Local and General.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume V, Issue 507, 24 May 1881, Page 2

Local and General.

To-day Her Gracious Majesty completed her 62nd year, having been born at Kensington Palace, London, on May 24, 1819. May she rule us long.

Some persons calling themselves the Council of th- Bible in School Association, have favored us, through their secretary, a Mr D. Wright, with an elaborate return of the voting of parents in the Otago Educational District on the subject of introducing Bible reading into the Public Schools. From the return in question it appears that on Dec. 31 last there were 19,173 children on the Otago School Rolls. Of these young Otagoans 4G74 of their parents, representing 11,884 children, make answer for them and say that they are in favor of portions of the Bible being read daily in schools ; 602 parents, representing IGI3 children, object. This leave ß a gap of 5676 children, or 29-7 per cent.' whose parents are evidently quite indifferent so long as the three R's are wel looked up.

The Hon. R. Oliver, the Minister for Public Works, has placed his resignation in the hands of the Premier, the reason given being the necessity of his personal attention to his private business. The firm with which Mr Oliver is connected was recently formed into a joint stock company as the New Zealand Hardware Company Dunedin. Mr John 0. Eva, Mr Oliver's nephew, was manager of the company when he met his melancholy end amongst the passengers of the ill-fated Tararua' After his return to Dunedin he will address his constituents. The vacant portfolio of Public Works will be held by the Premier until Parliament meets, and the vacancy in the Cabinet will, it is said, be offered to Mr Bain, one of the Southland members. Rumors of the resignation of another member of the Cabinet are current in Wellington. Mr Hall will no doubt havo difficulty in keeping his team together on the education question.

Tub Maori population of the Colony is now estimated at about 42,000.

In the telegram that appeared in our last issue respecting the murder of the Sultan Abdul Aziz in 1870, our P. D. thinks the Telegraph Department or Router must have made a mistake. His idea is that it must be the Sultan Abdul As was that is meant. The stone fim'al was placed on the summit of the Cathedral spire, Christchurch, on Friday morning, and the cross was erected the same afternoon. The spire can be seen from a distance. A traveller by Akaroa coach on its arrival to at IV Tapu, say the golden cross glittering in the sun. Quite a newfeaturo in tho colonial landscape.

In the interest of our local subscribers who may have fruit trees affected with blight or scales, we notice that a Mr Wm. White of Lower Riecarton, has an infallible receipt for their cure, and that he has cured several thousand trees in Canterbury, and quotes Mr Grant, Christchurch ; Mr Cutler, Mr Denzie, Mr and Mrs Grigg, Riecarton ; and Mr J. Dalwood, Christchurch ; as references as to his success in this direction.

We recommend Mr J. Ollivier's laconic answer to Mr Harman's letter in a recent issue of the Press to the notice of some of o.;r verbose correspondents. The words were simply " For shame," and strange to say they have had a wonderful power in directing public opinion on the subject in dispute in connection with the new Christchurch Drainage Bill. Please note Messrs Totara, Black Pine, and Wayfarer.

A number of getlemen who take an interest in the cheese and butter industry here, including Mr W Birnett, vice-pre-sident of the of the Farmers' Association telegraphed yesterday afternoon to Mr Jamieson, Christchurch, asking him to request Mr Bowron, the advocate of cheese and butter-making upon English and enlightened principles, to lecture on tbe subject in Akaroa on Saturday, 28th inst., and offering to pay his charges. In answer to their request the following telegram was received : —'• Mr Bowron will be happy to deliver lecture on Saturday if his cold is better. Only expenses charged." As Mr Bowron is on the point of leaving for England, and as he is uni\ersal!y acknowledged to be an expert in the subject, great credit is due to M r Nalder, amongst others) for taking steps to secure. Mr Bowron's presence in Akaroa. Superintendent Broham, of the police has in the most obliging manner come forward and found a name and lineage for the child upon which an inquest was held at Kaiapoi last week. At the adjourned inqnest the Coroner—good, easy man— professed to the gentlemen of the juiy that he was now quite satisfied. Tbe jury, having lost the greater part of two business days, felt themselves trifled with, and were not so easily satisfied at being taken from their shops and offices, and consequently gave Mr Coroner a few hard knocks on the subject. The foreman of the jury, on b«di-df of his unfortunate colput itthat coroners'inquests should have reference to tho end of life, not its beginning, as the Kaiapoi Coroner seems to fancy. We wonder if Mr Insj ector Broham undertakes the finding of the paternity of stray babies amongst his other duties.

To-day, Queen's Birthday, will be observed at tho Banks and all tho public offices as a public holiday. Pleasure seekers will find plenty of amusement in the sports in Dr Watkins's paddock, Akaroa, for which an energetic committee have provided an excellent programme suited to all agesand tastes, and at the same time havo had the running path newly polished up. We hear that the chief event of the day—the mile race—will he competed for by a large number of trained athletes. At the Head of the Bay the Jockey Cub Committee havo provided a number of racing events to be followed brother sports. In the evening a concert and dramatic enteitninment will take place in the Oddfellows Hall in aid of the funds for the Akaroa Sports, and at the Head of the Bay schoolroom Mrs Mai thy will hold one of those pleasant renuions with which she has identified her name and for which she so well caters. J

Tfie Ministry have at last made up their minds to dispense with Dr Skae's services The force of public opinion after the dis. closures in the Wellington Lunatic Asylum inquiry has been too much for the Government. At a Cabinet meeting held on Thursday it was decided to give him six months' notice of the termination of his engagement. The special correspondent of the Lyttelton Times says .-—The decision that Dr Skae should get six months' notice was only arrived at after very strong pressure had been brought to bear, and amongst those behind the scenes it is known to be a reversal of the first intention. Strong Scotch and clerical pressure was in the first instance brought to bear on behalf of Dr Skae, to which Ministers showed every indication of yielding, but within the last few days some of their strongest supporters have intimated that they must expect stroncr opposition from them when the item of Dr Skae's salary came up on the estimates. One of these supporters especially gave it to be understood that he would not wait for the estimates but, would table an adverse motion. It is thought thatDr Skae will accept six months'salary and retire immeliatoly.

If you want to find out how little a man knows about himself and family, give him an insurance " application " to fill out. If you want to see how little he knows about anything, put him on the witness-stand. As an instance of what be done on the Peninsula in the way of stock-raising, we may mention that Mr B. Shadbolt, of Duvauchelle's Bay, recently slaughtered a cow which weighed 1020 pounds. The animal had been reared on Mr Shadbolt's farm. Mr Fredeuck Saxton, well known in Akaroa for many years, died suddenly on last Saturday afternoon, he was employed as a shunter a: the Christchurch Railway Station, and was on Saturday last observed by some of his feilow workman lying across the line aparently in a fit. He was ar onco removed to the Hospital, but died immediately after arriving thero. An inquest will be held.

On arriving at the offices of tho Borough Council a few seconds after noon yesterday, our reporter found that establishment shut up and an official notice on the door ot the office, intimating that Messrs Stephen Watkins nnd Alfred Nichols had been duly nominated as auditors for the Borough for the ensuing year, and further* that as no other persons had been norn" mated they were duly electel. We bow to the result.

A spkcial meeting of the Borough Council was held last night, when the Burgess Roll was duly signed. The ordinary meeting was afterwards held, at which all the Councillors were present. The question of lighting the lamps on the breakwater again came up and was again lost by the casting vote of the Mayor. Cr Sunckell gave notice of a motion to repeal the bye-law in reference to driving of cattle. A full report will appear in our ntxt issue. A Texas landlord has adopted a nove way to make money. He requires his guests to pay for their dinner in advance, and then, just as they get seated, two big fellows, riggad up as desperadoes, jump up, get into a fight, and begin to fire blankcartridged revolvers in a reckless and promiscuous manner. Tho guests climb out o£ the windows and rush for the doors in a wild scramble for life, and few of them come back to cat the dinner they have paid for. The Patea Mail describes a novel method of hatching eggs. It appears that on the Moinahaki block a Dr. Dickie set a hen on eggs in a hollow tree. Higher up the same tree a cat had a nest of kittens. Mr Dickie put, a sitting of eggs at the bottom of the cat's bed, put the kittens on them and waited. Cats aud kittens kept the eggs warm and in due time all tho cat'a chickens were hatched without injury. These chickens wero then lifted down amongs-t the hen's own brood, and the whole- clutch are flourishing like one family. Our attcntionjhas been called to the action of the Akaroa and Wainui Road Board, or their contractors, in scraping the loose stones off the middle of the road, and leaving them iv heaps at the sides, just clear of the wheel tracks. The result has been that one or more equestrian travellers have very nearly come to grief over these same heaps, which in a dark night are quite enough to bring a horse down on his nose, and, iv fact, have done so in more than one instance, the rider only escaping by a little agility, combined with a good deal of luck.

The Rev. Mr Williams, of Trinity Congregational Church, delivered a lecture last evening at the Oddfellows' Hall, Akaroa. The subject chosen by the lecturer was Westminster Abbey T , and the manner in which he handled it showed considerable familiarity with the hallowed associations connected with the grand old pile. We regret to say that tho number of tbe audience was by no means commensurate with the interesting nature of tho subject, or the able manner in which it was treated.

"Tattler," in Public Opinion, tells the following story as told. to him the other day, which has a bearing on the recent lectnres of Mrs Hampson. The gentleman who related the story was speaking to the daughter of a well-known publican about Mrs Hampson, whom she had ' been to hear, when, in the cojrse of conversation, he asked her if there were many stood up as being converted. " Oh, yes," replied she, " There were a great number ; and 1 recognised among them a great many who owe my father for drinks.' The latest intelligence I have received about converted tipplers is that their conversion did not regenerate them so much as to load them to the bar of the publican in question and " stump up."

The following story was told me by the mistress of the dog herself. The event occurred in a small village in Essex, some I years ago :—"A little black and white King Ch.irles, beloved by its mistress but not byits master, was one day lying on a rug in the drawing-room when the master came in, havi* g just paid its tax. He said : 'I have just paid that clog's tax ;' and looking at it with a severe expression, added • and he's not worth his tax.' The dog im-, mediately got up, and with a crest-fallen appearance, put its tail between its legs and left the room, It was never seen afterward, nor was it ever heard of again although inquiries were made at the time in , every direction." — Nature. '