THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1880.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1829, 2 January 1880, Page 2

THE GLOBE. FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1880.

The Lath Riot.—The adjourned examination of those charged with this offence took place this morning, in the Council Chambers, and attracted a large number of persons, the galleries, precincts, and approaches being densely crowded. There were seven Justices of the Peace on the Bench. As there are a large number of witnesses to be examined, it is exnected that the evidence will not conclude fail to-morrow. A full report of the proceedings up to the ime of our going to press, appears elsewhere. Naturalisation.—Letters of naturalisation under the Aliens Act, 1866, have been issued to Herman Hoft, of Riccarton, farmer. A Barmaid at Law.—ln a well-known hotel in Christchurch a little scene oooured last night in which an equally well-known citizen, at one time devoted to the pursuit of agriculture, it is said, amused himself and disgusted some by-slanders by insulting the barmaid, a mode of celebrating the new year for which in all probability that gentleman will|be made to suffer. The young lady in question, having a natural taste for law as dispensed in our enlightened Courts, has adopted measures to bring the gentleman to justice, and in all probability “an interesting case” will be the result. Yestrrday’s Holiday.—Full accounts of the sports in Hagley Park, Lyttelton Regatta, various Caledonian games, and other New Year’s demonstrations in Canterbury, are published in to-day’s issue. Thb Cibous.—Despite the great number of counter attractions, there was a capital house at the Circus last night. The tumbling, the performing dogs, and the trained horses all elicited a share of anplause. Miss Fergus gave some exceedingly clever performances on the Roman rings, and Master Watson, in his wonderful act of horsemanship for so young a rider, was also excellent. To-night the company will again appear, and on Saturday there will be a matinee and evening performance, which will close tho season of the company in Christchurch. Theatre Royal.—A new piece, "The Man from America,” was produced at the Theatre Royal last night, and, considering that the piece is a very heavy one to get up, it went smoothly for a first night. The piece itself is of the ordinary Irish sensational drama type, but still it is well constructed and the situations dramatic and telling. Pressure on space prevents a detailed notice of the piece, but it may be generally noted that Mr Wallace, Mr Boothman and Mr Joyce, who play the principal male parts did so successfully, and that Miss Lester and the ladies of the company filled their respective characters with ability. The scenery of tho piece is good, but that of Glen Coil was spoilt somewhat in effect by the absence of light on the stage, a defect which will probably be remedied on a future occasion. The Land Tax.—The “Timaru Herald” of Wednesday says : —To-day is the last day of the period fixed by the Government for the payment of the land tax, and as some doubt appears to exist as to whether it is legally incumbent upon landowners to pay the tax or not, it may be worth while briefly to explain how the matter stands. Under the Land Tax Act, 1878, the tax was made payable in two half-yearly instalments, namely, on the first of April and the first of October. Owing to the delay which took place in the valuation and to the general muddle into wlilcn the administration of the Act got, however, the first instalment was never collected, and the Government directed that the whole of the land tax for the year should be paid between the first and the fourteenth of October. This was subsequently found to be illegal, and, though many people did pay the whole amount required of them at that date, a great many more did not, and there is no doubt that no one could be compelled to do so. Tho Government having assured themselves that this was the case, introduced a Bill in the late session for legalising the collection of the arrears of land tax, and that Bill subsequently passed into law as the Land Tax Collection Act, 1879. Under it, the whole year’s land tax is payable at once, and if not paid within tho prescribed period it may be recovered by legal process as a debt to the Crown. Registrar's Returns. The registrar’s returns of births, marriages, and deaths in the city of Christchurch and district during the month of December give the following result:—Births, city, 39; district, 109; marriages, city, 29 ; district, 18; deaths, city, 18 ; district, S 3. During the same month of the preceding year the deaths wore —City, 32; district, 33. The’total numbers registered in the Christchurch Registrar’s office during the year 1879, were —Births, 2051 ; marriages, 422 ; deaths, 760.