Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 246, 25 February 1869, Page 2

Local and General.

Bishop Jenne__ -From our files of Otago papers we learn that Bishop Jenner is making a tour through the> outlying districts of that province. He has- addressed several meetings, and seems to have been very cordially.received; .•*' " ; ■-"■ ■* - Joußj?4f.ißXtp^W* : ; have -to acknowledge the receipt of full files of the Daily Telegraph, a new penny morning paper, recently started In Melbourne. Our' new contemporary is very creditably got up, and will, no doubt fulfil its mission satisfactorily. Requisition:— We underatand that a requisition, signed by most of the principal inhabitants of lyttelton, has i been fpr\j*arded to Mr J. D. Macpnerson, asking him to come forward as a candidate to represent the town Sn the Provincial Conncil'at;, the ensuing election. ' " Aquatics.— A race between the heavy •weights and light weights of the Railway Rowing Club is likely to come off on Saturday, after the christening of' their new boat. If the heavy weights we observed doing a little practice yesterday evening, are the gentlemen likely to ■ compete, we advise them to make the most of their time if they expect to lead the very lightest of light ■freights. Yield of Wheat. — It has been generally taken for granted — too readily we think — that the yield of wheat will he very low. f We are glad to say that reports, from several *» districts are of a more cheering character. We are informed that Mr Bailey, of Templeton, has threshed out-at -the. rate of 52 bushels to the acre, from a paddock near the railway station.. We have also heard of another case in which 42 bushels per acre were threshed out. yf NET OOL>-Those who take an interest in pasp**toral pursuits, and especially, in the question of short- versus long- woolled sheep, will do well to pay; a visit to Mr Grigg's office, in Matson's Buildings, Cathedral Square. They •trill haye an opportunity of examining a Leicester fleece and skin, which, cleaned and tanned, weighs 12ilbs. The wool is from 17 to 18 inches long. We notice that a few rams from Mr Grigg.'s flock are to be let at auction by Messrs. H. Matson and Co., at Tehalswell Farm, on. March 11. Theatre Royal. — Last night's performances were for the joint benefit of Miss Cassy Mathews and Miss Jenny Nye, when there was a good attendance. The curtain rose to / the comic drama " Better late than never." Yin which the acting of the beneficiaires and Messrs Roberts and Joyce was highly appreciated. "Did. you ever send your wife to Camberwell?" was the second piece. The farce is a most amusing one, but some of the imported allusions were hardly such as we «xpect to hear in' a well-conducted theatre. The performances were brought to a close by sa extravaganza entitled " The Marble Bride." V" * Kowai Pass Races.— The follow^ are *» the entries for these races, which come off on March 2 .-—For , the open hurdle race, Mr Murphy's Merrimac, Mr Middleton's Albatross. For the district hur lie race, Mr WatAJson's Shamrock,, Mr Williamson's Maggie, N^Mr Maxwell's Discount. The Maiden Plate, / x Mr Brabazon's filly by Camden — Deception, Mr Mossman's Polly, Mr Maxwell's Sunbeam, and Mr Farrell's Homebush Pet. The Malvern Stakes, Mr Moneys Tiverton, Mr Delaznain's Patch, Mr Maxwell's Nugget. Eowai Pass Cup. Mr Brabazon's filly by Camden —Deception, Mr Middleton's gr. g. Albatross, Mr Maxwell's Nivrljet, Mr Maxwell's Sunbeam.

Panama Mail.— The steamer Wellington did not leave Wellington juntil JL o'clock, this afternoon, with the ra||K_ j^jp', *do not know the cause of the deteritiioS-lbiitVe^have no doubt the publictwfll expec^f' an explanation. The VVellingfon is expected -to. at Lytteljton_at 9^_,in>.itQ-n_orrow_ . ■..y..' .'; ': P RiN j 9E^LPßEio.^^infl_u^t^lly attended njeetin^^as held injtjue C^_y;Council Chambers yes^raay,afternQgn, tQ "discuss measures for prating, a. fitting .rece#t_Qtf^for_i&ißJL '¥pnce:slgsu but the business -was conducted priyately, and no reporters were allowed to be present. Theatrical.— Miss Cleveland, who introduced the Christchurch *>üblic to the famous drama of ancLwho played, here with great success, took" a^farewell benefit at the Melbourne Theatre Royal ; on Feb. 12. In thanking the audience — a very large one— - Miss Cleveland announced her intention of making a tour of the neighbouring colonies. Congregational Church. — The fifth annual Soiree in connection with this church, was held in the Town Hall last night, and was attended with most gratifying success. Tea was partaken of at six o'clock by upwards of 350 persons, and at the meeting afterwards held, there were fully twice that number, all the seats being occupied. The Rev. W. J. Habens, Pastor of the Church, presided, and the speeches were very agreeably ; interspersed with duets and solos by Mr .Jones, tviolin, and Mrs Long, pianoforte. The chairman, having opened the proceedings by singing and prayer, expressed his satisfaction at the favourable comparison which the meeting held with those of previous years, and showed the interest taken in the Church was by no means diminishing. He apologised for the absence of several ministers of other denominations, who had been unexpectedly prevented from attending, and then proceeded to give an outline of the Church proceedings during the past year. He noted an increase of 17 communicants, • making altogether; 129 since the establishment of. the church) and the general attendance at service had al^o proportionately improved. Of the communicantSi 74 were practically so, being resident in ( hristchurch ; but 40, although regarded as actually belonging to the Church, resided some distance away and could not attend. In financial matters, he. could fortunately report with similar satisfaction, but there was still room for improvement, which it was to be hoped would be • made. There was a time when the Church was every week going more and more to the bad in thia respect, the receipts being insufficient to pay interest on the building debt, much less to reduce the latter itself. Last year was commenced in that manner, and continued ior upwards of five months. Then, however, a determination was made to remedy it in some way, and the result was that they had managed to pay the interest, if not actually reduce the debt. The balance-sheet showed that during the year the total receipts had been £630 9s sd, being £2\ 5s 2d for the communion fund, £28 Os 3d for gas, and £381 4s for ordinary expenses and the building f nnd, ,. . The expenditure . .for the same period had been— communion, £17 1 6s 8d V gas, £28 Os 3d|; and ordinary expenses, &c, £61238 8d; total, £658 25 7 d; or an excessover income of nearly £28. This, however, must be placed to the account of the losses sustained during the first five months, which were in reality much larger than that sum. The subsequent seven months cleared off some of those arrears to a certain extent, and much extra support had been awarded of late, but he must still remind them tbat more subscriptions were required. Mr Habens concluded by impressing upon the meeting the necessity of making some sacrifices to further such an object. The Revds M. Baxter, L. Moore, R. Bavin, and Messrs Twentyman, Jameson, Mannering, Farr, J. D. Maepherson, and Dr Foster then addressed the meeting in succession, dwelling chiefly on the satisfactory success of the church and the necessity of Christian unity. A vote of thanks to the ladies who provided the tea, the musicians, and the chairman, followed by the singing of the doxology, the proceedings.