Wellington, January 16. • The annual report of the Wellington Gas Companv recommends tho pay ment of a dividend of 5 per cent, mak ing ten cent for the year. £2000' is written off the plant account, and £1791 carried forward. The net price of gas for lighting is now reduced to 68 3d per 1000 cubic feet. There has been a very great demand for the new letter card issned, by the Post Office at the beginning of the year and the innovation seems -to be highly appreciated by the public. Up to date, between forty and fifty thousand cards have been sold throughout the colony on account of the holidays the Govern man* Printing Office was not able to supply them as expeditously as required. ' . John Welsh, while working on the side of a road near Makara yesterday, was struck by a large boulder arid killed;

Gorge Callaway fell dead while hay making at Canya's tow nnearHavelock, ,

The Women's Social and Political / League passed the following resolution: " That this meeting trusts the New -Zea* • land 'Government will riot become /a party to the recently signed " Anglo* Japanese Treaty, as it considers the ad* a vantagosto be derived by wayoftradeei* with japan would be more than counter balanced by the evils' that' would resnlt from the large influx of Japanese to this colony." ; Napier, January 16. Arrived: Margaret Gaibraith, ship, Captain Collinewood. After a lenslhy passage of 123 days from London, which place she ! left| on September 14th. 1 She did not cross the equator until she had been Mdays out. When in lat. 44 south and long. 25 east she met with a laree number of icebergs and hove to embayed in ice for six days.
