NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1089, 26 December 1877, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Magisterial. —At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Christchurch, this morning, before W. Deamer, Esq., J.P., five inebriates were mulcted in the usual penalty. To-day’s Holiday. To-day is [being generally observed as a holday in Christchurch. The principal attraction is the Foresters’ Fete at the show grounds, but there are in addition a number of picnics, excursions, &c. Cattle Poisoned by Tutu. —Since the late rain, out of two hundred head of cattle depastured near Amberley, sixteen head have been poisoned by eating freely of the young shoots of the tutu plant. Justice of the Peace. —At the special meeting of the City Council held on Monday, his Worship the Mayor intimated that he had received a communication from the Minister of Justice to the effect that his Excellency the Governor had appointed his Worship as a Justice of the Peace. Reported Case oe Sacrilege. —Between the time of locking up the parish church at Kaiapoi on Saturday and reopening it on Sunday, it is reported that a number of the ornaments, including a brass cross, had been surreptitiously removed, and the efforts of the churchwardens and the police, into whose hands the matter has been placed, had up to last evening failed in obtaining any trace of the missing property. The articles taken away include some which the vestry petitioned the Bishop to cause to be removed, and were the property of the late incumbent, who allowed them to remain, pending the Bishop’s action. In any case it is understood that the ornaments in question having been placed in the church could not be legally removed without a faculty from the Bishop of the diocese.

Strong Comment. The Wellington “ Evening Post ” has a paragraph commencing thus : —When that clever, cheeky, libellous, blasphemous, and yet sometimes honestly outspoken journal, the “San Francisco News Letter,” ‘ goes ’ for anything or anybody, it uses remarkably vigorous language. Alluding to its contemporary the “Bulletin,” it thus remarks .—“That journal born in bankruptcy, swaddled in slander, fostered in venality, whose praises are as blistering to honesty as the cancerous kisses of the crocodile which swelters in Nilotic mud — that slimy sheet —we pronounce, and we care not if we stand alone in condemnationto be a—fraud and a cheat, a delusion and a curse to this community.”

Railway Platfoeiis.— The following bylaw relating to railways has been added to the by-laws already existing : —“ No person will be allowed to alight from or enter any railway carriage or vehicle at any station, except at the platform side thereof, unless with the sanction of the officer in charge of such station, or guard at stations or platforms where there are no officers in charge, under a penalty not exceeding £10.” The by-law is evidently incomplete. The authorities should also have been made subject to a penalty for not providing platforms on the “ platform side.” At many of the principal country stations the platforms are altogether inadequate to the accommodation of the traffic, and passengers arc in many situations compelled to make their exit from the carriages at the imminent risk of their limbs, while the procuring of a seat is a work of difficulty and a waste of shoe-leather. Accident in the Reaping Field.— -The Melbourne papers report the following distressing occurrence : —A frightful accident befel a man named John Anderson, in the Sheparton district last week. He was engaged in working a reaping machine, when suddenly a large iguana, measuring five feet in length, sprang from the sheaf board on to Anderson, running up his leg on to his back Anderson sprang from his seat in front of tin yet progressing machine, and the large bone and muscles of his left leg were severed just above the ankle, and the small bone and muscles of the right leg were cut. in a similn manner. The unfortunate fellow was con veyed to the Mooroopna Hospital, where In lay for some time before being attended to Ultimately one of his legs was amputated but he is in such low condition _ that re\ deader hopes are entertained of his recover)

Granite Water Channels. —The Wellington City Council are about to try the experiment of using Nelson granite for the construction of water channels, and instructions have been sent to Nelson to charter a schooner to convey a cargo of granite to that port. Gold Prospecting. The Charleston “ Herald ” states that the four men who have been up the Valley of the Pour-mile on a prospecting tour report that a number of reefs exist in the ranges, but none of them apparantly contain gold. Specimens, however, of gold with quartz adhering thereto were brought in, and a nice little sample or two of coarse gold was also into the hands of the prospectors. A narrow run of gold was found to exist from near Fox’s Eiver and extending to the northward, not of a payable nature, but giving indications of improvement—as far as traced in that direction. As coarse gold lias before been found up the right hand branch of the Nile Eiver, the party propose making explorations in that direction. Gold-Savino^Machines.— Mr E. J. Creighton, formerly of Auckland, and’jwho has for some time past been a resident in San Francisco, writes to a friend in Wellington in reference to three new patented machines for gold saving, for which he has secured the exclusive right of use and manufacture for New Zealand and Australia. Mr Creighton says : —“ lam satisfied I have got control of three machines which will save all the gold without any great outlay, on black sand, gravel, tailings, &c., without waste, or any more water than is necessary to run the engine. The inventions are fast coming into use, and 50,000d015. has been offered for the control of the patent of one of these machines for California. . . . The reports of independent and uninterested mining engineers are unanimous in favor of the dry placer amalgamator,” This machine, says the “ New Zealand Times,” should save the Government any further expenditure for water on goldfields.

A Conscientious Secretary.— The contributor of London Gossip to the “ Melbourne Argus” writes : —The hon. secretary of the Indian Famine Fund must, I should think, be a humourist. A parson has written to him complaining of a misprint of the subscription of his congregation. “You have made it,” he says, “ £l2 16s, instead of £l2 16s Id. I must request you to make this correction lest my congregation should think I meanly withheld the penny for postage.” This is an example either of the tenderest conscience it is possible to conceive, or of one which takes a very humble view of the estimation in which he is held by his neighbors. The hon. secretary gravely answers, “ A request under such circumstances it is impossible to overlook.” He must be a funny fellow. I hope by the bye, the parson paid for the printing of this correction, which must have cost con siderably more than the sum in dispute.

Legislative Amenities. —A passing storm, short but severe, recently obstructed the proceedings of the Victorian Assembly. Mr Purves was the central figure of the episode. During the debate on the Payment of Members Bill he hurt the feelings of Mr Munro, who, in reply to an inuendo, was contending that building a hall at Carlton could not be said to be influencing a constituency. “ But building a hall with other people’s money is,” interjected Mr Purves. “Well,” retorted Mr Munro, “ I did not go to the Berlin University as the result of a swindle.” “You lie,” said Mr Purves, amid a good deal of agitation, the House being in a temper to flare up —a temper not soothed when Mr Macpherson was heard to ejaculate that no one would make such an assertion as Mr Munro’s but a “ mean hound.” Mr Woods moved that these words be taken down, and the usual discussion arose as to what the exact words were. In the midst of it, Mr Purves said he would go beyond Mr Macpherson, and would say that the man who uttered such words was not only a mean hound, but a lying hound. This brought the House up to fever heat. “ Do you say that of a member of this House,” exclaimed the Chief Secretary. “ Let him dare, let him dare,” continued Mr Berry addressing his followers, “We will put him where ,” and the rest of the sentence was lost in the uproar. “Let him dare,” said Mr Purves with scorn, “ why, I know how the Chief Secretary came to this colony. I dare do aught but wrong.” “Coward,” shrieked Mn AVoods, “ you are shuflling out of it ” —a .remark which brought further appeals to the much-perplexed chair. Mr Lalor, after a struggle, obtained possession of the floor, and communicated the intentions of the Government. Mr Macpherson was to be let off, because he was usually orderly, but an eye was to be kept on Mr Purves, who is charged with irritating the majority every time he addresses the House. “ I will take the first opportunity,” said the Minister of Customs, “ of bringing him to condign punishment, and of proving that a rogue is generally a coward.” By this time most of the members had cooled down, and were beginning to beashamed of the temper which had been displayed, and the storm subsided as suddenly as it arose. Another “Jumping Frog.” Mark Twain’s memorable story of “ The JumpingFrog ” is put rather in the shade by the following simple and unpretentious paragraph in. the Wellington “ Argus ” of the 19th inst.: — A circumstance of a most peculiar nature has just occurred, and as it cannot fail to be of considerable interest to scientific men, wo have much pleasure in giving publicity to tlio st >ry as it has reached us. Our informant states that yesterday afternoon the attention, of a Mr Green, who is engaged at the now Hospital works, was attracted to a brick which had just previously been taken from the kiln. The brick, which was not quitecold, was evidently moving about on tho ground of its own accord. Air Green, being struck with the extraordinary spectacle, lifted the brick from the ground, and, as wo are informed, it jumped out of his hand again. Mr Green called two or three other men to witness the wonderful movements of the brick, and as none of them could account for the surprising phenomenon, it was decided that the brick should be broken with, the view of ascertaining what peculiarity there was about it. Accordingly a hammer was obtained and the brick was broken In halves, when they were astounded to soe a large frog embedded in the very heart of it. It looked curiously at tho men, and then quietly hopped out of its nest' The animal was sitting in a round space about the size of a small orange, and it is supposed that when the brick began to get very warm in the kiln the frog ato enough of the clay around his body to make room for himself. It would be easily understood that the frog had been moulded up in the brick, but it is not so easy to understand that the animal should have lived through the baking process. This is truly a wonderful affair, but it is just possible that some of our savans may be able to throw some light on it

Qualifications of an Engineer. —lt is questionable whether the Westland County Council have selected the best man available for the office of engineer. The claims of one applicant, at least, appear to have been overlooked. This candidate for the office of engineer and surveyor, according to the description of the “ West Coast Times,” did not pretend to he either an engineer or surveyor. But he sent in three testimonials certifying that he was, first of all, a literary man, whose “productions” were the admiration of a village in Victoria. (They were letters to the editor of the local paper.) Next he showed that he had been, at one time, a deputy coroner, during the absence of the real Simon Pure. Also, as an additional claim to perform difficult engineering duties, he set forth that he had been a vestryman in a certain Presbyterian Church, the clergyman of which would always remember the interest he took in if s affairs. Finally, six men bore witness on parchment to his general cheerfulness. _ This last qualification would be very useful in the construction of difficult bridges, and it was a pity that the councillors did not attach sufficient importance to it.