NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7260, 21 January 1889, Page 5

NEWS OF THE DAY.

* A €if LV Shzst.—There was no bnsijlZ at the Besident fbsafcaie's Court, Christchurch, Saturffcnms MrsrsG Ektvehs. —The mana&§rof ,fl*e Globe and Keep-it-Dark Gold pWwg- Companies, telegraphs Mr, James ggggsm the returns for "the past gleg, SB follows:—'* Globe, lTlozs amalgW {r ßm 185 tons? Keep-it-Dark, 1770zs £&«» from 120 tons. jjgjnJiß.—Tomorrow a sale of work wiU L fcjjd by the ladies of Sumner, in a SUpee opposite the Cave Bock. The jaoceeds are to be devoted to Church purwig* Afternoon tea will he provided, fjfia dooht there wiU be a large attensß&of visitors. Festival. —The musical gp&srrs of Christchurch have come forfceji inert generously in the matter of BPfofrng the promoters of the Shakes*g3Mß Festival, and upwards of two bunegjhroioes; under the baton of Mr F. M. -gtfase, wfll give the "Halleluiah QgamM" and other selections from "The mWAh" on the occasion of the opening 4 fee.Festival on the 30th inst. by the UptfrftKft Bishop of Christchurch. : rjJposßESiAKisu. —Joe Scott wiU start on |a'sis days' walk tonight in the Palace Jgsfc commencing at 8 pan. The three chosen to oppose Scott areMcCourt, JL fc-ftarith, andßowen. Each wfll take cue hoar, and in addition to walking ««tottfie six men whose aggregate score till* taken against that of Scott, the fe&* wSk try and break his own record (iff jjfty nafea* ■ - jfaKuam«r-Tbs play far the two trophies, tstaeJS and, £4 respectively, presented by Jfe J, JDelbritlge, Vice-President of the usterlwy Bowling Club, came to an end eaaateSjK-^elasttwoplayers left,in vm Messrs Taylor and Newby, and the vases were as under:—Taylor 15, Newby 14' The former, -therefore, takes first prize tad &c latter second. The return match, v Canterbury, wffl be played **,£ssazday next, on the green of the &EMSU.—The St. Albans Bicycle Club, comjaaad of-Captain W. G. .Carl eaaS. J. Bowen, had a very lafohlight Club run on ; sjartiag from the \ ft. frsSpJa. for Cashmere. The are reported to be hi first class condiGehk and 1 erery one thoroughly enjoyed j ffeaselvm ■ ' , i BSTESSAIXM AWP - A!t • I/mgLTOTS. — On

JPkas% night the Crawford-Hunter Party of feßfeh Vocalists gave one of their excel.'so the Oddfellows' Hall. $$!|gß -im a wry-Mr attendance, and to WHSfrho missed, going we may say they %$&&• musical treat. The songs, &c,, rente&.'wera highly appreciated and loudly 2§|i>Baai2 Covet.—The case of McKay v continued before his Honor Mr £$j&s Ward on Saturday, and came to a fe&scfesion so far as £he taking of evidence U-eeSkSrned. The cross-examination of Stewart was proceeded with, and Sli Sallowing witnesses were examined:— ImesS. W. Seager and S. B. Harris, and &P& McKay. The plaintiffs that closed .fte.isbu.ttiag case. The addresses of teased counsel stood over until Friday s A Xsszu Cats.—A case which has exited, considerable interest will commence @us ewniiDg, before his Honor Mr Justice Wis! and a special jury of four. This is lbs ease of Eosewarne v Bull and others, wal it* arose out of the sale of caratettib&e Belfast factory after the fire, lie alleged libel appeared in the shape of IB adrartiseinent in the LytteJto* Times, fev&ch the names of the defendants were Spsssised. A number of witnesses will be 9ub& m each side, and no doubt there rill be*large attendance of the trade aad 4&ea interested at the Court this mora? hfe. JKz Joynt appears for the plaintiff, m%J, C Martin and Mr Stringer for 4' Qiteeb Pabtxkbship,—Mr A. Macfesld, of Waitui, near Geraldine, writes a Ksiespoadent, hss in his possession a fine cat which, at any time is pretty ttt&ge, but is particularly so when she lias fcjfess, as she happens to have just now. Hrdgaeckmald has also just purchased a HB& wakey, and no sooner did the latter i& $tm Mttpna than it immediately made iSfftHß and took possesaion of one, the aa&makingnotthe slightest l&etsoa. The monkey has now taken up |SWsterters permanently in the cat's box, *lssg it sits the whole day longcontentfjqr hugging the kitten in her arms, , f*jj9eatmg a comical sight. j%£4CE Sink.—The continuation of the fwiitai st the Palace Rink on Saturday Slfe* drew a very large attendance. The jjhk hated very pretty, indeed, what with gWfed costumes of the skaters and the wfffstioas, whirh were exceedingly taste- * The inarch started at 8 p.m., led by *fßoanolly. At ten o'clock Mr Donnolly •wrasatd those present thanking the jP®pe of Christchurch for their patronage 2~§ the season, and announcing his ■wttuaii of conducting the Eink in future *ac had done in the past, so that nothing ■yiwt-dasß entertainments would be ffWated therein. At the conclusion of •B Soemoßy's remarks the organ played *%$£ Lang Syne,~ the audience joining •-ike chants. Three cheers were then [ ■ P*® &>r Hr Donsolly with musical Skating was then resumed until when the National Anthem was jfffjKl-. 1 his brought the season to a 3WI the Eink re-opening for skating **g* the first week in April. FLOBAL AND HoBTICUL- ****• Society.—The annual x show in conwith this Society took place in the Hall, Geraldine, on Thursday j*J2*ad was in every sense of the word a 2*s** 8 spacious hall allowed of an Wro display being Tiadf*. and the lsst&nifcy was taken fall advantage of. r*-**Ua and about the doorway were with ferns, evergreens, ti trees S; sags. The display of vegetables, *2j* aad cut flowers was exceedingly ***• The weak point of the exhibition ?* the pot plants, but even here there ??* T ery creditable display. The Com?~*®jaade a new departure this year by j~jj™j«ag butter, hams, bacon, home-made jg*d»c»ke and needlework, among their I special prizes. The innovation was improvement, these exhibits SrS T «y good and attracting a deal of j2**«ffl. The judges of needlework, 2**r and the cookery, were Mesdames B. A Maedonald,., W. U. Slack and C. S'l.r aa ?- e ' °f Sowers and vegetables, Wheelhand, Lowe, Harry» Jaaath and Sealey; of hams and W. E. D. Lawson. A very sno;g*W dinner, at which the Committeeavna -S '**&&& were present, was held during Sf*? ■* the Crown Hotel- Taken altotewf !?*>* waa a**** &» beat ever I ■** hj the Society.-

Baiit.—Showers fell all on Friday night in the Northern district. These wiU be more beneficial than Otherwise.

Tehpibancb RraT.—On Saturday evening the usual weekly meeting was held, hesitations and songs were given, and a very effective programme gone through. Mr Price, of Wellington, occupied tbe chair, and gavea short address cm temperance. Miss F. Burrell presided at the piano.

OBmxABT.—Mr Henry Taylor, who was for some time landlord of the Queen's Hotel, Timaru, bnt who recently took over the Clarendon Hotel, died yesterday morning. He had been suffering from disease of the heart for some time, and had been attended by Drs Prins and Ovenden. Yesterday morning he became worse, and died at about 5.45 aan. Mr Taylor was well known and respected in Timaru, and his death will be heard of with regret.

Teotting Matches.—A trotting match came off at Oxford on Friday last between Mr Parlane's Sawdust and Mr Hawken's Peter for £5; distance about one mile from Hawken's Terminus Hotel to Parish's corner. Sawdust won after a close finish. The owners not be in? satisfied, another match was arranged for JBIO, from Hawken's Hotel to Mr Moody's. After Sawdust leading for quarter a mile, Peter came away and won easily.

Alleged False Peetbnces. —A man named Henry Hogwood, who is a hawker of boot-laces, was arrested on Saturday by Detective O'Connor, on a charge of obtaining, by false pretences, a loin of mutton valued at 38 6d, from Mr George Bull, bntcher, Colombo street. It appears that, on the 13th inst., the accused went to Mr Bull's shop, and represented that he had been sent from the Christchurch dub for the meat, and it was supplied to him. Accident at Waikatx. —A serious acci* deatt happened to Mr George Claydon at Waimate on Wednesday last. It appears Mr Claydon was cutting firewood at a circular saw when a log of wood was thrown by one of the men assisting him, and instead of it falling within his reach it struck the saw, rebounded, and struck him on the forehead. Dr. Niccols was immediately sent for, and upon examination found a severe lacerated wound in the scalp, and a fracture of the nasal bone. The wound was sewn up and the patient removed home, and he is progressing as well as can be expected.

Accident to a Matob.—Our St. Albans correspondent writes:—Our worthy Mayor, Mr E. Salter, met with an accident on Thursday afternoon under rather peculiar circumstances. He was seeing off two friends by the St. Albans coach, and lor a few moments wa3 engaged in conversation with them. As tbe coach moved off Mr Salter stepped briskly aftross the road, and, in doing so, he came in collision with a horse, the force of which Efted him off his feet and hurled him to the footpath. Fortunately it was found that no bones were broken, although he sustained an abrasion of the left arm and wrist, and it is thought his right wrist is badly sprained. The affair was a pure accident, and the rider of the horse is held entirely blameless in the matter.

Kaiapoi Rifles. A general meeting of this company was held in the drill-hall on Friday evening, Captain Whitefoord, Commanding (in the chair). Dr. Parsons and Lieut. Wilson were also present. Thirty two members were present. On the motion of Color-Sergeant Blackwelh seconded by Sergeant Clarke, it was unanimously resolved that the new regulations for the Volunteer force be adopted by the company. A discussion took place in reference to the brass band, whereupon it was decided to call in the instruments and company property now in Use by the band. The names of eight or ten new members were given in. After discussing some other general business, the meeting' separated. The strength of this company is 67. ' The Voluictbebs.—Very good progress is being made with recruiting for the various companies under the new regulations.' The City Guards, the senior company, has very nearly filled up its ranks to the required number; the College Bides are progressing well, their recruiting party being very successful in inducing likely young men to whilst the efforts « Lieutenant Hobday, who'ia in charge of the Sydenham Eifies, have not been in vain. The Irish Eifles hold a meeting tonight at the orderly room to consider the new regulations and decide what steps shall be taken.

Theatbxßoyal.—MrGeorgeDarrelland his Company, who have been doing remarkably good business in rWelhngtfop, will open at the Theatre Eoyal here on Saturday next for a season of fourteen nights. The opening piece will be a dramatisation of Fergus Hume's celebrated novel "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab." The piece is one of Mr Darrell's own dramatisation and it has been remarkably successful in Wellington. Mr T. Nicholson, the well known scenic artist, has arrived in order to paint the scenery, &c., and the drama will be produced with all the accessories, a hansom cab and horse being introduced on the stage. . A Southkbn Mabtys.—ln Barbadoes street Catholic Church last night Bishop Grimes said that he. had received from Borne the official documents concerning file martyrdom of Father Peter Marie Lotus Charnel at the island of Fortuna. These documents were read by the Bishop, and gave a full account of the inquiry held by the Congregation of Sacred Sites as to the fact of martyrdom, the cause of martyrdom, and. the miracles performed in connection therewith. All these invests, .ations had been of a favorable character, and the people were now v for the first time able to invoke his. memory as a martyr of the Catholic Church. Br, Grimes then went on to jgive an account of the life of the martyr from" his birth in France in 1803 down to the time of his martyrdom on the island of Fortuna in 1841. The Bishop mentioned that on next Sunday Pontifical High Mass would take place in honor of the martyrdom, and the church would be specially decorated for the occasion. v

Papantti Public Libhary.—The annua meeting of the subscribers of the Papanu Library was held in the Library on tbe 19th inst. There was' a fair attendance of members. Mr H. Godfrey occupied the chair. The Eev. J. O/B. Hoare wrote, apologising for being unable to attend. The Secretary read the report, which showed that the receipts for the year had been JBIS 19s sd, and the expenditure £13 14s Bd, and that there were at present liabilities to the amount of £* 18e lOd, and outstanding subscriptions and rents to the amount of £1. A temporary exchange of forty-five books nad been made with tie Geraldine Library during the year, and all these had been read by the subscribers. The funds of the library having been insufficient to pay a librarian, Messrs Godfrey, Derrett; and Morgan had alternately acted in that capacity during the year. The report was adopted. The following were elected a Committee for the year:—Messrs Godfrey, Derrett, King, Hayes, Delahunt, Jackson and Morgan. Mr C. Jennings was elected auditor. The meeting then terminated. At a meeting of the Committee, held after the close of the general meeting, Mr H. Godfrey was elected Chairman, and Mr A B. Morgan Hon. Secretary and Treasurer.

JTobth Cantbbbuby Bicycle Club.— A general meeting of the members of the N.C.B.C. was held on Thursday at King's Junction Hotel, Eangiora. There was a good attendance, Mr C. E. Toriesse in the chair. Programmes of the Dunedin and Ashburton Clubs' races were received. In reply to the N.Z. Cyclists' Union, it was decided that the chairman be elected handicapper, and Mr T. Boyd .to point oat to cyclists the best routes for visiting cyclists to go for trips. Evidence was also drawn up of A. C. Wilmot*s rqsords in the one and ten-mile distances. On the motion of Mr T. W. Eowe, MA, seconded by Mr Wilmot, it was decided to , hold a bicycle T»ce meeting at Bangiora on Easter Monday, together with athletic games. A committee of the Chairman, Messrs W. Blackett, W. De Moulin, T. Boyd, H. Gulliver, and Jennings was appointed to cany out.the details. The vexed question, " What is an Amateur V formed the subjet for ao-i-e debate, it being decided to ascertain if the Alliance rules applied to_ past performances and runnings. Objection was taken co the adverse criticisms ot a correspondent signing "Limit," in one of the papers. The meeting "then adjourned.

Alleged False Pretences.—A. man named Bobert Canning Bagnell, who wa3 convicted six months ago of larceny and released on probation, was arrested on Saturday on a charge of larceny as a bailee of a swag belonging to John McKenzie, the contents of which were valued at JB7 16s. The prosecutor is a jockey, and the two were travelling np country together on Friday last when the alleged offenoe took place. The accused, who was arrested by Constable Breen, wiU be brought before the Court -this morning.

Aitotrbb Takepf Axoxalt.—An importer of needles writes to the New Zealand Herald exposing a queer tariff anomaly. Needles, if they come in paper packets containing 25 each, are admitted free, but if they are put up in caeca ■ also made of paper—containing 150, they are, by a recent decision of the Commissioner, liable to 20 per cent. duty. Fashion ih Glovbs.—-The fashion of wearing gloves of different colors on the two hands is steadily increasing in Paris, and wiU doubtless cross the Channel before long. The contrast is often made very strong, as when one hand is white or pale grey and the other black; but many ladies are satisfied with a less glaring dif ference, and clothe one hand in say light, and the other dark tan.

Novel Piauovobt* Platwo.—Colonel Cody, better known as Buffalo Bill, is starting in the States «ith an altogether new and original sensation. He has turned pianiste, and is out-heroding such prodigies as Hofmann and Hegner. He plays "Yankee Doodle" on the instrument, by shooting at it at 100 yards distance. He engages to hit the right note each time and produce no discords. What becomes of the piano after one of the Colonel's six-shooter solos P

ErrxBiMKNT ik Laxd Eefobm.—An interesting experiment in land reform is about to be tried at Swanley, under the auspices of che Horticultural College there. It is proposed to introduce the Metayer system of fuming, the leading principle of which is to divide the proceeds of the sale of the produce equally between cultivator and owner. This system prevails chiefly in Switzerland. No arbitrary rent being fixed, the cultivator ia under no dread of eviction. Whatever his produce fetches one-half goes to the landlord tor the rent. The system is an equitable one, but in the working has of course its disadvantages.

Tramping to thb Hot Lakes.—Of late the tourist traffic to the Lakes (says the N.Z. Herald) has been looking up. Some Auckland young men during the holidays started from Auckland to walk to the Lake country and through it. When the party got to Lichfield, instead of returning to Oxford and taking the Oxford-Botorna road, they took a near cut by a waterless tract of country, from Lichfield to Botorna, being on their feet from morning to night. Owing to their parched condition, they were unable to swaUow the food they had with them. On getting to Botorua, they drank so greedily of water that all the party became iU, save one, and they abandoned their pedestrian expedition. The cast-iron man went on to the bitter end, travelling to the volcanoes, up the Waiotapu Valley, and on to Taupo and Wairakei, and back to Oxford, where he took train to Auckland. His comrades are content with their experiences, and have no desire to renew them.

Ocean Waves in a Gam.—-An English sea captain has made what are probably the meet careful observations on this subject which have ever been recorded. He writes to the Liverpool Mercury that during a voyage around Cape Horn he measured -Que height of the waves in a gale. To do this he went up in the main riggingtoget, if possible, the top of the wave coming up 'astern in a line of sight from the mast to the horizon at the back. The reason he selected the mainmast was this: that, as a rule, it is nearly amidships, and when the sea is. running, the sea ahead and from aft lifts the two ends, forming a hollow amidships (the actual foot of the ware below the mean draught, equal to. the slight elevation, and the observer necessarily is above the true height). It was a difficult operation, but he obtained some good observations, marking the height of the waves on the mast. On measuring the distance from these to the mean draught, he found them to be as follows :—64, 61, 68, and 65 feet respectively, varying in length from 760 to 800 feet.

A Thamks Audibncb.—Says a writer in file Auckland Herald j—'♦ Phil Robinson has Just been lecturing at the Thames, hut I -am told that although there was a good attendance, one awkward circumstance Bhbwed that Phil did not quite understand these peculiar jokers. There were two prices of admission—3s and la. Shis would do all very well at Auckland, where there are two classes. There are many people in this city who would consider themselves socially damned if they were to be Been in the pit at any entertainment. But it is not so at the Thames. Nobody is there compelled by any social rule or regulation to pay 3s for admission to any place of entertainment if he can get in for Is. And so it happened that when the evening came, the ls place was full, and the 3s place empty. But Mr Phil Robinson, after all, perhaps rather had his audience, although he did not succeed in getting their extra shillings. When he ascended the platform he was rather appalled at the blank spaoa immediately in front of him, and he Baid that, as he wae not accustomed to being so far from his audience, and did not feel easy under the circumstances, would they oblige him by coming forward and occupying the front seats ? The Thames magnates did not know quite how to take this, and looked somewhat sheepish, but at length, on being again urged, Borne of them came forward, and filled up- the gap. But if the great war correspondent had known his men, he could have had 2s from everyone of them."

Iktmbcoloniali Pascbis Post. — The Victorian postal authorities are completing arrangements for the exchange of parcels with the Colonies of New Zealand and Tasmania. The principle of establishing a general intercolonial parcels post was affirmed at the Conference of Post-masters-General in Sydney last year, it .being recommended that the question

should receive tbe consideration of the various Australasian Governments as early as possible. It was also recommended that parcels should 'be carried at a rate of 5d per lb., with a minimum of lOd to cover a 2U> parcel, exclusive cf cost of carriage, and that the same general regulations be adopted as are in operation between Great Britain and the colonies. Already (says the Argne) the system has been adopted by the postal authorities of Western Australia, and the Government of South Australia has announced its desire to bring it into operation at an early date. The postal laws of New South Wales and Queensland do not at present provide for an inland parcel post, and fresh legislation will therefore be necessary before its introduction into those colonies, it being considered inadvisable to adopt such a measure with regard to others before a local system can be introduced.

Eson Pasha—The following account of Emm Pasha was recently given by Sir Francis de Winton, late Administrator of the Congo Free • State in the course of a lecture on Central Africa:— " Emm Pasha, otherwise Edward Schnitrer, was born in the Prussian province of Silesia in the year IS4O. He commenced the study cf medicine at Berlin in 1868, and graduated at the University of that city in 1864. Animated by a strong desire for travel aad a love of natural history, he went that same year to Turkey, and crossing over to Asia Minor he remained there till 1873, when he returned to Constantinople, and quickly mastered the Arabic and kindred languages. In 1876 he entered the Egyptian service as Dr. Emm Effendi. His many and varied talents and his devotion to duty attracted the attention of General Gordon, who employed him first as Surgeon-General,"and afterwards, in 1878, promoted him to be Governor of the Equatorial Provinces of the Soudan. How faith fully and* with what signal success he governed those Erpvinces in spite of Arab intrigue and oetility, of severance from all communication with the civflised s ;w<pnW for four yeara. and in spite of otiußt. drawbacks, and with what wonderful.".-energy and courage he established a settled form of government is the matter of history."