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Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 209, 19 July 1878, Page 2

On Wednesday evening the employees of the Akaroa Mail office were entertained by the proprietors of that journal at a dinner, given at Bruce's Hotel, to commemorate the second anniversary of the birth of the Akaroa Mail. A few friends had also been asked to meet the proprietors and staff, and a very pleasant evening was spent. Mr Beecher was the caterer, and too much praise cannot be given for the excellent repast provided. After the usual loyal and patriotic toasts, Mr H. Bridge proposed the health of the guests of the evening-—the staff of the Akaroa Mail and in the course of his remarks alluded to the usefulness of a local newspaper which, despite some accidental treading on the susceptibilities ot a few, had been conducted mainly with the view to further the interests of the district, and that much good had resulted from its advocacy of public questions. The toast was drunk with musical honors, and responded to by. Messrs Lee and Sims on behalf of the staff. Mr J. Aylmer then proposed the health of the proprietors of! the Akaroa Mail, which was also received with musical honors, and responded to by Messrs Bridge and Wiggins. Some capital songs were rendered during the evening, and many other private and public toasts proposed, among which we may mention— •'Mr John Sundowner," proposed by Mr Wiggins, who apologised for that gentleman's absence through circumstances over which he had no control, namely, "mixed drinks ; " " Tha late proprietors of- the Mail, coupled with the name of Mr Garwood," who, in thanking the company for the hearty maimer in which the toast was received, paid a high compliment to the local journal, and wished it every success ; " The Resident Magistrate," " His Worship the Mayor," "The Trust," coupled with the name of the Chairman, Mr E. C. Latter; "Mr Ivess," the founder of the Mail; "The Press," "The Ladies," "Absent Friends," __c. Altogether a most enjoyable evening was passed, and the company separated nt an early hour.

We observe that the Ashburton Town Hall is to be formally opened by a ball on the 22nd inst. When shall we have the pleasure of chronicling the opening of our Oddfellows' hall ?

The Temuha Leader, after being in a state of suspended animation for ten days or a fortnight, has returned again to the glimpses of the moon and the perusal of its readers. The first issue under tho proprietary of Mr Alexander Wilson appeared on Saturday, and for a first issue the paper has a very fair appearance, the leading article concluding thus quaintly— " There is a time for everything, a time to read, a time to think," consequently a time for receiving advertisements for tho new. ■Femuka Leader. — Ashburton Mail.

Mr C. W. Bridge, in the course of some remarks with reference to the Akaroa Railway, made by him at the dinner to the Mail employees on Wednesday last, suggested that a public meeting should be called for the purpose of drawing up a memorial for presentation to the General Assembly, endorsing tho proceedings of the Trust, -and expressing the full confidence of the public in the actions of that body. We think the suggestion-a good one, and have no doubt that such a memorial, numerously signed, would greatly strengthen the hands of our member in securing the passage of the Bill.

On Tuesday evening last an entertainment, in aid of providing funds for the purchase of a harmonium for use in the church services, was given in the schoolroom, French Farm. There was a large attendance •of residents in the bay, supplemented by a great many visitors from Akaroa, most of whom had taken part in the football match earlier in the day. Taken as a whole, • the entertainment was an unqualified success, both as regards the manner in which the programme was carried out, and also in a pecuniary sense. A great feature in the evening's amusement, was; the excellent rendering of a Charade, which had been specially written for the occasion by one of Mr Baker's pupils, the " get-up " of some of the actors being very good indeed. At the end of the third act, in which the whole word was portrayed, the audience were asked if they could name it, and, failing this, were informed that it was "newspaper," when 5 of course, everyone exclaimed — " Dear me, how very stupid, of course it is." "I was just goirg to say so," &c. Great credit is due to the author of the piece } which was decidedly cleverly written. The following was the programme, in which it is sufficient to state that all acquitted themselves well, and, if applause is any criterion, gave more than satisfaction to the audience : — Instrumental, " Charleston quadrilles," Messrs Fenton, Daly, C. W., and IT. Bridge ; charade, by Messrs Knight and Clogstoun; song, " Strangers yet,'» Mr H. Bridge ; song, Miss Cole ; reading Mr T. Dicken ; glee, " Spring time ,* song, " Silver threads among the gold," Mr H. Bridge; which, being encored, was succeeded by " Robinson Crusoe ; " instrumental, Wind up galop. Interval of ten minutes. Song, " Betsy Wearing," and, in response to an encore, " The three little pigs,"Mr M. Smith ; glee, "From Oberon;" reading, Mr A. C. Knight; song, "The Rhine wine," Mr T. S. Baker, who, in answer to an encore, sang a verse of " Rule Britannia; song, " Blue Beard," Mr H. Bridge ; glee, " Carnival; " instrumental "Palermo quadrilles." Where all did co well, it would be invidious to criticise, still Miss Cole's excellent rendering of a very beautiful song demands more than a passing notice, as also does Mr M. Smith's funny delineation of the troubles of " Betsy Wearing," and the assumption of the three little porkers who would insist on trying to say " humph, humph, humph," when they only could say " wee, wee," a song which contains a wholesome moral. The singing of the National Anthem concluded one of the pleasantest entertainments we have attended on the Peninsula, and it forcibly brought to mind the good old days of six or seven years ago in Akaroa, when it could boast of having as good an entertainment on very short notice as any town in New Zealand, but now— nous avons change tout cela. Why, is a mys-

tery! A correspondent from Little Akaloa informs us that two men in the employment of Mr G. Bennett, while returning ing home on Thursday, were suddenly startled by the report of a gun and a bullet whistling close to their heads. The occurrence appears to have been due to the carelessness of some boys, and our correspondent rightly reprehends the practice of boys from twelve years of age and upwards "carrying firearms, with barely sufficient strength to level a gun or bring it to bear on any particular object."

Candor is undoubtedly a virtue, though sometimes its results are unpleasant. During the hearing of a civil action in Wellington lately, which consisted chiefly of a sort of triangular duel between the counsel engaged on either side, and the Bench, a long suffering juryman appears to have given vent to luYpent-up feelings of disgust in a manner more forcible than complimentary. The local report of the proceedings states that "Mr Barton complained that conversation was being got up to weaken his case, and that he did not get a chance to reply. Mr Allan upon this said to Mr Barton —Sit dewn, sir. If you are going to continually interrupt me so I might as well retire. Mr Barton—Yes ; 1 may as well go away too. A juror thought thisa consummation devoutly to be wished, for he excitedly exclaimed, "Hear, hear! hear, hear !"

We learn that the Kingsdown estate near Timaru, consisting of two thousand acres, divided into eleven farms, was sold be auction on Wednesday last at prices varying from £27 to £16 per acre. The average price was £19.

The Lyttelton Times says :—" Both yesterday morning, and the morning before, the water in Lyttelton harbor, inside the breakwater, and at the head of the bay was frozen over, tbe ice being from onesixteenth to one-eighth of an inch in thickness. This has never beee known to occur there before, and shows how severe the frost must have been.