NEWS OF THE DAY

Globe, Volume I, Issue 63, 13 August 1874, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

Papanui Cricket Club.—A general meeting of the members of the above club will be held in the Institute, Papanui, tomorrow evening at half-past seven.

Lecture. —We remind our readers that the first of the series of lectures by Professor Bickerton, of the Canterbury College, will be delivered at the Oddfellows' Hall this evening.

College Literary Evening. The literary evening at the College which was announced to take place this evening, has been postponed, owing to Professor Bickerton's lecture being fixed for to-night.

Heathcote District.—lt will be seen from our advertising columns that a public meeting of the ratepayers of the Heathcote Road Board district will be held to-night, to take into consideration matters of importance to the district. Transit of Venus.—A lecture on the above subject, illustrated with diagrams, will be delivered by the Rev W. J. Habens, 8.A., on Friday, 28th August, in the new Oddfellows' hall. The chair will be taken by Mr C. C. Bowen. H.A.C. Benefit Society.—A summoned meeting of the members of the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society is called for 20th August, to consider the best manner of celebrating the anniversary of the Society.

St. Luke's Entertainment. —An entertainment in continuation of the series will be given in the schoolroom this evening at half-past seven. A very inviting programme has been arranged, and will be found in our advertising columns,

Railway Traffic.—We understand that no less than 117 loaded trucks were sent from Lyttelton to Christchurch on Tuesday last, being the greatest number that has ever passed along the line in a single day. At least twenty more might have been loaded had there been sufficient rolling stock.

Madame Arabella Goddard. This talented pianist will shortly pay a professional visit to New Zealand, including Christchurch and the other principal towns. The date of her arrival in this colony is not yet fixed, Madame Goddard being now about to commence her second tour through Australia. Canterbury Club Company. The annual meeting of the shareholders of this company will be held on Saturday next, at Mr C. Clarke's auction rooms, to receive the report of the directors, to elect new directors and auditors in place of those now in office who retire by rotation, &c. At the conclusion of the meeting of the company, the annual meeting of the members of the Club will be held to elect the committee, ballot for new members, and other business. ~ The Torres Straits Mail :—The Terres Straits mail service since its inauguration has been, says the Argus, carried on effectively and satisfactorily, notwithstanding that one or two of the steamers chartered to carry out the contract have met with mishaps. Of the four new steamers ordered expressly for the company, one —the Somerset left London on the Ist inst for Singapore, and was expected to leave there for the colonies in time to return with the September mails fiom Brisbane. The other steamers —the Brisbane, Singapore, and Sydney—were to follow the Somerset.

Smith's Combination Troupe.—There was a very good house at the Theatre last evening, when the programme of the previous night was repeated with its former success. This evening Mr Smith gives a benefit for the widow and family of the late Captain Hart, and it is to be hoped that the practical by that gentleman towards the bereaved widow and orphans will meet with a hearty response from all classes of the community, and result in something substantial being raised for so worthy an object. A moat attractive programme will be submitted, and the performance will be under the patronage of the Mayors of Christchurch and Lyttelton, and of all the captains of vessels now in harbour. The San Francisco Service.—" Mr H. H. Hall, managing director of the A. and A. Mail Company, has received advices from London, dated June 12th," the Sydney Morning Herald states, "intimating that the steamers building for the San Francisco line are nearly completed. The first steamer, constructed by Elder and Co, would be launched in July ; and Messrs Lang and Co, of Newcastle, will hare the second ship ready in August. Under ordinary circumstances the first vessel would be enabled to leave England in November, so as to take up the through service from Sydney to San Francisco in January, 1875."

Dr Care's Seance. —Dr Carr grave a seance last evening at the Oddfellows' Hall, assisted by several members of the Good Templar order, the proceeds of which are to be devoted to the harmonium fund of the Dauntless Lodge. There was a very excellent attendance. In the early portion of the evening, Dr Carr delivered a lecture on " Self-culture," in a clear and forcible manner, and subsequently made a phreuological examination of the bumps of several volunteers from among the audience, causing much merriment by his remarks on their individual characteristics. This portion of the entertainment was concluded by mesmeric experiments, which created some amusement. During the evening Miss Shime played a pianoforte selection most creditably, and Miss Ness contributed the song " Can't you tell me why, Kobin ?" The part songs, li Hail brothers/hai!," "The Templar baud," and " The Templar innovation," were pleasingly rendered by the Demonstration choir, under the leadership of Mr Long. Before separating, Mr J. B. Dale, on behalf of the Dauntless Lodge, thanked Dr Carr, and the ladies and gentlemen who had taken part in the entertainment, for their kindness.

Infectious Diseases in Stock. The Argus says : The Government of New South Wales has taken initiatory steps towards securing legislation of a uniform character throughout the continent of Australia for the suppression of infectious diseases in stock. Representations have been made to the Governments of the colonies with a view to arrange for a conference of the several chief inspectors of stock and Government veterinary surgeons. It is proposed that the meeting shall take place in Sydney, on the 31st August. The necessity for combined and uniform action in this matter has long been felt by stockowners. The hindrances to thp movement of stock between colony and colony form serious obstacles to business, and not unfrequeutly augment and spread those very diseases against which they are intended to afford protection.

Telegraphic Communication. —We have received a notiGe from the Telegraph Office, that {telegrams for the Australian colonies, or Europe, via the Java cable, will be received at the office here, for transmission to Auckland, up to 11 o'clock on Saturday, the 15th instant. Visit op the Czae.—An interesting item in the programme of the grand concert given in honor of the Czar's visit, at the Royal Albert Hall, was the polonaise and chorus, from Glink's opera, " La Vie pour le Czar." This polonaise is always used on State occasions in Russia, and formed one of the most interesting features in the State ball which was held on the day of the marriage of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh ; it was also included in the music performed at the State banquet which took place on the arrival of their Royal Highnesses at Windsor Castle. The Sumner Cave.—At a meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society, Dr Hector read an interesting paper on the Sumner Cave, Canterbury, by Mr A. McKay, of the geological department, who had made excavations there for Dr Haast in 1872. The New Zealand Times gives the following summary of the paper : —The exploration occupied seven weeks, and on its completion the collections and notes which were made were given to Dr Haast, and the paper now read was chiefly occupied with the author's own views on the question —whether the moa hunters were possessed of tools other than those of the rudest description ; and whether there were any facts constituting a difference between them and the Maoris of later times 1 The cave, which has been excavated by the sea in a soft stratum between two hard layers of lava rock, is now a long way from the sea shore, and although careful measurements have shown that the sandy floor of the cave is only a few feet above high-water mark, the accumulations of drift outside the cave have reached a much higher level. The lowest deposit in the cave was a smooth level floor of sea sand, on the surface of which lay a considerable quantity of drift wood ; covering this was a bed of breccia formed by debris from the roof of the cave and containing blocks of large size in some parts, especially towards the middle. The cave consists of three chambers, of which the outer is the largest, being 100 ft long, 74ft wide, and from 12 to 25ft high, and the thickness of this breccia was greatest where the cave was highest. This layer contained great quantities of bones of birds of small size, seal bones, a few flint flakes, and a piece of obsidian ; and immediately underlying this bed, and six inches beneath the surface of the underlying sand, a human jaw and heel bone were found, and immediately over the spot the trunk of a seal that had evidently been stranded. The existence of charred seal bones and burnt driftwood proves that the cave had been occupied by man at this early period. Overlying the breccia was a "dirt bed" containing charcoal, fragments of nets, matting, tools of wood and of stone of high polish and finish, together with moa bones and eggshells and the remains of old cooking ovens. In one part the breccia hadjbeen cleared away and a hut erected, of which the butts of three posts still remain. A notable feature in the dirt bed was the absence of marine shells, but overlying it was a bed composed almost entirely of shells varying in thickness from one to five feet. The uppermost layer of all consisted of decayed grass and fern leaves, in which European and Maori materials were freely mixed. In the inner and smaller caves both fire-heaps and moa bones were found. Excavations outside the cave showed an intermixture of polished stone implements mixed with moa and dog bones, but few or no shells. There _ appeared everywhere to be a clear division between the moa bone deposits and the overlying shell bed, indicating, no doubt, a long period which followed the extinction of the moas in the neighborhood of the cave, during which the natives hunted them in the more remote parts of the country, but returning afterwards to subsist on shell-fish. Such a radical change of food indicated a considerable lapse of time, during which the cave probably remained uninhabited. After discussing the relative age of the moa ovens at the Rakaia and elsewhere the author considered the Sumner cave to be the oldest. While the evidence obtained does not show that the moa hunters were in any way different from the Maoris, he yet considered the period of the cave deposits as much more remote than the traditional date of the first arrival of the Maoris in New Zealand—3so years ago—and thought that probably 1350 years would be nearer the mark. He considered the asserted absence of any traditional knowledge of the moa amongst the Maoris showed that the moa was exterminated either by a different race, or that the Maoris arrived at a date long prior to which their traditions extend. M. Brugsch has just discovered, inscribed upon a wall at Karnak, a list of upwards of two thousand Egyptian towns and cities. This very important contribution to the geography of Egypt will shortly be published. The Glasgow Herald says:—"We understand that a commission has been sent to this country for a first professor of theology in the University of Otago, Dunedin. The income is to be £SOO a year, along with a professional residence. This professorship has been offered to the Rev L. D. P. Salmond, Free Church minister, Barry, Forfarshire."