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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4123, 8 June 1874, Page 2

The s.s. Albion, Captain Underwood, arrived, as was anticipated, at the Bluff at an early hour yesterday morning;, with the English mail via Suez aud Melbourne, and Australian news to the 2nd instant. The Albion on this occasion made one of the fastest runs on record, having accomplished the run down to Bluff Heads in four days nine and a-half hours —a very smart performance. She sailed again in the afternoon for Port Chalmers, which she would probably reach at daylight this morning. Unless she is detained on the coast to land grain, the Albion should reach Wellington in the course of Wednesday. The results of the Governor's tour to the northern part of Auckland Province, aud the proceedings of his 'Excellency subsequent to his return to the city, were not recorded by telegraph, but we supply the information in this number, as gleaned from the columns of our Auckland contemporaries. By our Melbourne telegrams it will be seen that the firm of McCallum, Neill, and Co., of that city, have suspended payment, aud that their liabilities are declared to bo ,-(■36,000. We understand that the Melbourne firm is now in no way connected with the firm in Dunedin -whose name was originally the same. Miss Clara Stephenson, with members of a dramatic companv, returned from Auckland to Wellington on "Saturday by the steamer Phoebe, after a fairly successful season at the Thames and Auckland city, notwithstanding the extraordinary attractions of an acrobatic troupe now performing there. We believe it is Miss Stephenson's intention shortly to proceed to Christchureh, but in the interval she will give a series of dramatic entertainments in the townships of the Wairarapa district, commencing on an early date this week. A meeting of the committee of tho Wairarapa aud East Coast Pastoral and Agricultural Association, was held in Forester's Court Room, Greytown, on 4th June. Present— Messrs. Wardell, J. P. Russell, Rockel, Kempton, and Mr. C. Pharazyn (in the chair). The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. A letter was read from a settler suggesting an improvement in the kind of ticket used on the day of show to denote tho particular prizes to which the exhibits are entitled. Also one from Messrs. Stokes and Martin, quoting a price for silver medals. The Secretary reported having ordered two dozen silver I medals which, with the number at present in hand, will be sufficient for the prizes awarded at last show. The Secretary produced and read the balance-sheet, which "was made up aud audited to the 01st March last, showing a balance to the credit of the association of £llO ss. 2d. It was resolved —That a meeting of the committee (to be convened by circular as well as advertisement) should bo held at Greytown at 10 o'clock a.m. on the date of the annual meeting, 3rd September next, for the purpose of preparing the annual report, and deciding on site for holding the next show. The following is the balance-sheet :—Dr. 1873.—June 1. To balance from last balance-sheet, £73 I]s. 4d. 1874. March 31.—T0 donations and subscriptions to date, £llO 14s. Gd. ; entrance fees at last show, £27 ISs. fid. ; rent of booths, £l2 10s. ; rent of land, one and a half years, to 30th June, 1873, £4 10s. ; cash received at gate on day of show, £2O os. ; total, £249 13s. 4d. Cr. 1574. —March 31—By expenditure, £139 Ss. 2d. ; balance in Bank of New Zealand, £9O 03. 2d. ; balance in hands of Treasurer, £2O ; total, £249 13s. 4d. A man named Thomas Ferguson, a seaman belonging to the La Hogne, has been missing from "the ship since Thursday last. On that day, Ferguson had been indulging a little too freely, and was advised by one of his shipmates to go on board, which he did in the evening. There was nothing in his manner or condition to excite alarm, and no particular attention was bestowed upon him. He strutted about the wharf for some time, but did not return to the forecastle that night. It is feared that Ferguson has lost his life by drowning. On recalling the occurrence of the evening, the man on watch on board the La Hogue on Thursday night remembers hearing a splash in the water, which he supposed was caused by a fender, or some other portion of the ship's tackle, falling into the water. The police are making active inquiries into the matter. The Bishop of Auckland aud other ecclesiastics took their departure on Saturday by tho Taranaki and Phoebe. The remainder of the ministers in attendance upon the General Synod will disperse homewards in a few days. We observe that with their customary enterprise the proprietors of the Melbourne An/us have made arrangements for the transmission of the results of the race for the Derby direct from London (probably from the racecourse) to Melbourne. The time which the message would occupy in flying round half the world was calculated at one hour. The " Derby Day" is the last AVedncsday (the 27th) of May, and sporting men may, therefore, look forward to receiving the news on the arrival of the next steamer from Melbourne, which will probably be either the Oineo or the Claud Hamilton. We recently published some of the names in the list of prize-takers at the Intercolonial Exhibition, held at Christchureh. We have 'since seen one of the silver medals awarded—a massive piece of silver, on one side of which is a representation of New Zealand scenery, aud on the other an inscription representing the object of the'exhibition and of the award. The medal which we have seen is that awarded to tho Dunedin Distillery Company as a special prize given to them for the promotion of a new industry. Tho same company received bronze medals of similar design. "A Subscriber," referring to some suggestions made by the correspondent of a local contemporaiy, regarding arrangements connected with the opera, writes as follows ; —" I agree that tho present uncertainty (as to the operas to be performed) is very unsatisfactory. I. would suggest a better way of solving the difficulty. Instead of having the plans on which you reserve seats numbered, if each plan were headed with the name of an opera, the public would have an opportunity of reserving seats for the opera or operas they desired to see.' By this means the management would see which operas were likely to be best appreciated, and lie able to make their arrangements accordingly. Holders of season tickets would not then run the risk of being obliged to see the same opera twice." Upon proceeding to array himself in his Sunday habiliments yesterday morning the chief steward of one of the ships in harbor was a little chagrined to find that somebody had had the sailor's pleasure of rummaging his trunk before him. The absence of a silver watch and chain, a breastpin, two pairs of boots, and sundry articles of Smaller value, did not tend to heighten the " chief's" faith in the honesty of those by whom he is usually surrounded, and instant vengeance was sworn against a party who is not altogether unknown. What is known of the movement of the party indicated and the vigilance of the police arc likely to lead to a speedy capture and conviction. A general meeting of shareholders in the Public Hall Company, for the purpose of confirming resolutions passed on the 4th of May, will bo held at the offices of Messrs. Bethuno aud Hinder to-day at four o'clock. The last report from the medical man in attendance upon Kemp's wife, dated May 2S, was to tho effect that she was still dangerously ill. Information has since reached town which ! states that the critical symptoms are fast disappearing, and that another week's care and attention 0 will restore the injured woman to a state of convalescence. The Wellington Volunteer Fire Brigade hold their annual meeting this evening at tho _ ' Athena;um.

The Luna returned yesterday from Napier. In place of the contingent of the Armed ■ Constabulary which she took away, she brings another, also composed .of Maoris, numbering: twenty-three in all, under the command of Captain Mair, who will receive drill instruction, and be quartered at Mount Cook barracks for the next term. The men marched down the wharf at dusk, and are a strapping looking set of fellows. In the fortnight ending on the loth May, 172 messages were transmitted from the Colonies by the over-Australia and submarine telegraph, and ISI were received. The total number of paid messages that passed over the lines was 353. Victoria, as usual, did the lion's share of the business, the total having been llil, while that of New South Wales was 121. The New Zealand business only amounted to ten messages. AUCKLAND. The necessary works for,the proposed line of telegraph to connect Auckland with the Bay of Islands and Hokianga are proceeding, under the management of Mr Floyd, T.E. Electrician to the Telegraph Department. It is proposed, by the Provincial Executive, to increase the pay of the police by the economical amount of Cd. per day. The men work seven days in the week, and for that they are now to receive 455. Cd. We hear that Mr. Patrick Donnelly, of the Golden Crown, has been served with a writ by Mr. McC'ormick, solicitor, of Auckland, claiming £IOO damages on account of alleged detention of a letter sent by Mr. McCormick to another Mr. Patrick Donnelly with whom he was in correspondence in respect to an action against Captain Eraser, R..M. A carrier pigeon about tour months old (says the Thames Advertiser) which had been trained here, was taken to Auckland on Monday, and despatched to the Thames with a message regarding the result of the races next day. Although the weather was most unfavorable, the bird arrived with its message exactly fiftyone minutes after it was released on the racecourse. Wo (Herald) are glad to learn that a good coalfield is likely to be developed within a few miles of Tapu. Three seams have already been discovered, and a great depth can be obtained by means of tunnelling. The coal is said to be of excellent quality, and a sample of it is to be seen on board the Golden Crown steamer. The place is somewhere near the Mata Creek, and only a few miles from the beach. The Provincial Government have requested tenders for the construction of twenty-five immigrants' cottages. These cottages are required to be built of wood, with corrugated iron roofs, and to contain each four rooms. They are to be so constructed that they can be taken to pieces and removed to any part of the Province for temporary use. A person, for refusing to deliver up his railway ticket when requested to do so by_ an official on the Auckland and Onehunga line, has recently been fined 10s. and costs at the Police Court. The same defendant was also fined 20s. and co.ts, or in default, to be imprisoned for seven days, for using offensive language towards the officer who applied for his ticket. These, says the Herald, are the first cases that have been brought under the railway regulations. The sum of £750 has been placed on the estimates for the encouragement of forest planting by Highway Boards. .The Herald disputes the propriety of the proposal, and predicts that it will not be carried. According to the Treasurer's late statement, the revenue of the Province of Auckland is estimated at £92,000 ; the expenditure at £II,OOO, showing an excess over revenue of £23,000, but this is more than met by an advance of £40,000 offered by the General Government as against laud sales, on condition that it shall be appropriated before being borrowed, in order that the purposes to which the money is to be applied may be known. About one o'clock on the morning of Sunday last, the general store of Mr. C. Bell, Churchill, was totally destroyed by fire. The circumstances are thus recorded in the Waikato Times : —John McCandless, a vopemaker, employed at the mill,- first discovered the fire. He lived in a cottage about one hundred yards distant from the store. A heavy clap of thunder and a particularly vivid flash of lightning awoke him about one o'clock. About a quarter of an hour afterwards he heard a noise, which he took for a steamer coming up the river. He got up to look out, and saw that the roof of the store was on fire, and very soon the whole building was consumed. The loss is estimated at £I2OO. HAWKE'S BAY. The Herald learns, with reference to the Waitaha Bridge, that the structure is almost complete, and will be brought to its destination and erected, certainly within two months' time, weather permitting. By the outgoing English mail, fifty-two nominations for immigrants, sent for by their friends, were forwarded home by the Immigration Officer. A meeting will shortly be called to consider the advisability of establishing a Philosophical Institute for Napier. Boiling-down has closed for the present season at West Clive. Mr. K. P. Williams has lately boiled down at his establishment there 295 sheep from Mr. Collins' run at Patangata, with the result of a net weight of tallow of lllcwt. Oqr. 21bs. The first Kindred were fullmouthed wethers, and averaged G7lbs. tallow per head, the total average of the whole 295 sheep being 53.\lbs. The skins aud hides will not from 4s. to" 4s. (id. each. This (says_ the Herald) is a very satisfactory result, and it is worthy of observation that these sheep were not bred and fed on a rich flat of alluvial soil, but on the high land at Patangata. A sale of Crown Lands was held at the Crown Lands Office, Napier, yesterday, _at noon, the lots comprised in the aggregate being 11,8(57 acres. The lots on the runs of Messrs. Couper, MeKinuon, Duff, and Ormond were knocked down to the applicants at the upset price of ss. an acre, as were also certain applications in the Wakarara district. The lots on Mr. McDougall's run realised ;}d. above the upset price. The lots on Mr. Gollan's run, part of application 2070, averaged 9s. 3d. ; ditto application 2161, 37,110 acres, {ls. 4d. In the township of Porangahau, -IS J-acre sections were put up ; most fetched the upset price of £2 10s., but a small portion went as high as £3 lis. — Herald, June 4. NELSON. It is stated that Mr. Stavert, merchant and auctioneer, whose estate is in the hands of his creditors, has left the Province. The English Opera Company is announced to appear in Nelson for a season of six night*, should inducement offer. Eifty pounds weight of stone from the Morning Star claim, at the Anatori, was crushed in the bordan at the Perseverance mine, Collingwood, this week, with the highly satisfactory result of ten ounces two dwts. o f gold : aud the prospect, the Colonist is informed, is holding on equally well. The Rev. Charles Oliver Mules, accompanied by Mrs. Mules and their infant daughter, left Nelson on May 0 for England, on sick leave. They sailed from Lyttelton in the ship Crusader, on May 14. Mr. Mules arrived in this Diocese in' 1807 with Bishops Sutei', as one of His Lordship's Examining Chaplains. The reverend gentleman's health has broken down, and to endeavor to regain it a lengthened sea voyage was recommended aud decided upon. MARLBOROUGH. A Picton telegram reports that, on the morning of the 4th June, Overend's Provincial Hotel was burnt down, but most of the stock and furnituro was saved. It is they are insured in the New Zealand for £750, and in the Victoria for the same amount. The enquiry into the abandoning of the ketch Alert, which was picked up floating about on the coast of Marlborough, has been held at Blenheim, aud resulted in the master being censured for abandoning her. The owner (Mr. Eell) has sold her to the firm who picked her up for £250, which, after deducting the m-j surauco, will still leave him a loser of £2OO.

A compositor, A. J. Hoskins, has been committed for trial at the Supreme Court sittings at Picton, on the charge of setting fire to the Rainbow Hotel at Blenheim. AVe {Marlborowjh Express, May 30) learn that the other day Messrs. Guard Bros., of Port Underwood, whilst out fishing, found a dead whale seventy feet long; but after spending two days in towing and getting it ashore, they found it was one of the kind termed sulphur-bellied, and entirely devoid of oil. They calculate, however, on getting a very fair return for their trouble out of the whalebone, which they have secured. Larikinism appears to be rife at Picton. , On May 25, during a ball at the Assembly Hall of that town, some person or persons strewed pepper on the floor; and next morning, a tradesman had the door-step of his shop torn up. CANTERBURY. Between five and eight o'clock on Saturday morning the inhabitants of the three towns of Timaru, Lyttelton, and Christchurch seem to have felt several smart shocks of earthquake, but no damage appears to have been done. The quake does not seem to have extended to other parts of the Colony. So far as present report goes, the most serious c;*e requiring quarantine which has recently occurred is that of the ship Northampton, which has arrived at Lyttelton with small-pox on board. It may be that the disease may be limited in its prevalence among the passengers, but precautions superior to those usual in other cases will, no doubt, require to be taken. WESTLAND. Eor a second time, as wo learn by telegraph, the valuable saw-mills belonging to Mr. Haworth, of Hokitika, have been burnt down —at least, that portion adjacent to the township. Three years ago they suffered similarly, when the property of Messrs Findlay, Haworth, and Cornfoot. The loss is stated to be a thousand pounds, but that seems a small estimate of a property, the removal of which cost a much larger amount of money.