NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5361, 30 November 1882, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Nobth Raeaia. — A meeting of the North Rakaia Board of Conservators was held on Monday last, when a large amount of general business was transacted. A Nich Fish.—Mr E. Thornton-caught a trout in the lower Avon the other day. Ite dimensions were as followß :*— Length, 24in; depth, Bin; girth, 18|in; weight, 101b.

Mb Beetham.—lt was mentioned.at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday that Mr R. Beetham, Resident Magistrate of Christchurch, who for a long time has been on sick leave, has applied for- a further leave of absence for three months.

Abbest—John Johnston arrived by the Rotorua on Friday in custody of Sergeant Donnelly, who arrested him at Gisborne for obtaining by false pretences a promissory note for £250 from Mr A. Graham, of Timaru, Johnston was sent to Timaru by the midday train.

Kaiapoi Tradesmen's Picnic—The final

arrangements for this picnic by the s.a. Hawea to Akaroa on Anniversary Day will be made at a meeting of the committee this evening. The number of tickets have been limited to 150, and the return trip from Kaiapoi to Akaroa and back, is fixed at the Jow price ofl2s 6d each., Bbookstdh School. —At a committee meeting held on Friday evening to consider applications for the appointment of -head master in place ol Mr Baldwin, resigned, the application of Mr McClnre, of the Irwell, was accepted,, subject to the approval of the Board of Education.

, The Drama at Poet.—The popular play "East Lynne" was performed on Friday night in the Lyttelton Oddfellows' Hall by the Willmott theatrical company to a moderately numerous audience. The piece was much enjoyed, and as the steamer in which; the company purpose going to Greymouth does not leave until to-day, they advertised a. second performance at ■ Port ;last" night, when - the laughable comedy of " O'Callaghan" and the burlesque of "Cinderella" was announced. Child Lost _t Wood-NU;—On Tuesday, evening a girl of Mr R. Whitlow's, aged about two and a half years, strayed from its. home, and search was made by the I police:and others without success up to !. yesterday afternoon. There was a number of. the neighbours out yesterday without success in finding the child. . , | U;A.O.D.-—The anniversary of the Per- > severance Lodge of Druids was celebrated on Tuesday by an entertainment in the Selwyn street schoolroom, Addington, 'which was well filled. The Mayor of Sydenham presided.' Songs and addresses were contributed by Misses Sutherland, Fisher, Billing, Simpson, 'Mrs McKeown>' Messrs Parsons, Penfold,, Robinson, Just,. Andrew, and Dr. Russell, the risible; faculties of the audience.were provoked by the comicalities of Messrs Theill and Kerr- Judging from the applause, which was frequent, the entertainment gave every satisfaction. Brands Registration Act.—ln terms of the Brands Registration Act all persons j who require to use cattle or, sheep brands, | in order to obtain the exclusive right to their trade mark, must register the same anew on and after January Ist. In connection with such an important matter, farmers and stock owners may justly complain that they have not received notice from the cattle and. sheep inspection departments of the requirements of the law. ; • ■ 1 ■■- ■

Hospital and Charitable Aid Boabd.

—There was a somewhat,lengthy meeting of the. above Board yesterday afternoon, considerable discussion taking place with reference to a letter, from the, Government. The letter brought under the notice of the Board the desirablenesss of devising a plan whereby funds might be collected from the public for charitable purposes to supplement the vote passed by Parliament. Resolutions were carried with reference to the matter, which appear elsewhere.

THB Fbbbt Road experimental trip was run yesterday on the new- line of the Txi urtway Company-fco- tbe Ferry: Bridge most eucceasfuiij, The tram ran over the line as smoothly, as though it had been in., existence ' for a lengthened period, and great credit is due to Mr* M. Davie, the engineer of the company, for the admirable.manner in which the work has been carried fout. It is intended, so soon as the Tramway Company have completed and opened their; lines to the Ferry bridge, which will be in the course of a week, to' run a steam launch between f&e ; Ferry bridge' and Sumner in connection witii the trarhß. Passengers will thereby escape the dust on the road, and also be enabled to vary the monotony of the journey. Kaiapoi Church Sunday School.—A successful entertainment in aid of the funds of this school was held in the schoolroom on Tuesday evening, which building was crowded in every part. The Rev. B. Long presided. Songs and musical selections were given by Mr H. Neeve, junr., Messrs Monk, Oldham,- Winterbourne, Dippenheim and by several of the scholars. A recitation was given by Mr Blundell and a - lively dialogue, " Honesty is the Best Policy/ by Masters A. Mathews, W. > Pearce and C. Wood was highly appreciated. A vote of thanks-to the performers was carried by acclamation. Lytte_toh Regatta.-—Two yachts from. Dunedin—the Spray and another yachtwill, it is said, be competitors in the race for vessels of their class at the Lyttelton Regatta. Noword has yet been received from Dunedin with reference to a crew-to represent Otago in the big event in the regatta—-the four-oared outrigger race—in which it is necessary that three provinces shall be represented. It was hoped that W*aganuijclub would see their way to also send a crew for that race. The local manager for the Union Steamship Company, Mr Pnflett thinks it probable that the com. pony's fine steamer Wakatipu will be m port on New Year's Day, in which event j the company might be induced to permit j her to be the flagship for the regatta. 1

AcCTDBNT. ~~ A man named James Bennett was admitted into the hospital yesterday afternoon, suffering from severe bruises and contusions received on Mon- < day last, when he was employed in erecting; soma appurtenances for dissolving: views in -the Baptist Chapel, Sydenham. His injuries are fortunately not serious, and received prompt attention. Ab-kst.—A man named Robert Ewing, a resident of Knightstown, was arrested last evening about half-past five o'clock, charged with attemptin-r to set fire to his dwelling-house. It appears that accused had a" quarrel with bis wife, and having destroyed Mb furniture piled up its remains, intending to burn that and the house, but the fire was put out by the i Popu_ar Spobts Assoclation.—T meeS >ing of the committee of the above associm .tion was held yesterday afternoon in __| :City Council Chamber. Present —Mr Tig R.Mitchell (in the chair), Messrs Crooiffi' Walkden, Hobbs, Drewitt, Gapes, am Searell, and Haskins (secretary.) Mr Half kins reported that he had written to tip Colonial Secretary, asking that the Ann* versary Day might be declared a Governs, ment holiday in Canterbury, but had no» yet received a reply. It was decided tfl| give Mr Alport authority to sell the right! *o erect booths on the ground on the usual; germs. The programme of sports, printed! jjjfor circulation, was submitted by the com- i Suttee and approved. Mr E. T. A. elected a member of the general com- 5 Snittee. Mr Haskins stated that all the] drapers in the city, with the exception of 3 Messrs Walsh and O'Connell, had promised* Sp dose their houses of business on the day M -lie sports. This concluded the" busifs_vier, R.M., held Court at Lyttelton yesterday morning, when the following cases were heard:—Catherine Kelly, charged with using obscene language, was absent when called, and a warrant was issued to bring her up. William Thomas was j charged with disguising himself in I women's apparel. Mr Nalder appeared for ' the defendant. Evidence was called to show that on Saturday, November 11th, defendant went into the Mitre Hotel disguised as a woman, apparently to purchase some beer. Sergeant Morice, who prosecuted, said that the defendant's conduct had been the means of causing a good deal of uneasiness to the residents in the part of the town in|which he lived. The charge was laid under the Vagrant Act, section 3 sub-section 2, which Mr Nalder contended did not cover the offence as alleged. The Bench took the same view, and dismissed the case. Catherine Kelly now made her appearance in the Court in charge of a constable, and remarked, by way of expressing her surprise, that "she did net know what she had done." Charles Burns, a neighbor, testified to the uproar the refractory female had created. T. Harkiss, another unfortunate neighbor, related his experiences of her abominable language and riotous conduct. Sergeant Morice gave the. Bench an account of the woman's abandoned conduct, and she was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labor. G. N. Haxell, for not keeping an outside lamp at the British Hotel lighted, was fined 10a and costs. Mary Campbell, a stout, elderly lady, was charged with catching Julia Anthony by the hair of the head, with pummelling her, and calling her certain vile epithets. Mrs Anthony, who appeared in -the box with an infant at her breast, related the {circumstances of the assault, and explained that the trouble arose over some misunderstanding about a couple of eggs, and, as the defendant explained, because the complainant was " a nuisance and disgrace in tie neighborhood." Defendant was fined 5s and costs. A civil case, Rouse v Davis, judgment summons for J&T 2s, was next heard; Mr Nalder for the plaintiff. Ordered to pay in one week, in default two months'imprisonment.

Valedictory.—A farewell dinner was given last night at the Royal Hotel to Mr A. R. Kirk, who is proceeding to Temuka to enter upon possession of the Crown HoteL: The chair was occupied by,Mr H. W.i Ford, the vice chair being filled by Mr M. Sandstein. After ample justice had been done tp a very excellent spread provided by Messrs Oram Bros., the chairman gave the " Queen and the Royal Family." Mr J. W-Oram then proposed the toast of the-, evening, "Mr A. R. Kirk," in very complimentary terms. He spoke of the connection of the guest that evening with many organizations in which he had taken a leading part; and expressed the hope of those present that his new career would prove a profitable one, and that ere long he would return to Christchurch once more to resume amongst the large circle of friends he had! made the position which during his long residence, he had so worthily carried out. : ThSr toast was drunk enthusiastically. fMr Kirk in responding, thanked the genileiaen present,all of whom he was proiid to call his friends, for the kindness they had evinced towards him during the many years he had been in Christchurch. Their appreciation of him made the eve of parting a sorrowful ojae, : but he looked forward to the time when he should once more be amongst them, with, he trusted, an increased power of usefulness. During the evening, the following toasts were given and duly honored—" Local industries/ coupled with the name of Mr Sandstien; "Our host,", coupled with name of Mr J. W. Oram; " The Tramway Company," coupled with the names of MessrsPeterkin and M. Davie,- " The legal profession." coupled with the name of Mr Leughrey; "The Press," coupled with the names of Messrs Briggs and Hart; "The ladies," coupled with the name of Mr Adams, and "The Some excellent songs were sung during the evening, and generally a] very pleasant evening was spent by those present.

Steam Service.—The "Daily Times" of a recent date makes the following remarks with reference to the New Zealand Shipping Company's arrangements:—-We are authorised to state that the New Zealand Shipping Company's arrangements are now completed for establishing a steam service quite irrespective of the tenders called for by the Government, which are on such conditions as are not likely to result in a service which will be advantageous to the colony from a passenger point of view. iThe first steamer of the New Zealand Shipping Company's line will proceed to Wellington and Lyttelton, and load at the latter port in March; after that tixe -directors of tHe company to ill be open to make satisfactory arrangements for loading steamers of the line at Port Chalmers aud other places, as trade may warrant. The steamers are all to be fitted with the most approved refrigerating machinery. The vessels are not likely to exceed a draft of 22ft to 23ft loaded, and it is to be hoped the -Harbor Board will do their utmost forthwith to secure the entry of such vessels at or near high water. The passenger accommodation of the boats, which are being built for the company by Messrs Elder, of the Clyde, will be of the most superior description, and the vessels will be fitted with all mckiem appliances "The sea-going speed will be twelve knots. With such boats a forty-five to fifty days' service, with easy running, will be assured. Whether the proposals of the Government are taken np or not, therefore, the colony is certain to see a direct service established next year —one that we are assured will not be of a local nature, but applicable to. the whole colony as trade requirements may demand. East and Wbst Coast R_iLWAT.-r-The committee of the Railway League held an ordinary meeting last evening. A telegram was received from the Hon. Thomas Dick, stating that the Government had asked the Commissioners to report on the West Coast railway, and proposed to have a flying survey made and to collect such further informationas mights sufficient to enable the Assembly to deal with the matter. A resolution was passed to the following effect: — "That having heard the telegram from the Colonial Secretary, this League desires to impress on the Government that the object of its constitution is to connect the West Coast with Christchurch by the best and shortest route haying regard to economy and the commercial advantagesihe various routes respectively offer; and that the Government be requested to issue a new Commission to report on such line before the next meeting of Parliament." Areport of the meeting appears elsewhere.

The Electboscop-.—During- the course of a lecture at Phillipstown last evening, the Eev. H. J. C. Gilbert said that since 'the day when Galileo adapted the telescope to scientific purposes very marvellous had been the advancement made in that direction. They had probably heard of the man who, on first looking throngh a telescope at a distant church, exclaimed, " Wonderful! I can even hear the organ playing!" That was, of course, imagination on the man's part. But since then it had been discovered how, by the use of a simple instrument and an electric current, t* convey vibrations of sound from place to place. The telephone enabled us to speak with a friend at a distance. Would they be astonished if he were to tell them that it was now proved to be possible to convey in manner vibrations of light—to ■ not only speak with your distant friend, ibut actually to see him. The electroscope j—the name of the instrument which •enabled us to do this —was the very latest discovery, and to Dr. Gnidrah, of belonged the proud distinction. _*The trial of this wonderful instrument place at Melbourne on the 81st . October last in the presence of some forty [ scientific and public men, and was a great 5 success. Sitting in a dark room, they saw on a large disc of white burnished I metal, the racecourse at Flemington, with |its myriad hosts of living active beings. %Each minute detail stood out with perfect to the original, and as they sat at the wonderful picture through glasses it was difficult to imagine khat they were not actually upon the course jatself and moving amongst those whose Potions they could bo completely scan. 6 Lyttelton Habboe Boabd. —An ordinary Imeetinir of the above Board will beheld phis afternoon at the offices, Christchurch. _p Philosophica- Institute.—An ordinary of~the institute will be held this evening, when several papers will be read. Boabd of Education.—A meeting of the Board of Education for the North Canterwill be held to-day. St. Mart's, Addington.—The concert announced to be given in St. Mary's schoolroom, Addington, to-morrow evening is unavoidably postponed till Friday, December Bth.

AartTßi Cottntt Counch..—An election to fill an extraordinary vacancy in this Council, caused by the resignation of Dr. Wardale, takes- place on December 13th. Nominations to be sent in before Bth.

Chobal Society's Concebt—The first concert of the Christchurch Choral Society, under the conductorship of Signer Sorge, will take place to-morrow evening in the Oddfellows' Hall. The programme includes ■elections from the oratorio of " St. Paul," and a second part of miscellaneous music. Rqtal.—Mr J. Gardner, who is well known here as a theatrical agent, will take a complimentary benefit this evening at the Theatre Royal, when a very varied programme will be presented. BoßotroH of Sydenham.—A meeting of the burgesses of Sydenham will be held at the Oddfellows' Hall, Colombo Btreet south, to-night, with reference to the acquiring of land to connect Gordon street with Colombo street.

Convent Concebt.—A repetition of the concert given in aid of the funds of the Convent will take place this evening at the Oddfellows' Hall. The programme is a most attractive one, and no doubt there will be, as on the former occasion, a large and appreciative audience.