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Evening Star, Issue 5013, 28 March 1879, Page 2

The Albion Cric] cot Club will not play a return match this year with Lawrence, in consequence of the, lateness of the season. Fir es still keen tip their reputation. From the ' Ashhurtoii jj ail' of yesterday we learn thit after ; mid rfg.hb on Fridav mc;hb thrco stacks of oatj ct •. the f-t-rn of Mr George Hamilton, near i it were destroyed by "/«• ; . . They were in sured in the South Bri-»sb.fo2-L2OO. Tlwx'e is a suspiefpnabitoad that the fire was of moe^atiwn,

The ship Lyttelton was admitted to pratique this afternoon. At the Princess's last night the Uncle Toms Combination Company made their final appearance, when the performance was for the benefit of Mr G. W. Collier. Tonlay they left for Invercargill. t { fciß ri in a northern paper that Sir John Coode has informed-)the Government that his reports on/the ports and harbors inspected by him in; New Zealand will be forwarded by the March ;mail from England. They may not, however, be published until laid before Parliament. The printing plant of the old 'Nelson Examiner,' which was one of the earliest newspapers published in New Zealand, and at one time occupied the leading position in New Zealand journalism, has gone to the melting-pot, having been purchased by a wholesale type manufacturing establishment in Sydney.— Sic transit gloria.

At the R.M. Court, Oamaru, yesterday, Luke M'Alister, charged with setting fire to a house while one Mary M'Alister was within the said house, was discharged, following the decision in Rex v. March, in which it is laid down that to constitute the offence of arson, there must be some intent to injure or defraud a third person, not identified with himself. "' A cottage in the occ- ~t * n rt nt ** ~., nth Jones, at M»- " a S on of . MrGrifdown at an- rfv £?***£ Bay ' Tf 88 bl L rnt Port Ch-* "^i y feoUp thl3 m orning. The mn . j-iww* V olunteer Fire Brigade wore v .iflpUym attendance, and did all in their j p©W* to prevent the spread of the conflagratoon. It was insured in the Norwich Union Office for Ll2s—on the house L 75, and en the furniture LSO. ~.,..-.■. The 'Lyttelton Times» atateß that the new threatrical rtg-tn* under Meiw., Hiscooksand Hay man will be inaugurated at Dunedin early next month. A dramatic company collated by them in Australia will open the Princess Theatre with the moral drama " Ten Nights in a Bar-Room," which is now being played 1 with a large amount of success m Melbourne. A three-roomed cottage at Kensington, owned and occupied by Mr E. Osborne; was burnt down yesterday afternoon. The cottage and interests wero insured in the Victoria Office for Ll4O. Mr Osborne was !w y u A^ me at the time « It is stated that Mrs Osborne had gone over to a neigh- «? rS v.?? Be ' and dur ing her absence one of the children lit a fire in the cupboard to kill themes. The police are investigating the The annual meeting of the Peninsula Oounty Council was held at Government Buildings to-day, Mr John M'Lean in the chair. Mr Adam Nicholl was elected chairman for the ensuing year. It was agreed to allocate the subsidy between the two divisions of the Connty in the proportion of £ for £ on the rates collected within the district, the licenses, &c., to be the property of the district in which they were collected. Mr M'Lean, having vacated the chair, was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for the efficient and disinterested manner in which he had ful6lled the duties of chairman during his tenure of office.

The following telegram has been sent by the Mayor of Christchurch to the Borough Councils of Dnnedin, Invercargill, Oamaru, Timaru, Ashburton, Akaroa, Lyttelton, Kaiapoi, Rangiora, Milton, Palmerston, Lawrence, Port Chalmers, Roslyn, Caversham, St. Kilda, Queenstown, Waikouaiti, Hokitika, and Greymouth, and also to the various County Councils in th<> Middle Island :—" Will be glad if you will cooperate with the Christchurch City Council, in urging the Government to have the next sitting of Parliament held at Christchurch, in obedience to a resolution of the House of Representatives last session. The extra expense will be small, and every facility will be given by the people of Christchurch. Please reply early.—C. T. Ick, Mayor." The Caversham Council has already made reply that "it has no objection to Parliament sitting in Christohurch," and Invercargill that it is a matter which Parliament alone should deal with. The agricultural statistics of the Canterbury counties have been published. The yield of wheat ranged from 30 bushels to the acre as the highest, to 17J the lowest; oats, from 33J bushels to 18 J ; barley, from 29| to 20£ ; hay, from 2§ tons to half a ton ; potatoes, from 6£ tons to 4 tons. In the four northern counties there are 2,309 freehold holdings—B7l rented and 440 part rented and part freehold. The grain statistics are : —Wheat, 119,999 acres, estimated to yield 2,239,225 bushels; oats, 72,924 acres, 1,489,566 bushels; barley, 13,628 acres, 281,505 bushels; hay, 9,266 acres, 8,081 tons; potatoes, 3,886 acres, 2,189 tons. The a ores broken up and in grass were 335,230; grass sown on land not previously ploughed, 92,626 ; other crops, 65,629 acres. Total acres under crop, including sown grasses, 717,163. A meeting of the burgesses of Maori hill was held last night to consider the proposed alteration of ward boundaries and the advisability of securing a town hall site. The Mayor (Mr Church) occupied the chair. The following resolutions were carried :—" That this meeting adheres to the originally-pro-posed boundaries of the wards, and that a list stating the rateable value of each ward be attached on the plan, together with the number of burgesses in each ward, and be submitted with petition to the Governor for his approval." " That this meeting sees the advisability of securing a site in the district of Maori hill—say within «ix chains of the district road—for the purpose of building a town hall and public library," &c. The Mayor, Messrs Pilkiugton, G. Davidson, Mitchell, Ross, Talbot, and P. Sherwin were appointed to wait on the Education Board to urge the claims of the borough to a side school. The concert in aid of the Cengregational Church's fund takes place to-night. Mr M. Pym will offer for sale to-morrow a number of sections in the township of West Gore. Several seotions in this township were auctioned a* Invercargill this week, and after very spirited bidding were sold at prices raneinß from L 66 to L 23.