AUCKLAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1369, 7 March 1865, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

By the Phoebe we have two days later news, but the papers contain very little worth extracting:—

Sudden Death.—By the arrival of the Kate Waters, from Newcastle, last evening, we have intelligence of the sudden death of Captain Gay, of the barque Bessie, who, it will be remembered, was sentenced in the Supreme Court here to a term of imprisonment for brutally ill-treating a seaman of the Bessie, on the passage to Auckland; but whose offence, it was said, had been exaggerated. Deceased was liberated before the expiration of his sentence, and proceeded to Newcastle, where he expired on the 9th inst. from exhaustion caused by loss of blood. —Southern Cross, Feb. 24.

The Escaped Rebels.—Our Port Waikato correspondent, under date 22nd inst. says" A number (19) of the escaped prisoners from the North passed through this place on Tuesday, for Raglan, Aotea, and Kawhia. They were provided with horses to enable them to get along to their several homes unmolested. Two of the party were women, who had joined their friends at Waiuku. They were unarmed."—Ibid.

Release of Hori Tupaea.—lt is not generally known that his Excellency the Governor has released the chief Hori Kingi Tupaea, who was recently captured with the mob of fanatics on their way to the rebel quarters, and that that chief has left Auckland, to rejoin his people at Tauranga. The release was granted at the solicitation of Tupaea's people, who appear to have an unusual amount of affection for him, and who were willing to give any possible kind of pledge for his loyalty. In this they were joined by an old settler of Auckland, and Tupaea was permitted to return, on the understanding that he is to appear in any court of justice, when called on, to answer for his share in the transactions which led to his arrest. Looking at the case as an outsider, we should say that the liberation of this influential chief was a politic act, and may have the effect of establishing peace amongst the East Coast natives. —Ibid.

Mrs. Col. Pitt's Carriage Stopped by Seven Footpads.—On Thursday night last, about lialfpast eleven o'clock* Mrs. Col. Pitt, accompanied by her daughter, and Mrs. Colonel Chapman, were proceeding home in an open carriage, tbe servants leading the horses at the time, they were stopped when passing through Mechanics' Bay just opposite the Domain road, by a party of seven men. One of the ruffians rushed to the horse's head, and knocking down the servant, seized the reins, whilst the others ran forward to seize the ladies. Just at this critical juncture, Mrs. Pitt displayed a presence of mind and courage rarely exhibited by her sex under such trying circumstances. Rising in the carriage, she brought the but end of the whip with such true aim and force upon the scoundrel's face and hands as to compel him to let go the reins, and then, without a moment's delay she applied the whip to the sides of the horse, urging him to the top of his speed, and keeping him at a gallop through the gang and up the hill at Parnell. This was all the work of a minute, and was done so suddenly that the ruffians at the side of the carriage were hurled away, though we regret to state that they escaped the wheels. Immediately on arriving where help could be obtained, Mrs. Pitt dispatched assistance in the shape of a policeman to the servant who had been left lying on the road. It appears that these miscreants having failed in their attempt to rob the occupants of the carriage, took their revenge upon the unfortunate servant left in their hands, and thepoor fellow wassadly treated and ill-used. The policeman met him returning from the spot severely cut and bleeding. The footpads had, of course, decamped. A great deal of trouble would be saved to the police, and the quiet and safety of some would be very much ensured, if all persons travelling on the roads round Auckland, at night, would carry fire-arms. Had the wretch who stopped the horses' heads, been shot instead of beaten off, the result in all probability would have been that his six companions would have thought twice before entering upon another highway robbery. Instead, too, of the whole party escaping, as they usually do, the body of one of them left on the spot, would, in nine cases out of ten, afford the police a clue for hunting up; the remainder of the gang. Violent diseases require j violent remedies. —Ibid.

New Zealand Debentures.—The Southern Cross contradicts a statement in a Melbourne telegram, that the New Zealand Government had sold £250,000 eight per cent debentures at par in the Australian market, and states that the actual amount disposed of was £20,000. Te Awamutu. —The correspondent of the New Zealander, writing onFeb. 20, says« Having observed in the columns of a contemporary journal some remarks in reference to a rumour that had prevailed in Auckland to the effect that William Thompson had " come under the shadow of Queen Victoria," I beg to offer the following explanation of that rumour. You will, I have no doubt, remember some remarks I made in my letter of Feb. 4th, in reference to a rumour then current here, that William Thompson would come into camp with Captain Baker, D A.A.G., who, it was known, had gone up to Matamata, to have an interview with that chief. Captain Baker took with him Captain Blewett, 65th Regiment, Mr. Spencer, interpreter to Brigadier-General Carey, and a small party of mounted orderlies. They succeeded in reaching Matamata (William Thompson's village and head-quarters) in safety, under the guidance of a friendly chief of Tamahere, whose nameisTawari, and who is second only to Thompson himself in rank and influence in the powerful tribe of Ngatihaua. Here they had the good fortune to find the object of their visit, who received them with cordial welcome, having been previously apprised of the honour intended llim. Matamata being some distance from Cambridge, our most prominent frontier post on the Horatiu river, Captain Baker and his party decided upon becoming the guests of "the king maker" for one night, and I understand their noble host treated them with great hospitality, paying every attention to their comforts, and entertaining them as well as his scanty larder (I mean as far as delicacies of the season are concerned) afforded. In the course of a conversation with Captain Baker, I believe William Thompson expressed a desire to meet the Governor, if the latter could meet him at some convenient place ; but he could not be induced to come into Te Awamutu, urging as a reason for his unwillingness to do bo the probability that such a step would excite the enmity of Ngatimanipoto, whose hostility he professed to fear. He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the Governor's confiscation proclamation, which, he said, was unjust, because it had punished the Ngatihana and other tribes for participating in th« rebtliion; but the tribe of Ngatimanipoto—the most turbulent and rebellious of all; the tribe which instigated the brutal murders perpetrated by Ngatiruanui, and which had since been the most determined in hostility to the pakeha; the tribe which obeyed the notorious Rewi; in short, the tribe which had been the very head and front of th« rebellion—the proclamation had allowed to go

unpunished, the greater part of their land being beyond the Puniu river, and out of the boundaries of the confiscated territory. To confess the truth, there seems to be some justice in these complaints, although, of course, some allowance must be made for tin; probability that they were marie by a man smarting under jealousy, or sense of some insult from the haughty, contumacious, self-willed Ngatimaniapoto chief, who keeps his own counsel, acknowledges no superior, and thwarts all Thompson's favourite peace-making schemes, i aptain Baker and his party returned in safety to Te Awamutu, I presume, much satisfied with their expedition. At any rate, but few officers can boast of having been the guest of the celebrated William Thompson, whose name is as familiar to colonial and English journalists as that of President Lincoln, of the United Statei.