The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE,, JANUARY 6, 1905.

Gisborne Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1346, 5 January 1905, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE,, JANUARY 6, 1905.

.THE AUSTRALIAN DISASTER. Our cablegrams thin morning convoy t'he gratifying intelligence that the fires in Australia have practically been overcome. Throughout New South Wales especially the loss has been very severe. The information that has come to hand is sorrowful reading, anil it is ignite certain that many of the fclctails of buffering will not get into print. We ■hear a good deal of the losses of the larger holders ; but of those struggling fon an existence in droughtstricken Australia little is heard. .The reports giyem of loss of life, too, must be greatly under the mark. In addition to; those whose deaths are .directly attributable to the heat and fires there must be hundreds whose lives will have been considerably shortened by the dreadful .experiences of the past few days. Australia has been aptly 'described as a land of extremes. Drought, fire, and flood Taviage the land. It n;o sooner, with iwonfderful recuperative powers, gets fairly on the road to recovery from one reverse than -another disaster occurs. New South Wales was rejoicing on having recovered from the effects of the drought—jpoliticians had begun to talk of, the luxurious times the men on the land had been ■having—when the heat wave sets in,, and with the consequent lire demon, Works as much hav.oc in a few days ■as a drought would have caused in ■months. There will be general rejoicing that the fires have been got under: The people who- have suffered will have our deepest, sympathy, and no doubt practical help will be promptly forthcoming for those . in need of it. . . /"

Mr George Stephenson’s Comic Opera i Company, headed by Edward Lnnri and May Beatty, are turning hundreds away nightly from His Majesty’s Theatre, Auckland, The company inaugurate their Gisborne season on the 18th instant. ■ , Notwithstanding the heavy weather, the ’ Haddad, Parker steamer Victoria made a i fast run from Auckland yesterday, arriving at 5.20 p.m. The Victoria did the voyage from Sydney to Auckland in 8 days hours. The steamer Victoria bronght from Sydney transhipments per ..Medio, from Liverpool; Low Head and P. and O. steamer, from London ; Bielfold and Gneisenan, from Germany; and Australian coastal steamers.

Mr A. R. Hine, who is leaving Cam. bridge for Gisborne, has been presented by friends in Cambridge with a gold watch as . a memento of his life in Cambridge. It is probable that he will be entertained by ' the Waikato Hunt Club before he goes, as ! he is a keen follower of the hounds. The 8.8, Tarawera did not get out of Wellington harbor until yesterday morning. The vessel arrived at Napier at 10.80 last night, and was expected to leave for Gisborne at 1.30 this morning, arriving . here at 9 a.m. There will only .be one launch, which is fixed for 9 a.m.

I The half-yearly summoned meeting of the Star of New Zealand Tent, No. 6, 1.0. R., S.U., was held last evening, there being a large attendance of members. Sister L- Oarron, Obief Ruler, presided. The election of officers for the ensuiog term took plaoe, and resulted as follows: Past Chief Ruler, Sister L. Catron ; Chief Ruler, Sister A. Patterson ; Deputy Ruler, Sister R. Rice ; Secretary, Sister F. Somervell (re-elected) ; Mioute Secretary, Sister I.Georgesou (re elected) ; Treasurer, Sister M. Diokeraon (re-electedl ; Book Steward, Sister E. Scott; Cash Steward, Sister L. Scott; Levite, Sister L. Harris ; Guardian, Sister E. Parker ; Auditors, Bros, EL Lord and R. H. Clark.

The last launch to the s.s. Victoria laßt evening was unable to make fast to the steamer, and had to return to the wharf with the passengers. A very nasty sea was running, and although the Victoria was lying in a igood position with her head on to the see, all attempts to make the launch fast proved futile. Captain Neal succeeded in bringing the Waihi alongside the etoamer, and the lines were quiekly run-out, but they were carried away, until all the available lines on board the Victoria had been made nee of. The big steamer was pitching to a < considerable extent, and the small boat got severely buffeted while ranging alongside the larger vessel, but received little damage apart from the bitis pulling out. About forty passengers were on board the launch. Only a few passengers went out by the first launch, Tbo Victoria proceeded to Napier as about 10 p.ru.

At a special meeting of the Gisborne School Committee ou Tuesday night the nbjeot of the recent fire was discussed. The caretaker, Mr Hamblett, stated that he was in bed when the alarm of fire was given. He had last been in the sohool on the Wednesday before the fire.) The doors were - looked and also the gates. There had not. been a fire in the fire place of the sixth standard room sinoe the winter. He never burned things in the fireplaces. Chemicals were locked up In the cupboard and not loft lying about. His theory was that the fire was ceased by minahs or by rats eatmg matohes.' He did not believe tbep there had been any incendiarism., Lest year be had found a

lot of rubbish’ anch as bir.ds’ neßt.etc.in one of the chimnoys. Mr Wildish mentionejf phot et's,3o on New Year’s morning he noticed one ; of, the doors of the infant school open. Mr. Eambleti paid that he I had had locked it. -and had not sinpe found it open. Some of'the teachers had keys. The committee resolved/that access tb the school daring recess should only bo had through the caretaker. _

The Haiti Bowling Club havo onterod a loam for the tournamont.

At tho Polico Court yostorday David Sutherland was fined 18s, aud 2i costs, (or drunkenness.

An advertiser wants to losbo a section of from 800 to COO aoros of enclosed grazing land, with good water and pasture.

The mail stoamor Sierra arrived at San Francisco at 6 a.m. on tho 2nd, some nine hours ahead of sohedulo time.

Owing to tho heavy sea rnnning, the Btoauiere Wuiwora, Kaikoura, and Herald wore uuablo to work yesterday. Our congratulations are offered to Mr Cyril White, who has been gazetted a Justice of the Peace. •

Six draught horses, the property of Messrs Kennedy, and Evans-, have strayed from the W'aikanac ipaddock. •A reward is offered for the return of the animals.

Massey, having defeated Birss by 20 to 15 in tho Whntaupoko Bowling Club’s championship singles, the former represents the club in tho singles at the tournament.

Captain Edwin reported at noon yesterday :—“ [Gale from between south and south west and west; glass riso ; tides high : sea heavy ; rain probable.” The leoture on mußio to have been given by Mr Boult had to be indefinitely postponed, owing to the bad weather preventing a late launch for the Viotoria.

The new steamer which the Union Company is haviDg built for tendering the stea’mers arriving at Gisborne was oom menoed yesterday by the contractor, Mr Chas. Bailey, jun., the keel pieoes arriving from Sydney by the last steamer. The Union Company’s s.s.' Herald left for Napier at 6.30 p.m. yesterday. Daring tho afternoon a quantity of wool was transhipped to the Kaikoura by surf boats, and one of these boats came in and took out the mails.

A middle-aged woman visited a clair-. voyant’s parlor in Viotoria street, Melbourne, the other nighty. She announced tp the female seer, “ I want to have my fate forecasted.” Hardly had the words esoaped her lips when she fell dead on the floor. Deceased was well dressed, but with careworn features. The heavy sea showed signs of abating yesterday, morning, but in the afternoon the wind freshened np and the rough aea became still worse. The indications early this morning were that the rough sea was gradually subsiding. Yesterday afternoon at high tide the whole length of the lower portion of the training wall was awash, and heavy seas were sweeping over the breakwater. The passengers who went out by the Waihi last night had an experience they will long remember." They are loud in their praise of the way in which Captain Neal handled the Waihi. Some of the intending passengers deolared that they were as contented as if they had had a long sea voyage. s “When we left,” said one, whO'had lost a'good dinner, “someone shouted, ‘You don’t know anything yet—just wait awhile.’ Well, now we know a lot more, and weigh less.” An extraordinary story comes from the oouniry (says the New Zealand Times). It appears that late on Christmas Eve, according to information given to the police, a young man discovered a man getting through tho window of the room in which the wife of his employer slept. The employee slipped baok into the whare in whieh he slept, and loaded his revolver. Stealing back, be challenged the intruder who thereupon fired at him and put a bullet through bis shirt and the flesh of his arm. After that the stranger decamped. The police were informed, and were given to understand by the employee that the man who had triod to get into the window was a local man. Two detectives went to the scene, and as a result of their investigations discovered that the man alleged to have made an attempt to enter the window on Christmas Eve had been in another district that night. This was ' beyond a doubt. Then they investigated closer, and found that the Bhirt of the employee hud been singed where the bullet had pierced. Mow, the employee had said that the man who had fired at him had been 9yds away —he bad gone so far as to point, out the exact distance, the exact spots it)' the incident. Filled with suspicion of a hoax, the detectives went baok to the employee and extracted a confession from him that he had fired the revolver at himself, with the intention, of putting a bullet through his shirt sleeve, irat. had clumsily put it through the flesh of his arm; and that there had been no attempt by a stranger to enter any window on the premises. The objeot of all this performance is not quite clear.