TOWN BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 366, 4 December 1858, Page 6

TOWN BOARD.

The usual meeting of this Board was held on Monday. Present— Dr. Purdie, Messrs. Smith, Kilgour, Langlands, Rennie, and Lambert ; i\lr. Duncan in the chair.

Dr. Purdie, according to notice, proposed the following resolution, which was seconded by Mr. \lnxtii& pro forma :—: — "That the grant of the Municipal section 31, block G, lor ihe purpose of an Athenanim, bo reselnded, on the ground of irregulariiv and nonon'brmity to the published Regulations adopted by ihe Boiid." In moving the resolution, the Doctor regretted that an impression, which was altogether erroneous, should have got afloat that he was opposed to the Athenastim ; he wished it to be corrected, and to be distinctly understood that he did not object to the erection of such a useful institution ; he rather desired to see it go forward, and would cordially give it his support ; but what he really objected to was the irregular and informal manner in which the site for it hid been granted. The Ordinance, as well as their own Regulations had not been adhered to, and the Board should not have departed from the laws which had been specially framed for their guidance. Before granting the lease, the Board ought to have communicated with the Superintendent, with the view of having an Ordinance passed by the Council for that special object. As to the site which had been chosen for the Athenaeum, he did not consider it in a central position of the town ; Moray Place would be more in the centre, as it would be seen that the town was now fast progressing in the direction of the North-east Valley, and he must claim for the inhabitants on that side of the town a voice as to the position for an institution in which they have an equal interest with those in the other parts of the town. An objection might be raised to Moray Place, in consequence of the hospital being situate 1 there, but if the sanitary condition of the town and the health of the inhabitants were at all to be respected, the hospital must shortly be removed from there. Mr. Kilgour considered the site granted for the Athenaeum the best that could have been chosen for that purpose. Mr. Rennie concurred with Dr. Purdie as to the irregular proceedings of the Board in granting the lease of the section for the Athenaeum, and was clearly of opinion that they had not acted according to the provisions of the Ordinance, nor pursued the course prescribed by their own published regulations. Mr. Langlands said the Board, in granting a lease of that section at a nominal rent of ss. per annum for an Athenajiim, had gone direct in the face of the Ordinance and the Regulations of the Board, the course prescribed by clauses 2 and 3 of which had not in that case been acted upon. The whole affair of applying for and granting the section was th» work of a few minutes, and was altogether irregular and informal. lie considered that the Board should not have taken it upon them to give away any portion of the municipal estate before referring the matter to the Superintendent and Provincial Council.

Mr. Lambert said he had heard nothing tangible advanced to upset the lormer decision of the Bonrd as to the site for the Atlienrcum ; all the objections which had been put forward rested upon a trifling informality which he considered a mere legal quibble. As to the site chosen, it was very generally approved of as being a good poi-ition for such an institution. After some further discussion on the matter, Mr. Smith moved as an amendment— "That the resolution of the 80-ird of 13th October last be adhered to, and, if necessary address the Superintendent on the subject." Seconded by Mr. Lambert. The amendment was put and carried by the chairman's casting vote— -Messrs. Smith, Dun-

can, Kilgour, and Lambert voting for; and Dr. Purdie, and xMessrs. Langlands and Ilennie against.

Mr. Langland3 wished the names and votes to be recorded in the minutes, and gave notice that at mn meeting he would lodge his protest against the proceedings of tbe Board in the matter referred to.

The improving of the new cemetery was brought under ihe consideration of the board, and several members expressed surprise that so little had as yet been done to it. The clerk was instructed to visit the cemetery and ascertain what .Mr. Barr was doing towards the laying out and improving of it. It was moved and agreed to that the leases of the repudiated allotments of section 32 be again put up to auction, and that the biddings of any defaulter be "hot again accepted, in future a deposit of £10 to be made by the highest bidder.

It was stated that Mr. Carnegie had refused to complete the purchase of the leases of the allotments referred to, as he considered he had not received sufficient compensation for the money, £103, laid out in improving the section. Mr. Carnegie had obtained" from the Board a lease of the two allotments on which his stores were erected, at an yearly rental of 12s. and Bs. per foot, while those adjoining fetched 335. and 4()s. per foot, by which he saves £74 per annum for <£]4 years. lie had also another frontage in High street for os. a foot, while the next one fetched 2os. ; and no claim had been made upon him for back rent. This, then, was a saving to Mr. Carnegie of upwards of £100 per annum for 14 years, and yet he considered he had not got sufficient compensation for his outlay of £103 7s. 6d.

Mr. Kilgouk made application to the Board for a small sum of money for the purpose of making the street branching from Rattray street to the Halfway bush road more passable. The application was postponed until the road to the Halfway bush was decided upon, which was expected to be in two or three weeks.

The Board then adjourned for a fortnight.

Why tiic Men Don't Propose.— Our modish Cupid has over-strung his bow— his arrows don't hit home. Young ladies bide away the key of their hearts so carefully that nobody thinks it worth looking for. Who is to choose " the one" out of a bevy of properly behaved damsels like a row of* hollyhocks, differing only in height, shape, and colour ? They all look alike, dress alike, talk alike, and walk alike; and, for anything that appears to the contrary, think alike and feel alike. Why, such a choice is an act of deliberate intention — matrimony prepense. Few men have the nerve to venture upon it. No wonder they calculate the probable butchers' and bakers' bills before they take such a plunge as that. Don't fancy that I talk like a cynical old bird, not to be caught with chaff. I take, as the exponent of what my own feelings would be if I were young, and open as I once was to the conviction of bright eyes, my nephew, Jack Hawthorne, not long home from the Crimea, six feet o:ie, independent, hairy as a Skye terrier, brave as a lion (clasps' for Alma and Balaklavn), gentle as a greyhound, and I should say impressible, decidedly. "What I missed most," said he, in his open-hearted, unabashed simplicity, " was the sight of a woman's face." Whereupon I spoke : "I wonder, Jack, you don't marry; it would make you a happier man than living half your days in the smoking-room of the"' Army and Navy.' Why not pick up a nice girl, and set up tbe family name again at the old manor P" " Well, so "l would," said Jack, interjectively between the puffs of his cutty, " but there are no girls now —they're all young ladies: catch me marrying a young lady !" Jack has mortally offended, I fear, a whole circle of previous admirers, mammas and daughters, by a very innocent and well-intentioned little speech be made at one of his last public appearances. His hostess was begging him to dance. Jack "didn't seem to care about dancing." " But pray — to oblige her— there were so many nice girls sitting down, and the men were so stupid ! " Jack would have danced with a she-bear sooner than be really rude or ill-natured, so he consented. The patroness was charmed and grateful. And now, which would be like her to introduce him to ? " Miss A. ? sweet girl ! Miss B, ? very sweet girl— clever, only so quiet. The two \liss C.'s? both dearlings! Miss D.?" (in a whisper), "twenty thousand, and not engaged ! " "'I hankye/' said Jack, after casting his eye along the line as if he were on parade, " they all look very much alike. As lamto do it," continued he, without moving a muscle of his countenance, for he was in earnest, " I may as well do it handsomely : so I'll take the tallest and the stiffest, with a shade of red in her hair." Seriously, I do hot think the clubs alone have to answer for the decrease in early marriages. Other modern improvements in society must bear their share of blame. I would back the hearts — 1 mean the girls— against the clubs any day, only give them fair play.— Blackwood.

An Old Covenant Monument in Danger. — An Ayrshire man in London writes to the Witness as follows: — There are lew Scotsmen who do not know the name of Lochgoin. It is a small sheep farm in the moors of Kaglesharn, on the borders of Ayrshire, as that county extends Glasgow-wards. For full six hundred }-ears it has been occupied by one family; its founder was a God-fearing Waldensian. In an early year of the thirteenth century he fled from his native Piedmont, and never rested till he reached that Ayrshire waste, where he might have the security of a solitude which the Papal sword had not invaded. His descendants, dwelling on the same

spot, have through the six succeeding centuries been true to the rich heritage of faith and principle left by the poor refugee. Is not the name of Howie one of the foremost on the roll of western worthies who died and suffered for the Covenant? The steading of Lochgoin, bounded on all sides by deep morasses, and to this da} r accessible only to foot-pnssengers, was for several generations at once a house of prayer for the homeless wanderer, and a coun-cil-hall for the daring, active spirits who led at Drumclog, and Air's Moss, and Bothwell Brig. For many a day, indeed, it was the only asylum in which the persecuted children of God could meet for communion. Under its roof the gentle Cameron's voice was heard in frequent prayer. There good Donald Cargili revived failing hopes and drooping courage by sturdy proclamation of the truth. There Peden, the wierd Ezekiel of the west, poured forth fiery torrents of invective against the enemy, and counsel for the friends, fanning belief into such enthusiasm, and faith into such a flame, as the day and the struggle required. Twelve times did the Highland host descend upon the steading, and "harry" both it and the farm of all the property they contained. Even the women and the " bairns" were ofteu driven out into the moor; and once a daughter was added to the outcast family while they lay on a hillside, with the cold moon and stars of a stern winter night looking down upon the homeless, houseless mother and her little ones. What scenes of moral grandeur that poor hut has witnessed ! Of all buildings, small and great, the most notable in Ayrshire A truer thing in its way than the birth-cottage of Burns, inasmuch as Lochgoin is more like what it was 300 years ago than is the cottage of Burns like what it was even fifty years ago. The birth-place and abode of generations of good men, notable for heroic self-denial, who did great things for their country, can it be wondered that Lochgoin, environed though it be with mosses and wide extent of pathless moor, has still been visited by thousands of pilgrims every year from all parts of the Anglo-Saxon world ? It, is with a feeling of bitter shame and unspeakable amazement that 1 receive the tidings this morning, that the steading of Lochgoin is being levelled with the ground, and that a new, and what my correspondent is pleased to call a "handsome" house, is about, to be raised upon its site. There are thousands who will receive this announcement with a feeling too deep for words. One of the most precious associations of many a westcountryman is destroyed. But perhaps it is not yet too late to undo at least some portion of the evil. Lochgoin is a part of the Loudoun estate, possessed by the youthful Marquis of Hastings, who is still, I think, a minor ; and I am sure that in the Hastings family there are some keenly alive to the exceeding beauty and value of the memories enshrined in that old house. I trust that the paltry question of a few pounds will not prevent Ayrshire having this finest of all Covenanting monuments pre° served to future ages. Discovery of Christians on an Indian Island.— We see it stated upon what may be considered reliable authority that 30,000 Christians have recently been found upon an island north of Celebes. It has been rumoured for a time that there was there a Christian people forgotten and forsaken, which, however, yet possessed three bibles, and continued steadfast in the faith. When missionaries first landed on the island they met with a school teacher and his pupils, who repeated in the Malayan tongue, " As the hart pantefh after the water brooks so panteth my soul after thee 0 Lord." No bibles were found, but its most precious promises were written upon the bark of trees. They knew the Apostles' Creed, and the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Christian customs. Twenty-seven churches and schools yet existed. Through the instrumentality of Pastor Heldring, founder of the Magdalen Asylum at Steinbeck, and chief patron of Inner 'Missions in Holland, four missionaries, who had been, educated under the venerable Goesner, were sent out, and 3000 persons baptised. This is certainly an interesting discovery. The island on which these Christians were found belongs to the East India Archipelago. The Dutch have for years had political rule in this region. This may account for the original introduction, of Christianity among this people, and for the fact that the Heidelberg Catechism was still found in their possession. But still, the particular time and circumstances in which this introduction took place may well challenge special attention, and elicit investigation from those who have the leisure and facilities for prosecuting it.— German Reform Messenger. A Warning to Pipe-Smokers.— An American gentleman living in Paris came near losing his hie lately by a method that ought to be made public. His health had been declining for several months, commencing with his arrival in Paris, without his having been able to discover the cause. At last the physicians thought that they perceived in his condition symptoms of poisoning by arsenic. An investigation in this sense was made and it was found in effect that his declining health was due to arsenic. The gentleman was in the habit of consuming largely the cheap wtyte clay pipes, f not as a matter of economy but by fantasy. These pipes in Paris are rendered white and smooth by arsenic ; and as arsenic is a very volatile substance under the influence ot heat, the poor who use these pipes mostly, do not perceptibly suffer, since a day's use drives off all the arsenic, and they are not frequently renewed. But our friend renewed his pipes every day, and about tbe time he had absorbed all the poisonous material of one pipe he took up another to repeat the same operation, and thus he had literally filled his system with the poison.