The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 1882.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 598, 7 April 1882, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail. FRIDAY, APRIL 7, 1882.

The Titan.—This steamer will NOT sail from Akaroa on Sunday at 3 p.m., as advertised in last issue. She will leave Pigeon Bay on Monday, at 7 a.m., and catch the 9.30 a.m. train for Christchurch. Mr Sam Lee will run a coach from Akaroa on Monday morning, starting at 5 a.m., in time to connect with the steamer at seven o'clock. All those, therefore, who are desirous of going are requested to book seats at Wagstaff's Hotel, before 10 p.m. on Saturday. The return tickets for ihe steamer are available for two weeks.

Farmers' Club.—A meeting of this Club will be held at Bayley's Hotel tomorrow. As the questions of the site of the Agricultural and Pastoral Show ground, and tlie best way of sending Home cheese this season, will come under discussion, it is hoped there will be a good attendance.

Tub Presbyterian Soiree,—ln the remarks regarding this soireo one lady's name was accidentally omitted by our reporter, in speaking of those who had exerted themselves in tho matter. We allude to Miss Connni, who not only superintended the musical part of the programme and played the accompaniments with her usual good taste and execution, but also lent her splendid piano for the occasion. It is with great pleasure we rectify oar reporter's omission.

Tenders.—The Borouarh Council call for tenders for 8030 ft of iotara.

Earthquake.—A sharp shock of eai tbqnake was felt yesterday afternoon, at 4.5 p.m.

TfciK Game Season. —A proclamation in the last Gazette notifies that lures and native game (except tuis, which are specially protected) can be, takun or killed in the County of Akaroa, from Api 1.1882. o July 31 of the same year, both inclusive; also, that cock pheasants _ may be taken or killed within the said district from the Ist of May to the 30th of June, 1882, subject to the restrictions in " The Animals Protection Act. 1880." No one may kill bares without taking out a license of 20s, and the license for killing cock pheasants is 80->. Licenses to sell such game can he obtained from the Chief Postmaster, Christchuroh, at £5 each.

Pigeon Bay Presbyterian Church.— In celebration of the of a Pastor a tea-meeting was held in the Scboolhouse on Tuesday evening last. The weather proved favorable and the room was well filled and had been tastefully decorated. The tables were presided over or given by the following ladies,: —Me>dames Gillespie, Innis, Goodwin, Ashley, Preece, Hay, Alexander and Budu* ; Misses Marshall, Pitcaithly and Sealey. After the good things had been partaken of the room was prepared for the public meeting which was begun by singing the 100 th Psalm. Prayer was offered by the Rev. A. Blake, who then introduced the Rev. R. C. Morrison, the newly inducted Pastor, and vacated the chair. Hymn 33, of Sankey's collection, was then sung, entitled " Only an Armour Bearer." , The Rev Morrison took the chair and then addressed the meeting, thanking them for their very cordial reception which had exceeded his expectation, and which had gone far to alleviate the pain of separation from his former charge. He then went on to speak of the evils of quarrelling among neighbors, which he illustrated by several anecdotes. He spoke of the importance of visiting the people, otherwise a minister would be addressing a company of strangers, and the sympathy that ought to exist would be lost. When he set his household affairs in order he would begin visiting amoog them. Hymn 176 was then sung "To the Work," the chorus beginning "Toiling on." The financial statement being called for was read by Mr Pitcaithly and considered to be satisfactory. The Rev R. McGregor was then called upon, who said, the words "Toiling on" had been receiving a practical illustration he thought, in the experiences of his brother Presbyter and himself during the past two days as they journeyed by hill and dale, steamer and coach, and then the toil only began when they got to the meeting. In speaking of the good things they had on the Peninsula, he related what he had heard of one of themselves, who, when he Wris told by one from the plains that they must have very little land, exclaimed with astonishment, " Little land.! Why we have so much of it—so much more than you—that we have to pile it up to such a height thi-t it readies to the skies." He expressed tha pJeature he felt in coming aunng them and lh» kind reception the Presbytery had met with. He then went on.to speak of the hinderances in these days to this spread of religion in the tendency in many to scepticism, the neglect by others or' religious things, intemperance, and in some of the phases of the eecular system of education. He concluded by cordially welcoming Mr Morrison to the Presbytery, and wishing him evory success. Hymn 20 was then sung by the choir—"Jesus of Nazareth passeth by." The Chairman then called on Mr Blake to address the meeting, who, on rising, said the words " Toiling on " had seemed to him very appropriate to their minister, for if members of Presbytery thought two days of it toilsome, ho would have to toil on all the year round. There was an element of love to the Master, and love to souls which took away the bitterness from the toil, and made it pleasant. His own connection with the Peninsula had been of a very pleasant kind, and he wished to thank who had so kindly and hospitably entertained himself and other ministers, viz., Messrs Gillespie and Hay. Miss Seager, who had presided at the harmonium for a considerable period, was to have received a joint presentation from the Churches that night, but her duties prevented her from being present, so it would take place at a future time. He wis Bure all the ministers who had been among them, and there had beon three from Canterbury and two from Victoria, as well ac four from Otago, must have carried away a very favorable opinion, for they had been treated well. It wae also true their ministers had been good men. Bey. Mr Grant, subsequently called to St. Paul*e, Christchureh, bad been an excellent preache ,, ; and Rev. W. Douglas, who hud a warm place in their hearts, was highly esteemed in the Church, and had just ably fulfilled the duties of Moderator of As sembly. fie then went on to speak of the necessity of a cultured ministry, but also an earnest and devoted ministry. A minister occupied a very useful and responsible position, and might often be found moulding the people after \m own disposition. There was a reflex influence of the people on the minister which might be encouraging or depressing, according as they benefited by his labors, and prayed for his success, or did the reverse. Visitation was an unusually important part of the ministerial work in such a district, and while welcomed by most, there were some like the heathens abroad, who hardly knew how to receive a minister, He related an anecdote of a woman, who not knowing her visitor, told the great Dr Chalmers , on his visiting her that she i went to hear him to patronize the "puir" body. He concluded by expressing the hope that there would nover be any regrets on either side, because of the union now consummated, but that both pastor and people would co operate harmoniously for furtherance of the gospel. Hymn 1— Hold the Fort—was now sung, and a vote of thanks was moved to the ladies who had provided the tea, by Mr Stewart, and seconded by Mr McKay. A similar vote was moved by Mr Innis to the choir, and seconded by Mr Savage. Mr Pitcaithly moved a vote of tuanks to the speakers, which was seconded by Mr Scott. Mr Gillespio moved a vote of thanks to tho moderator, which was seconded by Mr Innis. who said that having been with Mr Blake in Chmtchurch, and over the hills at night and again at Wainui, he could testify to the way in which he had stuck to his work. These votes of thanks being all carried by acclamation, a happy meeting was closed by the doxology and benediction.

Accident.—Mr Angnete Lelievre met with an accident on Tuesday night, while mounting a young horse that had only been ridden three times. The horse backed him against a post outside Briice's Hotel, and capsized himself and the rider. Mr Lelievre fell heavily on to Ihe post, and his hurt his shoulder and back, but not broken any bones. Dr Singleton attended the palient. who is now in a fair way for recovery.

The Woodstock Rrjsn.—The of the new rush at Woodstock continue favorable, and the population keeps steadily increasing. With one or (wo ex ceptions, all claims boliomed are on payable gold. Sis sections sold on Tuesday l>y auction for business tites, fetched from £15 to £22 each. Others were sold privately from £)0 to £50. It is estimated that there are nearly 1000 men on the ground.

The S.S. Akaboa.—This steamer is advertised lo leave Pigeon Bay for Lyttelton on Saturday (to-morrow). She will also run between Pigoen Bay and Lyttelton on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, next week, return tickets being available till'the latter date. Her agents, Kinsey W.'id and Co., are trying to arrange to make a weekly trip to Akaroa ; landing cargo at any of the bays inside of Akaroa. It will thus be seen that steamers leave Pigeon Bay for Lyttelton nearly every day noxt week.

Exhibition Excursion Steamers.—The agent of the U.S.S. Company wishes to direct the attention of the writer of a letter from Uuvaucliello's Bay on this subject to the company's advertisement. It will bo seen that excursion rates have been put on for all steamers calling during April and May. Since northward* steamers rarely leave Akaroa later than 8 a.m., and reach Lyttelton about noon, whilst the return steamers leave Lyttelton two days later, visitors to the Exhibition will get the gieater part of Tuesday, the whole of Wednesday, and part of Thursday. These arrangements, the agent trusts, will meet the requirements of our correspondent and of the public generally.

Teachers' Meeting.—A preliminary meeting of the teachers of Banks Peninsula was held in the Duvauchelle's Bay Schoolroom last Saturday morning. There was a fair attendance, and very satisfactory progress was made in sketching out the p an of the association that was formed. Thd meetings will probably be monthly, but the nest will be in three weeks from the last, at Davauchelle's Bay again, though some of the meetings of the association will probably be held in Akaroa. The principal business of the next meeting wil. be to discuss the standard programme, a subject of grave importance to those who have to teach in accordance with it, but still more so to those whose mental acquirements have to be, to a great extent, affected by it.

Akaboa School Committee.—A meeting of this Committee was held on Tuesday last. Present— Messrs Stocker, Henning, Peniington, and Bruce. A circular from the Board was read, stating that copies had been forwarded of a form for obtaining the exact names and ages of children entering the school ; also, a co y of a resolution passed by the Boiird—"That it be a regulation that no teacher shall, under any circumstances, strike a child upon the head." The attendance returns for the quarter ending December 31, 1881, showed an average attendance of 76. The Chairman reported that tiie average attendance for the quarter ending Man-h 31 was 103. The Chairman reported that, in consequence of the illness of the master, tiio school had been closed since Monday. 3rd inst. The names of certain child ten residing in the school district not appearing on the roll, the Chairman was directed to call the attention of the police to the fact, and. in the event of no satisfactory explanation being given, the Chairman was directed to report to the Board and ask their advice.

Gebman Bay Side School.—A meeting of gentlemen interested in getting up v pic-nio and sports for the children unending , the above school, was held in the -i.ie school, Lone; Bay road, on Tuesday even ing last. There was a fair attendance ofth<? residents of the district, and the following gentlemen were elected a committee to carry out the necessary arraiisf-.-mentf, viz : —Messrs W. Curry, A. Jones, J. Curry, Jules Lelie'PTO, I). Curry and T H. Giles. Mr G-ilet" v/as called upon to preside. It was unanimously resolved that the picnic take place on Easter Monday, in Mr Woodill's paddock, Long Bay Road, and that Messrs W. Curry and T. 11. Giles canvass for subscriptions and that the pic-nio be open to all comers, ladies and children free ; that gentlemen present be solicited to contribute towards the funds; that a programme of sports, etc., bo framed, based upon the amount of funds at the disposal of the committee ; that Messrs Hnrtly and J. Hammond be invited to attend and pay music and that the proceedings commence at 11 a.m. sharp. A subscription list w?is opened in the room and a considerable sum of money was guaranteed. Bhou!d the weather lie propitious a good attendance may be anticipated.

Another Wharf Accident.—On Tuesday night last, a man of: tlie name of Keefe, working in Wainui, came across in the launch for the purpose of attending , the Presbyterian meeting. The launch left again for Wainui, but Keefe missed her, and on going down the wharf to see if she had started, fell through the aperture where the wharf is being repaired. * Constable Scott and others heard somebody cooey from the direction of the wharf, but they concluded that it was a person belonging to one of the vessels in the harbor cooeying to be taken off. The launch returned from Wainui about midnight, and on reaching the jetty Mr White heard a voice shout out his nama. He searched round the neighborhood of the wharf steps, and discovered Kcefe cling - ing to the railing above the piles. The tide was rising and Keefe liad only his head above water. He was terribly numbed with the cold, and -judging from tho time Constable Scott heard the cooeying, must have had a very unpleasant half hour or so. Mr White managed to extricate him from his perilous position, and Constable Scott took him to Bruce'a Hotel, where he received every attention. Keefe had a very narrow escape, and it was fortunate his cries were heard. The pity of it was there was no light to show people where the hole in the wharf was. It is true that some boards had ■ been nailed around the hole, but it would be easy for anybody to tumble over The moon was clouded on that night, and it required a lantern to see the way about. Surely there is some responsible person to look after these arrangements.

'Frisco Mail.—The Hawea brought down the mail last night. The letters and papers were sorted and distributed soon after their arrival.

Californian Quail.—ln January, 1879, about 50 brace of Galifornian quail were procured from Nelson, by means of subscriptions raised in Akaioa, Mr J. Aylraer being the leading spirit. The birds were liberated iv various places on the Peninsula, some at the Head of the Bay, some at Gough's Bay, some in Giehan Valley, some by <he cemetery, and the others on Mr Adams's farm on the German Bay Hill, Peninsula. One is happy to lecord that they have increased amazingly, and have been been by a great many people in considerable numbers.

The Exhibition.—The Exhibition will be well attended b}' the Peninsula people, a great many of whom are going to witness the opening. It promises to be a most imposing sight. Mr Jonbert visited Akaroa in 1841. and when Mr Leiievre was in Chrisleburoh last week he recognised him as an old acquaintance. One of our Peninsula hotelkeepers, Mr Brooks, of the Somerset Hotel, was enterprising enough to desire the responsible duty of catering for visitors to the Exhibition, and when Mr Quill, of Ashburton, purchased the right, he wrote to him offering him £50 on bis bargain. Mr Quill replied, saying he would not resell the right at a less profit than £3000!

Duvauchellb's Bay School.—A meeting of the committee of this school was held on Monday evening, the 3rd instant. Present Messrs Barwick (Chairman), Piper, Pawson and Libeau. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Correspondence was read from Mr McLintock drawing the attention of the committee to the state of the iencing around the school, and schoolhouse and garden, and to prevent further destruction, suggesting that the parties to whom the animals doing the damage belong should be spoken to on the subject, an it was perfectly unbearable. He further hoped that the committee would kindly take into consideration the erection of some sort of out house, and one or two shelves in the dwelling house. Proposed by Mr Piper— " That Mr Shadbolt be written to requesting him to keep his pigs from off the school ground, and also to point out the damages they are doing, and that Mr McLintock be informed that the fencing and other improvements suggested will be taken into consideration on the receipt o£ funds. Seconded by Mr Pawson and carried. From Mr A Nicholls, thanking the committee for so kindly placing the schoolroom at their (the schoolmasters) service, and requesting the use of it again on Saturday, April 22, and on such future occasions every month as thoy might require it. Leave granted. From Board of Education, forwarding 20 copies of a form which it is thought may be useful to head masters for obtaining exact names, ages, etc., of children entering school, with a view to ensure correct returns of the attendance registers. From the same, forwarding copy of a resolution passed by the Board, viz., " That it be a regulation that no teai-her undor any circumstances strike a child upon the head." From the same, stating that the sum of £13 16s 10d had been paid to credit of Committee at Bank N.Z., Akaroa. From same, in answer to letter of Committee re application for schoolmistress, stating they were not immediately prepared to name any one for appointment as mistress, but might be able to do so in a few days. Accounts amounting to £11 11s were passed for payment, and the meeting adjourned till the first Monday in May.