The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1877.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume I, Issue 48, 2 January 1877, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 2, 1877.

The Borough Council and Road Board are at present contending against each other as to their respective title to the Magazine Reserve and buildings standing thereon. It will be remembered that His Worship a short time since formally took possession of the building, by locking the door and putting the key in bis pocket Mr Duxbury, the Chairman of the Board not feeling altogether satisfied with the mode of ejectment, sought tbe intervention of Mr Rolleston, and the following telegram was received from that gentlemr.n by the OTairman of the Akaroa and Wainui Road Board, and handed to us for publication:—" To Mr J. Duxbury.—The Magazine Reserve was vested by grant in the Superintendent for the uses of the Province. It is now therefore vested in the Crown, and can only now be dealt with bj- the Crown. I have telegraphed to His Worship the Mayor.—W. Rolleston."

We have received several inquiries from persons seeking information as to Avhen the writs for the first election of members for the Lake Ellesinere and Forsyth Trust Board are likely to issue, and after making due inquiry we learn that the Act fixes that the election shall take place on the first Monday in January, but the election having to be conducted under regulations to be made by the Governor, it Avas found to be impossible for them to take place on that day. The Solicitor-General hasgiA-en his opinion that the Act coming into operation on the 31st December (Sunday), and the GoA'ernpr having power under Clause 5, not only to make regulations, but do all .■.things necessary for the due carrying out ■-of elections, itis quite competent for him f o name a day, and therefore it -will be seen that the matter is capable of easy ■''c understand that the now taking action in the it is more than probable • will conic off in the course "ortnight. We have heard one gentleman mentioned lidate to represent the n o'i t'u Bjanl, viz— ). .;

'■'-We have to acknowledge', the receipt. from the traffic manager} (Mr. JUhixfriotf))'' ot a'free pass for.the new year over the' I Canterbury Railways qur--1 reporting jstaff.- "'This /the part of ibe; Government cinncjt fail i but provj -. advantageous- to newspaper pr'o--prletprs'iii enabling tlieni to, place, before their' information." Though likely TO'TjeTof.vtHy little service that-it is a privilege that should be highly appreciated and not abused. ' "Owing to ihe holidays we are obliged to bold over our report of the sports, aii a other local matter till our next issue. - A cricket match the OkainS Bay and Akaroa- Academy Clubs was played ye&tcrriayiforonodn, in Dr. Catkins' pads^§Sßirf3! ie Tro ' a ™*" n n ' a wc]l con - 10 runs and 7 wickets. .'The both sides are held over till our next issue, through press of matter.

A midnight service was held in St. Peter's Church,- on Sunday evening last) being the last'day of "the old "year. The service coftimc'nced at 11 "p.m., and continued/ until past midnight. The Church which had been very tastefully decorated for the Christmas services, presented with the large congregation present a very interesting appearance. An eloquent sermon was preached by the Rev Incumbent from the parable of the " Barren Fig Tree," and the service which was a most hearty one, was semi-choral.

The anniversary of the Akaroa Loyal Good Intent Lodge, M.U.1.0.F., was held yesterday in the Lodge room. The usual 'half-yearly change of Chairs took place, when Bro. J. J. Kissel was installed as N.G., and Bro. Gressen as V.G. After the installation was completed, the usual loyal toasts were proposed. Then followed, '■The Board of Directors," "The Loyal Good Intent Lodge, coupled with the names of P.P.G.M Garwood and P.G. O'Brion,'' the latter gentleman being the oldest member of the Lodge. The toast was drank with musical honours. It was decided to hold a picnic and procession on Easter Monday.

In our report of the Pastoral Association's Show, we .inadvertently committed two errors in ■ the names of prize-takers, and we' hasten to make the necessary amende in this issue. In class 2, for the best cheese, from 201bs. to 291bs. MiGeorge Cossar was awarded second prize, and in several places the wrong initials were prefixed to Mr T. B. Mould's name, who was awarded first prizes for the best boar, best heifer calved since January, and his exhibit of 31bs. table butter was highly commended ?».

Mr. G. Black, who left this port on Tuesday last, in the Venture, which had been entered for the Lyttelton Regatta, returned to-harbour on Friday, having met with adverse winds.. There is but little doubt had he been successful in reaching Lyttelton, the yacht would have given a good account of herself in the event she had been entered for.

We are sure our readers will be glad to learn that the French Farm boat, " Just-in-Time," won the champion four-oar race at Lyttelton Regatta yesterday, in a style that was most creditable to Mr Baker and his crew. When the s.s. Wellington left port yesterday afternoon, the Yacht and Trading Races were still undecided, biu the result can hardly be doubtful, as the " Secret," Auckland yacht, was leading by a long way in the former; and the schooner, " Bell Brandon," in the latter, with the XXX ketch, two miles astern.

Mr G. E. Barton is determined to make a blaze in Wellington. The following is'an extract form a characteristic address he recently made in the Police Court when defending a client on a criminal charge : —

" Am I to be hounded down in this Court, and in this town, for saying that he ought to be committed as a scoundrel who has perjured himself? Even if I had whipped this man with a lash of scorpions, would I have been guilty of more than turning him out of the Temple of Truth? I defend my conduct. I had a right to turn round and ask that your worships should commit the scoundrel for perjury. It is done frequently and ought to be done . more frequently with some classes of witnesses. But I will not deal further with the evidence for the prosecution. It excites me too much. I will refer to the evidence for the defence

Avhieli has been most unfairly suppressed by the papers." In other parts of his address he spoke of the prosecutor, as a ruffian, an inhuman brute, a lying scoundrel.

A Nose Show lately was held in a little town in Austria. The largest -and ugliest got the prize. There were three prizes. Eiglit noses competed.

Mr Fox has a rare knack of iiwenting epithets. Once he described a troublesome opponent as being " partly a fcnianand partly a lunatic, " and more lately, in a speech delivered at Durham on the Bulgarian atrocities, he thus referred to the Turks :—" The character of the Turk had something in it so detestable and repugnant : that his story could not describe him. It, was almost impossible to describe hiim and his (Mr Fox's) opinion Avas that he Was the missing .link between humanity and the gorilla, which distinguished evolutionists had so long been seeking."

It appears that Mr Waterhouse has diecovered, in.the course of an interview Avith the Solicitor-General,, that the .County Councils themselves possess the poAver to re-apportion the representativesin the case of ridings Avherever injustice may in the first instance have been done.

...A Wraremq.rkabie storm ""Woolodgftj Wide 'Bay "creek (says the G'ympie ""{Times), on October 16. The haifstbnesYwere as large as hens' jggs, and the weight and the force with which _ they fell may, be imagined when we r6late> they stripped the smaller boughs from the forest trees, and-killed hundreds of birds, iguanas, and the smaller marsupials, such as kangaroo rats. -It is also stated that fifty goats were killed at Kiikivan by hailstones the same evening. The Yorkshire Post says :— John Cawdron, a publican, after seconding, as"a meeting held at- Norwich, a resolution expressing horror at the r: ajrocities committed by the Turks m'Bulgaria, went Home and knocked his wife about with a clock-weight till she was covered with bruises from head to foot He was sentenced to six months' imprisonment by the magistrates. - \

A good story comes from Takapaii; A few days ago the landlord of an hotel in that part of the district was playing at\ quoits with a few friends in front of his hotel when a swagsomn came up and asked for lodgings. ' He was told by the landlord to "go to the taproom, where he could obtain refreshment. Y/hen the tramp entered the bar. he found it unoccupied, and perceiving the till-box, he steathily attempted to draw it out with the object of counting the landlord's takings. Fortunately for the landlord, but unfortunately for the swagsman, the till was an American Patent Alarum one, and when taken hold of by the tramp, gave vent to a sound similar to that of an alarum clock. That was heard by those who were with the landlord, who on being informed of the circumstance, rushed to his bar, where he found the inquisitive iudividual standing aghast with wonder and alarm, with his hand still on the handle, of the. till* The landlord soon recovered him from his stupor by administering to him a lesson which he will remember for some time, and then bade him depart from his hospitable threshold. He left a wiser, but a sadder man.

Mr. Gapes has been elected Mayor of Christchurch, Dr Rouse' of" Lyttelton, and Mr. Ellen of Kaiapoi.

A horrible case of cruelty was heard at the Armidale (N.S.W ) Police Court on the 13th ult. A half-caste, named Ann Aicorn, who was married to a shepherd employed by Mr J. Gill, of Bropkstead, was charged (says the local paper) with skinning a sheep while it was alive. When asked why she did it she merely laughed. The only defence attempted was to urge that the sheep was dying, and that as' the shepherd was accountable for the skins he left his wife behind to flay the animal while he went on with the flock. The police magistrate who heard the case said he could not realise the unutterable cruelty and shocking depravity of the act, the animal remaining alive after it had been flayed. He sentenced the defendant to pay a fine of £5, in default to be confined in gaol for one month.

Mr. Moses Annetts, farmer, of St. Briavels Blakeney, 85 years of age , lately led to the hymeneal altar Mrs. Mary Taylor a widow of 48 summers. The ceremony, which was preformed by the Rev. Mr Stevens, of Coleford, was witnessed by a numerous company. The Kumara Trmes referring to the prospects of the gold field says :—: Save us or we perish," might be well applied to this field, for Avithout water, althought gold is plentiful enough, it is simply starvation work. • here are some long-suffering and generous people in Masterton. One of these persons was assaulted the other day by a neighbour, had his whiskers torn out; The offender was fined L 5, which he couldn't pay. Then that prosecutor lent him L 5 to pay the fine ! We should like to know that prosecutor.

A rather peculiar case came before the Licensing Bench at Nelson lately. The police alleged as against an applicant for the transfer of an hotel license to himself that he was living with another man's wife. Applicant's solicitor explained that the woman had been deserted by her husband eight years ago, and that the man she Avas living Avith was willing to marry her if the laAv allowed, adding that his (the solicitor's) opinion had been asked in the matter, but that he had hot yet had time to make up his. mind .vhat advice to give. If a womans' husband was absent without her hearing of him for seven years, she could marry again without laying herself open to a charge of bigamy, although if the first husband were eventually to turn up the second marriage would be invalid. The Court decided under he circumstances to adjourn for a month, promising if at the end of that time the parties Avere married, the transfer should be granted.