NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume IX, Issue 1356, 19 June 1878, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Found Drowned. —The body of the man Thomas Murphy, night watchman aboard the Himalaya ship, lying at Lyttelton, was found this morning. It will be recollected that he was last seen, very drunk, aboard the vessel on the night of May 16th, and it was thought he had fallen overboard. The corpse was found floating on the water where the Himalaya had been lying at the time of the accident. It had evidently been stuck in the mud, and was, though much decomposed, easily recognisable. An inquest will be held to-morrow. Ashburton County Election. The election of a member of the Ashburton County Council for the South Rakaia Riding was held yesterday at the Road Board office, Rakaia. Mr Edward Stafford Coster was the only candidate, and was proposed by Mr Neil McLean, and seconded by Mr N. Sharp. There being no other business to transact, the Returning Officer declared Mr Coster duly elected. A vote of thanks was passed to the Returning Officer, and the proceedings terminated. Ashley Mutual Improvement Association. —This association held its second meeting on Friday last. There was a large attendance of members. The chair was occupied by Mr C. S. Haughton. The rules having been drawn up, the election of officers was proceeded with, and the following were elected : —President, Mr C. S. Houghton ; vLe-president, Mr J. G. Bell; secretary and treasurer, Mr Wm. Brock ; committee, Messrs Carr, Whatmaun, Wells, and Truman. The meeting, having passed the customary vote of thanks, adjourned.

In Memoeiam:. —The W.M. of the Canterbury LMge, 104.8, E C., Bro. J. Fleming hag compiled and arranged a very handsome memorial of the late Bro. F. W. Thiel, which is now on view at Mr Fleming’s shop. It comprises the obituary notice of the deceased brother, the funeral ceremonies, some verses to tha memory of Bro. Thiel by Bro. W. J. Ferguson, Lodge Robert Burns, 5.0., and the newspaper reports of the funeral. These have been neatly printed on a largo sized card, with a very handsome photograph of Bro. Thiel in the centre. He is represented there as wearing the clothing of the 33deg., and the photograph, which is by Mr Cherrill is excellently finished. The four corners of the card are occupied by Masonic emblems, which are also very nicely executed. Altogether, the memorial is one which will form a very handsome addition to a lodgeroom, as well as a memorial of a worthy brother, and will no doubt be procured by all the lodges in the district.

Coubsing Cxub. — A meeting of the members of the above club was held at the Shades, yesterday, at four o’clock, to consider a proposition to extend the computation of the age of greyhounds from Ist July to Ist August. Considerable discussion of a conversational nature took place. It was pointed out that, the Sapling Stakes having been fixed for the 20th July, it would render it impossible for any dogs to compete as they would be twenty days over the prescribed age. The president, Mr Wynn Williams, called attention to the last paragraph in rule 1 of the Canterbury Coursing Club rules, in which it is provided that a dog shall remain a sapling until he is twelve months old, or “ until the end of each season respectively.” It was therefore argued that there was no necessity for the introduction of a fresh rule, as the one already quoted provided that the exception should extend to the end of the season. It was consequently deemed unnecessary to alter the existing rules. The meeting then terminated. The draw for the Puppy and All-Aged Stakes takes place to day.

Lectuee. —The Rev. J. Elmslie delivered a lecture last night in St. Paul’s Church, Lichfield street, on the “ Second Advent of Our Lord.” The church was crowded. Mr Jameson occupied the chair. The lecture was divided into two parts. In the first, the lecturer mentioned the three classes who believed in a millennium of some kind, when the world would be in a state of peace and happiness, viz., rationalists, who expected this consummation from the effects of civilization ; many Christians, who held that the Gospel would bring it about; and lastly, those who held, with him, that it would be brought about by the second and glorious coming of the Son of Man. These last might be styled “premillennians.” The second part of the lecture was devoted to the proofs, from Holy Scripture, of the theory held by thepremillenniaus, and the lecturer cited many passages, such as Daniel ii. 44 and vii. 13, Joel iii., Luke xix., Revelations xiii., xiv., and xix. After adducing these proofs the lecturer met objections which might be raised. The lecture was illustrated by diagrams and relieved by the singing of appropriate hymns. At its close a collection was made for the Young Women’s Christian Association, and a vote of thanks was cordially parsed to the lecturer. The proceedings terminated, as they had begun, by prayer. Poultry Society. —A meeting of the managing committee of the Christchurch Poultry Society was held at the Shades last evening ; Mr E. Strange occupied the chair. The secretary was instructed to have certain property removed to Mr Strange’s section. The question of the regulations for the pigeon race from Timaru was discussed at some length. It was decided that all the birds entered bo liberated together, and that Messrs Roade and Hawkes be requested to handicap the birds. It was agreed that where special prizes do not amount to more than £1 Is, the ordinary prize given by the society should not be withheld. The following special prizes were allotted in addition to those already advertised, viz. : —£l Is each for best pen of ducks, for best dark Brahma hen under twelve month a, for owls, for best game cockerel, for best pen of bantams in show, for best white Cochin China cock under twelve months, best fantails, and for best bird in the any other variety canary class. A special class was added for New Zealand bred goldfinch or linnet mules. Mr Goodman was elected a member of committee to fill a vacancy. Woodend. —On Monday evening a largely attended public meeting was held in the district schoolroom. Mr E. J, Pateman was voted to the chair, and stated that it was intended first of all to discuss the sparrow nuisance, and the best means to be taken to lessen the same. Mr W. H. Burton and others who were present advocated the system proposed to be adopted in another district, viz., that the farmers should at this season poison the sparrows with wheat steeped in strychnine, to be sown over the land, Mr Burton | thought that if efioh farmer gaye in his name and the acreage he intended to sow, they might agree to pay pro rata for the expense of the poison used and other costs. The poisoned wheat, while it was generally expected to prove destructive to the sparrows, would not be likely to prove fatal to larger birds. After some discussion, it was decided to ask for a contribution per acre from the farmers of the district. A committee of Messrs Pateman, Burton, W. Judson, Morris, Kay. Stone, Bowie, F. Horrell, and Petrie was: appointed to report in a week and purchase poison. The chairman invited the farmers present to sign a list agreeing to share in the expense, when twenty-thrpe names, representing 1077 acres, were put down. The sparrow question being thus disposed of, the chairman asked if it was intended to return a member to fill the vacancy in the Mandovillo and Rangiora Road Board. Mr B. Bailey proposed, and Mr Brown seconded, Mr Joseph stalker; Mr Horrcdl proposed, Mr Zuppiciih seconded, Mr W. H. Burton ; Mr Burton proposed, Mr J. Judson seconded, Mr Bowie, to bo nominated as candidates. Mr Burton retired in favor of Mr Bowie. A show of hands was then taken, which resulted as follows Bowie, 15 ; Stalker, 17. Mr Bowie then retired in favor of Mr Stalker, and expressed a hope that all in the district would pull together for the return of their candidate. A unanimous vote of thanks to the chairman terminated the meeting.

Mr Dugald Macfariane. ~ Yesterday, the sixty-third anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, was chosen by Mr Ollivier as a fitting occasion to complete the birthday gift to Mr Dngald Macfarlane. We understand that a further sum of £35 was handed to that gentleman, making in all £260. Foresters’ Court, Ashburton. On Monday evening the new Court Star of Ashburton was formally opened, Bro. Shearman kindly placing his sample-room at the disposal of the brethren. The following officers attended from the Court Star of Canterbury —D.C.R Bro Ralph, D.S.O.R Bro. Phipps, D.T. Bro. Crooks, D.S. Bro. Ness. Twentytwo candidates were initiated, after which the officers for the ensuing half-year were elected, namely—C.R., Bro. N. Mail; Sub. C.R , Bro. L. Kesteven ; treasurer, Bro. J. M. Cambridge ; secretary, Bro.W. 11. Zouch; S.W., Bro. C. B. M. Branson; J.W., Bro. R. H. Pratt; 5.8., Bro. C. Powell; J. 8., Bro. C. Dixon. The Court adjourned till that day fortnight. The brethren then sat down to dinner in the Somerset Hotel to the number of thirty. The usual loyal and patriotic toasts were given and responded to, and a very pleasant evening was spent. The New Stamps. —Commercial men (says the “ New Zealand Times”) will be glad to learn that two new postage stamps will be issued shortly. They are of the value of 2s and 5s respectively, and will prove a great convenience. Both are of neat design, and the dies have been very well executed in the Government Printing Office, by Mr Davies, the postage stamp printer, and Mr Kirk, who has charge of the electrotyping for the Government. By a very ingenious process they used the Queen’s head on the die of the 2d stamp as a basis for the new dies, and have produced capital results. The color of the 5s stamps is a very pretty silver grey, and these will be ready for issue on the Ist July. There is some difficulty in selecting a tint for the 2s stamp, as it is not easy to choose one that will make it sufficiently distinct from the other stamps now in use, and its issue may be delayed in consequence. It is probable that a new penny duty stamp, about half the size of the present one, will be sold on the Ist prox.JJ