Untitled

Southland Times, Issue 1292, 12 August 1870, Page 2

A youth named Lambert met with an accident, which, from -the flow of blood, seemed at first alarming, on Wednesday last, 10th, while at play. A broken bottle, we believe, cut his leg . severely. He was taken to the Hospital, where the wound was dressed by Dr Grigor, after which the boy was removed home, nothing serious being apprehended. The fifth anniversary of the Invercargill Total Abstinence Society and the opening of the new Temperance Hall, will be celebrated by a soiree in liie Exchange Hall this evening. After tea, whioh is to be laid at 6 o'clock, the meeting will be informed of the financial affairs of the Society by the reading of the Treasurer's report. . The Keys. Stobo and Bishworth, Mr Btissell of Byal Bush, ahd other friends of the cause, are also to give addresses. Mr S. J. Deck, surgeon dentist, has returned to Invercargill, and resumed the practice of his profession in the premises known, as the Royal Exchange, Don-street. Prior to leaving the district, Mr D.li. Simpson, C.E., was presented --ntJianaddreas^-oiffao^ •>▼ -» "number of Hie residents of Cromwell, testifying to his many good qualities— professional and social. On Tuesday evening last, Sth inst., the members of the Loyal Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle Lodge of Oddfellows met at their Lodge-room, and presented P.G. W. Wilkinson, on the occasion of his leaving the province, with a souvenir of the esteem in which he was held by the brethren, in the shape; of a gold pencil-case and an address engrossed on vellum. The N.G., Bro. T. Smith, accompanied the act of presentation with a few valedictory remarks, which were becomingly acknowledged by the recipient. At the Besident Magistrate's Court, 11 th, W. H. Pearson, Esq., and D. M'Arthur, Esq., J.P.s, on the benoh, T. M'Ewan sued GeorgejEichardsqn, bookbinder, for SA 18s 3d, goods sold and delivered. Defendant confessed the amount, but pleaded inability. Time was given him to pay it in weekly instalments of a pound.' James Colyer obtained a slaughter-house lioense' for Tewais Point. The soiree and concert on bahalf of the school i building fund in connection with St. John's Church, held in the Exchange Hall on Tuesday evening last, was without question the greatest success yet achieved iv that particular line in '

Invercargill. The number of visitors amounted to close upon (if not over) three hundred, and the arrangements for their reception and provision were made and carried out in a spirit of liberality worthy of the occasion, and reflecting great credit on the promoters. The programme for the evening included a first-class selection of music, vocal and instrumental, sacred and secular —■•interspersed with readings. The customary "tea party" routine of speechifyinij was for this instance discarded, and considering . the high, character of the entertainment submitted, there seemed no reason whatever for regret at the departure from the ordinary course. The musical part of the treat- was under the couductorship of Mr J.: Kingsland, who, having summoned to his assistance on. the occasion the crfane a la crime of the musical talent of the community, assisted also by Mr White, who presided at the piano, succeeded in rendering the difficult pieces forming the programme in a most effective manner. The readings were by gentlemen well known and appreciated by Invercargill audiences. The entertainment was closed at half past ten o'-clock- by the singing of the national anthem. 1 The Southern Cross (Auckland) says .—More than one. gentleman has recently succeeded in i eluding the vigilance of his creditors in Auckland ! of late, and making his escape with a tolerably ! full pocket to America or some other haven of rest. We do not know, however, of any instance on record in which a creditor was so skilfully baffled as in the caso of a gentleman — well known at the Thames — who. took bis departure for San Francisco by the City of Melbourne.. On the occasion in question, just aa the "tJity" was about to start, our traveller came on board, and in o:*der to avoid the possibility of any too solicitous creditor espying him, he ensconced himself snugly behind a screen. ' A brief interval slapsed, when an anxious creditor — who had evidently an idea upon the subject^appeared upon the scene, and, as luck would have it, the fugitive was at that moment peering suspiciously round from his hiding place. The creditor at once caught sight of him, and rushing up, greeted 1 him "warmly with, " Why, you are not-going to leave us, are you?" "Hush, hush," eaid the/runaway vrith hesitation, "don't use my name; for goodness' sake : I am watching a man who owes me. £200,. and who is trying to bolt." Satisfied and oOnBoled, the creditor departed. So did the City of Melbourne with the debtor. This is an illustration of one of the advantages which Auckland derives, from being the port of call. The following harrowing incident to a resident of Melbourne who was trying to raise the wind by a loan from a friend in Ballarat is related by the Courier :— The story runs thus — The person referred. to wrote tq a friend in Ballarat requesting the loan of £10, and stated in his communication, no doubt the more, effectually to opea his; friend's purse strings, that unless the amount reached him by return of post he .should be compelled to commit suicide, ' either ; by poison, drowning, or discover some more novel method of quitting a world which had not behaved over kindly to him. The friend in Ballarat, being either unable or unwilling to make the advance, apprehended that the threatened suicide would be committed,' and forVsomeVminutes he was puzzled how to act in the emergency. At kwt he determined to lay the letter before the police, and having done so, the latter at once telegraphed to the authorities in Melbourne, who, in their turn, took prompt action in, the .matter. .Tjvo constables proceeded to the house of the writer, and arrested him for threatening to commit suicide. The writer vehemehtiy protested against such an infringement of the liberty of a subject, but' with little avail, for he was straightway marched off to the lock-up. There he was able" to procure' the" attendance of several friends, who, with no. little difficulty, at length, convinced "the police that there was no harm intended when the letter was written, the only object the writer had in " piling up the agony," being tp succeed iv obtaining-the^ ],>«.■■ Tl. ■ 111.. . wrnn fjinn nlj mm 1 ln» A<-> abTSrgeT but not before he had been sternly recommended by the police not to indulge ih such threats in future — a recommendation which-,* under the circumstances, we should scarcely .think was necessary. There has been a good deal of chaff indulged in, both in Ballarat and Melbourne, over this incident - but the writer of the letter is said to be still very angry at - the use to which his" letter was applied, and vows vengeance sooner or later against hia " friend " for the inconvenience to which he was subjected through such groundless fears for hiß 'personal safety. - -'-'■■ A curious feat (says a contemporary) was performed the other morning by a bulldog. The owner was amusing himself by throwing pieces of wood and stone into the water at Shortland wharf, whioh the bulldog was retrieving as well as if the water had been his native element, diving and ducking with as much ease as a spaniel, On coming to the surface after one of these exploits the dog had a fine kahewai in his mouth, quivering and straggling to get out of the novel trap into which it had got by some inexplicable means. The fish was a pound or a pound and a half in weight. _ A conference of farmers and papermakers was held in the offices of the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture the other day with reference to the growth of fibre for 'paper manufacture. A large number of plants, including beet, broom, thistles, nettles, .&c, was mentioned as being suitable, but difficulties were expressed in the way of growing these to the extent necessary for the manufacturers. Straw was spoken of as being the materiel best adapted for the purpose, if it could be purchased at a sufficiently cheap rate. The meeting separated without coming to any formal resolution, but both parties seemed desirous that the subject should not be lost sight of. At a sitting of the Supreme Court at Wellington the other day, one -of the -jurors claimed exemption on the grouud of being a member of a volunteer fire brigade, duly enrolled under the Tolunteer Act. Judge Johnston said that s he could aot find that volunteer firemen were exempt from service as jurors, although tbey were exempt from service in the militia.. At.the same time he recognised the value of the services of sach a body of men, and as he was satisfied that the applicant had actually been engaged as a fireman. wit£i«*-tfa:e^ last year, he would grant Him exemption in the present instance, but his doing so must not be taken as a precedent. The New York Tribune describes the latest Fenian military 'enterprise after tlie following fashion : — A plain narrative of this story — a war stopped by a Marshal and one deputy, a whole army defeated and utterly routed by two men — is ao utterly ludicrous that no comment can improve it. But in fact we have no desire to dwell upou the farcical features of this new discovery in strategy. We have no disposition to speculate upon what would have happened if Wellington had been arrested by a sheriff's officer in the battle of Waterloo, or Grant lodged in gaol by a Virginia constable while the army of the Potomac was fighting in the wilderness. -The serious side of General O'Neil's ridiculous blunder is too painful to be laughed at. The folly of this "charlatan" has' cost thousands of working people the last dollar of their savings, and perhaps some poor fellows their Lives. It has degraded Irishmen in the estimation of many of their fellow-citizens, who will perhaps overlook the difference between the patriotism of the people ahd the imbecile vanity of the leaders. These are the sad results of the last Fenian invasion.' We can only hope that the rank and file- may get home quickly and sound, and save their carpet bags. • j. ; ' ' ; 7 As an encouragement (says' the Bruce Herald) to the junior ploughmen of the Province, an incentive to ; their: perseverance and future progress, we gladly make publio the following facts regarding the largest prizetaker of Otago, Mr William fowler, Christie, who, for age, is only advanced a very slight stage, beyond hu. majority and the limit for t the junior class. He is in every

sense a colonial ploughman, his first effort at holding the stilts having taken placa in tho Taieri a few years ago. To bo sure he was born in the same parish as Ponton, whoso plough-* aro now first prizetakers here, and his father was intimate with that country blacksmith who i 3 now reaping a rich reward from the manufacture of his ploughs ; but beyond thia, the merest tyro iv the" art of ploughing in the Province is on- a level with him, and similar honor awaits them if they but tacklo the work with simijar spirit, the language of his father being — '* YVillie was aye a 'firm hadder, ; ever since he was a liddie." Mr Christie hits in all taken 29- prizes, 16 of which -were gained during tho present season ; of the 29, 5 were Ist prizes, 5 for best feering and .finishing, 4 second prizes, 3 third prizeß, 1 sixth prize, and 10 extra prizes ; also his first prize taken in.'1864, which was a special one. Besides the honor, the monetary value of these prizes must have been very considerable, probably reaching above £100, an! we shall be very much dissappointed, if, during the next year or two, some of the present junior hands do not run him very close for first h nors. After a long and animated debate, the LegislaI tive Council has agreed to the following resolutions on the conduct of the Imperial Government —"1. That in.. the opinion of thie Council, the best interests of New Zealand will be consulted by remaining an integral part of the British empire. 2. That there are not sufficient grounds for believing that the people of England desire j the disintegration of ths empire. 3.- That, this Council regrets the course adopted by the Home Government towards the colony ; but aB the causes of dispute have been satisfactorily discussed by the Colonial G-overnment, and as an indication of a desire to preserve a friendly feeling towards the colony has been made by the Home Government, it is undesirable to make any further reference to past misunderstandings.". J^_____ A speculative spinster, a Miss Barker, who does business at the Ballarat Corner, made her first appearance lately on the boards of the local theatre. The lady recited what she termed " The New Chum's Lament," which a local poet had done into twenty verses, concluding with " Pm crusty grown, my bread Pd earn, I find I've been done brown, And not a crumb of comfort left ; I'm a loafer on the town." She was interrupted by two or three rounds of applause, and after she had finished and announced her intention of making a fortune in the Winter's Freehold claim, several bouquets and a large well-proportioned cabbage ware 'thrown on -the stage. Miss Barker wasled off by Mr Gainsborough. The Star adds, — Another farce concluded the performance. The Wanganui Evening .Herald says — "A story is told which goes to show the position the Commission of the Peace holds in the estimation of our leading men. A gentleman, a Justice of "the Peace, learning that a certain person had been appointed to the Commission, went straight -jx> a , member of the then Government, and xjomploined that a most • improper : appointment nad been made, and asked that it might be cancelled, ou the ground that the new J.P. had been found in a state of helpless ; intoxication under a verandah. ' D— n it,' replied the member of the Government, * the Commission cannot be lower than it is.' What came of the remonstrance is not told, but we suppose on the principle that matters could not be much worse than they were, the appointment stood good, irrespective of justice being found snoring off the effects of a narcotio under the verandah."