NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2181, 15 March 1880, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Lifeboat Lodge, No. 101, 1.0.G.T., held its weekly ression in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Sophia street, on Friday evening last, Bro. J. R. Johns, W.C.T., in the chair. Tire initiatory degree was conferred on one candidate, who presented himself for admission. Songs and readings then became the order of the evening. There are now 98 members on the roll, who arc determined to make the lodge a success.

The Assessment Courts for the Geraldine and Mount Peel districts stand adjourned for ten days; that for Geraldine will take place on March 25 and for Mount Peel on March 2G, in consequence of Mr Beetham’s absence on urgent business connected with his office of sheriff.

Messrs A. M. Giles and A. 15. Smith have been nominated for election to the seat on the Mount Cook Hoad Board, rendered vacant by the resignation of Mr A. Spalding. The poll is announced to take place on March 28, the polling places being Albury llailway station and the Board’s office, Burke’s Pass.

The Arethnsa Star Dramatic Company will open at the Theatre Iloyal on Saturday evening. Their seasoxx will extend over live nights.

Some years ago the “ Southland News’’ had a Mr Gallop for correspondent at the Bluff axxd the “ Southland Times” had a Mr Waddell. Mr Waddell having once or twice eclipsed the efforts of Mr Gallop, the “Times” jubilantly remarked “that the Waddell of the Times was better thaix the Gallop of the News.”

Ebenezer Elliott’s definition of a Communist may aptly be quoted at present:— What is a Communist ? One who hath yearnings For equal division of unequal earnings. Idler or bungler, or both, ho is willing To fork out his penny and take up your shilling.

The premium for the best design for the new Post and Telegraph offices at Wellington has been awarded to Mr T. Turnbull.

The toughest spiritualist yarn we (Thames j “ Star ”) have heard of for some time, was related to us lately of a well-known believer in Spiritualism residing in this district. He is a hard-headed Scotchman, and from his statement it appears he has been turning his knowledge of the mysterious to good account. His wife had been ailing for some time past, and a sceptical neighbor asked the husband ‘ What medical man was at" tending her ? Was it Payne, Kilgour, or Huxtablc ?’ ‘No,’ replied the spiritualist, ‘we hae got our family docther, Dr (naming an eminent physician who died at least a century ago)’ an’ my word,’ continued the spiritualist, ‘she’s cornin’ roon fine.’ This story is related by a person of unquestionable veracity, and we believe it to true.

The Christchurch Correspondent of the “ Saturday Advertiser,” writes as follows : —An inquest was held on the death of a man at the Hospital recently, the evidence given at which seemed to indicate that “ some one had blundered.” The unfortunate victim was a man named Win. Thompson, who met with an accident at Amberley, by which he sustained a compound fracture of the leg, and the fiesh was literally torn from the calf, laying bare all the muscles and integuments. It appears that the doctor who attended him bandaged the leg and then went to attend another patient, the man being brought all the way to Christchurch, and placed in the Hospital, where he died half an hour afterwards from “ excessive hemorrhage,” as the verdict of the jury gave it. The question is whether, if the leg had been amputated at Amberley —a distance of thirty-four miles from Christchurch —Thompson might not have lived, and this it must be obvious is a very important question. Sergeant Morice endeavoured to elicit an opinion upon this subject from the witnesses, but was roughly and discourteously prevented from doing so by the Coroner, Dr Coward, who told him not to attempt to teach him his duty.

At the inquest held on the body of Mr Birch, of Dunedin, who died while on his way to Auckland, it transpired that the deceased had been ailing on the passage up, and after leaving Gisborne he got worse. He then took a lit and died in five minutes. He had obtained some chlorodyne at Napier, which was the only medicine he took during the voyage. The medical evidence showed that death resulted from aneurism of the heart, and the wonder is he had lived so long. A verdict was returned of death from natural causes. Twenty-six shillings was found on the body, but while the inquest was going on the purser discovered £96 in bank notes in his underclothing. Hr Birch was for many years a wholesale wine and spirit merchant, but for some time prior to his death he held an office in the Government Insurance department.

Five hundred of the Dunedin unemployed met on Saturday, and resolved not to accept less than 7s per day from the Government.

A telegram from Auckland states that a man named Hyde or Hinis was found drowned off the reclaimed ground near the Dock yesterday morning. As his boots and socks were off, it is conjectured that he went down the ladder on the face of the reclamation to wash his feet in the tide and tumbled in, hitting his face against the woodwork.

The Union s.s. Tc Anau which broke down at sea, on her way from the Bluff to Melbourne has been towed to Dunedin where she will undergo repairs. The greater number of her passengers after a week’s detention have started for Melbourne in the Rotorua.

Accounts from Blenheim, state that there are now about 60 diggers at work upon the newly discovered goldfields in the Upper Wairau, and the creek has almost as many men on it as it can carry. The owners of the land contemplate taking proceedings on the ground of trespass, in which case the Government will have to take immediate steps to proclaim the district. A party of four men obtained six and a half ounces of gold in two weeks and seem favorably impressed with the prospects. Rain is the great thing the diggers have to fear, as a slight rain which fell during the week interfered sadly with the next day’s work. 'Two or three Blenheim storekeepers have already opened branches on the ground. The economy exercised in the Telegraph Department (says the Rost) is undeniable. The extension of the telegraph wires to the various racecourses of the colony is of great advantage to the public, but we should have hardly thought that one portable sending and receiving apparatus would have been made to do duty for the whole of New Zealand. It is so, however. The same machine that was used at the Hutt was employed last week at "Wairarapa, is being worked to-day and to-morrow at Blenheim, and will from thence be sent to Dunedin. Considering that the machine can be manufactured for a few pounds, we should have hardly thought all this trouble necessary.

The “ Oarnaru Mail ” hears that Messrs J. and T. Meek have forwarded a trial shipment of oatmeal to the Old Country. In order to ensure its arrival in good order it has been placed in sound barrels which arc lined with brown paper. Other shipments are to follow. It is expected that as the sample sent is much superior to that prepared in the Old Country it will meet with a ready sale, and eventually open up a trade which will grow to such proportions as to relieve this market and prevent such an accumulation of oats as that which now keepts prices so fabulously low. This is the desirable and praiseworthy object which the Messrs Meek have in view, and we trust that this new move will be alike advantageous to the district and the linn.

An elderly man named David Mair disappeared from Tc Aro some months ago and has not since been heard of. When last seen he was in a hotel the worse of drink. Mair had property in Nelson and Melbourne and at first it was thought that he had gone to his son at Melbourne, but up to the present he has not been heard of in that quarter, and his wife remains in suspense as to his fate, and being ignorant of his business affairs she is unable to tell the extent of his property and how matters stand in relation to it. These things Mair kept , to himself. j

The “ New Zealand Times” of the 18th inst. says : —“ We have a word or two to say in contradiction of certain reports concerning the proprietary of this journal,which the Invercargill evening paper has thought proper to give rise to. The name of Mr J. W. Bain, M.H.R., has been freely used by the print in question and without the slightest foundation in fact, that gentleman not having any connection, directly or indirectly, with our daily or weekly issues. We make this statement at the request of Mr Bain, for whom as a consistent and rising political! and a personal friend, we entertain a very high regard. The same paper has also made free with the name of Mr Wakefield, M.H.R., in connection with us, and again drew liberally upon his imagination or that of somebody else.” What next ? Mr Maginnity of telegraph fame has interviewed llewi. Tire chiefs rubbed noses and Maginnity got out of the scrape the richer by a greenstone pendant. An engine-driver named Montgomery has been arrested at Russell for alleged indecent assault on a native woman.

We understand it is not a fact that young Scott the pedestrian, has purchased a life interest in the press Association, or that any such reason exists for his numerous failures to walk a given distance in a given time, being so carefully telegraphed. Perhaps, however, the young man will give his legs and the telegraph wires a brief rest.

Some of the adventures of the Wellington unemployed on the Waimatc Plains arc thus telegraphed by the correspondent of the Auckland “Herald.” Within the last two days the canteen has been robbed, and last night several of the cooking-places were robbed of rations. Last night a number of men went over to a neighboring Maori pah, and seem to have alarmed the women, as to-day a formal request was preferred to the Commanding Oi’liccr that they should not be allowed to go over, most of the men being away from the pah, and the women left quite unprotected. Steps have been taken to prevent a repetition of this kind of thing, and in turn the Maoris have been cautioned not to allow their women to loiter about the camp. None of these disagreeable matters arose before the arrival of the 'Wellington unemployed contingent.

The Bridge Hotel at the Kurow, in the occupation of Air P. Mason, was entirely destroyed by fire about half-past ten o’clock on Thursday night. The particulars of the affair, so far as we (“ Oamaru Mail ”) have been able to gather are :—The inmates o f the house, to the number of eight, retired to bed about ten o’clock, and were shortly afterwards aroused by some neighbors giving the alarm of fire. • The fire had then got a firm hold of the building, which, being of wood, burned furiously, the whole structure being levelled to the ground in less than an hour. The inmates had barely time to get out of the house safely, and there was no time to save any of its contents. The origin of the fire is, of course, a mystery, and the only explanation that can be given of it is that the high wind prevailing at the time must have forced open the window of the kitchen and blown some of the burning lignite embers upon the floor. This supposition is strengthened by the fact that the fire originated in the kitchen. The building was, we believe, the property of Messrs Lintott and Otterson, and the building and its contents were covered by insurance in the South British Company to the extent of £6OO, £260 of which was reinsured in the Colonial Company.