NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1230, 12 February 1878, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Thump Card.—The race horse Trump Card arrived from Wellington per s.s. Arawata yesterday. Shipping.—The New Zealand Shipping Co. has received advice of the arrival of the Waimate at London from Ljttelton, after a passage of seventy-nine days. Swimming Championship. The next contest for the champion holt presented by Mr A. Jardine—open to amateurs—will take

place at the Corporation Baths on Saturday, 23rd inst. The Education Department.—Sir T. Osborne Gibbs, Bart., late chief clerk in the Immigration Department, has been appointed chief clerk in the new Education Department.

The Late Colombo Steeet Fiee.—A long report from Mr Superintendent Harris on the late fire in Colombo street was submitted at last night's meeting of the City Council, and appears in our report of the proceedings. Telegraph Department. The usual quarterly return of the business done by the Telegraph Department shows an increase of 23,682 messages, of the value of £1,656, during the last quarter of 1877 as compared with the same quarter of the previous year. Salmon. —Yesterday, Sir Cracroft Wilson went to Amberley with young salmon, to be turned out in the Hurunui river. From Amberley, he would proceed in a light waggon, with fast horses, in order to reach the river as soon as possible. Municipal Offices.—A report from the committee recommending that prizes be offered for competitive designs—£so for the best, and £2O for the second—for municipal offices, not to exceed £SOOO in cost, was adopted last evening by the City Council. The question of borrowing the money for this purpose will be submitted to the ratepayers. Smoking on Railway Premises. —A new by-law has been made by Order in Council, under which smoking is strictly prohibited in any of the railway sheds, offices, platforms, waiting rooms, or any portion of the railway premises ; and any person so smoking will be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten pounds. Fatal Accident. —Mr James Sprott Stoddart, who was injured by a fall from his horse on the Drain road near the girder bridge, Kaiapoi, on February 2nd, died on Monday afternoon at Robert's Club Hotel, Rangiora. His friends had great hopes of his recovery, and he was up and about during the morning, but being taken suddenly ill, Dr Ovenden was sent for and subsequently Dr. Prins, but the latter gentleman did not arrive till too late. An inquest will probably be held today Fish Hawkers. —The resolution passed by the City Council in December, 1874, allowing a hawker to stand with his fishbarrow for fifteen minutes in one place was rescinded last evening. A recommendation from the present by-law committee brought up by Cr. Pratt, giving permission for a hawker of fish to stand not more than ten minutes in one place was adopted. Vendors of this commodity must not now stop at less intervals than 100 ft., and the police are empowered to order their removal from the front of any business premises, if desired to do so by the proprietor, or if a return is made to a occupied. A Canterbury Vagrant" Abroad.—The Hobart Town " Mercury of a late date has the following respecting a person well known to frequenters of the local police court, and who was judiciously moved on by the Christchurch Magistrate. Change of air does not seem to have benefitted the wretched man :—" The unfortunate dipsomaniac W. F. South, who was recently committed to prison for six months for attempted suicide, made another attempt on Saturday last to hang himself in the Campbell street gaol, and was sent to the General Hospital for medical examination, and we have no doubt will now be sent to his proper quarters at the New Norfolk Lunatic Asylum. While at the Hospital the man caused considerable trouble and annoyance, and it has been pointed out to us as being scarcely fair to send him to the hospital, where they have neither room nor assistants to spare, while there is much more safety and convenience at the gaol, and a competent medical gentleman attached to the institution." A Mare's Nest.—Our venerable eontemporary in Cathedral square having mislaid her spectacles,thuß in its issue of this morning proceeds to record a most wonderful discovery : —" We hear that a conference of county chairmen was held in the Provincial Government Buildings on Saturday, for the purpose of settling certain financial matters. As county chairmen are public representatives, and as their constituents are much interested in the result of their discussions, especially about the disposition of the county revenues, it would have been wise on their part as well as courteous to ourselves, to have intimated to our reporters their intention to hold this meeting, or having failed to do this, to have forwarded to us for publication the result of their labours. We may mention that there was no public intimation of the meeting." It is quite inexplicable that the new County Chairman should have so far forgotten the respect due to age as not to intimate to our contemporary that there was a conference. Stranger still that no public intimation of the meeting was given, and that the source of information of the " Times" should have been a morning contemporary. Had this been so, there would have been grave grounds for complaint against the County Chairman, but, as usual, our dear old friend is in the wrong. Assertions are made which do not quite accord with the facts of the case. In the issue of the " Times" of Friday last is published a speech by Mr Kolleston, the retiring chairman, intimating what had been done to bring about this very conference, and concluding thus : —" He had placed himself in communication with the four chairmen to tho north of Rangitata, and they ■would meet and consider the matter on the following day." If this is not a public intiniatiou, we do not know what is. Our aged ftiend eUould really be more careful.

Gold Discoveby nbab Abbowtown.— The last number of tbo " Arrow Obserrer" says :—" A splendid run of gold hag been struck quite recently on the Crown terrace by Messrs Walker and M'Whirter. 'I he nuggets weigh from lfcoz. down to ldwt., and the gold is of that pure quality which the old workings of New Chum and Bracken's gullies were so famed for; leading to the belief that the ancient watercourses of both those rich creeks ran through and wero auxiliaries in forming the present auriferous wash on the Crown terrace. The magnificent discovery now alluded to is on the terrace near the Fire Mile creek, and the run is leading right into rich agricultural land which has been recently surveyed for settlement, but is not yet opened."