CHRISTCHURCH.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 39, 22 January 1886, Page 13

CHRISTCHU RCH.

(From oar own Correspondent.) January 18, 1886. YBBTEBDAT the congregation bad an opportunity of matin? acquaintance with Dr. Waiters, the principal of St. Patrick's College, Wellington, as a preacher. I should like to be able to enlarge on the good qualities of Dr. Watters-on his force and fluency, his earnestness and cultivated mind, but, feeling that the pulpit is* above the reach of the newspaper critic, I forbear. Being bound, however, to uphold the truth, I cannot avoid saying that the College of St. Patrick conli not have had a better recommendation. Under such a principal, the whole congregation cannot but have concluded, the College must be a fortun te college indeed. Ye«terday we also all learned officially from the parish priest what most of us had known, through the newspapers, for a few days --that a movement is on foot for a testimonial to the Bishop of the diocese. This is to c >mmemorate the fact, as Father Ginaty put it, that our distinguished and cultured Bishop was selected to deliver the opening address— and a meraorible address it was— on the oscuiin of the late Synod in Sydney. It in a fact which will not be forgotten as long as the address remains in print The presentation will give another fact permanent prominence— the fact that the people of the diocese appreciate to the full the honourable position achieved by their Bishop. Collections have been appointed here as well as elsewhere, and the canvas is likely to be highly successful. Irrigation has been one of the uppermost subjects during this prevailing dry weather. " Why not use some of the water which is ronnmg ( across your plains in waste to the sea, that wants none of it? say 8 the man of improvement, who wants to make two blades of grass grow where one grew before. " Too expensive " was the first reply, to which " B-jsh " was the rejoinder. Then we had an estimate of cost, and a second and a third, all of which proved the first answer to the first proposition. Such are the ways of the engineering world. But the cost not being forthcoming, the engineers mended their estimate. While the more greedy ones nre dreaming and talking of vast canals that are to cover the country with a network of water supply, and to compete with the railways besides, we oee an engineer come forward with a reasonable estimate For the 200.000 acres between the Rakaia and the Ashburton water can be lifted from the former stream in quantity equal to a daily supply of some 400 cubic feet cf water for irrigttion puposesata e.>st of £96.000. Such is the estimate of Mr. Fooks, who is well known in this part of the woil.l. To this it is replied on behalf of Messrs. Dobsou aud Son, that such a system is too larj?? as it will waste much water by taking it unn^d to the sea. Tin-re is the dimenlty cf w<.t seasons, too. which interferes with the revenue pro- ! spects of an expensive system. "Store the water here and there, ! which [flows down jour pn-s..*i,t races — tin re are 1500 miles all told— ' use it wbeu you want it. and you may have all you require. I;i this ' climate you dont r. quire a great deal. You have oca-ional showers ', in «be worst droughts a* you are phased to call them, and the dew never fails." Th-s vi, w (paraphra- -d as it is. but I can vouoh for it as , substantially a corr ct version of what is put forward by the eminent e:ij,'iu.H»r I hivo mon'ioned), this view brings us ' marer to a complete of irrigation than we have been ' for jt-iirs. It is one of tin- uio-l int.-rtstiny; discussions we have had hero for uuny a Img day. If it ends in pi icing the 1 country above the n-ach of droughts, it will certainly not have been in \ain. " But," aajs M- Mutton, " what is the use of growing m-v.t ' when there is ua market .' " Forthwith I am reminded of many doli-fi,] taie< tl.at have reicbed me during the Ust few days. One ' ruhii sent to miik t I'tut fat wetheis. 7Olbs. a piece, ani being unab c I t « gt-t tucin froz. n, h.id to accept the enormous sum of five shillings ' apiece. Another brought 1000 stores to market in hig'i bope, and ' the highest bid he got was just mnepence! Another, having plenty | of feed, kept a thousand wethers over for better times : a gentleman | carelessly dropped a match l.ito his country, and the whole thing ended in smoke. I know a man v-'ho has uudertak-n to i>ay £1000 ' ;i year for thtee thousan 1 acres in connection with his run as a ' fattening ground, and looks blue whenever he thinks of hia bargain Another got £1200 for bis clip in 1884, and, after waitiug, had to' i accept £900 for bis clip of '85. Yet another, a big man, managing ! many properties for a company, told me he had sold 20.000 sheep ' this tune last year, and now cannot get rid of one. " Why don't you ' freeze? " I as-k. Ibe reply is that, with an accumulation of 100,000 ! carcases in London, the trade is paralysed. The wheat-growers, and 1 the potato men, :md the sellers of oat«, bave not much better stories to it'll. We all w tit (or I* turn <.f the tide. It is long in comino ! but we feel confident. n In a few days you will hive had an opportunity of hearing the ! miiwcof Mr. Lu.-rorube S-arelle who conducts the Majeroni Opera <o.uj l any. Mr. Searelle is one of a very talented family of brothers ■ sons ot a remarkably clever rootLer, who gave them herself a pood ! luu&u-rtl education. This one, not the elde-t, ran off at an early ape |" push his foitunc. determining to b-a composer. Without know- ' leuo<> of compositi.n. without experience of the woild, without friends ' he stuck to his idea. At first he could not get higher than vamping ac- ! companimeuts at a sort of public house "tree aud easy" in Duriedui.— J Hut he worshipped the muse notwithstanding his low position and i lour shillings a day. Itinerant companies gave him better pay, and, I a lilue Kisure duiius which he wrote operas; it sounds funny but it is a' ' fact. Arrived in London be fouud how little he knew and how much he I had to learn. But he conquered obstacles and has the happiness of seeing bis operas plased. As Mr. Searel c ia a Canterbury native I have given you tins sketch of a life which I vemuie to think has a moral for tin so who wish to put their shoulder to the wheel in the battle of life. His operas me musically very taking, they abound in pipflsnut lively ;ujs, the harmonxs are de<idedly original and good and ii memories abound here aDd there, there is a set off in the sbspe of much pxcelent writing and a gie-«t deal of good promise. The dramatic jMirtion is not ot a high order, but then it is only opera bouffe. * r