NEWS OF THE DAY

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 956, 18 July 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Mail. —The Taranaki, with the inward San Francisco mail, arrived in port tliis afternoon shortly after one o’clock.

Tn k Letter Carri ers.— The letter carriers in the city, as well as in Lyttelton, Kaiapoi, and Rangiora, have been provided with a suitable uniform, consisting of blue cloth and scarlet facings.

St. Matthew’s Church. —An entertainment in aid of the fund to liquidate the debt on St. Matthew’s Church, Caledonian road, will be given in the Mutual Improvement Hall, Knightstown, on Thursday, July 19th, at 7.80.

The Timaru Theatre. —Judging from the account in the “Timaru Herald” of the opening performance at the Theatre Royal, Timaru, it was a complete success. Some 600 persons were present on the occasion, and the iTcneral arrangements arc spoken of as being throughout excellent. The programme comprised Byron’s comedy of “Old Sailors,” produced at the Gaiety here, and the burlesque of “Aladdin.” Both pieces went well. Prior to the commencement of the performance the company sang the National Anthem, and Mr Hall then made a speech, in which he expressed Ins intention to make the Timaru Theatre a first-class one.

Fine Arts. —There is now on view at Mr 0. Clark’s rooms, a very fine collection of works of art. They consist of oleographs, water color drawings, oil paintings, chromos, and photo pictures. The photographs are copies of pictures by Maclise, Frith, Ansdell, Landseer, and others. The water colors are by Earpe. Several of the oil paintings are by Peelc, Marshall, and Barry. The collection contains a number of pictures far above the average merit, and is well worth inspection.

Union Insurance Company. —As will be seen by our telegrams from Dunedin, shares in this company are being largely applied for in Dunedin. In Oaraaru it has also been favorably received. The “ Times” of Friday last says ; —“ Judging from the support it has received here this newly projected company is likely to have its share list subscribed very past four days, been applied for in Oamaru.

Native Lands. —With reference to the new Native Lands Bill to be introduced by the Government, the Auckland correspondent of the “Daily Times” says the more it is studied there the more it is disliked. The people on the East Coast are very warm about it, and declare that it will be intolerable to place such enormous powers in the hand of any Chief Judge. They say, also, that the Bill, if passed, will practically put an end to all open land sales, as the Maoris won’t come into Court under its stringent provisions. The whole purchasing will therefore, it is said, be in the hands of those who are rich enough and influential enough to buy as they can, and to risk the ratification of the purchase hereafter. In short, it will be the old state of tilings made tenfold worse by a pretence of free action which veils the most despotic power in dealing with these lands.

Very Modern Warfare. — A ingenious plan, by which a large army may be destroyed by one person without danger to himself, has been devised, the “ Pall Mall Gazette ” states, by a French chemist, who intends proceeding to Constantinople with the object of obtaining the Sultan’s permission to try the effects of his scheme, in the first instance, on the Russians in Eoumania. He proposes to effect his purpose by a system of land torpedoes concealed beneath the ground over which the invaders must march as they advance towards Turkish territory. These torpedoes will all be connected together by wires, and will be exploded simultaneously at the proper moment by means of an underground wire carried to a convenient distance. If successful he will make no charge as regards the destruction of the Russians in Roumania, but he will require a large sum (to be paid in advance) for performing a similar service as regards the Russian hosts in Asia Minor.

Inquest at Woodend. —An inquest was held on Tuesday, at Thompkins’s Royal Hotel, Woodend, touching the death of a Maori known as Woodend Jacob. Evidence was given by a Maori witness to the effect that deceased, who was upwards of seventy years of age, was on Tuesday week seized with pains in his knees. Woodhcn oil was applied to the parts affected, and on Sunday lie took internally a quantity of decoction of blue gum. During the night he complained of a feeling of suffocation, and died in the morning. Dr Ovenden, of Kaiapoi, who had made a post-mortem examination of the body, stated that deceased had come to his death through fatty degeneration of the heart, caused by senile decay. The jury returned a verdict of “ Death by natural causes.” Payment of Members. —The question of the payment of members is beginning to attract attention in Victoria. There is food reason to believe, says the “Argus,” that Ministers will adopt a new form of procedure, and that they will propose to insure the pay - ment of hon. gentlemen by putting the necessary sum on the estimates. The members of the new Government have for the most part objected to the Legislative Council receiving recompense, and as regards the payment of the Legislative Assembly, it is contended that as the Council has adopted the principle twice, there is no longer any constitutional reason why a Bill should bo sent to it. Of course the real reason of the change is, that a Bill to provide for the payment of members of the Assembly alone would have no prospect of passing the Council, and Ministers would then be in a worse position in placing the sum upon the estimates than they are now, Kaiapoi Borough School, —The monthly meeting of the committee was held on Monday evening. Present—Messrs E G. Kerr (chairman), S. Johnston, R. S. Bean, T. Pashby, R. Moore, and E. Parnham. A letter was read from the secretary to the Conference of School Committees, held in Christchurch, enclosing resolutions passed, and asking them to be laid before the committee. The consideration of them was deferred, and the secretary was directed to acknowledge receipt of the letter. A letter was read from Mr Barsham, complaining of alleged harsh treatment of his daughter Florence by Mr Restell, Inspector of Schools, during the recent examination of the school. The secretary was directed to forward the complaint to the Board of Education, so that :it |might be investigated. The chairman then informed the committee that the special meeting had been called to receive his resignation, consequent upon his being about to leave the district. In tendering his resignation he had to thank his fellow committeemen for the courtesy they had always shown him during the time he presided over the committee. He then vacated the chair, which, upon the motion of Mr Parnham, was taken temporarily by Mr Johnston. Mr Pashby said that before proceeding with the election of a new chairman, he wished to have the thanks of the committee recorded pp the minutes to Mr Kerr, for the excellent and efficient manner in which he had discharged the duties during the years he had held the post of chairman. The amount of work that Mr Kerr had done for the benefit of the school and the furtherance of the cause of education was not sufficiently known to the outside public. Mr Kerr had worked diligently in having the new school completed and a competent staff of teachers appointed, and he was always at his post when anything calculated to advance the interests of the school was required. It would be a long time before they could find his equal, or one who would give so much time to the office. He regretted very much that Mi- Kerr had decided upon removing to Timaru, and he could not allow the present opportunity to pass without tendering him their most hearty thanks for past services. Mr Parnham seconded the motion, and dwelt at length on the enormous amount of work Mr Kerr had done for the town in the various public bodies be represented. All the members spoke in support of the resolution, and the motion was carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr Pashby, seconded by Mr Bean, Mr E. Parnham was elected chairman. The chairman elect returned thanks for the confidence that had been placed in him, and the meeting terminated,

Rahway Carriages.— The Government of New South Wales has been introducing some passenger carriages. The ’‘Herald” gives the following particulars ;—The Minister for Works has ordered twenty new passenger carriages, twelve of them to be made in the colony, and to be completed within six months, and eight from England. Those ordered from England are upon the most improved pattern, being similar to those used on the Midland line, which has of late years taken the lead in the superiority of its railway appliances. These passenger carriages are to be mounted on two bogies, six wheels each ; they are to be fitted with spiral springs, and the wheels will have wooden discs, so that they will run noiselessly and smoothly over the lines. One of the great defects of the rolling stock in use in this colony arises from the fact that the carriages are too short, and the consequence is that the vibration and oscillation is felt infinitely more than in long carriages mounted on bogie frames. Each of these new carriages will hold sixty-four passengers, twenty-four first-class and forty second-class. Two of them are intended for use on the Northern line. The plans of these carriages show them to be exceedingly handsome,, and if the comfort of the passengers by the railway is to be considered, the Government will, as they appear to be doing in this instance, follow the example of the leading English and American companies, by replacing as fast as possible the present short carriages by vehicles more commodious and of better construction. We learn that the three carriages on the American pattern ordered by the late Government may be expected to arrive from New York in about a month. One is a sleeping carriage, and the others are a first and second class carriage respectively. The latter may be expected to be especially suitable for the requirements of our suburban traffic. Carriages of this description are in use on the lino which connects Adelaide with the shipping, and are highly appreciated there. The present system of collecting tickets at Newtown, locking up the doors, and unlocking them at Redfern, involves the travelling public in a very unnecessary waste of time; and, with carriages on the American pattern, all the work that is now required could be done much more expeditiously with a much smaller number of porters, and the Government would have a more perfect check upon the passenger traffic than they have at present.