Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5082, 16 August 1884, Page 3

Local & General.

* The Rev Ralph Brown repeated his interesting lecture on " Heads and Faces" in the St. Albans Wesleyan Church last evening. The Rev W. Morley presided, and there was a good attendance. The Ashburton Wesleyan choir gave an entertainment to the inmates of the Old Men's Home yesterday. A large number of visitors attended, and Mr Gamble conducted the choir, Miss Murray accompanying the singing. An unfortunate accident occurred at ; Southbridge on Thursday. Whilst Mr D. J Sutherland's son Charles was driving some j horses home one of them kicked out and broke his leg in two places. The boy was immediately removed to his home, where Dr Doßset attended to his injuries. The patient is now progressing very favourably. The operations of the Maclean Pickle Company have been so far successful recently that the Directors have granted a bonus to the original share- ) | holders of 20 per cent on the value of ; shares held by them. It had previously been agreed that this should be done if the j financial condition of the Company i warranted it, so as to compensate the j original shareholders for the interest they i parted with when the number of shares : was increased. j An entertainment in aid of the funds of the Kaiapoi Volunteer Fire Brigade was ! held at the Oddfellows' Hall on Thursday ! evening. There was a large and appreciat ive audience. An overture was played by the Misses Burnip, and songs were conj tributed by Mesdames Robins, Martin (encored) ; Messrs G. P. Milsom, Teague 1 (encored), and Montague Smith (encored). The last two appeared in character songs. • A step dance was given by Mr Wilson, and ' the Kaiapoi Brass Band rendered valuable assistance by playing two pieces outside : the hall. Mr Blakeley acted as accompanyist. After the first portion of the entertainment, his Worship the Mayor, in a ' eulogistic speech, presented Messrs Hornby, Brighting and Linklater with medals and bars for long service in the Brigade. The second part of the entertainment consisted of a farce, entitled j "The Quiet Family," which was very creditably put on the stage. The following took part : — Misses Gooding, K. Dippenheim, A. Dippenheim and A. Taylor, and j Messrs Burburry, Dippenheim, F. Smith j and Butt. j At the Ashburton Police Court yes- ' turday, a man named — Cuff, a backslider from the Salvation Army, was' ! brought up on some half-a-dozen charges j of drunkenness, obscenity, disorderly conduct, assaults, and so forth. Constable ' Smart said that one Mulford had complained of Cuff assaulting him. The constable went to Havelock street, the scene of the "Army's" operations, aud while there saw the prisoner strike Bartlett, and ' arrested him accordingly. Thomas Hooper, a member of the " Army," said Cuff had been a member, but had been discharged. ; In response to a friendly greeting, Cuff had • assaulted him on the street, and had used , bad language; he also said Cuff kicked one ' Margetts, another member of the " Army," lon the mouth. Albert Mulford gave cvi- ; dence as to Cuff's assault on himself and ' on Hooper, and quoted some of Cuff's ; words, which were certainly not such as '. one hears from a pulpit. David Margetts : generally corroborated, saying that Cuff had assaulted his brother in the " heye," but witness had advised his brother to "forgive as he hoped to be forgiven. Bless the dear Lord." Ann James saw Cuff strike the boy Hooper, and heard him use bad language. His Worship inflicted fines, in all amounting to £2 ss, or seven days' imprisonment. ) The entertainment given in St Luke's schoolroom last evening, the third of the • series for the purpose of aiding in decreas- [ ing the parish debt, was most successful. ; Every available seat was filled, a result not surprising when the excellence of this and ; the two previous entertainments is borne jin mind. The first part consisted of a con--1 cert of vocal and instrumental music, the ! vocalists being Mrs Alan Scott, the Misses ; Helmore, Miss Spensley, Miss E. Strange, ' the Rev E. A. Lingard and Mr W. Izard, ' and the instrumentalists, Mrs Kitson, Miss ' Strange, Messrs Biinz, Tankard, Spensley : and A. R. Kelsey. These ladies and gen- ; tlemen had the double pleasure of knowing ' that they pleased their audience, while ■ : giving their services to help the Church. j Miss Spensley was deservedly encored for her song "Oh, Laddie," sung so ' sweetly and plaintively, and the final i number of the programme, a duet, J " The Moon has Raised her Lamp ; above," by the Rev E. A. Lingard j and Mr Izard, was well rendered and ap- • predated by the audience. After a short i interval a one-act comedy. " The Dowager," was performed by tho Opawa Dramatic Club, the members of which acquitted themselves most creditably. The concert and farce at St John's Schoolroom last night formed an entertainment quite equal, if* not superior, to any of those that have preceded it. In the concert the St John's choir gave " Sigh no more, Ladies," and " The Ferry Maiden," with a fair amount of precision ; Mrs Yaldwyn and Miss Broadbelt gave very nicely " Good-bye," and " Golden Love ;" Messrs Woodhouse, Morris, Hobbs and Twinning sang " Sailing," " Never More," " Oh, oh, Hear the Wild Wind," and " The Little Hero," so as to win enthusiastic applause and encores; Mrs Garrard and Mr Broadhurst sang "I've Wandered in Dreams," and Mrs Garrard, Miss E. B. Rowley and Miss Wright, " Rest thee on Mossy Pillow," with much taste. - Mrs Yaldwyn played " Sans Souci," and Mr Cambridge " The Cascade," two charming pianoforte selections ; and Mr Gundersen played very sweetly " Sans Paroles," a flute solo. John Maddison Morton's capital farce " Betsy Baker" was the dramatic selection. In this the characters were admirably taken by Mrs Garrard, Miss L. Mackett, Mr C. W. Flint and Mr C. B. Dobson, who displayed a histrionic ability that many professionals might well envy. As on previous evenings the stage arrangements were carefully made. Under these circumstances the fun of the piece was keenly relished by all present — a very numerous company. The famous Aden tanks for catching rain-water have been abandoned entirely cic a source of water supply, in favour of condensed sea- brine. When the rains do come down after a drought of several years they come with a vengeance. As a result these mammoth tanks are filled with many tous of mud, and the process of cleansing the liquid has proved too laborious. But the Government manages to turn these washings from the hills to some account for fertilizing purposes. It is found that they are rich in manurial properties, and the so-called agriculturists pay well for a few loads each. Last year .£BOO was earned in this way. . Our American cousins are becoming notorious for the invention of infernal machines. Their latest achievement, which hails from Boston, is, however, for use in open warfare, and is designated the "War-Turtle." It is a steelclad machine, and is propelled by an engine of irresistible power, enclosed in its body. It creeps slowly but surely along the ground, and can even ascend a steep hill. In addition to discharging GOOO bullets a minute, it is able to throw with y accuracy 20 dynamite bombs in the same I space of time. Only two men are required to direct the movements of the machine, (and they are fully protected. The " WarTurtle," as yet, lias not been publicly tested.

Messrs Roberts, Paxton and Co. have got over their difficulty, caused by the strike of the Ly ttelto« lumpers in their employ, by engaging men from Christchurch. The grain drying at their stores is now carried on as before. The two little boys, Watkins and Townsend, who were lost on Thursday, were restored to their homes yesterday, ; having been found wandering in the streets by persons who sheltered them and took them to their parents. A meeting of the East Malvem Library Committee was held on Monday evening. The report of the Working Committee was received, giving details of arrangements for the moving of the Library building. Since the meeting, operations have been commenced, and the building is now in course of removal to the proposed site below Sheffield. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the North Creek Gold Mining Company was held at their offices this week. The principal business was to consider the applications for the 500 shares which the Directors had offered to shareholders. These shares had been put out at 5s per share, or ls 6d premium. The number applied for was 1080— a very satisfactory result. Mr Stout arrived at Lyttelton by special train, at 2.40 p.m. yesterday, and as there was no steamer leaving northwards, the Lyttelton Harbour Board -were . applied to for the nse of their tug Lyttelton to convey the future Premier to Wellington. There being nothing special to occupy the time of the tug she was engaged for the trip, the cost of which will be charged at the special scale rate fixed by the Harbour Board, namely £2 per hour. The Lyttelton, with Mr Stout on board, left the wharf at Port at 3.30 p.m. Allowing 18 hours each way for the trip to and from Wellington, and a few hours for a stay there, the tug should be back in Lyttelton on Sunday. .A special meeting of the Woolston Town Board was held on Thursday ; present — Messrs York, Coles, Tickner, and' J. H. Hopkins (Chairman). The Clerk explained that the meeting was called to strike a rate for the year ending Dec. 31 next. A general rate of ls in the <£, and a Waimakariri rate of one halfpenny in the .£ on all rateable property in the district was struck. The rate-book was signed by Messrs Hopkins, York, and Tickner. A discussion ensued re the smallpox Hospital, now being erected in the vicinity of the district. The Board determined to take steps, with the Bromley people, to endeavour to get it removed, as the children attending the Bromley school had to pass the building. The meeting then ended. An adjourned general meeting of the Working Men's Political Association was held at the Temperance Hall last evening. There was a moderate attendance, and Mr Handysides, Vice-President, occupied the chair. The Secretary read a report on the position of the Association, frem which it appeared that a balance of JJI2 10s was in hand, and had been deposited in the Post Office Savings Bank. There was some difficulty in ascertaining the exact number of members, as there were several rolls, which were rather conflicting. He considered that the Association had done useful work, and could be carried on in a manner which would tend to be productive of good in the future. Messrs Cairns, Berry, and Hepburn were then elected members of the Committee, vice Messrs Pozzi, Parker, and Crowley, resigned. The resignations of Messrs Meek and Guinness as trustees were accepted, and Messrs Handysides and Alfrey were appointed to the position. A balance-sheet was then submitted, from which it appeared that the liabilities were £2, and the balance in hand .£l2 8s Id. After some routine business, the meeting terminated.