NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1890, 15 March 1880, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

City Council. —The usual weekly meeting of the City Council will be held at'seven o’clock this evening. Sydenham Borough Council. —The fortnightly meeting of this body will be held tonight at the usual hour.

St. John’s Chuech, Ranghoba.—On Thursday evening a harvest thanksgiving service was conducted in this edifice by the Rev. H. B. Cooks. The chancel was decorated with grain sheaves, fruit, and flowers, and there was a large congregation. Abhbueton Licensing Court. —At the above Court, on Saturday, before Messrs F. Guinness (chairman), H. T. Winter, and O. P. Cox, Commissioners, the transfers of licenses from W. 0. Morgan, Alford Forest Hotel, to John Tisch, and from James Johnson, Barr Hill Hotel, to David McFarlane, were confirmed. Lyttelton Wateb Supply. —There was a further trial made on Saturday afternoon of the high-level pump recently erected at Lyttelton for the water supply. The members of the Borough Council were present, and several other gentlemen, including a representative of the manufacturers. The trial resulted more satisfactorily than any previously made.

Gbeymogth Coal.—There can now be no reasonable doubt (rays the “ Otago Daily Times ”) that the Greymouth coal is far and away the best coal for gas-making purposes to be found in the Southern Hemisphere. The result of Mr Genever’s experiment with it at the gasworks is that the coal makes more gas than Newcastle, and of a considerably higher illuminating power. The results of twentyeight days’ working last month are as follows: 297 tons 7 cwt. of Greymouth coal produced 3,476,700 cubic feet of gas, of 18 to 18-5 candle illuminating power, and that thie was 165,000 feet more than was produced from a greater quantity of Newcastle coal by about 50 tons, besides being about two candles better in illuminating power. The cost of purification is greater with Greymouth coal, and this seems the only drawback to its use. Probably the process will bo improved on with greater experience, and in any case there must be a great saving and better light. We believe the Melbourne Gasworks are anxious to secure a regular supply, which the Greymouth Wallsend Co. will do their best to arrange for, if successful in obtaining the requisite capitsl.

To Rahway Agitatoes—To the West Coast people, who have been crying out for the inauguration of public works, the Premier has made the following answer, which may be accepted by all districts hungering after the same fashion :—“ I am afraid that neither you nor the West Coast authorities realise the extent to which the limited resources of the Government are already pledged. The greater part of the five million loan is now either spent or engaged, and it is out of our power to raise any money for three years to come. Unless, therefore, we are prepared to plunge the colony into inextricable difficulties, it is absolutely indispensable that many works which we should be glad to see prosecuted shall stand over. You are probably aware that the revenue is falling off seriously, more so than ev.r we anticipated.” Thb “ Pastoeal” Imtebest.—At abanquet held in the maritime town of South Australia, says a writer in the “ Australasian,” a newly appointed magistrate who, from hie name, should be one of the wisest of men, hod entrusted to him the toast of the “ Pastoral and Agricultural Interests.” In proposing the toast, he spoke after this fashion—“ lam glad this toast has been placed in my hands, for I know something of the matter. I have been a member of a Wesleyan Church for some years, and greatly rejoice that we have a pastor here—in fact, two pastors—showing that the pastoral interest is increasing. (Cries of ‘ Order,’ and ‘ Come to the point.’) I’m just coming to the point. I’ll show you that I’m coming to the point. Here is a subscription list for a Wesleyan Chapel. Now, you you who really care for the pastoral interest, just put your names down here !” lam sorry to say that the spirit in which the proposal was received promoted the conclusion of that speech. Decidedly Hot.—The weather must have been tolerably warm in South Australia during the past month, as the following extract from an Adelaide paper will show : “ The heat, which for several days previously had been most oppressive, culminated on Tuesday in a regular South Australian summer’s day. On Monday night houses had become so hot that sleep to residents of the city who were not possessed of underground apartments was a matter of difficulty. The heat in Adelaide on Tuesday was most trying, and sunshades and green spectacles protected pedestrians in a very minor degree from the intense glare of the sun. At the west terrace observatory the thermometer registered 172 deg. in the sun, and 113 5 deg. in the shade. At Clare the glass was 115 deg. in the shade, at Georgetown 114 deg., and at Port Pirie 112 deg. A Steanqe Stoey.—The writer of Zigzag Papers in the “ Sydney Echo” relates the following :—Almost every day some incident occurs proving that fact is as strange as if not stranger than fiction. About twenty years ago the bridegroom of a few weeks went to the far north of Queensland, there to make a home for his young wife, whom he had married on faith and love. By dint of hard toil and perseverance he succeeded in less than twelve months in realising the object in view, and full of joyful anticipations he was about to start to this colony on the happy mission of claiming his beloved from her parents, and bringing her back to the home he had provided. He had hardly set out on his journey when he received the mournful tidings that she on whom all his hopes were concentrated was dead. Almost stunned by the cruel and unexpected blow, the bereaved husband set out for Europe, and continued a cheerless wanderer for many years, when ho finally settled down in Victoria, and by the merest chance met a young lady at the house of a mutual friend, who to his surprise and joy, he discovered was his own daughter. The parents of his wife had never told of the child’s birth, dreading that she might be taken from them. Thb Tay Bbidob Disaster.—The London correspondent of the “ Australasian,” writing in connection with the Tay Bridge disaster, says :—A new agency for the recovery of the bodies, namely, that of clairvoyance, has been introduced. A lady who pretends to clairvoyancy was taken out to mid-stream in a yacht. After a time she asked for the grapnels to be lowered, saying there was a body deeply embedded in the sand at that particular spot. The collar of a man’s coat was brought to the surface, and this circumstance has inspired belief in her art. Just as darkness was coming on she said there were twenty bodies all in a heap, a little to the east of the piers, but the opportunity was not afforded of putting this statement to the test.

The CriK and the Nihilists. —The “Pall Mall Gazette" concludes an article on the troubles in Russia in the following terms : The dilemma, as we stated it the other day, is inexorable. The Czar is threatened with destruction as a man, unless he consents by his own act to destroy himself as a ruler. There is no likelihood of his accepting the latter alternative; and so the struggle will continue. It may not do so without intermission ; the revolutionary movement may have its periods of apparent quiescence and its spasms of renewed activity j but it will continue, and to all appearance it can have but one end. It can only end in a state of things which we foresaw and predicted some years ago, the disorganisation and dissolution of society in Russia.

Acclimatisation of Debe. —Wo have good news for the lovers of sport and friends of acclimatisation (says the “ Oamaru Mail ”). In the Upper Waitaki County, somewhere in the vicinity of Morven Hills, a herd of about sixty deer has been seen by an Oamaru gentleman who has just returned from that locality. They have chosen a spot for their haunts seldom visited by man, and just sufficiently inaccessible to be tempting to the sportsman. But it is to be hoped that he will restrain any temptation to make havoc amongst them until they have become so thoroughly established that there will be no danger of their becoming extinct. It is probable that the herd that our informant has seen has grown out of a small number of these animals that were supplied to Mr John McLean by the Acclimatisation Society, and let loose on the Morven Hills station several years ago. What Becomes op ail the Pins ?—lt is now (says a London paper) as much as forty years since the daily supply of pine from the English factories was twenty millions, and ever since that time the daily average has steadily increased, till it now stands at fifty millions per day. Notwithstanding all this enormous supply, one can hardly be in the company of man, woman, or child for a day without being asked, “ Have you such a thing as a pin about you ?” Of our daily 50,000,000 pins, Birmingham produces 37,000,000, leaving 13,000,000 as the production of London, Stroud, and Dublin, where pins are also made. The weight of wire consumed annually in the pin manufacture of England is about 1275 i tons, or 2,857,1201b5, one eighth of which is iron wire, used in manufacturing mourning and hair pins. The brass wire consumed amounts to 2,500,0001b5, which, at lid per lb in money value, reaches the sum of £114,583. The iron wire consumed is 344 SOOlbs, its value is £7183 6 i 6d, and to be added to these amounts are the wages, paper, and ornamental envelopes, boxes, weir and tear of machinery, manufacturers’ profits and the like, bringing the whole amount to not less than £300,000. The Ashburton Libel Case. —The Ashburton K.M. Court was occupied all Saturday with the case of libel against Mr Ivess, proprietor of the “ Ashburton Mail.” A number of witnesses were called for the defence, including several Borough Councillors and some of the local solicitors. At the conclusion of the defence, Mr Guinness, the R.M., said he considered there was a priina facie case to go to a jury, and committed Mr Ivess to take his trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court. Bail was granted to Mr Ivess on his entering in his own recognisance for £IOO to appear.

American Produce. —The United States may well claim to be the granary of Europe, not only in the matter of cereals, but of more substantial produce. The agricultural yield for the present year is calculated as fqllows : —Butter 170,000,000 dollars; cheese and milk, 130.000,000 dollars; beef, fresh and tinned, 270,000,000 dollars ; pork and bacon, 250.000. dollars ; Indian corn, 410,000,000 dollars; wheat, 400,000,000 dollars; total, 1.630.000. dollars. Alabm ob Fiee. —About half-past nine o’clock on Saturday night considerable alarm was created in High street by the appearance of a volume of smoke issuing from the front door of the Empire Hotel. A crowd at once collected round the front doors, but in a short time apprehension was allayed by the discovery that the smoke had been caused by some cinders having fallen out of the kitchen range upon some sawdust in front of it. Ho damage was done.

SkatiNS. —The skating entertainment by Professor Taylor and Lillie takes place tonight at the Oddfellows’ Hall. The pro* gramme, which is a very attractive one, will comprise a number of new skating feats by the Professor and Lillie, There will also be prizes offered for competition by amateur skaters who may desire to try their fortune during the evening. Oouesing Pbospbcts. —Lovers of coursing are (says the “ Oamaru Mail”) likely to have plenty of their' favorite sport during the forthcoming season. Hares are very plentiful, as is fully evidenced by the fact that large numbers of them have fallen victims to the reapers and binders in various localities. We have heard of a large number having been killed in this, manner in one paddock of the Awamoa Estate, while hares have been seen in abundance in many of their favorite localities.

Kaiapoi Wesleyan Gegam Fund. —On Friday evening Captain Peek, of the ship Waimate, delivered his “ Sailor’s Tarn” in the Wesleyan Chapel, in aid of the funds for defraying the cost of the new organ. There was a large attendance, the Eev. J. Armitage in the chair. The narrative of the worthy captain’s career, which was freely interspersed with anecdotes, afforded a pleasant evening’s entertainment. The choir of the church sang one or two sacred selections. A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Captain Peek, who replied that he always felt at home with his Methodist friends of Eaiapoi. Thbatbb Royal. —The stalls and pit of the Theatre Royal were well filled on Saturday night, the piece played being “ Life in the South.” All the characters in the play, which is of a very sensational type, were creditably filled, especially that of Oapitola, by Miss Lizzie Morgan. She was equally successful as the vagabond Hew York news boy, and as the fearless hoyden tormentor of Old Hurricane. This last character, otherwise Major Ira Warfield, was very well played by Mr Stark. Mr J. P. Hydes created a great deal of fun by his eccentric delineation of Wool, one of those privileged, irrepressible negroes only met with in the American drama. The plantation scenes were full of life, and the sensational situations, with the assistance of Mr Boothman, who revelled in villainy as Black Donald, were of the fullest flavor, and met with the keen approval o£. the audience. “Life in the South” will" hS repeated this evening. “ The Pilot” is underlined, and it is understood that the management have in preparation a striking dramatic novelty, for the especial behoof of the holiday visitors at Easter.

Thk Land Tax.—A return has been published showing the amount of land tax payable on lands held from the Crown under pasturage lease and license in the different land tax districts. The area of such land in the several districts is as follows:—Nelson, 1,700,000 acres; Canterbury, 3,093,754 acres ; Otago, 6,253,975 acres. The total amount of land tax payable is £9982.

EiANoioba Tbadbsmen’s Picnic. —It is arranged that those who wish to join in this picnic shall meet at the Colonial Bank corner on Wednesday at 8 a.m., when arrangements have been made to convey those who join to Claney’s bush, Ashley Bank.