Items.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XVII, Issue 5306, 21 June 1892, Page 3

Items.

The Kumar a Times reports a terrific thunderstorm at Xumara on Friday night. A huge ball of fire descended in Main street, with a fearful shrieking sound. Directly it touched the earth the ball seemed to scatter, and liquid streaks of what seemed to be molten metal shot through the air. A portion of a rata stump was cut away, and pieces of wood and lumps of dirt were' scattered in all directions. Six men who were standing under a verandah were knocked down. The Rev. T. C. Brooke, of Greymoutli, was lecturing in the Wesleyan Church at the time, and the storm caused a panic amongst the large congregation. One woman fainted, and cries of alarm were heard on all sides. The most brilliant lamp was outshone by the lightning, and the vibration of the thunder shattered the skylights of the Masonic Hall, besides playing havoc with the crockery in the lieighborhoood. It is understood, says the '' Lyttelton Times," that the Sydenham Borough Council will probably reduce its office staff and make other retrenchments, in conse-

qv.ence of its diminution of revenue caused by the loss of the hotel license fees. The office staff at present is not large for a borough of somewhere about 10,'000 inhabitants, as it consists of a Town Clerk,' and an official who combines the duties of rate collector and Borough-Inspector. One of the Evening Post runners, a lad named Hart, was given half-a-sovereign by a gentleman yesterday in mistake for a sixpence. The boy discovered the fact too late to return the coin, so he brought it to the office, with the view to the discovery of his customer ; and the gentleman who made the mistake having been discovered, the money was returned to •him this morning, when he left half-a-crown as a reward for the boy. The other day a swagman, when travelling about-eight miles from Ashburton, came to an empty house, beside which was a well. He looked into the well and saw four sheep struggling in the 'water. At considerable inconvenience he managed to rescue the animals. He ascertained the name and address of the owner, who lives in one of the suburbs of Christchurch. He waited on the owner, who thanked him for hi§ services and rewarded him with a threepenny-bit!—Lyttelton Times.

Professor Y. Riley, whose opportunities for observation place him amongst the highest authorities on the subject, estimates that the loss of food crops by injurious insects alone is L 100,000,000 per annum.

The Lyttelton Times' Home correspondent says : Great interest is felt amongst London Baptists in the pending visit of the Rev. Thomas Spurgeon, of Auckland, who is expected Home now in about six weeks, and will occupy his father's pulpit for three months. There can be little doubt, from the tone of the meeting of the church members of the Tabernacle which was held during last week, that had Mr Thomas Spurgeon's health permitted of his living in England he would have been invited to undertake, in conjunction with the Rev. J. A. Spurgeon, its permanent pastorate. Failing that, Dr Parson has been invited to fill the vacant post for a year. At the end of that time the views of the church members will again be invited. In New South Wales 12 banks and financial syndicates own about 45,000,000 acres of land, one institution alone owning 8,500,000 acres. The Woodville Examiner says that the syndicate who are taking up the dairy industry in the district are prepared to expend L 15,000 in the erection of factories and creameries. It costs L 33,000 a year to keep the Yic torian State schools clean. The closingof five hotels in Ballarat East cost the State in compensation L 5791. A Chinaman was fined at Avoca (Victoria) for ploughing his land on a Sunday. There are no fewer than 1500 Justices of the Peace in South Australia—one to every 213 of the population. Mr W. Hancock, Fairfield (N.S.W.), has succeeded in preserving grapes in sawdust for a period of four months. A Brisbane detective examined in a three-card case, professed complete ignorance of even the names of the cards. The West Coast Times states that very rich black sand patches are to be found occasionally on the southern beaches. One man working on the beach between the Okuru and the Haast is reported to be making as high as Ll2 per week. An extraordinary case of self-mutilation is reported from Narandera, Victoria. In the presence of a number of spectators, a man named George Whitlock, a photographer, forced one of his eyeballs out with his finger and thumb, destroying the organ. He had previously been drinking heavily. The Wellington Opera House directors charge L6O a week rent for their theatre, which is L 25 a week more than Dunedin or Christchurch and L2O more than is charged in Auckland. At Geelong a tailor has received an anonymous letter enclosing LlO. The writer states that 40 years ago he purchased a suit of clothes, but was unable to pay, and went through the Insolvency Court.

The ironworks at Onehunga are now in full going order again, a large quantity of iron ore from Nelson being in process of testing. The s.s. Poherua, from Brisbane, has just landed at Onehunga the first consignment of 1200 tons iron rails for the Ironworks Company, which were purchased by the management from the Queensland Government as old iron at L2 per ton. The Queensland authorities are replacing their old rails by new steel ones. There are still several thousands of tons of rails awaiting shipment from Brisbane to Onehunga. It is anticipated that, when re-manufactured, the iron will be disposed of at about L 8 per ton.