LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

* In Banco.— Our readers will remember that some time ago a case Hirsehberg v Hall, for the possession of land at Greytown, was heard bofore Mr Justice Johnston and thafc subsequently in banco a rule nisi was granted to show cause why a verdict should nofc be entered for fche defendant, on the ground of mistake in the conveyance mado to James Smytho of the Wairarapa, when ifc was alleged fchafc the property in question ought to have been conveyed fco James Smith, of Wellington. Cause was shown on Monday in banco against the rule, by Mr Hart, for the plaintiff, when, aftor having hoard Mr Izard in support of the rule, the Court decided that the rule bo discharged with costs, and a vcrdiot be entered for the plaintiff. The decision, will materially affect a number of town acres in Groytown. Legislative Council. — The Hon. William Spence Peter, of Ashburton, Canterbury, has been appointed a member of the Legislative Council. Armed Constabulary;. — Lieutenant-Colonel Whitmore has received the appointment of commandant of tho Armed Constabulary in New Zealand. The Earl of Pemrroke. — The schooner Albatross, with his Lordship tho Earl of Pembroke on board, sailed from Lyttelton for Auckland on Thursday, the 19th inst. Gin. — The Warrenheip Distillery Company have produced a liquor said by the Argus to be fully equal to Holland goneva of best brands. The MARYBORouan Diggings.— The Melbourne Argus of fche 10th contains a telegram to the effect that these diggings are yielding splendidly. The Queensland Rush.— -Later advices from Queensland are fco fche effect; thafc fcho rush to the Gympie Creek has been overdone, and that great misery must ensue unless new ground is opened np quickly. Presentation. — Wo understand that the presentation of the instrument, sent for by the members of the No. 1 Rifles band, to Mr D. Bell, the bandmaster, will take place at the general parade to-day. Lieut.-Colonel Reader will present ifc. Surveyor.— John Knowles, Esq., of this cifcy. has beon appointed a surveyor under the Nativo Lands' Act. A Hungry Thief. — Within fche last few days some hungry thief has been paying attention to tho larders of several gentlemen resident in To ( Aro, and abstracting therefrom any peculiarly appetizing morsels, leaving behind him, wifch all the savoir vivre of a gourmand, any of those debris of dinners whicli are generally consigned to the " dog basket." From whafc can be learned, this gentleman, whoever he may be, commenced his peculations on Saturday ovening, when he mado several successful hauls, especially in such houses, the owners of wbich, from religious convictions, cook their Sunday dinner over-night. A Fenian Sympathiser.— Some five years ago a Mr Allan Houghton kept a little grocer's shop in Willis sfcreefc, bufc, finding business dull, he tried his fortunes at the Whakamarina, where he put up a store. Soon afterwards the diggings broke oufc and Mr Houghton prospered greatly, so much so, indeed, that he is afc present in tho field as a candidate to represent the Pelorus District. Unfortunately for his prospects of success Mr Houghton has a friend at Deep Creok namod Pat. O'Connor, and to him ho wrote a letter persuading him to use his influence in order to collect as much money as possible by subscription in aid of fche families of the men lately executed afc Manchester, and " murdered by fche English Government." The money was to be forwarded by Mrs Houghton to her friends in Ireland, who were influential among the Fenian body. O'Connor, it seems, got "tight" one day in Havelock and dropped the letter in a hotel, which being picked up found its way into the local newspapers. The letter is as follows : — " Havelock, March 3rd, 1868, Dear Pat,— Such a letter as this coming from me may appear strange to you, bufc I can assure you fchafc I am sincere. I want you and all good Christians of the Faith to subscribe some cash, as much as you conveniently can, for the relief of the families of those brave men who died for tlieir country on the gallows in Manchester. The money will also bo for the relief of the families of Fenian prisoners j it will be forwarded by nexfc mail (threo weeks hence) fco Borne great folks in Dublin, who are connections of my wife. Though I am an Englisman and onco a Protestant, yet; I cannot bufc feel a horror and disgust afc tho political murder lately committed by tho English Government. Be good enough to keep this letter from the sight of tho Protestant party, or ifc might do me some harm in the coming election. — I remain, yours faithfully, — (Signed) Allan Houghton. — Mr P. O'Connor, Wakamarinn." Tricker's Memorial. —Saturday's Wanganui Chronicle says : — In consequence of the Governor's speedy departure for Auckland, ifc was considered necessary to send off fche memorial on behalf of Tricker in an unfinished state, — that is, without nearly as many signatures to it as would havo been obtained had longer timo been allowed. The memorial was on a roll of upwards of 14 feet in length, and had 314 names attached to it. The Heat in Victoria. — Tho country journals in Victoria continue to speak of the extreme severity of the heat lately experienced all over the colony. Afc Hamilton the heat was all but unbearable ; a hot wind prevailed, the rays of tho sun wero scorching, and several bushfires in the neighborhood made matters worse. Afc Merino everything in the shape of vegetation was scorched up, and fche town was enveloped in smoke from the numerous fires all about. At Coleraine the heat; was intense, and some damage to fencing was dono by the flames. At Majorca, three dozen of tumblers and glasses, whicli were on the shelf of a dealer, exposed to 104 degrees of heat, fell to pieces. Afc Tarrmgulla tho weather was regarded as the hottest known for years ; " the town," says tho local paper, " was surrounded by bush fires, the .smoke from which, at the time of going fco press, was so dense fchafc fche inhabitants experienced great difficulty in finding their way about fche streets,"

The Tichborne Baronetcy.— As a number of paragraphs have appeared, both in the colonial and the English newspapers, relative to the claimant for fche Tichborne baronetcy, tho Melbourne Argus adds another to the long list : — " The trial, when it does take place in the English Courts, will certainly bo one of tho most remarkable in legal annals. An article appears in another column from a Deniliquin paper, in which the writer takes a vory unfavorable view of DeCastro's pretensions, and considers him the same wifch one Arthur Orfcon, a convict. Orton is said fco have been convicted in 1853, and senfc out to one of the colonies. We have been informed fchat this same Orton was living in Freemanfcle, Westorn Australia, in 1867, and that he sent; homo a letter to one of his family. If this bo so, ho cannot bo Tom do Castro, as this latter individual was in England in the year 1866. Sir Roger Tichborne is supposed to have been lost on board the barque Bella, which sailed from Rio Janiero somo time in 1854, but the claimant alleges that he and several others of the crow were saved and brought on to Melbourne. A sailor, we believe, has been found, who has been shown a photograph of the claimant. He recognises this, we are told, as fche likeness of Sir Roger Tichborne, whom he saw on board tho Bella, talking to tho captain a short I time before her departure from Brazil. This sailor was not connected with tho Bella, or at least was not wifch her on her lasfc voyage. And then the claimant has been fully recognised as the real Sir Roger Tichborne by officers and privates of his regiment, by members and old servants of the family, by residents in the neighborhood — these witnesses numbering in all 97. The tailor of fche regiment swears thatDe Castro correctly described to him the shape and material of the last two suits he obtained from him, and identified the photograph of one of his former fellow officers. An explanation is also afforded as to why De Castro- was the name that was assumed by the claimant, and ifc is this : fchafc Sir Roger, when in Chili, was acquainted wifch a family of that name. To one of that family ho lately wrote, recalling the circumstance and conversations he had wifch thorn ; and, in reply, a letter was received in which all his statements wero confirmed. All these facts ai'e rather singular, whilst tho considerations on the opposite sido are no less deserving of attention, though, of course, we express no opinion either one way or the othor. As the claimant lived for many years near Wagga and Deniliquin, evidence obtained in fchafc quarter will nofc be the least valuable ; and the solicitor for the plaintiff (Mr Allport), wifch Mr Berliner, will, we believe, set out to-day on a journey to endeavor to traco his wanderings through Gipps Land and tlie south of fche adjoining colony." Accident. — A serious accident occurred to a drayman in the employ of Mr Blackefcfc, storekeeper Christchurch, on the evening of Wednesday, 18th inst. Ifc appears ho was returning from Chrisfcchurch, driving a dray and two horses, when some person passing either accidentally or intentionally struck his shaft horse on the head, causing ifc to spring round towards him and knock him down. His leg got entangled in the wheel, and was broken between the knee and ankle. He was found in a helpless condition by Mr Bowmaker, who procured assistance as soon as possible, when he was removed to the Chrisfcchurch Hospital. Aquatics. — A rowing match betwoen M'Laren and Belcher, on the Upper Yarra, came off on the 10th instant, for stakes of £25 a side. There wero on tho banks on either side a large number of persons who usually tako an interest in aquatic sporfcs, and there was a very lively show of both amateurs and professionals on tho waters of fcho Yarra. M'Laren made no show afc all, and Belcher won as ho liked. Meat Preserving-. — A meeting of stockowners and others interested in the question of tho preservation of meat, was held afc Hamilton, Vie- j fcoria, on Wednesday, 11th inst, when there was j a large attendance. Mr Skeno, of Warrumbeech, was in the chair, and stated incidentally thafc nofc Jong ago, in Scotland, ho had tasted Australian preserved meat, and found it of excellent quality. In fche course of his remarks, Mr Hughes explained his connection with fcho Melbourne Meat Prosorving Company, and stated their method of preserving meat, as follows : — " Mr Ritchie first of all scalds fche meat; after removing tho bone and all superfluous fafc j fche meat; is then placed i in fcho canister, which is put into a hot ' bath,' composed of a strong solution of brine, the top of which is covered with melted fafc, to prevent the steam escaping. A venfc is left in the tin, and as the process of cooking proceeds, tho steam issues, first of a whitish color, bufc gradually becoming darker. Afc the proper moment— that 19 to say, when tho meat is sufficiently cooked — fche venfc is closed, and as perfect; a vacuum as possible obtained. The exact moment; for sealing up fche canister was, of course, learned by experience. Thero was as much differenco between tho meat cooked by Mr Ritchie's process and that known as tho Aberdeen, as existed between roast beef and beef baked iv a colonial oven." Mr Hughes added that he had carefully thought the matter ovor, and was firmly convinced that by preserving mutton for the home market, and utilising other valuablo portions of fcho carcase, thero would be a net profit of 10s per sheep. New Zealand Flax. — Tho Lyttelton Times says : — " Among tho French exports to England, we notice " 2027 tons Phormium tenax yarn," valued ab 1,622,000 francs, or about £70,958", which is equivalent to £35 per ton. Two questions naturally occur on reading this item. Is tho Phormium tenax referred to the indigenous flax of New Zealand ? If so, how comes ifc thafc j it forms an article of export from Franco to Eng- j land ? The answer to the first question must be I in tho affirmative, and tho oxporb is accounted j for on the supposition thafc the New Zealand flax has been transplanted fco, and is cultivated in, some parts of France. Christchurch Gas Company. — At an extraordinary general meeting of the above company held on fche 19th, ifc was resolved : — l. That fcho capital of fcho company bo doubled, by fche issue of one thdußand new shares ; such now shares to be offered to the present shareholders — share per share ; fchoso not accepted to bo submitted to public tender ; and in the case of an equality of tender, shareholders to have the preference. 2. That an instrument appointing a proxy shall bo valid aftor the expiration of ono month from tho dato of ifcs execution ; and when such instrument is deposited in the offico of the Registrar of Deeds for Canterbury, a certified copy thereof may bo deposited afc the offices of tho company in lieu of tho original document. 3. That no shareholder shall bo qualified to act as a director uuless ho bo the holder of fifteen paid-up shares." Insectiverous Birds. — Tho following letter, addressed to a member of the Council of fcho Victorian Acclimatisation Society by a gentleman residing in Brunswick, bears important testimony to the value of the Indian mynah, as a protector of the vineyard : — "As you aro interested in tho proved usefulness of tho insect-feeding birds introduced under fche auspices of the Acclimatisation Society into the colony, I wish to mention to you what eamo under my notice lately wifch respect to the Indian mynah. In the latter part of lasfc year and commencement of this, the vine in my garden became infested with the caterpillar plague. ' Being neglected afc first, tho number of theso in- 1 sects increased so rapidly that relief by handpicking wns almost hopeless labour. However, ono morning, passing by a large vino trained up i againsfc tho wall, a number of these mynah, I supposo thirty or forty, fluttered out from among fcho leaves, startled by my approach. Afc first I thought they were depredators of fcho young fruit, ' but soon found how unjust was tho accusation, for the tree was almost rid of tho catorpillor pest, i and the bunches of fruit untouched, For several ' mornings after I noticed them busily doing thoir work among tho vines through the garden, and i as soon as they cleared off the grub fchey wore in I quest; of, thoy passed on elsewhere, for they ceased to visit in any number. I cannot but think that, by the introducing of these birds the Acclimatisation Society has conferred a boon upon the vignerous and the wine-growing interest throughout the colony."