Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 570, 18 March 1870, Page 2

Local and General.

The Art Exhibition. — The attendance yesterday was well up to the average. -^Earthquake. — A smart shock of earthsEtke was experienced in Christchurch last night, about 28 minutes post eleven o'clock. The Bhock appeared to be from N.E. to S.W. Thb Govebnment Annuities Act. — In the New Zealand Gazette of March 7 it is notified that James S. Turnbull, Esq., M.D., has been appointed a medical referee under the above Act. Oamabu Races.— From a telegram received in Christchurch. to-day, we learn that the Maiden Plate was won by Harkaway, the Oamaru Jockey Cup by Tantrum, and the Hurdle Race by Star of the South. Okphan Asylum.— Mr Gordon desires to acknowledge the receipt of 5s for the Orphan Asylum, from Mr M'Kenna, being plaintiff's costs in the case of M'Kenna v. Smith ; also 10s from Mr Smith, defendant in the same case. JTFatal Accident.— We regret to record a fatal accident which occurred last night to Mr Rogers, porter bottler, of Antigua street. Mr Rogers was returning to his residence with a load of bottles, when he was thrown violently out of his cart, falling on his head. He died in about three hours. Suhntside. — A miscellaneous entertainment by members of the Christchurch Amaj teur Dramatic Society and the Christy Minstrels was given in the new Hail at I Sunnyside, last night. There was a large company in addition to the inmates of the Asylum, and the proceedings passed off most satisfactorily. Theatke Rotal.— Yesterday, being St. Patrick's Day, the Irish drama " Poul O'Dhoul " was specially produced at the Theatre, to a large audience. The piece is full of melees and striking situations from beginning to end, and is agreeably relieved by the under-current of broad Irish humour, which abounds in every scene. As a whole, the piece, considering its many difficulties, was very creditably put upon the stage. It was not played in its entirety, as by an unfortunate accident the most exciting portion of the closing scene had, at the lost moment, to be omitted. The general run of the piece was good, the parts being well got up for a first representation. Tub Carandinis.— The concert last evening, which was much better attended than any of its predecessors, commenced with the overture to " Masaniello." This wag very well played by the Misses Carandini. Madame Carandini then gave Wallace's Cavatina " One Gentle Heart " ' with her usual good taste and skill. " Jessie's Dream," by Miss Fannie, and " The Blue Bells of Scotland " by the company, were very well sung indeed. Miss Rosina received a well-merited encore for " L'llma," and in reply favoured the audience with "Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still," which was sung wiih better effect than we ever remember to have heard. The same compliment | must be paid to MiBS Fannies " Kathleen Mavourneen." A most decided encore was responded to with " The Tear," a song which we believe is new to Christchurchl The melody is very sweet, and -Miss Fannie did it full justice. Should she '-favour us with a repetition, we venture to suggest that the time ought to be a little slower. The first part ended with the song and chorus — we must repeat our objection to the chorus^ " Come Home Father." The grand duet from Norma, by Madame Carandini and Miss Rosina, in the second part, was undoubtedly the gem of the concert, though Miss Fannie "a "Land o' the Leal "canoe very close to it in every essential of good singing. Miss Rosina's benefit is fixed for this evening, and we have no doubt there will be a very full attendance.

Malvebn HiliS- Coli.;— Several trials on a small scale hare been made of this coal with the best results. It now remains for the proprietor tor bring down a quantity which will satisfy: the public that it exists in sufficient abundance to warrant further enquiry. The carriage of fifty tons to Christchurch would not be yery expensive, and the owner of the mine would be reimbursed for a great part of the outlay by the price of the coal. The presence of fifty tons of Malvern Hills coal in Christchurch would do more -to induce the Government or private capitalists to support the undertaking than anything else that we know of. Poisoned Scgae. — The Colonial Secretary has received a communication from the Chief Secretary of Victoria relative to the late importation of poisoned sugar : — lt seems that the New Zealand Government sent over to the Melbourne authorities asking them to investigate the matter, and the Chief Secretary, apparently unaware that the affair had since been satisfactorily cleared up, writes back regretting that all efforts to trace 'the' mode by which arsenic came to be intermixed with the sugar have been unavailing. As the arsenic is believed to have got into the sugar on board the steamer on its way to New Zealand this failure is not surprising. A report from the Chief Commissioner of Police, Melbourne, and also one from the Government Analyst is enclosed. The latter officer says : Having examined every portion of the works, and the different processes of purification used, I have no hesitation in stating it is quite impossible any arsenic could have become mixed with the sugar at the 'manufactory, but such admixture (if any) must have been made after leaving the establishment. Sheep Breeding. — A Sydney paper publishes the result of an experiment made lately by Mr Robert Tooth, in New Zealand, to try the value of a cross between the Merino and Lincoln sheep. The sheep were first crossed and then bred both ways, so as to give two to one of Lincoln blood and two to one of Merino, but breeding back to the Merino destroys the good effect of the first cross in a great measure. The Merino flock, in its original condition, averaged 2Jlb of wool, fetching Is 8d per lb., while the halfbred produce averaged 41b of wool each, which, at .the same sale, realised 2s 4£d per lb. The second cross with the Lincoln brought up the average to 51b a head, the wool fetching 2s per lb., or 10s a fleece, against the average of 4s 2d for the Merino flock. Besides, the cross-bred sheep gives Bolb of mutton at two years old, more than double the weight to be expected from the Merino, and is much more steady and easily managed. This experiment hasbeen carried out during a period of five years, and coincides exactly with the results obtained in Victoria and New South Wales, by persons who have tried the Lincoln when it could obtain grass enough without too much travelling. Local'lnddstbies. -It is very pleasing, in these somewhat stagnant times, to chronicle spirited improvements of a permanent character, especially such as encourage the energies, and thus conduce to the welfare of the producing and reproductive classes. It is but lately that our farmers have, to any extent, devoted their attention to barley culture, although it has frequently been urged that the soil and climate of Canterbury are in the highest degree favourable to the production of that grain. This will be proved, we believe, by the present harvest. It is likely that this season will so far test our capabilities of shutting out the importation of malt from England, and of rendering New Zealand the granary of the South for that article. The length of the voyage, and the passage through the trojjics necessarily tend to reduce the stamina, or in brewers' parlance, strength of the malt, and we imagine that our malts only require sufficient age to cope with, and perhaps to excel, the best imported. This accomplished, it requires no great stretch of the imagination to foresee the time when our ales may take precedence of the English brand in India, China, Japan, and the Australian colonies. The comparative cheapness and quality of our malt will soon attract the attention of the Australian farmers, the fine barley grown in Australia being less reliable than ours in its germinating properties. It is, therefore, with pleasure that we have to notice an extension of accommodation for malting, the spirited enterprise of Messrs A. Moore and Co. of the Phoenix brewery, who have just completed a large malthouse adjacent to that in Kilmore street, itself of no mean character for a young community, and which has been in work for some years. The new building is 150 feet in length by 35 feet in width, with two floors. The foundation is of stone, the superstructure of timber, brick nogged. The kiln is of brick, and the roof of galvanized corrugated iron. Without boasting of any architectural pretensions in the way of ornament, the building has been constructed with no small amount of skill and care. It is intended to malt 200 bushels at one steeping, every five days, or 1200 bushels per month. In addition ■to the capabilities for malting, there is also space for storing at least 20,000 bushels of barley and malt.- Altogether, the enterprise reflects great credit on Messrs Moore and Co., and also on the architect, M- C K. jFooks, and the contractor, Mr" J. Goss, for the manner in which it has been carried out. To celebrate the commencement of malting, a supper was given in the upper room of the new malt house on Wednesday evening, March 16, to the employes of Messrs Ward and Co. (who have taken a lease of the premises), of Messrs A. Moore and Co., and the men who have been engaged in the erection of the building, in all about 70. The supper was provided by Mr Planck, of the Britannia Hotel, and reflected great credit on him as a caterer. Mr Moore presided, and Mr Lee (of Ward and Co.) occupied the vice chair. Some very, good speeches were made (and when we mentiou that Mr John Ollivier was present, that will be understood), some good songs were sung, a very agreeable evening

waa spent, and the company separated with cordial wishes for the success of the new undertaking. ] Postal. — In the New Zealand Gazette of March 12 it is notified that the following I have been appointed Postmasters in the proi vince of Canterbury :— Messrs. J. A. Young, Waihi Crossing ; John Brown, Malvern Hills ; Thomas Wanchope, Southbridge ; J. S. Fowler, Cass River ; James B. Ellman, Brookside ; and W. H. Rule, Springston. Pbqvincial Council. — The Council met at the usual hour yesterday. Before pro caeding to the Order of the Day, Mr Knight drew attention to what he called the disgraceful proceedings of the previous sitting. ! The Speaker ruled that Mr Knight was out of order. The remaining Government resolutions on the Northern Railway were then j brought forward, and, after a rather desultory j discussion, they were carried with triflkjs amendments. In reply to Mr Knight,. Mr Jbllie informed the Council what the Government had done in the matter of the Southbridge and Rolleston Tramway since last session. Mr Jollie also replied to another question by Mr Knight, in reference to opening up a certain road in the Tai Tapu district In answer to a question by Mr Fyfe, I Mr Jollie said the Government had received three applications for leasing the reclaimed land in Lyttelton. Two of the applications were for hotels, and both had been refused. Mr Knight obtained leave to withdraw theresolution on immigration, of which he had given notice. Mr J. S. Williams also obtained leave to withdraw his resolution about appointing a select committee to inquire into the principle of Mr William White's temporary bridge over the Rakaia. The Government resolutions on immigration were then brought forward by Mr Jollie. Messrs Johnstone, Montgomery, J. S. Williams, Hall, Wynn Williams, and Knight spoke to. the resolutions, when the House was counted out on the motion of Mr Kennaway. *- Flax.— From the Wellington papers we learn that Messrs Johnston and Co., of that city recently sent 250 bales of flax to Melbourne for transhipment to England, but were shortly afterwards advised by their Melbourne agents that the flax was damp and in a dangerous state. The agents asked for instructions as to whether they should open and dry the packages or not. Mr Charles Johnston went up to Melbourne to see for himself, and having, after examination, failed to detect any heating in the bales, he had several of them opened in the presence of the agents and others interested in the matter, when the contents proved dry and cool throughout. What the agents had mistaken for dampness was the green colour which the under surface of flax dried oa wires and not exposed to the sun, as is the case with Mr Pownall's Manawatu flax, naturally assumes. This greenness is however no sign of either dampness or heat, although people unacquainted with the flax are apt to assume that it is. The result of Mr Johnston's personal visit was that the flax in question wbb readily received as cargo at the low freight of £3 per ton. Dr Day, writing to an Auckland paper suggests the following plan, for ascertaining the temperature of the interior of a bale of .flax :— As it is very desirable to have a ready mode of ascertaining the condition of the centre of a bale of flax as to heat and moisture, this I think may be done by driving into the middle of the bale a piece of gun barrel, bevelled off to sharpness, spilico fashion, then pass down a small thermometer until its bulb just touches the flax, previously noting the degree at which it stands) ; leave it for a moment, and on withdrawal you at once learn the state of the flax both as to heat and miosture by the rise of the mercury and the dew on the bulb if the bale be heating.