NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2610, 2 August 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY .

Mr G. Munro, who is well-known in Dunedin, has just started a new local industry there, this being the manufacture of clay pipes. Samples of these pipes made of clay, procured from Stirling, Otago; and also from Kakahu, are now before us and we can bear testimony, having tried them, to their being all that the smoker who loves a clay can desire. As Mr Munro finds he can turn out these pipes at prices considerably lower than paid for imported goods, there is no doubt that he will do an extensive trade with them. The new' Mechanics’ Institute will probably be opened on Saturday evening next.

Owing to the ind'sposition of Mr Beetbam, who is suffering from a severe cold, he was unable to take his seat on the Bench as usual to-day. William Byers will make his appearance on remand, at the the 11..V1, Court tomorrow, charged with stealing a watch and chain from a man at the Royal Hotel Wairaate recently. About a hundred families have quitted Waimatc lately to seek their fortunes “on the other side,” Sydney being the destination of the majority of them. Property in the township has consequently suffered somewhat in value, and the ominous words “to let,” or empty windows, stare one in the face on all sides.

It is stated that the men engaged in the Matai road contract, between Longford and Lyell, West Coast of Nelson province, met with indications which have led to the discovery of a deposit of kerosine shale. The discovery is considered to be a most important one.

Mr Cary’s “ PirateV arrived by ibe express from Christchurch to-day. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Timaru School Committee was held last evening. A letter was read from Mr Turnbull, M.H.E., Wellington, in reply to a letter from the Chairman of Committee, asking him to use his influence to have the Education Act amended, in order that a large school like the Timaru school might be more fairly represented on the Board. Mr Turnbull expressed the opinion that there was no hope of obtaining the desired amendment during the present session of Parliament. A discussion took place on the marked falling off of the attendance amongst school children lately, owing it is said, to the prevelence of measles and resulted in the passing of the following resolution :—“ That in the event of the attendance at the Main and Side Schools during the current week, the schools be closed from Friday, the sth inst., to September 1 next.” We need hardly remind our readers after the many references that have been made to the event, that the first representation of “ The Pirates of Penzance ” takes place to-night at the Theatre Eoyah The applications for seats have been so numerous that on inspecting the plan of the dress circle at Mr Amos’ it seems that every seat has been engaged, chairs between the rows even having been placed for the occasion to accommodate reserved seat holders. The piece will be put on the boards here with all the care and attention to details that was bestowed upon it at Wellington and Christchurch. Probably the scenery, dresses and effects will be the finest and most complete ever seen in Timaru. In anticipation oi the dress circle being crowded out, Mr Carey has hired additional chairs for the stalls.

One of the unemployed writing to the “ Dunedin Star ” says As a hint to the hungry, let me state that I have found a method of stopping the pangs of hunger—that is, by swallowing a piece of tobacco rolled up as a pill, and, if possible to procure it, drinking a glass of beer after it. This I find alleviates the gnawing feeling. In the British navy there are 18,500 seamen, exclusive of boys, artisans, marines, and officers, and in the mercantile marine, 84,000 men;"but of these latter 16,000 are foreigners. White wrapping paper has been pro* duced by Mr Lynn, the manager of the works belonging to the Mataura Paper Mill Company. Hitherto nothing but brown paper has been manufactured. A large quantity of native flax (phormimi tonax) is used in the preparation. Tiie money-ord r system between the Australian colonics and China has been largely availed of by the Chinese of New South Wales and Queensland. The post master at Hong Kong reports the Chinese arc being very difficult to deal with, as they go into fractions of a cent in haggling oyer the ra'c of exchange; however they are finding out that the post-office will not “ chaffer’’ with them, and the popularity of the sy-tem is increasing. There was an instance of the disagreement of doctors in France recently, which led to a duel in the Bois dc Vincennes. The participants were army surgeons who hai a dispute. One of them was wounded, and his antagonist dressed the wound and helped him to the carriage, and subsequently committed suicide. Madame Friedman, daughter of the late Duke de Porsigny and grand-daughter of the d ceased Princess de Moskowa, the rich raiser, charged with forging the Princess’s name to bills for 180,000 f., has been discharged, the accused’s mother — the Duchess —paying the bills out of the Princess’s fortune which the mother inherited.

The writer of the letter from which the following is an extract, and which is published in the “ Lyttelton Times,” saved £IOO in three years in Canterbury and then went back to the Old Country. He writes from Monmouthshire, South Wales and is evidently anxious enough to get back. He says :—“ Wo are so anxious to get from here, for if New Zealand is bad this is ten times worse. And now at the present time I am only getting 16s a week, and have to pay 2s 9d a week out of that for rent; and coal to buy, and every bit of vegetable, as there are no gardens in this place, so we have about enough left to buy us bread and butter, for we have never tasted a bit of fresh meat but twice since we have been here.” Mr Pierre Lorillard, the owner of Iroquois, the winner of the Derby, is engaged in business as one of the leading tobacco and cigar manufacturers in the States, and at Newport (Rhode Island), the Brighton of New’York, where he whiles away the hot spell in one of the costliest resort of fashionable Americans. A writer in the London “ Times” says: —The rental of agricultural land in Ireland is estimated at £11,518,392, but as Ireland in the average of ten years ending 1879, spent £13,823,102 annually in intoxicating liquors, it follows she spent £2,304,710 more in drink than in rent. The writer says the Irish may be called a remarkably temperate people compared with the Scotch and English. The drink bill of the Uqited Kingdom being about £150,000,000. Sarah Bernhardt, the French actress, was recently presented by an American admirer with a massive gold tiara ; ticketed price, 5,000d01. An expert afterwards found it was only copper gilt, value 60dol. The first diamond found in South Africa was obtained in the interior by a travelling pedlar from a child who was playing with it, and on being tested the diamond sold for £SOO.

A great meeting of representatives of German seaports will be held to discuss freely the new tariff. All the seaboard cities strongly oppose the projected sur taxes and retaliatory duties on transmarine imports,

The London “ Times' ” Paris correspondent thus epigramatically describes the political condition of France :—“Nothing is certainly changed in this country ; there is but a throne less and a monarch more. And the ruler of France is Leon Gambetta.’’ It is now believed that the infernal machines seized by the authorites at Liverpool were intended to bo placed in the vaults of the House of Commons.

Some of the members of the Irish Constabulary are resigning, as they will not submit to be kept leaning on their arms while cowardly insurgents are crushing them with stones. They say that they are shunned as if stricken with leprosy ; are refused a drink of water, though parched with thirst ; are doing their duty to the Queen, as they have always done, and yet are looked on with suspicion by those over them. South African diamonds are found of various tints—orange, grey, coffee colour, brown, pink, blue, and red, those of the last named colour being the most valuable; a rare and perfect black diamond has also been found. The engineers engaged in the work of constructing the ship canal across the Isthmus of Panama, at last advices had sunk a shaft of 100 feet deep, where the Chagres river dam is to begin and had not yet reached the bed rock.