NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1342, 3 June 1878, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Ministeb of Justice.—The Hon. J. Sheehan sailed for Wellington in the Hinemoa on Saturday evening. 1.0.0. P meeting of the members of the Loyal Avon Lodge will be held this evening, at the Orange Hall, when the nomination of officers for the ensuing year will be made.

Lyttelton Chobal Society.—The opening concert of this society will be given tomorrow evening at the Colonists' Hall, Lyttelton.

Cathedral Q-uild. —The general meeting of the members of this Guild will be held tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock. The meeting will be open to the public. Licensing Couet. —The quarterly Licensing Court for the city of Christchurch and adjoining districts will be held at the Resident Magistrate's Courthouse, to-morrow. The Rev. W. J. Habens. —A farewell address will be presented on Wednesday evening next, to the Rev. W. J. Habens, at a valedictory meeting which is to be held in the Trinity (Congregational) Church. City Council. —The usual fortnightly meeting of the City Council will be held this evening. Prior to the general meeting a special one will take place, for the purpose of considering and adopting a by-law for the prevention and suppression of the nuisance or danger resulting from the storage of large quantities of petroleum or other volatile fluids in ordinary stores and buildings. United Methodist Fbee Chuech. — The anniversary services in connection with the Sabbath School of the above Church took place yesterday. The Rev. Mr Macfarlane preached in the morning, and the Revs. Keast, Hodgson, and White gave addresses in the afternoon, and the Eev. Mr White preached in the evening. The soiree will be held tomorrow evening. Cemetery Conference. —The adjourned meeting of the representatives of the various municipal bodhs interested, and of the several religious denominations, us to the central cemetery being established, was to have taken place on Friday last. The gub-pbmmittee to which wa3 delegated the important task of reporting upon a site for the proposed cemetery having been unable to find a suitable one, it was deemed advisable to postpone the meeting until a future day, of which notice will be given. Election or City Auditors— Proceedings which purporled to be an election of city auditors were conducted at the City Council office on Saturday, by Mr J. L. Lee, tiie returning o f licer. The candidates were Messrs Henderson, Alport;, Craig, and Bumcll. During the early hours of the poll the burgesses were allowed to vote as for the election of a councillor, and several at least were permitted to record more than one vote. But about noon the returning officer made a not ible discovery-, his attention being drawn to clause 39 of the Act, which provides that at the election of auditors each burgess shall have onlv one vote. Nevertheless the election proceeded, and finally the poll was declared as follows :—Henderson, 85 ; Alport, 03 ; Craig, 57; Burnell, 51. We understand that the question of the validity of the election will be tested. i

Station Sam.—Messrs J. T. Ford and Co. sold to-day, by auction, the Otaio station, with sheep, &c, Cor £191,C00. Canterbury Rowing Club.—The annual supper of the above club will be held at Radclifi'e's Hotel, on Thursday, June 6th, at 7.30 p.m., when the various prizes won during the season will be presented to the winners.

South British Insurance. —The new and handsome offices recently erected for the company in Hereford street, were opened today. In response to the invitation of the local bodies a large number of citizens assembled at a very excellent luncheon, and afterwards inspected the building, which wa greatly admired. The toasts proposed at the luncheon were—" The Local Trustees," "The Manager," "The Architect," "Kindred Colonial Insurance Companies," &c. A Petroleum Spring.—The Wellington "Post" of Thursday has the following: — Mr R. Cole, of Canterbury, has made what he believes to be a very valuable discovery of a spring of crude petroleum, while prospecting for gold somewhere in the neighbourhood of the Sounds. He has forwarded a bottle of the fluid to Dr. Von Haast for test. The result will be made known shortly, and meanwhile Mr Cole is taking the necessary steps to protect his own interests in connection with the important discovery.

Pigeon Race.—A race from Timaru to Christchurch, under the auspices of the Christchurch Pigeon Flying Club took place on Saturday. There were only four entries, in consequence of the absence from town of several members who would have entered their birds. The birds were liberated in Timaru at 10 a.m., and the first two birds housed at 1.14 p.m. ; the third bird ariived at 1.15, and the fourth did not arrive in time to be placed. The prizes were taken as follows :—lst, Mr A. Smith's Loafer; 2nd, Mr A. Smith's Larrikin ; 3rd, Mr W. Earnshaw's G-len Tui. The next race will take place from Ashburton to Christchurch on 15th June, for birds born since Ist January, 1878. Harbor Board. —The annual meeting of the Lyltelton Harbor Board was held tDday in the Government Buildings. The chairman's report wasread, and treasurer's statement submitted, showing the financial position of the Board, and on the motion of Mr H. P. Murray-Aynsley, seconded by Mr D. Craig, it was resolved that the latter be certified under the hand of the chairman, in conformity with the Lyttelton Harbour Board Act. A letter was read froTi the chairman of the Board to Mr Conyers pointing out the urgent necessity for increased truck and waggon accommodation on the railway, in view of the great probable increase of the grain traffic during the noxt year. A considerable amount of business was transacted, and the Board adjourned at 3 p.m., having fixed its next meeting for the 13th inst. at Ljttelton, after the arrival of the 12.10 train.

The Maobi Meeting.—lt is expected that the large assemblage of Natives at Kaiapoi will separate to-day. It may be stated that the Natives have, at this meeting, made no specific claim for land or money, but petition the Government to consider their title to compensation for non-fulfilment of certain agreements, and particularly for their deprival by the unwitting sale of lands of their means of obtaining subsistence from the fishing and hunting grounds, as well as of fuel from the forest. They had not foreseen that they would lose these rights when the land from the East Coast to the hills was sold. They assert that the land between the hills and the West Coast has never been parted with.

Wesley an Sunday School, Lyttelton. —On Friday evening last the teachers and committee of the above school held a very pleasant gathering in their commodious schoolroom, which has recently been renovated. Each teacher and member of the committee invited a friend, and the senior male and female Bible classes were also present. At six o'clock the company, numbering about 100, sat down to an excellent tea. Afterwards a very pleasant entertainment took place, the Rev. Mr Beck occupying the chair, when recitations, readings, songs and glees by Mr Bradley's Glee Club were well given. A feature of the meeting was the presentation by the teachers of a very pretty piece of plate to their senior teacher, Mrs Allen, who has been twenty-four years engaged in the Sabbath school. The presentation was made in a few appropriate words by Messrs J. S. Olliver and E. C. Brown, who testified to the very great services which had been rendered to the school by Mrs Allen. A vote of thanks was passed to the Glee Club and chairman, after which a pleasantly spent evening was closed with the benediction. The Control of Chabitablh Institutions.—On this subject the " New Zealand Times" has the following:—"lt appears to us that there are questions still to be considered before a new scheme can be submitted to Parliament and the country. It must be determined in the first place what institutions are to be included under the head of "charitable." It will be found that many different ideas upon this subject have prevailed in different parts of the country, and to this we shall have occasions to refer. The Conference of Boroughs and counties at Christchureh expressed au opinion as to the distribution of the charges with which we incline to agree. It will, we think, be found that a union or amalgamation of certain counties and boroughs for the purpose of administering charitable aid will be necessary in order to secure the equitable and efficient collection and expenditure of funds. What we desire to put clearly before the public is, that whatever they may have been led to expect, there can be no reasonable hope that a system of double subsidies will be maintained, and that it is for the local bodies to ascertain the cost of charitable institutions sufficient for the needs of two or more counties or boroughs which would naturally work together, and, instead of striving for what is impossible, to endeavour to secure from the consolidated fund a permanent payment proportioned to and in support of special local rates.

Public Meeting at Baicaien. —A meeting of the residents in the Kowai Road district was held on Friday afternoon in the schoolroom, Balcairn, to consider "the advisableness of investing a portion of the Eoad Board funds as a permanent maintenance fund; also, to consider the recent decision of the Amberley justices of the peace recommending the removal of the Court-house from Leithfield to Amberley, and also to discuss any further business that may be brought forward." There were 120 present. Mr 0. Ensor, chairman of the Kowai Road Board, occupied the chair, and gave a synopsis of the Board's financial position, showing that £IO,OOO was deposited in the Bank for six months at 6i per cent, per annum, and that the remainder bore interest at the rate of 5? per cent, on the daily credit balance. A letter from Messrs (Jarrick and Cowlishaw showed that their opinion was that the Board could not invest their money for more than one year. A letter from the Board's bankers also showed that,if deposited for more than a year, the Board's fundsjwould not bear as high a rate of interest as at present. The chairman spoke at length on the advisableness of allowing the funds to remain as tbey are in preference to locking them up. As they accrued from the land uale3 they should go to open up the country. Mr W. C. Fendall argued that if £IO,OOO was deposited from year to year it would yield an annual income which could be a maintenance fund for repairs of roads, &c. Ho was in favor of repairing some, as they could not expect to receive much more. Mr J. Cameron seconded the motion, which was put and lost. The question of removing the Court-house was then considered. Mr Fendall spoke at length on the action of the local justices in bringing two gentlemen to the meeting at which this question was first made publie. lie showed that the Besident Magistrate was oppoiud to the removal of the Court to Amberley, but was in favor, if neccsiary to remove it at all, of having it at Balcairn. A motion to this effect, moved by Mr C. Hiatt, was carried by 121 to 3, and the petition which had been prepared and signed by a great number of people, was ordered to be forwarded to the Minister of Justice. A committee of ten was then appointed as a Domain and Cemetery Board, and the proceedings terminated, i

Commodore Hoskins. —It would seem that Commodore Hoskins is about to go home, for in a letter to the Auckland " Herald " he says he is afraid he has paid his last visit to New Zealand. Theatre Royal Rkligious Services. — The Evangelistic services last evening at the Theatre Royal were numerously attended. It was announced that similar services will be held every Sunday evening, commencing at a quarter-past eight. Temperance Hall.— The trustees of the Temperance Hall invite the friends of the temperance movement to a meeting, to be held on Thursday evening, for the purpose of considering the sale of the present hall and purchasing a larger one. The Taranaki- Waikato Railway.—lt will be seen that the ridiculous statement, made at the sittiug of the Waitemata County Council, to the effect that the Government were about to employ 20.CD0 natives in the construction of the Waikato-Taranaki Railway, is materially modified by Mr J. S. Macfarlane, the alleged authority for the rumor.

Native Land Claims. —The sum of £SC3O was a day or two ago remitted to Mr Wbitefoord, R.M. Kaiapoi, for distribution to the Natives having claims in respect of reserves at Dunedin. It has, however, been ascertained that a large proportion of the parties interested were in Otago, and the amount will be sent there for distribution. Presentation to Mrs Hill. —On Friday afternoon the teachers and pupils of the infant school in Gloucester street East presented Mrs Hill, the head mistress, with a neat testimonial, accompanied by a farewell address. Mrs Hill has also received many other presents from her numerous friends. No. 5 Co., C.R.V. —An inspection of this company in manual and platoon exercise was held by Major Lean on Friday evening. There was a full muster of about forty rifles, and the inspection was satisfactory. The officers present were Lieuts. Wearing and Perrin. The corps was accompanied on the parade with its fife and drum band. Upper Ashley.—Mr Dobson, C.E., is at present engaged in surveying a track into the Warfdale Valley, Upper Ashley, in which there is a strip of rich agricultural land of about twelve miles in length by five miles in width. It is anticipated that a road can be made over a saddle about 1200 ft. above sea level, which will render the country easily accessible.

Inquest.—An inquest was held at the Albion Hotel, Lyttelton, before J. W. S. Coward, Esq., coroner, on Saturday afternoon, on the body of William Loder, son of James ELoder, of Dublin street, Lyttelton. From the evidence it appeared that deceased, who was an infant four months old, was sleeping with his father and mother on Thursday night last. When they awoke at 6 a.m. on Friday they found the child lying on the pillow dead. Dr. McDonald, who had made ihe jJO-st mortem examination, was of opinion that the child must have turned his face downwards against the pillow, and so been suffocated. The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental Death." Two jurors who had been summoned and failed to attend were each fined £1 by the coroner, the police stating they had very great difficulty in getting people to attend at inquests. Universal Map.—A useful universal map of the world is published by Gaylord, Watson and Co., of New York, and given away by their agent, Mr G. Wright, now in Christchurch, to every subscriber to their contemplated Directory of America and Australia. This map is illustrated, and embraces a large amount of useful information. Amongst other features are found, in a tabular form, a list of the chief cities of the world and their population ; the Governments of North and South America ; a table showing the relative time of Australia, India, China, America, and Africa, as compared with London ; statistics of Asia and Africa; the several European countries and their rulers; the flags of all nations, together with views of the principal places in New York and Philadelphia, and a panorama from New York to San Francisco. The obverse of the chart is an illustrated map of the United States and Canada. The map will probably offer a great inducement to persons to subscribe to the contemplated Directory. An Empty Till. —The following extraordinary communication is published in Saturday's "Tiinaru Herald ":—" Public Works office, Wellington, May 27th, 1878—Sir,—I am directed by the Hon. the Minister for Public Works to acknowledge the reoeipt of your letter of the 4th instant, applying for payment of the purchase money for the Timaru and Gladstone Boards of Works offices at Timaru, and in reply to state that as the Crown Solicitor reports the title clear, there is now nothing to prevent a compliance with your request. The unsettled state of money matters in Europe having interfered with the negotiation of the Immigration and Public Works Loan, the Government is necessarily obliged to defer, where possible, large payments of this nature ; but so soon as the loan is raised, out of which this sum has to be provided, the amount will be passed for payment,—l have, &c, John Knowles, L T nder Secretary for Public Works. The Chairman of the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works, Timaru, Canterbury." On this the "Herald" aptly observes that it simply means that the Government are insolvent, and are making an arrangement with their creditors without the consent of the latter. TnE Late Circular to Civil Servants. —The Auckland " Herald " is informed that considerable dissatisfaction prevails in the Civil Service, owing to a circular which has lately been issued by the Government. Hitherto it has been the practice for the Government, on the death of any officer, to grant a year's pay to his widow and children. The circular referred to states that this practice will not be continued, and that the officers ought to make arrangements with the Government Insurance Office. If this circular had referred only to officers who had lately joined, under the provisions of the last Act regulating the Civil Service, there might not, the " Herald " thinks, have been much ground for complaint, as these officers are for the most part young men. But to make it applicable to all is somewhat harsh. Some of those officers to whom it applies are aged men, and not a few have undergone hardships in the service which renders their health precarious, and would ensure their rejection by any medical examiner for an insurance office. The civil servants are a class by themselves, and an impression prevails that they are well able to take rare of their ov. n interests, and that indeed they are too well off, and do not know it. Particular individuals may have power to keep themselves safe, but the general body of the civil servants are by no means strong and influential. In making this new regulation, the Government might have considered the case of old officers, and have fixed some recent date for the commencement of its operation. Deafness Cubed. —The following remarkable case is recorded by the " Dunedin Age " :—Deaf and dumb people have generally been regarded beyond the reach of medical and surgical treatment. A singular instance of the partial restoration of' the hearing has just, however, come uuder our notice. Mr James Dow, farmer, of Lower Harbor, has a'son ten years of age, who has been deaf and dumb from infancy. Hearing of Professor Stanich, he consulted him iu Dunedin a few weeks ;igo, and tne boy has since been under that gentleman's treatment, The result is that the boy',- sense of hearing has partly returned, and "the sudden restoration of a faculty which he never knew before makes every sound absolutely painful fo him. When placed under treatment, a bell rung at the back of his head failed to attract the slightest attention. Now the slightest tap alongside of his ear not only startles him but causes him to place his hand to his ears, as if the nci-e were disagree able. Mr Stanich declarer that the boy's sense of hearing is now partly restored, and that in the course of a few months the boy will be able to commence conversation. People, ho urges, are dumb simply because they are deaf, and the restoration of the sense of hearing is accompanied with the power of utterance, fho boy, the present instance, before he can acquire the power of expressing his thought?, muft be taught articulation in the same manner as a lisping infant, and it is anticipated that it will take sometime before he will be i-blo to make himstlf intelligible and to understand what is said to him. Altogether the case is one of a nioet singular and interesting character.