Reefton Branch, No. 71.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 116, 16 July 1875, Page 13

Reefton Branch, No. 71.

The half-yearly meeting of the Beefton Branch, of the Hibernian Society, was held for the purpose of filling the different offices which had become vacant through effluxion of time, The following brothers were proposed and carried unanimously, as the office-bearers, for the coming six months : — President, Mr. M. Bryan; Vice-President, Mr. C. Crowley ; Secretary, Mr. J. M'Ardle; Treasurer, Mr. W. Williams; Warden, P. M'G-uire; Guardian, Mr. M. Cullen. Brother Vaughan, Past President, proposed a vote of thanks to the retiring officers, which was accorded with acclamation' and which was responded to, on their behalf, in a pithy address by Brother M'Ardle.

It is a pity that so many excellent stories are " almost too good to be true." Such a tale seems to be the one which explains the origin of that prodigious collection of monkeys which forcn so large a paxt of the Javdin d'Acclimatation in Paris. A Bordeaux shipowner, who is noted for insisting on a strict obedience to instructions on the part of his captains, some time ago gave written orders to one of the latter to bring back from Brazil, whither he was going, one or two monkeys — " Repportez mol lou 2 singes." The ou was so badly written that the captain read " 1002 singes ;" and the result was that the owner, three months after, found his ship returning, to his utter stupefaction, overrun with monkeys. For a week'apes were a drug in the Bordeaux market, and, adds the story, the Jardin, hearing the news, took care not to lose so good an opportunity of laying in a large -stock. A capital tale. Do we believe it ? — Well, no ; we don't.