NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1058, 17 November 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Mayoralty.— Messrs H. Thomson and J. Gapes have now been nominated for the office of Mayor of Christchurch during the ensuing year. Dredging Operations. —The Lyttelton Harbor Board has decided to extend the line of dredging operations at Port Lyttelton to the jetty at tke mouth of the railway tunnel. This will tend to increase considerably the accommodation to shipping. Masonic. —At the regular monthly meeting of the Canterbury Lodge, 1048, E.C., last evening, Bro. Jubal Fleming was elected as W.M. for the ensuing year, Bro. P. W. Thiel as treasurer (re-elected), and Bro. Shailer as Tyler. The installation of the W.M. elect will take place at an early date. Indian Relief Fund.— At a meeting of the committee of the Indian Relief Fund yesterday, the total amount subscribed in Canterbury was stated as being £SOIB 8s Bd. The list of all subscribers over £1 to the fund will be advertised in the local papers so soon as it can be prepared.

Gladstone Whaef. —The Government have issued instructions to have Gladstone wharf, Lyttelton harbour, furnished with additional railway facilities. The Harbour Board has been acting in the matter, and at yesterday’s meeting the chairman read a telegram from the Hon. E. Richardson, stating that Mr Conyers had been authorised to lay down the rails asked for by the Board. Stock foe the Noeth. —By the s.s. Rotorua some of our Canterbury stock went North. A very handsome pedigree heifer by Statesman out of Dorcas the First was sent to their Raglan run by Messrs Studholme and Co,, and we also noticed some grand Lincoln sheep, comprising sixteen ewes and thirteen lambs, the dams being imported from England by Mr Lysaght, which were bound for the Waikato, having been bought here by Mr Runciman, of that district. Mr Parr, also of the Waikato, has, we understand, purchased one of the new reaping and binding machines imported by Wood, Shand and Co., and it will be forwarded shortly. The enterprise of these Northern farmers augurs well for the future of Waikato.

Dunedin Cathedsal, —The following resolutions have been adopted by the Dunedin Diocesan Synod : —“ That a Cathedral Commission be appointed.” “ That it be an instruction to the commission to obtain information as to the necessary requirements for a cathedral site, to seek for such a site and to report thereon to the Diocesan Synod ; but that the said commission is not to bind the Synod in any way previous to such report.” “ That the commission be authorised to receive subscriptions towards the purchase of a site, and that they have power to invest all moneys received, in some building society, or in any other way they may think fit, and that the commission remain in force until the end of the first session of the next Synod.” Papanui. —An entertainment was given in the district schoolroom on Friday evening, in aid of the Presbyterian Church harmonium fund,-there was a large attendance, and the Eev, Mr Horner occupied the chair. Songs were sung by Miss Horner, Messrs Crawford, Johnson, McDiarmid, McNicoll, and Woledge, the latter gentleman being loudly encored for his comic songs. The instrumental portion of the programme was much appreciated. A pianoforte solo was nicely rendered by Miss Ada Foster, and Mr GK Seagar was particularly successful with his cornet solos. The members of St. Andrew’s choir, of Christchurch, contributed two glees excellently, under the leadership of Mr T. Searell, which gentleman presided at the pianoforte during the evening in his usual careful style. The usual votes of thanks and singing of the National Anthem brought a pleasant evening to a close. Asphalting- the Footpaths. —Mr S. Smart, the contractor for asphalting the footpaths within the city, is getting on with his work in a satisfactory manner. He did not start to work in earnest until the setting in of the good weather this year, and he has already done the paths in St. Asaph, Tuam, and Lichfield streets, and he is finishing off in Cashel and Hereford streets. Mr Smart has the contract for asphalting sixty miles of sidewalks within the city, and the work has to be completed in three years from the time of his signing the agreement. The price is 2s 3d per yard, superficial measurement. It is intended that twenty miles shall be finished during each year of the contract time. The Council asphalt each path to a width of four feet six inches at its own expense, and should citizens desire the remainder to be asphalted also, of that the Council will pay only halt the cost. Mr Smart is bound by the terms ot his contract to keep each path in repair fo 1 twelve months after the time of its completion.

Lady Baekeb. —The London literary correspondent of the “Argus” writes:—Lady Barker, -whose works on station life and station amusements in New Zealand, are among the standard books on matters colonial here, has contributed a very entertaining volume or Natal to the literature of the year. She callthe book “ A Year’s Housekeeping in Sout.l Vfrica.” It is written with her usual liveli ness, but the outcome of it is that Natal i ot a pleasant place to live in at present —r vill be much improved when the railroad t ho coast from the capital is in worlting ordc nd that the climate is not so delightful as w mvo hitherto been led to believe. The count) s indeed a paradise of flowers, especially o roses, but the inconveniences are more than i for the beautise of tbe t'laco,

Haebor Board Debentures.—Afc the meeting of the Lyttelton Harbor Board on Friday afternoon a resolution was passed authorising the National Bank of New Zealand to issue in London forthwith £IOO,OOO worth of debentures, and to raise, subject to direction from the Board, £25,000 on the security of those debentures. St. Elmo’s Lights. —The Arawata had a stiff time of it on her last trip to Melbourne, very heavy head gales and high seas having been encountered after leaving the Bluff and in the Straits. During the atmospheric disturbances on the 27th ult., the electric phenomenon known as St. Elmo’s lights burned distinctly and visibly for about twenty minutes on the mastheads, and then disappeared suddenly during a tremendous squall. It was about 2 a.m. when the lights were hovering overhead. Sudden Death. —A woman named Martha Jones, alias Brown,, died very suddenly in Manchester street north yesterday morning. It appears that the unfortunate woman, who had been leading a dissipated life for some years past, resided in a house in an alley off Manchester street, but was turned out of it on Wednesday night last. Yesterday morning, about a quarter-past nine, she was seen sitting down near St. Luke’s Church by a woman named Mary Holmes. Jones said she had been drinking, and felt very ill, and then got up and walked a few yards. She stopped for a moment, and then complained of being very bad, and asked Holmes to go for a drink for her. Holmes did so, and on returning found the woman with her hands and knees on the ground, and, on attempting to raise her, discovered that she was dead. The police were sent for and removed the body to the Morgue. The Stevenson Case. —lt seems that the last has not been heard of the Stevenson case. Mr Lyell lately brought under the notice of the Yictorian Assembly the case of a Customs officer named Donald Fraser, who has been suspended for many months on a charge of not stopping certain cases which he was ordered to detain. According to Mr Lyell these cases never reached Fraser, but were short in delivery from the ship. . But the Commissioner of Customs put a much graver aspect upon the question, by stating that the cases were valuable evidence in the Stevenson inquiry, that they had been placed under the care of Fraser, and that they were mysteriously missing. Further, Mr Lalor said that the Messrs Stevenson had never applied for’these missing goods, and he drew his own inference from that fact. The circumstances of the affair are still under the consideration of the law officers of the Crown, with a view to criminal prosecutions being initiated. . Mr Service spoke with warmth as to the inordinate delay which has taken place in arriving at a conclusion in the matter. Obituary Notices. —In its issue of Thursday the “ Otago Daily Times” has the following notices of the deaths of old Dunedin residents We regret to chronicle the death of Mr James A. Douglas, for many years manager of the Dunediii branch of the Bank of New South Wales. The deceased -gentleman, who had lately been residing in London, had been in failing health for some time past. The news of his death was telegraphed to a friend at San Francisco, and reached New Zealand ■by the last mail steamer. The deceased was well-known and highly respected by very many citizens of Dunedin, and leaves behind him a wide circle of friends at home. On Tuesday the remains of the late Mr L. L. Levi were carried to their last resting-place, and the cortege, which was a large one, consisted of twenty carriages, the whole of the representatives of the Jewish persuasion attending, as also the representatives of many of the business houses of the city. Mr Levi was a very old and very much esteemed member of the community. He arrived in Melbourne in 1853, and came to Dunedin in “ the good old days” of 1862, since which year he has continued actively in business as a merchant. Although i nking no active or prominent part in public life, he was nevertheless a liberal supporter of our charitable and other institutions. He was a much esteemed Mason, and a member of the Boyal Arch Chapter.

The Australian Cricketing Team. —At the invitation of the committee of the East Melbourne Cricket Club about forty gentlemen connected with the different metropolitan clubs assembled in the upper room of the Hall of Commerce, Melbourne, for the purpose of having a parting glass of wine with the Victorian portion of the Australian cricket team, and wishing them a pleasant journey and a safe return. The chair was taken by the Hon R. D. Reid, M.L.C., and the members of the team present were Messrs Boyle, Horan, Blackham, Allan and Kendall. Mr Reid, in proposing the health and success of the team, said that they were now starting for a preliminary canter round the colonies prior to leaving for the old country, but when they arrived in England he was quite sure they would do their best to uphold the honor of Australia in the cricket-field. It was not to be expected that they would win every match, but he reminded them that an Australian had gone to England and wrested from the holder the rowing championship of the world, while their riflemen at Wimbledon had made anything but a poor show, and he was quite sure the team sent from Australia to uphold our cricketing reputation would give a good account of themselves. Subsequently a number of the gentlemen present proceeded to Sandridge to see the members of the team off by the s.s. Wotonga for Sydney, ea route for Queensland, where they were to play their first match on the 9th, 10th, and 12th inst.