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Southland Times, Issue 3306, 24 January 1879, Page 2

Proposed Banquet. — We hear that the Mayor and Corporation of: Dunedin purpose entertaining the Mayor and Corporation of Invercargill to a banquet to-night. An Omission. — It should have been noticed in our account of the railway banquet in yesterday's paper that the Moral decorations of the tables were carried out under the superintendence of Mr Cooper, seedsman, Invercargill, assisted by Mr Walker, bailiff, and Mr Lennie. Testimonial. — A ladies]committee has, we understand, been formed to get up a testimonial to Mr T. V. Twinning in anticipation of his leaving the town, We hope it will meet with that success which the merits of so painstaking and accomplished a musician eminently deserves. Campbelltow:n. — Since the announcement of a requisition to Mr Nichol to allow himself to be nominated for the Mayoralty, we have not heard anything further about his candidature. Two other names are now mentioned, and that requisitions in both cases are in circulation, one being Mr Warren, and the other Mr Tucker. The Wakatipu Steadier. — The new steamer being built for the Lake Wakatipu by Messrs Kincad and McQueen, of Dunedin, ! will, we understand, be ready for launching | iv about a fortnight. The vessel promises ! to be excellently adapted for the navigation ! of the Lake, and is a very smart looking craft. Her name is to be " The Mountaineer." The Visitors. — The visitors to our good town on the occasion of the present railway demonstration are gradually taking their departure. Yesterday many of them still continued to retain their quarters at the various hotels, including those who joined the excursion by special train to Kingston. A number, however, left in the morning to return home. The Hon. Mr Ballance, we were informed, had still not left last night, j Rukal Simplicity. — A touching instance of the beautiful simplicity of the bucolic "mind is attributed to one of the male, ■jmmigrants by the^ Western Monarch. He had in his possession a very large chest, and on being questioned as fq its'contents "naively replied that it contained wheat and oats for his brother. Such a Home notion of colonial civilisation; iwpuldj form' an appropriate companion story to/the > recent murder of missionai'ieaaaa caHmbaJiewo|thc Jluorig, :

■•"^3?HB J3TE3BETS. — Last evening the streets fltilFcbntiniied to pressent a lively appearance' Especially Dee^streetj A of.,theVdevices in /this street'jbfeing '""■'again illuminated, and the; Harrison? Band performed for nearly a couple of j^iours "on the balcony, of the theatre, and.:: attracted a large number of people. ThY deservedly high reputation which theband has gained of being the best in New 'Zealand, is apparently in no danger of being impaired, as on all hands, visitbrs included, we heard nothing but expressions of admiration and pleasure at the band's performances. After the .music ceased the crowds broke up, the few illuminations of devices were quickly extinguished, and the streets shortly resumed their usual quiet, appearance. It was said that-the electric light was to be again exhibited from the Athenaeum, and the disappointment of the people was extreme when the report proved unfounded. A WELL-TIMED COMPLIMENT. — Owing to the distance between Colonel Brett and the reporters when he spoke at, the banquet on Wednesday night, much of his delivery was inaudible to them, and. hence we regret that a compliment he- paid the Volunteer Band, which, coming from such an authority should cany weight, was not chronicled by us yesterday. The speaker had "-alluded to strictures which he had found it necessary to pass from his place in Parliament upon the Volunteers. Whilst giving them full credit for all they deserved, and that was a great deal, he was not prepared to say they were perfection when they were a long way off. it. " But, sir," continued the Colonel, waving his hand towards the stage where the Garrison Band was standing. " there is perfection, and a baud that would do credit to a regiment of the live. Any one who would not be pleased with thenmusic must be fastidious indeed. Their dress too is admirable." The applause that greeted the Colonel was deafening. The Western Monarch Immigrants. — The immigrants by tho Western Monarch are not finding employment so expeditiously as was expected. Up to the present only 11 males aud 5 females have been engaged through the medium of the immigration officer (Mr Lillicrap), and even allowing for those who have obtained employment by other means, there yet remains in the barracks about 30 or 40 single men, 5 or 6 single women, and the whole of 42 families included in the shipment. The rates so far have ruled from £48 to £52 a-year for farm laborers, about 25s per week for ploughmen, and L2O to L4O per year for general servants. The sending out of such a large number of families appears to have been a mistake, as no demand exists here for this class of immigrants. Even could the husbands secure engagements they would have in consequence of the scarcity of houses to leave their wives and families in the barracks, a state of matters much to be" deprecated. Furthermore the engagement of the siDgle men in preference to the married ones has a very dispiriting effect on the latter class. From Ghristchuhch to Gore. — Whai can be accomplished in the way of quick travelling now that a clear way is open from Christchurch, and express engines have been introduced, received emphatic illiv-i- - in connection with the accident to Mr Conyers. We stated in yesterday's issue th-it Mrs' Conyers had been sent for, aud left Christchurch on Wednesday night. To placeher by her husband's sidens quickly aspracticablc was the one object to be kept in view, and as under the peculiar circumstances of the case the re-ources of the department were certain to be tested to the uttermost, we may take the journey made by Mrs Conyers as a fair test of the travelling rate possible to be attained and kept up on the new line. A highly satisfactory result ensued upon the trial. The train, consisting of an express engine and tender, one carriage, and a brake van, started from Christchurch between .seven and eight o'clock iv the evening, and arrived at Goreal twenty minutes to eleven o'clock next morning, the time thus being about fourteen hours, whilst the running time was exactly twelve hours, aud the average per hour 30 miles and a fraction. A.bout two hours was expended in stoppages. Mr Back, the General Manager of the Chris | -ehiuc 1 i section, was in charge of the train to Dunedin. and was relieved there by Mr Bell, the assistant stationmaster, who in his turn, was relieved at Clinton by Mr South, the traffic inspector. Wuat between agitation and the fatigue of the journey Mrs Conyers was much exhausted when she arrived at Gore. Bismarck's Morning Walks. — Bismarck walks out every morning at Kissingen from 10 toll before his house, or heroes by a path ueyoncl tnebaaleto thepart of the forest neat the restaurant bearing the sign of the " House of Allenburg,'' aud saunters beneath the coor alleys of the wood. A black Danish dog accompanies him, and he is always followed at a certain distance by police agents in plain clothes. A gum-el of Bnvarian gendarmes watches day and night before the c o -ed dooiof the house, and a line of telegraph connects the apartment of the Chancellor with the station of Kissingen. Ratepayers in tho Makarewa Road district will find an announcement from the rate collector elsewhere. Mr Bastings. Secretary to the Waimc-a Plains Railway, invites tenders for the survey of the land taken for the live. Tenders are required for several chains of fencing. A lecture •will be delivered in the Temperance Hall, this cveniuir, by Mr S. J. Deck, on " The crreat Image of Daniel :incl tlie J3:istcru Question.'" The lecture will be under the auspices of the Youug'Meu's Christian Association.