NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2316, 19 August 1880, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

To-uifffit tho Timaiu Harmonic Society will produce Balfe’s well-known opera the “Bohemian Girl” at the Queen’s Hall.

About ten o’clock last evening an alarm of lire was reported and flames were seen at the rear of Mr Hibbards premises in the Main South Hoad. On the constable on duty proceeding to the spot he discovered that a box and quantity of rubbish were on lire and the rear wall of the store was much scorched. The flames were quickly extinguished without any further mischief being done. The blaze is supposed to have originated from hot cinders being thrown into the box which they set on lire.

Owners of valuable dogs will do well to look out for policemen and strychnine. At daybreak this morning a retriever, belonging to a well-known citizen, was carried off by an able-bodied policeman from his owner’s doorstep. The animal was kidnapped because he had worn off with his chain the piece of brass that contained his registered number. Of course when the owner became aware of his loss the dog was bailed out. The incident is ascribed to the growing scarcity of two-legged offenders.

William Brown, of Pleasant Point to whom we adverted yesterday, was this morning brought up before Messrs Woolcombe and LeCren, J.P.’s, on a charge of assaulting his landlady, Ann Roberts* William was remanded, and will probably make Mr Bcetham’s acquaintance to-inor-

The Southland “ News ” says: “We have been shown the drawings of an improved tide guage, the invention of Captain Thomas Thompson, harbormaster at the Bluff. It is a still further improvement upon the one lately erected on llattray street jetty, Dunedin, which gave very satisfactory results, showing the swell coming in at the Heads, even as far up as Dunedin. The present instrument has still further improvements : it rules upon paper the feet, hours, and tide undulations, and only requires to be supplied with clean paper to enable it to record continuously. By means of this guage a record of each tide, the height and exact time of high water, bcbesides every tidal undulation, can be obtained printed upon paper for any length of time, the time being only regulated by the extent of paper supplied to tire instruments. Another improvement is that the pencil is made to act directly from the water by an arrangement worked by the difference between the specific gravity of water and quicksilver, doing away with the necessity of a differential wheel for communicating and reducing the tidal undulations. We regret that circumstances have prevented Captain Thompson from sending one of these to the Melbourne Exhibition.

Ten clays ago, at Cambridge, a young man, named Robert Montgomery, cut his big toe with an adze. He paid no attention to the injured member, and on Tuesday death terminated his sufferings. John Miller, an old pensioner, residing at Auckland, has been found dead in bed in his lodgings. The New Zealand Hardware Company (late Oliver and Ulph, Dunedin) have declared a dividend of 8 per cent.

The month of August in New Zealand corresponds in many respects with that of March at home. The -weather proverb which tells us that the latter month “ comes in like a lion, but goes out like a lamb” has certainly been exemplified, so far as the first half of the saying goes at least, during the last two days. From an early hour yesterday it has being “ blowing great guns,” and the first nor’-wester of the season has been prolific in the raising of clouds and dust so big and so dense, that it would puzzle an arithmetician to “ figure up” the number of “ king’s ransoms” represented by them, and which, according to another proverb, each “peck of March dust” is worth.

Mr C. W. Cowburn of Timaru, has invented a music stand which for eleganee, portability, and usefulness will put anything introduced from Germany or America completely in the shade. It is made entirely of brass tubing consists of three legs which can be carried about in the pocket or set to any height. The music rack is of ample demensions, but when folded occupies a space of 1£ inches. A set of these stands, the first made in the colony, arc being provided for the Timaru Artillery Band, but Mr Cowburn expects as soon as his invention is known to be rushed with orders.

llegarding the elopement and suicide at Wellington, the following additional particulars have been telegraphed : —Miss Bligh showed signs of recovery at 2 p-m. and is now reported to be out of danger, although in a very exhausted state. Miss Bligh is the daughter of a stonemason living in Christchurch, and is very respectably connected. She is about nineteen years of age, and previous to her departure with Henderson was engaged as a schoolmistress in Canterbury. Henderson was an accountant in an office,and was a married man with four or five children. There can be little doubt that theunfortunatepairwerein the act of eloping to San Francisco, and had not the charges of larceny and embezzlement been preferred against Henderson it is equally certain that they would have been able to carry out their project. Among the documents found on the person of the deceased was a letter containing a statement to the effect that both he and Miss Bligh had premeditated suicide —he, because of the conduct of his wife, and she, because she did not care to live without him. The affair has created quite a sensation in town. An inquest on the deceased will be held on Friday,

AVc have been requested to call attention to Mr J. Nelson’s sale of furniture and effects to-morrow.