Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5564, 11 March 1886, Page 3

Local & General.

♦ An attempt was made at Eaiapoi yesterday to remove two short stumps of piles of the old bridge which are under water, by scouring them out with the fire engine, but the experiment was a failure. The Church of England bazaar at Eaiapoi, which continued in the schoolroom on Saturday, has realised about £55. Considering the short time spent in preparing for it, this amount is very satisfactory. Our Akaroa correspondent telegraphs: — The Invercargill steamer came in yesterday with timber for the Presbyterian Church. The schooner Clyde came in with timber this morning. Akaroa is now rather overstocked with timber. The earlier threshed grain is now beginning to come in to Ashburton for Btorage or ahipment, and yesterday and the day before there was the usual accumulation of grain-laden drays visible in West street at | this season. J It will be observed, on referenoe to our telegraphic columns, that the mental science professorship question at the Otago University has advanced yet another stage, the Council having declined to ratify the appointment of Dr Salmond. Mr Burnett took leave of the Eangiora district yesterday, and he will take his farewell of Canterbury this evening at the Durham street Wesleyan Church, when all the temperance bodies will be represented in the audience. A Press Association message from Wellington last evening states tbat a Gazette extraordinary notifies that Parliament is further prorogued to March 31. There is yet another 20 days left for swordsharpening. A telegram was received yesterday from Mr S. C. Parr stating that the white fish ova were all dead, and that he would, therefore, remain in Wellington to await the arrival of the s.s. lonio with the salmon ova, which is due at the end of this week. Miss O'Gorman, the "Escaped Nun/* lectured on Convent life, in the Town Hall, Leeston, on Tuesday evening, the ' Eev Mr Cree in the chair. There was , a large attendance, and the lady was , received with applause. Her lecture j occupied in delivery about an hour and > three quarters. \ The company who are playing "The ' Private Secretary " at the Theatre Eoyal will certainly be made respon- . sible for some serious results if they continue to cause the ladies to go almost into hysterics in the manner they nightly are doing by the extremely ludicrous situations and ridiculous dialogue of the farcical oomedy. The oftener tiie performance . is witnessed the more it appears to amuse. ! Laet night, at the close of the second act, all the performers again received the com • pliment of a call before the curtain. ' Mrs I. G. Flett, of Lyttelton, writeß to explain that she did not wait upon the Lyttelton Borough Council last Monday for the purpose of discussing the culvert question, but in order to correct a misstatement of her grievance re storm- water that had been made by a Councillor. Professor Sice, a thought-reader, is about to visit Christchurch. The subject of thought-reading has excited a great deal of attention at Home and abroad of ; late, and Professor Eice proposes to estabj lish his reputation here by performing, in the presence of a number of leading citizens, before giving public exhibitions. A Press Association telegram from Auckland says that Mr F. J. Mosb, M.H.E., last night addressed the electors at Parnell. He said the imperative need of the Colony was reduction of the cost of Government, and the first step towards that was to reduoe the number of members of the Assembly by one-half. A vote of thanks and. confidence was unanimously accorded.

A very enjoyable gathering took j place at Eaiapoi on Monday last, when ( the night staff engaged in the looomotive . running shed at the Christchurch railway j station, accompanied by their Bweethearte and wives, proceeded thither in a well- J appointed drag. They were, on arrival, j kindly shown'through the Kaiapoi Woollen Pactory, and thoroughly appreciated the ! visit to that establishment. Subsequently ! they adjourned to the Domain, where an : onslaught was made on the provision baskets, and during the day numeroua games were indulged in to the delight and satisfaction of everyone. A return waa made to town in the evening, all being in high spirits, having thoroughly enjoyed the day's outing. A meeting of the members ofthe Kaiapo ■ Farmera' Club was held on Wednesday, March 9$ present— Messrs E. Parnham, Ashby, Andrews, Smith, Wilson, Ross, Birnie, Horrel, and Elder. The prize Bchedule for the proposed Grain, Foal, and Root Show was arranged and revised bo as to include foals in three classes, grain and roots of every description, with the addition of a collection of potatoes, dessert and cooking apples and vegetables. It was resolved to hold the Show on Thursday, April 10. Judges were nominated and class stewards appointed. A sub-Com-mittee was enrolled to arrange a special prize-list, lunch, &c. The meeting then adjourned. | The usual quarterly meeting of the \ Primitive Methodißt, Greendale, Circuit, j was held in the church, Waddington, on Monday. There was a good attendance of officers, and the Rev J. Sharp presided. Financially and otherwise the circuit waa found to have passed a successful quarter. It was decided to commence holding services at Kimberley and Kirwee, at which places it was understood no Methodißt • J services are held. A Committee was ap- ! pointed to re-organise the Waddington ! Church choir. In the evemng a social tea I and after-meeting were held, which were j both well attended. At the after-meeting, Rev J. Sharp presided, and Messrs C j Rudd, Humm, Jebson, jun., and Holland addressed those present. { j Mr Corrick's capital little orchestra of amateurs, members of the Wynn-Williams j family, played again at the Art Gallery yesterday evening. Their ranks were strengthened on this occasion by the presence of Mr Woodgate, a visitor from England, who also played two violin solos as his particular share of the programme— a " R6verie," by Vieuxtempe, and "Trovatore," by Alard, on aira from Verdi's opera, Miss Hamilton accompanying him on the piano. Mr Woodgate ia an accomplished player. The Reverie proved a great treat, almost obtaining silence — a rare compliment from an audience bent on seeing picturea — and was encored. The programme given by the orchestra was as follows : — " Mia Cara," "Fedora," and " Estudiantina," waltzes, and selections from " Somnambnla," "Tancredi," "L'Aur6ole." and "Anna Bolena." Each of the itema waa heard with great appreciation by the large number of visitors. One of the strangest of cyclonea freaks is recorded by a correspondent of the Pittsburg Despatch. The scene of it is at Washington Court-house, 0., and concerns an "apple tree with long, spreading, heavy branches, perhaps extending to a height of 25 feet. It iB a tree of perhaps 25 years' growth, and undoubtedly has roots aa stout and almost aB widespreading as itß boughs. Ite trunk is not less than 15in in diameter. It wae a thrifty, vigorous tree, without an unsound branch, and the family have for years driven their high top buggy beneath its branches, for it shades the drive-way into the yard. A short and stubby man cannot now walk under it without ducking his head. Does the reader imagine that it was uprooted ? That might indeed Beem possible, but it is not true. Without breaking bo much as a twig of ita foliage, the atmosphere drove that tree right down two and a half or three feet into the ground. The hole enlarged about the base of the tree aa it now stands shows how mnch larger is the base that has been forced beneath the surface." A man was recently tried and condemned at the Assize Court, Finisterre, to perpetual imprisonment for having incited hiß young wife to commit suicide, and with her helped to drown their three young children. His defence was that he did this because he was unable to support them or to witness their death by hunger. The circumstances under which they died were as follows; — Last November, finding themselves in absolute penury, the accused, and at his instigation his wife, took their children to the seashore, and, holding two by the hands, advanced to meet an incoming high tide. The youngest child waa in his wife's arms. The first shock of the waves made her swoon, and ehe and the babe in her arms and infant that held on to her were at once drowned. The father then seized the surviving boy, who clung to him by the shoulders, and threw him out as far as he could fling him. He then knelt down on the shingle to be immersed himself, bnt, getting frightened, rose and rushed back from the advancing tide. Some fishermen found him beneath a cliff in a prostrate condition, and he said he waa waiting for the four bodies to be washed np to him. He said he had at first meant to perish with them, but finally resolved to survive them, in order to bury them in consecrated ground. Of the entire amount of Customs' duties collected last year in the United States, 70 per cent waa collected from tbe following articlea of import : — Sugar and molasses, 29 ; wool and its manufactures, 15 ; eilk and its manufac- < tares, 8 ; iron and steel and their manufactures, 7; cotton manufactures, 6 ; flax, hemp and jute and their manufactures, 5. i As a souvenir of the late General Grant, ] it is proposed to facsimile and print in the j journal of the Military Service Institution | of the United States his late message to ! his countrymen. The autograph MSB fill ; some four Bheets of yellow letter paper. j Women have a new occupation in Lon- j don, that of floral adorner. Experts in j the art of floral decoration receive a fee of I a guinea for adorning a table or decorating ; a room. ] Paris raises .£1,600,000 yearly to defray j the maintenance of her sick and needy, of j whom 214,000 persons are helped and j doctored at home. I ==