NEWS OF THE DAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2926, 11 August 1882, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

A meat refrigerating company will be started at Wanganui A part of the caisson for Lyttelton dock, was landed to-day. Chancellor is scratched for the Flat Race of the Otago Hunt Club meeting. The Captain of the Mazeppa trading schooner, died yesterday in Auckland, from injuries received in a native fracas at Raretonga. The body of a vagrant named Walter Sirkett, has been found in Auckland harbor. It is supposed he committed suicide.

The Union Total Abstinence Society held its usual monthly meeting last night, in the Hall of the Mechanics Institute. There was a large attendance, and music and readings were the principal feature of the proceedings. The electric light was successfully used last night in the reading room of Watson’s Hotel, Dunedin. Ten Swan lamps are kept burning in the room.

About 600 carcases of mutton are now stowed away in the freezing chambers at Burnside. Mr Coxon, who has superintended the erection of the machinery, leaves for Christchurch immediately, the firm of which he is the representative having another contract there.

A few days ago, Dr Andrew Clark 'was telegraphed to in London from Glasgow by a local man, to ask his terms for visiting a patient in that city. Dr Clarke replied that he would go for 500 guineas, and immediately received a wire telling him to start at once. The above extract will interest the “ faculty." Mr Halcombe, who went to England to make arrangements for the sale and settlement of the Patetere block, is now on his way back to Auckland, The native reserves on this block will be finally dealt with by the Supreme Court in September. Thomas Mason, barman at the Nevada Hotel, Auckland has died suddenly. He had slipped on the pavement on Saturday and hurt his back. On Monday in skylarking on the stairs of the hotel he got put head over, falling four or five steps and hitting his head on the staircase, Next morning measles developed and he died, leaving a wife and two children. At a meeting of the Auckland cricketers, Mr P. F. Buckland presiding, it was resol red to send a team to the South Island during the ensuing season. The Secretary was authorised to write to the Cricket Associations of the leading Southern towns to ascertain what terms they would give towards expenses. The Chairman offered a handsome subscription towards the cost of the tour.

Auckland must be thriving better than Timaru for numerous applications are coming in to the Immigration Officer there to nominate friends at Home. 80 have been received in the past three days in addition to 350 recorded before the nominated system was renewed. Miss Laura . Smith, of the Auckland Young Women’s Institute, leaves for Sydney to organise a similar institution there.

At a meeting of the Wellington Harbor Board, a communication from the Harbor Master was read. It had been found that luminous paint answered its purpose very well in rendering buoys more readily seen, but great difficulty was experienced in keeping the buoys so'painted clean, as birds were attracted by it, and in a very short time their white color was gone. In order to make it effectual, [he considered they would require re-painting six times a year. It was estimated that it would cost £3 to paint a small buoy, and £9 to paint a large one, The Chairman said he understood that the stronger the sunlight was during the day, the better the paint shone at night, so that at this time of the year, when it was most wanted, the light would be weakest. As it appeared that the Government were making enquiries into the question, the matter was allowed to drop.