TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5062, 14 June 1877, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

(PER PRESS AGENCY.) Auckland, Wednesday.

Captain Young has arrived from Rorotonga to superintend the erection of an oil mill to crush copra here instead of transhipping it to England. A volunteer artillery corps is to be established at Onehunga. The funeral of Pilling was largely attended to-day. At a meeting of the City Council a letter from the Town Clerk of Christchurch was read, which expressed dissatisfaction at the method employed by the Government in deducting portions of the subsidy for charitable purposes, aud proposed a meeting of delegates at Wellington. Erringtou has been appointed consulting engineer for the waterworks, at a salary of £l5O. A letter was read from the Colonial Secretary, saying that the Government would forward a Bill for making a loan of £25,000, authorised for completing the waterworks, a second charge on a special rate, to be levied under the Act of 1876, it the said Bill is prepared by the Council and laid before the House. Napier, Wednesday. At the Supreme Court yesterday, John Cartright aud James Peters were acquitted on [a charge of false pretences. Charles Henry luglo pleaded guilty to a charge of forging two small cheques, amounting to £6 ss. Hans Petersen was acquitted on a charge of arson. The principal witness against him was a Maori woman married to a white man, and she admitted having been imprisoned six mouths for stealing a watch. Prisoner received an excellent character from witnesses of undoubted credibility. There was an indictment against some man for assaulting the same Maori woman with intent, but no evidence was offered upon it, aud the Judge directed an acquittal. This morning Ingle, for forgery, was sentenced to two years, with hard labor. The whole day was occupied with the trial of James Ncagle and three others for forcible entry of premises that had belonged to Neagle, but which were at the time in the possession of Macffarlane on a bill of sale from Neagle to McArthur and Co., of Auckland. Rees prosecuted. The jury found Neagle guilty, aud acquitted the others. Neagle was sentenced to pay a fine of £100; in default, three months’ imprisonment, without hard labor. The fine was paid immediately on the rising of the Court.

Nelson, Wednesday. The City Council has unanimously appointed Mr. Everett, Mayor of Nelson, to represent them at the} conference of municipal delegates to be held at Wellington. Hokitika, Wednesday. The river is subsiding. No damage has been done. There is a heavy sea on the bar. Christchurch, Wednesday. Murray-Aynsley addressed the electors at Lyttelton last night. He reviewed shortly the events of last session. In reply to questions he said he was strongly opposed to Stout’s Local Option Bill, and would vote for public-houses being opened for a short time on Sundays. He was in favor of secular education, with a nominal charge of 2s. 6d. per child, or 10s. per family. Was not an advocate for compulsory education. A vote of thanks for the address was carried. A vote of confidence was proposed, but after considerable opposition, was, at Murray-Aynsley’s request, withdrawn.

The Primate and several leading ministers will speak at Stout’s meeting re Local Option Bill,

Timaru, Wednesday. At the Supreme Court Fnendlander was acquitted of rape. Toll, on whom sentence had been deferred, bolted from the gang on the way to the gaol. The warder fired three shots, but missed him. Three previous convictions being proved, the Judge sentenced him to ten years, Kedlan and Davis, convicted of highway robber}', received four years and eighteen months respectively. Mr. Stout lectured last night on the Local Option Bill. Resolutions were passed in favor of the Bill, and a petition was adopted for Mr. Stafford to present to the Assembly. . Ashburton, Wednesday. The first number of a weekly paper called the Ashburton Mail was published here yesterday by Joseph Ives, proprietor of the Alcaroa Mail. Christchurch, Wednesday. Very heavy rain fell last night. All the rivers are very high. In the Waimakariri a heavy flood overflowed the banks on to the railway line, and about midday traffic was completely stopped. On the south railway line to Rakaia it washed away part of the approaches to a bridge, delaying the traffic. The weather having been fine all day, the rivers are now subsiding. A man named Hugh Fergusson, who arrived from Wellington last Saturday, dropped down dead in Franks’*, boarding-house. Congestion of the brain is supposed to be the cause of death. Invercargill, Wednesday An alarm of fire was raised this morning, when it was found that some of the weatherboards at the back of a shop occupied by Peters, a draper, had been ignited through a?[box in which lighted ashes were deposited catching fire. There was a plentiful supply of water available, and the fire was at once quenched. The damage done is trivial. The Supreme Court has been sitting all day. It was occupied till midnight. Burns was acquitted on both indictments for cattlekilling. Monaghan's case (murder) is now on. THE LIBEL CASE AT TIMA KIT. Timaru, Wednesday. The libel case, Reed v. Sherrin, occupied all this morning. Mr. Stout and Mr. Hamersley appeared for the prosecution, and Sherrin was undefended. The evidence showed that the statements mn.de in the Waitangi Tribune against Mr. George McCullogh Reed were totally unfounded; but it did not fully establish that Sherrin knew them to be untrue. After some deliberation the jury found Sherrin guilty of writing and publishing the libel, but not of knowing it to be false. It was then arranged between counsel, with the permission of the Judge, that Cuming|should plead guilty of the libel, but not of knowing it to be false. Mr. Joynt defended Cuming, and pleaded, in mitigation of sentence, that he was intoxicated when Sherrin persuaded him to publish the letter against Reed. The Judge spoke very severely to the defendants, pointing out the danger to society arising from an abuse of the liberty of the Press. Mr. Reed, through his counsel, stated that he had no vindictive feeling, and did not press for a heavy sentence. The Judge said that in a libel case the punishment must be such as to vindicate public justice, he therefore condemned Sherrin to three months’ imprisonment, he having already been three months in gaol ; and fined Cuming £IOO, remarking that the amount would have been much greater had Cuming been a man of means. The money not being immediately paid Cuming was detained in custody, but was presently released on the fine being paid by a Timaru person.