Local and General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 1614, 26 April 1873, Page 2

Local and General.

Buenham Rejfobmatoby. — Ifc is notified in a Provincial Gazette, dated April 24, that Mr R. A. Colee has been appointed master, and Mrs E. A. Coleo matron of this institution. Agbioultueal and Pastobal Association. — A meeting of the commvitee wi M . take place at Tattersall's on Tuesday next, at 2.15 p.m., to make arrangements for the midwinter show. St. James' Wesleyan Sunday Schools. — The anniversary sermons w. : U bo preached to-morrow, in the morning by the Roy Geo. Bond, and n the evening by the Ibv James Bv'Her. The latter w."'! also conduct a special children's ser»lce in the afternoon. The collections and the proceeds o2 a tea meeting to be held on Monday evening w'- 1 be applied in aid of the school funds.

Theatee B )YAL.— Thursday night's pro*-' granmjwas repeated last ever r ng t3 a moderate house. To-night, the programme wi" comprise "lac Ship on E Ire," and "Yankee Modesty," together ■nUh a recitation — Shanius O'Brien — by Mr Douglas. The "Lancashire Lass "is in active preparation, and v. !'l be produc: d during the ensuing week. Lottie Magnet Teoupe. — There was a very good attendance at the Music He 11 , last evtning, when most of the iteais comprised in Thursday's prog^uame were repeated w.'.th uudiminished success. lac encores were frequent, and Lofcfcie'a wondeiTul performances on the treble trapeze wera vociferously applauded. A change of programme nyI 11 be submitted this evening, and among3t other things Lott : e will perform the flying leap, which, for daring, surpass: ". anything that ha 3 yet been attempted by any other female gj mnast. Educational. — By a Provincial Gazette, dated April 24, it is notified that a uniform late of three-halfpence in the pound is leviable in the Educational district of Papanvi, and a rate of fivepence in the pound in that of Hororata, the owners and occupiers of land and householders in the above districts having failed, within the time limited for that purpose by the Board of Education, to contribute and pay to the Provincial Treasurer the amount fixed by the Board as the contribution of the said distilcts for school purposes. WOOLSTON WESLEYAN vjHURCU. — The annual tea-meeting in connection with this church was held in the Lower Heathcote schoolroom last evening. A very excellent repast was provided by Mesdames Garland, Roberts, Milburn, Dixon, Gimblett, Walter, Day, and Thome, who also presided over the respective trays. A. well stocked table wa3 also provided by the bachelor members of the church. Upwards of 150 persons wore present, including many friends from Christchurch and if.s vicinity. After tea, the Rev J. BuUsr took the chair, and the attendance was very considerably augmented. Mr E. C. Mouldey read a statement of the church accounts for the past year, which showed that the receipts had been £27 7s lOd, and the expenditure £19 16s Bd. He also stated that there rema'aed a debt of about £100 upon the church, and that the- Sunday school was progressing very favourably, the number of scholars having doubled since last year. Addresses were then delivered by the Rev G. Bond, Messrs Dawson, Cumberworth, Elmsley, and Shierlaw, the intervals between the speeches being filled in with some excellent vocal music by members of the St. Albans choir, under the direction of Mr J. T. M. Smith. A vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings. Hospital Sunday. — The results of the simultaneous collections in Liverpool churches and chapels on " Hospital Sunday," the 12th inst., reach £7850. " Hospital Saturday " was fixed for Saturday last, when over£lC3o was expected to be realised by collections among working men. Last year the Sunday collections realised £7300, and the Saturday collections £720. Scientific Pbediction. — A curious illustration of the power of scientific prediction even in subjects by no means of a mathematical kind has jusfc been afforded. Jn. the memoirs of the musouni oi Prastical Geology : " Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the year 1871," just published by Robert Hunt, Keeper of Mining Records, the consumption of coal in 1871 is stated at 117,352,028 tons. In Professor Stanley Jevons' book on "The Coal Q.uestion," published more than seven years ago, he estimates the probable consumption of coal in Great Britain for 1871 at 117,700,000 tons — a difference only of 552,028 tons ! Sleeping Cabeiages. — The Times Btatesl that .the North British Railway Company con- 1 templates putting sleeping carriages on the limited mai'.s between London and Edinburgh, and it is expected that in a few days a commencement w.HI bo made, as a sample carriage was last Thursday inspected and approved by the Board. The carriage is on six wheels, a second class compartment at one end and luggage compartment at the other ; in the centre is a water-closet, lavatory, &c. ; on each side is a large compartment wherein are three •eats, which elongate and make sofa-beds, with suitable bolster and cushions, The carriage is I built by the Ashbury Company, of Manchester. I The Midland, Great Northern,North-Western, and other companies already possess family carriages of great comfort and convenience, but useless for individual persons unless a great number of seats are paid for. The carriage abovo referred to is suitable for families not exceeding Bix ; but it is more especially intended for single tiavellers, to whom time is an object, and who would pay a reasonable extra sum for a sofa-bed to recline on, and thus arrive in Edinburgh or London free from fatigue and ready for bus|nes3 or pleasure. A Valuable Implement. — In the Oaniaru district double-furrow ploughs have a'moat displaced the single plough, and threo and four-furrow ploughs are not uncommon. So says the North Olago Times, which then olds : — " But it seems we are not to stop here, for on Tuesday last wo saw a six-furrow at work on the farm of Messrs Gilford and Clowes, Columella. It was drawn by 12 bullocks, attended only by one man, keeping itself straight by its great grip of the ground and the guide wheels. It was working in very hard ground, compacted almost to the solidity of a road, having been heavily trampled by cattle for years, and was notwithstanding making excellent work, quite as good as could be done with a double-iurrow. It breaks up four acres a day for the cost of one man's wages — the bullocks being content with the natural pasture and a little oaten hay, while horses for Jike work require to be kept in condition by a liberal supply of oats. 'Then, again, there is a large saving in wear and tear of harness and co3t of shoeing ; indeed it would seem that the plan adopted by Messrs Gifford and Clowes ib about the cheapest that could ba devised for preparing the laud for sowing."

Wellington Moving Ahead. — Welling-B tin, accprd'ng to the Independent, is so pros-H peroas just now, and her population is inJB creasing so rapidly, that the moafc wretchedH hovel can command a tenant. gl Chinese Entebpbise. — According to thtß Waikouaiti Herald, the Chinamen are makingH great preparations to turn the oilginol bed oflß the Taieri river as soon as the frosts set inHl It is expected that a considerable amountSß of gold will reward them for their trouble. H Jmmigbation. — The following letterß signed " A Lady," appears in the Otago Dailßn Times of April 22 : — No person has any ideng of the dearth of female servants at the preßj sent time except those who want them. liflfi this town there are few to begot, and motherJE of families have to perform menial work, ancJBS attend to infanta at the same time. SomoH time ago I called at the Immigration oflbffl for a servant, and was told that none wore tJH be got, even though a ship had recently arflH rived, and that there wer3 scores in the samißS position, the dribbles coming in by the shipHH being inadequate to supply half the demandJHj Where, then, sir, is the great iinmigratioflßS scheme, that was to supply all requirements ra — for we ore worse than we were under thjßßi provincial scheme. I trust, sir, you wiflß agitate^ this matter, as upon it depends thfig remaining of many families in the province* §H A Ge«qeaphicaii Mysteby Elttcidatej^B — A geographical mystery has been • cleareMjffl up, and an illusion of commerce dissipate jW by the explorations of some French travellerHK whose narrative has just been published. nHj« Louis de Came started in the summer <EH 1866 from Saigon, in French Cochin-Ch ina r flflfijl track the great river of Cambodia, the Mlߧ kong, to its sources. The hope of the FrencSßß Colonial Office was that this lai'ge stream, ujßjßj known like the Salween, the Meiuam, and tfiH Tonquin, might offer an available water-rofH&jß through Laos and Gunan to the back HH China, and give to the Cocluii-China delfijH which is lield by France the commerce of HBR second Nile or Ganges. This hope has faileJHJ the Mekong, which the Frenchmen traced jjgW the cost of terrible hardships and great sacBHJB fice of brave and valuable life, is an " impnlgHJ able river," broken at least thrice by furioHßa cataracts, and having a current against whiffiS nothing could be navigated. The discoveHß purchased at the cost of existence by twi leader of tho expedition, and by M. do Caraß whoso story is posthumously . publishedHW takes away half the value of Cochin-ChuaßH It is our turn to find out whether the grjSH streams which have their embouchure Bam Bangkok and Moulmien offer any betjflU chance of a back-way to tho Yang-tse-KiawEH English Aexilleey. — The London JD«HH Telegraph of a recent date says : — While fi^ES guns and naval ordinance have made siSn astonishing advances, it was not likely tWHB siege artillery would remain behind. TTrflßß we wore obliged to show our afcrengthWgfl Scbastopol, wo English never shone in iflttj employment of battering trains. Wellingfflffl had only three eighteen and five twenty-fHHj pounders at Bruges. From twenty-fours B3ra went slowly to thirty-twos, and at SebastofSn our most powerful weapon, the sixty-oi£3S| pounder, was obtained from the flflßH Neither that nor tho famous Lancaster J£h| properly belonged to the siege train ; ffli since 1855 artillery has made an enormffig stride. Wo can arm ous ships and g§Bi coast batteries with thirty -five-ton gJgiffli which throw a seven hundred-pound £wfgi|i Already there are thirteen of these : monsgjsMa in existence. In 9, short time specimens fflflffl«| be mounted in the Devastation, and in §j§jl|gg course every ironclad able to carry and \\w|B| them will bo armed with this most powejfißß of known weapons. " Krapp has indeed majgHfl factured a fifty-ton gun to throw a tMraSM sand-pound projectile; but the piece BEfrog never been fired. For siege purposes, a§gS«| ever, a gun must be readily moveable Sfffjlj the weignt of its ammunition must bear BfiHjJH proportion to probable means of ti-ansjffl^H When a fortress can be reached by wJSflgj heaTier guns might bo used ; when tho tmj%B& sit ia overland there is an early in i^^^ tho weight of every battering train. Jraagf^ merly the transport of siege artillery W(J|||iSj work of tho greatest difficulty, and al^ffPis occupied a long time. Railways have sinf||||| fied this task ; and it is not likely fc smfc||§j|§| considerable strongliold in futujfe, unle^^^g bars the passage of a river or* a ra°uijf||f|ra defile, will bo far from an iron road. arrangements for bombarding Paris Ulusf^^^ the arduous character of siege °peratl||il| Months wore consumed in bringing up c& JljPii and ammunition, after which every gun J||g|g! shot had to be hauled from the rai§||l||| termini into position. Without raUroadslg|Ss| the improved highways of this century ||ii§§| battering pieces of large calibre could B§hS| have been pushed forward ; but such facigm»| as well as the great increase in the po w gtsSg| garrison ordinance, justify and necessitat^^^ employment of more cumbrous trj^tm We are, therefore, about to form a Bfflfi park out of sixty-four pounders and fflSllj pounders ; nor does the weight of metalEHSj stituto the only change. The pieces, of cofilfflß are rifled, and not only more destructiveHßßj of longer range. Six hundred yards extreme distance twenty years ago. yrnHMBM fort can be effectually shelled by cannon fflffffli a distance of. seven or eight thousand tßHmw and can be battered effectually by guns pfISSB a mile off. Modern shot and shell alfigßßj much greater damage, because the s P e |S^B which the projectile starts has been so S^HB ingly increased. A train of sixty-fomS^GH forty pounders would be a formidable &9BHb ant of any known works of defence. j^Hßfl eight-inch howitzer, a very useful wea P jB^BH also about to be revived ; and althougffiwH prospect of sieges appears . remote, yetflßH sidcring how suddenly wai-s blaze U P>|HH9 absolutely essential that- we should n( wH9B| without a respectable train. Our fr.OE^BSB properly considered, are more extensivi^H^H more widely scattered than those of any B^HH Power ; and we are bound to have in SH9B Lho means of protecting them, which is times best done by atriking first at the-esBHB

i A Hint for the Police.— By order of the] IPrefect of the police in Paris, large tablets ' Comprising the elementary precepts of aid to K>e given to the sick and wounded are to be Suspended in all the police-stations of the ■pity, in order to avoid errors in confounding fthe insensibility of apoplexy, &c, with that R>f drunkenness, and to prevent mistakes in Bramedia'te proceedings before the doctor can Btrrive. B Sunday Baking. —At Preston lately a Bingular case croppr i up. Four bakers were Bummoned for baking bread on Sundays, the mrosecutors being a number of other bakers Bvho had resolved to discourage Sunday Bpaking, and formed an association to carry out »hat object. It was admitted that the law Prohibited the baking of bread on Sundays, Hhough it allowed the baking of dinners up to Bialf-past one. The offending bakers promised Ko discontinue the practice of bread-baking on Huadays, and they were dismissed. B Volunteer Artillery and Rifle Corps. t-In an article upon the volunteers, the Wellington Post says :— Not rifle-shots, but a few Broil-directed balls from a 300-pounder, would Bpe the most efficacious means of compelling a Bight-armed cruiser to keep its distance. A Strong artillery corps, well-armed and thoroughly up to its work, in every port, would be the best defence we could haye — lar excelling a lot of half-hearted rifle comI anies, scattered throughout the conntry, not 1 nowing how to handle a cannon, nor possessing a cannon to handle if they did. I American Graves. — A new and rather |j igenious mode of adorning graves is now in g ommon use in America The tombstones Slave attached to them photographs of those Hp whose memory they are erected. The Shotographs vary in size from the carte-dc-Hisite upwards ; when the portraits are taken IS is mostly on porcelain or marble, and these fflpe then let into the tombstone, covered with ffilass, or otherwise secured. On each portrait ||ou read the name of the deceased, birthday, gate of death, and sometimes epitaphs in prose fflr verse. This custom, not to call it fashion, Bias so rapidly gained favour with the people, giat some of the family graves present quite a ilicture gallery. There you see the lovely iliild gleefully playing in the nursery-room. Hie middle-aged merchant with steel coloured Hair sitting at his offico desk, the maiden in Bier bridal array, tho aged woman in her Sedate drab, tho warrior on horseback or on Bpot, or the priest and preacher in canonicals. HflOr the visiting stranger, each of the graves Bjius adorned cannot fail to awaken the live Best interest — in fact becomes a most impresBJy9 and eloquent sermon on the uncertainty K everything that is human. It is stated Hjiat porcelain is best capable of w ithstanding Hue influence of time and weather. HA Peculiar Case. — The Argus reports ■bat a novel application was made to the Supreme Court on the sth inst. In DecernBer, 1869, a lad named HayeS, then eight Hears old, was sent to the Industrial Schools BB>r three yeai-3 at the instigation of his BJiother (a widow), who could not control Bam. Tho three years expired in December BJst, and the mother, on applying for her son, Bias told that he had taken the oath of BLegiance to her Majesty as a first-class agpy on board tho Cerberus ; the engagement was to be for five years. SgUe mother, who had in the interim Sgiarried again, objected to her son entering g|to an agreement of that nature without her BJmsent, and she applied to the Court for a gfflrit of habeas corpus directing Captain Panter K& bring up tho lad, and show tho authority BJv which ho was detained. Accordiugly, HJssterday morning Captain Pantor attended HJith tho boy, and the return made to the Writ of habeas was that Hayes had taken the Kfcth under the Military and Naval Discipline Hct, and had agreed to serve the Crown for mre years for wageß ranging from 6d per day, Bar the first year to 2s 6d for the last year. It MBas contended on behalf of the mother that Bfte child could not enter into such an agreenient, and that the act of Parliament was only meant to apply to men ; that if the lad Has to be apprenticed, it ought to be done H a regular way. It was further stated B»ough the statement was denied, that Hayes BJid been induced to take oa^h under fear BJ| punishment. It was urged on the other side Bfiat the contract was one of hiring and service, IBttd was of such a nature that the boy could Hpluntarily enter into it without the consent PJ his parents, and although /lie. might object H serve under it, no one else could be pormitBBd to object. The Court'took tin's view, and Hfused to discharge Hayes. That he had been Hptained against his will on board the CerBftrus was, however, very soon made manifest. SB good-humoured subordinate officer of the Bjprberus who had the boy in charge allowed fflflm to speak to his mother. What was the Bftture of the communications that passed beBBreen them may be surmised from the fact HBatas soon as the boy got clear of the precincts KB the court he made a bolt for it along LatrobeHre.et, in the direction of Carlton-gardens, Hfls mother at tho same time covered his Hfltreat by obstructing tho pursuit of the Ponderous officer who was beginning to run Hber him. It was a matter of speculation ■Baether oven without this assistance the boy BKuld not have had the advantage the man, SB the latter carried a good deal of weight, jwltt the intervention of tho mother put all BBanco of an immediate re-capture beyond BBubt. The mother was, however, arrested BBd taken to the watchhouse, but was bailed |BBt in the course of the forenoon.