NEWS OF THE DAY

Globe, Volume I, Issue 57, 5 August 1874, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Akaroa Election. Mr Montgomery will address the electors in the Town Hall, Akaroa, to-morrow evening, at seven o'clock. Art Union. —The drawing of the Art Union for pictures at Tattersall's, will take place on Thursday evening, at eight o'clock.

Master Bakers.—A meeting of master bakers will be held this evening, at half-past seven o'clock, to consider business of importance.

St John's Entertainment.—The usual weekly parochial entertainment was held last evening in St John's schoolroom. There was a very fair attendance, and the programme, which was an excellent one, was disposed of in a very creditable manner.

Good Templars.—lt will be seen on reference to our advertising columns that a new lodge of Good Templars will be opened to-morrow. The movement seems to be gaining strength every day in Christchurch and its vicinity. The Ashley.—On Tuesday this river, which is subject to Hooding from rainfall, was higher than usual, and was not safe to ford at the crossing place from Raugiora to the Ashley township. Education Rates.—Mr Thomas Holt has been appointed to receive the annual sums payable under the 55th section of the Education Ordinance, 1873, in the Little River district, instead of Mr J. R. Gilliatt as previously notified. Mr Thomas Adams has been appointed to a similar office for the district of Akaroa.

West Chuistchurch School.—The programme of the entertainment to celebrate the opening of the new West Christchurch District school, appears in another column. Refreshments will be provided in one of the rooms at a small charge for those who may desire to partake of them. Papanui Ploughing Match. This match takes place to-morrow in Mr Rowe's paddock, Noith road. A very liberal prize list has been arranged, and the com petition in all classes is expected to be very keen. The annual dinner will be held in the even iug at the Sawyers' Arms Hotel, Accident. —An accident, fortunately unattended with any very serious results, occurred yesterday in High street. As Mr T. Millett was turning two horses in a waggonnette opposite Mr Wright's, shop one of them became restive, and after a series of struggles fell on the pole of the vehicle and broke it. Both horses then made an effort to enter Mr Wright's premises by the shop window, and would probably have succeeded had not Constable Hughes, who happened to be passing, held them firmly by their heads until they were released from the waggonette. Boyond tho smashing of the pole no other damage was done.

South Rakaia Ploughing Match.— This event will take place on Friday next, in a paddock situate on the Acton homestead. The committee have been most persevering in their efforts to secure a goodly number of prizes, and in this respect it will compare favorably with any country match. The entries dose with the secretary, South Rakaia. this day. Flaxton.—An effort is being made to collect subscriptions to enable the inhabitants to avail themselves of the amount promised by (he Provincial Government for the erection of a library and reading-room. There is at present a very choice library of books, which is kindly taken charge of by Mr W. McKeever. It is expected that a suitable building will be soon erected, near the junction of the roads. Loyal Benevolent Lodge.—The anniversary of this lodge was celebrated by a ball last night at the Oddfellows' Hall. The company numbered about fifty couples, who seemed thoroughly to enjoy the music supplied by Herr Biinz's band. Dancing was kept up with spirit until an early hour, and general satisfaction expressed at the excellence of the whole arrangements. Orangeism.—The usual monthly meeting of No. 3 L.O.L. was held last evening, when there was a large attendance of brethren. The election of officers for the ensuing year then took place, when the following brethren were elected :—R.W.M., Bro G. R. Hart; D.M., Bro McWilliams ; secretary, Bro Tribe; treasurer, Bro Ballantine ; 1.G., Bro Moore ; 0.G., Bro Stephenson. The newly-elected W.M. was then installed by theretiring W.M. and the R.W.G.M. of the district, and afterwards installed his officers. After the business of the Lodge was concluded the brethren adjourned to refreshment, when the usual loyal and fraternal toasts were given and drunk with enthusiasm. "The W.M. and Newly-installed Officers," " The Retiring Officers," "The R.W.G.M.," and other toasts were given and responded to, and the Lodge waa closed with the National Anthem. Registrar's Returns. The return of the births, marriages, and deaths, in the Christchurch districts for the month of July, are published in the "Gazette":—Births— City of Christchurch, males 22, females 23, total 45 ; Christchurch district, males 43, females 30, total 82. Deaths—City of Christchurch, males 11, females 15, total 26 ; Christchurch district, males, 12, females 12, total 24. Marriages—City of Christchurch, 32, Christchurch district, 5. During the same month iu 1873, the returns were : Births—City of Christchurch, males, 20, females 23, total 43 ; Christchurch district, males 28, females 23, total 51. Deaths— City of Christchurch, males 12, females 10, total 22 ; Christchurch district, males 3, females 7, total 10. Marriages— City of Christchurch, 16 ; Christchurch district, 6. The Transit op Venus.—The " Sydney Morning Herald " says : —By the arrival of the Glengairn the first shipment of instruments for watching the transit of Venus has come to hand, and has been, by the Government astronomer (Mr H. C. Russell), unpacked at the Observatory in splendid condition. The new telescope is one of the very best modern construction —the clear aperture of the object glass being 11 inches and threeeighths of an inch. This is believed to be the finest " refractor" which has ever been in use in the southern hemisphere, and it will be mounted at the Observatory as soon as the necessary alterations can be effected in that part of the building in which it is to stand. This magnificent instrument is supplied with a beautiful apparatus, specially designed for observing and photographing the transit of Venus, which, as our readers are aware, is now occupying the earnest attention and commanding the sedulous efforts of the whole scientific world. The preparations for observing this important astronomical phenomenon are in a forward state, so far as New South Wales is concerned. Three stations besides Sydney will be occupied, viz, Eden, Goulburn, and the Blue Mountains, fifty miles west of Sydney. The temporary wooden observatories for each of these places have all been erected on Fort Phillip, and at present stand in the enclosure at the back, ready to be transported, each to its destination. The requisite changes in the dome of the Sydney observatory are now now being actively carried out, and will be completed in the course of a few weeks, when practice will be commenced with the observers, preparatory to the event on the 9th of December next. The second lot of instruments required is in the Hallowe'en, now in the harbor, and the third and final shipment is due. Native Claims. Some discussion, says the " New Zealand Times," took place in the House the other night on the motion of Mr Taiaroa for the appointment of a select committee "to inquire into and report on unfulfilled promises to Natives in the Middle Island." Objection was taken to the names of the proposed committee. Mr Mervyn was about to propose an amendment in this respect, when Mr Vogel rose and objected to the resolution, which was so framed as to commit Parliament to the idea that there had been unfulfilled promises. The matter should be brought up by petition. Mr Macandrew hoped the Government would b« supported, and that natives would not be led to indulge hopes that some two | million acres of land should be reserved for them on mere assertions, unsupported by evidence, that promises made to them some thirty years ago had not been ! fulfilled. Mr J. L. Gillies said the claim had for a long time been before the House, and it had been repeatedly proved to select committees of the House by Mr Taiaroa that he had claims, though not perhaps to the extent of his present claims. He hoped Mr Taiaroa would assent to the course suggested by the Premier. Mr Shcehan said it was on record that there were unfulfilled promises to the Natives, as to schools and hospitals for example. Questions of this kind should not be left; open for years and years, when they might be settled in a few days. Mr Taiaroa reminded the House that the committee of the House last year had recommended the appointment of two arbitrators, but that proposition was withdrawn at the instance of the Government, who promised to do so, but had let the matter drop. The Maoris had claims—one acre in every ten was to be returned to them. That was included in the agreement of 1840, but it was not done. In the deed of purchase their cultivations were to be reserved for the Natives and their children —but that had not been doue. Mr Mantell's promises had not been fulfilled. The settlement of it had been too long postponed. The House was wrong in supposing lie asked too much. Let it consider what was due. Mr Taiaroa at last agreed to submit the mailer to the Petitions Committee, but he expressed fears that the matter would give them great trouble. The motion was then negatived,

Theatre Royal.—There was a very good house at the Theatre Royal last evening, when the Smith Combination, the De Castro Family earned fresh laurels by their clever gymnastic feats, and Mr Vose by his talking hand and the oddities of Johnny Trotter and Mrs Brown was as successful as on former occasions, Mr Vose apologised for the absence from the programme of M. Airec. who has sustained slight injury from his fall on Monday evening last. The feature of the programme last night was the flight of Young England from the dress circle over pit and stalls into his father's hands, who was suspended from the trapeze near the proscenium. This difficult feat he accomplished three times, the last time with a back somersault. To-day the company proceed to Sunnyside, to give an afternoon performance to the patients there, and to-night Young England and Alberto will introduce George Conquest's celebrated talking head. Mr Vose's benefit is fixed for Friday, for which a good programme is arranged.

Mr Lemon's Services.—The "New Zealand Times" says :—The services of Mr Lemon, of the Telegraph Department, were referred to somewhat handsomely in the House when, in committee of supply, the estimates for the department were under discussion. Reference was made to his discovery of a system of telegraphy, known as the duplex, by which messages could be sent simultaneously in opposite directions by one wire ; and to the fact that it is now in successful operation on a wire of the Cook Strait cable. It was pointed out that the discovery practically doubled the value of the cable, and was therefore of very great advantage, pecuniarily, to the colony. The obvious wish of the members was, that Mr Lemon's discovery should not pass unrecognised, and the hon member for Nelson (Mr Luckie) remarked that if Mr Lemon had chosen to patent his invention or discovery, it would have been worth a large sum of money to him. Mr Vogel highly complimented Mr Lemon, not only for the admirable state of his department, but for the devotion to the service which he showed. He mentioned, however, that the transmission of messages on what was known as the duplex system had been investigated and brought into practice in other countries, though to Mr Lemon the credit was due of having worked out the system on a plan of his own. When the estimates for the department were presented, said Mr Vogel, he had suggested to Mr Lemon that an increase of salary should be proposed for him. Mr Lemon, however, said be did not wish such a proposition to be made, as he had received an increase of salary last year. The feeling of the House, however, was that Mr Lemon was inadequately paid as compared with other heads of departments, and that his discovery of a mode of duplex telegraphy should be recognised in a substantial manner. Mr Vogel, therefore, promised to place a sum on the Supplementary Estimates. The Premier also stated that a special recognition of Mr Lemon's services, to which the Cabinet had agreed, should be appended to the annual report of the department.

Another rich goldfield is likely, in consequence of the Ashantce war, to be added to the long list of those already discovered. Captain Glover seems to have discovered exceedingly rich gold-bearing ground. After his return from Africa he was entertained to a banquet by the mayor and corporation of Liverpool, and in replying to the toast with which his name was identified, made a remarkable statement relating to the mineral resources of the gold coast district of Africa. He described the great gold wealth of the country twenty miles north of Accra, observing that it was a matter of surprise that this fact had not been more prominently brought before the public previously. Accra, ha said, was only twenty-two days sail from Liverpool, and a man had only to walk from Accra a distance of twenty miles, when he would be in a district where lumps of gold could be- dug up like potatoes. Should these results be realised after the district has been visited by practical gold miners, there is no doubt but the Ashantee war will have been the commencement of a new era for Africa.

Among the papers laid before Parliament by the Minister for Native Affairs was (says the "New Zealand Times") an approximatecensusof the Maori population, compiled by the officers who represent the Government in the native districts. From it we find that the total number of the native race is estimated at 46,016, of whom there are 48,408 in the North Island, and only 2608 in the South Island. In both Islands the males exceed the females in number, the excess of the former in the North Island being 3870, and in the latter 226. The totals in the different districts were: —Mangonui, 2071 ; Hokianga, 2796 ; Bay of Islands, 2839 ; Whangarei, 511 : Kaipara, 1313; Auckland, 195; Waiuku, 216; Wairoa and Waiheke, 81 ; Lower Waikato, 383; Upper Waikato, 4394 ; Raglan and Kawhia, 2163 ;Hauraki, 1664 ; Tauranga, 1245 ; Maketu, 2955 ; Opotiki, 1948 ; Urewera— Ruatahuna, 342 ; • Manugapohatu, 158 ; Waikarewhana, 126 ; Ahikerera, 58—total of Ureweras, 684 ; Waiapu, 2453 ; Turanga, 1390 ; Hawke's Bay (Wairoa), 3481 ; South of Tangoio River, H. 8., 1870 ; Taupo, 850 ; Wairarapa, 742 ; Taranaki, 2761 ; Wanganui, 1010 ; Upper Wanganui River, 2005 ; Rangitikei, 584 ; Otaki and Porirua, 653 ; Wellington, 161; Canterbury, 558 ; Marlborough, 452 ; Nelson, 440; Westland, 96 ; Otago (including Ruapuke and Steward's Island), 1062.

The "Pall Mall Budget" of May Bth says :—At the Lambeth police court on Monday, Mina Jury, who is said to be the Mrs Jury who was brought from Melbourne to give evidence against the Tichborne claimant, was charged with stealing several articles from furnished lodgings in West Square, St George's road, in which she had lived for some months with a man named Hopwood as Mrs Hopwood. The policeman who took the prisoner into custody said she not only denied the charge but accused the landlady of robbing her. He found twenty-eight duplicates in her possession, relating to such articles as those named in the charge. A pawnbroker produced a tablecloth pawned by the prisoner in February, and the prosecutrix identified this as her property. The prisoner said the case had been got up to injure her. She had pawned a good deal of her own property, believing that money would be given to her by the Government. One witness said of the prisoner : " She will swear black is white, and white is no colour at all. She is a wicked woman, and will swear your worship's life and mine away." Mr Chance remanded the prisoner, but admitted, her to bail in two sureties of £lO each.

At a Masonic banquet given in Chicago, a short time ago, Ely S. Parker, a chief of the Six Nations, and a practising lawyer at Galena, delivered a speech, which is thus npoken of in an article in the ' Masonic Journal •' —" One speech of the evening, as also an incident attending it, deserves more particular mention. It was that of Brother Sir Knight Parker, a grandson of Red Jacket, and his successor of the Six Nations. He is a full-blooded chief, but highly educated, and on eloquent speaker. I shall not attempt even an outlinoof his speech, for, if reproduced, it should be with its charms of action and utterance, which very few white men can equal, fie spoke of himself as almost a lone remnant of what was once a noble race; of his struggles in coming to manhood, and seeing his race disappearing as the dew before the morning sun. As he found his race thus wasting away, he asked himself, 1 Where shall I find my home and sympathy, when our last council fire is extinguished? I said I will knock at the door of Masonry, and see if the white race will recognise me, as they did my ancestors, when we were strong and the white man weak. I knocked at the door of the blue Lodge, and found the brotherhood around its altar. I went before the great light in the chapter, and found companionship beneath the Royal Arch. I entered the encampment, and found there valiant sir knights willing to shield me here without regard to race or nation I went further. I knelt at the cross of my Saviour, and found Christian brotherhood the crowning charity of the Masonic tie. lam happy to meet you iu the grand councils of the gathering, and sit with you at this festive board to share those greetings and hospitalities. I feel assured that when my glass is run out, and T shall follow the footsteps of my departed race, Masonic sympathies will cluster ai'ound my coffin, and drop in my lonely grave the evergreen acacia, sweet emblem of a better meeting. If my race shall disappear from the Continent, I have consoling hope that our memory shall not perish. If the deeds of my ancestors shall not live in stories, their memories remain in the names of our lakes and rivers, your towns and cities, and will call up memories otherwise forgotten.' Few eyes could withhold their tears as he poured forth in words like these the utterance of a full heart. Silence for a time prevailed after he sat down, when he arose and said, ' I have in my possession a menvnto which I highly prize ; I wear it near my heart, It came from my ancestors to me as their successor in office. It was a present from Washington to my grandfather (Red Jacket) when our nation was in its infancy. You will be glad to see and handle it, and I should do wrong not to give you the opportunity. As he spoke thus, he removed the wampum from this neck, and drew from his bosom a large massive medal in an oval form, about seven inches by five, and it passed from hand to hand along the tables. On one side of the medal were engraved, in full length, the figures of two chiefs, Red Jacket, in costume, presenting the pipe of peace, and Washington, with his right hand extended, as in the act of receiving it. On the other sid«, the Masonic emblems, with the date 1792, if memory is correct."