Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 393, 17 August 1869, Page 2

Local and General.

4» Meetings of Creditors. — The estates in re Henry Charles Frederick Lee, Andrew "Swanson, and Frederick Back, were yesterday declared to be rested in the Provisional •trustee. Wesley an Missions. — The annual meeting •of the Lytteltou Auxiliary Society will be held in the Wesleyan Chapel, Lyttelton, • this evening. The chair will be taken, at 7 o'clock, by Mr H. R. Webb, and a report of the society will be read. Several clergymen and gentlemen hare promised to deliver ad-: dresses. Legal. — His Honor Mr Justice Gresson •sat in the Court Chambers, at eleven o'clock, this morning. Orders of adjudication were ..made in re Frederick John P. Hepworth, Egerton Ninnis, and Wm. Halsted; creditors c to meet on Wednesday, the 25th inst., at 11, I, and 2 o'clock respectively — in re Halsted -at the Assembly Rooms, Timaru. Band of Hope. — The usual fortnightly <.- meeting of the St. Alban's Band of Hope ■was held in the school-room last evening. There wa3 a large attendance of members, • and the President (Mr Moor) took the chair. "-Headings, recitations, and selections of vocal -and instrumental music were fairly given by some of the members, and well appreciated by those present. After the Doxology had . been sung, and the benediction pronounced, ■-- the meeting broke up. Temperance Entertainment. — A freeentertainment was given in the new Teinpe- '. lance Hall, Gloucester street, last night, when Mr Thompson presided, and all the available space was crowded to excess. Songs -were sung by the Temperance choir,, assisted by Messrs Tremayne and Smith, in a, very . - pleasing manner ; readings being given by Messrs Bennetts, Caygill, and the Rev L. JPowell, and a recitation by Mr St. Quentin, r jun. The audience was very , demonstrative of their appreciation of the manner in which - all these were rendered, and- the enjoyment • was at its height when the fire-bell abruptly /^terminated the proceedings. *«v Money, Weights, and Measub s or alv Tra/Mows. — Such is the title of a small work by.W. A. Browne, L.L.D., published by Stanford. The work has run through three • editions, which is a pity, because it contains several pernicious errors. For instance, in ■ the first page, we find the following foot-note, ' An explanation of the term " sterling," as applied to coin:— "The. term sterling dis--tinguishes the currency ot^Great Britain and Ireland from that of me. British colonies, and from some continental .bearing the same names." This is bad enough certainly, 'but when we are told that the moneys, •weights, and measures in use in New Zealand . are the same as those used in France, New Caledonia, the Rotumah Islands, the Mar- - quesas, &c, the learned Doctor' 3 information with regard to other countries becomes ex- . treinely doubtful. Dr Browne, we notice, is • the author of several works specially prepared for Civil Service students. " Crams," ■^•ihey would be called by those who know ■ Tfchem best. The lamentable ignorance displayed by some candidates for the Civil -Service of Britain, and the peculiarity of the information possessed by others, may be easily enough accounted for, by supposing ±hat Dr Browne's books are extensively used, and that the one we are now noticing is a ■ fair specimen of the others. : . Another Reported Gold Discovery. — 3?he local journal of Aug. 14 states: — Within N ■ the last day or two specimens of quartz have '" been brought into Timaru, supposed to con■tain a large por-eentage of the precious . metal. We have been shown some of the •best pieces, which are certainly very likely looking. Although the m.ital visible on the surface stands the test- of aqua-fortia, yet ■opinions vary considerably as to its being • gold, some asserting that it is gold beyond a • shadow of doubt, whilst others hold strongly •> to a different opinion. From certain particulars we have learnt as to the locality and 4he nature of the reef from where the quartz -came, we are inclined to think that it

does contain gold. The exact locality is 1 kept a secret by the prospectors, who are < sanguine they have hit on something good, and who at present decline to make public i their discovery. All we know is that the i reef, running north and south, is abruptly as j it were divided by a river, and the specimens - before us have been taken from the cap of 1 the reef which shows itself denuded of earth on the banks overhanging tke stream. The gravel of the river has been washed, and the men declare they find gold in nearly every pan of washdirt. If this is so, then a bona fide goldfield may shortly be opened in the district, for we are aware that the locale of the discovery is not more than a good day's ! journey from Timaru.