NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11059, 10 May 1899, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

'Frisco mail arrived. Mararoa gone South. The Ovalau left for the Eastern Pacific last night. ... It is stated that the price of meat wilt shortly be raised in Wellington. The' Chief Justice (Sir James Prendergast) has tendered his resignation. The Port Chalmers Borough Council have decided to erect abattoirs at a cost of £1200. Between 500 and 100 bales of hops were shipped from Nelson for New Zealand ports und Austin ha one afternoon recently. A companv, with a capital oi £6000, has been formed to work the cinnabar deposits near the Thames. r< The chairman of the City Schools Committee (Mr. Squirrcll) advocates some important alterations in the public school syllabus and standard examinations. Speaking at To Aroha yesterday the Governor said it was a striking thing that in the production of gold New Zealand was putting her foot forward. The Government has informed the chairman of the City Schools Committee that they hope to introduce ft Technical Education Bill during toe coming session. Tho Waihi people arc lighting hard for a oorough. The place has grown considerably of late, (he computed population within the proposed borough confines now being 40K). ' . , The little bov Evan, who so mysteriously disappeared from Hikutaia. over a week ago, has, according to information received, at Paeroa yesterday, turned up safely at Ctahuhu. The North Otago Times states that the Land Purchase Board have made the National Mortgage and Agency Company— owners of the Three Springs Estate, Fairlie —an offer for the property for settlement pui poses. Says the Oamaru Mail :—The record yield of oats in this district is reported from a small paddock on the Ardgowan Estate. From five acres 610 bushels were threshed The crop was so heavy that it had to be cut and bound by hand. The Queensland Government has created a new oflice, that of Inspector of Totalizators. It will be the officer's duty to visit the various racecourses in the colony for the purpose of investigating the working of the totalisators and making sure that the Government sustains no loss.

The sub-committee for the proposed bowlin;; and tennis club at Mount Roskill are experiencing some difficulty in finding a suitable and central site for the club. They Lope, however, to be successful shortly, and will call a meeting by advertisement in a few days 10 consider their proposals. There is great mortality among poultry just now in Coromandel. It is duo to an jr-sect- known as the flying ant, about half an inch in length, for which poultry seem to have partiality. In the majority of cases the ant sticks iii tho throat, and stings the fowl. The throat then begins to swell, ending in suffocation. The representative of the Argus, who is travelling through New Zealand with the Victorian Commissioners, cabled to his paper that their visit to Levin farm was somewhat of ,1 disappointment, as only a few persons were found in occupation of the farm, and but little of ail instructive character could be ascertained from them.

Long distance telephones are proving a success in Victoria, from the point of view of profit to the department and convenience to the public. Geelong, Wcrribee, and Hal]arat (74 miles) are now connected with Melbourne, and the lines are worked at a profit, Bendigo will probably he connected soon. The distance to there is 100 miles. An insect pest has been very busy among apples this yeai in Canterbury. The insect ill question, which is known as the fusieladium (says an exchange), attacks first the stalk of the apple, and then bores through the adjacent skin. Several orchardists have carefully plucked their winter apples, only to discover that all hope of preserving them has been put out of the question by the inflect.