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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 49, 3 May 1873, Page 2

Queen’s Birthday Anniversary Ball. — We hear that the officers and members of the Poverty Bay Mounted Volunteers contemplate demonstrating their loyalty by celebrating the coming anniversary of Her Majesty’s birthday with a ball. Military.—On Wednesday last the mounted and foot Volunteers held their usual monthly parade at Gisborne. The former practised at the butts and, we believe, made good shooting. A large accession of members has been made to both these corps lately, especially to the latter, whose recruit detachment alone mustered pretty strong.

Summary of land under cultivation in the District of Poverty Bay, including Muriwai and Tologa Bay, compiled from the Agricultural Statistics taken annually in February : —Land broken up, but not under crops 23 acres. In wheat, 15 acres ; produce, 248 bushels. In oats, green food, 17 acres ; grain, 41 acres ; produce 7531 bushels. In barley, 2} acres; produce 144 bushels. Sown grasses, 147 acres ; hay, 266 tons. In artificial grasses (including above) 12,753 acres. In potatoes, 15 acres; produce 88| tons, In other crops 48| acres. This does not include any native holdings.

Gisborne School.—The Committee of this school met for the transaction of business on Wednesday evening last. A letter was received from the Central Board informing the committee that their recommendations had been acceded to as follow: —Mr. Lysnar’s salary at the rate of £l5O a year; Mrs. Lysnar’s salary at the rate of £l5 a year, and rent for teacher’s residence at the rate of £25 a year, all of which are allowed provisionally up to the 30th of June next. £lO only was apportioned for the purposes of the school building, out of the £6O recommended. A communication was received from Mr. King, claiming a balance of £2O on the school building. The commmittee after consultation, dcided that as they were elected under the new Act, which makes no provision for matters of the kind, they cannot entertain the application. Mrs. Wrightson applied for an increase of remuneration for cleaning the school-room. The chairman was authorized to inform the applicant that there were no funds at disposal for the purpose. The chairman and Mr. Skeet were deputed to inspect the school on an early day and report to the committee on Saturday (this) evening. Provision was made towards obtaining a supply of stationery for the use of the school, and a scale adopted for the teacher to charge pupils for the -same. A man, named D. B. Barclay, has been remanded at Akaroa, Canterbury, by the Hokitika Bench, on a charge of illegally practising as a doctor of medicine.

The ground-work of an extensive system of sericulture is being formed in Canterbury. Mr. Armstrong, the Government gardener, has propagated 400 mulberry plants of the best varieties for sericulture.

Here is a scrap of statistical information which illustrates the great wealth of the two principal Australian colonies. In New South Wales and Victoria there are thirteen banks of issue, six of the number carrying on business in both places. The average deposits in these thirteen banks during the last quarter of 1872 amounted to more than 21f millions sterling. A further fact. The deposits held by one bank (the Bank of New South Wales) at all its places of business amount to more than £5,900,000, upon 3J millions of which no interest is paid. At the current rate of accumulation it would not be beyond the range of possibility to find foreign nations after a while endeavouring to borrow in the Australian money market.