LOCAL AND GENERAL

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3361, 16 January 1879, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

I Magisterial— The only police case heard tliis morning at the Magistrate's Court, was a charge of drunkenness preferred against C. F. Anderson, for whicli he was fined 10s. Governor's Bay. — The steam launch Eclipse is advertised to run fco this bay morning and afternoon daily, weather permitting. British Victories.— ln another column will be found an excellent and most interesting accounfc compiled from the Ceylon Observer of the British victory at Pivar Pass. Wateb Supply Committee.— The usual weekly meeting of tho above Committee was held this morning ,* present — Councillors Cass (Chairman), Wilson, Ayers, and Gapes. Mr Hubbard waited on the Committee, and entered into details respecting his scheme sent in. He also gave valuable extracts from j the reports of eminent hydraulic engineers in j London relative to water supply. Mr W.i White submitted plans and specifications off tlie cylinder to be lued in the experiment] suggested by him. Eventually it wa» re-i solved— "Thafc in view of fche information re-j ceived from high authority in reference toj friction of water through mains, and the] necessary elevation of head for supplying a! jet in the city, the Committee deem it advif sablo to defer for the present any furtkeij action re experimenting until suflicieufc evi| dence can be obtained bearing on the ques? tion at issue." It was decided that means should be taken to obtain tlie necessary information in time to submit to fche Committee at their next meeting. \ Drainage Boabd.— The polling for thei election of a member of this Board for the! Spreydon district will take place at the Road j Board office to-day, between the hours of 9! a.m. and 5 p.m. For fche information of our readers we may state fchat fche district is bounded on the north by fche cifcy of Cliristehurch and the Riccarton district, on the eastj by Colombo street, on fche south-east and] south-west by fche south side of the riverl Heathcote from the continuation of Colombo! street to Archer's Bridge, on the Lincoln^ road. -"T^

Leybls Road Board. — Mr W. C. Beswick has again been unanimously re-elected Chairman of this Board. The Recent Rain.— The rainfall on Monday and Tuesday, Jan. 13 and 14, registered afc Chrisfcchurch by Mr Stansell, was 2.14 inches. Commissioner of Railways.— Mr Conyers returned to Christchurch yesterday by the Arawata, after an absence of a month, during which he has visited and inspected the Northern and Western sections of railway in fche South Island. Savings' Bank Returns. — In another column will be found the balance-sheet of the : Canterbury Savings' Bank for the year jusfc ended. The deposits during the year amounted to £194,869 17s 9d, and the withdrawals to £189,214 8s 9d. The Colombo Street Fire. —Mr P. Schourup, photographer, who was burnt out afc tlie Colombo street fire on Sunday morning last, intimates his intention elsewhere of resuming business a fortnight hence in the late Mr Gaul's studio, Colombo street. Rif£e Match.— A match between Civilians and the Engineers Company, 10 men aside, will probably be fired on Saturday week. As the shooting strength of the Engineers has been augmented by Mv Appleby joining as Lieutenant, a close match is anticipated. Mataura Election.— lt will be seen from our telegrams that Mr Shanks has been elected to the seat for Mataura, vacated by Mr W. Wood. Mr Kinross was the only other candidate. The Mails.— The outward English mail via Suez was despatched by the s.s. Arawata* yesterday. The Cityof Sydney arrived at Auckland with the San Francises mail at a quarter pist one this morning, bufc the usual telegraphic budget had not come to hand when we went to press. " Henry V." — The mechanist, scenic artist, and super-master belonging to Mr Rignold's company arrived yesterday by the Arawata with three truck loads of scenery. They are now hard at work getting the stage of the Theatre Royal in order for the opening performance on Monday night. Cricket. — On Saturday last a match was played on the Agricultural Show Grounds between the Sydenham and Richmond Cricket Clubs. Time not allowing the match to be played out, it was decided on the first innings in favour of the Sydenham Club, by six runs. They made 38 runs to their opponents' 32. | The Stewart Family. — This talented family appeared at the Oddfellows' Hall, Lyttelton, on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in their clever and highly amusing entertainment, " Rainbow Revels." There was a very large attendance on each occasion, and the audiences were mosfc thoroughly delighted with every part of the performance. Opening of the Dunedin-Invercahgil: Railway. — The opening of the railway fron Dunedin to Invercargill is definitely fixed foi Wednesday nexfc, Jan. 22. The guests whi are invited to attend the ceremony fron Christchurch, will leave here on Tuesday anc remain at Dunedin fchat night. A specia train, to leave Dunedin afc aboufc 10 a.m. oi Wednesday, will take fchem on to Inveicargill. The Late Case of Attempted Suicide — Ihe man Chadwick, a chemist at Pleasant Point and formerly of Akaroa, who made such a determined attempt to commit suicide at the Washdyke railway station is recovering rapidly in the Timaru hospital. The medical officer (Dr M'lntyre) considers him now quite out of danger. When the patient is strong enough he will- be brought up at tha Magistrate's Court on a charge of attempting to commit suicide. -~. Timaru Chamber of Commerce. — The\ special meeting of this Chamber, arranged to ' be held yesterday afternoon to receive the reports of the Committees on the proposed alterations to the Timaru railway station and the new railway tariff, was postponed till Wednesday next, so that the Harbour Board could hold a meeting in the interim, and appoint a Committee to acfc in conjunction with the Chamber, wifch a view of suggesting^ modifications in tlie Government plans. The "Duck Pond" Paddock Picnic. — An explanation has been forwarded to us of fche mistake regarding fche picnic in a paddock known as the " Duck Pond," wliich so exercised the minds of the incumbent and vestry of Sfc Peter's, Akaroa. The paddock was afc tho Head of the Bay, Lyttelton, and the Sfc Peter's referred fco was not the Akaroa Church. The error, which arose through the omission of our correspondent to insert the word " Lyttelton," is thus easily explained, and, we hope, to the satisfaction of our Akaroa friends. Rangiora Literary Institute. — A special meeting of the Committee of this Institute was held on Tuesday evening, at which seven members were present, viz. : — Messrs Buckham, Good, Ellis, Thomson, Boyd, and Keir. Mr Merton attended later on in the evening. Tho treasurer, Mr Good, reported the liabilities to be £79 Os 9d, and as there was an accouut for books which was due, ifc was agreed fco authorise him to arrange with the Bauk for an overdraft fco thafc extent, or in tho event of the overdraft being refused, to prepare an acaeptance for the members of Committee to sign. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr Merton for having secured the attendance of the Canterbury Minstrels. Mdlle Cjtarbonnet. — This talented artiste having arrived in Chrisfcchurch, lias made known her intention to give two concerts at early dates, viz., the 23rd and 27th of the month. As a pianiste her reputation has preceded her. In Auckland, Wellington aud Nelson she obtained favourable critiques, and established her position as a performer cqually woll at home in all kinds of music, from thc gravely classical to the lightest and most sparkling of compositions. Her pro* grammes have included Beethoven's Sonatas, Mendelssohn's "Rondo Capricioso," Thalborg's , "Mose," Chopin's Admaise, and items by many composers. Mdlle Charbonnefc has engaged the Oddfellows' Hall for her concerts. Mr H. Vaeley's Meetings. — Tlie usual Bible reading took place yesterday afternoon at the Oddfellows^ Hall, the subject being " The Lord's second coming." The attendance was very large, the body of the hall being well filled. In the evening the hall was crowded fco excess, every parfc wherein scats or even standing room could be obtained being crammed. The address, Mr Varley announced, was a further consideration of the subject of the afternoon's meeting, and ifc was introduced under the title of " Tlie three sessions of judgment." The meetings tomorrow will be held in the hall as advertised. The Bible reading relating to "The Jews," " Signs of the times, indicating tlie approach of tlie crisis ; " and a special address will be given as usual in the evening at 7.30. Canterbury Rifle Association. — Tlie nexfc prize meeting of the above Association will be held on Jan 30. In addition to the usual money prizes His Worship fche Mayor has given a handsome cup to be competed for. Messrs Petersen's cup and that presented by Mr Blake will also . be shot for. The conditions for the latter have been altered with the consent of the donor, as follows :— ln place of the long bull's eye and standing position at the 200yds range, an eight inch " bull " will be used, and tlie competitors will be afc liberty to adopt any position. This will be a saving of time, as the targets will not require altering for the succeeding matches. Entries will positively close between 8 and 9 o'clock this evening previous to the meeting at Warner's Hotel. The Crops at Ashburton. — Tlie welcome , change in the weather lias been the means of ; making the feed in our burnfc-up p lddocks look something like what ifc oughfc to have been during fche greater part of fche summer, had : there been anything like genial weather. Thc : late sown crops presenta marked improvement — and it was hardly thought possible by many of our farmers here that fchey woul .1 recover from the recent drought, were any quantity '. of rain to fall. There are, of course, a great '. many acres of both wheat and oats fchafc arc too far forward for the rain to help materially, but in the majority of cases a considerable acreage of grain is fortunately rather backward tliis season, and tlie recent ' change will be beneficially felt on these lands. Large quantities of oats are now being cutj and wero in a greafc many places safelyf stacked previous to fche late rains. Thei ' quality of the grain is very good, though! the yield will be very light indeed! j The turnip sown lands have now received al splendid start, and though sown late, willf Boon grow, and come into use for our winter-? i fed sheep. Several thousands of acres off ] turnips were sown this season, and conse-'. : quenfcly their yield is looked forward to with 3 some interest, as affecting fche winter feed for : ] the flocks of a largo number of the sheep ■ ] farmers in this County. The potato crop j will be much bettor than was expected a 1 short time back. All fchafc is now required to 1 complete our harvest operations in this < County, is a few weeks of fine dry weather t 1

. The Geain Season of 1878.— An interest- 1 ing table will be found elsewhere, showing J the total quantity of grain carried on thei Ohristohureh section of railways (Amberley to \ Palmerston and branches), for the year end- \ i»g June 30, 1878. Afc fche date mentioned \ tlie line only extended South as far as Pal- ) merston, which station was afc the time in- J eluded in the Christchurch section. J^ Supreme Court.- The turnip seed *case, Cleave v. King and another, occupied tlie whole of yesterday in tho Supreme Court, and resulted in a verdict for the plaintiff on all the issues, subject to several questions of law.^ To-day, the case of "Henderson v. Napier Harbour Board " has commenced. It is likely to occupy afc leasfc a week. For the plaintiff Messrs Macassey and Harper will appear, and for the defendants fcho AttorneyGeneral and Mr Rees M.H.R. Rangiora Organ Committee. — The Cou£\ mittee appointed by the parishioners of Rangiora to carry out the preliminaries in connection with the erection of an organ in the Parish Church, Rangiora, met afc the Parsonage on Tuesday evening for tho purpose of making arrangements for fcho formal opening of the organ. The members of Committee present were— the Ven. Archdeacon Dudley, Messrs Merton, Burrows, Trite, and Bell. It was decided to celebrate the opening of the i organ on Thursday, Feb. 13, with a tea meeting and concert, the former to be held in the Church Schoolroom, under the superintendance of the Vestry, and the concert under Mr Mertou's control. A statement of accounts was handed in by tho Treasurer, and it w;ur shown that about £60 was required to be raised to complete the payment of tho instrument. It was also arranged to hold an afternoon service in the Church hefore the tea meeting. . | Proposed Alterations to the TimaruN Railway Station.— At the usual monthly ) meeting of the Levels Road Board, held on / Tuesday, the proposed alterations to tha Timaru railway station were discussed, ana the following resolutions were unanimously adopted:— l. "That tho Levels Road Boar* having been made acquainted with tho prof posed alterations afc the Tirmiru railwaj station, look with grave concern upon anj| interference with the Beach right of the! publie ; aud oonsider thafc any impediment! placed in the way of the Landing Services! (which, even now, are nofc more thau ado-l quate for the shipping requirements of the! district) will be injurious to the agricultural/ interests of the port of South Canterbury— j interests rapidly increasing iu extent, andi requiring every facility for shipping awayl grain and other produce to the vessels in thei roadstead engaged in the intercolonial andi other trades." 2. "That the Board, while] recognising the importance of rail .ray communication between Christchurch and Dunedin, especially for light goods traffic, further record their opinion tbafc tho shipping interests here oughfc fco be fostered in every possible way, and fchafc wifch fcho yearly increase of produce in fche district;, it will take all the facilities for shipping thafc are possibly available, as well as the railway, to cany the produce for export." 3. "That this Board will heartily co-operate with the Chamber of Commerce and Harbour Board in obtaining suitable railway accommodation for tlie requirements of the town and district, and that the Chairman be requested to forward the foregoing resolutions to the proper quarter." Savings' Banks in Schools. — The Dunedin Herald says : — The Secretary of the Society for Promoting School Banks (Mr Dalrymple, of Port Chalmers) has received from the Government, specimen copies of the journal and ledger for the use of the teachers, also copies of depositors' books — all excellent, and j eaeh well adapted for its special purpose. Mr , I Gray, head of the Postal Department, writes | Iwith these to Mr Dalrymple that tho requisite number of these several books will be ready for issue nexfc week, and fchat it is intended to have everything perfected, so as to admit of thc inauguration of tho system taking place on the re-assembling of the schools, The Education Boards are to be immediately communicated with, and a circular of general application is being prepared for tho schoolmasters, which will be issued from Mr Hislop's office, Wellington. Preparations for the Railway Opbn-\ ing.— There appears fco be every prospect 1 thafc visitors to fcho ceremony afc the opening of the railway through from Dunedin to Invercargill will enjoy a substantial meal judging from this^ paragraph cut from the Southland bN"ews .- — At a meeting of the recently appointed committee fco superintend arrangements for a banquet on fcho opening of \ the railway line through to Christchurch, the \ following resolution was agreed to : — " That tlie banquet be a hot dinner tliroughoufc, wifch all the necessary liquors for twelre toasts, fche contractor to submit hia own specification ; tenders to be submitted at per ticket ; committee to guarantee 200 as the minimum, but the caterer can submit alternative tenders for a cold collation with hot soups and vegetables." -^ The Sailors' Strike at Melbourne. — Tlie Argus of Jan. 7 says :— Tho deep-sea sailors at present in the porfc of Melbourne] want more wages fchan the shipowners offerj and beiug refused, have inaugurated a strike!! The movement has beon going on for a feW days. It is entirely apart from "' thej Chinese labour question, and fcho seameii of coasting vessels are excluded. The num] ber of men who havo joined in the strike] up to the present is 46, and ifc is expected! thafc they will receive considerable auj? mentation within thc nexfc fow day^s. Their demand is for £7 per month for direbt home voyages, and £5 per month ffcr " rounds," or voyages in which there is an intermediate port of call. The ordinary wage is said to be £6. At Christmas it rose to £7, but since then it has fallen to £6, and the men cannofc now obtain engagements above £5. As they consider £7 only a fair sum, they have resolved to resort to the extremity of a strike. Tho lasfc ship which leffc for London was the Loch Vennachar. Her A.B.'s were articled for £5, and efforts were therefore made to induce fchem fco refuse duty, bufc a dread of imprisonment kept fchem at their posts, and as they engaged before the strike was commenced they were not subjected to any violence. The Sir Walter Raleigh, which is about ready to leave for England, wanted six men on Saturday at low rates, but none could be had. During the day tlie seamen formed themselves into » procession, and, with a Union Jack in front, and a flag bearing the words " More Wages " in the rear, paraded from the Sailors' Home through the principal streets. They state that they are being supported in tiie coursefchey bave taken by fche boarding house keepers of Williamsfcown and Sandridge, who promise fco assist them in the mafctor of board and lodgings. France in the Mediterranean.— The Whitehall lleview says : — " We recently alluded to the activity prevailing at fche naval yards and arsenals of France, and to the assistance in the equipment of ships aud tlie manufacture of guns whieh wero being quietly obtained from private /inns. Another and more certain step has, we learn, now been decided upon by tho French Govemmont. This is nothing less fchan a naval demonstration in the Mediterranean. The ironclad fleet to be despatched under the command of ViceAdmiral de Dompierre d'Hornoy is such as has rarely, if ever, been assembled by France in any waters, and tlie natural cause assigned for the step is thafc in these days of surprises ifc behoves France to bo prepared. It is certain that the annexation of Cyprus by England created a deep sensation throughout France, and ifc is said in official circles fchat another move in the direction of Egjpfc i 8 thought not improbable. Ifc is, therefore, resolved that France shall nofc be compelled to confine herself to diplomatic notes and articles of protest in the public journals, but shall haye somo real and tangible power to add weight to her words should her viows be opposed. Ifc will be seen by the following summary of the strength of tho new Mediterranean fleet of France thafc the ships are about equal in numbers and men to the British naval force concentrated at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. There are no turret-ships, but the armourplated broadside ships are fcen in number namely :— The Colbert, of 14 guns and 720 men; Richelieu, 12 guns and 770 menFriedland, 16 guns, 700 men; Suffrcn, 8 guns, 700 men ; Magnanime, 12 guns, 620---men ; Surveillante, 16 guns, 575 men ; Savoie, 13 guns, 575 men ; Provence, 12 guns, 570 men; Heroine, 14 guns, 570 men ; and fcho biternal, 16 guns, 210 men ; giving a total of 133 guns and 6010 men. In addition there we ten armoured ships, some smaller unirmoured vessels, and some despatch boats* ind it is plain that France has no intention rt allowing herself to lose her present huh. position as a naval power in Europe."

Tub Australian Eleven.— l hear ifc said -.(remarks " iEgles ") that nearly £1200 was paid for the privele^e of witnessing the Australian Eleven cricket match qn the East Melbourne ground. This sum, I believe, exceeds fche amount received afc any match played by fche Eleven in England. An Amateur Buskrangee. — A curiouß flfcory is related by fche Albury bßanner, a Victorian paper : — At an early hour on the morning of Doc. 28, a man rushed into the house of a Mrs Everitt, on fche Albury Flat, and announced that he was Kelly, the bushranger. Afc this time the only persons in the house were Mrs Everitt and her sister-in-law, who, naturally enough, were somewhat alarmed at the announcement. The intruder, after announcing his name, seized hold of one of the two women, and it appears attempted violence. Jusfc then, however, the husband came in, and the bushrangor ran off. In the meantime, tho other woman, fearing to be robbed by the man, had carefully secreted several £1 notos in the ashes on the hearth, and there, in the excitement of the moment, they were allowed to remain until fchey were destroyed. The soi-disant hushranger is described as having carried two Wellington boots in his belfc, one strapped on eaoh side, so arranged as to represent revolver holsters.