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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 52, 14 May 1873, Page 2

Eclipse.—A very magnificent view of the moon’s eclipse, was obtained on Monday Clear, anumtrai peupic tova. u«ruiinmg,v ui nt-rth witness this beautiful and wondrous sight. Sergeant Shirley has requested us to draw attention to the injudicious loquacity indulged in by persons, who are seeking assistance from the police in matters that require minute and searching investigation. Nothing is more calculated to defeat, rather than to promote the ends of justice, than a succession of open enquiries and promiscuous remarks, however honestly made. It should be the duty of all who are victims of any violation of the law, and of those who desire its vindication, to suppress gossiping conversations not directly supporting the proper functions of the law itself. The necessity for this has been made apparent recently, inasmuch as a man suspected of having forged three cheques on a resident in the Bay, levanted to Napier and escaped the vigilance of the police here simply because the fact had never been communicated to them. The first intimation they had of the matter, strange to say, came from the Inspector of police at Napier, who had sufficient evidence to warrant the man’s apprehension and a reference to the authorities here. The accused will be forwarded to Gisborne, for examination before the R.M. by first opportunity. Billiards. — A little liveliness has been infused in the community, (at least that portion of it who take an interest in this noble game) during the past week and during the stay of the Mammoth Troupe in Gisborne. Mr. Bromley is something more than a good player, and has played several games, successfully, with Mr. Brodie, the lessee of the billiard-room adjoining the Argyll, .who has some pretension as a player. Several skirmishing games were played between them, which Brodie won, and which we believe led to ’a more decided contest with a view to determining their relative merits. Accordingly on Friday evening a match was played, the terms of whieh were that Bromley should give Brodie 80 pointe out of 300 for £5 a side. We cannot say that anything very particular during the game, calls for special remark; the play was rather below than above the average; Brodie wte evidently not in trim, and seemed to.be entirely off his guard towards the finish, Bromley coming in an easy winner by 53 points with the balls in hand. As this was considered by Brodie and his bookers not to be a sufficient proof of his inferiority, another match, with increased odds, was arranged few the following evening, Bromley giving 200 points out of 600 up, Of course the odds were really more against Brodie than in his favor, as he was virtually beaten byl33 points in the firist game; this was pointed out to him, but he thought his strength lay more in a long run than a short one. A great excitement was apparent the whole evening, as the mutch could not begin until after the performance at the Hall, and at the hour of commencing the game at Ipart 100 people had. managed to cram themselves into the room. A Brodie’s backers were very cautious. Before appending the score we may be allowed to say thatthe excitement was too much for Brodie. Although, jaoesibly, he might not have beefl

JIA to win, he would have made a better show 'he could have controlled himself. A decent -Uing of the baßs on his side completely Cavray with him; while the continued steady bproach of his antagonist, unstwny himhom ae correctness of aim necessary to a. steaay Ime. Hence the frequent misses and overling of his strokes. Without msinuating at C that Bromley played’under his game, we Jink he did not play his best; indeed he had Aza zlzx an /aaHuCT thfll he Jmml MlB

b occasion to do so, leenng yan in hand from the first. Meaning no isparagement or offence to Brodie as •P la £ e J» le think that he should pay more attention Tiling ” the bills. His weakness lay in hot " riwehing ” the game sufficiently, and in not remembering that good play consists in so SdSe possible result* cf^a’Stroke, asto >lay, and he won. No brilliant play or long

breaks marked the progress of the game whiOfl hgted twrn JiAiira and,- 1 -■< Brodie never made more than 23, and Bromley 8 Gghest score wa*34, hot all played for. Brodie’ led off with a miss in baulk, to which Bromley replied with a ditto; a very dreary 35 minutes followed and nothing remarkable took place until Bromley’s first hundred was obtained, when he placed himself, after a succession of small breaks, at 102, Brodie 258. Brodie had a good run now, opening well and improving his position to 281, between which and 300, each went to the cue seven times, Bromley 151.

Brodie’s play and hopes here looked up together; Ithe balls broke to order; he shaped well, and one or two very wide balls told in his favor; his game standing 384 to his opponent s 201. Bromley’s backers began to hedge at this stage, although the faltering was but of short duration, as he seemed now to lay himself down to the work before him. Brodie carried his points to 9 over the fourth hundred, while his adversary concluded 2 small breaks from 234 to 25fi forcing the red qfi the Brodie missed his cue twice, and lost headway, and after a lot of small play, Bromley h&d reduced the gap to a declaration of, Brodie 428 Bromley 302. Common pla<» strokawerenow the rule which continued io, Brodie 450

Bromley 350. At hurired Bromley stood at the even, leaving only 75 between him and his opponent; at 403 he made fiis best play ending with a run of 34. Brodie after some hard fighting, topped his fifth hundred by one, Bromley unpleasantly close at 483 a neap break helping him to pas? the spot ball by 7 points. Game: Bromley, 508; Brodie,

501. The game was now,, practically over,, as Bromley had it till his owii way, Brodie doing

nothing more than. making his., stroke, "which twice out of three times dia not score. He had reached 546 when Bromley’s score was called 602 in,thq middle of a break. ~ ( , The Hawice'’Bay Herald'» Wairoa correfithus continues tha subject of an appli-

the instruments belonging to tlie Rifle Band “ Speaking of military doings reminds me of a particularly obdl letter received* by Capt. Tayjor, pf the Wairoa Rifle Volunteers,,by last Mail from Turanga, and read on parade. Assuming: that the Wairoa Rifle Volunteer Band ia “defunct,” is not the case, the writer very diffidently enquires after the well-being of a certain instrument, and assures the volunteers that if they will forward him the said instrument “ sound and in good condition to Turanga.” he will “allow” them a certain sum of money, and, if half-a-dozen reeds accompanied it, a moiety more. As the band is still in existence, and played remarkably well at the last ball, the. offer is, to say the least, premature, and the mode—-well, modest.”

Barley Growing in Hawke’s Bay.—Barley growing should receive the attention of our farmers as an industry worth development. The consumption of malt in the colony now is very great and a preference would always be shown for a locally-produced article. The following, from the Napier teleffrapbi will furnish proof of what 1 “ great events from little causes spring; ” besides which, Mr. Swan, one .of the Hawke’s Bay brewers, has offered to stimulate action by advertizing a £2O bonus to the producer of the best sample of barley of this season’s sowing:— “ Five years ago, Mr. Roberts, of Waipawa, whilst riding past Mr. Nelson’s land, near the Big. Bush, noticed some very fine barley growing; on his return, he picked two ears, and planted them in hia garden. The first year’s crop brought him one pint of seed; the second year, half A and the third war, the seed produced was about six bushels. This year, he thrashed 150 bushels from Six bushels of seed sown on three quarters of an acre of land, producing thirteen sacks, equal .to, fifty-two bushels, his land, averaging eighty bfishels .of seed to the acre. One seed in his garden at the pretent time, has stalks seeds on each. The seed is trhat is ctflled Cape barley, and' is not liked by some on acooiinK of its being a thin kind, but Mr. Roberts hw found that every year his sample has improved, until at the present time it is aa plunqp as possible. It makes splendid beer. • : i:7

Hints to Volunteers.—The following hint* are .from scientific gossip in a Melbourne rtmfemporarjH— “With rospeet U shooting matches, , there , are some scientific nicetfos which should be observed' ih eetiAing accuracy of aim, which I do not remember to have seen tHudtfr to- The position of thh Wq jnidst have some effect on the course of a ball The. same: power whj& tides vriftafect .the curve described by the hall shot from a riflty rapid and transitory though h* flight be. The density of the airas measured by the barometer and hygrometersis also worthy of attention. This density. Btort gflfectfrthe range. The ball will go further before reaching the earth when the glass is lbw than it wfll men the glass is hagE Therein yet another nice consideration which should not be* Overlooked. In shocking east or west thereds little tendency to deviation; in shooting ftom north to south in this hemisphere the ball has a tendency to fall to the east of the target, and.

and in shooting from eonth to north the tendency is to the west. Short as the distance may be, the convexity of the earth has an appreciable value, ana it is obvious that if the target » m the routh, and the marksman in the north, the marksman partaking of the earth’s ■»tio» > fln' its axis -from west to east, at a point where the circumference of the earth is greater Xhfi l * where the target is situated, the ball will start with an initial momentum

to the eastward greater tlian the motion of the target in the same direction, the ball will hit (or miss) in the eastward of the point at which J t was aimed. I must confess that lam not ' rell posted up in the literature of volunteering, and these points may have been discussed before, but as I have not met with auy volunteer who was cognisant of them, I presume that they will be news to the majority. Ido not suppose the soldier will concern himself much about the moon, the barometer, or the points of the compass; but the marksman who would rurk to -attain- to exoelUnro cannot afford to overlook the slightest consideration that ipfiy affajt his iaim.” !/ ~ .(>/