THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Lucca Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, 26th. APRIL, 1899.

Southland Times, Issue 14330, 26 April 1899, Page 2

THE Southland Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Lucca Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, 26th. APRIL, 1899.

P. M. Church. —This evening a social meeting will be held in the Don Street Church in recognition of the settlement of the Rev. T. H. Lyon in the charge. Addresses will be given by various ministers; also musical items.

Football Notes.—The Referees’ Association meets to-night. As the number of matches. arranged for this season exceeds those of last year, members are requested to attend to enable the committee to choose referees. The Star Club practice on the Eastern Reserve this afternoon at 3 o’clock for the last time. The Pirates meet on the Western Reserve at 2.30 p.m. Gore.—At a meeting of the Racing Club the black pony Edith alias Pansy was disqualified for twelve months and the nominator, J. B. McDonald, during pleasure for “ringing in” at the club’s spring meeting. T. E. Wilkins was fined £1 for riding without a license ab the last meeting. —Own correspondent.

Fires in the Winton District.—Mr Brown, engineer, of Barkly,was unfortunate enough to lose by fire at an early hour this (Tuesday) morning his workshop with a lot of machinery. Mr Brown’s plant is to some extent covered by insurance, but his loss will nevertheless be heavy. A fire is also reported from Hokonui in which the buildings, known as Alexander Ross’s and, I fancy, now belonging to the estate of the late Hokonui Coal Company, have been destroyed.—Own correspondent. Personal.—Mr A. W. Nicol, formerly of the Southland School of Shorthand, and who left here some time since to take a position of importance with Messrs Stott and Hoare, shorthand reporters and teachers, typewriters, &c., of Adelaide and elsewhere, has now removed to the firm’s establishment in Sydney. In a letter to a friend here Mr Nicol says :—“The school has gone ahead very rapidly since its opening at the beginning of the year, and we have now about 170 or 180 pupils for shorthand, typewriting and commercial subjects. lam sending you a copy of the prospectus, so that you will have some idea of what sort of; place ib is.” The prospectus is a very nicely got up pamphlet, with coloured-process plates showing various interiors of the school, with pupils at work.

Belmont Dredge. — A correspondent writes: I learn that this company’s punt will be launched on Monday, 24th inst. The delay in getting the punt into the water has been caused by the constant rains of the past fortnight, which has also stopped harvesting operations. I am also informed that the directors of the company have decided (in consequence of the uncertainty and difficulty of obtaining information from the claim) to postpone the ceremony of “ christening” until the dredge is set to work, when visitors and thosa directly interested in the venture will be enabled to see tho machine in full operation. Although the launch of the punt will nob be witnessed by visitors from a distance, the local residents have, I understand, decided to be present to express their good wishes for the success of the pioneer dredge on the river.

A Dastardly Outrage.— A correspondent writes :—A band of bauds from the Mabel Bush sawmill committed an outrage on Thursday night that might have resulted very seriously. They had attended a lantern exhibition by Rev. A. Don in the Mabel Presbyterian church, and had evidently intended making a disturbance ab the meeting. Nob succeeding in this, and probably smarting at being thus foiled, they lay in wait for the minister of the pariah—Rev. E. Bissett and Mr Don as they drove back to Woodlands. About a quarter of a mile from the church, without the slightest warning, a billet of wood was hurled from behind a thorn hedge to the right of the road, touched the brim of Mr Bissett’s hat, passed within an inch of Mr Don’s face, struck the further mud-guard of the trap, fell between the wheel and body of the vehicle, and was thrown by the motion of the wheel high in the air and back across the road. Six or eight forms scampering across the field into shelter of the bush as soon as the horse was stopped showed whence the missile had come. It turned out to bo a piece of 3x 2 sawn timber, nearly three feet long, several pounds in weight, and with the point of a 4iuch nail projecting two inches from the middle. Had ib.struck either of the occupants—hurled as ib was with great force—the blow might have been fatal.

Fallen From Grace.—The coming winter (says the Wairoa Bell) will fall hard upon some of those who have changed bhoir charitable allowances for pensions. The charitable aid was given them in weekly rations and ensured them against starvation and drunkenness, but the pensions are paid monthly and become temptations to drinking, under which several have already fallen, only to find themselves penniless and rationlees till next pension day. Judging from the reports current in all parts of the colony ib is pretty evident that a large proportion of the pensions paid have passed into the t Us of the publicans and left the pensioners worse off than before. It is somewhat surprising that old men whose good sober character was testified to before the S.M’s. by different witnesses should have so soon developed a craving for drink.

Only Two “Naughts” Between.—Ab Christchurch the other night Mr W. Powell presented the Premier with a gushing address, trusting the latter might bo spared to enjoy the glory of a ripe old age. The Hou. Dr. wished Mr Powell the same, and many of them. Contrast ths halos of a ripe old age : Premier on £lBOO ; Powell on £lB. —Truth.

Onge too Often.—M.Loconteur,formerly manager for the A.U.B.N. Company in New Caledonia, who is visiting Sydney, states thab prior to his leaving Noumea it had been ascertained that the Government assayer treated some ore found on the island which yielded nearly 800 ounces of gold to theton. The story current was thab a liberated convict suddenly acquired much wealth, spent it royally, periodically disappeared, and returned with his funds replenished. Finally he did not return. It was then discovered he had been in the habit of visiting the district of Onebia, on the northern end of New Caledonia—which is inhabited by a fierce tribe of natives, and tabooed to white men—obtaining rich specimens and selling them to a jeweller, but that eventually the natives caught and killed him.

The Bachelor Maid.—ln these days of bachelor women, the following extract from one of Charlotte Bronte’s works may be read with pleasure by some : —“ I speculate much on the existence of unmarried and never-to-be-rnarried women no wadays, and I have already got to the point of considering that there is no more respectable character on this earth than an unmarried woman who makes her way through life quietly, persoveringly, without support of husband or brother, and who retains in her possession a well-regulated mind, a disposition to enjoy simple pleasures, and fortitude to support inevitable pains, sympathy with the sufferings of others, and willingness to relieve want as far as her means allows.” A Salutary Lesson.—A smart young driver got taken down pretty sharply ab Timaru the other day. He had persisted in keeping the wrong side of the road in order that he and his two mates might have some fun out of two cyclists who were approaching. As there was a bank by the wayside, the lat’.er.were completely hemmed in and barely scraped past the wheel of the trap, while the smart one laughed and was cheeky. The cyclists gave up their journey and dogged the trap for milee. The driver didn’t like the look of things, and made a long detour, hoping to shake off the riders of the wiry steeds, but in vain, for, at last, in a wayside village, they got a policeman, who fixed up the preliminaries of a charge before Magistrate Wray. His Worship remarked that although there were three witnesses (the occupants of the trap) against two, it was not reasonable to suppose that the bicyclists would have followed the vehicle for so many miles unless there was a good reason for it. He therefore fined the practical joker a pound, and he had to pay 13s 6d costs; the complainant too considerately claiming nothingjor his loss of time. The Act, Mr Wray said, was very clear : “ Who drives any vehicle whatever, or rides any animal, and, whan meeting any other vehicle or animal, does nob keep on the left or near side of the road or street,” and the fine for the offence might be as much as £lO.

Newspaper Press Directory.—Messrs C. Mitchell and 00, London, have sent us a copy of the “Newspaper Press Directory for 1899,” which is the fifty-fourth annual edition. The directory is compiled for the benefit of advertisers, journalists and all engaged in literary work, and it is well calculated to fulfil the intention of the publishers. Information regarding newspapers printed in every parb of the world has been carefully collected and may bo depended upon. Special articles have been written on subjects of commercial and general interest, e <j., “ Decisions affecting the Press with special reference to the Law of Libel” by Hugh Fraser, L.L.D,, “The Development of Class Journalism ” by Laura A. Smith. A noteworthy feature is the Colonial, Indian and Foreign supplement. The article that takes pride of place is “ Where our Imperial duty lies,” by Ernest E. Williams, who opposes the policy of securing a footing in China and adyocates the nursing of the colonial trade. There are also articles on the import tradis of Australasia, South Africa, West Indies and India ; South African Freights and Tariffs ; the Commercial Prospects in Rhodesia; and Canada and British trade. It would appear as if nothing had been omitted from the Directory thab could be of service. Business men who wish to advertise in Australia or further abroad will find particulars of circulation, advertising charges, etc. Messrs Mitchell and Co are to be congratulated on their expert management of the Directory, which more than fifty years of experience has made almost perfect. A Maniac’s Wonderful Escape.—Geo. Hodges, who had been employed at a Westralian mine, suddenly disappeared on 23rd March, and was discovered 80 feet down a shaft on another lease on 2nd April. He was brought before the Police Couit, charged with being of unsound mind. The evidence showed that Hodges had sustained only a few bruises, and with the exception of having a terribly emaciated appearance, due to his 10 days’ abstinence, was little the worse.

Will Catch Some Flats.—A new system of musical notation has been invented by a Mr A. D. Tyssen, and has been named the Key Board Notation. Its idea is simply that of making the stave a diagrammatic picture of the piano. “ Lines are arranged in sets of two or three alternately, to represent the black notes of the piano ; the spaces between them represent the white notes, a double space being left where two white notes come together. Thus D, being a white note between two black notes, is shown as a white space between two black lines; B flat, being the upper of three black notes, is shown as the upper of three black lines, etc. Every octave is the same, every key equally easy. In five minutes this diagram is mastered, and thence forward the aspirant has only to play ; he has no staves to worry over, no sharps or flats tc remember. He merely compares his diagram with his piano, and plays his notes as he sees them ; at first, slowly and carefully, gradually faster and more confidently, but always correctly, at sight, in the proper key.” The whole effect is to substitute eye work for head work, leaving the pleasanter aspects of musical study to be better cultivated when less time has to be expended on the distractions of flats and sharps. Who is to Blame?—The evidence at the enquiry into the death of the unfortunate girl May Lee, who blew her brains out in Exploration lane, Melbourne, disclosed some pathetic incidents, and showed that, though the girl had been cut adrift from home influences since she was twelve years old, she retained a feeling that years of vice and drunkenness could not obliterate. The girl was shown to have died by her own hand, and ib was because her home and relatives were recalled to her by mere chance that she was struck with remorse, and sent a revolver bullet into her brain, Itjwas while she was in the Newport Hotel in Little Lonsdale street that the woman must nave decided to take her life. Mrs Louisa Clark explained that she saw the girl at the house named on Saturday night. She was crying bitterly, and said, “ Listen to that song they are playing in the parlour.” The song was one with the refrain, “Nellie and May,” and as Mrs Clarke looked for an explanation, the girl sobbed out, “I have a twin sister named Nellie ; she is leading a good life. I am May, and look at me. My people despise me, end everybody looks down on me.” Mrs Clarke endeavoured to cheer up the girl by telling her thab she might yetretorm, and lead a different life, but she continued to cry, and eventually handed to her “ lover,” young Guy, some jewellery which she said belonged to her mother. The deceased had had the revolver in her possession for some time.

Average Skill.—A correspondent writes to the Guardian :—“ A brilliant instance of how not to do ib may be seen at the building being pub up for ‘ the most valuable library south of the line.’ A very handsome fireproof building is being erected which is to befitted with a wooden floor and a wooden roof. A number of openings are made into the old wooden portion which are fitted with wooden doors. Can folly go much further in this direction ?”

Volunteer Inspection.— A Government ’ inspection of the local volunteers was made in the Garrison Hall yesterday evening, but, probably owing to ths wet night, there was nob a very large mutter. Following win the parade stats Garrison Band, 18 men; City Guards: captain, lieutenant, and 25 rank and file ; Oreti Rifles : lieutenant and 35 rank and file; Awarua Rifles : lieutenant and 30 rank and file; High School Cadets : captain, lieutenant and 27 rank and file. The inspection was conducted by Captain Hawkins, and Captain McKay acting adjutant. The battalion was put through the manual and firing exercise by the Sergeant Instructor.—Mr J. S. Murphy, lieutenant of the City Guards, having passed the examination as laid down by the Volunteer Regulations, has received his commission.

Accountants and Auditors.—The New Zealand Accountants and Auditors’ Association, whose registered office is No. 1 Durham s’reot East, Auckland, notifies, by advertisement in this issue, thab copies of the rules of the Association may be obtained from the Chamber of Commerce and the Public Library, also ab the office of this paper. The Association has been established with a view to provide a representative Society in .New Zealand for accountants and auditors, and to afford members facilities to discuss matters of interest in their professional calling ; to secure the confidence of the commercial public by the means taken to satisfy the Council of the Association as to the character and experience of persons admitted to the Association, and to encourage those engaged in bookkeeping to attain a higher degree of efficiency, and a correct knowledge of accounts, by the delivery of lectures or such other methods as the council may decide. Though the registered office is in Auckland provision has been made for the representation on the council of management of each of the chief centres of the colony, and the facilities provided for recording the views of distant members of the council will ba found to commend themselves to southern members. Fie. The Bluff Brass Band gave a promenade concert in the Drill Hall on Monday night. The programme was an excellent one, and was grea ly enjoyed. Senior’s Linoleum Reviver is unrivalled for floorcloths, cleaning and preserving furniture, and polishing tan boots. Sold by all grocers at Is a bottle, A lad named Walker was accidentally shot by his mate while duck shooting at Lake Wainono, near Waimate, on Sunday morning and died almost immediately. For stylish Wedding Dresses, Evening Dresses, Travelling Dresses, try the Exhibition. Materials of a choice and fashionable character in great profusion and ab moderate prices.—Thomson and Beattie. An Auckland paper reports that when the steamer Mamari was four days’ steam from Plymouth and about 1000 miles from land, a latk dropped on the deck of the steamer in a very exhausted state and was captured. A verdant reporter doubtless thought this was something very much out of the common run of events at sea, whereas, after hard easterly weather, birds very frequently alight on the rigging of ships and are caught. As to being 1000 miles from land the statement is simply rubbish ; the Mamari might ba about that distance on her journey, bub would be within 50 miles of the Spanish coast. Some people with a little, and other people without any literary ability, think they would make first-class newspaper editors, they will soon find that editors are like poets, born not made; if you have any doubt) about this statement write a nice bright interesting leading article on “Federation” and how it will affect New Zealand, politically, commercially, and nationally, and of course put in something about buying household requirements from Mr J. S. Baxter, whose name is a household word in Southland. SYNOPSIS OF NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. McAdoo's singers—Complete change of programme at the Theatre to-night Tenders are invited for supply of firewood for the Middle School New Zealand Accountants and Auditors Association—Rules obtainable An offio ■ boy wanted Mies Webber, M. A., opens Maitland House as a preparatory and advanced school for youog ladies W B Scandrett has a seven room bouse and 1} acres for L7OO J Hensley, accountant, auditor and agent, Esk Street’; properties for sale or let S.S. Riinu sails for Preservation Inlet Goldfields on 27th inst The Golden Gave Reefing Company—Notice of call The funeral of the late Malcolm McCallum takes place at Gorge Road on 28th inst. Dogcart, phicton and bicyo’e at Mr Yule’s sale tomorrow C H Roberts, architect, invites tenders for erection of residence, One Tree Point Tea and social in Don Street Primitive Methodist Church this evening. Wesney’s cheap sale commences on 27th inst