TELEGRAPHIC BRIEFS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1893, 2 March 1888, Page 15

TELEGRAPHIC BRIEFS.

Sir George Grey has expressed his intention of donating a fourth number of pictures to the Auckland Art Gallery. The smews of the hands of Captain Holmes chief pilot at} Wellington, hare contracted seriously through continuoufly gripping, the steer oar, a»d it is not improbable that be may require to undergo an operation. Inspector Gordon, of tho Mines department, will pay an official visit to the Otago goldfielda this week.

The question of filling up the vacancy which will occur in the office of, Agent-gerieral by eSlaxion of time next year has not yet been considered by the Government, It is believed, however, that Sir Francis Bell will be asked to continue holding the agency-general for a further term of years, bat that the salary of the office will have to share the fate of the gubernatorial and Ministerial salaries and undergo a proportionate reduction. When Sir Francis Bell was appointed the pay was reduced from £1750 to £1250, and it is thought probable that when thenextappointment. is made the salary offered will not be higher than £1000 a year (possibly £800) as the duties are deemed much less onerous now than when the Public Works policy was in full swing. Other considerable reductions in the cost in that department are also expected. The proprietor of the Brunner coal mine has* received from the celebrated Broken Hill silver mine an order for the supply of 500 tons of coke.

Of the candidates who passed the recent junior civil service examination 29 have intimated that they do not desire to enter the service. All the wool exhibits intended for the Melbourne Exhibition are to be examined by experts,, and only the best of them will be forwarded. The commission have decided to supply the show cases for these exhibits. The commissioners have issued a circular upon minerals and mining signed by Sir James Hecfcor, as they are desirous of securing a complete representation of the mining industry of the colony. _ It is probable that an educational court will be formed in tho exhibition, in order to have a complete exposition of the State school system of the colonies, and that each colony will arrange to send classes in order that their modes of education may be witnessed in juxtapositiou to that of Victoria. It is understood that applications will be made through the Victorian Agent-gen«>ral to obtain school inspectors from England, Germmy, and France to visit the exhibition aud to report upon tho system of instruction. At the meeting of the Auckland Education Board some discussion ensued in regard to the removal of teachers who had failed to pass their examination. In one instance one teacher had failed to pass no less than nine times. The committee of the district wrote in high terms of the efficiency of the teacher in question, but the majority of the board were of opinion that it was unfair to those teachers who had passed to keep repeated failures ahead of them, and it was therefore decided that his services should be dispensed with, A similar resolution was arrived at iv the case of some of the other teachers who had failed at the recent examination.

The retrenchment proposals of the Canterbury Board of Education aro exciting considerable discontent among teachers here. The North Canterbury Institute passed the following resolution on the subject: — "That this institute, while fully alive to the difficult task of retrenchment imposed upon the board, considers that the recent scheme of reduction adopted presses very unevenly, aud in the aggregate more heavily, upon the teachers than tho schemes adopted by neighbouring boards." Private information received in Wellington gives cho names of tho two lady passengers who died in the Rimutnkaon the voyage to Hobartau Mrs St. Hill and Mrs Iledger. It is understood that; Mrs St. Hill is the wife of the Roy. Mr St. Hill, of Auckland, and formerly of Wellington.