NEWS OF THE DAY

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3111, 22 March 1883, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

To-morrow being Good Friday the South Canterbury Times will not be published on that day, A Blue Ribbon Army is being formed at Auckland. Vanes and Colville, two seamen, have been arrested at Wellington for larceny.

The G Battery N.Z.A. will parade at the drill shed at 13 o’clock to-night and proceed at 12,50 by special train to Invercargill.

The City Oouncd of Dunedin refuse to sanction the transference by Mr Proudfoot of his tramway to the new company till the removal of steam motors is guaranteed. The Oddfellows of Dunedin are apprehensive that Major Atkinson’s pauperism scheme will prove a death blow to friendly societies, 'they need not fear, it will never be carried out,

The Minister of Justice, Mr Connolly, I

will address the Picton electors on Thursday evening. The Timaru Presbyterian Sunday School pic-nic will be held at Seadown to-morrow. The children leave here bj special train at nine o'clock in the morning,

Attention is directed to Messrs Turnbull and Son’s sale of unredeemed pledges from Mr Fruhauf’s shop, to be held at the sale-rooms, Beswick street, on Saturday. M. Joubert has appointed Mr Oppenheimer of Auckland, his agent for New Zealand, in connection with the Inter national Exhibition to be held in Calcutta in December next.

The dentists of Dunedin are wrath with the University Senate for appointing Mr Throp examiner in dentistry ; alleging that he was a purely local practitioner and formerly an assistant to Mr Boot.

Captain Ferguson, of the Magaret Galbraith, has kindly placed his vessel at the disposal of the Regatta Committee on Monday as flagship, provided that she is inside the Breakwater on that day. The Rev James Fleming, of Troon, Scotland, although in bis 90th year, continues to hold a double service every Sunday and to preach two sermons committed to memory and delivered without notes. Mr D. M. Chapman, fruiterer, Christchurch, announces in an advertisement that he is agent for the King street Granite Works, Aberdeen, Scotland

Attention is drawn to an advertisement of Mr Joseph Buggey, caterer and confectioner, Christchurch. Mr Buggey is prepared to supply ice all the year round, and forward it to any part of the province by rail on receipt of orders.

Dr Terry Barnes, a leading doctor of Toledo, Ohio, after 20 years of apparently harmonious married life, left wife and children, went West, got a divorce, and returning to Toledo, married a woman with whom he is.infatuated.

Some passengers by the s.s. British King, just arrived at Wellington, have complained through the newspapers of bad treatment on the voyage. The journals refuse to publish the letters on the ground that they are libellous. Other passengers have presented the captain and officers with testimonials.

The coach from Kumara to Hokitika was upset yesterday, through the horses shying at a heap of firewood. There were seven passengers on board. Inspector Emerson was gashed in the thigh, Mr McKenna was much shaken and bruised, Mr Seddon, M.H.R,, had both his knees hurt; the rest escaped uninjured.

Kempthorne, Prosser's Drug Company have declared a ten per cent dividend. During the illness of Mr Kempthorne, the managing director, the staff have so well managed the business that the Company have allocated £SOO to the staff, as a bonus; and Mr Kempthorne promises a similar donation from his private purse. The Rev. A. G. Gillies, of North Dunedin, is a delightful specimen of n Christian minister. He is in trouble with the Presbytery, not for any grave offence, only through being a trifle too vigorous in his language towards his Elders. He called them “ bullocks ” and ” idiots,” In reply to this he said he had never called them so, but they were so. He was charged with telling the young men to hold their tongues. To this he answered that if he did it was a very good thing, a great many ought to keep their mouths shut. Thirty-two office-bearers of the Friendly Societies discussed last night at Christchurch, Major Atkinson’s national insurance scheme, and' passed unanimously the following resolution : —“ That this meeting approves of the scheme as proposed by the Hon Major Atkinson, and requests him to proceed with the preparation of his Bill, and to furnish copies of the same to the various Friendly Societies at the earliest date possible.” Major Atkinson promised to comply with the request.

The “ Otago Daily Times ” says At the Police Court yesterday, a little boy of 11 pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing the sum of £1 9a 2d. The presiding Jus. tices having no power to send the boy to the Industrial School, adjourned the case till Thursday, for the consideration of Mr Garew. The father was not in attendance, and it was stated that when spoken to on the subject, he remarked, “ Let the little b stop in gaol”—a most heartless statement from a parent, which cannot be too strongly reprobated.

The lad Webb, who, it will be remembered, some time ago had to have both feet amputated at the Dunedin Hospital, through their being frostbitten, leaves Port Chalmers by the Rotomahana for Melbourne, where it is intended to provide him with artificial limbs. The Union Steamship Company have generously given him a free passage, and an attendant has been allowed at a moderate rate to accompany him. Several gentlemen in town are interesting themselves in the case of the lad, and in due time will see that he is put to learn some convenient trade.

At Mr Bedmond’a Bathurst meeting, where be was accorded an enthusiastic reception, a resident named Bohan made an intemperate address, expressing antipathy to the English and English rule. He was called to order by the chairman, and Mr Eedmond also expressed dissent from such sentiments. He also deplored the recent disorderly meeting in Sydney, but said that he himself could not have kept quiet when such calumnies and falsehoods were being uttered.

The Auckland “Star ” says : —According to the Rev. George Brown, the South Sea Island Missionary, the natives of New Britain, though otherwise depraved, seem to have a natural aptitude for trade and barter. In their vocabulary are words meaning “ sell,’ buy,” “ pawn,” and «sccuri'yif they lend (hey expect interest at the rate of 10 per cent,—and will get it twice over if they can,—and they even have a word synonymous of the expression “ selling off at a sacrifice under cost prices.” According to the same authority, these savages have a very ingenious method of reminding a dilatory debtor of his obligation. If, for instance, one New Briton owes another for a pig, the creditor does not render an account, because he cannot write, and besides, he d'ire not ask for a settlement, as that would be a solecism that society would never fo give. But he has a commonsense and effective way of getting payment. Ho fashions a piece of soft wood into a rude figure of a pig, and impaling it on a piece of bamboo, sticks this delicate reminder in front of the door of the dilatory debtor. The following day the obligation is liquidated without fail-

The police at Thornborough (Queensland)}

have reported to the Commissioner of Police that a man named Charles Basilly, who had penetrated on foot into a dangerous gorge on the lower point of Mount Mulligan, thirty miles from Thornborough found himself suddenly in the midst of a mob of blacks. It is supposed that after discharging one barrel of his revolver be made a determined attempt to escape, and ran for half a mile, when he was speared the dead body being discovered with a babed spear extending four inches through his right kidney. The body was hurried on the spot where it was found.

Crs Spedding and Barnes of Dunedin, are much ruffled with tie Press for commenting upon their utterances in Municipal matters. The latter on Tuesday evening, delivered a lengthy and somewhat violent speech, in the course of which he remarked that he did not care what the newspapers said about him, and that he was never so well pleased as when his friends told him the papers were abusing him. He intended to do his duty straightforwardly.to the citizens, independently of what the papers had to say about him, and if the papers liked they might omit hia name from their reports. Heroic Barnes! And this is gratitud e. For if ever virulence and abuse were treated with indulgence by the Press, they were in his case. From a gazetted notice in a Calcutta newspaper, it appears that in 1882 more than 18,000 persons were killed by snakes in India during that year, and over 2000 persons by wild animals, while nearly 40,000 head of cattle were destroyed in a similar manner. A continual war is waged by the natives against these destroyers, and large sums of money are disbursed by Government annually iu rewards for their destruction. Of the wild animals, the tigers are the most to be dreaded, and of the number killed by wild animals more than one-half fell victims to those denizens of the jungle. The following are additional particulars concerning the accident by which two children were burnt at Cape Saunders on Monday afternoon. Four children, named severally, Mary Ellen McDonald (six years), Andrew Nelson (five years), Mary Ellen Henovan, daughter of the assistant lighthouse keeper, and Earnest Nelson, the two-year-old son of the lighthouse keeper, went into an old cowhouse for the purpose of playing in it. The shed, which was built of tussocks and wattle, had been used as a play-room by the childred living at the Cape, and was situate in a gully about 300 yards from the lighthouse. The children had not been long in the shed when they lighted some tussocks and threw them about, thus setting fire to the shed, When they saw the mischief that had been done the two eldest children ran away and the two babies huddled themselves in a corner near the door, where they were subsequently found by Mr Nelson, whose attention was first directed to the spot by the screams of the children. The manner of the rescue of the poor babes has been told already.