LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5486, 11 February 1896, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Political.— The Hon John M'Kenzie, Minister of Lands, in response to a requisition from the Canterbury Federated Liberal Couneiland others, will deliver an address on "Land Legislation/ at the Opera House this evening, at eight o'clock. The gallery will be reserved for ladies. and their escorts. - StrßPLus JLaboitb. — A meeting has been convened to be held in the Oddfellows' Hall at 7.30 this evening. ' ■ The Colonial Treasurer. — The Hon J. Q. Ward is expected to arrive from the. south to-night. He will give an address: to-morrow evening in reply to the attacks! recently made upon his policy. ■ The Criminal Calendar.— The calendar - for v the criminal .sittings of, the Supreme; Court, 'which wiU' open on Monday next,; appears elsewhere. It .contains seventeen; charges against seventeen persons. i . Supreme Court.— His Honor Mr Justice; Denniaton held sittings in Chambers and! Bankruptcy this morning.' The business done is reported elsewßere. Hlb Honor will hold a sitting in Banco to-morrow. A Dangeroub Practice. — The larrikins of Kaiapoi have lately been practising the very dangerous game of placing a wire across the footpath at dark places to trip pedestrians. The police are 'looking into the matter, and it is hoped that the offenders will .be speedily discovered. The Minister op Lands.— The Hon J. M'Kenzie arrived from "Dunedin by the express last night, and proceeded to the Terminus Hotel. He is accompanied by ' Mr Barron, Under-Secretary of the Land Department. Since he left for the south -a fortnight ago he has been occupied in ..going through applications from Otagb and Southland for relief ,, under the Pastoral Tenants' Belief Act; and he will proceed immediately to deal with similar applications from Canterbury. For that purpose he will meet the Commissioners to-morrow morning, and it is expected that the work will occupy the remainder of the week. Mr M^Kenzie will give an address on land legislation at the Opera House this evening. Kaiapoi Scho.ol Committee. — The monthly meeting was held last evening; presen't-rMessrs Moore (chairman), Clark, Butcher, Coup, Young, Caverhill, M'Kinny, and Feldwick. Leave of absence was granted to Mr Eraser. The Secretary was instructed to send a letter of condolence to Mr Fraser on his late sad bereavement. The headmaster's report showed the number on the roll to be 639, and the average , attendance— boys 254*1, girls 2363, equal to 91 per cent; also, Mißses. /Wilson and Kendall had removed tb the Normal School, and Miss Dora Hempleman and Harry Oram were chosen to take their places. . It was resolved to support the candidature of Messra Adams, Peryman and T. S. Weston for seats on the Education Board. Accounts' amounting to <£3 os 4d were passed for payment. .; Rangiora Athletic Association. — A meeting of the Managing Committee of the above Association was held at the Bed Lion Hotel last night, to pass accounts in connection with the New Tear's Day sports. Mr J. W. Foster was in the chair. The secretary (Mr A. C. Wilmot) submitted j an approximate balance-sheet, showing receipts .£lB4 2s 9d, the principal items being : — Gate money, .£9B 16s 6d ; members' subscriptions, J236 12s ; ; entries .at sports, ;813 16s, and booths £7 10s. .The expenditure amounted to .£l7l 5s 3d, including — Prizes, £87 Is 6d ; Domain Board percentage of gate money, £9 16s ; Band, J&7, and preparing track, .£lO 10s. The credit balance of .£l2 17s 6d was considered very satisfactory. On the motion of Mr G. Cone, the secretary was empowered to pay all accounts. This concluded the business. Proposed Cemetery.— At a meeting of the Sydenham Borough Council last night, it was decided to purchase fifteen acres of land in Stark*s Road as a site for the proposed cemetery for the borough. Masonic. — The regular monthly meeting of the St Augustine Lodge will be held this evening at the hall, Manchester Street, when business of a specially attractive character will be brought forward. Visitors of all constitutions will be welcomed. Municipal Cricket Match. — The Mayor of Chriatchurch and the members of the City Counrdl have accepted a challenge from the Veterans' Cricket Club to play the usual annual cricket match, and it will accordingly take place at Hagley Park on Feb27. Butchers' Picnic. — A general meeting of butchers was held in the Oxford Hotel last evening. There was a large attendance. It was resolved to ask the master butchers to grant the usual holiday on Feb. 20, to enable the employes to attend the annual picnic. During the last hundred years various computations have been made as to the age of Niagara Falls. Elliot calculated it as 55,000; Lyell put it at 35,000, Woodward reduced it to 12,000, and, still later, Gilbert lowered it to 7000. The latest conclusion has recently been put forward by Professor Spencer. In a paper read by him at Brooklyn thiß year, he reckoned the age of Niagara to be 31,000 years. Hitherto the conjectures as to the age have been based on the observed rate of recession alone, but Professor Spencer takes into cons' sideration the changing conditions of erosion during the periods or "episodes " of the river's history,

SALETABDB Company.— At the annual meeting of the Saleyards Company this afternoon, a dividend of 5 per cent on the half-year was declared (making 9 per cent for the year), a balance of £37 19s Id being carried forward. The retiring directors were re-elected. Chbistchubch Kegatta.— This regatta, which is to be held at Suniner on Thursday. Feb. 20, bids fair to eclipse all previous ones, and the committee has every reason to be gratified with the outlook. Entries for the various events are coming to hand : freely, and the racing promises to be of a i high order. Complete arrangements have ! been made with the Tramway Company, j and excursion trams will leave town at frequent intervals during the day, commencing at 10 a.m. As already notified, the day will be observed as a general holiday throughout the city and suburbs. In the way of refreshments abundant provision has been made. Mr L. J. Smith has the luncheon and confectionery booth, while Mr C. Morton of Sunnier has the publican's. Altogether, the committee has left no stone unturned to ensure the comfort of the public. The Auctioneers Act. — Some time ago, in consequence of a magisterial decision given at Dunedin, the Eangiora Borough Council made a claim against the Mandeville and Eangiora Eoad Board for the auctioneer's license fee paid by Mr J. G. E. Winßloe to the Board, the ground for the demand being that although the auctioneer's place of- residence was in the district, his principal place of business was in the borough, which fact, under the Act, gave the Council the best right to the fees. The Board came to the conclusion that it had no claim to the two years' fees involved, but as Mr Winsloe was representing Miles ' and Co., it was thought.that the Christchurch City Council might have some say in the " matter. The City Council did ultimately put in a claim, but On a statement of the case being put before its By-law Committee, it recommended the Council to withdraw it, the. Eangiora Council being in its opinion entitled to the fees. This recommendation has been acted upon, and it is expected that the Board will now hand the money (£80) over to the Borough. .Unfortunately for the Board the cheque drawn by Miles and Co. for the second year's fee was not presented at the bank before the firm went into liquidation, and they are still holding the paper. Cycling.-— On Thursday, the second day of the international race . meeting, at intervals between the races, Mr A. W. Harris (England) will attempt to lower the half-mile record, Mr W. Martin (America) the one-mile record, and Mr H. J. Pither, the two-mile record. The cyclists will be paced by tandems. The Secretary has received entries from four tandem teams for the tandem race. . The Premier^—^ust before the Premier left Lyttelton on Saturday night he was interviewed by a few of the men employed as casual hands on the railway who submitted to him several grievances arising out of the method of putting on labour, chiefly for overtime purposes, and other matters. Mr Seddon promised to confer with the Minister of Railways upon arrival at Wellington, and inquire 'into the matters placed before him. ' . Personal.— Mr P. J. O'Eegan, M.H.R. for Inangahua,. who has been on a visit to Australia, wher§ he delivered several lectures, passed through Christchurch yesterday on his way home.— Mr J. Kirby, formerly on the literary staff of this journal, and now a resident of Napier, passed through town, yesterday on his return from a visit to Goplgardie.— lt is to .be regretted that Mr J. T.M. Hornsby, editor of the Napier Evening News, is seriously iIL "Gazette "Notices.—^Notice of the following appointments appears in the Qazeite: — Mr J. Scaly to be a member of bhe Ashburton Licensing Committee vice Mr M.Bruce, deceased ; the Eight Eev Dr Julius to be honorary chaplain of the. Canterbury Battalion : of Infantry Volunteers ; Mr C. E. Tprlesse to be a lieutenant in the Lyttelton Naval Artillery Volunbeers. Letters of naturalisation have been issued to Max Hirschburg, professor of music, Christchurch. ■'-' ' Meeting of Fruiterers. — A meeting of fruiterers' was held in Messrs Clarke and Son's rooms last night. There was a good attendance. Mr A. Ayers presided and Mr C. H. Morrall acted as honorary secretary. A committee, consisting of Messrs A. Cummings, J. Eobinson, A. Ayers, C. H. Morrall and W. Benfield, was appointed to draw up a letter to the candidates for the Christchurch seat, asking them to give their opinions on the Chinese question at their public meetings. It was decided to hold a combined meeting of European gardeners, retail fruiterers and fruitgrowers next Monday evening to discusß the desirableness of taking united action in respect to Chinese competition.