NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2332, 7 September 1880, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A chess match, Timam v. Ashburton, live members a side takes jdace at the Mechanics’ Institute this evening. The members of the Timaru Harmonic Society are reminded that the first rehearsal of the sacred oratorio “Creation” takes place this evening. The annual soiree in connection with the Primitive Methodist Church will be held at the Oddfellows’ Hall, Barnard street, at 6.150 p.m. this evening. The llcvs. Gillies, Hallowes, Simmonds, Smith, and Dumbell will address the public meeting to be held afterwards. The monthly meeting of the Timaru School Committee was held last evening. The attendance returns shewed 27-1 boys, 271 girls, and 507 infants on the roll. Miss 11. L. Ball was appointed assistant mistress. The Chairman intimated that in compliance with a request from the Yen. Archdeacon Harper, he had given the children a halfholiday on Thursday, when the foundation stone of the new St. Mary’s Church will be laid. This action was approved of. It was resolved—“ That in view of the reduction in the incidental grant, the Chairman be requested to forward circulars to parents of children (other than infants) attending the school, asking them to contribute Is per child per month, in cases where not more than two children from one family are attending ; or 2s Gd per month in the aggregate, when more than that number are attending.” At the Ivcsidcnt Magistrate’s Court yesterday, John Pound of window breaking and affiliation notoriety, was charged with the far more serious offence of burglariously entering the Timaru Post Office on the morning of the Ith July, and stealing therefrom stamps and monies to the value of 13s Gd. Inspector Pender prosecuted, and Mr Bold appeared for the defence. The evidence for the prosecutor showed that about halt-past two on the morning in question a light was seen in the post office, and that while the police were being communicated with, a man, wearing slippers, jumped from the front of the building and disappeared up a right-of-away. Mr Bowie, clerk at Taylor and Bowie’s, had previously looked through one of the windows, and saw a man wearing a moustache and a sealskin cap, forcing a small case. A knife and some blacksmith’s tools were subsequently found inside the building, and 17 twopenny and 5 sixpenny stamps were missing. The knife was identified as belonging to Dr Lovcgrovc in whose employment ihc accused had been as groom, and the blacksmith’s tools had been removed from Mr Fitzsimmons’ forge, which Pound was in the habit of visiting. Detective Kirby produced a letter sent to Sarah Muldoon, of Dunedin by the accused, which contained the words :—“ I am sending you a piece of newspaper in this letter ; burn it when you read it. Be sure.” The girl addressed stated that the fragment to the best of her belief, referred to the postoffice robbery. Accused was committed for trial.

A telegram from Auckland states that “ in response to an advertisement requiring a man for the country, out of 15 unemployed who applied for the job this morning only four appeared at all willing to take 15s per week and found.” That the unemployed should refuse for their labor, the same amount per week as is charged for a day’s hire of a broken winded horse from a livery stable, is no doubt very annoying.

Mr R. j. s ec Riou, M.H.R. for Kumara, has been banquetted by his constituents. At a mass meeting of railway emplojees at Dunedin last evening a strike was resolved upon by a three-fourths majority.

Mormon elder Sorensen is running the gauntlet of public ridicule at Auckland.

Whitewashed Justices are requested by the Government to retire from the bench.

The total expense incurred by the representation of New Zealand at the Sydney Exhibition was L 5191 16s 6d.

The remains of a man named Edwin Richards, who was missed from Lumsden (Southland) over twelve months ago, have been found at Round Hill.

Palmer, a Canterbury schoolmaster, arrived at Hokitika on Aug 7, disappeared from his lodgings three days later, and his body was found yesterday on the beach, north of the Tcremakau river.

Kavern, a late clerk in the Bank of Now Zealand, who was recently arrested in Melbourne charged with embezzling funds of the Bank of New Zealand at Marion, was brought back by the Arawata en route for Wanganui.

Tasmania with her small population is one of the most prosperous Colonies in the Australasian group. Her population numbers 112,000; last year her imports only represented £126,000, while her exports amounted to £1,600,000.

The.latest rumour concerning the property tax is that the time for returning schedules will be extended till the end of October. This procrastination will give such capitalists as intend visiting the Melbourne Exhibition, ample time to leave the colony and evade the new impost.

The New Zealand Parliament a lew weeks ago voted 500 acres of the public estate to the Taranaki Iron Smelting Company, although they have not produced a poundweight of iron. The Queensland Government, more cautious and consistent, offer £SOOO as a bonus, but 500 tons of iron must be produced to secure it. In the Supreme Court of Fiji, a divorce has been granted against the wife of Win. Scott, barrister, on the ground of unfaithfulness to her husband during his absence The Judge also gave a thousand pounds damages against the co-respondent, who holds the position of Attorney-General.

The lloyal Commission on colonial industries strongly recommend the use of wood as fuel on the "Wanganui and Taranaki railways. They point out that this course would give employment to a considerable number of men in procuring Jthe wood, and that the cost of fuel would be considerably less.

Tire “Evening Chronicle” of Monday last has the following:—A strange and sudden sickness has seized the crew of the Government steamer Hiuemoa, and seven of the poor fellows are down in their bunks suffering from acute pain. Neither the exact nature of the malady or its cause appears to be known as yet. The “ Southland Times ” reports the payment of a life policy of £SOO by the Australian Mutual Provident Society to the friends of a man who died in Eiji, which is outside tire parallel of assurance. The directors regarded deceased’s residence of seven months in Eiji as a visit merely, and paid up accordingly. The following correction of a cable message from London, which appeared yesterday, has been forwarded by Reuter’s agency : —ln the House of Commons to-day Mr Parnell reverted to the House of Lords’ rejection to the Registration of Voters (Ireland) Bill, and again proposed to tack the same to the Appropriation Act. The Right Hon. W. E. Forster, Chief Secretary for Ireland, opposed the proposal, and blamed the Lords for persisting in a course calculated to lead to a change in the Constitution. Sir Stafford Northcote strongly protested against the tacking together of Bills, and expressed his amazement at the language used.

Mr J. G. S. Grant, of Dunedin celebrity thus complains through the correspondence columns of the “ Star” : —lt is just twentyfive years to-day since I landed in Dunedin. I slept the first night in a wooden shanty called the “Royal Hotel,” standing on the site whereon they are now erecting the new Bank of New Zealand. Had I looked after self in place of fighting other people’s battles, I should to-day have been possessor of the fairest half of Dunedin and nearly all her suburbs. I came to Dunedin under an agreement, and the Government does actually owe me £25,000. What I have written and printed would engage the lifetime of an ordinary man to transcribe. However, Dunedin is not likely to see another man of my stamp, nor, jfperhaps, any other city. As Byron said, “Ihave not loved the world, nor the world me.” After all my labors and sacrifices I am far poorer now than I was when I set foot on these shores. Comment,at jwesent, is out of of place. If “ the lines have not fallen to me in pleasant ifiaces,” let me not arraign the good providence of God ; for, assuredly “ the steps of a good man arc ordered by the Lord.”

There is an irrepressible lawyer in Dunedin named Denniston, who is more than a match for the old ladies who preside on the Bench there. The other day three boys were prosecuted for damaging property by throwing stones at a house. Mr Denniston lectured the Bench for the defence, the result being that the Magistrates, while pronouncing the charge proved, humanely proposed to remit tire task of punishing the boys to their parents. Mr Denniston jeered at that, and suggested that they need not expect the parents to punish them, for they did not believe them guilty. Apparently convinced that the learned counsel was right, the Bench pro’ posed to fine the boys,and in default of payment, to imprison them for a week. But Air Denniston was equal to the occasion, and asked that proceedings should be stayed as, if the case were pressed, he should take it to a higher court as a test case. On this the magistrates dismissed the case, saying that they knew if it were taken to a higher court their judgment would be reversed; and so the larrikins were set at liberty, to laugh at the law and repeat the offence. The “ Star” considers the case inexplicable, and that it looks as if the Bench was cowed by the bar.

The following resolutions were carried at a public meeting in the Theatre Royal, Invercargill, last evening : “ That the alteration in the time-table is an arbitrary interference by the Commissioner in the interests of a private company, to the prejudice of the public interests and to the diminution of the colonial revenue, and that the time-table formerly in force should be immediately resorted to.” “ That the attention of the Government be called to the fact that in the haulage of goods from Lumsden, in classes A, B, C, and D, the charges for 150 miles to Dunedin are about the same as for 50 miles to Invercargill, depriving the latter of traffic with its own district.”

The mysterious dissappearance of a party of the name of Johnston is creating a sensation in Oamaru. The “ N.O. Times ” says;—Some conflicting rumors are in circulation concerning the sudden departure from Oamaru of Mr Johnson, who has for for several years been an operator in the local Telegraph Office. It appears that he did not put in an appearance at the office on Friday when he should have done so. Subsequently one of his fellow officers received a letter in Johnston’s handwriting. It appeared to have come from Timaru. The contents were peculiar, and referred to the disposal of certain things the writer had left behind at Oamaru, and to the probability of people searching the public baths or dragging the lagoon for his body. Johnston was greatly addicted to practical joking, and it is likely enough that the letter was written under the impulse of that disposition. At any rate it is said that on Friday evening he was seen proceeding along the highway towards Awamoka. The probability is that Johnston suddenly made up his mind to sever his connection with the public service with little ceremony, not an uncommon thing for an inexperienced young man to do. Mr Johnston was quite young—scarcely twenty, but ho was a first-rate officer. He has probably gone to Dunedin and his friends, wc think, need have no apprehension as to his safety.