South Canterbury Times, FRIDAY, MARCH, 11, 1881. NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2488, 11 March 1881, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, FRIDAY, MARCH, 11, 1881. NEWS OF THE DAY.

A special meeting of the Harbor Board takes place at noon on Thursday. Natives arc flocking to Masterton to hear the new Maori prophet.

Mr Whitehorn, RM. at Kaipara has succumbed to typhoid in the Auckland Hospital. Acceptances for the Point Cup and Handicap Hurdles and entries for the remaining events close with the secretary, Mr Gaze, to-night.

The Hon. A. S. Tollcmachc, who is resident in England, has generously contributed £IOOO to the property, tax, for which he was not legally liable. Mr Tollemachc has taxed himself for money lent on mortgage.

Dr Harvey, master of the Auckland Industrial Home, has reported to the Committee cases of immorality between children, alleged to have occurred during the previous master’s management. The Committee arc investigating the matter.

The election for the Education Boards appear to have been a farce generally. In Otago as in South Canterbury, the thre e old members were returned. At a meeting of the Board it was intimated in reply to a question that as the voting was open, the voting papers were open to the inspection of successful and unsuccessful candidates alike.

The Southern Cross which sailed from Auckland for Fiji on Wednesday afternoon had some difficulty in getting away. The tide-surveyor finding she had reached Plimsoll’s mark prohibited the storage of additional cargo. Then a difficulty, arose with the men, who could hardly be persuaded to go to sea in a steamer so heavily laden, A start was made, but last evening the steamer returned to port again through stress of weather.

Eecently Mr Theodore Hamilton, of Melbourne, offered £250 for the best colonial drama by an Australian. Plays poured in, the judges met once at the invitation of the prize promiser, but he failed to put in an appearance himself, or to send any manuscripts. Here their labors began and ended. They have seen no plays, and of course the prize has not been awarded.

A large number of valuable domestic animals are periodically destroyed in a dastardly way, in the various parts of the Colony, by the distribution of poison. Dr Rouse of Lyttelton, is said on Tuesday last to have had a valuable bull terrier poisoned by strychnine, which must have been laid either within or close to his premises. Fortunately the symptoms were observed in their earliest stagehand an antidote was promptly and effectually administered. For the benefit of others whose household pets may be the victims of this villainous practice of indiscriminately laying poison in public; it should be mentioned that Dr Rouse has communicated the remedy and mode of administration to Mr R. C. Bulkley of the Lyttelton Dispensary. We trust that for the benefit of the canine species, as well as of the chemist referred to, Dr Rouse will yet make his remedy public. A Celestial, named Ah Pat, was brought before the Fitzroy Court, Melbourne, lately, charged with maliciously wounding Ah Tung, a fellow countryman. A letter arrived there, addressed to Ah Fat, of which complainant took possession, and having opened, read the contents. On the defendant’s return, he, in consequence, became “ exceeding wroth,” it being the law in China, as alleged, that if one man opens another man’s letters, the wronged one is allowed to stab the offender to the heart. Ah Fat proceeded to enforce the penalty on Ah Tung, but only succeeded in inflicting a nasty wound on complainanfsforehead.

There was no business at the E. M. Court this morning, with the exception that a first offender appeared to answer a charge of drunkenness, and was dealt with in the usual manner.

One of the exhibits at the forthcoming Ashburton Exhibition will be a quantity of treacle made from sugar beet grown in the Ashburton district. The experiment is being made by Mr Thiele, baker, who has considerable experience in the manufacture of sugar.

Mr "Neil Murphy, contractor, yesterday picked up a mtvenir of the burning of the Mechanics’ Institute, in the shape of a sovereign which had been lying hidden away among the debris of the late building. The coin is a good deal blackened by the fire,' and it is doubtful whether it will pass current again. It is at least valuable as a curiosity, however.

The Carlyle correspondent of the “ Wanganui •Chronicle” writes:— I ‘l heat there are lots of houses to let just now ih Wanganui, and ,1. am not at all suprised. Patea, during the past, three months, has had to make* room for a considerable number of Wanganui folks, and the cry is still they come 1 Cottages are being erected in all directions within the town boundaries but the supply is not equal to the’demand. Kents are rather high in consequence.”

The foundation stone of the new Mechanics’ Institute is to be laid in a few days time. His Honor Judge Ward was asked, originally, to perform the ceremony but has, we understand, thrown out a suggestion' that His Excellency the Governor should be invited, when in Timaru, to lay the stone,. Should this suggestion 'be acted upon, and His Excellency consent, it would certainly add greatly to the eclat of the proceedings, which would be rendered still more impressive if the various Friendly Societies were asked to be present in full regalia.

Mr Johnston’s 'appointment, says the “ Lyttelton Times ” correspondent, is acceptable to those who favor an alteration, in the Education Act in the direction of denominationalism, as he has strong views on this subject. His appointment gives a majority, in the Cabinet in favor of Denominationalism. The Cabinet now contains four Denominationalists, two doubtful, and one declared Secularist. The appointment is in some quarters thought to be indicative of Ministerial intentions with respect to the Education question. In an article explanatory of the reason that actuated Ministers in taking in Mr Johnstone as their colleague, to-night’s “Post” says:—“lt would have been a marked slight and wrong to this place had not a Wellington man succeeded Mr Bryce” ; and again—“ Certainly it would have created a strong antagonistic feeling locally to the present Ministry had they filled up Mr Bryce’s vacancy with any other than a Wellington man,”

With reference to the proposal to establish an oatmeal factory in the Colony for the purpose of supplying the Home market, Mr Boyae, a miller, who manufactured and shipped one hundred tons last year, writes to the Dunedin 11 Star ” as follows :—" In my opinion New Zealand will never be, able to compete successfully with America in the export of wheat, flour, oatmeal, &c„ to England, from the facts of the great distance and high freights from here in comparison with those from America. Nor do 1 think that farmers’ associations will reduce the cost of exporting, as I believe that private firms and companies are doing it as cheaply, if not cheaper, than any association can, and have facilities for chartering ships and otherwise doing business which it will take any association a long time to improve upon. To my mind the only way any saving could be effected would be by associations having offices,and a manager with a staff of clerks in London to dispose of their shipments, and in all cases to sell direct to the manufacturer or consumer. By this means better results might be obtained, but it would be attended with a good deal of trouble, expense, and risk, and would have aconsiderpble amount of prejudicial and influential opposition to overcome in London.”

! An application for a quarry license by the Caswell Sound Marble Company has been adjourned for a fortnight by the Otago Land Board, the reason being that the area applied for seems rather too extensive. The Company, it appears, has come to an arrangement with the former holders of a license over the area, and seem now inclined to go in for a big slice of country. Four different persons have now sent in applications for no less areas than 80 acres each, and Mr Bathgate evidently regards it as a circumstance worthy of note by the Board that each applicant has the support of the Company to his request. He thinks if these wholesale areas are granted a monopoly will be established, and suggests that eight or ten acres is quite enough for any proprietary to profitably occupy as a marble quarry. It might be worth while to have Mr Bathgate’s opinion about the magnificent freehold that was bequeathed to the Taranaki Iron Sand Company —■ virtually a Dunedin concern—although the conditions. were never, complied with, *