NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, 15 February 1876, Page 3

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Stock.—By the s.s. Arawata there arrived seven long-woolled rams, aod some ponies, for Mr Threlkeld. Gift Distribution.—The winners of the in Messrs Beath and Co.'s gift di&foibjri&jF were as follows :—£so prize, Mr Kelly, Harewood Road ; £2O prize, Mr W. Webb, Press office; £l© prize, Mrs Fido, Montreal street. Vital Statistics.—The vital statistics of the boroughs'in the colony for January have been published in the Gazette. The deathrate was as follows:—Auckland, 3,43 ; Thame* o.72j'Wfßlm|{iJ6n, *2.67 ; Nelson, 2 39: Alpe, CorfeT Moore, Neilsoxfe^tt«r J t : ;^)jeyßns, i :Siree.t, J. |M. Taylor, and-A."CU"Wilson. Colonies: Messrs Dixon, Ci Fowler, J. Fowler, Fuller, EV A. -~ Kent,, Mclntyre, Ollivier, District-Drainage BearA-yeßterday, Mr Carruthers, Engineer-ia-Chief to the General Government, was appointed consulting Engineer to the Board. Acting on Mr Carruthers' recommendation, the Board has appointed Mr C. N. Bell, engineer'to Messrs Brogden and Sons, as Resident 'Engineer, and Mr Webster as Surveyor to the Board; Accident.—The Timaru Herald says : " A very nasty accident occurred on Saturday to William McFarlane, a guard on the railway between Timaru and Bangitata. It seems that he was riding at the back of a truck, which, along with a number of others, was being shunted from the main line on to the siding at the Temuka station, and an engine coming up ur**peg|ri|jr behind him, crushed his foot between .tilt!! buffers. We are glad to learn that the accident, though a very severe and painful one, is not likely to lead to any serious consequences." Pupil' Teachers' Examination.—We have been requested by the Minister of Education to state that the paper of Miss Pashby, one of the candidates for a certificate,' examined recently in modern history, had been mislaid, and that consequently no marks were awarded her. Since then, however it has been found, and fourteen marks awarded for it, thus placing Miss Pashby twelfth on the list instead of sixteenth. The inspector has recommended Miss Pashby for classification as third-class assistant misUnfortunate Delay. On Saturday evening about twenty passengers ty the last train from Amberley were delayed at. Ran, Eiora, in consequence of the ChrisichurcV train leaving the former station, without; th°m, as they were not able Jo get out of;the ca-riaees. The affair happened through amistake on the part of .the-Qfficials with reference to an orSer to the Cbristchurch *rain to move on, to allow thd Amberley tram to com Tin to the platform. The f°™<™g£ mi and did not stop when clear of,the platform as expected. The made eveVy- effort to rectify.^^^^^ traia was seen going up the M

-Jl§ ! pi(M»B \|n Sjuth Canterbury.— Tti&Memti Irepprts:—•'' We hear that considerable damage jwas done to some of the heavy district, by the strong winds which prevailed on. Friday and Saturday; in as much as ten- bushels to the.' ; acte'-lJaTing been shaken out of them. Thje farmeilsire using every exertion towards getting theifjfields cut, ,as another repetition of the-gaje fltould prove ruinous to a large nuyiber of th^mi" . ftßjtTH -jrsi Drowning.—A man named Isaio Lyons was drowned on Monday, says the Timaru Herald of yesterday, in a deep hole of the Pighunting Creek just to the west,; of the railway bridge. He and three offief men named George Clapton, Vincent Turner, and'George Talbot, all of whoi) were ..harvesters in employment on the Kingsdown estate,,went to the waterhole at about 2 p.m H to ■bathe;«-While bathing^Lyons threw up .his handsfaajd began to sink. As, hestrjiggled-. very vjolentlyT-his.companions were afraid to they immediately went for , ito^li[j^ rv wEr%was in a boat TwEftr;|f ay. • them, however, rem?SW (yheoar, the «ftf orLmmto rami some again in formation to' the" obtained before Detective Fulton of the Saltwater Creek #w«K3Ts|? with a drag. The detective had conveyed to the morgue at the Hospital, where an inquest will be held upon* it either to-ciay or to-morrow. The deceased, who was an immigrant by the Christian McAusland, which arrived at Dunedin about three months ago, was a'farmer on the Waitohi Flat, where twb or three of his brothers > Acclimatisation inOtago.—The Daily Times says :—About six months agd, Mr A. R. Ure brought down to Otago from Melbourne two pairs of minahs—an Indian bird, which is a most industrious grub destroyer, 'and which, through the efforts of acclrma' tisers, is nolw very plentiful about Melbourne. Not long after he liberated them at Montecillo, and soon after being set free, a pair of them came to town to settle, and took up" a residence in an elevated position on the outside of Dr Hocken's house, in Moray Place. There the two bred, and had three young ones, one of which was the other day picked up dead, having been either killed, perhaps by a cat or dog, or died from natural causes. Lately the bir-is would appear to have changed their residence, and to have taken up their abode in the steeple of the First Church. The starlings that were once so plentiful to be seen feeding and parading on the green round the Church, no longer dare light on the grass—the minahs soon after arrival struck fear into them by the vigorous style in which they attacked them. The minahs work most perseveringly from morning to night picking up grubs on the green, varying their occupation occasionally by a trip to Moray Place, where they make a searching examination of the gutters. They are the reverse of timid, not being much afraid of passers by ; they now attack the starlings on the steeple, and on a little black dog belonging'to a,well-known gentleman in the- neighbourhood, they make periodical descents, lighting on his back, and before he can bite them, starting off and leaving him minus some of his hair. It is to be hoped that the four survivors will be protected.

Lnvercargill Lighted with Gas.—A correspondent of the Guardian writes : There was a great demonstration on the occasion •of lighting the city with gas on February 3rd for the first time. The Invercargill brass band paraded the city, playing appropriate airs, and, accompanied by a large crowd, came in front of the city hall. There were upwards of a thousand people who stood waiting for the illumination;--Precisely at 5 o'clock a star, placedin front of the T6wn"Ha%-«onßisting of numerous jets 6i.. •j£»rwitb""T.B." in the centre, was •lighted,'-when.'the'assembled crowd gave three hearty cheers. The gas appeared of very good quality, judging from the bright illumination displayed, and the spectators evidently appreciated the quality of the light given. The Mayor (Mr J. Mitchell) came forward and congratulated the citizens on the inauguration of the successful lighting of the city with gas. The work was the greatest undertaking yet accomplished in the city, and reflected the highest credit on the engineering of Mr Genever and the management of Mr Daly. He proposed the health of these gentlemen. The crowd gave a hearty response by giving three cheers. These gentleman came forward respectively, and cordially thanked the citizens for the expression oi their approbation, and hoped the works would prove tfie most profitable in the colony. Mr. Joyce, M.H.R., came forward and cojugrajuJiate-d,.th e t--CiJ i i2 iea a on the successiuf carrying ou& Ifte undertaking, stating that several. had gone minutely-; oW*ll»HF oll * I '3 nd P r °- ndtiiibed : -'th , ei^,l»rU^!S^f^/*. the' works weW-rpf^tfe" i Wghest t '-credit to colonial workmaiw!p^ embraced the preset of propoiing, a hearty vote ofj &Mks tejjhe Uarporstion, for the light ilhuiAMrttßfg ~We'ir faces •.that night.. JEhe dUtfnifeJf' and colleagues, returned his "trusting that many years would these works were extinguished. After gNtog three hearty cheers for the Mayor, and .three cheers for the Mayoress, the crowd dispersed in an orderly manner.