The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1885.

Kumara Times, Issue 2660, 17 March 1885, Page 2

The Kumara Times. Published Every Evening. TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 1885.

To-day being the festival of St. Patrick was observed as a public holiday by the Banks and drapers. Mass was celebrated at St. Patrick's Catholic Church at 8 a.m., and there will be a Benediction service at seven o'clock this evening. A special coach came up from Hokitika this morning, bringing eight or nine passengers for the eight o'clock tram to Greymouth, by which altogether about thirty persons proceeded, most of them presumably to be present at the Greymouth Jockey Club annual meeting, which takes place to-day and to-morrow. The principal event today is the Jockey Club Handicap, of 125 sovs., two miles, for which the following acceptances were received on Saturday night : st. lb. Volunteer 8 12 Wanderer 8 4 Cardigan ... 8 0 Marie Stuart 7 6 But the first event is the West Coast Produce Stakes, 35sovs., for which the following horses are nominated to run : st. lb. Playboy 9 5 Freedom 9 5 ITekateraniea 9 0 Clown 5 6 Dunibuck,., ,„ ~, 5 q

These two events will be followed by a hack race for lOsovs., the Railway Stakes Handicap, and a Handicap Hurdle Race. For the Railway Stakes Handicap there are five entries, viz., Marie Stuart, Comet, Duntroon, Cardigan, Hoppicker ; and for the Handicap Hurdle Race three have accepted, viz., st. lb. Comet 10 8 Miori 10 7 Harkaway 9 0 The ordinary meeting of the Hospital Committee takes place this evening, at 8 o'clock, at the Town Hall. The Fete Cotnmittee will meet afterwards. Immense preparations are being made in British India for the transport of troops for service in Afghanistan. It is cabled this afternoon that the Indian Government has chartered eight P. and 0. steamships and forty-nine other steamers for the purpose. The Emperor William of Germany has arrived at a good age, as on Sunday next, the 22nd, he will be 88 years old, being born in the year 1797. By a cablegram to-day it will be seen that the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, and the Prince of Wales' eldest son, Prince Albert Victor, are going to Berlin to be present at the festivities in connection with the Emperor's birthday. William I. has only occupied the throne a short period of his life comparatively with the reign and life of Queen Victoria. The Emperor ascended the throne of Prussia on the 2nd January, 1861, and has therefore been reigning 24 years, whilst Queen Victoria, who will be 66 next May, has reigned just twice that number of years (48), having succeeded to the throne of Great Britain in 1837. It may be interesting to mention that on the occasion of William's coronation, he himself put the crown his head, declaring that he "ruled by the favour of God, and no one else." In May 1878 the Emperor was twice shot at (it is supposed by Socialists), being seriously wounded the second time. The Crown Prince of Prussia, who is now in the 54th year of his age, is the only son of the Emperor William ; he married (as most of our readers are aware), the Princess Royal of England, on the 25th January, 1858. Assessment Courts for the revision of local valuation lists are appointed to be held—for the Arahura Riding, at the Court House, Goldsborough, on Thursday, 2nd April, at 11 a.m. ; and for the Borough of Kumara, at the Court House, Kumara, on the same day, at 3 p.m. The next Homeward mail, via San Francisco, will close on Thursday, the 26th inst. The draughts match between a Brunnerton and a Greymouth team came off at the Union Hotel on Saturday evening It was decided before the games started that each pair should play six games. The following were the teams : Greymouth. Brunnerton. Won. Won. O'Connor 2 versus J. Young 2 Clements 3 ~ Boyle 3 Barrowman 3 ~ R. Smith 3 Hornby 1 „ Hunter 3 Malcolm 3 „ Arbuckle 1 Johnston 3 „ Smith 1 Total 15 Total 13 O'Connor and J. Young had 2 draws, and Hornby and Hunter 2 draws. Greymouth thus won 15 games and lost 13, and were declared the winners by two games. A return match is spoken of. At the request (cabled) of the Hon. Thos. G. Hewitt, President of the Exposition to be held at Grafton, N.S.W., (commencing the latter part of March), Mr H. P. Hubbard, Proprietor of the International Newspaper Agency, New Haven, Conn., U.S.A., has forwarded for display on that occasion sample copies of over seven hundred leading newspapers, published in the various cities of the United States, Mexico, South America, the West Indies, British India, South Africa, Europe, etc. Probably such a collection of periodicals in various languages has never been seen before in Australia ; and possibly at no previous exhibition in the world. Mr Hubbard regretted that the short time allowed him for making this collection (only one day after receipt of Mr Hewitt's cablegram), did not admit of the selection and arrangement of a very much larger representation of the Press of the World. The contribution sent, however, cannot fail to prove of great interest to all intelligent visitors to the Exposition, and especially to newspaper men and lovers of unique literature.