LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2284, 9 December 1897, Page 3

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The vital statistics for the past month are as follow : — Births, 105 ; deaths, 44 ; marriage*, 36. For the corresponding month last year the figures were : — Births, 99 ; deaths, 39 ; marriages, 34.

Our Auckland correspondent telegraphs : — " The Hon. J. S. Lake, Canadian Commissioner at Sydney, informed' me before leaving for Wellington that his present intention was to go south as far as Danedin. The Governor of New youth W»>es, Viscouot Hatnpden, takes a great interest iv New Zealand affairs. He is a large shareholder in some of the financial institutions doing business in the colony." . .

At & well-attended meeting of the Committee of the Dunedin Burug Cjub it was unanimously decided to procure a quantity of newnausx. It was decided to' issue life members' tickets at a cost of five guineas.

The regular meeting of the Benevolent Institution Trustees was ' held on the Ist inst., and was attended by Messrs Solomon (chairman), Allen, Miller, Watson, Swan, Green, and Gourley. Accounts amounting to £246 3s 2d were passed for payment. It was reported thab George Smith, 76 years of age, had died during the past week. The outdoor relief book showed that for the month of November the number of cases was 434, including 192 men, 322 women, and 662 children ; the weekly cost being £116 10g. The cases for 1 the corresponding mouth lasb year numbered 485, and included 209 men, 363 women, and 840 children ; the cost per week standing at £138 9s* About 35 relief oases were dealt with. tgJAn inquest was held at the hospital on the Ist, before Mr Carew (coroner), on the body of Charles M'Kenna, aged 60 years, who died in the institution on the 29th ult., after undergoing the operation of lithotomy. Deceased had been a patient of Seacliff Asylum since April, 1890, and had been sent to the hospital on Friday last for surgical treatment. The operation was successfully performed on Saturday, a large stone being extracted, and deceased made a little progress until Monday, when he began to sink, and died, as stated above, from want of recuperative power after the operation. Evidence was, given by Mary M'Kenna, wife of deceased, and Dr Stenhouse, bouse surgeon at the hospital ; and the jury, of whom Mr John Dnthie was" foreman, returned a verdict in accordance 'with the medical evidence. The deceased was formerly a miner, and more recently a hotelkeeper at Cromwell.

Cape papers report the hearing at Vrybnrg of a charge of culpable homicide against two farmers' wive 3 for causing the death of a. native servant girl. The prisoners, who were Boer women, living in Taungs district, were mother and daughter, and from some motive not disclosed, but which was probably jealousy or revence, they held the girl, stripped her naked.

and then thrust otustic soda into her body, afterwards, driving her into a dam. ~>She wu 1 allowed to comeout "after wading some time, bub she died of the effects of the crime. ,! yrisonera denied the charge, and said the girl was "peculiar" and would nob wear clothes. They also denied the abatements of three native witnesses for the prosecution. The doctor who "examined the body said the girl died of 'peritonitis, and he could nob trace the effects of caustic. The jury found both women guilty of assault, and the prisoners were eaoh. sentenced to six monthi'hard labour. At the Local Option Court at Eohuca, Victoria, on the 22nd nit., Judge Molesworth, having explained the constitution of the court, its functions, and its methods of arriving at its determination, devoted some time to the question of compensation, and said that both owner and licensee of a hotel closed would be fully compensated. The court had gone over the evidence c*rSfully, and hmd made a personal inspection of the whole* of the premises affected. Though the bench did not expect, to satisfy all, they had done their work to the best ,of their, ability: - ,He\theu announced ' .'the names of 21 hotels which the court had decided should be closed, l an announcement which 'created some excitement.. '..»••. -. , - - The last case on the calendar for the criminal.sewioDS, of the Supreme- Cpurt was .one in which John Wilson. Johnston, a farmer at Redcliffe, near O Amaru, was charged with a misdemeanour under the Bankruptcy Act. Taw case was commenced yesterday, forenoon, and concluded so far as the evidence and addresses to the jury were concerned before S o'olook in' .the afternoon, but the ".jury were unable to agree upon their verdict. •• At,. 7 o'clock they, , were communicated , witb, and the reply .that the registrar received was that they were |noS likely to arrive at an agreement for some time. After the lapse of a couple of hours they were again communicated with, but ' without . any , more -favourable, result, , and' they 1 were then locked up for the night. • ■; „. . •'■ At a meeting of the Ladies 1 Challenge Shield Conmittee, held in the Garrison Hall j< on Friday evening, 26th, it was decided to hold the competition for the shield on Saturday, sth March, the conditions of firing to be the same as last.— ; • — ntn * t The "Mad* in Germany" panic (writes the London Daily News 'of - October 6) h«s no encouragement from the , detailed official ' figures relating " to the external commerce of Germany in 1896, which have juist,been publiihed by the Imperial statistical authorities. As usual, the United Kingdom holds fcho most important place in the list of countries trading with Germany. Thie, however, applies to importer into Germany from us as well as to Germany's exports to us. Last year the, value of her exports to this country showed a nominal increase — £35,700,000 —aa compared with £33,900,000 in 1895. But the proportion borne by these exports to the United Kingdom to the amount of Germany's total 1 exports shows a decline, the figures for ttie past four- yean being: —lß93, 20 7 per cent. ; 189f, 208' per cent:'; 1895, 19-8 per cerit.f ' and i896,'-19 ,pei cent. In the figures relating to German imports from the United Kingdom, there is e.qu&llj little cause 'for "alarm. ."Our,, share of~tn.e mi- ' ports into Germany- last/ year was 14- 2 per cent., as compared with 13 6 "per cent, in 1895 ; while in regard io actual value the figures role from £28,900,000' in 1895 't0 £32,360,000 in "1896. The criminal sittings of the Supreme Court were concluded on Thursday morning, when, the jury in the case of John Wilson Johnston, charged with fraudulent 'bankruptcy, having ) disagreed, the accused was remanded to appear at the next sittings of the Supreme Court at ■ Oamaru. The civil sittings of the Supreme Court were resumed on Thursday, when the case or Poatleth'waite and another v. Boss and others, a claim for the balance of the contract price of the construction of a dredge and for extras, was commenced, the defendaats counter-claiming for damages in respect of a delay in the completion of the contract. At Waikouaiti on Thursday, before Messrs A. G. Reade and D. Grant, J.P's., George Ammett, a retired master mariner, was sentenced to 14 days' hard labour on a. charge of stealing a bridle, valued at 10 i, the property o£ J. Diack. A man named James Ramsay has been arrested at Ophir for cutting and wounding James Jones. He was brought before the^ court oh Thursday and remanded "until the Bbb;- '- inst. . « " Wise's Directories " are now so numerous that they may' be said to cover the whole o£ Australasia. The copyright is secured for.the whole of the British Empire. During the coming year- directories -are to be issued for Western .Australia,' Queensland/ New South Wales, New Zealand, Tasmania, and • for Canterbury and the West Coast. In 1899, Victorian and r^mbh Australian directories will be issued, ari that for Western Australia brought up to date. The proprietors hay« ' offices in all the colonies. The output of coal from the mines of the We»tporfc Coal Company (Limited) for tint month of November was 17.826 tonn §cw*».