NEWS IN BREIF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11690, 27 June 1901, Page 6

NEWS IN BREIF.

Ovaj.au left for Fiji. Taviuni due from the Eastern Pacific. The Hatiroto is due from the Islands. The next 'Frisco mail leaves Auckland on July 4. . , „ Lambing lias already begun in the Manawatu district. The building trade in Masterton and surrounding districts is at present very brisk. Cattle continue in strong demand m ftew South Wales, best beef realising 25s per 1001b. . , . _ . The steamer Tekoa arrived from London direct yesterday, after a good passage of 54 davs 23 hours. For the first five months of the current year Victorian imports totalled £6,912,831, exports £8,827.652. , A considerable decrease of stock is noticeable in the returns of the Quensland Regis-trar-General for the year 1900. A man at (-'aims (Queensland) purchased a revolver, and bade an employee call at his otiice. lie was found dead on the employee's arrival. , . United evangelistic services are being relet at Cambridge" throughout this week, the Rev. Hugh Kelly, M.A., of Auckland, being the missioner. The. West Australian authorities have decided that all ships arriving at the ports of the State shall bo inspected, whether they have medical officers on board or not. We understand (says the Wairarapa Times) that a Masterton resident is making a clear profit of £500 a month out of two sawmills in this district cutting totara timThe heavy sea which rolled in the Napier Bay" on Sunday threw a- vast quantity of shingle on to the Breakwater Road, and also broke a considerable portion of the asphalt pathway. The South Australian Zoological and [Acclimatisation .Society have purchased a zebra stallion from Mr. C. Hagenbeck, Hamburg. The animal has left Europe for its destination. In Mr. John Moir's garden.' at Hillend, Otago. can be seen an apple tree with its second crop of fruit —certainly of small size, but well formed. This speaks volumes for the mildness of the season. A party of 10 guns, from Temnka. shot 105 hares in the neighbourhood of Raincliff. The day was a perfect one for shooting, and hares were very numerous. The best shot in the crowd accounted for 36 hares. The scarcity of totara in the Wairarapa is becoming very marked, and it is expected that in a few years the present small supply will be completely exhausted. Other timbers are now being substituted. One of the oldest colonists in Tasmania, Mr. Edward Dumaresq, now in bis 100 th year, drove from his house into Longford, the nearest township, a distance of some seven miles, to record his vote at the late Federal elections. While excavating a -trench at the Spit, Sydney, on the 11th hist., the workmen unearthed a human skull and thigh bone from about 2ft below the surface. No other limbs ■were found, so it is surmised that those discovered are the. remains of an aboriginal. The celebration in Fiji of the religious festival in honour of the nephews of the P&phet Mahomet led to a riot between the Mahomedans and Hindoos, in which clubs, sticks, and iron bars were freely used. As a result a number of rioters were fined in the Police Court.

The statistician of the Victorian Customs Department has prepared a return of the Customs revenue of the State for the last year. The total amount is £2.555.429. made up as follows:—Customs, £2,121.617; excise, £240,679; miscellaneous. £21,930; ports, harbours,-and wharfs, £71.203. The deer liberated in the Wellington district are evidently making their way to Hawke's Bay. A "fine stag was seen lately on a section on the Umutaoroa, five miles from Dannevirke. The animal was within gunshot of a house, but was not fired at. This is the first that has been seen in the district. On June 12 Robert Richard Curry, aged fivb vears, residing with his parents at Surry Hills (.\ew South Wales), was knocked down by a Crown-street tram, which was crossing the road, and killed. His head was terribly knocked about, and the brains were wo- ' trading. Both legs were broken, and there were other injuries. The prizes for the Ponsonby Bowling Club's champion fours were presented at the annual meeting, as follows:—J. Warren (lead), gold medal; J. Coutts (second), gold medal; Jas. Edmiston (third), silver biscuit barrel; Jas. Stichbury (skip), gold medal. The prizes were presented by the club. Two men supposed to have deserted from the Roval yacht Ophir in Sydney have been arretted at Wallsend, and have been handed over to the naval authorities to he dealt ■with. When apprehended, the men, who belonged to the Royal Marine Artillery, had their uniforms covered up. They were in * penniless condition. A daring burglary was perpetrated in Bendigo on the 6th inst., between twelve and one o'clock, when a show case, belonging to Mr. li. Smaller, dentist, was taken from its position in front of the shop aid carried away. It was subsequently found at the rear of the premises, with everything of value that it contained abstracted. In reply to a deputation, urging the necessity for providing a permanent water supply for the mallee districts, the Victorian Minister for Works announced that as soon an its credit and resources would allow. Victoria would see that the disastrous seasons of the past were not repeated. They should not grudge expense in conserving water, and making the make land more profitable. Whatever was done would be clone promptly. . While working on the steamer Wakatipu at Sydney, on June 15. a wharf labourer, named Edward Alfred Baker, had a narrow escape from serious injury. He was taking off a hatch cover, when he lost his balance. and fell down the hold, a distance of about 30ft. Those who witnessed the accident thought that Baker must be killed: but when picked Up he was found to have no other apparent marks of injury than some painful bruises about the body.