NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 574, 21 April 1876, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

St. Luke's.—The annual parish meeting of St Luke's will take place this evening at 7.30 p.m. in the school room. Meeting at Akaroa. —We learn by telegraph that a large and influential meeting of residents on the Peninsula was held in Akaroa yesteiday afternoon, for the purpose of taking steps to secure the advantages of railway communication to the Peninsula. A large committee was elected, and the proceedings were of the most hearty description.

C.J.C. Settling.—The settling on t'uAutumn Meeting of the C.J.C. took place yesterday at Warner's. The stakes paid were as follows :—Mr Delamain (Leger and Great Autumn Handicap), £547 ; Mr Redwood (Plying Stakes and Tradesmen's Handicap), £366 ; Mr Webb (Champagne Stakes) £172 ; Mr Lunn (Trial Stakes) £IOO ; Mr Watts (Selling Stakes), £9O ; Mr Coombes (Consolation Stakes) £4O ; Mr Hankins (Hack Race), £lO. Total stakes paid £1315.

Inquests. —Two inquests were held yesterday before Dr Coward, coroner. The first was at the Hospital, on the body of James Kearney, who was found drowned in the river Avon under circumstances as narrated in our yesterday's issue. The evidence given bore out the facts as published by us, and a verdict of "Found drowned " was returned by the jury. The other inquest was upon the body of Mary Ann Foster, whose sudden death was also recorded in our yesterday's issue. A verdict was returned " That deceased diei from disease of the heart. ' Christchubch Horticultural Society —The adjourned annual meeting of the amalgamated societies was held last night in the Congregational schoolroom. Mr W. Wilson occupied the chair. The first business was the election of offictrs for the ensuing year, when the following were elected :—Patron, his Honor the Superintendent ; president, Mr Wynn Williams ; vice-presidents, Messrs B. C. J. Stevens. G. Gonld, W. Montgomery, and Professor Bickerton ; treasurer, Mr G. A. Reade (re-elected). The following were elected as the committee of management:—Messrs A. Duncan, J. Greenaway, W. Napier, T. Turner, Guntrip, Stewart, Collins, Schmidt, Norman, Crooks, Allen, and D. Craw. Mr Mitchell was elected secretary, Mr Howard having resigned. It was resolved —"That Messrs Stevens, Reade, and Greenaway examine the rules |of the Christchurch Horticutural Society with a view to any alteration which may be necessary, to report to an adjourned meeting of the society to take place at as early a date as eonreoient," Ike meting then adjourned,

Chevalier Blondin,—The weather last 1 eveniQg was exceedingly favorable for M. Blondin's ascension, and a large concourse of people—considerably over 3000—attended. The various feats which have already been performed by M. Blondin were gone through with that grace and ease which characterises the Chevalier's performances, and were loudly applauded. A new and somewhat startling one was introduced, viz, the wheeling across the rope of a barrow apparently containing a man, but in reality a stuffed I figure, which, when near the centre, by what seemed an accident, was precipitated from the barrow. Professor Ireland introduced some novelties in fireworks, notably a new and very pretty device, which was well worth seeing. The Chevalier appears again this evening, and to-morrow by request a day performance will be given, terminating in time for the afternoon trains. Literary Evenings.—The first of the series of literary evenings, inaugurated for the winter season by the library committee Christ's College, took place last night, and was highly successful. There was an excellent attendance both in the lower hall and in the gallery, among the audience being a large proportion of ladies, After a few preliminary remarks from the Very Rev the Dean, several glees and songs were rendered in capital style, and evoked the most hearty applause; but the feature of the evening was undoubtedly the reading by his Honor Mr Justice Johnston of a selection entitled " Alice in Wonderland." The subject was a most interesting one, being a humorous description of the manners and customs of the den.zens of the deep, told by one of themselves to " Alice," on her voyage of discovery beneath the waves. His Honor did it full justice, and added to it a charm that it would most certainly not have possessed in the hands of a faulty or less experienced reader. The various phases of the story elicited the heartiest merriment,-and at its close the applause was loud and prolouged. The literary evenings promise to be highly successful during the coming season. Leßon's Bay. On Good Friday the sixth anniversary tea meeting of the Zion Congregational Church here took place in the Government schoolroom, the church being too small to accommodate the large number present. The tea was provided by the following ladies :—Mrs W. Barnett, Mrs J. Smith, Mrs P. Aldridge, and Miss Barnett'. In the evening a public meeting was held ; the room was crowded. Addresses were delivered, Mr W. Barnett presiding. From the annual report it appears that expensive repairs had been done to the church during the past year, and that only the small sum of £l2 2s 9d was due to the treasurer ; that the congregation had increased eo much that the church was full both mornings and evenings on the Sundays. The Sabbath school was in a prosperous condition, and the efforts to circulate tracts throughout the Bay on the Sabbath day had been very successful. It was intended to open more preaching places where they had been in vited. During the evening the proceedings were enlivened by the singing of hymns of Sankey's selection. Miss Hawley presided at the harmonium. At the close the usual votes of thanks were passed, and the meeting separated. Timber for Marine Works.—The Daily Sevtltem Cross of April 11th publishes extracts from the report of Mr Macdonald, Engineer to the Harbor Board there, with reference to the suitability of jarrah and other timbers for harbor works. From this report it appears that jarrah has not been found in all cases capable of resisting the ravages of the teredo navalis and other marine worms. Mi Macdonald says : —" On the 3rd of July, 1874,1 obtained two squared logs of jarrah timber from Messrs Danaher and Lanigan, contractors for the Mangere bridge. This structure spans the Manakau, and is erected on jarrah piles specially selected by Mr Danaher, who visited Western Australia for that purpose. One of these logs I had sawn into pieces of scantling, 6 x 3, and spiked to the totara piles of the Queen street wharf. A few days since I had two of these pieces taken up, and found that although they had only been in the water for twenty-one months, the teredines were carrying on their destructive operations. Specimens submitted, Nos 1 and 2: I made an examination of the jarrah used in the MaEgere bridge, and regret having to state that the piles and lower headstocks have been attacked by the teredo in the most determined manner, and from their large growth fear that it will be found necessary ere long to replace the whole of the piles. Specimens ABC were taken from No 3 1,9, and 19 row or bay of piles. Specimen D was taken from a 9 x 3 jarrah plank, found on the mud on the upper side of the bridge. It was about two years since these piles were driven. The turpentine, or peppermint, tree piles used in a jetty erected several years since at Bulli, on the coast of New South Wales, are reported to have the attacks of the marine worms. The situation is a most exposed one, and the piles may have done so. Two turpentine piles purchased by the Harbor Board, and sent from Australia for testing purposes, were driven by me in the Queen street wharf in June, 1872. Upon making an examination two and a half years afterwards, I found that the teredo had been at work for some time upon them. Specimen submitted No 3: The swamp gum piles imported from Tasmania in 1865, and used in the extension of the Queen street wharf, were attacked, and several of them perfectly riddled in eighteen months after having been driven. —Specimen No 4 : Australian iron bark, although one of the heaviest and best weight carrying timbers known, is at once attached by the teredo and destroyed most rapidly.—Specimen submitted No 5 : The late Captain Ferguson, harbour master, Victoria, states that stringy-bark was destroyed iu yenrs, blue gum in five to eight years, white gum iu six to eight years ; black wood was eaten right through in the same time j and in Sydney harbour, as also on the Clarence and Macleay rivers, I have seen iron bark attacked and very rapidly destroyed by the marine worms." Remarking on the report, our contemporary says that prior to the building of the Mangere bridge it was contended by some who had experience of our own New Zealand timber, that totara was the best wood that could be employed in the construction of the bridge ; that it was better than any timber known, resisted the action of the teredines, and endured longer the action of the water and its inhabitants. This verdict, oi opinion, says the Cross, is borne out by the experiments and facts recorded by Mr Macdonald, who says :—" During my operations in re building the Queen street wharf, I had to remove and draw out 800 totara piles, and, with a few exceptions, the teredines had. failed to penetrate the heart

wood. In originally building the wharf, a faulty design was adopted, and inferior materials used. The piles were cut from young trees, holding not more than 4in to sin of heart timber \ and sap wood was freely used in the kauri superstructure, and aleo in the totara walings and braces. Yet, notwithstanding these defects, the structure has lasted from fourteen to twenty years.— Specimen No 9 was cut out of a totara waling, and, like No 8, shows the sapwood removed by the eca worms, whilst the heart wood remains untouched.—Specimen No 10 is a section of a small totara pile, only eleven inches in diameter, five inches of which is heart timber. The teredines have been very large in this specimen, and it will be observed how carefully they have skirted the heart and confined their operations to the sap. Specimens Nos 8,9, and 10 have been in use from fourteen to sixteen years. The totara piles in the Onehunga wharf, driven eleven years ago, are sound, and have resisted the attacks of the marine borers, whilst the jarrah piles and headstocks of the Mangere Bridge have been entered, and are being rapidly destroyed. The value of kauri is so well known, and has been so well described, both by Mr Kirk and the late Mr Balfour, that I have nothing to add ; and from the specimen of totara submitted, I feel I am safe in saying that there is no timber in the colonies equal to it for resisting the sea worms."