NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XVI, Issue 2167, 29 March 1870, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

As will be seen by our advertising columns the nomination of candidates for the Superintend ency will take place in the Town Hall, Christchurch, on Monday, April 11, and the ( poll, if necessary, on Monday, May 2. There was a fair house at the Theatre Boyal last evening. The curtain rose to " A Roland for an Oliver," which was succeeded by the burlesque of " Lalla Rookh," and that as usual was capitally put upon the stage. The usual promenade ball at the Canterbury Music Hall was postponed last evening on account of the wet weather. Mr Charles Massey has decorated the back of the dais occupied by the band with a specimen of Italian scenery executed in a highly creditable manner. At the Resident Magistrate's Court, Kaiapoi, on Monday, before His Worship the Mayor, John Blakely, a previous offender, was oharged with having been drunk and incapable. He was sentenced to four days imprisonment. The " Southland News " states that " owing to the differential duties, the whiskey from the Otago distillery is increasing rapidly in public favour—being of excellent manufacture—and bids fair shortly to considerably affect importations." From a return published in the New Zealand Gazette we notice that Westland has grown 451 bushels of oats, 20 of barley, 214 tons hay, 1325 tons potatoes; the total number of acres under crop was 1095. A sample of quartz sent from the Never Despair Gold Mining Company, Wellington, has been crushed at Melbourne, with the following satisfactory results—One quarter of a ton, crushed and amalgamated, yielded 2 dwt 21 gr of gold of poor quality (much like the Thames gold), which is equal to 11 dwt 12 gr per ton. Meetings of creditors were held yesterday before the Registrar of the Supreme Court in the following cases :— Be the petition of the Bank of New South Wales and Be Edward Watson. Bankrupt surrendered, but as no creditors attended, the meeting was adjourned I for seven days. He Thomas Osgood East. As 1 no creditors attended the adjourned meeting lapsed, and the estate becomes vested in the provisional trustee. We are glad to learn that the subscription list for the new church of St Michael and All Angels, has now assumed such satisfactory dimensions as to justify the Building Committee in making preparations for the early commencement of the work. There is no longer any fear as to the sum of £1000—the amount of cash required by the Parish to be paid up before they would enter upon the work—being collected before Easter. We are informed that the amount of cash actually in hand is now £986, and we feel sure that this announcement will serve as an agreeable reminder to those parishioners who have as yet forgotten to add their names to the subscription list. The Heathcote Road Board held their usual meeting yesterday, at the Board office, Ferry road, when there were present: Messrs Kennaway (chairman), Fisher, and Ensor. The minutes of the preceding meeting were : read and confirmed. A letter was read from i Mr Hopkins, Ferry road, relative to the : nuisance of the drainage from Christchurch down the Ferry road drain, and suggesting that a public meeting of the residents on tho \ said road be convened to consider whether : some action cannot be taken in the matter, so as to put a stop to the nuisance in question, i A letter and memorial of persons occupying j i land fronting the canal reserve, were received ' 1

' and read, requesting to have the reserve dram cleared out. The Board instructed the Surveyor to inspect the drain in question and report upon it at the next meeting; and also to inform Mr Hopkins, in reply to his letter, that on receipt of a requisition from any number of the ratepayers, the chairman will call a meeting to discuss the question of the Ferry road drain. Tho Board, after passing pay sheets, adjourned until Monday, the 11th April next. In Chambers yesterday, before the Registrar, E. S. Willcox, Esq, Jonathan Earnshaw, who was convicted at the last criminal sittings of the Canterbury Circuit Court of a misdemeanour under the Bankruptcy Act, 1867, was brought up under a writ of habeas corpus and discharged from custody on his entering into his own recognisance of £100 and two sureties, Messrs George Allen and William Parker, in £200 each, to prosecute proceedings in the Court of Appeal. Mr Slater appeared for the defendant. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Total Abstinence Society was held in the Temperance Hall last evening ; Mr E. Ford occupied the chair, and Messrs Caygill and Ford delivered addresses on the temperance question, and Mr Butterfield sang a melody, which was encored. On Wednesday the friends of the society are requested to attend at the hall for the purpose of forming a mutual improvement class in connection with this society. Yesterday (says the " New Zealand Herald" of March 24), was a big day with the fate of a portion of the Auckland press. The " Evening News" changed its management, the " Evening Star" its printer, and rumor is responsible for this much additional:—The " Morning Advertiser" published its last issue yesterday, with it disappeared the "Thames Times," the "Weekly Leader," and the "Evening Star" (Thames). The "West Coast Times" of Friday says— A disastrous fire took place at the Kanieri about half-past eight o'clock last night, which destroyed the shop and dwelling-house of Mr Barr, butcher, residing in the township. It appears that Mrs Barr had retired and was reading in bed by candlelight, and it ia supposed that the candle had fallen out of the bottle, which served the purpose of a oandlestick, against the lining of the house. Mrs Barr first saw the flame running up the wall, and in a few minutes the whole building was one blaze of fire, obliging her and the two children to escape in their nightdresses. The only property saved were some boxes of clothing. We understand the property is uninsured. The Auckland papers say that a deplorable circumstance occurred at the Bay ot Islands last showing the extreme folly of masters of whalers in employing natives to capture runaway seamen. It appears that on Friday last two seamen belonging to one of the whalers in port made their escape from the ship. On the following day the master, finding they were missing, engaged three Maoris to track them. The runaway sailors were soon caught, and one of them gave himself up, but the other, who was armed with a revolver, refused to be taken, and said he would fire upon the first man who attempted to capture him. One of the natives, named Ben Homone made an attempt to capture him, when the sailor fired and shot him through the chest, he also fired another bullet which penetrated his left side. The other two Maoris then followed up the sailor and succeeded in overtaking him. A desperate ] struggle ensued, and the sailor was eventually brought to the ground by a blow on the back of the head from one of the Maoris, which | rendered him senseless. He was then con- j veyed back to the ship. When the Coquette left the Bay, Hamone was lying in a very precarious state, and it was not expected that he would recover.—" Post;" A very painful case of lunacy, says the " Southera Cross," came bcfo re the Bench at the Auckland Police Court lately. It appeared from the medical testimony adduced, that Dr Riley, late house surgeon of the Hokitika Hospital, has become of unsound mind, having, according to the statement of his landlady kept the house in a state of terror by walking about with a loaded pistol in his possession, which he refused to give up. He had also recently slept with the pistol under his pillow. On being interrogated by the doctors, he complained of his head being bad, and appeared to have lost air memory as to dates and circumstances. Dr Riley had only been about six weeks in Auckland, having come up from Hokitika, where he held a highly respectable position, and was much esteemed by a large circle of friends. His affliction has caused much sorrow amongst his many acquaintances in Auckland. He was on the 2nd instant committed to the Provincial Lunatic Asylum. A telegram published by us a few days ago stated that a rumour was current that Mr Gillies, the Superintendent of Auckland, was about to join the Ministry. To this, the " Southern Cross " thus alludes :—A correspondent, writing to a contemporary, has given publicity to an alleged rumour, to the effect that there was an intention on the part of His Honor the Superintendent to join the present Ministry and to resign the Superintendency. This statement has excited some little discussion during the past week, and speculation has been rife as to the source whence such a rumour could have originated. We may remark, however, that very little reliance was placed upon the vague statement of the correspondent referred to, and in fact that it was generally Bet down as a mere canard. This view of the matter turns out to be the correct one. We learn, upon good authority, that there was not, nor is there now, the slightest foundation for such a report, as Mr Gillies has no intention of joining any Ministry in a way that would interfere in the slightest degree with his duties as Superintendent of the province. We learn also from the same source that Mr Gillies has ex- ; pressed his intention of falfilling to the letter the pledge which he made to the electors, i that he would continue in office until the close of the period for which he was elected; ,

"The open fire is retained," observes the "Engineer," "in our drawing-rooms not only because it is pleasant to look at —and this is something—but because it ia not injurious to health as is the stove. The latter heats solely by raising the temperature of the air of an apartment, and is in a great measure inimical to free ventilation j because, if plenty of cold air is admitted, the temperature of the room is reduced, and the exclusion of cold air is one reason why a handful of fuel will do in a stove. The open fire, on the contrary, darts j its rays of heat through the air direct to the person or thing ; and thus it Ib quite possible to bask in the beams of a friendly fire, and feel quite comfortable too, while a volume of fresh air is rolling through the room, which would cool down a stove-heated apartment to a most uncomfortable point: There are other reasons, on whioh we need not stop to dwell, why tho open fire is to be preferred."

We have heard (says our Thames contemporary) that considerable exoitement has prevailed at Ohinemuri within the lust few days, owing to the belief existing among the miners that alluvial gold had been found in the district. A party cf Germans came in to Ohinemuri some days ago with some alluvial gold which they had found, but declined to point out the place. Efforts have been made by the men at Ohinemuri to find out where the Germans are working, but hitherto without success. A public meeting was held in Auckland on the evening of the 21st, for the purpose of taking steps to establish a . Ragged-school Association. His Excellency the Governor presided, and there was a large attendance of the leading citizens. The following resolutions were unanimously carried :—" That this meeting regards with grave and conscious sympathy the ignorance and debasement of a large portion of the juvenile population of this city, and acknowledging the obligation by every possible means to remedy the existing evils and prevent those naturally springing therefrom, earnestly desires the establishment of a Bagged School, aided by whatever agencies may best meet the necessities of the poor or outcast for whom no remedial or educational provisions at present exist." " That the acknowledged abandonment of so large a number of our population to unmitigated mental, moral, and spiritual destitution is a standing reproach to our professed Christianity, and emphatically calls for tho exercise of increased zeal and energy by the churches of Christ on behalf of all such institutions as may subserve the purpose of its amelioration." A correspondent of an Auckland contemporary writes :—" News has just come to hand, from the remote and somewhat inaccessible region of Whangapoua, of a rather awkward row between Maoris and Europeans, which arose in this way : There has, it is said, been a long-standing dispute between Messrs Craig and Harris, which has been referred to law, and decided, if I remember rightly, in favour of the latter, with a proviso that the former should have time to remove timber already cut. A day or two ago, as Mr Craig's men were at work on the beach, near the mill, some one, supposed to be acting for Mr Harris, ordered the men to knock off and give up their tools. This request they promptly declined. A threat, lam sorry to hear, was then made use of, to set the Maoris on to them, and put them in an adjacent waterhole, or words to that effect. A regular row took place; the Maoris did set on to the men, and tomahawks were brandished, if not used. The Europeans, seeing numbers to be against them, and that they would be fighting with long odds against them, gave up the contest. The matter, I believe, will be investigated in one of our law courts. The following despatch from Earl Granville to His Excellency, is published in the " Gazette." —" Downing street, 13th December,! 1869. Sir, —I have received your despatch j No. 124, of the 18th September last, recommending that the members of the late Ministry of New Zealand, viz., Messrs E. W. Stafford, W. Fitzherbert, J. Hall, J. C. Richmond, aud Colonel T. M. Haultain, should be permitted to retain the title of Honorable; and I have to acquaint you that the Queen has been graciously pleased to approve of thoße gentlemen retaining the title within New Zealand. In conveying Her Majesty's decision, I have much pleasure in placing on record my appreciation of the services rendered to the colony by Mr Stafford during a long and distinguished political career; and by Mr Eitzherbert, in the able and judicious conduct of his recent negotiations with the Government of this country, respecting the adjustment of the Imperii! and Colonial claims arising out of the war in New Zealand."