NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1294, 13 May 1878, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

City Guards Ball. —Thia ball, which is fixed to take place at the Oddfellows'Hall on Friday, promises to be a groat success, as already a large number of tickets have been disposed of. Good Templab Hall.—A general meeting of shareholders will be hi Id at the Temperance, Hfiil, Gloucester street, on the 20th instant, at 7 30 p.m. to authorise the directors to s 11 the property. Holy Tbinity Church, Lyttelton.—The adjourned meeting of the parishioners was hi Id on Friday evening at the Church of England schoolroom; J)r. Donald, clergyman's churchwarden, in the ohair. The accounts having been duly audited were passed. Tub Drainage Loan.—At the date of the mail leaving England the City of Christchurch six per cent. Drainage Loan was quoted at 107 to 109. Tin's w;>s the same rate at which the debentures of the city loans of Auckland and Dunedin were quoted. Thoee of Wellington were one ner cent, lower. GoaSE Fibe.—Yesterday afternoon, about half-past three, a gorse hedge on the property of C>-.p!. Fisher, of Beckenhara, Colombo ros.d smith, was found to bo on fire, and before it oouid be extinguished six or seven chains were destroyed, the damage being estimated at about £5. This is the fourth time tbJs yeav that Capfc, Fisher's faasn tww two mtm4,

Annual Licensing Meeting.—The meeting of the Licensing Commissioners for the Chustchurch district takes place on the 4th June. As by tho Act all applications, whether for renewals or new licenses, have to be lodged twenty-one days prior to the sitting, those interested are reminded that the time expires to-day, and that their applications must therefore be sent in during office hours.

I.O.O.F.—The banquet to welcome DeputyGrand Sire Bro. Harmon, given by the members of the Loyal Avon Lodge, was to have taken place this evening. At the time of the date being fixed it was understood that Bro. Harmon would come on by the Taranaki, the steamer carrying the San Francisco mail, in which case he would have arrived on Saturday. He waited, however, for the Hawea, and pending advice of his movements the date of the banquet is not fixed. A CIIEQUB-BKOKING GOVERNMENT. —Yet another new line of business appears to have been entered upon by the Ministry, who are always 60 anxious to oblige. In reply to a Palmerston deputation, Mr Macandrew stated that the Manawatu County Council had been requested to undertake the making of the inland road from Foxton to Otaki, the Government undertaking to honor their cheques to half the amount of the vote passed for this work last session. The Champagne Stakes.—From the report of the last Autumn meeting of the A.J.C., run at Kandwick, it seems that there is a condition attached to the running of the Champagne Stakes which appears to have been overlooked here. Doubtless it only requires to be brought under the secretary's notice to be incorporated in our next Champagne conditions. From the report in the Sydney papers it appears that the winner of the race has to present the committee of the Club with two dozen of the wine from which the race takes its name. The secretary to the C J.C. is so rigid a stickler for the rights and privileges of the Club that it could have only been by oversight that this condition has been omitted. 0.Y.C., Ashbubton. —The following will show that the Cavalry Corps have not such easy times at their annual exercise as people often suppose. The reveille sounds at 6.30, at 7 the men go to stables, when the officers inspect the same; breakfast is at 8 o'clock, and from that time till 10 o'clock the men are preparing for foot parade. On Saturday, there was skirmishing drill on foot. On the return from the morning parade the men again attend stables, and have a slight luncheon at 1 o'clock. Immediately after preparations are made for mounted parade, which takes place each day at 2.30. The corps mess at 6.30, and again attend stables at 8 o'clock, and at 10.30 the bugle sounds to retire for the [night. As during the training there will be two parades each day, it has been found impossible to play the proposed football match. Railway Benefit Society.—lt is proposed to establish forthwith a Canterbury Railway Employes Benefit Society, upon the basis of a similar institution in Otago, and which it is stated has been very successful. Should the movement in Canterbury be equally successful, it is more than probable that amalgamation of the two societies will eventuate. It is proposed that the list of officers shall comprise a president, vice-president, treasurer, trustees, secretary, and a committee of thirteen subscribing members. Mr Valpy has been asked to act as interim secretary, and has been instructed to issue circulars to heads of departments and station masters, together with copies of the proposed rules. Names of intending members are to be forwarded to the commissioner at once, and a preliminary meeting has been convened for Thursday, the 30th inst., at the accountant's office, Christchurch.

Coursing.—The number of entries for the All Aged Stakes of the Canterbury Coursing Club, to be run off on the Queen's Birthday, promises keen competition. It may, however, be pointed out to the committee of the club that it is more than probable that hares will be anything but plentiful, unless a stop is put to the indiscriminate coursing that takes place nearly every day. It is no uncommon thing to see six or eight greyhounds slipped after one unfortunate hare, and if this is allowed to continue the supply of hares for the birthday fixture is likely to be very short indeed. The draw for the All Aged will take place on May 22nd. It is to be regretted that the two sporting events, the Grand National and the meeting of the Canterbury Coursing Club, should be fixed for the same day. Had the coursing taken place on the next day a large attendance of sportsmen might have been looked for. As the arrangements stand, this is hardly to be expected.

Day and Night Sebvioe by Cable.— Since his arrival in Australia, Captain Glover, Bays the " Morning Herald," observing the public anxiety to receive the latest news during the European political complications, has been constantly endeavouring to obtain a day and night service. The company's cables have been invariably open at all times, but the Java lines are closed during certain hours of the night. Colonel Glover has, therefore, endeavoured to induce the Dutch Government to keep their lines open continuously, and has even offered to work the Batavia and Banjoewangi oiUce with the company's apparatus. Owing to great sickness among their staff at the intermediate station of Sourabaya, the Dutch authorities were unable to undertake the work. We are, however, glad to say that Colonel Glover's persistent efforts have at last been crowned with success. A night and day service has, therefore, been established, and its benefits will ere long be felt by the community at large. The Gale at Port.—Shortly after noon yesterday the westerly gale, which had been blowing pretty hard previously, increased in violence, and Bquall after squall of terrific force swept across the bay and harbour. There was no damage of any importance done to any of the shipping, and this speaks well for the precaution taken by the Harbourmaster and his staff. Some of the vessels, however, that are at the Gladstone Pier had very rough times of it during some of the heavier squalls. The tide was excessively high —higher than has been known for years, except when the tidal wave came, and the Hydrabad, Malacca, and Trevelyan were, in consequence high over the wharf, and felt the full fury of the blast. The former ship inclined to such an angle that her fore yard-arm nearly touched the roof of the shed. The strain on the piles and springs was tremendous, and both the Hydrabad's and Trevelyan's upper works have sustained considerable damage on the lee side, through being smashed against the heads of the mooring piles. Some of the outside bolts were carried away, whilst the iron collars on the heads of the piles were wrenched off. The iron roof of the shed on the Gladstone Pier has been partially blown away, and it need hardly be said that fenders were ground to atoms. The wind was well |westerly, and no doubt the ships at the pier would have felt it more severely had the squalls been, as usual, directly north-west. As it was it caught them at an angle. In the town the dust was terrible, and a firo came over the hill and'did some damage by burning a considerable extent of grass land. The gale moderated about 3 p.m. Patent Bolleb3. —Amongst Mr Robert Wilkin's recent importations of machinery is a new water ballast garden roller. The advantages possessed by this roller over the oldfashioned ores hitherto in use are portability and the power of increasing or diminishing the weight according to the amount of pressure required. The common garden roller is a simple hollow cylinder of ponderous weight, which renders it extremely cumbrous for removal from place to place. The patent roller differs little in appearance from the one it is intended to supersede, but the cylinder, instead of having its weight in the iron of its construction, is in fact a light hollow drum, closed in at each end, and revolving on a pivot. A small aperture at one end, with a key and funnel attached, admits the water ballast, which increases the weight of the roller up to the amount of pressure desired. They are made in various sizes, the one corresponding to the ordinary lawn or garden roller, weighing 13 owt. when filled with water, a> dthe largest size being capable of ballasting up to 30 cwt. When empty their lightness renders them very easy of conveyance from one place to another. * For cricket grounds, racecourses, &c, the new invention will be found extremely useful. The patentees art the wMnpTOflna of Barker «od £?rkiaf,

Tiie Fatal Fibe at Kingston.—We ("Southland Times") are indebted to Mr Angus for a few particulars regarding the fire at Kingston on Sunday morning. He was sleeping in Anderson's Hotel adjoining, and was aroused about half-past five by cries of "fire." On going outside he observed fire bursting from a bedroom upstairs in Kerr's Hotel, the one in which Docherty Blept. In the room adjoining, two men, M'Kann, and another unknown, were sleeping. Nothing is know of the stranger except that he came lately from Auckland, and had only the previous day arrived at Kingston. In a front bedroom there were two other men in bed, and it was only with the greatest difficulty they made their escape. Mr Kerr was awakened by the smoke and flames, and immediately rushed upstairs and endeavored to rouse the inmates of the bedrooms. All the doors were locked, but he burst one of them in, and was met by a gush of flames which severely scorched his face and head, and he had to retreat. There was a great number of men on the ground, but they were utterly powerless to arrest the flames, as there was not even a bucket to be found. When day dawned, a horrible sight presented itself to the bystanders. The three unfortunate men had fallen through the burnt floor to the ground, and had not even been displaced from the beds on which they laid. It seems clear that the fire arose from the room in which the single man slept.