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Southland Times, Issue 3783, 6 August 1880, Page 2

Lecture, — We understand the' renowned Captain William Jackson Barry will shortly make a descent upon Inveicargill. Should a room be obtainable, the Captain will deliver one of his characteristic lectures in this town on the evening of Wednesday next. North Invehcabgill. — The town o f North Invercargill has beeu declared a borough under the Municipal Corporations Act, 1876. It was, as doubtless all interested are aware, originally constituted a borough under the Otago Municipal Corporations Ordinance, 1865. ' BABBIT Poisoning. — Another correspondent sends us the following on this subject : — " The rabbits have been almost exterminated in the Edendale and Wyndham districts by means of the phosphorised grain. In places where thousands of them used to be suea at any time about two months ago, they fire pqw as scarce ag harea — just an odd one here and there showing up." i Specux Prizes. — The list of special prizes to be won to-day at the Champion Ploughing Match extends: apace ; yesterday three .or four were added to the programme, and to-day, it will be seen, there is another introduced, *nd that- a valuable one. It ie a. combined clock, thermometer and barometer, in bronze, is the gift of Mr Q, F. f : Mivrtin, and will go to the plonghman,wbo carries off the largest number of prizes. ' - S Shipping Returns.— During the quarter ended 30lh June 185 vesselß, measuring , 105,549 tous, arrived in New Zealand ports, as compared with 226 vessels and 117,655 tons in the June quarter of 1879. Dunediu showed a very large falling off, nearly 50 per cent. ; Wellington had a slight decrease ; Auckland acd Lyttelton a small increase. In the departures Auckland and Wellington show a trifling decrease, Lyttelton a similar increase, an r l Dunedin an enormous falling off, the tonnage outward being only 9729, aB compared with 24,02(5 last year. Bluff Harbor, indeed, completely beats Dunedin, showing a tonnage of 10,556, as against' the, latter's 9729 tous. These figures are taken from the last Gazette, and are consequently to be relied on.

ABOLITION OF THE DItUM IN THE FRENCH ABMY. — General Far.iv has aei er;nji^e<t IQ-. abolish drums in the French iirmyj'lftnd-rV" terrible loss for nursery maids— the gigautic* drum major. The pros and ifpiix of this ques-; tipn have been long discussed. Tb§^j?li of the drum, it ; Waß argued, w"as inspiritlnig, aifid \ dear to traS^apn. Nothing like the drum td" bring out the pfepihlation to stare at a reg;ment on the march 1 But the reasous which fasve prevailed- are that in actual- service the-, drum is not henrd so far as the bugle : is not So we.l! adapt®! * conyoy oi^eiß by sound ■; and, mdreiovai, .itb'hf t-hfc Jheiivilyladen drummer canuot carry a rifle, which the qugler does, -<. . . - - ..,^,-^.4^....^ Narrow Escape,;—: Shortly before the 4.40 train to Clinton left Invercargill on Tuesday last a precocious youngster of abou< a dozeu summers placed- a .piece of iron, to which a couple of bolts were attached, on the line a few chains beyond Elles road platform just to see what effect such an obstruction would have on the appioaching train. Fortunately the engine, to which was attached the ÜBUal number of passenger carriages, was proceeding at a very low rate of speed at the : time, the result being that somehow or other the cow-catcher and foremost wheel cleared the line and allowed the trainto pass. Had they not done so the consequences might have been serioHS. In all probability- the boy will shortly haTe an interview with the Resident Magistrate. Grain Prices. — Our Wyndbam correspondent writes : — " I learn there is an idea in Invercargill and about lit that the bulk of lasL seasons crop is sold, but that is a great mistake. By far the greatest portion of it still remains in stack, and is likely to remain unless ■ prices, rise considerably. . One of, our large farinera'infoi'ms me that he sent a heavy shipment Ttome direct and the net price re- : alised, after .deducting freight, railway carriage, "commission, &c., Sec, will be some- . thing like two shillings per bushel. Theie is a probability of several of the most extensive growers here jointly- chartering a vessel and loading her at the Bluff on their own account. During .the last month grain has risen in value in thia district, and farmers are now holding out for Is Gd per bushel for fair feed oats. I know of 4s having been paid per bushel for seed wheat." Last Quarter's Imports and Exports. — From the official return just published it appears that the value of the .New Zealand imports for the last quarter was £1,350,814, as compared with £1,791,267 for the June, quarter of 1879, showiug a decrease of £440,453. All the principal ports shared in thia falling off. The Wellington imports were £210,584, as against £342,876 for 1879; Dunedin, £401.562, as against :£523,142; Lyttelton, £259.334, against £397^49; Invercargill and Bluff Harbor. £35,612, against £59,368 ; Riverton, £1.y.9 1> against £2272. The chief decrease was in imports from Great Britain, which were only £689,622, as against £1,196,728 for the June quarter of 1879^ an enormous difference. The imports from the Australian colonies, on. the ..other hand, showed a large increase. Turning t,o the exports we find that these show a substantial improvement of nearly £200,000 as compared with the corresponding quarter of- th 6 prcvionsjyear, the total being £1,436,986, aVagaiust £1,292,580. Nearly half the increase is credited to Wellington, while Auckland, shows up well. The increase for Lytteltou is small, and Dunedin shows a large, fallin-j off, as also does Inve;-carp;ill and Bluff Harbor &\7M%:.*-&in*f£M,2O-i); ,v The Southland Agricultural and Pastoral Association. — The directors of this -Association have^adopted a very wise and very necessary resolution, viz., to enforce strictly hereafter rule No. 3 of the Articles of Association. This rule ;urofides members' subscriptions must be'paid I'jiijor before the Ist of October in each year. The rule has, ,of course, been in existence from the first, but unfortunately it has not been observed, and the consequence has been very d'etii mental to the finances 'of 1 the "Society. We would strongly urge the directors to adhere unflinchingly to the position they have •taken < up. It is most unfair ,tQ those ,who pay to allow people who do. not to participate in all the benefits of such an institution. Promises are all very well, and the promises may be good enough for. the money, but there is always a difficulty in recovering arrears, even when they. are Recoverable. Besides, it involves au amount of work outside of the proper .duties, of the officers of- the Society, and most vexatious delays fhe matter of discharging the. Society's obligations. Indeed, the. non-observance of their rules on this particular pomt — paying vp — is the rock upon which societies like this come to grief. We hope yet to hear that the attitude assumed by the directors in this case has had satisfactory results, and that their example has been followed by other societies in the town and neighborhood. : - ; . Hal G rat's Happy PARTY.-r-This talented company gave another performance at Sloan's Theatre last night, when the charming opera of " Widows Bewitched" again formed .the apiece de resistance, and was witnessed by a thoroughly appreciative audience, whose marks of approval were frequent and hearty, Mdlle. Muriel le, as usual, gaining the lion's share of the applause bestowed, while the efforts of Miss Jenny Nye and Messrs Price and Marshall were likewise received with similar flattering demonstrations. The entertainment concluded • with -the comic operetta ~of Two Gregories," in which Misg Jenny Nye gained much applause by her effective and piquant rendition of the part allotted to her. Mr Fisher was also very successsful, his acting being good and very mirth-provoking. To-night a very attractive programme is aunounced, the first part 'Consisting of a concert of Scottish music. Mdlle. Murielle, whose ability in this particular line is too.'well known to need any comment, will contribute, among other Scottish eongs, "Bide a 1 wee," "Lando'tha Leal," and " Aidd Robin Gray." With such an array of talent as the company now possess we have no doubt that they will succeed in obtaining a crowded house. Hospital Committee. — At a meeting of this committee held last night there were piesebt-r-Mesßre Hall (President), Perkins, Saunders, Jacobs, Roche, and Watson (secretary). The report of the sub-committee doputcd to define the duties of the hospital officials was. brought up, read, and adopted. The medical officer's report for July showed that there were 19 patients remaining in the institution from the previous month, 13 males I and six females; thirteen fresh patients .were admitted, 10 males and 3 females, while 11 patients were discharged..., Mr Perkins (treasurer) stated that the funds ! of the'institution were at a very low ebb, and alluded to the necessity for increased exertion to improve its financial condition. Mr JRoche remarked that while a majority of the patients received into the hospital were from country districts, the institution was mainly supported by the inhabitants of Invercargill. He thought the country people should be asked to contribute more liberally to an institution from which they derived the greateat benefit. Various mcaus were suggested to meet the urgent necessity for funds, amongst them being a ball, and Messrs Jacobs and Watson undertook to make arrangements for holding one as soon as passible. Accounts to the amount of £171 8s 7d having been passed for payment, the committee adjourned. The Late Mr McGillivray.— Referring to the death of this gentleman, the Chiistchurch Press of Tuesday last says : — '• On Sunday Mr Lachlan McGilliviay, an old Australasian colonist, died at Kaiapoi, at the ripe age of 71 years. The deceased gentleman.formerly, held an ojucraus positiou in the Colonial Secretary's office, Tasmania, before responsible, gpyernmeut waja^gratted to that colony. He' Was subsequently 11 private secretary and^m-m writer to Sir J. Franklin and Colonel Arthur, Governors of that cj>lpny. For some time he resided in Victoria 1 ", and witnessed the departure of the first wool ship from that colony, in 1838, for , England. He for a time resided respectively in Canada 'and the. Cape of Good Hope, anc\ finally made a home in New Zealand in 1861, fclking up hisresidence at Rirerton, near Invercargill; He : was elected first Mayor of .this, town, ;aud during five years represented the Riyerton constituency in the House of Representatives. The deceased gentleman also held a position on the Commission of the Peaco. Latterly his failing health almost unfitted him for active life, and he has during two years past resided in retirement at Kaiapoi. Ou Monday afternoon his remains- were : interred in the Church of England Cemetery at that place. Mr MGGillivray belonged to a well-known Highland family, aul his father was a Jamaica planter."

INSUB4tTCE.r-^The .annual .Report ' o£; the a Yifitori^lnsuralioe Conipftny '('Htnit'O^J-'Hp-pears ia^pur other columns this morning, and a sljow.s -sjjt coilipnn.y to. be dpiWJ'» ; v6i'y sat isfkctor^ftla'd profitable buiincss. ,^ ..^ 1. Guiw '-Skif ments.— Me igafn^tilltj, two iseUlers wli'b shipped oats d*fti&t,-by' ttic dfesie c Readmnn have had their accounts iSsles,Jfrith j the result of finding that they get ls-Tn and j^ Is 8d per bushel respectively for their grain. , Tn neithef'cose'were" the samples flrst-class/ but rather what would be described as I •w ,i_ :