NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3344, 20 December 1883, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The lonic made the passage from Lj .telto Bio Janeiro in twenty-one days. Some persons state that they experienced another earthquake shock here yesterday, about ten o’clock in the morning. The Eev. B. E. Chambers, while passing through Rakaia on horseback, yesterday, was thrown and sustained injury to his spine

The retiring Mayor of Auckland, Mr J. M. Clark, was banquetted by the City Councillors and presented with an illuminated address on retiring from office yesterday.

Robert Foreman, a drunkard, was found, dead in a police cell, at Auckland, yesterday morning. Dr Hooper believes the cause was apoplexy. An inquest was to be held this morning.

Seventeen Chinaman, recently employed as firemen on board the steamer Triumph, have left by the Pmgarooma for Sydney, cn route for Hong Kong, their passage money having been paid thither by Shaw Savill and Co.

A fire broke out in the kitchen of Mr Palmer’s hotel at Albury early yesterday morning, but every person having been promptly aroused, the tanks were laid under contribution, and a few buckets so vigorously used that in a short time the fire was extinguished.

The Court minstrels had only a moderate house last night at the Theatre Boyal. The lovers of really good singing and firstclass fun ought really to visit this excellent company. During the many weeks they were in Dunedin, where the public are very critical, they never failed to draw good bouses.

The Wellington Council having accepted Blair’s tender for the construction of the Cobden bridge, and being unable to get a reply from Blair, who is now in Tasmania, have communicated with Watson, of Dunedin, who says he is prepared to take up the tender on behalf of Blair,

After the installation of the Mayor of Christchurch yesterday, Mr John Ollivier suggested that a public luncheon should be given to the promoters of the Industrial Exhibition. The suggestion found great favour, and £BO was guaranteed on the spot.

The ex-Mayor of Christchurch has telegraphed to the Government the refusal of the unemployed to accept “so mean a pittance ” as 4s 6d a day, weather permitting, and their determination “to use every lawful and constitutional means to shame them into finding reasonable work at reasonable wages for the unemployed of Christchurch,’’ They propose to form a Working Men’s Association. / n inquest was held at Waimate yesterday before J. Manchester, Esq., ActingCoroner, touching the death of Robert Smith Rogers. A shepherd on the Waihorunga station deposed to finding Rogers seated on the drivers seat of a wagon he had charge of, quite dead. Two horses were in the wagon. The medical evidence was that death was the result of apoplexy or heartdisease, and a verdict of death from natural causes was returned.

A gust of forensic wind blew yesterday inCourt. Mr Joynt was cross-examining a witness when Mr Holmes, counsel for the plaintiff, rose and objected that his learned friend was “ mis-stating facts,” Mr Joynt gulped this down with a visible effort, and then said, “more in sorrow than in anger,” “My learned friend Is adopting his usual tactics in accusing me of mis-stating facts,” Things at this point seemed to promise a little fun. His Honor smiled indulgently, the witness benignly, and counsel expectantly, but suddenly a heavenly calm seemed to fall upon counsel, and all was peace. Mr Bryce has held a meeting at Kihikih 1 with the opposing Ngatianatas. They object to the survey being carried on, and hold by documents signea at the Kniti meeting of 1881 in which the land was assigned over to Tawhiao, Mr Bryce said “ The paper on which those lands are handed over to Tawhiao is waste paper. My march is onwards, and the sooner this is understood the better for the Maoris. I am speaking in your interest. There is no such authority in this country as that put forward. It never existed in my eyes pud does not now.

A destructive fire occurred in Upper Symons street, Wellington, at one o’clock yesterday morning. Eight houses were destroyed before the lire was arrested. The block was built on a level a little below the Byber Pass reservoir, and a good pressure of water could not be obtained. It began at For then - ngham’s saddler, and also took the premises of Ryan, hairdresser; Young, plumber ; Holloway, chemist; Derry, bootmaker ; Halliday, fruiterer, and the dwellings of Messrs DeJongh, Harris, Oavanagh, and Mrs Plumeridge. The total damage exceeds £SOOO. The insurances are : —ln the South British office £I2OO, less £IOOO part reinsured, Victoiia Office £7OO, Imperial £6OO, Now Zealand £312, less £2OO reinsured, North British £2BO, Norwich Union £2OO, less £SO reinsured, Standard £l6O, and Phoenix £IOO.