TELEGRAMS.

Southland Times, Issue 3288, 3 January 1879, Page 2

TELEGRAMS.

» (PER PRESS ASSOCIATION'S SPECIAL WIRE)

NEW PLYMOUTH, Thursday. Mr Irvine, .the Harbor Board Engineer, has put in a written statement containing very insulting remarks about the members of the Board. The Committee . have ad•joumed to allow him an opportunity to bring evidence in support of his statements. ! At the second day's Rangitikei Races, the weather was glorious. Mr Delamain made . a clean sweep of all he went for, Maritana being too good' for the local horses. NAPIER, Wednesday. Yesterday afternoon a presentation was made to the ex-Mayor of Napier, Robert Stuart, Esq., on his retirement from the office of Mayor, which he had held for the last four years. The presentation consisted of an exceedingly handsome drawingroom clock in ormolu and alabaster, which cost £40, and the presentation was made by the Councillors, ex-Councillors, and officers p.f the Corporation, The presentation was acknowledged by 'Mx Stuart in feeling and suitable terms last, night. - I The new year was ushered in with a grand display of fireworks from the Fire Brigade Tower. There was also midnight choral service at St. John's Anglican Church. To-day was, as usual, strictly kept as a holiday. There were sports at Firngoon and Kopua, and horse races at Kaikora, Pakiaki, Tokapue, and Petante. The weather was gloriously fine, and not too warm, but the country is getting parched for want of rain. WELLINGTON, Wednesday. The new year was ushered in very quietly. There was no display of fireworks from the shipping at the wharf, owing to the fact that last year a rocket from' the Zealandia hurt one of the spectators, who sued the captain for damages, and received £50. A few rockets were let off in different parts of the town, and there was some music in the streets, but no other demonstration. To-day the weather has been superb, and the day was ob- | served as a general holiday. The Calel donian games were well attended, and a large number of people travelled by train' to the HuttandWairarapa, while the small steamers plying ■to Lowry Bay were crowded. ■ " The amduht of revenue colleced at the Custom House, Wellington, for the month of. December, 1878, was £24,548 10s 3d. For the corresponding month of last year it was £15,123 17s. For the. quarter ending 31st December,: 1878, the amount of revenue collected was £47 ? 880 10s 4d. The corresponding quarter last year was £45,586 9s 3d. >. The following are the births, deaths, and ■marriages for Wellington City : — Births in 1877—888 ; 1878, 986 ; deaths, 338 and 296 ; marriage certificates issued, 268 and 348. On the first day of the Marton-Rangi-tikei races the weather was magnificent, and the attendance very large. The special trains from Wanganui and Manawatu were crowded. In the Hurdle Race, 40sov, two miles, Steven's Laura, aged, 9st 41b, was first; Palmer's Palmer and Edward's Awahoa, 9st 71b, were second ; and Owen's Junius, 9st 71b, third. Laura won easily, and there was a good race for second place. The Produce Stakes, 40sov, 1£ miles, weight for age, was won by Powdrell's Carlyle, with Fraser's Rangitata second ; and Belcher's Zephyr third. Five others started, but the winner had it all bis own way — time, 3min. ssec. In the Flying Stakes, 30sov, £ mile, Lang's Stanzey was first ; Lang's Expectation, second ; and Higgin's Port Wine, third. Gladys also ran. This was a splendid race, the time being lmin 17£ sec. The Railway Handicap, lOOsov, 1 J mile, fell to Ray's Maritana, Bst 51b, with Gibson's Otawa (7st 71b) second, and Higgin's Jasper (6st 51b) third. Redeer, Tracobrin, and Tamburiel also ran. A false start sent the two latter twice round the course before they could be pulled up. In the race Maritana got a good lead and kept it — time, 3min 17sec. A protest against the winner, on the ground of .informal entry, -was disallowed. Mr Delamain was amongst the visitors on the course. The police stopped all gamesof chance at the Caledonian Sports yesterday. Mr J. F. Wright, the promoter of the West Wanganui Coal Company, has been presented by his fellow promoters with a handsome gold watch and chain as a slight recognition of his services in floating the Company. A post mortem examination to-day showed that an old man who died suddenly on Tuesday, while mowing in the Hon. J. Martin's paddock, was stricken by sunstroke. Two Chinamen were discharging some fireworks on the wharf last night when, the cry of " Dawn with Chinese " was raised and a rush was made at the Chinamen who were roughly handled before they got shelter in the Pier Hotel, the doors of which were then locked. Inspector Aitcheson was sent for, and several times dispersed the crowd, but when the Chinamen left they were again assaulted and had to take refuge in the Empire Hotel, and remained there till early this morning. The Chronicle in an article on native affairs, seems to anticipate trouble from Tewhitu and his [new religion at Panhaka. It says he is now the centre of attraction. Moffit. the Pakeha'Maori who was convicted of making powder for the Maoris, is now in Wellington, to prove his claims to a large portion of the city, based on recorded grants, dated in 1841, to his father, and which he asserts he can produce. These deeds, he says, are duly registered in New South Wales. he owned, on inquiry, that he is the rightful owner of six acres back from Pipitea Point, | as laid out on the plan of the city in 184 1 ; that is, from Pipitea corner back to Mur-phy-street, thence and; continuing lip Tinakori street, including Hobson and Pipitea streets. He further claims an area of 23 acres, which runs in a line nortn from Pipitea corner to Pah Kawa on the point the city side of the Waterloo Hotel at Kaiwarra. By deeds which were drawn up and registered . in New South Wales at the same time as Ms own, he claims that the area upon which Government House and Parliament Houses are built belongs to the natives as a reserve, and which was'never purchased by the Government; and further, lie claims that foreshore from Pipitea Point north to the Waterloo Hotel. - Kaiwarra_ is his property, and consequently the site of the railway line and the hill from which, the reclamation stuff has been removed. He also claims part of Watt's Peninsula and 19,060 acres in Wairau Valley, Marlborough. He has retained counsel. , The Cland Hamilton has . arrived from Melbourne, and the following is a summary of the news she brings to drte, 27th December. The, Henderson parody on the embassy rhas had an amusing ending. It was intended that he should be sent home by the mail steamer with the other ambassadors, but the agent of the P. & 00. refused to receive him as a passenger, and the Government has brought pressure to bear on the company, who, in view of the fact that the new mail contract will shortly have to be -considered, were open to correction, The police seem to be no nearer capturing the Kelly gang, nor has Weiberg, of the .Avoca gold robbery, been'recaptured. < ' ' - The cricket match between the English (Lord"Harrii's Eleven) and Fifteen of Victoria, was commenced on the Melbourne ground on Boxing Day, about 9000 persons visited the ground. The Fifteen kept the Eleven in the field all day", and when the -stumps were drawn they had scored 288 with two wickets to fa11.,. The great feature of - the day's play was the fine performances' of Donald Campbell, who made 128 without giving a single chanse, and was then unfortunately run out. The bowling of {he English team was not formiclabJ", but

their batting was looked forward to with interest. TIMAEU, Wednesday. The Caledonian Sports to-day were a great success, oyer 5000 people being on the grounds. The weather was lovely. - „ There is every prospect of the Geraldine County going to • pieces,' and>ach of the five' ridings forming separate counties. This is owing to the county town being Temuka instead of Timaru. .A large ma--jority of the people think if Temuka- is allowed to be the head quarters Milford •Harbor will be studied instead of Timaru. There is intense excitement in the whole of the county over the matter, and a majority of the members at 'the County Council meeting yesterday^ refused to note in favor of an Act, so that time should be given to break the county up. Timaru Harbor works are progressing satisfactorily, and the 60 ton crane will be delivered within a fortnight, when work will proceed very rapidly. The crops in this district are far below the average this season owing to the draught. Mr Wakefield, M.H.E. addressed his constituents at Temuka on Saturday. On Saturday last sparks from a railway engine -set fire to several private premises in Timaru, and burnt valuable. property. An inquest is to be held regarding the fire on Friday, and legal proceedings will probably be taken. At least £300 worth of damage has been done lately from this cause. The Waimate races took place to-day. Over 4000 persons were present, including a number from Oamaru and Timaru. The Free Handicap . open, £30, distance 1£ mile, resulted as follows : — W. H. Swnnson Blue Peter 1, E. Mason's Lady Ellen 2. The Handicap trotting* race open, £10 3 miles, was won by Dooley's Bushman, 450^ yards, with G. Luke's Fanny, 4§o yards£ second. The Hurdle Race Handicap open, £30, 2£ miles, concluded as follows: — E. BavenfailTs Pakeha 1, W. McTray's Shillelagh 2. In the Maiden Plate open, £25, weight for age, 1£ mile, A. McTray's Minnie was first' and E. Eavenhill's Maori second. The' Waimate Cup Handicap,, £50, 2 miles, was won by W. Swanaon's Blue Peter, with E. Mason's Lady Ellen second. The Consolation Handicap, £10, 1 mile, fell to -G. Bourne's Seven Bells, with T. Thomson's Rosemary second. . DUNEDIN, Wednesday. The new year was ushered in with the customary demonstration on the part of the public in Dunedin. Midnight services were held in the Wesleyan and Episcopal churches. At midnight the streets were thronged, and the scene was a very animated one. A large quantity of fireworks were brought into requisition. Interference on the part of the police was out of the question, the offenders, if they were such,being too numerous to be tackled,and so the constables stood quietly by and enjoyed the sport. Several arrests were, however, subsequently made. No accidents occurred. To-day there was an unusu?l amount of traffic on the railway, and the streets were crowded. The annual sports at the Caledonian Society's grounds, under the auspices of that Society, were witnessed by about 12,000 people, 11,000 having paid at the gates. The weather was somewhat unpropitious. The principal events resulted as follows: — Throwing the 161 b hammer — W. Matheson, £6; Ogg, £3; Webster, £2 ; Clasten, £1. Running high leap — W. Henderson, £3; Campbell, £2 ; Moriarty, £1. Handicap walking match, distance 3 miles — Claxton, £8 ;_ Brookes, £4 ; Sims, £2. The Caledonian handicap running match will be competed to-morrow. The Customs revenue for the quarter ending 31st December, collected at Dunedin was £84,863 9s 9d. The imports for the quarter just ended" were in October, £263,944; in November, £195,866; in December, £16,655 ; total, £626,365. The vital statistics for the district of Dunedin for the year 1188 show the number of births, deaths, and marriages to have been 1750, 588, and 395 respectively. The crops in the Mataura district have improved greatly during the fortnight, showers being more frequent, and the prospects of a good harvest are considerably better. It is fully anticipated that many yields equal to, if not larger than, those of previous years ■will be recorded. MrR. B. Martin, Government auctioneer, held a sale of Crown lands at the Waste Lands Office yesterday. There was a fair attendance of bidders. The sales included the following items : — About 3000 acres on Run No. 20, in the Silver Peak District, upset price £50 per annum, valuation £200, sold to Mr Jas. Smith, solicitor for Messrs G-ellibrand and Co., at the upset price. About 7550 acres on Run No. 48, situated in the Lee Stream District, upset rent £75 per annum, valuation of £380, sold to Mr F. C. Fulton for £305 per annum. About 13,973 acres, situated on Run 309, in the Upper Wakatipu. District, north of Wakatipu Lake, adjoining the town Kanlich, upset rent £40 per annum, valuation of £150, sold to Mr George Ludeman, of Queensto ati at the upset price An area of 64,000 acres on Run 415, situated in the interior district at North Maori Lake, was passed. The Wanganui has brought the first instalment of the Dunedin city tramway plant, and further instalments are due per Oamaru and Easter Hill. The Benares follows with the remainder of the rails, and the first instalment of engines and cars. There are twenty-two cars and five engines. Besides these, several engines and cars are being manufactured in America. Part of the cars from America will be of the "HobokenV description, but an improvement on those in use in Wellington. The English engines are all of the smoke consuming and steam-condensing class. A letter signed "Ex-matron," referring to the death of Miss Adam, late mistress of the Albany street School, in the Daily Times this morning, attributes her death to overwork in the school. The writer says she is filled with indignation and sorrow— sorrow to think that a young lady, one of the best teachers in this city, should have died far from her home and kindred, a stranger in a strange land ; indignation to think that she, to put it plainly, had been Worked to death. (PER PRESS AGENCY.) CHEISTCHUECH, Wednesday. The Press this morning came out as a penny paper, and in their announcement the directors stated|that they were desirous of supplying the public with 'a first-class morning paper at the lowest possible price. ■ A . man named Weir was yesterday committed for trial for attempted rape upon a young girl aged sixteen. Both were living at a farmer's place at White Clrffis, the girl as servant, and the prisoner as ploughman. WELLINGTON, Wednesday. In reply to Mr H. Anderson, of the Chronicle, who waited upon Ministers this morning, the Government promised to continuejfor the nexttwelve months the system of granting one free railway pass to each newspaper. It is also said that imperative instructions have been issued for the suppression of all free passes after January Ist excepting to members of the Legislature and officers of the Railway and Public Works Department travelling on business. •The Government estimate that the expense of land valuations for the first year will be between£lo,ooo and£l2,ooo, but that as the subsequent valuation will only be ' made every third year, ' the expense will be comparatively light Qn the whole. The New Zealand Times says that ifjs hinted much difficulty is experienced in administering the tax scheme, especially in the way of obtaining information relative to the value of laud. The "collection qi. the tax promises to be costly. .-' An immigrant who has just arrived in the colony per Hermione, fell -down dead tr-day whilst mowing in a paddock. It is reported that a man named Moffit who has been living th.c natives in

Wairarapa for .many years past' will apply for an injunction from Supreme Court to prevent the sale of the Thorndon reclaimed land. Moffit has alaims on certain Crown Grants, dated he says as far back as 1 839, and that he is acting throughout on high Jegal advice.- He also clam's under similar titles eighteen thousand and. sixty acres in the Wairau valley Maryborough ; "his claims are not credited. Dr. Hector received a number of speci-mens-from the Langdon quartz reef, nearHokitika. All the samples yielded very well, especially those from the middle of theTreef, which he said gave a return of 690z of gold per ton. This was from what is known as Langdon's lower reef. From some picked specimens from the Eangitoto reefs he obtained "at the rate of four or five ounces of gold to the ton and about the same quautity of silver. The committals to Wellington gaol were, during the year 1878, four hundred as against six hundred for the previous year. DUNEDIN, Thursday. - The first Peninsula Agricultural Show was held to-day at High Cliff. It was well patronised, and the stock and produce exhibited were of good quality. The Waitahuna races took place yesterday. The Maiden Plate was won by Dwyer's with Carry ; the Publicap Handicap, by Dwyer's Fenian ; and the Town Plate by D.wyer's Glengarry. Two sailing boats ran into each other in the harbor yesterday, and one sank. The occupants, two men and two women, were rescued "just in time by the other boat; t.'Fheir boat sunk from tinder them. The Caledonian sports to-day were again largely attended. Stuart of Dunedin, and White of Tiniaru tied for the Dunedin Handicap, and the best time for 120 yards was: 12 seconds. ,\ Dowling won the vaulting match, he cleared 9ft- Sin. Biiry, w,ho Lwon the mile race yesterday, won the half mile competition to-day with ease; time, 2min. 2£sec. • The wrestling match for the champion belt attracted a great deal . of attention, as J. Tyson, the present holder of it, and Thomas of- Victoria, whom he recently defeated, were among the competitors. In the first bout Tyson and Thomas did not meet, but each succeeded in throwing his man. The other two standards were Allen, champion of the light weights, and Campbell. These four had to wrestle off, but this part of the contest did not progress further -than one: round between; Thomas arid Tyson, and which resulted in Tyson being thrown. Thomas was loudly cheered. The contest; will be, continued on Saturday. The vital statistics : for the Dunedin district for the year 1878 are as follows : — Births, 1804 ; deaths 517 ; marriages, '418. ; ■ ; CHEISTCHURCH, Thursday. At a meeting of the Agricultural and Pastoral Association this afternoon, it was resolved that the trial of reapers and binders should take place during the present month on Mr Boag's farm. The entries close on the 4th inst. The contestants, so far as is at present known, will be Osborne, Wood, McCormack, Marsh, 'King, -and Buckeye. Francis Valpy, late of the Eailway Department, was to-day committed for trial i'oi" embezzling funds belonging to the Railway Employes Benefit Society. Bail Avas accepted, himself in £400 and two sureties in £200 each.