The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1880.

Kumara Times, Issue 1094, 2 April 1880, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 1880.

At a meeting of the Borough Council last evening the Defaulters List as also the Burgess Roil for the present year were laid on the table; A report from the Town Clerk on the petition of Mr G. Simmons was read aSid received, and a committee formed to report thereon to the Council at the next meeting; The question of calling for tenders for the maintenance of the streets was postponed until the next meeting. Notice of motion relative to the striking of a general rath was given, and the Council adjourned. . The Resident Magistrate’s Court was occupied last night until a very late hour in hearing the case of Murphy v. Blewmau and others, which excited a large amount of interest. The Magistrate after hearing all the evidence (a portion of which appears in another column) gave judgment for the plaintiff for £1 for the damage to his property and allowed £7 11s for professional and witnesses costs, against the defendants.

Immediately after the adjournment of Murphy’s case last evening in the Magistrate’s Court, the woman Ellen Sarah Kitto was brought up, charged with manslaughter ; and on the application of the police, remanded for eight days. There was a large attendance of chessplayers present last evening, at Rugg’s Kumara Hotel, oh the occasion of the presentation of the prizes won in the late chess tournament.' A fuller report of the proceedings is unavoidably held over. The drawing of Mr Singer’s Grand Art Union will positively take place on Monday next, as the tickets are how riearly all disposed of ; the few that are remaining will be swept off to-morrow evening. The public , pound early this motning received an occupant in the shape of a well-bred porker, the property of a gentleman whose name figures in one of our morning contemporaries as the “irrepressible.” When the honorable member becomes cognisant of this fact there is little doubt he will speedily release his fourfooted wallower from durance vile, and thereby “ save his bacon.”

Immediately after the proceedings ill connection with the late chess tournament were over last night, several players expressed themselves strongly in favor of another tournament, though slightly differing from the last. An impromptu meeting took place, at which all present remained) and it was unanimously resolved that such should be the case. A committee and the same handicappers were appointed, and entries are to be received up to Saturday, the 10th inst. It is stated in private correspondence received in Melbourne by way of London that the French Government contemplate subsidising a line of mall steamers between Marseilles and Suez, but the amount demanded by the tendering steamship owners, £IOO,OOO, is regarded as very high. The French Government also hope, to attract a portion of the wool commerce of Australia to Havre, the proposals laid before them regarding the Melbourne Exhibition having turned their attention to matters of that kind in a forcible manner of late.

The “overlying” of children, which (the English Sanitary Record reports) figures so largely as a cause of death in coroners’ reports, commonly means drunkenness of mothers. Hence it is not surprising that a noteworthy point of difference between the Massachusetts reports and those of England is in the number

of cases of ipfaftt Suffocation in bed—one only appearing iii the American reports for 1878 : while in a siAgle year one English coroner held 90 inquests on children “overlaid,” or suffocated in bed. Most of these English cases occurred on Saturday night. In eight years 3606 were “ suffocated in bed-cibthes ” in this country.

Yankee grab is to be abolished in California. Tyler has introduced in the Assembly a bill which provides fbr the punishment of any saloon-keeper, or proprietor of any other place where liquor is sold at retail, who shall allow any game of cards, dice, bagatelle, or other game of chance to Jee played for the purpose of determining who shall pay for or who shall not pay for the drinks, and to punish any persons who shall eifgage in such games fdf such purpose.