INTERPROVINCIAL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 206, 9 October 1878, Page 2

IN TE R PRO VINCIAL.

fPRKSS AOJENCr.] j Wellingtox, Tuesday night. At the Supreme Court, Mary Aldridge for indecent assault was acquitted. — A. W. Thompson for receiving stolen property was seu'enced to six months.— W. T. Arnold, charged with shooting James Ward, was shown to be a dangerous lunatic, and handed over to the goaler as such. — J. Lorimer for stealing a diamond ring and other jewellery Y*a9 found guilty. Sentence deferred. — J Higginson pleaded guilty to stealing £i 7 at the Wairarapa Sentence deferred. The first annual session of the Diocesan Synod was opened by Bishop Hadfleld with the usual solemnities to-day, The Bishop delivered an address. Arrived : ship Rakaia from London, with 161 immigrants, all in good hcatlh. She experienced a fnir passage of 94 days from Plymouth. There were several births on tbe voyage but no deaths. Wednesday. In the Supreme Court this morniug George Lorimir, for larceny, was sentenced to one year, and Higginson, for stealiug from the person to three inouthg. The trial of natives tfar uiauslaughter at Poverty Bay js going on now. A m&eting of the delegates fron* the Volunteer districts was held last night, Major Buillie iv the chair. It was resolved that the chairman be requested to telegraph to officers commanding miaepresented districts, requesting them to nominate some pefsoti to act for them. A sub-gommittee was formed to supervise draft rules. A resolution was passed that it is desirable that a Xew Zealand Itifle Association be i formed for encouraging shooting, aud that ! two champion belts be competed for with rilles and carbines respectively. Napier, Tuesday. At a meeting of the Education Board today a memorandum was r£*d from the Secretary of the Education &ep9.rtn)eut stating that, if the £100,000 for gchsol buildings is divided according to population, as he believed it would be, this district would only receive £I:iQQ. A reply was ordered to be sent pointing eat the inadequacy of the amount as the Napier School building will alone cost £4,500, and trusting £hi>fc the department would not render the tyoa^rd uaublti to carry out its functions. There f was a general feeiiDg expressed in favor of ! resigning as a body and leaving the matter to the Minister of Education to cawy it pn himself. j Considerable agitation is going on here about the Maori Franchise. The Natives sare getting up a petition against jt stating jtbey want more representatives and <lqp't cjirant to vote for Fakoiin members, yo-

morrow night a public meeting is to be held to protest against the monstrous injustice about to be iuflicted on this constituency ana a, petition js being numerously signed to the Legislative Council asking that Chamber to strike out the Maori franchise clause. -I he Agricultural Show on Wednesday and Thursday promises to be hignly successful. There are 64 more entries than last year.

Wednesday. A large and influential public meeting was held last night re the Maori dual vote, and to petition the Council to excise the Maori franchise clause from the Electoral Bill. The chair was occupied by .Mr Kinross, and among the speakers were Messrs Cornford (solicitor), Kennedy (merchant), Colonel Lambert, Tanner, Knight, and Begg. The two latter spoke favorably of the dual vote, and Mr Knight was hooted down because he attribuieu" the movement to interested motives. With the exception of these two persons the meeting was unanimous in denouncing the attempt to swamp the electoratejwith Maori names. The following resolutions were carried amid enthusiastic cheers :— " That in the opinion of this meeting the addition to the Electoral Bill introduced by the Government in Committee, and passed by a narrow majority of the House of Representatives by which a vote at an ordinary election of meai"bers of the House of Representatives was conferred on all Maories, irrespectively of their payments of rates who are seized at law or in equity of any interest in land of the value of £25 is unjust and unfair, as virtually placing the election of members of the House of Representatives for this and the adjoining districts iv the hands of the Maoris, thus giving them double representation." — " That a respectful address be prepared for presentation to the Legislative Council setting forth the injustice compiained of, and praying that the obnoxious clause be erased from the Electoral Bill.''— At the close of the meeting the petition was signed by most of those present.