NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2480, 2 March 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The Christchurch Gas Company have divided 9 per cent and' reduced the price of gas to consumers to 11s 8d per 1000 feet net.

At Auckland, a lad named Edward Goldie has had his skull fractured by a fall from his horse.

Mr Kenneth Sutherland has been appointed to the vacant mastership of the Waihi Bush school.

His Excellency the Governor is expected to leave on his tour through the South Island about the middle of next week. The Mayor of Lyttleton has been officially notified of his Excellency’s visit.

The prevalence of dysentry and fatal cases of New Zeeland cholera compel the people of Ashburton to drink beer and abstain from artesian pump-juice. Timaru is being billed in reference to the forthcoming Industrial Exhibition, which takes place at Ashburton on March IG, 17, and 18. 5000 feet of table space has been applied for, and every class of exhibits has been filled in. The exhibition is likely to be a great success, and to fully reward the efforts of its enterprising promoters.

The total amount paid over at the settling on the Dunedin AutumnjMeeting was £2683. Of this the Hon R, Campbell received £881; the Hon W. Robinson, £250 ; Mr Prince, £320; Mr Vallance, £l9O, and Mr Butler, £IBO. It is reported that the bookmakers were rather heavily hit, and the public were slow in coming forward. There is no doubt the totalisators are diverting a lot of money from the bookmakers.

The Timaru Hospital Returns lor the month of February, arc as follows :—Under treatment at date of last return—males 23; females, 11 ; admitted during month—males, 24 ; females, 8 ; total number treated 0(5, The numbers discharged during the month were : —Cured —males, 11 ; females, 7 ; relieved—males, 0 ; females, 4 ; as incurable —males, 1; died, males, 1 ; totals discharged—males, 19 ; females, 11 ; remaining under treatment—males, 28 ; females, 8. In addition to the foregoing, 26 outdoor patients were relieved.

At the R.M. Court yesterday, after we went to press, Thomas Gaffney, an old offender, was committed for trial on a charge of stealing clothing from Messrs Wood and Smith, drapers, of this town. Three civil cases were also disposed of, in the first of which, Kerr v. Rutherford, claim £6 for wages, judgment went for defendant. In 0. White and another v. C. Bourne, claim £lO, damages for breach of contract; Mr Tosswill for plaintiffs and Mr Jameson for the defendant, judgment was also given for the defendant. In the case, J. Bruce v. Davidson and Co., claim £36 7s, damages for loss and inconvenience alleged by the plaintiff to have been incurred by him in consequence of the defective working of a steam crane supplied by the defendants, (Mr Reid for the plaintiff and Mr Jamc&ua for the defendants) judgment was rpvc-nfor '' i plaintiff for £l6 ss, in adW'- to a | sum of £4 paid.into Court.

M. Le Gay Holthouse may think himself extremely fortunate to have escaped from the effects of his culpable recklessnes with a tolerably severe magisterial castigation, further particulars of which will be found in another column.

A sad death of a little child occurred in a railway carriage last evening. The little sufferer was being brought by its parents from Christchurch to Timaru in the .hope that our sea air would do it good, but death put an end to its sufferings when the train was travelling between Ashburton and Timaru. Particulars of the inquest held this morning will be found elsewhere.

A singular case of unjust suspicion or else mistaken identity was revealed before the Christchurch Bench yesterday. A man named Littlecot who had been brought from Wellington on a charge of stealing a ring from a man named Palmer, proved that he was in Akaroa Hospital when the theft took place, and the Resident Magistrate discharged him. Littlecot then urged that as the case was one of great hardship he should be allowed expenses. The Bench considered accused had been hardly dealt with, and said that an order would be made if he chose for the.payment of the expense of his deportation to Wellington.

The statement that the Great Eastern has been chartered for 10 years to carry dead meat to Great Britian from the American seaboard on the River Plate is startling enough (remarks the “Liverpool Mercury.”) The scheme is a bold one, as will be seen when we mention that its promoters calculate that beef of prime quality can be laid down in the United Kingdom from the Argentine Provinces at 3d per lb, and that they propose to slaughter the cattle on board from day to day as received, storing the dressed meat in refrigerators to the extent of from 10.000 to 15,000 carcases each voyage, all hung, and equal to from 3000 to 4000 tons of meat. The Great Eastern is 700 feet long, and 24,000 tons burden.

At the usual monthly meeting of the High School Governors last evening a letter was read from the Education Department intimating that the Government could not recommend His Excellency to sanction the sale of reserves already leased to tenants, but that no objection would be raised to the sale -of the unleased sections, viz., 1214, Levels, and 2001, Meyer’s Creek Gorge. It was resolved to apply for authority to sell the last-named sections, the proceeds to be devoted to the school grounds, janitor’s cottage, and invested in securities. The attendance returns showed —Boys, 57, girls, 58; or an average increase of 25 since the commencement of the vacation. The other business was unimportant. The following additional awards have been made at the Melbourne Exhibition: — First order of merit —Mrs Brandon, Wellington, for paintings of silk; H. llowley and Co., Wellington, for salted pelts. Second order of merit—Colonial Museum of New Zealand lov phorm-ium trua-r. Third order of merit—Mr Henry Samson, Wellington, for gipsy tables ; Thomas Palmer, junr Foxton, for fishing gear, etc., from New Zealand flax. Fourth order of merit —W. G. Johnston, Hokitika, for designs in erns, mosses, etc ; James Seed Southbrook Canterbury, for manufactures from phor■miinn tcua-r.

The “ Times ” furnishes the following particulars, concerning the extensive robbery of money, at the Prince of Wales Hotel Dunedin. The offence was committed on Sunday night, and by it Mr Waters suffers to no less an extent than £175. He had this sum in cash as the result of his takings on Saturday at the grandstand booth at the races, and he placed it as was his custom with large sums in cash, in a cupboard in his bedroom. It remained there safely throughout Saturday night and Sunday, for Mr Waters saw *it all right at about 8 o’clock on Sunday evening. At that time he lay down to have a sleep, and about 11 he rose again, as he was to sit up all night, having no nightporter at present. When he went out of the bedroom he left a candle burning. About an hour afterwards, when Mrs Waters went into the room, the candle was out, a fact that occasioned her some surprise as Mr Waters had told her it was alight. She naturally did not attach much importance to this, and did not mention it. The robbery was not discovered till next morning, when Mr Waters, on entering the room, noticed that the cupboard door was slightly open. On looking into it he found that the bag, with the whole sum which it contained, was gone. The supposition is that between the time when Mr Waters left the bedroom and Mrs Waters entered it, the thief, who, it must be presumed, had known the run of things, had effected the robbery. Some jewellery and other things of value which were in the cupboard were left untouched.

We have received the first number of the “New Zealand Protestant aud Friendly Societies Journal,” a new periodical issued from the “Evening Telegraph” office, Christchurch. It is creditably printed, although somewhat badly read. The name of the new paper indicates its objects, and the opening leader concludes with thefollowing appeal: —“We look to all fellow Orangemen and Protestants for support in our undertaking, and we have every reason to believe wc shall attain ultimate success. We shall endeavor to make our journal as interesting as lies in our power, and with the hearty co-operation of all lovers of the good old 'Protestant principles which we hold so dear, we hope to succeed, this always being our motto, ‘We are in the place where we are demanded of conscience to speak the truth, and therefore the truth we speak, impugn it whoso listeth.’ ”