The Southland Tiems. PEBLISHED DAILY. Leceo Nov Uro. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7th 1882.

Southland Times, Issue 4496, 7 December 1882, Page 2

The Southland Tiems. PEBLISHED DAILY. Leceo Nov Uro. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 7th 1882.

Vital Statistics.— The vital statistics n£ Invercargill for November were— births, 56 ; deaths, 14. There were eight marriages. Assessor \ppoiktrd. — Mr William Petersdn w gazetted assessor under the Property Tax at Half-moon Bay, Stewart Island. Coxcebt.— We remind those ladies and gentlemen who have received invitations, that Vliss Waymouth'a pupils give a concert to-night in the Theatre R>yal. MASOSIC ; St, JOHN'S,— The annual inBtallation of officers and banquet of brethren of this loilge takes plaie to-night. Particulars may found elsewhere. Southern Cross Masonic Lodge.— lt wills be observed that members of tbis lodge" ire called to a meeting to be held this even- - 'ing.- - : ■'•'■"''' •'■' ''■ ""' ■ Appointing A Valuer.— Mr H. McLean was-appoinled to the office of valuer at a meeting of the Borough Council of North Invercargill, held on Tuesday owning. The Rivkbton, Show .—The third annuaj Wes> era District A. and P. Show will be held at Rirertoh to-day. There are already no lesttthan 400 entries, so that a very sijccesful ;show is i <K>nftdently The 'railway .aajtijociiieg bayp m.ade.ev^ry a^/|ngja., ment for "tUs Secommo'fatiQn of ti>e public, j IVf W^OW Nwfr F|WW *W9B W^l be f 4O,

"?NOT ITiiATTERnto.— A visitor to thVhot lakes MJjrg it is nothing bat hot springs and mud hojesj lhe only house in the new township is thSt of the.medical man, a nephew of Judge Fenion, who receives £400 a year from a grateful country for doing nothing. The Gorernmentbathg are covered with a shed," and guarded by an oily keeper, who'cnaTges 6da dip or 4s a dozen. The hotel accommodation is poor, and the charges excessive. " AnciEM -BOtftStfETS.— Dr" Schwienfurth has sneceeded in freshening and preserving '"many of the leaves and flowers from garlands found on the breasts of mummies discovered last year atDier el Bahari. A small herbariumiis^thiiV^formedfrom plants which grew 35 centuries ago. A number^ of the species have been identified with those now found in the Sast. £The Voutjnteebs. — Arrangements have ■been made for bandsmen and members of the G Battery, who are, qualified to fire for marksmen, to fire at 6 o'clock this evening, and for members of the K Battery to fire at 6 o'clock to-morrow morning. The several Volunteers corps in Southland will compete for the district prizes as follows :— Garrison Band on Monday, 11th inst.,; G Battery on Wednesday, the 13th ; K Bat<ery on Thursday, 14th; Invercargiil Rifles on Friday, 15th; and Riverton Bifles on Tuesdayj v 26lh inst. Cadets on Saturday first. Each corps will make its own arrangements as to the hour. Can't Apply.— Following is from a Home journal on the statistics of New Zealand, and shows what the people of England are expected to swallow about our coloDy :— " New Zealand covers an area of ;105,342 square miles. It has a population^ 3,000,000 (!) ., In thiity, ■years its trade rose from a value of £6,000,000 to £63,000,000. In 1871 it was £63,000,000. In 1880 it had risen to. £9^,000,000. The average trade for every inhabitant is £12 higher than in Great Britain; five times higher than in Europe as a whole ; and 5£ times higher than in the United States. The gold extracted in 30 years amounted to £292,000,000(1) In 1870, the wool crop was 193,000,000 lbs; in 1879 it was 392,000,0001b5. In, 1880 the shipping entered and cleared was 8,500,000 tons (!) The colony has 1,250,000 horses ; 8250 cattle, and 75,000,000 sheep "(1) Lord GrFFORD's Retirement from the Army. — The retirement of a man like Lord Gifford, V.C., says the Army and Navy Gazette, is undoubtedly a loss to the service. Lord Gifford, both in Ashantee and Zululand, displayed high qualities as a soldier, and there is no doubt that there was a brilliant future before him had he stuck i o soldiering. But like many others, he was attracted by the prizes offeied by the colonial service, and he has, therefore, quitted the army; We cannot help thinking there must be some screw loose somewhere, when really good soldiers are satisfied to lay aside the sword, after having earned for themselves reputations which establish their claim to advancement in the profession of arms. Lord Gifford's is no isolatec case. There have been many such lately. Per s.s. Ropeita, at Albany. — A controversy is threatened between France and England concerning the rights of the former to certain territory in Central Africa. Mr H. M. Stanley, acting on behalf of the King of Belgium, and the Intercolonial African AsSOCiation bad established stations on the Congo river ; made roads with enormons labor ; and had formed trading lelations with the neighboring tribes, when a French officer, named Debrazza appeared on the scene and eventually marched a few miles further up the river than Stanley's station, there he built a few huts named Debrazzaville and induced a native chief named Makako to sign a treaty surrendering the territory to France. He then distributed flags in all directions, and returned to l?rance announcing the result of bis action. Meanwhile Stanley also has returned and ridicules Debrazza's claim ; declaring in the first place that he is not a servant of the French Government, but of the International Association ; secondly, that Makako was unaware of the contents of the treaty and laughed at the idea of eding his territory for a few beads. Cricket. — At a meeting of the I.C.C. committee, held Jast evening, matches were arranged, with. One Tree Point, Dipfcon, and Gore, The match with the first mentioned club will be played on Saturday, the 9th inst., on the Eastern Reserve, and the following team has been selected to meet, the visitors :— Bray, Bews, Harvey, Howell, Kingswell, Nixon, Sebo, Urquhait, Watson (2), and Williams ; emergency : A. Morgan, Searle, Aitken, and Dundas. The m itches with the Wallace »nd Gore clubs are to be played on Show Day, that with the former on the I.C.C. ground, and the match with Gore on the Gore ground. The teams selected for the occasion are the following :— For the Wallace match— Reade, Ross, Mebaffey, Bennett, Ham, Braddon, Mitchell, TJrquhart, Cogan, Cross, and Buchanan ; for the Gore match— Bray, Martin, Kingsland, Howortb, Hamilton, M. Morgan, Watson (2), Nash, Kingswell, and Turner. Any of these playera who will not be able to give their services on the occasion are expected to communicate with the treasurer or secretary before Tuesday eveniDg, The Vrbsatile. — It is perfectly- safe to say that no single individual, be his profession science or histrionic art, ever had so successful a season as Mr Fred. Maccabe, who takes his departure from among us after to-night's performance. Yesterday evening when be repeated the programme of Tuesday evening, he had the gratification of facing an audience larger than any he has drawn together at Sloan's Theatrd. And, while the dapper, gentlemanly Proteus on the stage is a study, there is yet another— that is scanning the effects of his drolleries on the faces of his audience. Mr Mticcabe likes to see his audience wrinkled with mirth, and he tells them so. At Bockhampton, we learn, he was greatly put out by a gentleman, who, seated in the front row, resolutely forbore to contract his facial muscles into a smile during the entire performance. What manner of man he was it would not be easy to divine, neither does there seem to be aoy one so " afflicted" in Maccabe's Invercargill audiences. Although hitherto be has passed unnoticed, Mr Harrison, pianist, merits a word of praise for his brilliant execution, notably of the selections which do duty as overtures. Indeed, the entertainment is well furnished musically, Mr Maccabe himself being a pianist of no mean order. It is almost with a feeling of regret that we call attention to the fact that to-night will be the last opportunity of seeing him. The Dismissal at Gibraltar.— With reference to the dismissal by Earl Kitoberiy df fcbe OoloDial Secretary at Gibraltar, for having allowed two refugees from Cuba to be surrendeied to Spain, Captain Lillicrap says: — "We were subalterns and lived together in " The King's" Regiment for nearly ten years in India, and on many a long and hot, weary march. Major-General Robert Stuart Baynes (not Raines) comes of a distinguished family. Hia uncle, Admiral Sir R. L, Baynes, E.C.8., oommanded the fleet before Sebastopol ; and his father was a distinguished general. His elder brother, General G-. E- Bameß, served at. tlie siege, assault and cAptureof Delhi, and commanrlfid the storming party at the assault. The officer to whom the telegram refers served in 1851-55, at the siege of Sebastopol, as captain of the Mounted Staff Corps, and afterwards, as military magistrate of the army, was mentioned in despatches. Modal with clasp, brevet of major, sth class of Mediidie, and Turkish medal. Served in the Indian Mutiny campaign, and commanded a mixed force at the capture of the Fort of Phillour on the Sutlej, 12th &nd 13th May. Present at the siege of Delhi, an 4 assault of the city (dangerously wounded, jeft leg amputated). Medal and clasp, and brevet lieutrcolonel. Wa9 deputy-ad ju tan U general at the Horse Guards, in iB6O, aud was the last officer in London Captain J^illicrap took leave of on. . departing for this colony, A braye and distinguished man, it is to be hoped he will be reinstated in a post he has so ably filled for many years. A Church Scandal.— A scene occurred at St. Andrew's Chnrch, Christchurch, last Sunday, which was the result of proceedings taken a short time ago by the Presbytery, full particulars of which were published a*; tbe time. It will be remembered that in cqaaet-'ueuce o£ certain conduct alleged 'aVaiu'Bt the Rev. C. FrasM, the minister of St, •Andrew's, the Presbytery suspended him, and appointed .the Rev. J. Blake, moderator of tfcV Pre«bytery, to conduct the service a]b the church on Sunday l4st. In' consequence 'of the announcement made by the Key. Afr fWffl $** JW W>»!4 Conduct »WWofl on

Sunday, aotwithstandiner the prohibition, crowds of people assembled in the grounds attached to the church, and in the adjacent; streets fully an hour before the appointed * time. Only a few privileged ones were admitted before eleven- o'clock, when the doors were thrown open and the crowd surged in. The Rev. Mr Fia«er was then eeea in the usual gown and -bands of the Presbyterian ministry standing in the pulpit, while the the organist, precentor, ani choir were in " their accustomed places. A hymn, which had evidently been given out as the door was opened, was being sung. Mr Blake advanced to the front of the pulpit, and formally protested against Mr Praser's conducting the service. Mr Fraser merely waived Mr Blake back, and the latter retired to the door of the church. When outside he read a protest against the Rev. Mr Fraser occupying the pulpit, or conducting the services in the church, as also a document, signed by the trustees of the church, giving instructions that the pulpit should be occupied only by thoße authorised by the Presbytery. Church service was held again in the evening without interruption o: any kind.