NEWS OF THE DAY

Globe, Volume XXIII, Issue 2217, 4 April 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY

The Pihk in Ttjam Etbeht.—Mr Williams, baker, lost a second thia morning, it having suocumbod to injuries received during the late fire.

Tbadb iMrßOVEiiENTa.—Among tho improvements being made in the business places in town should bo noticed that by a young firm of drapers, Monsrs Cooke and Crocker, opposite Messrs Twentyman and Cjusiti's, Caihel street. A consiQerable addition in brick and stone has been made to the premises with a front elovationof two stories', and the extra room thus provided has given them a commodious and well-fitted showroom, the work-people, dreesmakers, &3., having been quartered upstairs. Tho additional accommodation thus given is of great value, and Messrs Cooke and Crocker now possess one of the prettießt show-rooms (though small) in the city. LYTTELTOIf Magistbatb'S Cotjbt.—Two young seamen, W. Bond and W. Williams, wero charged before Dr. Donald, R.M., at this Court, this morning, with having caused a disturbance in the Railway Hotel on Saturday night. Another charge of damaging the door of tho hotel was also preferred against the accused. The licensee gave evidence, but expressed a wish not to press for a conviction, whereupon the Bench administered a caution to tho yonng defendants, and ordered them to pay for the damage to the premises. Alexandor McPhorson, Roderick McDonald, and Malcolm Campbell, for wilfully damaging J. C. Hay land's property, were remanded until Wednesday. C. Cook was ordered to pay 5s and costs for a pig of his found out for a walk

Inquest.—An inqueßt wil' be held this afternoon, at 4 o'clock, touching the death of Richard S. Williams, who was found in a critical state on Saturday afternoon in Manchester street, whence he was removed to the Hospital. He died juafc as he reached the building. Caniebbtjbt Comeoe Dialectic Societt. —Tho Canterbury College Dialectic Sooiety held their first meeting for the present session in the English literature lecture-room at the College last Saturday evening. About forty graduates and of tho College were present, and a large number of friends. It has become the custom for one of the professors to deliver an address at the comI n.encoment of each bc-pbiou, and this year the j task fell to Professor Brown's lot. The Rov.

T. Flavell, president of the society, occupied the ohair. Shortly after eight o'clock Professor Brown arrived, and began his address, which took more than an hour in delivery. The address, which treated

of the fallacies that ofteneat beset the life of a student "A life than which none other is more atrnoephered and inspired by ideas," was a great treat from first to last, and full of good counsel from one well able to give it. When the professor sat down, the npplauso was loud and long. Ftttria Pbbseeting.—The Nelson Jam and Fruit Preserving Company, in their annual report laid before the shareholders, makes this statement:—" As showing the necessity for such an industry, the following figures are quotei from the returns published by the New Zealand Government of the imports and exports of the coloDy for the year 1879: For bottled and preserved fruits, £3605 ; jams and jellies, £49,490; dried fruits, £857; green fruits, £67,445; making a total of £129,297. Of course something like £IO,OOO may bo deducted from this amount for tropical fruits, leaving the enormous sum of £119,297 for fruits and jams, which could be easily produced in the colony if the people were determined to take up this very important branch of trade with energy and a will to overcome all obstacles. Of this sum of £119,297 the following amounts were sent to the neighbouring colonies :—To New South Waleß, £27,118; to Victoria, £16,338 ; to Tasmania, £63,535. The balance to England, America, South Sea Islands, &c. Thus our sister colonies are enriched annually by the sum of £106,991 (taking the imports of 1879 as an average), of which £IOO,OOO at least could be saved to New Zealand." A Bottomlbss Pit.—A visitor from Westport informs the " Grey Biver Argus " that a few days ago, while hewing coal, the miners came upon a most singular natural formation, known in parlance as a " gullet." It presents the appearance of an enormous shaft, somewhat irregular in outline, commencing at the top of the Beam, and piercing that, and the hard underlying breccia to an unknown depth. The width of the "gullet" is about 30ft., but as yet, it has been found impossible to make even an approximate guess as to the depth. Lumps of coal of considerable size have been thrown down, but no rumble or

sound of any kind came back that would give any idea as to the distance which nature has sunk this shaft into the bowels of the earth. At present the minors are working round the

chasm, and until that task is completed no attempt will be made to bridge the opening. A useful feature connected with this freak of nature is that it appears to afford a oheap and easy method of draining the mine, all the water previously running in the works having disappeared like magic, thus making a substantial saving in the weekly expenditure of the company in the matter of draining, bb the menpreviouslyemployed at that work havebeen able to turn their attention to something else. The "Times" in 1980.—Britishers, remarks a contemporary, are not famous fogreat jokes, but one has recently been perper trated in London which is really admirable, and the result of a vast amount of work. It consists of a copy of the London "Times" for 1980, of tho full size of the " Thunderer," and closely resembling it in every feature, even down to the obscurest advertisements The editorials, language, and style are closely copied, and in dealing with matters 100 years to come present some fine satirical hits at things of the present day. The House of Lords becomes the " House of Ladies," and generally the other sex seams to have got the upper hands of the world. The centre of fashion is transferred to Fiji, and the fashion notes from the island are decidedly funny. The progress of invention is shown by the news of a battle in the Arctic regions, and the capture of the north pole, transmitted "in thoughtonomic dioßyllables by our special phonographio artist." Travelling is done mostly through the air, and penny excursions are offered to all wirts at the world. The advertisements are among the best features of the joke, and include such announcements as " Greek taught at One Session," " Headache Cured in One Minute," " The Patent Masticators," " Elophantß' Milk," " Burning Glasses for Making Hay," " Traps for Fleas," " Postal Balls " (for sending messages by oannoc), notices of " Excursions from London to Jericho," " Sevan Hours with tho Esquimaux," "Lunar Expeditions," " Balloons for the Epsom Races,'' and multitude of other novelties. It is a question whether Johnny Bull will comprehend the fun, or relish this trifling with such a serious thing as the " Times," but it would take immensely in America. The Gbbat Centbal Plain of AusTBALIA. —Few people realise practically either the extent or the importance of the country included in the area vaguely described as the Great Central Plain of Australia. It has been estimuted that the whole extent of land comprising the Empire over which Queen Victoria—Empress of India—bears Bway amounts to about 10,000,000 square milos. Of these vaßt territories Australia comprises a very considerable portion, In round numbers the square miles within her borders may be stated at 3,000,000, less than onethird but considerably more than one-fourth, of the land comprising the British dominions, and these include more than u fifth of the known "dry land" of tho globe. The Great Central Plain we ("Town and Country") have, in a former article, described ai for the

most part consisting of fertile) soil, and occupying the major portion of the " island continent." In fact we may say thut at least there are two or three millions of Bquaro miles situated in the part described as the Great Central Plain. Out of these 2,000,000 square miles there is scarcely any land that can be said to be barren. For the moat part the soil is of a fertilo character, rich in those ingredients which constitute a fertilo eoil, and are roquired for the purposes of vegetation. There is here no such thing as actual desert, although there are seasons in which the appearance is that of a dt-eort. As it is generally admitted that the Groat Central Plain a insists of fertile soil, and, in fact, is productive as a whole, at till times when sufficient rains fall, it is not necessary to dwell further than we have already done on the point. The great drawback is the lack of moisture. Ui.der present circumstances the 2,000,000 square milts would not be sufficiently productive to maintain much above 2,000,000 of people. Bui if the climate w;*re to change so that rain should full upon the whole wiih as inueti regularity as in other countries in similar latitudes, instead of these 2,000,000 this Great Central Plain would be capable of maintaining at least 200,000,000. Mora than this, if such a change wore brought about in the central plain, it would have such a bensficiul on the remaining million of square milcß surrounding it that it would render them capable of supporting at leaet 50,000,000 more than they could do with this plain as dry ao at present.

Colonial Fabming.—Mr Dow, the agricultural reporter of the Melbourne "Leader" delivered a lecture in the A. and P. Association's room* on Saturday. It was in the form <;f a "Paper on Farming in Australia and Nfw Zealand," which he presented to the Association. The audience was numerous and of a representative character. Mr Dow proceeds Bouth this morning, and will meet the Kotorua at the Bluff en. route for Melbourne.

A BtriTEE Peebebtatiye.—Mr J. H. Noding, who is well known " about town " as an experimentalist and a man full of resource, has, among other useful specifics, discovered a means of preserving butler which bids fair to rival successfully patents of reputed great value. With the viow of fully testing the value of his preservative, Mr Noding has subjected it to the following test :—ln the first place the butter was purchased haphazard in the town, so that its quality wbb not by any means aßßUred ; then the presoivative was added, and the butter placed in a bowl loosely covered with a piece of ordinary paper merely for the purpose of keeping off the dust. It wub then placed on a high shelf in a small shop, where it was subjected to the influence of the hot sun in the morning and of the gas in the evening. In this way the butter successfully passed through all the hot weather from the 11th of January to the present time. A better test than this could scarcely have been made, and the result really seems wonderful, the butter (which was not of the beßt in the first instance) being now as good as on the day it was purchased. Among the many and varied forms of local industry brought to light of late, this and similar efforts of Mr Noding, may well claim to be placed in 'ho foremost rank, and certainly desorve a measure of encouragement. Bablet Watbb is made by boiling an ounce of barley in a quart of water until it is reduced one-half, when it must he strained, cooled and salted, or sweetened, as the patient may desire. It is a refreshing and soothing drink for persons suffering with inflammations of the mucous membrane.