INTERPROVINCIAL NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3686, 27 November 1873, Page 7

INTERPROVINCIAL NOTES.

XUCKLAXTD.

A Catholic Temperance Society has been formed in Auckland.

The. Auckland Oddfellows opened their splendid new hall with great c&remony on the 4th.

, The good folks of Auckland have already for some time been indulging in the luxury ;of ripe strawberries. * The Auckland Star says that the infant mortality in that city is " frightful," and that it is caused in a great measure by bad waiter. ' "'' : : The residents of Coromandel have risen in revolt against their butchers, and in a public meeting assembled have resolved to establish -a co-operative butchery. ■■'■■■■- ( ■ . • , Mr John Williamson has been elected Superintendent of Auckland, v ice. Mr T. B. Gillies. His opponents were Mr Darj jgaville and Mr. Hi: Hi liusk. ; The gold returns from the Thkmes for the month are 9361 'ounces' j being 1000 ounces in excess of last month. ' - The reports from the petroleum springs' near Poverty Bay are favourable ; a large number of fresh shares have been taken up. An exchange states that sparkling Champagne' has been produced by a Mr. Wendel, in the Auckland' Province, froih grapes of his /own culture. . The atoount of money annually disbursed at'the| Bay of Islands by foreign . .whaleshipsj is stated by the New Zealand •Herald's correspondent to be riot less than £12,000. In the obituary of Waka Maori (the Maori newspaper published under the auspices of the . Government), we find noticed the death of "Mere Parari," which, being interpreted,means "Bloody Mary." /.-She was a desperate female warrior," and a regular Amazon in the Government wars against the Hauhaus. ■~ The Herald states that "the fires which have occurred in, Auckland during the last twelve months have destroyed property valued;at'.£lso,ooo. The insurance companies have had to pay about £7.0,00.0, and a large number of business people have suffered severely through thestoppage of their business in .consequence of thesefires." . ; ; < The half-yearly meeting of the South British Insurance Company was held at Auckland on the 17th inst. TM report stated'th'at'£937s had been realised by the.: sale of ? shares for : increasing the" capital of the Company, and that amount had been .carried forward jto/ the reserve fund. The receipts for the half-year, amount to £17,933, being an increase of £3931 on ;tKe business of the previous half-year. The losses have been heavy,, amounting to £9551, including £}.130 riot paid before 31st August. The I balance cairied forward to the profit and loss new account is £11,941 j including £625 transferred to the reserve fund, making £10,000. Total; assets, £50,000. The bulk of the business done is in yearly policies, which only;expire at the close of. the first year of the Company's operations. The directors recommend making a call to provide more capital. The present investments are £43,220. Cash in hand, £8397. The report was passed, [ and -Mr Beetham, Captain! Daldy, Hon. Mr Chamberlinj Messrs Earl, Howard and r Jones were re-elected directors. The chairman congratulated the" Company on the sound state of its affairs. | hawke's bay. I ■ It is reported that indications of petroleum have been discovered on the run belonging to the Native Minister^ at Maraekakaho.

There were no tenders sent in,for the supply of 300,000 feet of timber jfor the Waipukurau line. This is attributed to the extraordinary scarcity of labour.

A man named John M'Laughliri died in the Hospital the other'day, after the administration of chloroform for an operation for cancer on the lip. The medical man -who administered the: chloroform was, at the inquest, absolved from all blame. ;: '.'; ' ' ,-,,/ •1"'" 1;' ': , '. ■■• Messrs Brogden's two contracts for the extension of the Napier railways have; been accepted. .■; The contract amounts are —£26,871 for the Paki Paki line, and £9469 for the Waipawa line^ The town of Napier appears to be in a flourishing condition. The Hawke's Bay Herald says that "new buildings are going up by dozens; new shops are being opened almost daily." : : ( The Hawkefa..... Bay; Herald writes :—, ~" We hear that; a man named Sweeny, ;in cutting a drainat Wharepapgo, near Petane, came .upon the remains of a moa, the imprint of the bird's feathers being plainly discernible on the sand. Some of the bones have bee n brought to tqwn, to be shown to^Dr Hector on his arrival ;in* Napier. The test.are still in the spot where they were discovered.";, The*.*. Customs receipts for October amount t0£3,048, as compared withi£2j7ls; for a corresponding period of 1872J The increase is due solely to the steady expansion of the ordinary trade. \ .?;:;--"/'■..'•:''"■ "tXrajtaki, i ', n .:''li^ The; New Zealand Titanic; Iron, and. Steel Company have commenced building' their furnace. " The spot chosen for the. works is at the Henui, a place about a mile from New Plymouth. It is! stated that very littlo3tini,e will be lost in erecting the necessary works. _.. .-... ' Our New . Plymouth, correspondent writes :— « Hone Piharua, a Taranaki Chief, is the successful tenderer for conveying the. jnaails between Hawera.and,. New Plymouth by Cobb'a coaches. I hear that^he jhw^ptirchased the coaches from Mr Young, and that he will use*heni in connection with' Y pungV line, \ which; goes on fo Wellington." He will employ » European driver." ;: ;, \ The works of the" railway from New Plymouth. JtoWaitara are being very slowly'proceeded' with. In fact, the con-tractors-may hardly be aaidfto have commenced their worka|*U j butif they are not active the settlers are, for carpenters, painters, and stonemasons are all fully employed in^either erecting newibuildings^iOT adding-taToW 'oiiesil Not for the last ten .years,has ..there been so' much activity tn the buUding trade,at New-Hyv moutli as now. ! •• ' v<> > c; Great improvements have been made during the" last if ew. months in the; Pate* district (writes a correspondent to the Wanganui Chronicle) ; miles of fencing and new buildings meet/the/aye in eveiity direction.., ?^!Elforß"'wiU'.' J'bo> a very large quantity of; wdpl exported 'from this district this season. • i£ large niimber'of p»r-r sons are anxiwusly waiting; for thp next sale of the Bailway Reserve, to be able to becomo settlers. In fact, everything tends to show that the, district is making, rapid strides towards being one of'-the; most prosperous portions of New Zealand. ; : IWTSM.INOTON. ; i The water was laid on in the city of Wellington on the I2th, for the first time. Additional wharf, accommodation is much required atVWellington. ■ A harmonium is now regularly used in the Presbyterian Church at Wanganui . The lambing in the Wairarapa district is reported to iuve been a very good one thisseason. .. : • ;; - The first sod'of the Wahgan-ai and Manawatu railway has "been ! turned. ' There was no ceremony on the occasion. ■ A "Pearl; of Peace" Lodge of Good Templars was recently formed on board.' H.M.S. Pearl, while she was at Wellington. :

Two and a half acres of land will be re claimed at Wellington forthwith aa a site for the new Government Offices.; The price is £3200. A preliminary meeting was held at Wellington on tjheYth instant, with a view to the formation of a Sugar Refining Company. A considerable mass of information was laid before the gentlemen present, and an influential list of gentlemen was agreed on as a provisional directory, if, after enquiry and cousider-

ation, they deemed it advisable to form a company. The capital talked of is £100,000, and it is intended to endeavour to make the undertaking a Colonial one by inviting applications for shares from other Provinces. The speculation is very favourably regarded -by the commercial men of Wellington. >. The municipal rates collected in Wellington this year will exceed those collected last year by £500. This is due to the nnmber of new houses erected. The Wanganai Town Council has ordered a water supply plant from England. The cost is between £7,000 and £8,000, and Mr Millar, F.S.A., is the engineer. With reference to approaching journalistic changes in Wellington, our correspondent writes :—"The New Zealand Times Company has purchased and taken possession of the Independent. The price, paid is £5500 ; and of this Mr M'Kenzie takes £1000 in shares, and he receives an appointment with a salary of £300 a year on the new journal. No changes have yet been made in the staff, but the Independent is to be incorporated with the Times on the Ist of January; and it is said that very sweeping changes will be made in the staff before that time. The New Zealand Times is, I believe, to be about the same size as the Ofcago Daily Times now is. It is, X believe, intended to form the Evening Post newspaper into a company. This is undoubtedly the popular paper of the Province, and one of the most profitable business concerns in the Colony. The prospectus is being circulated privately, and I understand that the greater portion of the required capital has already been subscribed. In Wellington j as in Dunedin, the necessity for increased house accommodation is becoming severely felt, The Post says that " although an immense number of new buildings have been put, up within the last twelve months, and carpenters are now at' a premium, the increase in the number of houses has by no means kept pace with the increase of population. The r&je'l'.-.on new buildings erected since last assessment will, we believe, amount to nearly £500 this year, representing a rental of £10,000, and yet it "is an absolute fact that tenants could rapidly be found for some hundreds of houses. Considering the enormous rents now demanded and. paid, it is astonishing that capitalists do not endeavour to supply the want, especially as the demand is a daily increasing one, and likely to I grow still larger very shortly. At the present moment, % considerable number of the family men who arrived by the late ships are obliged to remain living in the barracks,' because, although they have found work, they cannot find dwellings. ;Comfortable three oi four-roomed cottages would now let at very high rentals, and in considerable numbers. The demand for six or eight-roomed residences of a superior class is also large, but there ■is'scarcely any supply. Every house which is erected, is usually eagerly engaged before the piles are driven." MARLBOKOUGH. A Mr Richard Bragg has been killed at Pjcton by a blew on the head from a ijbranch of a tree. . - The Marlborough. Express states that two gentlemen, Messrs O'Halloran and Nichols the representatives of the company recently formed in England under the title of the New Zealand Fibre Works Company, have visited Blenheim, with the view of ascertaining what facilities exist in that locality for establishing the headquarters of their manufacturing department. The Company in question are ■the patentees of a new kind of machinery, which produces a fibre infinitely superior to anything hitherto known. The Superintendent of Marlbbrotigh. has appointed Mr Maskell to compile information regarding the Province for the pamphlet on immigration to be edited by the Premier. ■,;- : :; _ \ MTSIiSON. :.; ' ■ '■ 308 tons, of stone from the claim of the Juat-in-Time Company, Reef ton, yielded the other day 1780 ounces of retorted gold. ; % When addressing his constituents at >Nelson the other day, Mr Curtis stated it as his belief that the smuggling of jewellery into the Colony is carried on to a large extent; and he added, that under the hew tariff he believed silks, satins, and similar articles would also be snuiggled. ~. : The, party.emplpyed in laying out a road irom Collingwood to a uew coal field in the vicinity! report having come across large masses of haematite iron orei, At the Nelson Industrial Exhibition, to be'■■"opened next month," there is to be shown in working order a new machine, worked without any water; for saving gold froini auriferous aanid or wash-dirt. ■". A co-operative society has been formed r at Okarito. ','.... < ~:•., -, 5 4There has been sent-to the Exhibition cto be held iat Hokitika shortly, a fossil. fish^ which, was found at Greek's; Gully, , 300; feet above the sea level. '■■', \""\ iMr Warden Tizard has paid another -vjsit to the scene of the new,diggings at the fiaast River, and in a report on their state, he says :—^** I am glad to be able to report that payable gold has : been found in the Maori Creek, and that nine, or ten parties are now, at. work, in fit. There is a slate Dottom at a very ;variable • depth,' in some places very shallow, in others difficult ts bottom. Moat. of the claims are sifaate ju^t'b^low the point at which -the prospectors' creek runs into the main creek, but. some uiaxe. a long distance below ij." i. ■*'■■>■■-. --a ...; . . CANTERBURY. : Pheasantsare' now -frequently, seen at Avonhead. -.-,;. :: -.., ; ..:. ■, '"' cOn November 6th the Superintendent laid the foundation stone, of a nexr Congregational Church at Christchurch. The building is estimated to coat £4000. Captain Harding, an old Colonist, lately returnedfrom England, wasfound drowned off the wharf at Lyttelton on the 3rd inst. ' ■ ■ •■■■" ■■■•■" '...■.■■■■ Some of the Road Boards in ] South Canterbury hare consented to allow contracts let by them to remain unfilled until 'ifter'February next, in order that the imen employed in carrying them'out may be available for shearing and harvest ■•■work.'""' "■ '"'■ •"'■:'■ '"'••' ■■ ', :■ . ; .■ •"An ■Ihterprovincial Cricket Match between, Elevens representing Auckland and Canterbury was played at Christchurch 6u the 18tli, 19th; and 2pthi The weather on the first two days wa3 very 1 unfavourable for cricket, being wet, cold, and boisterous., ■", •'* The match- was a very close one,* .resulting; in,a victory for the Auckland team-by seven rnns.only. The following are the total scores:—rAuckland, first innings, 90; do, second innings, 133 ; total, 223. Canterbury, first innings, 72 ;" t do, second innings, 144; total, 236.