NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 559, 3 April 1876, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Carpenters and Joiners.—The halfyearlyjmeeting of the Carpenters and Joiners’ Society will be held at the Oxford Hotel at half-past seven o’clock to-morrow evening. Avon Road Board.—This Board gives notice that it has struck a general rate of tenpence in the pound on rateable property in the district. Divorce Court.—lt is notified in the New Zealand Gazette that a sitting of the Divorce Court will be held at Wellington on May 15th, at eleven o’clock, Amberley. The sale by auction of sections near the township, at the present terminus of the Northern railway, on Friday/, was well attended, and nearly all the lots were sold. The highest price obtained was £SB per acre.

Rifle Association.— The annual prize firing of the Canterbury Rifle Association will commence on Easter Monday, at the range, Heathcote, A goodly list of prizes appears in the schedule, there being ten events, together with aggregate score prizes, range prizes, and the ladies’ prize. Agricultural Statistics.— The agricultural statistics of the province of Nelson are published in the New Zealand Gazette. The totals are :—Number of holdings, 1260 ; extent of land broken up, but not under cro?.', 2448-J acres ;in wheat, 1531 J acres, producing 29,382 bushels; in oats, for green food, 2757| acres, for grain 2722 acres, producing 71,851 bushels ; in barley, 1350 acres, producing 36,519 ; in hay, 3109£ acres, producing 3963£ tons ; in permanent artificial grass, including land in hay, 57,628 f ; in potatoes, 1371 acres, produce 5796£ tons ; in other crops, 2io\\ acres ; total number of acres under crop, incluliog sown grasses, 69,764£ acres. In Marlborough the totals are, 25,716 bushels of wheat, 74,603 bushels of oats, 70,624 bushels of barley, 28,333 acres in permanent grasses, 1628 j tons potatoes, total number of acres under crop, including sown grasses, 36,106*.

Heathoote Road Board.— This Board notifies that it is their intention to strike a rate of a shilling in the pound on the 27th inst.

English Mail.— The mail arrived at 11.30 yesterday in the Colima. It consisted of fifty-five bags for all parts of the province. The Christchurch portion was forwarded by the 2.15 p.m. train, and received into office at 3 p.m. The sorting occupied exactly four and a half hours, being completed at 7.30 p.m, and everything in readiness for the morning despatch. Box holders had their letters delivered to them, and the delivery window was opened from 5 to 6 30 p.m.

Longitude of Places in New Zealand. —The New Zealand Gazette contains a report by Major Palmer on the longitude of various places in New Zealand. The report gives details of the method pursued in determining, by galvanic signals, the differences of longitude between Burnham Observatory and other stations in New Zealand. The results are as follows :—Mean difference of longitude of Queenstown west of Burnham, 14m 32.67 s ; mean difference of longitude, Wellington east of Burnham, 9m 52.37 s ; mean difference of longitude, Auckland east of Burnham, 9m 52.865. The longitude of Wellington observatory is variously stated as follows :—Major Palmer’s absolute longitude, approximate, only, llh 39m 4.81 s east ;Mr Stoke’s chronometric, depending ou Melbourne, llh 39m 5.89 s ; Captain Nares’ chronometric, depending on Melbourne, llh 39m 9.80 s east; Messrs Thomson and Jackson’s approximate absolute, llh 39m 9.60 s cast; present adopted longitude for New Zealand, mean time, llh 39m 8,65 s east. The mean of these is llh 39m 7.635, cr within about Isec of that adopted as the standard for colonial time. Major Palmer, therefore, does not recommend that any immediate change of that standard be adopted. It will be soon enough, he says, to alter it once for all when the whole of the Burnham observations have been correctly reduced and communicated to the Colonial Government, and when by means of the submarine cable a telegraphic longitude difference shall have been obtained between New Zealand and the Sydney or Melbourne Observatory. The latitude of the transit-pier at Burnham, as derived from fifty-three circummeridional observations of north and south stars, is 43deg S Grain 48.4 sec south.