CRICKET.

Wellington Independent, Volume XV, Issue 1403, 3 February 1860, Page 3

CRICKET.

On S Uurday, the 2Lst a moelW of Oncketers took place, in the Hall of the Meehanijs Institute, for the purpose of taking into consuiemuon the propriety *<*_ prJCe edi^ to

m At a few minntea past 4 p.m. Mr. C A. Har^ ns was called to the chair 1 . " The Chairman. in opening the business, read the advertisement convening tae m ee(f „ ' fc j after a few preliminary remirbs, in which A ft. sion was made to the cultivation of a fViehdlv feeling and praiseworthy rivalry between the two Provinces, he desired &tr. Varty to read the correspondence which ha ! passed between the nimS'' y Wel »*gt6n CncketeT and

Mr. Variy briefly explained \)mt at the wishP ?!2S T, mbe * °/> the Tk ' riooß C » c ket club* of Auckland he, at the commencement of the present month, put himself in communication with Mr. May, agent c nan resident in WdCv ton, but who was then on a visit to this tilV and wno very kindly offered to ascertain, on "ft ret, n,, whether If a challenge were Sent to the Weih^ton Cricketers, it would be accepted. Aooardxngly.a letter was writfe.r, aad a lepif ; hud bcien received l, from M>. L. Buck, Hoi J Sec. We hugtou Cricketers, which he then read -pthe substance of which was, that an eleven of he Wellington Crwltttew would bomost happy I to jlny an eleven of Auckland, provided the Utter could iti ,ke it convenient to play the match at Wellington during the present Jason, M W &- retu . ri ? in ff *c visit next summer. ' Mr. White wished to know what would be the provable expense, and was informed by Mr. VaVty that he was pleased to state thatJvera gentlemen, who were willing to become loemi bers of the eleven, had expressed their readness to pay their own expanses { but there werd of course several whom it would be advisable to take who could not incur the expense on their own account, and it Would become necessary "to provide for them. He had also l.ecu favoured with a letter from W. P. Kirktfood, Esd. the spir.ed owner of the s.s « WhiM SiraL •in which that gentleman, unsolicited, had espressed his Willingness to convey the Auckland Cricketera to Wellington and &ok on exceedingly liberal terms. ' Mr. B. Irelaud then propqsed, and Mr. White seconded the lowing .resolute , which was erred unanimously:-, • ' ■ '« That it is the opinion of this meeting, that if eleven orioketen can make it con ye; Jen to bo to Wellington, the oflfer of the WmL .^ Cricketers be accepted, and' sue Saf Te

" That a committee of the following gentlemen (with power to add to their number) be appointed to carry out the foregoing resolution, Messrs. J. Russell, J. Hargreaves, Fountain. Harris, Young, B. Ireland, G, Ireland, Varty, I White, and Turton." "| Mr. White proposed, and Mr. Mathews seconded, the following resolution, which was carried unanimously ■ — " That as this match would be regarded as a trial of strength between the two Provinces, the public of Auckland should be invited to co»operate by tbeir contributions, not only to lessen the expense attendant upon the undertaking *ui4lßo to give them an individual interest in it." ' Mr. Turton, proposed, and Mr. B. Ireland seconded:— "That Mr. Varty be requested to act as secretary to the Auckland eleven," which was carried unanimously. Mr. Varty proposed, and Mr. White seconded — " That the thanks of this meeting be given to W. 4 P. Kirkwood for the very liberal terms which be has offered to convey the Auckland Cricketers to and from Wellington by the s.s. "White Swan," " — which was carried with acclamation. After which the meeting broke up.

, Ojld Fifty-Eioth. — It gives us very great pleasure to place the following highly honourable and complimentary paragraph in possession of our readers, by most of whom it will be appreciated as it deserves : — This old and distinguished Corps (in which the late " Illustrious Iron Duke" once served for some years as Captain) now forming part of the Ist Brigade, under the command of Major General Lord Wm. Paulet, C.8., at Aldershot Camp, had its half yearly inspection by that General on the Bth instant. The General after having seen the Regiment march past in slow and quick time, and go through a variety of field manceurves and Angelo's Bayonet exercise, expressed bimself in the following manner -. i

"Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, and Privates — Soldiers of the 58th Regiment; this is' the first opportunity I ever had of seeing you together, except on divisional field days, although I have often heard of you, and I am happy to be able to state, that the soldierlike appearance cleanliness, and steadiness under arms which you this day have exhibited, reflect not only credit on the corps but do honour to the Brigade which I feel proud to command ; and that to arrive at such state Of perfection in so short a period, since the return of Head Quarters from New Zealand, in March last (then much reduced in numbers,) the greatest attention and exertion must have been given towards the efficiency of ! the Regiment by the Commanding Officer and the Officers of the Regiment, supported by the Sergeant Major and Drill SergeanU ; and if you continue to persevere in your present apparent desire to excel in the duties of your profession you will not fail to be as smart and efficient a Corps as any in Her Most Gracious Majesty's Service. The General also expressed himself generally well pleased with the books and interior economy of the Corps. Colonel Bridge and Lieutenant and Adjutant Bolton, were personally complimented by the Gallant General both of whom are highly respected by Officers and Men. <^^ J Our old and steady friend Dr. Thomson, it will be seen, has exchanged from the '58th. On dit, he goes to China. A work on New Zealand, from his able pen was on the eve oi publication.

58th Feot— Surg. Major Henry Downes, M.D., from the Staff, to be Surg. Major vice Thomson, who exchanges. Surg. Major Arthur Sanders Thomson, M.D., (rom the 58th Foot; to be Surg. Major, vice Uownes, who exchanges. — Auckland Register, lan. 22.

Astounding Intimation. — " We learn that the. 3oo sparrows impoited into New Zealand at the suggestion of Mr. Broodie have already done the farmers immense service by devouring tb,e caterpillars, which have been till recently most destructive in that country. The arrival of the birds, in the first instance, was treated with universal derision." — Illustrated News, .Sept. 24th.

[This looks like a genuine " Walter." We ibeg to apprise the Editor of the News that not .eren a feather of the tail of one of the ",300 ' £ver reached a third of the way to New Zealand — Ed. A.W.R.]

The Weatheb. — The ground remains as dry as ever, and weather wise authorities are afraid of risking their characters as such, by prognosticating any change. We never remember to have known so long a drought as the present one in Auckland, and men, whose Australian information had led them to believe that it rained here about three times a week all theyear round, express theirastonishmentloudly. Bad as the effects? of this continued dry weather undoubtedly are, we almost think that the cli. mate of Auckland will get a better name in consequence, for a prejudice has long existed against it as damp, steaming and "muggy" a charge certainly not to be substantiated if the date of the offence is ever laid in the summer of 1859 and 1860. Whether our regular steam (communication with Sydney has anything to do with it or not, is a, question for our scientific men to decide, but there has been certainly an approximation to Sydney weather of late, and we recently experienced and many no doubt of our readers have done the same, an unmistakably "hot wind," somethiug not often felt in New .Zealand, on account of our insular position. If the late dry weather should lead the community to take any well considered pratical stepß towards introducing a good supply of water into the town, it will have been in so far of incalculable benefit.