INTERPROVINOIAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1555, 27 August 1881, Page 11

INTERPROVINOIAL.

Auckland, August 18th. The suicide of Arthur Craig at Churchill was a very determined one. About half-past 2 on Monday morning the neighbours were alarmed by the screaming of the deceased's young children and »n alartn of fire. On entering the house they found that Craig had tied his feet to a Colonial sofa on which he was lying, and had set fire to a quantity of tow he had collected upon him. They tried to pull him from the oouch, but he resisted strongly, holding the wooden bars at his head, so that they broke away with him,. He was then got from fche burning couch and laid on the floor, which is eveu charred where he lay. Craig died at 9 o'clock on Monday morning, before Dr Edgelow arrived. The deceased was a widower, having a married daughter living in Auckland, and another daughter, 17 veara old, living in service. Several younger children lived with him in his house. Several gentlemen connected with the Company formed in Melbourne to work the White

Island sulphur ■*» are now inspecting the iriand for the Lenefi'. of the s »nr'«holderp.

Adam Moore, ai^i! 63, °v d iiw tfiue « »»■ ♦<> support 'iim. Ie tr aihjjirfd in >_v:<in' cm t*> »■ 1 wore b'irn prior to raurria-ie. T'"- aim t-t" '' decided that plui-i>iff t ad no ciaicn, ah i r 1 ■*• did not recogniso ilkgiiiuiate children. There is little d-übt but that t 1 c t»4 reportt-d by th<* N.tf>iv*'B as wrecke! on -in coist a few miles B«mth of Ktipma H *<1^ is to* scbooner Rcma, vhich usually t.«».ied to Lyttelton She left Aucklad i»j b&il»ai: osx August l<fc, atd was dnn at Krtipors, qnil* a wetk,»g'>. , Further particulars rtce/vtd U-iiftj state th vt the Mnorfo saw th& yards, bLick^ and one anchor up->« '-be beach. The vessal •.VAB hurled ia tbfl Bawd— all but tho c>m>or. The R->na wan cour-manded b* Captain E>nnoth M'Kenzle, haU owner, who has had oharg-i of the vessel since she was built, two and a-half years ago. He has a wife and four children residing at Oamaru. The names of the crew are— Robert Smith, Neil Carmichael, Charlies Johnson, and W. Eagle. The vessel was insured for L4oo— only about half her value. D. H. M'Kenzie owas a half interest. August 19tb. The directors of the Auckland Stud Company have received a telegram informing them thut three Clydesdales were put on board tha steamer Afghan at London. The animals comprise a stallion and two mares. F<r the former was paid the larsre price of LISOO, and for each of the mares L 750. August 20lh: The police are investigating a singular case of fire-raising at Mr Spry's residence, Ponßonby. A bag was found ia a box under the house burning. Toi'm is the third attempt reported by Mr Spry within a week to the police. There are no further particulars respecting the wreck of the Ronn,. Tha reported finding of a body proved unfounded.

Gisboene, August 18 ih. Mr Benies and some directors and shareholders of the Southern Cross Oil Company have gone to verify the reports re the richnppn of the finds of oil. The shares here ara up 200 per cent-, and are hard to get at that.

NAPtER, August 23rd. A clerk in the Post-offioa named K-mlell has been arrested on charges of wholesale rob bsry. No one suspected him, but his wife informed the police, paying she could no longer rest; under the knowledge of his robberies. According to her account, he has systematically opened letters in the office and abstracted sums of money, varying from LlO downwards. When arrested be was engaged in opening Puketapu letters, and in bh possession were found 30 skeleton key?, with which his wife states he has been in the habit of entering tha different snops in town, and taking out goods he wanted. Messrs Dinwiddie, Walker, and Co. are said to be the heaviest sufferers in this way. He will be brought up before the Resident Magistrate to-morrow.

New Plymouth, August 18th, John Thomas Shaw, one of the first settlers who came to New Plymouth, died yesterday at the age of 91 years,

Wellington, August 22nd, Seven boxes of tobacco, each weighing about 501b, were discovered by Detective Benjamin this afternoon planted underneath a dwellinghouse in Frederick street. Walter Lee, on whose premises the discovery was made, has been arrested on a charge of having unstamped boxes of tobacco in his possession. The polka have been aware of the plant for some time, and had been watching the premises with the view of implicating others, out without buo* 0613

At a meeting of the Wellington Philosophical Society a paper was read by Mr W. Skey, tha Colonial analyisfc, on " The supposed paraffin at Waiapn," in which he gave a less favourable account of this discovery than those which have previously appeared. He expressed his opinion that Mr Dixon (of Sydney) and Mr Cosmo Newbery (of Melbourne), whose analyses had been published, had overlooked tha presence of about 50 per cent, of valueless oxidised hydrocarbon allied to dopplerite, and had included it as paraffin, thereby giving it an apparent value which it did not possess, and in consequence of which it was spoken of as a deposit of paraffin.

Nelson, August 22nd.

A fire occurred at Totartmui on Friday evening, when, the residence of Mr Gibba, M.H.R., was totally destroyed, together with its contents. The house was a new and handsome building, containing about seven or ei.«ht morns, but was only iusured for Ll5O. tha contents were sJso insured for Ll5O, bo + .h in tha Standard Office. The fire Van oocwrtioued throngh the bursting of a kerosene lamp, tvnd the flames spread so rapidly that noihing was sewed.

Anew school journal, the " Nelaonian," wan published here to-day by a committee of the Nelson College,

Wangantji, August 23rd. It is reported that gold in payable quantities has been discovered by two Europeans, from Taranaki, on the Opatu Block, near Tuhna. The Native owners of the land have decided not to sell it, though it has been surveyed by Government.

Chbistchdroh, August 19ch. Mr A. T. Dunning, of Duuedin, has offered Mr Beatty L 20,000 for tbe Theatre Royal and Palace Hotel adjoining. Mr Beatty wants L 25.000. At the Police Court do-clay Henry Blaoket {=on of the Mayor of Kaugiora), John Hoseaok and J( ha Sansom were charged with wilfully damaging type at the Liberty office. Oo the application of Mr Stringer, a remand was granted till Wednesday. The present editor of the Liberty has resigned, and Augustus Munyard takes his place. The latter is a West Coast man, and stands over six feet high. More fun is expected

August 22nd. Tobe Tobison attempted to commit suicide by taking strychnine at Hamlin'a boarding. houße this afternoon. He was discovered shortly after he had taken the poison, and was removed to the Hospital, where the usual remedies were applied. Hopeß of his recovery are entertained. The authorities seem determined to enforce atriotly the provisions of the Public Health Acb. This morning two persons wera oharged with having failed to take tteir children to tho public vaccinator seven days after vaccination, as required by the Act- The case againßt one broke down, the other was sustained. The magistrate intimated hia intention in future to inflict the full penalty of L 2 for eaoh omission. The parent in this case was ordered to take the child for examination next day.

Chbistohuboh, August 23rd.

MrFederli, who to.k an active part in the silkworm agitation and was sent specially down by the Government to start the industry, haa also taken in hand the question of olive culture, Under his superintendence experiments are to be made in favourable spots with young tr«ej,

T, 6 „ t ion of t'.ie Cnh-d/tfl »' v> »U '"-^ fi/.ii.-'i d 'vtil ! >n opened on 0-I >ter 27' 'l Tii'i ppal of 10 i-» Ha is l.emg eec cii, iL has f-»vsn Bn?^tat-itii fhui wheu iheya^e in praifion 4!)^ Rpir- Hh'.uliJ he fiofiix cUd by lelcpboud with Auckland and Duuediu. I'ne Diocesaa Synod commenced its fittiuf « to-day.

AsHßimroN, Aucust 22c d A stable belonging to Mr J G. Wsaon. of Corwar, was burned on Satuiday, and tour valuable horses destroyed. Several of the Raugitata bridge piles, which it was said to be impossible to drive, and about which there have been such questioning in the Legislature, have been now driven with perfect success.

Timabu, August 20th.

Last night a yonng man residing here proceeded to inflict bodily chastisement on the reputed correspondent of the Liberty- The fight was fast and furious, but the Liberty man got the best of it. F. W. Dunn and Edwin Edwards, two young men who have been until lately employed as steward and barman of the Ship Hotel, were charged at the Magistrate's Court to-day with stealing about L4O in cash, the property of Dan M'Guinness, proprietor of the ho' el. They were remanded on the application of the police, bail being fixed at Ll5O each, and two sureties of L 75 each,

August 22nd.

At the Police Court tbis morning Abraham and Lewis Moss, of the Cash Palace Drapery, were charged with arson in connection with tho late fire. They pleaded not guilty, and on the application of their counsel were remanded until Friday, when it is expected that some additional evidence may be forthcoming. In view of the Btatempntß made in the Legislative Council on Friday that the Timaru harbour was silting up, the Harbour Board to-day forwarded special plans to Wellington, proving that bo far from anything of the kind occurring the depth of water iincreasing, aid the shingle to'the seaward side of the works does not extend by 70 feet as far as it did 12 months ago.