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Southland Times, Issue 1001, 10 August 1868, Page 2

The Wallacetown Annual Ploughing Match took place on Friday last. The day was one of the most boisterous we have experienced for months, and consequently the attendance was. smaller than had been anticipated, Btill there was a goodly muster, including several visitors from towni-Ton-plouglio £>tnrtcdj-a satisfactoi/ number considering that the match had only baen determined upon about ten days previously, and the miserable state of the roads. The judges were Messrs James Wilson, M.P.C., — Hamilton V.S., and A. Christie. Owing to the severity of the weather the ploughing scarcely came up to the marl, and the judges had some difficulty in arriving at a decision as to who were entitled to the prizes. The following is a list of the ! successful competitors : — lst prize — James Hay, Riverton ; 2nd prize — Birchall, Long Bush j 3rd prize— Adam Fleming, Mabel Bush 5 4th prize — James Hay, Inrercargill ; sth pr-.-e — J- ( Hanna, Waikivi ; 6fch prize— John M'lntosh, Wallacetown. A dinner was held : i the evening at Polling's Hotel, which was weJl attended. A fuller report will appear in a future issue. The following has appeared in a Canterbury contemporary :— c Wo have good authority for stating that a company of farmers, woollen manufactures, and others, are preparing to leave Montgomeryshire, in North Wales, for this Province. A gentleman has been sent out as the agent of the company, for the purpose of selecting a block of land of several thousand acres, in order that all the families, who form the company, may, on arrival, locate themselves at once. We understand that the agent has instructed a person fully competent to judge of the requirements with regard to the land, and as to its fitness for the purpcse, to proceed across the country. j

The following is the state of H. M. Gaol at Invercargill for the month ending 7th August current : — Sentenced to penal servitude, 4 males } bard labor, 4 males ; Criminal lunatic, 1 mole ; debtor to the Crown, 1 male ; total, 10 males. Received during the month, 1 male ; 1 female ; discharged during the month, 2 males ; 1 female ; decrease for the month, 1 male. In spite of wind and weather the attendance at the, weekly entertainment of the Penny ReadI ing Sooiety, on Friday evening last, was good, I the upper portion of the house being quite fi 1 ed, and the pit also pretty well occupied. The performances were, as a whole, of the same high class as hitherto, with one or two trifling exceptions. Of the instrumental pieces Handel's march 'To Battle' from Joshua, was certainly the best, although both the ' Quick March ' and • The Post-horn ' gallop were also executed with very marked precision. The cornet duet from 'La Somnambula ' was, of course, first . rate. The two Glees ' The Sun is Gone ' and * The Bright Sword of Liberty,' were also very well rendered, although in each the alto had a slightly strained effect, attributable to the singer being new to the part. 'Work, Boys Work,' was received •ftlth immense applause, and an encore being irresistably demanded, the singer substituted another song, which took with even greater effect than the first. Beethoven's well 1 town song, ' Adelaida,' was, however, the vocal gem of the evening, and merited the approbation bestowed. We had almost forgot to mention a Fantasia on the flute, on Scotch a'-s, in wb'ch the player showed himself a thorough master of that peculiarly soft and meloc"'ous instrument. A Recitation, from Cowper's works, entitled ' The Retired Cat,' was very well given by Mr Scandrett, who will make an excellent reader, if, " i future, he w" take a little more time, and raise his voice just a shade higher in pitch. The second reading, • A Moral Essay,' from Pope, was a peculiarly antiquated and ill adapted subject. Ft lof that splenetic satire which th : s cynical author so freely lavishes on the fair sex generally, it met the fate it deserved * l being driven from the stage. When the reader had got about half-way through, the audience positively refused to listen longer to him, and he was obliged to retire. We trust the committee will exercise thei* right of censorship more rigidly in future, and allow nothing to be brought on the stage without its having been first submitted for their approval. There must be no respect of person in this matter — not even to one of their own number. The reading which followed — ' A Two-penny-half-penny Reading,' from ' Our Mutual friend,' was a positive relief aft* the 'Moral Essay.' Mr Rodgers appeared to ly understand his author, and of course, succeeded in pleasing his audience. ' Fk>3hend' a Scotch story from Wilsons', Tales of the Borders, full of quiet humor, was read by Mr W. Ferguson — who made a decided hit. The audience enjoyed the reading amazingly, and will no doubt be glad to see Mr Ferguson come on the boards soon again, with his ponderous volume uner Y'a arm. One of Jerrolds inimitable ' Curtain Lectures ' was the last reading on the programme, the particular lecture being that which ensues on Caudle's being made a { Mason.' In its delive j Mr Weiss, made ample amends for the misfortunes of John Gilpin, Fid proved himself a most accomplished reader. A variety of questions connected with social economy are now under discussion in Melbourne. We extract the following from the ' Australasian ' of July 25th : — ' The question of reducing the number of public holidays, and giving increased facilities for postal communication with England, were the two subjects discussed at the quarterly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, held on I Tuesday. In respect to the first matter, the Chamber passed a resolution setting forth the desirability of reducing the public holidays to five — v' „ New Year's Day, Good Friday, the Queen's Birthday, the Prince of Wales's Birthday, and Christmas Day — and asking the concv •- rence of the Government in this arrangement. The reasons urged in favoi of thisnew newsystem were two — first, that the occurrence of so many holidays at irregular intervals was attended with great inconvenience and loss ; and secondly, that those who enjoyed the holidays would prefer, and benefit more, by getting them in the shape of a fortnight's leave of absence each year. The discussion upon the postal question lasted some considerable time, and two counter resolutions were moved — one in favor of aline of steamers via the Cape, and another in favor of a fortaightly mail via Suez. A third route was mentioned as a desirable one forfeiture adoption, viz. via San Francisco, and across the North. American cont'nent by the new Pacific Railway. By this route, it was urged, tho time occupied between Melbourne and London would be only thirty-nine days. The whole subject was much debated, but it was eventually agreed to talk over the matte*' again a month hence."