NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XIX, Issue 2813, 8 May 1872, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The quarterly meeting of the Chamber of Commerce will be held this day at 3.30 p.m. at their rooms.

The Rev. A. F. Douglas will preach in St. Paul's Presbyterian Church to-morrow, at 11 a.m., and at S. Andrews, at six p.m.

The practice for the " Dettingen Te Deum," to be given at the projected Methodist Festival, will take place this evening, at half-past seven, at Spensley's Hall.

Religious services will be held at Woolston, in the morning at eleven, in the Christian Chapel, and in the evening at six, in St. John's Church.

In consequence of Thursday being set apart as Thanksgiving Day, the Woolston Mutual Improvement Society will not meet until the Thursday following.

The petition to the Provincial Council, from the ratepayers of the Heathcote district, praying for the abolition of toll on the Swing bridge, has already received a large number of signatures.

Mr C. Smith has presented about twenty volumes to the Woolston Library. Mr J. S. Williams has also offered to supply the library with a parcel of English periodicals every month.

The members of the Heathcote Rowing Club intend giving a dramatic performance in aid of the funds of the Club on the Queen's Birthday, in the Heathcote schoolroom. . The piece selected is " Twice Killed," which has gone very well in rehearsal.

The drawing for Mr Firth's art union took place yesterday at 6 p.m., when the following were amongst the successful ticket holders— Messrs Filth, Harris, Thomson, T. Bradwell

Hall, Harman, A. J. White, B. Mitchell, and Taylor.

His Honor the Judge sat in Chambers at 11 a.m. yesterday. The only case disposed of was in re Arthur Biddell, in which an order of adjudication was made, and the first meeting of creditors fixed for Wednesday, loth May, at eleven a.m.

On Thursday next, Ascension Day, Divine service will be held in St. John the Baptist Church at 11 a.m. The service will be choral and there will be a celebration of Holy Communion. A sermon will be preached by the incumbent on the subject of the recovery of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales.

The local committee of the Lyttelton Educational District having completed arrangements for the opening of the schools under their management, they will be opened to all children between the ages of six and thirteen without any school fees or weekly payments, on Monday next.

The number of bojs coming forward for examination in competition for the scholarships under the Board of Education, is much larger this year than it has ever been before —more than doable—ninety-three candidates having sent in their names.

We are glad to.note that the City Council have commenced to kerb that portion of Oxford Terrace opposite the Government bridge, as the footpath in that part of the town has long been in anything but a creditable state.

We are informed that certain trainers have been for some time past in the habit of gallopfng their horses oa the Metropolitan

course. We hope that this will be for the future moro honored in the breach than the observance, and we may remark that we understand it is the intention of the powers that be, to disqualify horses so doing.

At the meeting of the Board of Education yesterday it was decided for this year, and as an experiment, to dispense with the usual preliminary examination, which last year was found to be so efficacious in weeding out a number of intending competitors. This has been to some degree rendered necessary, owing to the time of the Inspector of Schools being so fully occupied with the work of his department as to leave him no time to conduct the examinations in various parts of the province.

The Board of Education at its meeting yesterday decided upon entrusting the whole examination of the candidates for the scholarships, including the junior boys, to the Rev. W. J. Habens and Mr J. Colborne Veel, if those gentlemen were willing to undertake the task. In former years it has been the custom to have two other gentlemen to examine the junior boys; but the system now proposed will, it is believed, be found to work much better, as a more reliable and accurate average can be obtained when only two examiners conduct the whole examination. A meeting of the Kaiapoi Popular Entertainments Committee was held at the Press agency office on Monday evening to arrange a programme for the first entertainment of the season, which is to be held at the Institute on the 13th. The readings and musical pieces promised were agreed to. Mr J. Beewick had kindly consented to give the opening address. All who will volunteer to give either readings or musical selections at the future entertainments aie desired to place themselves in communication with the hon. secretary, or any member of the committee.

The attendance at the Theatre Royal last evening at the representation of " The Duke's Motto," for the benefit of Mr Wolfe, the leading member of the company, was quite commensurate with the attraction offered, and the representation cannot be considered a success. The male characters were absurdly dreseed and wretchedly impersonated, and the declamatory points which in Charles Dillon's acting usually evoked a hearty burst of applause, were received by the audience in chilling silence. As acted last evening, the piece was beneath criticism.

We are glad to see that the Popular Entertainments Committee have decided to give a continuance of the entertainments so auspiciously inaugurated on Thursday last. Mr Williams has also kindly given a prize for recitations, open to youths under seventeen years of age, the subjects to be forwarded to the committee not later than the 17th inst. The same gentleman has also announced his intention of giving a prize for dialogue recitations by two or more competitors. These prizes have the offect of stimulating a cultivation of elocution amongst our youths and the formation of a good style of speaking. The next entertainment is fixed for Tuesday, the 21st inst.

The Rev. A. R. Fitchett will conduct divine service in the Durham street Wesleyan Church to-morrow at elevep a.m. There will also be a special service at the Jewish Synagogue on the same day. At St. Michael's there will be service at eight a.m., when the various head-quarter's corps will parade for church. The sermon will be preached by the Rev W. J..G. Bluett, the chaplain to the forces. Service will also be conducted at the various Anglican churches in the city. In the evening the St. Alban's choir assisted by Christchurch musical friends, will give Mozart's " Twelfth Mass" at the chapel. From the very creditable manner in which under great difficulty the last performance was given, we anticipate a musical treat of no mean order. The usual practice of the Kaiapoi Volunteer Fire Brigade took place on Monday evening laet. The members of the brigade manned one of their engines, which they drew from the engine station to Messrs Reveli and Cos. wharf, where they laid 140 ft. of hose, and Mr Inspector Wright informs us succeeded in pumping the water through this hose within four minutes. This was repeated in the same time. A third trial resulted in the water being brought to play on a supposed fire within three-and-a-half minutes from the start at the station. With the aid of a few willing assistants at the pumps on another occasion the brigade may be able to test both engines in a similar way, as they do not muster enough members to manage both in this way. This practice must be considered most satisfactory.

An extraordinary outrage was perpetrated yesterday between the hours of twelve and oue o'clock p.m., at a house situated at the corner of Salisbury street west, the property of Mr Hawdon. It appears than an individual named Townsend, a farmer residing at Lincoln, forced his way into the house in question, through one of the windows, and in a great state of excitement commenced to overturn and smash the furniture, kicking a hole in the pianoforte, to the consternation of the inmates. An alarm being given, the intruder was forcibly ejected carrying with him an embroidered cushion as a trophy, and which he obstinately refused to. part with. Messrs Barker and Barry, with the assistance cf others, conveyed the man to the police depot, and on Dr. Coward being sent for, that gentleman pronounced him to be insane, and gave an order for his incarceration in the Lunatic Asylum, whither he was conveyed pending the Magisterial examination into the case.

A meeting of about fifteen or twenty householders on Kaiapoi Island was held on Monday evening last at the Island schoolhouse with a view to establish an educational district. On the motion of Mr Joseph Clark Mr H. Neeve was voted to the chair, who then called upon Mr Clark to read the clauses in the Ordinance referring to the proclaiming of an educational district, and the steps to be taken to get a district formed. He then proposed—" That a requisition be drawn up to get the district proclaimed." This was seconded by J. M. Smith and carried. Mr Clark moved and Mr J. M. Hey wood seconded—" That the district be defined by the following boundaries : the Island cutting the north branch of the Waitnakariri to the Ohoko road, the Ohoko road to Coup's road, thence to the Kaikainni creek and by Clothier's road, following the south branch of the Waimakariri to the cutting." Carried. After some other business the meeting then adjourned. We heard that there is likely to be some division of opinion about this district, owing to its close proximity to other dietricts and Kaiapoi town, there being schools all round it,