Local Intelligence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VIII, Issue 513, 3 October 1857, Page 4

Local Intelligence.

The Town Hall at Christchurch-was opened on Thursday evening by a public concert. The room is realty a very handsome one and exceeds the expectations "of most of its visitors. Both the body of the building and the gallery were filled. The concert went off very well, and much credit is due to Mr. Merton for his choice of classical pieces of music calculated to form a correct taste, especially amongst beginners. We cannot this "week enter upon a criticism of the several performances. The general impression appears to be that the' instrumental pieces were very well rendered, especially the overture from Gliick's " Iphiginie en Aulide," and the solo on the cornopean by Mr. Packer, whose^ performance was deservedly encored and very warmly | applauded. " Hohenlinden " was very well sung by Mr. Merton, and was called for again, as was.Mrs. Beechy's song " Adelaide," which gave very general satisfaction. The choruses and anthems were generally speaking sang with,

good effect, chiefly attributable to the Dreci H ?«« and good time kept by the male voices fihowever to be regretted that many of the irt>lu were not equal to the rest of the performers A good deal of practice will be required to enable them to take their places with effect in the eH music. Mr Merton has proved himself so eood i conductor that he<3 is£doubtless aware of any lfoi imperfections which may be amended on another occasion. On the whole, the concert gave ere** T light to tha inhabitants of Christchurch, and we of only hope that those who have afforded a pleasm-* so much calculated to cultivate and refine the ta«f of the public will giTefaany more such concert^ the fine Town Hall of Chrisichurch. neer »io The Canterbury has made a'rapid trib+/v and from Wellington, having been only se y en lv* and a-half absent from Lyttelton on this occasion She will thus have plenty of time to spare before the next mail will be due in Wellington. The tide of candidates for the new Council is beginning to swell, and the advancing flood marks its progress by the addresses in our columns. There is not as yet a sufficiency of candidates actually before the public,.but com mon report fills up all the vacancies except in one district, and anticipates a struggle in th» majority of cases.

We have a re p Orfc of a; public, meeting of electors held already at Papanui, with reference to the choice of representatives for,that (the Avon) District. It was held on Monday last at the Sawyer s Arms, and was attended by a for mer member, who had made up his mind to stand again, and another gentleman, new to the business, who seemed to require a good deal of encouragement; this was liberally supplied internally and externally, by the chairman' Iho meeting is represented as having carried joviality to extremes; and though the address of Mr. Thomson was listened to and applauded and a resolution of thanks passed, we think a better compliment might have been paid him than the abundance of nonsense which formed the main part of the transactions of the evening, and, as far as the meeting could, threw contempt upon the representation of the district We feel sure that this will prove to be a sino-le-instance of the kind throughout these elections. From Akaroa we have an account of another meeting of the electors with reference to the impending Superintendency election. It was held on the evening of the 29th.ult., at the Commercial Hotel, s and was most numerously and respectably attended. Mr. Moorhouse was prese?it, the meeting having been called to hear a statement of hia opinions; and Mr. A. E. White was in in the chair. Thebusiness of the evening was conducted in the most orderly and indeed complimentary manner. The chairman complimented Mr. Moorhouse and ,Mr. Moorhouse complimented Mr. Brittan highly in the course of his address, which touched upon the various points of general and local interest, and was attentively listened to and warmly applauded. Two resolutions were proposed, one by Dr. Martin and Mr. Waeokerle, the other by Messrs. Aylmer and Fry, expressing the satisfaction of the meeting with Mr. Moorhouse's opinions as expressed, pledging those present to support that gentleman, and appointing a large committee to forward his interests. These resolution* were carried without a single dissentient. It was noticed that there were an unusual number of the French residents of Akaroa taking part in the meeting. More compliments concluded the business of the evening, a vote of thanks to the chairman being carried in something more than formal language. The performances at|the theatre on Thursday evening were cut short by the illness of Mrs. Foley. The ' Dead Shot * and ' Box and Cox' had however been got through with success, and the only loss was that of 'The Secret" which was to have been preseented for the first time, but is left as a bon bouche for a future occasion. Tickets were, however, returned, and the audience, which was a small one, departed in good humour and with evident sympathy for the cause of the interruption. The Colonists' Society held a meeting for discussion on Tuesday evening in the Town Hall. The subject was the improvement of the town; and the object was to. arrive at some satisfactory plan for placing the necessary works under the management of some defined body of the inhabitants, and forjperforming these and. similar duties in a systematic manner. Certain resolutions were passed'affirming the desirability of such a. system, and a committee was formed to consider a plan which should be laid before the public at some future opportunity. . . ." ' ..■::.

Before the departure of the Solent on Thursday evening, seven of her men, who had been confined in Lyttelton gaol during the vessel's stay in the harbour, were.sent on board again. Some disturbance almost immediately, arose, but the preparations, for getting under weigh were . continued, arid, the constables who had taken the men .on board returned in the boat. Some time afterwards a ship's boat was lowered and manned, to take the Harbour Master ashore. It appears that Captain Brooks of the Solent was standing on deck with a pistol in his hand, and that one of the .above mentioned seven men rushed at him, snatched the pistol from him, and jumped with it from the chains into the boat. The other six followed, and took the boat, with those who were previously in it, to the other side of the harbour. Here the seven men jumped ashore and allowed the boat to return. A warrant, of course, was immediately issued for the apprehension of the men but nothing has yet been heard of them. The Solent, having a fair wind, sailed the same evening, rather A short-handed, forShanghae. By the Canterbury and Kate Kearney we have later news from Sydney, Wellinptnn. and Nelson. A third flood had occurred in .th ". ct» wMnli haH YjßPti seven ff.et abovi • in~

undation. Frightful damage had been done, but as far as was known no lives had been lost. Both inWellington and Nelson the'nominations for the Superintendency had taken place, and both elections were contested. The nomination at Nelson took place on the 7th ult., when Mr. Robinson and ■\lr. Saxton were proposed. The show of hands was in favour of Mr. Robinson. The poll takes place on the Bth of October (Thursday next). In "Wellington the nomination took place on the 28th ult Dr. Featherstone was opposed by Mr. B. P. "Welch, a gentleman also of the medical profession. Dr. Featherstone was proposed by Messrs. Fitzherbert and Revans; Dr. Welch by Messrs. Wakefield and Atcheson. Mr. E. J. Wakefield was also proposed, but declined to stand. The following news from the diggings is from the' Independent' of the 20th ult.:— The news received from the Aorere gold fields by recent arrivals is unimportant. The weather had been very severe, and the diggers, consequently, had been much impeded in their operations. A number of passsngers have lately returned in the small craft, disappointed ;?but many of these have re&er visited the diggings at all, and therefore their statements should be taken with a certain degree of caution. We hear that there are many persons at Collingwood who would gladly be in "Wellington again, for having taken little capital with them they are unable to proceed to the diggings, and there being no certain employment open, their prospects are anything hut cheering. The diggers, those who have claims, and are only shepherding them at present, are in high hopes of success; for when the water in the rivers gets low, it is their intention to' turn the stream, and work in the original bed, when they anticipate a rich harvest for their trouble. . :

The following is from the * Nelson Examiner' of September 16:— . The Gold Fields.—The following paragraph was omitted from our last publication for want of room :—The steamer from the Aorere on Tuesday evening last brought over 600 ounces of gold, and the Supply 18fl ounces. The diggers who returned by that opportunity appeared, in high spirits and very sanguine as to future success. None, even those who had in a great measure failed, seem disposed to return to ordinary avocations, some well authenticated instances of remarkable success having, within . a few days past, created intense excitement. The population of the gold-fields was daily receiving large accessions from.our own and the neighbouring settlements. The Slate River is still the richest locality known of, and the diggers expect great results when the bed of this stream can be worked, judging from the quantity of gold found on its banks. Three men working in one of the claims on the river bank, obtained 136 ounces during last week.