LOOAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2205, 4 June 1896, Page 21

LOOAL & GENERAL.

The Choral Hall wai oomforbably filled on tho evening of the 27th ults. by those desirous of hearing Mr Malcolm Ross's lecture on the Alps from Milford to Aorangi, and to see the collection of pictures, which numbered a hundred, illustrative of the different localities. 'Though tbe lecture lasted nearly two hours, Mr Ross succeeded in riveting tho attention of his audience with his interesting description of the Southern Alps aud of hie climbs among them, and wafl frequently applauded. The views proved to be very fine, the enow scenes coming out beautifully clear and bright. At the conclusion of the lecture the Rev. W. Hewitson moved a vote of thanks to nil those who had assisted in connection with ' the entertainment, and briefly referred to the pleasure be had had in listening to Mr Ross's very modest description of his adventures. Mr 11. C. Jones operated the optical lantern, tho light provided being excellent. The proceeds arising from the entertainment will be devoted to the purchase of material for clothing poor children during the wiuter months. Miss A. M. Ross, who has been mistress of Flag Swamp School for some years past, and is leaving at the end of the month to take up a position in the Mosgiel School, was on the 21$t inst. presented by the children of the school with a handsome gold albert and brooch. Mr Mitchell (chairman of the school committee), who, on behalf of the pupils, made the presentation, referred to the kindly feeling that existed between Miss Robs and. her pupils, past and present, and the general regret that was felt by all in the district at her leaving them, and concluded by asking her to accpt the gift as a mark of the children's esteem for her, and conveying to her their kind wishes for her future welfare. Miss Ross, who was deeply moved by such an unexpected expression of their regard for her, heartily thanked the children, the ex-pupils (many of whom were present), and their parents for such a valuable present, . and assured them that Abe wou'd always remember with pleasure tho happy days she had spent amongst them. On the game evening Miss Boss and her sister (Miss Helen Ross) were entertained at a social given by the church choir and the Sunday school teachers, and were each presented with a beautifully-bound copy of Church Pi'aiee by tho choir, Miss Rbss receiving also a Bible from the Sabbft< h school teachers. The report of the Horowhenua Commission ha* been forwarded to the Government. On Thuri d*y afternoon while two Maori fishermen in the employ of Mr Tunnage, of Port Chalmers, were pulling into Taiaroa HeatJa, their attention was drawn to a peculiar looking flsb, which they chaied, and after some difficulty succeeded in catching by rueani of a gaff. The creature, which is of a specif s never seen in there waters before, is 10ft in length with a girth o$ 2ft 4iu. Its colour is eilver grey, with long stripes of a darker tint from head to tail, and it is also marked by pie'.tily shaped blaok stripes. . A long bright red fin extends all down the back, while on either side it is furnished with bright red feeler j f It has a braad head, and the mouth is furnished with a kind of tube, wbi«h is evidently used for the purpose of drawing in its food, as the mouth is not furnished with teeth. It has small, rough scales, and, in Mr Tunn age's opinion, is an edible fish. Its weight is estimated at 1501b. Altogether it is an interesting looking creature, and should be secured for our museum. Mr James Green, M.H.R., addressed a meeting of his constituentsin the sehoolhouse, Anderson's Bay, on Thursday night. There was a fair attend&nce and Mr John White occupied the chair. Mr Green intimated that he would support the reference of the Bible in schools question to tho people, in a similar way to that which bad recently had a trial in South Australia, but in other respects he traversed over the same ground as he had covered in his addresses at other centres in the electorate. Referring to a letter by Mr J. F. M. Fraser in Thursday's Daily Times, he said he knew of people who had obtained and could obtain money from private lenders in small sums at 5 per cent. A vote. of thanks and confidence, -proposed by Mr J. H. Every and seconded by Mr 'Clark, was carried unanimously. On Wednesday night Mr Green had a somewhat lively experience at Sandymount, where he addressed a meeting. At Timaru, on the 26tb, the ammunition used for the feu de joie was found to, be defective. A great many of the cartridges would not enter the chamber of the rifle, and as to a proportion of those that wenb in, the capj'projected in such a manner as to prevent the breech from closing. The faulty ammunition was of colonial manufacture. The Fl*g Swamp School Committee have agreed to recommend to the Education Bjard tne appointment of Miss Helen Malcolm, of the Hillend School, to the position of first assistant mistress. Some six young men from Canterbury district purpose going to the dairy school to be opened at Edendale, in Southland, on June 15. As there is no lodging accommodation for students within two miles of tbe dairy factory where the lectures and course of demonstrations are to be given, it has been suggested (the - Lyttelton Times s&ys) that tho Government might plaoe a railway sleeping-truck at the disposal of the students from a distance during the six weeks that the dairying course will last. A public meeting of women, about 50 baiDg present, was held in Christchuroh on the 27th ult. t-i discuss the Irian Text Book, proposed to be uted in the schools. An animated discussion followed the reading of numerous passages from the first book of tka series, and the following reiolution was unanimously passed t — " That this meeting strongly and emphatically condemns the book known as the Irish Text Book as being unfitted for use in Cut sohooli, containing i& it does— (i) Bxtraotj

—————— "j !■.——»««——■«—„ n>c>ii-"i from the Bible, principally of Jewish bi&oryv which include cases of prosperdus deoelfc, as iit' the incident of Jacob and Esau, or lying, as Abraham's He to Pharaoh, and kindred examples I (2) incidents of all that was vengeful- in tho character of the Israelites, and of God as causing the plagues and nusaacres of men. women, and children ; (3) of sexual subjects, the interpretation of which to children should in no cass be left to teachers, or, worse still, to their own Imagination ; (4) that the comments, presumably for the use of teachers, are ridiculous, contradictory, and sectarian." Tho Advocate has the following remarks oa the reoenfe B&lclutha liquor ease : "Mr Hawkins, S M., bas ome in for not a littls cenjure at one 11 mo aud another for waut of backbon« in dealing with the sale of liquor in the Olufcha disbriot, bat. there is no l&ck of. vigour in his latest deoision. There were the usual shallow lies told for the defence. The parties had drunk hop beer ; they had received wbinky as a free gitt ; they were drunk when Ihoy came ; they were sober when they wenb awuy, and so on. Mr Hawkins refused to accept such ' drivel a? controlling his decision. He roundly raid tho witnesses for tho defence lied, and gave his decision accordingly. This is as it should be, except that the witnesses should be punished. But we do not see that there is anything to oougratuUte Mr Hawkins upon. Everybody but the magistrates know that tha witnesses for the def«nco lie in all these cases." The Sydney Morning Herald, referring to the cable published on the 19ih inst. to tha effect that " the House of Commons has voted the sum of £60,000 additional towards the support of tbe naval force in Australia," s&ys ' this vote is uot an unusual ono. It is tho amount contributed by the Imperial Government in addition to the annuity paid by the colonies, and is the estimated sum wbioh will ha required in the year ending 31sb March, 1897 to be provided under the arrangement between the Imperial and Australian Governments for the protection of the floating trade in Australia (Imperial Defence Act JBBB, 51 and 52 Vie, c. 32). ThejMail states tbat a requisition is in course of signature asking tho Hon. T. W. Hislop to stand for the Oamarn seat at tbe next election. It is regarded as very improbable that tha request will be granted, A daring street robbery is reported as having been committed last week in Melbourne. On the night of the 19fch inst. Captain Beaglehole, of B*yley's Reward mine, was chloroformed in Park street, Norbh Fitzroy, and robbed of jewellery and money to the value of, £300. The Minister for Agriculture has relaxed tho proclamation prohibiting the importation -of vine cuttings or eyes ou theso conditions :— (1) ' Tbat they are accompanied by a certificate toas they are from a district free from, phylloxera and have been disinfected before shipment t j (2) they must bo add ceased to the Agricultural department, Wellington, and, if clean, be theuco forwarded to their destination. The Surveyors' Institute has appointed a deputation to wait on the Government to urge tho passing of the Surveyors Bill. The insntutea of New Zealand and Australia are now working in harmony with r«n»est to exainina- • tion papers, and this is of mqeh benefit to NewZealand surveyors, enabling them to practise in Australia upon an Australasian 'certificate. The president will confer with the Surveyorgeneral as to a boird of examiners, and urge the desirability of two non-official members being on the board. At the Magistrate's Court, at Balclutha, on the 27th, a youth named Thomas M'Namara was committed for trial on two charges of breaking and entering. The Bench, in committing the accused, uttered a note of warning to the public, observing that in a lettar, written by the accused to a companion in the Lawrenca diobricu and put in evidence in the oase, were caritaitjcd the names of a number of young lade of BaKlutha who evidently were associates and of tbe Sams character as the writer, and aleo the names of a number of young girls with whom these lads consorted in the evenings, the nature of their intercourse being only too plainly told. Moreover, tbere was in the letter, whioh the Bench said was couched in the moss disgusting laugusge they had ever lead, men* tion mado of a d&nca whioh was said to take place in Balcluthi every Thursday night, and if the mothers of B»lclutha knew the language in whioh their daughters were referred to by these lads and were aware of what took place between them^heic countenances would nyvutlo with sbftma. The Bfnob. said that for the heads of families to afford their daughters and servants frequent opportunities for associating with suoh characters in the s&reetß and knes of tbe township after dark was simply to send them to schools of training to live lives of vice and impurity. [£Oa the last day of the Royal Commission's vint to Brunner one of the counsel wished (s&ys the Argus) to ask Mr Coohrane some questions after one commission had adjourned, .and to ■ obviate the necessity pf holding a special meeting next morning it was decided that Mr Cochrane be examined on the way down in tha railway carriage. The reporters wore called in and the examination was about hilii over when one of the railway guards entered and politely requested those in tho carriage to leave, as they were in Mr Ronayne's reserved compartment. The look of annoyance on the face of Judge W»rd was unquestionable. There are higher powers than tnose of a Royal Commission, ib seems. However, tho oarriaga was vacated, and the interrupted examination was not resumed that day. Tho Government will admit the statue of the late Dr Stuart jnto the oolony free of duty. The unusual phenomenon — for Victoria — of & fall of snow in some of the country district! has given occasion in Melbourne to the novel suggestion that as thousands of the native born have never bean among the snow, while many of the older generation from the other side of the world would doubtless not be sorry to revive associations of scenes and faces which they will never see again, special "enow trains" should, on 'the occasion of any future fall, be run from the metropolis. The Hon. W. O. Walker, Minister for Education, in the course of his address at Auckland on Thursday night, said that the whole electoral machinery under the Education Act was sa very crude and imperfect that it had been only the good sense of the people that had made ib work at all rightly. At the same time it was an vfc which very few wished to .see altered ia. any of its main particulars. He held that the/ electoral system under fcha Education Act would not ibe satisfactory until it eitablished once and for all that all elcobions depended primarily on the popular vot«. He would certainly do away with the election of boirds by the committees and pot ib into the hands o£ individual members of the education district*. ' The matter would to a certain extent coma before the Legislature probably this session. The principle would also be applied to election* for hospital and charitable aid board!, which under the Local Government Bill WfS

pses into the hands' ol the locM governing bodies. He believed that -a» alteration ot this lort would remove some of the weaknesses of tha charitable aid system, and put on the boards men more directly in touch with the people themselves. A BRd eequel lo the Bmuner duster Is recorded in Nelson, A Mr Aroner, a miner of Greymoutb, joined the relief party, and worked very hard in tho attempt to rescue the entombed men, and as a consequence he caught a chill. He was already suffering from heart complaiut, and his condition became serious enough to render a change of air necessary. Mrs Archer, acting on medical advice, took her husband to Kelson, but a few days ago he took a turn for the worso, and died suddenly. The poor woman was left friendless and alone with her dead husband, but Bhe found frJGnds in a kind priest;, Father Mshoney, and another resident, Mr Grace, who took the nccpsßaty t steps to arrange for the removal of the remains of the deceased to Grej mouth. At Auckland lasb week it was resolved to form an Oxford and Cambridge AfsomHoa. An inaugural dinner was attended by 13 Cambridge men and eight Osoniane. Tho president ot t£ft association is Bishop Cowie, Primate of New Zealand. Mr W. M'Hu^cbeson, postmaster at the Bluff, has received a gratifying' testimony of the appreciation with wbioh bis description of the Sandwich Islanda in "A New Zaalandex Abroad," written by him, ia regarded by the literary portion of tbe islanders. By the 'Frisco 'Snail be received a letter from Karva,i, from Dr Gaowhno, as secretary of theJKolo* Koddall Klv!b, stating that the klub had elected him an honorary member, And extending at the came time a cordial invitation to him to revteft the islands. Dr Gaowhue also mentioned that •mongiit the -honorary members were Sir Edwin Arnold, Sir Henry Irving, Miss Helen Mather, Miss Kate Field, Mark Twain, and others. The Hon. J. G. Ward, Colonial Treasurer, arrived in Dunedin from the sooth on Saturday evening,^nd ms.de a stay of & few days. It is traderatood that arrangements are being made lor the boil, geatleman to speak ab Invercargill this week by way of reply to the leader oi the Opposition. The leader of the Opposition (Captain Buesell) kUo arrived in Dunedin by the train from Cbrietchureh on Saturday evening, and . left by the routhern express on Monday morning, toaddress a public meeting at Invercargill. During his short stay in Dnnrdin ho was the guest of the member for B ruca, Mr James Allen. It does not eeem probable that Captain Russell will speak daring his present visit in Danedin, or in any of tbe Otago constituencies with the exception of Invero&rgill, but "he Has been strongly urged to deliver a political address in Chrfotcaureb, and may eonsnnt to do go. Captain Kussell ia in excellent health and spirits, and greatly atenstd, if not . enlightened, by the efforts of the Premier to Acquaint the public with his (Captain Russell's) history from boyhood. The Burkes railway station is quite near to tha bay, mad on Friday about 9 pm. the •Utionmaster beard something knocking againot An empty kerosene tin, which ley by the edge «f the water. , His curiosity being utoused he proceeded to inspect the spot, which waj an easy matter eince the moon shone out with unusual brilH»ooy. The surprise^ of the official was not unmixed with genuine pleasure on finding the cause of the disturbance to proceed from the anMcs of an unusually large frost fish. It was about sft in length, and weighed fully 101b. An inquest was held at Lower Portobello on Friday, before Mr E. G. Allen, J.P., on the the 27th ult. The jury returned a verdict body of Janet Harwooa, who died suddenly on to the effect that death resulted from sudden failure of the heart's action. The deceased w&s a vary old resident of the place, having come to Otago about 40 years *go. The .address to be presented by former Ofcugo residents now in Wellington to Bishop Nevill will shortly be forwwrded to Dunedia. Aftsr congratulating tha bishop on attainiDg his' silver jubilee as head of the Anglican community in the oouthern diocese, tha address eajs:—" Apart from .the religious standpoint, we also take this opportunity to record our appreciation of the z«»l and practical sympathy you have always shown in connection with the various (Scientific, philanfchropio, and other social organisations dnriug the pact quarter of a century, And hope that your influence may be as effective in the future us it has been in the pwt." At a meeting of 'Port Chalmers subscribers to the Brannerton relief fund, it .was decided to forward the net balance, amounting to £86 7s Bd, to the Danedin centre. The i Right Rev. Dr Veidon, Roman Catholic Bfabop of Dunedin, visited* Motglel on Saturday, and was met at tbe railway station and conveyed to Hie Roman Catholic Church, where a large crowd were waiting inside *nd outside the building, which tvjuj nicely illuminated for the occasion. Ihe '.bishop • received * most tordial reception, and an address of welcome was presented, to which he made r suitable reply. On Sunday mats was celebrated at Mosgiol at 8 a m., after which the bjahop drove to GreytowD, where mass was celebrated at JO o'clock by the Rev. Father Lynoh. An address of welcome in both English asd German was presented to the bishop, who ' preached ou tho festival of the day. ' He alse- coi.ficmcd a number of candidates. The address presented was attached to a Prie-Dieu ms.de to the order of the Rw. Father O'Neill. Bishop Verdon then returned to Mosgiel, where mass was said at noon by the .Rev. Father O'Neill, the bishop preaching, taking for bis subject Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin. In the evening Bishop Verdonjbsd a reception of the Children of Mary at St. Joseph's Cathedral. The bishop bat arranged to preach ab the Cathedr&l at 11 a.m., next Sunday. MrF. Button, J.P., of N*pier, who recently lued Mr J. Grindell nnsuacesafully for time occupied in attesting private agreements, »nd for the nse of hi* office while the transactions were taking place, has, sajs the Wellington Posb, received notice from the Justice department that, on the advice of Minister*, his Excellency the Governor haß omitted his name from the new Commission of the Peace. Trouble at present reigns in St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Auckland. The Rev. James Milne, M.A., who is moderator of the Presbytery of Sydney, was lately elected to the pastorate of the church by a dhow of hands of tbe congregation, bat tbe call, which requires a three-fifths m»joriby of thecouimunioaiiLs has not jet been made effective. In the meantime Mt G. Mueller, one of the minority, *vbo haß | doctrinal objections to the election of Mr N * Milne, jpotitions tbe preftbjtery against the j election. The trouble arose over certain qu^ations as to Mr Milue's general orthodoxy which the reverend gentleman answered at a Chiibtian fellowsbipmcetiDgin November last when he was in, Auckland for a fortnight in view of heconaing a candidate for the ministry of the churol*. Mr

Milne arrived in Auckland from Oimarn lats »t night, where he had been assisting in consequence of there being a vacancy in that district. He prejohed at St Andrew's on Sundiy, both in the forenoon and evening, and dealt seriatim with the objections in M.v Mueller's protest. The church wa* crowded on each ocOßSiou. Oa Monday ab U o'clock a meeting <Jf St. Andrew's congregation was ht Id, the Roy. R. Sonaprville presiding. There waa a large attendance of both rnalo and female members of the congregation. After some excited discussion Mr Mueller withdrew his sbßtaraenb. A meeting of tbo presbytery is to ba held in oonneotlon with the matter. Our Pttlmerston correspondent writes i The people of the town and district on Sunday was greatly moved at the news of the sudden death of Mrs John Coutts, n very old aud ■ much respected resident of Pleasant Valley. Tbe deceased had been with her husband on a visit to tho Clnthtt district at the celebration of the wedding of one of her niecss, but hot feeling well decided to return home. Oa reaching Danedin on Friday she consulted Dr Brown, who advised her to return home at odcb, Dr Nealo here being advised by telf gram to raeefe the train on Satnrdity, which fie did. Mrs Coutts h&d to romnin some time ia the stationtnasfctr's room here on , «rriy*l before being taken to Pleasant Valley, and Although everything that medical skill could do wm done foe her, the deceased lady passed away yesterday at 3 p.m. The cause of death, I believe, was pleurisy and iufUmation of the lungs, -much aggravated by a severe cold she caught ia the" early morning about two or three weeks ago, when the fire occurred at her place. It is & remarkable coincidence that the whole of the family by a former marriage and her husband, and now herself, are buried in tho one block in the cemetery bero ; her former litubaud being the late Mr William Mitchell. Bishop Nevill presided st a meeting in theZealandi& Chambers on Monday night, when a new laiguo, named " Tho Public Schools Rctigioaa ESdttciiiioii League," was formed. T. ere was * luge *%tendanc9 of delegates. RuW vrete adopted, the object of the league being "the promotion of religious education in the pnblio Echoola during school houra on the basis of the Education Act of New South Wales." Officers were elected as follow : — President, Right Rev. Dr Nevill ; vico-presidents, Rev. B P. Hood and Mr J. Braithwaifce ; eecwfciry, Mr Washer; committee — Mrs Tower, Mr a Smith, Mrs Aston, Mrs Lngan, Mr- F. H. Jonee, Messrs Tyrroll, Wxt'ien, Hawcidgp, Bailf-y, and James Smith, jau. Ifc was srrAnged that -the president should addrefs a public meeting on the league in Dunediu shortly. The ordinary meeting of the University Council wftsTield on Monday, Mid attended by Messrs B. B. Cargill (vice-chancellor), James Allen, D. White, W. H. Reynolds, the Rev. A. Cameron, Professors Sale and Shand, Dm Hocken and Burns. The Finance Comaiilteo recoiqmended that accounts smouuting to £2080 Is 6d be passed for payment;, and reported thai there was a credit balance at the b*uk of £1848 15s Bd. The report was adopted. An apology for the non-attendance of Mr George Gray Resell was received. The application of Dr Heinemann for permtstioa to tench Hebrew at the university was granted. A draft of the annual report was read and approved. Tha R^v. A. Cameron was appointed » member of tbe finance Committee. Leave of absence during the parliamentary session was granted Mr James Alien, the Hon. W. H. Reynolds, and Sir Robert Stout. There was a large attendance at the Choral Hall on Monday night when tho Uev. F. W. " Chatterbon, of N«laon, deMm-ad a lecture on "Japan" in conmebion with the New Zealand Church Misoion»ry Association. In the course of his remarks tbe lecturer said that as a result of mission work carried on by one mission 400 Japanese embraced Christianity. It was only 25 years since mi^iomu-ies went to Japan, find now there w£i-« 40,000 Pfotoitaat Christians iv that couutry. Among the missionaries were two representatives of the New Zealand Church Missionary Association. At the conclusion of the lecture, which proved very interesting, coma excellent limelight views were exhibited. , As Mr J. O. Baston and his sister were driving to their borne at FairOeld on Sunday evening from Green Island a horseman rau into the trap, with the result that; tbe shaft was broken and the axle beofc. The seat was displaced and Miss Easton was thrown out on to the road with considerable violence. MrEnaton palled up at odoo, and ran baok to render assistance to his ai«ter, calling ou the person who caused the accident to lead a hand. Instead of doing so tho individual net spurs to bis horse and galloped away. While Mr Baston was looking after his sistsr hh horse, which he bad left landing unattended, bolted with the broken trap, bub was stopped by a person on the road after -travelling some digj tancs. Miss Baston was badly bruised and ! soratebed oboofc the faea, bat fortunately > •eicaped without serious injury. A cyclisf;, who I passed the horseman who by his carelessness caused tbe accident., stated that he recognised him as ft young man residing at Maori Hill. It was certaioly a dastardly aotioa to gallop away leaving a youDg lady lying on the «oad who, for all he knew, might have died for want of assistance promptly rendered. ÜBder tbe auspices of the Ofcago Prohibition Council a public temperance meeting was held at Wftikouaiti on Tuesday evening, the 26th, insb. Tha Rev. J. T. Hiuton, of Dunedio, gave an addrefS on the present aspect of the question, accompanied with an object lesson on " How to Vote.-" The following resolution was carried unanimously : — "_Th»b this meeting most sincerely hopes that the community will bo enabled this year to release itself from the Docial curse of the bottle license, and that it ttrongly urges upon all who are qualified to vote to secure their registration on the electoral roll, id view of the coining general election and licensing poll." A curious point in connection with village settlements was mentioned at the meeting of tbe Wellington Land Board on Tuesday. Now that village settlers are allowed to x>o/iverfc thoir tenures into leases in parpetuity the question has arisen as to whether the original instructions -hava been abrogated, especially in regard to residence and allowing women to hold these sections. In village settlements, residence was always compnlsory, while on lease in perpetuity residence was only compulsory for 10 years. Undsr the old tenure women conld nob hold sections, the oppo»ibe being the case in regard to leases in perpetuity. The matter has been submitted to fcha Lands department. Tha Whangarata Creamery, Auckland, tha property of tbe farmers in the district, was totally i\i stroyed by fire on May 26. As no one w&s living there at the time, and as it was a very wot night, the building is suppose^ to have been deliberately get on fire. Tho police ara mvc sHgafcJDg the matter. Tbe shareholders bad their plfcnb iotured for £100 In the South British offiae, and the stock was also insured, bat for wast amount ia not kaot?a>