NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9710, 4 January 1895, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

•Tans is the last day for p&yraenb of City water rates, also auctioneers' and other licenses. , The Marton Mercury, at present published as an evening paper, is shortly to be issued as a morning paper. The committed of the Charitable Aid Board sat yesterday. There were very few applications for relief. The business ■ and fine building of the Bank of New Zealand at Newcastle, is to be taken over by the City Bank of Sydney. An old man named Wright, employed at Grasamore Station, near Wilcannia, committed suicide by blowing his brains out. In the Caledonian sports, P. Sceats was a tie with H. Young in the mile bicycle handicap. A. Sceats was third in the fivemile bicycle handicap. A game ot living whist played last week on the ground of the Nelson Tennis Club, , attracted great interest. Those representing the cards were beautifully costumed. » On Christmas Day, an elderly woman named Mrs. Bridge fell down in a fib while ■walking along a footpath, and broke one of her legs. She was removed to the Palmerston Hospital. A lad named Stapp, 15 years of age, rode to Wanganui from New Plymouth. He itarted on his journey at three a.m. and reached his destination at seven p.m. A little girl, six years of age, named Elizabeth Gunn, was knocked down and run over by a cable tram in Sydney lasb week. She died shortly afterwards. A young gold miner, named John Jenkins, attempted to cross the Tumub River, New South Wales, on horseback on December 19, and was drowned, lie mistook the ford. ,\ ~ . . ' A drought of unusual severity is being experienced in Tasmania, and unless rain speedily falls the harvest will suffer heavily. In many districts the crops are already ruined beyond hope of recovery. The Rev. Dr. J. Paton has handed a cheque for £10,000 to the Moderator of the Victorian General Assembly, with the request for a steamship to aid the work in the New Hebrides— request has been granted. At Oamaru, the other day, a butcher when cutting up a lamb found in the neck of the carcase a wire" nail, about 2Jin in length. The nail was all rusted, and had evidently been there during mosfa of the lamb's short life. One shilling and threepence was the amount of capital found on a bookmaker arrested for betting on the Melbourne Cricket Ground recently. He was fined £5 for betting, and a like sum for resisting the police ; £10 in all. Mr. D. Gouk intends to, make another attempt to secure the plate, etc., on board the s.s. Wairarapa as soon as the weather gets settled. He intends, it is understood, doing so at his own risk, and gets 50 per sent, of the salvage, whatever it may be. The chairman of the Hanging Committee of the Art Gallery, Mr. Payton, baa received a letter from Mr. Win. Aitken, offer- , ing an oil painting by Cuyp for the Art Gallery. The kindly offer has been accepted, and in due course the painting will be placed on view. A New Plymouth paper says "We understand that satisfactory progress is being made at the petroleum works. The experts are well pleased with the indications ; and as the necessary alterations to the derrick have been made, the boring will be started almost immediately." An order nisi to review the decision of the Port Melbourne justices who gave judgment against William Howard Smith , and Sons (Limited), owners of the Gambier, which was sunk near the Heads, for £3058, charged by the Customs Department for blowing up the wreck, has been granted by a Victorian Judge. The other night a single man, who gave his name as Gerald Fitzgerald, a ship's Bteward, residing in Sydney, endeavoured to take his life by cutting his throat with a rr-cr. Fitzgerald asked the proprietor of a restaurant in George-street for a sharp knife. His request was refused, and a few minutes afterwards he was noticed walking along the street with blood streaming from his throat. The police then took charge of him. Mr. George Dodd, whilst fishing at Tarwin Creek, Mirboo North, in Victoria, came across a fish about four feet long. Unfortunately the fish was in a decayed ■state owing to getting entangled in some fallen timber, but the skeleton is complete, lb has four sets of gills, and a number of feelers round the gills. It is supposed to be a salmon, but how such a huge fiah could get into such a place remains a mystery. Who says that Oamaru, with its heavy liabilities and its default, is not booming ? : , —or at least that it is not solidly substantial from a financial point of view {says the local paper). There has not been a bankruptcy registered at the local office duriDg the last three months, a thing that has not happened since the Act of 1883 came into force. This is as complimentary a Christmas box as we could give ourselves. _ What town in the colony can boast a similar record ? Trouble has arisen in the See of Grafton and .Armidale, and the Bishop has summoned a special session of the Synod for January 23, " To consider the possibility of continuing the independent existence of the Diocsse of Grafton and Armidale in view of the grave financial calamity which has befallen it as regards the bishopric endowment fund." This calamity is connected with an unfortunate investment made by the trustees over three years ago, »nd quite one-half the endowment) of £10,000 is affected by it.