NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2600, 21 July 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY .

Owing to the representations of & number of residents to the Railway Traffic Manager an alteration in the running of the trains on the Albury line will shortly take place, and a train arriving here at a more convenient hour than at present—after 11 o’clock a.m.—put on. A handbill issued by Messrs Lovewcll, Wing, and Co., the well-known “ Gem Photo ” firm, will accompany each number of this journal this evening. By it our readers will perceive that Messrs Lovewcll, Wing and Co.’s stay iu Timaru is now rapfdly drawing to a close, as they purpose positively leaving for the North on Aug. 1. Those who have not yet been “ tinned ” are therefore advised to submit themselves to the process without losing time. The great success of this firm in Timaru is attributable to two causes. Firstly, the quality of their work, and secondly the fact that like most Americans they have recognised the power of printer’s ink, and have been liberal advertisers. The Americans are admittedly shrewd business people and thoroughly know the value of advertisements. They are generally of the opinion of that smart New Yorker, who being asked by an acquaintance how he could afford to spend so much money on advertising, replied that he really couMn’t afford not to advertise. The Timaru Mechanics’ Institute is about to enter upon a new and enlarged stage of its existence, and the present time affords a capital opportunity for the committee to effect one more and much needed imp:ovcment, and that is to reduce the subscription to the Library. The number of subscribers, taking the population of Timaru into conextremely limited,and limited it will remain so long as the present high rate of subscription obtains. There are very many residents who would gladly support the Institution but who are debarred from doing so by the high fee (£1 per annum) demanded for membership. The privileges of membership should be placed, so far as possible, within the reach of all, but at present “ Mechanics’ Institute” is surely a misnomer, for there are but very few mechanics who would care to lay out a pound a year on reading, to pay which they have to practice a good deal of self-denial in other directions. That the Committee cannot afford to reduce the subscription is open to very grave question. The fact of there being so few subscribers at present in a town of the size of Timaru is significant of there being something wrong with the present system, and it is high timeif thelnstitute is to be adequately supported, that some new experiment was tried to increase the number of subscribers. Let the Committee, we would urge, inaugurate the opening of the new premises in North street by reducing the yearly subscription by one half, and if they do not find the nimble ninepence better than the slow shilling, we are very much mistaken, A story of singularly heartless conduct has just reached us. A Timaru mechanic was some few months ago engaged to be married to a young person residing in the town. Subsequently he proceeded to Christchurch, having procured an engage* ment there. In May last the girl found it necessary, after repeatedly writing to the man in Christchurch to take out an affiliation summons against him hero. He was then forced to appear in the Court, and on his promising that the marriage should take place in three weeks from date, the summons was withdrawn. The heartless swain then went back to Christchurch, telling his promised wife that he would engage a house there, and in order to save her trouble, he offered to take a box of her’s, containing female wearing appareh &c., of the value of £2O, up with him. The girl consented, and awaited patiently the carrying out of her sweetheart’s intentions, but getting no word from him, she made enquiries, and learnt that he had taken a position as ship’s carpenter and had just sailed for England.

Mr Macandrew has given notice in Parliammeut that he will move for the appointment of a committee to consider the best means for establishing direct steam communication between New Zealand and the Home Country.

At the civil sittings of : the Supreme Court Auckland, yesterday, Jane Crawford, a servant, sued Charles Johnston, her employer, for defamation of character, damages £IOO. The jury found that the defamatory statement was false, but had not been uttered maUciously, and returned a verdict for the defendant.

At a meeting of the leading Chinese merchants of Sydney, it was decided to give the authorities the fullest information relative to any supposed cases of smallpox, and to aid them in every way in suppressing the disease amongst the Chinese population of New South Wales.

It is probable that Madame Patti will quit the operatic stage next year, after having made a final tour in America and Europe, and give a senes of farewell performances at Convent Garden. It is from no failure of her powers that the prima donna has taken this step. Having amassed a magnificent fortune and reaped all the laurels which the stage hai to bestow, she wishes, it appears, to spend the remainder of her days in retirement.

The following telegram from the Hon. Thos. Dick to Mr J. Watson, was read at the Dunedin Licensed Victuallers’ meeting on Tuesday :—“Bottle license only applies where it at present exists. —Signed, T. Dick.”

A copy of Dr Bullcr’s “Birds of New Zealand” was sold in London the other day for £2O, That there is something still wanting in the conditions of the German s.rvice to make it tolerable to any of the rank and file, appears to be indicated by the fact that no fewer than twenty-two men and officers committed suicide in the course of January last. The Irish Episcopal Church, after paying the last of exi ting annuitants, will have the sum of £3,000,000 remaining to its credit.

In Victoria there are 2,800 churches, capable of accommodating 413.000 persons, but only 273,000 resort to them. The Presbyterian Church number 64,780, Wesleyans, 61,900 ; Homan Catholics, 60,260 ; Church of England, 44,377. The cost to the public purse alone of a general election in Victoria lunges from £14,000 to £20,000..

The police in Sydney, in searching the premises occupied by the men charged with stealing three trunks from the wharf, found seven splendidly-executed moulds for half-crowns, with crucibles and white metal.

From Melbourne we learn that a strange discovery has been made near Seymour, of a human skeleton standing upright in a hollow tree 15ft from the ground. It is supposed to have been there about three years, and an investigation will be instituted.

The total receipts for the two days’ at the Mudgee Run fair reached the sum of £22,000, and is said to have been the most important of the kind in Australia, for his champion merino ram Mr G. Rouse refused 1,000 guineas,

During the last voyage of the s.s. John Elder from Plymouth some one robbed the Roman Catholic Bishop of Adelaide of a gold watch and a number of medals. The watch was a present from the Pope. The pipe of peace has been smoked in commemoration of the burial of the Lawson-Labouchre feuds, the Prince of Wales presiding on the occasion. The Malawa, with the Suez mail on board, arrived at King George’s Sound on Tuesday morning.