WELLINGTON

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3581, 3 January 1883, Page 3

WELLINGTON

This Day. The Customs returns for the colony for last month were £113,393, and the beer duty £7073. For the corres2)onding month of 1881 they were Customs £128,881, and beer duty £0.598. For the nine months, April to December inclusive, the Customs duties amounted to .£1,119,282, and the beer clutv to £1.5,-193.

A. proclamation in the Gazette fixes the

lates of the sittings of the Supremo Courts it Napier and Gisborne. The sittings for lie trial c>f criminal and civil cases, and of

causes under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, will beheld at the Com't-house, Napier, commencing at 10-30 a.m. on Monday, June 11th, and on Monday, December 10th. Business in Chambers, and such business in bankruptcy and Banco, as the Judge shall allow, may be disposed of in the course of these sittings, on such days and at such hours as the Judge may appoint. Sittings for the trial of criminal and civil cases, and of causes under the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act, will beheld at the Court-house, Gisborne, to commence at 10.30 a.m. on Monday, June 18th, and on Monday, December 17th. Business in Chambers, and such business in bankruptcy iind Banco as the Judge shall allow, maybe disposed of in. the course of those sittings on such days and at such hours as the Judge may appoint. If any of the days appointed for the sittings should be public holidays the sittings will commence on the day after the day so appointed. The following appointments are gazetted :—-Paul A.dolphus Frederick Birch, to bo Registrar : George Walter Cullen, to be Deputy-Registrar. The Customs duties collected at the port of WePhigton for the month ending Saturday last, amounted to £14,033 18s lOel.

The vital statistics for the Wellington district during the past year are roundly as follows :—Births, 1200 ;" deaths, 430 : niar-

•iages, 278

It is understood that the vacant governorship of the Uokitika gaol is about to be conferred on Mr James Donaldson, the senior warder of the Wellington gaol. Mr Donaldson is the senior of all the prison warders in the colony, and the promotion is made in accordance with the new system introduced by Captain Hume, under which a regular method of promotion will be carried on from the lowest to the highest positions. The appointment of Air Donaldson will thus involve a regular chain of promotions through all ranks.

OPENING OF THE LYTTELTON GRAVING DOCK.

Lyttelton, This Day

The graving dock was opened to-day. It is situated west of Naval Point. Its dimensions are :—Length, -150 feet: width of entrance between copings, 92 feet; depth of water on sill, 23 feet; width on floor, 40 feet. The floor consists of two feet of masonry on two feet six inches of concrete. The sides are made of stone from Melbourne and a concrete excavation, and the masonry is by Messrs Ware and Jones, and cost £'91,970. The entrance

is closed by an iron caisson from Glasgow 02 feet long, with 19 feet beam, and 28 feet deep. The clock is emptied by two centrifugal pumps worked by a pair of 15 horsepower nominal engines. These will empty it in five hours. The construction of the dock was commenced in October, 18T9, and the last stone was laid in February, 1882. Considerable delay was caused by the nouarrival of the caisson, owing to accidents on the voyage. The day is observed as a holiday in Lyttelton, and a deal of bunting is displayed on tho warehouses and shipping. The weather is exceedingly favorable and calm, but cloudy. Large numbers of persons came to the port by the morning train to be present at the ceremony. ■

Sir James Prendegast arrived at Lyttelton by special train at 11.40 a.m., and was met by tbe Mayor and councillors and rowed in the pilot boat to the dock, where he was received by the members of the Harbor Board. A guard of honor from the Lytelton Navals presented arms, a salute of seventeen guns wa.s fired by the Christchurch Artillery, and the National Anthem was played. The ship Huruuui, of 1005 tons, Captain Haselwood, then entered the dock, and His Excellency declared tho dock open. Captain Haselwood Avas presented, according to custom, with a gold pencil case by Mr Cunningham. About 2000 people were around the clock. After the opening' luncheon took, place in the new export shed, the chair being occupied by Mr Peter Cunningham, the chairman of the Harbor Board, and among those present is the Acting-Governor.

A COMMERCIAL TRAVELLER POISONS HIMSELF,

Auckland, This day

11. J. Smith, for many years a commercial traveller for Messrs A. Clark and Sons, warehousemen, poisoned himself at his residence at North Shore yesterday. He had been at the races with his wife, aud seemed in good health. After his return he went into his own room, and his wife going in some time afterwards found him lying down with two empty bottles of chloral. A doctor was sent for, and on arrival he applied tho stomach pump, but

it was unavailing, the patient dying soon afterwards. It is not known whether it is a case of suicide, or whether he had taken an overdose of the drug. No cause is known for the suicide.