CHRISTCHURCH.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 72, 27 June 1877, Page 2

CHRISTCHURCH.

June 23. - At a meeting of the Lyttelton Harbour Board a committee was appointed ' to collect material' for a .comprehensive plan for the improvement of the har-" bour. The Hon. John Hall, in 'moving the * appointment of the committee, quoted the following figures to show the rapid increase* of exports.' — In 1869 . there were, grown m Canterbury 723,000' bushels of wheat, and 713,000 bushels of oats'; m 1873, 1,487,000 bushels of wheat, and 897,000 bushels of oats ; m 1877, 2,623,000 bushels of wheat, and 2,310,000 oats." The number of acres m , wheat m 1877 was 92,000, and. m oats,

70,000 ; r wliile the number of acres sold by tie Crown amounted to 2,400,000. . At a conference of the county councillors last night, a resolution was passed that there should be only two bounties m Canterbury ; that members, of county councils should, be elected- by the road , boards ; that charitable aid and hospitals be administered by a board repre-. sentuig both municipal and county councils, and that Oke fund for: suqb. (not coming out of the consolidated funds) should be contributed' propor- •;. tionately to population by municipalities and counties. . > . r . .:■"'•• : ■".-■•'■. •■•',■■ June 24. A curions case of. passing counterfeit sovereigns came before the Resident* -Magistrate '. yesterday. It seems a draper m town has-been selling vest buttons which are a' good imitation of sovereigns. A boy named William Henry Catchon got some of these, care-, fully filed off the shanks, and passed one of the buttons as a sovereign ; but , m a second attempt -he was caught. The Bench censured the draper who sold the buttons, pointing out that any person of common ' sense would have seen what a great temptation he was offering to persons to commit fraud. The case was -adjourned till Monday. Another boy has since been arrested for aj^fijlar offence, > ... ■ • Tuesday. • In the Supreme Court to-day, the appeal case Regiha> versus Barrett, came on for hearing. Barrett is a publica,n at Christchurch, and was fined some time ago for not paying a fee for what the Magistrate teTined an extra bar. The .so-called bar .was a' sort of half door m a taproom^ and defendant's counsel being of opinion that only those bars opening "direct on to the street came within the definition of the word bar as used m the. Licensing. Act, appealed against .the decision of the Magistrate. After a, long argument: to : day the matter was referred baclc to the' Magistrate's Court for ; a ; restatement of the case, but Judge Johnston expressed himself to "the effect that' a ; bar ; ; must open direct On to the street: before a ; license fe£ under the /A^t can be demanded forit. a ...._■■■•■..-■■■. .- -^ ■,■ .