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New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4406, 4 May 1875, Page 2

At the meeting of the Waste Land Board, held yesterday morning at the Provincial Land Office, the members present were—Mr. Holdsworth, Chief Commissioner, Mr. Bunny, Mr. Pearce, and Mr. Jackson, Chief Surveyor. In connection with an application by Mr. John Sutherland, a tracing shelving sections Nos. 213, 214, and 215 in the Akitio block, Bast Coast, containing 4555 acres, was produced to the Board, and a report from the district surveyor read as to the character of the laud, when the Board declared the land to he pastoral. Mr. J. V. Smith, and several other purchasers of land on the East Coast, applied to the Board to have the land surveyed, pointing out the great inconvenience and hardship to which they had been subjected in consequence of the indefinite postponement of the decision of the Board as to whether the land was agricultural or pastoral, and dwelling upon the fact that as long as the decision was delayed it would be impossible to carry out fencing and other improvements, a condition of things which rendered their purchase's of little value. The Board decided that the survey could not be gone on with at present, but that if Mr. Smith and the other purchasers paid an additional 2s. 6d. an acre, the sale of the land would be declared complete. There being no other business, the Board adjourned. The births in the borough of Wellington, registered during April, amounted to 60, the deaths to 30, of which 15 were of boys and 15 of girls. 7 of the deaths were of children under one year; 5 of children, one to three years; and 18 of adults, of whom one was a female, aged sixty-nine. Zymotic diseases caused 14 of the deaths : of these, measles caused 1 ; scarlet fever, 1 ; typhoid fever, 6 ; diarrhoea, 5. Constitutional diseases caused ■ 3 deaths; one of these was from phthisis. Local diseases caused 10 deaths, including 3 from heart disease and 2 from bronchitis. 2 deaths (infants) were attributable to developmental diseases, and 1 female, an adult, died from the effects of burns.

The s.s. Albion, which comes from Melbourne to take away the outward mail via Suez, arrived off Hokitika last night. The bar was too rough to enable her to he tendered, and, therefore, the news brought by her had not come to hand when the Times went to press this morning. The weather during the last few days has been remarkably changeable, storms and calms alternating in almost a remarkable way. Some residents of the city found it so, to their, cost, on Sunday last, when —taking advantage of a fine morning—they went out to enjoy a day’s fishing. The sudden and heavy storm that came up from the southward, however, compelled them to find their way to shore, a long way from Te Aro beach, and to endure a fatiguing walk of seven or eight hours home, in the teeth of the wind and rain. Yesterday the weather was very little better, and in the afternoon a heavy rain set in from the southeast, which continued, with more or less frequent intermissions, during the night. Down South the weather appears to have been particularly bad. Our chief authority on these subjects—Captain Edwin—reports that a strong south-west gale has been experienced nearly everywhere between Napier and Tho Bluff since Saturday last. The barometer has moved very little, being generally low, and the gale has been accompanied by thunder and lightning at Port Chalmers; rain, hail, and snow having fallen pretty heavily over nearly the whole district. The steamer Charles Edward left Westport on Sunday night, and had to return, having experienced an unusually heavy sea from the westward after having passed Capo Eoulwind. Snow is lying low down on the ranges at Queenstown, Blenheim, and Westport; and a telegram from the latter place reports that the wind and sea are still increasing there. The s.s. Otago, having arrived at Lyttelton too late on Saturday to leave on the same day, will not be due here till this morning, and is expected to leave this afternoon for Melbourne, via Nelson.

The SiS, Otago may be expected in the harbor at an early hour this forenoon. In consequence of the of the weather there was no meeting of the Garrick Club last night, at the Bank Hotel The color of gold has been found by some native miners in Hicks’ Bay,- in the province of Auckland. It is anticipated that a payable goldfield will be found in that locality. Last night the extraordinary inclemency of the weather necessitated the postponement of Miss Jessie Raymond’s benefit at the Theatre Royal, for which great preparations had been made. It will take place on Wednesday night. It will not be forgotten that that the Sisters Duvalli will appear to-night, at the Odd Fellows’ Hall, in their unique entertainment, to which more special reference was made yesterday. They should be well received, for the public will be dull indeed if the sisters are not appreciated. To-night a soiree will take place in connection with the opening of the new school-room of St. John’s Presbyterian Church, Willisstreet. Tea will be on the table at half-past six o’clock p.m., and a public meeting will be held in the same place at half-past seven p.m. Addresses will be delivered by several gentlemen, lay and clerical, and the ahoir will give a number of selections.

We regret to announce the sudden death of Mr. Carter, an old and much respected officer ■belonging to her Majesty’s Customs, which took place on board the barque Sunbeam, yesterday afternoon, at 4.35 p.m. The deceased, who was a tide-waiter, was engaged in his ordinary duties on board the Sunbeam. He was writing at the cabin table along with the first officer (Mr. Gorrie) and another gentleman. Within five minutes' of his death, he appeared to be In the enjoyment of good health. Mr. Gorrie states that he suddenly observed Mr. Carter’s head to fall forward on his cheat, but he thought he was only seized with a fit of coughing. Becoming alarmed at the symptoms shown by Mr. Carter, he came to the conclusion that it was a fit he was suffering from, and he gave deceased some brandy, and unloosened his collar and wearing apparel. Medical assistance was at once sent for, and Dr. Tyghe, of the Edwin Fox, was in attendance within ten minutes from the time Mr. Carter was taken ill; but unfortunately his services were not required, as life was found to be extinct. The news of his sudden demise quite startled those who heard it on the wharf, as deceased had been observed walking about only a short time previous to his death. An inquest will be held on the body this day, at the Morgue, before Dr. Johnson, the coroner. The deceased leaves a wife and two sons to mourn his loss.

The soiree in aid of the funds of the Artillery Band came off last evening in the Odd Fellows’ Hall, and it would have been an unqualified success had the elements been propitious. As it was, there were about twenty couples dancing to the strains of sweet music discoursed by the band, under the able leadership of Bandmaster Cimiuo. Captain Pearce and the officers of the Artillery were present. At ten o’clock the committee decided to postpone the ball, in consequence of the paucity of the attendance.

“ Tahite,” the theatrical critic of the /hotralasian, in a late contribution, speaking, on the authority of a correspondent, of the late appearance of Miss May Howard at Christchurch, says:—“The May Howard season promises to be a brilliant one, although the public were disappointed at her non-appear-ance when first announced. But when, after her illness, she did appear-, hundreds were turned away from the doors, and the following evening the house was crammed. Your Auckland correspondent states that Miss Howard played * a tolerably successful season.’ As the average receipts for twenty-three nights were £4B per night, I think this was more than tolerable, considering the small population of Auckland.”

“Lucky Tauranga,” says a local journal. A few days ago, on a very special representation to the Defence Minister, Sir Donald McLean promised a gift of £55, to enable an artesian well to be completed. Now Mr. William Kelly, M.H.R., has taken upon himself the duty of reminding the Government that, “a loug time ago,” Mr. Vogel, as PostmasterGeneral, promised a public clock to Tauranga —and the public of that township are determined to have it.

The Hawke's Bay Herald of the 30th ultimo remarks :—“ We are very glad indeed to hear that the large amount of sickness which has prevailed lately in and around Napier is on the decline, and we trust that the worst is now over, and that for the future the province will continue to enjoy the high reputation it has acquired of being one of the most healthy districts in the proverbially salubrious climate of New Zealand. As to the precise nature of the pestilence which has visited us, its extent and virulence, its cause and cure, doctors will no doubt disagree, but we think it requires little, if any, medical knowledge to arrive at the conclusion that typhoid fever has carried to the grave a considerable number of persons within the past few months. Whether or not the disease was brought here by immigrant ships or had a local origin, we will leave others to decide : the important question is, what are the best means to be adopted to prevent its recurrence ? or, if it should again break out, how its ravages may be mitigated.” The Hawke's Bay Herald says :—“ Our Tauranga correspondent telegraphs as follows : — 1 The s.s. Rowena arrived on Tuesday, bringing as passenger Sergeant King, who was received with the hearty congratulations of the whole community. Yesterday overtures were made to him by Messrs. Tunks and Edgecumbe, to settle matters now pending for an action in the Supreme Court for false imprisonment, which were indignantly refused as being paltry and insignificant.’ ” Professor Yqung’s account of the observations of the transit of Venus, made by the American party at Pekin, is more favorable than was at first anticipated. The appearance of finger shadows between the planet’s rims, and the visibility of Venus before the first contact, says the New York Herald, are novel features in transit phenomena, although they may be accounted for by the action of Venus atmosphere. Victoria, says the New York Herald, has received the gift of a war club from Fiji. She has no immediate use for it, but it will be handy to have in the house, as it will make a good shillalah for the Duke of Connaught when he visits Ireland.