NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1011, 21 September 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Cable Communication. —Dr Lemon has received a telegram stating that the cable between Singapore and Batavia is not interrupted, but the line is working badly. Sydenham Club. —The final meeting of this club for the present session will be held this evening at 7.30. St. Joiin's. —An entertainment will be given this evening, in St. John's Schoolroom, on behalf of the Sunday School. The Mayoralty.—We understand that a requisition is in course of signature to Mr H. Thomson, requesting him to come forward as a candidate for the Mayoralty. gFooTBALL — The " Belfass Gazette " regrets to learn that the injuriet Mr Ritchie, captain of the Balmoral Football Club, sustained the other day while playing a match, terminated fatally. The Alleged Case of Flogging at loburn. —During the meeting of the Board of Education yesterday, the chairman received a telegram from Mr J. A. Cunningham, chairman of the Loburn School Committee, referring to the report of a Catholic child having been flogged at that school for refusing to read the Protestant Bible, saying such report was utterly false. Mr Cunningham promised to advise further by letter. Patent Medicines. —At the inquest held at the Hospital yesterday afternoon, the coroner, Dr Coward, said that chloral was a thing which people should never take without advice. He compared patent medicines generally to the proverbial "pig in a poke," and seicl that people who took them acted ignorantly, inasmuch as they could know nothing of their real character or contents. Mr. M. Lynskey and the Kaiapoi School Committee. —The chairman of the Board of Education referred yesterday to a dispute which had taken place between Mr M. Lynskey and the Kaiapoi school committee on the teaching of history by the district schoolmaster, and said that the first «he Board knew of the matter was when the correspondence appeared in print. No reference had been made to the Board by either of the parties.

Insurance. —The numerous insurance companies in Melbourne are about to be increased in number by the appearance on the scene of the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company. The company is advertising for a secretary, and its representative lias been for some time travelling throughout the colony to make arrangements for opening branches in the various districts. The North British and Mercantile is one of the oldest, and most influential insurance companies in Great Britain. New Police Helmet. —The Melbourne police appeared last week for the first time in the new regulation helmet, and the impression their appearance created was generally favorable. The innovation is, however, very much against the taßte of some of the men. The helmet' is the same pattern as those recently supplied to the mounted police, but differs from them in being made of black American cloth in lieu of felt. In summer they will be supplied with the usual white cover.

Transportation of Silt. —An invention for the rapid transportation of silt from dredge punts to landing-places, patented by Mr Alexander Cairns, was lately shown in action at Melbourne. Mr Cairns's plan is to carry the silt or earth direct from the punts to the shore by means of an endless chain of buckets. Silt was removed from one place to another, in buckets of about two cubic feet capacity, at the rate of about 40 cubic feet per minute, and the distance bridged over was about 130 ft. The apparatus met with approval by the professional men present. The Ruling Passion.—A singular instance of the curious disposition shown by prisoners in gratifying their propensities whilst undergoing confinement, occurred at the Pentridge stockade recently. To the astonishment of the officials, says the Melbourne "Age," some prisoners employed as bakers and cooks were observed to be under the influence of something stronger than gaol water. The only information our local correspondent could gain on the subject was, that a quantity of yeast is used in the prison bake-house, a double allowance being supplied on every Saturday. Whether the prison baker is an adept in the art of baking or not, it is evident the yeast underwent some process to make it drinkable, and the grey jackets indulged too freely in their new beverage.

New Zealand Flax Matting-. The "Age" mentions that a new industry of a description which seems not unlikely to take root and flourish in that colony has been started by Messrs Nicholson and Co., at their premises, No 62, Roslyn street, West Melbourne. The Messrs Nicholson have commenced the manufacture of matting of various kinds for household purposes. The matting is made of New Zealand flax, in different sizes, suitable for the floors of rooms or passages, and also for covering stairs. The undertaking has only been commenced on a somewhat small basis, but should a reasonable amount of success be realised it is probable that the manufacture of the articles in question will be attempted upon a much larger scale. The system at present pursued at Messrs Nicholson and Co.'s establishment is to spin the threads from the raw flax, and afterwards to weave the matting by means of a hand loom. The first product of this small factory was a long piece of matting, suitable for a staircase or passage, which was executed last week. The work is now being vigorously prosecuted, and shortly some of the products of Messrs Nicholson and Co.'s manufactory will find their way into the marict,

The Austealian Ceickbtees.—A Sydney telegram states that Nat Thompson has fallen out of the Australian team, the terms being too high, but there is some probability of Evans consenting to go. The Loss of the Avalanche. The "New Zealand Times " has been requested by one of Mr Wilkins's numerous friends to correct the statement that the -whole of that gentleman's family perished in the wreck of the ill-fated Avalanche. His eldest son is in the telegraph office at Waitotara, near Wanganui, and is now the only one of the family left.

Attempt to Blow up the Sydney Observatory.—The particulars of this extraordinary attempt were thus telegraphed to the Melbourne papers : Shortly after two o'clock on Saturday afternoon a youth of nineteen or twenty called at the Observatory, and left a small box addressed to Mr Russell, the Government Astronomer. Upon being partially opened it was found to contain powder. It was then takcii outside the building, and opened cautiously by Mr Russell. He found it to contain four and a half pounds of blasting powder, and sixteen matches standing on end, the sulphurous tips being uppermost. A sheet of sandpaper was gummed to the under side of the lid, so that the friction in withdrawing the lid would ignite the matches and cause an explosion. A gingerbeer bottle filled with powder was also found inside the box. The combustibles were sufficient to blow the the whole establishment up, and the instrument seems to have been prepared carefully. The matter has been placed in the hands of the police. The Muedeeee Sullivan.—A correspondent at Cootumundra of the " Yass Courier " writes : —" On last Monday evening a stranger arrived in Cootumundra, and stayed for a while at Mr Angove's Hotel, where he was supplied with tea. After he had partaken of this he adjourned to the bar, where the effects of the beer, of which he often and largely imbibed, soon began to unloosen his tongue. He stated that he was G-ately, the Melbourne hangman. He was then asked if he had ever been in New Zealand ; he replied, " Yes, he knew more of New Zealand than of New South Wales." On further inquiry he was recognised as Sullivan, the New Zealand murderer. As soon as he found his identity was discovered he made tracks, and has not been seen here since. On Tuesday morning there were a great many people on the alert to catch a glimpse of him, but he had fled during the night. lam given to understand that the police kept a strict watch over him until he left tbe town. There is not the least doubt that he is Sullivan, for he was recognised by a man who had seen him in New Zealand. The visitor stated that he had come from New Zealand, and was making his way to Sydney with a view to take ship for England."