NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2574, 21 June 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A considerable number of men are now engaged stone-breaking for the Corporation. The work has been undertaken to relieve the present distress. Although the metal is not required at once, the ratepayers will get a fair return for the outlay. The price is 2s Gd per yard, which cannot be considered as starvation wages, as the Levels Road Board received tenders of that amount a few days ago. There were some of the men who were not in a position to obtain tools for the stonebreaking. The want was supplied by the Borough Council. By a telegram published in another column it will be seen that the Government intends to proceed at once with the railway works, so it is expected that in a few days there will be an end to the present dearth of employment.

Two inebriates ma le their appearance at the R.M, Court this morning, and were fined lOsand 5s respectively. An accident occurred in Rielly and Parey’s tunnel claim at Kumara, yesterday morning, by which the lives of two men were for several hours in jeopardy, Thomas Moffat who was got out much bruised, but Patrick Rielly, who it took till three o’clock to rescue, had his right leg broken above the ankle.

The “Australian Banking Record ” calls attention to the balance-sheet of the Dixon Patent Gas Company, the capital of which has reached the market value of £232,000, and original pound shares were now selling at £3. Patients for the new gas which is claimed to be cheap, and superior, has been applied for by thirty-three countries, including the colony of New Zealand, but no person knows the real value of the in vention at present save the inventor.

Another instance may be quoted, only to show how careful people should be in expressing themselves on public occasions. A church in South London had been erected, when a dinner was given, at the conclusion of which the health of the builder was proposed, when he rather enigmatically replied that he was “more fitted for the scaffold than for public speaking.” We must yield the palm to Ireland, however, in the well-known reply given by an Irish gentleman, who called on an eminent singing-master to inquire his terms. “ I charge two guineas for the first lesson ; but only one guinea for as many as you please afterwards,” “ Ob, bother the first lesson then,” said the other ; “let us begin at once with the second.” Another native of the exhibited an equal comprehension of economic possibilities when he went to have his banns of marriage proclaimed. In answer to his enquiries as to the cost, the registrar told him that the fee for being proclaimed in one day was ten shillings ; for two proclamations, ic was five shillings; and for three times, it was half-a-crown. “Bsdad,” said ihe Irishman “ but that’s an iligint arrangement. You canjustgoon proclaiming me and Biddy till there’s nothing to pay at all,”

A telegram from Invercargill states that Elizabeth Greer, barmaid at the Club Hotel was charged at the Police Court yesterday with stealing sundry articles from the hotel. She pleaded guilty, and her counsel said she was acting under coercion from her husband. She had only married him a week. She was seutcr.vr ri to two months’ imprisonment. A meeting of the creditors of Samuel Clayton’s estate was held at Dunedin yesterday. The total claims preferred amount to over £20,000. The New Zealand Wood ware Company's s the argest, being over £13,000 ; National Bank, £SOO ; Bank of New South Wales, £4OO. It was stated the debtor is at present in Sydney. Richard Arthur Eva was charged at Christchurch yesterday on a warrant with deserting his wife at Wellington. Mr Stringer appeared for accused. In consequence of a telegram received from the police in Wellington, Detective Neil had arrested the prisoner at an hoted in Christchurch, where he was stopping with a young woman. The detective obtained a bank draft for a large sum on a bank in Christchurch, and said he believed accused was going to Sydney. Mr Stringer submitted, and the Bench agreed with him, that the information, being only laid by a detective on the authority of a telegram, was somewhat informal, and the cate was dismissed. A tombstone maker at Madison, Ind,,has been convicted of defacing stones in the cemetery. His motive was to create business for himsc'f.

The Albion arrived at the Bluff yesterday from Melbourne.

The Wakatipu correspondent of the “ Dunedin Times ” writes “To show the value of acclimatising fish and birds in favorable localities, I need only to mention that young trout can be supplied by the Queenstown Acclimatising Society, if the coming season prove successful, at £3 per thousand, and that quail have become so plentiful that they can be netted. These facts speak for themselves, and show what may t be accomplished by acclimatisation societies.”

A cool thing happened at the Waikouaiti ploughing match held on Friday. It appears that Mr Bsattie (of the firm of Haxton and Beattie, patentees of the new “Teethed Flexible Folding Harrows,”) was on the field trying to introduce the implement to the farmers, when a blacksmith, who had been listening to the description and details of the harrow, said he had recently made one similar to those manufactured by the firm in question. He asked if he knew what he was doing, and on being informed that the harrows had been patented, replied, “ Oh ? New Zealand patents are nothing.” Messrs Haxton and Beattie, we understand, intend taking an action against the blacksmith for infringing their rights.

A contemporary has the following sensible suggestion : —“ It is to be regretted that on the occasion of every wreck of a steamer or ship carrying the mails there is always more or less a loss of letters, papers, &c., in the mail-bags. It was so when the Tararua was lost. This very serious loss might, we think, bo avoided by some improvement in the make and material of the bags. There is surely enough of inventive ability amongst us to provide bags other than of canvass material—some material impervious to water, and that would float a long time. The subject is worthy of serious thought, for it can easily be conceived that very important documents may be lost under the present crude system.” The Suez Canal shares bought by the Beacomfield Government at 20 in 1875 are now worth 78, a profit of over fifty millions.

Attention is directed to a notification by Drs. Hogg and Murdoch in another column.