NEWS OF THE DAY

Globe, Volume II, Issue 167, 18 December 1874, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

St. Albans. Anniversary sermons in connection with the St. Albans Wesleyan Sabbath school will bo preached next Sunday.

Road Boards Meetings. Annual meetings of ratepayers in the Heath cote and Ashley Road Board districts for the election of members will be held at the district offices, on the Gth and 7th January respectively. Picnic.—At a meeting of the master bakers last night it was resolved to invite their workmen and families to a picnic at Sumner on December 20th, and a committee was appointed to make the necessary arrangements.

Bazaar.—The bazaar yesterday did a fair share of business, more particularly in the evening, when several musical selections were played by the band. It will be continued to-day and to-morrow, and the prices have been greatly reduced to ensure a clearance.

Telegraphic—Thcsteamcr Claud Hamilton is expected to leave Hokitika at 7.30 p m. on Saturday, the 19th inst. Telegrams for the Australian colonies or Europe, via Java Cable will be received at the telegraph office for transmission to Hokitika, up till 5 o'clock of the 19th inst.

Cricket. The following Tall v Short match will be played on Saturday :—Tall — Messrs Anson, Booth, Dixon, E. Fowler, J. Fowler, T. U. Moore, M'lntyre, Lewin, O'Connell, Ollivier, Stevens, Sweet, and Turner. Short—Messrs Alpc, Beard, Cuff, D'Emden, Dickinson, Deacon, Fuller, Harman, Soutcr, G. A. Taylor, Thompson, A. C. Wilson, and J. Wood. Play will begin at 2 o'clock punctually. Immigrants.—The immigrants per Pleiades were landed yesterday in the Gazelle, with the exception of six for Otago and six for Pigeon Bay, who remain on board. They were sent up to the Addington barracks, but seventy,'of them proceeded in the Bruce to Timaru, and will be most of them drafted to the up-country depots. Those remaining in Christchurch will be open for selection on Saturday. There are many Scotch shepherds from the north of Scotland amongst them. Northern Rivers —On [Thursday, the Ashley was in flood, the stream flowing over the floor of the bridge on the North road. Sansom and Lee's coaches were unable to ford it. The Wednesday's coach from the Waiau had not arrived at Hurunui on Thursday afternoon. The Byre, Oust, and main drain were flooded with the rain water. The Waimakariri was muddy but not high, and while it was raining heavily on the plains, a Bealey telegram reported the weather to be fair and sunny.

Theatre Eoyal.—The season of the Royal English Opera Company came to a close last evening, when Auber's opera of " Fra Diavolo " was performod. The opera went well throughout, Miss Alice May sustaining the part of the coquettish Zerlina excellently. ;Mr Hallam as Fra Diavolo was good, and the other characters were well surtained. A concert will be given this evening by the principal members of the company, which will be positively their last appearance. Entertainment. —An entertainment in aid of Kt Andrew's Sabbath-school annual fete was given last evening in the schoolroom. There was a large attendance of voung people. Mr G. Grey, assistant to Professor Bickerton, kindly exhibited a large number of views (among them the transit of Venus) by the oxyhydrogen light, with [very great success, the explanatory portion being undertaken by the Rev C. Eraser. The intervals were, filled up with music and amusiug readings, and altogether the entertainment was both interesting and instructive.

Combination Troupe.—M. Aircc, in conjunction with a combination company, will give two performances in the Canterbury Music Hall on Saturday and Monday evenings. Those who witnessed M. Airec'saei'ial performances in the theatre will have noticed that the space was too limited for him to be seen at any advantage ; this, however, will be remedied in the Music Hall, where he will have plenty of room to perform his daring feats. M. Airec will be assisted by some artistes of known ability, as a reference'to our advertising columns will show.

Theatrical.—The New Zealand Times says :Wo observe that among the passengers from San Francisco by the Cyphrenes were Mr and Miss Amy Stone, who were proceediuk to Sydney and Melbourne to fulfil engagements with Mr George Coppiu. The hands of Mr Coppiu, however, are at present so full that letters received by Mr Stone induced him and his daughter to remain in Auckland for the present. They will play a season in New Zealand before proceeding to Australia. The Oyphrenes, moreover, had quite a number of musical celebritieson board Among them were the Baker Comedy Hibcnico Company, who give an entertaiiim nt illustrative of [reiand, her songs, scenery, and legendary lore; and a party of artist?, maleand female, styled the Howarth Comedy Company, their speciality, too, being Hibernian. A clever ventriloquist, Mr E I). Davics, from the London Polytechnic and Niblo's Garden, New York, accompanied by his daughter, a clever pianisto, were also on board,under engagement to Mr John Bentictt, of Sydney. Lastly, among the notorieties was Mrs Oa r rie Richards, who appears to have left her husband iu San Fraueisco to proceed possibly to England, and returned alone to Sydney. She distinguished herself, it appears, on the passage, iu imitation of the Zavistowski girls at Sandhurst, in Victoria, where they whipped with a parasol, on the street, a loose-tongued solicitor. The Cross says of h'.r :—On crossing the Line the usual ceremonies in honor of Father Neptune were observed, and, as usual, gave rise to much amusement, and tended to relieve the monotony of tho voyage. One of the ladies on board was annoyed, and finding that one of her silk gowns was slightly damaged by a few stains, immediately accused her fellowpassengers of having done it, stating that she knew it had only been done for spite, and produced a horsewhip, with which she inflicted one or two cuts on the back of the astonished passenger, who quickly wrested the lethal implement from the dame ; and, having done so, explained—not to her, but to his other fellow-passengers—that he was blameless in the matter, a statement which, as we are iuformed, was accepted as truthful.

" Look here, Pete," said a knowing darkey to his companion, "don't stan' on do railroad." "Why, Joe?' " Kase if de cars see that mouth of yourn, dey will tink it am de station, an' run rite in." The London correspondent of the New York World says : —Some consternation has been caused in the newspaper offices here in consequence of the manner in which the London Times is at last making use of the practically boundless resources which are at its command. Among London newspaper men a common topic of conversation used to be tho slowness of the Times. With any amount of capital at its command, it seemed to make but little use of it. It had good correspondents in every capital, but they were generally slow. It was no uncommon thing for the other daily journals to beat the Times in the publication of news, foreign and domestic ; and the Times would constantly publish, with an air of sublime unconcern, intelligence which had appeared in its contemporaries days before. Now all this has been changed in a manner which begins to make its contemporaries feel decidedly uncomfortable. When the Times, a few months ago, obtained the use of a special wire from Paris for its own use, it was innocently thought that it proposed to use this only for the transmission of French news, and people wondered that merely for this intelligence the Times should think it worth its while to pay £BOOO a year, plus the expense of its Paris office and the telegraphic tolls. But now I think that this was but the beginning of a vast scheme for obtaining telegraphic news of a special and important character from all the capitals of Europe. The Paris office of the Times has been made a centre to which the correspondents of that journal, in all the other European capitals send their news, either by post or telegraph ; there it is digested and telegraphed to London. Thus, now, each day there is a page of the Times filled with special dispatches from Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Pesth, St Petersburg, Constantinople, and other cities ; and the other London journals seem valueless in comparison with it. The Times has always been able to do things which its contemporaries could not venture to undertake; but it seldom avarls itself of its power. Now it seems to be resolved to use its great resources to the utmost, and the consequences are wonderful. It will be almost impossible for the other journals to refuse to enter the race thus commenced by the Jupiter of the press ; but Jupiter has gained such a start, and has so much bottom, that to catch up with him seems hopeless.