SOCIAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 4010, 23 December 1874, Page 2

SOCIAL AND GENERAL.

PERSONAL. jpie Hon. W. H. Reynolds, one of the representatives of Dunedin in the General Assembly, addressed a large meeting of his constituents on the 13th hurt., when a vote of thanks was unanimously accorded him. The rumour that Sir Donald M'Lean, Native Minister, had been appointed Governor of Fiji is now proved to have been without foundation, as we now know that Sir Arthur Gordon, late Governor of Mauritius, has received the appointment. o^,the 18th inst., Mr W. A. Young ■was entertained at luncheon by a number of his friends at the Criterion Hotel, Palrnerstqn, and at the same time presented ■with a service ©f plate, in recognition of the valuable services rendered by him to'the-cause'of,acclimatisation in the Province. ', .We recently had the pleasure of examining7the very handsome inkstand that ■was presented to. Captain Fairchild, of the ■ Governor steamer Luna, by the late Governor, Sir James Fergusson. The stand is of massive silver, with a curled pencarrier at the back, and is mounted by two ink-bottles with chased silver tops. It bears the following inscription: — " Captain John Fairchild, with kind regards, ifrom Sir James Fergusson." This souvenir of gubernatorial esteem will no doubt 'be 'highly prized by the worthy recipient and his descendants. THE CALEPONIAN SOCIETY'S ANNUAL *" , i", i GATHERING. The Caledonian sports, which are to come off on the Ist and 2nd January next, have every promise, with fine weather, of being-moat successful, and the Society in the matter of- the prizes to be given "is acting with unusual, liberality. The prizes at the forthcoming two days' Bpdrts.willamonntfto.£36o, being an increase of £100 on the amount given at the last gathering. There will be' £115 for running, £55 for wrestling (three, different' styles), £55, dancing over £40:' .'The balance of the money is to^be given "for leaping, vaulting, gymnastics, &c. ,With the increase of population " during" therpasli '.twelve months, a larger crowd'may be expected on the ground than ever before. The running this time ■will. be' unusually interesting. A hot struggle ia expected in the mile race on the first day between- Brookes, a visitor from Melbourne, and Burke, a wellknown local man. $' :"£kE'iIKST" GLOST WARE MANUFACTURED ,i IN NEW ZEALAND. ' ''His Honour the Superintendent recently fired the first glost kiln at Mr W. M. White's 'pottery, Milton, on the 15th inst., and we ,had the' pleasure of seeing the final result of the ceremony in the shape; 'of a cartload of finished potteryware, sent down to Dunedin as samples. These samples are of first-class' quality, and show conclusively that Mr' White's enterprise has -been eminently successful in producing a good marketable article. The various gars, "dishes, .bottles, &c, *ji"ohowf a -fine smooth glaze, and are as sound as a bell, with a clear metallic ring in them. With a little experienc, some improvement in the colour will doubtless be effected, and the goods will then be all that can be desired. The retail dealers who have inspected the samples expressed a .high opinion of their quality, and showed thegenuinenessoftheirexpressions by at once desiring to become purchasers from Mr White. We believe a large supply will be shortly placed in the market, and we have no doubt that Mr White will then reap the reward to which his efforts justly entitle him. In addition to the Provincial Government bonus of £250 which Mr White hai now secured, he will .be entitled to a further bonus of £300 '"from."the General Government, on pro-

ducing £2000 worth of pottery ware. ■ Mr White has presented several specimens jto. the Museum, and as samples of the "first glost ware burnt in New Zealand,jif not in the - Australian Colenies," , they will doubtless be regarded' with interest. ; WHARF EXTENSION AND DREDGING. The wharf extension now about to be carried out by the Harbour Board is in' , length to be 1140 feet. It will be continued from the Rattray street 'wharf extension in the direction of the beacon, the terminating point being the southern corner of the Board's endowment, which is some distance blithe shore side of the beacon. The width of the extension is to be the same as that of the Rattray street wharf, the roadway adjoining being below the level of the planking about three feet. The timbers will consist principally of iron baik jarrah, and blue gum, the former for piling and the last mentioned for plankhv.v The beams are to be Oregon. ;The whole structureiatobe completed in nine months, and we feel convinced that the accommodation that will be afforded by even this preliminary work will be an immense benefit to the shipping community. The Harbour Board has resolved to dredge the long channel to a depth of nine feet at low water, giving fourteen feet at high water all the way to Dunedin. THE DUNEDIN SAILORS* HOME. A deputation from the Sailors' Home Committee recently waited . upon his Honour the Superintendent, with the view of obtaining the Immigration Barracks in Princes street, for improvement as a Home. Their request was cordially granted. The amount already collected is about £G7O, and the Government has promised a bonus, of £200. Mr H. Paul was elf cted Hon. Secretary, vice Mr H. S. Fish, resigned. ...... PENINSULA AND OCEAN ' BEACH RAILWAY. A special meeting ot shareholders in the Peninsula and Ocean Beach Railway Company was recently held in the Friendly Societies' Hall, Dunedin, Mr James Smith occupying the chair. The Chairman stated that the object of the meeting was to elect the first set of Directors, in pursuance of the articles of association. On the motion of Mr Prnudf oot, seconded by Mr Ho.dgkins, the following gentlemen were appointed Directors : — Messrs G. W. Eliott, R M. Robertson, Thos. Reynolds, J; T. Wright, and David Proudfoot. It was stated that the Ocean Beach line would probably be completed by the next race meeting, in March. The first sod will be turned by the Superintendent,,to- day. . , PICNIC. A picnic at Portobello was given on the 12th inst., by Messrs Sargood, Son, and Ewen, merchants, Dunedin. The firm's employes, friends of, employe's, and visitors invited by the firm, to the number of nearly five hundred, were brought to Portobello in the Golden Age At the luncheon, Mr R. B. Martin introduced Mr Sargood as a friend whom he had known for. more than 22 years, and hoped that, now that Mr Sargood's interest in Otago was 'becoming; so large, he and his family would reside here during a portion of the year. Mr'Sargood, in reply, said that when last here he, was pressed for iime, and hence was unable to carry out his intention of meeting'the "employe's of the firm on an occasion like the present. But having brought Mrs Sargood and some of the family down this time, he deemed it a fitting opportunity to ask the employe's and their" friends to a social gathering such as they had had in Melbourne on some occasions. He had always come to Dunedin about enlarging buildings, and this visit was no exception to the rule, his sole business being the selection of a competitive design for the firm's new warehouse, about to be erected in High street. He and his partner (Mr; Tewsley) had decided upon a design which they thought would be a credit to their firm and to Dunedin. He (Mr Sargood) was not one of those who was inclined to doubt the future of New Zealand, and the best proof of that was the large amount of money that would be expended on the new warehouse. The warehouse, although it would not be, perhaps, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, would be by far the handsomest. He was fully convinced thatthe. same amount of energy that had been displayed in the past by the merchants and inhabitants of Dunedin would, in the future, enable it to continue what it now is, viz., the entrepot of New Zealand. Bte advocated the ..meeting of employers and employes at social'gatherings like the present, and hoped next year to meet them at a reunion on, the floor of the new warehouse. . ■ ■'•'■' : " NEW PADDLE WHEEL FOR STEAM VESSELLS. ,: We w,ere/recently shown an excellent model of a new paddle-wheel for steam vessels,, the invention of Mr. .:F, W. Stevens, who recently arrived in Dunedin from the North. It is an ingenious ap.plication of the screw to the paddle-wheel, and the. result of about thirty years' study.;-fits'advantages appear to be an increase^ of "Speed, -with less pressure of steam (which .consequently means ;a,' less consumption of iuel), whilst all vibratipn is removed; .Several of ourleading pro-1 fessionai:men have "examined the model, and expressed their pleasure with its simplicity. Letters patent have been taken ottt'for the! invention j "and we should i strongly recommend, those specially interested in steamers itoiinspect it for themselves.1 ; The following1 is ati extract from la.'letter dated 27th' October, 1874, from Mr, D. M'Affer, engineer, to Captain PokChalmers":—''l have been : working, thesei patent floats (p.s. Lady Boweri) for :i the last twelve months, and they are superior to anything I ever saw tried. They have increased the speed ;fullyi.one7third. The steamer now does 30 miles where she used <tcJ::do 20, and , w^tll23lbErless; -pressure /of steatn. This 13 aVtruthi I can .vouch for. "As for towing, there is nothing to equal them. I advise you strongly to try them. The expense is trifling, and you will save it in a month." By the outgoing mail, Mr Stevens forwarded the model to the Oregon Steam Navigation Company, U.S. ~, -