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New Zealand Mail, Issue 545, 15 July 1882, Page 4

A rather singular occurrence, but one evidently attended by some danger, took place at the City Hotel, Christchurch, on Wednesday last week. According to the “ Licensed Victuallers Gazette ” a geutleman named Ryan jokingly asked the barman to blow through a stick. The barman, suspecting nothing, of course, took the stick aud blew through a small orifice. Before blowing, however, he presented the stick riflewiso at another person, who dodged away from it, and by doing this evidently saved himself from serious injury. The barman blew as directed, and the result was most astonishing. A loud report, and the room was filled with smoke. A large picture, indicating the excellence of some brewer’s ale, hanging against the wall, was pierced with small marks as of fiue shot ; a kerosene tin and a travelling portmanteau were equally disfigured, and the company were thrown into a state of consteruatioQ. Further than this there was no damage done, which was very fortunate. The stick appears to have been loaded with some kind of dynamite explosive, which required nothing but a puff to bring its destructive quality into play. The injury done to the portmanteau, tin, and picture, shows that if the contents had been lodged in any one’s head instead of in those articles the result might have been the reverse of trivial. Enormous estimates are published of the amount of money Bent. to Ireland from America. One places the total for two years at 2,500,000d015, another at 1,500,000d015. Both include the 250,000d01s levy voted by thd Chicago Convention,°of which only 110,000dol has yet been paid.