Local & General.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5210, 18 March 1895, Page 3

Local & General.

. - » Registration. — Mr B. C. Dran i gazetted a deputy registrar of bii.bc marriages and deaths for the Kaiapo district. Central Mission.— The meeting laBJ evening at the Oddfellows' Hall, Lichfield Street, was largely attended. Pastor Birch took for the subject of his discourse "Joy unspeakable." Selections of saored music were well rendered by the choir. Kiflb Shooting.— Tho competition for the district silver medal by volunteers in this district who have gained marksmen's badges took place at the Bromley Bange to-day, The medal was wQn by Priyft^e Jackson, of the A Company, mn l.core of 87 points, 'Sangiora Catholic School.— On the eve of the St Patrick's festival, the childron attending St Joseph's Catholio School, Bangiora, presented the Very Rev Father O'Connor with a pair of exceedingly handsome drawing-room cushions in token of appreciation of the interest taken by him in the welfare of the school. The presentation waß made by one of the elder scholars, and Father O'Connor warmly thanked the children for their beautiful gift. Dairy Industry.— A public meeting of farmers in the Leithfield distriot was held in the public hail on Saturday evening. The meeting was called by Mr Newman Andersen, of Rangiora, but owing chiefly to" the dark night it .was not very well attended. Mr Andersen explained the arrangements he wanted;, and it was ultimately decided to canvass tbe district and see if the amount required could bo raised; also, that another meeting be hfld in jtlie folbwing week to report progress. • ' V Municipal Association.- His Worship the Mayor has received a letter stating that a meeting of the Executive Council of the New Z.alanrt Municipal Association will be held at Wellington ou Monday, April 1. Among the business for consideration will be to decide whether oV not a conference shall be held this year, to coneider what opinions asked for by affiliated borowghß are to be charged' to tbe goneral funds, and to consider proposed legislation affecting municipalities. Polia»d Opera-Company:— " OtTtbeTTl'giit after the burning of the theatre at Palmeraton North, the Polltrd Juvenile Opera Company appeared in tb« Drill Hall, where a large audience assembled. The Mikado was produced with appropriate scenery and costumes; and though the orchestra played under considerable difficulty, owing to the destruction of most of the music, the performance is reported to have been highly satisfactory. In the*eourse of the eveni,*^ it wub announced that messages of Empathy had been received from all parts of the colony. ' The Shops Act. — The Wairarapa- Star states that Mr T. Hutchison, 8.M., gave another ruling at Greytowu on Wednesday on the question of whether a wife is an assistant under the Sbopu and Shop Assistants Act. In giving judgment in. a caee Mr Hutchison suid that the wife, having assisted her husband, waa practically an assistant ; that a husband and wife are not one person, but two, and that the Act in using the term "solely" meant "solely" in the ordinary acceptance of the term. He interpreted the Aot to mean that all assistants should have a holiday, and ie a wife assisted in tbe shop she was an assistant, and should have the holiday provided by law. Distressed Settlers. — A gentleman who reoently visited the Eketahuna district Btates that there is considerable trouble among the settlers there oh acoount of. the scarcity >of employment. Some bf these men, who had a little money saved, went there from Canterbury and other parts of the colony, and occupied sections in the hope that they would be able to maintain themselves and their families, partly by working on their land and partly by receiving employment in road-making and from the neighbouring runholderß. What road work there was iB now finished, and it is stated that the runholdors have, for political reasons, buttoned up their pockets, ceased to improve their estates, and are employing no labour. . Consequently some of the settlers are in great straits for want of money. Women's.. Christian Temperance Union.— At the monthly meeting, held on March 13, there was a moderate cttendi(nce. Mrs Owtn was appointed assistantsecre"ta_y. it wass reported that. the law forbidding the existence of disorderly honses Ib practically a dead letter in Christchurch. Those present felt that a public meeting should ba held in order to call the attention of the citizens to the fact, but it •was deoided that bef ore arranging for such meeting the inspector of police be communicated with and asked to suppress the bouses. A discussion took place as to the , cause of the widespread immorality, and \ it was held that the chief factors were the i donbtful standard of morality so generally held and the lack of parental control and proper training. It. was decided to inaugurate a series of spowal mothers meetings with the view of disseminating rieht ideas on such matters. It waß also resolved "that another effort be made during the coming session of Parliament to m raise the age of consent to eighteen years, (2) make it illegal for any girl Snder twenly-one to lead an evil life, and (3) secure a home or homes for inebriates. Brass Bands' Association.— The members of this Association met on Saturday 5? tbe headquarters, Mr W, F. M'Lean Sydenham, occupying the chair), the following members attendingj-Messrs B. Trist Searell; A. Gordon. %**&*'' Painter, E. Gohns and W. Mansell, honorary secretary. Correspondence was read from the Timaro Contest Committee, and after the arrangements for the annual meeting at Oamaru had been discussed So matter of the InvercargiU contest was brought forward, Several members spoke cf the gross defianco of rules by certain bands, and the question of maintaining the position of the Execuhve wdetatoi Ultimately it was resolved-" That the Dnnedin Engineers and the InvercargiU Garrison Bands be disqu ßifled from co* testing, for breaches ot Rules 8 and 14.* This was unanimously earned, and the seerefcary instructed to ?7«d «•* report oi the meeting to each affiliated bfmd, also to notify bands as to the annual subscription: and to makearraogementsiorthe business to be brought forward at the annua, general meeting, to be held at Oamaru al JEaatar.

Obituary.-A private cable xnawwehas been received in Chrißtchurch, dated from Albany, announcing the death at Coolgardie of Mr T. Plaisted, son of Mi r Joan Plaisted of this city. The probability ! seems to be that death resulted from fever. I Great sympathy will be Wt for Mr and j Mrs Plaisted in the new trouble that has j oome upon them. ' CHRISTCHUBCH HOSPITAL.— Dr . Mear *!f is the honorary surgeon and Dr Murdoch the honorary physician in attendance at the Christchurch Hospital this weok. ' Bank of New Zealand.— lt is understood that the Bank of New Zealand has decided to continue the branch at Kaii koura, which it was intended to close. 1 The Lyceum.— Laßt night Mr W. W. Collins completed his series of astronomicol lectures. There was a large attendance, The subject, "The Stars," was illustrated with epeoially prepared views. . Band of Hope.—Tlig first of the wialer series of meetings in connection with St Paul's Sunday School Band of Hope was held on Friday evening. There was a large attendance. Mr W. M. Henderson occupied the chair. A good programme waa gone through, consisting ot* songs, vocal and . instrumental solos, duets and a dialogue. The Late Mrs M'Donald.— On Satin dny night the General Committee of th Christchurch Wairarapa Belief Fund un nnimouflly decided to devote a balance o which remained in hand after pro viding for the Canterbury sufferers by tb< r t ; wreck, to the Bupport of the orphai - I children "of the late Mrs M'Donald, th< brave stewardess of the "Wairarapa. Kaiapoi Eifi.es.— Tbe third competition for Captain Millar'd prize was fired ai the company's range Oh Saturday afternoon. The shooting was hardly up to the standard of the previous competition**. 1 The following are the results :— Private H. 1 Hayman (handicap ' 2 points), total S3; j Private 6. Templeton (scr), 50 j Sergeant J A. Pearce (scr), 50; Corporal M'Gregor (5), 49 j Private W. Pearce (scr), 46. I Wbst Eyreton.— On Thursday evening ; a meeting in connection with tbu Eyreton ■ and Horrellville Temperance Society was ' held in the West Eyreton schoolroom. I The chair was occupied by the Bsv S. J. | Garlick. A programme consisting of i vocal and instrumental selections was _ gone through. The annual report aizj closed a substantial increase in member- ( ship/ with a satisfactory balanco in hand. I LijjsJ? yofreshraonfta were dispersed and a 1 peasant evehlug: V?fes s_»«ui Meeting- of YestrieSi—A meeting of j | the Vestries, of the Ellesmere distiiefe fras | held iv the . paiiah room at Southbridge on Thursday. There was a large actonI dance. Arohdoacon . Lingard presided, | and stated that the object cf the meeting was to consider what steps could be taken towards providing a successor to Mr Whitehouse. Dausandel, Killircby and Sedgemere were etill able to continue thoir quota to the stipend, but Southbridge waß uuable to do so. It wa3 resolved to ■' call a meeting of the church membera of the Southbridge district for Thursday, March 21. , Second Stratum Wells. — As showing '. how the second artesian stratum has been ' affected by the number of wells which ! have been driven down to it, it may be mentioned that a well in town, which, when put down about ten years ago, had a flow rising Bixteen feet above the surface of the ground, has now a: flow wbich rises only five and a half feet. This fact, points , to the desirableness of conserving the i second stratum supply by not allowing the j water to run to waste as, it is to be feared, ' it otten does. > Volunteer Inspection. — Colonel Fox j inspected the Temuka Eifles on Thursday ; last, when there was a very good muster. ' After the men had been put through battalion, drill by Captain -Cutten^Colonerj Fox said he was very sorry to notice a falling off in the drill, which wss not so goodvas when he inspected -them . last. Tbey could not hope t'oranysucuesß unless they turned up regularly to parades, j —The Ashburton Eiflo Volunteers, num- j berins: eixty-five, paraded at'the drillshed j on Friday evening for their annual ' . inspection by Colonel Fox. The men were pub through company drill, firing exercise ' nnd outpost duty by Captain Pol man and Lieutenant Hayee, and through the manual ; exercise by Colour-Sergeant M'Donald. t At the close Colonel Fox expressed him- : eelf pleased with the appearance of the ( arms and accoutrements and with the corps I generally. The exercises were well done, | but the outpost duty was less praise- ' worthy, owing to the small number of daylight parades. Linwood Football Club Sports.— This club held its annual picnic and sports in Free'a paddock, New Brighton, on Saturday afternoon, and although the weather was unfavourable, there was a very large muster of old and new members, who j spent an enjoyable afternoon. The athletic ' and aquatic sports were well contested, and in the evening the party sat down to j an excellent dinner, prepared by Mr Piercey in the Burwood Hall. The hall j was then cleared, and indoor amusements, including skating and acrobatic feats, were indulged in. The party returned home by Bpecial tram, three hearty cheers beinggiven . for 'the host before departing. The following are the results of the various events : — 100 yds Handicap Eace — E. Benjamin 1, W. M'Namara 2, A. M'Millan 3. Kicking the Football— Drop kick : H. Bullivant 60yds, 1 ; Maher and Price (equal) 55yds, 2 ; A. Kerr 53yds, 3. Place kick : A. Kerr i 63yds, 1 ; H. Bullivant 57yds, 2 ; W. | Irvine 55yds, 3. Throwing: the Cricket Ball— E. Glennie 90yds, 1 ; H. Bulli- j vant 82yds, 2 ; W. Blakeley 80yds, 3. ' Eowing : — Pair-oared Eace — First heat : Irvine and Webster , beat S. • Gaw and. ' Findlay; second heat; Mussen and Daniels beat Swindell and M'Namara; third heat : Price brothers beat E, Glennie and W. Gaw; fourth heat: Mussen and Daniels beat Irvine and Mahar; final*. Mussen and Daniels beat Price brothers. ; This was an exoiting finish, the stroke of ; the losing side catching a crab when almost home. The cricket match and tug-of-war were both won by the captain's team. ■MIMIII—MIIMIII I IIU ■»«■»— t««»»i—°—»B