NEWS OF THE DAY.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2520, 6 May 1882, Page 3

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Inquest.—To-day, at noon, an inquiry was convened to be held, before Mr J. \V. 8. Coward, District Coroner, and a jury of thirteen, in the Clarendon Hotel, touching the circumstances attending tho death of Eliza Rudman. The Coroner haying stated that tho deceased had been confined just before her death, under somewhat auspicious circumstances, the jury withdrew to view the body. The day being Saturday, and to afford time to collect certain material evidence, an adjournment took place until two o’clock on Monday afternoon.

XJ.A O.D.—The usual fortnightly meeting of the Oak of Sydenham Lodge was held last Wednesday night in St. Saviour’s schoolroom ; A.D. Bro. Hill presiding. There was a good attendance of members, also severe! visiting members. A copy of the rules of the proposed Friendly Societies’ dispensary were laid before the Lidgo. It was resolved that they do lay on the table till the summoned meeting. After some considerable amount of business had bsen done the Lodge waa closed in due form.

Church Pabadb.— Attention is called to tho members of the N.Z.R A. to attend the parade at the drill-shed to morrow morning, ia order to bs present at the Cathedral ■ ervico.

Religious Services — To nurriw d eer- . yieea in Albans Wesleyan Church will be 1 conducted, morning and evening, by the i Revs. W. Morley and J. Aldred respectively. Canterbury Licensed Victuallers. The association of tho above advise members that they had better act under clause sb, schedule 3, in applying for renewa.s, transfers,&o, mu u Meeting op Hotel Keepers—The publicans and hotel keepers of Christchurch are reminded that an important meeting is to be hdl on Monday evening in the large room of the Central Hotel. m Fobbstebs’ Ham, Lyttelton. iomorrow evening the Gispel will be preached in fthe above hall, commencing at half-past six. , . . In Company at Sea —By a shipping te e'ram from Dunedin, we are advised that on the 4th instant the Janet Ferguson was in company with the barque Natal Queen from Hobart to Lyttelton. The former has since arrived at Dunedin from Boston. Lyttelton Bobough School.— The usual meeting of the committee of the above school was held on Friday night. There were present the Eev. J. Townsend (chairman), Messrs Webb, Neville, H. Allwright, Joyce, and Turner. The secretary road tto minutes of the preceding meeting, which were duly confirmed. Mr Allwright said, after the correspondence had been read, that it was most creditable that all the pupil teachers sent up for examination had passed. The principal reported upon some scholars who had absented themselves after tho official notification had been sent to the parents. He suggested that after the holidays stronger proceedings should be taken. Mr Webb thought the school holidays might be bettor suited to the possibility of from a weather stand point were they divided into two terms, instead of three. The holidays, it appeared to him, did not fall in the winter time at its worst. The chairman said there were advantages and disadvantages to the three holiday term system. The idea had been to divide the terms so that the children’s attendance at sohool would not be interrupted by a lengthened period of holidaymaking. Under the present tyatem tho terms of attendance and the holidays had been so arranged. Messrs Neville, Webb, and Turner thought there were too many holidays. It was resolved that the chairman, in conjunction with the head-master, be empowered to issue notices to the parents of children who have absented themselves from school. After passing some accounts the meeting adjourned. Inquest.— An inquest was hold by the corouer, Dr. Coward, yesterday afternoon, at the Koyal George Hotel, on the body of Mrs Young, who was found dead in bed at her residence on Thursday evening, Tho jury, after hearing some evidence, returned a verdict of " Death from natural causes.” Weatheb Exchange. —Australia Fine, light rt.W. in New South Wales; yesterday fine ; N.W. in West Australia; squally with showers from N.W. on the south coast and in Tasmania. Now Zealand :—Moderate depression west of the Bluff; overcast with light N.W. winds and squally with rain in the north. Barometer in New Zealand — Russell, 29.92 ; Wellington, 29 64 ; Bluff, 29 20. Australia —Sydney, 30 1 (on tho 4th) ; Albany, 30.1; Portland, 30.0; Hobart, 29.5. A Midnight Yisitob. —A report recently appeared in a contemporary stating that an attempt was made about midnight on Monday lost to enter the dwelling-house of Mr Berry, of the Clare road. This was not strictly oorrijet. It appeared that about the time stated on the night in question, he heard footsteps round the house, and his dog barked. He at once went outside, but could not see anyone, and nothing was found missing next morning, neither was any attempt made to break into tbe house, Lebston Presbyterian Church. —The anniversary tea meeting took place on Tuesday evening in the Town Hall, and, despite the uupropitious state of the weather, may be considered a very great success. There were four tables, two of which were provided by Mrs Nixon and the others by Mesdames Hurst and Tod, and it need hardly be said that they were absolutely loaded with the moat tempting delicacies. After some 350 persons had sat down to tea, a concert was given, at which the following were, on the whole, very nicely rendered ; Pianoforte solo, “ The auld house,” Miss Kidd; “Far, far away,” the choir; “ When you and I were young, Maggie,” Mias Ferguson ; vocal duet, “ The minute gun at sea,” Messrs Diokio and MoYinnie ; “ Beauty, sleep,” Miss Kidd ; “Joy, joy, joy,” tho choir; pianoforte duet, “ Punch and Judy,” the Misses Ferguson ; vooal duet, “ The slave singing at midnight,” the Misses Longstaff, “ The village chorister,” tho choir; “ Lucy Gray,” Miss Kidd ; vocal duet, “ List to the convent bells,” the Misses Ferguson ; pianoforte solo, “ Irish diomonda,” Miss Kidd; “My happy home,” the choir ; “ The gipsy girl,” Miss Ferguson ; “ Nevermore,” Miss Kidd. During the course of the evening reports from the Sabbath School and the Ladies’ Work Society were submitted, which showed that the sohool was in a healthy condition, financially and otherwise, and that tho ladies had deposited in the bank towards the reduction of the church debt the sum of £37. Interesting and instructive addresses wore delivered by tho Revs. Messrs Oree, Wostbrooke and Oairns. It was announced that the sum of £29 represented the tickets and cash taken at the door. After the usual votes of thanks to the ladies who proyided the tea, the Ladies’ Work Society, the speakers and musicians, the meeting was brought to a close with the benediction. Trade Usages. —“ The convenient practice which prevails among watchmakers of lending watches to customers whose own watches are left to bo repaired, will probably receive a chock,” the “ St. James’s Gazette” says, “ owing to a decision given by Mr Commisoioner Kerr in the City of London Court, An notion was brought to recover damages for tho wrongful detention of ft watch left with the defendant, a watchmaker, for the purpose of being repaired. The plaintiff, it appeared, was lent another watch by the defendant, the mainspring of which broke while it was in his possession. Tho defendant therefore refused to deliver the plaintiff’s watch until a certain amount was paid for injury to tho watch that had been lent. Judgment was, however, given for the plaintiff, with costs, on the ground that the defendant was not bound to lend him a watch while his own was being repaired—it was a matter of courtesy ; and there was moreover, no proof that the watch thus lent was damaged wilfully. The defendant was surprised and indignant at this decision, urging that it was “ unjust,” and a refusal to recognise “an established custom of the trade.” “I don’t care,” replied Mr Commissioner Kerr, “ about trade customs. I am here to administer the law, and I may tell you that the law of England is the very essence of justice.” This throw everybody present in Court, except the defendant, into convulsions of laughter—as well it might, for the idea is excessively funny.” Speculation in Victoria. — A contributor to the “Federal Australian” ojeerves of Victoria that the principal amusement over there just now is company floating, and the man who hasn’t a share in some “ dead certainty spec ” or another, goes about as miserable as a bob-tailed bull in fly time. The Castlemaine Brewery Company, for instance, leads off with a capital of £63,000, all shares scooped in immediately ; then comes the Apollo Candle Company, £200,000; the Patent Aaphnltum Company, £30,000; Perkin’s and Company’s Brewery notion, £125,000 ; and now Hudson Bros, have floated their immense timber works on the rather substantial base of £300,000, To a casual observer this looks os if the cation wasn’t quite insolvent at present, and it’s a remarkably poor man just now who can’t have his four meals of baker's broad and Orange killed beef per day, and still hold enough to prevent his “scamping” the church plate on Sunday, or missing the oalcstial charm of an opera bouffo.

The Result or Betting. —An exbncrdinary state of affairs (says a Melbourne paper) was disclosed in the Insolvent Court during the examination of George P. Watson, a furniture dealer, of Prahran. He stated that tho real reasons of his inability to meet his engagements was his passion for betting on horses One year he was fortunate enough to draw a prize for £240 in Millet’s sweep, and ho was unable to sever his connection with the turf afterwards. He acquired habits of intoxication, and was usually in such a muddled condition that he was unable to attend to hie business ; the result, as might be expected, being insolvency. His total deficiency, including the capital with which he started, was £550, and yet his bad debts only amounted to £25, the difference being accounted for by losses in batting and neglect of business. Tho manner in which the insolvent gave his evidence was severely commented upon by hia Honor Judge Noel.

Fbeethought Burial —Yesterday was witnessed a novel ceremony at tho Addington 0 'metery. Zaooheus Mercer, a member of the Freethought Association of this city, was buried, tho secular service provided for such an occasion being read by the president of the society, prefaced by the following remarks personal to the deceased: —“Friends — We are met hero to day to pay tho last sad offices to a departed brother. He suffered long and patiently from an incurable malady, to which he has at last succumbed. While suffering acutely, his mind being free from ’hs (disturbing doubts and fears woven by superstition, death for him had no terrors, his opinions enabling him to contemplate his approaching end with calmne«s and resignation. In confirmation of this, I may say that 1 hold in my hand a little book, inscribed with his name, which about six months ago ho presented to the Freethought Association, he having been one of its first members, accompanied with the request that the secular burial service therein contained might be read at his funeral, which he then foresaw could not be very long delayed, also expressing tho hope that as many of his friends, holding the same views as himself upon the problems of life and death, as could make it convenient to attend would ascist in paying this last tribute of respect to his memory.” Then followed the burial service from the “Secularists’ Manual” (referred to), impressively read by Mr W. Pratt, the president of the association. There was a fairly numerous attendance.

Why do girls kiss each other, while boys do not?—Because girls have nothing betler to kiss, and the boys have.