Local and General.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 468, 18 January 1881, Page 2

Local and General.

Bγ advertisement which appears elsewhere it will be seen that the valuation list for the Borough of Akaroa is open for inspection at the Council's offices. All objections thereto must bo sent to the judge of the Assessment Court before the sitting of the Court, and a copy of such objection must be furnished to the Council seven days previously.

We have received from the publisher, Mr J. Braithwaite of Dunedin a, pamphlet entitled •' The Gods," by It. G. Ingersoll. Colonel Ingersoll is noted for his irreligious, or anti-religious lectures, and this is one of the same kind. It is not our practice to criticise works of a theological nature, whether written from an orthodox or unbelieving standpoint. This is one of the latter, and any of our readers who are curious in the matter had better procure it for themselves, and draw their own

conclusions.

Competition is said to be the spirit of trade, and no doubt the public nnd traders also reap advantages from it when carried to a legitimate extent. Wo must confess however, to being , old fashioned enough to wish to pee it kept within reasonable bounds. The competition which is now taking place between ihe Pigeon Bay steamers is of thn sort known as " throatcutting," and cannot but entail serious loss upon one or both of the contending parties The owners of the p.s. Titan having announced their intention of carrying passengers to and from Pigeon Bay and Lyttelton for the absurdly low fare of sixpence, the p.s. Akaroa proprietary cap?, this announcement by offering to convey them for—nothing! Wo are not informed what reduction will be made on return tickets. The !-.ext thing we expect to hear is that one of the steamers will provide her passengers with a free lunch, and that the other will follow .suit by providing also an eleemosynary " nip." We observe that the Titan promises to run once a week to Little Akaloa. This should prove a great convenience to the residents in that bay and those on the eastern side of the Peninsula generally.

A singular wedding took place last week in Akarna. The united of the bride and bridegroom amounted to no less than a bund rod and forty-eight years.

Oμ Saturday last a treat was crivon to the childron attending the Congregational Stinuay School at Lo lion'.s Bay. After partaking of a sumptuous repast provided for them at the by !Tic f cache run ml friend.-, the children adjourned :o Mr I'iirnett'i-i pruldock. were th<\y enjoyed themselves with sports of various kind, and finally separated, highly delighted with their entertainment.

By announcement which appears elsewhere i-t will l»e seen that Dr Verd, who styles himself an " illusionist," - and some other name that our office boy really cannot spell, intends appearing in Akaroa on an early date. In the days of our youth such onter'ainers used to bo called conjurors and wizards, but now-a-days such titles are not grand enoughHowever, it does not much matter under what name the entertainment is given, so long as it is good of its kind, and according to some critiques wo have seen the doctor is decidedly clever at his business. The Telegraph of a late date says : —Dr Verd appeared at the Colonists' Hall, Ly Helton, last evening, his manipulating being clever. His coin and card tricks were good ; and little Eva, in her mysterious disappearance from the cabinet, was applauded and the various other illusions were grand. One remark was made by the doctor, that the leading features of his entertainment were his own invention. lie appears again to-night and he may honestly be termed a clever Prestidigitateur.

A viiXKD question of late in this district was the legality of charging driving fees for cattle impounded off the public roads. The question has been decided in the nrgative by a North Canterbury liench of magistrates, C. Whitefoord, Esq., presid-

ing. The following is the case we refer to : —C. Redfern v. R. J. Shanks ; claim Is, illegal charge for driving an animal to the pound off tlie public road. Judgment for plaintiff with costs, 7s.

We learn that on Saturday last the Okain's Road Board held what its e'erk called a, " private meeting." Personally we do not believe in the legality or expediency of "private" meetings of a public body. However, that is a point for the members and the ratepayers to decide. At this same meeting we understand that some ratepayers were refused admittance. The private business gone into consisted of the election of a chairman, a discussion as to the of the clerk, and the letting of a tender. With regard to the first business, we do not know whether we are laying ourselves open to the penalties of contempt when we say that we hear that Mr Moore was re-elected. As to the second, though some interfering ratepayers might want to " know, you know," the Board has successfully enveloped the affair in mystery. Respecting the third, subject to the same awful penalty, we believe that a tender was " privately " let to a " private " individual for the formation of what we suppose is a " private " road, and to be paid presumably out of " private " funds. When the Board next has a meeting which is not "private," we shall be happy to furnish our readers with fuller particulars.

A southern contemporary lias the. following; remarks on Mr Bryee's resigna tioii :—We arc not surprised at the resignation of the Hon. Sir Bryce. He has all along , been in favor of what has been termed a vigorous Native policy. In what one may now term the old days, when Sir E. Stafford ruled, he was one of the Stafford party. In the West Coast war he distinguished himself in the field and his mind is of that cast that he cannot wait, but must have disregard of the law put down. Hence it is that he wishes vigorous dealing with Te Whitti. Now in opposition, the party with whom Mr Bryce is allied, also wished vigorous action Sir William Fox and Major Atkinson addressed meetings of settlers, urging them to defend themselves, nnd lent themselves to the cry that the Grey administration were dilatory, and were not active in their preparations for defence of outlying settlers. When the Hall Ministry obtained power—save that they kept the prisoners without trial—■ they followed slavishly in the path of the Grey administration—and we think they | did right. We believe that Mr Bryce is wrong. We respect his ability and his honesty, and his desire to do what is right, iNo one who knows him but entertains the highest respect for him. In this instance however, we think he is not right, and that his colleagues are. It is far better to w;i?{. even for years, and to allow Te Whit; to live as a prophet at Parihaka, than pro. cipitate <i war. With that knowledge of the Maori character that Sir George Grey possesses, he wisely advised no rash measures. What avails it that Native Ministers are snubbed. Government agonta sent back, and the Governor's letter returned with the Delphic sentence, "The potato is cooked." The Europeans can wait. Alas ! the Natives are not increasing, and drink and immorality are killing them. They need no vigorous action. Too soon will a noble people be reduced to a few hapus. Whilst then we regretMr Brycc's retirement, we are pleased to see the Hail Ministry wisely resolve to carry out—even with the loss of Mr Bryee's .able services—the Native policy of the Grey administration. Wo believe ilint in the end the waiting policy will be found t>"> lie the true way of settling the Native difliculty. Olp customs have not yet entirely died siway in tho British Islofl as will bo soon from Uiis clipping from ;i Home paper : — " (h.-orgo Oliver, butcher and farmer, Denholme, having failed to fuHil his oliliga tioiis as a cautionor fur a bankrupt, was lasi, week, at tho tho ' Ciosh <>(' .hidhnrg, , i proclaimed her Majesty's rebel, and ' put to the born.' ''

All those persons interested in forming a brass band are invited by Mr Meech to attend a meeting at the Town Hall on Saturday. We hope to see one established in Akaroa very soon. An advertisement appears in another column.

Tiifi captain of the Northumberland has been called upon 1o enter into a bond of £100 urder " The Imbecile Passenger Act of 1873," in consequence of having brought out a youth named Henry Pottingor Wills who has just been committed to the Wellington Lunatic Asylum. This is quite alarming. If ship-captains are to be held responsible foi all the imbeciles they bring out, it will be rather rough on some of them. On Saturday a man was committed to Sunnyside by Messrs Garwood and Fenton, J.'sP. The unfortunate man had made an attempt to inflict injuries on himself and wounded himself, though happily not seriously, in the throat. Drs Watkins and Guthrie certified that he was ot unsound mind, and he was accordingly sent to the asylum. As in too many instances, overindulgence in strong drink was at least the proximate course of the patient's state of mind. Mb J. Beswick has been appointed Census Enumerator and Superintendent Collector of Agricultural Statistics for the current year in the counties of Selwyni Akaroa and Ashburton. The census is to bo taken on April 3, according to the Act of last session.

Says "Scriptor" in the Echo:— lt is with regret that I see it announced that the Governor has pardoned Whareapa. If it once became a reason for excusing mur_ der that the person murdered may have been unfaithful to marriage vows, we shall have reproduced here the " shootings " so common in some American towns. For deliberately killing his wife because he fancied she had been untrue to him was not sufficient excuse for mitigating the law's penalty passed on Whareapa.

Tup ""ngineer gives an account of Reera> sing disc, by means of which a bar oi '1 is cut in two by a current of air. is 42in in. diameter, of 3-lGin soft steoMmd has a peripheral velocitj , of 2,500 ft The round (it must be round it seems) bar of steel is also caused to revolve in the same direction, at a rate of 200 revolutions per minute ; thus the opposing forces travel in opposite directions, and if the disc touched the steel it would cut it, as steel rails are sawn oil by a soft iron saw. But it is demonstrated that the disc does not touch the bar, and it is clear that the latter is burned through by the air set in motion by the disc. The latter which is 3-1(5 inch thick, "cuts" a grove 5-10 inch thick, and has £ inch clearance in front of the edge. -'' machine is actually at work in the United States. An action was recently brought in the Melbourne City Court against Mr Tuche, proprietor of a hotel in Melbourne, to recover £85, the amount due on a Cup sweep. Defendant pleaded the illegality of the transaction. Judge Cope held that the action couH not be maintained, and nonsuited the plaintiff with costs. A northehn exchange "goes for" the Government thusly re the discontinuance of the mail service:—True, genuine Liberalism, we always understood to mean a generous, unselfish (not. mean or miserly) disposition, and a spirit of freedom in political (or religious) philosophy. This kind of Liberalism we glory in. Just so ; taking away the inland mail service at a saving of £40 per annum, is a serious drawback to the interests of the whole district, and damnable to the interests of the only plucky enterpri o in the North— The Northern Luminary —and the sooner Government are made aware of the facts* perhaps the better.

A curious kissing case is about to come up before the courts of Hungary. At an election at Gross-Knnitza a young lady of great beauty worked actively for the election of a deputy named Jokia. He was successful ; but his opponent is endeavoring to have the election annulled on the grounds of bribery and corruption instancing, among other things, the fact of the lady having given a kiss for a vote. The kiss was given in the presence of witnesses, and, unfortunately for the giver the recpient declared that he valued it at more than a thousand florins. This will bring it within the law, and it is considered that the lady will be heavily fined } if not imprisoned.