TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5029, 7 May 1877, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

(per press agency.) Auckland, Saturday. There has been a fearful case of burning to death beyond Lucas' Creek. William John Peacock, a notorious drunkard, who had had several hairbreadth escapes, got a bottle of rum at Riverhead yesterday, and after coming home drank the whole bottle between 5 and 8 o'clock. He went to bed and asked a youth named Nesbitt, who lived with him, to give him a light for his pipe. After smoking some time, he went out and re-lighted the pipe. Nesbitt, who went asleep, was soon wakened by a crackling noise, and saw the head of Peacock’s bed in flames. He could not awaken Peacock. He then tried to drag him out, but, being a very heavy man, only got him as far as the door of the partition. Soon after a powder flask under Peacock’s bed exploded, and a gun on the wall went off. Nesbitt was obliged to leave the building. He alarmed a neighbor, but when both returned, the roof had fallen in, and the body was burnt all but the trunk. It is supposed Peacock threw a match into the thatch when lighting his pipe. Police gone up. Considerable dissatisfaction is caused by a combination of twenty bakers to raise the price of bread to sd. the 21b. loaf. The Insurance Buildings narrowly escaped fire to-day, caused by a lighted match thrown down the grating. The rafters were ignited, but the fire was extinguished. A man named Anderson was stabbed in the eye by a man named Healey in Queenstreet this afternoon. Christchurch, Saturday. The Governor is expected to visit Canterbury in about a fortnight. He will be invited to open the new Canterbury College building and new Museum building. In connection with the latter an exhibition of works of art and vertu, extending over eight days, is to be held. Ashburton Races (second day).—Publicans Purse : Eclipse, 1 ; Laddie, 2 ; The Chief, 3. Free Handicap : Eclipse, 1 ; Maritana, 2^; Grey Momus, 3. Consolation Stakes : Maritana, 1 ; Laddie, 2.

At a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Canterbury College yesterday the terms on which the promoters of the Medical School are willing for it to become a department of the College were discussed. The principal conditions were to the effect that the Governors of the College should ask the Government for an endowment of five thousand acres of land for a medical school, and that the members of tlie faculty should themselves manage the school, subject to certain supervision by the Board of Governors. The matter was ultimately deferred for further consideration. At a meeting of discharged Provincial Government officers, it was resolved that this meeting, being dissatisfied with the present action of the Colonial Government withholding compensation granted to discharged Civil servants under the Abolition of ITovinces Act, it resolves to try every legal and constitutional means to assert, and if necessary to enforce its claims. An association was then formed to carry out the resolution in the best manner possible.

Timaru, Saturday. Fears are entertained for the safety of the schooner Rose Anna Rose, which put out to sea witli the rest of the fleet some days since. All the other vessels have returned. The captain was ou shore, and the mate ,was in charge of the schooner.

Great preparations are making for the annual gathering of the South Canterbury Athletic Club next week. There will be two days’ hunting with the Hunt Club hounds, a steeplechase at Waimate, &c. People from all parts of the island are expected. Wheat is improved, the price now being 4s 6d. to sa.

Dunedin, Saturday. £650 has been promised towards the funds of the Sailors’ Home building committee. They expect to raise £ISOO. An influential deputation from the Chamber of Commerce waited upon Mr. G. McLean today, and stated that it had been felt for some past that the Government were not pushing on with the breaks on material lines so far as Otago was concerned. Mr. McLean replied that, with regard to those lines ■which required only permanent way to be laid, or were near completion, on which large amounts of money had been spent, the Govern- , ment were just as anxious as the deputation to get them completed. There was no justicafcion for the statement that the northern line was not being pushed forward. The delay in connection with the southern lines was consequent upon Waitepeka deviation j but as money was not plentiful, and as the credit of New Zealand was not in such a comfortable position as they could wish it to be, it was the desire of the Government to work matters in such a way as to raise the credit of the colony, again, by showing that our railways so far were reproductive, and by keeping out of the money market for a little. With that desire the Government had made arrangements in . Sydney for getting money for some time to come, and the works referred to by the deputation would be proceeded with at a reasonable rate, and consistently with doing justice to every part of the colony. The deputation then discussed the dock question, and a counter deputation expressed their views on the matter. Mr. McLean, in effect, replied that it was for the Harbor Board to decide as to site of docks and railway station. Mr. McLean leaves Dunedin to-night.

The annual report of the Education Board has been published. There are 165 elementary schools in the province, with a staff of 329 teachers. The number of children on the roll is 18,350 ; the average daily attendance is 11,210. The abstract of ages shows :—*4B7 under five, 9837 from five to ten, 10,447 from ten to twelve, 3162 from twelve to fifteen, and , 417 above that age. 17,791 attended the dia- , trict schools, and 559 attended four free schools. The increase in the attendance for the year has been—number of enrolments, 2253 ; average daily attendance, 1388 ; the attendance at close of the year, 1441. The number of pupils returned as learning higher rules of arithmetic, was 2856 ; mathematics, 431 ; geography, 10,581 ; history, 1528 ; English grammar, 10,362 ; bookkeeping, 331 ; drawing or mapping, 5025 ; singing from notes, 6508 ; Latin, 271 ; French, 233 ; Greek, 6 ; sewing (girls), 4751. The attendance at the Boys’ High School for the first quarter of the present year, was 186, as compared with 159 at the close of 1875. The attendance of girls at the High school has largely increased, having reached 195 during the second quarter of last year, while the present quarter's attendance is 183, of whom 20 are resident boarders, and 3307 received instruction in the School of Arts in 1876, being an increase of 1039 over the pre* vious year. The Normal School afforded instruction to 700 children, 27 male and 28 female students had received training as teachers. During the year the expenditure on school buildings amounted to £20,735 18s. lid. The abstract of receipts and expenditure account of the education reserves shows—Receipts for rent, leases, etc., Dunedin, £3660 13s. lid.; Invercargill, £1540 11s. 7d.; total, £5201 Bs. 6il, Payments, total, £5201 Ss. In addition to reserves, there are portions of runs in Otago and Southland Districts set apart as education reserves, but not yet Crown granted. Kents for such reserves were collected and entered as provincial revenue, and amounted last year to the following sums:—Otago, £5165 14s. 5d.; Southland, £1409 195.; total, £6575 13s. sd. The expenditure for salaries, chiefly on schools, was as follows:—Office expenditure, £2142 4d.; elementary and grammar schools, £23,439 Id. Boys’ High School, £2769 10s, Bd.; Girls’ do, £1513 11s. 3d.; High School (repairs, janitor, &c,), £B2l 2s. 7d.; Normal School, £3352 16s. 2d.; sundries, £2077 10s. 4d. To this must be added a sum of £20,735 16s. lid,, expended on school buildings and repairs, and the sum of £18,472 11s. 2d., raised by school committees from school fees, subscription, &c., and expended by them on teachers’ salaries, repairs, &c., making the total expenditure £75,314 Is. sd. For the year the receipts, independent of the Government revenue, amount to £9273 3s. Bd., and the charge on ordinary Government revenue is £26,842 7s. Bd.

ENGLISH MAIL NEWS. (PER EINGAROOJIA AT THE BLUFF.) Melbourne, April 30.

Captain Thomson, of the Challenger, has been appointed to the command of the Koval yacht Victoria and Albert. Sir J. Paget sue* ceeds as Surgeon-Major to the Queen.

Several naval disasters are chronicled. The Sirius and Thetis are both disabled; and the Lynx, with a crew of over one hundred men, has not been heard of since last November,

The report of theAdmiraltycommittee shows that although limejuice was recommended to sledging parties, Sir George Nares decided to omit it, as the men had been previously saturated with limejuice.

Five new ironclads are to be added to the service this year—the Dreadnought, Nelson, Northampton, Shannon, and Tetnerare. A new description of vessel, a torpedo ratrv carrying no guns, is to be constructed. Sir Harding Gifford, the Solicitor-General, has found a seat for Launceston, and Sydney Herbert, brother of the Earl of Pembroke, is returned for Wilton.

Eleven steamers are advertised to sail for Melbourne, via the Cape. There is an immense demand for American meat. Shops for the sale of it have been opened in the suburbs of London. Captain Havelock, late Colonial Secretary of Fiji, bas been appointed President of the Island of Nevis, in the West Indies. Great distress prevails amongst the working men of Germany, and large immigration has taken place into Belgium. The famine in southern India continues very severe, and it is feared that the July and August crops will be a comparative failure. Harrowing accounts are given of the famine in Northern China, where no aid is available for the unfortunate people. The Times notices that Lord Mayor Cotton has received from the Mayor of Dunedin a sum of £IBO, contributed in Otago towards the relief of th® sufferers in Bulgaria, and remarks that it was the only public subscription for the purpose in the Australian colonies.

The Bishop of Nelson has replied to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s invitation to attend the approaching Pan-Anglican Synod, that he is prevented by pressing work lu hh diocese, tut he strongly

disapproves of resolutions carried at any such meetings being elevated to the rank of authoritative decisions. Ho thinks that the independence of ecclesiastical provinces will be endangered by such a conference, and that it will lead to centralisation. Obituary.—Field-Marshal Fitzgerald and Admiral Sir F. Belcher. AUSTRALIAN SUMMARY. Melbourne, April 30. The Premier announced the Government policy at Warrnarabool. It includes a reduction of 20 per cent, on duties for purposes of freeing trade, a land tax and stamp tax, which will be sufficient to meet the reduction from the Customs ; Legislative Council reform, by increasing the number of members and provinces ; lowering the qualification of electors and members ; the time for holding land before a title is granted is to bo increased from three to ten years ; a Mining on Private Property Bill and Civil Service Reform Bill are amongst the principal measures promised. The policy generally has been favorably received. Berry and Casey have been very bitter against it, and there is a promise of a want of confidence motion as seen as the new House meets. The elections are occupying all the public attention, and some excitement exists. Colonel Scrolibly (?) and Sir William Jervois commence their duties here on the work of defence about June ; they begin first in Sydney. Five men belonging to the Admiralty surveying vessel were lost last week in Banks Strait through the boat capsizing during a squall. Richard Ford, town clerk of Ballarat, has been appointed secretary to the new Harbor Trust Commission, at a salary of £750 a year. There were sixty applicants. The railway to Dunkeld has been opened, 47 miles from Ararat. Business is improving; the markets hardening on receipt of war news. The theatres are not doing much ; four are now open, besides other places of amusement. Mrs. Jury, the real sister of Arthur Orton, has come out here expecting to sec her brother in Paramatta Asylum. Very heavy rains have fallen. It is now turning cold and wintry.