NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1693, 24 July 1879, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

R.M, Court.—The business of tho Court this morning was confined to dealing with two cases of drunkenness, and one of being illegally, on tho premises. In the latter ease the prisoner was discharged, as the complainant, Mr H. M. Qbodger, did not appear. Municipal Wohks.—A meeting of the works committee of tho City Council was held this morning. With reference to an application from residents of Creyke street, the committee decided that it could not be entertained, as the street was a private one, and could only be dealt with as others of its character, that is, if the residents would sign an agreemont guaranteeing expenses, the Couucil would at ones undertake the formation of the street. It was resolved to write to the Drainage Board, drawing attention to the impassable nature of many streets caused by tho drainage operations at present in progress under the authority of the Board, numerous complaints having boon received in referonco to the same, and request the Board to have them 'placed in a proper- state of repair. The committee resolved that New street should bo put in a temporary Btate of repair, and that a lamp should be erected at the junction of the North belt and Madras street.

Compensation Court.—A Court under the Publio Works Act sat to-day to assess the compensation to be paid by the Government to Mr Nicholls for land taken at Addington fsr general railway purposes. His Honor the Judge presided, and the assessors were Messrs J. T. Matßon and O. Clark. Mr Joynt appeared for the claimant, and Mr Duncan for the Government. Mr Joynt took objection to Mr. Clark acting es assessor, he having previously acted n valuer for the Government for this very piece of land. After argument, the case was adjourned until 2 p.m. to enable Mr Duncan to select another assessor. "

Supposed Fatal Accident.—A disoovery was made this morning by some of the watormen at Port, the circumstances connected with which point vory strongly to tho supposition that a fatal accident occurred on Wednesday night in the harbor. The boat belonging to the brigantine Nightingale, at anchor off the western breakwater, was picked up about nine o'clock to-day adrift in. the vicinity of the vessel. In it were found a bottle containing some rum and a kit of onions, also one oar. It appears that the two first mentioned articles were seen in Captain George Preston's possession on Wednesday night, and that he left the Royal Ho f A about ten o'clock with them, presumably to go on hoard the Nightingale. Noth'ug has since been seen of him, and it is supposed that while sculling off in the boat he has fallen over and been drowned. The proprietor of •the Royal states that he was not intoxicated when he left the Hotel. He was a man of temperate habits, and surprise is expressed at the seeming casualty, as the water was particularly calm and the night clear. The vessel, which is owned by Messrs Cuff and Graham, has been laid up for some time, Captain Preston being employed as keeper.

Thb Colonel ok Social Econoott. Says a Wellington contemporary, " Colonel Whitmore yesterday notified in the" Council that he was about to bring, down a Bill for the control and cure of drunkards—presumably \>j U»o 0t0.1.0. lb will Xiv lulurtsllug to learn what course the Ministry propose to follow in dealing with a branch of social economy that is generally supposed to be outside thejjprovince of Governments. Can the Administration be retaliating on Sir W. Fox for taking . the leadership of thn Opposition by cutting the ground from under him ? St. Swithen.—This saint, the patron saint of the 15th of this month, is supposed to kave died at Harnham Castle on the 2nd of July, and to have been interred in Winchester Cathedral. St. Swithen was remarkable, according to tradition, for two things :—He was the tutor of King Alfred, and the accredited sponsor of apple trees, and he gave the names to several of them. He was 17th Bishop of Winchester, and was born at the commencement of the 9th century. He was supposed to have originated the church tithe system, and rigidly enforced its payment. The old tradition was that if the loth of July be wet, there will be rain for forty successive days hence the olden rhyme:—

" If on St. Swithon's down should fall the rain, For forty days, sharp showers will wet the plain : He named the apples, one he called ' Queen Mab,' And one, in memory of his wife, the 'Crab.'"

An Astute Bishop.—The " Bruce Herald" is responsible for the following :—When the late Bishop Selwyn was residing in AucV'pnd, a neighbour used to drive his dairy cows into one of the b-'shop'a grass paddocks after dark, and take them out very early the following morning. The bishop, on one of his servants complaining of the trespass, asked at what time the cattle were taken out. " Six o'clock, sir," was the reply. "Well, thon," said the bishop, " you get up an hour earlier, and milk all the cows." The servant did as he was told, and ever after that the dairyman sought fresh fields and pastures new for his cattle.

Paeliamentaby Amenities.—We clip the following specimen of the vulgir amenities of debate in the New South Wales Legislature from the " Town and Country Journal" : " Mr O'Connor interrupted Mr Lucas to say that it was easy to see that Mr Lucas didn't do much work—he was so fat. On this Mr Lucne, with rather more animation than he usually exhibits, turned round upon Mr O'Connor and said that it was a nice remark for a member to make who was a pig butcher. The hon. member, he said, was always talking about pigs ; it was pigs everywhere with the hon. member—pigs in the House, pigs out of tho House, pigs hanging up outside his house; in fact, the man was pig from head to foot! Thiß little encounter caused some laughter, and appeared to be keenly enjoyed by Mr McElhone. The Boyne Scandal.—Mr Woolcock has asked the Government why the captain of the ship Boyne, who, in defiance of repeated remonstrances from the surgoon, persisted in sell:ng spirits to tho immigrants during the voyage, whereby great disorder and rnismuiagement appear to have ensued, and by whbh he incurred penalties to the amount of sovsral thousands of pounds vnder tho Passengers Act, was not prosecuted; instead of whieh he was only deprived of the trifling grataity of £25, which must have represented but a very small part of the profit of his Balei, and would not bo likely to deter him or any other captain from the commission of a similar offence.

A HArpy Family.—At a meeting of the members of the Fourth Estate, says the " New Zealand Times," it was resolved that the whole of the representatives of the Press shoi:ld dmo together wi'hin the next few days, including those members of Parliament who are journalists, and who choose to take part in the celebration. For a good many years past the ijueetion of the Press men in Wellington dining togother during the session haß presented itself, but it has led to no tangible result hitherto. Now, however, that there is such a strong gathering of the clan in the Empire City, advantage has been taken of the opportunity, and a vory pleasant reunion is anticipated.

The Pkess in the House.—The accommodation for the Press reporters in the House of Eeprescntativeg is exceedingly narrow. Yet the limited spice is not unfrequently occupied by individuals who have no right but that of "cheek" to be there. At a large meeting of gentlemen of the Press, held the other day, Mr E. T. Gillon was appointed chairman of the reporters' gallery, and he will in future be authorised to act on behalf of the Press in the expulsion of intruders. Mr Gillon will also be the medium of com> munication between the Press reporters •jnd the Speaker and the Sorgcant-at-Arms.

FOOTBALL. EaSTBBN V SUNNYSIDB. Members of the former team are requeued to turn out in club colors (yellow and black)' while tho latter will wear blue and white.

Acoustics in tub Houbb.—The acoustic properties of the House were yt sterday very trying, particularly to the numbers of the Press in the gallery, says the " Post" in a late issue. From the fact, however, that several o£ the members of Parliament had to be called upon by their colleagues to " speak up" it may be assumed that tho members themselves cannot always hear very well what is being said. It should be impressed upon speakers generally that if they wish their opinions to go forth to the world, they ought to raise their voices above a whisper—which is the tone adopted by many of them at present. Judge Johnston has a habit of tolling witnesses who will not speak out loudly that their expenses will be stopped Peih ips if hon. members were to havo the sime fear of losing their honorarium, they too might be induced to speak in an audible tone.

The Commissioner op Railways.—Mr Oonyers left for Wellington yesterday by the Arawata, on business connected with his department. Theateb Royal. The attendance last night at tho Theatre Royal was only moderate, but "Tho Woman in White" went as well as usual. It will be repeated this evening. The Municipal Offices Dbbi«ns.—The designs sent in for the new municipal offices were open to the public yesterday, and a very large number attended. A description of the six plans selected for final decision appears eliewhero.

Fibh Alarm.—The cost of establishing telegraphic communication between the residence of the Superintendent of the Fire Brigade and the brigade stations, is stated to have been £9O.

Tbmplary.—A new Lodge was formed on Tuesday night by the Goed Templars at Port. The ceremony took place in the Church of England schoolroom, Bros. Hoskings, S.D. ; Kent, G.W.M., and several brethren from Ohristohurch lodges, conducting the proceedings. About thirty ex-members of the Bainbow Lodge No 84, were initiated. The Lodge was named Rainbow No. 13. Police Changes.-Conetablo Smart, a member of the Ohrißtchurch Police Corps, has been removed to Timaru. Smart was for many years in the Wellington force, and is an excellent officer, as may be gathered from the fact that he was chosen to perform detective duty for a considerable period prior to his removal to Christchurch. Loyal Avon Lodge.—There is now on view on -Mr Lezard's, High street, a very handsome ornament, intended for the Loyal Avon Lodge, 1.0.0. F. It is a painted frame enclosing an oval, in which are to be placed the portraits of the Past Grands of the Lodge. In the corners are the emblems of the Order, and at the head of tha frame is the all-seeing eye and an extract in gold letters trom the objects of the Order. Tbe whole is an exceedingly handsome piece of work, and reflects great oredit on the artißt, Mr Teague. Fobbbtbbs' Charitable Fund. —The annual performance on behalf of the widow and orphans'fund of the ancient order of Foreßtera takes place this evening at the Oddfellows' Hall. The programme includes the piece of "The Seven Clerks," some musical selections, and a farce. In the first piece Mrs Walter Hill will appear, in conjunction with the members of the Foresters' Amateur Dramatic Society, and in tho farce they will be assisted by Mrs C. F. Searle. Mr H. F. Towle will have charge of the musical portion. Opening op St. Lukb's School. —The new sohoolroom in connection with St. Luke's Church was formally opened yesterday. It is a capaoious building, well suited to the purposes for which it was erected, and supplies a want that has been very much felt in the parish. A benediction service, with full choir, was held in the afternoon, the Rev. Mr Lingard reading the service, and the Rev. Mr Stack delivered an address appropriate to the occasion. The Most Rev. the Primate who had 'promised to attend, was absent owing to illness. In the evening the advertised concert took place. It may be mentioned that the room has been supplied with a small stage, which while it can be used for school purposes, will be found very useful for such gatherings as that under notice and all publio occasions. There was an excellent attendance last night, the hall being full to the door, and the programme presented was well chosen, full and varied. The first part was devoted to sacred music, opening with the cantata (Spohr) " God, Thou are Great; a solo "Be thou faithful unto death" was admirably sung, and elicited considerable applause. The " Hallelujah Chorus" brought the first part to a close. After an interval of ten minutes the part song " The skylark" introduced the second portion of the programme, secular. The selections were generally well rendered, and applause was most liberally bestowed. The gem performance of the evening, however, was the rendition of a song " Bid me discourse" by a young lady pessessing a most melodious and cultivated voice. The applause at its conclusion was enthusiastic, and an unmistakeable encore was responded to. " Thou art weary," another song by a lady, was also admirably rendered, aud elicited an encore. The "National Anthem" brought to a termination one of the best entertainments of its class ever held in Christchurch.

City Cot/noili. —The usual weekly meeting of the City Council, postponed from Monday on account of the Hill benefit at the Oddfellows' Hall, took place last night. In reply to a question from Councillor Lezard relative to the progress made by tho water supply committee, Or. Cass stated that the necessary material, including the cylinder, was on the ground, and that as chairman of the committee he should be able to report further at the next meeting of the Council. The Mayor stated that he had interviewed a deputation from the Sydenham Borough Council, and that they were desirous of reopening, through another conference of the Councils, the question of improving the condition of the South Town belt. It was the unanimous opinion of the Council that it was not desirable to reopen the matter in view of the Council's present financial position, and the town clerk was instructed to write to tho Sydenham Council to that affect. Football.—The match on Saturday next for the Eastern Club will be the following fifteen against Mr Seager's team an the Snnnyside ground: Messrs Bell, Bolton, Campbell, Fisher, Gilchrist, Hyman, • l oynt, Keith, Kenvigr, Mayne, Martin, Paul, Parker (capt.), C. Stringer, J. Wachsman. Emergencies Coombs, Lawson, Parsons, McDongal. Colors, ainher and black. An omnibus will learo Hobday's corner at 2 p.m. Any of the above members who are unable to play should inform the secretary before Friday evening.