LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 8101, 29 August 1904, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The lambing at Cheviot is turning out very satisfactory, a high, percentage being expected if the -weather continues favour* - able. The "Cheviot lse.ws" states that tha railway bridge over the- Hurunui River has been completed by the contractors, Messrs Scott Bros. , Tha Moeraki, from Melbourne and Hohart, arrived at the Bluff this morning. Her mails will probably reach, Clmstchurch! to-morrow evening. Advice has been received by the Postal Department that tka Pacific Cable Board has arranged with the Atlantic Telegraph Companies concerned for the delivery in. duplicate, to addressees within the United Kingdom, of cable messages sent via tha Pacific. On Saturday evening, the horses drawing the 9.20 tram to New Brighton broke lose, tho: king bolt having come adrift. The passengers were left in the middle of the road close to -the cemetery, while- the horses were being recovered near the junction. The incident caused, a delay of about half an hour. ' . Even in the uncongenial atmosphere of a gaol, the flower of humour may blossom (says the- "Post"). In a Wellington prison, one Sunday, lately, the officiating minister asked his congregation to select a hymn from Sankey's collection. The spokesman unhesitatingly announced his choice — "Free from the Law, 0, Happy Condition." The yield of gold from Victoria for the j month of June amounted to 83,2500z crude. ' equal to 77,9800z fliw, which is a substan» tial increase of 10,791 oz compared with the same month last year. The return for the first six months of the present year was 368,8840z fine, showing an increase of 13,7590z, compared with t!he corresponding period of 1203. The earthquake which was experienced in New Zealand on August 9 was very plainly recorded in West Australia on tha seismograph at tho Perth, Observatory. Preliminary tremors commenced at 7 a.m. ; the principal shock was at 7h 6min, reach- [ ing a maximum at 7h 7min, and lasting altogether till 8h smin a.m. The corresponding New Zealand times can be obtained by adding 3£ hours to the above. A gay Elthamito who (says a contemporary)" bears some facial and physical resemblance to Bush, the noted British team footballer, affixed the British team*« colours to his coat, and successfully passed himself off in New Plymouth as the real Simon Pure. Altogether ac had a grand time of it, a charming barmaid presenting him with a. set of "Remember me" silver-backed^ hair brushes in exchange for his rosette, and promises of devotion. Altogether our joker considers he had the champion tiaaeof his life, but is puzzled as to his future movements, which include a business visit to New Plymouth, that he would willingly cry off until the British team is forgotten. Commenting upon the improper use of church property, the "Methodist" says that Methodists are beginning to ask whether there is such a thing as discipline in' their Church. During the last few weeks, it remarks, the- Methodist Church has been wounded, and many of its members have-, beeu exasperated, by the improper use of its sanctuaries. In one place a Methodist Church waa used by an apostle of single tax for the purpose of defining single tax principles ! ilen have a right to their own political or economical opinions, but no onehas a right to propagate his peculiar views, nor has anyone the right to allow their propagation, through the agency of the Methodist Church. f

The services of the Scargill Defenoa Rifta Club, -with headquarters at Scargill, Cheviot, have been accepted. Messrs John Kennedy and Angus M'Leohlah Fife, have b«en appointed trustees of the Geraldine Cemetery, in place of Messrs Kyran. Brophy and Kenneth M'Keßaie- . I " You ax« crammed with this thing aaiti th« other thing, and the sooner you forg«t them tbe better, but you are not taught -tflje laws of Nature." Professor Bickerton's indictment of the modern, educational aystem. i The fault of the age, said Professor Bickerton last night, is the desire to suppress the variations of mankind. All men are made so muc-h alike that the man who is born with the beautiful genius for music has to go and b© an insurance agent. Ab endeavour is to be made, to amalgamaife the Socialists of Christchurch in order that rite movement may be placed on a proper jfooting. A meeting for thosa in- j terasted will be held at the Metaphysical Club's rooms on Tuesday evening, September 6.Professor Bickerton spoke enthusiastically last evening of the pictures of tie late Russian war artist., Verestchagin. "If you could see some of those wonderful realisations of the horror of war," said the Professor, "vbu would swear, aa I did, to ■ •work with all your might for the abolition of war." ' ' . ■ " Would Socialism keep the_ Chinese out of New ZealandY' was a question put to Professor Bickerton by one of his audience fast night. "Yfs, I. think it would, answered the lecturer. "Of coursa, you know what peace-loving, industrious, gentle cieatores the Chinese are, but you know, also, that they come here just to zaa-ke money, and in a Soeialiifc coromumty they could not do that." A survey of the barque Boieldieu was, made this morning >in the Lyttelton dock by Captain Willis, Lloyd s surveyor ; Mr F H. Barns, Lloyd's agent; and Mr C. Ferrier, surveyor for the Bureau Veritas. The stern post is slightly fractured and is being strengthened by two external straps or plates. The vessel's bottom was found to be in excellent condition, bpecincations for the rudder have been issued. The (football match between tha representatives of the local Police Torce and a> team representing the Insurance Companies, set down for Saturday, will be played on tie 'Christ's College ground, whioh has been placed at the disposal of the promoters by the College authorities. A charge of Sixpence will ibe made for admission, and the proceeds will be devoted to Nurse Maude's Consumptive Hospital. In the course of a lecture on Socialism last evening Professor Bickerton told a story of the sensation created by the publication of Henry George's great work " Progress and Poverty." "It frightened the landowners so much," said the Professor, " that one of them said to me, ' Well, it seeing to me that very soon the possession of Broad acres will be considered equivalent to wearing the broad arrow.'" On Saturday afternoon last a. trial of the Austin road grader was held at-Opowa, under the auspices of the Heathcote and Avon Road Boards. Messrs Booth, Macdonald «:nd Co., the New Zealand agents for the Austin line of road snd municipal machinery, conducted the trial, which extended over, two roads. After grading the road to the levels required by the surveyor to the Heathcote Road Board, the machine was made to gather up all the loose material and jjlabe it in a neat line on the edge of the eid'e-channel ready for carting away. A more strict enforcement'of the ln\r in regard to motor-cars is clearly required in Christchurch. Passengers along the Papanui Road late last evening were treated to tho spectacle of three cars racing into town at between fifteen and twenty miles an hour. Two were in the front with bright lights, one being in the centre of the road and the other on its wrong side; and the third, with only one dim lamp, was travelling on its wrong side in the cloud of dust created by the two leaders. The driver of a nervous horse. might have avoided the front cars, but he could not have seen the back one until it was close upon him. An indignation meeting, of the settlers of PohokurU, Whangamona and Taihora was held at Whangamona on Saturday night, when the following resolution was ' unanimously carried :—" That Mr J. M'Ciuggage shoula interview the Premier and the Minister of Public Works regarding the disgraceful state of the roads, and the urgent■"•ftecessity of the continuation of the Whangamona Railway ; also that the scope of the Commission aj>]*inted to inquire into the land tenure question should be widened to include investigation into the condition of the roads in the back blocks prior/to, and also at, the time of their investment under the control of the local bodies." Mr Haselden remarked at the Magistrate's Court this morning that he had despaired of making the Christchurch {people understand his attitude in judgment summons cases. He again emphasised the fact that the Act did not allow him to make an order against a person for the payment of money unless the person was in a position to meet the liability. As an instance, he refused to grant an order against a man whose weekly earnings were £3, with which he had to support himself and two children. The debtor had also been handicapped by expenses incurred through the illness of his wife, who had died about tYro years previously. Such a man, said . the Magistrate, had no surplus ; he could ' not be said to have money of his own.