NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12175, 22 January 1903, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

iiOCBSSIOM.DAT. ■ Hkrau> Summnxy. T ,'Erisco mail leaves to-morrow. *" Oval an due from the Eastern Pacific. » The sew bell for the Oauwu Post offic< .weighs 41cvvfc all but a few pounds. A rabbit -trappers' union in the Soutl proposes to g?» into the export business. Milton, Otago,--had record railway pas- ! ■ 'sensar bookings {2220) during last month. i • The rainfall at Inglewood, Taranaki, during 1902 reached the extraordinary total of 78.33 in. , The publicans of (Queenstown have agreed among themselves to- strictly adhere to the licensing laws. :-'.'■ ... , A movement is at present on foot to establish a dairy factory at Tinwald,. in the Ashburton «strict. - The North Otago Times draws attention to the daily fall in the price of flour which * has followed upon the rapid rise of a short time ago. ... . _ . , ' Fruit crops in the yicinity of Roxburgh and Miller's Flat, Otago, have suffered greatly from an excessive downpour of rain -.. Jast week. .' ■-, •";"'';: '■';. \-,';, '■' , It is stated that there will be a shortage, in the wheat crop in the Temuka district in consequence of the rain which has v t fallen so persistently of late. Twenty-one bands, mustering 600 players, will be present at the band contest, and \ ib is said that this constitutes a record for a New Zealand band contest. During the first nine days of the new year no fewer than 18 inquests have been held at the Melbourne morgue, in addition to about half-a-dozen in the suburbs. • In 1902 there were 47 insolvencies, ex--1 cluding annulments, 53 assighment-s t and 1543 bills of sale, live stock mortgages, and nuptial settlements in South Australia, _ ' A girl named Maud Gerber, aged 13 • : years, was : being operated upon at her parents' residence. Auburn, Victoria, for a ■■;",.' post nasal growth, and died while under the influence of chloroform. ~- / . * It is expected (says the Brace Herald) ■-> that negotiations in progress for the purchase of several large estates for closer : settlement will be satisfactorily concluded .within the next few weeks. The infectious diseases reported as having occurred in Wellington City last week were as follows:— Scarlet fever, 30 cases; • ■.':"■■ ■ tuberculosis, 3; measles, 1. Measles is ' . not now a notifiable disease. The Queensland Government has decided to cease the running of the Cooktown and Bowen railwavs from the end of the present month, owing to the insufficiency of ' ■'': the traffic to pay working expenses. A youth named Charles Anderson was 'drowned at Benalla, Victoria, while bathing in a waterhole. Another youth, named Caelli, who tried to rescue Anderson, nar- ?•' rowly escaped sharing the same fate. ; ,':. As a train was approaching Beechworth, Victoria, a prisoner named Stephen Stone, - alias Wilson, escaped from custody byjumping out of the carriage window. He .was wearing prison clothesj and was : - quickly . recaptured. - ;» -Unprecedented prices (says the Winton Becord) are ruling for all kinds of stock, cattle and sheep being in special demand. Many buyers from Canterbury and other places have been searching the district for several weeks past. . At Trafalgar, Victoria, the youngest son of Mr. W. H. Waze was playing in the garden when a tame magpie which be-j longed to a neighbour approached, in- J stantly flew at his face, and destroyed the sight of his right eye. • '-- The other morning a- son of James Richmond, a' vanman residing on the Waterworks Road, Brisbane, was horrified upon going into a stable connected with the premises to find his father hanging by means of a rope to the rafter. .A married man named Joseph Landrea was engaged at the Claremont State School, West Australia, in fixing a weatherboard partition; 20ft ; by; 12ft, weighing 14cwt, when it slipped and fell on his head. Death was instantaneous. • Some fine large trout have been taken in „ the vicinity of Winton recently. In the ,'."'*'' Oreti one turning the scale at LLjdb was captured, and a 13-pounder came, out of the water at Lumsden. Good baskets have also been obtained from the Lora and Otapiri. ' '. '' : A gentleman who has been through the district informs the North Otago Times | that within the past 10 days the crops have j made remarkable progress, and it now only ; .' , requires a spell of fine weather to make I the return to the farmer one of the most abundant ever reaped there. Speaking at a reception given him at ■ Hokitika recently, the Premier remarked ; that when the timber had given out in most other places, there would still ;be •• * plentiful supplies of it in that .district, and the people would be obliged to come \ to the West Coast for it. ' .. 1 / ,- A . peculiar coincidence , in, connection ; ' with a marriage at Axrowtown recently (says the Lake County Press) was that the contracting parties were both named Smith, the bride was given away by a Smith, the bridesmaid was a Smith, while ' the bridegroom by profession 'is a black--smith. - ■ ,- In marked contrast to the wet weather "on the coast, the Upper Clutha districts of Wanaka, Hawea Flat, and Tarras have for a long time back been suffering from a severe drought, but a heavy rainfall was experienced the other day, which will prove rof great benefit to the pastoralists and farmers of the district..