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Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 365, 4 March 1876, Page 2

Air appropriation has been asked for in the Victorian Assembly to obtain a portrait of Wilson Gray. The Rev. E. L. Stanford, All Saints Church, Dunedin, will .conduct divine service at St. George's Church, Naseby, on Sunday first. The Mount Ida Brewery, doing a capital business, is to be disposed of by sale or lease. A good opportunity is offered to holders of a small capital. The ' Guardian ' and ' Southern Mercury' newspapers were bought for £3OOO bv Mr Stout, M.H. R. The ' Star' reports that the purchase was made in the interests of the Provincial party. j This month offers the last chance for electoral registration: All who value their privileges should not neglect to fill up a form; | The cost is nothing; the piivilege is great The miners' right is a very shaky qualificai tion. kr£, *? unders t°°d that Sub-Inspector I M Cluskey is shortly to take charge of the police department in the Oamaru district. His successor at Naseby is not yet known The Sub-Inspector has been stationed at Naseby for some years, and is well known as a conscientious and careful officer. Messrs. Inder and George announce tha 1 sale, on Monday next, at the Victoria Hall, of the Gimmerburn Mining Company's property, situated at Garibaldi. The property affords a permanent living to a working party—the ground being practically inex° haustible, and the appliances complete. On Wednesday, March Bth, Mr. Thomas Mulvey's property at St. Bathans is to be disposed of by public auction. Full particulars will be seen in our advertisement columns. As the sale is a genuine one, and the stock good, purchasers, in anticipation of the winter cartage, will be able to buy to advantage. At the close of the sale the auctioneers, Messrs. Inder and George, are instructed to offer the Jockey Ckb Hotel, Blackstone Hill, freehold on which it stands, outbuildings, &c, all in excellent order. A gentleman, who has recently returned to Oamaru from a trip to Wellingtor, informs the 'North Otago Times' that the latest on dit in the Empiie City is that Mr. Reynolds will be proposed by the Government for the Speakership of the House, and that, on the condition of the Government supporting Mr. O'Rorke's nomination for the Chairmanship of Committees, her Majesty's Opposition will support Reynolds' nomination. This, it is said, has been arranged. Mr. Rolleston, it is asserted, had the Speakership in view, but will, it is evident, be disappointed. The crops in the district are very h>avy this year. The cultivated portions of the Eweburn block have given great satisfaction to the farmers. Fine samples of wheat, barley, and oats are on view. Similar samples have been sent to Dunedin. At Hyde the tale told is the same—perhaps at Hyde the potatoes will prove better than elsewhere. We notice the Dunstan farmers are- at last considering the supply of Mount Ida market with flour. It is a wonder they did not do s<> long ago. A limited supply of wheat would pay better than oats.

The event of the week in Dunedin ha 3 been Mr. Bright's freethought lecture. Mr. Bright's crusade against Christianity and its professors extends no further than as it is of use to him in advertising the poorest of poor professional lectures on " Yankee Humor." Besides it gives vent to his spleen at the success of Mi. Clark, whose title of Reverend has certainly not been in his way as a public lecturer. Mr. Bright was of use to the Dunedin Committee as a fitting organ of expression for views its members amuse them- ' selves by fancying they hold tentatively, but which they at present do not care to do more than countenance. The lecture was a success, because it was free; was given on a Sunday; and, above all, was in a tent. It was a matter of indifference to the major part of the audience whether they went to .'4 the circus tent or to the theatre. Having had the opportunity of going to the theatre for r fifty-one Sundays, the circus was a change. With regard to the lecturer's special effort, such ignorance of the text-book—-the three gospels—and confusion of argument would not be tolerated for an hour and twenty minutes with regard to the exposition of any science save theology. Mr. Bright's creed was Deism and good works. His argument was a hash from the writings of infidel writers, from Voltaire down to that model of modern historic accuracy, Dr. Draper, of America. The Naseby Athenaeum Committee have done good work during the past year. The support received from the public has not been as great as might have been expected; yet this can to a great extent be accounted for without assuming that the Committee's labors have not been appreciated. The room is kept in a more comfortable style than formerly, the tables of casual papers and a few magazines being better furnished. The chess-table, if better known, would be a pleasant addition. The efforts made to obtain public support were genuine., and certainly deserved bet'er success. The lectures delivered wre above the general average, and well vpjSrth keeping up. It is understood that Dr.. will shortly give another lecture one experimental chemistry. Other lectures might follow, which need not necessarily be of too severe a literary standard, and yet do good intellectually.as well as financially. In our opinion, the public are quite prepared to support the" efforts of. the Committee, so long as the. Committee itself keeps the work, going with perseverance and spirit. A little alteration in the building itself might afford space sufficient for frequent lectures of a popular and cheap cast, the whole proceeds of which would go to the institute. Even if this were not considered expedient we are of opinion that now the evenings are beginning to get shorter a series of monthly lectures could be arranged, which would bring in a little revenue, alter paying all expenses, at as low a rate of charge as Is. for adults, and 6d. for juniors, while tickets for the course might be sold at ss. To popularise a public institute the more frequently it i 6 before the public the better.