SOCIAL ITEMS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5401, 19 July 1878, Page 3

SOCIAL ITEMS.

The returns of births, deaths, and marriages, daring the month of June last are os follows; Births, 70 ; marriages, 29 ; deaths, 15. Dr. Bead, the lately-appointed house surgeon of the Wellington Hospital, arrived by the s s. Wellington on July 3rd, and entered upon his duties.

The return of patients in the Provincial Hospital during and ending the month of June, 1878, is as follows ;—Admitted : 19 males, 4 females. Discharged : 16 males, 3 females. Left in Hospital : 46 males, 9 females. Total, 55. .Information has been obtained at the Pension Office, Auckland, which shows that ,€-10,000 is. annually distributed by the Imperial Government to pensioners in the colony. There are nearly 1200 pensioners. The little church built by Mr. George Hunter on his station at Porangahnu was opened on Sunday, June 30th. The Rev. R. E. Sinoox read prayers and preached. ‘ There was a large congregation present. Mr. Mansford, R.M., was presented on June 26th with an emblazoned address and a purse of sovereigns by the public of Port Chalmers. . The Mayor read the address, which sot forth the general regret felt at Mr. Manatord’s departure. Mr. Edward Jennings, taxidermist to the Dunedin Museum, arrived here on June 21 by H.M.S. Nympho. Mr. Jennings left with the Nympho at Port Chalmers for the purpose of visiting the Auckland Isles' to collect speci‘mens for the museum. Unfortunately, however, a succession of bad weather prevented him from obtaining anything like a largo number of specimens. The principal amongst those ho managed to get are some species of birds and a number of curious fish. They will, no doubt, be a great acquisition to the Dunedin Museum.

On the night of July 6 a service of sacred song was held in the Primitive Methodist Church, Sydney-street. The Rev. Mr, D.unibell and the Rev. Mr. Dean each gave an able and instructive address illustrative of the life of St. Paul, which were listened to with marked attention by the large congregation gathered together, on the occasion. ' During the evening tho choir rendered some choice musical selections with good effect. '• The proceeds of the tickets sold will be devoted to defraying expenses incurred in repairs to the harmonium. '•

■ •' The Colonial Museum was opened on Sunday, July 7th, for tho first time on Sunday, and the result was that between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. 700 persons visited the institution. From the moment the doors were opened there ensued a continuous stream of. visitors, aud shortly after three o’clock the Museum' was so crowded as to render it a matter of some difficulty to get round the various passages. There was a policeman on duty, inside the building, but the office was quite a sinecure, as no one attempted to interfere with any of the objects on view. Amongst those present there was a large proportion of people who had never been in the . Museum before, and they evinced a great deal of interest, in what they saw there. Wo have been requested to state that in future visitors should not bring dogs or walking sticks with them, and it is very necessary this rule should be strictly observed, in order to prevent damage being done to anything inside the building. The attendance on Sunday afternoon goes to prove that the opening of the, Museum on. Sunday afternoons is appreciated by the public ; aud we have no doubt that during the summer months the hours of closing will have to be fixed at five o’clock instead of four.

Twenty-one adventurous spirits in Wellington have determined to charter a steamer or sailing vessel fop New Guinea. They propose leaving Wellington on or about tho Ist of August. A gentleman long known in connection with the Press of Victoria and New Zealand, Mr. Hugh Black, died on June 21, in Wellington, aged 38 years. Mr. Black was for some years on the staff of the Ballarat Star and the Melbourne Age, and after coming to New Zealand was engaged on the Wanganui Herald, Dunedin Guardian, and subsequently in Wellington was on .the staff of the Ary us and Post. He,was also a contributor to this journal. Mr. Black was a man of education aud ability, an able reporter and versatile writer; hut latterly ill health had prevented him pursuing his literary advocations. Ho was much liked by his brethren of the Press, who, together with all others to, whom he was known will receive the intelligence of his death with sincere regret. The usual inspection of the Wellington City lUffies was held on June 24 before Major Stack. There were present forty-four rank ; and file. After drill Major Stack presented the- district prizes for shooting as follows: —Private Nodder, Ist,-£4; Private Ballinger, 2nd, £3; Sergeant Harris, 3rd, £2 10s.; Private Cording, 4th,’ £2 10s,; Private Mclntosh, sth, £2; Private W, Ballinger, '6th, £1 10s.; Sergeant Bowie, 7th, £1; Sub-lieutenant Christie, Bth,. £1; Lieutenant Hale (Cadets), 9th, £l. The company then held a meeting for the purpose of electing a finance committee. The resignation of Sergeant Warren was accepted. The company passed a unanimous vote of thanks to him, in recognition of his past services in connection with the company. Tho following were elected the committee:—Sergeant Bowie, Corporal Sheean, Private McDonald (treasurer), Private J. Ballinger (secretary). The following are ex officio members :— Captain •Crowe, Lieutenant Walden, and S.ub-lieutenant Christie. ' “

The Rev. J. H. Newth preached his farewell

setmon at Pahautamu on Juno 30th. It was a very impressive one, and both the minister and his congregation appeared to be much affected by it. Mr, Newth has officiated as clergyman here for the last three years, and during that time he has won the respect and esteem of his parishioners by his zeal and untiring devotion to his professional duties. The settlers regret very much that he is to bo removed, although at the same time they rejoice

that such removal will be for his benefit and advancement-in life. It is understood that the rev. gentleman is appointed to a more lucrative living in v Nelson. Mr. P. Galvin, President of the Working Men’s Club, has handed us for publication the following letter received by bi n from Mr. Geooge Hunter, M.H.R. :

“ Exchange .Buildings, Wellington, 4th July, 1878. —Dear Sir,—l regret it was not in my power to aid in making up the exhibits I had the pleasure of • inspecting on Monday, and feeling that I ought to assist in some way the good work*you and others have taken in hand, and carried out in such a satisfactory manner, I beg to wait upon you with a cheque for £lO 10s., to be placed to the credit of the general fund of-the Wellington Working Men’s Club.— x remain, &c., George Hunter.” The dedication of the new Masonic Hall for the Victoria - Lodge, E. 0., took place at Napier on June 24. A very large number of brethren were present. Brothers Batham and Harwood were the delegates from the Provincial Grand Lodge. . The ceremony of dedication commenced by the reading of the first three verses from the first chapter of Genesis, which was' followed by the beautiful anthem t( Father of light,” most impressively.-sung. On the application of Brother P.M. Dransfield, the lodge was formally examined, and Brother Architect Dugleby having returned the working tools, the D.P.G.M. expressed approval. • Brother P.M. Price then announced the desire of the brethren that the hall should be consecrated, according to ancient form and usage,'upon which the reverend chaplain read the consecration prayer. The following programme was then observed :—Procession of officers marching to tho’music of the organ. At the termi-

nation of the first circuit-in the east, the hall was dedicated to Freemasonry ; corn was sprinkled; grand honors; ode to Masonry. At the terminations of the second circuit, wine was sprinkled, and the hall was dedicated to virtue; grand honors; ode to virtue. At the end of the third circuit, oil was sprinkled and the hall dedicated to chaiity. The rev. chaplain then pronounced the invocation, the choir responding. After the anthem, “.To Heaven’s High Architect” had been sung, the D.P.6.M. delivered an able address, and this concluding the ceremony, the delegates of the District Grand Lodge retired. The proceedings were most impressively'conduoted from first to last, and occupied about two hours in theh' performance. The choral portion of the service was presided over by Brothers Budman and Apliu. The mortal remains of the late Mr. Henry Blundell were interred in the Church of England Cemetery on Tuesday, June 25. The funeral cortege left the residence of Mr. John Blundell, Upper Willis-street, shortly after 2 o’clock, and the hearse was followed by a large number of carriages, and a long procession comprising most of the oldest and influential citizens ot Wellington; The various newspaper, establishments were also represented. Most of the places of business were closed as the procession passed down Willis-street and along Lambton-quay ; and as-a further mark of respect to the memory of the deceased gentleman, the captains of all tho merchant vesselsand steamers in port had flags flying half-mast high during the day. The new fire-brigade station on the Tina-kori-road belonging to the Wellington Fire Brigade was opened at 8.30 p.m. on July 10th. The station in question has been erected ou Mr. Holdsworth’s property fronting the Tina-kori-road, and is a short distance on the Kaiwarra side of Gillespie’s Hotel. It was erected out of contributions made by persons resident in the locality, the use of the site being kindly granted by Mr. Holdsworth. At the opening ceremony on Wednesday about thirty members of the brigade attended under Captain Whiteford. Several persons residing in the locality have become honorary members, and some of themwere on Wednesday initiated into the use of the staud-pipe, hose, &0., so that in the event of a fire occurring in the neighborhood as little time as possible would be lost in making tho necessary attachment of the. hose and obtaining a supply of water. Mr. Gillespie, of the Shepherd’s’ Arms Hotel, was duly initiated. At a given signal tho water was turned on to his hotel, and two branches continued to play upon it for a considerable time, thus giving the front of tho building a thorough cleansing. After the practice, at Mr. Gillespie's invitation, tho members of tho brigade adjourned to the hotel, and the occasion was celebrated in a befitting manner. A hose reel will bo kept constantly at this station, with a hose 600 feet in length. No doubt the establishment of a branch station on the Tinakoriroad will prove ot great service, but it is to bo hoped that it will be a long time before any conflagration occurs. Tho residents have certainly shown a great deal of public spirit in contributing towards the erection of this station, and their example might well he followed by others residing in tho outskirts of the city, especially where, the population is very large, and where there is at present an absence of appliances for the prevention of fire.

The tenth meet this season of the Canterbury Hunt Club came off on the 6th instant at the Yaldhurst Anns, and brought out (says

the Press) a good muster of sportsmen, many of whom', appeared on well-known, favorites which have become clever performers' since the formation of the club. After lunch the hounds throw off in a paddock adjoining Mr. Duncan’s farm, and soon found a trail, which they picked out cleverly until they viewed Fuss away with a merry chorus. A run of about six miles ensued, but the pack came to. fault through a flock of sheep crossing the trail, which they wore unable to pick up again. After a, few oasts, a fresh hare was found, which they hunted for an hour and a quarter, when darkness set in. The country 1

proved unsuitable for hunting, as almost all the fences were, wired, which prevented the field, with a few exceptions, from riding as straight; as they otherwise would have done. Mr. O. Wilson, a new member of the club, acted as whip, and, notwithstanding the treacherous nature of the country, was always with his hounds, ‘riding, straight and well. The master, Mr. Egan, had a bad fall over a five-wire'fence, but was soon up and away, though his horse proved afterwards tp have received such a severe wound from the wire that he will not be again fit to hunt this season.

• The first ,of a series of amateur concerts under the auspices of the Cricketing Association took place in the Princess Theatre on 3rd July. Considering the wretched night there was a very large, attendance. Madame Moller presided at the piano and accompanied the singers. The programme was a varied one, and comprised some very pretty selections. The performance concluded by a farce entitled “Two Heads are Better than One.” The room was then cleared for dancing, and about forty couples thoroughly enjoyed themselves to the music of Miss Rex and Messrs. Minifie and Hoskins. The committee anticipate realising £3O by the concert.