis and a numerous company were preffpnt After the preliminary service, the Bev <f. 8. Smalley read a document which was pLwMut under the stone, containing a short history of the progress of the Church in Hew oual.wil. after which the Bev J. Bailer hud the fto"*. and delivered as interesting address. ffh* collection, i ni *i ni^n g a donation of £lO from Mr 6. Gould, amounted to £l7 2s. A crowded tea meeting was held in the evening, followed by a public meeting. The was taken by Mr Peryman, who staled that the proceeds of the tea mootlag bad realised £2O Os 6d. Addresses wore delivered by the Eero Baumber, Buller, Esall, Lewis and Mr Broughton, and gsvecal of sacred musie were rendered by the choir. Hearty votes of thanks were accorded the ladies who had provided the tea, the speakers a"d the choir, and the proceedings terminated. Sbbb? oar Cbiccbt Fiblm.—ln consequence of the local in yesterday's Lyttelton Tima, Mr Armstrong, Curator of the Domain, has inspected the Hagloy Park Cricket Ground, and reports as follows; 1 cannot ere that any harm whatever has been Ann* to the cricket ground itself. Along the north ride of toe ground there are two fences, one of posts and wire, and the other a doable row of thorns. The wire fence is in good etder, but the thorns have been cut down to the height of a foot or eighteen inches, in a v&ej foolish manner, and at present they have almost bare stem*. Ho real injury has been to the trees except by hoys and horses. «TO„» gross has been very much improved by the aoeep. Altogether, I am convinced that ths sheep do very little barm, and they certainly obviate toe dancer of fire.” We observe from this that Mr Armstrong has appasootly omitted to inspect the upper (or answer} ground, the cricketers playing on which hare made the loudest complaints. We did not say that any damage bad been done to the turf of toe Association ground 5 but sheep can make it useless or awkward to rfar upon in other ways, which probably have not occurred to Mr Armstrong. This has actually been the case. It is right, however, to mention that the fence* round the grounds are under the control of the cricket dub*, who should look after too gans. Still, if the sheep were not turned into too plantation* they would not get in, and proaahly the cricketer* and the Domain Board will readily be able to come to eoma arrangement on the subject. Akjlboa County Council. —A meeting of this Council was held on Wedne»dny last; present—Mr Baker (the newly-cleoted Chairman), and Messrs J. Gobble, Fleming, TMtgrew, Joblln, Barnett, Maeefteld, Barker, and toe Bev K. B. Bradley. A large amount of haziness was transacted, of which the following are the chief items. The Chairman said ha roughly cttimaled their assets were as follows Present balance, £600; expected subsidy, about £BOO ; dog tax, not available till March, about £400; license fees,£2so, TbU made a total of £2250. The liabilities, as far «e he could learn, were about £1763, viz. Accounts due Armstrong, £150; cemetery and recreation account, £66; election expenses, £7O; dog colkr* £ls, Clerk £37; Inspector of Ulaughter-houses, £5 Betides thiothere was some £l-100 due to‘the charitable aid <tccount They would, therefore, have only some £4OO or £6OO to work on for the year-a very small particularly a* the Clerk’s salary and the adWrtiring would have to come- ot ± JJ* certainly thought they should be in sjpMtaso to impose a trie if it were found absolutely jMCMiarT. and they could not do «o without a roll wi prepared. The cost of preparing toe roll would be about £3O- **^ r .“*V mission, in which several OdoboOlow took part, it was resolved that the preparation of a valuation roll would be premature. Mr A. C. Knight waited en the Council respecting the Mount Boisu road. It was resolved that the Akaroa and Wainui Bead Board be written to, asking them what stops they intended to take to open op the new road through Bhodes’ Flat, WrinuL Messrs M’Gregor and Jacobsen were nominated members of the Akaroa High School Board. trsaeocting a number of other matter* ef local importance the Council adjourned.

Ulii Wilmot ad*mii^ 5 ahdUlo ® fc *»kburton on ” Ih# Hoa w * Holleiton will hm? tUu f nt ?„ I this •wnto*. at the ”* m Hall Bawnul, The Tramway Cora* *“■ ®® <s ‘ 4c ‘ l l« tm » special train, to *^rtheSltig qU4M ttt 645 p m> ‘ r ® turniß * Tail MoNtAouß-Ttmaan Opbba Company. ~lt i* announced that neat* for the forth* comingopemsmon can be secured at Messrs MUaw and Thompson's, and that packets of twelve tickets, available for any evening, oan 77® a considerable reduction on the single rates.

WAKANOI School, —An entertainment, fallowed by a hall, was given at Wakanui on Thursday evening, in aid of the School Prise Fund. A programme of music, comprising songs, Ac,, by a number of Ashburton friends, . was gone through, and altogether the mooting • great success, the very large audience showing evident signs of thorough enjoyment. iNTBBOOWNIAt WIATHIB KXOHANOB.The following telegram has been received '• Sydney, Thursday» The depression reported yesterday has now passed over Tasmania. S.W. winds, with rain, are prevailing on the B.W. coast of Australia. On the New South Wale# coast a hot wind is blowing from N. W. The barometer registers: Portland, 29 9: Hobart, 29’4 1 Sydney, EO'B." An entecUinaent will bo given on Monday oven. Inf at St John’s schoolroom. The programme will consist of a number of vocal and instrumental selections, given by several well known amateurs, interspers'd with recitations and addresses. The OafcrO Horticultural end Poultry AssortsWon lipring Show will bo held at the West Uztord Town Half on Tuesday, 800. 13. The annual festival, in connection with St Andrew’s Church, Oiford, will bo celebrated on Wednesday next. Divine Service will bo held at 0 a.a., and will be followed by a bazaar, tea meeting, and concert. The Bang torn brass band will bo in attendance, and enliven tho proceedings with a number of selections during the day. The master of the Industrial School, Burnham, wishes to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of tho following sums towards tho children’s Christ* mas troats—Mr A. J. White 1 guinea; Messrs Taylor and Oakley, A 3; Mr B. Button, 10s; Mr J. : Waller, 10s j Messrs Aitken and Boberts, *l l Mr Ayers, 10s; Mr Howell, 10s; and W. 8., 8 guineas. Any further subscriptions for tho same will bo most thankfully received by the master, or Dr Pries. A meeting of persons interested in holding tho Halswoil Sports will bo held on Monday evening, at tho Junction Hotel. A public meeting of the ratepayers of Christchurch will be held on Monday, at tho Academy of Music, tor the purpose of hearing the views of the candidates tor the Mayoralty. The Bev James Kirkland, of Otago, will preach in the North Belt Presbyterian Clutch to-morrow at both services.

Tti* first day of tbs Dunedin Baoas has been altered from Nov. 80 to Nor. 28, bnt possessors are reminded by the Hallway authorities that tho issue of siscle.tare tickets commences on Hot. 28, available for return up to Doe. fi. This arrangemoot will still enable passengers to arrive in time for the first day's races. The Lancaster Park Juniors will ploy the third Eleven of the same Club to-day. Play to commence at 3 p.m. sharp. All Juniors are requested to roll up. The Double. Sculling Bane in connection with the Union Bowing Club takes place at S.SO this afternoon, bom Pratt’s to too Willows, for tho Commlttee’s prise. The following are the crews First heat: F. Puller and B. H. Payne v. D. T. Clifford and F. E. Hyman. Second heat: F. D. Keeteron and H. D. Hinge v. B. Borland and W. Martin. Odd crow: H. T. Johnson and J. B. Johnston.

Tbs Bev J. Crowes will preach in toe Bible Christian Church, Lower High street, to-morrow evening- The oubieot of the discourse will bo •* Tho toaehisg of the great (Ecumenical Methodist Conference recently held in London,*’‘viewed in tho light of toe Now Testament.

The Captain op thi Penguin,—The New Zealand Times says that Captain Malcolm has resigned the command of the Penguin, and retired from the service of the Union Company. He etill, however, retains his connection with the Company, in which he was one of the largest shareholders. Ah Official Mistake.—Oats are just now objects of as much interest in Fiji as a few weeks ago they were in Wellington. It seems that lately it has been deemed desirable to obtain a return of all the live property belonging to the Natives in Fiji, and circulars were sent oat requesting that lists of all their goats, fowls, geese, Ac., Ac., should' be made susi a? writer, and some of the letters were not quits dear. From this it came to pass that in the Favua district the Native Officer read Kose, the word for cats in that dialect, instead of Knee, the Fiji method of pro* Bouncing goose. In consequence every avail* able sonbe in the district is engaged in looking up all the cats in the various towns, and the town officers are at their wits’ end to know how they are to get an accurate census of the feline tribe that have taken to the bush. What’s is a Name ?—“ Atlas ” in the World makes the following bit at the craving for pretty and unusual names, from which the members of the theatrical world suffer: —“ Young ladies who, before adopting the profession of the stage, are desirous of /.hanging their names, cannot be too careful. Adebufanle thought it a clever thing to call herself Mdlle Lena. She fancied in her artless Cockney way that there was a neat significance in it, for it was her especial pride to excel the immensely-advertised Sarah in the matter of excessive slimness. I think it was her friend young Mr Fastpace, of Trinity College, Oxford, who first disgusted her with her fancy by calling her attention to what the Latin dictionary bad to say about it. Now I read in the New Zealand papers that a young 6Ctr6M has boon BlAiriog in Nelson undor fcho of Miss Louise Beaudet. Perhaps if she had known that this is equivalent to Miss Donkey she would have preferred to have remained plain Jones or Smith, as the ease may have been. T/iauivu. The correspondent of the Otago Dailg Timet writes :—The gold discoteries in Tasmania arc likely to bo eclipsed by the rapid development of the tin-bearing districts, particularly Eingarooma, m the County Dorset, about 80 miles from Launceston, and Mount BUchoff, in the County Bussell. The estimated value of gold from alluvial (£20,000) and quart* (£98,500) for the six months ending the 30th Juno last amounted to £120,600, while the value of tm exported for the same period was £158,927. Tin speculation has taken a firm hold of the Victorian mind, and more than a dozen companies have been floated over there to work Tasmanian tin on an average capital of £60,000. Of course this development has led to a large amount of shoddy speculation. Adventurous individuals took up from 80 to 240 acres under mineral leases for 21 years at 6s per acre per annum; and if they had oven but a meagre presence of the metal, their sections gointo the hands of some Melbourne broker, and hey. presto! in a week or so they have blossomed into a full-grown company with a capital of £60,000 in £1 shares. of which about half ore usually reserved for the benefit of tbs lessees and—the brokers. For all f *»■»*, it is now manifest that the lode and stream tin deposits will supply this and another generation with a largo amount of wealth, and when proper machinery is proTided to work the various leases taken upnow numbering about f«dr« her place as one of the largest mineral exporters In the Australasian Colonies. Fbozbh Meat—Xus Haslbm Machine. —Bpeaking of the shipment of frozen meat wr the s.s? Orient, the London correspondent &£ws=^“sS *r d » ass*« ■bTkTwS -s** ss whole lot would readily w»4 •"“% at 6d per lb. The meat X., n bvtho being the first shipment froMn meat Hue lam machine, the thomca has been subjected to much criticism by au butchers end salesmen who b»v® a . tho I am informed that, beyond aU doubt, tbo meat has come to band in a for ® one some progress. This is a great torture lnd«^ if it bf JS

wgard to the best breed of sheep to send Home, ho adds" Merinos will not do for this market, at they are too small, and contractor# and butchers insist on a certain number of carcasies making a certain weight. Only this morning I hoard a butcher say i "They are good enough, no doubt, but you must sell them as rabbits, not as sheep."

Nativb Danobb in Fiji. —The most graceful of all Fijian dancce woe one which represents the breaking of the waves on a coral reef, a poolio idea admirably rendered. Tears ago I remember the delight with which we hailed an exquisite statuette in Sir Noel Baton's studio, representing'the curling of a wave by a beautiful female figure, supposed to be floating thereon t but 1 never dreamed that we should find the same idea so perfectly carried out by a race whom wo have been wont to think of only as ruthless savages. The idea to be convoyed is that of the lids gradually rising on the roof, till at length there remains only a little coral isle, round which the angry breakers rage, flinging their white foam on every side. At first the dancers form in long lines and approach silently, to represent the quiet advance of the waves. After a while the linos break up into smaller companies, which advance with outspread hands and bodies bent forward to represent the rippling wavelotr, the tiniest waves being represented by children. Quicker and quicker they come on, now advancing, now retreating, yet, like true wares, steadily progressing and gradually closing on every side of the imaginary islet, round which they play or battle, after the manner of breakers, springing high in mid-air, and flinging their arms high above their heads, to represent the notion of spray. As they leap and toss their heads, the soft white masi, or native cloth (which for !;reater effect they wear as a turban, with ong streamers, and alio wind round the waist, whence it floats in long soarf-liko ends), tromb'es and flutters in the breeze. The whole effect is most artistic, and the orchestra do their part in imitating the roar of the surf on the reef, a sound which to them has a never-ceasing lullaby from the hour of their birth. —Albany Sunday JPress. A Woedy Obatob.—A most amusing meeting was held in Dunedin the other night. An enquiry has been hold into the conduct of the Benevolent Institution, of which nothing came, and the promoters, prominent amongst whom is a Mr Hitchcock, called the meeting to consider the state of affairs. The gentleman mentioned occupied some two hours reading documents, and could not be induced to come to the point, till the audience in disgust dispersed. It was amusing, says the Star, to notice the behaviour of his hearers. .A quarter of an hoar of Mr Hitchcock’s ravings was quite enough for some of them, and they left the hall, while others gave in at half an hour ; an hour saw the attendance reduced by half its number; at an hour and a half there were only eight persons left; and during the lost quarter of an hour there were present only Messrs Hitchcock, Tyree, and Beil, and two of the audience. Repeatedly had the chairman tried to get Mr Hitchcock to come to something practical, bat it was useless until the former declared he would close the meeting. Then Mr Hitchcock gave in, and called one of his “ principal witnesses," a Mr Eldred, to state what be knew about the Institution's affairs; but great amusement was caused by Mr Eldred delivering himself as follows:—“I shan’t hare anything to say—l*m so thoroughly disgusted with the way you’ve been going on. Why, all the best oases that I have heard about, yon have not gone into at all." Mr Hitchcock replied that the Chairman and others had " ehnt him np," and that he bad enough to read to last for boon. It was pointed oat to him by the Chairman that people would not stop to listen to the stuff he had been reading, and that the “ meeting ” had therefore better be closed. No one proposing a vote of thanks to Mr Hitchcock, the Chairman had to do it himself, and the proceedings ended.