Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 719, 12 September 1870, Page 2

Local and General.

\ - — __^ Breaking Windows. — The window in the Speaker's room and two other windows in the Government Buildings, and one of the i panes in the Grand Jury room of the new < Supreme Court, were broken during the i course of last night. We trust that the : police will be successful in bringing the guilty party or parties to account for this repeated act of wanton maliciousness. Tin; Evergreen. — Mr Dry's picture was ' exhibited at the City Hotel on Saturday last, i and was inspected by a large number of : visitors. It will be on view in Lyttelton i during three days of this week. ' Lyttelton Volunteer Artillery. — The : corps was inspected by Lieut.-Col. Packe '. on Friday evening. There was a very good i muster. After parade, the corps, headed by the drum and fife band of the Orphanage, had a short march out, and were then dis- i missed. Registrar's Returns. — A Provincial Gazette issued on Saturday last contains the : Registrar's returns of births, deaths, and i marriages, in the Christchurch district for the month ending August 31. The total number of births was 105— 58 males, and 47 females; deaths, 45 —28 males, and 17 females ; marriages, 16. The births during the corresponding month of 1869 were 108 ; deaths, 18 ; and marriages, 20. The English Commissioners. — The " Anglo- Australian " in the European Mail says :— The New Zealand Loan Bill has been shaped in a form to make it as agreeable as < possible to the colonists, and the Commis- , sioners deserve gratitude for the able manner ; in which they have carried their point. Dr < Featherston will probably return to tbe i colony in about two months. He and Mr Bell have been endeavouring to get the Go- ] vernment to constitute New Zealand a dis- 1 tinct Commodore station, in the expectation that this country would then advance or i guarantee money for the purposes of docks, i 1 wish them every success in their efforts to 1 this end, but fear they will be disappointed. ( Mr Childers' illness has interfered with the _ negotiations on the subject. 1 Canterbuhy Rowing Clbb. — A com- i inittee meeting was held last Saturday _ afternoon in the Boat Shed, when the foi- >. lowing gentlemen were balloted for, and . declared to be duly elected as members : — 1 Messrs. Ames Hellicar, W. G. Brittan, junr., i H. McOwen, George Harper, E. S. Garrick, i J. F. Buddie, and \V. F. Pearson. After < ranking a thorough inspection of the boats i and furniture, the committee authorised the . Captain to have all the required repairs ( done in time for the opening day. The difficulty of launching the boats was then : brought under the notice of the committee, < who, after somo consideration, agreed to i incur the expense of procuring two or three i rol'ers, to be let into the landing stage so as ; to allow the boats to pass freely, and without damaging them, into the river. The Captain, the Secretary, aud Mr Balfour, were appointed a deputation to wait on the committee of the U. R. C, next Tuesday evening, to mnke arrangements for a procession of boats at the commencement of the season. Immigration.— The following is from the Home Neivs : — The Merope will sail for Canterbury on July 27. She carries 200 emigrants. Mr Oty well, the agent for Canterbury, is indefatigable in his endeavours to obtain emigrants of a good class, and his success is equal to his endeavour. The Government he represents has invested him with discriminating powers as to the money to he paid by those whom he may select, and this power he uses with great wisdom and judg ment. He hopes to despatch a ship a month from this time up to November, and every day brings him fresh applications from persons likely to make desirable colonists. As soon as the harvest is over he will be enabled to scud v large number of first-class .iij.-ioultural labourers, cuk-fly from the east

era counties. Many of this class have expressed a determination to save from their earnings sufficient to pay the requisite part of their passage money and land them in Christchurch not destitute of means. Canterbury may be fairly congratulated on the way in which Bhe is represented iv London. Ax Old Acquaintance. — From the papers received by the Suez mail, we learn that " John Manley, who has been extensively advertised as 'the great Australian child actor,' has been playing in East Lynne to delighted audiences at the Britannia Theatre, London." Honour to Whom Honour, &c. — The following is from the Home News : — Mr Edward Dobson has beon awarded a " Telford Medal" and a " Telford Premium " by the Institution of Civil Engineers for a paper on the Public Works of the Province of Canterbury, New Zealand. Tea Meeting. — The Committee of St. John's (Presbyterian) Church, Lyttelton, have decided to hold a friendly gathering which, will take place in the Colonists' Hall, tomorrow evening. Tea will be on the table at half-past six, after which a social meeting will take place. Speeches, interspersed with mu3ic and readings, will form the programme of the evening. Improvements. — Conspicuous amongst the improvements that have taken place in Christchurch recently is the City Hotel. Its enterprising proprietor, Mr J. W. Oram, has almost completely metamorphosed the establishment during the first year that he has been in possession. To the old building he has added an extensive wing, and the hotel now occupies the entire width of the triangle from High street to Colombo street, and presents a fine appearance viewed from the Bank of New Zealand or Leamington House. The new portion of the building comprises a bar, and sitting rooms adjoining, and above, a row of bedrooms which for loftiness and ventilation ueed not be excelled, and they have the additional advantage of being lined and plastered throughout. In the furnishing of the house Mr Oram has spared no expense in providing for the comfort of his patrons, and in poiut of hotel accommodation the City will contrast favourably with any establishment in the colony. In addition to the foregoing, Mr Oram has converted his old bar iuto a spacious reading and commercial room ; and to meet the requirements of commercial travellers, several large sample rooms have been secured. Mr Oram's enterprise is certaihly deserving of success. United Canterbury Cricket Club. — The annual general meeting of members was held at the Clarendon Hotel on Saturday evening, commencing at e'ght o'clock. Mr E. C. J. Stevens presided, aud the attendance, despite a very wet evening, was numerous. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed, following which, the hon. sec, Mr Cotterill submitted the report of the committee. A statement of accounts was also read. Both documents were adopted without discussion. The advisability of altering Rule 6 was considered, and it was ultimately decided, on the motion of Mr Reade, seconded hy Mr Mainwaring, to amend it so as to read as follows :— " That the date of annual subscriptions be the Ist of December, and that no member be allowed to play on the ground unless his subscription be paid wheu due." The election of officers was then proceeded with, and resulted as follows : — President, his Honor the Superintendent; vice-president, Mr E. C. J. Stevens; treasurer, Mr Beauford ; secretary, Mr A. J. Cotterill; committee, Messrs A. F. N. Blakiston, R. Mainwaring, E. Parkerson, G. A. Reade, A. Ollivier, G. Dickenson, and T. D. Condell. It was decided to leave the matter of repairing the pavillion to the discretion of the committee. After some further business of an unimportant nature, the meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman. We regret that space will not permit us to publish the committee's report and treasurer's balance she t in full. Lyttelton Boating Club. — The annual meeting took place at the Canterbury Hotel on Saturday evening. There was a good attendance of members, and Captain F. D. Gibson occupied the chair. Messrs Bolt and Humphreys having been elected members of the club, the minutes of the previous meetings were read and confirmed. The treasurer read the balance-sheet of the past year, which showed a small deficit. The secretary then read the committee's report, which we regret being unable to find room for. On the motion of Mr Roper, seconded by Mr Rich, it was resolved that the report as read be received, and a vote of thanks accorded to the officers of the society for their past services. Mr Roper said he wished to bear testimony, and he was sure he would be supported by the whole of the club, to the admirable way in which Mr Harrison, boat-builder, had carried out the work entrusted to him by the club. In fact, he might say he had never seen a better piece of workmanship, and he might add that boats which had been made by Mr Harrison had carried off prizes against the imported boats. He considered the report of the Canterbury Club was an injustice to a local man. The late Captain of thnt Club had said good boats could not be obtained in the colony, but must be imported from Australia or England. The Canterbury Club had two of the best imported boats, yet in competition with colonial made they never won a race. The members present concurred in the remarks made by the speaker. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr A. Cuff for storing the Club's boats free of charge. The election of officers for the ensuing season was proceeded with, resulting as follows : — Captain Gibson, president ; Mr H. H. Knowles, vice-president ; Mr A. Cuff, commodore ; Mr W. Packard, sec, and treasurer; Committee : Messrs D. Davis, W. Cameron, S. Sinclair, H. S. Bolt, A. Rich, W. Roper, D. Mills, and Humphreys. It was resolved that a committee, consisting of the officers of the club, and Messrs Roper and Cameron be formed to make arrangements for the opening day of the present season, at a3 early a

date as possible ; also, that the necessary repairs to the Snowdrop be done at once by Mr Harrison. The meeting closed with a vote of thanks to the chairman.