NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2738, 30 December 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A special excursion train will leave Christchurch at 8 p.m. on Saturday for Dunedin, picking up excursionists at Temuka, Timaru and Studholme j unction, and arriving at Dunedin at 8 on Sunday morning. The return fares from the above stations are 20s and 15s, cheap enough for so long a ride.

The adjourned annual meeting of the members of the South Canterbury Jockey Club will be held at the Grosvenor Hotel on Friday evening next, to receive the annual report and balance sheet and elect officers for the ensuing year. The Committee will meet at the Grosvenor Hotel on Thursday evening next.

A very successful Bazaar is being held in Auckland by the Catholic Church, £6OO has been realised, and £l5O more is expected.

Major Te Wheoro, M.H.K., for the Western Maori Electorate, entertained 500 of his constituents at a political dinner at Eangiriri, when the .wants of the Natives were discussed, /

The South--Canterbury Board of Education meet next Wednesday. Mr C. Patton holds a special dance Assembly on Monday evening, in the Barnard street Hall.

Special train arrangemrnta for the holiday on Monday • next are advertised this evening.

Wilhelmj has been very successful in exchanging his music for notes in Wellington. Aucklanders are complaining' that introduced blackbirds are robbing their fruit trees.

The steamer Penguin was to try the new dredged channel from Port Chalmers to Dunedin to-day.

The Carisbrook (Dunedin) cricket team beat the Christchurch “ Wanderers ” by three wickets. They were beaten by the Ashley County team. At the Supreme Court at Wellington, which sits next week, the Mayor of Wellington brings an action for slander against one Stewart, damages £IOOO. She Timaru Harbor Board meets next Thursday. Notices of motion ve appointment of wharf manager, salaries of officials, and altering ordinary day of meeting will come up for consideration.

One of the natives concerned in the row on the Oxford (Auckland) racecourse, in which a Maori was stabbed to the heart, has been committed for manslaughter.

The West Coast Railway Commissioners have returned to Christchurch, and are understood to be very favorably impressed by the advantages which will acme from the construction of the proposed line of railway.

The return of the successful candidates for the House of Representatives has been gazetted, with the exception of Rodney i Waikouaiti, and Hokitika. It is understood the Returning Officer for Waikouaiti professes his inability to return the writ forwarded him by telegraph, not knowing what has become of it.

An addition has a been made to the advertisement calling for tenders for the construction of the West Oxford contract of the Oxford-Malvern railway, viz., that alternative, tenders will be receivenfor the black birch timber of the neighborhood to be used for sleepers in the permanent way. A fruiterer of Dunedin, summoned for Sunday trading, showing that he had only one shutter down and the door partly open, the Magistrate decided that as the shop was not kept open so as to be offensive to persons passing on that day, the information would have to be dismissed.

Mr Gordon, one of the defeated candidates for Franklyn North, has been summoned for neglecting to supply a list of s crutmeers employed by him during the election. A warrant has been issued against a resident of the same district named Box, for making a false declaration to procure enrolment as an elector. A list of the entries for the handicap events at the Caledonian Sports and the handicaps themselves are given in another column. If the acceptances are in any large proportion of the entries, the fields will be good ones. The Society are rapidly putting the ground in Order for the day of meeting, an important feature of. the arrangements being a covered stand to accomodate several hundred people. We regret to learn that Mr John Mee met with a rather serious accident on Monday last. He attended a pic-nic at the Pareora, and going with others for a bathe, he struck his knee against a stone in diving, and split the patella or cap. An injury of this kind is always a painful one, and requires a long rest to cure, and Mr Mee will probably be laid up a couple of months at least.

At Auckland yesterday Donald Watson, brewer, was fined £2O and costs, £23, for neglecting to date his beer duty stamps. Several publicans were fined 20s and costs for neglecting to efface their beer stamps. At the Chamber of Commerce Mr IfihrenMed, brewer, brought forward the present inconvenient way of collecting beer duty. He said every brewery should becon?idered a bond and working tuns gauged from lime to time, after which the brewer could do as he liked with his produce. A brisk nor’-wester has bien blowing all day, raising clouds of dust in town everywhere except where the blessed inlluence of the water-cart was exerted. The wind was pretiy strong at times, but not violent enough to cause any damage that we have beard of. Its parching effects upon field and garden, however, must have been considerable.

The Lyttelton Harbor Board have passed a regulation that all excursion steamers leaving the port must have a boat swung from the davits ready in case of accident. I3y next mail the Board will recive a report from their Consulting Engineers at Home on the suitability of the electric light for illuminating the harbor, with an estimate of cost. The Board wish to confer with the Borough Council on the advisability of lighting both town and harbor with the Brush or other electric light. A man who appeared for the first time was fined 10s by His Worship the Mayor this morning for being drunk and disorderly the previous evening, The delinquent asked the His Worship if he would oblige him by keeping his name out of the papers, he would not like to see bis name in print in such a connection. His Worship said he had nothing to do with it. If a man got so drunk as to require looking after by the police, he deserved to have his name published. We do not give the name of the offender, not because of bis request, but in accordance with our rule not to give the names of this class of offenders on their first appearance.

Christmas Holidays.—H. Coxhead, having secured the services for the Xmas bolldays, of Mr Gamble, for many years head operator with Mr Cherrill, Photographer, Christchurch, is now perpared to execute with despatch, lirst-class photographs at from 12s fid per doz. A large assortment on hand of Photographic Views and Frames suitable for Christmas presents.—[Advt.]