GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 8523, 1 November 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

GENERAL NEWS.

On Monday afternoon Lady Jervoispaid a visit to the Hospital, and made a tour of the various wards, conversing with several of the patients, and distributing the contents of a large basket of dowers amongst the sufferers. She afterward visited the chiDren’s ward, and expressed herself highly pleased with the arrangements made tor the little patients’ comfort. At her request, the children sang several songs, much to the delight of their visitor.

The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company’s steamer Arawa, which arrived on Monday afternoon at 2.30, from London, via way ports, has had a pleasant passage, although some rough weather was experienced south of the Line. During the voyage various amusements concerts, dances, &c. —were arranged for the benefit of the passengers, and were much enjoyed. She brought 136 passengers, 1800 tons of cargo, and 15 bags of mails for all New Zealand ports. The time occupied by the passage was 43 days 12 hours 34 minutes.

The latest advices from the barque Weathersfield, which was beached atOtaki several months ago, are not encouraging. The operations to float the vessel are still in progress, and every favourable spell of weather is being taken the fullest advantage of, but so far, without much success. The barque has not moved much to the seaward, although she shifted along the beach some 20ft. One of the steel hawsers attached to the mushroom anchors (the same which was used in floating the ship Pleione) parted under the strain which was put on it. The vessel is at present considerably embedded in the sand, which is continually shifting. Special services were held at Wesley Church, Taranakl-street, on Sunday, to com. memorate the forty-fifth anniversary of the Sunday School. At the morning and evening services tho Revs W. Lee (pastnr of the church) and J. Berry ( Newtown) respectively preached special sermons, and in the afternoon the Rev T, J. Wallis conducted a floral service. The church, which was appropriately decorated, was crowded to oversowing at each of the services. The music was supplied by the children of the Sunday School, under the onnductorship of Mr F. Billman, and was very pretty. The collections during the day amounted to £37. Tho Queen’s Wharf for the greater part of Monday afternoon was a scene of immense bustle and excitement, caused by the arrival of the Arawa from England and the departure for Melbourne of the Union Company’s fine steamer Mararoa. The latter vessel took away 84 saloon and 25 steerage passengers from Wellington, and it is expected that by the time she readies the Bluff every available bit of space will be taken up. Notwithstanding the unusual strain put on the vessel, there was no undue crowding aboard, the arrangements made by the Company being all that could be desired, and the orderly manner in which these arrangements were carried out reflects credit on the ship’s officers. The scene on the wharf ns the vessel drew away at 6 p.m. was one of great animation. The Rev Father >«inaty, who is now in Wellington soliciting subscriptions in aid of the .building fund of the Mount Magdala Asylum, begs to acknowledge, with thanks, the sum of £ 100 received from Mr W. John, ston, Hon. ."Secretary to the Amateur Operatic Society, Christchurch. This contribution toward the maintenance of the in. stitution is the net proceeds resulting from tho performance of the •'Mikado” by the above company a short time ago in Christchurch. This act of the Amateur Operatic Society shows the esteem in which the work carried on an Mount Magdala is held by the Society’s members, each of whom worked with an earnest will to make the perform, ance a success, as well as by the public generallyj who flocked in great numbers each night to applaud the performance. Mr J. M. Lightfoot, who has been transferred from the local branch of the Bank of New South Wales t) the branch at Balls, was made the recipient of a handsome testimonial on Wednesday evening by the members of the Wellington Football Club, of which Mr Lightfoot has for some time past been secretary. The presentation was made at the conversazione which was held at the Masonic Hall, at which the prizes won at the Club’s annual sports were presented ; and Mr P. P. Webb, speaking of Mr Lightfoot, whom he said was universally popular, highly eulogised his services to the Club. Mr Lightfoot, in a brief speech, warmly thanked the members for their handsome gift, and his remarks were received with great enthusiasm. The Club’s gift to their late secretary consisted of a handsome diamond locket, Mr Lightfoot left next morning for Bulls. Councilors Richardson and Edwards, who occupied their seats in the Council Chamber for the last time at the meeting last week, took occasion to refer in feeling terms to the fact of their leaving their fellow Councillors with -whom they had been so long conuected.' Both Councillors referred to the amiable relations which had always been maintained between them and their colleagues. Councillor Richardson, referring to the Connoil’B officers, whom he greatly eulogised, said that he was sure that Mr Martin had been the means of saving thousands of pounds to the city, and he regietted to hear of that gentleman’s illness Councillor Edwards followed in a similar strain. Councilors Williams and A. Young also spoke," referring to the harmonious relations which had existed amongst the members of the Council, and both gentlemen expressed regret at the retiremeut of Councillors Richardson and Edwards. The Mayor sard that he had ex. perienced great pleasure in working with Councillors Richardson and Edwards, and he bad found their business knowledge and sound common sense of great value in dealing with many questions, Hia Worship also referred in complimentary terms to Councillor Dauka, the other retiring Councillor. Subsequently an adjournment was made to the Mayor’s room, where the health of Councillors banks, Kiohardaon, and Edwards was proposed by his Worship and drunk with enthusiasm.. Councillors Richardson and Edwards suitably responded. About a quarter pastS o’clock Tuesday night two distinct shocks of earthquake were felt in Wellington. The first was a slight one, and was accompanied by a muffled rumbling sound, A second or two later a succeeding shock of a’ sharper character took place, she direction was southerly. The earth vibrations continued, for about 20 seconds. So far as we can learn no damage of any serious nature has occurred in town. The shocks were of a peculiar nature in their effects, inasmuch as they were felt more severely in some parts of town than in others. Mr C. D. Barraud, who at the time was in the Fine Arts Exhibition, said that no one in the rooms felt" the slightest vibration. A member of our staff who was in one of 1 the rooms on the top story of the Exchange Buildings says that not the faintest motion was felt. In the upstairs portion of the New Zealand Times office the shoo-- was felt sharply. At Oriental Bay the noise was described as being like a severe thundetstorm in the distance, while the second shock was sufficiently strong to dislodge crockery ware 1 from the shelves. On The Terrace many of the houses creaked and vibrated to a considerable extent. In one house a table lamp was in danger of being capsized. In Newtown the last shook is described as being of an undulating character, the vibration lasting over 20 seconds. In the Theatre Royal the centre chandelier got considerable motion from the shook, and oscillated for several minutes from the effects. The water in the harbour near the breastwork was, agitated, and a correspondent states that a distinct wave was seen at the time of the second shock. In Manners-street most of the residents experienced the effects of the shocks. Mr Flockton, of the Variety Stores, says ho had at least 20 clocks in working order, but nearly all of them stopped at the shake. He was in tho store at the time, and was very* much afraid that his stock would be shaken from the shelves, but fortunately no damage occurred. In Cambridgeterrace the'shook was felt severely and some slight alarm was felt at the shakes by the fair sex. ■’

: The President of the Caledonian Society (Mr John Dnthie) commented on Tuesday on the circumstance that although a substantial sum was voted by the Society last year for benevolent purposes, the applications for charity had only resulted in an expenditure of £6 10s. This, Mr Duthie considered, was highly satisfactory, for clergymen and others to whom such applications were made would be certain to know of the fund the Society kept for the purpose, and would have applied for: assistance had it become necessary, _ The prizes won at the Wellington Foot, ball Club’s annual sports, which were held a short time ago (a list of which has already been published) were presented to the winners at the Masonic Hall, Boulcott-street, on Wednesday evening. Prior to the presentation a conversazione was held, at which songs were contributed by Mrs Levin, Mrs WeOb and Mr Kennedy, Miss Hamerton presiding at the piano. Mr Wakefield also gave a reading. The concluding item was the everpopular song. “On the ball,” which was sung by Mr Kennedy, the footballers present taking up the refrain. Mrs Levin presented the prizes, and on her behalf Mr Levin made a capital speech. A passenger by the Mauawatn train in-, forms us that an accident happened in the Manawatu Gorge on Tuesday. When the coach was coming through from Woodville toward Palmerston, at about the middle of the gorge it suddenly came upon a one-horse van drawn up on the outer side of the road, on the edge of the precipice, for the coach to pass, the driver standing at the horse’s head. Just as the coach was passing the horse took fright, and jumped back. The wheels of the van went over the edge of the cliff, and the van and horse fell a distance of 50ft or 60ft. Fortunately, the reins were dragged out of the driver’s hands, and he remained on the hank, but the horse and vehicle fell until their progress was stopped by some trees. The coach had to go on, of course, and the driver could not stop to ascertain what the exact damage was. It is supposed, however, that the van was destroyed and the horse either killed or severely injured. The work of stocking our rivers from the Mastertou hatchery progresses merrily. This week 1000 young trout were, sent to Palmerston North, and 1000 to the Taritea and Kahuterawa streams, in the Fitzherbert block. A large consignment of 5000 fry were taken through the Forty-Mile Bash on account of the Napier Acclimatisation Society. During the next fortnight further large consignments will be sent to the Wanganui and Taranaki Acclimatisation Societies, and in response these Societies are subscribing largely toward the support of the Masterton ponds. After satisfying tne demands outside the dist'-ict there will be about 40,000 fry left for furtner work in rivers nearer home. A thousand fine Lochleven trout were lately placed in the upper waters of the Akatarawa stream, one of the finest tributaries of the Hutt River, where it is intended to establish a nursery, from which the main river will be stocked with this fine variety w thout running the risk of large numbers of fry being destroyed by the large trout in the lower waters. The annual tea and public meeting in connection with the anniversary of Wesley Church Sunday School, Tarauaki.street, was held on Tuesday, and was attended with great success. The tea meeting was held in the schoolroom, and was well attended. The tables were presided over by. Mesdames Somerville, Tiller, Williams, and Seagar, Misses White, Todd, Fuller, Russell, and Messrs Howe and A. Chisholm had charge of the gentlemen’s table. The public meeting was held in the Church, There was a very large attendance, and the Rev W. Lee presided. The annual report, read by the Secretary (Mr T. Sims)’, was of a most satisfactory character. It showed that the school was in a most flourishing condition, and, in order to meet the increased attendance, which exceeded the accommodation, it was proposed to have the building enlarged. The number of scholars on the roll was 649, average attendance 474; teachers on the roll 37, average attendance 34. During the evening interesting speeches were delivered by Superintendent Tiller, Revs H. H. Driver, and J, Berry, The feature of the evening was the concert given by the Surday school scholars, numbering several hundreds, who were assisted by the church choir. A large number of selections were given in a most creditable manner. The conductor was Mr F, Billman, andMr Harland presided attheorgan. The question of the new post-office clock was mentioned at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, and some ratherimportantinformation was enlisted ooncerningit. MrD. T. Stuart suggested that consideration should be given to the subject, and Mr Duthie thereupon explained the negotiations with tho Government which led up to the Premier giving him and the Mayor to understand that the Government would erect the clock if the City Council and Harbour Board found £3OO, the clock being estimated to cost about £725. Tenders were then invited by the Government in power for the clock, but since last session the Government had informed the Mayor that they did not intend to contribute anything and had never intended to ho so; that tenders had only been called for the inform tion of the local bodies con cerr.ed. The matter would come before the local bodies, of course, in due time. For his part he thought the Premier clearly gave him and the Mayor to understand that the Government would find the clock if £3OO was contributed by the Connoil and Harbour Board, though no definite promise was made. The Mayor informed him, however, that tho Minister for Public Works had given h : m a distinct promise to that effect. Certainly it was strange that the Government should get tenders through tho Agent General if they did not intend to put the clock up. The Chairman said it must not be forgotten that the town subscribed £3OO toward the cost of the old clock which was destroyed, and which the Government did not have insured. Mr D. T. Stuart moved that this quest on be remitted to tho Council of the Chamber, to cooperate with the local bodies, and that the city members be also asked to join the Council. This was seconded by Mr A. Boardman and carried.

An ordinary meet ng of the Philosophical Society was held on Wednesday, the President (Mr Wm. Maakell) in the chair. An iiiP teresting paper on the causes of the decrease of pheasants in some parts of the West Coast of tbeNorfch island, by Mi E. N. Liffiton, was read by Mr R. B. Gore, in the absence of the writer. Mr Liffiton considered that the tasteof the weka (woodhen) for eggs was the principle cause of the decrease of pheasants. A discussion ensued, in the course of which Mr Higginson suggested that the want o' grain food was one of the causes which led t.i the - decrease of ’ pheasants. It was pointed out in support of the weka theory that in some parts of the Auckland district, where there .were few wekas, the pheasants bad increased very rapidly. Mr Coleman Phillips attributed the decrease in the VVairarapa to the enormous quantities of poisoned grain laid for rabbits, and also to hawks. It was suggested that the increase in the numbers of small birds might also have something to do with it. Mr Maskell said there appeared (as he had contended on a former occasion) to be some kind of law by which birds or beasts introduced from another country became exceedingly numerous for a time and then died away. An important question raised now, however, was whether such birds or beasts must not be preserved if they were to increase, instead of following the usual New Zealand principle of letting a thing slide so long as you had it. Mr J. Park, F.G.S., read a paper on the Tahahe (uotomis Mantelli), asserting that the bird was not extinct, he having seen one once, and heard it several times, A paper on “ The knowledge of cattle among the "ancient Polynesians” was read by Mr E. Tregear, F.E.G.S. Mr Coleman Phillips remarked, with reference to this paper, that he thought Mr Tregear had hardly, touched sufficiently upon the knowledge of cattle amopg the Polynesians, and that the paper, which showed a great deal of research, would have been better headed in another style, as dealing with the derivation of the work “yak.'’