Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4857, 23 November 1883, Page 2

Local & General.

Mr H. B. Alport announoes auotion tale* at 11 o'clock to-morrow, of wheat, and book debts in several bankrupt estates. A Chamber of Commerce has been estab* lisbed at Nelson, Sir James Solanders Chair* man, and Mr J. H. Cook vice-Chairman. The anniversary services, in connection with the United Methodist Free Ohurob, will be held next bunday. Details will bo found in an advertisement. The annual meeting of the Selwyn County Counoil for the election of Chairman will be> held on Nov. 28. The usual monthly meeting will be held the same day. The following items appear on our fourth page:— Tale, "The Boundary Bider" (continued); Working Men's Olub; Theatre* Royal; Blue Bibbon Movement; University of New Zealand ; St Luke's Church ; Can* terbury Caledonian Soeiety; Cricket Notes $ Industrial Association; Gazette Kotioest Cable News; Bunday Photographs and Charles the Second ; About Plum Pudding and Panoakes, Another of the periodioal meetings held under the auspices of the Blue Bibboa Gospel Temperance Mission took placo in the Woodend distriot sohoolroom on Mon« day evening last. The Bey L. Hudson, Chairman of the local branoh, ooeupied the chair, and despite the unsettled state of tht weather, the room was quite filled with aa audienoe that listened with much attention to addresses from the Bey Hodgson, of Bangiora B and Bey A. Blake, of Christohuroh, as a resold of whose eloquenoe a number oame forward. < signed the pledge, and " donned the blue. 1 ' i The proceedings were enlivened by selection! [ from the ohoir, and solos were effectively « rendered by Mrs Hudson and the Menif I Balkeld. The usual roles of. thanks termi* • nated the meeting.

yj— — i ■_■__— ———■■■a_—— —■ We regret extremely to have to announoe tha death of the Bey J. Cummin?, one of the Jnipeeton of the Government aohoola, whioh oeeurred early this morning. Mr W. J. Glasgow, late pupil of the Nelson College, left yesterday for England to take up the military oadetship at (Sandhurst, which WM at the disposal of the Benate of the University of New Zealand, in whioh he passed the first seotion of the BA. examination. The College Cadet Corps, in whioh ho was Lieutenant, saw him off. A little girl named Lena Bartle, four yean of age, left her home, Stanley •treet, Sydenham, about 530 p.m. yesterday, and up to late last night had not been heard of. She is of fair oomplexioß, and wears a white straw hat, plum coloured Areas, and white pinafore. On WednpHay evening laßt some of the members of the Kaiapoi and Fcraaide Lodges of Good Templarß paid a fraternal visit to the Good Intent Lodge, Bangiora. The visitors took the officers' ohairi, and a vory pleasant evening was Bpent, harmony being freely indulged in. At the conclusion of the meeting a supper, provided by the Sisters of the Lodge, was partaken of. The BpringShow.held under the auspice" of the Sydenhim Horticultural Society, open ed today at 1 p m. at the local Oddfellows' Hull. The number of exhibitors is unusually large, and the result of the art union has quite exceeded the expectations of the Committee. The Exhibition will be continued during to-morrow, and the Addington Workshops Band will play selections of mueio each evening. The last general rehearsal but one for the approaching choir festival was held in St John's Bohoolroom, Latimer aquare, last night. Bepraaentativea from all the suburban and town choirs assembled to tho number of nearly 300, and the music chosen for the festival was vigorously rehearsed under the direction of Mr H. Walla, Cathedral organist. She next Tehearsal ia to be held iv the oathedml. There were 45 rank and file of the Ghriatohuroh Biflea on parade last night, Captain Ferguaon in command. Lieut.* Colonel Lean, who inapeoted the men, laid he was pleaaed to see they were ahead in the olasa firing, and apoke approvingly of She proposal to hold an encampment at Little Biver at Christmas. Between 30 and 40 gave in their names as willing to attend. We believe the College Bifles also propose to hold an encampment at Quail Island. The < omperanoe Sooiety 'of the Oxford Terrtoa Baptist Church gave their usual entertainment last evening. There waa a inofl attendance, and the ohair was occupied by the Bey O.Dallaston. Vocal and instrumental music, reoitations, and readings were given by Mesdamos Oorriok, Bdwarda, and Walton, Messrs Edwards, Haonally, H. Corriok, Olpej, Efford, and Master Baetian. The various items on the programme were heartily appreciated by the audience, who passed the evening with evident pleasure. The Mißtletoe Lodge, U.A.0.D., No. 96, held their uaual fortnightly meeting at their hall, Barbadoes street, last evening, Arch Druid Bailey, in the ohair. The usual routine business wns disposed of ie tho customary manner. One candidate was initiated. Bro Byao, P. A., waj elected junior auditor. Bro Bnrbury, V.A., waa elected delegate to the meeting, to be held this evening at the Terminus Hotel, for the purpose of forming a Diatricb Grand Lodge in New Zealand, and also to present P.D.F. Tomson'a testimonial. Harmony was contributad for twenty minutes, and th- Lodge waa closed in peace and harmony at 10.20 p.m. by the A.D. Members of the Union Bowing Club will be pleased to hear that J. B. Johnston, who, up to the time of his departure for Wellingixm, bad been a member of the Club for several years, has succeeded in carrying off the Benior Sculls held in connection with the Star Boating Club, Wellington. fthe racing waa commenced on Monday evening, when Johnston won the third heat, beating A. O. Gibbea ; defeated B. 0. Batkin in the first heat of the seoond round ; and won the final heat from 0. OH. Smith. The three men beaten by Johaaton, it will be remembered, were in the Star Club's crew when they met and defeated the Union Bowing Olub'a four in March of last year. Gibbes pulled Btroke ; Smith, 3 ;. and Batkin, bow. The Vienna carrespondent of [the Daily News learns from ttt Petersburg that a number of officers implicated in a political conspiracy have been arrested at St Petersburg, and that in consequence a large depdt has been discovered near Oharkoff, whioh contained arms of every kind, large quantities of gunpowder, dynamite bomba, and new printing apparatus. Bevolutionary publications and correspondence in cypher were also discovered, showing that there is a widespread conspiracy, possessing ample means, and numbering especially offioera among ita members. It waa discovered that dynamite was being manufactured in Solpino, close by St Petersburg, where the scientific and technical branohes of the army stationed in the Butaian capital perform their daily exercises. Hera more than a hundred and thirty-eight naval and seventeen artillery officers were arrested and conveyed to the St Peter Paul f ortresa. In Simbirsk an artillery colonel waß arrested, who had gained an enormous influenoe with the peasants, and inoited them to revolutionary deeda. So much is aaid and written about Mr Missionary Shaw ab the present time that it will astonish many people to leant that the victim of Admiral Pierre's mental derangement ia a layman. The following brief sketoh of hia oareer, whioh appears in the religious papers, is not without interest : — " Mr Shaw, who ia forty-three years old, waft educated at the Normal College of the British and foreign Sohool Society. Having passed sucoesifully at the Soienoe "and Art Classes, South Kensington, he aooepted the mastership of a school at Wilmsloe, Cheshire. Desiring to be employed in missionary work, he undertook, in 1868, an educational appointment at Samoa, under the London Missionary Sooiety. In 1871 the Sooiety requested Mr Shaw to become superintendent of education in the Betaileo Province, Bouth Central Madagaaoar. In 1878 he came home for a holiday, and, on returning to Madagascar in 1880, waa aent to Tamatave. At Tamatave he has superintended every department of mission work, religions and educational, medical and mechanical, including the erection of aohools and ohurohes. He in a membor of the Zoological Society of j J nn'.oD, and a correspondent of the Meteoro--1 Hooiety." It would be more correct to utyle him Mr Sohoolmaster Shaw than Mr Missionary Shaw, and (according to a London j paper) he certainly has more the look of a pedagogue tban a preacher. j The London Times of a recent date, on the authority of the Bootland Yard officials, states that it is believed that upwards of 200,000 spurious sovereigns have reoently been put in circulation at Home by a gang of clever coiners. The counterfeits atand all the ordinary t*ata, and in weight, ring, colour, and appearance are very similar to the genuine coin. Each sovereign is eleotrotyped with real geld to the value of about 7a 6d, and the coating ia so thick that they rrfsiat the nitrio acid teat. The imitation, therefore, ia an excellent one, and even an expert would have difficulty in detecting it, especially as the coins have been strnok from various dies, some being of the Australian stamp, while of thoßo purporting to be English money some have the shield and others have 8b George and the dragon on the reverse aide. Some of these coins before long may find their way to this Colony, bub as the fraud will noro easily be detected after they have been some time in ! circulation, it ia only of suspiciously new looking sovereigns that the publio need feel at all doubtful. Considering the amount of bullion the sovereigns contain, they must eaoh have cost at least 10s to manufacture, so that auppoaing only 50,000 weie struck off at once the originators of this gigantio swindle must have had originally a capital of at least £20,000 or £30,000 to work upon. It ia sad to think that so muoh capital and ao muoh ingenuity should have been used with snoh aucceaa in such a nefarious swindle on the public.