Telegraphic Briefs.

Otago Witness, Issue 1585, 8 April 1882, Page 10

Telegraphic Briefs.

1i , * At tho annual pupil-teachers] examination at Auckland 112 candidates came up. , , On Friday last a trout weighing 18^1b was caught at the mouth of the Waiinakarin. The- Customs duties at , Christchurch for March are £21;777, against' £27,367 for the same month last year. The [Customs revenue collected at Lyttelton for the year was £63,694, against £56,988 for 1881. ' The Customs revenue for Timaru for March was £2237, as against £2213 for March last VGflit* The whole of the 4000 shares in the Taranaki Iron-sand Company have been taken up by local people. It is proposed 'to form a tramway-line running about two miles outside the town boundary of Oamaru. Sixty thousand five hundred shares have been applied for in the West Coast (North Island) Railway Company. This is 500 above the number decided to be issued at present. The Colonial beer duty was estimated to yield for the yoar £60,000. The receipts have been £55,4G7 5s 7d, or £1532 14s 5d below the estimate. One of the exhibits for the Christchurch Exhibition— the Victorian Sugar Company's trophy— is so large that it has been found im- . possible to transmit it fchroughthc tunnel from Lyfctelton without first taking it to pieces. 1 A Dutchman named ITovcn jumped overi board from tho barque Wiltshire at midnight, ' and swam to Stokes' foint (Auckland), rather than sail with the captain. lie had deserted twico. The vessel sailed shortly aflorwards. Daring the past year there were 27 fires in Ohristchurch, against 22 in tho previous ye.w. The cosl. of firo prevention was £850, and tho , estimate for this year is £845,

The suburb of Ponsonby polled on the question of joining tho city of Auckland or becoming a separate borough. The result was :— For joining the city, 242 ; for a borough, 50. > The Christchurch Benevolent Association report an increase, in the applications for aid. The cases in which relief have been granted have averaged 100 per month during the past seven months. Dr Samuel, who died at New Plymouth on Sunday, was a student in Wilsea, in Poland, and joined in the procession thai greeted Napoleon on his way to Moscow in the famous campaign of ISI2. This morning's Lyttelton Times has the following :—" We 'learn privately that, Mr 1 Ballance will probably be a candidate for Stanmore, and that in the event of his standing Mr Andrews will resign in his favwur." The trustees of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church at Christchurch have been fined for permitting the Christian Young Men's Association to hold a concert in St. Paul's Church without the building being licensed for entertainments by the City Council. Intelligence has been received that North, the Wellington levanter, is running a barbers shop at Santa Cruz, 90 miles from San Francisco, and is doing well, but ruining his business by intemperate habits. The local-option poll for the East Ward in the borough of New Plymouth taken on luesday resulted in 30 persons going to vote out of 400' ratepayers. . Twenty-eight voted against more publicans' licenses, and five in favour. , In reply toadeputationonthe3oth, the Bishop of Waiapu consented to send strong representations to the management of the Union Steam ''Ship Company in reference to making: Napieria port of call on Sundays. Mary Jane Sullivan has been committed on a coroner's warrant for trial at the Supreme Court, ' New Plymouth, for the wilful murder of her illegitimate infant at Patea. The jury found that she had caused its death by strangulation. _ _ Her Majesty's consent to " The Chinese Immigrants Act, 1881," is notified in the Gazette, and declarations fixing the shooting season for imported and native game, and the license fee, &c, for various districts in the Colony, are also gazetted. ' '" , , A gardener' at Rangiora, named Thomas, killed himself by drinking half a pint of the solution used in galvanic batteries. He had been suffering from sciatica, for which' he was using the battery, and it is supposed he drank the stuff by mistake. ' An application has been made to the Supreme Court at Christchurch for an order directing the trustee in bankruptcy to prosecute John Cother for fraudulent bankruptcy. He was a draper, carrying on trade at Cashel House, and failed lately, his liabilities being some £5000 or £6000 and his assets less' than £100: '

W. H. Clayton, for obtaining £5 by passing a valueless, cheque at Napier, was sentenced on Friday] to two months' hard labour ; and, for paying. f,or a pair of boots with another valueless £s|cheque, w»3 sentenced to four months — the' sentences to be cumulative.

j ., During Friday night £30 was stoleu from the bedroom ,'of ,S. Parmenter, of the Criterion 1 <Hotel,jßalclutha. Mr Parmenter slept.in the room, c He suspects, two swagsmonj who left •by the-morning train for Dunedin. , . , „ A man named Douglas was arrested at Auckland qn Sunday for wounding John Moran op tlie head with a dell, candlestick. Douglas had quarrelled with his wife, and Moran had received the blow intended for her. An , artery 'on the head was se\ y e'red. • I, The (agricultural returns for South Canterbury, comprising the counties of (2eraldine and Waimate, give the following returns :— lWheat, 59,921 acres, estimated yield 1,554,813 bushels ; oats, 40,511 acres, estimated yield 1,233,631 bushels ; barley, 2960 acres, estimated yield 79,162 bushels. The captain, of the barque, Onyx, which arrived at Wellington on Tuesday from Newcastle, reports passing a topgalland and lower-mast on Monday about 10 miles east of Stew Hens Island. The mast to all appearances belonged to a vessel of about 400 tons. A threshing mill and a stack of grain were burned on Tuesday night on the farm of Messrs Millington Bros. The mill was insured for £275 in the New Zealand office, and the grain for £500. The fire is suspected to be the work of an incendiary, and an inquiry will? likely be held. A man named Pratt was convicted of systematic communication with prisnners in Lyttelton Gaol, and fined £10 or a month's imprisonment. The i evidence showed that he got money out of prisoners, or promises of money, and then in some instances swindled them after all. ; The Canterbury Frozen Meat Company are communicating with the various shipping companies trading to New Zealand in order to obtain a sufficient number of ships fitted with freezing apparatus by next season. It is estimatedthat from five to' eight large ships will be required, and endeavours are being made to get at least one steamer also. The agricultural statistics for the counties of Wanganui, Patea, and Hawera show the following figures : — Land under crop : Wanganui, 117,522 acres ; Patea, 64,866 acres ; Hawera, 41,985 acres. Estimated yield of wheat : Wanfnui, 59,664 bushels ; Patea, 39,202 bushels ; awera, 23,198 .bushels. Oats : Wanganui, 30,139 bushels; Patea, 23,713 bushels; Hawera, , 30,077.bushels. At Christchurch on the 31st John.Gilpin was committed for trial for having, violently assaulted William Clements. . The latter was going home late on Friday when Gilpin, one.pf a band of larrikins, assaulted him without the slightest provocation, breaking his jaw and seriously injuring one of his eyes. Clementsjis still under medical treatment. A .woman named Thornton and three of her children were taken ill after tea at, Wellington on Friday night; and' medical aid being sought, it was ascertained that they were suffering from poisoning. After treatment, the doctor pronounced the patients out of danger. It is not yet known how they were poisoned, but the police are making inquiries into the matter. Intelligence is received from Waikato that Te Kooti had sent a message to the Waiwera tribes, asking if he would receive an asylum there if necessary with his few remaining followers. No answer has yet been returned. Purukutu, who murdered Sullivan, has gone inland. His whereabouts is unknown. The Kingite criminals are uneasy at the prospect of opening up the country. A fire occurred at Kumara in tho Church of England .parsonage on Tuesday. The Rev. Mr Holland, his wife, and servant narrowly escaped suffocation. Nothing was saved, the paraonago being burned to the ground. The only insurance was for £50 in the Union office. Mr Holland has lost a library which he valued at £500. The fire ia supposed to have originated in a fireplace in one of the sitting-rooms. _ A row, commencing about nationalities, occurred at midnight on Saturday between the seamen of the barques Thames and Alcesto, lying at tho Auckland wharf. When tho police arrived two of the Alceste's crews had axes in their hands, but threw them away. A general fight ensued, during which four shots wore fired, but no harm was done. The men retired to their respective ships, and threw ■

stones and other missiles at each other. The riot was quelled on the arrival of a reinforcement of the police. A meeting of tho directors of the WellmgtonManawatu Railway Company was held on Tuesday. The appointment of engineer to the railway was conferred upon Mr H. P. Higgmson, M C.E. It was resolved that the engineer be instructed to take steps as speedily as possible for inviting tenders for the first section ot railway construction atPalmerston end. . Jt was, stated at the meeting. that plans are in so torward a state of preparation- that it is probable tenders will be called in the course of the next 10 days for constructing, the; first mile out of Wellington and for reclamation in connection therewith. _. J. M. Shepherd, who. was in business at limaru left on the 25th ult., for Christchurch, ostensibly for the purpose of having an operation performed on his eye. Not returning by Wednesday, inquiries were made and it was found that he was not in Christchurch, and it was concluded that he had levanted by the San Francisco mail boat. It has since transpired that he has been borrowing largely of late from all sorts of people, and his liabilities amount to £8000 or £1000, He was itlways looked upon as particularly safe and reliable. TheAucklandlloraldsays:— "Weundei stand it is the obj ect of the Treasurer 's visit now to Auckland; as lately to Otagq, to ascertain how Government and the Legislature may be able to assist local industries. It is appropriate to recommend ■ to his notice the admirable arrangements which exist in the Government system 1 in the United States, by which there is an official record of all experiments with exotic plants 'and new industries, whether made by' private enterprise or by the State. The arrangement is found most valuable in 'America ; and New Zealand offers a peculiarly wide and varied scope for such experiments, inasmuch as these islands stretch through 13 degrees of latitude. The Treasurer has just come from Dunedin to Auckland. A line drawn from one city to the other passes through more diversities of temperature than perhaps are to be found in any other country of equal surface in square! mileß." • •• ■ >