NEWS OF THE DAY

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 953, 14 July 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

The War. —As will be seen by our cable telegrams, published elsewhere, the Turkish ironclads have bombarded Eupatoria. This town is situated on the west coast of the Crimea, and was the scene of a battle between the Russians and the Turks in 1855, in which the latter were victorious. A portion of the Anglo -Erench invading army lauded here in 1854. Sydenham Literary and Debating Club. —At the usual meeting of the duo held last night, arrangements were made to hold an entertainment at an early date. The members then discussed the question of the “ Subjugation of Women,” in which several of the membeis took part.

Public Meeting at Kaiapoi. A meeting was held at the Borough Council Chamber last evening, to prepare resolutions for a public meeting to be held in reference to the damage sustained by the settlers on the Island, in consequence of the Waimakariri flooding their farms, the chief cause of such damage having been the obstructions of a groin and the railway bridge.

Lecture on Separation. —Mr W. H. Purnell delivered on Wednesday evening, in Dunedin, a lecture on “Separation.” Mr Stout, M.H.R., was in the chan-, and the Hon. W. H. Reynolds was also on the platform. It is described by the “ Times ” as a very exhaustive paper, discussing the various aspects of the matter at considerable length, and strongly supporting Separation. The Hon. W. H. Reynolds, in proposing a vote of thanks to the lecturer, said that he did not agree with all he had said ; yet he was quite at one with him in regard to Separation.

I The Gaiety. The musical drama of “ Doing for the Best” formed the first piece .at the Gaiety Theatre last evening. This was ! followed by a new comedy, “ The Waterwitches.” In this Mrs J. L. Hall as Polly ' Mittens was very good indeed, and she was I ably supported by Miss Lizzie Morgan, Miss i Laura Wiseman, and the other ladies of the I company. Mr O’Brien, as Tom Townsend, ! played very creditably,.and Mr Oily Deering | was also very good. The remainder of the i characters were well filled. To-night the i company appear for the last time at present, ■ as they proceed to Timaru on Monday to open the new Theatre Royal there. The Rose Brothers, illusionists, will open on Monday evening for a season of twelve nights. Their performances are spoken of elsewhere as being very clever, and no doubt they will be equally successful here.

Gambling in Hotels. —AY. Gawne, landlord of tlie Oriental Hotel, Dunedin, was lately summoned at the City Police Court for suffering gambling in Ins licensed house. For the defence it was submitted that neither Mr Gawne, 'the defendant, nor his barman had the slightest knowledge of any gambling going on, and that the moment the barman became aware of the fact the card and dice playing was suppressed. Mr Fish said that the Bench was of opinion that the law had been broken. They believed, however, that Mr Gawne was not cognisant of what had occurred, but a landlord was responsible for the acts of his servant. It was impossible to suppose that an experienced barman would allow persons to be on the premises for hours together without being aware of what they were doing, and the Bench had no doubt but that the barman in this case was fully aware of the gambling. The defendant was fined $5 and costs.

Union Fire and Marine - Insurance Company. —The shares of this new company are being applied for at a rate exceeding the most sanguine expectations of the promoters, and, as far as can at present be judged, the total applications locally and from other provinces will be largely in excess of the number open for allotment. Kaiapoi Buyer Trade. —lt is proposed to lay a tramway as a siding from the railway station to Haven’s Quay, in order to connect the railway with the river, and a second siding is proposed to be laid to the south branch of the river. A survey has been made, and in all probability the works will be put in hand as speedily as possible.

Death op a Maori Missionary. —The Rev Dr Stuart, of Dunedin, received intimation through Mr Taiaroa, M.H.R., of the death of his relative Patomoru, at the Kaik on, Tuesday evening. Patorornu acted for many years as a home missionary among his own people. The Rev Mr Blake and the late Rev Ai r Reimenschneider frequently bore testimony to his zeal and faithfulness as a Christian missionary.

Horthern Railway. —ln order to prevent future detentions on this line, in consequence of the overflow of the Waimakariri at the South Waimakariri railway bridge, it is proposed to lengthen the bridge with three additional spans; and further, at the sandhills, between Chainey’s and the bridge, where the overflow does so much damage, it is intended to place the line on open piles for a considerable length. Fatal Accident. —We learn from the “ Inangahua Herald” that a very sad accident took place on Wednesday to a .little girl named Mary Ann Harriett, aged four years and two months, the daughter of Mr John Williams, of Fern Flat. It appears that her mother had gone out in the course of her domestic duties, and the father and sons were busy about the farm when the child’s clothes caught fire, but the flames were put out before apparently any serious injury had been done. The child’s hair was singed, and she was a little burnt about the neck and scalp, but appeared not to suffer, and all thought that she would speedily recover. On Thursday, at supper time, the child was quite lively and spoke cheerily to members of the family, but died almost immediately after that. The cause of death must have been the sudden shock to the nervous system.

Ironworkers. —The following is the petition which the ironworkers of Dunedin have prepared for presentation to Parliament on the subject of their and other manufactures in the colony “To the Honorable the Speaker and members of the House of Representatives in Parliament assembled: The petition of the undersigned artisans and others humbly showeth—That we, your petitioners, feel aggrieved at the injustice being done to us by the importation of manufactured materials from foreign parts, since so many of our class have come out here tinder the Public Works and Immigration Scheme. That we were led to understand that we should find constant employment at our several trades, but we have found nothing but disappointment, and a great number of us are of necessity going idle. Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that all railway plant, iron shipbuilding, engineering, and all iron and brass moulding required for public service may be manufactured in the colony, and that tenders may be invited for all such materials requisite for the public service. ’ ’

The Law or Libel. —The following is a portion of Lord Chief Justice Oockburn’s summing up in the case of Spill v. Maule : “How, the presumption of law being in favor of the absence of malice in the defendant, and the only evidence of malice being his descript ion of acts done by the plaintiff which were capable of a two-fold construction, the presumption of innocence which attaches to to the writer must also, where his act is capable of a double aspect, still attend him. Starting witli the presumption of innocence in his favor, we must assume that the defendant did entertain that view of the plaintiff’s acts which induced him to believe, and honestly to believe, and say that the plantilf’s conduct was dishonest and disgraceful. We have not to deal with the question whether the plaintiff did or did not act dishonestly and disgracefully; all we have to examine is whether the defendant stated no more than what ho believed, and what he might reasonably believe. If he stated no more than this he is not liable ; and unless proof to the contrary is produced, wo must take it that he did state no more.”

Steam Tramways. —The London correspondent o£ the Sydney “Herald” says: — “ Locomotion by steam on the roads can he only a question of time. Several members of the House of Commons went the other day to inspect the steam train cars that run between Stratford and Leytonstone ; and on another day we visited Wantage, where cars of another kind are in use. The results are described as satisfactory ; horses of other vehicles are not scared ; smoke is not poured forth ; starting and stopping are easier than -with horses, and on an ordinary car the saving per annum is estimated at something like £3OO. The present system wears out the horses at a terrible rate; the starting, especially when inconsiderate passengers insist on alighting or getting in half-way up a hill, is desperate work, and the sudden jar upon the animals when the break is put on is almost worse. I hope the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will promote the Steam Tramways Bill.”

The Advantages of Exercise. —Miss Martha Turner, who is one of the vice-presi-dents of the Australian Health Society, recently delivered a capital lecture at Melbourne under the title of “ Familiar Talk on Sanitary Subjects.” Alluding to the necessity of taking exercise, she said : —“ Adequate physical exercise was difficult to get, particularly for girls and young women. Women to whom walking was recommended had two foes to contend against—cheap cabs and heavy clothing. There were few who would not find some good excuse for not walking when they could be driven two or three miles for 3d. ‘ Think,’ they said, ‘of the saving of our clothes.’ Yes, and lot them also think of the damage they did to their livers. When she saw how they dressed, she did not wonder much at their distaste to walking. When 24 yards' of material had tohe carried in one garment, ,and the train must lie held in the hand, then, with an umbrella and the inevitable three-volume novel, a lady was heavily weighted. But when the weight came to be poised on heels two inches high and about the size of a shilling at the base [laughter]—then no doubt most people would ride rather than walk. [Cheers and laughter.] Any change which was to take place in the habits of life must be slow, and would only come through the growth of right feeling and sound public opinion, based on a more educated common sense yiew of the usages and habits that controlled our lives.”

Complexion Paint. —The “ Loiterer in Kumara” says:—“Mr Price is a kind of modern version of the ancient ‘ censor morum.’ In tliat capacity he has sanctioned, I hear, the use of toilette embellishments by the fair sex. In a case at the Court this week a lady witness repelled with indignation the insinuation that she used a puff-box and paint for her face, saying that she had a good complexion of her own. His Worship calmed her perturbation by saying, ‘ There’s no harm in it it; was the fashion for high-born dames to do it not so long ago.’ ” 1.0.0.F.,M.U., Woolston. —The Loyal Perseverance "Lodge will celebrate their anniversary with a soiree and ball on Friday next, at their hall. For the entertainment an excellent programme has been arranged, in which the Lyttelton Oddfellows’ Amateur Christys, and several other friends, have kindly consented to take part. For the convenience of visitors from Christchurch, as will be seen from our advertising columns, a coach will run that evening to Woolston and back,

Invercargill. —The Southland “Hews” congratulates Invercargill upon the fact of a substantial stone building being erected in the town. The credit of this undertaking belongs to the Bank of Hew Zealand, who, through Mr F. W. Burwell, architect, of Invercargill, has just entered into a contract for the erection of a bank building upon the valuable freehold site owned by the Bank at the corner of Tay and Dee streets. The contract price of the building is about six thousand pounds —the lowest tenderer being an Invercargill man, Mr Ramsay, and the stone he will use is of local production—from the Oreti quarries.