TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5734, 15 August 1879, Page 4

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

(PER PRESS AGENCY.) Auckland, Thursday. Weston, an old settler, who died recently, bequeathed a hundred pounds each to six Episcopalian charities and churches. Election affairs are still in an unsettled state. No definite tickets on either side are yet announod. New Plymouth, Thursday. Two prisoners—Hall, of Dunedin, and a Maori—escaped from gaol yesterday, bat were speedily captured. Masterton, Thursday. Mr. H. Bannister, a very old settler, died this morning, after a long illness. Grahamstown, Thursday. Mr. Keurich, the newly-appointed Resident Magistrate and Warden, has arrived from Gisborne. Christchurch, Thursday. Sergeant O’Malley, who has been travelling in search of information in the case of McLennan, committed at Napier on a charge of murdering his wife, it is said has discovered important evidence of motive for the crime. The sub-committee appointed to consider the Town Hall designs received the report today, from which it appears that all are above the sum agreed upon, £20,000, and the committee are going to advise that cone of the competitors are entitled to the prize. Dunedin, Thursday. The Good Templars have issued a manifesto calling on their members to vote only for those candidates who will support the Local Option Bill.

Information was laid this evening against the secretary of another of our building societies for embezzlement. It is feared that the case will prove a second edition of the Chalmers Heed business. The directors of such companies are now beginning to wake up. The Benares inquiry has at length .been concluded. Among the witnesses to-day was Wm. Stanley Lucas, schoolmaster at the ICaik, who said : I rvas on Harrington Point when the Benares was rounding Pulling Point in tow of the tug. I went on the point below the pilot station, and heard a voice from the tug asking]" Are you fast V Then I distinctly heard a voice from the ship say “ Let go the hawser.” I heard nothing more, aud then went away thinking the ship had got over the bar all right. Judgment will be given on Saturday. A meeting of the Otago University Council was held to-day, when the Hon. H. S. Chapman wrote stating that his tenure of office as Chancellor expired to-day, aud he did not intend to offer himself for re-election, owing to the state of his health.

At a sale of Crown lands to-day the competition was spirited. The amount of land offered was, however, small. The runs offered were re-leased to the original holder—the Hon. 11. Campbell. The trustee’s report in Chalmers Eeid’s estate shows that the deficiency at the date of the bankruptcy was £7075 ; on the profit and loss account was £4401, of which' £2985 was unaccounted for. The liabilities were understated by £2599, which amount was due to the Colonial Building Society, whilst the value of the assets was greatly-overestimated. The actual assets (unsecured) amounted to £244, leaving the above deficit. The claims on the estate were £9OOO. The trustee thinks the estate will not realise more than fourpence in the pound. • Tiitahu, Thursday. Hart and Wilkie, auctioneers, intend commencing an action for £2OOO damages against the proprietor of the Mercantile Gazette for having published, on the 9th of August, certain matter calculated to damage his credit. The paragraph makes it appear that Jones made an assignment of furniture, &c., for the benefit of his own wife ; whereas it should have been an assignment of the furniture of the bankrupt to E. Scarfe, in trust for Mrs Scarfe.

Between one and two feet 'more snow fell in the back country during Tuesday night and Wednesday.