Defence Quarters.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3206, 16 May 1889, Page 2

Defence Quarters.

p : v:,';. &ursday;v; ■ Defence DepartmenjyabsiH lutely d6hy tbere;-is v any: foundation for the statementsasto the bad con-' dition of the barracks at Fort Takapu'na, Auckland. 'They say the excellence of the accommodation afforded the-raen olioited the greatest commendation from the offioeraof the naval squadron, and the real meaning of the complaints is that the men want to be removed from the barracks and given quarters in a large house on tho grounds now in occupation of the offleera—a thing 'which . the department does not intend topermit. Juvenile Crime. . Wellington, Thursday. . The Minister of Justice intends to incorporate some of the suggestions from the Magistrates as to dealing with juvenile crime in an amendment to the Justices of the Peace Act. Another Native Difficulty. . Auckland, Thursday. Mr Roshefprt, surveyor in the King country, was stopped by natives, who were headed by some ; balfoastes. They took possession of the instruments and stopped the party. Mr Rochefort came into Martinsville to obtain the assistance of tho police. The reason of the interfence is disputed boundaries.

Libel Action.

Donedin, Thursday,

On dit that as an outcome of the recent correspondence re tho Blue Spur mines, Mr F, M. Byrne, of Lawrence, is being sued for libel at the instance of Messrs J< 0. Brown and Vincent Pyke. Sir Kobert Stout has been retained for Mr Brown and Mr} Stanford -for Mr Pyke, Mr Fraser will appear for the defence.

The Agricultural School Christcuurch, May 15. The Board of Governors of the Canterbury College to-day decided that all fuel, light, and service in the School of Agriculture hiding* should be found by the Board; that at the end of a year a rate per head should be struck, and that the director pay for himself and family at the same rate, subject to an allowance of £35 per annum for entertaining visitors, etc.; -that the school fees bo reduced to £4O per annunv It was also decided to suggest to the Minister of Education that the recomnrondations of the recent Commission should be partially carried by the appointment by Governors ot half the member* of the Agricultural jSolicol Committees; Agricultural Estimates.

WehilNoioh, Thursday, In consequence of the. repeated statements that the agricultural estimates are below the mark, the Begistrar-Geueral has caused further enquiries to be made, and has published a memo embodying the results. He considers the actual crop of wheat does not differ materially from the estimate, In South. Canterbury be found one instance where the machine results show twenty thousand more bushels each of wheat and oats and 27,800 bushels of barley, but *n Oamaru and several comities of Otago, he considers the actual yield will be slightly under the estimate, In Bruce County it will be ten per cent more; in Southland there will be Utile or no difference,

Wrecks in the South Sea. Auckland, May 15. News from Alofie, Savage Islands, states that on tho 80th December a quantity of timber andwreokageVas washed ashore on the coast of that place. Among the wreckage was a mast and four cabin doors, part of a deckhouse, slabs, logs, and some boards marked "P.MI Co," At the village of.Liku, further to the east, deok planking, with part of the side of a ship's lower deck drifted on to a reef, Mr F. B. Lawes, a missionary at Nrni, writing in regard to the matter, says it is feared that a ship struck a reof on theisland on the, night of the 28th and went down. There is no clue to the identity of the vessel.

■ Tlio Altmore, wrecked at Fiji on April 22nd, wffs commanded by Capt W. G. Weeks, and was a vessel of 1710 tons register, Bnd bound from Sydney to San Francisco with coal. The wreck was sighted by the schooner Midge, and a boat put off to the ship; but in returning with several of the crew the' boat was swamped, and the chief mate of the Altmore, Mr E. B, Turnbull, was drowned in the surf, The other men «wam to the Midge and were rescued, Some of the crew and a number of! passengers put out for Levuka in thelifeboat and the first outter, but they had not arrived when- the Mawhera sailed from Levuka on May 7. It is suggested, however, that they may have lauded or been cast ashore on one of the other islands, and, in that case, they would be able to sustain themselves until help came,