Telegrams.

Otago Witness, Issue 1319, 10 March 1877, Page 14

Telegrams.

INTERPROVINCIAL ITEMS.

, I . - WELMNGTdir, March' Ist. - . . ; , The successful tenderer, for the erection of , .Government Public offices at 'Blenheim, is . ]Mr. James Knight, of- Blenheini,' the amount , ibeing -69013 7s 9d. Other particulars' at l e ' mot yet obtainable. »■• ' ■' - ■ ,< I 102' births, 1 24 deaths, and; 15 marriages I iwere registered in WeilingSon during Feb- . ruary. Ifc is understood that the.Registrar- *■ '• General put the population' down at between I 16,000 and i^bOO./in^tea'd.gfU^OOQ.iaa ia I usually supposed' during J January .and -Feb- ) ruary. Last year there were 7 1 -deaths 'durl , ing corresponding months.', TUiS'year' 1 there i ; were 99 deaths. ,-,, / \ ',' j The Custom House 'officers appeared., in I , uniform to-day for the first time by order of ' the Inspector. ' J ''' , _ f . r n A shipment of ,12,500 white .fish qva has been received here from Michigan in goodcondition; .It will be placed, in; Makarewa ponds, Southland. — . ; The Government have decided'to ma^e extensive, additions tothe Telegraph office., - ~. Leg 3 o;' .mutton 'are' seUing , 'at fWanfarapa at" ls a.p'ece. , _ \' "'< \,'tt* u^i .'.,< r \ 9 < The Wellington Customs revenue'fdr.-Feb-s ruary amounts' to ; £16,767,- as against £iß,'99li"'ui the corres'pondinz ' month of 1876. ■ -. \ , ".r.c f:.: I ,'."-" '■ March 2nd. A despatch received by last mail from the j Agent-General conveys the information that j the English Postal authorities have decided fc to forward the San Francisco mails in future l by the slow steamers Iwhich take fully two . days longer on. the transatlantic passage .than I the Inman steamers by whioh the mails have latterly beßn transmitted to New York. - -No reason i«s given fdr,the J alteration. '/ ,"V ,' ; 1 • Captain Williams, proprietdrjof .the sunken 1 hulk Eli Whitney; has demanded 1 of ) the Union Company, £3000 in compensation of 7 loss sustained by the Taupo rinning'"into I thS 7 hulk.'. / The Union Company have declined I to pay any sum. . .if ,i wi A return received from the* Agent-General \ by the last mail shows the following immigrants were senfc ; -to"'New Zealand from June - to December, 1876 : To 1 Otagq, 1353 , bury, 1340; Wellington,,, 736; . ! 227 ; - Taranaki, - 114 j.'. Nelson, UlOi •^Marlborough, 96 ; Auckland, ( 65£ { j Haw,ke'a Bay, I 554, statute, ' ;adults^ \Qtago, J ar^ *■ Wellington,' iWestland, TaranakiiVand^elson \ having' an/aggi'egate of < 173 more^sand'QA.'nok- ? land,-Hawkes -'Bay; -antfiMarllJdrbuinVJKM) leasthan were Total' i'^xefess for , whole Colony, 73'.^ ,- ' -}'^ ; f^ > ? " .jij-j fs f , ..,.,... -j |March6th7 ) The Taupo was attached 'jbhis morning aby tte Marshall oi the'Vicj^Ldmiralty'Court at . the~suit of Captain Williams, 'for"collision j w^thf the, hulk r . Eli Whitney, •; damagesirbeing claimed at '£,3100., f Bail was given by Messrs J Tiepin~and?C6.l agents.foS.l'fcheijUiiibii^Jom- ' PWT.V .'»'■■ II 11I 1 S •>'■■ „ njVlwol *t* An* inquest was held this afternoon injto > the'loas of ,tw6, lives/ caused' l by the "dbilikion of ihe Taupo twith |he hnlk.tEli r ,,WJbitn6yi > The evidence of the captain, chief mate, 'and carpenter^-also 1 ihatj of the divert who . ex^inined, the hulk, was taken, bating neV , light was .thrown on j^the accidentj' beyond 1 what ;haa ; been already 1 ;; sDhe ; jury "returned a verdict that Amy Davy 'and , child came by their death ,by drowning • r through the sinking. 6£ -the".: hulk, in conse-' ■ c[uenceiof collision, jw.ith the Taupo, and that J no blame, is attached ' to 1 "the •captain or L officers of the Taupo^ iThey . attached- a i rider to the effect^that the hulk was moored* L in '|ra' unsafe position' for vessels leaving vtfie i wharf,, and that all ' hulks .should „carry a i bright light from sunset to sunrise! r * I I ll ' •- . # „-„-.. .March 7th. ' [ Mr Eearce resigned IKis "seat in"the' House of Representatives to-dayl!- :Messrs''Travera and ' Hutchison are ,at present the only candidates for the vacancy. The latter ad- ; dressed the electors last nigHt, 'and iMr ' Travers purposes doing so on Pridayl ' ' 1 « THe- prospectus of the Te Aro Theatre 1 Company "is published. ■ The, capital 1 is * , £10,000 in 1000 shares. • ,''/ - '', . ; It is reported that the Constabulary and/ s Police willbe at once amalgamated, but thejo r will noii be sworn inrtill the-olSth June,next& ' iso that those who have been engaged under* : Provincial Ordinances- may, if .they-tKink fit, : retire after that date, . From Ist. July, ' the whole'force'will be enrolled for one year. Four-specified divisidns, numbering 350 men, will be held, as a reserve, and. stationed in ' . the Native,'distficts/ These will receive t the • same pay,as thepresent Armed Constabulary, - and will do similar ,duty. . T£e remaining division, numbering about; "the same •as the ■-* \ aggregate, of, the- present '..several P ; o'lice ' > Forces, will. form the Police for the whole [ Colony. • They will be ifable'ib serve in aky k part' of it on.whichfthey may be' concentrated ( - in case of emergency, ;tb defend' threatened 11;1 1 ; afetpfck until*- the forces 'are 'Organised^' ibut ';i they 'will nbt 1 bs, required to r take the,field. ;| ' Their jpay'will.i.be-aWi^fc' .the sanqie as that ilnow- received by" the 1 Chnfetcnurch Felice. 1 j The friapectors ;will . be iMdvdd 'from 'tim/h j|ll/»j6D witii a view h 'to' their 'ac^uifln^ r^^tioKMedgeni each .awtriefc. PjfdbablV i . p^^ie^t^pfc^wilf beJa/- „ ■ ;""> WJI| }iS '&o sectional f lrf. one Su^. ' -'-^' W^&Sgd pointed, but tu t . . / . ■ ,t~3 i «iiy^"of apector for each Isi«^/ *jpix changes will, it is bfeliered, culL £30,000 per annuiiLv ■ . .„.,,, , . • " AtrcKLAKß,' March' Ist. V Mr Francis Darwia/ wrjtes the following Ifetter :-f-^Down Bebkingham (Kent) "feulway Station, S.'E.B.,' January 4th 1877 ! — Dear Sir— My'f^thw.djjteots .me to thank you for your aecoust pi 'alleged discovery 'ia JSTew Ireland. Mr fatl^r does not believe ■ . in the existence of ?a]^dmeu t but, even if it should prove hue, ifc would/as a mere in- ': herited nondescipt.Khave no important bearing ' on ,Evausion.V-Y6iirß~faithfully"— ; Francis Darwin.' "' ._' ' ' : The Ohambff.of .Commerce r met)to-day.. r - Commissioner Tousg, of. Dominion; of {oixj£l ada, said he.w*a onihis-way to -the Sydney*: Exhibition as Agent for Canada.' 1 Two^e*- 1 ' vels, the Genrand the Escort, were on their way with Canadian exhibits for Sydney.

Hta object is t^ment^ommercial^felations between-New Zealand, Australian Colonies, and Canada.' The immigrant ship Oxford has arrived from London with 239 passengerr- ppual fro 2074 -adults. No deaths occurreS'C 'Joseph Foster, a passenger, will be proceeded against for a false declaration representing a woman travelling 'with him as his wife, whereas his wife and family are in England. Chbistchtjrch, March 2nd. The General Government have granted the request of the City Council for an endowment of 2000 acres of land for city purposes. 1 A warrant has been issued against Pooley, one of the English Eleven, for assault and wilful destruction of private property, arising out of a betting transaction, March 3rd. J. T. Paine, late clerk to the Waimate Hoad Board, has been committed for trial for embezzling £500— Board funda. ■ . ■''"■« . March 6th. __ At a meeting of the licensing Commissioners to-day, it was decided on the qnestion of extra licenses for public honse-bars, where more than one exists in the same house, that ail publicans should obtain licenses for every bar more than one on their premises., One publican under this rule will have to pay for three extra bars. Mrs Scott-Siddons is having a successful Km at the Theatre EoyaL • Nearly all the American white fish belonging ■ to the Government have been lost from the hatching boxes in the Acclimatisation Gardens. The Society has sent for a number of Prairie hens. . . A farmer named Eodery, residing at Dayleston, lost his house, dairy, stables, valued at £1000, by fire yesterday. He was unin sored. ' ' ■ March 7th. At a meeting of the Board of Health yesterday evening, stringent measures were taken for preventing the keeping of pigs' in suburbs within 'one and'a-half chains of any house. Pigs are not allowed to be kept in the city at all. The Chairman of the Board said seven new cases of fever— six of scarlet fever and two of scarlatina— had been reported within the past fortnight. _j- .' , • Oamaru, March Ist. * . -Notwithstanding the late floods,' the grain crops In this district are threshing out remarkably well Threshing is almost com. pleted,- and .large quantities of grain are, coming into town for the mill-owners. J. aad.S. Meek, and Hay and Barr's flour mills are now working night and .day. On some forms in the district wheat averages 60 bushels to the acre, and on other oats go as high, on an average, . as -75 bushels. Altof ether, the average yield in the district will c higher than it has 'been for two years.' Wheat la being bought at" 4s, 2d up to 4s 6d for first-,class , samples), while bats ranee at from 2a tp 2s 3d, ■ / r •-; \, ,; ''a ): V, • "March 2nd. - ■j An accident occurred oa Wednesday eveninc Jasfc, by which Mr Charles -Hastings Wade lost -his' life. He had been in Oamarfc' on .business, and had" returned td Otawipof tfn his' way to Mr r iiedland News, h*m^ farm, where he. was, residing. He called in/at iheJßsidence.ofiiDr Smith, and after saying a few words -to. him, rode over tue ranges Jn, the direction of Mr Newsham's farm. He was never afterwards seen alive. The'first circumstance that aroused- any bub« picionrwas the discovery early on Thursday morning of his horse' grazing in Mr Fenwick's paddock, saddled and bridled. The horse: was taken up to Mr Newsham's,; who remarked that as Or had come horns,, the nder would probably soon follow. A search party was organised, and continued searching all day on Thursday. At daybreak to-day about 30 settlers turned out to assist in the search. At about 8 a.m. Mr E. France discovered the body at the foot of a steep precipice, deceased having evidently fallen about 30ft. From the horse's footprints, it waa evident that the rider had ridden him np to the. edge of the declivity, and the horse suddenly stopping, Wade lost his seat and fell over the cliff. When found, he was lying on his back, with his skull broken, and his. left arm dislocated. From the position of the body it is evident death waa instantaneous. The body was conveyed to Watson's Imperial Hotel, Otepopo. The deceased gentleman was a distinguished student of the University of Cambridge where he graduated as B.A. in 1874. He j^was the sen of the Eev. Francis Wade, In- ; umbent of Kidsgrive Staffe, was 25 years of ' >ge, and was very popular iv the district, where he has resided for nearly two years. His untimely death has cast ouite a gloom over the neighbourhood. He is cousin to Mr N. C. Wade, of Taipo Hill farm. _ . March 6th. During the past few days the principal topic of conversation among the business men here has been the now famous circular issued by the Dunedin Miller's combination. p$D far as Oamaru is concerned, the result r«eemsto be that the combination of millers ■ by this short sighted policy have drawn the attention- of the Oamaru millers to the fact that -Dnnedra. is now a market for them to export largely to, and it is rumoured here that arrangements are being made for appointing agents, so that Oamaru flour can be sold cheaper in Dunedin than tho combination millers can sell flour of their own grinding. .' Blenheim, March Ist. A large fire occurred at Havelock this morning. Davis's dwelling and brewery were burnt down. They were insured in the Victoria Office for £400. — __ ErvERTON, March 3rd. i*. « stem S^r reports that a p.orty of three Chinaman at the George Diggings got £50 worth o£ gold last weekf The previous week they made £9 per man. A boy three years old, son of Mr Robert Oupples, Groper's Bush, has been killed by a horse tramphng on him while playing in a paddock. As the inquest, which waa held yesterday, a verdict ot accidental death was returned. , „ . March 7th. A rather important decision was given in the llesidsnt Magistrate's Court yesterday. Mr J. L. M'Donald, merchant, shipped a quantity of drapery goods to Orepuki in the steamer Halcyon in December last. Tho goods were much damaged by salt water

IwhUe being" landed inrthSifeamerTßoat on the beach there, and consequently were sold at auction for the benefit of whom it might concern. M'Donald brought the action against Mr Abbot, the owner of the steamer for £35, being the' difference between the amount realised at the sale and the Riverton selling price of the goods. A deal of evidence having been heard, the Magistrate (Mr M'Culloch) held the owner of the steamer liable, and gave a verdict for the full amount claimed, together with costs. Harvesting operations in the Western district are progressing favourably. The crops are turning out well, the only drawback being the scarcity of labour.

Hokitika, March 3rd. On the steamer Charles Edward leaving port a week ago, a sailor named Chambers was missing. A human body has been since washed ashore near Greymouth, and it is believed to be his.

The Banks this week reported upwards of 6OOOOZ. of geld, the produce of the district, including the Kumara.

Grahamstowk, March sth. A new run of gold was discovered last week, which is expected to be the most important find made here for years. Shares advanced from 14s to 31s. The fortnightly yield was 7150z.

The Coromandel Union Beach Mine has produced 22500z. retorted gold for the last months yield, giving a dividend of 12s 6d per share. Shares have-risen from £1 to £2 Bince Saturday.

_, ,„ . , March 6th. Ine Alburma has turned out a fine crushin£ of 11750z5. from 75 tons of stons. The claim is now worked by a company.

_, , Akaroa, March sth. Kobert Anderson Buchanan, a clerk, was brought up to-day on three separate charges of embezzling funds. His defalcations, ex11 c? 8 ° Ver tiiree years > amounted to £45 18s sd. He was committed for trial on each charge, bail being allowed.

Lwercargill, March 6fch. An important decision in regard to the liability of ship-owners was given by the Resident Magistrate to-day, as follows :— "It appears from the evidence, that on the 12th June last, certain goods were shipped by Messrs Ross and Glendining, at Dunedin, on board the Cbmarang, to be forwarded to Invercargill, and were consigned to plainton*. The C'omarang arrived at the Bluff nest day, and the plaintiff not receiving the goods, and finding they were lost or missing, made a claim on the defendants on 20th August for their value, which was resisted, audience the present action. I think defendants wero bound under their contract, as expressed in receipt produced at the ue^nng, to forward [the goods light through from. Dunedin to Invercargill, and are responsiblefor their safe transit, whether by rail or boat, all the way,. through. , The goods are lost, and when and how there is no evidence, to tell us. I think the loss is 2^OToyacfe^vidence_of negligence, and that defendants are liable. lam further of opinion that- the 'receipt or -shipping note doe 3 not form a sufficient special contract to limit the, liability -of ..'the defendants, inaem«.CJa; i |8 |4| it J .doeß not appear to be signed eitherEy plaintiff? or the party shipping the good." Judgment was giyen . for, plaintifls, with costs. The defendants are Messrs jHoughton and Co., owners of the Comarang.

i , - '. Tajjpo, March 7th. ; Letters arrived yesterday from the Maori \King,. apprising' the friendly chiefs hereof ,the' Native- Minister coming to Taupo this montn, the object of his mission being to carry out the policy bequeathed by Sir Donald M'Lean to New Zealand, and interpreted by the Taupo chiefs as the policy of peace and good- will.

Napier, March 7fch. Considerable sabs of station properties have been made here lately, Mr Hardy's Jfakowhai estate, including the homestead and 856 acre s.was sold for £15,970. and the northern lot of 613 acres for £6700— 0r a total of £22,170, being an average of £15 10s per acre. He (Mr Miller) also sold 40 acres of Mr James Todd's Homewood land at £7 per acre ; Mr Balfour's Mohaka run of 376 acres of freehold and 0740 acres of leasehold, with 803 sheep, for £1750, to Win. Smith j and Mr John M'Kinnon's Arawapawanui leasehold on the coast, of 500 acres and 2000 mixed sheep, for £2500.