WIRTH'S CIRCUS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3459, 14 March 1890, Page 2

WIRTH'S CIRCUS.

Tho opening 1 |of;.'T s c Wirth's circus,which was given".in, >"f. tho tent situated near Renall'a mill' last evpning, was, to say the least, a Hugo succeeß. Notwithstanding the tlireateiiiiigappearance the weather , ■ during tlie eveningl'the fitiblib'turnoi- ; << "(j out in shoals, and it must have been j* exceedingly gratifying to the" promo. • ters of tho ontertainraent to find their ■ monster canvas packed.a.considorablo t tinio before the - liour' ap'poiiited' for' : starting. So great was the interest displayed in this novel performance,., that for day's past tb'otopio of corivei:- c sation lias been, from the smallest schoolboy' to the wealthy squatter, The Circus! The Circus I" And not only was tho European portion of our community well represented last evening, but Natives. from {liewhole of tho surrbuuding dislricta were eagerly seeking for admission, exclaiming, as they pushed their way through the crowd at the door, :" Kapai 'te Circus 1"' -Tbe'seat arrangenieiit'lj were fairly good, though not up to the expectation of Bomo, The. entertainment itself was all that could bo desiredi' andpaphperformer F> , waa : , ;?5 v greeted with rounds of applause. Punctually at 8 o'clock' tho bell rang ',. for the ovetture, and the brass band ' l f struck up a liVolj air,' whioh wils - /!. followed by a clever ,military per- ,-A. formaiice by nearly ailozen trained * horses."; So rapid woro the then . succeeding acts that it is difficult to ;i , placo them in their proper order.' ' Miss Madeline Wirth was received wi th'applause in, her s various, ,equea.trienne acts. Miss ilarizles'i'WirlH also, scored a great success in her juggling and wiwwalking feats, and her accomplished hortowomansbip was muoh appreciated by,, tho public. The' feature of the evening, however, was tho perform* anco of. the Masters Wirth, whose tlimbliiig, coiit6rti6ii,.aiid balanoiiig ■,, i acts were simply marvellous, and " woro ■■ received with enthusiastic applause. Next in order of merit is decidedly the sagacious tricks of the ponies " John/■Bull!'!andGeneral.,,; Gordon/' the iattor astounding evei)body by' the knowing manner in which he discovered tho whereabout j of liandkerchiefs.;liuried and '. ' • of his sight. In'-equestrianista fir' '■■■■-': P. Montgomery undoubtedly takes tho palm,, land- deserves. great credit' . for his horsemanship, whilst tlie ridiog of Mi' Gus St. Leon, Miss E. ; Worth, and Miss Ida .Yornon,' can in no way be found fault with. The five-liorso trick of Mr G. Wirth was exceedingly good, and the manner in which ho escapedinjury when falling accidentally beneath tk feotof tho horses is indeed mirabulous;' Tho clowns connected with tho circus were quite up to the mark, and at times waxed, exceedingly funny, although their jokes must be admitted ; • as rather " stale," l'akon on the while,:however, the cirouSis one of f the best that has ever visited this district.,; - The: 'taWainmerit -was'n concluded by the well-known and" amusing' exposition of tho art of equestrianism. The only possiblo defects iji tho whole entertainment appear to have been the poor seating accommodation and the lighting, but wo Have no doubt that those will both be remedied for' to-night,.; when a ■ second performance,? change of programme, will be giv6n. A'matinee for school children and parents is,to be given this aftornoon, and to-night wo can predict for'thV^t,' 4 clever company another'bumper house:. ; LIBEL CASE.

Chamberlain Bros,.v.Smith, and ■ ! Hogf'' ' v

[by BLEOIBIC telegraph]

(Per United PressAssooiatiou;) / Kc> , 1 Weli. kotos, Friday, The; libel action, Chamberlain

Bros v Smith audHogg, proprietors of the Wairarapo ,j3tar, came, on in tho Supremo Court before'] Judgel ?; Prendergast this morning, Mr Ball appeared for plaintiffs, and Sir K. Stout and Mr Pownall for defendants. The . following special jury were empanelled :-W. E, Perston, (foreman), James Smith, W, A, Waddell, Francis Sidey, Joe Dransfield, Oharlos jSeager, H. M, Simpson, H. Tyor, Thomas' Gordon, W. A. Filzborbert, F; :de;J,;Cleare, and James Catteli. In ; tlie statementforthe defence it • was set out that tho paragraph alleged to be libelous was penned as a matter of trutli.and of fair comment, without iiialice; by defendants in the position of" newspaper proprietors. They totally denied that the publications wd false and malicious. '. Mr M in opening the case, : referred'to elronjj terms to t{« sctv

" ,i duct of tho Starjn maligning dcfeuJ danta, wlio were tW moat respectable, ! men, and whom no one who know them would .{Link of ijnputing QUtrulllS to. } | . / i\ Edmund 'Chamberlain, ono of the plaintiffs, detailed tho proceedings at tho Council meeting which ltid to the article appearing in the Star being writton, Ho Ijad no interest in the Daily, bnt ; supported Sir Heron in tho Mayoral'election,' and ho was tho .the JDiHTrun. LCross-oxamined by, Mr Stout: would not say wliotlicr tho statements contained iii tho circular issuod were triw or falso.. Ho was present at tho i declaration of tho , poll, but took 110 part in the proceedings beyond asking Mr Kenall whether tho statements contained in the Star were true,:, no trutli in tho runior thAt he had been requested by the Daily to bring tliiß action against tho Star. :: Thomas Chamberlain stated ho had nothing to do with tho issue of tho circular,- barging. Mr : Benall /With tho breaking of 'a pledge to 'lpport Mr Heron, and m answer to Bir Robert Stout, said ho would not be surprised at anything Mritertall sa'd. He saw Mr Payton before this action was brought, and 1 ho expressed an opinion that tho Star's article was libellous.' He then took advico from Mr Beard, but Mr Payton did not accompany witness to x ,-' Mr Beard's office. ; ; Ho had consulted with Mr Payton and Mr Horou about the action, but there was no truth in the s'toienl that these gentlemen part of the costs of the action.

Thomas Dixon eatil > one of 'llia plaintiffs showed liim n copy of a 11 circular oil the day ot tlio election. Walter Perry gaveeviitenco bearing on the election.

Latch, (From Our Own Correspondent,) Messrs Chamberlain,- Dixon anil Perry lifivo given cvidcnco so far, Mr Ferry proved a tough customor; The line of defence indicated'that tlio whole thing was a quarrel between the Daily and Star. Tho case will probably conchido to-night. J

In all seriousness the N.Z, Times publishes the following" It is & fact tlmt purveyors of itinerant public entertnjunents abstract occasionally a grynt dear of money from the districts they visit."