NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XXI, Issue 2401, 16 April 1873, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

We observe amongst the list of those members of the Bar who have been raised to the dignity of Q.C. by the Lord Chancellor, the name of Mr Watkin Williams, M.P. for Denbigh. We are requested to call attention to the fact that in consequence of his Honor the Judge leaving Christchurch on Saturday for Wanganui, he will hold a Chamber sitting on Friday, the 18th instaut, when he will also transact business in Banco. We observe that near the Southbrook station, on the Northern Railway, Mr E. Steggall is erecting a store for grain and flour. Its dimensions are 20ft x 25ft. A siding will be laid from the line to it. The Government do not intend to put up the store which the residents in the district some time since petitioned for, as it would hardly pay. On Thursday afternoon last a serious accident happened to one of the mill hands at Oxford named Alexander Smith, employed at Messrs Gannon and Davis's lower sawmill. As the man was shifting a slab his trousers became entangled with the saw, which drew his leg in with it, inflicting a severe wound six inches in length just above the knee on the inner part of the thigh. Had the belt been on the saw the leg would have been cut through, and he would have probably lost his life. He was promptly attended by DrWeld, and is now progressing favorably. This is another instance amongst the many accidents of daily occurrence in saw and flax mills, showing the necessity of obliging mill-owners to protect their machinery from such liability to injure and risk the lives of their workmen.

At a meeting of the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works, held the other dey, a long discussion took place on the subject of the following petition :—" Timaru, March, 1873. To the chairman and members of the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works. Gentlemen, — The petition of merchants, fanners, and others, whose signatures are attached, shows that a reduction in the rent of the Government Landing Service will conduce to the public service, by enabling the present lessees to cany on a more liberal, unfettered, and healthy competition than hitherto with the other landing service in Timaru, and your petitioners consider that the lessees, Hill, Simpson and Graham are fully entitled to a reduction of their rent, to the amount of at least one-third, in consequence of the assistance rendered by the Government to Messrs Green and Maxwell in leasing a piece of the railway reserve as a site for another landing service immediately after your Board had leased the Government Landing Service to the present lessees at the very high rental which they were bound by the terms of their lease to pay. The reduction to the amount 'of onethird of the rent will not be unfair to the other parties who tendered for the service at the same time as Hill, Simpson, and Graham as this reduction does not bring the rent within the range of the next highest tender to that which was accepted. Your petitioners beg that you will take into consideration their request for the reduction of the rent of the Government Landing! Service by & t least one-third of the amount paid at the present time by the lessees, Messrs Hill, Simpson, and Graham. In most respectfully urging their request, your petitioners beg that early attention be given to their requirements, and your petitioners will ever pray, etc." Here follow 340 signatures. The Board was unable to come to any decision on the matter, the number being equally divided. It will therefore come on for discussion at a future meeting for which the following notice of motion has been given.—" That the Board will be willing to release the present lessees of the Government Landing Service from their lease on the receipt of three months' notice, and in the event of the present lessees giving up the service, the Board will take the opportunity of revising the tariff."

A sad accident happened yesterday morning in Lyttelton, resulting in the instantaneous death of a little boy about eight years of age, named Edward Rogers, a son of Mr Rogers, fisherman. It appears that the schooner Amateur was discharging her cargo of timber on Peacock's wharf, the timber being placed in stacks ready for the railway tracks. The captain of the vessel left the wharf to make some rep&irs to a stern rope which had parted, and whilst away a loaded railway truck was sent along the rails from the turntable. In passing the stacks, the grease bos of the axle caught one of the boards which had been negligently stacked, and which projected over the rails, and the result was a capsize of three tiers of timber. It was thought that the only, damage done was the upsetting of the boards, as no one bad been noticed near the timber, and the cuptais *&4 bis mes pat to work to jtpaiy

the damage done. On getting to the lower* planke they were astonished to find the body of the deceased, who must have been knocked down by the timber and killed. Death mnst have been instantaneous, the body being fearfully crushed. An inquest will be held to-day.

We were glad to seen'an improved attendance last evening at Miss Emanuel's concertThe programme, which was a very varied one, was most successfully gone through. In the first part Miss Emanuel sang selections from "Trovatore," "Robert toi que j'aime," and in response to an encore Mattel's romance " Non c ver," both of which lattei were capitally sung. The duet "Oh Maritana," by Miss Emanuel and Mr Winter also went well. In the second part Miss Emanuel sang " Softly sighs," from " Der Freischutz, ,, admirably, and being encored gave " When those bloom again," which is an exceedingly pretty composition. The ballad " Oh say once more I love thee " narrowly escaped an encore, which it deserved as it was excellently sung. The grand duet from " Favorita " went better than on the previous occasion, the voices harmonising capitally throughout. Mr Anderson played a solo by Ascher on themes from " Lucia di Lammermoor," an arrangement by Smith of airs from " Masaniello," and by request his solo on airs from " Maritana," all of which were capitally given. In the second part the gem was the " Trovatore" solo, which was encored, when he played Gottschalk's " Banjo." He also gave his own arrangement of airs from the " Grand Duchess." Mr Winter sang several ballads, but was more successful in the operatic duets, which were both well given. To-night the performances will be under the patronage of Lady and Sir J. C. Wilson, C.B.

A recent issue of the " Nelson Examiner " says:—Our readers will learn with regret, that the Rev W. D. Rusz, ordained by the Bishop of Nelson about two years ago, and until recently the officiating minister at Richmond, was drowned at Charleston while bathing yesterday morning. This is the second of the Bishop of Nelson's young clergymen who has been drowned within a few months, the Rev Mr Gaskin having met his death in crossing the Aorere river.

This is what Anthony Trollope says of Nelson :—" The eye of man never rested on a prettier little town than Nelson. Embedded between green hills, it haa the sweetest flowers, and fruit, and air in the world. But it is a sleepy place, and fortunes can hardly be made there with true colonial rapidity."

Craven's comedy drama of "Coals of Fire" was presented at the Theatre Royal last evening very successfully. The part of Wentworth Parmesan is one exactly suited to Mr Douglas, and he played it carefully and well. Mrs Hill as Edith Eicketts, and Miss Willis as Ella Roland, also deserve notice. The other characters were capitally sustained, indeed we have not seen the com pany to such advantage since their arrival here. The farce of " Little Toddlekins" admirably played, concluded the programme,

The " Otago Daily Times," commenting upon the " Independent's " article about the salaries paid to Messrs Birch, Farnall, and Seaton, says:—" Unfortunately for the ♦ Independent,' its statements are completely at variance with the accounts of the matter, which may be gathered from the published correspondence between the Government and the Agent-General. * * * * * Of course if the ' Independent' had remembered abont Mr Keeves's letter, it -would probably have fought shy of the subject altogether. It should be some consolation to it, however, to think that it has done some good by drawing attention to a gross misappropriation of the public funds, even although in doing so it has severely censured the Government—by accident."

The " Wanganui Herald " of the 7th contains the following paragraph :—At a directors' meeting held this day, the steamers belonging to the Wanganui Steam Navigation Company were sold. The b.s. Wanganui found a purchaser in Messrs Houghton and Co, of Dunedin, for the sum of £8500 ; the s.s. St. Kilda being purchased by Messrs John Davidson and Co. for £1750. We understand Mr Freeman Jackson forms one of the company. The incompleted charter of five trips which the W.S.N. Company were bound to complete, has been re. duced to two by the charterer, Mr J. Davidson, so that the Wanganui will run one trip to the West Coast under the auspices of the local company, and, by arrangement with Mr W. H. Watt, who represented Messrs Houghton and Co., one trip to the Manakau under the latter firm's ownership.

In the " Central Glamorgan Gazette " of the 31st January, is a lengthy account of the reception accorded to Mr James Brogden and his son on their return to the coal and iron works at Tondu. The people of Aberkenfig appear to have been quite enthusiastic about Mr Brogden'e return from New Zealand. " The street from one end of the village to the other" was adorned with evergreens, bunting, &c, with divers devices, all breathing a spirit of welcome. He arrived there during the continuance of the strike amongst the miners. As his carriage reached the gates of the works, the party was met by a number of workmen, and the band struck up, " See the Conquering Hero comes." An address of welcome was presented to him by the workmen, and he delivered a speech in reply, but no reference was made to his short residence in New Zealand, during his remarks. The utmost cordiality seemed to exist between Mr Brogden and those in his employ, and he at once set to work to obtain some understanding between the firm aud those on strike. He mentioned that no fewer than 60,000 men were out of employment in the district, and that a weekly loss of £500,000 was entailed upon masters and men. Such are the results that strikes give rise to.

The French correspondent of the " Times" forwards a summary of the French census which is very disheartening. France has declined in population during the last five years. She was in 1868, 38,067,094, and is now 36,101,921, a loss of 1,965,173. Out of this number 1,628,238 were ceded with Loraine and Alsace, leaving 336,935 as the loss apparently caused by the war, or the excess o£ deaths over births. The loss is, however, greater than <his, for France, though she increased but slowly, should at her normal rate have gained 300,000 in the five years, and these also have disappeared. The war was too brief to have caused such a mortality, and it would seem probable that increasing wealth increases the reluctance of the French peasant to marry or rear children, and that the death rate" is actually gaining on the births. The mortality among children, we phould add, great everywhere, is exceptionally great in France, owing to the practice of the middle classes of putting out children to nurse. The nurses do not kill them, but they cannot and do not pay them the minute iadir&oal attention they require,