CITY ITEMS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1200, 1 March 1895, Page 33

CITY ITEMS.

Messrs J. H. Bethune and Co. have sold privately Mr W. T. L. Travers' well-known freehold property, consisting of town acre No. 453, on Wellington terrace, with the family residence in the occupation of Mr Travers, to Mr W. Watson, president of the Bank of New Zealand. Mr Robert Parker, hon. secretary for the Trinity College examinations,requests us to state that successful candidates at the last examination may obtain their certificates on and after Saturday, at the Dresden Music Warehouse. He also wi&hes to explain that there was only time before Chistmas to send away the certificates belonging to schools throughout the Colony, and° that it has not been possible, for various reasons, to have a public distribution this year. ■ : . : The Customs duties collected at this port last week amounted to .£B6IO 6s 9d and the beer duty to J 2153 7s. There was a full house at the Exchange Hall on Sunday night to hear Mr Walter :Bentley's lecture "Look at the Clock. It was in reality an olio ol humorous stories, interspersed with a few recitals and linked together by remarks of a more or less didactic character, while the singing of Piccolomini's " Ora Pro Nobis" and the exhibition of a series of appropriate views very materially contributed to tne enjoyableness of the entertainment. The humour was drawn from Irish, Scottish and American sources, and in the first category a reading was given from Lover's "Handy Andy," while American humour was illustrated by the reading "of "The New Editor" (Max Adeler) and "The Family Vault," the vault proving to be a pet lion, which in time had got outside its owner's aunt, mother-in-law, son and wife. About halfway through his lecture Mr Bentley observed that his audience would doubtless be curious to know wherein lay the applications of the title given, "Look at the Clock." His answer was that he had pleasantly cheated them, of an entire hour that might otherwise have been spent in counting up their sorrows. Several recitals were also given, viz., Jacques lines on Touchstone from "As You Like It," Gratiano on Mirth from " The Merchant of Venice," and Mr James Milne's descriptive poem " Jane Conquest," the .episodes of which were graphically illustrated by a series of capital lime-light views. Mr A. E; Dodd, although handicapped by a cold, sang "Ora Pro Nobis" fairly well, and another series of views accompanied the song. Mr, P. Loudon reports the sale of two acres in Daniel street, Nos. 839 and 841, to Mr W. H. Brightwell. . The meeting of the Citizens' Institute on Monday was well attended. The chair was taken by Sir R. Stout. The rules were amended so as to allow of any person becoming a member without election on being proposed and seconded, and agreeing to pay the subscription. A paper on f Citizenship" was read by Mr C. H. Bradbury, and a discussion followed, in which Messrs Burgess, Giffoid and Orr, Mrs Fleming, the Rev W. Evans, Sir R. Stout and Mr G. A. Schoch took part.

A; singular phenomenon, proving that rain showers are fitful in the choice of localities, occurred on Sunday afternoon last. Between 4 and 5 p.m. two heavy showers of rain fell in the neighbourhood of Willis street and over Te Aro, while there was not a single drop to the westward of the Ohiro road, and people out on the hills near the Karori Reservoir had an enjoyable afternoon devoid of the slightest moisture. -'>

..The Good Templar Lodges of Wellington held an amalgamated meeting in the United'"-,.Methodist Free Church Schoolroom, Courtenay place, on Tuesday. Bro. G. Petherick, D.C.T., presided, and initiated , 24 candidates from Bro. Crabb's mission meetings. The public were afterwards admitted to a farewell " social " tendered to Bro. Crabb, and the room was crowded to the doors. Songs were given by Bro. Hope and Sister Webb, and a quartet by Sister Jones and Bros. Weston, Haselden and Buller, and a recitation by Bro. Glover. A souvenir presentation of a gold Maltese cross pendant was made to Bro. Crabb. Bro. Petherick, who made ■:■', the presentation, sneaking of the assured . success of the mission, stated that fully a hundred new members had been induced to join. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Smith's Central Mission Band for the great assistance it had lendered at the various meetings. Mr Smith suitably responded, wishing the Order every success. • Bro. Crabb leaves by the midday train to take up the work in Palmerston North. At the monthly meeting of the Wellington College Governors Tuesday there were present J. E-. Blair (chairman), H. D. Bell, M.H.E., C. M. Luke (Mayor), J. Young and A. H. Miles. Regulations drawn up by the chairman and MrA.de B. Brandon for the Mary scholarship offered by Mr C. B. Izard at the Girls' "High School were considered, and it was decided that the scholarship should be of the annual value of .£3O if the investment of the .£SOO given by Mr Izard was suffM cient to return that amount of interest; that it should be tenable for two years, and that the examination should be held in December of each year. Further consideration of some of the clauses was deferred. The question as to whether Mr C. B. Izard had vacated his seat by going to England was considered, but as there is nothing on the minutes to show that leave of absence had been given, the seat, it was decided, must be declared vacant. Another election was authorised. The Chairman stated that the finances of the two institutions under the jurisdiction of the Governors are now in practically a flourishing state, and exhibit great improvement upon last year. We learn that the statement made in Tuesday's lost that the City Council does lidt propose to send any reply to the from. tjh.«GoYera»aen,t Yttik respect

to.the proposed Fair Rent Bill is incorrect. The matter has not yet been considered by the Council. The police have information in their possession which, in their opinion, renders it unnecessary to search for the housebreaker who was supposed to have shot the young man Samuel Schulter in the leg in his house in Elizabeth street on the evening of the 18th inst. Schulter is still in the Hospital, where he is reported to be making satisfactory progress towards recovery. The cost of printing the annual statement of accounts of the Harbour Board was brought before the meeting of that body on Tuesday, when a letter was read from the Wellington Typographical Society asking the Board to receive a deputation on the subject. The secretary (Mr W. Perguson) stated that the work had been done at a cost of less than £26. He asked five firms of printers for prices. Messrs McKee and Gamble were the lowest tenderers at <£2s 17s 6d; Whitcombe and Tombs were 2s 6d in excess of that amount, Mr C. F. Corlett tendered at <£34 7s 6d, and two other firms declined to tender. Messrs McKee and Gamble informed him that the reason they were able to take it at that price was that a large portion of the pages were almost entirely the same as last year, and they saved the cost " setting up" by means of photo-litho-graphy. They supplied 400 bound copies for the amount of the tender, and the firm told him they had made a fair profit out of the job. Mr Heaton asked the Board how they could expect printers to live if such low prices were paid. The chairman pointed out that the price was not much smaller than that paid in previous years. On the motion of Mr Fraser, seconded by Mr C. W. Brown, the Board decided to grant the interview. Just previous to the s.s. Takapuna leaving the wharf on Tuesday evening a steerage passenger W6nt on to the wharf to bid a last farewell to his friends, and in doing so fell backwards between the wharf and the vessel. He was quickly rescued from his dangerous position, and beyond a wetting and a cut over his eye he was none the worse for his misadventure.

At the usual business meeting of the Executive of the New Zealand Alliance, arrangements for the annual meeting and for a general temperance convention were further considered. The convention will be held on the 14th of March, and the Alliance anniversary the day following. The Mayor (Mr C. M. Luke), Sir Robert Stout, Dr Newman and Mr H. D. Bell, M's.H.R., have agreed to take part "in the proceedings; whilst the Rev L. M. Isitt and Mrs Schnackenberg (colonial president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union) will be among the speakers from a distance. Representatives from the Wesleyan Conference are also expected. A slight shock of earthquake was felt in the city at twenty-five minutes to 5 o'clock en Tuesday afternoon. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Committee of the Society for the Preven-' tion of Cruelty to Animals was held Tuesday afternoon. Present —Messrs J. G, W. Aitken (in the chair), J. S. Jameson, J. Ilott, A. R. Atkinson, A. G. Kemp, Rev J. K. Elliott, and Mesdames Lingard and Tarn. The Inspector reported that the following cases had been inquired into : One of cruelly handling poultry, two of working horses with sores, one of working a lame horse, two of flogging animals, one of working a horse suffering from a rotting hoof, one of stabbing a pig with a pitchfork, one of pouring a bucket of boiling water over the back of a cow. It was decided to refer some of the cases fco the honorary solicitor (Mr Young) to take

whatever action was deemed necessary. Messrs J. G. W. Aitken, J. S. Jameson and Mrs Lingard were appointed a deputation to wait on the Minister for Railways and request a pass over the Government lines for the inspector. The following subscriptions were reported : —Per Mrs Lingard— W. Turnbull, £2 2s; Buckley, Stafford and Treadwell, £1 Is ; Mr and Mrs D. Ander- j son, £1 Is ; E. Anderson, 10s 6d ; Rev W. ! J. Habens, 10s; J. J. Curtis, 10s; Rev R. Coffey, 10s; James Smith, 10s; Madame Merz, ss; W. H. Field, 5s ; A. Friend, 55. ! Per the Inspector Sargood, Son and Ewen, £2 2s; E. W. Mills and Co., £1 Is; J. Petherick, 10s; Gear Meat Co., 10s; Potter and Son, ss; Thompson Bros., ss; Mr Millward, ss; R. H. Gorvetf, ss. The railway authorities have decided to offer the public the advantage of a cheap excursion to Ladle Bend and the Summit on Saturday afternoon—36 miles and back, in fact, for half-a-crown; children of course half-price. The train is to leave Te Aro at ! 9.45 a.m., and will arrive at the Summit at 12.10 p.m. At 4.30 the excursionists will start for home, and will be landed at Te Aro station at 6.50 p.m. If the weather should prove favourable the excursion ought to be largely patronised. The Summit is a very suitable place for picnicking purposes, as it offers plenty of shade, good water, a plenitude of ferns, and its lofty situation—ll44ft above the sea level—ensures fresh air and commanding prospects. About 100 employees of the Wellington Woollen Company are going out by the train for a picnic, and another 100 of the residents of Petone will also go.