CHRISTCHURCH. May 3.

North Otago Times, Volume XXVIII, 4 May 1881, Page 2

CHRISTCHURCH. May 3.

Two lads named Ellis and Campbell were out shooting yesterday near Battle L ike. The latter was walking ahead when Ella's gun exploded, and shot the other through the left side and arm, He was taken to the hospital, and lies in a piecarious state. At a meeting in the Wesleyan schoolroom, a committee was appointed to col-

loot subscription:* for tl>e fimiliea of the late It vs. M"?sim Rich -ml ■> m and Ar'uitage. Mr George Gould promised LlOO, and L 220 more was promised by others in the room. There are now 124 schools in North Canterbury district, besides the Normal School, employing 400 teachers aiid 30 sewing mistresses. The .children on trie roll at the end of the March quarter were 16,406 ; average atteuxLuc", 11,978. Cipuin J. W. CUrk, in the service of L}ttcUi>n Harbor Board, has been asked ■ oac 1 ' as nautioil assessor at the onqiuiy pro rho wreck of the Tararua, but tho Bo 'ill cannot spare him. Tue most daring and successful burgla' y t'l.it his yet taken place in Christchurch v. i* perpeti.i^d last night at the establishm nt of Mr CJ. Hooper, watchmaker uid jeweller, whose premises are situated next to tho Bank of Australia in Cish'jl street, the ciicumstances relative to which, .if.er careful inquiry has beun made, appear to be as follows : This morning, at about 9 o'clock, Mr Hooper cauio down to open his shop, and found the doors cponed. Thesidedoor leading into right-of-way hid evidently b^en bmst open by the application of strong forcefrom thoouUide. On entering the shop he found that the greater portion of his stock of watchos and jewellery had been taken away. Tho lock of a secret door loading from the back room to the shop had boon taken off with a screw-dryer or chisel. A chisel that had apparently been used for the purpose was picked up on the top of the safe. Tho safo itself, by the way, was untouched. The shJes separating the window from the shop had been opened, and all the articles of value in the window removed. The premies bear signs of having been thoroughly ransacked. The thieves had evidently been disturbed in then- work, as a number of articles of jevuillety, watch chains, and lockets, were round placed iv a piece of pipor on the counter. It is supposed the thieves were collecting these together in order to take them away, when distmhed. Tho tobbery evidently occurred between G. 30 last evening and 5 a.m. to-day. Mr Hooper locked up the .shop and loft everything secure at tho former hour, and the jeweller, who works in a room off the shop, c.une down to wok shoitly after fi/o o'clock this morning, and found the door leading from tho back loom into iho right-of-way open. He thou 'ht that perhaps Mr Hooper had been befoie him, and had left the door open, and consequently went ups'iura to Ins ,voik without taking any further notice. Mr Hooper's loss is very heavy — at a rough guess over L6O0 — as he received a largo number of diamond rings and lockets, as well as other valuable articles, a few days ago. The police were at once communicated with, and are now making every effort to trace the perpetrators of the robbery.