NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1918, 17 April 1880, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Bksidekt Magisteates' Court.—ln this Court to-day, before W. M. Maskell and J. E. Parker, Esq 9., J.P.'s, one drunkard was fined 10s, and another 40s, for the same offence, aggravated by resistance to the constable that arrosted him. Fibb at Lyttblton.—While the high level pump and engine at Lyttelton wero working this morning the roof of the building enclosing them took fire, the woodwork near the chimney first igniting. The fire alarm bell was sounded, and in quick time the local brigade were on the spot and saved the structure from Berious damage. Ma(jistbate'3 Coubt, Lyttblton.—John Wilson, on remand from Malvern, was liberated this morning at this Court, having recovered from lunacy from drink. CnuEcir of Lattee-day Saints. —As will bo seon by advertisement, services in connection with this church will be held to-morrow at 2.30 and (J. 30 p.m., at the Orange Hall. In the evening. Elder G-. Batfc will preach on tho subject, " What and where is true religion." Pbbsentation.—An interesting presentation took phco this afternoon at the Government buildings, tho recipient being Mr J. Dixon, the popular chief clerk in tho L»nd Transfer office. The occasion wus Mr Dixon's removal to Auckland as Deputy Registrar of Deoda for that provincial district. His many friends in both branches of the department mustered soon after tho close of tho office, and begged him to accept as a memento of their oateein, a very handsome marble time-piece, especially selected at the establishment of Mr Urquhart, in Colombo street, together with a richly-mounted matchbox, both suitably engraved. Many expressions were given by the donors of the sense in which they had invariably held Mr Dixon, for his kindness and urbanity while so excellently discharg'ng his duties. Mr Dixon, who was much moved, replied suitably, and his fut ire prosperity having been drank in champagne, tho interesting proceedings terminated.

Ibish Relief Fund.—Since the last remittance o£ money subscribed in Canterbury towards the Irish Belief Fund, his Worship the Mayor of Ohristchureh has received from Mr E. Earle, chairman of the Killinohy committee, the sum of £l2 Bs, the proceeds of an entertainment which has taken place there. Other sums have also dropped in, including one of £7 4s, collected by Mr G. Beattie, which will make up a respectable farther donation to be be forwarded by the next mail.

Theatbical.—ln a private letter received from Mies Tilly Andrews not long ago, she states that after playing successfully in Portland, Oregon, and in the Grand Opera House, 3an Francisco, she was on the point of leaving to make her debut in New York. The Lincolnshire Delegatus. The visit of Messrs Grant and Foster, the delegates of the Lincolnshire farmers to this colony, is likoly to bear literary fruit. It is their intention on their arrival in Eogland to publish a work descriptive of their travels in New Zealand, with remarks upon its adaptability for agricultural settlement.

A Cr/BB foe Colds.—lf what wo read in a medical journal be correct, then there is likely to bo a great demand for the Australian eucalyptus before long. R. Rudolf! reports, in the " Gazetta Medica Italiana," the following observation made on himßelf. Being seized with a severe coryzd, he happened to chew one or two twigs of tho eucalyptus, at the same time swallowing the saliva secreted, which had a bitter and aromatic flavour. To his surprise he found that in the course of half an hour tho nasal catarrh had disappeared. Some days later he waß seized with another attack from a fresh exposure to cold, when the same treatment was followed by an equally fortunate result. He then prescribed the remedy to several of his patients, all of whom were benefitted in the samo way. He believes this treatment is only suitable in acuto caeee. Af&han Atbocities.—" That night some of the bodies were brought in, but mutilated in such a manner that wo could not identify thein exoept by parts of their dress. I can't tall you all the iudignities they had suffered ; their faces smashed in with the butts of rifles, their bodies cut in slashes from feet to head—crimped like a fish, in fact ; their throats cut from ear to ear ; the hands and feet of many cut off; their toes cut down between each one; iu fact, every cruelty perpetrated that could be devised." So we ("Pall Mall Gazette") read in a private letter from a young English officer who fought with conspicuous coolness and gallantry at Cabul in the desperate action of December 11th. Lest the Duke of Argyll, Sir George Campbell, and others should assume (as otherwise they may) that the bodies so dreadfully mangled were those of Afghans, brought into camp to gratify the eyes of our officers and soldiery when the fight was over, we hasten to say that it was net so. The mutilated were Englishmen ; the mutilators Afghans. Immigration at Fiji.—The " Fiji Argus" of 27th February says : —Seventeen hundred applications for Polynesian immigrants for 1880 have been received at the Immigration office. Taking into consideration the fact that nearly all these applications are genuine ones, whereas last year the number applied for were not in reality required, the number shows a satisfactory increase in the demand for Polynesian labor. To meet this demand the following vessels have been chartered or engaged for this next season:—The Jesßie Kelly, 144 tons ; Stanley, 113 tons : Dauntless, 121 tons ; Winifred, 78 tons; Tubal Cain, 104 tons; and the Ovalau, 115 tons, or one like her. These vessels will all be licensed at the rate of one immigrant to the ton. If therefore they all make three trip 3 in the season, and bring in full cargoes each time, they will by the end of the year have imported 2025 labor— i.e., the Government makes allowance for 300 not to be brought who may be brought, and this under ar.y ordinary circumstances ought to leave an ample margin for accidents and casualties, and still supply in full the requirements of the planters. Enoland and the Continent.—Speaking in the Austrian Parliament on the 27th January, Baron Hubner is reported to have said :—" There was a time when England and Austria were close allies. Twice they have fought side by side for tho liberty and independence of Europe. Twice with the aid of other allies they have prevented the establishment of the universal supremacy of France. Hence the term of historical alliance applied to the entente between the two countries. That expression has vanished in course of time. Moreover, during the middle of this century, England separated herself from Continental affairs, and, save her participation in the Crimean war, she made no further figure in Europe. England might, so to speak, be assimilated to an orphan; by degrees people begin to think that England, like a wealthy merchant, had retired from business, in order to enjoy her riohes in quiet. Not so very long ago I myself heard it discussed in London whether on financial grounds it would not be advisable to give up the British colonies altogether. In the minds of certain advanced politicians the possession of India was merely a question of time. Suddenly a change took place in the disposition of the nation. The British lion was not dead ; he was only asleep. He began to roar, and the noise he made resounded from the columns of Hercules to Oolchis. England had reappeared in Europe, and her first act waß to re-establish the equilibrium of Europe atthemomentit was threatened in the East. On her way she met an old friend, Austria, with whom she renewed acquaintance. The sons of the victors of Aspern and Waterloo, the great grandsons of the Herves, of Blenheim, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet shook hands. England and Austria are old friends, who move in different circles, but who always finish by meeting on the common ground of their interests and historical associations.

Thb Effbots of Lightning.—A paper was read at a recent meeting of the Clinical Society by Dr. G-. Wilkß, of Ashford, the " Glasgow Herald " states, on a remarkable ease of lightning-stroke which occurred on June Btb, 1878. A farm laborer waa struck by lightning while standing under a willow tree, cloeo to the window of a shed in which his three fellow-workmen had just taken shelter from a violent storm of rain. Hia companions found the tree partly denuded of its bark, ansl tho patient's boots standing at its foot. The patient himself was lying on his back two yards off, and though ho waa fully olothed previously, he wsb now naked, with absolutely nothing on except part of the left arm of his flannel vest. He was conscious, but muoh burnt, and his leg was badly broken. The field around was strewn with fragments of clothing j the clothes were split or torn from top to bottom, the edges of the fragments being often torn into shreds or fringes; they only showed evidences of fire where they came in contact with metal, such a 9 his watch and the buckle of hia waistbelt. There were no laces in his boots. The left boot was torn and twisted into fantastic shapea, but the sole was uninjured, and there was no sign of fire upon it; the right boot had the leather much torn and the sole rent and burnt. The watch had a hole burnt through the case, and the chain was almost entirely destroyed. The stockings wore split down the inner side ; the hat was uninjured. The patient said that he was struck violently on the chost and shoulders, became enveloped in a blinding light, and was hurled into tho air, coming down on his back "all of a crash," and never losing consciousness. The hair of hia face was burnt, and the body was covered with burns. Down each thigh and leg was a broad crimson indurated band of burning passing along the inner side of the knee, and ending below the left inner ankle and at the right heel; a lacerated wound, with a comminuted fracture of the os calcis The bones of the right leg were fractured, and the tibia protruded through the skin in the course of the burn. He wus discharged healed twenty weeks after the occurrence. Dr. Wilkes remarked on the almost complete exemption from injury of the nervous system, and on the probability that the clothes being wet acted a 3 good conductors, and so diverted tho electric current from tho great nervous trunks, thu3 saving tho man's life.

A Beeak in tub Monotony. The Supremo Court of Duuedin was, says the " Herald," u scene of an amusing accident on Thursday. As one of tho defendant's witnesses was using a walking-stick for the purpose of indicating a spur on which one of the fires was burning at Waimate Bueh on tho morning of the 15th November, 1878, he seemingly became giddy at the prospect from tho height of tho spur, and losing his balance, fell over—stick and all —on to tho map of the bush and smashed the scaffolding on which tho map had born placed, in his contact with the floor. The ensemble had a ludicrous effect, and the court was convulsed with laughter. His Honor the Judge humourously observed that he would not treat tho fall of the map as the scaffolding of the case for the dofenoe.

Renewal op Licenses. —As will be seen by advertisement, the Licensed Victuallers' Association draws the attention of the licensed victuallers to the fact that applications for renewal of licenses must be lodged with the clerks of the Licensing Benches not aler than the 10 th of May. Murp Gbicketbbs.—The closing match of the seaaon in connection with the Ohristchurch Muff Cricket Club took place yesterday on the TJ.0.0. ground, when sides were picked by Messrs Dunbar and Judge. The former were victorious by four ruris, the scores being—Mr Dunbar's side, first innings, 86; seoond innings, 27; total, 113. Mr Judge's side, first innings, 47 ; seoond innings, 62; total, 109. At the conclusion of the lunch, Mr Hobday proposed the health of Mr Cookson, who has acted as caterer for the Muff Club during the season, which was duly responded to. The health of Mr Napier, the caretaker of the ground, was also given and i esponded to. The Shipbuilding Tbadb.—Several large shipbuilding orders have been recently received on the Clyde, and it is now reported that the Messageries Maritimes Steamship Company hare cloßed a very extensive contract with Messrs J. Elder and Co., who are to build a fleet of 10 first-class steamers for the Mediterranean trade. Each of the vessels is to be of 1600 tons, with great engine power so as to ensure a high rate of speed. Cotjbsing.—Mr Porter has purchased Balmoral, the winner of last year's Waterloo Cup, and the dog is now at " The Shade?," where he will undergo his preparation for the forthcoming season. The, Bkllringers —The Lynch Family of Bellringors, who have made a very successful tour in the South, will shortly appear in Christchurch. Debating Society.—The first ordinary meeting of the Christchurcta Debating Society, which has been newly established, will be held next Friday evening, in Mr Gee's schoolroom. Worcester street. The opening subject chosen for discussion is, "Is the Federation of the Australasian colonies desirablef'