DUNEDIN.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3557, 2 December 1882, Page 3

DUNEDIN.

iDeceraber 2. At 1.45 o'clock thisqgflrning a fire broke out at the Milton Pottery works, aud by 3 o'clock the greater part of the works were destroyed. The fire apparently broke out in the packing room, and, had a few men been at hand, nearly all might have been saved, but before assistance arrived the flames had complete mastery. For some time the houses in the vicinity were in peril, and had there been any wind at all they must have been destroyed. The only buildings saved were the kilns, a brick building containing the wheels, and the printing room. Much valuable machinery was erected, and only tbe day before additional expensive works were completed. A great amount of finished ware in stock was destroyed. The fire is a bad thing for Milton, as forty hands have been thrown out of employment. There are suspicions of incendiarism. The stock was insured for £1525 with the National office, part of which was reinsured in the New Zealand, United, and Victoria offices.

Another fire occurred on the sailmaking premises of Messrs Thompson and Owen, Castle-street, last night. The place was injured in the Hamburg Company for £200. At an inquest held on the fire that occurred on tbe 12th ultimo, by which a store belonging to George Fraser, contractor, was destroyed, the verdict was one of arson against some person unknown. Frasei and his storeman slept in a tent adjacent, and Fraser swore that after going to bed he did not awake till the barking of a dog roused him, and then the store was in flames. Benjamin Smith, the storemn, on the other hand, said that be had been disturbed by something moving in the tent, and imagined it was Fraser getting up. He found the door of the tent open, and put out his hand and shut it. He went to sleep again, and was awoke by Fraser, who said that somebody was about, and then they found the place on fire. He told Fraser he thought it had been wilfully set on fire. He aiso detailed a subsequent conversation with Fraser about the matter, in the course of which Fraser said be hoped Smith had not said too much to the detective, as it would then go too hard. Fraser has been since charged at the Balclutha R.M. Court with arson. He was remanded and admitted to bail— himself in £300, and two sureties in £150 each.

An individual who began by giving pound notes away for 18s at the races on Thursday, afterwards gulled the crowd by giving them worthless watches, &c, for their money. On a demonstration being made against him he flourished a revolver and decamped.

Two cases of sunstroke occurred last week at Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu. One was fatal to a little boy ten years old.

At the Balclutha Police Court on Wednesday William Wilson was committed for trial at Dunedin for indecently assaulting a Mrs Twaddell at Waitepuka, and a young man named M'Neil was charged by a Miss Churneide with having 6hot at her with intent to kill her. It was expected that the evidence would have revealed some very interesting features, but the case was withdrawn without any evidence being taken at all, and what was better the respective parties, acting under the counsel's advice, adjourned to the Registrar's office aud were made man and wife befcrj they were twenty minutes out of tbe Cjurt.