Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 362, 12 July 1869, Page 2

Local and General.

The Gourlays.— These public favourites re-appeared at the Town Hall on Saturday night, to a very good audience. The entertainment consisted of " Pickings from Waverley," " My Little Wifie," and " The Indian Basket Illusion." This was performed by Master Johnnie and Miss Minnie in an exceedingly clever manner, and elicited, as it deserved, loud applause. The Gourlays will appear agaiu to-night. " The Basket Illusion" will be repeated. Sudden Death.— A gardener named George Bee, residing at Merivale, died suddenly on Friday night last. He had apparently been in the enjoyment of his usual health during the day, but retired to bed a little before nine o'clock somewhat unwell. About two hours afterwards Mrs Bee noticed symptoms which alarmed her, and "went in search of aid for procuring medical assistance. She "was not many minutes absent; but, on returning, her husband was dead.

The Incoming Suez Mail. — The May Suez mail was due at Melbourne on July 8. Supposing the steamer up to time, and allowing five days for the passage across, the mail is due at Hokitika to-morrow. It will be brought by the Rangitoto. The Prospecting Company.— There are 120 names on the share list. The committee held a meeting at two o'clock this afternoon, but the proceedings were private. (The Quartz Reef.— -It was rumoured in town that a protest had been lodged with the Waste Lands Board.' against the purchase made by Mr Justice Gresson and Messrs Bowen, De Bourbel' and Reynell. Such is not the case, and we believe that no preemptive light is hciid over the land in question. We .believe ijhat a pre-emptive right iv the immediate neighbourhood of the laud has bsen challenged. are informed that a party of men, properly equipped, left Christchurch to-day, for the purpose of testing the reef. Deputation. — A deputation, consisting of Messrs W. Wilson, J. Ollivier, L. E. Nathan, 11. E. Alport, and J. A. Bird, waited on the Provincial Government, at the Provincial Secretary's office, at 1 1 o'clock, for the purpose of urging the desirability of increasing the reward for the discovery of a payable goldfield, from £200 to £1000. The deputation was received by the Deputy-Superinten-dent (Mr Murray -Ay nsley), and Messrs E. Jollie, Wynn Williams, and Hornbrook. The Government informed the deputation that the request could not be immediately complied with, but said they would undertake to recommend an increase in the vote at the next session of the Provincial Council. Run aav at. — About twelve o'clock to-day a pair of horses belonging to Mr Sutherland, grocer, bolted with a dray from near Manchester street bridge, and galloped at head long speed into Colombo street, along which they passed to Cashel street, where the dray being capsized, further progress was stopped. The driver informs us that he had shunted a load of earth on the river bank, and was locking the body of the dray, when the horses began to move off, and on his trying to seize the rains, they bolted. Fortunately, they did Hot come iv contact with anything, and it was only the speed in turning the corner near Waterloo House which caused the capsize. The dray and shaft horse were turned completely over, aud it was with the greatest difficulty that the horse was released. No injury was sustained of any importance to either horses or dray. A Ualifoknian Millionaire. — V letter from San Francisco, speaking of the richness of the White Pine mining districts of Nevada, says there is now in that city a middle-aged man, who a year since was at work by the month as a mechanic, and not worth a dollar. To-daj' he is worth at least 1,000.000 dollars in hard coin, and his income from one mine alone in White Pine is over 1600 a-day. He is investing his money in real estate in San Francisco. The other day a friend was joking him on the subject of marriage, remarking that he could vow marry any young la'ly in San Francisco, to which he replied, " Well, I knew a gal out west who was willing to marry me when I hadn't a cent, and now I'm able I'm going to marry her." Statistics of Ijankuuptcy. — The number of bankruptcies in England in the year ending the 11th of October, 1868, was 9195, an increase of 201 over the number in the preceding year. No less than 6679, or 72 per cent, were on the petition of the debtor himself; the majority of the rest were adjudications by registrars at the prisons, or on petitions in forma pauperis; and only 832, or 9 per cent, were on the petition of a creditor or on judgment debtor summons. Iv the course of the year ('ividends were paid in 1714 bankruptcies, and in 6-189 bankruptcies there was no dividend; where one paid a dividend, four paid none. In more than half the cases in which there was a dividead it was under half-a- crown. The gross produce - realised in the year from bankrupts' estates amounted to £852,039. The return here quoted does not show how much of this reached the hands of the creditors. It states the expenses of the Bankruptcy Courts at £114,215. There were in the year B')4 5 trust-deeds registered — deed 3of composition, assignment, or inspectorship ; the gross value of the estate and effects being £7,062,100, and the gross amount of unsecured debts £21,236,197. Of the 5246 which were deeds of composition, 166 were for payment of less than Is in the pound ; 733 for payment of I*, but less than 2s ; 431 for payment of 2s, but less than 2s 6d ; 687 for payment of 23 6d ; a favourite sum in these cases ; 283 were for payment of more than 2s 6d, but lees than 4s ; 263 for payment of 4s, but less than 5s ; 993 were for payment of 53, leaving leas than a third of the whole number paying more than 5s dividend on the debts compounded, amounting in the whole to more than nine millions sterling. Training Schools. — The following is from the Church News: — Homerton College, which has for the pnst twenty years supplied teachers for Congregational schools, has been admitted to the number of training schools inspected and partly supported by Government. Owing to the change of opinion which has lately taken place on the subject of education amongst Nonconformists, the subscriptions by which Homerton College was supported had considerably fallen eff, and a new financial arrangement became necessary. At several conferences on the subject, it became evident that the friends of the College and leading Congregationaliats were ready to accept Government aid, if no questions were asked in the school as to religious teaching Application was made to Government, and Mr Matthew Arnold was sent by the Education Comtuitteeof the Privy Council to inspect the school. His report must be gratifying to Congregatioaalists is general. "He commends the liberality of the Congregational Board of Education in opening the Training College to " all evangelical denominations," and expresses his opinion that in seizing this notion of Evangelical Protestantism as the basis of. the

religious character of their schools, and in guarding this, so far as they could, from being a mere unreal colourless thing, made up of vague generalities, the Congregational Board had hai the merit of conceiving a type of popular school better suited, probably to be the pubic school of the bulk of the people of this country than either the socalled National School or the Wesleyan School on the one hand, or than the British School, or, still more than the Secular School on the other. Having beard Dr Unwi-i and his assistant, Mr I/irfdeli, lecture and give lessons, he warmly testifies to the capaciL/' and skill of the teaching stall 1 of the Cbi'ege. Cuttlefish Ink — Mr Frank Buckland, who is always finding " curiosities of natural history." described lately, in " Land and Water," the capture of a fine specimen of the Calamary (Loligo Vulqaris) at ll erne Bay by an old fisherman. It was 25 inches long, and weigLel 2 lbs. <• On taking it out of t'-s'-basket in which it was sent to me," says Mr Buckhuid, " I found everything covered with a Mack fluid, as if a bottle of ink had been broken. This was the real fact, but it was not common ink, but the natural ink-bottle inside the creature that had bt'vst. I collected the ink in a basin, and Mr .-carle, my secretary, is now writing this very article with the ink from the cuttlefish. In the interior of my specimen I found a very fine specimen of the natural pen of the loligo. It is 15 inches in length, and very much resembles a swan's quill before it is prepared by the stationers. It is beautifully transparent, very delicate, and about the thickness of thin ice."