NEW ZEALAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LVII, Issue 6509, 6 January 1882, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND.

[Pbb Fbksb Association.] AUCKLAND, Jaw. 5. The Grand Jury foand no bill in two of the burglary cases against Flnmmer, and a true bill in one other. John Borrie was found guilty of maliciously wounding a hone, and recommended to mercy by the jury. He was discharged on entering into recognizances to appear for sentence when required. Alfred dunes was acquitted of robbing Gilbert Dbbson in a brothel. Michael O'Connor was convicted of attempted rape on a Maori woman; sentence deferred. The body of William Kempt, drowned at Mahurangi, has been recovered. A boy who was in the boat with him clung to the boat two hoars and a half before he was rescued. The total receipts of the Catholic bazaar in aid of the building fund of St Benedict \ Church, Newton, amounted to £9lO. | The lowest tender for the Coffee Palace was | af«»h««li and Mercer's, £20,390; the highest, !' Jones and Pollard's, £26,363. Owing to the unexpected high price a meeting of shareholders will be convened to consider the course to be adopted. The Hgn T. Dick telegraphs that the licen- | sing districts will be declared immediately. i The prize-money was paid to-night to the I winners at the Auckland Meeting, as follows: —Mr Walters, £437; Mr John Smith, £434; Mr Horsford, £370; Mr Bates, £226; Mr Yallance, £152; Mr Samuel Morrin, £142; Mr Michael Gallagher, £95; Mr Lezard, | £104; Mr Bobbett, £B7; Mr Pilbrow, £3B ; I Mr D. White, £3l; Mr J. Gillies, £l3; Mr \ 3. S. Bnckland, £ll ; Mr A. Buckland, £9; i total, £2153. The settling at Tattersall's on the meeting was eminently satisfactory. Mr C. A. Harris offers £3O as a prize for a race between bond fide whaleboats. The Auckland Begatta Committee hare accepted the offer. HAPIHB, Jah. 6. Three men have been summoned for alleged personation and plural voting at Waipawa election. A man named Thomas Floyd, who hanged the Maori Rebel Kereopa, is missing from a | camp at Mohata. He was suffering from delirium tremens, and his companions left | him to obtain assistance, and in the meantime I he disappeared. I Blackburn's rope factory at Hastings havH iag been burned down under suspicious cirH eumaUnces, the Insurance Companies deS 5|f nded an inquest, which is now being held. I Blackburn, in his evidence, contradicted himP self greatly, and others of his statements I were disproved by witnesses. The evidence, f 80 far, does not relate to the fire, but to the I yalue of the buildings and stock, which were I insured for £650, and which are stated not to 1 have been worth £2OO. Blackburn admitted I that the buildings were not worth £BO, H although be valued them at £l5O, when || taking out the policy. The insurance agents II had decided to cancel the policy on the night II of the fire. This is the second time BlackIf burn has been burned out under similar II circumstances. H The Earn Fair to be held on Jan. 26 prole miaes to be a great success, the demand for If high class stock being very brisk. H Coal of good quality has been found in the B Mohaka district, but so far from town that I it is questionable whether it will pay to work I NEW PLYMOUTH, Jan. 5. H John Young&enry was brought up before H tibie Court this morning, on a charge of H stabbing Milletfc at Opunake. Mr Samuels H appeared for Henry. The case is still going ■ on. H PATBA, Jav. 6. H Sir William Fox finished his Commission |l;| work here, to-day, granting the Chief Tauroa pi and his people reserves in return for certain SB: concessions. The Patea river will be rendered ill navigable for a long distance up by the reißl snoval of the eel weirs. Sir WilUiam Fox Ipfcaow proceeds on to TaranakL 111 WELLINGTON, Jah. 5. IIK The Committee of the City Council .ap-

pointed to oooiider whether any more satisfaotory arrangemont can be arrived at than now exists between the Council and City Solioitor, hare reported upon the accounts •übmittod for their confederation, that they hare armed at tho conclusion that tbo examination of the City Solicitor's accounts has been conducted in so las a manner aa to render it detirable that aonie batter and more effectual system of audit should be adopted in respect to theae acoounta. Attor reviewing the various evidenoe, &<?., they report that "The preient mode of paining tho City Solicitor's accounts is unantia'aotory, and would in a meaauro bo calculated to permit the passing of impropor claims should such exist. Tho information gancrally elicited by the Committee renders it incumbent upon them to report that in their opinion no proper check exists upon tho City Solicitor's acoounts, or upon any possible illegal issues of publio money by the City Solioitor t also, it appears in somo oaaes, that Mr W. T. L. Trovers is Solioitor, and in othor cases Mr H. U. Travers is City Solioitor, without tho authority of the Council, thereby causing a very large and unnecessary expenditure of publio money. The Committee therefore recommend that no moneys be on any pretext paid away by the City Solicitor, suoh as has ceon done to .printers and others, without the authority of tho Council being first obtained to warrant such payment, and that such payment bo duly attested by properly-receipted vouohers i that no person bo employed, as heretofore, by the City dolioitor without suoh authority; that the City Solicitor's accounts be taxed, and attention paid to tho torms of his appointment j that, in the event of a vacancy ocourring in the office of the Town Clerk, the Committee strongly reoommend the appointment of a solioitor to the office, this course being, in the opinion of the Committee, the only effeotive remedy for the present unsatiafaotoy state of affairs." The lad Binden, who was hurt by a falling tree at Masterton, died yesterday. James Hargreaves, arrested on a charge of setting fire to some outbuildings belonging to Daniel West, at Waiwetu, has been discharged, owing to the evidenoe brought against him being insufficient. The following tenders were received for "Mangato - Wainui Bridge Contraot" : Accepted: J. Saunders, Wellington, £17,780. The following were declined:—J. Small and Co., Dunedin, £17,795; Jay and Poole, Foxton, £17,858; Mace and Baisett, Patoa, £18,479 ) Boss and Dunbar, Auckland, £18,4621 H. M'Konzie and Co., Dunedin, £18,543; Davidson and Conyers, Dunedin, £18,566; Hunt, White and Clark, Auokland, £19,898; Briton and Glendining, Napier, £20,373; Thomas H. Downes, Dunedin, £20,547; Kendall and Bush, Patea, £20,755; James Lookie, Wellington, £20,890; John Taylor, Auokland. £22,249; Martin Danaher, Auckland, £23,378; J. and A. Anderson, Christchuroh, ££4,570. HAVELOOK, Jak. 6. An inquest on the late fire at the Masonio Hotel and James Hadfield Smith's store, was held yesterday. The verdict arrived at was, that there was not evidence to show how the fire had originated. NELSON, Jan. 5. A six-roomed house in Brook street, ooenpied by Mr' Pusoh, was destroyed by fire to-day. Considerable difficulty was experienced in rescuing his wife, who is an invalid. The house belonged to Mr Cnllen, of Picton, and was insured in the Liverpool, London and Globe Office for £IOO. Pusoh, who is a maker of plaster of Paris images, had his furniture and models insured in the New Zealand Office for £4OO, and his stock of images for £250. DUNEDIN, Jak. 5. Mr James Hume retires from the management of the Dunedin Lunatic Asylum, with whioh he has been connected since its fonndction, owing to the appointment of a Medical Superintendent. At the Dunedin Presbytery, the Bev James Maxwell, Congregational Minister at Port Chalmers, has applied for admission to the Presbyterian body. His application has been referred favourably to the Synod. Mr Cairns, of Sydenham, has declined a call to North Dunedin. A case came on at the Police-court to-day, in whioh a hairdresser in High street was charged with being the keeper of a common gaming house. A totalisator is "kept on the premises, and the particular event on whioh action is taken is the Invercargill Baces. The case was adjourned. At the Supreme Court to-day the only oase of any interest was that of John Gordon, charged with a breach of " The Fraudulent Debtors Act, 1878," in having filed a declaration of insolvency, and having subsequently, with intent to defraud his creditors, failed to fully and truly discover to the trustee the sum of £320, his property. The faots were that when accused filed he stated his assets to be only £5 worth of wearing apparel, but within a month afterwards he gave £320 to a hotelkeeper to keep for him. This was in March. In September he was arrested for drunkenness, when he had £197 in his pocket, and a gold watch. He was found guilty, and sentence was deferred.