Local and General.

Clutha Leader, Volume V, Issue 218, 13 September 1878, Page 3

Local and General.

The Christchurch morning papers of Sate arrived in lmnedin Che ■same evening. Four 'blocks of land in Canterbury have "been set aside for sale — deferred payment. 'There are 8000 acres in all. There is a movement on foot at Auckland to initiate £he formation of a Tatter«al l B Club, to protect betting men. Mr Leonard Stone, of Wellington, •Clerk of the Legislative Council, has applied f° r a <( patent for an invention for sums in addition of all kinds." The Wellington larrakins are amusing themselves by placing stones on the tramTvay to watch the process of grinding them <down. A man named George Orchard had his "nose bitten clean off by a man named Ben ■Jones recently in a drunken brawl in Whitely's Hotel, Kaikoura. The body of a married woman named If eogh, about 40 years of age, was found hanging on the anchor of a vessel in the tDunedin harbour on Saturday last. James Lonan was killed at Nelson Creek «on Saturday "by a fall of earth. He was frightfully bruised, and death was instantaneous. Sainoan papers report the flogging of a native for a drunken assault upon a European. The Native Judge stated that it was his intention to suppress all outrages <on foreign residents in a similar way. It is stated that very little of the kero"sine now in bond in Melbourne will stand the heat test of 110 degrees, and a Bill is to be introduced to prevent the importation of oil of this quality. The thoroughbred sire Castaway, the property of the Middle Park Company, waa offered at auction by Messrs Matson •and Co., of Christclrarch, on Saturday. The reserve placed- upon him not being attained, he was withdrawn. The highest l>id was 675 guineas. At the banquet in Dunedin on Saturday night, Mr David Proudfoot stated that he Tiad no doubt the Clinton section of the Southern Trunk line would be completed within eight weeks from that date, — that Ib, Nbvember 2. Would our readers be Idnd enough to make a note of that date? A Maori named named Honia died at Auckland from internal injuries received the other day by being run over by a cart. Be was formerly a member of the Maori troupe which made a tour to England to illustrate the manners and customs of the aborigines. The house of Dr Sims (Christchurch) was almost burnt down on Saturday morning by an incendiary. James Smith, a groom in his employment, was afterwards arrested for arson. He is supposed to liave a spite against the doctor. He was remanded for a week. At a meeting of the ratepayers of Cook Ward, Wellington, the other night, the Chairman, being called to order by several of the ratepayers for his ignorance of "the rules re conducting the proceedings, appealed to the reporters to decide whether lie was adhering to Parliamentary practice. The reporters winked at each other, "but said never a word. Mr Aabens, Government Inspector of Schools for the Colony, Mr O'Sullivan, Inspector under the Auckland Board of Education, and Mr Goyen, Inspector of Schools for Southland, are at present in Dunedin, and are making themselves acquainted with the state of educational matters in tnis Provincial District. A telegram dated Wellington, September 6, says : — The Government received a telegram this afternoon re the recent murder of a native woman near Waiapu, Gisborne. A messenger has just come in from Waiapu, and reports that the prisoners have been arrested, and are in readiness to be handed over to the police on arrival of the steamer. It is probable that two other prisoners will be charged irith rape. Mr Macfarlane, the Waterloo veteran, residing at Christchurch, has received a letter from the President of the men of the Rifle Brigade, with which regiment he was connected, containing a request that the members might be furnished with a portrait of the veteran. Mr Robin, one of the Directors of Messrs <2uthrie and Larnach's New Zealand Timber and Woodware Factory Company, stated at the Banquet on Saturday that at the present time the firm employs over 1000 workpeople, and. pays about L 2500 weekly in wages. He also said that Messrs Guthrie and Larnach had about twenty vessels carrying their goods to and fro. As a memento of their visit on Saturday to the Mosgiel Woollen Factory, and of their connection with the proceedings there, the Directors of the Company (says the Daily Times) have promised to forward to Mr Rolleston, M.H.R., and Captain Townshend, of the Nymphe, suits of the piece of tweed, the weaving of which was begun on that occasion on the new machinery. The scroll of the law, presented by the president of the Dunedin Hebrew congregation (Mr Joel) to that body, was duly consecrated at the Synagogue on Sunday by Rabbi Lichenstein. The attendance, owing to the weather, was small, and the collection in consequence amounted to 140 Only. The sermon was from Deut. iv., eh. 44, and at its conclusion an impressive prayer was offered for the prosperity of the Colony. The choir, led by Mr J. Moss, rendered the music incidental to the service very nicely. About a month ago (says the Timaru Herald) a certain married woman, living near Timaru, who acts as a nurse, received a letter from a person in Lyttelton asking "her if she could take in Mrs to be confined. The very same night Mrs drove up to the door, and, much to the inconvenience of the nurse, was taken in. The child was bom, and the mother remained at the house for some days. One afternoon, however, Bhe went into town, and was never afterwards heard of. The "baby still remains on the nurse's hands, who does not know what to do with it. The mother left without making any provision for it, although from all appearances Bhe was well provided with money, and belonged to something above the ordinary class of people. We understand that the nurse, after waiting over a fortnight expecting to hear from her, or from the man who wrote in the first instance from Lyttelton, placed the matter in the hands of the police, who will probably have little difficulty in tracing the mother of the child, and causing her to sesuine charge of her helpless infant.

Another detachment of the Vesey Stewart special settlers lias arrived at Auckland by the Halcione, from London. . Earl Beaconsfield has replied to the congratulations of the citizens of Auckland. The Victorian Council has agreed tliat the scheme for dividing the Colony into twelve provinces, with 42 members, should be considered in Committee. The Rev. C. H. Spurgeon's son, Mr Thomas Spurgeon, has been summoned from "Victoria to England, owing to the illness of his mother. He cannot, therefore, visit New Zealand. New Caledonian advices report that about 150 insurgents have been killod. A number of people are ready to start at their own expense, provided the French Government permits settlement, and England will annex part of the island. The following is to be committed to memory, and repeated smartly : — The crooked cook o* Crookam sent her clooted cloak to the clooter, and bade the clooter clpot the crooked cook o' Crookam's clooted cloak weel. It is stated that Mr R. J. Cseighton has been offered, and has accepted, the editorial charge of the New Zealand Herald, and will bid adieu to San Francisco for the purpose of re-entering his old sphere in Auckland. A meeting of the New Guinea Colonists' Association League resolved that further agitation was necessary to secure New Guinea's annexation to Victoria. Hopes are entertained of better prospects when bottom is reached. The expedition is recovering health. Mdme. Annereau, an equestrienne connected with Hayes and Behamo's Circus, died at Christchurch on Tuesday morning of lockjaw. A few days ago, while going through one of her acts, she. fell from her 1 horse and broke her arm. Textanus supervened, and the unfortunate woman expired in great agony. The Bishop of Nelson (Dr Suter) has written a long letter to the Premier, praying him to consider the claims of Nelson, and to use his influence and prevent the great and grievous wrong proposed to be inflicted by the scheme of public works introduced by the present Ministry. The Bishop states that he takes no part in politics, but lifts his voice in favour of justice only, and whether it is imperilled by political action or any other influence his duty is equally clear. Replying to a deputation of the late unemployed in Melbourne, who waited on him to thank' the Government, the Commissioner of Works said many people closed their purses during the late crisis, in order to shake the Government, but they failed. In view of the late triumphant passage of the Reform Bill, he believed the Council would accept defeat. The loan would give an impetus to the Colony by promoting public works. The decreased gold yield had been more than recouped by the advance in manufactures and agriculture. Thirty-nine persons are in receipt of pensions. The amounts range from L 559 ; a year in the ease of Mr Domett to L 5 a j year to an ex-postmaster who saw sevenI teen years' service. The total is a little over Lll,ooo a year. Dr Bennet draws L 321 ; Mr R. Chapman, ex-registrar of the Supreme Court, L 22 5; Mr Eliot Eliot, ex-secretary of the Post Office, L4OO ; Sir W. Fitzherbert, as ex-commis-sioner of Crown lands, L 325 ; the Hon. W. Gisborne, L 466 ; Mr W. Mills, excollector of customs, L 28 5; ex-Judge Rogan, L 40 0; Mr Strode, L 538. The return is not complete. A Wellington telegram says :—Ministers state positively that there was a secret understanding between Major Atkinson and Sir Julius Yogel that the latter should retire at the end of his year's term from the Agent-Generalship, and be succeeded by Mr Stafford, who would be in England ready to take up the work ; and that Sir Julius Yogel would then be offered and would accept the sole agency of converting the New Zealand L 20,000,000 loan, receiving one-eighth per cent on the whole loan, thus netting a handsome fortune. Ministers allege further that the secret leaked out, though the correspondence was private, and thus the arrangement was not effected. The New South Wales Parliament was opened on Tuesday. The Governor's speech announces that the Government has decided to postpone the issue of the million and a half loan on the London market, owing to the depressed state of the money market. Many useful measures have been promised, including a Land Amendment Bill, Electoral Laws Bill, and the consolidation of the public debt. There are also proposals for railway construction, embracing a thousand miles of new pnea, to be submitted to Parliament. The address-in-reply in the Assembly was carried without a division. The Auckland Star says : "Rumours of the movements with the object of bringing Sir Julius Yogel back appear to be something more than lobby gossip. The first suggestion of the promoters was a private subscription. They, however, yielded to an instinct more natural with these generous fellows, and instead of putting their hands into their own pockets they find it more convenient to thrust them into the public purse. Great efforts are now being made to win support for a motion for granting Lady Yogel 5000 acres of land as a gratuity, representing at the lowest L 10,000." It proceeds to criticise Sir J. Vogel's public services very severely, denouncing him as having always played into the hands of moneyed men and turned his back upon the people. A return of the land revenue of the various local bodies, and the land revenue receipts for the six months ended June 30th, shows that the Provincial District land receipts were : — Auckland, L 36,194 ; Wellington, L 10,05 6; Taranaki, L 16,648 ; Hawke Bay, L 424 8; Nelson, L 122 6; Marlborough, L 200 9; Canterbury, L 426,939 j Westland, L 157 ; Otago, L 86,755. Total, L 586,041. Land sales on deferred payment : Taranaki, L4lO 16s 6d ; Otago, L 36 14s 4d. Depasturing licenses : Hawke , Bay, L7l ; Nelson, L 925 ; Marlborough, • L 4273 ; Canterbury, L 31,597 ; Westland, ; L 29 2; Otago, L 1832. Total, L 39,298. ; Paid to local bodies, counties : Ashburton, i L 29,44 5; Ashley 22,197 ; Geraldine, l L 13.559 ; Selwyn, L 11,260 j Lake, L 1204; i Southland, L 595 0; Tuapeka, L 4884 ; Taii eri, 812 ; Vincent, L 49 5; Waikouaiti, j L 210; Wallace, L 3918. The above inj elude the amounts unpaid for. 1 the June quarter,..