NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLV, Issue 7225, 10 December 1888, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The San Fbancisco Mail.—Tho E.M.S, Alaraeda, with tlio San Franciaeo loiil, arrived at Auckland at 9 a.m. yesterday. The s.s. Wauaka, with the southern por« tion. of the mail, loft at 12.30 p.m. yeeter> day. The Christchuruh moil osgtoogU, to reach here on Tuesday.

Sumneb Tramway.—On Saturday tht portion of the Sumner T-rain way extension beyond the bridge over the beach outojj Nayland street, was inspected by f'sT Government Engineer and pasSKu Through trams wero run yesterday, vi the weather being fine, were well patio* nised. ■, •) Bible Cheistian Chubor.— The l» vices in connection with the laying 0* foundation stone of the new Bible i hruttat Church wero held yesterday. Sermon were preached by the Eβvs. Grigg, Qula» trell, and Orchard. The ceremony 4 laying the foundation stone will take plao) on Wednesday, and in the evening a tat and public meeting will be held in the old church

Wednesday Half-Holiday. — A min> menfc is on foot to institute a li»l£-hol|4l| in Ashburton on Wednesday afterajxffl. Many of thei principle residents have agtwi to close their places of business, and tlw» seema a fair prospect of the half holiday being unanimously agreed to. A Good Take.—Mr A. Q. Wright; it the mouth of the Opihi on Friday evening landed two of the best fish of the seufo' One measured 30in in length and 16i| Jβ girth, and weighed 121b. The other'ittl a trifle less. The bait used wa* ttt "phantom whitebait." Owing to the «« cent warm weather there is reaeitf activity among anglers, and aomo bette records may be expected Ehortly, Sales of Pbivileges.—To-day Meet Tonks, Norton and Co. will offer tl» privileges in connection with the yario* pports which are to take place daring ill* next week. These include thoee «*• nected with the Druids gain on Be*kf Day, the Pioneer Bicycle Club racentf* ing on the same day, and the FopeliS Sports on Anniversary Day. The «* commences at 11 a.m. To-morro», ?M p.m., Mr James Campbell will offer *tw Commercial Hotel the privileges in «•* nection with the annual gathering ef w* < aledonian Society at Lancaster Park* 1 December I7fch. " { Eowai Pass Spobts.—A meeting we* s Kowai Pass Sports Committee waa i»e«», Wednesday evening. . There w*ea i« good attendance, and a large business was . got through. A B JJfflI*P? was made that the Sheffield and WaiitfMl! ton residents be asked to co-operate, l**! to assist this object the Secretary «*B£ quested to write to Messrs Bull, JwJ* Payne, Butler, Palmer, and Lord to** tain if they would act on the "O&S Committee to attain this object* W question of having hack races in ceJJJ'F tion with the sports was diseased, D»* several -difficulties appeared, the mX was deferred until next meeting,"*** will be definitely settled. East Mai/vebn—On Tuesday the East Malvern Band of Hope SP!§jy*! of their pleasant entertainmentt rt »§gf;

dington. Assistance in it was Miss Hawkins, Messrs Mitchell, '••JrE' way, Bobertson.andEev. — Maxwells': singing portion of the programme *j*»j the hands of virLord. The annaw MMg ing of this body was afterwards he&*«ffij the officers for the ensuing eag^^ i elected s—President, Eev. W. P. •"Si Vice-Presidents, Eev. — Maxwell m) Messrs Lord and Phillips; F. Heiglnvay; Treasurer, Mr Ja *-rS' strong; Committee, Key. J. B»pJ*3&*!"-ft J. Heighway, Lane, Jebson, junr., Gamble, Adkins, A. Hight, Q Austin, Hawkins and Payne. «** gfc ness concluded with a vote of the officers and committee and tow*<^/1 man. t^t^. Cycxino Topb.—On Saturday about a dozen members of the Touring Club started for Little Jejj Sub-Captain P. N. Adams in oama»s| The roads to the inland town SS; ordary except in a few places, anil' wJßr-' ■was assisted by the prevailing v ?\jl - J^ The journey waa complefced w fWyfa'; time, and the travellers were MpJ; on Sunday by three more" members who had ridden the during the night. Tfie return &*£& commenced at half-past one ° flay, and Christchurcb was made ****:* a-half hours later. The tourists fortunate enough to get a d"®'* l tbi3 was counterbalanced by the •»- i jjs T-sou'-wester which blew b c,u °l*/35 During the trip the hotels P*^ 0, those which have agreed to tofl"* petals euggestei by the Club.

Hmrccn'AL. —Y° e ordinary meeting of the Sydenham Borough Council will be held this evening. Political. —Mr A. Saunders, one of the candidates for the Lincoln seat, will address the electors this evening at Prebbleton. BowxiHe. — The match between tne Cnristcfiurcn and Canterbury Clubs was played on Saturday on the green of the former, and resulted in a victory for the Canterbury Club by three pointe. Chxap B*ii.wat FASEB.-»-The arrangemeots for cheap fares to Lyttelton on December 17th, and to Timaru on the occasion of the flower show and bicycle races there, appear in another column. Pbzbblxton Hobticxtltubai, Show.—A very successful show in connection with the PrebbJeton Horticultural Society was held on Friday last. A report appears elsewhere.

Palace Bnnr.—There wae a large attendance at the Kink on Saturday, more especially in the evening, and so far from showing aay decadence, the popular craze for akafe'ng seeme rather in the ascendant. The fiini will be open as usual to-day.

Shook op Earthquake.—Our Barry's Bay correspondent, writing on Saturday, says:—"We had a slight shock of earthquake shortly after seven this norning. The shock mentioned by the Bey. E. IL Wyatt in your columns as occurring at the Cost was felt here and at Wainui."

Baptist Church.—The annirersary serTicca in connection with the Oxford Terrace Baptist Church were held yesterday, when sermons were preached by the Beys. L. M. leitt and C. Dallastcm. In the afternoon there was a service of song. The anniversary tea and public meeting will be held to-morrow evening.

SwißOdHG.—The improvement in the •weather during the past week has had a good effect on the attendance at the West Chrietchurch School bath. Members of the Christchurch Amateur Swimming Club are indulging in a little more practice in view of the first monthly match, which takes place towards the end of December, and the sports which follow in January.

Mabtxhi Hknbt v. Sjtidee.—ln tie match on Saturday between the Honorary . Beserve Corpe and the Chrietehurch Bifle Club the relative merits of the Martini Henry and Snider rifies were tried, resulting in a victory for the former by 111 points. The match was also interesting from the fact that it was the first fired of twenty men a side.

Bakqiora Boeoush Schools.—An entertainment in aid of the prize fund of this school took place in the Literary Institute on Friday evening. The entertainment was got up by Mr Cumberworth, the headmaster of the school, and passed off successfully, there being a good attendance and the various items apparently giving satisfaction.

A Narrow Escape.—Our Timaru correspondent, telegraphing on Saturday, says: —High School Cadet Bailey, son of Lieu-tenant-Colonel Bailey, had a narrow escape of death at the Bifie Sange yesterday. Young Bailey was in the marker's butt, aad on a bullet striking the back of it a •plinter of lead found its way into the butt, and cut through the lobe of Bailey's right ear.

The "Weather rs Ashbubton.—Our correspondent, telegraphing yesterday, nys: —To day has been of a most varied nature. Early in the morning there was (aim sunshine and a cloudless sky. Later on it was blowing hard from the northvesfc. At noon there was heavy rain frcm the south, while matters were brought to a ttimax at 4.30 p.m. by the bursting of a heavy thunderstorm over the town, and covering the ground with a coating of large hailstones.

Masosic—The installation of Bro. W. F. McLean as E.VX of the Robert Burns Lodge* No. 604, 8.C., and the investiture of His officers, will take place at the St. Axtgustine H&Q to-morrow evening. The installation of the W.M. of the Conyers Lodge, 1916, XC, and the investiture of his officers, will take place on Thursday next. A banquet will follow the ceremony, •ad the Committee have made all the necessary arrangements. The installation will be conducted by the 8.W.D.G.M., Bro. H. Thomson, assisted by the Grand Lodge officers, and it is expected that there will Dβ a large attendance of the craft on the occasion.

Thxatbx Bota£ This evening the Hicks Sawyer Minstrels, who bring with them a very high reputation for musical ability, will open their season at the Theatre SoyaL As already stated, in addition to the ordinary minstrel performance, a speciality of the troupe is their part singing. In this department elsewhere they have been highly succesf ul. Mr Wallace King, the tenor of the company, is spoken of as having a very fine voice, and Mr Johnston, the basso, comes with an equally good reputation. The mnpany will arrive this morning from Wellington and will hold a parade in the Afternoon.

Kowai Pass Anxual Spobts.—A meeting of residents was held at the Malvern Soad Board office in connection with these -sporte on Wednesday. Mr Wm. Chesterfield was voted to the chair. A liberal and attractive programme was drawn up, and prizes to tbe amount of £25 voted. It was decided to hold the sports on Boxing Day, the first event to start at 11.30. The names of several gentlemen in Sheffield were added to the Committee, and the Secretary was instructed to write and ask them for their hearty co-operation. A sum of J65 was voted, in addition to a handsome sum already on the programme, to be set apart specially for the younger children.

CkKISTCBUBCK DRAUGHTS CtTTB. The above Club still continues to be well attended, and is attracting a large and increasing membership. The tournament ia connection with the Club promises to be a great success, as there is a large entry of some «f the best players in Christchurch. The tourney, which will commence in the first week of the new year, will be divided into three classes. During the week the dab was visited by Mr E. Bos well, who -oaa just returned from Melbourne, where lie had been taking part in the Centennial Draughts Congress with moderate success. Upon entering the Club-room he was warmly received by those present, and Mr D. Beese, speaking on behalf of the Club, expressed their pleasure at having Mr BoVwell with them again, and hoped that the next time the Australasian Championship was contested the much-coveted title would be held by & Canterbury player.

Dbowxxn» of a Bot.—A boy named Sobert Brown, aged eleven years, son of Mr John Brown, who resides at the old ■team wharf, Wbolaton, was drowned in the Heathoote Eiver on Saturday evening. He was paddling on the river in a email eaaoe, and was last seen alive about 8 p.m. by two other boys, named Joseph Moses and Bichard Maddern, who were fishing on the bank. Brown was using a piece of board as a paddle. The other two boys auheeqeeatly heard a noise as if some one ■were calling out, but took no notice of it at tibe time. It was reported to Nonstable Johnston later on that Brown was mining, •ad he procured a boat and dragged the river for the body, but without result. The canoe was found, bottom upwards, aear the spot where Brown was seen in it by Moses and Maddera.. The police and othera were dragging the river again yesterday, bat up till a late hoar had not been successful in finding the body.

COUKT IHISTLB OF THK Fo&EST, A.O.F. —The members of this Court held their half-yearly meeting for the nomination of officers on Tuesday last, when a very fair number of members was present. The Woodwards reported that there were no membos on the side funds. The election for a trustee resulted in Bro. Wiseman, P.C.K., filling that position. It was decided that the celebration of the anniversary of the Court be held on Tuesday,' December ISth, with a supper, and that the District officers be invited. Considerable satisfaction was expressed at the valuation report. It showed that in the preceding fivo years tie sickness experienced had been much below what might hare been expected, and the death rate had only been 8.45 per annum. The funds had been carefully invested, Kealitring a very fair rate of interest. The Secretary was instructed to write to Mr Wiggins, the valuer, thanking' him for having sent .in the report bo quickly. After transacting a large amount of business, the Court was closed in due form by the 8i-

W«athisb Foescast.—The following telegram was received from Captain B. A. Edwin at noon on Saturday by the Harbor Master at Lyttelton :—" North to west and south east gale, and glass fall again, within next twelve hours."

Thb Belfast Pike.—The Bailway Fire Brigade wish to thank the Canterbury Fire Insurance Association for their kind donation of twenty five guineas towards the funds of the Brigade for services rendered at the Belfast fire.

Bjekfton Mining RETUBira. — The managers of the Globe and Keep-itr Dark Gold Mining Companies telegraphs Mr James Henderson, Hereford street, the returns for the past week as follows:— Globe, 2120z of »m»lg<»n from 190 tons ; Keep-it-Dark, 2S7oz of from 185 tons.

Caledonian Gathering.—Mr W. Boag has offered to give three prizes of one guinea each to the winners of the most points in the boys' races at the annual gathering of the Canterbury Caledonian Society on December 17th. Other local gentlemen have also offered cups and other trophies. Attention is drawn to the fact that entries for handicap races close to-morrow.

Cbicket Match—On December 7th a cricket match was played between the Sydenham and Opawa Schools. The game resulted in a win for the former hy an inning and 32 mna Bell and Maginness used the bat splendidly, and Curragh and Norman bowled well, Curragh taking five wickets for six balk. Duncan, Ciliic, and Thomas played hard for Opawa, but could not, however, beat the Sydenham cricketers.

Death op a Child. —A child, a week old, the illegitimate son of a young woman named Elizabeth Dean, died somewhat sud denly on Saturday morning at Buskin street, Addington. The cause of death was supposed to be convulsions, but as no medical man was in attendance an inquest was necessary, and was held before Mr C. Whitefoord, Coroner, at 2.40 p.m. After hearing the evidence of several witnesses, and of Dr. Anderson, who had made a post mortem examination of the body, the jury returned a verdict of death from natural causes.

Tkb Condition op tv Highland Crofters.—A meeting of the Directors of the Canterbury Caledonian Society was held on Friday afternoon, at which a communication from the Townavilie Caledonian Society was read. The Committee of the latter Society have under consideration the condition of the Highland crofters, and have decided to take counsel of all kindred Associations throughout Australasia to ameliorate it. Belief can only take the form of either money or of bringing them out to the colonies, and assisting them to make a start, and on this question the Townsville Committee ask for advice and co-operation. A special meeting of the Canterbury Society is to be held at an early date to consider the matter.

Akouebs' Sociibtt.—A general meeting of this Society took place on Friday afternoon at Mc William's room, a large number of members attending. The following gentlemen were elected members of the Society:—Messrs J. C. Boys, P. Cunningham, £>. S. Howard, George Blair, Bichard. Maddock, Hugh Hepburn, W. B. Willock, the Hon. J. *. Peacock and Bey. L. M. Isitt. Mr McWilliam gave notice of motion for next meeting to have rule 7 amended, to six, instead of ten, members to form a quorum. Mr Wallace moved, Mr Buchanan seconded, and it was carried —" That £3 be voted to Constable Donohue for. the detection of poaching, and that further steps in the matter be left in the hands of the President." This being all the business, the meeting terminated with a vote of thanks to the chair.

"Th» Mkssiak."—The performance of the Messiah, at the Palace Skating Sink, by the Christchurch Musical Society, has been definitely fixed for Thursday, December 20th. In consequence of the number of performers (over 300) it has been found necessary to engage the Durham street Wesleyan Schoolroom for rehearsals, and the next practice will be held there tomorrow evening. Mr A. J. White having kindly offered the use of the large organ which was used at the Wellinton Exhibition, its removal from his warehouse to the Sink will be commenced forthwith. A qi""!'" , offer was received from Mr Brooks but, as only one organ was required, it had to be declined, Mr

ane, the architect for tbe Eink is preparing plans for the platform, and tenders for its erection will probably be invited at once. It has been decided to ask all ladies taking part in the performance to dress in white with coloured bows on the shoulder, soprani wearing red and alti blue. Ihe practice of wearing white dresses with distinguishing colored bows or sashes is one frequently adopted in England and elsewhere, and was followed both at the concerts given at the Wellington Exhibition and at the Musical Festival. It is a small matter but, like the simultaneous rising of the chorus, on«which Mr Wallace insists, tends to infuse a sense of uniformity and coherence, and thus indirectly conduces to the efficient performance of the oratorio.

Eixesmkre Regatta.—At a meeting of the Ellesmere Regatta Committee, held at Soathbridge on Friday, it was decided to alter the date to Thursday, December 13th, owing to Anniversary Day clashing with other local fixtures. A liberal amount is already promised as prize money, and in addition to the boat races a liberal programme was arranged for land sports, the events being all open. The regatta this season promises to be a large gathering and very successful The Ellesmere people generally are taking great interest in the fixture. Visitors from the surrounding districts and Christchurch should find the trip to Tatnutu a most enjoyable outing; The Traffic Manager has arranged for a late train returning from the regatta to Christchurch.

A Novel Sandwich.—The British sandwich is often said to be composed of all sorts of dubious edibles, and has even been taunted with containing sawdust. But a tobacco-sandwich has never been heard of, so far as we are aware, until the other day, when one Henry Elvines introduced into Holloway Gaol, for the benefit of a prisoner, a sandwich of such suspicious size that it was examined by a warder and found to contain tobacco

Flax-Dressing.—The flax-dressing industry is assuming large proportions in the Foxton district. We (Evening Pott) are informed that about twenty mills will soon be at work there, and as each mill employs from fifteen to twenty men, the addition to the industrial population is very marked. As much as 5s a ton is now being demanded by landowners; for the right to cut flax on their properties, and as good flax land produces some 40 tons of the raw material to the acre, the present state of things contrasts pleasantly with the time when the owners had to pay to get rid of the flax. Within the last few years thousands of acres have been burned off in the Foxton district.