DEATHS BY DROWNING.

Colonist, Volume XII, Issue 1204, 9 April 1869, Page 5

DEATHS BY DROWNING.

We learn that two men named John Da/sis and Henry Neehoff have been drowned in -the Molyneux river, .Otago; by the swamping .of their boat. Davis was a native of London,. unmarried, and 26 yeare of age; and Neehoff was a:native of Hanover, and 28 years of age. He leaves a wife and two children.—A man named—James Boss was found drowned onthe Ocean Beach, Otago, a few. days ago. —John Connolly, aged 9 yean, whilst bathing in the Hokitika river, on March 16th, got out of his depth, and was drowned. —A little girl named Mary Shields, was drowned in a gutter tit Invercargill, on .March 9th.. The poor little-thing, who was only 20' months old, fell into the gutter on' its face, and was smothered. by the mud and water.—Mr. Thomas Martin, one, of the firm of Paterson aud Martiu, packers, was drowned on the 2Sth'of. March, while trying to swim his horse across Fox's rive*1, in the Grey district.—-A man named M'Nub, met with"a similar fatej while bathing in the Porangatiau river, on March Bth.—Two inquests were held at Hokitika on March 30j;h, on the bodies of John Clark arid James G-iles. Clark tried to cross to the. opposite side of the river- in a boat which was carried seawards, and Was eventually, capsized in the .breakers and its occupant drowned.' Giles was seen intoxicated on the'-evening of March 28, .and. on the. following morning his body was taken .out of tjie river, near the "Australasian Hotel.,-f-bn the last voyage of the s.s. Alhambra'frdm Ifew Zealand to Melbourne, a man : named Hugh Dwyer threw himself.overboard and ~ was drowned.'1 -Dwyer'h'ad-placed'a sumi of. money — about £70^111 the hands of Captain iVi'Lean,' .and ifc has been .paid over to t)iei man's legal representatives. . —On March"'l7,.^tnaii namedSinith, "who was. sufferingfroni delirium" tremens^.wiiaawwDed^n the river "Clarence, in Marlborqugh'.-^Gneof the firemen of the s.s; Beautiful Starj Wlioser^aiiie'is not stated, has been drowned atWanganm. Deceased'was missed from the steamer, and some days afterwards, on March 20, his body was taken but'of the riv.er.rrOn M»tc)i 18, ; Hakiera, a hativ*?, was drdwned by the upsetting of a canoe at: the nipiith'of the Henui ..riyer,-^-Le3lie Walker, aged 11-years, was" drowned off the wharf, on: March 29l—Frank 'Collins, a !boy, met with a similar fate in DampierV.Bay, Canterbury, on 2nd. of April.' The boy clatnbered over a rock to nieet his . father who was out fishing, when, missing his hold, he fell into deep water and was drowned.

' Nebula, a mare, the property-, of Mr. fS. Stafford, of Stoke, .won the.Great Handicap at the.Qreymputh races last week. The race was won by a neck. This is another victory added to the list of those-acbiev.ed by Nelson horses. ;. ..- . : . Nelson Races.—-The'following entries hare been made for tho Duke of. Edinburgh's Plate, and weights, fixed :—Miv Redwoods bL g Blackboy, aged, 9»t. 121b5.; Mr. Stafford's eh g. Magenta, 5 years, .9st. 81bs.; Mr. Sellpn's br g Robin Hoody. 4 years, ,Bst. 21bs.'; Mr. Redwood's chf Peeress, 3 years. 7st. 71bs.; Mr. Stafford's b f Lacenfeed, 3 years, 7st. 71bs.

I Fabewell .Dinneb.-—On. March 22, a number of the friends of J7....R. Dodson, Esq., of the firm of Hooper and Dodsoh, gave that gentlemen a farewell dinner on the occasion of his approaching departure with Mrs. Dodson and family to England. R. Pollock, Esq., J.P., occupied the chair, and N 4 Edwards, Esq., M.H.R., filled the vice-chair. The dinner, which ,was provided by Mr. M'Gee, in the large room of the . Nelson Hotel, was a very excellent and rich repast; and the party pledged Mr. Dodsoh and his family very -warmly, expressing kindly wishes for their safe passage to England, and a speedy return to the Colony. Mr. Dodson. took with him a parcel of •Nelson silk, weighing two pounds, ; to submit to the trade in England, and ascertain its value. Sweets pob the Pbiw'cb.—"Old.Bigg3," as he delights to callhimself, the Nelson oee-kce'per, par excellence, and "Royal Apiarist" to his Excellency, Ex-Oov«rnor G-rey, has prepared for the Duke of Edinburgh- a case' of virgin honey which is intended to omam -nfc the Royal breakfast, table at Panama House. The honey se^ms as limpid as if the bee* of Ilvbla had produced it, arid i:oun<l the glass .jar info which 'he beei .themselves had built the gold'nccnb, are. various'loyal motties in letters of red and.gi.ld sum-nit is crowned by a ducal coronet of crimson veVet . ; . .•■'■ ■• A Nrison Pbodfctiw Km the Prince.—A specimen of .Nelson-pro'lnct'on and -manufaefcure is to be presented to the Dulie of Edinburgh by Mr. James Smith, an old soldi•■•r of the .-s.Bth Regiment.: It r-prfsents wood. .gold,'-copper, and leather, the.production of this Province. It consists nf a stick madn of alee nke, (or everlasting w>orl) tipped with Nelson copper, .hayi'i? a f''.»*rvle at the .handle male of N'lson gold, a tassel of Nelson leather, and topped by a ■turned piece of bone, believed to be a whaie's tooth takon from Heke's pa in the early war of 1816. The chasing of the massive gold ring round the junction of the handle with the stick, is -very rich and well executed, and in the flowered scroll work of the chasing are distinguishable the words "Nelson Q-old." Counter-sunk on the top of the handle is a gold plate, on which is engraved the following inscription, surmounted by a figure of the sphinx, the badge of the 58th;Regiment.:—" H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh, from James Smith, an old soldier of the 58th Regiment, Nelson, N.Z., 1869." The stick is to be seen in the window of Mr. Drew, jeweller, Trafalgarstreet, who manufactured the principal articles from the native metals and ore, and performed the choice engraving which embellishes the production. . Motueka Racks. —There was a considerable addition io Motueka population on March'3oth, through • the attractions of the races, the anniversary of. the Court Perseverance of the Ancient Order of• Forresters, and a concert on the evening of the previous day.' The concert, for the benefit of the Church funds, was well attended, the Institute being crowded, and the ■ performance most successful and gratifying to theattdfence, as well as remunerative to the ecclesiastical funds. Of the races we.can say little, but the hurdle races ifforded good sport. The Foresters, wearing their emblematic garments, &c, marched in procession. through the streets, and in the evening nbout sixty persons assembled and dined in the Motueka Hotel under the chairmanship of Captain Fearon, with Mr. Lane as vice-chairman. A very excellent dinner was provided, while outside, the village exhibited an unwonted vivacity. In truth the day closed by manifold libations, and we ai-e informed the monotony of the proceedings was diversified by something like a "free fight," in which Maoriea and others made, it is said, rather lively displays.-

Moutere School.—Mr. Cook's flourishing and well conducted school was examined by Mr. Hodgson, the Inspector, last week, the following is the prize list:—lst Cta's, Ist pi'ize, Frederick Kelling, 2nd, Annie Cook ; 2nd Class, Ist pi-ize, Frederick Lisfcus, 2nd, Christian Dencker ;3rd Class,11st prize,' Emma Betika, 2nd, Henry Rose; 4fh Class, lafc- prize, Charlotte Kollinat, 2nd, Alexander Drummond ; sth Class, Sophia Eo3e ; 6th Class, lsfci prize, Adolphus Dencker, 2nd, Eliza, Hoffman. • Moke Rowdyism at the Greenstone Diggings. —Information readied Hokitika of another serious row haying taken place at the Greenstone township on. Friday evening,. March 19, when a.man named Johnston had two of his ribs broken, and was otherwise injured, by the mob. He lies.in a precarious condition. . • • Extraordinary Births on the Nelson Gold-fields.—-We ,(Westport Times) hear of,a wonderful instance of proMcness afc Brighton. A few days'ago a woman living in that township, and usually known as " Nelly the Washerwoman," gave birth to four children!. Of this "family party," however, only one survives, three having since died. Two Men ; Missing.—Samuel Grearson reports that two men named Samuel Scantlebury, and Jame3 M'Culler, left West Wanganui on the 28th February, for the purpose of going down the coast, about eighteen miles, to bring up .a boat that had been left there by. a man named Pat Sweeney, and have not since, been heard of. The boat had-been there five or six years, under a shed built by Maoris. The men had enough, provisions with them to last about four or five days. It consisted of 12fts oatmeal, 2H)s biscuits, and 2or 3fts bacon. The men knew very little about boating,; Grearson has been down the-coast a3 far as the boat-shed, and up the coast as far as Blind Wanganui. The boat was thirty-three feet long, and seven feet beam ; the. river at the mouth of which; the boat-house was built, is known as the New River. ■ A tannery on. a very-extensive scale is a:bout to be i started in Canterbury. The Lyttelton Times informs; us that the, promoters have recently come from Wellington,; and have purchased five acres of land on which to erect the necessary works. The firm will operate under the ■ title of Hirst and Co. The import? of tanned leather into Canterbury are roughly-estimated by the Times "at £12*000 per aDnum. A Christehurch firm has nlso purchased ah acre of land on the Ferry Road for a similar purpose. ■ . , Fire on the Nelson Diggings.—The Evening Star, a twopenny daily paper which was last week started at Greymouth, states that a fire broke out in an hotel at Nelson Creek township on March sth, but fortunately the fire was put out before much damage was done. A' strange method of extinguishing the flames was adopted, water being scarce they had to knock in the head of a barrel of ale a substitute.

A Clever Escape.—Denis Quinlan was brought before Mr. Warden Dutton, at Camptown, on March sth, charged with committing a serious assault, and was sentenced to three months' imprisonment with hard labor. Just as the Warden was in the act of recording the sentence, the prisoner made a bolt for the door, and easily reached the yard as there were few' persons in Court. He made for the gate of the enclosure, but a constable was.there, when he doubled across the yard, with two constables at his heels, when a good race ensued. A loaded stick was thrown at Quinlan by one of the constables, and he fell as he cleared a ditch, and would soon have been caught by the coustaWe in pursuit, had not the latter been caught across the eyes by a clothes-line, which he did not notice, and was severely injured. After jumping a three-rail fence Quinlan gained the bush, and had not up to the 9th instant been recaptured.

Execution at Weiijngton.—A telegram announces that Whalta Mau, the Maori murderer of the pedlar Korncrop, was duly executed within the precincts of Wellington Gaol on Tuesday, March 23. Heiconfessed the justice of the sentence and expressed penitence for his crime. A few days before he had been baptized by Archdeacon Hadfield.

G-oldfield PBOGEt?S9.—In the Warden's Court', the [other day says the West-port Times, the Warden disposed of a large number of applications for registration and protection. There were - fourteen applications for races, one for a tramway, six for tunnels, three for residence sites, and a number of others. Several fresh applications hare been received from the claimholders on Christmas Terrace, where gold has lately been struck,

r AdopENir—NabbOw Escape.—On Saturday last,' as one of Mr. Cross' sons was driving a trap down the hill at thejport;- the llor&e jibbed opposite Mr. Cross' houses and backed towards the roadside smashing the rafts of the fence and sending horse, cart, and the load over the cliff down oh the rocks below, some; thirty oi' forty: f e ot. Mi. . Cross had fortunately leaped out before -this occurrence. -The horse was :but little -injured;-'arid-the- trap also suffered small damage considering the height of the fall. ■ ■ Gold Exfoets. — During last month (March) 10,000 ounces of gold was exported from Westportj being the produce of Nelson Goldfields. During the first quarter of this year, 30,522 ounces were shipped. at Gtreymouth ;.sbme of this gold also came from the diggings in Nelson Province. Fatal Accidents to Minebs.—Richard Cox has been killed by a fall of earth in a claim at Ross, near Hokitika ;' and Edward Thomas" has been crushed to death by the fall of a tree, at Nelson Creek, in this Province. ; The Tuapeha Press (Otago) records the following anecdote, from an authentic source :—" Some years ago, a highly respected, tut somewhat eccentric minister visited, for the first time,,,an 6ut : of-the-way station, not more than fifty miles from Dunedin, near the sea const. There being no regular place of worship in the locality, he conducted eerrice in the house of a settler. After giving out the text, the preacher addressed his'audience in.these ; ;words—' My dear friends, I suppose there has 'riot been a sermon preached here sin^e the days when Adam was a little hoy. 1' There was a momentary pause, arid one of the cons;re.giitinn, thinking the oWrvation Was directed to himself, answered—' WVel, sir, T "dinna ken; ye'd bef'er speer at Sandy.-P',' v .. y he's a gay auld setfler here." ■ •* v . ' Wrstpobt Coukkspondence.—Bv figures furnishe I to the Times by th« Postmaster, \Tr. Winstnnley, we learn that tbn total number of letters received at, and d^spntolipd from, the Post-office, Westport, for the year 1861 was—letters 109,445, 'newspapers 51,351. 'T!ie total number of mails received and despatched'was 2521, and the total number of re^istpred letters recpived an! dfsp'itched 1331. Money orders were issued to the number of 780, representing an aggregate amounting to £4204 5s and there were paid 158 orders, of the Viilue of £718 10s. 2d. The figures relating to the Savings' Bunk Department give satisfactory evidence of economy, and of the" large extent to which that department is patronised by the public. Tiie total number of deposits was 432, amounting to £7583 12s. The withclrawls were 214, amounting to £2932 Oa lid. A New Drfence Minister. —A report is current that Mr. Tmvers will take the office of Defence Minister in place of Colonel Haultain. — JFafrarapa Mercury. ..[This is even still more improbable than the story that Mr. Fox and Mr. Stafford will form a coalition,] ; The Thames Q-oldfield. —Several rich gold discpveries had been made during the week, ending March 20, The Tararua district is turning out well. The Wild Missouri claim has taken out a specimen valued at £3,500. It is stated that Mr. Hunt, has offered £10,000 for a half share. Meat Export Company.—A meat export company has been formed in Christchurch. At a recent meeting the committee reported tha>- 600 shares, had been applied for, but that .according to a resolution adopted by the promoters of the company, operations would not be commenced until 1000 had been taken. The committee, however, thought that if 800 shares were taken up, they would constitute a sufficient basis for a commencement of business. The committee were willing to take 100 shares of the 200 which would make up the number, and they thought the other 100 might be easily disposed of. A resolution that the report be adopted was. carried unanimously, and seventy shares were taken up by the meeting, leaving only thirty to make up the required number of 800.

A Feast for the Maoris. —-We notice in the Wellington papers an advertisement calling ; for tenders to supply about. 200 natives with rations during the time that the Duke of Edinburgh's visit extends. The daily rations are to consist of lib each of meat and bread, 21bs. potatoes, 2ozs. sugar and i'Oz. tea. . . -.-. A Bazaar in connection with the Church ; of England, held at Napier the other day, produced £330, which more than effenta the object for which it was held—namely, the clearing of debt frotc the i Church. —A bazaar held last week in Wellington in aid of the funds of " the proposed new Primitive Church," realised nearly £200. This sum, with previous subscriptions, places. £500 at the disposal of the committee. • Fatal Accident at Greymotjth Race 3 West Coast Times of March 18th, gives the following telegraphic intelligence from Greymouth : —" A fatal accident occurred in the hurdle race yesterday, which marred the day's enjoyments and cast a gloom over the latter portion of the day. A horse ca^ed Gamester, ridden by. Harry Bloomfield, whilst on the second round caught his foot over a hurdle and fell. His rider was gotting up. quickly, evidently not having been hurt by the fall, when the horse struck him full on the temple and killed him instantaneously. The greatest sympathy was. shown, and medical aid at once procured,, but the poor fellow never spoke again." Gamester, oiir readers will remember, won the stakes of one hundred sovereigns at the late Waimea South Steeple-chase. Perjury.—At .the Residonfc Magistrate's Court, Charleston, on March 9th, a charge of perjury against Elizabeth Wilson was heard. .The information set forth that on the sth of March last the prisoner, in the case of Alien ■«. Wilson, in which the plaintiff sued for value of goods supplied, before C Broad, Resident Magistrate; committed wilful perjury by swearing that an account for £19 3s. ,6d. had been paid, that Allen had himself tendered the account and had affixed a receipt stamp, which he initialed and cancelled between the Ist and Bth February. The prisoner was committed to take her trial at the next session of the Supreme Court at Nelson. Bail accepted : self in £50 and two sureties of £25 each.

Westport. Cemetery.—The Westport Times of Tuesday, Maroh 16th, says:—" On Saturday a human body, and. portions of a coffin, were exposed by the encroachments of the river near the cemetery. The remains were removed, placed in a fresh coffin, and buried within the cemetery. The body is understood to be that of a man who was drowned a few years ago, and who was buried on the sands pit, which then extended nearly three hundred yards more to the southward."

PUELMNG AT THE THAMES GoiDFrELD.—The Thymes Advertiser says:—" Affairs of honor are not uncommon here at the Thames, but the parties generally prefer to ' have it out' there and then with their fists. When the combatants break the established rule of the place and the- time, and appeal to the. oldfashioned style'of firing pistols at each other the. matter is worthy of note, even although the combatants came off much more scatheless than any of qhose who indulge, in a street fight. The affair rivalled that so celebrated in Lever's tale of " Handy Andy." The time was Tuesday last, and the scene near the Maori settlement. It appears that two gentlemen well known in Shortland had a quarrel over cards, and agreed to decide, the question on the sui-f next, day—the weapons to be pistols. Accordingly, pistols were procured and loaded, but as the seconds were unable to procure bullets of the proper size, rifle bullets were pared down to fit, and the gallant gentlemen took their stand opposite each other. At the word ' fire,' both triggers were pulled, but without any other effect than snapping the percussion caps. It was then found that the pistols were rusty and the powder damp, so that the.fire-eating gentle* men, much disappointed, had to return as they went, neither the worse in body,.but both, no doubt, feeling that they had vindicated for ever their characters for heroic courage, and satisfiedthe laws of honor."

Distbbssing- Accident at Weiun&ton.-—The Independent of Tuesday, March 23rd, says : —" A very distressing accident, resulting fatally, occurred on Saturday afternoon. It appears that a son of Mr. Arthur Knowles, aged twelve years, was returning from fishing at Kaiwarawara, when' Brown' and Ross' omnibus coming along, and being met by a trap just at that juncture, the lad, endeavoring to extricate himself from the difficulty, ran under tha feet of the 'bu| horses, and 'was trampled upon, two of the whJels of the vehicle passing over him. He died on the way while being removed to th» hospital."

Thefuneral of Mr.. John Jones, of Dunedia, an ol<J and much respected colonist, was attended by upwards of three thousand persons. Miss Haebibtt Gordon (Mrs. J. P. Hydes), th© well-known vocalist and pianist, died at Auckland, on Saturday, March 13tb. Mrs. Hydes (says the Southern Cross) died at the early age of thirty, in the zenith of her powers and abitities, and will be long regretted, not only by the profession, but by her many private friends and admirers. * Colonei, M'DotWETit; has notified his intention to the Resident Magistrate at Auckland (where he is at present) of resigning. The Colonel's wife died at Auckland on March 7th. We, Otago Daily Times, understand that a Canter; bury gentleman at present on a visit to Dunedin, lately bought 1000 sheep in the Timaru district for £10, or rather less than 2£d each. Mr. Geob&e Ryland, the chief steward of the s.s. Airedale, whilst proceeding on horseback to Dunedin from Porfc Chalmers, on March 15th, was thrown, and the animal falling heavily on him, broke his thigh. -iw Membebs fob the General Assembly.— , Mr. Creighton beat his opponent Mr. Wrigg by 92 votes tt the election for Newton, Auckland. Mr. Farnall has been returned for the Northern Division of Auckland, by the small majority of two votes. Both these gentlemen, we learn by the Auckland papers, will oppose the Centralising policy of the present Ministry. Temperance Movement on Nelson Golotields. —At < V>den » f,.-w evenings ago, a temperance meeting was held, after which six miners t"ok tho pledge. . A similar meeting was held at Brunnerton on March 15th. when fifteen miners joined the ranks of total abstinence. - . Mr. DoiG, residing at Green Island, Otago, has committed suicide by hanging himself. An iuquest. was. heM, and a verdict of "temporary insanity" recorded. Samxirl ITinlay was killed at, Charleston on March. 17th, by a block of cement falling on Mm. F'nl-iy and Bloomfield were intimate friends, and the latter had attended Finlay's funeral the day before hi* own dfnth. Bishop Jennt?r has visited nearly all parts of Otago, and is now in Southland, delivering explanatory addresses, to the members of the Clrurch of England. His ritualistic tendencies are still, however, the subject of much discussion, and resolutions unfavorable to him continue to be passed. A tire took place in the Hokitika Daily News office ou the evening of March 17th. Tho compositors managed to put out the flames, but not before a considerable quantity of paper and valuable printing materials wer« injured and destroyed. Mr. James Allen, proprietor of the Auckland Evening News, was drowned about a fortnight since. At the inquest a verdict of "found drowned," was returned. The corpse was followed to the grave by a large number of the citizens of Auckland. Two fires on th« Oreti tramway are reported by the Southland papers. By the first, eleven rails wer.o destroyed, whilst the Waihopai bridge narrowly escaped being destroyed by the second, the fira damaging two or three of tho -large longitudinal bearers before it was extinguished. Both fires are believed to hav# been cnused by an incendiary. ;T)TE Club in Christehurch had a very narrow .escape from being burned down on the morning of the 9th instant. The fire was discovered at 2 a.m. iiv the pantry, which wa3 entirely consumed. Tho smoke awoke the servant, who was* sleeping above the pantry. She afterwards became insensible from Buffocation. Accident to a Racehorse.—The Otar/o Daily Times of March 15th, says : —" Mr. Delcmain's racer borse Presto unfortunately met with an accident while returning from the Jato Oamaru races, which rendered it necessary to destroy it. Tho OamaruTimes says* —While crossing the Waifaki, Pronto, who had reached the shingle spit in the mid-file of the river, began to play up, and one of His hind legs sank in.the shingle, and in his frantic efforts t;> release it it was broken above the hock. The animal was at once mercifully despatched." Gatcottees To BE Whipped.—lt would nppenr by recent files of Auckland papers that Sir G-i-onju Arney has determined to mark his sense of the brutal assaults that are being constantly committed in Auckland by midnight maraudei'3. These robhen'es attended with garotting have been more freqnont.nfcthe Thames than at Auckland, but it is to be hoped that the nature of the punishment ordered to he inflicted will ha.ye a deterrent effect upon the criminal population in their brutal attacks upon unoffending citizens. Three prisoners were, a few days ago, sentenced to receive in addition to iong sentences of penal servitude, twenty lashes upon their backs with the instrument called th« " cat."

A Jockey's Fttnerax at G-REYMOTTTfI:.—The Evening Star of March 20th, says:—"The lnsfc remains of the unfortunate jockey, Henry Thomas Bloomfield, (who was killed by Gamester at the late races) were interred in the Grreymouth cemetery t.his afternoon. The cortege moved from Johnston's Melbourne Hotel and was attended by a large concourse both of foot and horsemen, among the latter of whom, wei'e the stewards and several of the committee of the Jockey Club. The coffin was carried by six jockeys dressed in their several coloi'3, and wearing white crape, and were preceded by a brass band playing " The Dead March in Saul." Following the coffin was the brother of the deceased as chi«f mourner, then the foot passengers and horsemen. The various hotels and business places closed the doors as the funeral passed, and a deep gloom seemed to pervade the town. The deceased was twenty-one years'ofage, unmarried, and a native of Tasmania." Bloomfield had a brother residing at Charleston, who at once proceeded to Greymoutb. on receipt of the sad intelligence. Fires.—-A most calamitous fire occurred at Napier on March 5, when the main building of the Hawke'a Bay Steam Boiling-down Company's premises was bnrnt down, with 7 tons of tallow, 138 bales of wool, and all the machinery. The building and its contents was insured for £1300, which will no* cover the loss. —On March 4, a fire occurred at Chrisfohuroh, on the premises of Mr. J. Bailey, builder, of Lichfieldstreet, whose loss amounted to about £500 or £600. Mr. Backhouse, carpenter, also suffered a severe loss. The Supreme Court was in session at the time of the alarm being given, and the Town-hall was nearly emptied of its occupants. A gentleman, who watched the time accurately, gives the following particulars respecting the engines : —The small engine was out in two minutes, and at work in three minutes after tha bell rang; the large hand engine was out in seven minutes, and at work in thirteen minutes ; the steam engine was out in thirteen minutes, and at work in' nineteen minutes.—On the following day, 600 bushels of grain were destroyed by fire on Mr. Anderson's farm, Coal Track, in the same Province. —At Taita, Wellington Province, on March 4th, Mr. Death's stable, and Mr. D. Hughey's buildings were burnt down.. Mr. Hughey's loss is said to be £2000, and he was insured in the New Zealand office for £1000. Mr. Death was also insured.

Estate of A. Kennedy, of Auckland. —The Soifithern Cross of March 6th, says :—" The creditors in the estate of A. Kennedy held a meeting yesterday at; the office of fche Provisional Inspector in Bankruptcy, Supreme Court. Mr. Hesketh appeared for the bankrupt, and stated the liabilities at £23,487 10s., and the assets, £13,537 10s. Debts wereprqved to the amount of £1,171, and Mr. Mowbray was appointed trustee of the estate, and Messrs. J. S. Macfarlane and C. Davis supervisors." The New Zealand Sun, a daily paper published in. Dunedin, after a brilliant though brief existence of a little over three months, has in Bet darkness, and is no longer published. It appears also to have brought eclipse on the Star, with which it was in some way connected, the proprietor of the Star, Mr. Fenningham, who is also part proprietor of the Sun, having filed a declaration of insolvency. The Sun, ably edited though it was under Mr. Vogel's management, could not shine without the active heat which capital alone can give, when so much is expended in the management and "get up" of a daily morning newspaper which has occasionally paidover £50-aweek ' for telegrams. Besides this the times were inoppor- ' tune and unpromising for starting a new journal, and with the strong hold and the capital at the buck of the Otago Daily Times, ifc wa» not a wise adventure to attempt the publication of the Sun. Audsotha event has proved.