Latest Locals.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5190, 22 December 1884, Page 3

Latest Locals.

o Mr D. T. Stuart, accountant and snarebroker, of Wellington, announces himself as a candidate for a seat on the Government Insurance Board. On Saturday the L.P.C. juniors second $>layed the Ashbourne C.CL second eleven. and won by 28 runs on the first innings. ficoresj—L.P.C., 72 ; A.C.C.,44. The rights at Lancaster Park, in connection with the forthcoming cricket matches, will be offered at auction by Messrs S. P. Andrews and Co., at noon, tomorrow. The agents for the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company have been advised of the arrival of the Arawa at Hobart on Dec. 19, and also that she left again for Port Chalmers on the evening of the 20th. There will be. two Magistrate's Courts sitting to-morrow, one in the Courthouse, -where the ordinary business will be taken, and the other in the Provincial Council Chamber, where the charges of horsestealing, Ac, against J. W. Crabtree will be investigated. A correspondent complains that on some *ccasvm«— on public holidays more particularly—the Sumner busses are greatly overcrowded. He suggests that as the drivers appear either powerless or unwilling to prevent this, and as a serious accident may possibly occur, the .matter is jie for police interference. i

The following items appear on our fourth page : — Sporting Intelligence ; Theatre Royal. Chirk and Rynian's American Comedy Company will open in the Oddfellows' Hall on Wednesday evening. The highlyattractive programme to be submitted will bo found in detail in our advertising columns. It is stated that the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Co. have purchased, for the sum of £0000, the block of buildings inHigh street, at present occupied by Mr F. Hobbs. The lease of the ground, which belongs to Mr W. Wilson, has about 45 years to run. The House Steward of the Christchurch Hospital wishes to acknowledge, with thanks, the receipt of a quantity of flowers from Mra H. W. Peryman, Tai Tapu ; of strawberries from Mrs Holmes, Riccarton ; and of periodicals from Mrs Inwood and " a friend." It is currently reported that Mr A. Moore, .of the firm of A. Moore and Co., of this city, who left ht>re in the s.s. Aorangi, apparently for the purpose of proceeding to England, quitted the vessel at Rio. The intelligence has caused some excitement in commercial circles. ; It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death of Mr T. S. Duncan, of the firm of Duncan, Cotterill and Martin, who for many years held the office of Crown Prosecutor in Christchurch. Mr Duncan, who was about 63 years of age, was one of the earliest settlers in Canterbury, and had earned very general respect by his ability and kindness , of heart. He had been suffering for several months from the disease which carried him off, and for a long period had taken no active part in public affairs. About 2 o'clock this afternoon a man named Charles King, living at Hogg's Boarding-house, Tuani street east, startled the other inmates of the house by announcing that he had taken poison. An empty bottle, smelling strongly of some drug, which was in his possession, seemed to confirm his statement, and Mrs Hogg at once ran and told his employer, Mr T. Haskett, saddler, whose shop is situated next door. He promptly took King to the Hospital, where emetics were administered to him. No trace of poison, however, could be discovered, and no ill effectß followed, though he was evidently suffering from the effects of drink, bottle taken from him was proved to have contained spirits of nitre. Of all the curious things in the "Healtherieß," I (Truth says) thought the products of the Warnerising Company the most curious. What the Company is Ido not know, but its representative in the " Healtheries " is a lady who pours water on veils, pieces of silk and of velvet, &c; the water runs about like quicksilver, and does, not penetrate even through the meshes of the veil. She told me that ink or a basin of soup might be poured on the articles subjected to the process without leaving a stain. She herself never goes about with an umbrella, and not even the feathers in her hat are affected by the heaviest downpour. Quite a holiday programme has been arranged for the remainder of Miss Genevieve Ward and Mr Vernon's season at the Theatre RoyaL . To-morrow and on Wednesday, " Rachel " will be played. On Friday and Saturday the pieces will be Sardou's three-act comedy, "A Scrap of Paper," and the farce " A Regular Fix." Monday next ha 3 been set apart for the benefit of Mr Vernon, who will present " Mammon " * and " Cool as a Cucumber." On Tuesday, "Rachel" will be reproduced, and on Wednesday " A Scrap of Paper," &c. On Thursday, Jan. 1, a final opportunity will be aforded of seeing the remarkable play, " Forget-me-Not." On Jan. 2, Miss Ward's benefit night, the bill will comprise " Nance Oldfield," the sleepwalking scene from " Macbeth," and "His. Laat Leg 3." The season will close on Saturday, Jan. 3, when possibly the pieces of the preceding night may be repeated. A Northumberland man sends the following details relative to Jarrow, where such dire distress has existed: — Jarrcw is on the south side of the Tyne, and is consequently in the County of Durham. Nearly opposite the starving town; on the occasion of the opening of a new dock, the Prince and Princess of Wales were being entertained at a cost of many hundreds of pounds to the Tynesiders. Jarrow has sprung up quickly. Twenty years ago it had no railway station, nor even a plane in which to bury the dead. Palmers' ship-building yards made the town, in which there are 86,000 people. When ship-building is slack, there is nothing, to fall back upon ; and when a large contratt has been secured, comfort is to be seen in every man's face. Smokers in America are at present not a little concerned by the discovery that their cigarettes are frequently infested with a minute insect called the weevil. The little pests ensconce themselves in the tobacco to breed and feed on the divine weed, and with their larva; perforate the tissue wrappers until the paper is literally riddled through and through. Nor is this the worst; for the microscopic marauder is an epicure, and refuses everything but the choicest brands. Cigars are not despised if of the best quality and in prime condition; but the preference is given to cigarettes, in -which the preset cc of the insect is not at first easily The disclosure- that dealers are in the habit of palming off on unsuspecting customers cigarettes alive with the weevil has created a good deal of disgust among smokers, and a corresponding falling-off in the trade. Many tobacco factories are said to be swarming from cellar to garret with tie destructive pests, which multiply with astounding rapidity, and no method of ; successfully exterminating them has as yet : been found. As the smoking of insects i 3 decidedly repugnant to the fastidious Yankee, cigarettes and even cigars are at present at a discount in New York and Philadelphia. j