TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5315, 8 April 1878, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

(FROM OUK OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Palmerston North, Sunday. Mr. Wildbore’s blacksmith’s shop at Awahuri was totally consumed by fire yesterday morning. Only the chimney-stacks are left standing. Mr. Wildbore is a great loser, being uninsured.

(PER PRESS AGENCY), Auckland, Saturday, Sir George Grey has returned from Kawau revived iu health. He aud Mr. Sheehan will visit Hamilton and Te Awamutu on Monday, and will return to Auckland on Wednesday, without visiting the King country. The Governor, with Commodore Hoskins, goes to Tauranga and the lakes on Monday. The following were elected Grammar School Governors :—Messrs. D. L. Murdoch, O’Korke, and Hale.

Mr. Yeoman has received an order to build a new steamer for Wellington. The Improvement Committee have granted permission to Cooper and Bailey to hold their circus in Albert Barracks.

Alexandra, Sunday. A meeting between Sir George Grey and King Tawhiao will be held on the 16th inst. Hidurangi, Turakino, and a number of the Thames natives, have arrived there. The Wahinui and Ngatiraaniopotos have left, but will return. Several tons of flour have gone up. The meeting will be a large and important one. Tauranga, Saturday. The new census returns show the population to be 2944. The agricultural returns are as follows :—Acres under grass and crops, 17,620. Over 9000 bushels wheat were ground at Tauranga this season. A Waikato correspondent of the Bay of Plenty Times writes saying that Rewi and the natives are annoyed at the manner in which the Governor hurried through the Waikato, aud says that when Rewi found that the Governor had returned to Auckland he went direct to a frontier settler aud requested him to go to Auckland and invite the Governor to return. He demurred on the ground of not having credentials, whereupon Rewi handed him Potatau’s seal, saying, “ Well, here is all that remains of Potatau ; take that to the Governor, who will not disbelieve you.” Rewi further said he regarded the Governor as the Queen, adding, “ and 'the Queen never tells lies.” The general impression in the Waikato is that the Government hurried the Governor through iu such a manner that he should reap as few laurels as possible, and exhibited a fidgetty anxiety that he should not meet the natives.

Carterton, Saturday. A large sawmill at Taratahi, owned by Messrs. Stewart Brothers, was destroyed by fire at an early hour this morning. It is supposed to have caught fire by accident. The loss is estimated at £3OO. ■ Christchurch, Sunday. A chess match by telegraph between Christchurch and Dunedin clubs commenced last night. The play was carried on for four hours, but very little was done beyond opening the .various games. So far Dunedin has the attack in the majority of games, and thus has slighly the best of it. The match will be resumed on Saturday next. 5 The infant son of a farmer named Winter was burnt to death at Ashburton. The house caught fire while the parents were absent. Tlie child was burned to death before the fire was extinguished. Cooper and Bailey's circus have drawn crowded houses all the week. On two occasions hundreds had to be refused admission.

The Board of Education report for the past nine months gives the estimated number of children in Canterbury between the ages of five and fifteen at 23,125, and the number attending school 14,249, or a per ceutage of 61, being higher than any previous year except 1875, when the attendance per centage was 66. On September 30 there were 117 schools, as against 101 in the correspendiug period of 1876.

The report of the Inspector of Sheep for the past year shows that between the Waiau and Waitangi rivers there are 3,307,711 sheep, being an increase of 58,163 on the previous year. Komaea, Saturday.

In telegram rc Hennebery, with reference to his letter threatening Brown, the word “ police ” should read “ law officers.” In reply to Eather Hennebery the Kev. G. W. Bussell publishes the following letter : “ Sir,—Despite the telegram sent by Eather Hennebery to the Press Agency, saying he did not denonnce mixed and legal marriages as no marriages at all, permit me to say that I stand to all the statements made in the second paragraph of my previous letter; he can deny them it he likes. His threats about perjury and libel are beneath notice.”