INTERPROVINCIAL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 167, 12 July 1878, Page 2

INTERPROVINCIAL.

fIPBKBS AGENCY.! Auckland, Thursday night. A warrant was issued to day for the arrest of A. Gr. Howard, charged with a violent assauit on Mr Woolfield, the Inspector of slaughterhouses. The latter alleges that Howard drove last night in a cab to the Thistle Hotel and walked ia, where Woolfield was standing in the bar and struck him two violent blows with a riding whip, one of which laid his hat open, and the other made a cut over his eye. He alleges that Howard then walked out. The schooner Merlin has arrived at Kaipara from Waitara. She reports that while crossing the Waitara bar a heavy sea washed two seamen, John Murphy and W. I\ Dean, overboard. The bar was so heavy at the time that no attempt could be made to rescue them. The schooner Laetitia from the South Sea Islands brings the captain and mate and part of the crew of the barque Kadah, owned by Reid and Company of Melbourne, The Captain reports that the barque sprung a leak in a hurricane off Cook's Island, and notwithstanding the efforts of the crew at the pump the vessel became waterlogged. A heavy sea broke over her, and the crew clung to the wreck till the morning, and then made a raft and floated ashore at Kawa Island, to which King George of Tonga was paying a visit, und he rescued them. AH the crew were saved except Charles Gullen, a Frenchman, the carpenter. The cargo consisted of 400,000 feet of timber for Melbourne. Friday. Further particulars from the crew of the barque Kadah show that they were fortyeight days on the water logged wreck before they sighted the Island. During that time their sufferings were very great from want of water and the crew could scarcely crawl atout. They subsisted on food fished up from. the hold and water from a condenser made out of an oil can. Jamieson, the second mate, and M'Gowau a seaman, landed on the island very ill and were afterwards missing and not found. The barque was 530 tons, and insured in a Melbourne office for £3000. H.M.S. Sapphire sailed this afternoon for New Caledonia. Wellington, Thursday night. Several of the crew of the barque Elizabeth complained to the Resident Magistrate to-day as to the unseaworthiness of the vessel, saying that they had been ten weeks at the pumps. They wanted the captain to put in at Cape of Good Hope when off there, into Rio Janiero, and into Hobarton, On coming off Wellington they declined to pump any longer unless he put in there. Au enquiry is expected to be held. Messrs Burna and Fisher have to-day agreed to and signed a minute respecting postal and telegraph matters. The New Zealand Government will join Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia in the duplication of the cable to Singapore, and in an arrangement for the reduction of the charges of the Eastern Extension Company for 'the transmission of messages between Port Darwin and London by 75 per cent on press messages and 50 per cent on Government telegrams. Such arrangement is held by the Government to be liberal, and the above reduction may, at the discretion of Messrs Berry and Burns, be modified to the extent proposed by the Company if it cannot obtain a similar reduction for the use of the Dutch and Indian lines. The keeping of a steamer constantly in a port of Australia or New Zealand for the New Zealand cable is held to be an unnecessary expense, from which the Company should be relieved, while at the same time it is to be held liable ' k for keeping up cable communication between the two colonies. The Company has agreed to reduce its charges for transmission of all messages by the New Zealand cable, but what the reduction is has not been made public, and is embodied in a separate agreement between Messrs Burna and Fisher and Colonel Glover. The repairing ship of the Company ia to be at all timea available for the repair of the Cook Straits cable, the" New Zealand Government to defray the expense thereof, indemnifying the Company for any damage to the steamer or machinery. The Agents-General of New South Wales and New Zealand are to move the Secretary of State for the Colonies to cause aid to be given by the Imperial Government under the present treaty towards the Pacific, Suez, and Torres Straits mail services to be continued, ! and to fix a further period of the present treaty between England ftnd the colonies respecting mail services, which expires this year. The Agents-General are to request the contractors for the Pacific mail service to propose tanother surety in room of Mr M'Gregor. New South Wales and New Zealand are to join the "Borneo Postal Union" with the object of establishing an uniform postal regulation of universal application, provided that no reduction ia made in the ; rate of postages for ocean services, and that i (he ctfst of transit of mails between San i !

Fnfocisgi and New York or Boston is not to be chained to the colonies, and that the lawa tof tee colonies respecting wholly unpaid correspondence are aot to be interfered with. Friday. Mr (jeorge Thomas reports flour, Adelaide £v 10s to £18; Colonial, £ 1 2 to £18 ldfei pollard, £7 10sto£8i wheat* 4a\ bran, isSdt hams, BJd| bacon, Bd{ cheese, 7d| maiae, 63, none m the place $ potatoes, JE3 10s, nominal; Butter, &d to 10d; Oats> very scarce afc 4s tt AttiVed: Ship iCaitloclh, 1264 tons, Capt. from London, 104 days from the ■Docks. She experienced fine weather throughout with adverse winds. She brings 21 passengers. Elizabeth Bell, a passenger, died on the voyage from consumption, the Caitloch brings a full general .cargo, , K . , CHMsibrtbijck, Friday. , At a tjieehng of the Road Board Conference to-day, Mr Joynt gave his opiniou regarding the non-payment of the balance of the Land Fund and the Conference unanimously resolved, That this Conference having heard the opinion of counsel ou the subiect of recovering the balance of the Land Fund due to 31st December last, is of opinion that the necessary proceedings should be taken without the least possible delay, and" the Conference therefore requests Mr Joynt to take the necessary steps accordingly." Several letters were read from outlying Road Boards, promising their co-operation in the proceedings against the Government. OAMAutr, Friday. Although a considerable trade in the breadstuff market prevails prices are the same as the last given except an advance of twopence per bushel in oats. Wheat 3s lOd to 4s ; oats 3s 3d for feed and for milling 3s 10d; best malting barley ss; Hour £11 to £11 10s I f.b.b.; oatmeal £19; pearl barley £24; pollard £5 10s.