INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1719, 3 April 1888, Page 4

INTERPROVINCIAL NEWS.

Haddock, the alationmoster at Johnaonville, ha* been convicted of embezZ ing the money of the Wellington-Mauterton Railway Company, and released on six mon'hs’ probation. W. H. Jones, a young man, a veterinary surgeon, from Hawera, has been arrested at Wellington on an alleged charge of obtaining money under false pretences from W. Copeland Alexander. At a meeting of the Otago Charitable Aid Board a resolution was carried in tavor of amending and simplifying the Act by abolishing separate institutions, and placing their management in the hands of one board.

During tha heavy gale there was the highest tide remembered at Sumner and New Brighton. A house at the latter place bad the foundation piles washed away. No lives ware lost, and there waa not much damage.

The barque Howard, wbieh arrived at Ta Kopura on Saturday, had on heard two men rescued at sea from an open boat. They belong to Noamea, and state that they were pearl-oyster fishing and were driven off the land by a gale. They ware seventeen days out when picked np by the Howard, and were 600 miles from Noumea and 400 miles from Australia.

Jas. Coulter, a farmer at Waiwetu, Wellington, waa drowned in crossing the Wainuiomatn River at 2.30 on Wednesday afternoon. Coulter and his brother-in-law, Sinclair, wera crossing the river on horseback when they were washed off. Deceased attempted to save himself by clinging to his horse’s rein, but it broke and be was drowned. Sinclair saved himself by clinging to his horse’s mane. The body wae recovered. The inquest on the bodies of Ball and P. Beattie, victims of the accident at the bridge on Wednesday night, waa held st Napier on Saturday, and occupied five and a half hours. The evidence conthe theory of foul air, and pointed concl naively to the want of strength in the plates to stand the pressure of air, 12 pounds to the inch. The plates also were shown to bo of varying thickness, from § of an inch to inches. The jury returned a verdict that deceased mat their deaths by drowning by the accidental bursting of the cylinder; and recommended that tbs cylinders should be more severely teamed before the men were allowed to go in. An elderly woman named Dunn was burnt to death at Oamaru at an early hour on Saturday morning. She lived in a cottage by herself. About 1 a.m. the fireball gave the alarm, and it was discovered that her house was on fire. It was not at first thought she was in the house, but on the brigade’s arrival.it was mentioned that Mrs Dunn had ndt been seen about. Search in the ruins of the place revealed that she had been burnt to death. The charred body was found with the face near the floor. The woman was not of temperate habits, and lived apart from her husband. It is estimated that the loss over the insurance on the Wellington Opera House is £IO,OOO. At 9 o’clock on Wednesday night when the custodian made his inspection everything was all right. Incendiarism is suspected. It was rumoured that two men wera seen leaving by the family circle entrance at 5 o’clock on Thursday morning, but it is doubted, though, had the men been in the theatre, they could have left by that entrance, and locked the door by pulling it after them. A portion of the walls at the back of the building is dangerous, being cracked and bulging out. This will probab'y be pulled down. It is assorted that immediate steps will be taken to rebuild. A box of sireamers, lithographs, etc., of Mis# Amy Sherwin who was to open Wellington, was destroyed.