Local and General News.

Marlborough Express, Volume IV, Issue 154, 23 January 1869, Page 3

Local and General News.

/Mr. J. B. Williams, late of Blenheim, opened 'the school at Kaikoura on Monday last. The proprietors of the Westport Times announce that for the future their journal will only be published tri-wrekly. We are oiven to understand that the price of aold has been raised, the increase of its monetary value ranging from 9d to Is Gd per ounce. -Daily News. A TELEGRAM reached here yesterday noon, which states that Mr. Porthouse, of the Pmyal Hotel, Nelson, had cut his throat. The Rangitira will be at Picton on Sunday noon (to-morrow) en route for Nelson, Wanganui, and Auckland. The mail will close to-day at 5

P Tfie new Wesleyan Church, Upper Wakefield, was opened for divine service on Sunday the 10th insfc. when the Rev. R. L. Vickers preached two appr ipriate semi' ns. " We are requested to state that divine service, according to the rites of the Church of England, will be held at Spring Creek at 11 a in , and at Mr. Storey’s residence, ICaituna, at 3 p.m. on Sunday, January 31st. _ "v We learn that Diphtheria has broken out at> Kaikoura, and in the absence of anv medical man, Mr. J B. Williams has undertaken the ( care of several cases. One death occurred on Friday last from this cause. " The Pawnbroker’s Act of last session is creating what in England is considered an evil, and certainly affords great encouragement there to crime On January 5, no less than live licenses were issued in Auckland, aud in Nelson a pawnshop has been opened At the meeting held by the Spring Creek School Committee, on the 20th inst., an application for a schoolmaster was received in the person of Mr Pqgatya trained and certificated master, amTlate master at Mr. £etj,sy s sc mol, Kekerangu We Spring Oj’; ek people in gaining a gentleman of repute 1 ability,s with testimoniaia of the highest cnaraeter. s —*r /

PiCTOK. —The nomination'of a'member of the Provincial Council is to take place on Monday, Ist February, and a poll taken, if necessary, oh Monday, the Sth. A stable, belonging to W. J Eodgerson, Esq., of H. M. Customs, situate up the Maitai, and in the occupancy of Mr. R. M‘Rae, was destroyed by lire on the night of Monday, January 18th. It was insured in the Royal f >r — Mail. A correspondknt of a Hawke’s Bay paper, speaking of the fall of Ngatapa, states that when Colonel Whitmore took up position ha sent a messenger requesting Te Kooti to send away his women and children. The reply was a volley. The dead body of James Reid was- found yesterday afternoon in a gully near the men’s quarters, at Mr. Thomas Redwood’s with the throat cut in a most frightful manner. There can be little room for doubt that the unfortunate man committed the act himself. An inquest will be held this day.

Havelock. —Our correspondent at Havelock states that the diggings at Wilson’s Beach are looking up. Robinson and party are on a patch. —There is nothing favorable to report respecting Nixon’s reef at present.—Kerr, who was wounded by Pope, as recently reported, is progressing favorably under Mr. Bevien’s care, and his fingers are nearly well. The FtJis. —The line schooner Maryann Christina took her departure from Piet m Harbour on Monday evening, for Ovalau, Fiji with a cargo of sawn timber from the \ ictoria Saw-mills, Grove. Owing to the short notice given of her departure, she did not ob'ain any passengers ; lint she will, we understand, leave this 1 port again for those islands in about ten w eeks’ time.— Press.

B»each of Customs Regulations.—At nine o’clock at night, on the 9th instant, the Wellington Magistrate’s Court held a special sitting, when Captain Stuart, of the ship Asterope, then ready for sea, appeared on the charge of smuggling the cask of rum for which Jenkins'anti Davidson were recently fined £101) each. Defendant pleaded guilty, and was thereupon lined £101), Messrs. W. Levin and W. Johnson becoming responsible for its payment.—Press. There is a deadlock in the new County Council of Westland. It appears that according to the Act the Chairman shall be elected by the.majority of the Council present at the first meeting. As four of the number were anxious to be elected, a difficulty has arisen, which has had a parallel once in this Province, if report speaks truly. The sooner the rotten system of election of the C iair-man-or Superintendent by a Council instead of the people is done away with, the better..

“ Kernels and Shells.” —Our Picton contemporary of Wednesday last, in a long and somewhat jubilant article reflecting upon the uncertainty of popular favor, and animadverting rather strongly on the conduct of Mr Eyes as Superintendent, has the following—“ Blenheim has received all the kernels, while only the shells have been distributed to other districts !” Will the writer in the I’ress, who is anxious to reopen the old “ feud,” be good enough to drop generalities for the nonce, and tell us what are these “ kerne's ?” Is it he or us. who suffer from obliquity of vision ? Undisputed figures have lung since proved that the “ kernels” were served out on the other side of the Wairau ! Again he says “ We are likely to be gratified shortly—if it be any gratification—by seeing the popularity hunter deposed from his throne, and an attempt made to raise another king to rule over w«.”d Our Picton mentor has evidently got out of his depth, as he did once before when he reckoned upon the Marlborough sheep being shorn four times in the year ! To what event does he now allude ? The most verdant tyro in provincial., politics could tell him that the Superintendent cannot be “deposed,” until the Council lapses • and who, we ask, is the happy individual.who has the vision of the provincial sceptre before his eyes, and beckoning him the way he should go T Psha ! Our contemporary is on the wrong scent altogether. It is not as the Superintendent of Marlborough, that Mr. Eyes has disappointed his constituents, but as their representative in the General Assembly. His position as Superintendent is not intended to, nor can be, taken into account at the meeting called by him as “Member for the Wairau,” to be held on Saturday evening next. At least a column of leading (?)'matter is therefore truly wasted ! The Wairau Overflow.— A meeting of the Committee appointed at the late public meeting was held last evening, at the Institute, when Messrs. Paul, C. Eyles, A. M‘Callum, and H. Dodson were present. Mr. Dodson took the chair, and on the motion of Messrs. M‘Galium and Paul, the following form of Petition was adopted: “To his Honor the Superintendent, &c.—-The petition of the undersigned owners and occupiers of land in the Pr wince of Marlborough, humbly sheweth, That your petitioners are desirous of availing themselves of the operation'of the Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough Rivers Act within the following boundaries. That y.onr petitioners request that your Honor to bring the Act into operation within the same as provide I for by ihe 4th clause of the said Act, an I \ our pod tinners &c.” On the motion of Messrs. Padl and Eyles, the following resolution was -passWft; —“That the following be the boim laries Opawa Breach Distr c l- , under the Hawke s tjjhtjy and Marlborough Rivers Act, namely Camir mencinn- at the confluence of t.ie M aihopu fiver, and the* Wairau river, following.the Waihopai. river to a punt opp s te block 45 ; thence by':ho southern side of B! ck 45 to the: south-west; corner of section 15?, O.naka ; thence by t e' western side of section 15:2. and the northern side I of sections 152, 155, 153, 13), 131, 132, lo.>, and 131 ; thence by a road line to the 0 in.a river thence by the northern side of section 185, and the northern and eastern si les of section 133; thence by the northern si le of sections 21 and 19 and by the northern an I eastern sides.of scctina 17 ; thence by the northern sideis of sections IS. 14. and 12, an I bv the norther i an 1 eastern si les of section 19 ; thence by the northern si le t of sections 23, 27, an I 23 ; thence bv the northern and eastern si le of section 23, ail the. e 'stern si le by seefcio i 49, O mk i; Ahen j i hy the southern s; le of sections 4 >, 42. -a). 3 >, ■> > 34. 32, 39, 23. 23. an 1 29, O n rt; a 1 1 by the southern aril e inter i si lei of s ec.t'oo IS to the M ii I Flat; thence by the Mu 1 K.at and r cyan’s Greek to the Opawi R'ver, a i I d > v i r it Opawa to its confiasnep wi-h U’o V •.'••>:i : a -d thence by the Wairau to the Urci na t; 1 n'. ’

Several spurious bank notes (£1) have been discovered in circulation at the Thames. An extract from the Sun, in another column, indicates that the visit of Prince Alfred will occur about the time when the General Assembly should be in session. As any attempt to unseat the Premier might then prove successful, we may est assured that there will be no meeting until after the Prince’s departure, as Mr- Stafford has not reached his “goal,” or acquired the coveted title.

Two most daring burglaries were committed in Auckland on the 7th inst,, within the walls of Mount Eden Gaol, Auckland, and under the very eyes of the warders on duty. The thieves broke i nto the gaoler’s apartments, and stole money and other articles to the value of several pounds, after which they visited the matron’s department and took all they could lay their hands upon. They have not since been traced.

Coroners. —The following circular has been issued from the Colonial Secretary’s office “Doubtshaving been expressed as to whether coroners are ex officio justices of the peace, coroners arc referred to the Bth section of tire “ Coroners Act, 1867,” which enacts that ‘every coroner shall, by virtue of his office, be a justice of the peace for New Zealand.’ —By order, B. F. Fountain, for the Assistant Law Officer.” Waste of Public Money.— A mail left Blenheim on the 11th January per overland route to Nelson, at which place it arrived on the 14th. The return mail for Blenheim reached Havelock on the 16th, arrived in Picton on the 2oth, and Blenheim on the afternoon of the 21st ! Tnus letters posted in Nelson on Friday do not reach Blenheim until the following Friday, while letters dispatched per Storm Bird on the 18th were received here the following day. ihis is an illustration of the rapid progress of civilisation in these parts, and the improvement on Lewis's service, which latterly reached here on the even ing of the day on which he left Nejson.

We learn that the action taken at Sydney against the P.N. Z & A. R. M. Company, and the inability of the Colonies to increase the subsidy, has brought it to a close much earlier than was anticipated. The Panama mail service is finally stopped ; the New South Wales Government [has accepted the surrender of the contract. Messrs. Beauchamp and Co., the agents at Picton, have received notice that the Airedale will he the last boat of the Panama line to arrive in that port, all the vessels being sold. Messrs. Median, Blackwood, and Co., have bought the Tavarua, Rangitoto, and Claude Hamilton. Capt Ferguson has been appointed to command the Tararua, and Capt. Hagley, the Rangitoto. The command of the Claude Hamilton has not yet been announced The Otago sails for Japan, and the Mataura proceeds via Wellington and the Straits of Magellan, and not via Melbourne as previously advertised.

St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Ti-.tant readers will be interested to learn that the new spire erected to this church is now completed, and forms a conspicuous object in the view from a great distance. It has been erected by donations raised chiefly by the worshippers, although some liberal minds belonging to other denominations have not scrupled to aid. The following is a brief description of it'The spire rises from the roof of the southerly end of the church, and the square form is carried up 9 feet above the ridge, which is 33 feet from the ground. From this point the octagon shape is preserved to the apex, 34 feet high, making the total height 67 feet; ; upon each corner of the square is a pear moulded and capped to the height of 7 feet, and free from the spire itself ; on each of the other four sides rises a gable, 8 feet high, finished with a small spire, and containing what is technically tamed a “ buffer” window; four similar windows are inserted about half-way up the spire itself, which is surmounted with an ornamental cross. The work has been executed by Messrs. Davies, of Blenheim. j