NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13032, 16 February 1911, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Tho Auckland-San Francisco despatch of mails of the 14th January arrived in London on the 14th instant. The annual meeting- of tlio Nelson Amateur Operatic, and Dramatic Society will b© held at the Chamber of Commerce rooms to-morrow evening. A special meeting of master tailors will be iliekl at Messrs Dec and Sons' rooms to-morrow' -evening to consider registration of the Master Tailors' Employers' Association. < A first offender for drunkenness was convicted nnd discharged by Mr T. W. Bnadshaw, J.l'., at thci Magistrate's Court yesterday morning. At four o'clock on Tuesday,morning, when off Tory Channel, smoke- was observed issuing from the after hatch of tho Union Steam Ship Company's steamer Rosamond, bound from Wellington to Nelson and New; Plymouth. The hatch was removed And the fire,, which was in the .cargo, was extinguished in about ten .minutes. The Rosamond then put into Picton, where the matter was reported, and after examination, as the hull was not damaged, tho steamer proceeded ou her journey to Nelson. Some cane-ware, flour, and furniture consigned to Nelson was damaged, but the bulk of,the cargo w.as undamaged.. During the hearing of a. maintenance case at Ashburton the other day the Magistrate, Mr V. G. Day, closely cross-examiticyi a young man, who was married on January 28 of last year, as to the date on which his first child was born". The defendant said that he did not remember either the month or the day of the month on which his child was born. The wife also could not romiember anything as to the date of the child's birth." The traffic returns of the Nelson section of railways for the period cvnded January 7th show a general increase in the quantity of goods carried, while the revenue received was also greater than for the corresponding period last year. The. figures were :— Parcels, etc., 527, as against 440; sheep and cattle, 314, as against 385-; merchandise, etc., 2656 tons, as against 2420 tons. The revenue roceived was £2278 lls 4d, as against £2188 12s. The pasenger traffic showed a slight falling off, the number carcied for the particular period last year being 14,644, as against 14,547 this year. Alterations to the scale of fares, rates and charges in force upon the New Zealand Government railways, including the Nelson wharf, are published in this week's issue of the "New Zealand Gazette." At Greymouth on Saturday Tim Tracv defeated "Gnat" Williams for the light weight boxing championship of New Zealand in three, rounds. Mr George Bush (of Nelson) was referee. The authorities have decided,to inform ex-Captain Knyvett, of Auckland, that if he is prepared to sta.ud his trial he will be again charged with having written a letter to a. certain officer in terms that constituted an offence, to the prejudice of good order and military discipline. A great percentage of the business telegrams of the present day are in cipher, and it appears, says the Sydney "Daily Telegraph," that recently sonic of the largo wheat operators here in teleghaphing instructions to their agents all over the country, have found that the. cipher words have been transposed or wrong words sent in their place. This, on a falling market, has meant the loss of hundreds of pounds .sterling to them, as either their agents have been unable to deoipheir them, and have gone on buying at unaltered limits until a correction has been made available, or else, they have received a word conveying a totally different meaning. As most of thesa'telegrams are clearly typewritten and cheeked before they leave their various offices, there is no excuse for such mistakes. The "Review of Reviews" for February contains as its chief article a very excellent charcater sketch of tho Lord Mayor of London, Sir Vezoy Strong. The reviews of the loading magazines deal with timely and int< testing matters, such as "The,.UussoGerman Entente," and "German Designs on Holland and Turkey." The pages devoted to "Topics of the Day in the Periodicals of the Month" v ill be attractive to those who follow current thought, for it makes a splendio index to anyone who is seeking patticular subjects. A Western Australian rough-riding, buck-jumping and aboriginal show at the Coronation festivities is being organised. Negotiations are proceeding between the imperial Colonial Exhibition .authorities, London, and the Protector of Aborigines. The latter, has been asked to authorise tho engagement of 30 natives, at £2 per month and "found," with passages back guaranteed, for a corroboree exhibition. To-morrow, at 3 p.m., Mr W. Lock will sell an upright grand Boehm piano. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company will sell as follows :—Wednesday next, at Brightwater, live and dead stock, on account of Mr T. Jcssop; bit March 11th, at Chamber of Commerce rooms, freehold property and Radium Flour Mills, on account of Mr G. Trapnell, Bright water. Messrs Rankin and Co. will hold a stock sale at their Motueka yards <»v Wednesday next; on March Ist they will sell freehold run at Ngatimofci, on account of Mr J. E. Salisbury. Messrs Bisley Bros, and Co. announce particulars of the follovri.ig sales;—Saturday next, stock sale at Murchison yards; Monday next, pale at Wakefield yards; Wednesday next, sale at Happy Valley yards; Thursday next, sale at Upper Moutere. On Friday, 24th instant, sales at Richmond yards. The Tadmor and Tapawera sales are postponed until further notice.