NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2736, 15 May 1874, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

1 —-♦ Provincial Council. —A proclamation appears in the Gazette, summoning the Provincial Council to meet for the despatch of business, on May 29th, at 2 o'clock. Ascension Day.—Yesterday being Ascension Day, divine service was celebrated in the various Anglican churches. At St. Michael's, St. Luke's, and St. John's, full choral services were given. Auckland Autumn Meeting.—The programme for this meeting appear in our advertising columns of to-day. The Ollivier Testimonial. —A meeting of the committee Will be held in the City Council Chambers this afternoon, at 4 o'clock. Wool Dumping.—The " Daily Times" says :—Messrs. Murray, Roberts and Co., of this city, have kindly placed at our disposal for publication the following copy of a memorandum just received by them from Messrs Sanderson and Murray, of London, As it relates to the question of Wool Dumping, it will doubtless prove of interest to a large number of our readers : — [Copy of Memorandum from Sanderson and Murray, London, to Murray, Roberts and Co., Dunedin.] "Green Island, 96 BW, ex J. N. Fleming. We must draw your attention particularly to the state in which these wools arrived, having been dumped so hard that their market value was seriously depreciated. The S & Co, over Toko were worse, aud the remark on our catalogue after inspection of the wool is ' dumped to death.' This dumping ia now being carried to a great excess, and is becoming a serious evil, as we have noticed a good many wools this season in a similarly objectionable condition to the above." Football.—A match will be played tomorrow oa Cranmer square between sides selected by the secretary and treasurer. It is to be hoped that all members will attend, as their absence will greatly upset the equality of the sides, and that they will also wear their allotted colors. Secretary's side, blue caps—J. and A. Anderson, Ballard, Bolton, Booth, Botvron, C. Cunningham, J. and W. Callender, Chapman, R. Dobson (sec), E. Dobson, Frith, Gain, Glasson, Humphries, Hartland, J. Hawkes, Kent, Kane, Lewin, G. C. Lanauze, Lockhart, Lambert, Martin, McCardell, G. Mathias, T. W. Moore, Oliver, G. and E. O'Connell, C. Revans, Seaton, A. Sheath, R. and T. Searell, J. J. and O. Thomson, A. Webb. Waxman,' Wilkinson. Treasurer's side, red caps—Allard, Bray, Blakiston, H. and E. Cotterill, Collins, Caverhill, Deacon, E. R. Dartnall, M. Davie, Davis, Drake, T. Foster, T. Gordon (treasurer), Gundry, E. Hawkes, R. J. S. Harman (president), Horn brook, Jones, Rev E. A. Lingard, R. Lanauze, Macquarie (captain), G. Miles, J. Macfarlane, T. R. Moore, Nalder, A. and L. Ollivier, Parson, Rattray, F. Sheath, R. Smith, Scarvell, Sibbald, Tosswill, D. Thomson, Triggs, Turner, W. Webb, Wolfe, J. M. Wood, J. S. Williams. Any members omitted will be chosen on the ground. The Opera.—" Satanelta" was repeated last evening to a crowded and enthusiastic house. Miss May, as Satanella, was splendid, her singing and acting evoking loud and continuous applause. Her render- ' ing of the *• Power of Love," and indeed the whole of the music of the part, was highly artistic, and the way in which the audience responded to her efforts to please showed how fnlly they enjoyed the performance. The other characters were well filled, and the choruses showed a decided improvement, alike in time and volume, on the preceding evening. The orchestra, under Mr Allen's batou, discharged their very onerous task, the opera being very heavy alike on the principal artistes and the instrumentalists. To- | night Bellini's opera, "La Somnambula," will be played, Miss May sustaining the character of Amina. We may be allowed to j express a hope that Mr Allen will see his I way clear to play " Satanella" again before the season finally closes. I St. Peter's, Akaroa.—The first annual j treat to the children of the Church Sunday school took place on Saturday last. One j hundred children and their teachers assembled at two o'clock, and for a couple of I hours thoroughly enjoyed themselves in outdoor games. Mr A. Nalder kindly nndertook the management of the sports, and the distribution of the different prizes to the winners of the running, jumping, and other matches. At four o'clock a very plentiful tea was given in the school, and when the tables were cleared away music, dancing, and games were heartily entered into by old and young. The prizes for attendance, good conduct, and answering were distributed during the evening by the Re**W. H. Cooper, incumbent, who, in a short address, spoke of the: advantages of a sound scriptural and church-training for the young members of the church. He congratulated the parish upon the success which, under God's blessing, had attended the efforts to establish the Sunday school, and hoped that in discipline, jp good conduct, and courteous behaviour, ihe children attending St. Peter's school vpuld be second to none in the diocese. He was glad to see them all so heartily enjoying themselves. God meant them to be happy, and there was nothing wrong or inconsistent in their indulging in innocent amusements. It was a great mistake, he thought, to be constantly preachiDg to children ; it had the effect of giving them a distaste for religion, and religion was not meant to make people gloomy and disagreeable, but to make \ them bright and joyous and happy. In the streets of the heavenly Jerusalem the holy Apostle St. John saw little children playing. He concluded by hoping they would always bear in mind as their highest privilege that they were members of good old scriptural Church of England. A large number of very valuable books were then presented, with a few appropriate words, to those children who had been regular in their attendance, and who had answered best at the examination. At the close of the evening Mr Garwood, the late CHurchwarden, in the name of parishioners, presented Mr Robert Latter with an illustrated edition of the Waverley novels. In making the presentation, Mr Garwood said he had much pleasure in giving a small token of remembrance from the parish to Robert Latter. He was now about to leave the parish, where he had for some time given his services as organ blower, not at all an unimportant position : his best wish for him was that he might be as good a churchman as his father. A church service was then presented to Miss Gundry, who had been a most regular and valuable teacher in the school from its establishment, and who was about to leave Akaroa. God save the Queen was sung at the close of the entertainment. Mrs Townsend and Mrs Denny pr. sided at the piano, and Mr Denny gave*valuable aid with his cajtinets during the evenipg, I

Synod op Canterbury.—The Synod will meet on Monday evening next in St. Andrew a Church, when a sermon will be preached by the Key Charles Fraser, the retiring Moderator, after which the opening address will be delivered by the Moderator elect. An instructive story (says the "Post") was told us the other day by the captain of one of the Melbourne steamers. While at anchor at Lyttelton, and on the point of sailing, a gentleman of reverend and clerical aspect came on board, and announced himself as the Rev Mr So-and-so, of Christchurch. He then produced a large bag evidently full of money, and asked Captain if he would kindly give him gold in exchange for the same amount in threepenny pieces. Captain expressed his readiness to grant this singular request, but entertaining grave doubts as to the mens Sana of his visitor prepared for a precipitate "bolt" the instant any further sign of meutal aberration appeared. On producing the sovereigns, he ventured to hint the very natural question— why did he not go to one of the Banks for the gold especially as small change was very scarce, and such an amount would be received with joy. The minister groaned. " My Christian friend," said he, "it is for that very reason I come to you. 1 verily believe this bag contains all the threepenny bits in Canterbury, and I wish to send them all out of the country in order to prevent my congregation being able any longer to disgrace themselves by giving such a shamefully small coin at the church collections. This glorious work I have now achieved. 0, let us be joyful I O, let us be joyful I" So saying he departed. Captain conveyed the money to Melbourne, but was by no means so joyful as his late guest when the Bank teller insisted on his remaining while the threepenny pieces were counted, an operation which Captain said occupied nearly twenty-four hours. And this is why small change is so scarce in Christchurch. The following story is told in a recent number of the " Rockhampton Bulletin" :— " A few days ago a coasting vessel arrived here, and anchored in the Fitzroy River, about a mile below Blind Creek. Shortly afterwards a human figure, clad in the garments worn by Adam before the fall, clambered up the side, and with a profound bow presented himself to the master of the vessel. Not to be outdone in politeness, the m ariner graciously bowed in return, and courteously inquired the name of his unexpected visitor. 'My name is . Sir,' said Leander ; ' I represent the newspaper, and shall be obliged for the ship's report and files.' The captain, concealing his amazement, blandly replied that he had nothing worth publishing, and that his last port was a place where newspapers were unknown. ' At this the mysterious visitor again saluted, and disappearing over the ship's side, manfully attempted to breast the stream, then running as the ebb tide in the Fitzroy only can run. As may be supposed, the swimmer soon found himself making rapid leeway, and to avoid an involuntary trip to sea, struck out gallantly for the river bank, which he soon reached. Here, however, he was at least a mile from his clothes, and there was nothing for it but to walk along the bank without them, in full view of the promenadcrs who enjoy our riverine scenery on cool Bummer afternoons. The captain, through his opera glass, anxiously watched his visitor through his perils by water and perils of police, and felt quite grateful when he saw |him safely [reach his dressing ground. Considering the young gentleman a model reporter, the skipper, on reaching town, made inquiries as to his welfare and antecedents, when it turned out that the adventurous pressman was a recent arrival from the old country, and was doing his first week as a shipping reporter."