Telegraphic News.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 238, 1 April 1876, Page 9

Telegraphic News.

Greytown, Wednesday. A large farewell tea meeting took place at Greytown last evening, in honor of the Be v. J. Law, Wesleyan minister. A deputation from Masterton presented him with a purse of twenty guineas. Auckland, Friday. The Union Beach Company declared a dividend of five shillings per share. A boy named Peachy, while doing Blondin on the rails, fell and broke his arm to-day. The Lydia Howard Troupe leave by first boat for Napier. Saturday. The Broderick Castle while working up the harbor this morning stuck fast on the sandspit at the North Shore. She was got off on the flood tide at three o'clock. While being towed after a steamer in the Mahaurangi river a boat capsized, and a settler named Joseph Williams narrowly escaped drowning. The Customs receipts for the week are £42,920. A shark 16ft. long was caught in the harbor to-day. Monday. Scores in the Interprovincial pigeon match : —Wynyard, 18 ; Russell, 17 ; Aitken, 19 ; Hill, 20 ; Middleton, 18 ; Hay, 21 ; Morrin, 20 ; Laing, 24 ; Bishoo, 24 ; Gvvynne, 24. Total, 205. The calendar for the sessions,to begin on Monday next, contain only eight names. There are five charges of forgery, one of wilful murder (Himiona's case), and one of indecent assault. Captain Eyre, Governor of Mount Eden Gaol, lies in a dying state. Tuesday. Antonio Marco has been committed for trial for stabbing Williamson. The wounded man is still in a critical condition, and unable to attend the Court. His depositions were put in evidence. The Tairua Goldmining Company to-day was wound up at a meeting of the shareholders, and the property is placed in the hands of liquidatoi - s, to be sold to a new company called the Tairua Prospectors Company. Wm. Rowe gave a glowing description of the mine, and

prophesied a bright future under new auspices. Henry Wolf was arrested on a charge of obtaining money under false pretences, on board the Llewellyn, just as she was leaving for Fiji. He was remanded to Hamilton. Wednesday. Mr. J. G. S. Grant's letter to the Belfast Newsletter, vilifying the colony, comes to hand by the mail, and provokes general indignation, and leading articles in the Southern Cross and Star. Thursday. The crew of the Broderick Castle, which came alongside the wharf yesterday, created a great disturbance in Queen-street last night. On three policemen trying to take the ringleaders into custody, the whole body assaulted the officers, who had to draw their batons. Eventually assistance came, and five were taken into custody. Edward Conn, an area sneak, well known as having stolen Colonel Faddy's medal, was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment on pleading guilty to four charges of petty larceny. The Governor will examine White Island, and land at Tauranga after leaving Napier. His stay in Auckland will last till shortly before the meeting of Parliament. The Water Supply Committee have drawn up a tariff of charges. Four young men were to-day charged with assaulting Mr. and Mrs. Price, in Newton, on Saturday night. Constable Gamble deposed that towards midnight he saw a crowd in Newton, in which were prisoners and the Prices. Most of them, including complainant, were under the influence of liquor. Told them to go home as they were creating a disturbance by dancing and banjo-playing. Next morning Mr. Price came and laid the charge. Mrs. Price's evidence set out that she and her husband had been shopping and only met, but were not with prisoners. She deposed to prisoners J. Mcllmoyle and D. Mcllmoyle first assaulting her husband, and then robbing her of her money and parcels. When she attempted to scream she was gagged and struck violently on the head. She was grossly insulted by one, and dragged across the road to a green patch near, where David attempted a criminal assault. The evidence is unfit for publication. She struggled with all her might and tore the prisoner's face, when he kicked her in the mouth, cutting her lip and filling her mouth with blood, and threatened to choke her if she screamed. After further illtreatment she became insensible. Donaldson and Lodge, two of the other prisoners, detained her husband while the others were assaulting her. When she came to, she was lying in the middle of the road. She is still suffering from her injuries. In concluding her evidence, Mrs. Price said the men who attacked her were quite strangers to her. She had never spoken to them previously. She was quite sober, and got up from the road and managed to get to a cottage, but was too exhausted to tell her story. In crossexamination by Joy, who was counsel for the defence, the prosecutrix said the constable made a mistake in saying she was dancing or under the influence of liquor. She had only taken a glass of ale and half a glass of brandy that evening. When she came to it was daybreak. Her husband reported the affair to the police. Alexander Young, medical practitioner, deposed to the nature of the wounds. He visited her at her house and found her lip cut through, one of her front teeth knocked out, and a wound on her nose. He found several bruises on her legs and other parts of her body. She had evidently been roughly treated. Benjamin O'Hara, storeman, corroborated the constable's statement as to Mr. and Mrs. Price dancing among the crowd, and being apparently the worse for liquor. William Price, laborer, deposed to being assaulted and hearing his wife scream out. He tried to go to her assistance, when David Mcllmoyle knocked him down, and hammered him till he was insensible. He denied that he or his wife was drunk. Joseph O'Brien, at whose house Mrs. Price obtained shelter, gave evidence, after which the prisoners were all committed for trial. The case created great excitement. The sailors of the Broderick Castle received sentences varying from seven days to one month. A little girl, daughter of a Papatoetoe settler, was thrown from a horse yesterday. Her foot was caught in the stirrup. When the animal was caught the child was quite dead. Grahamstown, Friday. Dr. Pollen, in a telegram to W. Rowe, refuses Government assistance to the unemployed men to leave the Thames to get work, but offers a subscription of £5 as a private individual, towards paying the passages of those who are destitute of funds. They have started cleaning the engine and boiler at the Bright Smile. Pumping will probably commence on Monday. 1 Tuesday. Scarlet fever is spreading; and one fatal case of a virulent type has occurred. Yesterday fresh cases were reported in three widely separate localities in the district. Tauranga, Wednesday. An old resident, a carpenter named Koller, fell off the end of the wharf last night, either coming from or going on board the steamer Rowena. Boats put off immediately, but a strong flood tide being running, and the night being pitch dark, the search proved unavailing, and his body was not recovered until this morning. He leaves a young wife and family. Information has been laid against Captain Morris's agent for bribery and corruption in the last election. A member of the Native Contingent Armed Constabulary has been lost in Oripi Bush. He went out pig hunting eight days ago, and has not returned. Search parties have been out without finding traces. Thursday.

Great uneasiness prevails re non-arrival of the steam launch Elsie, which was reported as having left Auckland last Tuesday week.

At the inquest on the body of Koller, who was drowned off the wharf on Tuesday evening, a verdict was returned of accidentally drowned. Napier, Saturday. The Governor is expected to arrive on Thursday afternoon. He will be entertained at a ball on Friday, and will probably leave again on Monday. The Corporation will present an address on his arrival, and the members of the Club will give a dinner during the visit. The Governor will stay at the Criterion Hotel. Property under a bill of sale from Hart, McKinlay, and Co. was sold by auction for £2OOO. It consisted of all the horses, coaches, drays, and plant on the Taupo line. Wednesday. The Governor is expected to arrive at 4 p.m. to-morrow. The Corporation and the Foresters will present an address and a royal salute will be fired on his arrival, and an undress levee will be held on Friday morning, followed by a ball in the evening. The Club give him a dinner, probaly on Saturday. A charge of perjury against Constable Strudwick has been dismissed. Thursday. The Governor arrived at 4 o'clock, and was welcomed by the Mayor, Corporation, Foresters, Hibernian Society, and a large number of the general public. The Corporation and Foresters presented an address, to which the Governor replied. He was heartily received, and will hold a levee to-mox-row and attend a ball in the evening. He stays at the Criterion Hotel. His visit is expected to be only for ten days. New Plymouth, Wednesday. Strangers are mustering here for the races. A man sinking a well to-day, lit his pipe in it, causing the gas to ignite, which burnt him severely. Nelson, Friday. The cricketers received an enthusiastic reception on their return, and were entertained to lunch before the country players went home. Judge Broad was in the chair. Reefton, Wednesday. The Rev. Edward Samuel Cross, a Church of England minister, has refused to read the Burial Service over the remains of Mr. H. E. Hughes, chemist, a member of the Pacific Lodge of Freemasons. Great indignation is expressed. Greymouth, Saturday. By the Maori Moss, Mayor Kennedy, Woolcock, M.H.R.,s form a deputation to Wellington re harbor works. The Greymouth-Brunner Railway will be opened for regular traffic on Monday. Christchurch, Friday. Several churches have been broken into during the past few days, and the almsboxes cleared of their contents. The Times this morning says the success of Delamain in pulling off the Dunedin Cup four times in succession will be received with general satisfaction by sporting men in this province. Some of the bookmakers have lost heavily, as a few friends of the stable stuck to Pungawerewere throughout, and long odds being offered against her, they landed some large amounts. In one instance a Christchurch bookmaker laid £2OO to £3 against the mare with a local hairdresser ; and in many other instances £IOO to £3 and £IOO to £5 were given. The £250 Derby Sweep at Warner's Hotel was won by a man named Giffin, who, singular to say, also won the last Derby Sweep drawn at the same place. This was for the £250 on the C. J. C. Handicap at the last November meeting. Tuesday. A railway collision occurred on the Northern line this afternoon. The Christchurch and Amberley trains ran into each other at Rangiora. The passengers were severely shaken and some slightly injured, but nothing serious so far as is known as yet. During last month the receipts on the Canterbury railways amounted to £18,090, as compared with £14,771 in February, 1875. The Canterbury team did not fire in the interprovincial pigeon match. No notice was given them of the day fixed for firing. The educationalreturns show that 8545 males and 7897 females are attending the Government schools in the province, the average daily attendance being—Males, 4084; females, 3360. The number of children attending the private schools is 4219. The total number of teachers employed in the province is 316. Wednesday. Nothing serious resulted from the railway accident at Rangiora. The Acclimatisation Society have telegraphed to the Superintendent of Otago, asking him to spare a portion of the salmon ova expected per s.s. Arawata, transhipped from the Durham. A good many men left Lytteiton yesterday in various vessels to proceed to the Palmer gold diggings. The late favorable accounts seem to have had a great effect on many. Twenty more left to-day in the Inverene for Newcastle, intending to work their way to the diggings from that port. Thursday. Yesterday the wife of John Leuthwaite gave birch to two sons and one daughter. The mother died soon after, but the children are alive and doing well. Dunedin, Friday. In three days £1530 was taken in Knox Church Bazaar. Blondin performed last night (first time since Saturday), and there were 5800 people present. There was a large attendance at the opera of "Lucia di Lammermoor." Madame Simonsen and Signor Morley were received with enthusiasm. J|s The charge of perjury against ..GeorgeHarris, instituted by Busch re the re;cent prosecution, was dismissed. The Bench said the

%«- r„vf- to have been brought, and £n—* "*cou rt without .- on his character. Saturday. There was a crowded house at the Opera on FHday night, when "II Trovafcore" was rePe ßi e o d ndin had over five thousand spectators at his show - Monday. The body of Constable Henry Vernon, of Green Island, was found fearfully mutilated m the Caversharn railway tunnel yesterday. Ihe deceased was on duty at the "{ Saturday until half-past 60 clock. Ituinot yet known whether he fel£rom the tram j was run over when walking through the tunnel. He was considered a thoroughly steady and efficient officer. , _ r ~, , The total amount taken at the Knox Church bazaar is £2250. Over 5000 persons attended Blondm s performance on Saturday. He gives three more exhibitions. , , A fire at Milton has destroyed the Commercial Hotel, stables, and outhouses. _ _ On Saturday a fire occurred in Princesstreet South. It did little damage. A fire at James Christie s farm, Upper Harbor, destroyed the house, some machinery, several cows, and an entire horse named Master Morris. The estimated loss is thirteen hundred pounds. . . Mr. J. Murdoch's stable at East Taieri was destroyed by fire on Saturday. The inquest on the body of Constable Vernon will be held to-morrow. It is now supposed that he was walking through the tunnel, not expecting a train. At the race meeting the lessee of the gates insisted on charging the reporters for admission, contrary to the conditions of sale, -begal proceedings have been taken to obtain a refund of a shilling paid under compulsion. Tuesday. The Mount Ida Chronicle withdraws the charge of literary piracy against Mr. Charles Bright. "La Fille de Madame Angot was produced at the Queen's Theatre last night, and promises to have a run. The dresses and properties are very elaborate. . ~,, The cost of the sanitary department ot ,the City Corporation during the last six months has been £2232, including the erection of a fever hospital. At the inquest on the body of Constable Vernon a verdict of accidental death was returned, with a rider that it was desirable that legislation should be passed imposing a penalty on persons trespassing on the railway lines. Marks were found in the tunnel showing that Vernon had been feeling in the dark for recesses, cut for the purpose of affording escape for any person working in, or walking through, the tunnel when a train was coming. His traces showed he had turned back twenty yards before the train struck him. Had he laid down outside the rails he would have ' Wednesday. Judge Williams to-day in the case Regina v. Jenkins discharged the rule with costs. This upholds the coroner's inquisition held in the matter of the George-street fire, and Jenkins will take his trial at the Supreme Court sittings next week. In the Taiaroa salvage case judgment was given for £l2O. The Judge considered the Taiaroa could have reached Bluff Harbor without assistance, though it would have taken perhaps four and a half hours longer. Costs went with the iudement. The amount claimed was £9OOO. J & Thursday. A fire at Caversharn last night destroyed Blair's store and bakery ; also a dwelling and outhouses belonging to Cochrane, brewer Water was so scarce that some beer was used to extinguish the flames. Insurance—Blair s stock, £2OO in Norwich Union, and £4OO m Victoria. Cochrane, £SOO in Victoria. The losers estimate their losses in excess of insurance. Blair kept the post-office. The letters were burnt. In Webb (trustee) versus National ±SanK, Judge Williams granted a rule for arrest of iudffment, and an alternative rule for a new trial. At the trial Webb recovered £3OOO damages. AUSTRALIAN NEWS. Melbourne, March 22. McKean, after undergoing a week's incarceration, was released on Thursday night, and managed to escape without payment of sustenance or other fees. While the matter was being discussed in the House some officious friends of McKean prevailed on the messenger in charge to release him by saying that the motion for his release had been carried. McKean was asked by the Sergeant-at-Arms to return,<but declined. The Age has accused the Chairman of Committees of being drunk and incapable in the Honse, and has repeated the charge. McKean, who owes the chairman a grudge, brings the matter under the notice of the Government to-day. , .. Currency has been given to a most disgraceful scandal, in which the names of nearly the highest personages in the colony are freely mentioned. It is said that decisive proceedings have been initiated, but such, upon the very .best authority, is not. the case Lhere , are all sorts of disreputable scandals about and persons are so pointedly alluded to that they might be photographed. Walter Sherwin, the well-known tenor, has been accused of smuggling cigars. He has furnished an explanation to the Customs authorities in vindication. The salmon ova have arrived. Forty-three boxes unpacked at Ercildoun showed about a third sound and healthy. A quantity taken to Ballarat died, owing to the high temperature of the water, 64 degrees, when it ought not to have beeii above 50 degrees. Altogether only about a third of the whole shipment remains sound. Scarlet fever is still very prevalent in all parts of the country. Many deaths continue to occur.

The celebrated horse Gang Forward will be shipped from London to Adelaide this month. . iii. The Suez mail will again be a week late. The China brings on the mails and passengers instead of the Bungalore. Mdlle. De Murska has concluded her performances here ; she will probably leave for New Zealand next week. There is every prospect of a joint rifle team from Sydney and Melbourne visiting both Wimbledon and Philadelphia this year. The greatest part of the funds have been obtained fn Victoria, and the men can be found willing to go. , , , . The Kyneton races were not largely attended. The Alpha filly won the Kyneton Handicap ; Ella the Dalhousie Handicap ; and Barmaid the Lauriston Handicap. The Assembly got through a large amount of business last night, and passed several Bills, including the Mining on Private Property Bill • also a Bill to establish the postal card'system, and two of the new Taxation Alfred Anderson, the husband of lima de Murska, who died this morning, was only AH years of age, and has not enjoyed many months of wedded life. He was very ill when he married. . ' , Fearful acccounts have been received ot the drought in Queensland. In the Warrengo district the thermometer has stood at 112 for three weeks, and all the rivers are fast drying up, and the cattle dying in all directions. In the Bourke district no heavy ram has fallen for two years. Several ships are now long overdue, lhe Loch Laggan is almost given up.