THE EARTHQUAKES AND TIDAL PHENOMENA.

From nil the ports in the South we hare accounts of an extraordinary rise and fall of the tides during Saturda) week. Shocks of earthquake were also felt at Wellington, Nelson, Christchurcb, Lyttelton, Hokitik*, Taranaki. A slight shock was also felt at Dunedin. The Nelson Colonist of the 18th, in commenting upon the phenomena, says :—: — '• A.* yet, we know nothing whether the northern part of the North Island has experienced the shock of yesterday morning ; but, if we may judge from the fact that, at Wellington and Nelson, ia 1855, the shock was vastly more severe than that of yesterday, while down South it wsg comparatively trivial, and couple that with the other fact that yesterday's motion was the most violent ever sustained in Canterbury, we appear to have some warrant for the conclusion that the centre of volcanic action as regards these islands has somewhat shifted within recent yearn ; that such centra may not be so near Cook's Strait as by pant earthquakes it ia generally supposed at one time to luve been ; and that the tidal wave, — or m^re propeily the sea wave, — of Saturday would seem to show that some sub-oceanic locality in a more easterly direction from Cook's Strait may now be the seat of central locality as respecta these inlands. These, however, are little more than conjectures ; and it will be interesting to n"te information from the North as to whether any activity is apparent in the volcano of Toogariro, and what effects have been noted in the district of the hot springs iu Auckland province. Information respecting the more or less active volcanic island called White Island, on the east coast of the North Island, would be particularly int resting at this juncture." The Hawk?» Bay Herald of the 18th instant states :—: — " Tidal disturbances of a very marked character occurred at this port on Saturday last, as well as, according to telegrams received, at the chief ports on the fc.ast Coast of both islands. From an early ; hour on Saturday morning till a late hour in the ' evening, the tide may be said to have ebbed and flowed every hour — the rise and fall in each case being nurprisingly sudden. At half-past 7 a.m. and half-past 4 p m., the most mark- d of these phenomena ware observable— the rise and fall in those instances having probably not been less than feet. In one of these the sea receded »o far as to leave the wreck of the ' Mont morency ' high and dry, while the ' ft'aucy Lass,' which was then being piloted into the Iron Pot, was washed to a position nearly behind the breastwork, and left for a time all but out of ! water." The aame paper of the 22nd says:— "The late i tidal disturbances were felt at Poverty Bay and at Wairoa." As fir as we have learned, no one in this locality felt tbe slightest (hock of earthquake. We have no accounts from the well-defined and exceedingly active volcanic belt that stretches from White Island to Tongariro, including the boiling springs of the Lake Dittrict. Any manifestation there would most probably be, not in any shock of earthquake, but in greater activity of the volcanoes and boiling springs. We stated a few days ago that the high tidal wave hart been observed at various points in this locality, but not within, nor near, Auckland harbour, which is sheltered by the Great and Little Barriers, and numerous other islands from the force of an oceanic disturbance li-e that which took place. A settler on the Great Barrier Island tells us that on the Friday nigbt andJSaturday morning the tide kept rushing in and out, sometimes g >ing out three feet below low water mark. On the east side of the itland, at Rosalie Bay, where the island is exposed to the whole •tretch of the Pacific, the tide rose seven feet above the usual high water depth, not seven feet beyond high vatnr mark, but seven feet in depth. On the wett side of the island, the water rose five feet higher than usual, and at Trypbena Harbour it lifted a b>at five feet above high water mark. The highest tides occurred early on Saturday morning.