NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IV, Issue 338, 13 July 1875, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Mid-Winter Show.— This show will take place at the Drill-shed on Thursday next. In the evening the usual dinner will be held. Lyttelton Borough Council.— Messrs H. Allright and W. Holmes were nominated for the vacancy in the Borough Council this morning. Drainage Conference.— A meeting of the Drainage Conference will be held in the Council Chambers to-morrow morning, at 11 o’clock. The Late Gale,— During the gale yesterday the Heathcote boatshed was blown down and became a complete wreck. The two best racing boats were broken in two, but the others did not receive much damage. Panorama. — A panorama of the Holy Land will be exhibited this evening at seven o’clock, at the Hereford street Baptist Sunday school. Selections from Sankey’s hymns will be sung during the evening; Slaughter House Licenses.— A special meeting of Justices of the Peace will be held on Thursday, 22ud July, at the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Christchurch, to consider applications for licenses to slaughter. British and Foreign Bible Society. —The annual meeting of the Lyttelton branch of the above society will be held in the Church of England schoolroom, Lyttelton, on Wednesday, 14th inst, at 7.30 p.m. Albion Coal Company (Limited).—A meeting of local shareholders will be held at the office of Messrs Macpherson, Ford, and Co, on Wednesday, July 21st, at 3 p.m., for the purpose of electing directors for the ensuing year.

Kaiapoi Station. —The station building, platform, and engine shed for the OxfordSwannanoa and Kaiapoi narrow gauge line are now finished. In addition to the increased accommodation to be provided at the goods shed, in accordance with plans referred to a month ago, it is now proposed to carry out other necessary improvements. The present platform for the broad gauge line will be lengthened another 160 ft, and placed nearer the engine tanks. The gates at the crossing are to be increased in width and better placed, the gate-keeper’s cottage being removed to the opposite side of the street. In conjunction with these proposed alterations, it is reported that probably a new post-office and telegraph station will be erected in rear of the railway station master’s house. This will take these offices entirely away from the business part of the town, and we hope that the change will not be made, seeing it would prove highly inconvenient to the principal business people! to have the post and telegraph offices so far away from the centre of the place.

The New Railway Station.—A deputation wm‘ted on the Executive yesterday and presented !he petition in favor of the present site b-*ii;:' retained for a railway station, and which had been signed by a large number of citizens. The Government promised to give the representations made full consideration, but could promise nothing definite. Furious Driving.—A man named George Sharp, when driving a horse in a butcher’s cart last evening in High street at a furious pace, knocked down and drove over a man named James Triggs, who resides at Waltham. Triggs had his arm and body slightly injured, and Sharp, though seeing the accident, continued to drive on until overtaken and brought back by constable Smith, who saw the occurrence. o amaru Breakwater, The North Otago Times of July Bth, says:—“During the last three days the contractors for the breakwater have been pushing vigorously on with another section of the work, no less than fifteen blocks having been laid during that time. Should the weather prove favorable for working, we may expect to see another eighteen feet of the wall finished probably by the end of this week, or the beginning of next.” The same paper says, “Visitorson the wharf the last two days have been able to see a prompt style of discharging vessels, which we venture to say, is unsurpassed in the colony. Heavy timber from the Chanticleer was being discharged at the wharf by cargo boats on Tuesday, not in the old way, by one log at a time, but chains were put round the whole boat load—probably four or five tons weight—and attached to the steam travelling crane, by which the timber was hoisted out in one lot. The crane was then run along the line to one of the trucks, and the boat load of timber was deposited in it. At that rate it would not take long to discharge a large vessel and put her cargo in the trucks on the line of railway.”

Wheeler and De Gloeion Troupe.— These clever artistes gave a capital programme last evening at the Theatre Royal to a good house. In the opening act, one of those Dutch-Yankee sketches which have proved so popular in the colonies, Miss Elsie De Courcy and Master Bennie were very good, eliciting loud applause. This was followed by Mr B. Wheeler in one of his Irish songs, in which he, was most successful, receiving an encore. Master Bennie’s impersonation of an old man, who yet retains some of the fire of his youth, was capitally done, and well deserved the encore. In the new sketch which followed—“ The Upper and Lower Ten ” —Miss De Courcy as the servant maid, and Mr Wheeler as the Irish coachman, created roars of laughter. Their singing of the duet, “TheGipsy Countess” and “ Houp la ” from the opera bouffe of “La Perichole ” was very good, and they were recalled for the latter. Mdlle Lo-Lo’s performance on the trapeze, and later her flying 'eap through two balloons, drew forth loud plaudits, and must be seen .to be appreciated. In this she was ably seconded by the DeGlorian , brothers, who are first-class gymnasts. The farce of “ Quarrelsome Servants” in which the antics of Master Bennie and Mr Wheeler kept the house in a roar, concluded an excellent entertainment. The same bill will be produced this evening.

Accidents. —A serious accident happened on Monday, the sth instant, to a shepherd by the name of McLeod at Alford Forest. It appears that he was riding after some sheep, when his horse slipped and fell on the edge of the terrace of the north branch of the Ashburton river. At the place in question the terrace is some 150 feet in height, aud is considerably undermined from the action of the river. The concussion of the horse stumbling caused a slip of the upper crust of the ground to take place, which precipitated McLeod 150 feet on to the river bed. As he did not make his appearance at home on the Monday night, it was thought that something wrong had occurred, as he is a very steady man, and a party accordingly went in search,, but did not succeed in finding him until two o’clock on the Tuesday morning. He was carried to his cottage, and Dr Trevor was immediately sent for from Ashburton, who found on arriving that four ribs were broken, besides severe internal injuries. The last accounts are that he is in a very precarious state, and being an elderly man, it is feared that the shock has been too much- for the system to bear. On Saturday night last, a very similar accident occurred at the Rangitata, a short notice of which appeared in yesterday’s issue. A man, whose name is Joseph Finn, with a mate, fell over the railway crossing on to the rails below, where it is about 35ft in depth. He was brought up to Ashburton on a trolly on Sunday morning, and taken at once to the Immigration Barracks. Dr Trevor, who was at church at the time, was sent for, and discovered a bad compound fracture of the frontal bone of the skull, several contusions about the head and face, two severe cuts in the lower lip, which had to be sewn up, and likewise severe internal injuries. It seems that Finn’s mate, whose name has not transpired, escaped in a most miraculous manner with a good shaking, but it is thought that he must have fallen on Finn.

Accident at Waimate. —The Waitangi Tribune gives the following account of an accident which happened there on Tuesday last:—“We are sorry to report that a man, named George Bremner, was" thrown from his horse on Tuesday evening last, and seriously injured. It appears that Bremner, whose employment was that of ganger for the Waimate Road Board, had finished his day’s work on the road near Willow farm, and was proceeding home on horseback in company with another horseman, when, on nearing the cemetery, the unfortunate man’s horse shied and threw him on his head. The man was assisted to remount his horse, and accompanied by two or three road-men to within a short distance of his house in Waimate, where he was left to find his way home, the men little imagining that he was so badly injured. The next morning his sister happened to call at his house, and found him in bed insensible. She without delay sent for Mr W. Paterson, a friend, who immediately rushed off for Ur Dunklsy. The doctor wag speedily in attendance, and found the poor fellow suffering from concussion of the brain, and paralysis in one side of the body. It was feared at first the injuries would prove fatal; but we were glad to learn last evening from the doctor that his patient was progressing favorably. Mr Paterson is loud in his praise of the doctor’s attention and kindness, and we have every reason to believe he does not exaggerate when referring to the conduct of this medical gentleman. Bremner’s is a sad case, as his wife is in the lunatic asylum, and he has three young children dependent on him for support,”

Foreman of Works.— Twenty-three applications were received by the town clerk for the position of foreman to the City Council. After they had been read last night it was determined to refer them to the works committee for their selection and report. The Museum. —The Museum which has been closed for a week for the usual quarterly cleansing, was re-opened yesterday. During the recess some very valuable additions have been made. In the first room to the left on the ground floor, two rare whale skeletons belonging to the division of sperm whales have been added—one, Berardius Arnouxii, male, is 28ft long, and has two large and two front teeth in front of the lower jaw. This specimen, with another male, was thrown up on the beach about a mile north of Saltwater creek, in December, 1873. The other specimen, which is hung from the rafters, is a new specimen of Mesoplodon, is about 18ft long, and a remarkable specimen of the sperm whale. It has one large strapshaped tooth in each side of the centre of the lower jaw standing outwards and rising considerably above the snout. It was stranded in the beginning of last year near the mouth of the Waipara. To the specimens in the small room on the right hand side has been added a fine collection of ores and minerals from Victoria, including a number of specimens from the principal quartz mines there. A new and commendable feature in the late additions is that large explanatory cards are placed in front of each specimen, containing much information in a small compass. In the moa room a number of mammals have been added, among which a fine Indian leopard and a Greenland blue fox are most prominent. The addition to the birds in this compartment number among others a pair of Impeyan pheasants with gorgeous plumage, a pair of Java peacocks, some parrots from the Mollucas, a number of beautifully plumed birds from Brazil, and a magnificent pair of King birds of Paradise. A complete hornet’s nest, presented by Mr C. M. Wakefield, has also been placed in this room. The new specimens in the gallery include a set of models of crystals, some minerals and ores, of which a number are from the Ural mountains, and a collection of fossil shells prepared so as to show their internal structure. There are also some valuable additions to the collection of pre-historic remains from the lake dwellings of Switzerland, and stone implements and arrow-heads obtained frond ancient graves of the North American Indians. In the crocodile room there are two specimens of the remarkable Pentacrinites, which grow at the bottom of the ocean, and were formerly believed to be extinct. These specimens belong to a singular animal type, : with fine symmetrical forms. With reference to these crinoids, Professor Thompson, in''his work, “The Depths of the Sea,”' mentions only four museums in the world to which similar specimens have been addled within late years. This list will now include 'the Museum of Christchurch. It is observable throughout the building that the cases in the different departments are certainly overcrowded with specimens,

Orangeism. —The brethren of ; the city lodges of the Loyal Orange Institution celebrated the anniversary of the 12th July last evening by dining together at the Oddt fellows’ Hall. There was a large attendance, about .200 sitting down to a very excellent dinner, the catering for whifah reflected great credit upon Mr J. O. Sheppard, of the White Hart Hotels The hall was decorated very nicely with flags, conspicuous amongst them being the new banner recently received from England by No 3 L.O.L. The chair was occupied by the R.W.G.M. of the Middle Island, Bro W.: Clifford, supported on the right by Dr Turnbull, M.P.O. for Christchurch, and the Rev C. Fraser, and on the left by I.P.M. Bro Christie (No 3), G.T. Bro C. Tribe (No 3), G. Sec, &c. The vice chairs were filled by Bros M‘Williams (W.M. No 3), and Adams (W.M. Nos). After ample justice had been done to Mr Sheppard’s excellent provision, the chairman read letters of apology from Messrs Wynn Williams and W. Montgomery; regretting that a prior engagement prevented their attending, and also from Mr S. P. Andrews, M.P.G., stating that his position as G.W.C.T. for Canterbury prevented his attendance. The usual loyal toasts and that of his Honor the Superintendent having been given from the chair and duly honored, the toast of the Provincial Council, coupled with the name of Dr Turnbull, was given. Dr Turnbull responded, expressing the pleasure he felt at being present on the occasion, and also dwelling at some length on, the course pursued by him during the last session of the Provincial Council. He urged that the claims and rights of-Christchurch, as an integral and important part of the province, had altogether been overlooked during the late session, and that an injustice had been done which it behoved the people to take notice of. Coming to general politics, he argued that it was far better to let our land fund go, and thus reduce by so much the enormous taxation under which the province and colony labored, as they did not benefit one halfpenny by the land revenue. The next toast was that of “ The Protestant clergy throughout the world,” coupled with the name of the Rev 0. Fraser, who, in response, said that it was a great and glorious privilege for men to associate together as they did in Orangeism for the conservation of their civil and religious liberties. So far as he took it, Orangeism meant good will to all men, though associated to preserve that which was dearer to them than life, the right to worship God after their own fashion. After briefly sketching the various reforms which had originated in Ireland, and paying.a tribute to the system of national education in force there, the rev gentleman resumed his seat amid loud applause. The chairman then proposed “ The Emperor Wilhelm of Germany,” and “Bro Johnson, M.P., of Ballykillbeg.” To the latter Bro Hart (1.P.M., No 3) responded. Dr Turnbull then proposed the health of the chairman, remarking that it was a proud position to be head of so vast and useful an institution. Bro Clifford responded, giving some interesting information as to the spread of Orangeism. The following toasts were then given and responded to—“ Free and Accepted Masons,” coupled with the name of Bro Fleming, W.M. Canterbury Lodge, 1048 E. 0.; “’Prentice boys of Derry;” “Protestant Alliance Friendly Societies,” responded to by Bro McWilliams (Queen’s Own Lodge) ; “The ladies,” responded to by Bro R. Russell; and “ Orangemen all round the globe," responded to by Bro Christie. Several excellent songs were sung during the evening, and the party separated shortly after 11 p.m., having enjoyed themselves thoroughly,