NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume XV, Issue 1502, 16 February 1872, Page 5

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The i.s. Wanganui is expected here from Wanganui on Sunday or Monday nest, with a pirt/ of excursionists. A cricket matoli will take pi »ue, wj beiiere, betwten the Wungaaui and VV<*!sufidld players, during their stay. Thi appointments of tha "Wesleyan Minsters ia Sew Zealand tor tha jear 1872-73, hare been published and the only change in the Nelson Oircaii v iho removal of the Her. Mr. Thomas from Alotueku, Mr. Tnomas who in an enargabio and tnuuh belotre . minister, and whoje departure it deeply regretted b\ the people of M^tueka, will proceed to HiiJtitiko, hU iucj.saor at Motueka is not yet named. Oiistsr Oaxs&oa O&axs.—x speaUl serrice wa held on Tuesday ereniug, at Cnriat Oimrch, for thpurpose of inaugurating the naw orgm recently erected there. This being the fir<tt ani oaty oi'gi* established in NeUon, and many of the younger num bers of our community not preriouily hnviu^ had m opportunity of enjoying the produjtions ot whio •uoh an instrument is capable, the Cuui'uh was ve ?\ numerouily attended. Tne Re^.'Jjhnitoae, T.'iorpi Mules, and liuss, officiated, assisted by tha Bmho of Nulson, who ileliverad a plowing addrasi suicab to the subjjot. Tae organ, played by AL\ Ho.lown of the Bmtc of Now ZjaUmJ, gare g.'aao iatistauiio wad contributed materially ta tba taoaaM of thu

Ims, Gazette! notifies the appointment of John Symotvs, Esq., of Nelsoflj to the Commission of the Peace for I he Colony. .Assault Casr1. —At the Resident Magistrates Court yestoiday, before Mr. Sharp, William M'Callum, seaman, was charged with assaulting Mr. Akersten in iiis store at the'port, on the previous day.' It appeared that M'Callum had followed the master of the cutter Poineer into Mr. Akerstern's store, and created some.| disturbance, threatening, and ultimately striking Mr. Akersten, who judging from the prisoner's facial appearance, had no1; been idle doing the assault. •Prisoner had kicked complainant, but the charge of assault was not pressed, and the Magistrate fined prisoner 10s. and costs fur disorderly conduct, and he was held bound to pay Mr. Akorsten out of the money coming to him from the ship, some £4 od.l, for • faniHges committed in the store, so that a costly, and unpleasant Hay's work, absorbod nearly the whole of the seamnn's WHg^s. Mb. War. Wkhjeet, an old and respected settler, died at Blenheim on a recent date. His rem;iins were followed to the grave by about a hundred settlers. Tub Press urges the Canterbury Government to recommend to the Provincial Council, when it meets, a liberal grant for the establishment and maintenance of a High School for girls. Gold wbs shipped from Hokitika, by .the Alhimbra, to Melbourne, ou Feburary 2, amounting altogether to 53690z5. Auckland sends no boat to the Christchurch interprovincial races, owing to a disagreement amongst the committee. The officers and men of the ship Chile have resolved to present Mr. Thorns, of Robin Hood Bay, with a purse of £25, in recognition ot the services rendered by them at the recent beat accident in Port Underwood. The eighteenth annual meeting of the Australasian Weslejan Conference was opened on the 18th January, in Melbourne, and whs attended t>y neurly 100 ministers. The Rev. B. Chapman was introduced as tbe chairman of the conference for this y«ar. Various matters of interest in connection with the church occupied the attention of the C)u reren 'c. Narrow Escape. —la connection with the late floods in the Grey Valley the Argus of February 12th, relates the following:—" A loaded cargo boit, belonging to Mr. A. Constantino, left the old Ahaura on Wednesday evening, intending to make Lardi's landing that night. Tne river rose so rapidly that the boat had to be moored for safety at one of the numerous islands with which the river is here stud ied. During Thursday ni^hfc the water covered the island, and alter dark it was discovered, to the dismay of the crevr and passengers, that the island was being washed away bodily. There was a lady, the wife of Mr. William Quiulan, of Reofton, with her four children, among the passengers, and the presence of these helpless little ones increased the danger of the situation. The boat was, with great difficulty, cleared of the now fast disappearing island, and, thanks to the pluck iini] energy ot the crew, another an I larger one was reached, where the boat was loft high aad dry when the water subsided. Fatal Boat Accident neab Viavox. —The Marlborough Press of Feb. I4lh, states: —" On Friday morning last, about 5 a.ru , Messrs. S. I Fell and Hamilton Browne left Brooklyn, Arapawa Island, for Picton, in a boat usually used for the purpose. When the boat with its occupants was about a mile from the starting point, an ominous appearonca was observed upon the water, and the boai wis made snug to receive the squall that was seen bearing down. After the canvas was all stowed, and all preparation made that could be, the gale came on, and such was its force that it actually pressed the hull of the boat beneath the water, when of course she filled. The roughness of the sea and the force of the wiud prevented any attempt to bale the boat or right her in any way. Leaving Mr. Fell on the boat, Mr. Browne started swimming for the shore, for the purpose df obtaining assistance for hie unfortunate companion. Thinking the wiud would assis, him to reach the shore, Mr. Browne attempted to swim with tha wind, but he found it so strong that hs was continually forced urider water and in great; danger of being drowned. Finding that he could do little good that, way, he began to swim iigainsb the wind, and, being a particularly strong swimmer, mauaged, after a long aud arduous task, to reach the shore very nearly, exhausted. Upon touohing land, he acquainted Messrs. Gi'osJn and Cowie with the perilous situation of Mr. Fell, and these two gentlemen immediately started for the scene of the accident, in a sin ill boat. During ail the time Mr. Browne had been, swimmi-g in the teeti of a gale towards the shore, the boat to whiuh Mr. Fell was supposed to be clbgin^ wis [ carried towards the opposite shore, and Messrs. Gibson and Cowie did not reach her until she wa3 within three-quarters of a wile of land. Approaching as near as prudence would allow, for the hurricane wis Btill.iu full force, they found the boat wa3 continuously rolling over, an i no sign of Mr. Fell cjuld be seen. They then pulled for the shore to which, the capsized boat was urifiing, and there waited her coining. Wnea the boat beached, it was searched, but no traca ot Mr. Fij.i could bo discovered. From tho time Mr. lirowne loft the boat until be reached tha shore, an hour-elapsed, aud he is of opiniou that Mr. Fall could not hard reuiaiued upon tho boat more than half that time iv consequence of the turmoil between wind and waves. Searou was made for the unfortunate man, but up to this time his remains were undiscovered. Thb Late Hobse-whipping Case in Dr/NEDiej. —lv referouce to the horse-whipping case in Dunediu, mentioned in recent telegrams tha Otago Dally Times of the 2ud instant has the following particulars:— "The loungers and passers-by were affordedu diversion yesLerUay afternoon, in the shape of a punUhmeufc aduiiuUcerdd at the corner of Princes and Higu streets to tho ' editor ' of Grvham's Reoiew. Tiie Ciuse was a paragraph of a character wlncn can only be adequately designated by the word blackguardly, and which appeared in that publication, referring to one of the ladies eoaueoted with the Opera Company. Justly enraged at the remarks therein ra ide, Signor Cagh, ucooinpanied by oue of his euiplovej, a man ol stalwart proportions, waylaid ttij said editor at the place uaindd, whare they knocked him into the gutter, lucre he sat perfectly cowed, taking without a murmar suudry kicks irotn Signor C<i/,i. A bystander however dragged off 3iguoe O^li, a:ii several others did the same to his companion, wiio was daring tlu Uoored editor to " gee up aad coma on," accompanying his words with a significant pautomine. At len^ h Gruhaui rose to his taut and suuoiihod his ruflbd feathers, while a friend handed him his hat which had fallen, off iv tha scufll): bub for souia lima afterwa.ds, it was necessary to prevent Siguor Cagli, who. was thirsbiug for the fray, from attacking him. When the altair was orer, the polioo cama up aud cleared the corner, tbe spectators generally agreeing as they separated that tiie puiusutujut was uot half <»s heavy as its recipiout deserved it should have been." Thb Bwh Fises ijt Mi.iitßoiioaaH.—rhe News of February Btu, states:—" Abjut a fortnight since a fire was made at Mahakipawa to barn a clearing, which, in consequauce of tha recanb dry wnatlier unfortunately spraad, aud although livqu utly checked has nob yet bean extinguished. It hu I axteaded from Mahakipawa to tha virova, and several dwellings ware burnt, as well a* the old in.tUlied and I a great quantity of sawa timber. Mr. Culleu is said to be a heavy loser. A groat portion ol' tha tramway is also destroyed, which must interfere with tha work of tha mill* for a tiraa. Wfi have recaued information that a Provincial Gazette has rjcently bean issued, containing a proclamation of a new golddald, situated on tha run jf Mr. 0. H. Turner, Qaaen Curlatte Sound. Oaiy iboufc 150 acres of the ruu is included ia this proclamation, and wa would warn diggers that from this (act (the smalluess of the area), tn.B rou^uuess of ths iha ground, and tho isolation of the position, any undue rush would ouly end uncomfortably for thauiitflvea, uo indications of auy other roef havin«' been net with by the pro3p jctoiu. Tha mare objocc°of the J-overnuaeut in prjclainin* this s:aall piece of ground s to allow them to give legal possession to tha tiscjverer during the further development of the eef. Tha reef ii aituafcad ab the northern entrauod >( Que»u Cuarlotte Sound, on Oapa Jauk3oii; and ,s bne lani runs nearly uortu und south, whilst* ilia djfmiw eait of saucu-amc, tl»m dugiiully orosios ,ua panimuiar aad goai iata tUa »$* aa «ithar