Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6705, 19 November 1889, Page 3

Local & General.

Ashburton Mayoralty. — MrD. Thomas •was the only nominee for the Ashbuiton Mayoralty, and so has been re-elected to the position. Sydenham Borough Council. — This Council held a special meeting last night to consider the report brought up on Oct. 28 with respect to a readjustment of the Borough finances ; but up till ten o'clock, •when they adjourned, nothing definite had been done. Little Akaloa. — Our correspondent states that on Monday evening a most disgraceful scene was enacted on the beach road, just below the church. A pre-arranged fight took place between two young men, the encounter being witnessed by a great number of horsemen and others. The Ashburton County Water Charges. — In pursuance of Mr E. G. Wright's motion, carried at last meeting, iho Aahburfcon County Council eat yesterday in Committee of the whole, with a full attendance, to consider the water charges question. After a lengthened talk certain returns were ordered, and the Committee adjourned until Jan. 0, 1890. Aquatic. — The final heat of the Union Rowing Club's Trial Double Sculla was decided last evening between Crosbie and Partridge and Phillips and Ellison. Phillips got the best of the starb, but Crosbie soon overhauled him, and finally won by half a dozen lengths. Time — Tmin 38£-sec, the fastest heat of the series. The Tuam Street Tank. — It is a fortunate circumstance that the fire yesterday afternoon was not a serious one/-ashada large supply of water been required, the tank opposite Mr A. J . White's would have been useless, owing to tho American weed which fills the basin. The effect on the engines would be to choke them. Cantata. — In tho account of the-can-tata, "Joseph," given in Sb Peter's Church, Ferry road, on Thursday evening last, the names of Mr Hunter (who took the parts of Eeuben and the Butler) and Mr Heath (who took the parfc of the Baker) were omitted. Both these gentlemen performed their parts with much credit. Portrait Painting. — There is now no exhibition at Eangiora, in Mr G. F. Smith's shop window, an excellentlyfinished life-size portrait in oils of Mr H. Blackett, executed by Mr John Taßker, whose success as a portrait painter at Wellington has been previously noticed in these columns. The picture in question | is a speaking likeness, and well maintains the reputation of theartist. Young Men's Christian Association.— The annual public meetings of the above Association will be held on Thursday and Friday next. On Thursday there will be a tea meeting at a quarter past six, followed by a public meeting at eight o'clock, which will be enlivened by speeches and vocal and instrumental selections. On Friday the chief attractions will be gymnastic exhibitions, a display of works of art and curios, and an efficient orchestra will also assist. Death of a Prize Earn. — The Eiverton Star reports :— Captain Stevenß sustained an unfortunate loss in the death of a prize ram he had purchased at the Christchurch Show. The animal, a four-tooth merino, from Mr Gibson's celebrated Tasmanian stud flock, and for which the Captain gave 10 guineas, died at Dunedin whilst on its way here. Mr A. It. Hare, of Blaokmount, purchased three; rams from the same flock.. Modern Thought. — Some time back a . number of evening lectures on " Eeligious Belief and Modern Criticism " were given in the Linwood Congregational Church by the Eev C. H. Bradbury. The lecturer dealt to some extent with the religions beliefs known generally as Orthodoxy, as they are affected by recent scholarly research and criticism. The lectures were well attended and great interest was manifested. 16 was thought desirable to have a similar couree delivered somewhere in the centre of the city, and with a view to this object a number of gentlemen waited on Mr Bradbury, who agreed to the proposal. A Committee was formed to make arrangements, and it ia expected that - the subjects and place will be advertised, in a few days. Trade with New South Wales. — The ; Sydney Mail says : — " Boat after boat codtinuea to arrive in Sydney loaded with New : Zealand produce. The Union Company" have unquestionably had a splendid trade for their fine line of steamers as a result of the deficiency of the cereal crops and produce generally in this Colony. Instead . of an export trade in maize to New Zealand from Sydney as in yeats gone by, the tables have turned, and an item of 3000---sacks, for instance, is found in the list of. the cargo by the steamer Ta Anau. No matter from which part of the Maori Colony the steamers arrive, full cargoes of produce are loaded, and flour, wheat, potatoes, oats, &c, in abundance await shipment, at all New Zealand ports, for Sydney. As to the passenger trade, though not so many passengers appear to have arrived here recently as was tho-case-some time ago, yet the. steamers are fairly well, patronised." Christchubch Diocesan Choral Association. — The seventh annual festival in connection with the above Association is [ announced to take place on Thursday nest, in St Michael'B Church. The services will j be as follows : — Holy Communion at 8 a.m., I at which the Lord Bishop of the Diocese will be celebrant. Evensong, with sermon, at 7.30 p.m. At the latter service, the sermon will be preached by the Eev E. A. Scott, incumbent of Aahburton. The following choirs will take part in the festival:— St Michael's, St Luke's, St John's, Holy Trinity (Avonside), St Saviour's (Sydenbam), Sfc Matthew's (St Albana), and St Paul's (Papanui). The anthem selected for the occasion is Dr [Stainer's "O, Clap Tour Handß, All Te People," which waß given with much success at one of the Association's previous festivals. The psalms and canticles will be taken from the "Cathedral Psalfcer," and the hymns from "Hymns Ancient w d n Mo I dem" The choirmaster (Mr Wells) has taken great pains in trie preparation of the mußic, and there is every reason to believe the festival will be a success. Mr Normington wUI preside at the organ The final practice** the choirs will be held iv St .Michael* evening- at. haU-psst— SfiSSJli

Professional Cricket Match. — A match, Charles Warner's Dramatic Com. Pany v. a team- from the XJ.C.C. is being played atHagley Park this afternoon, commencing at 2 p.m. The following P^ay for the professionals . — W. W. Rice, fl. E. Hambro, Oily Deering, A. Phillips, A. Woods, M. Seaton, G. V. Pnttmans Brooke, J. Petherick, J. Harris, and R. Stewart. Stolen Clothes. — Thepoliceare anxious to find the whereabouts of a Buit of clothes and a pair of boots, which were stolen by a man named Mannery from Mr Thomas Jackson, employed as groom by Mr T. W. Maude, of Upper Eiccarton. The articles were stolen on Oct. 28, and were evidently disposed of within two days afterwards, as the accused was arrested on Oct. 30 upon another charge. It ia believed that they were disposed of to some private person, as no trace can be found of them in the dealer's shop 3. Mb C. Thomas' Funeral.— The funeral of Mr Charlas Thomas, who died suddenly at Eichmond, on Thursday la6t, took place on Sunday afternoon. The deceased was an old and respected resident of Richmdnd, and the large attendance at the funeral testified to the esteem in -which he was held. The members of the Eidgley Lodge, 1.0.0. F., A.C., attended the funeral to the number of about a hundred; there were also nearly a hundred friends of the late Mr Thomas, including all hi 3 fellowlabourers at Messrs P. and D. Duncan's ironworks. The pall-bearers included Messrs P. and D. Duncan, two of deceased's shopmates, and four members of the j Ridgley Lodge. The service was con- j ducted at the Church of England Cemetery, Barbadoes street, by the Yen Archdoacon Lingard. The Charm of tits Padlock. — Various are the superstitions-which continue to keep a firm hold on the Jews in many parts of the East, notwithstanding the spread of education, and one of them was put to an j amusing use at Smyrna. It is a custom in j that city (says the Jewish Chronicle) j whenever one of twins dies, for the parents j to take a padlock, which they fasten, and of which they voluntarily lose the key, or they carefully conceal it in some hidden spot, the popular belief being that the survivor will die at the moment the padlock is opened. A young woman who had lost her twin brother married, and her husband came into possession of the padlock. One day a dispute occurred between the pair, and the husband, angry and unable to convince his wife, threatened that he would open the padlock. This threat at once brought the wife to reason. She tearfully submitted, and implored her husband to keep the padlock closed. Baby Shows. — Auckland folk in general, and nursing mothers in particular, have lately had the excitement of a baby show,, whereat the prizes were numerous and valuable, and the competition was not less eager than animated. The other evening, between the first and second acts of New Babylon at the Opera House, Mr Maccabe presented the prize of twenty-five guineas to the mother of the " champion - prize baby." Mrs Watts came on the stage with the champion baby, and it waß at once seen that the baby was a Bplendid one, and amply justified the result of the popular plebiscite. In a brief speech Mr Maccabe explained that to prevent jealousy and discontent of mothers, it had boen been decided to leave the award with the public rather than with the medical | judges. The voting had given every satisfaction, and lie had much pleasure in presenting the promised prize of twenty-five guineas. On handing over the amount to the happy mother, the audience manifested their satisfaction by hearty applause. ; Messrs Maccabe and Buller, after doing the Thames and "Waikato districts, will; proceed southward, and intend holding a Baby Show at Christchurch — in all probability another at Dunedin during the Exhibition. Gigantic Monopolies.-— The New York correspondent of the Manchester Examiner lately gave an interesting account of the centripetal forces at work in the great American trades and industries. "Trusts" end " Combines/ which are fast developing, into exclusive monopolies, are springing up on every side. There are now six great Railway Trußts which, it is believed, will sooner or later unite into one. There is a Telegraph and a Telephone monopoly, and a Tramway Combination. Then there is the Standard Oil Company, which possesses a practical monopoly of the petroleum wells of America, and owns property worth .£30,000,000. As exclusive is the Whiskey Trust. There were once seventy-two distilleries of high-proof spirit in the States. Now there are but three, for seventy out of the total have combined and form a single concern. Next come the Sugar Trust, formed from sixteen consolidated businesses, and the Rope and Twine Trust, and the Nail Trust, organised on an equally gigantic scale. Besides, there are minor Trusts dealing with pianos, agricultural machines,, oranges and chemicals. To raise prices is -the object of all these combinations. MOUNTAINEERING IN NEW GUINEA. — Sir William Macgregor, the Administrator of British New Guinea, has beensending Home accounts of his successful attempt to scale the Owes Stanley range, the loftiest chain of mountains in his dominions. The highest crest of the ridge, found to be 13,121 ft above the sea, was named after the Queen,, and Mount "Victoria can now claim with certainty to be the highest, peak in British Australasia. Up to a height of about 8000 ft, the climate-proved "foggy and unpleasant: Above that altitude, however, it is pronounced to ba "one of the finest in the world." The exploring party lived for ten days-over 10,000 ft above the sea,.and never saw a cloud. The mouniains,.though steep towards thesea, slope more gradually towards the North, and can easily be traversed; On the summit, the eyes of Sir W. Macgregor were gladdened with the sight of daisies, buttercups, forget-me-nots, and white heather. Larks, too, like those of England were also constantly -met with. Thediscovery of a highland region within the tropics, where Europeans will be able to live in a temperate and invigorating climate, is a matter of no small importance. Sir William Macgregor has. proved that, after all, mountain-climbing' is not so useless. a pastime aa it is often, declared-to be. An Exciting Capture. — A bank robbery, equalling in audacity the Kimberley"Parkrobbery of a few months ago, waarecently committed at Krugeralorp, South Africa. Two menjiamed John Lewis M'Ewan and Richard Turpin entered the Standard. Bank, and presenting their revolvers at Mr Stewart the Manager, demanded the keys of the- safe. They then bound and gagged him, as well as the assistant, and made off with .£4OOO in gold and notes. They had ten minutes' start of the police, but they were pursued on horseback and overtaken in leßs than an hour. The robbers, finding themselves hard pressed, dismounted and fired at their pursuers, but none of their shots took effect. M'Ewanwaa then wounded by a shot from the Sergeant of Police, and immediately afterwards Turpin threw up his hands and surrendered. They "were then secured and- taken back, and the whole of the- etolen-money was recovered. Unable to ' Pay Up. — A man named J. J. Annan, twenty-seven years of age,, shot himself in the head with a revolver at the Metropolitan Hotel, Brisbane, on Nov. 7, and now lies in a precarious state,, with no hopes of lecovery. It appears that he lost heavily in betting lately, aad this had preyed on his mind. He told a friend, that he had lost .£176 on the Melbourne Cup, and, there is little doubt from the letters he left that he had made up hia. mind to commit suicide because he was unable to pay up. Several bookmakers called at the hotel inquiring for him just at the moment the shot was fired. Annan was a native of Scotland, and was an educates and gentlemanly young man. He arrivedin Queensland about five yeaiaago, and went to Mackay, where hemade a-con-siderable Bum of money. Afterwards ho took a. trip Home, returning, a few months ago. From the railwarclata for the decade 1878-88^ the fact ia deducible that for the .last ten 'years each .fresh year baa-seeniii. 'Tnffi«| i >4-iv.a ■■ additional jtihun*^