AUSTRALIAN.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 894, 7 May 1877, Page 2

AUSTRALIAN.

Sydney, May 1. Arrived —Easby. The Wakatipu is still detained at Newcastle by a heavy sea on the bar. She sails on Tuesday. The City of Sydney sailed yesterday. INTERPROYINCIAL. [Per Press Agency.] The Wreck of the Go-ahead. Auckland, May 5. Considerable dissatisfaction has been caused by a combination of twenty bakers to raise the price of bread to 5d for the two-pound loaf. The insurance buildings narrowly escaped a fire to-day, caused by a lighted match thrown down a grating. The rafters were ignited, but the fire was extinguished. A man named Anderson was stabbed in the eye by a man named Healey, in Queen street, this afternoon. A telegram from Gisborne to the New Zealand Insurance Company, states the captain has given notice of the abandonment of the steamer Go-ahead, but it has not been accepted. Instructions have been sent to the captain to do the best possible for all parties. The steamer has drifted from where she first struck towards the bar, where the surf at high water breaks over her. The Go-ahead was insured for £2OOO in the South British, and for £2OOO in the New Zealand. Both were reinsured. Fat cattle, 22s to 28s ; lambs, 10s to 13s 6d; pigs, slightly lower. Adelaide flour, £22 ; Dunedin, £l7 ; Oaraaru, £l7; pearl barley, £24-; oatmeal, £l6 ; bran, no market; oats, 3s 4d ; barley, no market; wheat, 4s to 5s 6d; butter, stocked with local, Is; cheese, stocked with local, 6d; hams and bacon, lOd ; the market is well supplied; potatoes, £4; maize, ss. Wellington, May 5. In a bankruptcy ease this morning the Chief Justice gave rather an important decision. It appears that one Poll commenced an action against the debtor Tonks for damages for injuries received through the debtor’s negligence, and in January last had a verdict in his favor for £270. The defendant subsequently obtained a rule nisi for a new trial, which rule was not discharged till a few days after the date of filing of a deed of arrangement between the defendant and his creditors. There has been no entry or signing of judgment prior to the date of the deed, "and there has been none since Poll attached the deed of arrangement. The question was whether he had a locus standi to object. The Court ruled that a claim in respect of a judgment was not a debt contracted, unless there had been judgment prior to deed, because a verdict without judgment did not create a. liability to a demand. On a subsidiary question, the Chief J ustice said he was inclined to think that it is necessary for creditors to prove before they can vote at an arrangement meeting. Dunedin, May 5. £650 has been promised towards the funds of the Sailors’ Home buildings. The committee expect to raise £ISOO. An influential deputation of the Chamber of Commerce waited upon the Hon. G. McLean to-day, and stated that it had been felt for some time past that the Government was not pushing on with the breaks in the arterial ines of railway so far as Otago was concerned. Mr McLean replied that, with regard to those lines which required only permanent way to be laid or were near completion, on which a large amount of money had been spent, the Government was just as anxious as the deputation to get them completed. There was no justification for the statement that the northern line was not being pushed forward. The delay in connection with the southern lines was consequent upon the Wnitepeka deviation, but as money was not plentiful, and as the credit of New Zealand was not in such a comfortable position as they could wish it to be, it was the desire of the Government to work matters in such way as to raise the credit of the colony again, by showing that our railways so far were reproductive, and by keeping out of the money market for a little. With that desire the Government bad made arrangements in Sydney for getting money for some time to come, and the works referred to by the deputation would be proceeded with at a reasonable rate and consistently with doing justice to every part of the colony. The deputation then discussed the dock question, and a counter deputation explained their views on the matter. Mr McLean in effect replied that it was for the Harbor Board to decide as to the site of the docks and railway station. Mr McLean leaves Dunedin to-night. Ell i f, May 5. Sailed —N.Z.S. Company’s ship Waitara, for London, with 4519 bales of wool, valued at £90,000. Tragic Incident near Auckland. [from a correspondent of the press.] Auckland, May 5. A combination of bakers have agreed to raise the four-pound loaf to tenpence. Great

indignation is expressed, and the Star shews I hat. the price is only 7d for the four-pound loaf in Christchurch and Dunedin, and 8d in Wellington. A most harrowing recital was told to the police this morning by a young lad who arrived from Lucas Creek in the steamer Te Aroha. It contains particulars of the wretched death of an inveterate drunkard named Win. Ind Peacock, who, with the lad above-mentioned, lived in a miserable whare on the Riverhead side of Paromoremore creek. Both Peacock and the lad have been maintaining themselves by gum-digging, and have lived together for about six months. Peacock has been in the colony sixteen years, and was formerly in the commissariat militia. He has had four narrow escapes from drowning, caused by intoxication. On two or three occasions he was burnt out of his whare. The boy Nesbitt relates that yesterday Peacock, after being away all day, came back partly drunk, and brought a bottle of rum, having emptied which he lay down and lighted his pipe, throwing the match down. Shortly after the boy saw smoko and tlame coming from the head of Peacock’s bed, and roared out to him to get up. He went over and shook him, but he was so dead drunk that he only gave a groan, and did not stir. The flames were getting fiercer, and the boy tried to drag him out. Just as only his leg's were on the bed a powder-flask, which was kept under his pillow, exploded and filled the place with smoke. The boy fell backwards, and Peacock came on his legs. The boy got up with some difficulty, and again tried' to drag him out, but it was more than he could do to move him more than an inch or two at a time. He dragged him by the hair, and some of it came out in his hand. When he got him to the doorway the whole place was in a blaze, and there was another explosion from Peacock’s gun, hanging on the wall loaded. The boy knew that if he stopped any longer he should be burnt, so he ran out, got an axe and cut a hole in the side of the whare; but the flames burst out, and burnt a hole in his shirt before he could get clear. A dirty black smoke arose, and a spectator coidd smell Peacock burning. His legs and arms were burnt off. Quarterly Returns of Imports and Exports. [from: a correspondent of the press.] Wellington, May 5. The Government are about to abolish the provincial police gazettes with the view of publishing one for the whole colony in Wellington. Bishop Hadficld and the Hon. Mr Fox are about to have a public discussion on temperance. The Chief Justice sat in bankruptcy this morning for the purpose of giving judgment in the case of H. E. Tonks. It will be remembered that Mr Gordon Allan, who appeared for the arranging debtor and the purchaser of the estate under the deed, raised the point that Poll, who was a non-assenting creditor to the deed of composition, having simply got a verdict for damages, was not a creditor within the meaning of the Act, and therefore could neither profess debt nor appear in the Supreme Court to oppose. His Honor now held that Poll’s debt, being simply founded upon the verdict of a jury, and not followed by judgment, was not a debt that was proveable under the Act, and therefore Poll could not be looked upon as a creditor who could oppose the declaration of the deed to be completely executed, judgment would therefore go against him. His Honor further said that as there were two other dissenting creditors he would defer declaring the deed to be completely executed until Tuesday next, so that they might offer opposition if they thought proper. At the same time the Court coidd not encourage them to do so. The Post of this evening has the following paragraph : —“ The amazing stride latterly made by the city and port of Wellington towards the premier place in commercial as well as political importance, never has been demonstrated so forcibly as by the comparative return of exports and imports published in yesterday’s Gazette. The figures are fraught with so much of interest to every Wellington citizen, that they demand more than mere passing quotation. From the return by Mr Seed, secretary and inspector of customs, for the quarter ended 31st March, 1877, it appears that the respective imports received at 1 lie four principal ports of New Zealand, were as follows:—Dunedin, £529,542; Wellington, £315,119 ; Auckland, £306,214 ; Lyttelton, £292,597, Wellington thus stands second only to Dunedin in the absolute value of her imports. Comparison with the corresponding quarter of 1876, however, shows the advance of Wellington even more strikingly, for whereas the increase for Wellington is £20,645, and for Lyttelton only £2396, Dunedin and Auckland show the enormous decrease of £169,888, and £122,003 respectively. But even more remarkable is Wellington’s rapid but steady and solid progress exhibited by the comparative exports which, in the March quarter of the present year were valued at £462,766 for this port, showing an increase of no loss than £52,421 on the corresponding quarter of 1876, while Dunedin has an increase of only £13,161, Lyttelton a decrease of no less than £139,468, and Auckland a decrease of £129,943, the amount of falling off from last year being actually £16,000 more than the whole value of her exports, which was but £113,729. Thus, whereas in the March quarter of last year the respective exports were—Dunedin, £805,358 ; Lyttelton, £707,787 ; Wellington, £430,355 ; Auckland, £243,6(52. This year they were— Dunedin, £818,519 ; Lyttelton, £568,319 ; Wellington, £462,776 ; Auckland, £113,729. These figures are most suggestive, and deserve careful perusal.”