TELEGRAPHIC.

New Zealand Mail, 21 February 1901, Page 22

TELEGRAPHIC.

.AUCKLAND, February 14. The greatest interest is felt here in the race to Sydney between the Mararoa and the Sonoma. The Mararoa left before midnight on Tuesday, and passed Cape Maria at 1.20 p.m. yesterday, taking 13 hours 15 minutes. The Sonoma lert at 5.20 a.m., and passed the Cape at 6 p.m., taking 12 hours 40 minutes. The Sonoma thus gained 35 minutes. Dr Charles Cathcart, F.R.0.5., a. distinguished lecturer on surgery in Edinburgh, is visiting the colony, and has left for the South by way of Rotorua and Wanganui. Many Edinburgh graduates in the Southern cities will be glad to give him a hearty welcome. > A newly-born child was found abandoned on the harbour reclamation this morning. The child was given to the Door of Hope Institution. AUCKLAND, February 15. Large numbers of visitors are arriving from the country districts to take part in the reception of the Imperial troops. To-morrow will be generally observed as a holiday. If the weather is fine an enormous crowd of spectators is sure to witness the demonscra,tion. The Hons J. McGowan and I'. Y. Duncan are already in town. The. Premier and Mr Ward are expected tomorrow. The . Indian officers returned -;from Rotorua to-night. AUCKLAND, February 16. - The Kaihu Hotel was destroyed by fire late last night. All the inmates escaped except two gum-diggers (whose names are at present unknown), who were seriously injured. The fire spread with great rapidity and nothing in the hotel was saved. GISBORNE, February 14. There was splendid weather to-day for the Caledonian Society’s sports. H. Atkins won the hurdles and 100yd.s, Somers the 220yds. Morris the 440yds, Roderick the half-mile, and Beck the mile. McKechnie carried all before him in dancing, being first in every event, D. Campbell doing the same m bagpipe playing. A case of importance to local bodies and contractors was decided to-day. D. Courtenay sued the County Council for

a balance of contract money. The work had been passed by an engineer, but the Councillors were not satisfied, and the - contractor did further work. Councilloi-s said he did it willingly to satisfy the Council, and not as extra work to be paid for. The Magistrate, held that the contractor might have accepted the engineer's certificate, but not having stood by that, was not now justified in claiming further. The contractor had evidently had too many masters to try and please . GISBORNE, February 16. —At the Rechabite Council the following officers were elected : —Chief Ruler, Mr W. Stead, Invercargill; Deputy - Ruler Mr J. Whitaker, New Plymouth; Sectary, Mr F. H. Fraser, Wellington; Treasurer, Mr W. J- Bennett, Wellington; Past Chief Ruler, Mr W. J. Gau- , din, Wellington.; Superintendent of ' Juveniles', Mr T. Fathers, Nelson. The meetings closed! this afternoon. It was decided to hold the next, district meeting at Christchurch in February, lyUo. NAPIER, February 14. The Omaranui and Puketapu estates c Mr J. Hislop were bought underthoffiuamer to-day by Mr W. Kinross White tor <£57,250, considerably less than the pm at which they were offered to the ment under the Land for Settlements business at the General Synod mainly consisted of confirmatory resolutions votes of thanks to officers of the Rvnod and for hospitality. The report of the Board of Theological Studies was «dot>bed. This mainly dealt with the en the lines suggested by the Auckland Sunday Schools Board. - NAPIER, February 15. Messrs Crowther and Macaulay’s Taupo coach came into collison this afternoon with a spring cart, fatally injur_ ng two horses in the coach. One ot the passengers, who jumped ouu, sprained his ankle. Subsequently two of th coach horses, carrying with them portions of the harness, came into contact With a cab driven by Mr J. Keatmg, who was thrown to the ground, and considerably bruised about the head. Owing to the ambiguous way m which the Primate spoke at the Synod yesterday, he was generally understood to say he was going to England as chaplain to the troops on the Britannic. He informed the Synod that the Premier bad offered hnn a passage Home in the Britafimc, and as there was no chaplain with the troops, he would accept the offer if the Synod would consent. It transpires that by home lie meaat #JJplßß?F»bruary 16. Joseph Davis, a. single man atout 50 year* ofagewhois £ -Wch he «. driTiog at A, February 14. A severe shock <rf earthquake was felt at 1.55 to-day, and another, much heaviei\ at 5.40. , -, NELSON, February 14. At the annual meeting of the Nelson District Oddfellows relative U> the establishment of a governing body or executive for Oddfellows in the colony, it w*e unanimously resolved to support the establishment of an annual movable

committee, and delegates were elected to attend a conference oil the subject at Auckland or elsewhere. The funds of the district exceed £7OOO, and the membership is 738. The funds of the lodges of the district exceed £25,000. A rather sharp' shook of earthquake was experienced at 5.30 p.m. No damage was done. BLENHEIM, February 14. Mr Thomas Webster, an old resident of Picton, cued this afternoon. A ballot was held to-day at Kaikoura for a small grazing run in the Washdyke Survey District. There were i/5 applicants for the section, Mr G. A. Parsons, Kaikoura, being successful. A severe and prolonged earthquake was experienced here about 5.30 o clock this evening. A smaller shock was felt yesterday at 6.30 p.m.

Mr Scott, from Scott Bros., of Christchurch, met with a serious accident at the A water© bridge, which is in course of construction. A girder which was being put into position fell out of its place and struck Scott, throwing him off the ladder some distance to the ground. In addition to sustaining several broken ribs he was considerably bruised and shaken, but is progressing favourably. WAKAPTJAKA, February li. The Eastern Extension Cable Company’s repairing steamer Recorder vCaptain Breriton) arrived in Cable Bay this morning, having located and removed the fault in one of the cables between New Zealand and Australia. The two electricians in charge on the ship are New Zealanders —Messrs R. R. BUck and M. B. Woolcombe, both of' whom were trained at this station.

A very heavy sea sprang up this afternoon, and the Recorder had to run to the Oroixellef* for a safer anchorage. The electricians and several of the Asiatic crew who were ashore were unable to regain the vessel, and are quartered on the station for the night. The Recorder will return for these men as soon as the sea moderates, and then irroeeed to Wellington.

WANGANUI, February 14. Messrs Freeman R. Jackson and Co. continued their ram fair to-day. The attendance twas large, but except for Border and English Leicesters the bidding was decidedly lower, and owners had to accept at least half to one guinea less than . yesterday. Wm, Wilson’s flock Lincolns topped the second day’s market with £4 9s 6d, and the New Zealand Land CompanyVs Border Leicesters averaged; £6 10|S 9d, 1. Martin’s English Leicesters £5 10s 3d, and J. S. Holmes’s £5 Bs. Altogether 1400 rams were sold under the hammer. The few Lincolns withdrawn may find buyers to-morrow. The delegates to the Presbyterian Assembly were entertained on a river excursion to-day. The trip was thoroughly enjoyed. In the evening the Assembly met, when a report on Sabbath schools was read. Amongst other things the report mentions that in the Sabbath schools there are 1500 teachers and 15,000 scholars. With regard to the annual examinations held last October, the examiners’ reports testified to the excellence of the work. The Rev W. Sbirer moved th© adoption of the report. Th e motion was seconded by Mr J. G. W. Aitken, and carried. Various members urged the necessity of more attention being paid to Sunday schools. The Foreign Mission report was read, and th© discussion adjourned l till next day. A sharp shock of earthquake was felt here at 5.35 to-night.

WANGANUI, February 15. The Presbyterian Assembly met this morning l . It was decided that the Rev W. Thomson should hand in his ministerial certificate before being heard at the bar of the Assembly on Monday morning. The discussion orTroreign missions was resumed. The Rev Mr Grant, convener 1 , moved a resolution expressive of thankfulness, to God for the great blessing in Tanna, and also expressing regret at the increased aggression of the French in the New Hebrides. Several members of the assembly spoke highly in favour of the good work done by Mr Furlong, a Christian trader, in the New Hebrides. The Rev Mr Painter, a missionary from China, addressed the assembly, giving a most interesting account of the spiritual needs of China. The assembly then dealt with a reference from the Wanganui Presbytery re the resignation of the Rev Mr Chisholm, of Palmerston. The reference was not sustained, and the matter was referred to the Presbytery to deal with. The Assembly met in the evening at 7 o’clock. The report on union with the Presbyterian Church of Otago, read by the convener, the Rev J. Paterson, recommended that the Assembly should accept the basis of union adopted by the last Synod of Otago. The Assembly unanimously and enthusiastically adopted the report, and requested the Moderator to call an in hunc effectum meeting to arrange for the consummation of the union. The Assembly then rose and sang the Doxology and psalm 133. The Rev Dr Elmslie also led in prayer. The meeting was one of the most impressive and enthusiastic ever held by the' General Assembly of New Zealand

The Rev Mr Grant and Mr Bell, elder, spoke warmly of the kindness they had received at the recent meeting of the Otago Synod.

The deputies from Otago, the Revs J. U. Spencer (Moderator), J. Gibb. D. Borrie and Fraser, were then introduced and gave splendid addresses, for which they were heartily thanked.

WANGANUI, February 17. Mr H. Buxton, traffic manager on the Wanganui section of New Zealand railways, who has just been transferred to Auckland, was given a send-off -by the representatives of all grades of the service last night, and presented with a silver tea and coffee service, a silver tray, a silver-mounted cut-glass spirit stand!, and! a smoker’s Outfit. Mr

Piper, late of . the Greymouth section, succeeds Mr Buxton. GREYMOUTH, February 15.

In the District Court the case against the Lawson Brothers and Pring, charged with “salting” the Foley’s Extended mine, was commenced to-day. The. jury panel was nearly exhausted by challenges. The Crown Prosecutor took an hour to open the case. The witness Tansey is now being examined, but so far no new facts have been elicited bejmnd those already known. GREYMOUTH, February 17. At a special general meeting of the Greymouth Football Club on Saturday evening it was unanimously decided to send a team to visit the East Coast at Easter, playing matches at Dunedin, Christchurch, Oamaru and Ellesmere. CHRISTCHURCH, February 14. A nautical inquiry was held at Lyttelton to-day before Mr R. Beetham, S.M., and Captains McLellan and Mur-

ray, assessors, touching the recent collision between the steamer Rotomahana

and the ketch Kestrel, by which the latter was dismasted. After hearing evidence, the Court gave its decision that Patrick Darragh. master of the Kestrel, was blamable for leaving his vessel in charge of one man, an uncertiftcatod mate, without a look-out; that the collision was due to the fact that a

bright or flare light was not shown on the ketch from the time the green light of the steamer was seen; that the second officer of the Rotomahana displayed sound judgment in not. porting the helm before he had picked *up the ketch, and did his best to avoid collision, and was in no wise to blame. The costs of the inquiry are to be paid by Darragh, and all certificates to be returned. When Solomon, the Maori charged with forging an order at the Chatham Islands, was brought up at the Magistrate’s Court to-day, Mr • Stringer, Crown Prosecutor-, explained that accused had been tried by the Stipendiary Magistrate at the Chatham Islands and pleaded guilty, and was merely sent up to the Supreme Court here for sentence. The Magistrate had omitted to forward the proper warrant of indictment, and it was necessary to bring him before the Grand Jury here. Accused still pleaded guilty, but to the surprise of everyone, the jury refused to return a true bill. It is difficult to conceive on what ground the jury acted. It would be unbecoming <of him to speak disrespectfully of grand juries, but one in Timaru recently made a presentment to the effect that in their opinion it was time, grand juries were abolished, with which the Judge said he did not at all agree. It was possible the Cliristchurch jury desired to afford a striking illustration of the correctness of the opinion of their Timaru colleagues. Perhaps vn© jury considered no forgery had been committed. It was difficult to believe that a body of men supposed to be more highly educated and to possess more intelligence than average citizens could commit such an absurdity. It did not require more than plain common sense to know that the crime of forgery depended upon the intent with which the act was done, and not upon the manner in which the name was spelled. The rejection by the Grand Jury of the bill presented by the Crown was not conclusive, and it lay with the Crown whether the case was made the subject of fur oner proceedings. In the present case, seeing that the jury had acted in defiance of the clearest and most conclusive evidence, and upon no intelligible principle, he felt it his duty to bring these fresh proceedings. Solomon was then charged in Maori by Mr Bishop, S.M., and pleaded guilty in tihe same language, unintelligible to the reporters, and was committed to the Supreme Court for sentence. CHRISTCHURCH, February 14. Lord Ranfurly left Cheviot this morning, en rotate for Kaikoura and Blenheim.

It has been definitely decided that the United Fire Brigades’ Conference will open at Christchurch on 24th June. The competitions will start on the following Thursday. The polo match yesterday between the visiting Victorian team and the 'Christchurch Club resulted in a- wiu for the visitors by five points to four, after a hard-fought game. CHRISTCHURCH, February 10. The Government has purchased thirtytwo acres on the river HeatJieote, near the Port Hills, about two miles from town, for closer settlement purposes. The property was originally known as Packer’s, but for some years has been owned by Mr J. Freeman, confectioner. The purchase price is £9O per acre. CHRISTCHURCH, February 16. At an inquest to-day on the body of a young woman who had been attended by C. J. Russell, M.D., Mr Beetham, Coroner, said Dr Russell’s certificate had not been accepted because he was not registered. He was not e bound in the matter by the Government or anybody else, and being satisfied with Dr Russell’s qualifications, he would take his evidence, though he was not on the register. Whenever h© felt that a postmortem examination was necessary he Would order it, but would not order a post-mortem examination when he thought it was not necessary. CHRISTCHURCH, February 17. A sad accident occurred last night, by which Branchman Benjamin Berry, of the Christchurch Fire Brigade, lost his life. The brigade was called to attend a small fire in Sydenham. Just after the Deluge steamer left the station Berry attempted to mount while it was in motion. He missesd Ms hold and fell. The hind wheel of the engine and the reel went over his

stomach, mangling him frightfully. He was got into a cab. but expired before reaching the hospital. The deceased was 35 years of age and leaves- a wife and six young children. He was one of the smartest men in the brigade, of which he was a member for ten years, and was very energetic in assisting anything for charity. At an inquest to-day th© verdict was accidental death, a rider being added to the effect that notices should be posted at the stations warning firemen not to get on engines in motion.

DUNEDIN, February 15. At the Police Court to-day William Stanton was charged with wilfully and falsely using the name and title of “Doctor” Stanton, implying that he was registered under the Medical Practitioners Act, 1869. The case was adjourned to permit of the production of defendant’s application to become a telephone subscriber. . The police to-night made a raid on the premises of one Bilson, a fishmonger, of George street, and seized a large quantity of liquor. A charge of sdy-grog selling will follow. In the Otarama stabbing ease Alexander Thompson was committed for trial for the murder of the sailor Gibbs. When the charge against Carl Kunst, the other man arrested, was railed, the Crown Prosecutor said after looking through the depositions he couhl find no evidence against the man, and he did not intend taking proceedings. Th e Stipendiary Magistrate quite approved of this course.

At the Dunedin Amateur Swimming Club’s tournament, the 100yds Championship of Otago was won by G. A. Tyler (Auckland), who beat A. M. Sims (Dunedin) by less that two feet. Time, 75 l-osec. The foundation stone of the head convent for the Sisters of Mercy at South Dunedin was laid to-day by Archbishop Redwood in the presence of a large assemblage. Pontifical High Mass was celebrated by Bishop Grimes, Archbishop Carr (Melbourne) being the preacher. The amount laid on the stone as contributions was nearlv £SOO INVERCARGILL, February’ 15.The district is experiencing similar weather to l that which prevailed some years ago, when there was, as now, much ice in the Southern Ocean. There is not much sunshine, and the temperature is erractic, while showers are frequent.