NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1255, 27 March 1878, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

GrAMEKBEPER. —Mr Douglas was yesterday appointed gamekeeper to the Acclimatisation Society.

Telegba ph Communication with Eubope.—Another interruption- 3 second within three days —of the overland telegraphic line occurred yesterday at a point north of the Peats station.

The Tramway Company—The Tramway Company have succeeded in making terms with the local authorities, and it is understood that the directors will now proceed with the work of construction as quickly as possible.

Civilians v. A'olttxteers. —Very complete arrangements have been made for the deciding rilie contest which to,kc3 place tomorrow at the Hillsborough fyitts. The competitoil will leave Radelite's at 930 a.m., and dine together in the evening. As an incentive to good shooting, ilr G-undersen, of Messrs Peterson and Co., hits offered a silver cup to the highest scorer on the Civilian side.

The Estimates oi Population.—The estimate of the population of Dunedinmade by the Registrar-General for the month of February was 25,51:.'. a? .shewn by the last published vital statistics. The telegrams today state that the population as ascertained by census is 22.10,3. The Registrar is therefore wrong by about a seventh of the population, a very considerable margin of error in a return designed to show the salubrity of a city.

Bo wen Prize Essay.-The Bowcn prize essay for IS/7 has been awarded to Mr John Innes of Canterbury College. The subject was " The Relation of England to her Colonies," and the prize consists of ten pounds worth of hooks. The prize is offered annually by the University, and is open to all undergraduates throughout New Zealand. It is rather creditable to Canterbury College that one of her students carried it off the previous year also. Lyttelton Choral Society.—A meeting to consider the possibility of continuing a Choral Society in Lyttelton was held at the Colonists' Hall, Lyttelton, on Monday night. There was a fair attendance, and it was resolved to continue the Choral Society of last season. A committee, consisting of Messrs Willcocks, Bradley, Sopp, Edwards, and Jacobson, was appointed to canvass for member*;,- and report to an adjourned meeting to be held at same place on 2nd April. The Main South Line.—The following telegram appeared in yesterday's issue of the Timaru " Herald":—The last rail on the Blueskin section of the Northern Railway was laid on Saturday afternoon, so that communication is now complete between Dunedin and the Maori kaik at Waikouaiti, There is still a gap of nearly a mile between the kaik and the township, but that is expected to be filled up by the end of the month. Coming southwards the rails are now laid to Shag River. The line right through to Ohristchurch will probably be opened early in April. Loyal Stab of Walt ham Lodoi:, M.U., 1.0.0. F. This lodge held it* quarterly meeting on Tuesday evening. There was a very good attendance of members, also visiting brothers. Mr Cameron was present, and complimented the lodge on the progress made ,&ii\a3 starting. This lodge, although being one of the youngest lodges in the district, bids fair jto be become one of the largest. Its members now number thirtyfouy. The total amount of contributions paid at last meeting were £l9 9s 7d. One of the most important prepositions passed was one to procure a site for erectjon of halj. for holding meetings, &o. Opening of a Maoki Church.—A very interesting ceremony took place at the Maori tank, Akaroa, on Thursday last, when the new Native phurch was opened. The building is of wood, and occupies a very picturesque Bite onfchebeaoK afclwa \&& f It has been built by subscription* collected amongst the natives and their pakeha friends in the Peninsula. The Revs. Stack and Mutu conducted the services, and at the celebration of the Holy .Communion the Rev. P. C. Anderson, of St. Peter's, Akaroa, was celebrant. Visitors were invited to pavtafce of the hospitalities of the Maoris, and thcv whoie chowed the friendly relations existing between the rapes. Presentation at East Qxpobij.—On Friday hist the Rev. Francis T. Opie, chairmanor tbe East Oxford district school committee, met tomp of the members of the committee and a number of the parents at the school, to say good-bye to Wollsteiij, the master, who is leaving ,the district. Aftey having addressed the children,'he turned to Mr Wollstein, and told him that he (the chairman) had been requested by the children to prcseni:' him with an ebony inkstand and a copy of Longfellow's poems, as an indication of their liking for sejr ojd master. After Mr Wollsiefo had thank.ed php chjldren, the rev. chairman stated that it was aistt_ his pleasing duty to present Mr WoJletein with a silver tea service from the inhabitants of the district as a mark of respect and esteem, They ventured to hope that his future would be both prosperous and happy. Mr "Wollstein made a suitable acknowledgment, after which the school was dieimWd, Chilubens' Conceb;j'. Lapt p/ghfc a .GbUdrcns' concert was given at the ¥e-*r . United jjC Free Church in St. Asaph street. Tile church was nearly filled. The gallery, in which tho chovisters were assembled, was crowded by nearly 30U children, with a few adults. The proceedings were opeped with prayer by the chairman, Mr Sherratt. The concert then commenced, under the .conduetoj-ship of Mr W. Parkes. The numerous choruses fsce sung with much effect, the yoices, especially in &om£ of the later pieces, being nicely balanced. .Considerable taste was displayed in the arrangement of an echo in two of the selections. Three solos were sung, two by Miss and one by Mr Smith. The choruses were accompanied by flute, harmonium, and double boss, played respectively by Messrs Smith, Hyde, and Smith. One solo was accompanied on the harmonium by Miss Booth. The Chairman Cyr the unavoidable absence of Mossrs J-nd White. A rote of thanks to the conductor unci alj assisting in the concert was carried. The concert cjosad -with a hymn, in which all joined, »n| th.e Jgeuediction. X collection {mjju (Jurivg ihs *WfliS| *eajijje4 about s*, I "*

Cathedral Guild.—A general meeting of the G-uild will be held in the College library to morrow, .it 8.15 p.m. The Rev. H. C. M. Watson will read a paper on " Education and the new Education Bill," and the Rev. F. A. llearc will contribute a reading. During the evening selections of music will be rendered by the G-uild chdfr, under the direction of Mr Parker.

A Totthist in Luck.—A West Coast paper states that while in Milford Sound, which lie visited with Sir George Grey and party, the Hon. Captain Fraser discovered a workable vein of statuary marble 12ft. in thickness. It is situated in Anita Bay, in a convenient position for shipment. Captain Fraser immediately reported the discovery to the Minister of Lands, and made application for the ground with a view to working the quarry.

Canterbury Rowing Club.—The fouroar race for boys under 19 will take place this evening, the course being from Butterfield's to the corner below Cowlishaw's. Two crews have entered, and a good race may be expected. The crews are as follows: Nottingham (stroke), Newton, Johnston, and Ward ; Spencer (stroke), Heywood, Joynt, and Foulton. For the rest of the season the programme will be as follows : —On Saturday, 6bh April, fouroars under 21, and maiden double sculls ; Saturday, 13th April, senior and junior sculling races. Tito Kowaru in Trouble.—lt is reported (says the " Patea Mail") that the famous chief Tito Kowaru met with a serious accident on March 14th, on the road between Oeo and Opunake. It appears that he was riding in company with other Natives, when the horses got restive, and the one he was riding got kicked by another, which resulted in Tito Kowaru being thrown and seriously injured. The Natives adopted their usual remedy in such cases, and placed Tito in a running stream, where he will be tended.

The Te Aute Caves.—The wonderful caves alleged to have been recently discovered in Napier, and which were so graphically described by a correspondent of the Hawke's Bay "Herald" turn out to have been only a wonderful work of the imagination of a canard monger. All those amazing sights, those rock paintings, those pre-Maori natives, that " miniature lake," and those " pale green shrubs" are pure nothingness. It is sad to think what ability in lying New Zealanders are developing. . Such hoaxes were not heard of till the colony entered upon an era of liberalism.

Tee Peace Banquet at Kopua.—Speaking of the banquet at Kopua, when Tawhiao was good enough to feed Sir George G-royand his camp-followers upon beef stolen from Messrs Douglas and Walker, the Auckland " Star" says : —No wonder the Kingites were anxious to prevent the presence of Waikato settlers at the Kopua meeting. It would have been inconvenient, to say the least of it, to be caught in flagrante delicto in the very act of gobbling up the settlers' fat cattle. We can easily understand Messrs Douglas and Walker's feelings, and with what feelings of apprehension they look forward to the proposed meeting at the end of the month. Doubtless they object to being involuntarily saddled with the whole commissariat arrangements, and a few more well-attended meetings would be their ruin. We may exclaim with Brete Harte," Is civilisation a failure, and is the Caucasian played out?"

Pigeon Race.—The sixth of the Columb irian Society's races took place yesterday afternoon, the night being from Rangiora to Christchurch. Twelvepigeonscontested. Mr T. Burton acted as starter, and Mr A. Walker as judge. The result of the race was as follows :—Mr E. D. Rees' Blue-Beard, Ist, 261-inin. ; Mr J. Hicks' Faugh-a-Ballagh, 2nd, 27min. ; Mr E. R. Deacon's Rainbow, 3rd, 294-min.; Mr E. R. Deacon's Blue Boy, 4th, Slinin.; Mr Hicks' Chester, sth, 23min.; Mr Porry's Rosebevrv, 6th, .siniin. ; Mr Hicks' Elvira, 7th, 35imin. The weather was particularly favorable, and the winning pigeons made the distance, 203- miles, in excellent time. The next race will be from Timaru. As the shooting season is at hand the Columbarian Society request sportsmen to spare any pigeons they may see. Last season the members had some very valuable birds killed and others maimed with Bhot.

Telepjionic Expekhients. -What may be termed an evening with the telephone took place last night, and was thoroughly enjoyed by all present. The places in connection were Addingtop and Kaiapoi, Mr Harrington being in charge at the former, and Mr Meddings at the latter. About twenty ladies and gentlemen were assembled at Addington, and a similar number at Kaiapoi, seven telephones being in use. Messrs T. Tankard and Petrie opened the proceedings with a cornet and clarionet solo, which were highly appreciated by those at Kaiapoi, and demands were made for an enpore, which were responded to. Those at the Kaiapoi end then gave a song and chorus, which was heard to great advantage and appreciated. Christchurch then gave a quartette, " Sweet and Low," which again received from Kaiapoi the acknowledgment of an encore. Kaiapoi having responded with " Silver Throads," Mr Tankard played a cornet solo, which was reciprocated by Kaiapoj. After interchanging solos, duets, and choruses for about three hours, Kaiapoi intimated that it was time the National Anthem closed proceedings. This being sung, Christchurch gave three cheers for Mr Meddings, to which Kaiapoi responded by paying a similar compliment to Mr Harrington. Mr Seager then held a conversation with Mr Meddings with as much ease as if they were in the same room. Alternate verses of " Auld Lang Syne," were then sung by Christchurch and Kaiapoi, and a very pleasant eptertainment was brought to a cjiose. Kaiapoi Regatta Committee.—-A meeting of this committee was held op Monday evening, at Burnip's Hotel. There was a full attendance, Dr. Dudley, commodore, in the chair. The treasurer reported a fair balance in hand, which, with the amount of subscriptions promised, would warrant the committee in holding a second regatta next Saturday. By offering prizes for the Four-oared race and Junior Pair-oared race, it might be decided which of the crews were the best on a straight course, ypd ai i7 doubts on the minds of persona in reference pii the protests sent in would be removed. It was resolved—- " That the amount of £5 14s 6d be paid for the late train, and that the secretary apply for ft refund of the same as a donation to the regatta," Tyo Jetters were read asking the commitfeo to reconsider phe protest in the Junior Pair-pared race, but as the grounds for the re-hearing were not very distinctly set forth, it was resolved that sufficient cause had pot been shown for re-opening the question. On the motion of Mr Wilson, seconded by Mr Sims, it was resolved—'' That as the prizes and accounts of the. late pegatta have been paid, a supplementary regatta, to include a Ff}'.'.r?oarpd"»ac? and Junior Pair-oared race, bp held on Saturday, and if the visiting clubs' boats have been taken &way, the treasurer pay a portion of the expenses of the carriage to Kaiapoi, should they deefde to enter." The programmp yas then drawn pp and approved .of. yaripus were requested to aot agaip. It was decided that the races shall be carried out under the same conditions b,s on the former occasion. The revenue of Fiji for 1878 is estimated at #H,lJoft and the expenditure at £59,*.i27. News from th«i Scuth African Diamond Fields states that during October ;} magnificent gem of carats weight—a "pure white frosted stone, without spot or Haw—was found by Messrs Sole, Conolly, and Manning, in their guljy, in Dutoitspap. It is stated .that £3OOO lias been'refussn for it. Another diamond of more than 100 carats has bepn found in the Kimberley mine, but its quality was not equal to its weight. The Noumea correspondent of the "Sydney Morning BJerald" siya : ■■-A new and important article will ooon figure in the exports frojp Now Caledonia. The guana deposits upon the four islands adjacent to the north end of this island will not be suffered to lie idle under the vigorous management of the lessee, Mr Henvomburg, who has already initiated steps for shipping large quantities to Hamburg, where extensive contracts have been tutored into. It is estimated upou skilled authority that tj, least 100,000 to 110,000 tons are available, so thi*i wy may poem bops to wyfijity tyOWßirafr 9} * flvtf

Herr Rohlfs (the "Athenaeum" says) is organising an expedition for the exploration of the Eastern Sahara. He will he accompanied by a staff of scientific men, among others by Professor Zittel, of Munich. Tripoli will be the head-quarters of the expedition, and its first efforts will be directed to an exploration of the mysterious oases of Wajanga and Kufara to the south of Aujila, which have not hitherto been visited by any European traveller. During the year 1877 the three Masonic charitable institutions in Great Britain received £42,627 8s lid in subscriptions, donations, &c. Of this sum, £16,411 19s 5d was received by the Royal Masonic Benevolent Institution for Aged Freemasons and the Widows of Freemasons, £14,315 9s 6d by the Royal Maßonic Institution for Boys, and £11,900 by the Boyal Masonic Institution for Girls. In 1876 the total amount received by the three institutions was £39,600.