TOWN & COUNTRY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LX, Issue 2264, 9 December 1896, Page 2

TOWN & COUNTRY.

5 The banks m Timaru keep holiday on . the 16th inst., Anniversary Day. i Members of the C Battery, N.Z.A., j are reminded that two trophies will be i fired for to-morrow afternoon. Shooting ' commences at 3.30 p.m. and 5.30 pjn. } In consequence of the installation of I the officers of St. John's Lodge the brethern of Lodge Caledonian are called ' together to-day at 7.30 p.m. so as to en- * able them to get through their work and leave the hall clear for the installation * on Thursday. The brethern will meet - at 5 p.m. on the 10th for a few minutes and then adjourn. It is with pleasure we note that the , public are to have a short visit from the ' prince of piano merchants, Mr J. A. XL Reidle, of the Dresden Piano Company, p who for one week only, from Thursday, . 10th inst., will hold a sale of pianos and . organs at imported cash prices, or on r terms, at the agents' premises, P. W. _ Hutton and Co.— [Advt.] I The annual concerts will be heldat ' the Timaru South School to-morrow and 1 Friday evening, and the proceeds will | go m aid of the prize fund. An excellent * programme has been arranged ; the first 1 part to consist of songs, choruses, dialogues and recitations, and the second part of the kinderspeil "A Christmas | Dream," all to be gone through by the pupils. They have taken a very lively and enthusiastic interests m the con- ' certs, and deserve to be rewarded with '. large audiences. l The installation of the Master of St. * John's Masonic Lodge,. No. 1137, $.C, takes place at the lodge room, Church . street, to-morrow evening. The cere- . mony will be performed by the officers . of the District Grand Lodge and the Past ' Master of St. John's. A number of visitors , is expected from Christchurch, AshburI ton, Winchester, Waimate, etc., and we ' are requested particularly to remind the I brethren that the gavil will fall an hour I earlier than usual, namely, at 7 p.m. ' Mr B. F. Paul, who had been account--1 ant at the Timaru branch of the National ' Bank for the past five years, left for Kurow yesterday morning to take up his duties as manager of the branch there.. 1 During Mr Paul's stay here he had made [ many friends, and was well liked by the customers of the bank, all of whom, we are sure, join with his friends m con- , gratulations at his promotion. Mr Paul will be much missed 'by the Terrace | Tennis Club, for he was one of their . most enthusiastic members, and a | capable and courteous honorary secretary. The club before his departure presented him with a silver cigarette case, as a small reminder of the years * he had spent among them, Mr D. i Stewart, on behalf of the subscribers, i making the presentation m a graceful ; manner.

Thesteamer Wakatipu arrived at the Bluff from Melbourne and Hobart, yes- i terday morning at 6 o'clock. The matriculation examination commenced yesterday m the Assembly Rooms. There are 22 candidates and the Rev W. Gillies is supervisor. To those who have a weakness for the very choicest of dress materials we- would advise them to see a special line of fancy and shot costume cloths, which Davies and Murphy have eecured at an enormous reduction, and are selling today at Is 6d yd double-width.— [Advt.] The Hon, W. Rolleston returned to Temuka on Monday on his way to his home. He received a warm welcome and many congratulations upon the success of himself and the party he represents. The Rev L. M. Isitt is a visitor at Temuka, whither he has come, to recruit aftei the strain of the late eleotion. He is an ardent angler, and means to put m a good deal of "time on the river. The shingle has advanced beside the breakwater to marks further out than, we have ever recorded before. Iv the winter of 1895 the bank crossed the parapet 'shelf at 1060 feet, the bank running out .along the work more than usual, and it was soon driven a good way: back. Yesterday that mark was at 1065 ft, with a heavier bank southward. The break of a very light surf at low tide was at 1170 ft. It is rumoured, says the Oamaru Mail, that the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, having come to the conclusion that, as a result of the Liberal victory f the Totara Estate will be taken under tbe compulsory clauses of the i * Land for Settlements Act, will throw 1 tlie estate m the market for sale -with little delay. The reason assigned for thia is a hope that by forestalling the ] Government a higher price would be ob. tamed for the land at auction than the ; Compensation Court would award. In our local yesterday, giving the numbers who voted for the several pro- , posalsin the local option poll m the • Borough and suburban booths, a misprint '. somehow occurred. The numbers given . were 1464—1220—1880, which gave a , three-fifths majority on the total votes m tbe same booths. The numbers should have been 1464—1220—1180, or 162 short of a bare majority, for prohibition. We are informed that an official re-coUnt of the votes m the local option poll discloses some blunders on the part o f deputy returning officers, which will alter the totals, but not to any practical extent. The December numbc-r of our Dunedin contemporary the triad is specially well got up as a Christmas number, with a number of photo-print portraits of Maori chieftains, and a loose well-printed sheet of other Maori photographs with .views Of native villages, houses, 'canoes, etc., making a good ChristmasaOuvenir; The number contains the usual quantity of breezy chat about Music, Science and Art. and is a wonderfully cheap threepennyworth. The particulars of the new £10 competition appear m another column; also particulars of a drawing and writing prize offered by the paper. Mr O. N. Raeyertz, L. Mus. L.0.M., is at preaent m Timaru, arranging for a local edition of the Triad here. . Tales of the sea are always popular with the British public, and the colonially born and reared share this taste. One of the latest additions to this class of literature ; " What Cheer" by Clark Russell (Cassell and Co., publishers), should obtain a ready sale. Lovers of the sensational and tragic will find their tastes fully catered for ih this volume, for m one chapter they will be introduced to a mutiny on one ship, the sinking of another, and the total destruction by fire of a third. Apart from this feature, the reader will find much that is instructive about life at eea, such as the handling of a ship ma gale, the grievances of the men before the mast, and the trials and troubles of the man m command. A Mr Andrews, of Christchurch, set bis house on fire on Monday by foolishly calling for a light to discover the cause of a strong smell bf gas m a bedroom. Mrs Andrews brought a candle, and an explosion at once followed, setting fire to the bedding, blinds and curtains, and injuring Mr Andrews about the hands and head. The force of the explosion was felt m every room, and m the kitchen several articles were thrown off the mantelpiece. The bouse would have been burned down had it not been plastered, and as it was £30 worth of damage was done. Householders should remember that gas escapes should be sought for without a light, and after opening all doors and windows m the vicinity. It does not hurt a room to have it full of gas for a while. The quarterly meeting of tlie Pareora Licensing Committee was held at the Courthouse, Temuka, on Monday. Present Messrs C. A. Wray, S.M. (chairman), I. L. Morris, M. Quinn, A. Mcc, and D. Stowell. The police report was favourable, except m respect of the Burkes Pass Hotel, where promised repairs had not been effected. It was resolved that the clerk notify ithe licensee and the mortgagee that unless the house is properly repaired the committee will, at its next quarterly meeting, consider what steps must be taken m the matter. Transfers were granted from John Adamson to Alex. Rosa, the Hermitage, Mount Cook ; Mary Farrell, to Timothy Cronin, Winchester Hotel; and Timothy Twomey to Thomas Driscoll, Albury Hotel. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the meeting. A correspondent of the Triad falla foul of Dr Gordon Saunders, Trinity College examiner m music x and his sweeping condemnation of the music teachers of New Zealand. He says that m all New Zealand Dr Saunders examined no more pupils than are to be found m any one of our small town m various stages of musical incubation, so that he had very insufficient material to base such a judgment upon. He falls foul also of Trinity College for issuing certificates for low grades of attainment, as well as for higher, and persons are to be found practising as teachers under the qualifications assured by the lower, people m the colonies not knowing the difference. The correspondent is* prettily satirical too upon our musical pupils. He says : — " Had Dr Saunders confined himself to criticising those coming before him, no fault could have been found m a country where to be born a girl is synonomous with musical talent ; where every cottage is incompletely furnished without a piano,"

The entries for the Timarn Tourists Cycling Club Sports closed on Saturday, 13 competitors from Christchurch being among the number, and 3 from.Ashburton. The local riders also number well. Special prizes for novelty races are being given by the President, Mr C. K. Mere-dith-Kaye, and Messrs J. Gibson and Co.; special prizes are also being given by Dr Reid for the most points gained m roadster and racing events by local riders. Messra C. W. Wood and Co. donate a special lap prize, A considerable amount of dissatisfaction was expressed yesterday at the wool sales by both auctioneers and buyers, at the conduct of the farmers m persistently talking and interrupting the business. Again and again had they to be called to order without effect. The buyers especially were very indignant, as they say Timaru i« the only town: m New Zealand m which such a thing occurs. Unless it is put a stop to m the near future they intend asking the brokers to exclude the farmers from the. saleroom. It is a pity our farmer friends cannot see that it is to', their interests tq make things as smooth as possible for the buyers. The official, declaration of the Result of the polling for the Timaru election, is being delayed to .await the receipt by post of an "elector's right " which was used by the holder at Wairau. A telegram came on election day that the vote had been exercised there, but it did not state for whom the vote was given. Three of these rights were issued at Timaru. One of them was voted on m the south. Thes third has not been i heard of. and probably was not used. The Art- Society's exhibition was well patronised yesterday, the visitors m the evening being numerous. An excellent promenade concert was given and very much enjoyed. Owing to the Leiderfcafel entertainment m the Theatre Royal to-night, there will be ho concert at the art exhibition. The management have, we are informed, decided to throw the exhibition open to the children of the Timaru schools on Saturday at a charge of 3d each, and have issued circulars to committees and teachers accordingly. A very large number of people visited Messrs Glasson and Cos. rooms yesterday to have a look over the display of Japanese goods which make an excellent and interesting exhibition. The shipment is the largest and best that Messrs Kanamatsu and Co.; of Kobe, have sent along, and as there are no reserves, the auctioneers will quit all lines to the highest bidders.:' There are several very choice lines, the gems among them being the Cloisonne ware, the embroidered screens (on Arima cloth worked m velvet and satin), the bamboo ware brackets, canterburys, and lovely small fire screens, -and afternoon tea tables?, and -choice afternoon China tea sets (the frosted tracing and floral ornamentation being exquisite). The picnic, cake and flower baskets are exceedingly good; handkerchief and glove boxes are veiy pretty, and the antimony censers, trays, etc., are of the choicest kind. The carpets, squares aud rugs, are of good design and beautifully finished, and the Bishu flower pots are m nests, which will be disposed of aaa whole or m sizes to suit various buyers. Lacquer boxes for cards, stationery, and work are numerous and good, and horn card trays are of upique patterns, and splendidly ornamented. The blinds, drapings of various patterns, are just the articles needed for the summer, and young people will find a collection of the funniest dolls ever seen inTimaru. The shipment has come to hand at an opportune time, for there are lines to suit all purses, and the whole collection should meet with good . competition. The sale will start at 1.30 this afternoon, and will be continued on Thursday if necessary. The monthly meeting of the Temuka School Committee was held on Monday evening. Present —A. Russell (chairman), F. Hooper, M. Scannell, 0. Bates, and G. Levens. The headmaster reported that the attendance had been very good for the past few weeks. He had not received the inspector's report but out of 267 children presented 19 had failed. Of these 14 were m the 4fch standard. He stated that Since Miss McLeod had ha J sole charge of the 4th standard she had done very good work. One hundred children were entitled to prizes for good attendance during the year. Correspondence was received from the Education Board notifying payment to the credit Of committee, of the sum of £3 lis 6d for curtains dividing the infant room. From Miss Marion McCaskill applying for leave of absence to attend examinations m Timaru,— Agreed to. It was resolved that the headmaster ' and staff be empowered to purchase prizes to the amount of £16 of which £2 are to be devoted to sewing pi izes. It was resolved to close the school for six weeks from the 18th December. It was agreed to invite Mr Flatman, M.H.R., to distribute prizes on Friday, Dec. 18th, and the secretaiy was instructed to arrange for three ladies to act as judges of sewing. Accounts to the amount of £7 4s 7d were passed for payment, and the meeting terminated. SYNOPSIS OF NEW ADVEIiTISEMENTS. Glasson and, Co.— Large sale of carpets, rags, etc, on Friday. 7 Guinness and LeCren— St. Andrew's sale on 11th iust. ■.••.-. New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co.— Rangitata sale on 10th inst. St. John's' Lodge — Installation to-morrow evening. South School— Concerts on Thursday and Friday next; -. • ' G. G. Bridges — Land Transfer Act notice. Lodge Caledonian — Emergency meeting this evening. Kernohan, McCahou and Co.— Full particulars of Xmas and New Year gooda. ■ ' " The Triad "—Details ot prize competition. Bank holiday— ln Timaru on 16th inst. J. Storrier— Haß found collie pup ; notice to owner. Wanteds — Two notices.