NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12602, 17 June 1904, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

. $lomu left for Fiji. falune arrived from the South. A fire brigades demonstration is":to be field in Dnuedin next March . A strong and active' Psychological Society £as 'been formed in New Plymouth. 'U A sawmill at Mornya, New South Wales, has been totally destroyed by fire for the second time.' A number of passengers left by the Moura : .for Fiji yesterday, to join the mail steamer Aorangi for Canada. Three suburban railway stations in South ' 'Australia have been, raided by "burglars. They secured only 20s. * News has been received at Perth, West Australia, of the loss of the lugger Elizabeth, at sea, with six hands. i Under the second schedule of the Noxious Weeds Act, 1900, fennel, periwinkle, and elderberry are gazetted as noxious plants. .- There were 1300 candidates for a position of caretaker at a weekly wags of 355, recently . offered by a Melbourne jpublic body.

The Chinese Friendly Society of New Zealand," situated at Greymouth. is gazetted as a friendly society under the Friendly Societies' Act, 1882. While waiting for a boat at- Manly, Sydney, Matthew Kenny, statioumaster at Armidale, was robbed of a gold watch and chain, valued at £50. ; .-,._• A carter named John E. Skewes was killed at Sebastopol, Victoria, through falling off a heavily-laden waggon, the wheel of which passed over his head. Chopping is increasing in popularity as a,sport in the North Island. The number of clubs affiliated to the New Zealand Axemen's Association has Increased from five

in 1901-2, to 19 in 1903-4. '?■'.'. It is proposed tc complete the fourth storey of the General Post Office, Sydney, |; ot an estimated cost of £2500. Portion of this floor has already been, finished. The central portion is to be dealt with in the present contract. The Queensland gold yield for the last. clonth was 60,5300z, as against 65.5550z for Mav of last year, a decrease of 55250z. The value of the" gold for May of last year ' was £278,474, and for this year £256,271, $ decrease of £22,201. • At Lindeman, Victoria, the other night, • two buggies, one driven by Miss Elsie Hall '■ and the other by. Mr. Horace Smith, collided with such force that both vehicles : * were smashed to pieces. All the occupants, five in number, were badly injured, Mi&s Hall especially so.

; A Frenchman named Edouard' Xo Dilly was sentenced to three months' imprisonment, at the Water Police Court, Sydney, for assaulting Constable McGirr. The policeman was arresting accused for drunkenness, when the latter assaulted him, al- , f most breaking his arm. ■•■ Becently Mr. Michael Brennan fell down the shaft at the Baltic mine, near Croydon,- Queensland, striking Mr. J. Spiers, the manager, who was working at the bottom. Both men were taken to the hospiv tal, where Brennan died. Spiers was only Slightly hart.. The shaft is 120 ft deep. "At jKowra, iSew South Wales, Percy Smith, aged 14, was shot in one thigh and ( seriously injured. It appears that he, with -, others, was out shooting," when a loaded gun that had Owen left oa a rock. commenced to roll, and both barrels went off, the double charge entering Smith's thigh. i ," Aitesian water has been struck at a depth of 242 ft about a mile from Gepps* Cross,'near Adelaide. The water has risen to within 24ft of the surface- It is fit for ':. . irrigation pui"poses, and there is every indication of an abundant supply, but until more boring has been done this cannot be •■proved. ■ The importation of Dexter-Kerry cattle by the Government is regarded with satis.faction in Taranaki. The breed is v speci'iSly adapted for rough country, and its introduction will in time do away with one of.the great drawbacks to dairying in wayback Taranaki—loss ot stock from falling into guinea. l A nswvy named James McSweeney was MBed in Keday's Cutting, on the Miami to Richmond Vale railway, New South Waleit. The deceased was employed on the railway, and he was working on the line v > when a quantity of stone came away from the top of .the cutting, and, falling on McSweeney, killed him instantly. I Some time ago a man named James Reidi lodging at a hotel at Sydney, was robbed ;': of property worth £11 15s. He sought, in the County Court, to recover the value ' of the property, but Judge Chomley nonsuited him, on the ground that the innkeeper was not liable for the protection ' of the goods of a permanent lodger, but only those of a temporary guest or lodg^j*. «' An accident, by which a child 18 months V old, named Wade,, lost: its lifs, has occurred 1 at the Boulder, West Australia. The • inothei iiad occasion to go out of the room, leaving the child'to itself. While she was away the little one made its way to a large box, and, raising the lid, placed its head inside, the lid falling on the back of the infant's head, pinioning it there. When Che mother returned the child was .■ ; dead. A contract has been signed by the Her- ;, cules Company and the Tasmanian Smelting Company for a supply of 130,000 tons of zinc-lead-sulphide ore, and for 2000 tons of zinc-blende. This will necessitate a great increase of work both at the Her-';;-l£<!ules and at the smelters and will give employment to an increased number of men. It is the largest contract entered , into in Tasmania,: and ensures some five years' work at the Hercules mine. _, *