NOTES FROM LYTTELTON.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 805, 20 January 1877, Page 3

NOTES FROM LYTTELTON.

ere is a quite a romantic item in the " n ■»«, Mail this month in the shape of Europe u *, c f launching of the New an account Company’s new ship Zealand Ship x that the vessel is named Opawa. _ It states p an ks are situated the after a river, on whot> ■ principally inresidences of some of . jxientions espeterested in the company, a,. stating that cially the Hon B. Richardson, JUchardthe iigure-head is a likeness of Mi. son. The Times, with its accu v, uye obtuseness, states that the Mail must .. A made a mistake, confounding the Opawv district with the Opawa river; but all who know anything about the Shipping Company are of course aware that the ships are all named after New Zealand rivers, just as the Union Company’s steamers are named after the New Zealand lakes. What strikes mo most is what loving husbands the directors of Ihe NewZealandCompauy must be to grace their vessels with life-like representations of their ladies, and one can fancy one of them who has been obliged to go to England in one of these clippers and leave his family behind, begging the skipper to lend him a boat when a calm occurs and pulling ahead of the ship to contemplate the figure head. If I might be so bold as to make a suggestion, I should advise that the hideous missionary medallion should be done away with, and likenesses of the children of the directors substituted. ——— What a row there is going to be about the assessment of the town this year, every one is going about breathing terrible threats of appeal, and I rather think there will be some extremely warm- .arguments when objections are heard. It is astonishing what a difference it makes in a person’s opinion, whether he is being rated! for a certain property or is going to let it. How would it answer to force proprietors to sell or let property at what they were rated for ? Why we should have dozens beg: giug to have their rates increased, and the Council might reap a rich harvest. j The sooner we have a new Resident Magistrate’s Court the better. At present one feels when in Court in the position of a soldier in a beleagured .fortress, for the noise of the prisoners working outside is deafening, and when you ad Id a cart or two rattling down Oxford strei 3t, justice has to succumb for a short time. The lock-up too wants shifting badly. Fa ncy a poor chap waking up after a heavy dm iiiken sleep, with a real good splitting heada< she, and hearing

such a horrible row, and think of the fearful bother it is both to the police and the drunkard to have to travel so far up hill to reach the cells. If the inebriates could only he persuaded to take the first loving cup on Norwich quay, get through the second stage in London street, and finish at Mrs Moyrahau’s, it would not be so bad; but they won’t., they will insist on getting •‘tight” as low down as they can ; and the consequence is they have to travel up the hill before they tire locked up, and are sometimes put to the expense of cart hive. Now inebriates are a class of men that add considerably to the revenue —with their 10s and 20s fines—and the least the Government can do for them is to erect a suite of retiring rooms, for their convenience lower down in the town. Can the horrible rumour that one hears of a breach of promise case be true ? If it were, the dear old doctor now, who holds loving interviews with, and, I am almost afraid, kisses one does not know now many Judies, both great and small, during the week, one would not wonder so much ; but it is not—it’s a serious concern. It will be quite a novelty for Port, and will solve what so me is quite an interesting question, namely, the value of a Portouiau lady’s broken heart. If hearts are as dear as most other things are in Lyttelton 1 am afraid the wretched breaker will have to pay an immense sum, How the orphans did enjoy themselves last Thursday. A picnic to those who spend no holidays at home is indeed a treat. The very fact of escaping from rules for a day was a great delight, and when we add to this an excursion on the water, and fruit and lollies, and books and toys, it was bliss indeed. I hope that when the children look back to this day of pleasure they will remember two unostentatious friends, to whose loving kindness much of its success was due. Well done, George, and all hail to the “ Thane of Cawdor,” I know neither of you wished mo to say a word about it, aud that very reason I cannot withhold my poor mite of praise. When the rain came down on Wednesday night there was a nice mesa at the top of Oxford street, and the papers were very nearly being made happy by possessing an interesting and tragical item headed “ Death of the Foreman of Works, Lyttelton, in the pursuit of his duty.” It seems that the St David street sewer was choked up partially, and the water came into Oxford s'reot; when the torrent rushed through the Police Court it swept away a rabbit in a hutch. The gallant foreman, seeing the danger of poor bunny, rushed to the rescue, but the hutch was whirled rapidly down the channel, and before it could be slopped gave a frantic plunge into the sewer. The foreman tried to pause, but it was too late, and he followed the rabbit hutch down the open gully, but extending both hie arms he brought up. Seriously, it was a very narrow squeak, and we hope Mr Bowden will in future recollect, when he takes a grating off ; for he is an exceptionally valuable man, and eould be ill spared by Lyttelton. The effect of the flood upon the R.M, Court offices must be seen to be appreciated, and the result on those connected with it was terrible. The nerves of the Resident Magistrate’s clerk and Sergeant-Major of Police were shattered by the appalling scene that justice was suspended for the day, and they went (let as whisper it) to Sunnyside? What a happy trip we had to Sunnyside though, and how we all enjoyed it. Our fellows took a beating in a way that made me feel proud of them, and I think that if they work up they will give a better account of themselves before the season is over. It was a jolly day all through—the morning journey,-the kind reception, the cricket, the beer, the luncheon, the dancing, the drive home, the railway, the choruses, and lasi not least the delicious stolen glass of beer after hours, which we wound up with. All were alike delightful. Many will mark it as red letter day in their lives, and if we go to the asylum again to play the return match, “ May I be there to see.” Yesterday one was surprised “by hearing the unwonted sound of a band in Lyttelton, and " Portonian,” hurrying after the music, with a few dozen wandering children, discovered it to be a procession of sailors. The band consisted of two or three flutes, and penny whistles, bones, a concertina or accordion and a kerosene tin, the latter being by far the must melodious and best played instrument. They marched under a huge banner round the block, visited the various public houses where they were treated to beer, and proclaimed the objebt of the procession, which was to raise the wages of sailors aboard coasters, from £5 to £6 a -*mnth. No one denies the right of the men *- _ and get higher wages, and “ Portonian” £5 a month is a very small sum for thinks freiglitei are so low that owners the work, . i£ o gj ve more) aU( j if tHe men cannot attorn tnafc, why the vessels will won t work for , n ra tb er than sailed at a probably be laid u. loss. The yacht race at Nelson' to bo a mystery. It seems that t. , e ashore turning a buoy, that she through this and protested in conseq > that the protest was allowed in so far *“ the other vessel did not get the prize, that the committee refused to allow the race to be run over again. The result is, therefore, that no one gets the prize, and everyone is disgusted with the bad management. It is to bo hoped that the Nelson Regatta committee will take a lesson from this and try to arrange matters better next time, it they want to have a successful meeting they must try to send away their visitors with pleasant instead of disagreeable impressions, y PORTONIAN.