TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5524, 10 December 1878, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

(from a CORRESPONDENT.) Carterton, Monday. Hired labor in the district is very scarce. The laborers at the Greytuwn River works, who wore paid at the rate o£ Is. per hour, left off work on Saturday, and refuse to resume unless the rate-is increased. The trifling land slips caused by Saturday’s storm on the incline section of the railway were repaired on Sunday, and caused no delay to the traffic. (PER PRESS AGENCY). Auckland, Monday. The Sydney7/cr«W states that at a recent meeting of the High Commissioners Court at Levuka a summons was applied for against the Rev. G. Brown, for alleged manslaughter, but his friends at Fiji thought it would be fairer that he should be tired in New Britain. It will probably be some time before the High Commissioners can proceed to Fiji to inquire. Only one firm now holds out against the grocers’ halE.holiday. During the Catholic temperance procession yesterday a demented woman, wearing an orange sash, crossed through the ranks, and persisted in walking beside the carriage containing the priests. A horseman riding besido the carriage tried to force the woman out of the way, when a bystander said, “ If you touch that woman I’ll, drag you off your horse.” The woman then proceeded unmolested. Mr. Hoskins and Miss Colville appeared to a good house at the Theatre Royal on Saturday night in “ The Serious Family.” Mr. J. Y. Stevenson, of Olarko and Sons, died to-day. Eleven hundred Catholics, in a temperance procession yesterday, headed by a man bearing the Union Jack, with bands playing and green banners waving, marched through the principal streets. The brigantine Meg Merrilies arrived at six a’clock this evening from the Islands. Considerable excitement was caused when itjbecame known that Captain Moller, well known in Auckland, had been murdered several weeks ago, and that McArthur and Co. s trader, Thomas Reynolds, was arrested, charged with the crime. The circumstances are alleged to be as follows The morning after the brigantine arrived at Butavlava they began taking in copra for McArthur and Co. The captain and Reynolds could not agree. Captain Moller went ashore for the purpose of bringing off trade. Reynolds was walking about ashore with a gun loaded with shot. The captain was about to take a cask of beef, when Reynolds, said “ If you touch that you are a ■dead man.” Ho then fired at Captain Moller, and the shot took effect in the left arm. The vessel then proceeded to Ebon, in the Marshall Group, to find a doctor. Next morning the captain was taken ashore to the American Mission, where ho expired in great agony. Reynolds was arrested after shooting by Messrs. Breveu, Disney, and- Grant, and brought to Auckland and handed to the police. He will be charged at the Police Court tomorrow. On the arrival of the schooner, Holler’s wife, ignorant of his death, met the vessel in the stream. There was a harrowing scene. Napier, Monday. The Supreme Court sittings opened to-day before Judge Gillies. His Honor congratulated the Grand Jury on the calendar not being heavy. In respect to the horse-stealing case from outside the district, he remarked upon the disgraceful way the depositions were sent up. Were it not, he said, that the magistrate was already removed from the Bench, he would have reported the matter. Thomas Trout was convicted of forgery, and sentenced to eighteen months’ hard labor. Kereki Koumalii, for horse-stealing, was remanded for

sentence. William James Hickson, for uttering forged cheques, was sentenced to nine months. In the case of Charles Stewart, for stealing jewellery in a registered post office packet addressed to Charles Stuart, the jury found that prisoner received the packet without felonious intent, but afterwards retained it with felonious , intent. Judge Gillies ruled that that was a verdict of not guilty under the section of the Act under which prisoner was indicted. Had he been indicted under the 46th section, instead of the 41st, the finding of the jury would have amounted to a verdict of guilty. It might be said there was a failure of justice through the prisoner being wrongly indicted. There is another charge against the prisoner—.that of detaining a letter after Us being demanded from him—and on that he will be tried to-morrow. Tauranga, Monday. ; The Tamaki, ketch, which was supposed to b?: ashore at "Waiheke, has arrived from the Barrier with a full cargo of firewood. Blenheim, Monday. There was a severe hailstorm over Picton and the coast this morning. The hailstones were as big as marbles. Several windows were broken. and crops damaged. The storm .aiTfar.as Blenheim, but came /Within a r few miles of . Reefton, Monday. \PantoluS-- .Company ■ ’ have cleared up after a trial crashing of 36 tons of stone, which s gtfeJjled %78 ounces of retorted gold. A dividend cis£9{p«t> Share; '.<20,00.0 * has been declar&d^and; ihirailfcramount will be divided from nexf crushing.' The mine looks remarkably well. Christchurch, Monday. The three boys charged with incendiarism were discharged with a caution, it being clearly proved that the fire was the result of an accident through their playing with matches. At a meeting of the City Council this afternoon a long letter was read from Dr. Foster, the City Solicitor, who stated that many decisions that had been given in the Police Court against the Council on the subject of City By-laws arose altogether through the Council not haviin framing them. The intention to resigjt'jiU • pdsiii6fi~-^^o|ty but he shouldmot dp ~so. until tHe.taottbh that had been, tabled \ witter regard ( to feos p£.id to him had motion &i question will be dealt with, this evening; ••/ The amoupt; raised:ia'Ghrist church and ,of the'-suflerers by the Waimate fire is i£3Oo, of which Mr. John Ollivier personally collected £260. A very successful bazaar in aid of the convent funds opened this afternoon. At a meeting of the Supply Committee this morning a feeling seemed to prevail that for the present at least it would be advisable only to a temporary scheme for supplying water for sanitary and fire-prevention purposes, Dunedin, Monday. Several young men, while bathing at the Ocean Beach on Saturdiy, had a narrow escape from a shark fifteen feet long, which was seen prowling about a few minutes after they left the water. A young man who left Dunedin a couple of months ago has been amvted by Detective Bain in Sydney for forgery. G. M. Reed, on relinqui-h :ig the editorship of the Daily Times, was with a diamond ring on Saturday by the staff of that paper. The Hon, Mr, Macandrew has directed that free passages shall be issued to volunteers attending Sir John Richardson's funeral. Some discussion took place at the meeting of the Council re two tenders in connection with the water supply. Proudfoot and Mackay were the lowest for one, and Henderson and Fergus the lowest for the other. Proudfoot would not take one unless he got both, and his tenders in the aggregate were lower than Henderson and Fergus. It was proposed, arid carried by the casting vote ;of the Mayor (Leary), who also gave a deliberative vote, that Proudfoot and Mackay should get both contracts. The matter will, however, be further discussed on Thursday. Balclutha, Monday. The weather is extremely stormy. The river ’ bank behind the township has been washing away at an alarming rate for the past few days, worse than at any time during the floods. Since last night the bank has gone twentyseven feet ; the river is now only a hundred yords from the houses in Charlotte-street, Hislop’s house is to be removed to-morrow; the river is now within twelve feet of his house. Protective works are to be commenced to-morrow. Engineers have been examining the bridge, with the view of reporting the cost of re-erection to the Government. Invercargill, Monday. A meeting of the citizens of Invercargill was held in the Athenreum this afternoon to take steps for the institution of a memorial ©f the late Sir John Richardson. The attendance was influential, though not numerically large. It was unanimously agreed that the memorial should be of an educational character, as the form most compatible with the career of the deceased gentleman. . Three suggestions were placed before the meeting—the creation of a scholarship in the local high schools in Otago, in Otago University, or in connection with the New Zealand University. After some conversation it was agreed that the last-named was the only suggestion which would appropriately do honor to the memory of the deceased, and a committee, consisting of Messrs. Wade, Denniston, and Pearson, was appointed to correspond with the centres of population in the colony, for concerting measures or raising funds for the establishment of such a scholarship Mr. Pearson, who is to visit Dunedin to-morrow, was authorised to put the matter in train in that city. A heavy south-west gale has been blowing all day.