NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1001, 10 September 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Mail. —The Wanaka left Nelson for Picton this morning with the San Francisco mail on board.

Accident.— ln passing over the - Ashley bridge on Saturday, a door of one of the carriages of the train came .open, and was broken into pieces. Presentation. —At the conclusion of the business of the City Council this afternoon a presentation will be made to Cr. F. Hobbs, as a recognition of his services during two years’ mayoralty. Me Eadcliffe’s Supporters. —A meeting of gentlemen will be held at the Commercial Hotel this evening, at 7.30, for the purpose of forming a committee to secure Mr Rad elite’s return as a member of the City Council.

Young Men’s Christian Association. — The next of the series of lectures in connection with this association will take place at the Congregational schoolroom this evening. The lecturer will be the Rev. W. J. Habens, and the subject “ Modern Scepticism.” Mean Thefts. —Several petty thefts of flowers, bulbs, and cuttings have been committed in the Church of England Cemetery lately. To put an end to this sacriligious and heartless conduct, instructions have been given to the sexton to keep a good look out that the offending party be captured and prosecuted. Wesleyan Chuech, Colombo Road.— The Colombo road Wesleyan Church is rapidly advancing towards completion. The contractor, Mr Goss, has lost no time in carrying on the work. The contract-time expires with the present year, but in all probability the building will be opened for public worship about the middle of December. It already presents a striking appearance, the outer walls being nearly complete. The roofbeams are prepared, and in a few days will be placed in position. The situation, at the corner of the Pound and Colombo roads, is all that could be wished for a public building, and when finished, this church will be not only a "conspicuous landmark but by far the most handsome structure in the district.

Dr. Somerville’s Mission. —A largely attended meeting of a very interesting nature was held at the rooms of the Young Men’s Christian Association, on Friday evening last, when Mr Thomas Kitchen, of Melbourne, gave an account of the work being carried out in connection with Dr Somerville’s mission to Victoria, with some of its results. He referred in terms of praise to the good Mr Henry Varley (who is associated with Dr Somerville) was doing at the present time in Melbourne, and informed the meeting that the work being performed by these gentlemen might justly he termed a real work, and was not, as some people imagined, merely excitement. In proof of this several individual cases were mentioned. At the conclusion of the address a hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Kitchen; the chairman (Mr Bray) and many others speakers expressing their sympathy with the laborers, whom they hoped to yet have the pleasure of welcoming to Christchurch. Benefit Concert. —The concert in aid of Michael Hawkins came off on Saturday night, and was an undoubted success. The Colonists’ Hull, Lyttelton, where the performance took place, was literally crammed by a most sympathising audience, who testified their sense of the good object for which the entertainment was given, by vociferously redemanding everything. Considering that the men were entirely unused to appear before the public the performance was very creditable, some of the songs being really well rendered. His Worship the Mayor was in the chair. The object of the concert, viz., raising a good sum of money for the unfortunate Michael Hawkins, who was hurt aboard the Waikato, lias been fully answered, all honor to the kindly sailors who, without any pretence, have succeeded in securing this good end. Winter Evening Readings —Another oj these entertainments was given at the Colonists’ Hall, Lyttelton, on Friday night last. As usual the hall was well filled, the great feature of the evening being a prize iriven to adults for the best recitation. The prize, which was a handsome dressing-case, had been presented to the committee to be ,riven in this way by Mr G-eorge Tayler. It was won by Mr T. Grange, jun., the piece he being “ Tell’s Speech on Liberty.” There were seven competitors. The president, Mr H. N. Nalder, announced that the sei’ies of entertainments would conclude with a concert, which would be given on Thursday, September 20th, at which some of the leading musical amateurs of Christchurch had kindly premised aid.

Rate of Exchange. —The Melbourne “Argus ” states that the Banks, having been advised by telegraph from London that no extra charge is now made for the insurance of their bullion shipments against war risk, have reduced the selling rate of exchange for the outgoing mail to 1 per cent. Gifts to the Hospital. —The house steward of Christchurch Hospital desires to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of £3 for the use of patients in the Hospital, being the amount of judgment in the case of F. Courage v Ward. He also desires to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of a large number of rose trees and other plants, from Mr A. Duncan, for the Hospital ground. Railway Traffic Returns. —The railway traffic returns are published for the four weeks ending 28th July. The total revenue on the Kaipara line is set down at £24613s sd; Napier and Takapau, £1553; Wellington, £865 ; Auckland, £1474 7s 4d; Foxton, £524 5s Id ; Wanganui, £l2O 14s 4d ; New Plymouth, £144 14s 6d ; Greymouth, £728 3s 6d; Westport, £203 9s Id; Nelson, £342 13s lOd; Picton, £339 15s 8d ; Christchurch, £16,354 11s 8d (exclusive of wharfage) ; Dunedin, £6368 6s Id ; Invercargill, £2674 18s 4d. Woodend. —The friends of the Good Templar cause have for some time past been thinking of closing their lodge, and in its place starting a benefit society in connection with the Sons of Temperance. A number of members met together on Thursday last, and opening ceremonies were conducted by members from the Grand Lodge. They start with upwards of forty-five members, and it is expected that many more will join. The name of the lodge is the Try Again, and at present the members meet in the Wesleyan schoolroom. Catholic Manse. —A meeting of the Catholics of Christchurch was held in the Catholic Schoolroom, Barbadoes street, on Sunday, the 9th hist., for the purpose of taking into consideration the great necessity of having a suitable residence erected for their clergy, and also to elect a committee to carry out the same. The Rev. Father Ginity occupied the chair, and, after explaining the object of the meeting, and giving a few hints as to how such things should be conducted, a committee of gentlemen was elected for that purpose. Durham Street Wesleyan Chuech. — The twenty-fourth anniversary of the Sabbath School in connection with the Durham street Wesleyan Church was celebrated yesterday. About 250 children took part in the afternoon service, which was conducted by the Revs. Crumps '’and "Worker. In the morning, the Rev. J. S. Smalley preached, and in the evening the Rev. W. Markoy, on both occasions to large congregations. At each service the children, under the direction of Mr Roberts, sang selections of hymns. The anniversary tea-meeting will be held on Thursday next. Found Dead on the Poet Hills.— At 5.55 p.m. on Saturday a lad named Weir reported to Sergeant-Major O’Grady, in charge of police in Lyttelton, that he and another lad had been to the Heathcote Yalley that afternoon to pick watercress, and returning over the Bridle Track in making a short cut found the body of a man lying in a gully in an advanced state of decomposition. Detective Smith was at once sent to the spot with two constables, and, guided by the lad, found the body. There was neither hat nor boots on the corpse, but from a letter discovered in the pocket he was identified as a man named Buckley, who had been for about five months a patient in the Christchurch Hospital suffering from rheumatic gout in the feet. Subsequently, and for a short time, deceased had been employed as clerk by Mr H. N. Nalder, of Lyttelton, solicitor. While in Lyttelton, deceased lodged at Trevor House. He left on the morning of the 16th August, stating he was going to Mr Nalder’s office, but, though inquiries were made, nothing was heard of him till the corpse was discovered. The body was removed to the Yalley Hotel, and thence to the Morgue, Lyttelton. An inquest will be held at the Mitre at 3 p.m. to-day. Deceased is supposed to be well known in Timaru. He was fifty-seven years of age. It is much feared that the poor fellow was suddenly seized with a severe attack of his old complaint whilst making a short cut over the hill, and perished miserably of starvation. What makes this more probable is that hardly anyone ever goes over the Bridle Track now, and he might have laid in the gully for days, though it is pretty close to the road, without his cries attracting attention.