NEW ZEALAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 801, 16 January 1903, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND.

Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, last night.

The Waihi riiuirn is £27,002 from ii saa lons for days’ crushilit;. WELLINGTON, last night. I.niu Hawke's team arrived last ,ijr hi mid were welcomed by a large mmlier of cricket enthusiasts. A natel lietween the visitors• and Syd„._v and Melbourne cricketers has been lira lifted , and eimsei|aeiit ly the tour i) New Zealand will be curtailed the rip to the .Southern hakes being cut >ut, and the team leave l'or Sydney m March (ith. The weather for the match is perfect. CHRISTCHURCH, last niglit. The nominations of candidates lor the new Christchurch districts of the Tramways Board Hosed yesterday. There will be contests for all the eight seals. Twenty-six candidates candidates are in the held. Interest is very intense. ASHBURTON, last night. At yesterday afternoon’s sitting of the Primitive Methodist Conference, the report on church properties was read. There are til churches and .'jit houses, the total cost of which has been £'11,21.3. The income for the year was £SIOO. There, was paid oh' the debt during the year €1222. The present debt amounts to £10,518. The value of the property is .€17,005, and Hie value of the musical instruments £11)15. The following was returned as superannuated ministers Rev. .J. Diimbel! and -J. .1. Dean (Wellington) Rev. P. W. .Jones (Redding). TTMARU, last night. At the settling up iyeoting of the Caledonian .Society it was stated that the financial position was exceedingly satisfactory. The profit of the late gathering was €221). A suggestion that a live-meeting he held was favourably discussed. It was decided to endeavour to secure a visit from Major Taylor during bis New Zealand tour. A letter signed by 127 runners at .the late gathering was received, stating that they would not compete at any future meetings il the present hamlieapper was retained The directors protested against such a letter, and it was decided simply to “receive” it. II was said to have been prompted by a trainer and noncompetitor. It was decided to spend an additional £3O in top dressing the cycling track. DUNEDIN, last night. I Mrs Silk, licensee of the Metropole I-lotcl, St. Clair, was convicted ol Sunday trading, and fined £3, tile license to he endorsed

A six-roomed house at Morninglon, owned and occupied by William Bennett, was destroyed by lire this morning. The insurances were £701) in the Manchester. The owner estimates his loss at £IOO above the insurance. WESTPORT, last night. The Premier visited the State colliery yesterday, and was entertained at luncheon iii Westport, lie delivered addresses in both places, and left lor Keel tun in the evening. N I.OW PLYMOUTH, last night. An important sale lias been negotiated by iVlr Newton King of I,SCO acres of land at I-lairca, in the estate ot the hue Mr William Unyly. The purchased price is over £20,000, and the purchaser is Mr George Riddell, a local man.

NAPIER, lasl, night. Tin 1 Colonial Consignment and I>isixp'uliii!!; Company cable North Islam) million has fallen another -Jd. Quotations are : Canterbury fiRI, Napier Wellington, and North Island djd —lamb not quoted.

OAMAItU, last night.

An elderly man named William Mead died suddenly in the Globe Hotel tliisj morning. He arrived in

town yesterday, it is believed that he has friends in Invercargill,whence he is supposed to have come.

The desire of the Government to push on with the construction of the Main Trunk railway is evidenced by the fact that 270 men passed through Frankton on Monday on their way to commence operations at this end of the railway. The Minister for Public Works announced some time ago that the rails of this lino would be laid as far as Taumarunui by Christmas, and this promise has been fulfilled. This means that tourist traffic up the AVanganui river can now join the train at this point and proceed on to Auckland, or divert at Frankton and go on to liotorua. This will indeed bo a great boon to tourists, as the fame of the scenery on the has spread far and wide, and the traffic is a growing one. The outlet which has thus been made will be the

means of inducing a still greater number to avail themselves of this delightful trip through tho King Country. In the Wellington Opera House on a recent evening a very lively interlude was provided. A woman wearing a large hat, and protected by male escort, took a seat in the stalls, and refused to remove her head covering when requested to do so by tho patrons of tho pit. There were immediate manifestations of discontent, but as the curtain rose on a scene of beauty distressed, there was necessity for the pittites to be temporarily’ quiet lest they might miss a little of the pathos. When the first act finished the uproar resumed, until finally a fusillade of rolled-up programmes fell around the hat of the recalcitrant damsel and her com. paniou. The latter’s patience burst restraint at this indignity. He cleared the pit barrier in a bound, divesting himself of his coat in transit, and bawling “ Come on ! come on ! ” One of .those who had protested against the hat promptly did come on, but ero the fistic contest had barely started a model policeman—“ always there when wanted " —removed the | fighting Borneo to a cooler arena. The cause of all this rumpus sat right on, with j her broad brimmed hat flapping defiance at the pit, and gazing fixedly at the pro. gramme, on the front page of which appears the legend: “Every lady’ who removes her hat during the performance shows a graceful consideration for those occupying seats behind her ! ”

There was a remarkable chapter of accidents at South Melbourne recently when a drunken fireman chased a man with whom he had a dispute. He drew a revolver, and mistaking a laborer named August Pateena for his opponent, raised it and pulled the trigger twice. The revolver missed fire, and Pateena, turning suddenly round to avoid the weapon, stepped on to the tram Jine just as a tram ear approached. The gripman pulled up quickly, but not before Pateena had been knocked down and badly injured. The stoppage of the dummy was so sudden that it sent the conductor sprawling into the car at the other end, and a number of peop'.o quickly gathered. The fireman took advantage of the excitement to escape. Pateena was got from under the dummy and conveyed to the Melbourne Hospital, where he was admitted, but he had sufficiently recovered by the morning to be allowed to leavo for his home,