LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5519, 20 March 1896, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Sale of Fruit.— Messrs Ayers, Beauchamp and Co. will hold an auction sale of fruit to-morrow morning. Canterbury Mounted Rifles. — Captain Snow, of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles, thanks the Garrison Band for their attendance, and also the members of the various corps which were represented at the funeral of the late Trumpeter Thompson.. Supreme Court. — His Honor Mr Justice Denniston held a sitting in Chambers this morning,' and, on the application of Mr badger, granted,' probate of the will of I William Darrington, deceased. In the : cage of Aynsley and another v. the Union Bank, Mr Bruges, for "the defendant, applied for a hearing before the judge alone. Mr Beswick, for the plaintiff, appeared to oppose, and after argument the matter was adjourned to the next sitting in Banco. The civil sittings of the Court will begin at 11 ajn. on Monday next. Kaiapoi Volunteers. — The annual meeting was held in the orderly-room last evenino-, but owing to some misunderstanding there was only a moderate attendance, and it was unanimously decided to adjourn till Thursday evening next. A smoke concert will be held after the usual business v to welcome Corporal C. Simpson on his return from the Rifle Association meeting. It was decided that the Kaiapoi corps sh6uld be represented at the reception of the champion shot in Christchurch, and the secretary was instructed to send a telegram'congratulating Sergeant Wakelin. Meeting of Fruiterers.— A meeting of . wholesale and retail fruiterers was held at Messrs Ayers, Beauchamp and Co.'s auction rooms at 10.30 a.m., to consider the question of being represented at the Fruit Conference to be neld at Wellington in May next. Mr A. Ayers was voted to the chair: It was decided that it was de- . sirable that the Christchurch fruiterers y should be representcT. at the conference, and Messrs Ayers a;vl Clarke were appointed delegates. It v 1 -' decided to hold another meeting in au. v fortnight to consider matters for the iLl^-ates to bring before the conference. , The Rifle Champion.— Arrangements for the public reception of Sergeant Wakelin, Rifle Champion 'of the colony, on his return from Oamaru to-morrow night, have been completed. He will be met at the Railway station on the arrival of the express by the Garrison Band and volunteers. A carriage will be provided, in -which he, Captain Harman of the Reserve Corps and. Private Simpson of the Kaiapoi Rifles, who has distinguished himself at the meeting, will be driven to the Drillshed, where the champion will be welcomed and congratulated by his Worship the Mayor of Christchurch and LieutenantColonel Gordon, the officer commanding the district. Colonel Gordon has given permission for volunteers to attend the gathering in uniform, and it is hoped that •as many as cab. • will be present on the pccasion. . ' Richmond Amateur Swimming-Club. — A meeting of the committee of this club was held in the schoolroom- yesterday evening ; present — Messrs H. L. Arim'tage (in the chair), W. Bassett, C. S. Howard, A. E. Wilson, W. Simpson, J. B. Norris, F. Ward and G. Milne. The balance-sheet of the race meeting held in February showed that the receipts had amounted to £4D Oa 6d and the expenditure to .£3O 19s"M,, leaving a credit balance of .£9 Is 2d. It was decided to give second and third prizes in the three ladies' races held at the sports. The sum of .£35 was passed for prizes won during the season. It was decided to hold the Final Electric Dash 25yds on Saturday afternoon, March 28. After passing accounts the meeting closed.— A general meeting was then held. The captain occupied the chair, and thirty members were present. It was decided that the annual social and presentation of prizes should be held towards the end of April. A new racing rule was adopted as follows :— " Any competitor touching the bottom of the bath with his feet during a race to be disqualified." St Paul's Presbyterian Church, TCaiapoi. — The anniversary soiree and sacred concert took place in the church last evening, and proved a decided success. The ladies of the congregation attended to •the wants of those present at the soiree. The decorations were tasteful, reflecting <rreat credit on the young ladies who undertook the work. Addresses were given by the Revs W. J. Gow PR. Monro^ R. M'Cully, Edwards and Smalley and Mr J. Gilbert The musical programme included the following items :— Anthems, "Oh Thou -that Hearest" and "Praise Thou the Lord "by the choir; songs, "Be at Rest iMiss Greener), "Light on the River . (Miss Eva Ellen), "Sabbath Bells" (Mr .T.Templeton), "Nightless Land" (Mr J. M'Gibbon), "The Old Ferryman" (MrH. Last), " Star of Bethleham" (Mr M. Templeton); duets, " Aye Sanctissima," (Misses M. and J. Young), "The Pilot Brave" tette, " Crossing the Bar," by Mrs Hume, Miss Menzies and Messrs Templeton and Last The concluding item was the anthem, "Like as a Father," by the choir. Mias Ellen presided at the organ. Votes of thanks were passed to all who had contributed to the success of the gathering.

The- Easter Encampment. — Arrange inents are now in progress for procuring provisions, fodder and other supplies for the volunteer camps to be held in the Temuka and Geraldine district at Easter. Northern Earn Faib. — There was an entry of just over three hundred rams at the Northern Agricultural and Pastoral Association's Earn Fair at Eangiora today, most of the best known North Canterbury flocks being represented. Eangioba Borough School. _ — Last night the Eangiora Literary Institute Hall •was crowded on the occasion of the annual entertainment to provide funds for the school children's picnic. The entertainment was given by the Messrs Bickerton Brothers, and the varied programme provided met with the fullest appreciation. Dbuids.— The quarterly summoned meeting of the Oak of Sydeiiham Lodge of Druids was held on Wednesday night ; A.D. Bro F. George presiding. The Hall Committee reported that the hall had been let frequently since its erection, and that the conveniences were evidently appreciated by the tenants. ( It was the committee's intention to purchase a piano for use in the hall. The report was adopted. Various other committees having given in their reports, and two candidates having been proposed for membership, the Lodge was closed. Cbicket.— The return match between the bakers and Farmers' Co-operative Association was played on Tlmrsday, andresultedin •a win for the Bakers by 60 runs. Scores :— Bakers 148, Farmers 88... For the former E. Smith 84, Gibbs 25 and H. Petrie 15, and for the latter G. Petrie 40 and Mathias 16: batted .best.. E. Smith -and Pearce bowled well for the Bakers, as did G.. Petrie and Eidley for the loser3.— The match ;Kaiapoi x'. New Brighton, played at Kaiapoi yesterday, resulted as follows :— New Brighton 69, Kaiapoi 27, „ Ibish Concebt.— -An Irish concert was. given last evening in St Mary's Hall, Manchester Street, under the direction, of Mr Harry Eossiter. The hall was crowded, and as a popular programme had been prepared, encores ..were . frequent. The overtures' were played by Mr Eossiter's band. Misses Triggs and Barker played a pianoforte duet, Mr. J. Daniels played a ; cornet solo and Mr Fleming a violin solo. ' Songs were sung by Misses L. Thompson and°Cnnningham, the Eev Father Malone, Messrs L. J. Blake, P. O'Malley and Blumski. Messra Peterson Bros sang a duet. Messrs Blumski and Eoss contributed an amusing sketch, " Joddlers ;" : recitations were given by Messrs D. Eyan and F. Cooper, and Mr, Murphy danced an Irish jig. -Mr H. Eossiter played the accompaniments. . • National Association. — A well-at-tended meeting of the council of the local section ,of N the National Association was held at the rooms, Morten's Buildings, last evening. Mr "W. Jacques, president, in the chair. A, large number of new members were elected. The Secretary read the report of the sub-committee on the programme to be supported, by the delegates to be sent to the conference of all the sections of theAssociation to be held at "Wellington on March 25. The report was adopted, and the president, Mr Jacques, and Mr George Swarm were appointed as delegates to represent the Canterbury section at the conference. Speakers were also appointed to visit the Amberley branch on March 26, and Leeston on March 27. The Secretary reported that, since last council meeting, a branch had been established at Ashburton, and it was decided that several members of the council should visit the district at an early date. Consideration of the plan of campaign for the forthcoming general election was adjourned after discussion until next council meeting. It was also resolved to postpone the. general meeting of members until the Thursday after Easter. N >