The Evening Star THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1883.

Evening Star, Issue 6472, 13 December 1883, Page 2

The Evening Star THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13, 1883.

ttugh Flannagan, a patient in the Christchurch Hospital, cut his throat last night. The Rev. John Will has accepted th* caH from the Presbyterian congregation at Waiareka.

Mr A. S. Otterfeon liJvs Wen appointed deputy - assignee in oankruptcy for the Oamaru district,

The Resident Magistrate’s Court case of Berwick v. Calder, which had not concluded when we went to press yesterday, resulted in judgment being given for defendant. The steamer Victory, with about 300 nominated arid assioted immigrants for this •port, left Plymouth on October 27, three dhiys before the Tongariro, and may now tie ’expected to arrive daily.

Mr Phillips, governor ot the Dunedin Gaol, has been granted three months’ leave of absence. He proceeds on a visit to Australia, a" d during his absence the gaol will be under the charge of Principal-warder Ferguson.

Owing to the meeting of the New Zealand Rifle Association being held during harvest time there will probably be few representatives from Otago at Auckland in February. Sergeant Hogg is likely to represent the Clutha Rifles.

The South Canterbury ‘ Times ’ thinks that no lad should be permitted to carry a gun, Under any pretence whatever, unless he has been strictly disciplined in the use of arms, and has exhibited some natural cautiousness in handling them.

It has been decided by the casting vote of the chairman the Auckland Harbor Board not to use Port Chalmers stone for the Calliope Dock. The engineer, opposed the use of this stone on the ground that its qualities had not been Sufficiently determined by use and experience. In conseqUfeUCe of the decision given by the Appeal Court the Land Board have decided to hold an inquiry into the Strath Taieri cases of alleged dummyism on the 24th of January, The date for the rehearing of Borthwick s and Hertslet’s cases Was reconsidered, and fixed for the 16th 'of January,

Bishop Thornton, of Ballarat, has been impressed by American go-aheadism. He says : “In Victoria we would talk for years about erecting a Murray bridge, but in a quarter of the time that we would spend in discussing the matter the Americans would have a bridge composed of marble spanning the river.”

A concert was given at the Masonic Hall at Port Chalmers yesterday evening in aid of the local Mechanics 1 Institute. The hall was packed, and the audience appeared greatly pleased with the varied programme presented to them. The vocalists were Mesdames Downes and De Lautour, Misses Leslie, Wignall, Paton, Kelly, Messrs Macfarlane, Robertson, Wignall, Gardner, Turpin, Rennie, De Mans, Puller, Porter, and Mrs Shelmerdine and Miss Broughton the accompanists. A choir of twenty-five voices, under the leadership of Professor Sale, also rendered very serviceable assistance.

A good deal of interest has been shown by the es-pupils of the Girls’ High School in the proposal to form an ex-pupils’ association. A very successful meeting was held yesterday at the school, and a lively interest shown fa the proceedings. The association was named “The ex-High School Girls’ Club,” and over forty members were enrolled. A committee was elected to draw up rules, etc., to be submitted to a general meeting of the Club to be held in February. Meantime, with the object of making the membership as large as possible, the secretary is to communicate with all ex-pupils. The object of the Club is to promote pleasant social intercourse between the members, physical as well as intellectual improvement being aimed at.

An announcement of the utmost scientific importance, which may possibly portend the extinction of the deadliest of epidemic diseases, has just been made. Dr Koch, the director of German medical scientific inquiries, who has recently fetubned from Egypt, declares that ho has discovered the long-sought-for cholera germ, a very small parasite in the shape of an obganism, without structure, and incapable of movement. The technical nomenclature of this organism is a bacillus. A similar germ was discovered by the same saVant a year and a-half ago to be the cause of tuberule. Dr Koch is now going to India to test his investigation by the study of Asiatic cholera in its original home. Other medical men, English as well as foreign, have found organisms in choleraic discharges, but they have supposed that these were merely accidental to decomposing animal matter, and not in the nature of a cause; nor is it certain that they have detected the presence of the bacillus. The scientific method which Dr Koch will now pursue is that of experimentalising on the lower animals, such as mice.

The San Francisco correspondent of the ‘ New Zealand Herald * sends the following interesting item “ Pampas grass, ao like the toi-toi of your country, is gaining special notice, and the cultivation of it is now a feature in one part of our States. The demand for the beautiful plumes is i toadily on the increase, and New York, Boston, and Philadelphia monopolise almost all grown here. In Paris, London, and other cities in Europe, whence these plumes are shipped yearly, they command a large price—that is LI a pair. Think of it! How little we think of the wonderful waving crops that grow all over New Zealand, stuffing the beds with it, and looking upon it more as a weed and a nuisance than anything else, though the plumes here are so much more beautiful that you would hardly know the grass; this, of course, being due to cultivation. Last season there were exported 350,000 plumes, and still the cry was for more. The estimate of the present year’s crop is LBO.OOO. One gentleman has twenty-eight acres of grass, and others have ten, eight, and so on. The industry is attended by women, I should think the grass in your country could be utilised in such a manner.”

Mr 0. Hall’s annual pupils’ ball takes place on Friday evening.

Service of song— “John Ploughman” —in Momington Presbyterian Church to-morrow evening. The consecration and installation of officers of Lodge Otago Peninsula Kilwinning will take place to-morrow night.

By advertisement in another column it will be seen that the Bible Dep6t will be kept open every evening from Saturday next to the end of the year, From the Normal School lint supplied to us yesterday the following names were omitted: —Alfred Poole received a second-class certificate for good attendance, and Ada 0, Hopcraft a first-class certificate for !, .oons in standard 4. “Land ” is the title of n new journal published at Auckland, and intended to be devoted to interests affecting land in towp or country. The letterpress is good, but the editorial sentiment is uncompromisingly hostile to land reform. The post of honorary surgeon to the Dunedin Hospital will bo allotted on Monday when the Committee moot. As will be scon by advertisement, the date for receiving tenders for supplies has been altered from Tuesday to Monday, the 17th inst, Mr J. Kirby, of Princes street, has sent one of his almanacs, the design of which Is exceedingly tasteful. We have also received a bandsome sheet almanac from Messrs D, and J. Bacon, of the Queen’s livery stables. It represents a four-lu hand coach on the road, and various articles used by the firm.