HUNT CLUB.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 3220, 26 March 1900, Page 3

HUNT CLUB.

The annual meeting of the South Canterbury Hunt Club was held at the Empire hotel on Saturday. Mr A. 8. Elworthy presided, and there was a fair attendance. The report and balance-sheet showed that the receipts amounted to £241 17s Id, and expenditure £239 9s lid, leaving a balance of £2 7s 3d. The revenue from members' subscriptions was £111 11s, and from subscribers £49 5s 6d, The steeplechase meeting held at Holme Station just paid for itself, the expenditure, £1 19s 6s, exhausting the receipts. The report and balance sheet were adopted, on the motion of Messrs Higginbotham and Morris. Mr Elworthy said that as Dr Thomas, the club's secretary, had been appointed to the Fifth Contingent, the club would lose his services. He had always been most enthusiastic about his work, and the chairman was sure they would all regret losing him. He proposed that a letter of thanks be sent to Dr Thomas for services so ably rendered to the club. Mr Higginbotham seconded the motion, endorsing the chairman's remarks, and wishing Dr Thomas every success in his labours in South Africa. The motion was carried unanimously . The election of officers resulted as follows : —Master, Mr A. 8. Elworthy (reelected) ; committee, Messrs Jones, Jamieson, Mee, Rutherford, Bassett, Rhodes, Barker, Robertson, Simmons, Drew, Higginbotham, Morris, Gray, Rutherford, and Maze ; treasurer, Mr D. Robertson ; secretary, Mr M. Gray. Mr Robertson to act as secretary pro tern. It was resolved, after considerable discussion, that the opening meet be held on Thursday, 12th April, at the Kennels. A meet will also be held at. Fairlie Creek on Good Friday. A letter was received from Mr D. Hall, enclosing copies of resolutions passed at a conference of hunt club delegates held at Christchurch on November Ist, 1899, bearing on the qualification of hunters ; inviting the club to affiliate with the Association. It was decided to affiliate to the association, and the appointment of a delegate was left to the committee. One guinea was voted to the Christchurch Hunt Club to defray expenses incurred by that club on behalf of the South Canterbury Runt Club in connection with the recent conference. A remarkable swimming feat is reported from Samoa. While the s.s. Nlanapouri was collecting cargo among the group one of the native labourers carried by the vessel fell overboard. The natives sleep on deck, and it is supposed that he was rolled off into the sea early in the morning, The occurrence was not noticed till daylight, and it was then supposed that the man had been drowned. However, when the s.s. Hauroto was off Manono Island, her officers were informed that the man had reached the island after two days' swimming, and that his leg and arm were "sick," having been affected by cramp. The Victorian Cabinet has decided to grant to Mr Robert Russell, the surveyor who laid out the City of Melbourne, an allowance of 30s. per week for himself and wife, and £1 per week to the survivor. Mr Russell who is very old and feeble, has long been in a destitute condition. An extraordinary occurrence is reported from Broughton Astly, Leicestershire. Just as the congregation were assembling for special intercession services fer the soldiers in South africa, a fox, which was hard pressed.entered the church. Quickly following, the Atherstone hounds dashed into the sacred edifice, and despatched the fox. A youthful son of an accountant of the Castlemaine branch, of the Bank of Victoria, who went out shooting rabbits had the misfortune to lodge a charge of shot from the horse pistol ho was using in his left foot. When found he wSs deliberately picking the pellets out of his foot with a pooket knife. One small boy at aNorthampton Board school has kept the Board of Agriculture busy, very much as Indian civilian kept a department on the run for unnecessary information about pig. He saw a notice in the correspondence column of a boys' newspaper that the Board would willingly send pamphlets on insect pests to anyone who applied. He applied. The Board sent him a nice fat envelope addressed to Henry Robinson, Esq., officially signed and with O. H.M.S. on the front. He was much pleased, and told his envious schoolfellows how ho obtained such a prize. . Then it was only a qxiestionof getting a penny stamp for all the schoolboys in Northampton to request information concerning insect pests. The Board of Agriculture naving strained its resources to the utmost in addressing and licking envelopes, have sent dovvn a special emissary to Northampton to investigate the curious plague that was devastating the district,