TOWN & COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXIV, Issue 9168, 30 July 1890, Page 4

TOWN & COUNTRY.

Parliamentary. —The Legislative Councillors yesterday made further progress with the Bill for the reform of the Chamber. The House of Representatives, after the questions of the day had been disposed of, reverted to the Estimates. In the course of the proceedings it ■ became apparenttbabthe influences brought to bear upon the Economists had been to some extent successful. The vote for the Registrar-General's Department was reduced by only .850, and at two o’clock this morning the next item, Agent-General’s Department, .£5230, was still in dispute. Many members evidently think the present Agent-General should be replaced by someone more in touch with, the Colony. The latest phase, when the telegraph office closed, was that the Government had offered to accept a reduction of .£SOO on the departmental vote.

Addington Workshops Band. The annual ball promoted by the members of this band will be held to-morrow evening, in St Michael’s schoolroom. Complimentary. - The residents of Woolston and the neighbourhood are making preparations to entertain Mr W. Bowron at dinner on Saturday evening prior to his departure for the Old Country. Inglis’ Buildings. —At noon yesterday Mr Charles Clark offered at public auction the lease of Inglis’ Buildings, forty-two years to run, at a ground rent of J 5573. There was a fairly numerous attendance, but no bid was received. Obituary. —The Colonies and India of May 23 contains the news of the death of Major Eccles, which took place in India. The deceased gentleman, it will be remembered, was formerly aide-de-camp to Sir William Jervois, and deft New Zealand to rejoin his regiment in India—to die in harness. L.O.L.—The ladies of No. 1 No Surrender Lodge held their monthly meeting in the Orange, Worcester street, on Eriday last. There was a good attendance of members and visitors. One candidate was initiated and one proposed. Invitations wereaccepted, from No. 33 Star of Sydenham to a lecture, and from No. 2to a “social.” The next meeting will be for the election of officers.

Akaeoa Proclamation Jubilee. —The promoters of the celebration on August 11 of the jubilee of the proclamation of British sovereignty at Akaroa have decided that the celebration shall take the form of an imitation of the original proceedings of fifty years ago. They have applied to Government to proclaim the day a holiday, and are negotiating with the Union Steamship Company to run a large .steamer from Lyttelton upon the occasion. Business Change at Lyttelton. Attention is called to an advertisement appearing elsewhere in this issue j it has reference to a change in the proprietorship of the old book-selling and stationery business carried on in Loudon street, Lyttelton, for some years past by Mr H. Lake. Mr C. H. Gilmore, who for soma considerable time has managed the business for Mr Lake, has recently purchased it for himself, and will commence now on his own account.

Building Construction. —Last night Mr E. Dobson delivered the introductory lecture to the course on “ Building Construction ” in the Lecture Hall of Canterbury College, to a fairly numerous audience. ' The lecturer dealt with the subject of the successful conduct of building operations. The lecture was of a technical character, but was illustrated by a number of anecdotes and given in a manner which made it interesting even to non-professional hearers. Wesleyan Jubilee. —The jubilee services in connection with the Wesleyan Church will be continued in the Durham street Wesleyan Church this evening at 7.30. Special addresses on “ The Founder of Methodism” and "The Mother of the Wesleys/’ by the Eevs J. J. Lewis andW. Morley, will be given. Mr E. Dawson will preside. The meeting is specially for the young men and young women in the circuit, but not exclusively for these. There will be a collection in aid of the Jubilee Fund.

Greenpabk. — A public meeting was held on Friday evening for the purpose of testing the residents of the district with regard to a daily mail. The meeting was large and influential. The Chairman of the School Committee explained the object of the meeting. Messrs J. Murray,. M'Donald, Kennedy and others stated that many inconveniences were experienced by not having the mail daily, inasmuch as anything written after Tuesday is not to hand before Saturday at 10 a.m, A resolution was passed that the matter be laid before the Head Postmaster of Christchurch with a view of obtaining this much-needed consideration. A Cubious Freak. —About eleven o’clock on Sunday morning the officers of the ship Crusader, lying at Eattray street wharf, Dunedin, were somewhat surprised to find a young man throwing things about in the cabin and behaving otherwise in a most peculiar manner. The intruder, a stranger to the ship, was ejected, and on emerging from the cabin he rushed forward, crept out to the pole of the jibboom, and from thence jumped into the water!, He was pulled out and taken home, and is now under a doctor’s care. The young man in question is respectable, and his freak is attributed to nothing worse than temporary eccentricity induced by over-study. U.A.O.D.—The fortnightly meeting of the Juvenile Oak of Sydenham Lodge was held in the Oddfellows’ Hall on Monday. The attendance was good. The Vice-Arch, Bro W. Jacobsen, occupied the chair. It was announced that the spelling competition would taka place at the next Lodge meeting. President Bro Hulbert, assisted by P.Ei.P. Bro Logan, installed Bro Joseph Ball as A.D., which office had been rendered vacant by Bro H. Thiel resigning. The balance-sheet was read and received. One candidate having been proposed, the Lodge adjourned for harmony, Bros Logan, Nixon, Brew, A. Smith and the President contributing. The Lodge was closed in due form by the newly-installed Arch-Druid. Exhibition Billiard Match. —An exhibition match atthe Commercial billiard room last uigbt, between Messrs H. Huchsnson, champion of New Zealand, and W. Broslyn, a professional player, attracted a large number of amateur players and others. The game was played on the centre of the three tables in the room, seating accommodation being provided on and around the other two. Mr Knowsley, lessee of the room, announced at the start that the match was made on its merits. From the first it was noticeable that both players were hot in form, as they frequently missed easy shots and failed to make what are commonly known as good chances. Twenty-nine was the highest break made during the evening. Broslyn won the game by fifty-five points, after playing for two hours -‘and ten minutes.

The TiMARtr Seat.— Pour candidates! are now announced for Timaru, Messrs; B. Q. Kerr, T. Aplin, H. Jones and Twomey. ; The Tararua Silver. —The SouthlandTimes reports:—Mr H. Sherwill, who has; been diving in the hope of recovering the; silver lost in the s.s. Tararua, is again in j Wyndham, having been unsuccessful, ■ There appears little hope of securing this; long-lost treasure. ' •

Waddington. —At a meeting of the; School. Sub-Committee, hold on Monday! night at Mr P. Bull’s house, it was decided 1 to postpone the concert in aid, of the prize! fund till Friday, Sept. 26, on account of j several ladies and gentlemen who had] promised assistance being unable to at-1 tend. j Prize-winners.— The four special.gifts with the art union prizes of'the Christ-! church Poultry, Pigeon, Canary and Cat] Society were obtained by the followingi Mr C. Burrell, Southampton street,.Syden- j ham; Mr J. Clarke, Colombo street, St! Albans; Mies Somerville, Cashel street,! Christchurch ; Mr J. Crummy, South belt.j

The Missing Pictures. Relative to| the pictures which the Oamaru Mail' 1 reported had been lost from the Dunedin I Exhibition, as the result of inquiries sine©! instituted by the owner it has transpired! that the pictures have been traced to the! store of Mr George Sumpter, of Oani&ru,j where they have lain since the close of the | Exhibition! ■

The Recent Band Contest.— The| bandsmen of this city are determined that] they will pay off their liabilities, and with 1 ; that object intend, if permission be ob-J tained; to hold an art union. At a meet-! ing held recently the proposal was warmly! taken up. The Committees of the four! bands, together with the Contest Commit-! tee, are working in concert, and from the liberal promises of support we hope their j efforts will result in a financial success. j Pioneer Bicycle Club.— The annual \ “Cinderella,” or dance, of the Pioneer; Bicycle Club was given in St Michael’s i schoolroom yesterday evening. The room! was prettily decorated with flags, and the! large number of guests kept up the dan-i cing merrily until.an early hour. Thoj music provided by the Christchurch j Septette Society was of an excellent! character, and materially added to the! enjoyment of the evening, and the<Club| may be thoroughly congratulated upon the* success of their dance. i

Entertainment at Merivale.— A' capital audience assembled in the Merivale i schoolroom last night, to listen to one of 1 the winter parish entertainments. Some I excellent music was contributed by Mrs Garrard and Messrs Normington, Newman, j Mannering and Reginald Poster, The; comeditta. The Happy Pair, was very: cleverly played, the principal characters; being sustained by Mr and Mrs George | Humphreys, and they were very heartily; applauded by the audience. A lecfcuretteJ by the Rev T. Plavell, entitled “Some! Happy Sayings of Famous Men,” gave his i hearers something to ponder over,:and the I entertainment, as a whole, was one of the j best of its kind given in Merivale for some; time.

Kirwee. —A meeting of the School Com-. mittee was held on Monday evening;: present Messrs Anderson (Chairman), I Lawry and M'Beath. The Chairman was! requested to write to the Board of Edu-j cation and inform them that "unless the right-of-way was fenced off, they! might as well close the school till the fine weather set in, the road being almost impassable. The Visiting Committee re-; ported that they had found everything; very satisfactory. The same gentlemen: were appointed a Visiting Committee for: the next month. Accounts were passed for payment. The master’s report showed the average-attendance for three weeks of | the present quarter to be 37*8; number! on roll 53. After transacting someTontine: business the meeting terminated.

Digging Plough. —Messrs Reid and; Gray’s new digging or pulverising plough/ was exhibited at work at Rangiora yes-j terday on Mr W. Buss’ Ricton Farm,; Being market day a large number of, farmers visited the trial field, and the! plough and its work came in for a! good deal of critical examination. The; implement was first tried with a four-horse; team on some skim-ploughed land, and afterwards on grass land which had not', been broken up for many years. In each instance excellent work was done, the! land being thoroughly pulverised andlefb in good condition for the seed. The: farmers present seemed, by their comments, to be quite satisfied with the ' implement, and Mr Gray, who superin-i tended the trial, was congratulated on the; enterprise of the firm in bringing it out.

Sneaking in an Extra Man. — The Southland Eugby Union asked the opinion: of the Otago Committee on the following. pointln a match played in Southland, a team, “ B,” was found at half-time to be playing with sixteen men; this team had during the first spell scored two' tries.! The captain of the “A” team appealed: against the score, on the ground that any’ responsibility that may have been his, of seeing that his opponents bad only the usual number of players, ceased when the game began. It was unanimously resolved by the Otago Committee, at a meeting on Friday night—“ That in the opinion of the Committee, the score should be disallowed, since such tactics as bringing an extra man into a team unknown to the opposing side are not only utterly opposed to the spirit of the Eugby game, hut also to all received notions of fair play.” Palace Eink. —Mr Parker, the manager, of the Eink, is to be complimented on the success of his efforts in the direction of; promoting the children’s fancy dress; carnival, which was the the Eink last night; On previous occasions this description of amusement has taken place in the Eink with fair success. It is, however, no stretch of imagination to say. that last night’s gathering completely! eclipsed previous efforts. The costumed skaters numbered about two hundred, or, perhaps, slightly over that total, and the floor presented a very animated and in-; terestmg scene. The grand march was capitally done, and a similar compliment may be paid to the execution of the May- : pole dance. The work of organising and carrying out the carnival has been borne solely by Mr Parker, to whom the highly successful result and the large measure of support accorded by the public must have been extremely gratifying. The Unemployed in Melbourne.— , Mr James Baker, general Secretary of the Salvation Army’s Free Labour Bureau in Melbourne, writing to the Argus of July 22 says :—I have the honour, on behalf of; the Committee of the Salvation Army Free' Labour Bureau, to report that since the opening on June 16 to Saturday, July 19, 1890, one thousand three hundred and; ninety-one men have registered their; names for work, and yonr readers will he glad to know that a very large percentage i are land fide working men. Employment in the city, suburbs and country has been secured for six hundred and eighty-six men, and we are in a position to offer, within a day or two, work for nearly four hundred more. It is very gratifying to' report that our officers have received: letters from employers expressing their; satisfaction at the class of men sent them, i Amongst those who have found work have been carpenters, bricklayers, painters, cooks, grooms, gasfittera, quarrymen, plasterers, handy men, gardeners, &c. The Eail- ; way Department, Public Works, Harbour Trust,-City Council, and other large employers of .labour have taken men for pick and shovel work and stone-breaking. Mr Thornley, M.L.C., the Chairman of the Harbour Trust, states that fully 80 per cent of the men supplied him aro doing well. We desire to thank the twenty-four members of the Legislative Council for; their liberal contributions through Mr. Eeal, MJj.C,; and we are also grateful; for the kind offer of the Melbourne Ladies*; Benevolent Society, to assist in relieving: the wants ,of the destitute unemployed' families. The Samaritan branch of the bureau report that they have been enabled to provide 16,208 meals, 879: rations for; families in distress, and fifty men have! been provided with bed tickets, the majority being those who had’started work but were in need of shelter for the first week. Two hundred and thirty-three per- 1 sons have been assisted -’'With '■-'varioug. articles of clothing.

■; StiPßKMffl Cotjbt.— Yesterday his Honor >lr Justice Denniaton aab in Chambers and in Bankruptcy, tod subsequently in Banco. ■when his Honor hoard argument in Njstrom v. Cameron and another. The Court sits again at 11 a.m. to-day, when the argument will bo resumed. Wellington Poultry Show.—Wa ; omitted to mention that Mrs Culliford was also a prizetaker at this Show, having i gained first and special prise for Wyani dotto cocks, beating Messrs Eogen and Co. : and two others, also taking first and special 'for her well-known pair of Black Pantails, i Police Changes. —Among the passengers from the South by the express on Monday night was Sergeant-Major Eamsay, formerly well known in Christchurch and Akaroa, who has been transferred to Wellington to take the place of Sergeant-Major Morice, also well known here, who is going to Dunedin.

Bust of Sib Julius von Haast. —Mr Simms, the Consul for Germany, wishes it to be known that the subscriptions for the memorial bust of the late Sir Julius were not confined to the Germans of Canterbury. The fact is that Germans contributed, not only from all parts of New Zealand, but also from London, Melbourne and Bonn, Sir Julius’native city. The Midland Railway. —A telegram received from Mr Fell, of Nelson, states that the tone of tho meeting held there last night to endeavour to “hurry up the construction of the Belgrove section of the Midland Railway was mild and reasonable. Ho read letters from Mr Wilson, the Engineer-in-Chief, and Mr Bart nail, the Surveyor in charge of the section, written some time ago, urging the completion of the surveys as soon as possible. The reading of these letters quite “ knocked the bottom out” of the opposition. The Chaegks of Pokgeby.— When the hearing of the charges of forgery was resumed at the Police Court yesterday. Inspector Pender, with the Bench’s permission, withdrew those against J. Harrop, who was discharged. Four other charges against Hadfield were investigated, and he was committed for trial upon them, thus making seven charges in all which he will have to answer at the Supreme Court. The police withdrew three other charges preferred against Hadfield, as there was no evidence of the cheques being cashed. The Wesleyan Jubilee.— Special meetings in celebration of the Wesleyan Jubilee were held at the Wesley Church, East belt, yesterday afternoon and evening. The amount already collected at this church towards the Jubilee fund is .£430. This evening a meeting, more especially for young people, will be held in the Durham S treet Church, which the ministers hope to see largely attended. It was explained at the meeting last evening that these gatherings are held more for the purpose of expressing gratitude to God thim with the mere object of swelling the jubilee fund. Sydenham Litebabt Guild. —The above Society held their usual fortnightly meeting on Monday evening, July 28, the chair being taken by Mr W. Brock, The subject for the evening’s debate was—“ls the Socialism of ‘Looking Backward’ Practicable ?” Mr Meikleham opened pro, Mr Haig followed con both papers being very strongly and ably given. The discussion which followed was well sustained by Messrs Whitelaw, A. Webster, D. Webster, Shierlaw, Byers, Campbell, Stewart, W.>Haig, and Kerridge. On the Vote being called, the cons carried a largo majority. Messrs Meikleham and Haig replied. A hearty vote of thanks to these two gentlemen brought a most interesting evening to a close.

The leish Land Purchase Bile.—A cable message to the Argus , dated London. July 12, says:—"A great sensation has been caused by an important change of attitude on the part of Mr Parnell with regard to the Irish land question. Mr Parnell’s announcement of his views in'the House of Commons greatly surprised his followers, who were unaware of his intentions. He has advised Mr Balfour, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, to apply the £33,000,000 to be advanced under the Irish Land Purchase Bill so as to really provide that the ownership of the land shall be secured to those who occupy it. A s it stands the Bill, he contends, merely reduces the rents of the present tenants. At the end of their term these men would bo free to sell, and the land would go into the hands of the graziers of Connaught and Munster. He has implied that if this proposal is agreed to he will then support the measure, and has suggested the immediate formation of a Board of Arbitration to deal with the Plan of Campaign estimates. Mr Balfour intimates that he is unable at present to discuss the Land Purchase Bill, but mates no secret of the fact that he is much impressed by Mr Parnell’s change of attitude.” Oxfoed Teebace Baptist Chuech.— An entertainment in connection with the ninth anniversary of the opening of the above church was given in the schoolroom last evening. There was a crowded attendance, the Eev C. Dallastoa presiding. Mrs Chrystall gave a solo in a manner evidently highly pleasing to the audience. Songs were given by Mrs H. Corrick, Misses Dunford, Duncan, and Orr, Messrs Bingham, Hutton, G. L. Scott and H. M. Johnson, which were very well received. “ The Reign of the Rosea ” (duet) by the Misses Puller was deservedly encored. Mr Skelton gave a violin solo in excellent style. “ Nocturne ’’ (duet), sung by Misses Duncan and Dunford, was very sweetly rendered and much appreciated. Miss Scofield recited “ Jane Conquest ” in her usual accomplished and finished style, and received quite a round of applause. Friends of the choir gave glees during the evening. “ Rubinstein's Piano Playing,” a recitation by Mr C. Hawkaworth Brown, kept the audience in roars of laughter, and was encored. The Rev B. Erwin, of the North Belt Presbyterian Church, gave an address on “Church Life,” and was well received. Votes of thanks were passed to the friends who assisted at the entertainment. “ Home, Sweet Home,” by the choir, brought a very successful concert to a close. Silent Cables.— Consequent upon the recent breakage of the cables, the Melbourne Argus writes as follows concerning the Canadian Pacific projectMr Sandford Fleming, of Canada, who is the moving spirit in the enterprise, has framed estimates of coat and revenue, from which it is gathered that the company to lay the cable and conduct the service must have a capital of £2,500,000, of which £1,500,000 will “bear a low rate of interest, secured for twenty-five years by Government subsidies,” and £1,000,000 will be share capital, upon which the profit on the business is expected at the outset to pay 4£ per cent. The proposed subsidy of £IOO,OOO was apportioned in the original scheme in this way:—“ Great Britain, on behalf of the United Kingdom, India, and the Crown Colonies, £50,000 j Canada, Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, £IO,OOO each; and; New Zealand, Tasmania, and | Western Australia, £IO,OOO jointly.” It i will be seen that South Australia was : left out of the calculation, as that ■ Colony’s interests are bound up closely i with the Eastern Extension service. We 1 have since been informed that Mr Fleming : believes that a subsidy of £54,000 contributed by Great Britain, in addition to : what Canada is prepared to give, will bo sufficient. But he seems to have reasoned on a wrong assumption when he antioi- . pated that the British Government would .be a contributory to the subsidy. It does not appear from the printed correspondence that any such understanding has ; been arrived at, and wo know that quite ’ recently the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; declined to establish the precedent of | devoting Government money to cable Sibaidiea, when ho reluctantly refused to ear a share of the guarantee necessary to ■ ieoure a reduction of rates on the Eastern I Company’s lines. Still, if the survey—- • which, by the way, is proceeding with exas- ! Berating and expensive slowness—reveals : that the Pacific line is practicable, the question of subsidies should not frighten ' the promoters. The Colonies and Canada ' and the intervening islands should bo able jointly to provide a sufficient fund to meet all requirements. As matters stand, the appropriate course for the Australian Governments to pursue in regard to the venture is to encourage the promoters in every way to prove the soundness of their scheme. -

Drainage Boabd. —The monthly meeting of tho Christchurch District Drainage Board was held yesterday afternoon. Tim business transacted was of an unimportant character. Benefit.— On Saturday next, ah tho Theatre Royal, there will bo a variety performance for tho benefit of Mr .1. H. Noonan, whoso services havo so oitou boon given at entertainments for charitable purposes. His friends and admirers, will have an opportunity now of allowing their appreciation of him ns a man and an amateur. A spaoial r.ieetincr of tlm ChrisbnnmiU ami Suburban Carriers’ Union will bo bold to-morrow evening, in tho Foresters’ Hall, Oxford terrace.

Mount Shasta.—A Sacramento despatch in a San Francisco paper of Juno 2-1 says : “W. A. Lawson, editor of tho Marysville Appeal , who has been taking a vacation trip along tho upper Sacramento and Cloud Rivers, returned yesterday. In reply to a Bee reporter's question lust night, he said the people up at Sissan, at the base of Mount Shasta, did not take any stock in tho story that one of tho peaks of tho great mountain had dropped. Mr Lawson had been up on tho mountains, and could see no change in tho appearance of the great snow-capped sentinel of tho North. Ho also said that tho story that smoko and vapour had been seen issuing from the mountain, indicating that the volcano was in a state of activity, was merely a fairy tale. The story was doubtless started by the proprietor of some summer hotel, who hoped to entice a lot of sightseers to his place, after the style of the seaside boniface who starts a rumour abroad that an enormous sea serpent may be seen sporting in the waves in plain view from his verandah.”