NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XL, Issue 12415, 10 November 1903, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

Z£M.JCS.vtL left for Sydney. HeraW> Summary to-morrow. Westralfo for the South to-day. _ llotokino for the Eastern Pacific this *BSfon valued at £15,959 was sent to London via Sydney yesterday. The membership of the bautm. Canterbury Teachers' Institute now numbers 100. The remains of Dr. Shand, of South Australia, ' have be?a incinerated at the Adelaide Crematorium. A Nelson invention, to be run by a syndicate, is the application c/f flax pith to the purpose of a razor strop. While swimming a horse near Hobart, a youth named Robert Crawford was thrown, and, being unable to swim, instantly sank. The wages of the tramway stablemen employed by the Wellington City Council have been increased from £2 2s to £2 5s per week. , , While dancing on the bank of a creek at O'Conaelltowu, Queensland, Ethel May Jackson slipped into the water and was drowned. ■„_,.,. . . , During October 27 birtns were registered us having taken place in the Gisborne district. There were five marriages during the mouth. Only one death was recorded. Shearing has already started in this district (savslhe Bruce Herald), and on several farms shorn sheep can now be seen. Shearing is, however, rot yet general all over the district. ,«.■.-■»• Fishing in the Hemuka and Opihi Rivers for the 0 first month of the season, one wider larded 584 trout, the largest fish weighing 61b. The highest catch for one dav was 45. There are now attending the evening classes at the Han-era District High School 15 pupils who take lessons in shorthand, 12 book-keeping, 25 art classes, 10 gymnastics, and six typewriting. The total value of minerals other than gold or precious stones won in Queensland for the nise months ended September 50 amount, to £435,769, or an increase of £192.783. on the corresponding, period oi

last year. The drv season in Hawke's Bar La? had th» effect of curtailing the milk supply, which, it was stated at the annual meeting of the Hereraußga Co-operative Dairy Company, La? been "much less than that of the previous year. A Christ church business man on a visit to Wellington writes (says the Press) that land values there are between 50 and 75 per cent, higher than in Christ church. Citv froxfaces'eost £76 per foot for leaseholds, and £300 to £400" per foot are paid for freeholds. Farmers in the Molong district. New South Wales, are taking ever;/ precaution against a repetition of losses by disastrous bush fires. * which occurred a few years back. Fire-baeaks are being made round the crops, and other measures adopted to prevent, i'.'ss by rire. A Taranaki settler who has just returned from a visit to Wellington informs the Waimate Witness that the opinion prevails in financial quarters there that Taranaki has reached the zenith of her prosperity. that, in fact, she is commencing the slide on the downward track. .Another large shipment of Argentine wheat has just left Sydney for the United Kingdom, having failed to find a market in Sydney. The cargo, which consists of 41,000 bags, is on board the French barque St. Louis," which has cleared at the Sydney Customs for Falmouth. The walking craze has reached Napier. A ladies" walking match recently took place ; ia that town, the course being about- three miles and three-quarters. Seven started and three finished, the time of the winner being 41 minutes —not bad going by any means, as it was at the rate, within a fraction, of 5' 2 miles an hour. A trial is shortly to be made by the Melbourne Post Office of motor parcels vans '■'" and letter carts. A firm interested in car-riage-building has undertaken to fit up several motor-vans for trial trips in town : and country. The offer has been accepted, and the Deputy-Postmaster-General will see that the necessary tests are applied to the vehicles. Trie foliewiug is the state of His Majesty's prison, Auckland, for the week ending November 7, 1903:—0n remand, 2 males, 2 females; awaiting trial, 22 males, 2 females; sentenced to penal servitude for life, 2 males sentenced to hard labour, 169 males, 12 females: received during the week, 13 males, 4 females ; discharged, 5 males, 4 females: total in prison, 195 males, 16 females. During a heavy thunderstorm recently. a youth, named Howson, went to post a letter at Kalamanda, West Australia. Upon his net returning, a search, was made, when the dead body was found in the hollow of a large rice, which had been split from top to bottom. The lad had evidently taken shelter in the tree, and been killed by the lightning. He face was unmarked, but his clothes were torn to shreds. The dead body of the boy's'dog lay beside the tree.