NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIV, Issue 7922, 14 April 1887, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Houses are scarce in Wellington. The inland track connecting Opotiki and Waiotahi is now completed. 5 Out of the 600,000 people in the colony, 120,000 are under 15 years of age. ,r Mr. Jellicoe, of the Wellington bar, is about to leave for England on a lengthened tour. The Government Life Assurance buildings are beginning to make a good show in Queen--6trßßt»' ' Subscriptions are being got up in Christchurch for the purchase of a hand fireengine. Dr. Kenny, of Devonport, has been appointed resident surgeon of the Hamilton Hospital. The Catlins River Railway is to bo commenced to give employment to the unemployed in Otago. . The Thames Advertiser declares that the visit of the Minister of Mines to the district was satisfactory. It is stated that Hall is dying. He eats little or nothing, and never utters a word, even when spoken to. •,.' , . «. Auckland has inflicted a crushing defeat upon' the Wellington cricketers by winning by an innings and 101 runs. There are now nearly SO members of the Permanent Force, A.C., and Torpedo Corps men stationed at Fort Cautley. . The pastor of the First Church, Dunedin, wants an organ, and lately stigmatised the singing as " miserable wheezing." Three interprovincial cricket matches have now been played between Auckland and Wellington. Auckland has won them all. The Government of New South Wales have agreed to increase the vote to the Aborigines Frotection Association to £3000. The introduction of the sixpenny telegram system has led to a great increase in the business of the Telegraph Department in Victoria. . . , It is proposed during next session to asK for a further vote of £1000 for each end of Field's track, between Wanganui and Kotoaira. , . Heavy rains have fallen to the north of "Auckland within the last few days, bat the clouds did not reach the length of the Auckland district. ' . At a recent entertainment at JSapier a number of tableaux were shown under the management of Miss Inewby, of Auckland, and Mrs. if. Heath. . . The Acting-Premier of South' Australia has promised the unemployed that if they are unable to earn 5s per day the Government will increase the rate of wage. Sir Henry Wrenfordsley has been admitted to practice at the Victorian Bar. He has occupied high positions on the. Bench in South Australia, Fiji, and Tasmania. * The annexes of the Melbourne Exhibition will be similar to those of ISSO-1. They will be of wood, iron, and glass, and cover fifteen acres. The coat is estimated at £67,500. , , Mr. Nancarrow, one of the three candidates for the Te Aro seat, in a recent address "to the electors, said that "Sir Julius \ogel was another Beaconsfield, only with a mind greater than Beaconsfield." A first-class musical and literary programme has been prepared for the annual meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association on May 6. Revs. J. Cbew, T. Spurgeon, Messrs. McMillan and Lamb are to speak. ) The principal prize in Mrs. Greenwood's jewellery sweep has' been won by a Herald reporter. The prize is a diamond ring, worth £50, and the winning number is US. The winner had heard that the winning number was 103; hence the long delay in claiming the prize. The business carried on in Wellington by Messrs. Edgar Ashcroft and Co., electrical and general engineers and instrument manufacturers, has been formed into a joint stock company. The directors are * Messrs. Randall Johnson, M.L.C., George Beetham, M.H.R., F. W. Pennefather, L.L.M., and Edgar Ashcroft, the last being the managing director. • The Leamington Town Council has made arrangements for lighting the town by. electricity at a cost of from 20 to 30 per cent, more than gas (at English rates), but for an incomparably better light. A preliminary and temporary installation will be started at once for illuminating the Parade and principal public buildings during the celebration of be Queen's Jubilee.