The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1864.

Timaru Herald, Volume I, Issue 15, 17 September 1864, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1864.

In our issue of last week we published an account of a meeting: held at Kaiapoi for the purpose of obtaining; the formation of that town into a municipality. Since the meeting 1 was held, a very numerously signed petition has been forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent ) and there can be no doubt that, before the present session of the Council is over, an ordinance will have been passed granting: the request contained m the petition. The comparison between the result of that meeting; and the one which was held here j for the same purpose, is not m favour of j the inhabitants of Timaru. In the one case the meeting* is held and the matter freely discussed, not a single dissenting- 1 voice is found, and within a week of the idea being mooted a petition i» jrwarded to the Government; whilst on the other, a committee is appointed to cany out the i movement, the members of which, we verily believe, have not troubled their | heads about the matter since the meeting* j separated — some ten weeks ago. Whether the success at Kaiapoi is due or not to the energy displayed by the new member, j we cannot say ; we are, however, inclined to think it is ; and if such is the case, it is a g*reat pity that so important a place as this has not a representative who m like manner could take the lead m advocating* a matter of such importance to ? the interests of this town. It has been argued that Kaiapoi being a much older-established town is more fit to become a municipality. We think there are far more forcible arguments m favour of Timaru. The population and the value of property m the two towns are about equal. But the very short time that Timaru has been established, and the extremely rapid progress it has made during the last twelve months must not be forgotten; and calculating upon that rate of progress for another year, it will be found that this town will far outstep Kaiapoi — more especially now the Waimakariri panic has taken such a firm hold upon many of the inhabitants there. North of the Rakaia we shall shortly have three municipal towns, one of which contains the seat of Government, the other

, two being situated only a few miles from ' it. These towns will yearly be receiving 1 ; large votes of money, and a good income from the reserves and other sources of ; revenue to a municipality; whilst, m a district equally as large, containing a town with over a thousand inhabitants, and several smaller ones around it, there will be scarcely any provision made for its improvement. We exceedingly regret to have to trouble our readers again with this subject ; hut wheu a matter of such vitaj importance to the town is neglected m the manner m which this has been, we cannot but refer to it, and shall continue to agitate it until another movement is made It is extremely foolish to neglect the opportunity which the present session of the Council affords. We trust that another public meeting will be at once held, and the Committee appointed at the last one asked as to what success has attended their efforts; and m the event of that report not being satisfactory, that a requisition should be drawn up at the meeting, and a week allowed for the signing of it previous to being forwarded to Christchurch. By these means we might prevent the delay which must necessarily take place if the Council is allowed to conclude its sitting without a "Timaru Municipal Council Ordinance" having been passed. By the City of Dunedin, which arrived here on Thursday morning, we have news from Duuedin to the 14th inst. Ehratum. —In our last issue a sentence occurred m the article on the Education Bill, which should have read as follows : — The rich would not feel this tax — for to them it would not be as a tax. By a typographical error the word not was omitted. The Militia. — The announcement that the militia is to be called out all over the colony has been made ; and we hear from a reliable source that steps are now being taken to organise a militia staff for this district ; so that unless a volunteer coq>s of some description is formed here, we may expect the enrolment to take place very shortly. Postal Delivery.— A petition to the Chief Postmaster is now being signed, praying that there may be a hand delivery every evening m Timaru. It is highly necessary that some such step should be taken, as great inconvenience is ffclt by those who do not possess private boxes, on account of there being no evening delivery from the windows of the post office, and who are thereby prevented from answering their letters; by the return post. The Teleokaph. — Through the mismanagement of the Government the completion of the line of telegraph between Christchurch and the Waitaki, although the money has long since been voted for it, is delayed for another six or eight months. The Government have not yet determined where the line shall run, and Mr. Sheath has therefore been compelled to commence the Otcigo line, which will, we believe, be m working order before the Canterbury one is again interfered with. Licensed Victuallers' Association. —On | Wednesday evening last a meeting was held at ! the Timaru Hotel, of those interested m the! formation of a Licensed Victuallers' Association m Timaru : and at an adjourned meeting which | was held 8t the Commercial Hotel, on Thursday evening, the Society was formed and the following officers elected : — President, Mr. Stubbs ; Secretary, Mr. Allen ; Treasurer, Mr. C. Green. It was also resolved to hold a meeting at the Royal Hotel, on Tuesday, the 20th inst, for the payment of subscriptions, etc Pleuro-Pneumonia. — A very important case will be heard m the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day. We hear that some working bullocks strayed from the station of Mr. Fraser m the Mackenzie Country, and were for a short period m the Otago province, and then returned to the station. It is a great pity that the Government do not use more precaution this matter. A station with an officer, whose duty it should be to carefully guard against cattle crossing from Otago, ought at once to be placed m this locality. It is of the most vital importance to the whole province that every care should be taken to try to prevent this disease from crossing the Waitakl Investment and Loan Association*. -— In another column will be found the report of a

report of a public meeting held m Timaru for the formation of a Loan and Investment Association. The committee appointed at that meeting to draw up the proposed rules, are prepared to lay the same before another meeting to be held on Monday eveniug next, when objections can be raised and alterations suggested, if they be not m conformity with the views of the mojority present. A share list will also be opened. We must congratulate the committee on the energy they have shown m this matter, and have no doubt as to the success of the enterprise. Mr. Ryan's Entertainment.— On Saturday evening last Mr. W. Kyan gave his second entertainment at the Mechanics' Institute. The reading from Dickens' "Christmas Carol" was repeated, and was even better delivered than on the first occasion. The scene m which •• Old Scrooge " awakes from his dream, and immediately sends a boy to purchase a Christmas present, and forwards it to his clerk, to whom he has for a long time been a great tyrant, was rendered m admirable style. The latter part of the entertainment consisted of comic songs ; and the references to local celebrities were very amusing to the audience. On this occasion we were sorry to find that the attendance was not so numerous as might have been exacted, m*re especially as it was for the benefit of the Mechanics' Institute. Great praise is due to the lion. sec. (Mr. Buddie) for thus attempting to add to the funds of the Institute and increase its usefulness, by a further addition of books, etc., although the effort was not so successful as we would have wished. We believe that if such or similar entertainments were given at short periods, the attendance on each occasion would greatly increase ; and the public would have confidence m not being induced to patronise inferior performers. Tiik Landing-Place.— A little hole-and-corner business m reference to the works which are being carried on for the improvement of the landing-service has taken place, and we think it not only due to the Engineer of the works, but also to the public, that the matter should not be quietly shelved. We know that a petition was forwarded to the Government, signed by five or six gentlemen, the Beach Master being one. Acting upon the representations contained m that petition, the Government f at once sent down the recently appointed Engineer, Mr. Aitken, and Capt. Gibson, the Port Officer. These gentlemen arrived m Timaru on Thursday evening, and on Friday made an examination of the works. Prom the examination made it would appear that the petition represented that the works were nos being carried out according to the suggestions of the Commission, and that the toe of the embankment, instead of ending at high- water mark, was being carried beyond it. We presume the petition must also have contained some startling announcement as to the result if the Engineer was allowed to carry on the "puddling" m the manner he had commenced ; .for the result was the immediate despatch of the | above-mentioned officers to Timaru ; and also a notice to the Engineer that he was to carry out any alterations those gentlemen might suggest. They have, however, suggested no alteration whatever — thus confirming the opinion of the Engineer. It is strange that those signing the petition should endeavour to alter the plans which have been examined and passed by the Government, and by which these works are being strictly carried out. We are curious to know what kind of a petition this may be called which was forwarded so secretly to Government. The Secretary of Public Works, m a communication to the Engineer, calls it an "official" one from the Beach Master ;j but it cannot be termed so, as it was signed by other persons who are neither officers of the Government nor engineers, but are inhabitants of the town. It was certainly not a public one, for the public know nothing of it We may state that we applied some days previous to our last issue to Mr. T. Hall, and also to Captain Cain, for information on the subject; but both those gentlemen, whom we had reason to believe to be the principal movers m the matter, declined to allow us a copy of the petition. We shall, however, endeavour to obtain it from another source, and enter more fully into the subject m our next issue. Ploughing Match at Geraldine.— -A meeting was held at the Crown Hotel, Timuka, on Saturday evening last, for the purpose of making arrangements for a ploughing match for the Geraldine district It was not definitely settled when the match should take place, but a meeting is to be held this evening at which the preliminaries will be arranged. Waimate.— During the past week Mr. Sherman, the Chief Commissioner of Police for the Province, has visited this township, and selected a place to serve as a temporary police-station. This step has not been taken too soon, as it was becoming every day more apparent that a station was required there. We presume that the next movement will be to have a Resident Magistrate appointed.

The Cathedral. —By the Christchurch papers we see that Mr. It. Speechly, who has been appointed to superintend the building of the Cathedral, arrived from England last week m the British Empire. Jockey Club. — A meeting of this Club was held at the British Hotel on Saturday, at which the following entries were made for the Railway S teeplechase on the 29th inst. Mr. Money ' sch g Discount, aged; Mr. Shirley's bin Little Maid, 3 years; Mr. L. G. Cole's b g Peacock, aged; Mr. M'Keurick's eh g Harry Hieover' aged; Mr. Oakes' bm Locomotive, 3 years ; Mr. E. Colman's bg Red Rover, aged; Mr. Wakefield's blk g Drummer, 6 years. Two out of the seven, viz. , Little Maid and Drummer, are fresh entries, the remaining horses all ran m the last race. — Press m Hurdle Race. — During the present days of dullness a race between two good horses is an event m which the inhabitants of the city seem to take a great amount of interest, as was shown by the concourse of people who were present at the Racecourse yesterday to witness the contest between Locomotive and Little Maid — dogcarts and various conveyances, including Cobb's six horse coach, helping to bring upwards of 200 persons together on the spot. The day was a lovely one, and was equally' satisfactory as regards temperature, to both horses, riders, and the public m general. The race commenced at abont 2*40 p.m., both horses started well together, and at a good pace, Little Maid taking the load at first against the wish of her rider, who was husbanding his marc's strength for the latter part of the race. Both were at the first fence together, clearing it simultaneously, and m a most admir. able manner, and continued neck and neck, taking every hurdle without even the semblance of a mistake. The apparently evenly matched horses continued their pace till witliiu about four hundred yards of the winning post, when Locomotive drew ahead, and was about a length and a-half m advance at the last hurdle, coming m at last a clever winner by about three lengths. The race was ridden m beautiful style, and the pace may be judged by the distance (two miles) having been accomplished m 4 mm. 30 sec. Locomotive proved herself on this occasion the better horse, but there is no doubt that Little Maid is not m the same excellent condition as her rival was, or perhaps the result would have been different. Both riders were at 10st?lbs. — Ibid, Sept 14. Coach Competition. — We observe that there is a great competition on the road between Dunedin and Tokomairiro m coaching. The fare butwoen these two places has for some time past been 30s. A Mr. Barnes started an opi»o. sition coach at 12s. ; and shortly afterwards announced that he was prepared to carry pas Bengera at 7s. Cd. Cobb and Co. , intending no to be outdone, and also, to drive their opponent oft' the road have reduced their fare to Us., or anything that suited the passenger. Otago Land Act. — By the Dunedin papers we observe that a deputation, consisting of Messrs. Charles Traill, John Jones, of Waikouaiti, J. H. M'Lean (on behalf of Matthew Holmes), J. Douglas, P. Fulton, James Fulton, of West IVieri, and Mr. Wright (of Wright, Robertson and Co.), waited upon the Superintendent to request him to postpone the operation of the new Land Regulations. His Honor declined to interfere m the matter, as he believed that if the Act did not work properly the public would soon cry out and ask for some alteration. Acclimatization.— The Society m Auckland have introduced a number of Alpacas, ex Prince Alfred. His Excellency the Governor proposes Adding them to his collection at Kawau. These are part of the fatuous herd offered for private sale m our advertising columns a few months ago. Mr. Edward King has purchased five for the Society, and Mcssers. Graham the other seven on behalf of the Governor. — yew Zealander, August 29. Otago Building Society. — A meeting of the Otago Building Society took place last evening •m the Odd Fellows' Hall, George-street, for the disposal of the cash iv hand. There was a large attendance of the members of the Society, and the bidding was very spirited. The money sold realised premiums ranging from £o to £8 17s per chare of £25.— Daily Times, Sept 13. Fire m Otago. — A serious fire occurred on Friday, on the premises of Mr. Joseph Culling, Silver Stream. The tire commenced among some lose straw, and there being a brisk breeze blowing at the time, iv a few moments the whole stackyard was m a blaze. With the exception of a few bags of wheat, the whole of last year's crop was consumed, the value of which was roughly estimated at between £400 and £300. Luckily the wind blew the fire away from the buildings of the farm, thereby rendering the loss lighter than it would have been. Mr. Culling was, we are sorry to say, totally uninsured. It is not known how the fire originated ; but from the circumstance of both a man and a boy, who were working near, carrying matches, it is conjectured that a spark had fallen from one or other, and so caused this serious loss to their employer, — Daily I'met, September 12.

Splitting Bank Notes.— Great curiosity has been excited by the reports that have from time to time been received of Bank of England notes j having been split by a newly-discovered process, with such nicety that the back and the face of the notes have appeared totally separated from j each other without any damage to either. At the coming Exhibition the inhabitants of Dunedin will have an opportunity of examining specimens of this new development of art, as Mr. Millard of the Royal Library, Windsor Castle, has forwarded to Mr. Gray, confectioner, for exhibition, leaves of the London Times, Daily Telegraph, Standard, London News, Public Opinion, and an old Bible. The two latter have been torn completely across, and are pi.t together with such accuracy that the marks of the rent are scarcely visible. This suggests the value and applicability of the invention, which are further illustrated by a specimen of an old engraving, the margin of which had been destroyed, and to which one has been added; there are also cuttings from the London Newtt done m a similar way. It would require very close inspection to discover that any addition had been made to them. In Mr. Millard's description of the specimens, he observes — "The process of splitting is valuable, more particularly for scarce old engravings which have printing on i the back. By taking away the printing, and , mounting the engraving on white paper, a great improvement is made m its appearance." We ; are indebted to Mr. Gray for giving us an 1 opportunity of examining these interesting novelties, and permitting us to quote from , Mr. Millard's description. — Ibid.