NEW PLYMOUTH FIRE BRIGADE.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 1111, 2 August 1871, Page 2

NEW PLYMOUTH FIRE BRIGADE.

A meeting of the members of this newly organised fire brigade, was held last evening, at the Institute, when the following gentlemen were appointed officers for the ourrent year : — Captain, Mr. T. Humphries ; Lieutenant, Mr. J. T. Davis ; Foreman Houk and Ladder Company, Mr. W. D. Webster ; Foreman Fire Company, Mr. D. Callaghan j Seoretary, Mr. H. Weston. This company is now started under very fair auspices, and we trust to see a really efficient fire brigade result from it. Death of Mr. John Gillies. — Mr. John Gillies, father of the Superintendent of Auckland, died in Dunedin on the 22nd July, aged 70. Eesignation of Mr. Moorhouse. — It is the Lyttelton Times that states Mr. W. S. Moorhouse has resigned the office of Registrar-General of Lands. Marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh. — A marriage is arranged between the Princess Thyra of Denmark, and the Duke of Edinburgh. Colonel Whitmore is suffering from a severe attack of ophthalmia, and has been unable to proceed on his way to England further than Salt Lake City. A Waterspout lately burst over Victoria in the West Province of the Cape Colony, causing the loss of one hundred lives, and £25,000 worth of property. Flax Returns. — Messrs. Dodson.Fell, and Co., of Blenheim (Marlborough), have received returns by last muil, by which it appears that Messrs. Mitchell and Co.'s flax realised £25, and Messrs. Buckman, Mason, and Blytheli's £29 for best quality. The Manawatu Difficulty. — A letter has been received by R. W. Woon, Esq., from Kemp at Horowhenua. Kemp states that all danger of a collision is now over, and that his side and the Ngatiraukawas are waiting for the arrival of the Hon. D. McLean, the Native Minister. Sir George Grry, says an Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times, returned from the South in the ' Luna,' and is at Kawan. Sir George is seldom seen in Auckland and leads a life of retirement, which many would gladly see him exchange for a seat in the Legislature, where his ability and experience would be much felt. The Skull of the late Mr. Balfour Found. — Tho Timaru Herald of 28th June, states — " On Friday last, on the Ninety Mile Beach, the police picked up two human skulls. One had evidently been in the water for some time, but the other was apparently fresh. One was probably poor Mr. Balfour's, and the other most likely belonged to one of the men lost in the roadstead on the 14th April last." An Extraordinary Whist Hand. — A recent West Coast Times says — " Four gentlemen in Hokitika were playing a game of whist a few nights ago, when one of them, on dealing the cards, had the fortune to find that his own ' hand' consisted of the thirteen trumps. Players of whist and readers of Hoyle will be able to appreciate the extreme rarity of the circumstances.