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Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 3, Issue 249, 6 December 1878, Page 2

A meeting of the Borough Council was held last night, Cr Waeckerle in the chair, when'a large amount of important business was transacted. Owing to the late hour at which the Council adjourned, we are compelled to hold over our report of the.meeting until next issue. : ; ■We would beg respectfully to draw the attention of the newly elected Borough Councillors to the necessity of clearing Ihe roads-and footways of weeds—such, as docks, marsh-mallows, &c, which are. at .the present time growing so luxuriantly all over the town. The first of the holidays will be upon us very shortly, and if the town is left in its present state, strangers visiting the place will think—and rightly f too —that the inhabitants of Akaroa are very indolent and very unenergetic. We refer this matter to the new councillors, as it would prove an admirable chance for some of them to make their maiden effort. If it is not too much to ask, we would suggest -to the owners of unoccupied allotments adjoining their residences that they should also level with the ground their magnificent crops of the abovenamed flowering annuals. A meeting of the Committee of the Horticultural and Industrial Exhibition was held -on Wednesday evening last, at Bruce's Hotel. Th-*-* Secretary read letters enclosing donations as follows:—Mrs Montgomery, £2 2s ; Mr J. Ivess, £1 ls, and £5 from a gentleman who desires to remain unknown. They were ordered to be acknowledged with thanks. The following ladies and gentlemen were ap pointed judges in the respective classes : — Needlework—Mesdames Dawber, Stratton. Roberts, S. Watkins, Wiggins, and Miss Gray. Horticulture—Rev. W. Aylmer, Messrs Nalder and Jolly. Writing and works of art —Messrs Nalder, M'Gregor, and Wiggins. All were given power t **> add 4 to their number. The Secretary was empowered to cany out the necessary arrangements for the exhibition. It was arranged that his Worship the Mayor should open the exhibition, and that the prizes should be presented, if possible, on the following day. . Several members of Committee expressed a hope of being able to procure the assistance of some ladies and gentlemen to provide some music to enliven the proceedings. We sincerely hope that the public will not allow this most desirable project to languish fcr want of support. * We allude more especially to the Industrial poition of the exhibition. Every one admits that last year the affair was a thorough success, and each should his shoulder to the wheel and endeavor to realize a like result on this occasion. So far as we are aware, Akaroa is the first place in New Zealand which has inaugurated such an exhibition, v.nd it is one calculated to have an extremely beneficial effect, especially on our youth. We therefore 1 hope Tto see the affair thoroughly well supported, both by donations for prizes •- and a thronged attendance. .The Union Company's steamers have been in the habit,.for some time past, of calling at this port on their northward trip on Sunday, a steamer usually returning on the Tuesday following. By advertisement, which appears, elsewhere, it will be seen 'that'these arrangements have been altered. During tlie present month tho boats for the North willcall here on Saturday, and of three from Lyttelton southwards, two are'due here also on Saturday. The steamer sailing for tbe North to-morrow will-proved to Wellington direct, without callin£|at Lyttelton. The projected excureiojr to the Sounds has been abandoned, presumably on account of the loss of the Taranaki, which was to have been employed on the trip. Ashburton must be a paradise for dogs. It appears that the local Beak has decided that fines against the owners of unregistered curs cannot be recovered. The Evening Echo has the following thereanent: —"There was a jubilee amongst the dogs at the Friday's sitting of the Court. It was thusly :—Rover, the -dog which brought about the discovery by the R.M, that fine 3 nnder the Dog Nuisance Act could not be recovered in our Court, came past the Court-house. Tha assembly of canine loafers that usually haunt the Friday's sitting set up a jubilee chorus in honor "of their emancipator from the thraldom of 10s collars, and the noise so disturbed the Court that the Sergeant had to order the offending curs to be silenced. His Worship knew they were rejoicing over his recent decision, so he let them alone. Just man.

We have received from the publishers' agents a copy of the " Southern Provinces Almanac, Directory, Diary and Year-book for 1879." This'publication comprises an immense amount of useful informationsexceed iiigly valuable to thtv-qnin ofjbusvneas,' and in fact toj all classes. first p|ace* the cohtjiflei*,,abjy.i jnore thttji the' i data,' including | pl}cubhicijin,Ma"v-. tical Ephemeras, &<V, panying table's, shoiifrt' pro ft. exwddiiigly*--useful to the navigator or astionomical observer. Next we have a very complete garden--cajeijdar^/-T|iißriir--followed by a directory] of the of Canterbury, arranged in towns. We have also an official directory; full information on postal, andj-ielegraph patters, stamp duties,' Sufirethe C6urt fees, Customs -duties, -Education, religious, charitable and public institutions, a summary of Acts passed during last session, &c. The whole forms an invaluable manual and book, of reference which no household should be without. The price is exceedingly moderate, and the mechanical getup very good. We had almost forgotten to mention two well executed maps, one of Christchurch and suburbs, and one of the rising town of Ashburton. These maps can easily be detached, and will prove of permanent value when the rest of the work has been superseded by a later publication. The Saturday Advertiser has again been enlarged. This highly popular and excellent journal commenced its career with eight pages, and now appears as a twentyfour pager.

An important decision has just been given in the Appeal Court in Wellington. Messrs Holt and M'Carthy (the Press Agency) sought to obtain an injunction against the proprietors of a newspaper published at Poverty Bay from publishing telegrams furnished by them to other journals without the consent of the Agency. The Judges were unanimous in refusing the application, Mr Justice Gillies saying that lie " considered that the publication of any compilation of news in a newspaper is a dedication of it to the whole world, and in the absence of any statutory prohibition, anyone is at liberty to produce copies thereof." The decision accords with* what has always been considered the 6tate of the law on the subject.

On a former occasion we gave a few extracts from the Inspector's report on the Akaroa School. We find that we have misinterpreted the effect of one portion of that report and consequently given the school a lower character for efficiency than it deserves. We must say that the way in which Mr Edge tabulates his results is very misleading. For instance he distinctly states that out of 112 presented for examination, only 45 passed, and of these only 1 attained standard IV. It appears, however, ou further examination that out of 143 pupils present, of whom 112 were presented for examination, no less than 100 secured a pass. Of these 5 are classed in standard V, 8 in IV, 19 in 111, 23 in 11, and 45 in I. At the last examination, held in 1876, the corresponding numbers were, standards V, 1 ; IV, 2 ; 111, 18; 11, 14; I, 23; unclassed, 52. The way we fell into onr former error was, from the Inspector's report, perfectly natural. A pupil, say in standard 11, is put up for standard IV. He fails for IV, but passes 111. He is carefully noted as having failed in standard IV, and as carefully omitted from the list of those who haSve passed in 111. A A Melbourne telegram says : —Nothing fresh is known regarding the bushrangers. A number of police are still out in pursuit, but with the exception that the horses of the murdered constables have been recovered near the scene of the murder, nothing has yet been discovered. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Akaroa and Wainui Road Board takes place to-morrow at twelve o'clock at the usual place. Tenders will be received for various works, and also for the purchase of the buildings lately occupied by the Board in Akaroa. The Alice Jane arrived in harbor last evening, but had not entered at the Customs when we went to press. The Ashburton Borough Council have approved a design for a seal, which is from the pencil of Mr S. Watkins, of Akaroa. Ashburton being an inland town, they naturally made a ship a sine qua non in their instructions for the design. They have no.w, however, changed theif minds and desire the substitution of a windmill for the -•hip, arguing probably that 'there is not much difference, as they both have sails. They also insist on a reaper being introduced. A meeting of the Regatta Committee was held on '"■ Wednesday evening, at Beecher's Hotel. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. The committee agreed to accept Mr Beecher's offer of the loan of some casks to be made use of as buoys. Mr C. W* ; Bridge undertook to superintend the lading J them down. The secretary was authorized, to employ someone to collect subscriptions s It was decided that the privileges in [the [ shape of sites, &c, should be sold, dn a date to be notified after an answer had : been received from the the Borough Council. Some matters of detail were attended to, and the meeting separated. It is requested that all persons having promised subscriptions will let the treasurer have the amount of their subscriptions without delay.

An Okain's Bay correspondent writes a a follows :—During the-recent .dry weather 1 and high winds, much damage has been done in Okain's Bay'by bush fires, several ,lfb-ises having beeiliii-'great danger, that .of Mr llaley'having actually taken fire, . H"<l but' "fof "'timely assistance rendered, s \f-»)tiid hovAsbeen burnt to the chains of fencing and l ,aci;eß'ot'/j. seed have been de-■--jri-oyefj. /It that the law at 'one rtme in force, fynt now rescinded— '• that the lighting <}£bush fires be limited to the Jess dangerous seasons," is still |iecei}sary-r-... - * j- / ■*■. •■■*".-- /.