NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 857, 23 March 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

County Council.— The Selwyn County Council met this morning. After some discussion on the distribution of the funds of the County amongst the Hoad Boards, &c, it was resolved to adjourn until 8 p.m this evening. Runaway.—As cab No 27 was standing yesterday afternoon in front of Barrett’s Family Hotel, tbe horse started away as the driver was getting down to close the doors, and bolted up Peterborough street into and along Whately road. Opposite Mr Griffiths’s shop it came into violent contact with a telegraph post, and was smashed to pieces. The horse was not injured. Cricket— Lyttelton v Head of the Bay, The Lyttelton team will be chosen from the following R. Cole, F. Makcig, F. Ward, W. H. Byes, G, Mackay, R. Kings f or d } —Watt, J Martin, 4. J. Rogers, W. >rnit,h, W. Hiliyard, T. O’Grady, Y. Donald, W. K. Edge, and J. G. Jenkins. A coach will leave the Mitre Hotel at 8 a m on S vturday to convey the team to the ground, v, here they will pitch stumps at eleven o'clock sha r p.

Grey Gorge Bridge. —The construction of this bridge is at last an accomplished fact, all that is required to fit it for traffic being the laying of the permanent way.

The Decrepit Maori Boy who had been kept alive for months by immersion in one of the hot spri :gs at Taupo, is reported as having died recently.

Body Found —The body of a man has been found on one of the islands in the river Waitaki, It was found not far from where a man was seen recently wandering, and for whom fruitless search had been made.

Sale of Racing Stock.— A splendid sale of yearlings was held in Melbourne lately, when thirty-four brought a total of 7115 guineas. The Panics fetched the highest price. Mr W, J. Clarke gave 950 guineas for a beautiful Panic colt.

The Ministerial Residence —The Hon Dr Pollen, Native Minister and Colonial Secretary, has taken up his permanent resi dence in the ministerial building in the Tinakori road, Wellington, lately occupied by Sir Julius Vogel, and which has been unoccupied since his departure.

Mr Charles Bright's Lectures. — effort is being made in Dunedin to secuie the continuance of Mr Charles Bright’s Sunday evening services at the Princess’s Theatre. The amount required to be guaranteed to continue the services for six months was £l5O, and tickets to the value of over £7O were taken up in the room. It was resolved to issue tickets of admission to the dress-circle for the period named at .£1 each.

The Poolby Case.— Subscription lists have been opened, »nd are lying for signature at some o£ the principal hotels in Christchurch, for funds to enable Mr Pooley to obtain the services of Mr Travers in the coming trial.

A Train Running into a Mob of Sheep. The first down train on the Northern line on Wednesday ran into a mob of sheep which were crossing the line near the Belfast factory. Several of them were killed and others scattered in all directions. The locomotive took away with it traces of the slaughter, but the machinery was in no way injured.

Canterbury Rifle Association,—A meeting of the above association was held last evening at Radcliffe’a Hotel. Present; Messrs Hesketh (in the chair), Raven, Hill, Beattie, Warner, Strange, and Radcliffe. After some discussion, it was decided to hold the usual meeting for prize firing on Easter Monday and Tuesday, 2nd and 3rd April. It was stated that a large number of prizes would be offered for competition, and that the Council of the Association anticipated a very successful meeting. The chairman mentioned that tickets of membership could be obtained from any membrr of the Council, or at Messrs Petersen’s and Mr Sandstein’s. The meeting then adjourned until Monday next, when the programme will be completed and advertised.

City Guards Dinner. The annual dinner of the City Guards Company took place last evening, at Maples’ hotel. About forty members had previously mustered at, and marched from, the drill shed. The table was very artistically laid, and the catering of Messrs Cookson and Freeman, with attendance, gave general satisfaction. After the cloth had been removed, the toasts of the Queen and other members of the Royal family were given and enthusiastically honored. The toast list comprised “ His Excellency the Governor,” "Council and House of Representatives,” "Cant, Hawkes,” " Lieutenant Woolfe,” “ Non Commissioned Officers,” " Volunteer Parker, the Company’s representative,” received with loud and continued cheering, " Ladies,” “ Press,” &c, interspersed with some good singing, and the company broke up at an early hour, having enjoyed a very pleasant annual meeting.

8t John’s Parish,— Some of the parishioners of St John’s have made complaint to ua of what they characterise as an impertinent attempt to interfere with the results of the mission held in that parish having been made after the service on Wednesday evening. They state that, as the congregation, numbering about two hundred persons, was dispersing at the close of the service, a person placed himself at the north doorway, and gave away to the retiring worshippers tracts which were objectionable to the receivers by their contents being highly ritualistic in character. The person adopting this peculiar course was understood to say that the tract of which copies were distributed was written by Mr Macartney, the late mission preacher at St John’s. An ordinary sense of the proprieties might have suggested that the adoption of such a course would meet with anything but approval on the part of those to whom the tracts were gratuitously, and in the nature of things, offensively presented,

The Transit op the Planet Vulcan.— Our readers will have observed a notice in our Wellington telegrams of yesterday that Archdeacon Stock and Dr Hector had made arrangements for watching the sun’s disc during the three days named in the Astro-nomer-Royal’s telegraphic message to Profes sor Von Haaat, on which the transit of the still problematical intra-Mercurial planet Vulcan might be expected. Similar preparations have been made here. Our fellow citizen, Mr James Townsend, possesses a fine equatorial telescope, by Bollinger, of London, of feet focal length, and 3* inch aperture, and which for some eighteen months has been properly mounted in a small observatory at his residence on Park Terrace, For several days before the 21st, this gentleman, with several scientific friends, has been making observations of the sun’s disc, so as to be prepared for the task ; the position of the spots being carefully recorded. Although it is not possible to obtain photo-heliographs, the image of the sun has been thrown on a screen in such a manner that the position of any spot or passing planet can be fixed with sufficient accuracy. On Wednesday raor ing, the observations were commenced at 6.30 a.m, and continued until 2 15 p.m, when it clouded over, but a last glimpse was obtained at 3 p.m. Yesterday, the 22nd, observations could only be made from 6.30 a.m to 1.30 p.m* when the sky became covered with dense clouds, and rain set in. During this time, Mr James Townsend was assisted by bis brother, Mr William Townsend, Professors Von Haast and Cook, and Dr Powell, who relieved one another in the somewhat wearisome task. We are sorry to say that, hitherto, the result has been of a negative character, but, as one day still remains, we hope the labours of these gentle men will not ho in vain.