OMNIUM GATHERUM

Otago Witness, Issue 2087, 22 February 1894, Page 21

OMNIUM GATHERUM

NEWS, GOSSIP. AND ADS.

Last week 2301 tons of coal and 158,127 ft of timber were exoorted from Rsefton.

Mr J. P. Hamlin, of Napier, bas been lined £5 and costs (£1 18s) and treble the amount of tho tax for neglecting to send in his income tax returns.

Tbe Mount Bischoff (Tasmania) mine last year produced 2400 toin. of tin, aud paid £61,500 iv dividends. Tho outlook foe 1891ia equally encouraging. The Rev. Chns. Strong, of Melbourne, has sent a letter of sympathy to the Ray. S. J. Neill (Thames) in reference to the proceedings against the latter gentleman. Me R. Brown, a railway guard who has been stationed at Oamaru for eight years, has been transferred to Dunedin, and received a purse of sovereigns from his fellow employees. Tho hospital returns for the past week are :: — • Remaining from previous week, 97; admitted during the week, 15; discharged, 19; death (John Campbell), 1 ; total remaining in the institution, 92.

On the 3rd January a boa constriotor in tho Adelaide Zoo swallowed a rug ; on the sth inst. it ejected the wrap, having evidently come to the conclusion, after a month's trial, that it was slightly indigestible. John George Stewart haR bren sentenced at Auckland to three months' hf>rd labour for vagrancy. He admitted ho had slept on Saturday night iv a shed at Kiugaland which had been burned down. He had been begging food and sleeping in houses for months past. Chriatcuurch papers report tho death of Mr M'Kenzie, gas engineer to the Christchurch Gas Company, leaving a widow and four children. He was the son of a gas ccgineer at Dunfermline, Scotland, and was selected on account of his abilities and scientific knowledge in tho manufacture of gas. A deputation reqii' sted tho Minister for Lands to pay thn ex} ou^es of the delegates to the Agricultural Conference &h Wellington in May. The Hon. Me M'Kenz'e thought it unlikely this could bo done, but promised to give the use of Bellamy's for the meeting if Parliament was not sitting. In reply to a request from Major Sommerville the Union Company will grant re urn fares to competitors ettrnriing tho Rifle Asroeiation meeting, from Wi'llingt.n to J>,tteltnn, as follows :— Saloon, 255 ; steerage, 20s. Tbero is every reason to beliove the meeting will D 3 a large one, as the entries are coming in rapidly. A four-rcomed honao, together wifch a wasbhousc and ouLbu'l'Hng*, was burnt down at Burneide at 2.30 a.m. on Tuesday, the causo of the fira being, is is supposed, the bursting cf a ke osene lamp. The housn belonged to Mrs Auuie Pitcairn, aad was occupied by a miller named Jol;n Black. Nothing was navod with the exception of a few articles of clo*biug.

King T-vwhiao paid a visit fc'» Auckland a few days ago, but he bas now ri'&urned to Huarua, near Weikato Hsads. The object of Tawhiao's visit to Auckland was to make inquiry into several land matter.*, lie wants to know something rFspecticfr a block of land at Ngaruiwabia extending to 1000 acres, which was given in the early days to Bishop S lwyn for church and school purposes. Ho was nlso desirous ro know particulars as to how Native land at Mangere had been allotted. Ou ih'se Bubj<;ctx he communicated with Mr Mueller, tbe Commissioner of Crown Lacd% and be also wrote to the Hon. Mr Seddon, Native Minister. It would appear, however, he has not obtained much satisfaction from these quarters.