APFAIRS AT CLIVE.

Bat while residents bad only time to coueider tbelc own position, the people at Cllve wars Jn a very grave sltnatlon. In the afternoon vires hud been received by the chief trnffio clerk at Napier that the river was rising vaiy rnpldiy, and had oyarfbwed in places, thoueb it was hoped that anything like a serlon9 flood necessitating help from outeido would bs averted, Tho tmffio clerk communicated with tbe Mayor and the policp, £,uf?f?eatinß thbt boata should he held in readiness in cane the worst oame to the wornt, The Mayor, who up to this tluio had been rendering yeornau'3 service In seeing to the safety of the distressed people In town, nout wotd immediately to the barbor master asking him to bring hla crew with the Ufa-boat to town to proceed to Cllve cbould they be wanted. Than oaine a raeus9ge, " For God'a aake send ub Borne h«!p," QQd tibnt was the last telegraphic übwb received from Cllve. RAILWAY EMBANKMENT WAGGED AWAY. And at this stage mast be mow je^ocnted the position of affairs at Waitauftl, 4- tremendous breach had been made In aßpot tiuoati a 'quarter of a mile south of tho Shamrock Hotel. For miles around, as far »s the eye could eea in all directions, there was a huge expanse of water. Through this breach, extending over a distance of al>oub S6ven chains, the waters had .swept away in their maddened eoiiroa tbs railway embankimnl 1 , taking ' with them at the sime time a large number of telegraph poles. Tbe river waters met the Eea at the breach, and the tbnnderous roar of the breakers as they dashed through this opening will not easily be forgotten. Thus communication S7ZH entirely cut off, both by rail and wire, and btic only means of learning anything about the position of the Clive people was by deepatcbing a buau. HOW THE PILOT BOAT jjAWi/J, With the railway embankment washed away, aa previously reoorded, and with two spans o! the Walfcangl bridge gone, v train could only get as fa; as the breach with the pilot crew, whos9 boat was .brought up on a trolly round Hyderabadroad. The crew, In charge of Mr E. Forne, assistant pilot, comprised— W. Lucas, J. Eddy, "Dab" Merrlt, J. Knowles, jan,, G. Petereen, P. Franklin, and Captain Tonkin, The wind was strong, and it v7?s po easy task for the crew to make speedy headway against it. After about two hoars' hard pulling they reaobed the Parndoa Hotel, by the c:d of one of the railway employ;';!, "hose name we have been nnable to ascertain, out wfcose valor deserves the very hlßheat 'comta'endatlou. ' Mounting a horse bareback he piloted tho boat safely to tho hotel, where the crew were enabled to gei) some information. Tho ejght presented was pitiable in tho •atrema. The angry flood watem had done ftelr worfili. Tlje weather haying by this time clewed/ In tiia bright poqnllght every opportunity waß given to obtafn a view of the oruel havoo that had been wrought) on every elde. Piloted by the same plncky fellow, the boat was taken as far es the bridge, on which stood meo, women, and children,, huddled up, with water to right and lej't of them, and with no means of escape nntli rescued from their very dangerous position. Tha women drenched to the iklo, the crying of the children, and the surging of the waters as they dashed under tbe bridge, made a oad spectacle Indeed. Three trips did the bo&imake, conveying the Buffer era to the Farndon Hotel, where they were well looked after fo; the night. The attention of the boat's orew was next turned to the people at West Clive, and the boat having been carried over the bridge, a start was made for the West Cllve Hotel, where Information waa obtained of the state of afiairs in the wwnejn portion of that distrlot. After rowing for about: a mile they reached a timina in which they found two women and four children named Hunt perched on tables. They had bean in this moat uncomfortable position for »everal honra, until they wera (japplly rescued about 2.30 a.m. on Saturday morning and convoyed to the West C'lve Hotel. Conilrnlng (heir work of rescue, the crew once more went forth, and aa thay f"w»ri s ahont oarns aver the water. Hiking thai: way la the dlreotlon from

whence tho cry of distress curup, they | b?.w somebody s.ifoly scruiol !:i the ci!- ! Ing of hla houne, but ha duclincii to oeeupt j the proffered aeßlatance, prnfnrdnß to remain in that pecnliar haven an'll thsi flood waters went down. AH this tlma a tremendous force of seething water '.vca flowing down tha river, and the Right wua enough to maka the stonteßt heart quaka with fear nb having to weather ouch a torrent: The piJot boat ramained there till daylight, having rowed all nronnd Weat Ciivo to goo 1J any mora assistance could ba rendered, and evorybody bolnp now apparently eafo tho boat once more mnde Its way to the Farndon railway station. Tho retinrn journey waa attonded with just as maon danger a? the passage down, and with the high wind blowing and tbe cross sea rnnnirsp the orew had v very nfiaty time, returning to town at 8.15 a.m. on Saturday morning. ' HISSING MEN. Tho gravEßt fears were entertained for tho safety of two crowa who proceeded In boata to tho distressed settlers. No Information concerning their whereabontsconld ba ascertained anywhere. There were varions rumors circulated that they had turned np safely at Clive, bat thlo was iannd to be unreliable. A boat with provisions was despatched from the Awatoto hotel abont 2 p.m. on Saturday, and after a very rough time succeeded in reaching Ciivo abont 6 p.m., and the men returned to town at 9.30 ou Saturday night. From one of them wo learned that up to 6 o'clock that night nothing had been seen or heard of any of the missing men, but Constable Kennedy was keeping a sharp look out for any sign of the boat. The dredge J.D.O. made a search along the sea In front of the Parade towards the direction of Ciivo, but those on board ssw nothing of tbe boat. Diligent Boorch was renewed yesterday, but we regret to say without effect, and there can now be no donbt that the boata wore swamped in the snrglng waters and thoir brave crews drowned.