General Intelligence.

Clutha Leader, Volume IV, Issue 192, 15 March 1878, Page 6

General Intelligence.

The difference between the Victorian Council and Assembly is in a fair way of settlement.

Sir Bryan O'Loghlen has been appointed a member of the Executive Council of Victoria, and occupies the front Bench with Ministers.

Mrs Jones, the first European woman who set foot in new Zealand, has gone to the Old Country via Melbourne. She has resided in the Wellington Province since 1840.

Cne Jacobsen, alias Count. Mourarieff, was committed for trial at Wellington on Monday on a charge of obtaining money by means of valueless cheques. He passed himself off as a Russian Count, who was taking an official tour of the Colony to report upon it.

In reply to a deputation of Auckland licensed victuallers the other day, the Hon. J. Sheehan said the Government intended to introduce a new licensing law. next session. The. fees would probably be reduced to a uniform rate on the basis of the lowest now ruling-. From information received by the Wellington police it would appear that a well organised system of horse-steal-ing has bean going on, in that district for some time, past, the horses being shipped away as soon as brought in. Neil and Buckridge, recently arrested on suspicion, were brought up on two separate charges, and after a good deal of evidence had been taken, the prisoners were committed for trial on both charges. At a special meeting of tbe Dunedin Committee, held an Monday night, it was resolved to vote for the following gentlemen as members of the Education Board of Otago. The number of votes received by each is included : — Number ' of votes. James Fulton, R.M., West Taieri ... 7 Donald Reid, North Taieri 7 K. Ramsay, Dunedin ... ... ... 7 Professor Shand, Dunedin • -6 James.Green, Blueskin 6 Henry Clark, Clarksyille .... "... 5' Horace Bastings, Lawrence 5 Adam Rolland, Blackston Hill ... ' 4 ' W. J. Steward, Oamaru 4 A writer in an Oamaru paper says, "I should much like to know" if those storekeepers who are bakers are utterly without conscience. They apparently are, for they continue the price of the 41b loaf at 9d., when it ought now' to be sold at 7d ; for surely if the Dunedin bakers. can sell at s£d and 6d, they can do it here at ?d."

The Japanese war -steamer,- I sukahrn, 10 guns arrived : at Brisbane oh Monday. A Melbourne telegram says : — A sea serpent is reported to have been 6een 12 miles, north- of Freemantle. During a fire on , Monday night at the Beehive Hotel, Melbourne, Mrs Hotsham (the landlady) and Miss Dobarty lost their lives. ' ,: Parapipi,- a well-known Maori chief, and a man of great influence, died at his settlement, Piako, on Saturday. 1 The deceased was about fifty years, o. age. Mrs Daley, wife of John Daley, subinspector ol sheep, Nelson, .and . a daughter of Mr Dicher, of the Trafal- ; gar Hotel, cut her throat on Monday morning. She is not dead, but there. is no hope of saving her. She has been in a very depressed state for some months. t At a recent meeting of the Wellington Teachers* Association, a resolution was passed affirming the desirability ; of a uniform classification of teachers throughout tbe Colony, and the Standing Committee was requested to. takeaction in the matter, with a view to bring it under the notice ofthe Minister of Education. At the district Court Oamaru, on Friday, Henry Andrews, revenue constable, was indicted for- perjury, in- a case charging John Cogoin, boarding house-keeper, with sly-grog ; selling. During the hearing. of the case,- Andrews swore, he saw a beer engine in Cogoin's house. After hearing the evidence, the accused was found' guilty, and sentenced to eighteen months'; hard labour. An extraordinary death occurred at the Theatre Royal Hotel, Wellington, on Sunday night. Just as the lodgers were about to retire to bed one of them fell from the oval aperture in. the, upstairs floor on to his head on the billiard table below. The moment before he was sober and chatting pleasantly with the others. He was a young man, -named James Ahem. He only lived a few hours after the accident.

The correspondent of The Times gives the following discriptions of the new Pope : — '' The papers represent Pecci as a thin man, with a cold, expression of countenance, a fine habitual smile, almost ironical, and a mixture of pride and acuteness, with a deliberate and somewhat abrupt style of address. They give him credit for a deep knowledge of tbe world, and great dexterity iv the management of affairs."' A telegram from New Plymouth says: — The Natives between Parihikii.and Opunaki have 300 acres pf wheat which was planted by the Taranaki tribe. They have bought two threshing machines. Kahui, an influential chief, and owner of one of the machines, states that it is the intention ofthe tribe to go into wheat culture on an extensive scale. He says that hitherto it has been only night and they could not see, but now that it is light they intend to devote their attention to those peaceful occupations which they were engaged in before the war. ; , Kahui wishes this to be distributed throughout the Colony, that Europeans may knowthe peaceful condition of Natives- in Taranaki.

Florence B. Joseph, hairdresser,. Nelson, was last week charged with .indecently assaulting* a girl of 12 years- and six months old. The Bench committed the prisoner for trial, allowing bail., On being released, he was chased and seized by several men who were present. A rope was tied round his neck* and he was dragged, half-throttled, through the streets to- his shop in Tra-falgar-street, when Morris Levy h father of one of his victims (there are more than one), attacked him with a loaded-hunting-crop and administered a. most unmerciful hammering. The Bishop of Nelson and one or two others interfered, and the wretched man, bruised and bleeding, with his clothes torn to rags, and several teeth knocked ou^ escaped into his shop.

On Friday last a deputation from the Milton Athenaeum Committee, consist-., ing of Messrs A. Jones ' (president)^ Rev, J. Chisholm' (vice-president), and Mr H. Clark, waited on the hon. the Minister for Lands relative to an additional grant of land "to- the Athenaeum' endowment. The members of the.dep--utation mentioned that the reason ifor the. application was that the present .endowment of 339 acres was almostvalueless, on account of the poor quality of the land. The area proposed to be-. added was 263 acres. They we're under the impression the Government Had clearly power to grant it under the 174 th section of the Land Act, 1875 f. ; The Hon. Mr Macandrew said that he -would, bring the matter before' the Cabinet, and see what they would say to it. He could not say any more^and^ he would not be justified in taking upon ! himself , to grant the-landi As far as fte* : knew he believed the application would . be acceded to. '