TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4496, 17 August 1875, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

(prom odb own correspondents.) ; Auckland, Monday. Old Duder, the signalman, is dead. He has had a chequered career. He was wrecked in the Buffalo, store ship, at Mercury Island, in 1850, twenty-five years ago. He was afterwards tried at the Supreme Court on a charge of murdering Captain Snow and family. He was proved completely innocent, and the real murderer, named Bams, and wife, were afterwards convicted; Barns being hung, and his wife imprisoned for life. Duder was much respected, and had acquired’some property at the North Shore, although he was a petitioner to the Assembly this session for a grant on account of long service. The provincial accountants received a letter from Ridgway and sons, to whom the £BO was payable, for which Leggett, Clerk of the Provincial Council, was convicted for embezzling, showing that Leggett at the time when he took the money had written to his friends asking them to pay Ridgway £IOO on behalf of the Provincial Council. They were willing to do so, but wrote back asking for more information. This letter was miscarried, and Leggett believing his friends had taken no notice of it, abandoned himself to his fate. A petition to the Governor is circulating in favor of Leggett’s pardon.

Dunedin, Monday.

Larnach and Stout are both addressing the electors to-night. The odds are in favor of Larnach’s return.

The Guardian to-day has a capital article on Reynolds’s statement on marine affairs, and says great credit is due to the Minister of the Marine Department. Another narrow escape from fire occurred in a warehouse in Stafford-street yesterday morning. It arose from cinders igniting the floor after everybody had left. It was promptly extinguished by the police. In all probability the district of Caversham will be formed into a municipality. There was a deputation to the Deputy-Superinten-dent this morning on the subject, and there will be a public meeting this evening. The question of Mabel’s disqualification was re-opened to-night. It was resolved that the proceedings should be private. Councillor Leary is now addressing the ratepayers on the question of gas, at the Odd Bellows’ Hall.

The value of Otago Daily Times shares, as wired up by the Press Agent here, is purely fictitious. The fact is, one of the Guardian shareholders wanted to get into the enemies camp, and proposed to purchase some of the shares of a Times' shareholder at the market price. According to the rules of the company the directors had the first option, and rather than the person in question should have them, they paid £6O each for the five. As the gentleman referred to declares he will still purchase, it is not unlikely that the shares may be ran up to £IOO, to the detriment of the shareholders.

The Star to-night wants to know where the Daily Times acquires its information regarding public opinion, seeing that the Times this morning said there was no doubt that public opinion in Otago was in favor of delay. The Star goes on to say: “It is continually revealing something that nobody ever dreamt of until seeing its columns. Its long article versus abolition, the peril of our education reserves, and the basis of public opinion, reads very like a clumsy attempt at canard manufacture. With the exception of Mr. Stout and seventy or eighty of his constituents, the gullible people at the Kaikorai, and the Daily Times, the inhabitants of Dunedin do not appear to be excited on the abolition question, and we think they are very wise not to stultify themselves on the subject. They have frequently pronounced emphatically against Northern sponging, and the tone of the Northern journals points to the spirit that prevails in regard to our unappropriated land fund. The Daily Times this morning resorts to a most disreputable political subterfuge, and on the weakest of all weak pretences endeavors to excite public feeling against the Bill, on the alleged assumption that if it passes our educational reserves will be sxxbject to x-e----alloeation by the Assembly, because fox-sooth they will be vested in the Governor instead of the Superintendent of the province.”

Mr. Justice Williams has commenced the business of the Supreme Court in bankruptcy and banco. There was a preliminary sparring match between Barton and Macassey, to see whose case should be heard first.

(per press agency.) Auckland, Moxxday.

The City Council unanimously resolved today to petition the House of Representatives against making the Mayor elected by the ratepayers, .os contemplated in Sheehan’s Bill. The Karangahape and Arch Hill districts are convened to meet at Newton, on Wednesday, re abolition.

/ Dunedin, Monday. \J The match Delaney v. Edwards, the former to run ten miles while the latter walked seven, was won by Edwards. Time, 62min. 56Jseo. The match was considered squared. A Furnishing Company is announced, with a capital of £SOOO. There were two alarms of fire on Saturday morning ; one at Mill and Dick’s, printers, the other at Murray Roberts’. Not much damage from either. Nelson, Monday. At the Supreme Court to-day Alfred Hibble, late rate collector, pleaded guilty to a charge of embezzlement, and was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment. This was the only case. Greymouth, Monday. The result of a crushing by the Energetic Quartz Mining Company at Inangahua, from the 12th of July to the 14th of August, was 5440z5. 14dwts. of melted gold. A dividend of ss. per six-thousandth share has been declared. Dunedin, Monday. Blondin's agent arrived by the Omeo, and is making arrangements for the chevalier to perform here in December. His difficulty is to obtain ground for tent. He requires seventyfive spars, fifty-five feet long, for the enclosure.

The agent of E. D. Davies is here. Davies is the great American ventriloquist. He will arrive by the next Suez mail. Christchurch, Monday.

The Lyttelton Times this morning has a forcible reply to the Press leader of Saturday. The reply is divided into four parts. Three treat of the arguments used by the Press against road boards finance table, and the fourth deals with the abuse to which the Press leader resorted. The Times justifies the figures in its table on these grounds : First, it thinks the General Government grants to road boards are likely to continue if provincialism is not abolished, and gives good reasons for it; second, the special grants credited in the table to road boards under the provincial system ought to be so credited because, though for special purposes, they directly and indirectly benefit the road boards, and because the interests of the road boards and road districts are identical. The balance of the laud fund remaining after paying legal charges was not credited in this table to the new order of things, because the Times declines to believe in the stability of the proposed localisation of the land fund. It says:—“ The Abolition Bill does not lighten the burden of the impecunious provinces, and the expedient it offers for them to borrow on Treasury bills is extremely unsatisfactory, and cannot be used without damaging the already strained colonial credit. The plan is, therefore, sure to fail, and the land fund is the only resource left; and the Abolition Bill seeks to destroy the only safeguard it has, namely, Provincial Councils, while it at the same time strikes the first blow at the stability of its own clauses, by generalising the appropriation of that revenue. We consider, for these reasons, that the land fund is by no means to be looked upon as a permanent source of future revenue to the country districts. This opinion and others we have a perfect right to hold and express, without being subjected to charges of falsehood from monomaniacal ■writers of an abolitionist tendency." As to the personal aspect of the question, the Times accuses the Press of making the charge of dishonesty knowing it to be This is proved by references to its own articles, and to the manner in which the whole is drawn up.

The Times concludes as follows :—“We have received the criticism that we expected, and we have replied. We have also received from the Press abuse and misrepresentation, which we ought to have foreseen. We remember its diatribes on Mr. Maude, ill-grounded and coarse as they were. We remember its article on Sir Julius Vogel, and are aware that there is but one opinion about the indecent and violent abuse that article contains. We recollect too a very recent occasion on which we were wilfully misquoted, and do not feel surprised at the present charge of falsehood. We have proved our conduct of our cause to have been honest, and if that conduct had been distinguished by ‘ unscrupulous advocacy and unworthy practices,’ the Press is the last journal that should venture to cast a stone.”