Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 253, 5 March 1869, Page 2

Local and General.

Benevolent Aid Society. ■ — The Secre tary of this society begs to acknowledge the sum of £7 17s tiirough the Resident Magistrate, from Mr Cole, being the balance of a disputed claim for commission "in the case of G. D. Lockhart v. L. G. Cole. The next , Outgoing Suez Mail. — The next Suez mail for Europe leaves Melbourne on March 30. The New Zealand portion of this mail will, therefore, be senfr.to Melbourne by the Alhambraj which is expected to reach Hokitika "■ on March Bor 9. Coming northabout, she will arrive at Lyttelton, say, on March 14 or 15, and depart shortly after. It win. hardly .be. safe to rely pn the next steamer j the Omeo, expected to reach the Bluff on or about March 14 or 15, from Melbourne. The Omeo can hardly make the | round of the ports and again reach Melbourne by the 30th. . Kaiapoi Church Schools. — A treat to the children attending the Day and Sunday Schools came off yesterday. The children mustered at eleven o'clock, and to the number of 120 proceeded, under the care of their teachers, to Mr Feldwick's paddock, where Mr R. Powrie had kindly erected a spacious marquee for their comfort. Here they indulged in a variety of games, football, &c, and raced for prizes so arranged that nearly every one carried off {a prize, and so all were satisfied. A capital entertainment, consisting of tea, cake, and fruit, was provided by Mesdames Willock, Gow, Mathews, and other ladies; :i.*> this the juveniles did full justice, and .broke up at about 7 p.m., highly BatJßfl«4 wittx their day's pleasure.

Bankruptcy. — A infeetftsg" of creditors in the estate bfvGharles Fisher Hallam was to have been held" 'at the Registrar's chambers, at i eleven.. o'clock, yesterday, but was adjourned, through non-attendance, until Thursday ngxt, at the same^hour. Mr. Bamford is solicitor for the:bankrupt. The liabilities in this estate are; estimated at £223 7s 9d, and the assets at. £78 3s 4£d deficiency, £145 4s4jdy - _•; ' ' Reception op H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh in the North. — It was arranged to hold a meeting after the Northern Agricultural and Pastoral Association's meeting at~Kaiapoi yesterday, on this subject. A few gentlemen assembled, and after some discussion, the representatives of the Rangiora and Eaiapoi Reception Committees agreed that their respective committees should meet at the Pier Hotel, on Saturday next, to appoint delegates to attend the public meeting convened in Christchurch by his Honor the Superintendent. Volunteer . General Committee. — A special general meeting was held at the Criterion Hotel, last night. Present — Captain Lean (in the chair), Capt. Hawkes, Cornet Slee, Sergt.-Major Hawley, Sergeant Brass, Sergeant Stedman, Corporal Gulliver, Private Hebden, and Mr Tippetts, hon. sec. A lengthened discussion ensued respecting the new rifle range and its cost. The accounts for it were ultimately passed, but the funds being inadequate to the demand, and the financial affairs of the committee being generally unsatisfactory, it was resolved, on the motion of Private Hebden, to hold an entertainment in the Drill-shed, at an early date, with a view to obviating the difficulty. Major Wilson, Capts.Lean and Hawkes, Lieuts. Packer, Stansell, and Giraud, E. W. Seager, and Mr Tippetts, were appointed as a committee to conduct the preliminary arrangements, and it was agreed to hold the first meeting on Wednesday next, at four p.m. The Royal Visit. — A meeting was held at the City Council Chambers at 4 p.m. yesterday in reference to the anticipated visit to the province of his Royal Highness the Duke | of, Edinburgh. His Worship the Mayor oc- [ cupied the chair, and the others present were ! Councillors Duncan, Jameson, Tombs, Angus, and Calvert; Messrs George Gould, Wynn Williams, W. H. Lane, J. C. Wilson, C.8., Joseph Palmer, J. Studholme, J; S. Williams, Inghs, Rhodes* Hassal, G. Gordon, and J. G. Hawkes. The Mayor said the principal reason the Council had for calling the present meeting was, to ask those in attendance to be kind enough to. assist them in carrying out the object in view, in connection with his Royal Highness' visit, to Canterbury — to ! obtain their advice as to what sort of reception should be provided for the Prince on his arrival at Christchurchv— whether they should entertain him at a dejeuner or a dinner. There would, of course, be a procession from the Railway Station, but the question to be decided was, whether there should be a dejeuner or a dinner, and on what day. it should take place, as it was understood that his Royal Highness' visit would extend to three days only. Those present were aware that a public meeting had been called for Tuesday next by his Honor the Superintendent, and in connection with this, he would like to say that the Superintendent was not acting in any way antagonistic to the Council ; they were acting together. It was. suggested, before that the Council should call a public meeting. They did not think it necessary to do so, but the Superintendent had called a public meeting since, and the Council quite concurred in the step which his Honor had taken. Mr J. C. Wilson suggested whether it would not be inadvisable for the meeting to arrive at any decision until they ascertained what should be done at the ; public meeting on Tuesday next. The Mayor said that the public meeting would be different from this one altogether. It was to be a meeting of the inhabitants of the province. This was purely a city affair ; after the reception and dejeuner, the City Council would be discharged from any further responsibility in connection with the Duke's visit. Mr Wynn Williams asked how the dejeuner was to be paid for. The Mayor replied, by ticket, at a guinea each. Mr Lane thought it would' be better to appoint a sub-committee to find out what number the Town Hall would comfortably hold, and what amount the dejeuner would be supplied for. If it were now decided that the tickets should be a guinea each, it might be afterwards found that the amount was insufficient to cover expenses. Councillor Jameson thought the meeting might reckon on 250 being present. Mr Gould thought it would be better if the reception merely were left to the Council, and the entertainment made a provincial one. As ; it was proposed to get it up by tickets, it would be unfair for the City Council to call it an entertainment given by them. He had been spoken to by several on the subject. The Mayor said it would be an entertainment given by the citizens. Mr W. Wilson said he would support the course proposed by the City Council, to make the entertainment as one given : by the citizens. The expression of opinion at a public meeting at the Town Hall would not be the opinion of the people of the province, but that of a few of the citizens of Christchurch only. To obtain an expression of the opinion of the people of the province, his Honor would have to call meetings at Lyttelton, Kaiapoi, . Timaru, and other places. After some discussion y it was decided, on the motion of Councillor Duncan, seconded by Mr Inglis, that the price of tickets to the dfjeuner should be one guinea each. It was also decided that ladies should be admitted at the same price. Mr W. Williams moved, "That the following gentlemen be appointed as a sub-committee to act in conjunction with the Reception Committee of the City Council •. — Messrs Hassal, Hawkes, W. Wilson, Inglis, Gilchrist, W. L. Hawkins, and Palmer." . The motion was agreed to. It was decided that the dejeuner should be given on the day of the Prince's ; arrival in Christchurch. A vote of thanks to the Mayor terminated the proceedings.

Theatre RoYAi/.-^-Last "night " The Jacobite," "A Kiss in therDark," and "The Secret " were produced for the benefit of Mr J. G. Joyce. The attendance was onlylimited, much more so than we had anticipated for such an old favourite. All the pieces passed off successfully. Mr Simmonds makes a similar appeal this evening, and having proved himself a careful actor of no mean ability, he certainly deserves well at the hands of the public. A good bill is offered. XHovr Taran>ki has been Populated.— (lie Herald says : — ''our attention has been called to the fact that several families who immigrated to this province some twentyfive years since, have considerably assisted in populating Taranaki. One family (the Jate Mr Veale's) consists of 106 souls — 9 children. 57 grand-ehildren,and 38 great-grand children — who are all in a good state of health. Mr S. Julian's family consists of 109 (including children, grand-children, and great-grand-children). Mr Loreman's, 66 ;. and Mr. Old's. 87. The four families number altogether 381 souls. We were reading a short time since an amusing incident that occurred at a pic-nic held at Guildford, winch these prolific families remind; us of .- 'A man, his wife, and a great number of children, were walking about the grounds, and they were taken for a procession of school children, headed by their teachers, and received a great deal of civility, buns, and fruit, until it was discovered that they were one family." Here, however, it would be on a larger scale, each three or four families forming a little settlement of itself." Political Pedlars. — The New Zealand Advertiser of a recent date says : — The pedlars will, if we mistake not, soon be at work again, and the table of the House will soon bear evidence of their industry. The number of petitions presented last year was very large, and the number of signatures to those petitions larger still, but we fully expect that the petitions whicu will be presented this year, urging the same request, will be more numerous and more numerously signed than those of last year. Already we hear that? Wairarapa is stirring in this direction, and we are assured by the .local journal that the conduct of the Provincial Government since -last session has effectually silenced the opposition which last year took the form of a petition against the constitution of a county. Thisis only what we confidently expected,, but we were scarcely prepared to see a Provincial Government set up in the trade of political peddling. We . do wonder what Mr Wm. Fox will say to the announcement made recently by the Superintendent of ■■> Marlborough, and loudly applauded by a crowded political meeting, that Provincialism in that province was a dead failure, that it could no longer be carried on, and that at the next sitting of the Provincial Legislature, ho intended to invite its attention to the necessity of petitioning the. Assembly to grant them a simpler nnd cheaper form of government. This is an example which is almost sure to be followed in the various outlying districts of the colony, and if the opposition tactics of last session are repeated this session and prove as successful, there is the consolation of knowing that a general election is approaching, and that the real voice of the country will soon have an opportunity of making itself heard. We do .'.not envy the feelings of some of the country members, when they come before their constituents to seek reelection. Awkward questions as to their conduct in regard to petitions from those districts will be asked, and will have to be answered. The Alleged Fenian Conspiracy. — Regarding the above, the Government paper of Feb. 24 says : — Of -all -the extraordinary developments of Fenianism the. latest is the most extraordinary. It was madness to think of erecting Ireland into a Republic, it was madness to attempt to rescue the Manchester prisoners, it was madness to try and blow up Clerkenwell gaol, and it was wicked madness to attempt to assassinate the Duke of Edinburgh, but none of these acts were so mad, as the idea of forming an alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Hauhaus. Yet such is the latest development of the Fenian madness. The Auckland papers state that certain persons connected with an organization on the goll-fields there have called the attention of the Hauhau proprietors of the Upper Thames district, to the important facts that they are a different people from the rest of the English nation, and cherish a hatred to the English throne, and in proof of this assertion have stated that it was one of their number who shot the Queen's son. As a further proof of sincerity they have, it is said, sent up money to the Maori King — and have requested that an alliance should be formed between them and the Hauhaus, and that thereupon only such persons as they authorised should be allowed to dig, while, on the other hand, they would assist the Hauhaus in keeping out all other Europeans. . Such statements as these would be regarded as the luxuriant products of the vivid imagination of some experienced Canard manufacturer, if there was no official evidence that those who are in the best position to know the truth place reliance in them, and have taken , official action upon them. Mr Mackay, the Native Commissioner, is evidently couvinced of the existence of a treasonable conspiracy of the kind, and he has publicly stated that he knows the names of those concerned in it. and he has regarded the matter hb being sufficiently serious to warrant his taking the action indicated in au official notice. In the face of such action by the highest government officer on the spot, and that officer one of Mr Muckay's high standing, experience, and known ability — it is impossible to regard the alleged conspiracy as being without some foundation, but after the lengths to which Fenian madness can go, as shewn by tb> Sydney outrage, it is impossible that the present matter can be left without strict investigation. If that investigation proves any white men to have been guilty of such practices at* those alleged, no penalty that the law can inflict will be too great for the crime.

Harewood Road. — A number, of Bcßpfcaral and other views, lately imported, .were exhibited by Mr Seager, at the Harewood Road School, on Tuesday evening, to a large and highly delighted audience. The majority of the views were of a deeply interesting character. Several fine specimens of sculpture by the best masters were also displayed, as well as a few calculated to provoke the hilarity of the younger members of the community. At the conclusion, the company unanimously expressed their appreciation of Mr Seager's kind endeavours to instruct and amuse them. Provincial Institutions.— The Government paper says : — One by one the Provincial organizations are dying of starvation, nor is there a chance, whatever may be the future of the colony, that the bulk of them can long survive without great modifications in the constitution. , We shall shortly have a large addition of disposable political activity wanting an object. It is not to be supposed that the Superintendents, Provincial Secretaries, and others of nine or ten provinces will sink quietly to rest and be no more heard of. They, by the law of their nature, must have their political ■ food— and their food will be political change. We look with neither melancholy nor exultant eyes on the signs to which we are referring. One thing only we should grieve over, if the changes caught us all slumbering and drifting, and unprepared by thought when the day comes to act. Y'l'hb Picton and Blenheim Railway, / aßd Mr Wrey. — Some three years ago Mr Long Wrey induced the Government of Marlborough to advance him £1000 with which to p.oceed to England, where.he undertook to get parties within a year of his arrival to undertake to construct a railway between Picton and Blenheim. The terms of the arrangement were, that should Mr Wrey succeed, the ; £ 1000 was to' be considered as a bonus to him for his labour, while if he failed the money was to be returned, the Marlborough authorities taking a mortgage over sundry property of Mr Wrey's to secure itself against loss. Mr Wrey having from various causes failed in what he undertook to get done, and not having reimbursed the Marlborough Government, which stands greatly in need of funds, the latter foreclosed its mortgage, and the various properties were disposed of by auction on Thursday last, when the whole netted only £135 15y The following were the properties sold and the prices realized :— Lot 1, about 180 acres, district of Upper Motueka, £80 ; lot 2, about 5 acres, section 98, A., on square 6, of the Province, of Nelson, £5 ss ; lot 3, about 8 acres, district of Motueka Valley, £6 ; Lit 4, about 24 acres, district of Upper Maitai, £10 10s ; lot 5, about 94 acres, district of Maitai, £18 ; lot 6, about 72 acres, district of Maitai, £16.