SOUTHERN TELEGRAMS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume IX, Issue 2315, 30 March 1876, Page 2

SOUTHERN TELEGRAMS.

(FEB PBEBB AQENCr.)

Wellington, Tuesday. ■ If the water had not been cut off for about a quarter of an hour when the fire broke out, the Empire Hotel might have been saved. Its destruction was alto* getker owing to thelowness of ,tbe water in the resorvoir lately onaocountof the dry weather. The city engineer usually turns it off at night and on again in the morning, and in this the flames had a quarter "of an hour's. start. Not a 1 servant of Moeller's had saved anything, though they all worked as hard as oould to save their master's One person forgot his watch in his but recovered .it about an hour and a half after, with part ,_of the chain and case melted, but otliei'tyiso uninjured. When the chair upon which it. lay was burnt it foil upon the floor, whioh - was flooded with water. A curious _ explosion occurred at the fire this morning,

where a lot of acid had been stored. The whole mass of burnt and burning debris burst up about 12 feet high, and knocked, down a couple of Bremen standing by, but did ho injury to either. There was some ludicrous'scenes at the fire in-the shape of nearly nude and wholly terrified lodgers hurrying about the corridors of the hotel. The Blundell Brothers gave three five pound cheques amongst the firemen in recognition of their services.— . The annual meeting of shareholders in the JVeto Zealand Times Company was held this afternoon, and the balance-sheet up to the 31st December was presented. Shortly, the outcome is this: -1 he Times is £2,000 to the bad since the company first floated; that is a loss of £I,ooo' per year. Mr Walter Johnston, who was the chairman of the meeting, said the directors had been mistaken in their idea . as regards making the Times a colonial journal, and obtaining subscriptions out- / side of the province. It was now quite clear they .could not do that at present, At any rate, what they now recommended • was, to curtail all absolutely unnecessary expenses, and dispense with all that could be deemed superfluous in the bringing out of the paper. There was no lack of confidence in the concern - quite the contrary. ■ There was not a man of them who would not be willing to double the number of shares he held, and pay the. money, ' sooner than see the paper come ..to grief. But, as all the capital had not yet been called up, and as ihe concern was so far successfully carried on, he saw no reason why they should not continue to do so; and when they recovered themselves, and perhaps showed a profit, it would be time enough to ask the shareholders to increase the capital. Mr . Moorhouse strongly deprecated the shareholders being despondent over such a trivial loss, and instanced the trials some of the leading papers of the colony had borne, and how, after their struggles, they stood now not only solvent, but really excellent financial, speculations, There were few, shareholders present, and nbne'of them had anything to say. Sir •Julius. Yogel attended. The meeting stands adjourned for a week.

. Wednesday. It is .understood that what remains of the Empire' Hotel will be pulled down, and a new and first-clas3 hotel erec ted upon the site, which will probably be placed under the management of',the former proprietor.—A joint deputation of the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce waited upon the Premier, with a View: to obtaining increased wharf accommodation. The Mayor, who was spokesman, said they wanted about ten or'twelve thousand pounds. Had they poWer to borrow they could obtain money immediately. Sir J; Vogel said the Government had no money to spend on such an. undertaking at present. If they gave way in one case they would be expected to do so in every other, and just now there were enormous demands for harbour works in many parts of the; colony. He suggested that the management of the harbour be taken from the Corporation and placed in. the hands of a harbour trust. Bbefton, Wednesday. : r Edward Samuel Cross, a Church of England, minister, refused to read the burial service over the remains of H. G. Hughes, chemist, a member of the Pacific Lodge of Freemasons. Great indignation is expressed. ... . . Timaeu, Wednesday. The town was lit with gas last night. The. gas is excellent .in quality.-—The EeraU states the Government are getting out estimates, for the Timaru breakwater. —The Borough Council have petitioned the Government to establish a quarterly sessions of the Supreme Court, to extend the jurisdiction of the Eesident Magistrate to £100, and to abolish the District Court. . . Dunedin, Wednesday. Judge Williams to-day, in the case Eegina v. Jenkins, discharged the rule with costs. This, upholds the coroner's inquisition held in the matter of the George-street fire, and Jenkins will take his trial at the Supreme Court sittings next week.-In the' Tairoa' salvage case, • judgment was given for £120, The Judge considered the' Tairoa' could have reached Bluff Harbour without assistance, though it would have taken perhaps four and a-half,hours longer. The costs, with judgment for amount, claimed, was £9,ooo.—Arrived :• The ship ' Pe'nshaw,' from Glasgow, with a cargo of merchandise, She is only eighty days out.