THE PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 1874.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1762, 7 April 1874, Page 2

THE PUBLISHED DAILY. TUESDA Y, APRIL 7, 1874.

By a private telegram, received from Keefton on Saturday evening, we learn that the week's returns from "the Wealth of Nations claim was 405c-z of amalgam. The Gazette of Thursday, March 12, contains the annual return of spirits distilled iv New Zealand, published as required by section 93 of the Distillation Act, 18C8 : Number of Imperial gallons of spirits distilled in New Zealand received inqoall bonded waiehouses during the year ended 31st December, 3873, 53,940.2. <i Imperial gallons of such .^iiritßcleaied and taken out of bonded warehouses during the same period — For home consumption 60. 395 5 ; forexportatiou, 82 8 ; total 70,478-4. A Wellington correspondent gives the .following account of the dispute. between the Genera! Provincial Governments which recently came before the Supreme . Court, and which has since been settled : — " Strange as it may appear after all that has taken place, the dispute between the General and Provincial Governments appears likely to be settled — after some sort of fashion— out of Court. A few days sgo both parties were determined to fight their battles witb legal weapons. Counsels had been retained, authorities laboriously looked up, and indeed every preparation made for a determined struggle. The application of the Provincial authorities for a Mandamus requiring the Auditor to act, was followed by an application on the part of the other side for an injunction to restrain the Provincial Treasurer from expending the balance of the L 50,500. Nevertheless, when the Mandamus came on for argument on Tuesday, instead of the brilliant forensic display taking place, there ras only an application made for an adjournment till the following day. Scarcely had this been granted when it transpired that an arrangement was possible, and the adjournment had only been made to fttford time to se+ details.

When the case came on again, a further adjournment was obtained,~by which time it is now stated, on good, authority, such arrangements will have "teen completed between the belligerents as to render unnecessary any further appeal to the Court. It is impossible at the present moment to state definitely what will be the terms of tho ananwements now in coiirao of negotiation. It is, however, understood that tho basis will be that money will be advanced to the Province sufficient in amount to defray the liabilities on the existing contracts for Public Works, and also the current liabilities. The real secret of the sudden cessation of ptoceedings is to be found in the fact that the General Government discovered they had made a mistake in getting up their case. They calculated that, according to the Provincial Audit Act of 1869, the Province would only be entitled to an overdraft of L 12,000 — estimating the pre-. vious year's revenue at L 60,000 — and allowing an over-draft to the extent of one- fifth. But it was found that the L 20,000 gained by the sale of the Wanganui Bridue must also be counted a3 revenues which would bring the total up to LBO,OOO, and hence make the legal overdraft LI 6,000. This being so, weakened the case of the General Government very materially, inasmuch as at the time the new Auditor was refusing to sigu warrant?, the Province had not by any means exceeded the limits of the overdraft to which it was entitled, and hence the action taken by the General Government was not warranted. Had tho General Government been alive to this fact at the time, it is tolerably certain that they would not have instructed the new Auditor to create a dead-lock, nor would they have advised the Governor to disallow the Bill." The Melbourne Leader says :-— " A portable electric gas lighter was some time since brought uuder the notice of tho Royal Society here, and alluded to in these columns as worthy the attention of our city councillors. The chances now seem to be that electricity may ere long supersede gas as an illuminating agent altogether. A new kind of electric lamp has been experimented upon in St. Petersburg with very favorable results. The invention consists of one piece of charcoal or- other bad conductor, which being attached to a wire connected with a magneto-electric machine, is placed in a glass tube filled with a gas that will not, at a high temperature, combine chemically with the charcoal. Upon the electric current being passed through it, the charcoal becomes evenly heated and emits a soft Bteady light. It is said that a three-horse power-engine is capable of producing electricity enough to keep up a continuous light in many hundred lan'erns. This seems to aolve thequestion of street lighting satisfactorily, and is likely to render corporation inder. endent at once of gas companies and the lamp-lighter. Possibly yet another good might result from the adoption -of this mode of illuminating cities. An electrician would have to be employed by the municipal powers that be. Such a person would have mastered at least one science, and might reasonably be expected to have dabbled sufficiently in. other branches of knowledge to be aware that on the occision of a lunnr eclipse, the night is fully as dark as when there is a moonless sky.