INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1622, 29 July 1887, Page 3

INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS

Auckland, July 28. The Board of Education haying referred the question cf retrenchment of their expenditure m office salaries &o , to a Committee, the latter recommend that the Secretary and Chief Clerk's salary be reduced, that singing masters ahd drill instructors at Auckland and the Thames be dismissed. It is estimated ibese-reduc-tions will cause a saving of £1050 iv the annual expenditure. .The Premier visited the new Calliope Dock this morning. He was much impressed with the magnitude of the work, and said the fact of Auckland possessing such a dock practically settled the question of tbe location of the bead-quarters of ships of war m New Zealand. He further remarked that tbe harbor was the best m the colony. Sir R, Stout left again for the South to-day. The Council of the Chamber of Commerce met tbe Premier yesterday morning to ascertain his riews on various matters of public importance. The Premier stated with reßpcct to the new Auckland Custom House, that tbe tenders bad been ia excess of tbe rote for the purpose, but he thought •n arrangement had been come to by which the building would be proceeded with m a reasonable time. He did not think there would be enough money to finish, the North Island Trunk Railway, And more would have to be borrowed, but It would sot be finished m three years It would be impossible, m view of the cry for retrenchment, to propose a vote for n connecting line between Auckland and Taracaki. With respect to the mining industry, the Premier remarked that two things *ere needed to make Auckland the wealthiest province m the colony— first, the deTelopment of the mineral resources of the Coromandel Peninsula ; second, the establishment of small fruit growers In the North. He had vUited the Tbamts Sobool of Mines, aDd had gathered that the wealth of the Peninsula had hardly been touched yet. In his opinion technical eduoation was the only hope of the colony, and he recommended the establishment by the Ohimber of evening teobnlcal classes. On Monday a bankrupt named James Warren wm committed to gaol for one -month under tbe penal clause of the Bankruptcy Act for not having kept books showing the state of his affairs. The Minister of Joatloe was applied to for tbe release of Warren, on the ground of his - wife's Hlnes*. Me Tele communicated with the Governor on the subject, and Warren has been released. WKtiiwaiON, July 28. The Act under which tbe Board of Governors of Wellington College Is constituted provides that members for the city of WefiV°B ton *kall, ex officio, be members oi 1 the Board. The point has been railed that there are no members and no such constUuenoy at the city of Wellington, and the opinion of the law officers of the Crown will be taken as to the right of the representatives of the districts Into which the city is split to sit on the Boatd. The Tborndon School Committee is at loggerheads with the Board of Education, The post of Infant mistress is vacant, and the Board selected one from tbe applicants, whom It presented to tbe Committee for approbation. The Committee generally expressed strong disapproval of the action of the Board m selecting anyone before consulting the Committee, especially as the Board's selection was usually tantamount to appointment, whether the Committee liked it or not. It was pointed out that the Board had on several occasions entirely ignored the Committee, and made appointments withont the consent of the latter, and if this was to continue It would be a fares to bavsi ft Committee at all. The Committee then proceeded to consider the application Itself, and ended by choosing a lady not selected by the Board, whom they roquested that body to appoint, (n conformity with the unanimous wish of the Committee, and clause 45 of the Act. M» jor Atkinson has consented to address • public meeting here, probably on 4th August. An appeal care was argued In the Banco Court before the Chief Justice to day, In whioh the question at issue was whether s> settler is responsible for damage caused by a bush fire started on his land which extends to that of bis neighbor. The case was an appeal from the decision of tbe Resident Magistrate m a case In whioh damages were awarded for the value of property destroyed. The appeal was dismissed with costs. Dunedin, July 28 At • meeting of the Harbor Board to-day • letter was received, asking what amount tbe Board was prepared to pay for dredging the bar to a depth of 27ft at low water within nine months. The apparatus to be used for this Is Wellman's patent. A dredge on this principle has been recently erected on the Molyneux for dredging the river for gold. The matter was referred to the Wokrs Committee. No fewer than forty cases were sent down for hearing at the Resident Magistrate's Conrt to-day. During the first two days of the present week, 250 summonses were Issued. A boy named Arthur Mosley recovered £15 to-day m the Supreme Court for Injuries sustained by being bitten by a dog belonging to defendant, Alexander Montgomery. Ikvbrcabqili,, July 29. The Invercargill Corporation have reoeivsd an account of £150 for freight by direct steamer on £250 worth of gts plant, and will demand a refund from the shippers, who were not instructed to ship t>7 iteißWF,