BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

Evening Star, Issue 3788, 15 April 1875, Page 3

BY ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH.

Auckland, April 14. The City West election for the General Assembly resulted in a majority of 179 for Mr Dignan. The numbers were :—Dignan, 465; Dargaville, 286.

Grbymouth, April 15. ' An important petition is being numerously signed by the miners of the Grey Valley to the Superintendent and Provincial Council of Nelson, praying for the immediate abolition of Bead Boards and for an expression of opinion in favor of the abolition of Provinces. ThO' contract for the formation of the Brunner railway is finished and the line taken over bv the Go /eminent. Tenders for the permanent way are expected to be called for in a few days.

Nelson, April 15. A coroner’s jury found a verdict of manslaughter against Morgan Jones, contractor, under whom the men killed on Monday by a fall of earth were working. Bail was allowed. There were twenty candidates for the Town Clerkship last night, and Mr Gully, a barrister, was appointed.

Wellington, April 15. At a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, a scale of charges, subject to the following alterations, was adopted :—Collecting and re* mitting rents, 5 per cent, to 10 per cent. ; collecting and remitting interests, 5 per cent, to 10 per cent, j on procuring moneys on mortgage, 1 per cent. toSJper cent. ; and on Englisb and foreign bills, 10 per cent. Several instances having come to the knowledge of the Commissioner of Customs of the receipt in the Colony of two invoices for the same goods, one being of smaller value than the other, apparently with a view to defraud the Customs in ad valorem duty, strict ’orders have been given to the officers of Customs to have all the packages shipped by the firms known to have acted as above opened and thoroughlyexaminedon arrival in the Colony.

{From our own Correspondents. ) Chbistohuboh, April 14. On the Provincial Council assembling this evening at five, Mr Montgomery stated that the Government handed in their resignation to the Superintendent at ten this morning Perhaps some hon. member would say what had been done. The Council sat in silence for some minutes, when Sir 0. Wilson rose and said he .had been sent for, but couldn't form an Executive. Messrs Wynn, Williams, and Maskell also said the same thing. The Council then adjourned till five to-morrow.

April 15. The names of the new Government have been announced as follows Sir O. Wilson, president ; the Hon. G. Buckley, with a portfolio, but no office; the Hon. J. T. Peacock, secretary for public works; Mr Wm. Marshall, Provincial secretary and treasurer; and Wynn Williams, Provincial solicitor.

An attempt to convey watar from the River Avon into the centre of the city for fire preventive purposes, has failed. Pipes of 12in diameter were used, but the fall obtained from the river is so small that one steam fire engine bottomed the well in ten minutes. The City Council had the pipes laid contrary to the advice of the City Surveyor, and hive thus thrown away about L3OO. At a caucus hold last night, Sir Cracroft Wilson received promises from members of the Provincial ' Council of very general support, end he will be able to command a working majority. At the meeting of the Council tonight it is likely that a fortnight’s adjournment will be applied for to enable the new Government to frame a policy and to study the condition of financial affairs.

Auckland, April 14. The committee of the Pacing Club having been compelled by the shortness of their funds to out down the stakes materially, only Provincial horses are expected to compete at the Autumn Meeting on the 24th of May. The sporting contributor of the ‘Star’ writes, on the Christchurch Autumn Meeting, that he considers the handicapper has weighted Yatterina a half stone too much, and says ;—“ At our late races, in the Grand Stand Handicap, Parawhenua, Bst 71b, beat her carrying Sat 131b, the race being won by Templeton with 9st. Again, in the Free Handicap, Yattenna, carrying) Sst 51b, was beaten by Parawhenua, which won in a canter by four lengths, carrying Sst 71b. At Hokitika lately, Yatterina, carrying Sst 21b, was beat by Guy Fawkes, three years old. by two lengths, carrying 7st 71b, which must move that Yatterina has lost her old form, and that, compared with Guy Fawkes and Parawhenua, she is too heavily weighted. 1 «baH pm my faith to Traitor, Parawhenua, and De lamame’s best. Tadmor or Ngaro ought to win the Ledger, and Gilda—Lurline’s half sister—the Champagne Stakes.” The‘Star’s’ special correspondent in the King Country writes that the Kingites are completing two flour-mills, and have four threshing-machines and many ploughs, A blue shark, eleven feet long, was caught in the harbor to-day.

Napier, April 14. The Telegraph * this day rmews Mr Ormond s Superintendencv during his term of office from 1869. After referring to the personal system of Government having been dispensed with an Executive, it says:—“Mr Ormond took office at a time when not only was the Colony but the Province beset with difficulties both pecuniary and social, but the Provincial Treasury was empty, the revenue did not amount to LII.OOO per annum, the settlers were on the verge of bankruptcy, and the Colonial produce markets at their lowest ebb. During Mr Ormond’s term of office we Lave seen this changed. It now devolves upon us to present the prosperity due to the administration of the Superintendent. How much we owe to circumstances, the existence of which can be no claim to merit, but which, had they been skilfully controlled, would have E laced us in a far better position financially, •n December, 1870, the Province possessed 795,000 acres of waste lands. The Superintendent sold in four years 186,000 acres at 8s 9d per acre, an average that compares with the rate in other Provinces, and shows that Hawke s Bay sells the cheapest. Less has been done to increase the holdings here than in other Provinces, and land is rented to the pastoral tenant at a less rate than in other parts n^ year 1870 there were 339 holdings in Hawke’s Bay, which'were decreased the following year by no less than seventy, while in 1872 and 1873 the numbers were respectively 350 and 351. By the last agricultural statistics the total number ot holdings is set down at 388, being only an Increase in five years of forty-nine, while within fourfifths of that time, as we have shown above, no less than 186,806 acres of Crown land were disposed of. During the last session of the Provincial Council a general opinion manifested itself in such an nnmistakeable _ manner that His Honor was forced to bring forward a resolution to amend the land regulations; but the cure was attempted when the disease was past remedy. A skilful diagnosis of the case was taken for future treatment. All land applied for at 5s per acie was permitted by the new regulations to be put up at auction and sold at the upset price. Some of these lands had been declared of an funagrioultural charaoter many years previously, and were therefore practically locked up for the exclusive use of the innholders. As an illustration of the sapiency of this policy, we may assert a wellknown fact that lands sold by public auction at 5s per acre changed hands withiu a few days at an advance of 35s per acre. It is idle to state that ms Honor could not prevent this gross mal-admuuatration. He possessed power to reserve _any lands for purposes of public utility. In the management «f the pubhc estate of Hawke’s Bay for the weal of the Province and the Colony. John Davis Ormond has tried his hand for several years, and he is conspicuous for hia’egregious failure. The Premier at one period weut out of his way to compliment Mr Ormond on his public works statement. His warmest supporters could not do so, as the Provincial Administration has been weighed in the political balance and was lamentably found wanting. If his Honor took office when the Treasury chest was empty, and retires from the post of Superintendent, leaving a large balance-sheet to the credit of the Province, it can also be said that found a rich and large Crown land estate and leaves his position with scarcely an acre left.