Wednesday.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 23, 2 October 1885, Page 11

Wednesday.

Lieut-colonel H. E. Reader, late Undersecretary for Defence and Commissioner of Police, died suddenly at Wellington yesterday morning. Mr had been ailing for some time, but rose as nsua 1 and joined his family at bnakfast. Subs<quently te complained of feeling ill, and retired to ihe smoking-room, where belaid down and expired. Colonel header had been many years in the army, and had 6een much service.

Some time ago a quantity of valuable plate was abstracted from the Catholic Church, Geraldine, and despite all efforts of the police, no trace of it could be obtained . On Monday a man, while cutting

flax near the township, oame acrou two bandies, and on opening them found the stolen articles, which were identified by the prießt. A sad accident in reported from Lees ton. Tne children of a Mr. Douglas were playing on a straw stack yesterday afternoon, and one of them, who bad some matches, set fire to the straw. Though assistance was close at hand, and two of the children were dragged from the burning straw, the flames had got too great a bold of it to be possible to save the third child , a little boy three years old, who was burned to death.

A boy, aged eight years, died suddenly at Oamara, on Sanday more ing, and an inquest was held to-day, at which the medicai evidence gave the cause of death as poisoning. It appears that the boy had eaten green rhubarb tops on Saturday last, and on Saturday night and Sunday morning was taken ill with vomiting, retching, and purging. The port mortem revealed the fact that the irritation caused Jby eating the rhubarb had occasioned the boy's death, causing congestion of th* brain. Up to date (says the Criffel correspondent of the Daily Times) no fresh finds are reported. Numbers of men arrive daily and numbers go, so the population does not visibly increase. The country for miles round the auriferous deposit is literally riddled with hole 9 (all duffers). Scores of shafts are bottomed daily, but nothing but strong colour at the best, as far as I can learn, has been obtained. Hardy men are now prospecting Pisa knee-deep in snow. They report having to delve through 2ft of frozen surface, and more on the shady faces, and have struck nothing up there but a fine colour, though some of them say it is a grand-looking country. Numbers of men have also prospected the range Cardronawards with a like result. Great dissatisfaction exists because no gold is being got. If somebody would only prove successful, it would give im petal to tke energy that will speedily wane. Criffel is already proclaimed a duffer by the majority of comers, and they are not far wrong. The gold on Criffel, as I have often stated before, runs in narrow, confined leads, very hard to trace ; in fact, it may never be traced, hence tha disappointment. I distinctly say to all who intend to rush this field ; Until something is struck don't come. His Holiness the Pope, who has agreed to mediate between Germany and Spain with reference to the annexation of Carolina Islands, has selected a committee to examine the documentary evidence in connection with the islands.

Several Socialist riots have occurred in Amsterdam during the past few days, culminating on Sunday in a severe encounter with the police, who charged the crowd, wounding several persons with their sabres. The negotiations between Sir H. D. Wolff, the British Eavoyextraordinary to the Porte, and the officials appointed by the Sultan to confer with him on the Egyptian question, have been resumed after being in abeyance for some time. It is announced that Greece and Servia have notified the Powers that they will demand an indemnity if the union of Routnelia with Bulgaria is upheld. Prince Alexander is adopting energetic measures to secure quietude on the Macedonian frontier.