Harper objected to the jurisdiction of the court in this case. He said the claim arose out of a breach of contract by defendants, but there may have been more breaches of the same contract by defendants. Plaintiff ought to claim hs for a breach of the contract, and he ouaht to claim at on-e for all the breaches of the said con tract if he sued in that Court, or the Court might award damages in several sums, which, en the whole, would be more than the amount

within its jurisdiction. Dr, Foster replied that each separate breach of a contract is a distinct cause of action. The breach in question turned entirely on a conversation respecting the purchase of sheep, and was quite separate from the rest of the contract. The question was, did a conversation be tween plaintiff and defendants authorise the buying of certain sheep? The case was ad journed for a week. Lyster's Opera Company.—Those of the public who were looking forward to a second visit from Lyster's Opera Company will he disappointed to learn that it is about to he broken up. By our latest files from Mel bourne we notice that the company appeared for the last time, for this season at any rate, in Melbourne, on Friday evening, Nov. 23. It is understood that, after giving a short season in Sydney, the company will be broken up. Madame Escott and Mr. Squires are going to California, where they have been engaged to appear at Maguire's Opera House, San Francisco. What the other members of the company are going to do is not posi tively known, but rumour has it that two Italian artistes are shortly expected from England, and that the company will be re formed, the two new arrivals taking the places of Madame Escott and Mr. Squires, The DonsoN Murder.—A full report of the hearing of this case before the Resident Magistrate at Hokitika, so far as it had pro ceeded when the mail left, mil be found in our supplement. The case was begun on Dec. 1, when only two witnesses out of thirty five were examined. During the progress of the evidence, the accused, Wilson, alias Murray, was actively engaged in taking notes. 