NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 899, 12 May 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Dkainagk Meeting.— A public meeting will be held at St. Alban's Mutual Improvement Association's rooms, Knightstown, on Monday evening at 7 30, to consid r resolutions on the drainage question. Mr Ollivier, Drs Tnrnbnll and Prankish, and Mr Wynn Williams will attend. St. John's Presbyterian Church, Lyttelton —The Rev. J. D. Fergusson is announced to preach in this church to-morrow morning, find the Rev. J. Elmslie in the evening. Evangelistic Service. —An evangelistic service will be conducted in the Gaiety theatre to-morrow night, at 8 o'clock. Sydenham Literary Debating Club. — The second meeting of this association was held last evening in the Colombo road school. Twenty members were present. The president delivered an address on the " History of Philosophy," and the vice-president on " Literature." Educational Conference. —A conference of the members of the Certificated Teachers' Association and others present by circular, was held at the Durham street Schoolroom to-day. There was a large attendance, and amongst others many ladies. Apologies were read from the members of the Board of Education and other gentlemen excusing themselves on the ground of their positiDU. The chair was taken by Mr Cunningham, of Eangior.i. The following resolution, proposed by Mr Howard, was carried after a lengthy discussion, viz.: —" That education be free, compulsory, but scriptural and unsectarirn, supported by a conscience clause." Two amendments, one to omit discussion of the resolutiop, and one as follows :—-That education be free compulsory, and secular," were rejected. Road Accident. —It is reported that an accident happened yesterday near Carleton, by which Mr A. Bennett was rather severely injured. He was oue of the occupants in a vehicle which was being driven along the road when the horse therein was frightened by a passing train. The trap, it is said, was upset, and of its three occupants Mr Bennett | was the most serious sufferer. i Lyttelton Water Supply.—The engine I was tried most successfully at the Valley I Works yesterday. Water was pumped into | the reservoir, tile engine working smoothly 1 and the pipes all standing the test. The supply of water was plentiful and good. • Lyttelton is to be congratulated on the immediate prospect of her water supply becoming • an accomplished fact. J Runaway Railway Truck.—On Friday morning a truck escaped from the Oust railj way station yard, and owing to the steep j gradient of the Oxford and Rangiora line i reached the latter station before it was ; stopped. No donbt this was the result of an ! accident, but it is highly dangerous for a truck i to come down the line unexpected, as there are j a great number of crossings, and the line is j laid alongside the road, so that in the case of j a runaway truck there is no warning whistle j to warn approaching horsemen or persons in j charge of road vehicles that there is anything likely to happen which will startle horses. The Government Scholarships.—The entries for the Government scholarships closed on Thursday last, with the following results : —Class A, for boys under eleven years and girls under twelve—Boys, 19 ; girls, 22 ; total, 41. Class B, for boys under twelve years and girls under thirteen —Boys, 24; girls, 16 ; total, 40. Class C, for boys under thirteen and girls under fourteen years of age j —Boys, 18 ; girls, 7 ; total, 25. Class D, for boys under fourteen and girls Junder fifteen— Boys, 9 ; girl, 1; total, 10. Grand total— Girls, 46 ; boys, 70; total, 116. Gaiety Theatre. —There was a very good house last night at the Gaiety, when the farce of "Turn Him out," and " Cinderella " were played. In the burlesque all played with great spirit. Miss Wiseman sang the songs allotted to her very nicely, and Miss Bessy Vivian, as on former occasions, received an encore for her song. She was assisted, we may remark, in the chorus by a corps of assistants whose intentions were good but their harmony decidedly somewhat shakey. The various tricks in the harlequinade were well done, and the performance as a whole went off well. This evening there will bo a change of programme. Fire at EIIESMRRE. —A fire which destroyed about 160 sacks of prime barley, worth about £2OO, exclusive of all expense of husbandry, took place in Mr McGuinness's paddock, near Southbridge. The property unfortunately was not insured. The fire, caused by some undiscovered means, occurred shortly after the departure of the threshing machine. The grain, as is customary, was lying in the straw heap preparatory to delivery. There is not any reason to suppose that action inimical to Mr McGuinness, who has already on former occasions suffered heavy losses from fire, would be taken by any inhabitant of the district.

Accident. —As a number of horsemen were returning to Timaru from the athletic sports at what the Herald calls a culpably furious pace, one of them, who seemed to have lost control of his horse, rushed among a lot of children, riding over a little boy, a son of Mr John Thompson, and injuring him severely. He was picked up insensible, blood flowing from several bruises that he had received. He was taken into a house near at hand, and his father sent for. It was feared at first that the child was dead, but after remaining unconscious for about five minutes lie partially recovered. He was soon afterwards conveyed home, and on examination having been" made by a doctor, it was found that the right arm had been broken at the elbow, and that several nasty bruises had been made on the head. It is "believed that the child is not now in danger. The man who was the cause of the accident is not known. The Late G-ale.—The gale which was felt so severely at Port Chalmers seems to have extended further North, though it was not particularly noticed in Christehureh. The news from the West Coast is that there has been a heavy snowfall on the hills, a'nd on this side of the ranges severe weather has been experienced. The Otepopo correspondent of the North Otago Times writes :—" A fearful S.W. gale raged here on Wednesday night and this morning, which alarmed the inhabitants so much that many were afraid to go to bed last night. So violent was the wind that nearly every house is damaged more or less, while a large number of roofs have been stripped and several chimneys blown down. The chimneys in Dr. Smith's new house were blown down, and in their fall crashed through the roof; Mr Henderson's chimney was also blown down, and part of the roofing of the Athena?um blown off. Mr H. Fielding was building a new cottage, and had advanced so far that the walls were up and the floor laid, but the gale carried it fifty yards, and lodged it at the back door of the next house. In fact, the storm may be summed up as one of the most violent ever experienced in the district." The Otago Ballachixlish. —The Guardian describes as a most interesting and promising sight the landing from the Glimpse of a cargo of slates received by the Otago Slate Co., from their quarry at Otepopo. The cargo consisted of 63,000 slates of various and assorted sizes from 12in. by 6in. up to 20in. by 12in., and for character could hardly be surpassed. When it is stated that despite the present inconveniences impeding this enterprise, the article can be provided as cheaply and as good as that imported from Home, an idea can be formed of the future in store for this industry. Starting from their home in the mountains, which bears the name of Ballachulish, the slates must first be carted to the railway station ten miles away ; then shifted into trucks and conveyed to Moeraki; then shifted again on board and do their voyaging, to be again handled in landing and carriage to the yard. It is enough to shatter the slates themselves, to say nothing of the profits, but neither the one nor the other suffers, and it requires no great imagination to see that when by railway connection fair play is given to the quarries, there is here in its infancy one of the most promising industries in the colony. Timaru Lighthouse.—At the last meeting of the Timaru Harbor Board, the chairman said a letter had been received from the Commissioner of Customs, asking if the Board were prepared to undertake the management of the new lighthouse, so that he might be assured on the subject before considering tenders. Since that letter had been received he (the chairman) and several members of the Board had had an interview with the Commissioner of Customs while in Timaru, and they had been informed that the Government would pay all harbor expenses up to the 30th of June, after which the Board would have to provide them. Mr Hall said that section 182 of the Municipal Corporations Act 1876, gave the G-overnnient full power to build the lighthouse in wood, if they chose, and he should therefore advocate this being done. The lighthouse would in all probability have to be removed when the breakwater was completed, and <his could be better done if it were built of wood. Mr Beswick endorsed Mr Hall's remarks. Proposed by Mr Hall, seconded by Mr Beswick —" That the original design in wood of the Timaru lighthouse bo adhered to, and that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the lion. Commissioner of Customs." Mr Cliff moved as an amendment —" That before any further action be taken the plans for the wooden lighthouse be laid on the table for consideration." On being put the original motion was declared carried.