INTERPROVINCIAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8685, 2 December 1899, Page 2

INTERPROVINCIAL.

[Per Pbe3s Association.]

WELLINGTON, This day. In the Divorce Court, Sir Robert Stout granted a decree nlii in the following cases : Peach v. Peach, wife's petition for desertion ; Cox v. Cox, husband's petition for drunkenness and desenion ; McDonald v. McDonald, wife's petition for adultery ; Hector v. Hector, wife's petition for adultery. The Government offices and Customs houses throughout tho colony will be closed on election day from mid-day. The Christmas and New Year holidays to be observed in the public offices throughout the colony will be the 23rd, 25th, and 26th December, and January Ist and 2nd.

The Alameda, with British mails of November 18tU, left San Francisco on November 29th, due date. A little girl named* Daisy Morgan, a daughter of John Morgan, of the Government Railway Department, was drowned at Plimmerton to-day. Mr 0. Hudson, assistant manager of Railways, left last night on an extended visit to the Australian colonies. He will enquite into the traffic arrangements in each colony, and also make himself acquainted with the working of the Abt system in Tasmania.' At the present time there are over fifty of the crew of the warship Mildura prostrated by influenza, and the vessel's movements are in consequence uncertain. She will probably sail about the 7th inst. for Auckland. Several members of the gunboat Lizard are down with the prevailing epidemic. The Chairman of the Benevolent Trustees reports that the new system of buying rations and supplies wholesale and distributing them through the Trustees' own store will be the means of saving £800 this year to the ratepayers and contributors of the Institution. This, with a saving in salaries of £100, will make a total saving of £900. The returns of expenditurs under the old system and new have been compiled, and in this connection the Chairman remarks : "It will be Been that gross waste and negligence in management must have taken place when we find the largo sums paid for the Ohiro Homo supplies, and also the loose manner in which the rations were given away during 1896-97." Major Sommervillo states that he has decided to retire from the New Zealand Rifle Association after the next meeting. Mr B. M. Litchfield, at present resident inspector of the Bank of New Zealand at Wellington, succeeds Mr Embling us manager of the Christchuroh branch. An old woman named Eliza McLellan, one of the unfortunate olass, was found unconscious on Kilbirnio road late last night, and died shortly afterwards. Death in behoved to be due to neglect, accelerated by drink. Some three weeks ago Colonel Penton informed Major Somervile that the Government had the status of the New Zealand Rifle Association under consideration, and that he would be advised when the decision was arrived at. Major Sonierville has suggested that a meeting be held at Wanganui early in February, and that the rifle be the* Martini for the last time. The programme is all ready, but cannot be circulated till Major Somerville gets a final answer from Colonel Penton. In the Divorce Court to-day Sir Robert Stout granted a decree nisi in the following cases : Stansfield v. Stansfield, wife's petition on the ground of desertion ; Hammond v. Hammond, wife's petition for desertion and cruelty ; Studley v. Studley, wife's petition for desertion and drunkenness.

A child named Mongau has been drowned at Plimmerton. He was two years old, and was seen playing on the beach, and some time afterwards his dead body was washe-1 up. It is supposed he was carried off his feet by an unusally large wave.

A seven-roomed house at Lower Hutt, owned by Mr G. A. Chapman and occupied by Mr Hall, was destroyed by fire. It was insured for £300 in the Commercial

Union. The quantity of gold exported from the colony last month w."s 20,829 ounces, of the value of £104,072, an increase of £40,016 as co'tapared with November of last year. There was no export from Dunedin laat month. For eleven months of the year the colony's exports have been 349,902 ounces of the value of £1,359,640, an increase of 100,749 ounces valued at £400,017 compared with the same period last year. Last month's silver export was 26,000 ounces valued at £3,664. CHRISTCHURCH, This dat. In the Supreme Court, W. Harding was awarded £750 and his wife £1500 damages for injuries sustained by the latter in the Rakaia accident.

DUNEDIN, This dat. Mr Justice Edwards made reference yesterday to his position as President of the Arbitration Court. After stating that it had been agreed by the Government that he should be paid extra remuneration, he said :— " Whatever is to be paid to me is to be paid, not as a gratuity or dnuceur, but in payment for services honestly rendered to the State and in pursuance of a prior contract under which those services have been and are being rendered. It is in no way incumbent on me to discharge the duties of this Court, and I am not and never have been desirous to hold office. If I hold it I am entitled to name my own terms for doing so, and it rests with those who are responsible for the conduct of the business of the State to determine whether those terms are such as it is in the public interest to accept. These facts appear to be ignored : That the statute contemplates payment to the President for his services ; that I am under no obligation whatever to hold office ; and that the payment to be made is considerably under one-third of the. cost to the State of an additional Judga to discharge the duties. AUCKLAND, This dat. The Electrio Tramways Company's proposals re lighting of Auckland by electricity have been referred to the Streets Committee of the City Council for consideration.

George Covell, on a charge of breaking and entering a bicycle factory and stealing lamps and breaking plate glass under the value of £15, was committed for trial.

A boy named Tulohf was drowned at at Fuboi. His body has not been recovered.