NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2242, 25 May 1880, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Suez, mail arrived in Timaru per special train this morning. Large quantities of strychnine have lately been scattered over one or two garden plots injthis town, with the view, it is presumed, of destroying poultry. As a consequence dogs and cats have been destroyed by the dozen, and dovecots have been depopulated, and the owners with revengeful visages arc looking around for the authors of the massacres. Perhaps some of tho kindly disposad vendors of the deadly drug, in conconcert with the police, will throw a gleam of light on the poisoners. People who distribute strychnine deliberately where all kinds of valuable domestic pot abound deserve, if they can only be detected, to be made an example of.

The bazaar in aid of the fund for the enlargement of the Congregational Church, was held yesterday in Messrs Macklcy, Priest and Co.’s Rooms, and the display of fancy needle and wool-work, models, pictures, toys, and fancy .articles innumerable, was an exceedingly pretty and tasteful one. In addition to all those elegant things there were several novelties, one being an exceedingly ingenious darning machine, devised to economise time, fingers, and patience,and another, a tiny printing press, to see which a small additional charge was made. Tire Bazaar was well patronised during the day and crowded at night, but the number of articles disposed of was not large, we understand, and in consequence the sale was resumed at three o’clock this afternoon, when the exhibits were offered at a reduced price. The good things provided in the shape of refreshments disappeared with a celerity that bore testimony to the excellent appetites of the visitors. To "Whiti is setting a good example to Iris disciples by going in largely for grain growing.

James Gilchrist, an engineer residing at Woffington has been killed while out shooting at the 'Upper Tlutt by a gunshot accident. It is supposed that the gun of Iris companion Raymond Johnson wort off unexpectedly.

A man named AVill'am Kemp, a sawmill hand, was killed on the Wellington-Grey-town railway on Saturday. It appears he was intoxicated and sitting asleep on the platform of the Silvcrstrcam station. The steps of a first-class carriage caught his legs and throwing him under the wheels, both legs were broken and the body fearfully mangled. No blame is attached to the driver of the engine. Mr Cheeseman, curator of the Auckland Museum, has (says the “ New Zealand Times ” of May 17) returned from a trip to the North, where he had gone with several other gentlemen to make an investigation into the cause of the vast mortality amongst the fish of this coast. The party were somewhat late, the mortality having ceased before they got to the coast. A good specimen was however, obtained, which as we stated a few days ago, shows that the deaths have been caused by an epidemic disease, the nature of which will probably be better ascertained hereafter by microscopic examination. Astonishing evidence was visible of the extent of the devastation caused by the plague. From Whangarei Heads to Waipu, a distance of 14 miles, the whole of the beach was covered with the dead fish which had been floated on shore. Over the entire distance there was not a space of two yards without a dead fish and the seagulls must havehad an abundant harvest. When one considers that nearly the whole eastern shore of this province has been covered in a like manner, that the fish were floating on the surface of the sea for miles out, it is clear that the numbers which perished must have been enormous.

The New York “ Herald” remarks that “ the spring opening in the murder line is decidedly lively,” and nobody would (says “ Truth”) be disposed to cavil at the statement after reading a single day’s tragedies. In a Southern town several rowdies entered a bar and assaulted a policeman, who shot one dead and wounded another. At St. Nicholas a waiter shot dead a commercial traveller who found fault with the quality of the eggs sugplied for his breakfast. At Slaughterville, Kentucky, the Marshal having been threatened with death by a citizen, who considered himself wronged by that official, went to the house of his enemy and shot him dead ; and the same fate befel a man engaged in a strike ; while a colored boy of 14 cut the throat of a colored girl because she refused to get up to find him a pen. Pretty well this for one day.

Mr Macgregbr, 0.8., of Oamaru is now in Timaru, acting as consulting engineer in reference to the breakwatei. His report will probably be laid.before the next meeting of the Harbor]Roard.

A man 'named William Tobin, who arrived here by the steamer Ladybird, from Dunedin, has been conveyed to the hospital suffering ‘frSm a fractured collar-bone and injuries to the head, the result of falling down the hold of the vessel on some iron.

Scone, a hairdresser’s shop on the Quay ; within, the proprietor, who is bald, and very touchy on the subject, operating on the head of a legal luminary who is known for his Hibernian fondness for cracking jokes whenever he sees even the pretence of an excuse. Lawyer loqu tur: “Nov?, tell me truly, by your name, how did you come to lose j r our hair ?” Hairdresser: “Well, to tell you plain truth, sir, I lost it over in Sydney trying to be honest;” and then unctuously, whilst gently rubbing his customer’s head with both hands, “ what a line head of hair you’ve got to be sure, sir.” The lawyer was tickled, but didn’t laugh.—“N. Z. Times.”

The sale of an immense pastoral property is recorded in the “ Central Australian,” Bourkc. It is situatedjin Northern Eiverina. That paper says;—“ Sir Samuel Wilson is no longer owner of the Tooralc and Dunlop stations. Messrs McCaughcy Brothers and D. Wilson have purchased Tooralc, with 120,000 sheep, and the North Darling Back Block, the former comprising 1,100,000 acres and the latter 500,000 acres, for a lump sum of £143,000. Messrs McCaughcy Brothers and Wilson arc also the purchasers of Dunlop, 800,000 acres with the sheep thereon for £145,000. A sale aggregating nearly 3,000,000 acres, over a quarter of a million of sheep, and purchase, money totting up to nearly £300,000, is not to be chronicled every day.”