Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5172, 29 November 1884, Page 3

Local & General.

■ ♦ The entertainment announced to be held in the Merivale schoolroom is postponed till Dec. 5. The Canterbury Museum will be closed from Dec. 1 to Sunday, Dec. 7, both days inclusive. Mabel Ada Boyd was yesterday committed for trial on a charge of keeping a disorderly house. • A public trial of manure drills will be held on Mr Boag's farm, near Avonhead, on Monday, at 2 p.m. The Spring Show of the Eangiora Horticultural Society will be held in the Literary Institute Hall, Rangiora, on Friday. A special general meeting of the Midland Canterbury Cricket Club will be held at the Commercial Hotel, at eight o'clock this evening. In consequence of the bazaar and festivities at Killinchy on Tuesday next, Mr Wakefield has decided to alter the date of his Leeston meeting to Monday evening instead of Tuesday, as previously notified. The adjourned meeting of the Christchurch Coal Company, called for last night, resulted as the two previously summoned meetings had done — it lapsed for want of a quorum. The shareholders of this Company must be singularly apathetic, as there are 200 of them, and yet 20, the required number, cannot be got bo attend a meeting. At a, meeting at Ohoka of the United Societies of Druids and Oddfellows, it was unanimously agreed to hold their annual sports on Boxing Day, and also to provide for the amusement and entertainment of the children of the district. The sports will be followed in the evening by a concert and ball. A strong Committee, representing both Societies, was chosen to make arrangements. A movement is on foot to expunge all traces of English conquest in Dublin by substituting Irish for English names to the streets. A motion will be brought forward in the Dublin Corporation to name thp bridges after Irish kings or chieftains, and the quays after Irishmen who h<tVe fought for liberty in other lands than Ireland. The leading streets of Dublin are at present named after English statesmen. A runaway, which resulted in the complete smash up of a trap, occurred on the Ferry road yesterday afternoon. The horse, which was travelling from town, was frightened by the blinkers coming loose, and, kicking out vigorously, tore away the shafts and some of the front portions of the vehicle. The driver, fortunately escaped without hurt, and after the horse had gone some chains down the road, it was secured and brought back. At the quarterly meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce held yesterday afternoon, the President, TVIr J. Cooke, gave a hopeful review of the state of commercial matters in Canterbury. The Chamber passed resolutions in favour of a revision of the railway charges at Lyttelton, a revision of the grain tariff, and a train to and from Port every night. A motion condoling with the family of the late Mr Inglis was also passed unanimously. The usual meeting of the Sefton Sports Committee was held on Thui'sday evening ; Mr Wheeler in the chair. There wa3 a good attendance. The list of guarantors, ! as read, showed over .£lO towards the fund. I All arrangements were made for putting | the course in order and for procuring a [ brass band. A large marquee was ordered to be procured, and various items of detail were considered. A letter was read from Mr J. D. Lance, M.H.R., accepting the office of patron. The meeting then adjourned. A little boy had a narrow escape from drowning yesterday in the Avon, close to the Barbadoes street Bridge. The child, whose name is Davis, liad fallen into the river, and the cries raised by his playmates quickly attracted several persons to the spot. Mr B. J. Leahy, one of the City Inspectors, who was passing at the time, at once sprang- into the river and brought the drowning child safe to the bank. Another gentleman had also entered the river from the opposite bank, and was swimming tof wardß the boy ivhcn he was rescued by Mr Leahy. Last evening a meeting was held at Mr T. McDowell's store, Lower High street, for the purpose of taking some measures to provide for the family of the late Thoma3 M'Cleary, who wa3 recently drowned in Lyttelton harbour. There was a good attendance; Mr M'Dowell occupied the chair, and stated that the family, consisting of the widow nnd five young children, had absolutely no means of subsistence. Those present formed themselves into a Committee for the purpose of obtaining subscriptions, and Mr M'Dowell was appointed Treasurer. The manner in which the money raised i 3 to be invested will be determined at a future meeting. Yesterday afternoon the Chairman of the Heatheote Koad Board waited ou the Hon E. Richardson with reference to the Suuiner ro;id, the survey of which, it appears, is very unsatisfactory. He also mentioned the fact that the boundary between the Koad District and the Woolston Town District was not considered to be satisfactory by the Road Board, which had not been consulted when it was adjusted, as the Act under which the severance of the Town District was effected did not provide for the opinion of the Koad Board being taken on the matter. The Hon E. Richardson made a note of the question, and advised the Road Board to write to the Minister of Lauds in regard to the Suinner road survey. The other matter referred to apparently requires legislation to effect a change. The number of domestic servants, male and fVuvily, in France is about 2,557,206 ; in CuT!.:;..;i; U :o l,'J2U>-i.

On Tuesday Higbt, and during the , early houi'3 of Wednesday morning, a heavy north-wester blow over the Malvorn district, and on Thursday niijhfc a frost occurred, severe enough to destroy all the tops of the potato crop. The valuable medicinal propertie» of the Eucaly-ptus glohulus are becoming more and more recognised every year. The latest use to which the tree has been put is in the manufacture of soap, .and, according to the Rangoon Gazette, Mr Hugh Fraaer, a native of Aberdeen, has established a factory at Poozondoung for the manufacture of a soap which will impart disinfecting properties, as well as thorough cleanliness, to all linen and to the skin. It has been ascertained beyond a doubt from extensive, wooden hospitals and other buildings constructed from the wood of the Eucalyptus that highly satisfactory results, and an influence beneficial as a preservative andxn-eventative against fever, cholera and small-pox, from the strong, pungent, but most agreeable and pleasant odour, had been the outcome, and this fact led Mr Fraser to utilise the product of the blue gum in the manufacture of soap. : The Parish port is the latest name . given to the reputed juice of the grape. : According to the contract price given by a ! respectable firm of wine merchants to a ; London board of guardians, " good, sound • port " cau bo supplied at the rate of .£29 a '. pipe, or a fraction over five shillings the. j Imperial gallon. Seeing, therefore, that few wine bottles nowadays hold more than ' five Imperial gills, this is roughly about : ninepence a bottle. From a similar calI culation it appears that the sherry is supj plied at about the same rate. These are,. ! of course, prices in bond, and therefore I exclusive of the duty, which would cerj tainly be under iivepence a bottle. Four- : teen shillings a dozen, therefore, we may j^take it, is about the price 01 "parish port :"and sherry." For invalids this must be '. invaluable ! j The fiteam plant for the newly-formed I Akaroa Jam and Fruife Preserving Com- : pany, has been completed by Messrs i Taylor and Oakley, and will be sent to Akaroa early next week. The appliances consist of a four-horse-power • vertical boiler and two steam jacketted i copper pans, each of which is capable j of preparing half-a-ton of jam per diem. ' Mr A. H. M'Lcan has been engaged as manager of the factory, and intends to commence operations at once, so as to take advantage of the present season's fruit harvest. As the fruit trees throughout the Peninsula give promise of an abundant crop, it appears that there will be no difficulty in obtaining a supply of the chief requisite for the operations of the Company. A considerable quantity of small fruit trees, such as gooseberries and currants, have been plauted in several places in anticipation of the factory getting to work. Last night a general meetingof the Christchurch Early Closing Association was held in the Young Men's Christian Association Hall. About sixty were present, and Mr Paul was voted to the chair. In the rules which had been drawn up by the Committee, and were now approved, the object of the As3ociaticn was stated to be the earlier closing of the various places of business in the city ; all trades to be represented and to be entitled to take part in the management. On the question of a weekly halfholiday, a difficulty was mooted on ascount of the Act providing that work-women must have Saturday afternoon. After some discussion, it was resolved to instruct the Committee to take the necessary steps for interviewing employers in order to obtain a half-holiday on Thursday afternoons and to report to a future meeting, and to apply to the proper authorities with a, view to altering the Factories Act. Several additions were made to the Committee, which was empowered to deal with matters of detail. Mr Whiteside resigned the Secretaryship, and Mr Carey consented to accept the post. This brought the business to a close. The Bavarian Government, weary of hearing complaints from citizens about the adulteration of beer, instituted an investigation, the result being that three brewers were sent to prison and 33 were fined.