NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 940, 29 June 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Ship Wanganui.—lt -will be seen by our shipping telegrams that the ship Wanganui, bound for Lyttelton from London, passed Otago Heads yesterday afternoon. She has made the passage so far in ninety-one clays, and her passengers, fifty in number, are reported all well.

Masonic and Foresteks' Scholarships. —We understand that Master Kirk, son of Mr A. B. Kirk (Canterbury Lodge, 1048 E.C.) is the successful candidate for the Masonic scholarship this year, and Master Jackman for that of the Foresters.

Ekratum. —In the list of competitors for scholarships in yesterday's issue the name of the competitor who made the greatest number of marks in class A should have been Elizabeth Milsom, not Elizabeth Wilson, as printed.

Football —The match on Crannier Square next Saturday afternoon is to be the return between Boaters and Cricketers. The colors of the former will be blue and white, and of the latter red and black. Play is to be commenced punctually at 3 p.m., and a good attendance is looked for. The Suez Mail.—The Suez mail has arrived at the Bluff considerably earlier than was expected. It was anticipated that the Bangalore would reach Melbourne on Sunday or Monday, but it seems she arrived on Saturday, and the Ringarooma, dispatched immediately, has made the unusually rapid passage of four days two hours. An interesting and intelligible summary of European news has been forwarded by the representative of the Press Agency at Invercargill, and appears in another column. The Gaiety.—"My Turn Next," and the burlesque of "Paris" were played at the Gaiety last night. In the former, Mr Hall was exceedingly funny as Taraxicum Twitters, and in the latter the acrobatic feats of the Bounding Brothers were such as to put all rival performers in this line entirely in the shade. To-night Miss Bessie Vivian and Mr Hooper will take their benefit, when " All that G-litters " will precede the burlesque of " Black-eyed Susan." Miss Vivian's Benefit.—This lady, in conjunction with Mr Hooper, takes her benefit at the Gaiety this evening, when "All that G-litters" and the burlesque of "Black-eyed Susan " will be produced. During the season at the G-aiety both Miss Vivian and Mr Hooper have made themselves deservedly great favorites with their audiences, and we hope to see a crowded house to-night on the occasion of their first benefit here.

Inquests. —The inqxiest on the body of Mr Frederick "White, who was killed at the Asylum by one of the patients, was opened yesterday before Mr T. W. Hall, acting coroner.' After taking some evidence, the inquest was adjourned at after seven o'clock until 2 p.m. this day. A full report appears elsewhere. An inquest was held yesterday at the Hospital on the body of Thomas Leslie, who was found dead in his bed the previous morning. The evidence showed that death had resulted from effusion of blood on the brain, and the jury returned a verdict accordingly. Toll-gates.—At the last meeting of the West land Council, Mr Seddon moved —" That the chairman write to Messrs Goodfellow and Blake, and inform them that the loop-line "ate and Kawhaka gate are abolished, and that until the permanent toll-gate is erected at the Waimea Creek, Christchurch roach the chairman be authorised to have the loop-line gate removed and re-erected across Christchurch road, immediately below Groodi'ellow's Hotel, and that Mr Goodfellow be temporally appointed collector, and charge the authorised scale of tolls." After a short discussion the motion was agreed to.

The Member foe Timaru.—Mr Moss Jonas, of Timaru, who recently forwarded to the Hon. Mr Stafford a request on the part of his electors that he should meet them before next session, has received the following letter from that gentleman : —" Lansdowne, June 25th, 1877. Dear Sir, —I am in receipt of your letter of the 21st instant, forwarding a memorial from twenty-two electors of Timaru, requesting me to meet them before next session. Previous to the receipt of the memorial, I had intended to go to Timaru, and I now propose to do so next week, when I shall have much pleasure in meeting the electors. I remain, dear sir, yours very obediently, E. W. Stafford."—The Herald, understands that Mr Stafford has since been invited so to time his visit-as to be present at the festivities connected with the opening of the Timaru Council Chamber. Sumner. —The second entertainment of this season was given in the schoolroom on Wednesday evening. The attendance was scarcely so good as at the previous one ; still over one hundred persons were present. The special coach from town was filled with visitors, a fact speaking for the growing popularity of these entertainments. The chairman (Eev. C. J. Merton) congratulated the parishioners specially upon this point, as by such an easy and pleasant means the debt on the Church organ must soon be cleared, and trusted that the interest in them would be maintained. The programme was quite up to the usual standard. At the close of the entertainment the room was cleared and dancing was kept up for a while with much spirit. Professor Pearson.—The appointment of Professor Pearson by the Victorian Government to reform and reorganise the Education Department at a salary equal to £IOOO a year, is the subject of much comment in the other colony. Writing regarding it, the correspondent of the Otago Times says : —This is so flagrant a case of rewarding a political partisan that it has not escaped comment. The Professor is for the time to supersede the Minister, except so far as his political functions are concerned, and is to have full powers to carry out any reforms he may devise. This appointment followed close upon the speech of Major Smith, the Minister of Education, in which he stated that his own department was in a state of disorganisation. It was then believed that Professor Pearson would have been provided for, to compensate him for his defeat, and the sacrifice he made in giving up his position at the Ladies' College and £I4OO a year. It would have been better had he been made Minister of Education at once, and trusted to obtaining a seat in Parliament at the first opportunity. Bushed.—A man named Marks had a narrow escape of his life on Sunday last, in the Inangahua district. Marks is alluvial mining, or as it is termed "gully raking," somewhere in the vicinity of the Landing, and on the day named he left his hut for the purpose of obtaining a supply of tucker for himself and mate. During a snowstorm, however, he lost his way in the bush, and as he did not return the next day his mate, Knopp, became alarmed and proceeded to the Landing and upon obtaining no tidings there of Marks, a search party was formed and the bush scoured, and after some hours wandering about the party come upon Marks, who was found sitting in the snow against a tree in the last stage of exhaustion and on the point of death. He was succored with brandy and conveyed to the Landing, where he subsequently recovered. He stated that alter losing himself he wandered about the country, and becoming dizzy and exhausted, he was finally compelled to sit down in the snow, and for some hours before relief came he had yielded the last hope of deliverance. Conversazione. —The conversazione giren by the teachers at the Normal School last evening was an unqualified success. From first to last the whole of the arrangements made by the committee were excellent, and there "was not a hitch. To give in the limited space at our command even a glance in detail at the varied entertainments provided for the very large attendance, would be almost an impossibility. There was something for every taste —from grave to gay, from livery to severe, all were consulted, and the result, as might be anticipated, was a most enjoyable evening. For those who love the concord of sweet sounds, there was Mr Merton, Mr Comerford, and a host of assistants, who during the evening discoursed most exquisite music. Then for the convenience of those who wished to send a tender love missive by post or telegraph to the objects of his or her affections there was a post and telegraphic office, provided with an efficient staff of operators, to receive a message from whose fair hands was worth all the fee. Beyond this again was the house of mystery. Hero shrouded in gloom resided an ancient sybil—ancient only in outward seeming—who foretold strange events, most of them, by the way, tending in the direction of a happy marriage. Thalia and Melporuene were not unrepresented, for charades were acted in quick succession, and received as they deserved the liberal appreciation of the audience. The wonders of science found an able exponent in Professor Bickerton, who alternately charmed and horrified his audience according as his experiments varied from the brilliant colours to the detonating power of electricity. The wits of those who thought, as Artemus puts it, that spelling was their " fort," were put to the test by the spelling bee, in which ( many doughty champions and fayre maidens came to unutterable grief. Then for those who preferred quiet meditation amongst the works of art, the deep blue lakes of our Xcw Zealand or the lighter scenes of the old country, there was the art gallery, filled to repletion with treasures, where one could spend a long summer-day weaving pleasant dreams and building, perhaps, bright castles in the air. To the lovers of quaint remains of olden times, the wonders of the earth, the metals, and the varied productions of many climes, afforded much food for contemplation in the museum. In one corner was the magic lantern, dear to many a childish heart, and, for the matter of that, to many worldly-worn ones, where the passing shadows were invoked for the amusement and instruction of the onlooker. Such was the entertainment provided by the teachers last night for their numerous friends, one which was thoroughly enjoyed by all—the only drawback being that one felt embarrassed by the rich profusion, and hardly knew where to select. It was, in truth, one of the most successful gatherings ever seen here, and when the time came to break up every one felt inclined to echo the words of Juliet, and say " Parting is such sweet sorrow, we could say good-night till 'twere to-morrow." By the kindness of the Board of Education, the exhibition will be open thisevening to the public, who will no doubt avail themselves of this permission in largenumbers.

Mr E. Pboctor's Fortune.—Mr Eobert Proctor, of Dunedin, received by the San Francisco mail recently the pleasing announcement that he had unexpectedly become heir to about £40,000. The Aberdeen Journal gives the following particulars of the lucky windfall which, it would appear, was at one time destined for another quarter :--" YY e learn that Miss Macpherson Grant, oi Aberlour, left in the hands of her Edinburgh agents a deed of settlement. Besides this, however, there was a deed of revocation of the settlement, dated so lately as November, 1876. The will which was thus revoked was in favor of a Miss Temple, who was long the companion of Miss Macpherson Grant, and who is now the wife of Captain Yeatman. In consequence of the revocation of the settlement in her favor, the large heritable and personal estate of the deceased lady will fall to her next of kin. The heritable estate is supposed to be worth between £50,000 and £70,000, and the personal or moveable estate about £150,000. Mr James Proctor, watchmaker, Tarland, and his brothers (Kobert, in Dunedin, and Farquharson, in America) and sister (Miss Margaret Proctor, Alford) will succeed to the personal estate equally ; while Dr Proctor, Ehynie, the eldest son of the eldest Proctor (deceased), will succeed to the heritable property, which includes estates in Jamaica as well as the estates in Aberlour. The Proctor family, we may state, derive their kinship through their mother having been a sister of Miss Macpherson Grant's father, so that the above mentioned heirs to the moveable estate are cousins to the late Miss Macpherson Grant."