NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10262, 3 February 1899, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The . Harbour Board yesterday gave authority for the supply of a crab winch with wire rope for the Sumner lifeboat slinway. r There are about 400 licensed drivers of ' cabs, expresses,- and carts in the city of Wellington. * On Monday Messrs W. and F. Parnham,' Kaiapoi, threshed out a field of oats which > returned 90 bushels to the acre. -~ The names of Mr and Mrs A. F. H. Blaki*. ton were inadvertently omitted from the list of invited guests at the wedding of the Bishop of Melanesia. Mr, Rothschild, of Wellington, who owns ' the sunken steamer Tasmania, has (reports'- l the "Post" received a telegram from Gisborne to the effect that Diver Pascoe reports ' the deck of the vessel to be quite clear of silt. - The funeral procession which followed the remains of the late Mrs Herbert Best to the Chufch of England Cemetery was a large one, and testified to the esteem in which she • and her family were held. ' A number of the Foresters of Court Woodford preceded the hearse. The Rev. W. Cruden officiated. Some exciteifcnt * ensued .yesterday when it becamei • known that .- a cloak and ha>t had been found floating in the river, but on investigation it was found tliat the garment and head-gear were old, and had been apparently thrown into the river instead of on the dustheap. ' At the Magistrate's Court Mr Beetham, S.M., announced tnat v owjng'to pressure of other business, he would be rinable to take civil suits this month on the regular days set apart for their hearing, ' ; excepting on the 9tU and 16th instants. , Any cases which had been set down for the , other days would be. adjourned, excepting where there was no dispute. . ' ,1. The "Eangitikei Advocate" has the follqw-. ing:—lt is stated that the wool cud in the .- - TaranakL district is hardly so. heavy as wa» l expected. I» fact, light'fleeces are general " , all along the coast, and, a farmer states that in the Waverley district the clip is lighter than it has been for years. What wUfi "' low prices ruling and* light fleeces into the bargain; woolgrowers are not having as pro*, fitable a time as usual. , - ' "A letter from the harbourmaster,• read *' at • the Harbour Board yesterday, ', "% concerning . the recent • of .'' timber, suggested that if deck theft' occurred, the beat' way to ' prevent '- ', it woe for vessels to apooint night watches. " The larger vessels did so, bub the smaller "■ ones complained of the expense. A member expressed the opinion that very little timber was stolen from the wtfarves ; any thefts ' f r taking place, from what he understood, was - \ from the railway trucks, ihe letter Wti w ,' ferred to the, Improvement Committee to be '«, ; .\ considered and reported upon., ° ■>"* ~' - > A surprise visib was paid on Wednesday- v night by members of the Lyttelton Regatta * ~' Committee, and their official*, to tlie Elbe, *r which was the flagship tn New Year'i Day, j ' The object of-the visit was the, presentation , ';' to Captain Fox of a- , handsome silver cigar- ', case, and to Mrs Fox .of a richly-bound ''~ 'i volume of Nfi)v Zealand views, The cigar- . ■ case bore the.words, "Presented to Captain'- . '' t A .Fox by the Lyttelton Regatta Committee,,.- r New Zealand, for kindly services on flagship« * - Elbe, January 2nd, 1899." Mr F. Graham, * ~ Commodore of the Regatta, made the pre- ' ' sentation, and in doing so expressed the . ;' gratitude of the committee for the kindness , ' %■ and courtesy' flhown-by the captain and hie ' -. wife, and the, "trouble the latter had given -- . herself in furthering the wishes of the com- '.< mifctee. Captain Fox suitably.,replied'on ■- ,'-' behalf af himself and Mrs Fox. . •■ • • > "<■ "- With reference to. .a paragraph in yeewJf». .<- ---day's ".Press, ,, which state! that the Governor had' granted a Justice of the Peace leave „ t from attendance at ,the Court, it. may be.vpstated , that the Justices Act Amendment, , 1886, provides that clerks of Magistrate , */, 1 Courte'are required to keep a rota of Justice* i. - "" residing within a radius of three miles from a courthouse, and he shall summon them in rotation to attend the Court duties, If aftf ~" .. Justice Jails to attend personally «r by tap-, , stitute on two consecutive occasions, tmeklfc ' ehflll notify the same to the Minister of Jes- <*; tice; and if within a month a reasonable . Acuse is not forthcoming, the Justice" . > cease to hold office, and is disqualified from v\ ' being re-appointed for the space of a year. l --'jL. Under Section 5 of the Act, the Governor y lias power to grant leave of absence for such period as he 'may think fit, or exempt' any Justice from attendance at the Court permaqently or otherwise. The Justice referred [ to yesterday appears to have strictly conformed with the law in obtaining leave through the proper channel. A paragraph having appeared in the "Pfesar relating to application, for a Crimean pension forty-three years after the engagement, it may be explained, in answer to enquiries, thai all deserving claims can be submitted by on inexpensive and sirnnle process. A plain letter written by the applicant, or at least signed by him if some other, person, writes it, to which may be attached the claimant's certificate of discharge, or "failing that a statutory declaration before a notary public, should be first posted to the Secretary Royal Hospital, Chelsea, England. In reply a form will be forwarded to the address of the applicant.. The particulars aeked for in this, should be then correctly stated and vouched for by thf signatures of the persons authorised to sign. In the case alluded to "this official form wa§, with a- covering letter signed by the claimant, posted from the colony on September Bth. Upon January 10th ult., the official it»ly that the pension was granted from October 25th, and the certificate of discharge, wow duly returned." When you sea a van walking sedately, his bead bowed down, oil happiness vanished from ; him, you can. bo sure of thia. Ho ha> either <,» ■oi an overdraft, i* the father ot a cross b»by, or tit* be wants a course of Loftsby's Waho*. 'Ik

_:;■ jj Rays apparatus is now in constant et the Wellington hospital with great The inanv friends of Mr F. Arenas will v. Jbd to learn that he, with Mrs Arenas, •f*d fitffly in Melbourne on Wednesday by lE?\wtli Herman steamer Barbarossa. Mr d Mr* Arenas will come on to Christchurcu JJcr » &° n sta - v in Melbourne. • ficmc i<le» vi the extent of the damage by the Hood in the Waimakariri river fjTfee gained from » stroll on the New Brighton beach. The whole lenirtb of the shore, !« far as the eye can see, is dotted thickly with sheAves of grain, logs, trees, and all Vjj Q f vegetable matter, which has been gyipt down the river and thrown up by the wsve*.

At » meeting of the East Christchurch School Ciimmittw. held last' night, the ftanniitU-c decid'-'d to recommend Mrs Lissanun to the Beard of Education for appointment' to the position of head jnistress of the South Helt Side School, jeodeml vacant by the resignation of tiits Roberts.

' A misprint w< iirn-:l in yesterday's pa-per, In' which Mr W. Laing was made to say l£at lie hii 1 hen J I'l a ciise in which a man gnd his wife tind thiey children h»d lived fX a house <>n Norfolk Islaiwl fur Jj 3d a week. Living i.st .Ttainly cheap to Hit; Isliind. but it is not quite so inexpensive as this. The tigures should hav< read "SOs" a week.

'"i , for ninny ye ( ir.< tliere has been a patch of the Malta thistle (Ceuttiurea Melitensis) at guinnu , , but although the wed is a highly pernicious one it did not appear to spread. Recently, however, the thistle Jins oeen discovered tin Quail Island, and a head of the tbi*tle. gathered there is in the possession of Mr Murphy, w.'io expresses the opinion that now the thistle lias got across to Quail liland, there is no reason to doubt that it will go further. In'explaining a charge against a man for having broken a cab window. Chief Detective Chrystal. ;t! the Police (Joiirt yesterday, stated that the man liad been arrested for tteault ami robbery, and was using such vile and abominable language that in the interest* of public decency he had to be conveyed to tbe lock-up in a tab. He was only got into it i ifter considerable resistance on his part, and he was so violent that h e had smashed the rindow. Tlie accused, an old offender pleaded guilty, remarking that he must have done it. as he had no recollection of it! An olitrage of a dastardly description is reported to have been committed at Panmure, Auckland, one night recently. A horse was ! found in a sad condition on the following morning, and as tlie skin and hair have since come off the face aud neck, it is presumed vitriol was thrown on the poor creature. As the painters were at work on a house near by, advantage was also taken of the pots being handy to paint the horse with red lead.

. At the adjourned monthly meeting of the Wftimatc County Council, Mr J. F. Douglas was elected chairman. A resolution was txwsed placing on record the loss the Council ha* sustained through the death of the late chairman. Mr El worthy. It was resolved that i:fter the consent of the Land Board had I been obtained for expenditure of thirds on 3fr D. Macfarlase's run, the Council would agree, to the exchange of roads with Messrs Campbell and Sons, so as to erect a stock . Midge nt Rocky Point, over Hakateramea river. Mr Walker Rave notice of motion— Ihat no roads be taken over by the Council in future unless metalled and formed. Ai a meeting of the Lancashire Society last night, some little diffictilty was experienced by those ■ present with respect to the election of officent, as those. nominated were practically l t unknown to each other "Well, Mr Cbair- * wan, mid.one of the Lancashire lads, yrmrs is -the only name I know." "Don't ' &!" knowr "J c ?" asked one of those present. : Oh, yes ;I ye known you for a long time " was the answer. Ultimately the difficulty - wa* got over by the person's whose names * were on the nomination paper, standing up ; as their names were called. Apparently J they jttdge ./ appearances in Lancashire. < U J™t e l**f Mark's, dreenpark, Mr I < , Alfred Kittson Thomas, of Sawdon St*tion, h ™. vl * Ci »*erbury, and. Miss Nellie Murray ii' $ iri d "°S hter o' Mr J. G. Murray, of River- •' 1 !; were married by the Rev - g. jVilhams, jun., assisted by the Rev. John of Houthbridge. The church had been tastefully decorated for the occasion by Miss L, Murray, cousin of the bride, and Miss V Amos presided at the organ. After the cere- ,/* ■onjr.Mr and Mrs J. G. Murray entertained ■j tj" ge number °( fiends at Riverlawn. / The bride, who looked charming in white f Mtm, with veil and orange blossoms, was n •ttjaeed-by her sister, Miss E. JVlurray, in /White, trimmed with green, green sash and .t.fwtuie hat. Mr H* Acton-Adams, of Ti-= '; ptpa, acted as best man. There were a large >■~ number of presents and cheques,, including jmral from England. The bridegroom's hi'' J,"' M ™ mnA and pearl necklace. Mr and \'f Mrs Thomas left en route for Dunedin, '„, Vh«re they will spend Iheir honeymoon, Morris, photographer, from Dunedin, jerwaally takes oil the portraits in * Colombo etreet. Call and see- new gpeci- } iWM.-{Advt,] ■■-,■■■ 4 Further Reductions in Groceries: Oat>s *«l reduced to 3a per bag, Californian % ** n *™ apricots, peachea and peare reduced ;|, to 8d per tin, sharps 4s 9d per sack, kerohjHte b< od per tin. sugar (sparkling white ?, 'SS ie P * r lb With tea "Hubbard, |'/-ij|*™ig received a shipment of B.S.A. v ffl? bi °y e,Q n «»nf8» we can execute orders of, these at £19. Boyd and Son, >>GbiK*rter etrelt, Chriatchuroh. Tele-, '*' pfcooe 658. 8851

''1 *Jt? c famous Elswick cycle hearings, stated s'• V f n e, lisll cycling journals to be perfection. \>«g*ndia bicycles fitted with 1899 pattern t'f ?**»<* bearings, twin roller chains, and t .{t Uttnlap tyres, for £21. Oats, Lowry and • -Co., makers, Christchurch.— (Adyt.) afto you require a tyinic take the beat— ' Iprup o! Hypophoaphates. . Uaraett, Chtmiit. lib bottle, 4s 6d; Jib, 2s 6d. 16 •' 'Two Nuts to Crack.—-Excelsior and Bed * lZ? Bicycles.—Send for catalogues. ' Bar* ■ fcfw Cycle Manufacturing Company, Man- , Muter street. ? J?° an ? o,a Q uiQ J ne Wine restores vitality. Sufferers from general V\«™Bty, depression. weakness, tired ,i,;fljd languid feeling, poverty of '*,!•**»' *c,*, should take our Quinine ti,e > prepared from sound Bpauish and pure quinine. Price, 3s 6d per HoVdea and Cole, next Ballan-K^l^-HAdTt) 'j£ Hilf-mile Xevr Zealand record flying KHart reduced to 57sec by A. W. Humphreys • .'•wwtcd on a Waverley, at Lancaster Park, *> January 13th. Waverley Cycle Depot, . W? Colombo street. 2396 L^ , departure in the Drapery Bum\)"V"~We , have just completed arrangewith Australasian Free Insurance Aβ-/-*'S a J' on ' g' v i n g "f the sole right to issue v PWQcles of insurance in Ohristchurch and 'T'f! reo °f charge or cost of. any kind i , ' buyers of drapery and clothing to the $>?z!! c of seym *hilung» and sixpence and |- y 2! W ' Our £5 ° P°^ c y aoJds S ood or w™ , m date oi issutf » renewed with purchase of 7s 6d worth of good*. K-jl , ' policy is good for twenty-eight r ffy* from " the date of issue. V!'***!* Policies keep all customers dealing "i ngelarly with 113 ronstantly insured with- ; T-J? cost ' a P»ymen.te are guaranteed JV' tlj r e Scottish Metropolitan Life Assur*,gj» Company, of High street, Dunedin. 2» dealing with us regularly you are always . against accident without cost to - "is?t* eif " * or one °* our P 1 *£**> « ir ing full particulars, it will pay V,)* Shaw, Robinson and Co., 213 Cashel '•/ifweet, Christchurch. Lj*/ tub: rainfall. rainfall at the chief centres 'daring wsis:—Auckland, 13 daye, total Wim 3.75; Wellington, 14 days, faU 2.71; rMSprirtchureh, 9 days, fall 1.48; Dunedin, 'Wdaye. fall 2.97. » v CHRr.STCHURCH CAB-HORSES. 'mi? 8 Christchurch we have some of our j racing trotters running in , livery stable said a Southern horse-trainer givinjr in the Wellington Magistrate's on Tuesday. Hβ further expressed fejaßg*.*pfarion that this custom did not hurt horns a bit.

A SMALL CLAIM. Says Tuesday's "Post , ': —Four shillings and sixpence was a sum which the machinery of the Magistrate's Court was set in motion to recover in a civil action this morning, and defendant lost the case by default. The costs amounted to 6s. BEES InThOUSE. The South CanterbuA- Education Board granted the Claremont School Committee 10s to expend on the expulsion of a swarm of t>ees. which had taken possession of the sitting room, of the master's residence. The bees took possession of the front wall, had then bored through the inner wall, and finally made the room uninhabitable. UNION WAGES. "We are -not going to give charitable aid to men who won't work, simply because they ! can't get Union !wage3," said the Chairman of the Wellington Benevolent to a carpenter who applied for aid. In the case '■ under notice, however (says the "Post"). = ihe applicant was not a Union man—he didn't believe in Unions, he said, and was willing to accspt less than the standard wage until such time as he got something better. The Trustees gave th« man and his family relief for a week. , LIBERAL ALIENS. It appears that the Celestial, who is able to best his European friend in market-gar-dening and in other lines of commerce, is iiot behind his rival in the matter of charity. It was reported at the meeting of the Gisborne Hospital Trustees (says the "Poverty Bay Herald") that donations had been received from Citing.Foo of 10s 6d arid two 101b boxe-d of tea, Oiling Wing, £1 Is, and Wong King 10s 6d, which Mere accepted with thanks. PREYING INSECTS. A correspondent signing himself "Z.Z.,* , writes to us as follows:—"Sir, —l noticed a reference a few days ago in your columns as to the absence of any natural enemy of the bot fly. I question this. The Ichneumon flies are a preying family, though not strongly represented here. Twice recently, and fifty miles apart, I noticed the same species of Ichneumon (bronze red, and about %m in length) attack a very large spider in each case. The fly shortly took a firm grip of the under part of the spider (whose lengthy legs were fully extended)', and, working backwards, over brushwood and long grass, 4c, so carried the spider, under'my observation, a distance of eight yards, and this in long grass, &c, and in an absolutely direct line. It was a prodigious feat of the fly." FROM THE PENSIONS COURT. » Here is a local specimen (says the "Post") of the trials endured by the investigators of the claims of old age pension claimants. Magistrate: "What did your husband earn hist year?" Claimant: "Oh, not very much.' "Yes, but how much?" "Well,* sometimes more, and sometimes less." "Yes, yes, but how much?" "Well, just a few pounds." "How many pounds?" "Not many." "Come, now* how many?" "-Well, perhaps, £20." "Now, are you sure it was not more than £20?" "It might be a little more.' "Was it £30?" "Well, not more than £30" —and so it goes on. Sometimes a claimant works off a mild joke or two at the expense of hit Worship. One old fellow, when asked whether he had ever been in gaol, reluctantly admitted the impeachment. "Urn," muttered the Magistrate,: with, increasing alertness, "for how long?" "Many years," was the brazen and unexpected reply, and as his Worship glared over his magisterial spectacles at the seemingly liardened offender against the laws of the community, the old fellow, with a naughty little twinkle, added, "I was a gaol-warder, your Honour.' , THE FRUITGROWING INDUSTRY. Interviewed in Nelson by the "Colonist" the other day, Mr Blackmore, the Government Pomologist, stated that he was quite certain that the colony is not likely*to overdo fruitgrowing for a great number of years to come. In addition to supplying our own requirements, there is even a demand springing up in Australia, While in Christchurfh he was shown an order from Melbourne for 200 tons of plums for preserving purposes, the only stipulation as to price being that it should be reasonable. There is also opening a splendid market in late-keeping applee and pears at Rio. So important is this that the Styx Apple Company, of Christehurch, has a special building for receiving, grading, and packing fruit for Rio, skilled hands being employed for the purpose. Nelson will be Mr Blackmore's headquarters for several months, while he is working the Marlborough and West Coast districts. A VENTURESOME TRAVELLER. During the hearing of a judgment summons case at the Magistrate's Court (saye the "Otago Daily Times"), the judgment debtor stated that he went for a, trip, to the O-d Country for thje benefit of his health with only £1 in his pocket; but, he added, that his expenses at Horns were paid by his relatives. Mr James,, counsel for the judgment creditor, expressed his doubts about the matter, whereupon the >. Magistrate observed, with a smile, that it was possible for a man to. travel roynd the world nowadays without any%mcmey at all in his pocket Learned conneal said he could understand the judgment debtor doing that if he were a walking man, like Schilling ; but he could hardly believe that an ordinary individual would go Home with only £1 i n his'possession. ■ A DESTRUCnVIToRCHARD PEST. s Our Wellington, correspondent telegraphs: -■-While examining the fruit cargo of the ! Talune, from Sydney, Mr Kirk discovered several cases of peaches to be infected with the Queensland fruit maggot fly, one of the vwy worst and'most destructive of orchard pests. Hβ at once condemned the fruit, and ordered it to be destroyed by fire. Instructions have been telegraphed to the Agricultural Department inspectors in other part* of the colony to exercise the mest vigorous supervision of fruit exported from Australia to prevent any possibility of the. .insects becoming acclimatised. This is the first time on record that the fruit maggot fly has been detected coming into the 4 country. * • : POPULATION oFtHE COLONY. The estimated population of the colony on the 31st December last was 783,317 persons, including 39,854 Maoris—Males 413.797, females 369,520. Chinese are included in the population given above, and -the number in New Zealand on the 31st December, 1898, was estimated to be 3464, of whom 31 were females. Excluding Maoris, the population of the colony had increased by 14,407, or at the rate of 1.98 per cent, during the year. Td this increase the excess of births <over deaths contributed 11,471, and the excess of arrivals over departures 2696. The birfh rate for the colony in 1898 was 25.74 per 1000 of the mean population, and the death rate 9.84, as against 25.96 and 9.14 respectively in 1897. The number of births registered in 1898 (18,955) slightly exceeded the number in 1897 (18,737), but with the increased population the rate per 1000 for 1898 is lower. The deaths in 1898 (7244) exceeded* the number registered in 1897 (6595) by 649, and thus increased the rate per 1000. The number of marriages solemnised in 1898 (excluding those contracted between Maoris) is estimated at 5020, giving a rate of 6.82 per 1000 of the mean population, against 4928 and 6.83, the actual number and rate in 1897.