Telegrams.

Otago Witness, Issue 1416, 11 January 1879, Page 17

Telegrams.

PROVINCIAL ITEMS. Balclutha, January 7th. Mr W. N. Blair, engineer in charge of the Middle Island, accompanied by Mr Ussher, resident engineer, officially inspected the railway contracts from Balclutha to Clinton today. They found the line generally in good order, and, it is understood. \kv lino, will be

opened after some minor works are completed. The date of opening is not yet fixed. Waikaia, January 3rd. Mr H. Bastings, M.H.R., addressed his constituents last night in Mr Alexander Matheson's long room. Mr Joseph H. Davidson was in the chair. There wa3 a prowded meeting, which gave him a good reception. Mr Bastings referred to the work done during the past session. A uuaniinous vote of confidence was recorded at the close of the meeting. Arrow, January 3rd. The result of the fresh election for Arrow Riding, which took place yesterday in lieu of the protected statutory one, is as follows :— R. M'Cracken, 145 ; W. Jenkins, 128 ; A. H. Douglas, 127. Oamaru, January 3rd. Mr Henderson, the waterworks contractor, having thrown up the contract, a special meeting of the Municipal Council was held to-night to consider tho question of proceeding with the works. The Engineer submitted for the consideration of the Council several recommendations as to completing the work, partly by. tender and partly by day labour, and recommonding the Council to appoint a certain staff as suggested. The recommendations were, with alight amendment, adopted, and it is now understood that the work will be resumed with all possible dispatch. The prompt action of the Council is to be commended, because there are a large number of men thrown out of employment by the stoppage, and thereby suddenly deprived of the means of subsistence. Four cases of temporary insanity, caused by excessive drinking, have been before the Resident Magistrate during the past week. January 6th. It is stated in the Mail to-night that the Amberley-Bluff railway is to be divided into districts, in each of which will be a traffic inspector, who will have sole management of the rolling-stock for goods traffic, and be controlled only by the Commissioner of Railways, The following appointments of traffic inspectors have been made :— James Ashley, Christchurch, Amberley to Ashburton.(inclusive), and all , branches ; Charles Lloyd, Oamaru, WaitaM North to Palmerston, and branches ; William Knox, Dunedin, Palmerston (inclusive) to Clinton (inclusive), and branches ; Joseph South, Invercargill, Clinton to Kingbton, and branches. January 7th. Another trial of Reid and Gray's harvester was held to-day, and proved highly satisfactory, those present being well pleased with the manner in which it worked. The manufacturers claim for their machine lightness of draught, and. its. consequent special suitability for upland country ; that its delivery being much nearer the ground than in other machines, it is better suited for cutting ripe grain ; that the inoide of the wire ia more easily adjusted ; and that the driver has a better command over the horses. Professor Ulrich is expected at Livingstone to-morrow night, to make a geological survey of the gold-field. January Bth. Several actions for non-payment of wages, &c, pending against Mr John Henderson, contractor for the waterworks, are postponed owing to the absence of the defendant in Wellington, and the consequent ' inability of the authorities to serve him with the summonses in time. The present are understood to be only test cases, and in the event of their being decided against Henderson will be followed by others. A man named Patrick M'Cusker was charged at the Resident Magistrate's Court with assaulting his wife by kicking her on the head with his boot. The woman is in a very critical state. The prisoner was remanded for a week. Professor Ulrich, accompanied by Mestas Shrimski and Reeves, M.H.R.'s, left Oainaru to-day for Livingstone, to inspect the goldfields at that place. Mr Reeves, M. H.R., who was in Oamaru today, contradicts the statement in an Auckland telegram to the effect that Mr Macfarlane is about to sue him for certain statements made at a public meeting at Gisborne. He says he was never at Gisborne in his life. The name Reeves must evidently be intended for the name of another well-known M.H.R. from the North. The all-absorbing topic of interest here at present is the construction of the waterworks by the Municipal Council. A meeting is to be held on Tuesday night for the purpose of obtaining the ratepayers' consent to an additional tax, so that the water may be brought into the town. The engineer says the work can be completed at a cost of L 33,000 more, so the Council have decided to ask permission to borrow another L 40,000. The Kakanui Road Board has appointed J. C. Gilchrist as its representative on the Oamaru Harbour Board. Tho Mail says that 'the Governor has appointed John Reid (Elderslie), George SumpLer, the Hon. H. J. Miller, and S. E. Shrimski (M.H.R), as members of the Board, but no proclamation has yet appeared to that effect. The work of constructing the Shag Point branch railway has been commenced. The Mail congratulates the Hon. J. Macandrew upon having fulfilled his promise to abolish the differential tariff on grain enjoyed by Christchurch last season. At the Resident Magistrate's Court to-day, an habitual drunkard named Patrick M'Cusker I was sentenced to 14 days' imprisonment for drunkenness, and remanded on a charge of kicking his wife, who is now under medical treatment for the injuries sustained. Inveroahgill, January 3rd. ' Mr Andrew Kinross, one of the candidates for Mataura in the place of Mr Wood, addressed a meeting of electors to-night. Mr Crisp occupied the chair. Mr Kinross, in the course of his address, declared himself as most decidedly in favour of the Grey party on all general questions. He approved of the deferred-payment system regarding Crown lands, and claimed credit for having suggested such a system in the Provincial Council when he was a member of that body He would support a reduction in the price o deferred-payment land and extension of time, so that at the end of three years dummies could not hand over holdings to capitalists. Ho lauded the Hon. Robert Stout as_ Minister of Lands. Speaking on the franchise, he advocated manhood suffrage, with one year's Colonial and a short local residence. The numbers should, in his opinion, be eliminated from the backs of the ballot papers, lie believed in an elective Legislative Council, but tho power to elect should be vested in the proper parties— not capitalists. He agreed with the priujiplo of the Land Tax, and thought it desirable that subsequently there should be an income tax. He would support the Ministry in any rneaaures they might adopt to restrict Chinese irn migration. At the conclusion of his spesch a unanimous vote of confidence was adopted. January 4th. Welsh, the Waikawa murderer,[preserves the utmost indifference lo his position. Up till today the date for \\is execution has not been iUed,

.] anuary 6th. The following gentlemen have been nomi nated by the School Committees in the district for the seat on the Education Board rendered vacant by the demise of Sir John Richardson : Messrs T. Perkins, A. Kinross, A. Toshach, S. Hodgkinson, T. Ddnniston, J. Morrison, and J. M'Ardell. Only 22 out of the total of 50 Committees have sent in nominations. A petitiou ia going the rounds praying that the sentence of death recently passed on Welsh, the Waikawa murderer, may be commuted to one of imprisonment for life. Mr Mitchell, on behalf of the Premier, telegraphs to a townsman that instructions have been given for trains to be run for a short time at i educed rates on the occasion of the opening of through communication by rail between Christchurch and Dunedin. The Rev. J. W. Inglid lectured here to-night to a largo and appreciative audience. News from agricultural districts is not of a very promising nature. The crops, especially oata, are backward. January Bkh. Interest in the Mataura election ia increasing. The general opinion is that Mr Shanks, the moderate candidate, will be returned. Committees in the interests of both parties are being formed in various parts of the district. The Southland Times this morning, in a loader, emphatically supports Mr Shanks' candidature. The ship Western Monarch, with 369 immigrants on board, is now due, and her arrival is anxiously looked forward to, as labour of all descriptions is hcarce. The expected immigrants chiefly hail from Eoglaud, Ireland coming next. A poll to decide whether money shall be borrowed to supply the town of Invercargill with water will be taken on Friday. A rumour was current in town to-day to the effect that the canvict Welsh was executed this morning. This is not the case. Up to the present time the officials here have received no instructions whatever as to the matter. So far as appearances indicate, Welsh is not much concerned about hid approaching doom. . o