Telegraphic Briefs.

Otago Witness, Issue 1581, 4 March 1882, Page 9

Telegraphic Briefs.

Two hundred of the Armed Constabulary are about to be removed from Opunake to the Waikato. A fish-curing establishment is to be erected at Helens ville (Auckland) for an output of 100 cans per day. > f The Parihaka Natives have finished their wheat threshing. The crop is good, and the grain superior to the average, i The customs duties collected for February were £2388. In the corresponding month of 1881 the amount was £3456. A son of the Rev. Mr Clover, aged 20 months, fell into a water-closet at Oamaru on Tuesday and was suffocated, The Volunteer Land Claims Commission sit at Wellington until the 16th, then go to Auck-i laud, opening there on the 28th. ' ' In the licensing elections the combined ticket for Christchurch has been uniformly successful. In every instance the majority of the candidates belong to the ticket! ' ' ■ The following gold was shipped per Al* hambra fsom Greymouth on the 23rd iilt. ;— » Bank of New Zealand, 38260z ; National Bank* 17230z ; Chinese, 170oz :— total, 57190z. ' Johns, the late Liberal candidate for Waipa, was fined £6 lls, with costs, at Te Awamutu (Auckland) Police Court, for using threatening and abusive language. ' ' ; '| Councillor Diver has given notice to doo-to that the Corporation advertise in the London Times;tod other papers for a contract to> light Wellington by electricity for a term of iivo years. The Wanaka, with the rifle competitors, sailed immediately the Rotanoahana arrived at Wellington, on the 24th ult. Lieutenant Adam, of the Bruce Company, missed his passage by the Wanaka. A Christchurch telegram states that payable quartz reefs have lately been discovered at the head of the Maruia River, on< the, line of the West Coast railway, and a rush is expected! to set in. It is proposed to hold two sace' meetings afc Christchurch, a general athletic sportk'gathering, an interproyincial football tournament, and an jnterprovincia} foicycle lnee'ting during the Exhibition period!. A horse thresfcLug-iriachme, while 'working: on William King's settlement, Opunake, bysome moans exploded, breaking the naachineinto sn.*all pieces and wounding two ' Natives; seriously. Four others escaped miraculously. A man named Henderson was' arrested by the police at Swift Creek on Saturday evening; for forging a cheque for £2Q> purporting to be signed by Walter Mifler and endorsed by Donald Stronach, Only 21 licenses, for deerstalking, which commenced last Monday, have been taken out at Nelson, ' On Monday one sportsman shot, bwo stags, and he obtained other two on Tuesday. Another sportsman 'shot three 'in t\ro> days. The Committee of the Thames Deep-level Tribute Company, with Mr Blair, president of the Sandhurst School of Mines, interviewed Dr Hector as to testing the Thames mines with) the new diamond rock-borer. Ho agreed with the deputation. The Taranaki Herald states, that the Natives are allowed to see Te Whiti and' Tohu in prison, and although no conversation of a political nature is permitted,, yet when visitors return to their homes imaginary sayings of Te Whiti are repeated, and are believed by the peopfe,, thus maintaining Te Whi* Ps influence. A Women's Iminigrafclon Society has beeni formed, at Auckland. Lady O'Rorke is president, and an influential ' committee! has beent appointed. The object is the mjaoduetion oC respectable female servants. The s.s. Australia, with the January English mails, left San Francisco, for Auckland on the: 16th inst., five days, fete. The City' of New York, with the January Colonial mails* arrived at San For&ncisco from Auckland oa the 25th inst..! two days late. It \s reported that no less' than six^ cases of garol)ting occurred on Saturday night at Christchurch, one of which at least was serious. Another caso of assault occurred one night last week, but the man assailed happened to be rather a strong fellow, and left his. antagonist senseless, not troubling himself further in the matter. Mr Croft lectured at Auckland on "Epochs off Irish History." He denounced Gladstone's! Land Act. During the delivery of the lecture a, number left the hall. Mr John Lundora moved the vote of thanks to the lecturer, and! took occasion to refer to the Land League meeting at Wellington, stating; that the speech he delivered on that occasion, prejudiced his election to the Assembly.. On Thursday a Native at Parihaka hanged, himself. He was named; Ngamatu. ' On Friday he found his wife in company with a paramour, and he aj«, once went and hanged himself in a whciAQ where his body was discovered:, two hours, after. There was great excitement, amon^si the Natives, and had the offender not. levanted previously, summary vengeance would have been taken. A great tanyi was. held. The Board or Commission recently appointed to consider the best means, of reorganising the Volunteer force, as premised during last session of Parliament,, consists of Major-general Davidson and Major Pitt, of Nelson ; Majoc Hamlin, of Wftiuku ; Captain Crowe, of Wellington \ and Major Lean, of Christchurch, The steamer Westport was successfully floated off early on Tuesday rooming. A special meeting of the- shareholders of t&s New Zealand Native land. 1 Company;, convened! ,by Mr PargayiU^ wasi 1 aejkj- hers ym evwi»&

and was well attended. Full explanations were entered into, showing that bo far the Company had been carefully managed and very successful. A vote of thanks to Mr Dargaville and confidence in the policy of the Company was proposed by Mr Beetham, M.H.R., and carried unanimously. The Star of the Sea, schooner, belonging to Havelock, became a total wreck off Tory Channel last week. She is insured for £500— about one-third of her value— in the National Office. The captain reports that in attempting to take the entrance at about 12 o'clock on Thursday night she missed stays and struck a rock, drifting off almost immediately and settling down. The captain is a heavy loser, as he had on board a quantity of cargo which was uninsured. 11l marked contradistinction to the moderation of Christchurch, a revulsion of feeling has set in in Sydenham, and on Friday the licensed victuallers secured a bench composed entirely of men favourable to their views. All the temperance candidates were defeated. Hitherto the borough has been severely teetotal, and every application for a hotel license has been strenuously objected to and defeated. At the Ohristchurch Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, the Chairman said, amongst other things : "Having analysed the declarations of insolvency throughout the Colony for the last six months, I find that 25 per cent, of the number are by people not in trade, and who consist chiefly of persons described as ' labourers.' It might also be remarked here that the Colony would perhaps not greatly miss a certain class of legal practitioners, whose special avocation seemed to be to pave the way through the Bankruptcy Court for persons for whom its protection could hardly have been intended."

The Ohristchurch Chamber of Commerce has decided to incorporate itself under the Amended Joint Stock Companies Act. The Chamber has passed a resolution in favour of amending the bankruptcy laws so that a debtor shall not _be allowed his discharge till he has paid a dividend of not less than 10s in the pound, save in exceptional cases, where a majority of creditors in number and value should be empowered to secure a discharge. The Northern Advocate (Auckland) says :— "The latest on dit in politics is that , Mr Dargaville, one of the Auckland City members, who was lately in Dunedin, is in conference •with Mr Macandrew. ,The latter, it is well known, will attempt to form an Opposition to oust the Hall Government before the next loan is negotiated,; and report states that Mr Dargaville has swoifn allegiance to the Otago leader, he (Dargaville) receiving a portfolio in the new Ministry. Sir G. Grey, it is understood, will lead the Opposition, and if an adverse vote be carried against the present Government and Grey be sent for to form a Ministry he will decline, and advise his Excellency to send for Macandrew, Grey having decided not to take office again." • ,