TOWN AND COUNTRY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CVI, Issue 12588, 24 August 1901, Page 7

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

The following auctioneers’ announcements appear on page 11: —Ayers and Parkerson, and Park, Reynolds and Co. The Cricket Council met yesterday afternoon!, and considered the annual report to be presented at the annual meeting in October. Mr C. 0. Corfc, who for many years was head-master of Christ’s College, announces that ho is prepared to coach school and college students for examination. It has been ascertained by Mr Gilruth that the disease which has been affecting a number of cattle at Opotiki, in the Bay of Plenty, is anthrax. Measures have been taken to isolate the herds and stamp out the disease. The Government has accepted the offer cf the Canadian Government of 300,000 Pacific salmon cm. They will arrive in Wellington in January:, and be hatched l at Hakataramea. An order has been sent to' England for 150,000 Atlantic salmon ova-. A northern paper states that there are immense herds of wild pigs around Tara: wera and Batomahana. The Ngatirangitihi tribe, who lost so many people at Mourn at the time of the eruption, declared the whole district tapu t consequently the pigs have increased so much that food has become scarce and the pigs b01d... The following is a statement of the Customs duties collected during the week ended Friday, August 23, at the port of Lyttelton; —Spirits, £1406 16s 6d; cigars, cigarettes and snuff, £215 10s 9d; tobacco., £B6l 7s j wine, £72 6s; beer, £160; tea, £35 10s; coffee, cocoa and chocolate, £8 8s 3d; sugar, molasses and treacle, £BS 18s 6d; weight, £194 7s; ad valorem', £2613 12s lid; other duties, £6B 12s Bd. Total for week, £5716 9s Td. The result of the year’s .working of the South Canterbury Farmers’ Co-operative Association show’s a profit of £12,579. Adding £2549 of a balance' brought forward] irom last year, the amount available for 'distribution is £15,128. The directors re"Cominend its disposal as follows:—A divi- . dead to f pen cent; a bonus on purchases of ,7 per cent; rebate on commissions, 30 per cent; bonus to staff, 7 per cent; 'to reserve fund, £BOOO ; to write off value of buildings, £soo] the balance carried forward. During the progress of the work of transforming the Devonshire Street Cemetery at Sydney into a .foundation for the central railway station some interesting relics of the past have been .unearthed. Leg-irons have been found attached to bones; and in many instances corpses must have been buried with boots on. In one vault a leaden coffin was found’ to contain the perfectly. preserved body of a young woman buried in her bridal robes. Veil and wreath even were in a perfect state of preservation over the features, hut only a short time elapsed after the opening of the coffin and exposure to the air when the contents crumbled away to dust. Two coffins were found in a perpendicular position. At a meeting of the North Canterbury Centre of the League of New Zealand Wheelmen last evening, reference was made to the cycle accommodation that has recently been provided in front of the Post Office, as a result of the Centre’s action in approaching the City Council. The opinion expressed l was that the present arrangement is far from satisfactory, and that the Council would have been well advised to have followed out the Centre’s suggestion in regard to the matter, and provided cycle stands in which the cycles would be placed side by side, by means of an arrangement similar to that used in- the Christchurch Cycling Club’s rooms. Merryweather and 'Sons’ new “ Greenwich Gem ” is the type of fire engine bought by St . Albans Borough Council. Two of the same type have been supplied to the Sydney Corporation, and one to the Country Fire Brigades Board, Melbourne. The new features of the “Greenwich Gem'” are that .the vertical double cylinder machinery is placed behind the boiler, and the stoking . dpor is in the rear. The pumps are of improved‘design, .giving great efficiency, especially where suction has to be taken from a deptn. The whole machine is, power for weight, far ahead of anything previously invented. So great has been the success of this engine in British towns, that the makers have had to put down special new machinery to meet the demand, the result being ’that the cost has been reduced considerably. Messrs Merryweaither are now also building a powerful .self-pTopelling steam fire float for the Harbour Board of Auckland, New Zealand. During this week all remnants and oddments accumulated at Beath’s great End-o.f-Season and Extension Sale will be thrown put on bargain tables at prices 'which'are certain to clear the whole lot in a few clays. In dress department, a host of bargains on remnant tables; in ManChester department, see centre tables packed with bargains, job baskets of remnants and oddments in fancy department, all must be cleared. Men’s and boys’ clothing and mercery, special bargain lots for this week, at Beath’s clearance of remnants. Shop early. Great bargains. , X 2867 Anglo-Special Bicycles have several advantages over other makes. One of these being a 2-speed gear, changeable from high to low while riding at any speed, only Boz added weight, and no extra friction. Inspection of the new models cordially invited at the Anglo-New Zealand Cycle Company. DJ.C., and 226, High Street. X 1196. It isn’t the material which goes into your repaired watch that results in a perfect job, it is the know how. Anyone can buy the fine kind.of material that Clarke and Co. use, but the most valuable material that can be used in watch repairing is skill, and the bungler can’t buy it. Clarke and Co., Jewellers, 148, Colombo Street. X 1275 Townendls Bilious and Liver Pills— Keep in Health the Liver, Stomach, Heart and Kidneys, free the skin of blotches, and purify the blood. Sold everywhere. Price Is. W. P. Townend, 183, Colombo Street Christchurch. ~ X 2521 Good tyres fitted to a bicycle make cycling a real pleasure. Fit “ Ideal ” tyres and. you have an ideal cycle. Rx years’ trial on the Australasian market have given Ideal tyres a most enviable reputation. ' X 2771 Sufi Brand Chutney—Piquant, Peppery, and Pleasant. From all grocers. X 2775 ’ The market is flooded a t the present time with worthless preparations for the hair, many of them being injurious as well a 's worthless, but Hendy’s egg-julep may be honestly recommended as a most reliable hair tonic for beautifying and cleansing the hair. Price, Is per bottle. Thir, elegant preparation may be procured, from 1 Strange and Co.’s, drapers, Christchurch, who are also sole agents for Hendy’s Fnzzairs, or curling fluid. X 2553

For bicycle repairs we specially recommend cyclists to Boyd and Son, who are combining first-class work with moderate charges. 191, Gloucester Street, Christchurch. Telephone 437, X 2588 Lodestar Carbide, petrol, arsenic, mineral naptha, benzine. Henry Markwald, Bowron’s Buildings. Telephone 1044. X 2775 Seeds, season 1901, Vegetable Seeds 3d per pkt., Flower Seeds Id per pkt,, seed potatoes. Best -kinds in slock. Agents for Nimmo and Blair, Dunedin, standard seeds. Fletcher ■ Bros., High Street. X 2565.

The colonial mails, which, left Sydney by the Moa.na on July 17, arrived in London on August 22, a day late. Th® Education Department has agreed, to issue free railway passe® to teachers attending drill and technical instruction classes. Mr W. H. Bowen, the contractor for the erection of the destructor house in th© Corporation yard, made a start with excavating for the foundations yesterday. The committee of 'the East Christchurch School has closed 'the school for a fortnight on account of the prevalence of sickness and the consequent small attendance. It is understood that members of the Now Zealand 'Contingents who saw active service in the Orange Rirver Colony are to receive a clasp to their medal in recognition thereof. Mr P. M. Stewart, of Pa p arm:, who has in hand the first portion of the magnetic observatory, is now pushing on rapidly with the second portion, his tender for the whole having been accepted. The Timaru Harbour 'Board yesterday re- . ceived about thirty applications for the post of resident engineer! at £4OO per year'. The applications were referred to a committee to report in a fortnight. In connection with the St John Ambulance Association, the women’s afternoon medallion Mass commences on Thursday next, at 5 p.m., in the City Council Library, under Dr Greenwood. Yesterday afternoon Mr H. W. Bishop, S.M., remanded till Tuesday a man named John Pine, on a, charge of criminally assaulting a girl the age of sixteen years. Bail was' allowed—-self in £2OO, and one surety of £2OO. A general meeting of the members of the No. 5 ‘industrial 'Building Society of Canterbury was held last evening for the purpose of disposing of the thirty-sixth appropriation of £3OO by ballot, which fell to the lob of share No. 340. At a meeting of the New Zealand Millers’ Association, held at Camara on Thursday evening, Mr George Jameson, for some time manager of the New Zealand Farmers’ Cooperative Association, was appointed general manager of the concern. The sum of £12,489 was received yesterday as import duty at the Wellington Custom House, this being a record, for ihe port. Two direct steamers haying arrived from London with spring and summer drapery goods was the reason for the exceptionally large clearances. The Wellington correspondent of this paper telegraphs that the new Law Courts in Wellington are to be built alongside the Police Station on Lambton Quay. The present accommodation is wholly inadequate. Provision for the new building will appear in the Public Works Estimates, and it is intended to put the work in hand at once. A private telegram from Wellington states that the demand for seats for the second performance of “ Taunhauser ” by Mr Musgrove’s Company was ’so great that the company had to stage Wagner’s: masterpiece for a third time, hundreds of people being unable to obtain seats. The Christchurch season will open on Sept. 2. Particulars will be announced on Monday. Mr Hugo Friedlander, of Ashburton, who returns from a trip to Australia by the Mokoia next week, brings with , him the well-known thoroughbred sire ( Finland, which he purchased in Melbourne. Finland is the winner of the Maribyrnong Plate, the St Leger Stakes, the S.A.J.G. Goodwood Handicap, and.other big Australian races. Ho will be put to the stud in the Ashburton-district. Mr G. A, Lewin, the honorary secretary of the Manual and Technical Committee, formed some time ago to arrange for classes at Lyttelton, has been advised that the Education Department has allowed the grant for material and apparatus. The committee will meet one evening next week and complete the details connected 1 with the establishment of the classes, which are for the present to be held in the Orphanage Building. The annual examinations for; the current year, under the auspices of the New Zealand Accountants’ and, 'Auditors’. Association, will be held in the principal New Zealand centres on Oct. 16, 17 and 18. Applications from intending candidates must bo lodged with the Registrar not later than Sept. 23. The syllabus is, as usual, a comprehensive one, including book-keeping (theoretical and practical), auditing, and commercial law. Information may be obtained from the Registrar, or from Mr A. J. Virtu©, Carlton Terrace, Merivale. It had been the intention of the city authorities to introduce the sealed pan system on Sept. 1, but the initiation of the scheme will have to be delayed for t a short time. Notices have been served on all householders who were not supplied with the regulation pans to procure them at once, and during the past fortnight the office staff at the Council Chambers has been very busy taking orders for pans of the correct pattern. Such a run has there been on them that great difficulty is being experienced in procuring supplies. Although over 1000 have already been issued, •this has not covered much more than half the city, and until all can be supplied it would 'be Useless making the change. “FIFTEEN PENCE SAVES FIVE BOB.” An officer’s description of Vlakfontein, published in a London paper, throws fresh light on the battle. The column was toe small, and the covering screen seems to have’ withdrawn to a farm where ammunition was buried. Under cover of the smoke of a grass fire, the Boers rode right into the Yeomanry escort and captured two guns. The major of the battery brought up the Derbys, who, in the smoke and confusion, and in consequence of the Boers being dressed in khaki, with Tommies’ straps on, only discovered when within forty yards of the enemy that the latter were not the Yeomanry. It was essentially, the infantryman’s day. By his dogged pluck alone was disaster averted 1 . As the Yeomanry broke and-retreated and the infantry came to the rescue, one of the latter, with a fine appreciation of the grim humour of the situation, and the relative rates of pay of the two forces, remarked, “Well, here goes fifteen pence to save five hob.” THE STORY OP A CORONET. Peers, writes the London correspondent of the “Lyttelton Times,” are already pro-’ curing, or having refurbished, their “ props ” for the Coronation. It is only on rare occasions, such as coronations, that “ their lordships ” have the opportunity of “having ’em all -on.” Thdjcoronets are not massive circlets of beaten gold, studded with precious stones, and haeded down as heirlooms. So' far as I can gather from those who- frequent ducal halls, the coronets are composed of 'tin or brass, very sligbtly gilt, and the jewels are generally coloured glass. I heard the other day of a well-known ScottishT Earl who went round to his goldsmith to procure his coronet betimes. The sample one shown him recalled to his mind the fact that something similar, in a battered state, had' been knocking about in the dark dungeon of Lis castle that served as a lumber room, and bad been much in request when his children enacted charades at birthday parties. Hitherto he had been quite unaware of what this part of 'the juvenile theatrical wardrobe really was, or where, it came from. For the first time he realised that this was the coronet his father had worn at Queen Victoria’s Coronation.' He fished it out, handed it over -to the goldsmith for a “wash and brush up,” and the coronet with which the aristocratic youngsters have, so often played at being kings and queens

. FOR ATHLETES, AND ALL OTHERS interested in athletics, cycling, golf, tennis riding, sparring, or any sport, a bath with CUTICURA SOAP is -me dr the of modem civilisation. It cleanses, purifies and beautifies!..-ihe skin, scalp, an( ] jj'afi* soothes and prevents chafing, itching, ir»ita* tion, ’and'’'inflanimfition, and when followed In a gentle anointing with CUTICURA, tho great shin cure' and. purest o[ emollient: proves most • grateful m relieving ami strengthening tired, lamed, strained, 'and painful -dos. - c <i

will surmount their sire’s head at a real Coronation once more.

DUELLING IN GERMANY. Britons have long since dismissed the duel as a custom only fib for uncivilised peoples, but it continues a: social institution ini Germany, th© land of the practical and tho commercial. The reductio ad absurdumi was reached in Saxony the other day. A young lieutenant, under the influence of drink, struck an officer belonging to the same regiment. The following day the aggrieved officer sent a comrade to ask why the blow had been struck. The young lieutenanib, who* remembered nothing of the incident, tendered his apologies, which were accepted. Nevertheless, the matter was referred to the decision of the officers of another regiment, composing a court of honour. They dismissed from the army, not the drunken lieutenant, who insulted' his friend, but the officer who was struck and accepted tho apologies offered, on the ground that he had sent a comrade to the offender, with an intimation, that a peaceful settlement would be welcome. , The colonel of the regiment., in announcing the decision of the court to the officers, said: “I can only advise you, gentlemen, in all cases to challenge, ab any rate, to a duel with swords.” The Kaiser, the supremo head of the German Army, has condemned duelling, and 1 yet, apparently, has sanctioned the “ sacking ” of one of his officers for facilitating the amicable settlement of a petty mess-room squabble. The Catholic Union has begun a crusade against duelling, and has induced over four hundred members of the German nobility and gentry to sign a protest condemning the practice of duelling. Bub the four hundred -reserve to themselves the right to fight duels when their honour is involved. As duels are only fought when the hoiDour of one party or the other is supposed to be at stake, the protest is absurd. AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT. A Lawrence member of the Fourth New Zealand ’Contingent while in Klerksdorp attended church (Feb. 10, 1901), and on one of the fly-leaves of a prayer-book he found in the seat he -pencilled a note to tho (unknown to him) owner of it, thanking her ■for “being so considerate as to leave youn prayer-book,” ‘and signing his name, regiment, and New Zealand address. He was much surprised 1 on- the arrival of th© last mail from South Africa to receive a parcel containing the prayer-book, and' on opening it he found a typewritten note attached to the opposite page' to that on whioh he had written. The note stated: “ y] rs is at present in 'England. This book came back to us to-day (Johannesburg, June 22, 1901), and I am sure my wife would like you to have it for a memento of your visit to this country. No -people appreciate the splendid loyalty to our Queen shown by yourself and comrades more 'than we Transvaal English do, who for so long have had to bear .with and struggle against the late despotic Government. With best wishes for your welfare, —Yours faithfully,