Untitled

Southland Times, Issue 3297, 14 January 1879, Page 2

'." ' ■ '•'■■; ).■:;:' .' . :. 1.0.G.T. — There' was af air attendance at the weekly meeting of the Southern Cross Lodge, 1.0. G.T., last night. W.C.T. Crombie presided. Two members- of the Lodge were re-obligated, and three new membei-s were initiated. The Lodge having been closed in the first degree, was re-opened in the second, and that degree was conferred on several members who had qualified themselves for receiving it. A Dlsoedeely Pebson. — At the Resident -Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, Sarah McShane, senior^ was charged at the instance of the police authorities with being an idle disorderly person and keeping a, house frequented by convicted thieves and reputed thieves and prostitutes. Inspector Fox conducted the prosecution,.and Mr Finn appeared for the accused. Sergeant Tuohy and two of -the -woman's neighbors in Yarrow sti-eet having given evidence, His Worship said he. thonglit tlie case .had. beeu fully proved, and he must sentence the accused to six weeks' imprisonment. A. second charge against the prisoner of having no lawful visible means of support was withdrawn. Pbactical JOKING.— A rather undesirable disposition for practical' joking appears to be developing itself amongst certain gay youths in the town. On -Sunday night a trio concentrated then* energies on the demolition of a street lamp in One of our principal thoroughfares, and during the very early hours of the same day the peaceful slumbers of a worthy resident and his household were disturbed bv' the' -pranks of the " I'll not go home till morning " fraternity. In the latter case they burst open the front gate, and indulged their propensity for practical joking on a rocking-horse which they found on the verandah. The occupants of the mansion were of course not a little alarmed, and complain somewhat bitterly of being thus annoyed. The police would do weU to administer a wholesome lesson to some of these misguided youths, in order t0..-, restrain their exuberance of. spirits withiu respectable limits. Bubton's Circus. — The inclemency of the weather yesterday prevented the opening of Burton's Australian circus here last night. The company with their horses and properties arrived by train in the morning, and the erection of the very large marquee in which the performances are to be given, was at once commenced on a very suitable site opposite to the Immigration Barracks in Tay street. The preparations could not, however, for the reason stated, be completed; in time, and the entertainment will therefore be produced for the first time to-night. This is Mr Henry Burton's first visit to this town with his equestrian and gymnastic troupe, but his very long association with this class of entertainments is a sufficient guarantee that the companyfunder his personal guidance is an accomplished ,one. The . programme to be submitted to the public will include the performance of artistes of standing in the profession, and highly trained horses, whUe the humorous element so inseparable from entertainments of this class will be provided by a quartette of :clbwns. FuU details respecting the performances will be found in another column. -...*■. The Matatjba Election.— Mr Phanks, in the course of his electoral peregrinations, : held a highly successful meeting in the schoolhouse at Long Bush last night. Mr Strang occupied the chair, and there was a .large attendance pf electors;,- . Several InvercargUl supporters of the candidate had also at considerable personal inconvenience gOne out to the meeting. The Chairman, in a few very appropriate remarks, introduced Mr Shanks, and expressed the hope that he would be accorded an impartial hearing. Mr Shanks then addressed the. electors, adverting to the leading/political topics which have; come to the front in this contest, ahd reiterating,his views thereon. conclusion * I of ' his -speech' -lie;' said .he aimed at being thoroughly practical in -his views, - and pre-; i ferred to weigh his opinions carefully and express them concisely rather, than! make a long speech. He was prepared however to answer any questions that might be put to him. The candidate was- then; interrogated as to his views on the education, immigration, deferred payment,, and .other questions, to all of *which ehquiries. ! ; he"' giave ; satisfactory replies. A unanimous vote of thanks was passed to Mr Shanks for his speech, and the;, proceedings theh; concluded; -,y;-. The Alleged ;Foi^EY.^^t the Resi- : dent Magistrate's;" Court -yesterday. morning,;, before Mr !JVMeCuUbch.-the:m^ Wm. Robertson, was charged: with' forging and utter--ing a cheque for £6 ss. v Inspector Fox conductedvthe; prpsecutiqn,;ahd the prisoneiVwas undefended. E^ard^d^ihs deposed that on the 31st. : Decemberj he received a cheque from the prison^ payment of ;£lv ; |s^vdue "to: hiniy Vlhe cheque was f or £ 6.ss, ;and Vhe Vreturhed the accused',the V ; ;£s ybalahee; V vHe v^asked him. if it , Was rightj and he repUedVit: was. He -knew he;hadybeeu Working at ißrown?S; . Hetook the^ cheque to the ißank /of New-Zealand oh. .the 3rd January, and got the money. WalterBrown, blacksmith, Tay street, stated that the prisoner worked for him. for* about' two months. He had ah account . with the Bank of New Zealand. He never paid the prisoner his wages by cheque. No Dart of the cheque produced was in his writing, and the signature was a forgery. A. F. Mackay, accountant in the Bank of New Zealand, deposed that the signature on the cheque was not that of Walter Brown. He would say without hesitation that the name Robertson in the body of the cheque, and the name William Robertson on the property sheet produced, were both written by the same person. Constable Durinett stated that he airested the accused at the Bluff, on Sunday afternoon. The prisoner did not say anything in answer to the charge. He produced a property sheet bearing the signature of the prisoner. ' The accused on being interrogated in the usual manner by the Resident Magistrate,-, replied that he had nothing to say. Inspector Fox said there was a second charge against the -prisoner, of forging a cheque for £5 10s also in the name of Walter Brown, and it was decided by His Worship that the case should be heard on Thursday;, jiT^e accusecj- -^as-then remanded until that day, - - / ■* '* "

V V'As it shoitld be.— rWe are.informed (says the C'utha Leader) that a considerable number Of men who have for some time been employed on Messrs Proudfoot .and Mackay's railway contracts have now secured deferred payment land, and are settling down. This is as was intended, and we trust many more will follow their example. Vital Statistics.—^e vital statistics of the Cromwell district for the year 1878 are given by the Argus as follows :— -The number, of births a-egistered was 71 ; marriages, 8 ; deaths, 19. Of the latter, 16 were adults, and three children, agod from three, 1 'months* tbv three Vye'ars; . '.Compared : with the y previous year, * 1878 shows ten . more births, ; and three less deaths ; while marriages are Veight In number, i - as- against V.thirteen ;.for '1877 ■' '! yyyyxy;r-yyyiy ' ' ".: Vyy Hot Ice \ and Baked- Soda-water.— We I cannot refrain from quoting the following t " mixture " fromV the Melbourne Leader. I ~S,bmething.,has been"bmitted.| and th 3 result iis truly;. anomalous! Amongst a variety, pf jhouseholdVi-ecipes giveh.is.the following :— 'V" An exceedingly delicious, arid at the same tune" unihtbxicating,' -driiik^isVsome yrup of . pihe-appVle, added' to a ■vbbttle'"of?sqd^.wate.r;l and a lump of iceV is a capital supper-] dish after a, hot day, can be made earlyinthe; afternoon, and Only requires what ; the cooks call • popping in the oven.' " V . A Feaeeul' Accident.— The. , Grey River' Argus of the 6th informs us that a terrible and' fatal accident occurred at the 'Ly eU last weekin this ,wise i-^Some little distance, up, stream froni Ryan's ■ punt there : is fixed a wire , and sliding chair,: which is used by residents ■ .iv the locality.- tb cross the ' river ; and thiis i saves along walk to the punt. VA mans iiaihed; j John Thena/ well known In the 'distri6tyaiid a; young girl some fourteen years old,VstepI daughter of Mr Peter- Grammatica, attempted |to cross in the. chair together. They had Vgot V partly over when the earring of : the ropes in •which, the- chair swung gave- way, probably ! on account of the double weight it bore, and the two unfortunate people were precipitated into the river beneath. The current, was running with great force, and the bodies were swooped away and disappeared almost in a moment, , There was, no Chance of sue; cour ; thebanks of the 'river- at .the : place where, the.accident. occurred are; /precipitous and rock-b oiind, and the river being flooded, there, was no chance even for a Strong swimmer to battle withthe surging eddies. Diseased Cattle Act.— The following regulations under the Diseased Cattle. Act came into.operation.on the Ist January:— " 1. No master of any ship, or vessel, or other'person whomsoever, shall, : in any river, :port, or harbor in New Zealand or elsewhere in New Zealand waters, transfer or attempt. to transfer, cause or permit to be transferred, or to be attempted to be transferred, assist in transferring or in attempting tq transfer, any imported cattle from any one ship or vessel: to any other ship . or vessel- without the written authority of the cattle inspector of the district, defined under the said Act, at: or near to which such ships or vessels, or either of them, may be. The term ' imported cattle,' shall have the meaning given thereto in the said Act as amended by the Amendment Act hereinbefore recited. 2. If any such master of a ship, -'or other person whomsoever,. shaU so transfer any such cattle from one ; ship, or vessel to another without the written authority of a cattle inspector as aforesaid, he shall be Uable for each offence to pay a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds, to be recovered in the manner provided by the said Act: Provided that any Resident Magistrate, or any two or more Justices of the Peace, before whom <*ny such penalty is sought to be recovered, may order a part only of such penalty to be paid, if he or they shall think fit." , An Asset. — The definition of au " asset" is tirus recorded by " Atticus," of tlie Melbourne Leader : — A rather amusing question of what are available assets arose in an EngUsh Bankruptcy Court the other day, the result of which conveys a hint that all insolvents ought to take. A sleeping partner in a firm which had suspended payment was questioned before the Commissioner of Bankruptcy as to his means. He that for years he had derived no benefit from the firm', and had not a shilling. " Come," said the solicitor to the estate, "you look well ; take plenty of exercise, I suppose ?" " Yes." <; You have been able to get about better since you possessed a cork leg ?" Again an affirmative from the witness. " Well, tell the court what you paid for that leg." In vain the victim'appealed to the Commissioner, but he was told it was a question he could easily answer. " Come," said the solicitor, "if I keep you in the box all day I mean to have an answer. Was it five pounds or was it a hundred ?'•' " No." " WeU, fifty guineas ?" StUl silence. Again the solicitor went to work, and the witness, badgered out of all patience, replied at last " Sixty guineas." " And how long have you had this leg ?"■ was the next question. " Only about two clays." " So, then, you must have paid for it after you were served with notice that you were liable for the debts of the firm with which you were connected?" " Yes." " That will do, you can screw off your leg and hand it over to the official assignee ; it constitutes au asset of the firm." The witness left the box with a mush clearer notion of the reading of the law of liabilities than ever he had before. Mr Whitmore, of Tay-street, publishes a price list of books, magazines, and newspapers. A reward is offered for a horse lost from a paddock at Hokanaui. Ten rabbiters required for Wantwood Station, Gore, and other advertisements have been added to our " wanted " column. Tenders are invited for the erection of a cottage at Edendale. The second call on the shaves of the Colonial Insurance Company is announced. Miss Waymouth, announces the resumption of instruction in music and singing on the 20th instant. Mr W. S. Hamilton intimates his retirement from the scholastic sphere, in which he has so long' moved, in consequence of ill-health and other considerations.