THE PROVINCES.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1633, 16 May 1873, Page 4

THE PROVINCES.

WELLINGTON.

The Post of May 10th, states: —A magnifioent meteor was observed just before 11 o'clock last night. It appeard near the dark patches in tho " milky way," and seemed suddenly to take fire, burning with a most vivid green light, and leaving behind it a train of fiery red. It was pear-shaped in form, and brilliant enough to oast a strong light on surrounding objects. The meteor fell slowly in a southerly direction, being finally lost to sight behind Mount Viotoria. CANTERBURY. In Christchurob, according to the Press, "joint stock companies, somehow, as a rule, have never thriven. They have been frequently started, but we oould point to but two or three instanoes in which they have not proved failures." A movement is on foot in Ghristchurch to amalgamate the various musical societies ;in that city. A Northern paper says that a Mrs. G. Ceach is in the full practice of her profession as a medical adviser in Christohurch. Fevers, neuralgial, diabetes, and diarrhoea, are announced as the specialities ia .which her treatment exoels. -A Christen urch paper says ir is expected that the Great South line of railway will be open for fcraffio as far as the south bank of the Rakaia about the first of June next. The first thirteen miles of the next section—Rakaia to Ashburton—are ready for the rails. The Timaru Herald declares that " for its size and wealth, Christchurch is wretchedly ill supplied with the means of imparting elementary eduoation. Hundreds of children of school age in that city are allowed to live the gutter rather than school life." The Canterbury Deep Se» Fishing Company are erecting at Christchurch a smokehouse measuring 14ft. by 15ft., with 14it. walls, and a dryiiig shed 50ft. by 20ft. Some very extensive drainage works are about to be commenced by private persons in the Timaru district. The Serald supplies the following particulars regarding the enterprise :— " Messrs. Hayes and M'Lennan have made arrangements with the manager of the Coldstream drainage works to cut ditches amounting in length to about eighty miles, being equal to the excavation of about 400,000 cubic yards of earth. The land is a large swamp of several thousand acres, lying between the high ground on the plains belonging to the Coldstream Station and the sea beach north of the Rangitata, belonging to Messrs. Studholme Bros., Rhodes, and H'aswl, and the whole work of drainage, including that let to the above contractors, will cost about £30,000. The land is of excellent quality, and is intended for a cattle run." The Press objeots to land being granted in Canterbury in aid of the construction of the proposed trunk railway to connect the Canterbury and Nelson lines. From May Ist to the 6th a little over £50,000 was received by the Uafcrburj WMto baadj Jfori for p*Ur»g« ««*•*

A most melanoholy and fatal occurrence happened at the Thames on the 30th ult. An infant, only twelve months old, son of Henry Porrion, a miner, fell down a well sixteen feet deep. The well contained four feet water. The mother had lost sight of the child just a minute or so, when, on looking down she saw it struggling in the water. She immediately, and without a moment's hesitation, lumped in; was stunned by the fall; and when found, was dead. She had been suffocated in the water, and her child was found lying dead, underneath her body.—-It is asserted by some of the local medical practitioners that there are mOra lunatics in Auckland in proportion to population than in any other part of New Zealand. No direct or satisfactory cause is assigned for. what there is every reason to believe is a perfectly truthful statement. Our Waikato exchange learns that the natives of Raglan and Waipa are about to issue the prospectus of a company with the object of purchasing a vessel to trade between Onehunga and Raglan. Mr. D. Hales's stables have been burned at Maraeti. The origin of the fire is unknown. A large number of valuable agricultural implements were also destroyed. There was a clean sheet at the Auckland Police Court on one day last week, but next morning eleven offenders most of them " drunks," appeared. The second lieutenant of an Auckland Artillery Corps has been dismissed the force, for using improper language to his superior officer. The statistics, just published, show ttiat in the Province of Auckland there were 10,175 aores of land last year broken up, and not under crop; 3372 acres were gown with wheat, 4337 in green oats, 1865 acres for grain, and 216 for barley; for potatoes, 8475 acres, and 128,427 acres in artificial grass. The number of holdings was'3B42.—-A man named John Reynish has been drowned off the wharf at Auckland, at night time. At the inquest the iury returned a verdict of " found drowned ;" and added a rider to the effect that they were of opinion that a special constable should be plaoed in charge of the wharf at night; and further stating that a new dead house should be provided in a more convenient position, and as far away as possible from any dwelling-houses, on account of the bad smell which pervades the atmosphere in the vicinity. The Southern Cross of May 9th states :— A very Bad accident has occurred to a fine little girl named Marshall, whose parents reside at Tararu. It appears that the child and a number of her companions amused themselves after school hours on Wednesday afternoon by playing with one of the empty wood trollies that happened to be standing on the railway, near Mr. Will's store. Some of the ohildren mounted the trolly, and the others pushed it along, when by some mischance the little girl in question fell across the rail, one of the wheels of the trolly passed over her, breaking one thigh, severely lacerating the other, and cutting off two of the fingers ' of her right hand. The Auckland correspondent of the Hawke's Bay Herald says that some of the bitterest opponents of the present administration of native affairs are men who, by underhand means, have repeatedly tried to force the opening to Ohinemuri, in order that that their land sharking sohemes may succeed. The latest of those attempts was made last week, and like all the other efforts referred to, it was a failure, and needed no record were it not evident that these miserable plots further postpone indefinitely the unlocking and consequent settlement |of Ohinemuri. It is not too much to say that but ( for the would-be monopolists, the Native Office long ere this could have succeeded in filling that country with bonafide diggers. At present it is well known that native land agents and quasi or ex-native officials thwart the Government at every turn, so far as lies in their power. A man named Alexander Oliver, has died from injuries received by being knocked down by a horseman in Queen-street, Auckland. The Coroner's jury returned a verdict of "accidental death," adding a rider to the effect that seven miles an hour was too rapid a rate to either ride or drive within the oity. At Auokland, the other day, a sportsman named Little, fired at some birds on the Kohimarama road, but missing the birds he shot a Mr. Astle, and wounded him. The law has to decide how far the unlucky sportsman was to blame. Mr, Thomas Russell, sen., was buried at Auckland on May 6. His funeral was attended by upwards of 150 gentlemen, Intelligence of a fearful accident, which happened at Kokohinau, in the interior, near a station of' the Native Contingent, came to hand on Saturday, May 3, (says the Serald). A boy, or young man (Maori), was swinging on the branch of a willow tree, which broke down with his weight, and the youth fell some distance towards the ground upon a manuka stick, described as some couple of inches in diameter, which staked him in the lower part of the intestines, and, entering, broke off short, leaving the fragment sticking in.