NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5364, 4 December 1882, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Railway Blacksmiths' Picnic.—This event will take place to-day, when the employes of the Department will proceed by special train to Little River. Chbistchttbch Choral Societt.—The members are informed that the usual practice will take place this evening in St. John's Schoolroom., when new members may be enrolled.

The Holidays.—The representative of a firm of merchants has asked us to state that all the merchants of Christchurch have not decided to close their places of business to-day and tomorrow.

Thb Effects op Deink. —On Saturday evening, about half-past eleven o'clock, a man named Michael Dolan was admitted into the hospital suffering from a scalp wound inflicted during a scuffle in High street.

Thb Opera..—The season of Mr M. Simonsen's Opera Company will open on Wednesday evening next, as already announced, with Maillarfs opera of "The Hermit's Bell." The sale of season tickets, it may.be noted, will close on Wedmeaday.

Accident.—A lad named Charles Smith met with an accident at Woolston on Saturday afternoon. It appears that whilst getting into a trap he fell beneath the wheel, which, passing over his right leg, inflicted serious injury to the knee. He was taken to the Hospital yesterday, and his injuries received prompt attention. Licensing Meetings.—The quarterly meeting of the Eyreton district will not be held, as no notice of any application has been received. A meeting of the committee of the Manderille and Sangiora district takes nlace at Woodend on Friday, to consider applications for eleven o'clock extensions. Coalgate.—lt has been decided to hold a Resident Magistrate's Court monthly at the Eoad Board office, Coalgate, instead of always having it at Sheffield. This will be a great advantage to the inhabitants of Hororata and South Malvern, who have had formerly to travel long distances to attend cases at the Sheffield court.

Abbest.—Sergeant Morice, of Lyttelton, arrested a man named Gillespie on a warrant from Timarn, charged with decoying a little girl, about five years old, from her home. It appears that the mother of the child had come away from her husband with Gillespie, taking the child with her, and they were on their way to the North Island. The warrant was issued at the instance of the husband. Gillespie will ba brought before the Court to-day. "R.M. Cotjbt.—The charge shest at the E.M. Court this morning includes five charges of drunkenness, one of attempted suicide, one of larceny of tramway plant, two of using obscene language and breach of the peace, and one of trespass. The private information cases are twenty-seven in number, six of which are preferred by the police, a number of the others being for breaches of the Preservation of Game Act.

Bhbf fob thb Navy.—There was a considerable gathering on Saturday at the offices of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company, when the regulation cask of beef brought as a sample by Mr Amphlett was opened. The meat has been cured for some years, and forms part of the stores of H.M.S. Kelson. Though it had been so its condition was universally admired by the cognoscenti present. However, if the difficulty which appears to prevail with regard to the supply of casks can be got over, our beef need not fear the test of comparison. Open Aib Conceet.—lt is to be regretted that the superior attractions of the cxacket fitfc Lancaster 3?aark slxoxzlcL 2ia.-ve xtuHtcted. against -fctie; &tten.dzuice on Setarday ivfc the Hospital wben selections. The band gave, ike various items on, a very attractive programme -with, great precision and effect, and aa the lawn lain splendid order, those who were present ecnjoyecl £k -very pleasant oixfcizigr, - in. additioxi. to fcb.e opportunity afforcLecL to Aid iilliiQiPufOlEi Saxb.—3UTessrs O- Newton. end Son offered for sale on Saturdaj a number of shorthorn cattle from the Longbeaci. nerd, the property of Mr T. Kussell. There was a very good attendance of buyers; and Mr Chas. Newton descanted •with his xtsnal eloquence on the parity of the breeding displayed by the animals. Thirty-two cows were quitted at an average of 10gs all round. The highest priced animals were : — Clarion, 21gs; Clarion 2nd, with calf, 21gs; Byron's Buttercup, with, calf, 17gs ; Countess, 16gs; Comedy, 12Jgs; Lobelia, 12gs. Three bulls were sold, the highest price being realised by Cadmus, 24gs. A number of other nni-maia were disposed of at good prices. *' The Messiah." — The Christchurch. Musical Society have arranged for the production of Handel's Oratorio "The Messiah," at the drill-shed on the 21et inst. On this occasion, the instrumental . portion of the society will be strengthened by the accession of the members of the Amateur Orchestral Society. A rehearsal will be held to-morrow evening at eight o'clock, and in order to ensure the thorough efficiency of those taking part in the performance the committee have decided to enforce a very salutary rule. After that date any performing ■ members who have < not previously attended rehearsals will not be able to take part' in the concert except by special permission Of the committee.*

Objectiokablb LmsKATUBB.—A correspondent over the signature of " One," writing, from Waipu respecting the alleged drowning of a sackful of books there a few. years ago, because of their unorthodox teachings, says—"The Waipu library has been in existence for about twenty years only. I have been connected with it in sotne capacity or other since it was started, and can certify that no books of any sort were ever drowned or otherwise done away with, to my knowledge, during that time.' I remember that at one time, long ago, some one connected with the library bought at a sale in Auckland a large lot of French novels (translated), which were considered by all concerned as bad, immoral, and trashy, and therefore unfit for a decent library. Those books were disposed of, but 'not by drowning. Men who take a leading and active part in conducting public libraries will find that they have to contend with two leading difficulties—viz., the unbendingly orthodox and the stubboraly sceptical. Both are equally intolerant and equally hard to .please, in proportion to their intellectual Rapacity, and the narrowness or 'otherwise;©! their reading. I may add, in defence of the Waipu library, that it' breathes the sentiments of the present as broadly as its size wQI admit, and the committee -will, I hope, take care that it is not narrowed on either one side or the other."

, EotcAttoit Df Fbawcb. —The new Education Act in Prance (says the "Pall Mall Gazette") is to be applied to the letter. In a circular just send round to the prefects it is distinctly pointed out that while entire discretion is left to parents as regards the method of education, all children, irrespective of sex and position, in life, are henceforth to tte examined once a year, in order thst.the Act may be efficiently carried out. Children attending schools will be examined there. The rest must be taken by their parents or guardians to the local PTntninitimw to beheldyearly in all parts of Prance. There is no doubt that the new law willjhave an excellent effect on orphanages an 4 other institutions in the hands of *he clergy and the nuns, have made large profits oat of the manual labor of little children, ifo the entire eacrifice of their mfental program. .■■■■"CSnff more, and thepnblic letter irriter in Praace will have no raison d'etre. Every French subject will bu able to read and write.

Fldohgton.—A meeting of ratepayers was held at Flemington on Thursday evening, when it waa resolved to petition the Longbeach Stood Board to acquire the land necessary to continue the road through from Wheatstone to the Longbeach road. It waa also resolved to petition the Boad Board to define a rating district, and strike a special rate to defray tiie necessary expenses in connection with the proposed new road.

' Accident at Gmbaldiwh. — A man named Gould met with a severe accident near Geraldine one day last week. He was at work in a paddock with a Cambridge roller, when he slipped and fell underneath. Fortunately he had sufficient presence of mind to stop the horses, but not before the roller had passed partially over his body. The unfortunate man lay crushed between the ploughed land >nd the roller for upwards of an hour, and would have remained there till he was completely exhausted, but for the fact that another man, who was working in the far end of the paddock, noticed that Gould's horses had been standing still an unusuiti length of time, and went ove, to ascertain the cause. Assistance was procured, and the injured man conveyed to his home as speedily as possible, where he still lies in a very precarious state, having sustained severe internalftn juries.

Tbamwat Bobbers. — On Saturday Mr Peterkin, accompanied by Detective Neill and Constable McGill, proceeded to the dwelling of a man named Richard Green, Harper's road, Ferry road, and taxed him with having appropriated certain material, which had been placed on the Ferry road whilst the tramway extension from Woolston to the swing bridge was in course of construction. Green denied all knowledge of the matter, as also did his son, Albert Green, who was suspected of being implicated in the theft. Not content with the denial, the detective and constable procured a shovel and proceeded to dig in the garden attached to Green's house, and shortly a longitudinal was found, next an iron bar, then a lot of totara cross sleepers, then two pieces of iron bar, after which a considerable number of totara sleepers cut up into VrnrMrng wood size. Father and son were then formally arrested and brought to Christchurch, and will appear at the E.M. Court to-day to answer the charge.

St. Albans Stbbsts. — Although the result of the poll on Thursday last was adverse to the loan proposals of the St. Albans Borough Council to provide funds for widening certain streets, there is every probability that the main thoroughfare of the borough, viz,, St. Albans and Crescent road, from Papanui road to the northern end of the Colombo street continuation, will be widened, as it is intended to canvass the residents; and if, as there is little doubt, a majority will be found favorable thereto, the work will be put in hand, and the funds therefor provided by special rate. The original proposals of the Council were to widen the thoroughfare by taking l&Jft. from the northern frontage, but as this will trench rather too much upon some narrow sections, it is probable that an equal portion will be taken from either side, the only objection to this plan being that the cost of reinstating the fence will be about double what it would be if only one side was taken. It is also stated that so soon as the thoroughfare is thus increased in width, the Tramway Company will lay its rails the entire distance, a detour being made from the Papanui road at Peacock's corner, a junction with the main line being effected at the Golden Fleece corner.

A Suggestion.—ln connection with the usual regatta to be held in Lyttelton on New Year's Day, a suggestion has been made which, if it can be carried out, will not only greatly add to the attractiveness of the regatta, but afford an opportunity of fraternisation between the Natives of the North and South Islands, which, under other circumstances, is almost impossible. 1 The suggestion is that a race shall be ' arranged on the programme for war canoes, with a prize of, say, .£3O for the first and .£2O for the second. In Auckland, at the regatta held lately, this was done, and came off very successfully, several canoes entering. With the inducement of a good prize, like the one suggested, it is thought that at least three crews might be counted upon Xifcely •to ■- come *■ cLo*wn. Ixeare,. either from . .- oat"." -A»xa.cl=:= fIUN (Ifoil olio omh Umlm'j tit ii reduced rate of passage for: the crews to and fro, and the regatta committee, might also see their way under the circumstances to devote a portion of their funds towards iilus purpose, and also to some of tlie of HH& ciews -wliilef Ixere- Tlxe" wnolo unount tonlQ not to rou laipi odQ if it were known that such an event could be successfully got off a special appeal for subscriptions to the public would no doubt lie successful. The ' matter is one Trell -worth consideration "by. the regatta committee, who can easily ascertain whether from Auckland or Wanganui three crews could be obtained, proTided a substantial prize were offered and the passage money reduced. The attractiveness of such an item would be exceeijingly great, and would tend largely to counteract the effect of the other attractions on the same day.

LttteiiTON RaoiTTA'i-r-A very satis-factory-{meeting of the' committee ■of the regattafixed for New Tear's Day was held on Friday night, the Commodore (Dr. H. Macdonald) in the chair. The following entries for the champion four-oared outrigger race, prize .£125, were reported:— Star Bowing Club, Wellington} Cure Boating Club, Kaiapoi; Union Sowing: Club, Christchurch; and the Lyttelton Bowing Club. Entries for the pair-oared and donble-sculling events were received from,Messrs<H. and P. Bradley, of Timaru.' Captain Mclntyre was elected one of the judges. The champion four-oared race condition, providing that three provinces should be represented, was altered,.so as to allow the event to take place should there be less than that number of provinces come forward, and the time for receiving entries was extended to the 29th instant. On the motion of Mr Mcßefch the tenders of the Lyttelton and City Guards brass bands were accepted. In the coasters' race the minimum-tonnage was fixed at 40 tons, and 10 tone for the yacht race. A proposal to erect a dancing stage was favorably considered should the Harbor I Board grant the ise of the reclamation, the applicant to paj a fee of £2 2s to the fund. Captain McLellan was to be asked to undertake the wort of granting sites for booths on the reclamation. It was resolved to invite the Mayor elect, Mr Webb, to donate the usual Mayor's Cup aa a special prize. The commodore'said that Mr Puflett and himself had suggested that the flagship, .which would probably be one of the Union Company's steamers, should be used by subscribers to the regatta fund only, non T subscribers might be admitted upon paying a fee of half-a-crown. It waa agreed to inquire what the terms would be for the use of one of the steam launches for taking subscribers to and from the fi&gftbip. The meeting adjourned to the l&Jfi instant, by which date all subscriptions it was hoped would be paid in to the collector.

TJhttbd Ahcebst Obdhb of DEtme.—A special meeting of the Bad «f Hope Lodge of the above order was held in the Literary Institute, Bangiora, on Friday evening last, to hear tiie report of the grand secretary, who also instructed the members in the ' working of the order. About 200 members were present, including visitors from the Christchurch, Kaiapoi, Ainberlej-,Sfc Albany,.] i and Ohoka lodges. After* the lodge "was closed the members adjourned to Bro. Mnllms* Bed Lioxi Hotel, wfcSre a snbstantial repast was provided. After the doth, was removed. A- D. Bro. Bridget took the chair, P. A- Bro. EQis in Sbeviw 'The osnalicjalaad Jhmdieal toasts being disposed of the chairman proposed the "Grand Lodge and Board of DirectoScs/ , coupled with the name of the secretary,' who responded, expressing his pleasure at his reception in Sangiora, and the way in which the work of the lodge was conducted. " Kindred Societies" remanded to by Bro. BarrelL H.&. Rangiftr* Lodge of OddfeHoire. Tb&&lfaL*q&»- "xWnfVjk "Ladieei" "VoWf , wd Several good songs were gi»«n dozing the evening by members of the order. A Tery pleasant evening was dosed by all singing " Anld Lang Syne. J>

Th» Gkaytko Dock.—The caisson leak, or rather the leak between the wooden keel of the caisson and the stonework facing of the dock has not yet been adjusted to the satisfaction of the engineer, and slight alterations have still to be made." The fealty place is immediately under the bottom of the caisson, and is thus awkwardly situated for the workmen. It is by no means a serious leak, and on Saturday the crevice through which, the water comes waa caulked in a very few minutes, and perfect tightness secured. It is thought, however, that the requisite alteration can be effected without much further work, and the aim to have the caisson so exact that when moved to its place at the dock entrance it will make the dock literally watertight will be attained. Ths Missing at Woodend.—Ada Whitlow, two and a-balf years, lost on Tuesday morning.wasfoundalive on thesand downs fully four miles away on Saturday morning. She was sitting is a comatose state on a mound of sand when observed by James I Derbridge and another, who were searching for cattle between Mr Beharrell'fr and Mr i McKenrie's farms, near the Kaiapoi beach. She was sumewhat emaciated, and could not speak, but otherwise unharmed. Derbridge, who had not heard of any child being missing, however took her to Mr McKenzie's, where Mrs McKenzie, who had heard about the affair, kindly put her to bed and cautiously gave her refreshment. It appears that on Thursday last a fisherman saw the child on the beach, but thought its parents were near. This little one had been wandering and away from home without food for about 100 hours, and had been given up as dead by the numbers of persons who had for the three previous days been searching the country. Great credit is due to Eev. W. H. Gossett, the clergyman at Woodend, for keeping up the search parties and raising by subscription a reward for the child's recovery.

Mebivale Sunday School. —A Christmas tree and sale of work will take place on Saturday next in aid of the above. Almanac.—We have received a copy of the " Canterbury and Otago Almanac." It is neatly got up, and contains a large amount of useful and miscellaneous informotion.

Bictclb Baceß. — The inteprovincial bicycle races will take place at Lancaster Park on Boxing Day. There are_ twelve events on the programme, including the mile championship of New Zealand, and entries will close with the hon. secretary of the Pioneer Bicycle Club on or before the 20th inst.