Latest Locals.

<* A musical and dramatic entertainment ; will be given at 8 o'clock this evening., m j the hall of the Working Men's Club. i "Wyburt Eeeves' dniiua, " Parted," is ! included in the programme. ! The annual soiree of the Lyttelton l*re=- , byterian Church tones place in the Lyttelton Oddfellows' Ilall this evening. Tea commences at 6 p.m., and the performance at 7.30. A very large attendance is anticipated. It is proposed to hold a rifle mato h i auiong the officers o( tho various volunteer ; corps iv CLristchurch. The suggestion. j however, has not yet assumed definite form, so that the time and terms of the match are not decided upon. There ia a strong feeling of opposition among farmers to the imposition of a duty ; on binder twine, and a meeting of members : of the Corn Exchange and others will be j held on Saturday afternoon to protest j against the action of the Government. j The following items will be found on the ; fourth page of this issue : — Parliamentary j Notes ; Trial of a Torpedo Boat ; Seaward . Bushllailv.ay ; Southern Cross Petroleum I Company ; Hospital and Charitable Aid f Board ; Waiinakariri Harbour Keserves - i Conference of Local Bodies. ' *

The annual general meeting of the members of the Young Men's Christian Asso- , ciation will be held at 7.30 on Friday ; evening, Oct. 31. I It has been decided that the Conference ; to consider the advisability of extending ; the boundaries of the City, consequent ; upon the resolution passed at the last ? meeting of the City Council, shall take ! place at the Council offices at 3.30 p.m. on ■ Mbv. 20. ! All the young people, and a very large proportion of their elders, will read -with ; pleasure the preliminary announcement, ; advertised in this issue, of Chiarini'a ' Menagerie and Circus. Real live " wild . teasties " are not to be looked at every day i in the Colonies, and such an attraction, • added to the eawdust and glitter of " the ; arena," will of course prove irresistible. ] An accident occurred to Mr R. H. i Matthews, of Kaiapoi. On starting in his ■ froggy ( rom Kangiora on Wednesday afternoon his horse reared up and fell o\er on to the trap. The occupant's legs became entangled with the reins, and, being thrown from the vehicle he was dragged for some ! distance and badly bruised and shaken. , The horse bolted and has not been re- ! covered. -. A meeting of the Kaiapoi Cricket Club \ Committee was held at Messrs Champion . and Smith's offices on Wednesday night ; ; present — Messrs M. H. Smith (in the j chair), Bradley, Hayman, Walnisley, i Pengelley, and A. Pearce (Hon Sec). The \ Secretary was instructed to send a letter of ;' condolence to Mr and Mrs Roll, on the loss of their son, who had been an esteemed member of the Club. The ordinary routine , business was transacted. j An "Abstract from the Report of the j Director" of the School of Agriculture has just been printed in pamphlet form by the j Lyttdton Times Company. The publication ; is a reproduction of the valuable paper : which, appeared in the last issue of the ' Country Journal, and is certain to be read with interest by everyone who recognises . that successful agriculture must be based ! upon scientific teaching no less than upon : practical experience. j On next Wednesday evening the Papanui : Amateur Dramatic and Musical Society will give another of the invitation entertainments, in which they have been so eminently successful. The tastefully got-up programme, printed by the Lyttelton Times Company, includes a very promising selec- , tion of songs, duets, &c, and P. W. ; Broughton's comedietta, " Withered I lieaves." j An alarming occurrence lately took place i in Birkenhead in connection with the Mersey Tunnel Works. A considerable portion of . the roadway in Hamilton street, under which the tunnel is bored, collapsed without the slightest warning just after a tramcar and cab had passed over the place. i A gang of men were employed below, but fortunately none suffered any injury. It is stated that an extensive bed of quicklime which lies near the tunnel works has been the cause of the collapse. In consequence - of the accident, tramway and other vehicular traffic through the principal street in the town was suspended. ■ The Addington Workshops Band (under ; the direction of Mr J. Pooley) will perform \ the following programme in Cathedral ■ Square to-morrow evening, weather per- : mitting, commencing at 8 o'clock : — Quick march, " The Derwent " (V. Scholea) ; Valse, " Memoria," (J. Pooley) ; grand contest selection, by request '•' The Crown of Gold," (Victor Bord) ; Schottiache, " The Queen cf Love," (R. Smith) ; Fantasia, "La Favorita," (Verdi) ; Valse, " Naivette," (J. Pooley) ; Quadrille, " Jolly Girls/ (T. Dawson) ; March, " Day3 that are past seem the brightest," (C. Newton) ; : Knale, " God save the Queen." j On Wednesday night, at about nine o'clock, as Messrs Smillie and Fraser were ; walking along the Terrace road, Leith- j field, they discovered Mr Edmund Ensor, ! of Leithfield, lying on the road in an un- j conscious state. He was conveyed to Stace's Hotel, and Dr Ovenden, upon examination, found Mr Ensor had sus- ; tamed a severe bruise upon the right = side of the head and eye, and was quite insensible. He gave little hope of his recovery. Mr Ensor had been to Rangiora, .and was riding home, it appears, on a horse I which was known to be a somewhat dan- ; gerous animal. It is supposed he was j thrown. The unfortunate gentleman is a Tbrother to Mr C. Ensor, of Mount Grey, and is well known and much respected ; throughout the district. j Tho following men have been picked by the i Opawa Eifle Club for the match against- the City ■ Guards :— Messrs J. Gray, W. Chapman, J. SongaQ, F. Sandford, J. Taifc, E. J. Jenkins?, C. "Watte, H. Jenkins, J. Bashford, C. Lees. Emergency men, Messrs E. J. Deans and G. Sandford.