NOTES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 2825, 12 October 1883, Page 2

NOTES.

> The Pall Mall Gazette, of the 17th ( I August sayH : — " An early work of M. t i Oh. (i'Hiiiod will bo revived at tho opora t , m Paris this winter. Tho title is t , ' S.ipho,' and it has nut been performed 1 sinco its first nppi-aranco thirty years a ' ago." " Siipho " niiiy not have been per- t formed m Paris since its first appearance g ' thirty yoara ago, tint it has cortainly i i been performed many times m other parts \ : of tho world. Wo well remember hear- < . itii; it at Dunedin m 1870 or 1871, whun c , Siguur Cagli luailo a special appeal to his \ patrons m order to enablo him to do ;,. ' justico to tho opera. Tho performance i of " Saplio " was represented to be «■> j 1 aorious an undertaking as regarded both j ' music and aconery, that tho prices wore i ! raised and season ticket holders «ero m- t j vitedtiiconaiderthcirprivileges suspended 1 . for that evening. After all, if wo re- i I mombor rightly, tho performance- caused , great disappointment. Tho music w.ia i ' certainly vory tine, but the chorus was t 1 altogothor insufficient, notwithstanding ] > the "special" efforts that had been made, 1 ' or at all events paid for ; while tho scenic i v aece-sories were so defective that tho ( moat effective tableau.-; m tho plot were ; [ rendered ridiculous. In one Bceno wlu-ro i ¥ the movement of tho play culminates m 1 tho overturning of the sacred altar m ( ' tho temple- of tho gods, the " altar" , • consisted of a piece of photographer's ( 1 furniture, a painted canvas front on a 1 i woodon frame, and when it was thrown I 3 down on its face amid a storm of instru- i ] mental chorda and choric voices, the anti- i r climax was too much for the gravity of the I audienc.-. Ths (Unoiiement, too, whero i Sipho, despairing of Phaon's love, leap 1 ! i " from the Loucadian rock into tho sea, i f was bungled so fearfully that hisses from ( V the pit wero mingled with roars of ■ laughter from the boxes. It was no joke I to pay extra to sco a fat actress m a / . nightgown jump off a box on to the i 1 floor. Wo have often nearly split our ' sides at Toolo performing " Dinorah a under difficulties " at tho Adelphi ; but . we do not think tho country manager m 4 that splendid little farco was m much s greater straits than Signor Cagli with lih ' j "Sapho." Tho Grand Opor.i m Paris is better suited for such a performance ' c than tho Princess Theatre at Dunedin. V It is a truism that "fact is stranger , a than fiction," but wo seldom meet with so :1 striking an illustration of it as that v furnished by a scrap of recent news from i i Ireland. " While two men weru en- : . gaged the other day pulling down an old house m Bishop street, Londonderry, a 0 human hand was discovered between the 3 laths of the ceiling, fastened to the roof. ' 1 Tlio hand, ivhich was evidently that of a - woman of good position, i 3 m an excellent a state of preservation. Apparently it was L , torn violently from tho wrist. Tho nails ■l aro three-eighths of an inch longer than ordinary finger nails. Tlio houso was 1 built about tho year 1802." What would > not writers of yollow back novels give to '' bo able to invent such "incidents" as t that ? It is impossible to road tho parai, graph without the mind setting to work 3 at once to fill m tho missing details of a c tragic and pathutic Btory, — of which all the details, and the plot as well, aro missiiikf, except that ono solitary fact. '' Wo have road scores of blood ' curdling romances m which the discovery v of human relics m old buildings was s employed with great success as a means ;i of supplying tho elements of mystory and ■1 horror to tho narrative. Harrison Ains--3 worth and George Cruikshank together , made our boyish hair stand on end with that awful picture of tho corpse of Alexia s in tho forgotten dungeon of the Tower of '■ London. But no romance we ever met s with, contained a conception approaching f that supplied by this matter of fact y newspaper paragraph. Even the more „ delicately snggestivo touchos aro not '• wanting. Tho hand wa3 " evidently that of a woman m good position," — no doubt, a small, gentlo looking, well i shaped hand, such as m life would ; accompany a slender figure, and a r lovely face. Then " the nails aro : i. three-oighths of an inch longer than ! \ ordinary finger nails." Angels and ; ministers of grace defend 113 ! — what does , that mean ? It means that tho nails : went on growing for somo time aftor the i hand itself was dead ; ju»t as, when i ' coffins havo been opened, tho bodies of I 1 women have been found entirely on- ' £ Tolopcd m their own hair which had con- J j tinned to grow for yoara after they were • j dead. Rather creepy, is it not ( We I 0 should like to givo the paragraph just as j it stands, to a dozi'n young ladies of an imaginative temperament and l '" a romantic age — between 14 nnd ' r 50, that is to Bay— and lot each 5 write a tale, according to her own ' r fancy, bringing m charnctors nnd circum- ( 2 stances to account m a rational and fairly , 1 natural manner for all the facts stated. ' We venture to think wo should get some i very thrilling novelettes. The only caso i [' at all parallel to this that occurs to our * 1 memory just now, is one well known m the 1 ■ Navy by the story of " Fanny Adams' ] r fiugor." Somo years ago a ghastly crime ' . was committed m London, which to this ' . day, wo believe, has novor boon detected. ' I A girl named Fanny Adams was suddenly ! . missed, and it was supposed she had been murdered. AH traces of her, however, \ were lost. At length part of a young f ■ female body was ascertained to havo i ! been secreted m tho night at a 'J • particular spot. A cautious watch was s ; kept, and after a while, other parts were j . discovered, sufficient to enable them to he identified with tolerable certainty as the » remains of Fanny Adaum. It was evident " ' that the murderor was bent on disposing 8 1 of his victim's body piecemeal, so a3 to s avoid detection. Intense excitement pre- . i vailed m the neighborhood, but, the " particulars having become known, the 7 I murderer no doubt took the alarm and , changed his plans, for no further dis- ™ coveries wore made. Tho head and hands 0 ' and other parts of the body still wero gl wanting. Groat rewards wero offered to j, ■ anyone who should supply them ; and, fi horribilt dictu, plenty of heads and r< hands wore forthcoming, but none that "E would fit poor Fanny Adams. About this time, just when the papers ware full of " the affair, a man-of-war, whose name we n forget at this moment, was leaving a England with the relief crews for the *] Bhips on tho Australian station. She was ■- a crazy old tub, with honey-combed plates, and every convenience for making J a rapid voyage to Davy Jones's Lockor. By great care and constant precautions, however, she was kept afloat till she had £ reached the middle of tho Indian Ocean. 3 There sho leaked so freely that her com- f c mander saw it was hopeless to try to w make Australia. Ho ran for St. Paul's, tl and by a miracle contrived to beach his tl ship safely on a low apit of sand which sf divides the crater of that volcanic poak 01 on ono side from the sea. But St. Paul's tl it an uninhabited rock, a thousand miles 8l from anywhere, and, what is worse, it is ; out of the track of ordinary traders. The p 1 officers and men, therefore, settled down '' to make the best of things for as long as i it might please Providence to keep them t j there; and, to cut a long Btory short, le , they actually lived at that fearful place t,

or more than a year. They ultimately scaped through a gallant exploit of two 'oung officers whom wo know well. Theso >rave follows sailed m an open boat, with he intention, if wo n-inuinber rightly, if reaching CVylon ; and after infinite lufforiiiji wero picked up at sea, imd aken to some port where they nade the position of their comrades cnowti. Relief, of course, was Bent at jnco, and all were taken off the island m safety ; though by that timo they were reduced to a diet of grass and lizards and ivorms and such small deer. But now lot us go back to Fanny Adams' finger. One day, Christmas day, wo believe, when the old papers which had been taken aboard on leaving Home had been read over and talked over for thu hundredth time, tho weary, half-starved 3ai!ors wero speculating as to whether tho missing parts of tho murdered Efirl had ever been discovered. They were at that stage of thoir imprisonment when they still had tinned meat an high days and holidays ; and being summoned to dinner, they eagerly watched tho stewards opening tho tins iind serving out tho scanty portions. Suddenly one of tho officers dropped his plate, nnd gave an exclamation of astonishment or disgust or both. All eyes wero turned on him m an instant. Ho took a Binall object fr->m tho meat beforo him, and held it up to thair bewildered gaze. It vn»s a woman's fingor. "Fanny Adams ! Fanny Adams ! Gire him the reward !" was shouted from a score of throats by acclamation. Nover were heard such rounds and rounds of laughter. The Captain sent to know what it was all about, and insisted on having the finger Bhown to him at once. The men catno running m crowds to ask what on earth had happened, and as soon as they were told, gave threo ringing cheers for Fanny Adams. Even on main land, amid the distractions and diversions of ordinary life, such an incident would assuredly have created a sonaation. But on a desert island, amongst a party of men to whom one day had been exactly like another for a year, and to whom even a passing cloud was hailed with delight aa a break m tho dull round of all but hopeless monotony, it is easy to imagine what an effect it had. "Fanny AdamB 1 finger" was carefully dried and preserved, and for all we know is still treasured up by gome fellow m the Navy, as an unique memento of that sojourn on St. Paul's. Scotsbuhn. — A concert m aid of the Peel Forest Church will be held m the Scotsburn schoolroom on the 16th inst. Faiulib Crekk. — A concert m aid of the tmiMing fund of the Union Church at Kairlie Creek 13 to be held m the schoolroom this evening. Masonic. — The regular monthly meeting of St. John's Lodge, N<»1137, E.C., will be held m the Lodge-room, Church street, this evening at 7.30. Bank Holiday.— Tuesday, 16th inst., being the 22nd anniversary of the opening of the Bank of New Zealand, will bo held as a special bank holiday at all the offices of this Bank m New Zealand. Fabmbhs' Co-opkiuiive Association. — The annual meeting of members of the Canterbury Farmers 1 Co-operative Association will be held at half-past eleven tomorrow morning, m the Association's warehouse, Cain's Terrace. Phrenology. — Professor Lio Mcdo announces that he intends holding phrenological seances at the Mukikihi school on Saturday and Monday next, commencing at. 8 p.m. Tho Professor may be consulted privately at the Makikihi Hotel. Village SKTTLEitExr Lands. — Application is to bo made to-day at tho Land Otlico nt Christchuroh or Timnru for lots m the villnge settlement at Elephant Hill, Waituki. There aro seven lots of from 10 to 15 acres each to bt sold for cull at £i per acre, and six lots of similar size for sale on deferred payments nt £5. If there is more than one applicant for any allotment, the right to occupy it will be determined by lot. Tub Tru Titan. — The Harbor Board seem pretty well determined to get rid of the tight little Titan as soon as possible, and very opportunely an offer for her comes from Greymouth, where ehe is well known and believed m. This offer was referred to the Standing Committee with power to act, which means, wo presume, that if they get a fair price they will sell her, the wouhl-bo purchaser being willing to wait for delivery until the Board have obtained another boat. A Ska. Horse (?). — At tho meeting of tho Harbor Board last month a good denl of indignation was vented on tho head of some person or persons unknown for having placed the carcase of a horse on the beach within the Board's jurisdiction, 0110 consequence being thnt the Board wero called upon by the Borough Council's health olllcer to pay its burial fees. Tho Board requested the polico to discover tho delinquont, and offered a reward of £0 for tho conviction of tho offender m this or any similar case. One member did not mind paying for tho burial of dead whales j they woro m somo sort a natural product of tho Board's territory, but tho line must bo drawn at dead horses if they were not sea horses. Yesterday the result of a polico enquiry was communicuted to tho Board, this being that tho carcase had most probably beon washed up by the sea, and not put away by a townsman at all. As so much imd been said about the caso before, this communication naturally passed without comment. Geraldine Cricket Club. — The annual general meeting of members of tho above Club was held m tho Crown Hotel, Geraldine, on Tuesday ovening lust, there being a good nttendauco. Dr Fish was voted to the chair. Tho minutes of the last annual meeting were read and conGrmed. Tho balance-sheet showed a deficit, which, however, outstanding subscriptions would corer. The following wero chosen officers of tho Club : — Captain, R. H. Pearpoint ; Deputy-Captain, \V. M. Moore, with a strong Committee. A discussion on way» and means followed, after which a Committee was appointed to get up a concert to pay off tho outstanding liabilities. It was also decided to take over the plant obtained by a second Club which was started the year beforo laßt. The opening day was Gxed for 20th October, and the first match to be played with tho Ashburton Borough C.C. fho opinion of tho meeting was that the Club ihould have a very successful season this rear. English: Cable News.— Tho following ipecial telegrams appear m tho \Fress : — ' London, October 10th. — -The Times conliders that tho high handed action of Mr Service with respect to tho Irish informers las increased the difficulty of punishing crime 11 Ireland. — The doath of Bishop Short was rery sudden. He appeared to be m excellent icalth on Thursday, but on tho following uorning was fouud dead m bed. — Tho British esidents at Tainatave aro complaining bitterly if the severe treatment to which they are übjected by tho French authorities. — Usibepu nsists upon England removing Cotewayo rom Zululand. — The Chinese have refused to ecogniso tho French convention with the Jlack Flags." Extension of the Breakwater.— As rill be seen from our report of yesterday's S aeeting of tho Harbor Board, Messrs Jones ,nd Peters were tho successful tenderers for ?. ho next 500 feet section of the Breakwater, at . 322,581 19s lud. Messrs Allan and Stumbles, f he contractors of tho first section, were the v >nly other tenderers, their estimate being a 224,623 2s. The tendering was pretty close onsidering the magnitude of tho work, and 7 cry cloae to tho Engineer's estimate of ", '23,041 83 4d. Of this section of 500 feet, " 13 feet will form a curve, the remaining 187 „ eet following tho lino of tho future straight r" rork. The contract will include, besides ! 8 ho construction of 500 feet of Breakwater, " lie formation of a block-making ground, with al pecial railway for the present big crane, tho *. ew crano now being built nt Dunedin taking ■ be place of " Horcules "on the molo. Some " urpriao was shown by tho mombors of the toard at there being bo few tenders, but Mr B£ ihvorthy and others expressed their satiafac- P ion at finding Messrs Joues and Peters wero w snderors and t>io lowest, the character of ~\ heir work m the past and their knowlodge of be work and of tho difficulties to he ?' ncountered, makiug them most desirable con- a factors. v

Cosceht. — A very successful i-oncert m aid j r. )f the Temuka District High .School prize 'und took place m the school, Temuka, on fucsdiiy last. An able address by the Rev. 3-. Barclay opened the proceedings. Songs sore sung by Mcsdames Rout and llurrreave.-), Misses McNair, Thomson, Brown, md Kirk, Messrs Kdmonds, Kutlaud, Aspin»ll, and Clinch. The Temuka Glee Club also ?ave two glee. Recitations by Misses uroode and Rowe, and by Master Fauvell. A •oncertina solo by Mr Burrows, piano solo by Master Storey ; duet (cornets), Mr Harrison *nd Master Fauvell. Messrs Inwood and Meagher accompanied on the piano the various singers. Votes of thanks were accorded, on the motion of Mr Gray, to the Chairman, luul the ladies and gentlemen who had contributed to the enjoyment of the concert, which wcro duly acknowledged by the Chairman and the Rev. Mr Gordon. Clayton v. Shebratt.— The case Clayton v. Sherratt, m which the former sued' the latter m the Resident Magistrate's Court here for £52 12s damages for breach of contract, m not supplying timber for the building of the Anglican Church m Ger.ildine, came before His Honor Judge Johnston, m Banco, at Christ church, on Wednesday. It will be remembered that Mr White", counsel for defendant, raised the point that the Court had no jurisdiction, defendant not residing m the Timaru district, and no affidavit having been filed that the cause of action arose within the district, which, as a matter of fact, it did not. The Court determining to go on with the ease, Mr White applied to the Supreme Court for an order to prohibit the Resident Magistrate from proceeding, and the application was heard as above stated. Mr Joynt appeared against the order. The arguments used by both sides were similar to those brought forward m the Court here. His Honor took time to consider the matter. Accident. — A very painful accident happened yesterday to a man named Alex. Sutherland, who was working for the ballasting contractoron the Fairlic Creek rail way line. Sutherland was working on the face of the gravel pit, and m stepping back to avoid some of it tailing on him, got m the way of some ballast wagons which happened to be coming into the pit just at that time. The wagons knocked the man down on the rails, and two of them ran over his right log. His mates who wero working m the pit at once went to his assistance, when it was plainly seen that his injuries were severe. A van was attached to the ballast engine without loss of time, and Sutherland was placed m it and brought to town, the contractor, Mr Whittaker, and three others coming down with him, arriving a few minutes alter the express from the South. He was then placed m an express and conveyed to the Hospital. On examination it was found that he had sustained a compound comminuted fracture of the thigh, a compound fracture of the leg and that the muscles of the foot and leg were very much lacerated ; that the injuries were, m fact, so serious that amputation was absolutely necessary. This was accordingly performed about 6 o'clock by the Resident Surgeon, Dr Drew, assisted by the visiting surgeons. On making a visit to the Hospital last evening, we were informed that Sutherland was very low, consequent on the great loss of blood, but hopes are entertained of his pulling through all right. Special Train. — A special train convey ing immigrants per s.s. British Queen, which left. Dunedin last night about 5 o'clock, arrived m Timaru at 1 o'clock this morning. The number on board must have been very little short of 150, most of them single women. The following nominated immigrants left the train at Timaru : — James and Lucy Irwin, Patrick and Ellen Kissane, Edward and Julia O'Dowd, Mary Ann and Elizabeth Kelly, and Mary Brosnalmn. For Waitaki — Angus McDonald and Angus MeMaster. For Waimate— George, Susan and Mabel Emmctt, and Dennis O'Sullivan. For Temuka — John and Elizabeth Mcllenry, Mary Oats, and Alex. Middleton. A number of them wore met on the platform by friends, who took them away, the remainder being taken m charge by Mr Sabiston, Depotkeeper, and escorted by him to the immigration barracks. The train, after waiting twenty minutes, proceeded on its way to Christchurch. The single girls who Lave been applied for here for domestic servants I will bo Bont back from Christchurch tomorrow, with a few extra ones to ensure the applicants being suited. Sdthkrlands School. — A meeting of the Sutherlands School Committee was held on Monday evening last. All the members were present. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. A letter was read from the Chairman of the Board of Education, enclosing three applications for the post of teacher for the school. After the applications, with their accompanying testimonials, wcn> read and considered, it was unanimously resolved that the Board be recommended to appoint Mr G. B. McAlpine as teacher. Mr Sutherland was appointed to see the contractor for the fencing concerning a slight alteration m the work, and to arrange about cleaning the school. Tho Chairman and Mr Sutherland were appointed to inspect and pass the fence when completed. A request was read from tho Rev. D. McLennan for the iise of the schoolroom twice a month for tho purpose of holding divine service ; also for a Sabbath school. It was resolved that the request be granted. A long conversation onsued concerning the concert to be held on October 19th to celebrate the opening of the school, and tho Chairman was authorised to advortiso it ; also to procure 200 tickets, several members of the Committee undertaking to see about performers. Messrs Gammie and Sutherland were appointed Visitors for the month, and it was resolved to meet again on Monday evening next to niako final arrangements for the concert. The meeting then terminated. Traixijjg op Aiitizans. — At a meeting of tho Otago Institute on Tuesday tho subject of technical education was discussed. In the course of an address, Professor Brown said that m artisan training we were behind the Mother Country, and the state of things there was admitted to be disgracefully bad. Tho mischief m England arose from tho break-down of the old industrial system. Under the craft-guild system the workman had learnt not only the processes, but the art and the morality of his trade. The efforts of the trades unions to havo men properly taught were a failure, as not ten per cent of the tradesmen had beon properly apprenticed. The younger generation liad learned the sloTeulinesa, but net the resources of the older one. We looked calmly on, believing with the easy optimism of complete indifference that the Englishjworkmau was the best m the world and that the colonial would be better. However, this would bo no country for a bad workman. The colonials were willing to pay liberally for things well inado, and he specially referred to new ships, implements and buildings. He alleged that the system of apprenticeship had broken down, md many of our workmen were not fit to teach. Maori DorNGS ax Mokai'. — A correspondent sends the following to tho Taranaki Herald : — Wahanui is still at Mokau. The nbject of his visit to Mokau is to get the signatures of the Mokau people to his oetition about the ring round his block of and, viz., Ngatimaniopoto block. It goes Tom Kawhia to Punui (Waikato), from there ;o Taupo, from Taupo to the Wanganui River, follows the river down to the mouth )f tho Tongatakau, and from there to ?araninihi. The whole of the laud, with the ixception of a few (three) blocks owned by Jovernmout, belongs to Wahanui's people. Ls soon as the block is surveyed, Wuhunui ntends to allow the land to be leased, and he Uo stated to mo that the gold should be rorked, but not till the ring of land was sureyed, as he was afraid that Tawhiao is tryng to get a portion of it. It is very evident hat Wa'ianui intends to submit to our law, as c says that there will be only one law, " the Queen's law," for both races. When his "ring" 1 surveyed, it is quite evident that Wahanui atends to become a very peaceful subject, nd I should not be very surprised to hear of is taking a seat m tho Houso m a short iino. He intends to return to Totoro as Don 09 he has received replies from tho Jovernment m answer to some letters ho has ent clown. Now for another matter. I supose you are aware that tho Amnesty Act that ras passed to pardon To Kooti and To Wetoro oes not extend to the people who killed ioffalt some years ago, m the Tuhua ountry. It appears that Moffatt was on is way to the Tuhua country to get tomo aoney be had left th« 9 while he was

Miilding a mill for the natives. He had )cca»ion (o go to Wangnnui for some iron•vork for the mill. At that place lie was aken nnd tried for making powder for tl;e lathes, mill for that offence he got three rears. Afler lie was released he went up he Wanganui and commenced to put m [>egs nnd "say the hind was his. He also pulled out the old boundary pegs put m by the native?, lie earned a very large L'hccse knife, and when asked what he was going to do with it lie said he intended to L'ut Ngnti's and Tnkematu's throats. Of course word was sent on to the people whose lives were threatened, and they sent word that they would shoot him if ho did not pi back. Although Moffsitt was repeatedly warned, and on the very day he was shot Ngati sent, word three times to him telling him to go back or ho would be shot. "No," lie said, " no living Maori will over turn me Hack. I have come to cutNgati'3 throat, and I will cut it." And within a quarter of a mile of the place where he made that threat Moffatt met with his death. A Wise Deacon. — " Deacon Wilder, I want yon to tell mo how yon kept yourself and family ;>o well the past season, when all the rest of us have been sick so mnch, and have had the doctors running to ns 30 often." " Brother Taylor, the answer ia very easy. I used Hop Bitiers m time, and kept my family well, and caved largo doctor's bills. Four shillings' worth of it kept us all well and ablo to work all the time, nnd I will warrant it has cost yon and most o[ the neighbors £10 to JtloO apiece to keep Kick this game time. I fancy you'll take my medicine hereaft-er." See. — Apv. We believe that if everyone would U3e Hop Bitters freely there would bo much less sickness and misery m the world, and people are fast finding this out, whole families keeping well at a trifling cost by its nse. We advise all to try it. Head. — Adv. SYNOPSIS OF NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. R. Turnbull and Son-Will sell boots, spring cart, furniture, etc., to-morrow. Mount Peel Road Board— lnvite tenders for road Bank Holiday— Bank of New Zealand will be closed on Mth inst. Conccrts-ln Fairlie Creek Schoolroom this evening ; ScoLsburn Schoolroom on Tuesday next. Phrenology- Professor Lio Medo holds i-eances m Makikihi School to-niorrow and Monday evening. Masonic— licfiilar meeting of St. John's Lodge this evening. Re Half Holiday— Requisition to the Mayor and his reply. Land Transfer Act- Several notices. In Bankruptcy - Re B. Tooth.