RIVERTON.

Otago Witness, Issue 1754, 4 July 1885, Page 13

RIVERTON.

(KHOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) June 30. Meteorological.— Of the past seven days five have been tine, with frosty nights. The two exceptions were, the 315 th and 2i)th. A very hard frost set in on Thursday evening, but before daylight on Friday a shower of rain fell and froze 011 the hiirface of the ground, so that tho morning broke about at. cold and miserable as can be imagined iv this beautiful climate. During the day the sun fried hard to show through the foggy clouds, but did not succeed till an hour before setting. Yesterday was dull, with a slight shower or two. , Kaii.way Time-tablk.— l?orms of petition for an alteration from the present, inconvenient railway service trom Bunediii are being distributed for signature over the Western district, and it is expected that when finished the petition will bulk considerably, lor the benefit of such readers of the Witness as may not otherwise learn of the matter, and may wish to affix their names, I give the heading of the petition : — •' To the Honourable the Minister for Public Works. " The petition of the undersigned adult residents of the Western district of Southland humbly sheweth: "That your petitioners are greatly inconvenienced by the South express from Dunedin, through the recent alterations, failing by 45 minutes to connect at Invercargill with the train for the western district — Wallacetown, Thornbury, Hiverton, Orepuki, >Otautau, Nightcaps, &c, &c— thereby causing the delay in Invercargill for from 16 to 47 hours of all passengers, mails, live stock, parcels, and goods from Dunedin. "That the Honorable the Minister for Public Works will give such directions as shall cause the through service between Dunedin and the Western district to be re-established, while preserving, as far as possible, the present times of arrival at the extr-emities-Orepuki and Nightcaps ; your petitioners feeling convinced that by a slight saving of time at the numerous intermediate stopping places the desired connection can be made without materially altering the hours of arrival at those places. " And your petitioners will ever pray. Bluk llihbon Union.— The local society held its first regular quarterly meeting in the Oddfellows Hall 011 the evening of the 26th. It. was expected that a goodly number of members from the country would attend; and though Thornbury sent a fewvisitors, the very unpromising look of the weather prevented those from a further distance. Tho tea meeting passed off successlully, and at the public meeting afterward*, nearly 250 persons were present. The Key. Mr Hodgson (Anglican), in the absence of Mr Chapman, presided, and kept the meeting in good humour throughout. A very earnest and thoughtful address on "The Religious Aspect of Total Abstinence" was given by the Chairman, who, taking 1 Cor., viii., 13, as containing the spirit, of the New Testament, brought out most clearly the duty of Christians in dealing with intoxicating drmks. The Key. Mr Cameron (Presbyterian) delivered some irood " counsels" to the members ; and the secretary cave a short history of the two years since the society was formed, from which we learn that it now numbers over .'350 pledged abstainers over the age of 12 years. An efficient choir, accompanied on the piano by Miss Akhurst, and on the organ by Miss Hoeke, led by the secretary, added much to the enjoyment of the evening by their tasteful rendering 'of some of the best hymns in Sankey's collection, while the solo and duet singing of Mr? Meredith and Mrs Don was evidently much enjoyed by the audience.

lUvehton Athex.eum.— The annual meeting of subscribers to this institution was held last evening, their being present, besides nine members of the committee) one suWseriWi'i The report of thu committee Widwed the nUmbe"r dt vdlUmCs in the liliralslobe lior>, the assets (£1568 of which is veal estaH at the valuation for property tax) to be £1781, and the liabilities £13, the available assets being £25. During the year several new periodicals had been put on the table of the reading-room, but the committee expressed its regret at being unable to add to the library. Mossrs J. M'Donald, Fullarton, and J. Ireland were re-elected president, vice-president, and secretary respectively; while the solo representative noiv-uominiUeenuiu present objecting to become a member of committeei on the groiind that things were, xW J H niamlge'dby the Old committed, there, remained no alcernatiue, and the committee were forced to re-elect themselves. It is very strange that so little interest is taken in such a deserving public iubtitiltion, and is dnly a further proof of an almost utter lack of public spirit in our community. And yet people say things are dull ! And as a rule the very people who 1 cry out most about the dulness are" the' very people who will not move a linger to remove it. T"he place deserves to be dull, and always will be so as long as people sleep, and so long as the world is regulated by law. An entertainment in aid of the funds of the'Athenicum is to come off towards the end of July, when it is to be hoped that the result will enable the, committee to secure better premises, and add some more valuable books to the library. Too Hasty. — Your " Koving Colonist " — Te Taotara—has been taking some notice of us and our surroundings in late numbers, of the Witness. The general impression produced on us by his articles is that he used his ears more than his eyes, and his imagination more than either. Surely ha must have been asleep when the railway between Orepukl and Itiverton appeared " flat and deadly level," with "no cuttings that rabbits could not have burrowed through," nor "auy that beavers could not have built;" and " not even a creek to be eulverte'd." Let him look the next time he visits us. This is only one out of mauv instances of the worthlessncss of 'flying visits. The articles are calculated to give false impressions in many ways, though the description ot ltivciton itself was excellent.