NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XL, Issue 5830, 21 May 1884, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

North Canterbury Coursing Club.—. The second match of this club takes place to-day near Fernside. No Eoom.—The House Surgeon of the Christchurch Hospital announces that there are no beds vacant in the female ward. Young Men's Club.—The entertainment at the Young Men's Club to-night will consist of recitations and a lecture by Mr Crook, to commence at 8 p.m. The Drainage Loan.—Prom a ment made by Mr Vincent at the Drainage Board meeting yesterday, it appears that a little over .£IOOO remains unexpended of the drainage loan. Thb City Atjditorships.—ln addition to'the names already mentioned as candidates for the city auditorships, Mr A. M, Ollivier, of the firm of Ollivier and Grierson, has also been nominated. Mc Porte a, E.M.—ln consequence of the continued ill health of Mr J. C. Porter, E.M. at Kaiapoi, that gentleman has consented to undertake a voyage to Sydney, and he will be absent from the district about three months. Theatre Eoyal.—Messrs Payne,Kudarz, and Foley gave their clever entertainment last night at the Theatre Royal, and the various items on the programme were highly appreciatsd by the audience. The company appear again to-night. The Weather.—-Mr F. Back received the following telegram yesterday afternoon, dated Wellington, 430 p.m.: ~' r Indications of heavy rainfall after twenty hours from now." Special Night Train. — The railway authorities have decided to run a special train from Dunedin to Chriatchurch on the night of Saturday, the 24th inst. This will enable persons to attend both the Dunedin race meeting on Saturday, and the Grand National at Christchurch on Monday. Kaiapoi Institute.—The monthly meeting was held on Monday. Present— Messrs £. Eevell (in the chair), Blakely, Goldthorpe, H. Eevell and E. H. Mathews. The balance in hand was reported to be jBIO 7s 6d. Accounts, £U 4s 4d, were passed. It was decided the President be requested to draw up the annual report. Drainage Board.—An ordinary meeting of this Board was held yesterday, and though the sitting lasted some time very little but routine business was disposed of. A field day may be expected at next meeting when the question of allocation will come up for discussion should the Finance Committee be prepared with their report. Salvation Army.—Following on the heels of Monday night's Baptism of Fire, the Salvation Army had a tea meeting yesterday afternoon, at which a very large number of persons were present. The feast was spread in the Gaiety Theatre, and the usual evening meeting was held afterwards in the Tuam street Hall. Theatrical.—Miss Anstead, Mr Dodge, and Mr J. P. Cathcart, were through passengers by the Eingarooma yesterday to Melbourne. They have been recently connected with the "Youth" Company. Mr Dodge purposes returning to New Zealand shortly, with Mr George Darrell and a dramatic company. Bangiora B.M. Court.—At the Bangiora Magistrate's Court, on Tuesday, before C. Wliitefoord, Esq., BJf., A. H. Cunningham, and A. Blackett, Esqs., judgments were given for plaintiffs in cases of H. Crocker v H. King, 13s 2d ; same v T. Noble, j67 53 6d. A case of J. Pole v J. Maloy, £1 2s 9d, was adjourned.

Telegraph Hotnas. —We are requested 1 to notify that on Saturday next Telegraph j offices which open to the public on Sundays and holidaye will open from 9 a.m. to 10 ; a.m., and 7 to 8 p.m., instead of the usual Sunday hours. Ltttklton B.M. Cobet.—At the Lyttelton S.M. Court yesterday (morning, before Mr H. Allwright, J. P., Dennis Bryan, a eailor, belonging to the s.s. British King, was fined 20s fcr using bad language on the streets while in a state of ebriety. Eacecotjese Pbivileges.—A.t Warners Hotel yesterday afternoon Mr Campbell (for Messrs Acland, Bares and Co.) offered for sale the privileges in connection with the forthcoming Steeplechase Meeting. There was only a small attendance of "buyers and racing men, probably owing to the inclement weather. The booth under the 2s 6d stand was knocked down to Mr Marshall at .£l3, and that gentleman also secured the one under the Grand Stand after it had been put up and withdrawn, with a bid of £1 offered for it. Mr Robertson secured the confectioner's booth for .£6 10s j the horseyards fetched £1 103, and the sports went to Mr Hobbs for £2. Hoese Tk&ining.—Mr Darcy Hyland, who has given a number of exhibitions south, announces that he will give exhibitions of hi 3 skill with and power over horses during next week at Tattersall's. Mr Hyland has a number of clever little ponies, a highly trained mare, and he will also bring into the enclosure an unbroken colt and practically illustrate bis method of taming and training young horses. Mr Hyland also undertakes to ride with or without saddle any horse that might be brought to him, and to thoroughly quieten the animal. Mr Hyland has achieved considerable success down south, and gained for himself a high reputation as a horse trainer. Vandalism. —A piece of outrageous conduct is reported from Kaiapoi Island. On Friday la3t Mr H. Vale had threshed his wheat which was stacked in the bags under cover of straw in the open. On Monday upon examining them he found that several of the sacks had been slit open with a knife. Aa the wheat was stacked according to the respective qualities of the samples, and the sacks containing the wheat of the best sample had been tampered with, suspicions have been aroused in the direction of some one who knew all about the stacking, and who had done the deed in a most malicious spirit. A reward is offered for information, which ie advertised in anotber column. Farmers' Club.—The monthly meeting of the Kaiapoi Farmers' Club was held on Monday evening at the Club's Chamber, Cookson street. There was a fair attendance. Mr E. Coup, President, occupied the chair. Messrs W. Birnieand Montague H. Smith were elected members. Mr W. M. Boss gave an interesting description of ensilage and the manner of its preparation in the silo, explaining fully the dimensions of several silos in use in the home country. The advantages of ensilage fodder were fully considered, and, after a general discussion, a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Boss. It is expected that at the next monthly meeting a paper will be contributed on high pressure farming. New Zealand Mutton.—The " Hampshire Chronicle," of March 15th, states the New Zealand mutton which made its appearance in Winchester a fortnight since, and is now sold by all purveyors, is eagerly inquired for by the public, not only on account of its cheapness, but by reason of not being one whit the less excellent in quality than the Home-fed meat. At Portsmouth mutton from the Antipodes is quite the rage, no lees than 700 carcases, representing a total of 20 tons, was sold last week; whilst at Salisbury the commodity is as quickly sold out. The effect of the dead meat trade from New Zealand has already had a depressing effect on the Home trade, as it will be seen on reference to our Andover market report that owing to the introduction of New Zealand mutton, the price of sheep has fallen fully 163 per head since Christmas, and there is every appearance of a further decline. Physiognomy.—Last evening a farewell course of lectures was commenced in the Lichfield street Oddfellows' Hall by Dr. Simms, who lectured here on " Physiognomy" some three years ago. The attendance on the present occasion was good, but would no doubt have been larger had the weather presented a brighter appearance. Those who were present appeared to be highly amused, the anecdotes and comparisons of the doctor creating many a laugh, while the scientific portion of his discourse was listened to with attention. Hβ began with a brief explanation of the science of physiognomy, and remarked upon its value in assisting these individuals who pursued the study of it, in becoming better acquainted with the characteristics of their fellows. He described the class of people, and their facial appearance, who come from the extreme cold and extreme hot regions, and stated that where color was universal neither animal nor man became domesticated, but on the other hand where color was varied, the reverse was the case. This assertion he verified by mentioning the tribes of men who and the classes of animals which could or could not be domesticated. He next dwelt upon the character of individuals, and said , it was made up of three conditions, namely, organisation, education, and circumstances, and their effects were shortly explained. The doctor's remarks on noses were both interesting and amusing, comparisons being made by means of diagrams of the noses of men and women who have made themselves famous as commanders, literateurs, or philanthropists, with those who have earned an unenvied reputation. He also showed that where a resemblance existed between the features of a man and those of an animal, both were possessed to a certain degree of either good or bad qualities. His lecture was concluded by a public reading of the characters of several ladies and gentlemen from the audience. A second lecture will be given in the same hall this evening.