Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 4818, 5 December 1893, Page 3

Local & General.

VoiLEY AND INDEPENDENT FIBING. — The A Company held its volley and independent firing on Saturday last, when fifty-seven men fired. The scores were : Volley firing 416 points, the average being 7*29 points ; independent firing 594 points, average 1042 points. Bangiora Borotxgb Council. — At a Bpeoial meeting of the above Council, held on Monday night, the Mayor presiding, the Milburn Lime and Cement Company's tender for a supply of Colonial cement for concrete work, and Messrs Ballantyne and Thompson's tender for thirty-three chains of kerbing and channelling, were accepted. The time for receiving tenders for asphalting was extended until the next ordinary ( Kiceting. North-East Licensing Committbb.^The quarterly meeting of the North>East Licensing Committee was held at the City ! Council Chambers at noon to-day » present

—Mr B. Westerara (Chairman), a-jd Messrs J. P. Jameson and F. Trent. An application for a transfer of the license of the Foresters' Hall, Osford terracs, from W. M Leod to H. Prestoa, was set down for i hearing, but neither of the parties ati tended, and the application was adjourned i till noon to-morrow. City Council Election;— The election ; to fill the vacancy on the City Council, caused by the election of Councillor Gapea • to the office of Mayor, will take place on I Dec. 22. Nominations will clo3e on Dec* : 15. Mr George Tombs has consented to l become a candidate for the vacant seat. ! A Proposed Concert.— A meetiDg of i representatives from the Permanent Artili j lery Torpedo Corps and Lyttelton Naval I Artillery was held at the drill-shed, Ly ttel- [ i ton, on Saturday evening, for the purpose i of arranging a benefit concert for the . widows and orphans of the torpedo men ■ recently drowned in Lyttelfcon. Lieutenant ■ j Joyce, of the Navals, was voted" to the j chair. Programme and stage Committees were elected, and it was resolved to hold jthe concert in the drill-shed, Lyttelton, ;on Dec. 21. The Committee has promises . of help from a number of well-known per- . formers, including the Dragoons' Choru3 1 from the military concerts in Christ- ' church, also a full orchestra of fourteen • well-known instrumentalists. I A Supposed Lunatic— On Saturday ; week a man named John Beer called at hie brother's house at Hillmorton, after an ' absence of about 17 years. He was then in an apparently, right state of mind, but on the following day he became very excited, and said some men were trying to take him back to Southland, and that the house was surrounded by detectives. He followed Mrs Beer about the house, but immediately Bhe ran into & neighbour's . house, he rolled up hiH swag, left the premises, and has not since been heard of. Mr W. Beer thinks his brothel has been confined in some asylum, and hat either been discharged or escaped. He v 5f fc Bin in height, stout build, dark hail . and complexion, full dark beard, and wai wearing a light tweed coat and vest, ant coloured moleskin trousers. It is believed that he is hiding in one of the plantation! j in Spreydon or Halawell.I Waimakabibi Harboub Board.— Th< monthly meeting of the above Boarc I was held at Kaiapoi on Monday evening ; present — Mr Lissaman (Chair j man), Messrs fliatfc, Paraham, Hor j rell, Mathewa and Doubleday. Corres. : pondence was received : — From' th< Minister for Marine, acknowledging receipi .of the Board's by-laws. From Mr Sand : ford, stating that if the Board would fine I about two coils of fencing wire he woulc I repair the fences near the Signal Station i The proposition waß agreed to. The pilot's report waß read, showing the river to be in about the same condition at .at the time of the last report, and stating that the tonnage inwards had | been 257 tons, and outwards 148 tons. The ] report was adopted. The Finance Comj ttittee reported the receipts to have been £20 Us Bd, and the credit at the Bank£l£ 6s lid, and recommended account? amount , ing to .£l2 for payment. The report was ; adopted. Aa thia was the last meeting ai j which the Mayor (tor Doubleday) would I be present, a unanimous hearty vote oi thanks was accorded to him, on the motion of Mr Mathews and seconded by Mi | Horrell, for the kind and energetic mannei in which he had served the burgesses. The Mayor suitably responded, and the meeting closed. EIFI.B Association. — A telegram from Wellington states that the next meeting of the New Zealand Rifle Association will be held at Christchurch. Wool Sales.— The second of the present series of wool sales under the auspices of the Canterbury Woolbrokera' Association will be held in the hall of the Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 14 and 15. Wool is coming forward freely, and the sale promises to be a large one. Committed fob Trial. — At the Police Court yesterday Frederick Jennings, Alfred John Burgess and Matthew James Sherwin were charged with attempting to blackmail William Adam Taylor. Evidence was given at considerable length, after which the accused were committed for trial at the next session of the Supreme Court. New Masonic Lodge.— The consecration of the new Masonic Lodge " Cbriatchurch," under the New Zealand Constitution, and the installation of the W.M. and the investiture of his officers, will take place in the St Augustine Hall, Manchester street, this evening at 6.30. Canterbury Engineers.— This company fired the first of a series of handicap competitions at Bromley on Saturday, for prizes which had been given by. Messrs Sclanders and Co., Buckner and White. The following are the principal scorerß :— Corporal Bridgman 200 yds 25, 300 yds 23, 500 yds 21, handicap (1) — 70; Sapper L. Smith 22, 23, 20, (5)— 70 ; Sergeant Fisher 29, 22, 13, (4)— 68 ; Lance-Corporal Watts 23, 25, 19, (scr)— 67 ; Sapper Swanston 26, 21, 14, (4)— 65; Sapper W. Taylor 25, 19, 8, (13)— 65 ; Sargeant-Maior Midgley 26, 24,14,(800-64; The IiTTTELton Drowning Accident. —It has been suggested that the volunteers of the Christchurch Corps should get up an entertainment in aid of the fund for the relief of the families of the two members of the Permanent Artillery who were drowned in Lyttelton Harbour on Tuesday last. The idea is a good one, and it iB to be hoped that it will be acted upon. It has also been suggested that some public recognition should be made of the heroic conduct of Gunners Hay and Blanchard, who very nearly lo3t their own lives in attempting to save those of the drowned men. Pigeon Flying. — The Christchurch Pigeon Flying Club flew off a race from Bakaia on Saturday, for a prize presented by Mr F. Bull. Twenty-three birds, divided amongst thirteen lofts, competed. Owing to a very dull day the velocity was below the average. The following is the list of placed birds and velocities. The Club desires to thank the stationmaster at Bakaia for liberating the birds : — Mr Gill's Crusader, 618 yds per minute ; Mr Wilkin'a Lytham Star, 6l7yda per minute; Mr Hasell's Chance, 611 yds per minute; Mr Bull's Princess, 601 yds per minute; Mr Pearse's Homeward Bound, 591jds per minute; Mr Hart's Mercury, 586 yds per minute; Mr Thompson's Beautiful Star, 579 yds per minute; Mr Green's Lochiel, 578 yds per minute ; Mr Kicgsford's Irishman, 567 yds per minute. Sick Benefit Society. — The sixth annual meeting of the Zealandia Boot Factory Sick Benefit Society was held on Saturday evening in the Blue Ribbon Hall; Mr E. H. Turner (President) in the chair. There was a large attendance of members. The report and balance-sheet,, which were read by the Secretary, showed the total receipts for the year to have been .£ll7 2s 9d. After paying sick members and meeting all other expenses there was a credit balance of £54, 19s 9d, which was divided pro rata among the members, according to rule, so that each member received a dividend equal to 60 per cent of what he had contributed. The funeral fund had a credit balance of £62 17s 3d, which, with the reserve fund of £25, made the capital account .£B2 17s 3d. The following officers were elected for the year: — Patrons, Messrs Skelton, Frostick and Allan ; President, Mr B. H. Turner ; Vice-Presidents, Miss Charles aad Mr Disher; Treasurer, Mr Skinner; Secretary,' Mr Beardsley; Auditors, Messrs Archibold and Browitt ; Committee, Misses Kennedy, Bowe and Denman and Messrs Cook, Pureor, Kemp, Baillie, Palmesj. Cother, Marshall and Whiting.