RELIGIOUS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 5896, 31 December 1880, Page 2

RELIGIOUS.

At a meeting of the Biblein-Snhools Council held on 29th ult., the following motion, amongst others, was agreed to, viz. :—"That a meeting of parents be convened at an early date, by invitation of this Association, for the purpose of ascertaining the feeling of such meeting as to Bible reading in the public schools, and to consider what notion, if any, should be taken to have the Education Act amended so as to allow of such Bible-reading, and generally to take into consideration such matters auxiliary to the snbjeot as the meeting may determine." The P/esident, the Rev. Dr Copland, and Messrs J. A. Connell and J. G. Frassr were appointed a committee to arrange for the meet-

ing. A distribution of prizes to the competitors who had copied the Gospel of St. Luke took place at the Odd-Fellows' Hall, Albany street, on Christmas Eve. About 100 young persona were present, and the prizes were distributed by Charles Wilson, ths donor. The prizss were for accuracy and handwriting, according to age, and the competitors were divided into two classes — those connected with the North Dunedin Church were termed the church division, and the others the general division. The prizes were given aa follows :—Ohuroh division — Gills : Annie Jane Steadman, Ist prizo, a gold watch; Mary Ann Robertson, 2nd priza, ft sewingmachine ; Margaret Simpson, 3rd prize, a work-table. Boy?: Robert Dagger, Ist prize, silver watch ; A. Davidson, 2nd prize, writingdesk ; John Bowden, 3rd prize, an easy-chair ; R. Runciman, 4th prize, an easy chair. General division —Girls : Jeania Sutherland, Ist pr?Z9, a gold watch; Eda Beianel, 2nd prize, a sawing-machine ; Sarah Hitchcock, 3rd priza, work-table. Boys: Harry Shrimpton, Ist prize, silver watch; James Anderson, 2ad prize, writiDg.desk; John Hopcroft, 3rd prize, writing-desk. A large number of silver thimbles, pencil-cases, and other gifts were awarded to thoso that competed, all having done so well, so that none were without a present of some kind. The question for the competitors to consider during the past year, and the answer to it, were as follow : " What was the forbidden fruit of the New Testament ?"

—" The fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil."

A Christmas-trea exhibition in aid of St. John's Church Sunday-school was held at the Odd-Fellowb' Hall, George street, on the 24th. The affair passed off most successfully, and it is anticipated that a sum close on L2O will be realised.

At All Saints' Church there were two services on Christinas Day. At the first the sacrament of Holy Communion was administered by his Lordship Bishop Nevill, assisted by the Rev. A. R. Fitcbett, B. A. The attendance at the 11 o'clock service was very numerous, and an appropriate sermon was delivered by the incumbent of the parish, the Rev. A. R. Fitchett. The church was very tastefully and profußely decorated.—The offertories in St. Paul's Church on Christmas Day, ia aid of the Benevolent Institution, amounted to L2l 7a 6d. Next Sunday (Innocents' Day) there will be a "flower service " in the same church at 730 p.m. The Bishop will give an address. The offertory will be in aid of the Sunday-school Fund.— There was a special service on Christmas Day at St. Matthew's Church. The church was taatefnlly decorated with flowers, evergreens, ferns, &c, as also the altar, lectern, pulpit, and font. The Rev. C. J. Byn conducted the service. The musical portion of the service was very effectively rendered, and comprised tba ant fa em " Arise, shine," the " Adestes Fideles," and the hymn " Hark t the herald angels sing," —The Christmas morn service at the Trinity Wesleyan Church was held at 8 a.m. A string band assisted the choral portion of the service, which was well performed under the direction of Mr G. R. West, organist. The band played an opening voluntary, and Misa Shepard sang the bolo "Rejoice greatly" from the "Messiah." The amount of the offertory was LB. The choir's contribution for tbe year—Lls— was added to this amount, making a total of li23.—Pontifical high muss was held at St. Joseph's Church on Chriatmaa Day. The Most Rev. Dr Morau acted as celebrant, and preached. The choir sang Mozart's 12th Mass on the occasion.

A children's flower service was held in St. Paul's Church on Tuesday (Innocents' Day.) The children, as requested, took with them presents of flowers, which are to be transmitted to the patients at the Hospital. The church was beautifully decorated, and the display of flowers was admirable, a very largo number of bouquets being given by the children. The evening prayers and the lessons for the day were read by Archdeacon Edwards. Bishop Nevill delivered a pleading address to the children, in which he enjoined them to practise patience, vigilance, and unselfishness. The Bishop's text was the Bth, 9tb, and part of the 10th verses of the second chapter of Genesis. The collection at the close of the service was in aid of the Sunday-school fund.

ACCIDENTS AND OFFENCES.

A very distressing fatal accident happened on December 17th at Koslyn, a boy aped 13, named Alfred Kislingsbury, being accidentally shot by his own brother. Th« two lads Kislingsburjr, with a couple of other boys, were

out shooting birds, and were in one of Mr R. B. Martin's paddocks at Bellevue. John Kislingsbury was carrying a double-barrelled gun loaded with shot, and in letting down one hammer the other, which was at full cock, fell also, and the charge went off, lodging in his brother Alfred's left side. The boy died shortly afterwarda. Mr Martin was soon on the spot, and with his aid and that of otherß the deceased lad was conveyed to his parents' home in Russell street. Laat week's Mount Benger Mail says:— " Notwithstanding a very diligent search for the body of the lad Hiscock, we regret to say that it had not been found up to the hour of our goinpr to press. The names of Messrs P. Fitzgerald, jun., William Orr, and T. Whelnn have boen mentioned to us as amongst the most active of the searchers, in addition to Mr Hiscock and other neighbours. As the ninth day after the accident approached, the watch was moat closely kept up by a number of people from the township, and of settlers along the banks of the river, but, as we have said, withO"/ Buocesa. It rained almost without intermiSßion thTDusV^Ht b unda and tWa made the self-imposed ta3k oftne *U. a h ßta all the more worthy of praise." —..

A fatal accident happened on the Wingatui section of the Otago Central railway last waek. Two men, a European and a Chinaman, were engaged blasting, and had started early in order to get it done before the other men came to work. Either the men waited longer than they should have done, or the blast went off accidentally, for they were both knocked down with stones from the blast. Mr M'Kerjzie, the contractor for the work, was in Dunedin at the time, and a? ho had received a telegram stating there had been an accident, he and Dr Blair went out as soon as possible. When Dr Blair arrived the European, whose name was Luke Finnic, was alive, but there was no prospect of his recovery, and he died while being carried across the plain to Mosgiel. A young man named James Barker was received into the Hospital on Monday suffering from a broken thigb." The accident was caused by a fall of earth while he was working in one of the Shag Point coal-mines.

A verdict of " Accidental death " was returned by the coroner's jury after an inquiry into the circumstances attending the death of Luke Finnic, who was killed by the explosion oft blast at tho WingaAui section of the Ofcago Central railway, on Friday last, Finnic was a married man, about 38 years of age. The Chinaman, Ah Shee, who was injured at the time, is now out of danger, and was removed from the Dune-din Hospital by his fellow countrymen.

Between 2 acd 3 o'clock on the morning of the 18th Dea. the house of Mr John M'Donald, of Maungatua, took fire and was burnt down, with all the household furniture, Mr and Mrs M'Donald and family barely escaping. The stables adjoining the residence were also completely destroyed. From what we can learn it appears that the fire was caused by some defects in the brickwork of the fireplace. Mrs M'Donald had been baking late in the evening, and it is supposed the bricks had got bo much heated as to set fire to the woodwork of the house. Neither the house nor stables were insured.

A fatal fire has occurred at Dennot's Albion Hotel, at Napier. Early on the morning of the 27th Dec3mber the hotel was dis. covered^ to be oa fire, and it was supposed that all the inmates were rescued, though one was so drnnk that ho bad to be lowered by ropes, being incapable of helping himself. The Fire Brigade got the fire under after about LSOO Worth of damage was done, one wing being gutted. The firemen, in going through the rooms, then found a man named Smailey, a shepherd, who had just come to town. There was no knob on the handle of the door inside his room, and thus he could not escape. He wag very little burned, evidently dying from suffcation. The insorances ara—On the building, LSOO in tho Standard and LBOO in the New Zealand ; on the furniture, LSOO in the Union. The stock was not insured.

A six-roomed house at St. Leonards was destroyed by fire early on Wednesday morning. Mr Ballantyne, the owner and occupier of the house, at half-past 2 o'clock fancied he smelt fire, and having got up and aroused his daughter, after searching he found that the cnpboard near the fireplace was on fire. He applied a hose he had in the honse, and In the belief that the fire was extinguished, returned to his bed. The girl and a man who was lodging with the family stayed up to clean the floor of the room, which had received a good quantity of water, and they did not return to their beds until 5 o'clock. An hour later Ballantyne himself got up, lighted the kitchen fire, put a kettle on, and then went outside to perform some household dutiea. He had not been absent from the kitchen more than five minutes when he heard one of his children calling out "fire." The flames spread very rapidly, end only a tew trifling articles of furniture were saved. The house was insured in the New Zealand Company's office for L 250, but the furniture was uninsured. Some cash was lost in the fire, and as the amount of insurance will barely cover the mortgage pn the property, Mr Ballantyne is completely impoverished by the fire, m

A man named Campbell M'Alister met his death on Wednesday through circumstances of a most painful character. It appears that the deceased, who is a gardener, living at Opoho, left home on Tuesday morning for the purpose of collecting some money. During the day he took to drinking, and at 10 in the evening was found in a helpless condition on the vacant ground at the corner of Stuart street and Moray place east. He waa removed to the watch-house in a cab, and at 6 o'clock on Wednesday morning, being in a dangerous condition, he was cent to the Hospital, where he expired at 10.40 a.m., never having recovered consciousness. The deceased, who has not been longr out from the Home Country, leaves a wife and five children.

* Martin Scott, an employe of Messrs Findlay and Co. ; met with a Blight accident last week, some timber falling upon him. He was admitted into the Hospital, where his injuries were found to be limited to a cut on his head and a few bruises on one of his arms.

The Peninsula Caledonian sports were slightly interrupted on Saturday afternoon by an accident that happened to a lad named George Langley, of Castle street. It appears that Langley with other companions of his were playing behind a horse, which one of them struck with a whip, when it kicked out and struck Langley on the lower lip, cutting it almost through. The injured lad was carried to a cab for removal to the Hospital, but the cabman, though just starting, refused to take him unless the fare were paid in advance. LaDgley had to wait on the roadside until Mr Alexander, of South Dunedin, came up, and took him in his private carriage. The boy's wound was dressed when he reached the Hospital, and on Sunday he was taken home.

Onr Palmeraton correspondent writes : —" On Saturday morning Sergeant Moore arrested a man named John O'Brien for a most desperate assault on his wife, at the unemployed section of the Shag "Valley and Waihemo branch railway. From information gathered by the police, and a statement made by a man named Edwards, it appears that had the latter not interfered the prisoner O'Brien would no doubt have had to answer to the serious charge of murder, for he would undoubtedly have killed his wife had Edwards not taken a tomahawk away from him, just as he was in the act of making a blow at her. When O'Brien was thus frustrated in his mnrderons attemot, he went behind his own tent, and immediately after doing so Edwards saw a shovel flung from that direction which struck the woman on the right side of the head, just above the ear, and felled her. inflicting a wound about two and a-half to three inches loner. The prisoner had also, previous to this, beaten her with a large piece of firewood about the body, causing some fearful bruises in several places. O'Brien was ultimately brought on Saturday before J. W. Murdoch, Esq., E.M., and remanded until Monday, when he was sentenced to two months' imprisonment with hard labour in Dunedin Gaol. The injured woman has been sent to the Hospital."