News of the Week.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 3, 11 May 1883, Page 9

News of the Week.

FftIDAY. An old man named McCnlloch, fell down an abandoned shaft fifty feet deep on Friday last at Hokitika, and remained there until Tuesday, when his cries were heard by some children. None of his bones were broken. A dairy factory is about to be established at Wanganni. The Lyttelton Harbour Board's revenue for the month was £6103. They are determined to build a jetty for ocean steamers, al o to urge Government to put the works for defending the port in hand at once. The trial of Lawrence Hanlon and Daniel Delaney, for the attempted murder of Mr Meld, began yesterday. On its conclusion the rest of the prisoners charged with conspiracy to murder Lord F. Cavendish and Mr. Burke will be tried. For the Tasmanian loan of £500,000, 200 tenders were received covering £503,000, with an average of £98 10s lOd. A Queensland loan of £3,000,000 was announced for yesterday, at a minimum of 97. Mr. Gladstone, in his speech at a banquet given by the National Liberal Club, said that artful obstruction hampered the course of the Government in Parliament, and delayed many desirable reforms. The third annual meet of the Milton Amateur Coursing Club opened at Mr. Henry Driver's Horeshoe Bash Estate on Wednesday. There were fins weather and plenty of bares. The second day's coursing was held on Mr. Murray's land, Clarkesville, hares being scarce. The values of the imports into the Colony for the quarter ending March 1883, waß £2,447,541; that of the exports being £2,662,747. The figures for the corresponding quarter last year were :—lmports,: — Imports, £2,360,291 ; exports, £2,472,410. A boy at Invercargill had a plug punched from a boiler plate, and which bad been soldered into a piece of gaspipe to serve as the breech of a gun, blown an inch and a.half into his forehead while he was holding the home-made fowling-piece to be discharged by another boy with a match. His face was also burned by the powder, but he is so far doing well. The Lake Wanaka people are providing for the recreation of their coming citizens. They have obtained from Government 100 acres of land and Roy's or Eley's Island to form a park and gardens. A draper named J. M. Bertram, residing at Halcombe, fell overboard from the Huia, on. the passage from Wellington to Wanganui on Wednesday night, and was drowned. A heavy sea was running at the time and the vessel going about 10 knots. The mail steamer was delayed six hours at Auckland for want of labourers to work on the vessel. Two shillings and 2s 6d per hour were offered to men, who, however, preferred to remain idle. Professor Walker's body has not yet been found. A man named O'Shea stole the chalice and paten yesterday from St. Patrick's Cathedral, Auckland, but he was arrested and the sacramental vessels recovered. The Governor has been much pleased at seeing the process of making wrought iron from th« Manukau sand at Onehunga. Waikato coal will be used in the works in future instead of charcoal. The Phoenix Park murderers, Patrick Delaney, and Thomas M'Caffrey have confessed their guilt and been sentenced to deatb. At a meeeting of the Committee of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce held yesterday, the following 'resolutions were passed : — (1) " That in the opinion of this Committee, as technical knowledge is required to carry out harbour improvements successfully, the Harbour Board should not be an elected body, but consist of members appointed by the Governor-in-Council." (2) " That the Board as appointed by the Governor should consist mainly, if not wholly, of skilled men, whose sole business it should be to manage the business of the Board, and who should receive adequate remuneration for their services. (3) " That whether an elected or an appointed body, no person who has a personal interest in shipping, or in the loading or unloading of vessels, or who has a contract under the Board, should hold a seat on the Board." At a special meeting of the Otago Harbour Board yesterday, it was resolved that the Inspector of Works should report on a plan proposed by Mr. Farquhar for the hydraulic sluicing away of the bar. Mr. John Scanlsn was charged yesterday with a breach of the Licensed Auctioneers' Ordinance in having conducted a sale in Princes street while Ms license had been taken out in the West Harbour Municipality. — The counsel for the prosecution contended that an auctioneer should hold his license from the municipality in which he lived or carried on business, and that a breach of the law would entail upon tbe Dunedin Corporation the loss of a considerable portion of its revenue. The case seems to have been a very absurd one, and the magistrate dismissed it without costs. Bailway communication has been restored between Christchurch and Dnnedin, but passengers are obliged to get out and walk across the Pareora and Asbburton bridges, beyond which other trains receive them. The pilesjrf the bridges in question have been considerably damaged. A house in Howe street, Dunedin, owned by Mr. Wm. Konaldson, was gutted by fire this morning ;— insurance on furniture, £150, in the Victoria. The inquiry into tbe accident, on the Otago harbour bar, to the Swedish barque Monarch was begun yesterday, at Dunedin, before the Resident Magistrate and Captain Scott, B.N. Captain Wretman, of the Monarch, gave evidence that he had told the pilot he would rather lie for weeks inside than run any risk, and that he thought the weather looked threatening, to which Pilot Kelly replied that he believed the vessel could be safely taken out, and that he had given orders at the t-ignal station to have three balls hoisted if there were anything doubtful about the state of the bar. Pilot Kelly testified that the signal be spoke of had not been given, and had he

known there wm so much sea on the bar he would not hare taken the vessel oat, bat when he mw the breakers it was impossible to stop her. His opinion was that the sea had got np suddenly just before they crossed the bar. fie had known the bar to be perfectly smooth, and, in the coarse of a few minutes, four or five seas to come in one after another, and the bar to remain comparatively smooth lot half an honr afterwards. The inquiry was adjourned until to-day. Cardinal M'Closkey, Archbishop of New York has publicly expressed his approval of the decision of the recent Irish Convention at Philadelphia. And this, oar reader, will perceive, is quite conclusive as to the Pope's having censored Archbishop Croke for supporting Mr. Parnell, whose programme the Philadelphia!* Convention adopted. - " The Egyptian troops have routed the followers of the Prophet of the Soudan, inflicting heavy loss on them. Two hundred members of the " Patriotic Brothers " are said to have left Crossmaghlen. The cause of their departure was threatened disclosures— but the whole story' seems incredible. How could two hundred people disappear unnoticed from any country district ? Natives are invading territory recently annexed by the British near Siberia, and the English Government have taken steps to resist such interference. A fire occurred last night in the store-room of the Leicester Castle, at Sandridge, Melbourne. It was speedily suppressed, and a lad has been arrested on a charge of having caused it. A Postal Conference are now sitting at Sydney. It is probable that in addition to the question of joining the Postal Union, the Con* ference will consider the intercolonial postal and telegraph rates and charges on cablegrams to England. It is stated that Lovegrove, the Waikato claimant for the Derwentwater estate, has been recognised by his mother, though absent twenty-six yean. The Agent-General has decided to entertain applications from a few married Scotchmen, who are either shepherds or farm labourers, provided they are prepared to pay full passage money for any children they may have, and £5 towards their own. There were four fatal cases of typhus fever among the Oxford passengers, and complaints have been made as to the ship's provisions. Emigration is suspended until after Jane, to prevent the arrival of immigrants in winter. William Maloney and James Mullett have confessed to complicity in the conspiracy to murder Lord F. Cavendish and Mr. Burke. Sir Bryan O'Loghlen's admirers are said to be about to console him for the loss of office by a presentation of £5000. Floods in the river and a scarcity of miners at Eaitangata have seriously affected the coal supply of Milton. A man named Cook, who had been drinking, fell asleep on the railway between Para and Tuamarina, and, notwithstanding a brave effort to rescue him made by the fireman of the afternoon train from Picton, one of his hands was severed at the wrist and the other cut severely across the palm. His right arm has been amputated at the Blenheim Hospital, but there are hopes of saving two fingers of his left hand. The coursing meeting at Tapanui yesterday was a great success, bat ended in a division, as darkness stopped the running when four dogs were left in. Saturday. A large landslip occurred yesterday afternoon, on the Dunedin and Christchurch railway, near the steepest part of the Purakanui cliffs. The down train was, in consequence, stopped at Waitati, and the up train at Purakanui, but they afterwards went on to the place where the line was impeded and exchanged passengers. Steps were immediately taken to have the line cleared by this morning. A stack containing about 650 bushels of wheat and belonging to Mr. James Kepple, of Tuapeka Flat, was burned on Thursday night. There is no clue to the cause of the fire. Insurance, £100, in the United Company. The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association have resolved to memorialise Government recommending measures for preventing the introduction of cattle disease. The latest report about " Number One " is that he is thought now to be either Sheridan or Walsh. But a rumour that the American Government had agreed to their extradition has been authoritatively denied. In the House of Commons on Thursday night the Affirmations in Lieu of Oaths Bill was defeated on the motion for second reading by 292 to 289. The defeat of the measure was unexpected. A prisoner in the Dunedin gaol, named John Gately, secreted some things that he had managed to steal from the prison and the gardens in a tree at the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday. A fellowprisoner, however, informed on him, and the man was sentenced to two months' additional confinement. It is explained, nevertheless, that this does not involve his being imprisoned beyond his original term, as he was about to be released eight months in advance of it owing to his good conduct. The third day's coursing at Milton came off at Mr. Dunn's properly yesterday. The hares were very scarce. The LytteUon Time* publishes an interesting account of a . family, consisting of a father, mother, and eight children of various ages, from 10 years to a few months, who are travelling on foot front Westport to Otago. The man is a coal-miner, who found the town in question not suited to bis means, and consequently resolved to seek a place of residence where living would be cheaper. After a journey of thirteen days they had reached the Bealey, a distance of 150 miles, where a subscription was made for them among the passengers of the West Coast coach. Bad -weather has since set in, and it is feared they may have suffered from it. The Cromwell Argus opposes the proposal that Government should purchase the Waimea plains railway. It attributes the demand to a few insignificant " cockatoos," and concludes thus :—: — '• When the State has completed its national works it will be time enough to think of purchasing railways built on speculation rather than needfulness."

According to the balance-sheet of tbe Kaitangata Relief Fund, the amount distributed by the Executive Committee, during the year ending Feb. 17, 1883, was £1380, of which £1287 14s lid went in alimony. The total amount in the bands of the Trustees is £13,666 Is. 6d. At the monthly mfeting of tbe Otago Trades and Labour Council held last evening, it was resolved to ask the city and suburban members of Parliament to meet the C< uncl and confer with them on measures to be introduced into the House 1 fit the benefit of the working man. A deputation will wait oi» tlic Colonial Secretaiy to ask him to have an inspector of machinery appointed, who will see that all machinery in workshops is properly guarded, as a neglect of this in the cause of a large proportion of accidents. Mr. Bradlaugh yesterday applied once more at the bar of the House of Commons for permission to take the oath and his seat. On the motion of Sir Stafford Nerthcote the application was refused. Lawrence Hanlon has been found guilty of the attempt to murder Field, and sentenced to penal servitude for life. The Irish party controlled the Government on the Affirmation in Lieu of Oaths Bill, jeering at as well as voting against them. The opposition wildly applauded the result of the division, many members standing on their seats and hurrahing. The Freemasons' Hall in London has been burned down, and all the valuable insignia and paintings have been destroyed. Telegrams from the Australian Colonies urging the Government to sanction the annexation of New Guinea were read in the House of Commons. Mr. O'Kelly asked if Holland had renounced her claim to tbe island, but no answer was given. Sir John O'Shannassy is suffering from gangrene in the toe, and is in a prostrate condition. The engine-driver Meek, who was killed on Wednesday (says the Bruce Standard), belongs to a singularly unfortunate family. One of bis brothers, who resided in the Tokomairiro district, was kicked to death by a horse two years ago ; and another brother at Stirling fractured his leg recently. In the course of Poharama's trial at Wanganui (says the Chronicle) a good deal of evidence was given as to the prevalence of insanity amongst the Maoris of the district. An accident occurred to-day at Wellington on board the barque Rebecca Crowel. A heavy case slipped out of the sling and fell on a young man named Arnold, severely crushing his spine and resulting in paralysis of the whole of his left side. Professcrr Walker's body was recovered to-day. A six-roomed house at Henui, New Plymouth, was burned down this morning, under suspicious circumstances, as canvas soaked in kerosene has been found close by it. The house was owned by Mr. Boswell, who was about to move into it, and had already sent somo furniture, including a piano there. Insurances— building, £200, in the Standard ; furniture and piano, £250. A fire broke out last night at Wanganui on the premises of M'Duff, coach-builder, to which little damage was done, but on the adjoining premises of Ross, furniture dealer, property was injured to the extent of £150. At the inquest on the body of John Wyllie, found dead in a woolshed on Bellemont Station, tbe jury returned a verdict of temporary insanity. A letter on deceased showed that he intended to Bhoot himself. He had complained lately that people had had a down on him on account of the part he was supposed to have taken in the death of William Chirm, who was found dead under similar circumstances near the same place some months since. Further cases of stack-burning have been reported at Invercargill, and incendiarism is suspected. At the inquiry into the accident to the barque Monarch, concluded yesterday, the signal-master said he had seen nothing in the state of the sea to prevent the vessel going out until she got close to the bar, when two or three heavy rollers came along and caused her to rise and fall more than she otherwise would have done. Pilot Paton had told Pilot Kelly that it would be a toss-up whether the vessel struck or not, but in Kelly's place he would have taken the bar because there were no signals to stop him. He had kept vessels from going out, and had been blamed for it. The Harbour-master said he had found Pilot Paton cautious, but not over-cautiouß ; a pilot must incur a certain amount of risk, and if he were over-cautious he would have to be dismissed. He himself had seen nothing that seemed to make it imprudent to take the vessel out. The Bench reserved their decision until Thursday next. Monday. A boy of ten. named Braithwaite, was struck in the eye by a fork with which his younger brother was toßsing hay upon a dray, the other day, at Waikaia. A prong of the fork entered the boy's eye to a depth of about two inches, and it is feared the sight has been destroyed. A partial eclipse of the sun took place this morning. Owing to the heavy clouds it was invisible at Dunedin. The landslip at the Purakanui Cliffs was cleared away in time for Saturday morning's express train to get past the place where it had fallen. Two wool-dumpers are being erected at Wellington, calculated to put through about 800 bales in ten hours. Mr. J. T. Byrne has been appointed manager of the Moa Flat Estate by Mr. Keogh, the new proprietor. Models of two nuggets, said to have been found in Mr. John Thompson's property, near Waitahuna, last December, have been presented by Mr. Gibson Ferrier, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, to tbe Lawrence Athenseum. The remains of the late Professor Walker were buried at Auckland on Sunday, with Masonic honours. The funeral procession was half a mile long. A telephone station has been opened at Skippers. The Auckland auctioneers, at the request oi 800 farmers, have agreed to give the American system of selling stock at per pound live weight a fair trial. It is proposed, at Christchurcb, to form a society for employing

no servant not having written references. Who is the very eccentric proposer 1 It is stated that Captain Hume, with tbe visiting Justices, has been conducting an inquiry in Lyttelton Gaol into serious charges against an official. The inquiry was held with closed doors. Gerard Francis Bailey, manager of a station at Lake Coleridge, has been arrested on warrant from Oamarn. Mr. McGregor, engineer to the Oamaru Harbour Board, report* thus of the new dredge :—": — " Judging from her performance, lam of opinion the dredge will do more than the work specified in the contract, and that she will excavate any description of material short of solid rock." The death was announced at Melbourne, on Sunday, of Sir John O'Shannassy, K.C.M.G. The six days' walking match, at Sydney, between Edwards and O'Leary, for £200 a side, concluded on Saturday night, and waa won by the former by seven miles. The distances covered were : Edwards, 466 ; O'Leary, 459. Edwards thus covered the greatest distance yet recorded in the colonies. Great excitement prevailed at the finish. It has now been determined that if Mr. Bradlaugh attempts in any way to enter the House of Commons he shall be expelled the precincts. It is probable be will resign bia seat. The rejection of the Affirmation Bill has not been taken as an expression of no confidence, not having been made a Ministerial question. The majority against it was caused by a knowledge that the Lords would reject it. Sir Stafford Northcote has stated that the Admiralty has already adopted some of the suggestions made by tbe recent Commission on Colonial Defences, and he and Lord Carnarvon eulogised the public spirit displayed by the Colonies in providing as they had done for their own defence. Fifty Chinese have perished in a vessel burned at Vancouver Island. Chief Judge Macdonald, of the Native Land Court, Cambridge, according to the N. Z. Herald, has compared all concerned with the court to the questionable habitues of a racecourse, whose villainy, however, he thinks is surpassed by that connected with the Land Court. "If lam to believe all that is poured into my ears privately," he says, " there is not one amongst us engaged in this Court who, by virtue of his conduct, is not fit for a gaol or lunatic asylum." A consignment of cheese, recently sent to Sydney by the Ashburton Cheese Factory, has fetched from 8d to 9d a pound. The packing of 10 tons of cheese will be undertaken at once so as to send a consignment to England by the British Queen. A dynamite factory has been discovered at Cronstadt. George Clark, ex-clerk to the Vincent County Council, has been committed for trial, bail being allowed in his own surety of £500 with two of £250 each. The total deficit is £431 7s 4d. The Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association have passed the following resolution :—": — " That the Association address the Colonial Secretary and direct his attention to the prevalence of diseases amongst all descriptions of stock in England, and request him to take such measures as Government may deem necessary for the prevention of diseases being introduced into New Zealand from England, America, or any other country." It turns out that the jury in Timothy Kelly's case did disagree. He was to be brought up for a new trial to-day. The Pennyslvania ironworksrs are agitating for an increase of wages, and it is feared that a serious strike is impending. It is estimated that 100,000 men at Pittsburgh and in the neighbourhood are connected with the movement. The Lyttelton Times says the electric light was tried at Christchurch railway station, by arrangement between the traffic manager and the agents for the Gulcher Company. It is, however, hoped that the success of the experiment may induce Government to adopt the light. A sailor who was rescued from drowning at Port Chalmers, on Saturday night, was fined this morning for having immediately assaulted Constable Fleming, who, at some risk to himself, had rescued him. Mr. Redmond, speaking at Newcastle, on Saturday, strongly condemned the Dublin murders and agrarian crimes generally. A father, mother, and four children have been burnt to death near Beechworth, Victoria. The father succeeded in bringing out two of the children from the burning house, and on returning for the others was suffocated. The two children who were brought out died soon afterwards from the burns which they had received. John Black has been arraigned at New Plymouth for embezzling the funds of the Patea County Council. The show of hands at the nomination for Inangahua was : Shaw, 70 ; Wakefield, 32. A poll was demanded. The first trial of the apparatus for lighting Lyttelton harbour by electricity was made on Saturday, with a fair amount of success. The New Zealand Shipping Company have cable advices of the arrival of the British King at Rio de Janiero on May 2, all well. The frozen meat is reported to have been in prime order. The Company have chartered the magnificent Cunard steamer Catalonia, 4,841 tons register, and 4,000 horse-power. She will sail this month, following the lonic. The Catalonia, which is 430 ft. in length with 43ft. beam, was built in 1881 on the Clyde, and is of great speed. A terrific explosion has occurred at Gosport, in Portsmouth harbour, where the powder magazine blew up, killing seven persons. The occurrence was accidental. G. W. Minter, lately acquitted in the Supreme Court of embezzling funds of his employers, the New Zealand Insurance Company, was brought up this morning at the Police Court, Dunedin, on fresh f ' charges, he not having attempted to explain the irregularities in his | books since the former trial. I The Czar has definitely resolved to abandon the idea of a c ' coronation. c Guy, the telegraph clerk, who said he had been kidnapped by Fenians, is insane, owing to injuries received by him in the head som« 2 weeka ago.

The Irish National Convention held their first sitting on April 23, in New York. Mr. Looney was elected president, and in the course of his opening address upheld the action which the Irish had taken all through the agitation. He refrained from saying one word which might be considered a condemnation of the dynamite outrages. •—Staff and nonsense ! The Canadian land companies have proposed that the Dominion Parliament shall vote a sum of 1,000,000 dollars, to enable 10,000 immigrant families to come out and settle on the land. The excitement attending upon the proceedings of the Philadelphia Convention has led the United States Government to take action in the matter, and a Cabinet meeting was held on April 22, at Washington, to consider the subject. A discussion took place as to the best means of suppressing Fenian head-centres, and - preventing the leaders of the party from stimulating their agents to further dynamite outrages. A secret meeting (at which, nevertheless, reporters seem to have been present) of the promoters of the dynamite policy has been held in New York. O1O 1 Donovan Rosaa, who was present, announced that he still had an unshaken belief in the value of dynamite as an agent for obtaining their demands, and that he was prepared to continue its use until those demands bad been conceded. The German Government have entered their- protest against the manner in which the Porte is carrying on the administration of Armenia. They strongly advise the Sultan to introduce a number of necessary reforms. Tuesday. " One of the insignificant cockatoos," despised by the Cromwell Argus, writes to the Otago Daily Times to say that at the meeting held the other evening at Biversdale, there were present the representatives of 150 farmers, collectively holding 50,000 acres, and by whom there were this year grown for exportation 250,000 bushels of wheat and 350,000 bushels of oats. The original cost of the Waimea Plains line, he says, was about £112,000, and the cost to Government, with 10 per cent, added, would be, in round numbers, £123,000. 1600 bakers rioting in Vienna were dispersed by the police at the sabre's point. Mr. Vanderbilt has resigned the presidency of the American railway companies. Judge Deasy, of the Irish Appeal Court, is dead ; aged 73. The Tehuantepec ship-railway has been commenced. The New Zealand Parliament will meet on June 14. The Lyttelton Times says the 8.8. Wairarapa bumped three or four times on the bar when going out from Port Chalmers last Wednesday. She was drawing a little over 16 feet. The Lake Wdkatvpu Mail says the £9000 to be expended on public works in the county, together with the amount for No. 1 contract, Arrowtown, to Macetown road, will give seasonable and welcome aid to the working class of the district. Two Australian priests, present at the Philadelphia Convention, spoke in favour of the view that the use of dynamite would achieve the objects of the Irish agitation. — This egregious lie, we may add, has been telegraphed to the Melbourne papers, which, no doubt, know — like some of our own — what will suit the depraved appetites of their readers. Prince Bismarck will propose a general alliance of the great powers— exclusive of France — for mutual protection. A statement of accounts, presented by Patrick Egan to the Philadelphia Convention, was approved of —Lady Florence Dixie's figures notwithstanding. Poor body, and poorer brain ! Lord Spencer is making a tour of inspection in the faminestricken districts. — Let us hope his Excellency does not travel at full speed in a carriage with the blinds down, after Mr. Trevelyan's fashion of making acquaintance with the wants of the poor. The member for Preston brought forward a motion for extending the protective duties in the United Kingdom, and which was negatived. The Australian and New Zealand Mortgage Company (Limited), have declared a dividend of 10 per cent, for the past year, with a bonus of 10s per share. Frozen meat, three months old, is to be sold in Christcburch, to let people taste what it is like in London. — Cvi lonoi Mr. W.F. Pearson, M.H.R., addressing his constituents at Oxford, the other day, said he had been horrified at witnessing the condition of things at Cambridge whilst a Laud Court was in session. The Natives obtained advances on the land, and a. scene of debauchery was the result ; women and children drinking to excess as well as men. "It was no uncommon thing for the solicitors and agents to exact payment for their services at the rate of £10 a day, and when the Maoris obtained payment, the amounts received by them were comparatively small." At Wanganui, New Plymouth, and Auckland, the sky was clear during the eclipse on Monday morning. At Wellington and Christchurch it was more or less cloudy. The North Otago Times points to the landslip at Purakanui as proving the necessity that exists for making that part of the line as safe as engineering skill can make it. The Governor, accompanied by the Hon. Thomas Russell, is visiting the Waikato. The Auckland Education Board have resolved to pay the expenses of country members, in order to receive a better representation of country districts. Facts of a suspicious nature having transpired, an inquiry will be held into the burning, some months since, of the Waihenga Hotel. The first European flax-scutching machine was sent to Southbridge to-day, to be erected at the works of the Canterbury Linseed Oil and Fibre Company. Trains crossed the Pareora bridge yesterday morning for the first time since the recent rains. The formation of the main line has not yet been repaired. A meeting was held last evening of the South Dunedin Council, on the question of the gas supply. But it is a thousand pities that the members of the Council are not as luminous as they axe in-

flammable, for if they were— or even half as luminous, — there would not be the least need of a jet of gas within ten miles of them. They would eclipse the electric light in fact. Last evening, then, they had a splendid shindy, and goodness only knows what it might not have ended in, had not Councillor Clarke caught hold of a whiphandle which he declared to be " equal to the occasion," and on which he cast himself, with a childlike confidence, for protection. The upshot of the matter, however, was that it was resolved to allow the whole question to stand over till the next ordinary meeting of the Council, — and let us hope their extraordinary ones may be short and far between. The Tvmtvm Herald is accountable for the statement that there is an excellent servant girl in some family on the West Coast, whose only failing is that she insists upon riding at the " Ladies' Hack Bace," in which she has this year come off the winner. The Melbourne Art Gallery and Museum having been opened last Sunday, for the first time on the day of rest, a meeting was held at the Town Hall, last night, in order that the pious might do their little bit of mourning and denunciation of the matter, and comfort one another with their pictures of perdition for all the rest of the world. There was great disorder. A boy of 10, named William Salisbury, was thrown from his horse, at Fielding, yesterday, and, his boot catching in the stirrup, his body was frightfully torn and mutilated. It was found lying near the railway crossing in a fearful condition. The fireman of the early train from Timaru to Christchnrch today, fell through between the engine and the tender, near Hinds station, and the train passed over his body, which was brought into Ashburton. Mr. Cornwall, of Samoa, whose dealings with Messrs. M'Arthur and Co. have been several times before the public, and who recently horsewhipped a member of the firm, has transmitted to the Secretary of State for the Colonies a petition entering into all the circumstances of the case, and contending that the seizure of land made by M'Arthur was illegal, and injurious to the interests of a large nnmber of the Natives at Samoa. It is reported in Auckland that Cornwall has got up a company in connection with Samoa, and that John Lundon left by the barque India on Sunday to take possession of the land in dispute. A lad named Wedbar, an apprentice on the barque Caimburg, fell from the main-yard to-day, at Lyttelton, and was killed. John Black has been acquitted at New Plymouth of embezzlement of County funds. A second charge will be proceeded with. Wednesday. The report of the Inspector of the Dunedin Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, presented at the monthly meeting held last night, showed that three cautions had been given for working horses having open sores ; two for working lame and weak horses ; one for beating an overloaded horse ; and one for carrying fowls with their heads down. One horse had been destroyed at the Irspector's request, and one conviction obtained for cruelty to a horse. The Premier of New South Wales has given notice of his inten* tion to move, at the Intercolonial Conference, that each colony should act independently in regaid to joining the Postal Union. O'Donovan Rossa is actively engaged in enrolling persons who are willing to cany out the details of the dynamite policy. The Mataura Ensign reports that the trustees appointed by Government have had the " Tararua Acre " Cemetery securely fenced and otherwise improved. A man brought up for drunkenness at Auckland yesterday had held a lucrative and responsible post at the City of Glasgow Bank up to the time of its failure. The Wanganui County Council have carried a motion strongly recommending the ratepayers to take action under " The Counties Act, 1882," for the suspension of the Act, and to hand over local government to the road boards. A German named Henry Bruce has died at Maratta through drinking cold water while overheated. The annual statement of the Christchurch City Council shows the expenditure to be £25,319, of which £13,648 is for repairs, maintenance, and lighting the streets, and £8193 for salaries, fire prevention, bridges, etc. The chief sources of income were — rates, £12,7C5 ; acd licenses, £5376. Some crystals, or supposed diamonds, found by Mr. Robert Graham between his estate at Wiki and Lake Taupo, are to be tested by diaphoric acid at Auckland. The balance-sheets submitted yesterday to the Dunedin City Council showed the total municipal, water, and gas receipts for the financial year to have been £102,399— and the total expenditure, £104,187. It was agreed that rigid economy should be attended to during the current year. The amount of damage done to roads and bridges by the late floods in Canterbury is now found to have been very considerable, and large sums of money will have to be sent by local bodies and the railway department to make repairs. The Bruce Herald reports a resolution on the part of 1 the Tokomairaro Farmer's Club to exterminate the small birds. The District Boad Board will be asked for a grant of £20 for the purpose. The Timaru Herald says Mr. Donald Maclean, the auctioneer, met with an accident at the Washdyke yesterday. While drafting some steers, one of them jambed the gate against him, a bar striking his left temple just above the eye, and cutting through the flesh into the bone. The wound is not expected to prove serious. The correspondent of the Argus at Sydney telegraphs that it is improbable that either the Victoria or Queensland delegates will accept the proposal to join the Postal Union, and that it is doubtful whether the colonies will agree to enter the Union together. It is expected that the Intercolonial Conference now sitting will consider the question of the appointment of a duplicate cable ; the subsidy to be on the basis of the population of the contributing colonies. The Conference will also consider the question of altering the intercolonial telegraph rates. . . , ; > .x.

Intelligence from Halifax (Nova Scotia) states that much alarm is felt there in consequence of a report which is current that some Fenian torpedo vessels have sailed from Boston to Halifax. It is feared that an attack upon the shipping at that port is intended. The Wellington Pott proposes that as the greater number of the Northern Volunteers who attended the Dunedin meeting resolved never again to come here, the meeting of 1883 shall be held at Wei* liogton. Government are taking steps to compel people of good means to contribute to the support of such of their relations as may be in the Lunatic Asylums. At a meeting of the Otago Land Board to-day, letters were read from Messrs. Pearsall, Free, and Young Bros, of Tasmania, disclaim* ing all connection with dummyism, and giving notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of New Zealand. The Messrs. Young's father also wrote a letter on behalf of his sons, saying it had been no new idea with him to take up land in this Colony, and that, he had in his possession letters from the agents of the Agricultural Company as to tenure, etc. The communications were minuted as received. Thursday. The Tichbourne case will probably be re-opened. The Beichstag has rejected Prince Bismarck's anti-Socialist proposals. The House of Lords has rejected the Bill for opening the museums on Sundays. A man named William Burroughs, who is supposed to have missed his way in crossing the paddock, was found drowned in a water-hole near Washdyke yesterday. At the South Canterbury Amateur Athletic Club's annual meeting yesterday there was a fair attendance, and keen contests. F. N". Kobinson, of Cbristchurch, won the principal events. A. S. Baker won the Ladies' Steeplechase Cup. Captain Alexander Murphy, chief officer of the Huia, haa been lost on her passage from Waaganui to Wellington. He fell overboard when about 20 miles from Wanganui, and it is supposed he was drawn under the vessel and struck by the propellor. He is supposed either to have fallen asleep when standing bes-ide the rail, or to have tripped in passing by the place where a sick passenger was lying, and who saw him in the act of falling. He was sober and in good spirits was about 40 years old, and leaves a wife and three children. The verdict of " accidental death " has been returned in the case of the fireman, Samuel Chezon, killed near Hind?. The following rider was appended :—": — " That there is evidence of want of proper supervision over the material and workmanship used in the New Zealand locomotives, as shown by the couplings on engine J 24.'" Daniells has been sentenced at New Plymouth to five years' penal servitude for arson. The West Coast Railway Commission were to arrive at Reefton last evening, whence they will probably go to Westport. The Greymouth Railway League have sent a communication to the Commission asking that they may return, so as to view the class of country on the Reefton road, and receive statistical information not prepared when the Commission was here before. The following are the immigration and emigration returns for the Colony for last month :—lmmigration: — Immigration : Auckland, 237 ; Wellington, 96 ; Napier, 3 ; Hokitika, 2 ; Lyttelton, 59 ; Dunedin, 126 ; InvercaTgill, 427 ;— total 950. Emigration : Auckland, 270 ; Wellington 114 ; Lyttelton, 126 ; Dunedin, 7 ; Invercargill, 379 ; Wanganui, 2 ; Greymouth, 6 ; Timaru, 3 ;— total. 907. The Auckland Football Association deem the proposal of the Dunedin Association, for a tournament at Christchurch, impracticable, as the players could not be so long absent from their various avocations. They also decided to write to Wellington, Dunedin, and Christchurch, asking what terms they are prepared to offer in event of an Auckland team going south. Tawhiao talks of visiting England. Another gift from Mr. M'Kelvie for the Auckland Museum has arrived. It consists of statues from Pompeii. The wife of the late Edward Costley, who left £130,000 to the Auckland charities, is said to be alive in Christchurch ; but this fact will not affect the beque&ts. The tender of Messrs. H. M'Kenzie and Co., Dunedin, has been accepted for the Awapura bridge contract of the Manawhia River, Wellington-Napier railway ; amount, £14,824. The shareholders of the Golden Eagle goldmine have decided to wind up affairs and dispose of their crushing plant. A committee consisting of members of the Chamber of Com merce has been appointed to collect information as to the best track for a railway-line to be continued from Te Amawutu southwards towards Wellington. A bachelors' farewell was given last evening at the* Imperial hotel, Dunedin, to Mr. Archibald Cargill on the eve of his marriage, by a large number of cricketers and footballers. Mr. J. P. Maitland (president of the Otago Cricket Association and Rugby Football Union) presented Mr. Cargill with a handsome piece of plate on behalf of the footballers and cricketers of Dunedin.