THE GRATTAN RIGGS COMPANY

Temuka Leader, Issue 2369, 14 June 1892, Page 3

THE GRATTAN RIGGS COMPANY

The Grattan Riggs Company appeared last Saturday evening in the Volunteer Hall, Temuka, in the play of " The Irish, Detective," to a large audience. This play, take.n from a literary point of view, is rather meagre, but in a dramatic sense it is que of the most powerful plays wq have seen on the stage, Jt JM fmff}c.lent)y sensational without being extravagantly so ; the situations are excellent, and the dialogue, though poor, is extremely funny, and kqeps thtj andienye In l'Qar-s qf laughter from beginning to end, The plot is simple, Mr Elton, a rich Now York banker, finds Richard Stockton, on.e of his clerks, robbing ]>i« sa f e , The clerkmurders him and quits the office, and another clerk, William yntyrs, \\w\ is caught ljy t|jO detective standingbeside tlm dead body with the knife with which the murder had been committed in - his hand. Stockton also re-enters and accuses Hoyto, of haying committed t.ho npirdor, wit;h the result that ho is arrested, Circumstances arise which make the Irish detective (Mr Grattan Riggs) determine on sifting the matter thoroughly, and it is in pursuit of this enterprise he changes characters seven time*. Tjm result L-i, of course, tha/(i ■he vidian, becomes a fashionable i'\e\v York doctor., is ultimately brought to justice, anc] th ! rt GWything terminates happily. It is impossible to exaggerate Mr Grattan Rings' versatility. Nothing couhl be more realistic than his representation of thehalf-dru.nken (maiuy.lsonm North of Ivuland |y.is|\iiinii, nur could the jiharacter of 'the imperturbable German be improved. As an aged n egro, a Chinese pieman, and a blood-thirsty Itajian, ho was equally at homo, but it was as Mrs Mujduon, au Irish apple woman, that he excelled. In all characters, the dialect, the voice, the facial expression, and the acting were all so perfect, that no ' one would suspect that it was the same > man who represented all. We have often

1 seen female characters impersonated by persons of the opposite sex, but never s<> perfectly. There was nut a d»0 that could identify any of the other cluracter-i with Mrs iMuldoon, the voice was feminine and the make-np was splendid. Mr Grattan Eiggs' Irish brogue is the best u-o have heard. It is accurate and rich, there is no exaggeration ; and no straining after effect. In all his characters he was natural and unaffected, and won spontaneous out-bursts of applause whenever he appeared. Jim Thug, the fearfully low villian, who assisted Stockton an all Ins crimes, was represented to perfection by Mr ,T. P. West. His make-up was immense, and his acting throughout was careful and thorough. Mr It. E. Inman had a light gentlemanly part m William Hoyte, and he made the most of it, and Mr' Scott Inglis gave a consistent impersonation of the villian, Robert Stockton. This gentleman has a most pleasant 'voice, and a clear enunciation, and would lie a first-class actor if he threw a little more spirit into his actions. He has great natural advantages; let him cultivate the artistic ones and his success is assured, but to carry coolness to extremes is as had as " tearing passion to tatters." Mr Dunbar's representation of a dude was as funny as it could be, and kept the audience in roars of laughter. As (3race Hoyte, the sister of William Hoyte, Miss Maud Appleton acted with a thorough appreciation of her part, and Miss Violet Andrews gave a piquant representation of Jessie. In her interviews with the dude she was very good. In the small parts of Mr Elton and Joe Slug, Mr Travers Vale did well, but they gave no scope for acting. This gentleman, we may mention, is the author of several successful dramas, and is likely to make a name for himself in the world of dramatic literature yet. Taken all round, the company is one of the most thorough and evenly-balanced we have seeii, there is not a "stick" amongst them; they are all up to their work and tit to appear upon any stage. This evening " The Irish Detective" will be produced in Geraldine, and we have no hesitation in stating that those who patronise it will be more than satisfied.

Last night they appeared in Geraldine in the powerfully realistic drama of " Shadows of a Great City," a report of which will appear in our next issue.

GERALDINE ROAD BOARD. The monthly meeting of the above board was held yesterday. PresentMessrs F. R. Flatman (chairman), Brophy, Kelland, Metcalf, and Deßenzy. TENDERS. Tenders were received for works as under : No. 354—Formation, etc., Markhata's road, Cooper's Creok : Thomas Markham £10; William Scolly, £9 19s (accepted). No. 355—Shingle repairs, Hilton road : William Taggart, £lO5 ; Daniel Gregan, £99 10s ; "Timothy Sugrue, £99; M. Lawlor, £94 (accepted). No. 35(5 —Formatiou and creek diversion etc., Waihi Downs : T. Sugrue, £GI; John. Fiolield, £SB (accepted) ; M. Lawlor, £49 (informal). No. 307 —Formation etc., near Button's farm, Rangitata Flat : T. Sugrue. £4O ; M. Lawlor, £39 17s Gd; Jonas Fieheld, £37 10s (accepted). No. 353—formation etc., Gilbert's road, Gapes'sVallev: T. Sugrue, £2O (accepted); J. H. Tagg, £lB 10s.

CORRESPONDENCE. Correspondence was read and dealt with as follows :

From the Geraldine County Council, i.iforming the Board that engineer liad been directed to see the Or;iri bridge willows, and the rangers of Geraldine Flat and Orari-Waihi had been instructed to attend to the How of water as suggested by the board. From Mr F. Bro\ui junr., asking to have the name of Charles Hewson placed on the valuation roll in place of his own, as owner of the farm recently owned by the writer. —Granted.

From Mr C. H. Verity, Geraldinr Dmij Factory, stating tlpit as tl}e I)an'y Factory Company could not extpiul lps lease fur their premises for any definite period he wus liable, to lie turned nut \\{. i\ month's notice, which woqld preclude his leasing the board's reserve in advance, — Kent to be paid, and in event of Mr Verity leaving before the end of the 12 mouths the rent be remitted for unexpired tjme.

From the manager Bay,!, of J&yw sov\+h\ Wales, Goraldine, informing the board tjtat £24 2s had been received tQ thoir credit from the Receiver- of land Revenue.

From Mr W. P. Studho'me, Kakahu, requesting the board to have the new cutting over the Kakahu made s\a aotm ajj possible, as his filming >vould reach the (•iitting' in a few days, and he would not be able to finish the job.—The overseer to see the work done at once.

From Mr I). R, Ambler, Peel Forest, wis]ling his name taken from the Rate 1101 l for sections 355.)'2T and 285, Rangitata, as ho was leaving the district, and had sold tho sections to Mr Adam Irvine. —Mr Irvine's consent to be obtained,

From Mr A. 0 Kimbel],Gape.s's Valley, j asking tho board to put the name of Jamei Cassie on the rate roll for sections i» tho Opihi a.:d Gapes's Valley districts, instead of his o\yq.-.•.-(lviHitv.fl, i From Mr -John llico, To Moana, re- ; questing that a, plank dossing be made over thejriver at Mulvahill's crossing, To Moana. so that children can cross when point; to school. From tho To Moana School Committee, with reference to the matter in Mr Rice's letter.—The board cannot consent to the erection of a footbridge, seaing that two other schools are idjout equal distance from, seitiei'S writing, but will supply plunks for. crowing if the ratopayovs will undertake the charge of them and replace, them if washed away by Hoods. From Messrs Bay & Postlethwaite, Timaru, asking to have the name of Mrs Sarah Bell, Winchester, put on tho ratoroll in place of Mr Oonakt McLeod's for I'eseryo Hrt'.J.- Granted. 1 From Mr Henry Coulter, making application to have the terracus out down on the Rangitata Station road.—-Tenders to be called fur next board meeting. From Mr H. W. Perry man, Christchurch, forwarding circular re the new association known n» " The New Zealand Farmors and Comity Settlers League." From the Chief Surveyor, returning maps of road district with corrected I boundary-line dividing the Geruidine and ' Mount Peel districts.

OVKHMCWI'S fiEPOKT. The ovevsoar reported an follows : Contracts —The works on hind have made fair progress. Since last ineeti- g the following works have been completed —Shingling cuttings, Crow's Road Hilton Downs ; Stone culvert., Beautiful Valley; Stone pitching, at Hilton Stock Bridge; Shingle repairs, Geraldine Road. The latter job has not been completed, and the contract time expired on May 24th. Kakahu Bush Crossing—The crossing at the Kakahu River had apparently been made oft' the line of road as now surveyed, and as Mr Studholme is fencing the adjoining land a new cutting and ford will be required. The undermentioned roads have been attended to during the month, viz : —Belfield road. Orari Station road, Hilton and Connolly's roads, and others. Poisoned wheat—l have ordered a small quantity of poisoned wheat, pending the decision of the Board as to distribution, etc.—l have, etc., Wm. Shikrs, Overseer. It was resolved to inflict the penalty in contract for shingling Geraldine road, if the contractor does not give a reason for noncompletioii of contract. It was agreed to obtain 4 bushels of Grigg's poisoned wheat and continue to distribute it as heretofore, members thinking it inadvisable to scatter poisoned wheat on the roads as the new Act provides. ACCOUNTS. Accounts amounting to i'l73 7s 8d were passed for payment. The board then rose.

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