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Local & General

♦ His Worship the Mayor of Ashburton has declared Monday, Dec. 20, a halfholiday, to enable employees and others to be present at the Ashburton Summer Races, held on that day. The usual Christmas fete held in connection with the Ashburton Primitive Methodist Churckhas just concluded, and the financial result of the Christmas trees, &c, displayed in the Orange Hall has been very satisfactory. As as instance of the successful training of the pupils in the public schools, it may be mentioned that Master Loe, of the Sydenham Borough School, has passed the Junior Civil Service examination. ' The Rev T. Hodgson, who has been acting as assistant curate in the Rangiora Parish, has been appointed by the Bishop of Ddnedin to take charge of the Riverton cure. He is to preach his farewell sermon to the Rangiora congregation on Sunday evening next. A^ mischievous act was perpetrated'on Christmas Eve at Kaiapoi, by some foolish person having amused himself by cutting in half the traces attached to two spring drays, belonging to Mr John Sims. The property was 'placed as- usual in the yard at the rear of Messrs Gallagher Bros.' premises. The police have been communicated with upon the matter, and it is to be hoped that the miscreant will be brought to justice. The practice of stealing flowers from the Domain is not by any means an unusual one, i and it has of late increasedtoanextentwhich • has justifiably roused the ire of the curator jof that popular place of resort. All parts : of the gardens have received the attentions J of the mean individuals whose peculations are the trouble of Mr Armstrong's soul, but those beds near the river appear to have been particularly selected as the scene of the thefts. An entertainment, the proceeds of which are to be devoted to augmenting the funds for purchasing books for the Cust Library, took place on Tuesday even- * ing. On account of the inclement state of the weather the attendance was limited. Mr R. L. Higgins presided, and a proj gramme consisting of solos, glees, readI ings, recitations and instrumental selecj tions were rendered in a creditable manner , by Misses Higgins, Alexander, Thompson, i Blunden, Dixon, Mrs Tipping, and Messrs j Higgins, Blunder, Dixon, Alexander, j Head, Vague and Sail. The Rev E. H. , Wyatt acted as conductor in an efficient style. The thanks of the meeting were accorded to the performers, the National

: At the Oddfellows' Hall this evening i (Friday) Messrs Clark and Rynian will make their first appearance here with ! their Comedy Company. The proi gramme promises to be of a character . exactly suited to the tastes of holiday makers, who, no doubt, will muster in large numbers to give the visitors a hearty : welcome. In order to give his men a littte salutary instruction in the kind of work they would have to perform if in the field, Captain Fergusson, df the Christchurch Rifles, has taken his company into camp at Governor's Bay for tho Christmas season. It i3 satisfactory to see that a considerable number of men have " followed their leader," and are spending their holidays under canvas instead of in the pleasures to be enjoyed in town. On Wednesday morning a detachment of about fifteen men, under Captain Fergusson, paraded at the Drill Shed, proceeded by train to Lyttelton, and thence to the Bay, to prepare the camp for their comrades. Yesterday, Lieutenant Ward, with another detachment of the company, accompanied by a party of the City Guards under Lieutenant Garnett, went to Port by the 9 a.m. train in order to take up their quarters at the camp, where they will remain until Monday. y The new telephone transmitter, invented by Mr Frank Hebden, of Christchurch, has just been subjected to a very satisfactory trial. Hitherto, though the offices, at Christchurch, Rakaia, Ashburton, and Timaru, of the Grain Agency Company have been connected by telephone it was necessary, to be accurate in the transmission of messages, to send them by short stages. Mr Hebden's transmitter having been fitted to the wires a test at Ashburton allowed sounds produced in Christchurch to be transmitted with remarkable distinctness right on in an unbroken line to Ashburton and Timaru. Words spoken in the Christchurch office, not intended for the telephone at all, could bo distinctly heard, and messages travelling between Lyttelton and Christchurch, were also audible in Ashburton though not intended to be so. The transmitter iB so complete a success that a movement to connect Ashburton with the Exchange iB talked of. The other day (says " Anglo- Australian" in the European Mail) I was conversing with a friend on the very evident advances now making in most of the Australasian Colonies to a balancing of the sexes — an event not very far removed. It is evident that some persons here are extremely anxious to bring about this consummation, and, if half what I hear be true as to the systematic means now i adopted or contemplated for furnishing dis- ! i consolate Australian bachelors with wives, ; the male sex will not very long predomi- ;: nate in numbers.' At Grimsby, in Os- ; borne street, there is, at the present ! moment, an agency expressly deI signed to provide wives for Australians, j and great inducements are offered to ; charm away females who might otherwise j be disposed to heed the more prosaic, but ; practical, pleas of the various Agents- ; General, who are likewise working to • reduce the present disparity of the sexes at | the Antipodes. I name no names, for ; obvious reasons, and sincerely trust the ; Grimsby and other similar agencies may do | only good, but I fear that many women are j disappointed. In one instance, we are ; seriously told that on the arrival of one of j these consignments of marriageable females, colonists rush to the docks, examine the •new arrivals instanter, and forthwith pro- ! pose ! This is drawing a very long bow j indeed. j After many years, the sequel to ; a strange story has been made known jin Paris. Since 1857, a M. Angoit, i carrying on business as a cominisi sion agent in Paris, had disappeared • mysteriously, and under very extraordi- | nary circumstances. It is related that on ; a certain January morning in that year he ; was married, the wedding breakfast taking j place at a restaurant in the Palais Royal. i While it was proceeding, the bridegroom ; was informed by a waiter that a coachman ; downstairs desired to speak with him, and j he left the table, the guests expecting him •to return in a few minutes. He was never ; heard of from that day, the last that was ! seen of' him being at the entrance of the ! restaurant, where a cab was waiting, which, j he entered, bareheaded, and in his wedding ; suit. All the endeavours of the police, all i the efforts of his friends and disconsolate j wife to obtain'tidings of him, ivere utterly j fruitless, and the latter, resuming her j maiden name, went to reside with a sister. • Recently, however, a sportsman, whilst in : the mountains near Seo d'Urgel killed an i animal, which fell into a deep crevice. He j went alter it, and there came upon a j skeleton, to which some clothing was still ; hanging. In the pocket of a coat an : envelope bearing the name M. Angoit, j with the Paris address of the commission ; agent, was found, and doctors, on being ; consulted, expressed their "belief that death ! had occurred ten years or so ago. How ; the deceased came by his death, however, : or what induced him to abandon his bride, |is still as great a mystery as ever. The i story would make a splendid theme for one ! of Gaborian's romances. ! Some facts were elicited in the Dublin i Police Court during the hearing of a charge : against two children named William and ; Mary Holmes, aged ten and six years [ respectively, of having concealed themselves ; in a public-house and stolen the sum of £1 2s 9d. The manager of the establishment stated that when opening the premises in : the morning he found the children behind a ; sugar cask asleep. He awakened them and j questioned them, saying they could not leave until he searched them. The boy's pockets were then examined, and amongst other J things found were a pipe, a small grappling j hook with three prongs and a long piece of : cord attached, and the sum of £1 2s 9d. | The boy did not say anything, and witness believed him to be deaf and dumb. Witness called in a policeman, and gave the ; children into custody. The boy, interj rogated in the dumb alphabet, explained j that they went into the public-house only ! meaning to sleep there for the night, and if • they were " let go home they would pray for tho Magistrate and everybody in the ; Court." (Laughter.) Subsequently the ; father and mother of the prisoners were | brought into Court by the constable. The | father appealed to the Magistrate to let the j children off, saying he would keep them ! better for the future. He said the boy was j neither deaf nor dumb, and had learned to j speak on his fingers from a companion. The j father told the boy to speak to his Worj ship, and, after some hesitation, he re-' j plied, ■* I will, daddy." The. father : You j see, your Worship, be can. speak well I enough. The Magistrate : Then all I can say is that he is a most accomplished young rogue. The father: He's not a rogue, •' your Worship • he's only soft. (Laughter.) | After some evidence, showing that the I children were not well taken care of, the : ; Magistrate said that at presont he did not ; know what he would do with the boy, but . the girl would be sent to the workhouse, . and the father would have to pay 2s 6d j weekly for her support. He considered it ; a scandalous thing that parents should | allow their children to wander at nights j about the streets. ! The penalty of solitary confinement ,- (says a contemporary) is to be abolished in i France. This punishment has not been j attended with satisfactory results, espej cially since the penalty of consignment to j the galleys has been practically abolished. ; The Republic is more humane than the ', Empire in theory, but were the criminals i allowed to choose between the old-fashioned , bagne, or galleys, and the maison de reclwi sion, they would undoubtedly choose the I former. Nominally, there are three great penalties inflicted by the French law — ( death, hard labour for life or reclusion, or solitary confinement. The latter is considered by law to be the least punishment, and yet it must be the tortures of Tantalus. It is not exactly solitary confinement, because the criminals can see one j another, but it is more horrible. The , prisoner must never speak from the time I of entering the prison • he cannot even \ talk to himself ; he must work in perpetual , silence, shut out from the sun anu air in a | great hideous room," behind gates and gratings of iron, i Some of the most ancient Anglo-Saxons' keys that have been found are identical ,riiiU^^te-^_^_d_n*M_tt_^»--H_

Sir John Hall paid a visit to the cheese . factory at Flemington on Saturday, and was shown round the establishment by Mr Harding, the obliging manager. Sir John expressed his satisfaction with, what he had Been in the building. At a meeting of tho Rangiora Domain Board held at the Eoad Board office, Rangiora, on Tuesday afternoon last, Captain Parsons presiding, it was resolved, in compliance with a request from the North Canterbury Jockey Club, to form a training track inside the course on the Reserve. It was also agreed to call for teuders for planting , part of the reserve with trees and for clearing off gorse. Messrs Lilly and Ivory reported that they had come to an airaugement with Mr Busch for the erection of a fence on tho cricket ground, and the work would be completed within a week. The Board then adjourned. On Monday night the annual meeting of subscribers to the Ashley Library was held in the district schoolroom. The attendance was very limited. The report and balance-sheet for the past year showed that there were only sixteen subscribers, that about .£lO had been expended in the purchase of books, &c, and that, after paying the librarian's gratuity, there was a balance in hand of £3. With, a view of inducing greater popular interest in the library, it was decided to reduce the subscription to Is per quarter. It was also resolved to discontinue taking the Illustrated London News. The following were elected a Committee for the ensuing year : — Messrs G. Bowron (Chairman), P. Wright, J. Ellwood, T. G. Smith, J. Hayman, F. Croft, and B. Flynn. A pleasant little ceremony took place in Messrs Harper and Co.'s* office, on Wednesday, on the occasion of Mr J. 0. Anstiss leaving their employment for farming pursuits. Mr Anstiss' fellow clerks had provided a very handsome clock, in black and red marble, with ermolu decorations, and surmounted by a bronze statuette, which bore a gold plate engraved as follows : — " Presented to Mr J. 0. Anstiss, as a mark of esteem, by his fellow clerks. Christmas, , 1884." Mr T. Papprill, addressing the recipient, expressed the regret of all in the office at his (Mr Anstiss') leaving, after thirteen years' service, but trusted that the, change would be beneficial in every way. Mr Anstiss responded in feeling , terms, and thanked the donors for such a ! valuable and unexpected mark of their esteem. 1 The Directors of the Southern Cross j Petroleum Company report that they have s received a telegram stating that the depth of No. 3 Bore on Tuesday last was 502ft. j Oil was showing slightly in the rock, J which was hard an'd broken, and much j trouble was caused by the gas, which was j coming freely. They have also received j a diary from the borer up to Dec. 17. He j reports that he is confident of striking oil j if he can get through the present rock, ! which is extremely hard, broken, and diffii cult to work in. This accounts for the ; very slow progress that has been made in • the last fortnight. When the pipe is driven only a couple of feet it is frequently found ■ choked up for some 20 or 30 feet, all of I which has to be re-bored and the pipe : cleaned, causing great loss of time and j delay. Two or three of th'e Directors leave I Christchurch for the works on Thursday 1 next. I Two accidents — one on Christmas Day, ; and the other on Wednesday — unfor- ; tunately occurrad to mar tho happiness jof some persons during this week of ■ festivities. A man named Augustus j Pascoe, while riding on Wednesday from J Pigeon Bay to Christchurch, in order to ; spend his Christmas with his family in j Sydenham, met with an accident at Port Levy. Hjs horse got its foot into a hole, ; and threw him. The unfortunate man lay ■ there some hours, but eventually was taken j to the hospital, where he was found to have Lsustained a fracture of his thigh. Mr J Le Fleming, of Port Levy, did what he j could for him, and had him taken in his own conveyance to the steam launch Canterbury, which brought him on to j Lyttelton. He is now doinsr well. — Yester- ; day, a lad of 13, named Edward 'Shirley, ! while riding his father's horse at Hornby, • was kicked by another horse. His leg was broken. He is doing well at the Hospital. The annual treat given to the children of the Springston and Lincoln schools was held in the grounds of tho School of Agriculture on Monday last. As • was the case last year a great number of the parents availed themselves of the opportunity of a day's outing, and came with the children. A merry-go-round was hired for the children, and was kept going for the whole day, young and old taking their turn and evidently enjoying themselves immensely. The Burnham Band was in attendance, and made thmgs very cheerful by its lively strains. s JPTricket match between Springston and" Lincoln was won by the latter, as also was a tug of war, the Lincoln residents having a superiority of not only muscle but weight. In the evening Mr Gammack proposed a vote of thanks to Mr Ivey for his kindness in giving Jihe use of the grounds. The band played "Auld Lang Syne," and traps were got ready, everyone having thoroughly enjoyed themselves, thanks to the fine weather and the complete arrangements made by i the united Committees, j Reliable and authentic information in j reference to a matter of such extreme I importance to New Zealand as the Panama I Canal is always welcome. Unfortunately j it is not always easily obtainable, for owing j to the jealousy shown by Americans to i thia scheme of M. de Lesseps we are i flooded from time to time with the most ! ad rerse accounts from United States jourj nalists. At one time we are told that ; disease has swept'away half the labourers j | at another that the works have been eni tirely destroyed by floods ; then we hear that the Canal cannot be completed for at j least ten years ; and finally that it can i never be made at all, because the fnnds | will not be forthcoming. The Times of j Oct. 6 throws a rather more encouraging ; light on the financial arrangements of the j Canal Company. In a letter from its Paris ; correspondent, describing the continued J absence of all speculation on the Bourse, | owing to the failure of £he Union Generale I some two years ago, and the settled de- • termination of the public not to invest in i any new undertakings, the writer says : j The only three exceptions to this paralysis ; do but confirm the rule, for they show that { what is lacking is not money, but confi- ; dence. The three exceptions are Govern- | ment loans, M. de Lesseps' enterprises, and : the Credit Fonder issues. The public ' prefer letting their money lie idle to in- | vesting it in anything else. M. de Lesseps ; is an exception, and v his name is sure to be responded to by investors. His recent i Panama issue was not made on account of want of funds, but in order that there , might be no want of them later on. The ' Company had 80,000,000 francs in its • coffers ; it can call up 140,000,000 francs on its shares ; and it could, therefore, afford to wait. It preferred, however, to issue de- , bentures, so as to be certain of going on , Bteadily during next year, and with the proceeds of the subscription it has 320 millions available. Its decision to issue only . the 318,000 debentures taken up by the . public, and to reserve the 69,000 subi scribed for by the banks bliowb that M. de ; Lesseps means to do for Panama what he I has done for Suez — namely, create a class ! of investors who keep their securities and j thus make them scarce on the Bourse. t - — „ — -~-

Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS18841226.2.17

Bibliographic details

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5193, 26 December 1884, Page 3

Word Count
3,217

Local & General Star (Christchurch), Issue 5193, 26 December 1884, Page 3

Local & General Star (Christchurch), Issue 5193, 26 December 1884, Page 3

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