NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2715, 1 December 1881, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The seventh annual gathering of the South Canterbury Caledonian Society will be held on the new show grounds on Monday, Jan 2, New Year’s Day falling on a Sunday next year. The sports and games will be open to all comers, and further particulars as to entrances, &c, are given in an advertisement elsewhere.

The fortnightly meeting o£ j the Pro* testant Alliance Association was held last evening, a fair number of the brethren attending. The W.M, Bro. Kent occupied the chair. After the iniatiatory ceremony, the nomination of officers for the ensuing term was proceeded with. The following were nominated, election to take place next meetin Master, Messrs Roscoe and Goddard Jackson ; D.M., Mr Francis Blackwell ; Secretary, Mr W. Ingram . Treasurer, Mr A. Mahan ; Auditors, Messrs McComb and Pearson.

The Dane, Alsted, who was lodging in one of the houses burned at Reefton yesterday morning, and did not turn up, was burned in the fire. His charred remains were afterwards found.

The Christchurch Working Men's Club have decided to purchase a site for the new Club buildings, at a cost of £2OOO. The Christchurch vital statistics for the month are Births, 170; marriages, 38; deaths, 50, being much the same as for the same month of last year. The “ Waimate Times” states that there iseyery prospect of the Waimate Gorge railway being commenced at early date—probably under six months from the present time. At a meeting of the directors of the company held on Monday afternoon a a cablegram was received from Melbourne to the effect that £30,000 could be raised at once for the work on certain conditions. The directors agreed to these conditions, and resolved to accept the offer for floating the debentures in Melbourne. The Secre* tary of the Company, Mr Frank Slee, was also authorised to have debentures printed, and to procure all the documents required, upon confirmation of the sale. A township has been laid out at the Waimate Junction, on the western side of the line. There are already built upon the township site a large new grain store and a smaller one, and some of the timber is on the ground for the erection of an hotel. It may be doubted whether a township will succeed in such a place. The fact that a railway junction exists there is no argument in its favor, as the condition of the Eolleston, Southbridge, and other junctions testifies. Mr O’Reilley, a candidate for Wakanui, broke his collar bone by being thrown from his horse on Saturday night, whilst riding to Rakaia to address the electors.

At the conclusion of Captain Sutter’s meeting at Kerry town last night, Mr J. Newton addressed the eleotors present. He advocated the disposal of agricultural lands of the Crown in deferred payments in 250 acre lots, and pastoral lands in 5000 acre lots on similar terms. He thought the wheat growing era was over for New Zealand, as we could not compete with America. The settlers must go in for wool growing on their farms, and for oats, barley, and pigs, the last of which could walk to market. He advocated, as a means of bursting up the big estates, a tax on all wool over twenty bales produced on one estate. Our reporter was unable to remain till thQolose of his address.

Tenders are out for the ereection of au Auckland Coffee Palace, four storeys high. Mr Wade, the contractor for a tramway for Guthrie and Larnach’s company at Manukau Heads, and a man named Ormsby, were severely injured by a shot exploding while being drilled out in a blast which missed fire.