Local and General News.

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 98, 25 January 1868, Page 3

Local and General News.

The Falcon left Wellington for Blenheim al II a.m. yesterday.

The overland mail for Nelson will close on Monday next at 12 noon. An English telegram in another part of this paper states that the mails by Suez will in future call at Nassau ! As this is an inland city of Germany, it is very absurd ; most probably Naples is meant. A meeting of members of the congregation attending the Anglican Church is to be held this eveningiuthe Council Chamber. The object of the meeting is to consult as to the desirability of enlarging the church or removing it to another site. This day at noon the annual meeting of the ratepayers will be held for the purpose of electing three persons as the local committee under the Education Act We hope some greater interest will be taken in this business than was shown last year when only seven persons attended.

His Honor the Superintendent proceeded to Wellington by the steamer Phoebe on Tuesday last. We understand his object is to have an, interview with the Government relative to the detention by it of the Land Revenue, and to obtain terms in respect of the claims' recently made against the province. Drunk. —On Wednesday John Williams was brought before S. L. Muller, Esq., 11.. M., charged by the police with indecent exposure and for being drunk in the Market Place on the previous evening. For the first offence he was severely cautioned by the Magistrate, and for the second he was fined 205., with 3s. costs.

Felony. —On Tuesday last Robert Proudfoot was brought up before the Resident Magistrate under warrant, charged with feloniously stealing twelve bottles of gin, valued at £6, together with the sum of 235., the property of Mr. John Jeffreys, of Manuka Island. On the application of the police he was remanded until Monday next for the production of evidence.

The Lyttelton, —This steamer left Blenheim yesterday morning with passengers from this locality for the ship Cissy. She arrived at 9 a.m., and afterwards discharged a cargo of wool into the barque Dona Anita, and will proceed to Nelson this thence on Tuesday again for Blenheim. Smart Trip. —The ketch Alarm, Capt. Butt, arrived at the Blenheim Wharf last evening at 8 o’clock. She left Wellington on Thursday evening, with a fresh breeze, and after four hours’ detention at Robin Hood Bay she arrived as above. We are indebted to Captain Butt for complete files of Wellington papers up to date, extracts from which will be found elsewhere.

/’Regatta. —The 28th anniversary of the Wellington province was held on Wednesday last. In the regatta we notice that the Falcon came in third in the champion race, and the Blue-tailed Fly was second in a pair-oared skiff race, and gained the first,prize in an Amateur skiff race.— The Assembly is further prorogued till the 17th of March next.—The Auckland papers report a discovery of quartz gold in the Kaipara, by Mr T. Hull, brother to Mr. Hull, of the Bank of New Zealand, at Picton.

Steamer Nelson. —This favourite steamer, under the command of Captain Whitwell, left Nelson at 6 p.m on the 23rd instant, with passengers for the ship Cissy at Port Underwood. This vessel has now completed her loading, and sails for London to-day. The Nelson arrived at the Perry yesterday evening at 7 p.m. with the following passengers Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Mac lean, Mrs Bennington, Messrs. N. Edwards, E. Edwards, G. Bennet, Mackay, Everett. Webster, Cooke, Dodson,- Shannon, and Captain Esnauf, of the ship Caesarea, who have taken the opportunity of visiting Blenheim. The Caesarea may be expected at Port Underwood in the first week in February to take the balance of this season's clip. The Nelson returns back again to-day at 4 o'clock, i • ■

At Adelaide flour is quoted at from £l7 to £l9 10s. per ton. / The provisions of the Impounding Ordinance are to be enforced in Blenheim and Renwicktowu. Mr. Lawrence has been appointed Poundkeeper at Blenheim, and he will "use his stock* yard for the purposes of a pound. His Lordship the Bishop of the Diocese arrived by the Phoebe on Wednesday last, and has since been engaged in visiting this neighbourhood.' To-morrow he , will preach in the morning and evening at the Church of the Nativity, Blenheim, and in the afternoon at Spring Creek. Our First Wool Ship. —The splendid Ad clipper ship Cissy, 649 tons, Captain Spencer, cleared at the Customs on the 23rd instant for London, and will bid farewell to the Province of Marlborough this day (Saturday) with the following passengers : —Mr. and Mrs. Canning and child, Mr. and Mrs. Trolpvc, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, Mrs! Saif aiMHiepa e w/Miss Jane M‘Donald, Mr. Jellyman, Mr. Smith, Mr. Chay* tor, Mrs. Shannon, one child, and infant. In Bond : 1 ease tobacco, Nath. Edwards and Co. ■ New Zealand Produce : 917 bales and 2 bags wool, 10 bales arid 2 bundles skins, 4.cases merchandise, 1 case coal, N Edwards and Co. ; 317 bales and 2 bags wool, 6 bales skins, Morrison, Solanders, and Co.; 178 bales wool and 8 ditto skins, Sir David Monro ; 348 bales wool and 4 ditto skins, J. D. Tetley and Co. ; ,59„bales wool, Stafford and Hudson ; 100 bales wool, P. R and N. M‘Rae ; 67 bales wool, A P. Seymour; 42 bales wool, Robinson and Ren wick,;, 36 bales wool, E. Green ; 9 bales wool, 1 bale skins, 1 case ironmongery, H. Godfrey. Total, 567,800 lbs. wool, valued at £14,124 10s.

Mistaken Identity.— A rather curious eras of mistaken identity after death was revealed in Melbourne within the last few days. On the morning of the 30th of November, a man was discovered lying in a laneway off Little Bourkestreet in such a deplorable condition of destitution and bodily suffering as to render his removal to the hospital necessary, where, soon after his admission, he expired. An inquest was held on the body, when several witnesses, after viewing the remains, identified them as those of a man named Henry C. Piesse, who, they Stated, was once a person of considerable means. One of the most attached friends of the deceased in life

piously exhibited a precious relic in tiie shape of a letter from the deceased, and expressed his intention to preserve it till the last day of his life as a memento of the departed. Dr. Molony, who made a post mot tern, examination of the body, gave it as his opinion that the immediate cause of death was disease of the lungs and kidneys from want of proper attendance, and the verdict , of the jury was to that effect. The body of the man was interred ; many a regret for his demise was expressed by those who knew him, and often w r as a kind word dropped to his memory. However, a couple of days ago a female, who was one of those who identified the body at the inquest, was surprised on meeting what, as she for a moment thought, was the actual shade of her friend Piesse, haunting the scenes of life. In half terror, half joy, she rushed up to hicp, and shaking him by the shoulders, asked he dead or alive. She deemed she spoke but to | his ghost, but he pledged her on his honour he 1, was not dead. The man, it appears, upon whose I dead body the inquest was thought to have been held is alive and well, and who the really deceased person was remains a mystery. ;i| Fires. —On Saturday last Mr. Frcdk. Wil- j Hams suffered a very heavy loss by fire under the following circumstances. It appears that a on the afternoon of Saturday last Mr. Williams | found it necessary to punish a young lad in his Si employ named Ward, for in some way injuring || his trap, whereupon the young rascai deliber- 'l;' ately went into the house and having procured a f box of matches applied the light to one of the | stacks of grain, which had only that day bssa-l* thatched, and in a few minutes the whole of f | this year’s harvest, comprising four stacks, was i utterly destroyed, to the value of between £4()0 j and £SOO. The lad, alarmed at what he had Vl done, cleared out, but upon being caught after- | wards, with much equivocation acknowledged || that he was guilty, whereupon his master to 5 some extent at least, forgave him. On Thursday || Mr. Bartlett, who resides on the Picton Road and is the lad’s guardian, came over, bringing the i lad’s sister to service and to enquire into the par- 'Jj ticulars of the rick-burning. While he was with W Mr. Williams, Ward held the horses outside, and 5L on his departure was locked up in a room opening on a passage dividing the kitchen from the dining room to prevent his escape, and the family went to tea. Before Bartlett had got far from il. the house he noticed a quantity of smoke bunding out, and instantly returned. Mr. Williams was in the drawing room, confined by an ail- L ment, and had just received a cup of tea there, when the fire suddenly burst in upon them from the passage. The little girl before mentioned , ? rushed to the door of the room where the lad || was confined and set him at liberty, whereupon he darted off into the manuka and has not since ;■ been seen. With such suddenness did the fire || burst cub in every direction that no one had time to save a single article, not even of clothing. An % attempt was made to.enter one of the rooms from if the verandah in order to save a pianoforte, but j| the falling of the molten lead from the roof pre- I vented anything being got out save a sewing 'I machine. Master Empson and Mr. F. Eyes were the first of the neighbours who arrived on the ■ scene, but although every effort was made, and v.

the two young gentlemen in question kept at the pump without intermission for about three hours i —all was useless. The house was erected about i ten years ago with very hard dry timber, and a J very short time sufficed to reduce the whole to a mass of embers. A considerable quantity of ‘ valuable property was stored in the house, winch, ' with the contents, was insured in the Northern " Assurance Company for £I,OOO. Conjecture is rife as to the cause of the mischief, many persona '■s believing the ’ boy to have been guilty of a 1 1 second act of incendiarism. We believe, tow* : 8 ever, that too kitchen chimney was on tire about | two o’clock the same afternoon and extinguished I by water. “ It is very likely that tha fire may | ; have resulted from a spark therefrom having ! lodged in the shingles. An exaimoation by tha : A police yesterday was so far satisfactory to Mr. Litchfield, the agent of the Northern Company, I that we learn that no inquiry will; be held, bat »l ■ fsvarabla report sent to the Company. 1

THK.boring for petroleum oil at the Beta' well, Taranaki, has now reached a depth of 400 feet. The manager is very sanguine as to ultimate success.

Volunteers. —The firing of the Blenheim Subdivision for the competitorship is to take place on Thursday next, the 30th instant. The Picton Subdivision will fire on the Monday following, February 3rd. A requisition is in course of signature at Westport requesting Mr. J. Paul to come forward as a candidate for the representation of Westport in the Provincial Council. Mr. A. Beauchamp has also been talked of.

J Senr. -Sergt. Emerson has this week been Bailiff to the Resident Magistrate’s ®Court, while Sergt.-Major Kennedy has been appointed a constable in lieu of lockup-keeper, and ■vdtll act as bailiff among his other duties. / A meeting of the Volunteers was to have /been held on Tuesday evening last, but for want of a quorum the principal object could not be entertained. A meeting of the committee has been held, when a pattern suit of the new uniform was shown by Mr. Warner, which was so much admired by those present that he received numerous orders to proceed at once with their production.

The other day as Mr. Tom Palmer, the telegraph line-man was proceeding to the Awatera he found a pocket-book lying on the road at the first crossing over the Taylor river. An examination of the contents showed that it belonged to a man of the name of Gibson, lately employed on Stafford’s station, and among other papers were several representing a value of nearly 200?. The pocket-book was forwarded to its owner by a messenger shortly afterwards.

I The Matt, Services. —The Wellington Independent.ot'iixs, 16th instant says that the tenders sent in’fer tfie conveyance of the inter-provincial mails have been opened, and that of the New Zealand Steam Navigation Company accepted for the following services :—From Manukau to Wellington, from Auckland to Fort Chalmers, and from Port Chalmers to Manukau The tender of - the Panama Company has been accepted for the conveyance of the mails from Wellington to the Bluff, from the Bluff to Wellington, and from Wellington to Auckland. Accident. —A rather severe accident happened on Monday last, to Mrs Avis, of Picton. It appears that she was crossing from the road to the house of Mr. Neave, and had to cross a ditch, over which was a single plank to form a bridge. When nearly over, her foot slipped and she Upon examination it was found that both bones of the lower part of the arm were broken. The fracture was reduced as soon as possible, and she is going on as well as could be expected, but owing to her age it will be some time before the injured limb regains its wonted strength.— Press. Curious Accident.—A curious accident occurred to a sheep shearer at Mr. Simpson’s woolshed, Benalla, Australia. Just behind where he eat shearing there were three or four pairs of shears hanging, and on his rising suddenly the flannel he wore caught in the point of one, which ■-.inßtvd v.Vn to stagger and lean backwards, the shears—the points of which were nearly as sharp as a lance—entered the poor fellow’s back, and nearly came out in front. One of the workmen pulled them out, and the unfortunate man bled so profusely that it was thought he would bleed , to death. A doctor was sent for, and adminis''tered stimulants that brought the man out of danger. A testimonial, consisting of an address signed by upwards of 100 inhabitants of Cnarleston, accompanied by a purse of sovereigns, was presented on Monday evening to Mr. Apted, late editor of the Westport Times, whose fracas with Mr. Commissioner Kynnersley is fresh in the memories of our readers. Mr. R. Reid, one of the proprietors of the Westport Star, was deputed on behalf of the subscribers, and after a few appropriate remarks, presented the address, which expressed “the deep sympathy of the subscribers with Mr. Apted in the late unfortunate sequel to his earnest endeavor to initiate a proper moral tone in society,” which Mr. Apted duly acknowledged.— Mail. The Medical Registration Act.—The Colonist says “As there appears to be some misconception in the minds of some medical men respecting the method of registration, we have made enquiry, and find that there is no necessity for medical practitioners sending their diplomas to Wellington ; but that all that is necessary is to produce them before the Resident Magistrate and his medical assessor, appointed for the province in which they practice, and that their registration under the new Act will then be completed —Colonist. [We presume our contemporary means to intimate that no difficulty will exist in cases where medical practitioners are in •possession of a diploma.] ON passing Mr. H. Dodson’s garden one day fthis week, we were reminded by the luxuriance |of the hop bines that the season is approaching. | They looked remarkably healthy and well, and I the mass of flowers now beginning to burst forth I give a grateful promise of a rich harvest, and if care and industry ever deserved a reward, in no case within our knowledge have we noticed so deserving an instance. The garden has been most diligently and carefully kept; the total i absence of weeds among the shrubs, the rich /tilth and the artificial shelter against the bleak winds, all prove that nothing is omitted which • is likely to give encouragement to the beautiful ; but capricious plant. We trust the owner’s expectations will be realised by the richest harvest i he has ever had. | Thk Australian Harvest.— The harvest in -Victoria will probably not be nearly so bad as was supposed a short time ago. Although m some districts the crops have been very much iniured by rust, and oats are being s mown for hay yefrin others the result seems to be all that mild be desired. A correspondent of the Arms wS>follows respecting, •'the crops m the GleMrchy.distript, o| Vicuna pur famem. kare^biwy^tacking nlMeant it is to see the heavy crops gathei;ed-in.. will need to enlarg? their bams tf> tjhe produce. Messrs. Payne, Power, kuifcchcU. and Kennedy’s hay crops will Average K-cr three tons per aero. The wheat crops will, Bf OWorcbv. average forty bushels per acre. Kf f Ualawadda, Mr. D. M ‘Pherson’s wheat crop Rill exceed that-! Jan. IC.

Forgery. —The hero of the following notice is well known in Blenheim, where he was a long time in employ at the Rainbow and Royal Hotels. The Leader says :—“ On the 28th ult. the police applied to the Bench for a warrant for the arrest of Edward Giles Cooke, who has absconded to the colony of Victoria. The information of Frederick Ludewig Kortegast was read, which stated that ‘ Edwin Giles Cooke, late of Hokitika, and supposed to be at present resident in the colony of Victoria, on the 21st December, 1867, at Hokitika, a certain order for the payment of money, to wit, for the payment of five pounds five shillings sterling, with intent thereby then to defraud the said Frederick Ludewig Kortegast, did feloniously forge and utter.’—Frederick Ludewig Kortegast deposed that he was the proprietor of the Exchange Hotel, Revell-street; about halfpast three or four o’clock on the 21st December, Edwin Giles Cooke, who was formerly in witness’s employment as a waiter, and subsequently commenced business on Gibson’s Quay as a cordial maker, came into his hotel and asked him to change a cheque. Witness asked him whose cheque it was, he replied that it was one of Mr. Mitchell’s who keeps an hotel up the street. Cooke then produced the cheque, and witness cashed it for him, The cheque (produced and identified) was for £5 55., dated 21st December, signed by A. Mitchell, and drawn on the Bank of New South Wales at Hokitika. The cheque was presented at the Bank on the 21st instant, and returned marked ‘no account.’ Witness has not seen Cooke since ; he has heard that he A left for Melbourne about a quarter of an hour^' after witness had cashed the cheque for him.— William James Hayes deposed that he was in the employment of Wilson and Co., cordial makers, Gibson’s Quay. Edwin Giles Cooke was formerly a partner in that firm. He sold out of it on the 20th December. On the 21st instant witness saw Cooke at the premises of Wilson and Co. He was behind the counter, filling up a cheque on the Bank of New South Wales for £5 ss. He signed the cheque A. Mitchell. (Witness identified the cheque.)—David Groynne Davies deposed that he was ledgerkeeper at the Bank of New South Wales, at Hokitika. The cheque produced was presented for payment at the bank, and returned marked ‘No account.’ There never has been an account at the bank in the name of A. Mitchell.—Sergeant James Hickson deposed that no person of the name of A. Mitchell has kept an hotel in Hokitika within the last two years.—The Bench ordered a warrant to be issued igv the arrest of Edwin Giles Cooke.”