NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1283, 30 April 1878, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Tattebsall's Club. —lt is announced elsewhere that a meeting of Tattersall'a Club will take place at Radcliffe's Hotel this evening at eight o'clock. Electokal Rolls.—The number of new claims to be registered as electors in the Kaiapoi district is 409. The number of claims for the Ashley district is 584. Cantkbbuby Waste Land Sales.—The total revenue derived from tho sale of Crown lands in the Canterbury provincial district during the present month amounted to £69,999 9s lid, of which town lands yielded £2183 9s, and rural lands £67,816 0s lid. Matting fob the Oddfellows' Hall.— The chairman at Mr Stevens' meeting last night called attention to the great inconvenience which was caused at public meetings by the noise made by persons entering and leaving during the proceedings. Ho suggested that the proprietors of the Oddfellows' Hall should cause matting to bo laid down on the floor of the passages. Attempted Escape fbom Lyttelton Q-AOL. —Yesterday morning three of the prisoners confined in Lyttelton Gaol made an attempt to escape. One succeeded in getting out of his cell and attacked the warder, but the other two, though they nearly got out, were unable to come to their mate's assistance in time, and the warder giving the alarm, all three were speedily secured. Pleasant Point to Temuka.—Tho " Temuka Leader" mentions a current report that tho Government havo decided upon the construction of a railway from Pleasant Point to Temuka via ArowLenua. Should this (says the "Leader") prove to be correct, a great boon will be conferred upon the Bottlers of the surrounding districts, who now feel it a great hardship that when travelling between Temuka and "The Point" they are compelled to have to go by the way of the Washdyke. Fiee Neab Southbbidge.—A fire, for which it is somewhat difficult to account, occurred on Saturday last on a portion of tho farm belonging to Mr Wm. Inwood, near Southbridge, which had been let for cropping purposes. The land was occupied by Messrs McKee and Kerr, who had stacked fifty-three bags of oats ready for immediate cartage near to a straw stack, and well in sight from their wharo. On going out after dinner they noticed that the stack of oats, which was lightly covered with straw, was on fire, and it was found impossible to save any of the grain. Strange to say the straw stack remained uninjured. No person had been observed near the place, and they had not visited the oats for many days. There was no insurance. A Point of Municipal Law. —It seems that tho meaning of the word " owner " in the Municipal Corporations Act is not even yet determined. In an action lately brought by tho Wanganui Corporation, the local magistrate said the only point to decide was the meaning of the word "owner" in subsection 240 of the Municipal Corporations Act. Although exactly the same phrase was not used in the interpretation clauso, yet he must give it the Bame meaning. The Act gave tho Council power to give notice to the persons entitled to receive the rack rent, but he ruled that the defendant was not that person. The actual occupier of the property pays tho rack rent, and the person to whom it is paid is the one for the corporationto proceed against by way of notice. The wording of the Act wa3 rather obscure, and consequently he the (R.M.) gave his judgment with some doubt in the matter. The information was therefore dismissed.

Cabletox. —The annual tea meeting and entertainment was held in the schoolroom on Tuesday. Trays were given by a number of ladies interested, and the room was crowded. The entertainment consisted of songs, instrumental mueic, and readings. Captain Setten convulsed the audience in several of his comic songs, and was repeatedly encored. The chairman of the school committee presided at the entertainment, and asked Mr Higgins to address the meeting. Mr Higgins, in his address, asked the parents present to give the master of the school their cordial support in his task, and pointed out that without their support and influence with the children he must in a great measure fail to accomplish the work. He proposed a vote of thanks to the ladies who had given trays, and to all who had assisted at the entertainment. The vote of thanks was carried by acclamation. After the entertainment the room was cleared, and dancing kept up until the small hours. MINEBAIi DISCOVEBT IX SOUTHXAXD. — Another mineral, says the "Southland Times," may be added to the long list of those which had already been discovered in tbe Southland district. From the appearand feel of the specimen that was left at our office last night, we have no hesitation in pronouncing it to be either steatite or kaolin, the former probably. The sample we examined is pure white in color, fine in grain, and unctuous to the touch, with a silky lustre. We have applied the term steatite to it, but it will be more readily recognised by the designation of French chalk, which is a variety of soap stone or steatite. "Whatever it may be, large beds of it arc said to exist on the Mataura, and one from which she samplo alluded to was taken, was discovered by Mr S. Paterson, a railway employe. Some persons who have examined the sample regard it as kaolin, and if they are correct the discovery is valuable indeed, for kaolin is the basis of porcelain. We, however, regard the stuff as French chalk. A Civic Difficulty.—An action has been brought in the Magistrate's Court, Akaroa, by Mr H. Wagstaff, against A. E. McGregor, Town Clerk, on behalf of the Akaroa Borough Council. The action is brought to recover the sum of £25 for providing a banquet to Sir George Grey and party on the 20th March last. It appears that the banquet in question was ordered by one or two gentlemen who were councillors, to be given to Sir George Grey at the house of the plaintiff, who was also a councillor at the time. The case was called on before the Resident Magistrate on Friday. Mr Haider, who appeared to defend the case, stated he appeared on behalf of six of the Borough councillors, viz., Messrs Waeckerle, Cullen, Meech, Billens, Sunckell, and O'Reilly, and for a large number of the burgesses, who considered that it was only fair that those who had the honour of ordering and partaking of the civic feast should bear the expense of it, and not the ratepayers generally, who, as a body, were excluded ; especially as the borough funds were not in the most flourishing condition. He submitted that the plaintiff should bo nonsuited, on the ground that the summons had been wrongly taken out against " the clerk, on behalf of the Borough Council of Akaroa," instead of against " the mayor, councillors, and burgesses of Akaroa," in accordance with the 37th section of the Municipal Corporations Act, 187 G. After some discussion, the hearing was adjourned till Friday, the 3rd of May. St. Maby'9, MEBrvALE. —The annual meeting of the parishioners was held in the schoolroom, Pnpanui road, on Tuesday last. The incumbent (Rev. T. Flavell) presided, and opened the meeting with prayer. The report submitted by the churchwardens showed a very satisfactory increase in the offertories during the past year, and stated that the parochial debt had been reduced to £215 19s lOd. Reference was made in the report to the services rendered to the church by the Very Rev. Deau Bromby, of Hobart Town, and a hope was expressed that the mission services conducted by him had been productive of real and permanent good. On tho motion of Mr G-. A. Reade, seconded by Mr Goo. Jameson, the report was received and adopted. The Chairman referred in feeling terms to the long and valued services rendered to tho parish by Mr Stringer, in his capacity as churchwarden, and expressed his regret that circumstances would not permit his acceptance of the office for another year. He begged to nominate Mr George Jameson as minister's warden ; Mr was unanimously elected parishioners' churchwarden. The folio iviug gentlemen were elected vestrymen for tho ensuing year : —Messrs Hay ward, J. Holloway, J. S. Jameson, W. D. Mears, J. Merson,'John Mann, H. Selwyn Smith, Stringer, J. Studholme, and Willy. Tho Incumbent referred to the assistance and help rendered by tho hou. organist (Mr J. S. Jameson, und members of tho choir. The meeting closed with the benediction.

Napihe llaeboub Woeks.— The Hawke's Bay " Telegraph " says that out of the loan of £75,000 raised by the Napier Harbour Board, some £17,000 remain on hand unexpended. The contractor for the harbour improvement works has been paid about £28,300 out of £30,500, the amount of the tender.

The £IOO Cadets.—The "Post" denies the statement that Ministers had determined that in the case of cadets receiving less than £IOO a year the time they have been in the Government employ shall not count as length of service. The Ministry, says the journal referred to, have in no way interfered with the regulations touching cadets, and have no intention of doing so. A New Zealand Educational Institute. —At the meeting of the Otago Educational Institute on Thursday, the following resolution, suggested by the Invercargill branch, was agreed to : —" That this association suggests as a subject to be dealt with at the annual meeting of the instituto the desirableness of having one common union existing between all branches of New Zealand." Teiply Pbomised. When different Ministers promise to make the same gift to different people or bodies, complications arise, and it becomes difficult to decide which of the promised it will be wisest to conciliate. Such a difficulty has arisen in Southland, and, strangely enough, the Waste Lands Board is again one of the parties interested. At a meeting of the Board on April 25tb, a discussion was raised as to the un suitability of the present Board room, and the necessity of securing the large room in the present County Council office for the Board, it being larger and having attached to it the safe in which the Board's records, including deeds and maps were kept. The Chief C mmissioner said that the Minister of Lands had promised, in reply to a communication from him, to let the Board have the use of the room. Since then it had transpired that another Minister had granted the use of the place to the County Council. Mr Lumsden said that the Government had also given permission to the Education Board to use the place. To avoid such unseemly complications, we would suggest to the present Government that in the course of re-organising the civil service, they should organise a department for the registration of Ministerial promises. There would be plenty of employment for a whole host of poor relations and friends.