Telegraphic News.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 227, 22 January 1876, Page 9

Telegraphic News.

Auckland, Saturday. The Premier stated to a deputation from the Thames that the Auckland goldfields, revenue was stopped to meet deficiencies on the Mercer railway for interest and working ■expenses. The polling at Hokianga for the Maori election for the northern districts resulted as follows :—Hore Karika Tawhiti, 173 ; Remi te tai Papuhia, 105 ; Wiremu Katene, 12 ; Matai Pene Tui, 1.• Monday. The returns up to the present time from the Bay of Islands give Lundon 115 ; Williams, 156. Two returns have to come in. The polling at Makurangi and all stations except Puhio and Wainui, gives Moat a majority of seven. The Hew Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency have received a telegram, dated Lon- • don, January 6, as follows : —“ Tallow market quiet. Stocks of all sorts, 16,097 casks. Leather market flat. Trade demands quiet.” Polling for Northern Maori electorate— Hori Karakatawhiti, 209 ; Wi Katene, 171 ; Witai Penatene, 137 ; Ivei te Tai, 154 ; Timoti Poihipi, 90. The returns from three places are not in. Poihipi’s stronghold is up North. It is expected the contest will be between him and Karakatawhiti. William Buckland is dangerously ill, and is not expected to recover’. Rodney.—The polling at Warkworth gave Sheehan 47 ; Moat, 32. Other returns to come. Tuesday. One return for the Rodney election has still to come in. Mbat stands six ahead, but it is believed that Sheehan will change the position at the close. William Buckland is dead. The Howick return by star pigeon is— Goodfellow, 9 ; May, 11 ; Hamlin, 27 ; Lusk, 41 ; Woodward, 85. The totals now are— Lusk. 347 ; Hamlin, 349 (Greyite) ; Woodward, 261 ; Goodfellow, 239 ; May, old member (centralist), 197. Waiuku and Mauku are the only returns to come. They are Hamlin and Lusk’s strongholds, and must increase their majority considerably. The Franklin electoral returns by pigeon express from Otahuhu, Papakura, Wairoa, Maketu, Pokeno, Bombay, and Pukekohe give the following results : —Hamlin, 322 ; Lusk, 306 (Greyite) ; May, 186 ; Goodfellow, 230 (Centralist) ; Woodward, 176 (Independent). Three other returns have come in. They will obably not alter the present results. Wednesday. The Mikado has arrived from Sydney to take the outward San Francisco mails. She left under contract with the Pacific Mail Company on the 12th, and expected to be able to leave Auckland to contract time, but the voyage was protracted by continual easterly winds. For the February service, the City of San Francisco will leave Port Chalmers, and either the Zealandia or Grenada from Sydney, so it is hoped the future mail arrangements will be satisfactory. The Mikado remains in the service till all the other vessels are on the station, and probably will then be kept at Sydney as a spare vessel in case of accident. Blondin is a passenger by the Mikado. The Waitemata Election. —Present state of poll: Macfarlane, 144 ; Hurst, 131; Lee, 126; Henderson, 165. Three returns have to ceme in, but Macfarlane is secure.

Grahamstown, Friday. The rich crushing reported yesterday is said to be lona fide. The man who brought the stone is named Cornelius Casey, who went from here to Wanganui two years ago. He did not seek concealment, but wished to return and secure his claim before giving publicity to the discovery. : Saturday. Western Maori electoral result.—Poll at Shortland : Hoani Nahe, 251 ; Wi Parata, 0 ; Kemp, 1. A little excitement, but no show of violent party feeling, all being on one side. Fears are entertained for the safety of the Thames water supply reservoir, water being drawn off to save it from bursting. Tuesday. Nothing has been heard of the missing boat. It has been discovered that only one man was on board, named Cockroft, butcher, Tapu. It is believed that he is drowned. Rodney, Tuesday. The complete returns give Sheehan a majority of eighteen. , s Alexandra, Tuesday. jk meeting of Kingites is now being held tvt-i “S Tawhiao has left Hikurangi to • at %, .A. • st Tauranga, Tuesday. The official declar’ation of the poll in the East Coast election was made at noon to-day, Reid was declared duly elected. A protest was entered by Morris against the return, but it was not accepted by the Returning Officer. Wednesday. The Bay of Plenty Times of this morning remarks on the comparative idleness of the Constabulary, and states that repairs to roads and public works are crying aloud for labor, while the Constabulary are playing at soldiering. It instances the Ormond road to Opotiki, which is daily getting worse for want of repairs, and on which only fourteen men, including an officer and sergeant, are employed out of 70 quartered at Opotiki. There have been heavy rains and easterly gales. The wheat crop is materially damaged throughout the district. Napier, Saturday. At the Eastern Maori electoral district the poll was as follows : —Napier : Karaitiana, 127 ; Rotorua : Karaitiana, 30 ; Hikairo, 43 ;

Keepa, 17 ; Wairarapa : Karaitiana, 38 ; Wairoa : Karaitiana, 17 ; Hotene, 27 ; Taupo: Karaitiana, 11 ; Keepa, 37 ; Waipawa, : Karaitiana, 77 ; Gisborne : Karaitiana, 17 : Hotene, 48. The other returns are not yet to hand. Tuesday, j Sealy, R.M., has sent in a claim to retire from his several offices on a pension in March next, in accordance with the Civil Service Act. Mr. Sealy has been twenty years in the Civil Service, and twenty-nine in the colony. He purposes visiting England on retiring. The Herald says it will be long before the Government find another public servant capable of filling the several offices as ably and satisfactorily as Mr. Sealy. Heavy rain still continues. Much low-lying land on the plains is under water. There is serious loss and damage to crops. Sir John Richardson will deliver a lecture on Thursday next on “Central Asia.” The proceeds will go to the funds of the Musical Society. Blenheim, Saturday. Mr. Seymour, Superintendent of Marlborough, arrived here yesterday (Friday). He was met at the railway station by a considerable number of persons, and at four o’clock there was a public luncheon, at which he was the guest. He spoke about the contrast between here and what he had seen at Home, and said that, after all, he preferred New Zealand, and, above all, this little province in it, to any other place. Politics were not touched upon. He holds his first meeting as a candidate for Wairau on Tuesday evening. Nelson, Friday. Carbine representative firing.—Gunner Harling, 167; Gunner Nicholson, 166. Hokitika, Friday. The elections returns in give Barff, 602; Button, 573 ; Reid, 511 ; Seddon, 436. The remaining returns are not likely to alter the positions. Reefton, Thursday. Large bush fires have occurred on Adana Smith’s line. Tramway shoots and paddocks are destroyed to the value of £I2OO. It is feared the companies will have to cease operations temporarily. The fire is still raging, and advancing up Murray Creek.

Foxton, Saturday. The decision of the inquiry of the Collector of Customs at Wanganui into the stranding of the brigantine Kate Moynahan, of Newcastle, New South Wales, at the Heads of the Manawatu river, is as follows: —After a careful investigation and consideration of evidence, I am of opinion that no blame is to be attached to the master McColl, or the crew. Every precaution appears to have been exercised before and after the stranding of the vessel, and no effoit was neglected to get her out of danger. The circumstances attending the stranding ; the sudden dropping and variableness of the wind, thereby causing the vessel to lose headway, were such that could not be controlled, nor anticipated. I am of opinion that every effort was made by the master, crew, and people ashore, to get her into deep water, and that their unsuccessful endeavors were not owing to any want of exertion or proper means being used. Wanganui, Friday. The five men charged with having assaulted Burke,t the railway contractor, were brought up to-day, and discharged, after a long examination of witnesses. Four are Germans, and one a Dane. There was nothing to prove their guilt. Saturday. Maori election.—Poll at Wanganui : Kemp, 50 ; Hoani Keepa, 1 ; Parata, 0. This is nothing to go by, as Maoris are sure to vote for their local candidates. New Plymouth, Friday. The Grand Lodge of Good Templars continued in session till noon to-day, when the business was completed. The lodge adjourned till the 19th January, 1877, in Wellington. A public meeting was held last night, when several Good Templars addressed those assembled. Amongst those that spoke were Messrs. Stickley, Riely, W. Cole,. Speight, and Jenkins, all of Auckland ; and Mr. South, of Wellington. The members of the Auckland lodges leave to-day, per the Go-Ahead. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: —J. Speight, Thames, G.W.C. Templar ; Reves Edgar, Auckland, W. Councillor ; Mary Collis, New Plymouth, G.W.V. Templar ; S. Buckland, G.W. Secretary ; W. Cole, Auckland, G.W. Chaplain ; Bro. J. Johnston, Wellington; G. Marshall, AssistantSecretary ; J. Waymouth, Auckland, DeputyMarshall ; W. Wardrope, Wellington, Guard,; Davidson, New Plymouth, Sentinel ; South, Wellington ; Superintendent Juvenile Templars, Stickley, Auckland. Tuesday. Re the finding of gold in Taranaki, the Budget says : —A man named Cornelius Casey (not Carey, as given in the telegram), who owns land at Patea, purchased a horse in New Plymouth for the purpose of riding down the country about two years ago, he having just arrived from Auckland. The same man during the past month came to town from the back of the mountain, riding one horse and leading another, on which were tightly strapped what appeared to be two bags of flour. It had been raining heavily, and the man was spattered ■with mud, but he was anxious to get on board a steamer just leaving for Auckland. His hurry to get away led Sergeant Duffin to ask him a few questions, as he happened to know the man well. Nothing could be got from Casey as to his business, but he said, “You shall know all about it when I come back.” He was too late for the steamer then leaving, but he went by the Ladybird on the Ist of January. He said , he had come from the direction of Patea by

the mountain road, and when asked why he did not come by the coast road instead of risking a journey after so much wet weather by the mountain road, simply said he specially wanted to go by the mountain road. If the man Carey (as per telegram) and Casey (who lately left here for Auckland) are one and the same, the wonderment as to how the quartz could have got to Grahamstown will cease, and it may yet turn out that the gold has actually been found in this province. The Colonial Architect, Government Surveyor, and others, are engaged in selecting a site for a central prison.

Christchuch, Friday. The Canterbury cricket team for the interprovincial match leave for Dunedin to-day. It is considered the strongest ever sent. Longstop, in the Times, says:—The team is strongest in bowling, stronger in batting ; but strongest in fielding. The Kaiapoi clerical scandal has resulted in a letter to a parishioner of Kaiapoi by the Primate, in which he says that portion of the charges, borne out by evidence, only showed that Carlyon had evinced a want of judgment and discretion by his eagerness to carry out his ministrations in ways he had found useful and successful in his English cure, but which were novelties in Kaiapoi, and had thus given some color to the charges against him ; and the Primate considered it due to Carlyon and the interests of the church, that Carlyon should retain his cure of Kaiapoi.

Monday. At the Magistrate’s Court this afternoon, Michael Galvin was committed for trial on a charge of being one of the burglars who ill-used Henry Cutter at his house in Riccarton-road on the night of December 18, and carried away £3OO. The evidence is strong, and contains several criminating admissions and statements made by the prisoner, while drunk some days after the robbery.

The New Zealand Primitive Methodist Conference opened here to-day. Only formal business has been transacted as yet. The Primitive Methodists held a camp meeting in Cranmer-square yesterday, when there was a large attendance.

Timaru, Saturday. The Lyttelton Times, yesterday, in a long leader, attempted to prove Wakefield’s election for Geraldine null and void, on the alleged ground that the Returning Officer had not given forty-eight hours’ notice of the declaration of the poll. The Timaru Herald this morning says the Times totally misinterprets the law; that the Returning Officer gave several days notice, and that if the Geraldine election be illegal, Port Chalmers, Christchurch, Lyttelton, Coleridge, Heathcote, and most of the others are illegal also. The Times supposes forty-eight hours necessary after close of the poll, but the Act provides that the poll shall be declared “at a time to be fixed, of which at least forty-eight hours’ notice shall have been given.” Owen Carr, Mary Carr, and James Spratley, charged with the murder of Hannah, found in the Temuka river, were discharged for want of evidence, though still under the surveillance of the police. Robert Mitchell, farmer, charged with rape on a married woman at Totara Flat, was remanded. Wednesday. - The railway through to Timaru will be opened on Ist February. This line is over 100 miles long. At the Primitive Methodist Conference yesterday, the Rev. J. Dumbell was elected president, and the Rev. J. Standein secretary. The following statistics of the church in New Zealand were read : —There are 11 ministers, 46 congregations, and 819 church members, being an increase of 177 for the year. There are 1674 Sabbath scholars, and the church property is estimated to be of the value of £12,628. Dunedin, Friday. The following returns are to hand for the Waikaia election :—Bastings, 114 ; Ireland, 62. The return of the former is considered certain. At the evening sitting of the Presbyterian Synod the overture and instrumental music question will be brought forward. A lively discussion is expected. The returns for Otago railways for December were £12,998 ; for whole, £86,246. A fire broke out at 1.30 this morning in Brown’s flour mill, Bond-street. When first discovered a few buckets of water would have put it out. As it was, the brigade were slow in getting the hose on, and the bottom floor and top storeys were gutted. The middle floor, singular to state, was not damaged by the fire, as the flames 'shot up through the flour lifts, which acted as a kind of flue for the flames. The damage at present is not known, nor the origin. The Evening Star office next door was at one time in danger, also the Harbor Company’s offices. The insurances are —National, £SOO on plant, £250 stock ; South British, £250 on plant, £250 on stock ; Transatlantic, £250 on stock. Satm'day. It is stated that E. N. Legge, of Helenbrook, Milton, is about to enter an action against one of the Insurance Companies in Dunedin for £IO,OOO damages, arising from complications resulting from the late fire. An inquiry is being held into the stranding of the steamer Lady of the Lake, at Gatlin’s River. There have been several new cases of scarlet fever reported the last two or three days. The man Lawson, a sailor on the Jessie Readman, whose leg was smashed on Tuesday while loading wool, died in the hospital yesterday. At the inquest a verdict of accidental death was returned. There was a long argument yesterday re the release of Jenkins, charged with incendiarism. Counsel for defence urged that the flaw in the Coroner’s inquisition justified an acquittal. His Honor reserved judgment. The Presbyterian Synod is now sitting.

James Rattray, who has just returned from home, has presented the province with a splendid oil portrait of Captain Cook, copied from the one in Greenwich Hospital, which was taken from life.

In yesterday’s Clutha Leader there appears the following letter from Mr. Macandrew:— “ It appears to have been stated at the Clutha nomination yesterday, upon what authority X know not, that the Hon. Sir Julius Vogel is to join the Opposition, and that in fact he and I are to form a Government. Although this is no doubt a very flattering compliment to me, it is due to the Clutha electors to say that I have no knowledge as to what the future line of action of Sir Julius may be. If I am to judge of his opinions and policy by those of his colleagues in the Government, the one contingency is just as unlikely as the other.” Monday. The result of the polling at Naseby, St. Bathans, for Mount Ida election is:—Delatour, 163; Chapman, 42. Other returns are still to come in, but will all increase Delatour’s majority.

A sad case of drowning occurred in the Upper Harbor on Saturday afternoon. Two young men who were clerks in Butterworth’s store-, named McCourt and Allen, were in a small sailing boat, when the mainsail jibed, and the boom striking McCourt, knocked him overboard. Allen was quite distracted, and could render his companion no assistance. He could have sailed down to him, but, instead of that, he lost all presence of mind and made for the jetty. McCourt kept above water some time, and Sims, a swimming master, happening to be near, pulled towards him, but when within a chain of the drowning man he sank. Sims dived three or four times, but could not see deceased owing to the muddy state of the water. The harbor was dragged on Sunday, and the body recovered. At the inquest held to-day, the jury returned a verdict of “accidentally drowned.”

Wednesday. Mr. De Latour is returned for Mount Ida by a majority of 235. He is a provincialist.

Port Chalmers, Monday. A swordfish, measuring 10ft. 4in. long by 4ft. 4in. across, was captured in a bay close to the Quarantine Island this afternoon by a waterman, after a determined fight on both sides. It is said to be the first of the genus seen in New Zealand waters.