Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 161, 17 November 1868, Page 2

Local and General.

♦ Harvest. — The red rust iB said to have made its appearance in the United States, and fears are entertained as io the damage which may result to the crops in consequence. The Accident at the Encampment. — We understand that Gunner Hart, who was injured during the sham fight at the Waimakariri bridge, has continued to progress satisfactorily since his removal to the hospital, but is still unable to move about. A few friends purpose holding a meeting during the present week to arrange some kind of enters tainment in aid of the sufferer, and all voluateers are particularly requested to accord their support. Immigration. — The project has been mooted in Melbourne of establishing an association, under the name of the British Antipodean Association, for the purpose of prdmoting settlement in. Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, by establishing a line of large steamers via the Cape. It is proposed that the capital of the association should be £150,000 in 3000 shares of £50 each, and that the name of the first ship on the new line should be the Antipodean. Hag let Park Road. — In compliance with a requisition, the Mayor has convened a public meeting in the Town Hall, for tomorrow evening, to discuss the above subject. We understand that a petition against the proposed road has received about 400 signatures. The following are the names appended to the requisition for the public meeting : — John Anderson, W. Pratt, P. Sandstein, B. Button, Jas. Paton, W. A. Pearce, A. Duncan, John C. Angus, C. S. Hawell, C. C.Aikman, H. Sawtell, F. Lane, M. B. Hart, Ri Brunsden, Thos. Pearce, Edwin Burnell, L. E. Nathan, J. Rowley, H. I Bromwich, C. Prebble, R. W. Stoddart, G. Booth, T. R Fisher, J. C. St. Quentin, H. P. Cole, J. G. Ruddenklau, J W. Morton, W. Savage, F. Slee, H. L. Bowker, E Scott, Chas. River, D. Morrow, R. Packer, T. Wallace and Co., R. W. Fereday,B. Simpson, H. J. Hall, B. Petersen and Co., W. Zeesler, W. Pengelly,' J. Woodford, J. G. Hawkes, C. Martin, A. Scrimgeour, Peter Duncan, _R. Robinson, H. Brownell, G. D. Inwood, G, A. Beart.

Magisterial. — There were no criminal cases on the charge sheet at the Christchurch Magistrate's Court this morning. Agricultural. — That farmer's pest, the Cape-weed, is spreading rapidly in Australia In the neighbourhood of Melbourne it is a source of great annoyance, and it it has now appeared at Albury, where it is described as choking all other vegetation. It is supposed that it must have been introduced into that district by a few seeds having been brought thither by horses and cattle from some place where it abounds VMirage. — A remarkable miraga was lately witnessed at Dover, Englaud, whereby the dome of the Cathedral at Boulogne, France, was made distinctly visible to the naked eye, and by means of a telescope; the entrance to the port, its lighthouse, shipping, the hills surrounding the town and neighbouring farm houses, with their windows illuminated by the setting sun, were plainly distinguished. Even a locomotive and train were seen 'leaving the city and travelling towards Calais. The distance Lcom Dover to Boulogne is about thirty miles. Telegraphic. — In an article on the approaching connection of Victoria and Tasmania by means of a Submarine Telegraph, the Hobart Town Merci 1/ strongly urges the construction of a branch cable to - Swan Island, which lies in the track of the steamers running between Melbourne and the New Zealand ports. By this means the communication between those ports would be shortened by about 20 hours, in addition to which Tasmania also would be brought into much closer connection with New Zealand than has hitherto been the case. Theatre, Rotal.— Mr Bartlett will take his farewell benefit at the Theatre Royal, this evening, when Bulwer Lytton's celebrated play of " Money " will be performed, Mr Bartlett sustaining the part of Evelyn, Rnd Miss Green that of Clara. This will be followed by the trial scene " Bardell versus Pickwick," Mr Bartlett appearing a3 Buzfuz, in character. Charles Matthews' farce entitled " Cool as a Cucumber," will conclude the entertainment. Mr Bartlett's acting in Christchurch has been deservedly admired by all who have seen him. He has selected a very attractive programme for the occasion of his benefit, and apart from his deserts, such a bill ought to secure a crowded house. Rangiora Fair. — The committee appointed to make the necessary arrangements for this fair held a meeting at Barnard's Hotel on Thursday evening. Mr J. E. Brown occupied the chair. Tenders for the site and the erection of the necessary yards were then opened. The first was from Mr Wild, Masonic Hotel, Drain road, offering a piece of land near the Masonic Hotel, Drain road, for a term of seven years ; the second, from Mr W. H. Percival, offering from five to forty acres for 21 years, situated about the centre of the town, and to erect all the yards and every other accommodation required by the committee. This proposal of Mr Percival was deemed exceedingly liberal and public spirited, and it seemed to be the unanimous opinion of the committee that they would best advance the interests of the public by co-operating with Mr Percival. After that gentleman had been called in, the chairman announced to him the pleasure afforded to the committee on finding that his very generous proposal would render the inauguration of a fair comparatively easy, and that the committee had very great sa;isf action in accepting his offer, and assuring him of their heartiest support in the preliminary arrangements as well as the conduct and management of the fair. The principal stipulations agreed upon respecting schedule of chai'ges, tenure of the ground, management and authority of the committee, were drawn up by the chairman, and signed by him on behalf of the committee, and by Mr Percival. A sub-committee was appointed, at the request of Mr Percival, to confer with him as to the boundaries, locality of the site, &c. It was resolved that the first fair should be held on Jan. 7th ensuing. It was considered advisable that there should be a permanent chairman of committee, and Mr J. E. Brown was elected to that office. Volunteer General Committee. — An adjourned general meeting was held at the Criterion Hotel last night. Present : Captain Lean, (chairman) Captain Hawke 3, Cornet Slee, Sergeant-Major Urquhart, Trooper Judge, Sapper Barnes, private Maddison, and E. W. Tippetts hon. sec. The chair nan again referred to the necessity of at least one representative of each corps being present at the meetings, so that a quorum might be obtained on the proper night, instead of compelling an adjournment as had several times been tbe case. He then stated that the rent of the Hilisborough rifle range had been paid, and the target 3 are now on Mr Holmes' ground. Me Duncan had refused to accept £16 for the cow alleged to have been shot by Volunteers, and as there was no proof of the latter actually being the case, he (the chairman) had told Mr Duncan he might sue for the amount he claimed. Oue of the targets was cracked, and Mr Pavitfc had suggested that Mr Barnes should repair it, and superintend the erection of both on the new rauge, which is tbe next gully past Hilisborough, and rented at £15 par annum. The treasurer was requested to apply to No. 2 Company Rifles for the fine of £1 imposed in consequence of having failed to provide a marker at the City Council Cup firing. Sapper Barr.cs was 'authorised to attend to the targets as required. A vole of thanks was awarded to Colonel Packe for his readness in arranging the late encampment, and the excsllent manner in which it was carried out. The uce of the new range was granted to the Ri.3e Association for the 16th December, when the firing for Mrs Weld's cup-s to take place. Mr Bishop not having baen able to present . his cup on the' date originally fixed, it was arranged that he should be requested to do so at the next general parade. The meeting then adjourned.

Modern Gunnery. — Some interesting practice Aras carried on the other day at Shoeburyness with the twelve-inch muzzle loading rifled guns of twenty-three tons, firing common shell of six hundred pound weight with the ordinary charge of sixty pounds of pefwder. The gun is mounted on a wroughtiron carriage and platform, placed on a turntable in rear of a wooden structure representing an iron fort, through the portholes or embrasures of which the gun is laid and fired. The object was to ascertain how quickly -the gun could be loaded, aimed, and fired by an ordinary detachment of one officer, one noncommissioned officer, and seventeen gunners. The gun was carefully laid each round at a small target one thousand yards distant, and five rounds were fired in seven minutes and thirty-nine seconds, or at an average of one minute and thirty seconds for each round. The practice was excellent. We leave our readers to imagine what would have been the effect produced on an enemy's iron-clad had she been under the above fire with Palliser projectiles fired with battering charges. She ■would have them struck every time, and in 'less than eight minutes would have received from one gun alone the impact of 3000 lbs of iron, representing a total " energy " of 24,300 foot tons. .XA New Omxibus. — By direction of the Home Secretary a trial was recently made of a curious style of conveyance, which, from the description, would seem to be a cross between a Hansom cab or doctor's gig and an omnibus ; and an official report will soon be forthcoming. The chief peculiarity of the omnibus consists in its having only two wheels, and in being drawn by three horses attached to the coach by means of four shafts. For the purpose of preventing noise, the shafting and frame-work of the running frame are put togeiher as one piece, and are composed entirely of angle and bar iron. The carriage body rests on the top of the iron frame on four indiarubber cylindrical buffer springs, and swings entirely free of the axle ; the construction preventing the ordinary sharp rattle experienced in omnibuses, and allowing conversation to be carried on freely between the passengers. For the latter, sixteen inside and twenty outside seats are provided. These are arranged like the teeth of a saw, each presenting a corner to the one on the opposite side, so that the occupants sit at about an angle of 60° with the side of the omnibus, and are not obliged to make such extended observations of vacancy on each other's faces during a prolonged journey. The new vehicle is pronounced, as a public carriage, superior in every respect to any ' conveyance now in use. Electoral. — The following is Mr Stafford's reply to the requisition of the Timaru electors : — Gentlemen — I have much pleasure [ in complying with your request that I would allow myself to benorainated to represent theI district of Timaru in the House of Representative?. I am more especially induced to do so in consequence of the reasons on which your request is based. The local distribution of the land revenue, the local direction of public works and improvements, and the unity of the colony, have an intimate relation to each other. A system by which a fair proportion of the funds contributed by themselves would be expended by the people of the several districts, instead of by persons at a distance, whose interests may- — to cay the least — not be identical, is essential to the healthy progress of the , country, would encourage the respective communities to take au intelligent interest and to depend on themselves in matters of local concern. Irritation, caused by an undue interference of distant governing authorities not being provoked, nnd self-dependence being inculcated, a considerable cause of the discontent, and of the jealousy which now unhappily exists between different localities, would be removed, a result which would largely tend to foster a feeling of national unity throughout the colony. The action which has hitherto been taken by me in public questions has been influenced by the above considerations. It is both gratifying and encouraging to me that this action has met with the approval of the people in so important a section of the colony as the district of Timaru. — I remain, Gentlemen, your obedient servant, E. W. Stafford, WellingI ton, 10th November, 1868." Wkstland. — The County Council convened its third session on Nov. 11. In the course of his speech, Mr Bonar, the chairman said : — I wish to draw your attention to one feature in our financial position. It is very satisfactory to find that the actual receipts for the half-year have come up to within £400 of the estimated receipts. This result I consider to be most satisfactory, as it shows that notwithstanding there has been a certain drain of population, our revenue ha 9 only decreased by a comparatively small sum. The estimated receipts, -as submitted to the Ccuncil last session, were £38,025, whilst the actual receipts have been,£37,780 The West Coast Times of Nov. 12, says: — that the chairman made an able and lucid ciatement in his opening speech, explaining the change effected in the Constitution and political status of the county by the new Act, passed during the last session of the Assembly. He expressed a very reasonable hope that the question of debt would be satisfactorily settled by the reference of the subject to arbitration, and congratulated the county upon the vote of the Assembly continuing in operation for the present, the regulations defining and authorising the right of mining under certain conditions, upon lands alienated from the Crown. It was understood to be the intention of the chairman to declare the Council yesterday prorogued, with a view to its formal dissolution. The new Council must be elected in December ; and there was something not unreasonable in the suggestion that that body, having largely increased powers, and being elected on the basis of loe#h representation, should have remitted, to it "for consideration, the many important public questions that are rising to the surface.

Pastoral. — The Otago Daily Times of Nov. 16, says : — An advertisement in another column announces that, on and after Dec. 1, all sheep introduced into the province from Canterbury will require to be dipped, the place appointed for dipping being Kurow Station. Parisian Electrical Jewels. —M. Trouve has made several new and ingenious applications of electro magnetism in ornamental trinkets, so that now it is quite common to see at fashionable balls at Paris a diminutive butterfly or humming bird perched upon a lady's head, and fluttering its wings as naturally as possible. The owners of these toys carry concealed in their chignons a small battery and minute Thuinkorff coil, the former composed of zinc, excited by a solution of sulphate of mercury, the whole enclosed in vulcanite cells, so that the existing solution cannot escape to damage the owner. Tiie Waihoa Golufield. — The following letter, from a thoroughly reliable source, has been forwarded to the Timaru Herald of Nov. 14, by a gentleman who recently paid a visit to the goldfields : — " I have just returned from the Wailioa diggings, and as I promised to give you some acjuuntof them, I now take the opportunity of doing so. We went orer the Hunter's l4 ills range through a pass above Mr Dunford's (who accompanied us over) and found the poldfield (consisting o£ two parties) above Mr StuJhalme's hut on the Waihoa ; the distance from Timaru being about 3!) miles, and I think the same distance from the Wai mite. The road from Tiniaru is very good, for either foot passengers or pack horses, but quite unfit for drays. We went out with the prospectors for one day, when they washed from four to five pennyweights— between three men. The ground consists of a sort of sandstone and sand, over a slate bottom. The gold is of a very good quality, and, strange to say, is found mixed amongst the sand, and not on the bed rock, as is generally the case. 'The men now prospecting seem perfectly up to their work, all of them being Victorian diggers, and 1 have no doubt if there is any payable gold they will find it. I suppose that it would be of no use asking the Canterbury Government for any assistance in the shape of a reward for finding a payable field in the Timaru district. At present all one can say is that there is gold, but having to go thirty miles for provisions, or to get a pick pointed, I am not at all sure that under these circumstances it would pay anyone to leave other occupation to try their luck at the Waihoa goldfields,. We learn from another gentleman, who returned to Timaru on Thursday, that on Saturday afternoon last, one party of three men took out half-an-ounce of gold. There are only two parties at the head of the river but we believe there are others some miles lower down who were not seen by the writer of the letter we publish above. Without any expenditure there is a very good horse road to the field from Timaru, which is only about thirty miles distant, and not thirty-eight miles, as was formerly stated.