CHRISTCHURCH.

Otago Witness, Issue 1158, 7 February 1874, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH.

[from our own corkespondent.]

January 30th.

What I consider a highly reprehensible miscarriage of justice occurred here the other day at an up-country police court. It appeared that the father of a little girl had not only beaten her with a stick, but had tied her to a horse's tail and allowed her to be dragged through a river. The schoolmaster in the district also stated that the girl, who attended the school, often appeared to be suffering from brutal treatment. Another neighbour stated that she came and stayed at his house for a week, and upon his offering to take her home, she ran away in dread. Another said the girl came to her house and stayed a week ; she had evidently been ill-treated, though appearing to be a good girl. And what do you think Was done? He was simply ordered to find two sureties of £10 each, and bind himself in a security bond of £20 for his better conduct in future, and ordered to pay 21s costs. I should imagine a committal for trial and 10 years' penal servitude would be nearer the mark.

Mr Andrew Duncan, late M.P.C. and Mayor of Christchurch, our Provincial Emi» gration Agent, seems to be winning golden opinions at home, and to be doing good work. He says that in nine days he selected 170 suitable people, and could fill a ship in a week, but with an indifferent complement. He tackles Scotland first, then the North of Ireland, and intends spending seven months in England. The Press newspaper quotes extracts from the Glasgow; Herald as to Mr Duncan's proceedings, which arc of course peculiarly interesting to Canterbury people. The annual report of the Acclimatisation Society has appeared. Allusion is made to the fact that though constant complaints are reaching them from the country districts about the ravages of grubs and caterpillars, yet they receive so little support from the farmers towards the introduction of insectivorous birds. The sparrow dissuasion came on again, some contending that in the case of fruit and grain they did more harm than good, but the majority appeared to acknowledge their intrinsic value. The list of stock in the gardens, though not very extensive, may interest some of your readers. It is as follows :— English trout, not counted ; 40 salmon, 49 salmon trout, perch, tench, 2 English pheasants, 11 half-bred English and Chinese, 33 young pheasants, 4 Wonga Wonga pigeons, 12 English wild clacks, 1 Rouen duck, 2 blue mountain ducks, 2 grey ducks, 8 paradise ducks, 3 mandarin ducks, 2 curassows, 7wekas, 2 guinea pigs, 2 Australian geese, 4 Chinese geese, 2 Brent geese, 2 swamp hens, 6 ferrets, 1 large native owl, 3 goldfinches. 1 laughing jackass, 1 plover, 2 opossums, 1 squirrel, 7 fallow deer, quantity kangaroos, 2 parrots, dorkings, bramahpootras, bantams, and common fowls. And besides these, partridges, skylarks, black birds, thrushes, redpoles, starlings, rooks, hedge sparrows, yellow - hammers, chaffinc lies, goldfinches, tomtits, bramble-finches, and Californian quail, have been liberated in large numbers throughout the Province. I understand that the publication of the wretched Canterbury Hand-book— noticed in my last letter — has been suppressed by the Government, and that a cable telegram has been sent to the Emigration Agent to withhold a hundred copies that had been sent to him for distribution. A pretty penny will th.ua be thrown away.

In the matter of the railways here, I notice one good effect from them. It is the means of abolishing in a great measure the " chequeBweating" business, for when Saturday.comes, numbers of harvest men jump into the last train to town, stroll round and see what ia going on in the way of amusements, take a good rest on Sunday, and go back to work by first train on the Monday morning. The attractions of town are thereby divested of much of their power for evil over these men, simply because the novelty disappears ; and moreover in the cases where the men are married, the wives and families reap the full benefit of these hebdomadal visits. Better thus than having in their possession one big cheque at the end of harvest or shearing, and allowing it to disappear in the course of a day or two to the sole benefit of the accommodating publican. And talking about railways, I can tell you it is possible now to go a journey of a very decent length, and to travel through country with plenty of variety. For instance, say from Kakaia to Rangiora, which is fifty-three miles, or from Lyttelton to Rakaia, forty-three miles, or from Lyttelton even to Rangiora, which is twenty-six miles. A fellow living in town can in the course of a few hours get a good blow, and come home again to dinner as hungry as a hunter, and all the better for his trip by rail. Miss Aitken has succeeded beyond anticipation in drawing excellent houses at the Theatre Royal, and the audience, from their vociferous applause, appear thoroughly to appreciate her life-like representations. The public hero have no cause to be dissatisfied with the price of meat just now, the New Zealand Provision and Produce Company statipg that they are prepared to retail sirloins and ribs of beef at 3.jfd per lb,, and mutton at a similar reduction. For the benefit of those of your readers interested in such matters, 1 give tho invoice of a fire-engine coming out to the order of the Kaiapoi Borough Council, for the use of thoir fire brigade, from Messrs Shand, Mason, and Co. :— "To improvod patent horizontal steam fire engine, with inclined patent water-tubo boilor, hoae-box,

finished vefmillion, picked out gold, black and white, and varnished, with set spare valves, water-gauge glasses, suction-strainer, wrenches, stoking-irons, lamps, oil and tallow cans, tube brush, pump leathers, damping cloths, washers, two fire bars, filling funnel, two short and one long copper branch-pipes, five gun-metal hexagon jetpipes, two branch-pipe stavea, spanners, pole, with polished leader-hook, sway-bars and drag-handles, £400 ; twenty-nine feet vulcanised rubber suction-pipes, in four lengths, £13 Is ; four pair swivel coupling screws and fitting to suction pipe, £7 4s ; 1100 feet canvas hose, prepared to prevent rot (12ft. lengths), £73 6s 8d; 12 pairis swivel coupling screws, £13 4s ; six hose clamps, £2 5s ; connecting screws for working two lines hose from one, £1 15s ; do for working one line of hose from two, £1 15s; hand hose reel, to hold 1200 feet canvas hose, £11 10s ; packing and delivery of engine to docks, £10 ; do hose reel, .£5 ; do hose, 15s ; insurance, shipping charges, £10 15s : total, £550 10s Bd."

About the last of our up-country racemeetings comes off on the 19 th of next month, and then our grand autumn meeting. The one to which I allude is to be at Little River, on the Peninsula ; and though the amounts to be run for are not very startling, the meeting is generally well attended, and plenty of fun is to be had for the money. The locale is on the road between here and Akaroa.

A member of the Committee of the Christchurch East Educational District has given rather a startling notice of motion for their meeting on Tuesday next. It is to the effect that taking into consideration the obstructions thrown in the way of the East Christchurch School Committee by the Board of Education in the erection of schools, &c. this Committee close all their schools, and leave the whole matter in the hands of the Board. Without entering at all into the merits or demerits of the case, it is safe to venture to predict that a motion of this nature will not be productive of good.

The building of the Cathedral is progressing apace, and it is just possible that when churchmen see the walls actually rising above the foundations that ha*, c lain so long an eyesore to the square and to the Province, they will be roused into taking active measures towards its completion. It will also be remembered that the new Colonial Government Buildings are to be built on the opposite side of the square. These, with the purchase of the site, will cost upwards of £30,000, and are to include Post Office, Telegraph Office, Custom House, Deeds Registration Office, and Resident Magistrate's Court, so that Cathedral Square, so long a barren waste, bids fair to become the most distinguished part of the city. The famous outfall drain for the city, which has exercised City Councillors for so long a time, is to be publicly opened to-day, and it is to be hoped that from this date the pestilential Ferry road drain will be a thing of the past, and that the new works, which have cost so much money, will answer all the purposes guaranteed by the originators.

It is perfectly astonishing to note the number of travellers that are almost constantly here from Dunedin wholesale houses, and it apeaks volumes in their favour when retail men are content to go no further than Ofcago for their supplies ; and not much for the enterprise of Canterbury merchants, who are content to take a back seat.

At an inspection of the Cavalry and Artillery corps here the other day by Major Gordon, he stated that the gun drill and the dismounting drill had not been excelled elsewhere in the Colony, but he could not say much about the marching drill. The Cavalry mustered twenty-eight, and the Artillery twenty- five, so that until Volunteering is placed upon a very different footing to what it is now, it is plain that something very like a farce is being perpetrated here in the way of national defence.

The City Council have stated publicly that it is their intention to consider a proposition to borrow a sum of £12,000 to meet the expenses of the works in connection with the drainage of the city, to be undertaken this year. This amount will be raised on debentures of £50 each, bearing interest at 6 per cent., issued for a term of 50 yeart>, on the security of a special rate of twopence in the pound. I shall not attempt to enter into particulars with regard to the " first New Zealand Conference in connection with the Australasian Wesleyan Methodist Connexion," but merely state that it is now going on, and that the Rev. Thomas Buddie has been appointed chairman. Those especially interested in the matter I will refer to the next number of the . Wesleyan, which will have the proceedings in full, or to the morning papers, which contain copious reports. The christening of the steamer which is to convey pleasure parties up and down the Avon between Christchurch and New Brighton came off on Tuesday, and that and the spread given by the proprietor at the New Brighton Hotel, and the ball afterwards, may all be considered a success.

With respect to the progress of the main line of railway in Canterbury, tho Timaru Herald says :—" The sleepers and rails are laid down between the Rakaia and Ashburton, a distance of about 18 miles, and little more than the ballasting now remains to be clone. It ia anticipated that the line will be ready for traffic by June noxt The contractors for the bridge over the Ashburton are proceeding with their work as quickly as a steam monkey can got the piles into the ground. There are now seven piers nearly completed."