Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7409, 2 November 1892, Page 3

Local & General.

Customs Returns. — The amount of Customs duties collected at Timaru during October was .£l6Bl 14s lOd ; New Zealand beer duty J354, 2s. Sydenham Bowling and Lawn Tennis Club. — The opening of the Sydenham Bowling and Lawn Tennis Club's ground for this season will take place at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Veterans' Crickvt Club. — Members will meet to-morrow, in Hagley Park, to finish the match beguu on Monday week. Wickets will be pitched at 1.30 p.m. sharp. The Palette Club.— An ordinary meeting of the Christchurch Palette Club was held last night in the Art Gallery. There was a good attendance. The subject for the evening was "Haymaking." A good number of sketches were made, and an interesting evening was spent. Our Father's Church. — Increased interest is being manifested in the Ser J. O'JBryen Hoare's lectures on the above subject, now being delivered weekly at Rangiora. On Monday evening, when the third of the series was delivered, there was a marked improvement in the attendance, and the audience frequently gave evidence of its sympathy with the speaker. Fire. — Yesterday evening while Mr and Mra J. W. Maeon, of Scotstown, were absent from home some of their children, who weie playing with matches, eet fire to the wall paper in one of the bedrooms. The smoke was noticed by neighbours, who telephoned to the Fire Brigade Station for one of the chemical engines to be sent out, but before the arrival of the engine the flames had been extinguished with buckets of water. The extent of the damage done has not yet been ascertained. CuiCKET.—On Saturday the Woodend team visited Cust, and played a match against the local team. Oust, in its first innings, put together a total of 92, of which Sail made 30, Chapman 27 and Bramley 13. Woodend'a total for the first innings was 57, the Rev H. H. Mathias contributing 32 and J. Judson 13. For Oust Bramley took seven wickets. The honours of bowling for Woodend were equally divided between W. Thru and J. Judson.— At a meeting of the Rangiora Cricket Club, held at the Junction Hotel on Monday night, Mr G. Pain in the chair, i it was decided to issue challenges for | matches with the Mayor and ex-Mayors, Councillors and ex-Councillors of Rangiora and Kaiapoi, also with the Veterans' Club and the Ashley County Second Eleven. Christchuech Amateub Swimming Club. — The first of the monthly races under the auspices of the Christchurch Amateur Swimming Club will take place on Saturday afternoon in the West Christchurch school bath. The distance is fifty yards, and the handicaps are as follow : — First heat — S. J. Denham scr, T. W. Reese ssec, A. Beck 83ec, C. W. Anderson llsec. Second heat— J. M. Watson l^sec, C. H. Fox 4£sec, J. Crummy 7eec, A. H. White 9aec. Third heat— T. Cottrell 2*sec, W. J. Eaves ssec, H. Hardingham 7aec, R. Brewer 13sec. Fourth heat— E. W. Marsh j 38ec, W. Basßetb 3sec, C. Bird ssec, R. i Sneddon 6£sec. Fifth heat— G. J. C. Smart 3£sec, N. P. Anderson s£sec, T. ! Bassett Bsec, T. H. Harker Bjsec and G. j Gray 9sec. j Meritale Young People's Temper- J ance Guild. — The usual monthly meeting ; of this Guild wa3 held at the schoolroom, j Papanui road, on Monday evening. Reci- i tations and pianoforte music were given by I the young people, and for the former a ' competition was held, prizes being ' awarded for children under and over twelve. In the former May Meadows was { the winner, and in the latter Edith Hard- , castle. Mr C. E. Salter was present by request, and gave two humorous readings j as well as a short and earnest address on the advantages of total abstinence. A hearty vote of thanks for his presence was accorded to Mr Salter, on the motion of the President of the Guild, the Rev C. J. j Merton. The singing of a verse of the National Anthem concluded the proceedings, i Bangiora Athletic Association.— The general meeting of this Association was held at the Junction Hotel on Monday I night. There was a good attendance, and j Mr A. Blackett was in the chair. Mobbm ' J. Luxton, A. Templer, J. Sansom, H. I Wilson, E. C. and B. d'Auvergne, K. Anderson, C. E. Torlesse and G. F. Smith were elected a Managing and Finance | Committee. The following new members ' were elected :— Messrs B. Morrall, S. W. Turpin, Worington, T. Muridge, A. Todd, J E. Wilder and Dr Volckman. A BubCommittee consisting of Messrs H. Wilson, ! C. E. Torlesße, J. R. Parker, C. and B. | d'Auvergne, A. Templer and G. Luxton i was appointed to draw up a preliminary programme, in conjunction with the Bicycle Club's Committee. This concluded the business. | New Brighton.— At a meeting of • Directors of the New Brighton Pier Company held on Monday, a resolution was carried, " That the Company render every j assistance to the Engineers, under Captain ' Webster, at their display on Saturday ' next." The Tram Company has agreed to convey all the material for them, also the band and members of the corps, some of whom will start from town early on Saturday morning to make arrangements for the carrying out of the day's sports. An extra I attraction to visitors will be a sailing , match by the boats of the Brighton ; Sailing Club, for a trophy presented by ' Messrs M'lntyre and Thomson. Mr G. j Wilson has just completed, to the order of '■ Mr G. Hawker, a hall 60ft by 24ft, j capable of holding a large number of j persons. It is match-lined, has a stage, and excellent acoustic arrange- i ment. A shop haß been added to the front, and the entrance will be by a door at the west side ; there are also rooms at the back. The building is situated at the end of Sea View road, opposite the pier. Labour Demonstration Committee.— A largely-attended meeting of the Labour Demonstration Committee was held at the Trades Hall last evening. The President (Mr W. I. Ballinger) occupied the chair. Correspondence was read from the Railway Commissioners, consenting to recognise special ticketß to be issued by the Committee and to reduce the charge ior children's tickets to threepence each, the Canterbury Jockey Club having granted free use of the racecourse and passage over the Club's private line. It was resolved that tickets should be at once isßued, covering rail fare and admission to the grounds, the charge for adults to be one shilling and for children threepence. Committees were appointed to arrange a programme of trade exhibitions and competitions, and to receive contributions in aid of the prize list and to defray the expenses attendant upon the gathering. It was resolved that a baby show should he ! held, and it was reported that for this event several valuable prizes had already been offered. The Committee adjourned to ! | Monday.

Lecture. — There was a lar^e attendance at the Linwood Social Hall on Mondaj evening, when an interesting lecture was delivered by Mr E. M. Laing, M.A.., wh( took for his subject " The volcanic formation of Lyttelton harbour." The Eev C. H Bradbury occupied the chair, and at th< close of the lecture proposed a hearty vot< of thanks to Mr Laing, which was carried by acclamation. East Belt Wesleyau Church.— The cantata "Christ and His Soldiers" wai given in the East Belt Weßleyan Churcl last night by the choir, assisted by M] Puachel and others. The proceeds will bt devoted towards the Church Trust Fund The soloists were: — Miss Lilly, Mrs Campbell, Mrs Gott, Messrs Puschel Isitt and .Johnson. There was a good attendance. Concert at Ashley. — On Friday evening the annual concert in aid of the prize fund was held iv the Ashley schoolroom. Mr W. E. Booker, Chairman of the School Committee, presided. Songs, readings and recitations were given by Mrs Ayers, Mieseß De Troy, Miles (2), M. Peach, G. Duncan and Ell wood; Messrs Ayers, Mossman, De Troy, Whatman (2), Bowron, and several of the scholars. The accompaniments were played by Misses De Troy, Peach and Flynn. A dance was held afterwards, for which Mr E. Barwell provided the music. Angling. — During the week the fkhing at Ashburton has been very poor. There is no record of any fish over two pounds in weight being taken anywhere near the town, but the river is full of small fish, which, sb the weather gets warmer, will give good sport for the fly. The only take of note was thirty fish, weighing 2401b5, caught at the mouth of the Eangitata by Messrs Shury, Davie, Simpßon and Phil. Several of the fish weighed from nine to twelve pounds, one thirteen, and the average was eight pounds. The Wakanui creek and most of the other creeks have been quite dry. The north branch of the Ashburton is still muddy, making the whole stream below the bridge unfit for angling. ABHBURTON Cricket Club. — A wellattended meeting of the Ashburton Cricket Club was held on Monday evening. Mr Denshire occupied the chair. A letter was read from Mr Baymond, of Timaru, reporting the business done at a meeting of the Cricket Association held at Waitaki, where he acted as delegate for the Club, and intimating that the Ashburton Club had power to nominate one VicePresident for the Association. Mr W. B. Denshire was unanimously elected to the position. Mr B. M. Cuthberteon was appointed the Club's delegate to the Association. Mr A< Lane was elected Captain, and B. M. Cuthbertson ViceCaptain. Votes of thanks were passed to Dr Tweed and Mr Lane for their offer of trophies for the beat averages and aggregate scores. The Butchers' Sports. — In pursuance of a resolution adopted at a meeting of master butchers on Monday evening, a Committee appointed to arrange for a public demonstration in Hagloj Park tomorrow afternoon, communicated with the Master Bakers' Association, with a view to ascertaining whether a cricket match, bakers v. butchers, might be arranged, to be played during the afternoon. Mesars J. T. Faville, D. Neave and J. Hopper, on behalf oE the bakers, accepted the challenge, and arranged with the butchers' Committee to assist in the sports. A programme was drawn up, the leading items of which appear elsewhere. Arrangements were made for a supply of refreshments, and further subscriptions towards the prizes were promised. The Bakers' Association has been asked to support the demonstration, and as there will be several events for which good prizea will be given it is anticipated that the gathering will be a great success. ! Sea Bathing at Timaru.— The most remarkable secondary result of the coni Btruction of the harbour works at Timaru ■ has been the rapid deposit of fine sand I under the shelter of the works in Caroline Bay, where previously there waß only a ' narrow strip of travelling shingle, with I deep water outside it. There is now at low water about fifteen acres of beautiful ' sands, continued under water with a gentle slope for a considerable distance. As a | consequence, eea bathing has become a ' common recreation, and hundreds of 1 people visit the beach every fine day. An enterprising townsman, Mr Jas. Strachan, has constructed a number of bathing machines for the use of ladies. The sands are slowly but steadily extending, and in a few years there will probably be a dry margin at all states of the tide as well as at low water. The Eailway Commissioners have assisted the public by forming an excellent approach to the bay under the railway, and the Borough Council, which is nominally in charge of the sands under lease from the Harbour Board, has laid on a supply of fre3h water for drinking purposes. The bay is a favourite resort and must become more so. Druidisu. — A most successful meeting of the Athelstan Lodge of . Druids was held in the schoolroom at Springston last week. The A.D., Bro Naisb, presided at the opening of the Lodge. A large number of visitors also attended, including the D.G. President Bro J. E. Tully, V.D.G.P. Bro F. W. Penfold. D.G.G. Bro M. Harris, and membeis from the Pioneer, Perseverance, Old Oak and Lincoln Lodges. On the arrival of the Grand Lodge officers an adjournment was made for refreshment, when the usual Druidic toasts were proposed and responded to. In responding to the toast of the District Grand Lodge and Board of Management, the D.G.P. gave a long and interesting account of the District 3rand Lodge Bince its formation. He also spoke on the Lodge of Instruction, instituted by the Grand Lodge officers, and urged the young members to attend and qnalify themselves to hold office in the various Lodges. ° After justice had been done to the spread provided by the Springston brethren, the D.G.P. took the chair, and harmony was the order of the evening. A large number of brethren contributed songs. The'singing of "Auld Lang Syne " brought ' one of the most; successful Druids' meetings that have over been held in the district to a close at 11.30 p.m. j

Primitive Methodist Church. — A tea meeting and concert in aid of the funds of the Ashburton Primitive Methodist Church were held on Friday. After fall justice had been done to an excellent tea a very largely attended public meeting was held, at which the pastor of the church, the Eev James Cocker,, presided. During the evening some excellent song 3 and addresses were given, and the meeting terminated with the usual votes of thankß. TIMABTJ BOBODGH COUNCIL. — A special meeting of the Timaru Borough Council was held on Monday evening to confirm a new by-law fixing the rate of contributions to be paid by owners of adjoining properties towards the cost of kerbing, channelling and asphalting footways. The by-law had reached this final Btage without material opposition, but on the motion for its confirmation, Councillor Burford rose to oppose it. Hia reasoa was that as certain streets had been kerbed, channelled and asphalted at the expense of the whole of the ratepayers, it was unjust to demand a special tax from those who, in the future, were to have such work done near their property for the public benefit. One after another of the Councillors left: the chamber, until, after Councillor Burford had spoken for about half an hour, the Town Clerk announced that there was no quorum, and the meeting lapsed. In order to reinstate the business all the preliminary steps will have to be taken over again. A Sydney Tragedy.— The Sydney Horning Herald of Oct. 20 reports :— " A shocking tragedy was perpetrated last night, when a young man named Henry Dixon ehot a young lady named Catherine Marcontelli, at Eosedale, near the tram terminus. It appears that Dixon had been courting the young lady, and that her parents had forbidden her to have anything to say to him. About ten o'clock laßt night he travelled in the same tram as the young lady, and after leaving the terminus approached her, and asked her whether she would not speak to him. She replied that her parents would not allow her to. Dixon then drew a revolver and fired twice afc her, one ehot taking effect, the ball entering her back between the shoulder-blades and coming out at the side. He ran along Cook's river, and the criea of the wounded girl brought assistance. Within a few minutes of the attempted murder a shot was heard in the direction of Cook's river, and on the police making a search the body of Dixon was found with ihe brains blown out and a revolver still grasped by the dead hand. The injured girl is not expected to recover. Dixon wsb a blacksmith, and was twenty-five years old, but the girl is only eighteen. Sergeant Higgins had charge of the case. The tragedy caused a great sensation in the vicinity."