CHRISTCHURCH.

Otago Witness, Issue 1202, 12 December 1874, Page 5

CHRISTCHURCH.

1 (fkom our own correspondent.)

Ist December, 1874. Times without number have our illustrious agriculturists been reminded of the value of crushed gorse as an excellent diet for horses and cattle. They agree with you thoroughly, and continue year after year to go their way without taking any action in the matter whatever, while tons and tons' of succulent gorse are produced every season and are allowed to go to waste, find miles and miles of fencing are becoming overgrown and rugged, or spreading at will far into the paddocks. Already machines have been invented for cuttingjthe gorse, and machines for crushing it also, and yet they are not viniversally adopted. The latest reminder that our farmers have had is an extract from a private letter from England, where after stating that gorse can be cultivated on lands of small value to a really profitable account, and has been proved a nutritious and economical food c or horses and cattle, the writer ,Mls his correspondent here that if there i s nuch gorse in New Zealand, it might " 3e H well to know th&t a patent machine has us t been made for the purpose cf reduojg the spikes almost to a pulp, so •that l»th hoisas and cows eat it with avidity. He contends that it is a good substifcuc, for hay and even excellent green fooc j n the winter, while the only obstacle to, - ts general use has hitherto been the wat of an inexpensive machine to reduce- itt 0 a proper state for consumption. Th mac y nej however, in question is stated to t a g re at econ omiser of time and labour, and\ an c WO rked by hand or power. By a x iange o f wheels, moreover, it can be mau to cut hay and straw as required, and th Avr it e r expresses his opinion that ior the" urposea named it is altogether the best iny n ti on of the day. It only remains for ! ie gbn tkman to whom a shipment of t^ se machines is consigned to try to p^ uade farmers generally to use them, j am con _, vinced that a satisfactory re sult will accrue. You are already aware that \ n influential company is being formed ft, the purpose of building a new theatr't s a counteraction to this movement, \ c p ro . prietors of the Theatre Royal are^inking of pulling down the present buiK^» ' and erecting a new one upon the si*nl Bite, which will have 16ft. 6in. addition*! width on either side, 27ft. Bin. more in' depth at the rear, and 40ft. more in front, from the present pit wall. I cannot think , that our population is large enough yet to make two theatres profitable speculations, but still I shall, be only too happy to find that lam wrong in my surmises. With regard to the site to be fixed upon by the new company I believe that nothing definite has been determined, but depend upon it, it will not be far from the White Harfc, Tattereal's, and the triangle. The English Opera Company started on Sunday by the s.b. Beautiful Star for Timaru, ' and 1 - hope they may have as successful! a season in Dunedin as they have had in Christchurch. , Of one thing, however, I' am convinced, that your opera-goers will miss Rainford's voice to a very appreciable degree ; and his absence is the more, to be, regretted since Miss May and' Hallam have both improved considerably since their former visit. They intend to return to Christchurch again for a few days, prior to their Dunedin season. , The hares and pheasants appear to be doing far more damage to the Domain than the public were at first willing to admit. It appears that many thou-> sands pf young oaks have been destroyed, i this season by the pheasants picking up the acorns from under the ground, while the hares were eating off the trees planted' out from the' nursery. In one avenue alone trees are stated to have been planted three separate times, and on each occasion have been destroyed. The above is a practical illustration of the fact that, in the matter of, game and foreign trees, it is possible for Acclimatisation {Societies to defeat the objects they have in view; and that unless they are very careful, the one branch may prove a success to the detriment of the other. While on this subject, I may mention that there are certain members of our Acclimatisation Society who know just as much about the actual working as the man in the moon— who take it into their heads to make periodical attempts to oust the curator, Mr Johnson, as capable an officer as is to be found this, side the line. lam proud to say that there are enough gentlemen connected with the Society — notably Sir Cracioft .Wilson— who do not oaiiction this potty persecution, but those who are at the *.cad of it are doing a great deal of harm, awl it is quite time that they were kicked out of it. The only thing to be urged against the Curator is that he has an impediment in his speech ; but there is no particular ?eason why anyone in his capacity should be an orator. The ratepayers of the City of Christ church were taken aback the other day by the discussion in the Council a3 to the capability of the sand at the sand-hills to deodorise the soil which is every morning Bhot down there by the contractor. h was stated that soil that hao. been deposited nine years ago was still emitting noxious gases, and thafc when the wind was blowing from that quarter the health of the city was jeopardised. This important question has been referred to the Sanitary Committee, At the same meeting it was moved that the Council do endeuvour to get the necessary powers for borrowing the Bum of £50,000 at — per cent, per annum for carrying out the general vfovks o| the city, the above amount to

be borrowed by £20,000 the first year, and £10,000 each year of the three following years, each amount to be borrowed for a term of 50 years, and to be repaid, with interest, by special rates, to be levied from time to time, and the general rate to be lowered each year in proportion to the special rate levied, so that the special and general rate together, do not exceed in each year one shilling in the pound. But an amendment to this was subsequently carried, to the effect that application be made to the General Assembly next session to amend the Municipal Cor porations Act by giving extended powers for borrowing money, viz., by altering clause 239, to allow the C ity Council to borrow for a term not exceeding 50 years instead of 15 years, as at present. Your readers will observe that before passing the former resolution it was just as well to pass the latter. The bridge over the Waiau gorge is now a matter of history. A correspondent to the papers states that a late gale of wind which revelled in the gorges and amongst the surrounding mountains settled decisively the fate of this very picturesque but fragile - looking struc- , ture. It appears that after the gale abovementioned an adventurous digger who left Jollies Pass purposing to cross, returned with the startling news that the bridge was gone. The writer states that on visiting the scene of the catastrophe it was difficult to realise the fact that a bridge had ever been there ; it was true that the abutment on the Hurunui side remained, but the river below had accounted for the rest and swept it clean away. No loss of life was occasioned, which was the more to be feared, as the bridge was frequently used by passengers on horseback from the Hanmer Plains, the Clarence Biver, and other parts of the Amuri district, and it was the only iueans by which cattle could be brought from there to Ohristchurch. A large iron wool shed belonging to Count de la Pasture was blown down the same night, and the temperature of the hot springs on the plains, which was previously at 126degs had fallen to 95degs, a result of the violence of the hurricane. The bridge mentioned above is said to have cost over £7000, and it is to be hoped that a more substantial structure will now be reerected. It is, I am informed, the intention of the Jockey Club to issue a startling programme for the Autumn Meeting, the added money to the two-mile handicap to ■ Se as much as £300. This should induce tost of the sporting celebrities of New Zt»land to have a shy in. The programme f° r h& Kowai races will shortly appear, , and a» v this is always a popular up-country meeting the cognosoenti are looking forward ea^riy to the publication thereof. < Considerable dissatisfaction has been expressed a t the decision of the local , Resident Magistrate in a case in which Mr G. H. Xoore, of Glenmark, was summoned for b6 U g the possessor of scabby sheep. So wioq-spread has been this dissatis action that^he Press newspaper has thought fit to a) n de to the matter in no measured ternu it appears that in the early par-, o f the month a charge was made j n separate informations ; in the fir*, place four in- ■ -formations on flocks of &i) 0 sheep each, on each of which he wav fined £100. ( Another information was upoi two sheep, ' for which Mr Moore was finel, two shillings and sixpence each and c» s ts. Six other informations were then kjd, for 3000 sheep each, and one for 2000, or; 20,000 in all ; but these charges were' dismissed, apparently upon two grounds : ' first, that no neglect was proved on the part f of , Mr Moore ;' and, secondly, • " Whilst t 1 c Ordinance left this question: to the opinion of the Inspector, the Magistrate thought it necessary to have that, opinion fortified by other evidence."' Exception is taken to this judgment for various reasons, one being "that thegreat highway from Canterbury to Amuri, Nelson, and Marlborough, runs through the Glenmark estate," and that " the clear and undoubted intention of the law was that the Inspector was the very person who should decide whether due diligence had or had not been used ;" and that certainly the duty of the Magistrate was "not to express his opinion thafc the Ordinance was defective, but to administer it as it was entrusted to him." "Every few months Mr Moore will be brought into Court, fined perhaps now and again, and have the fines every now and then remitted ; and the flopkowners of Canterbury will have the satisfaction of thanking the Resident Magistrate of the Northern District for the continuance ' of an annoying and perpetual pest." I' think, after this, if I were in Mr Moore's position, I should make an effort to clean ; my sheep. ' ! We have recently had a visit from a Catholic celebrity, in the person of Bishop Redwood, of Wellington, brother of Mr Henry Redwood, the famous sportsman and the proprietor of the Great Northern ! stables. He arrived in the Albion from Wellington, and was met by the local clergy and his brother, who was staying here, The Bishop was taken to the Church and schools, and then through the city, the Acclimatisation Grounds, Domain, Museum, and to forth, and expressed himself as delighted with the signs of progress which appeared on all tides. There is no denying the fact that the Catholics here are a decidedly influential Viody, and, as a rule, are more liberal minded in their views than is generally their attribute. Their schools furthermore are very admirably conducted , and many Protestant parents prefer sending their children to them than to the Goyernment institutions,

To-day ushers in the opening of two important additions to our lines of railway, namely, from Rolleston to Malvern, and from Rangiora to the Cust, in all, some thirty-six miles. These extensions are all upon the narrow gauge system, and you have already had my opinion upon this point. I might say usque ad nauseam. In time it will work itself out, and the sooner the better for New Zealand. At a recent committee meeting of the Chairmen of Road Boards, one of the members brought forward some rather revolutionary propositions. They were to the effect that, in the opinion of the Committee, the present system of taxing property for Road Board purposes in proportion to its annual letting value is injurious, having a tendency to retard occupation and check the outlay of capital upon buildings and other improvements of a substantial character. In the next place, that property should be taxed for Road Board purposes in proportion to its actual value, irrespective of improvements. And lastly, that the above resolutions be embodied with the other recommedations assented to by the Committee, and laid be/ore the next general meeting of the Chairmen of Road Boards. A. discussion ensued upon these really important point*, and it was eventually resolved to defer the consideration of the resolutions un'il the next meeting, to be held on the 22nd December. In the meantime tJiese are important nuts to crack, whicl may have more or less significance throughout the Colony. The Lyrtelton Times has leen furnished with a comparison of the sums realised from th« sale of 118 bales of wool, 64 being double-dumped, and 54 undumped. The wool was stated to be heavy greasy, consisting of the bulk of the fleece w®ol of the ship, which was shipped by the Duke of Edinburgh, and sold at the same sale in London. 65 bales, doubledumped, averaged Id OOHths per lb., while 54 lales, undumped, averaged Id 35-54ths pcr > lb. And, as the paper in questior. justly remarks, this shows a difference in favour of the undumped wool, as nearly as- - poo»ttje of one-sixteenth of a penny per pound iiT gross price at Home, while the cost of freight Home was a farthiDg per pound more for the undumped. Thus, as they say, the net result shows a loss of 6s Id per bale to have been incurred through sending the wool Home undumped. Let it be distinctly understood, if you please, that the above are not my own figures — they are simply quotations. Major Palmer has evidently been bored by some visitors of the ephemeral stamp of astronomers, and he has consequently issued a notice to the effect that, owing to the extreme pressure of business, he is unable to receive visitors for the present. I should rather think he was. The Hon. John Hall has been writing to the papers here from Paris, but as the gist of his letter has nothing more than a local significance, I shall not bore your indulgent readers with an outline even of what' he writes. Suffice it to say that he insists that the portion of Cathedral, Square which is at present set apart for , Government buildings ought to be left as breathing-room for the people, and depend upon it his opinion will have considerable weight with the authorites. With reference to the question alluded to above, as to whether the sandhills town the Avon are naturally capable of ' tteodorising the refuse of Christchurch flat is shot down there morning after norning, I notice that the Council have revived that Professor Bickerton be requeued to report — First, as to the efficiency of the sand at the reserve as a deodoriser ; and secondly, as to whether any niisance at present exists likely tr\ be deti mental to the health of the residents ii the Avon district or the city of Christolurch. The lat act of the Certificated Teachers' Associati>n is worthy of record. With referenceto the question of superannuation, pending the next session of the Provincial Ooincil, when they hope to receive a special giuit for the purpose, the Committee havt agreed to recommend that every meaner of the Association subscribe a sumof not less than ten shillings to any case cf actual distress arising in their ranks. Our NormalSohool in Cranmer Square —'a very hanceome structure — is nearly completed, anc the Board of Education are taking steps to secure a competent master at a sahry of £600 a year, with allowances. I may remark that this false spirit of economy will tell its tale, and that, had_ they agieed upon offering £1000 as a ; minimum, a ?ood man would have found it worth his to accept it. As it is, no bne above mediocrity will dream of applying, A friend of mine Here, seeing nothing wrong in a marriage with a deceased life's sister, proceeded to put the theory into practice.' The father of the two girls left to each of them an equal share of the patrimony, and it appears the will was never altered. When the old man died, this loving husband modestly claimed both shares, We surely are becoming aristocratic. The City Council head their advertisements now with the official Coat of Arms, if you please. I will not attempt a technical description at present. As an instance of the higher phases of Christchurch morality, I may mention that three little children were brought before the Court yesterday as being neglected. The father was undergoing a sentence for beating hia wife, and the wife was doing her six months for larceny. These children attended no school, and h&s no, ocempation unless it was syste-

matic stealing. The husband' is one of the best stone masons in the place, but is a victim to immoderate drinking. The children have been sent to the Industrial School at Burnham for seven years. Wild beasts are in the habit of looking after their progeny un^il they can keep themselves. I am glad to notice that Messrs Hornbrook and Co. have shipped six sample cases of glue of their own manufacture, and I only hope that it will be appreciated in proportion to the enterprise manifested by the firm. My first paragraph was agricultural, and so shall be my last. It is encouraging to notice consignments of oilcake knocking about, as a sign that farmers are resorting to artificial processes for the production of fattening material. A bonecrushing machine lias also been started at Papanui, and Mr Grigg, of Longbeach, Riccarton, recently §aye an order for ninety bags to put upon his farm to assist the fertilising power of the soil. All this denotes progress.