NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume XVI, Issue 2158, 18 March 1870, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The firing of the Northern companies for the district prize has been again postponed. A meeting of the Kaiapoi Fire Brigade takes place this evening. A smart shock of earthquake was felt at 11 25 p m last night, passing from east to west. The Art Exhibition was attended by 130 visitors yesterday, exclusive of season tickets. There was the usual musical performance in the evening. Mr Gordon begs to acknowledge for the Orphan Asylum from Mr McKenna, ss, plaintiff's eOßts in the case of McKenna v Smith ; and 109 from Mr Smith, of the Heathcote, defendant in same case. As an instance of the great traffic which is being done at present on the Great Southern Railway, we may mention that a train consisting of forty-four trucks loaded with wheat came down the line yesterday.

The " Gazette" announces that the following postal appointments have been made in the province of Canterbury :—J A Young, Waihi Crossing; John Brown, Malvern Hills; Thomas Woulchop, Southbridge ; J S Fowler, Cass River; James B Ellman, Brookside ; W H Rule, Springston.

The competitors from the different com* panics comprising the Wellington District fired at the Adelaide butts March 15 for choice of three representatives for the district in the forthcoming General Government prize firing at Dunedin. The following candidates were successful:—-Messrs Botham, Baton, and Halse, making 44, 43, and 43 points respectively.

Madame Carandini's concert consisted of well-known pieces from the portfolios of the several performers. We notice more particu larly Arditi's "li'llma" valse sung by Miss Rosina, and "Kathleen Mavourneen," to which Miss Faunie's lovely voice did ample justice. The Norma duet by Madame dini and Miss Rosina went, aa usual, admirably. "Beware! trust her not," suffered nothing in the repetition ; and " The Gipsies' laughing chorus" brought the evening to a most mirthful and happy conclusion.

The Rangiora fair took place on tbe usual fair ground on Thursday. The attendance was, if anything, larger than at preceding fairs, and augurs in favor of its receiving a more extended support than hitherto. Our correspondent states the number of beasts on the ground were —cattle, 80 ; horses, 30; pigs, about 40. Taking into account the busy time of year and the harvest, these numbers are in excess of our expectation. A fair amount of business was done during the day. The ground is well found in every convenience for stock, thereby enabling buyers to see them to the best advantage.

A trial of the Malvern Hi'ls coal, from Mr M B Hart's section, as adapted for steam purposes took place on Wednesday afternoon, in the implement yard of Mr Wm Neeve, Gloucester street, when the steam generating qualities of this coal were fully proved, to the entire satisfaction of those present. We understand that a trial of this coal, in competition with Newcastle (N.S.W), will take place at Templeton in a few days, in a threshing machine in that locality, which will afford a fairer test of the merits of the respective samples for steam purposes than could possibly be obtained by the trial on Wednesday. We are informed by the engineer who conducted the trial that he has every confidence in the Malvern Hills coal proving superior for rapidity in generating steam. Should the result be favorable, we trust to see some steps taken to utilise so valuable a possession, and thus retain within the province the large sums of money annually sent out of the colony for this article.

A considerable addition has been lately made to the malting capabilities of the province, upon whioh we must congratulate tbe agricultural interest. Messrs A- Moore and Co, the brewers, have just completed, we believe, one of the largest maltbouaes in the colony, and the same, or rathe- the " first steep," was celebrated on Wednesday evening by a supper in the building, given to the men employed in Messrs Ward and Co's brewery, also those of A. Moore and Go, and all the men who have been engaged in the erection of the house under Mr Goss, the contractor, Mr C. E. Fooke being architect. The granary, about 90 feet by 3_, was appropriated for the occasion, and was decorated in an artistic manner with flags and a transparency, in which we recognised John Barleycorn, a fulllength portrait, with a pot of foaming ale in his hand, proposing the toast, " Long life to you all." The supper was provided by Mr Plank, of the Britannia Hotel, and mine host deserves great credit for the manner in which the whole was served. A most pleasant evening-was spent—Mr A. Moore was in the chair, and Mr Lee (of Ward and Co), vice chair. The toast of "Success to the business to be carried on in the new malthouse," and also that of " Prosperity to the province and the agricultural interest," was of course warmly responded to. The malthouse will be capable of turning out at least 12,000 bushels a year.

A correspondent writes regarding Cranmer square as follows : —Some time since Cranmer square was levelled, fenced, sown with grass seed and planted with trees, and, in common with many Irving in the square, I looked forward to the time when a nicely shaded place

for recreation would be available. As a place of recreation it ia now available, but as for erer being shaded by the trees planted, I fear there i. but a very remote chance of its becoming co. It seems the practice of sundry horsekeepers in the vicinity to turn their horses in nightly to graze, and these have already destroyed several of the young trees. If the police had been there this morning, just before six o'clook, they could have taken seven horses to the pound.

There was a crowded house at the Theatre Royal last evening, on tho occasion of the production of the Irish drama, Foul a Dhoul, every part of the house being well filled. The piece, tho plot of which mainly turns on incidents in the rebellion of '98, was exceed* inglv well put on the stage, making allowance for a few hitches inseparable from the first night of a new piece, and the difficulty attending the mechanical arrangements. Miss Forde ns Dora MoManey acquitted herself with her usual ability, and Miss Casey Mathews as the Widow Brophy was thoroughly at home. Mr M. Forde as Ony the Ornadham, was inimitable, the brogue and make-up being perfect. Musha Merry, the fairy man, was carefully played by Mr White, but we should have liked to have seen less of the conventional stage villain in his conception of the character. Mr Wolfe as Cornelius Brophy, the innocent victim of the plots of Musha Merry, was exceedingly good. We must not omit to mention that the scenery by Mr Willis was worthy of high commendation, especially that of the Devil's Pool, which was warmly applauded. A slight hitch occurred in the last acerie, owing to an accident to the bridge, but doubtless the piece will play much more smoothly this evening. The burlesque of the " Bride of Abydos" concluded the performance. This evening, " Poul a Dhoul" will be repeated, concluding with the burlesque of " Susan, the Black Eyed."

Messrs Johnstone and Co. of this city, says the " Wellington Independent," recently sent 250 bales of flax to Melbourne for transhipment to England, but were shortly afterwards advised by their Melbourne agents, that the flax was damp and in a dangerous state. The agents asked for instructions as to whether they should open and dry the packages or not. Mr Charles Johnstone went to Melbourne to see for himself, and having, after exaraiuation, failed to detect any heating in the bales, he had several of them opened in the presence of the agents and others interested in the matter, when the contents proved dry and cool throughout. What the agents had mistaken for dampness was the green colour which the under surface of flax dried on wires and not exposed to the sun, as is the case with Mr PownalPs Manawatu flax, naturally assumes. This "greenness is, however, no sign of either dampness or heat* although people unacquainted with the £Ux are apt to assume that it is. The result of Mr Johnston's personal visit was that the flax in question was readily received as cargo at the low freight of £3 per ton.

The following particulars respecting native affairs at Ohinemuri, have been furnished to the " Thames Advertiser," by a gentleman who is intimately connected with the facts : —The Ohinemuri natives have repeatedly spoken in severe terms of disapproval of the undue prominence given to Rapata during rVTr Mackay's negotiations. They say ifc was part of that gentleman's programme to make another Taipari of Ropata—a thing the Queenites, especially Ngatikoi, would not tolerate for a moment. Te Kepa Raharuhi, Tupeka te Whakamau, and Te Koreneho Kotira represent the loyal owners of auriferous lands in the Waihi and Upper Ohinemuri districts. They are of Ngatikoi or Ngatitara, and claim upon apparently fair grounds, tbe great bulk of known auriferous country. They are independent of, and distinct from, To Hira, and the Matewaru hapu, from Ropata and the Uriwha hapu, and from Tukukino and the Kiriwera hapu ; but the last make claims on some of their claims. The Ngatoki are all loyal, all anxious to open up their goldfield on reasonable terms to the diggers. They have refused every private offer, and, while they repudiate all interferference of Te Hira or the King, they express themselves in terms of anger and disgust at the treatment they receive from the Government. They surveyed Borne of their most valuable lands, and make claims to have them heard in the Native Land Court; but the Government has, so far, stopped the action of the Court, to their great discouragement, and has added fresh strength to the ultra Hauhau faction, by openly acknowledging the King in the business. Unfortunately for Ropata he is related to Te Hira in his hapu, and connected with him in his claims to auriferous lands, Ropata te Araki being a Matewaru as well as an Uriwha, hence Ropata's claims will probably be obstructed by Te Hira in the Land Court. Anyhow, Ropata has not surveyed the lands, but has let them on a royalty of 110 th to certain capitalists in Auckland, their leading member being a brother-in-law to the Government agent at Ohinemuri. These gentlemen have advanced Ropata a considerable sum of money.

We, " Southern Cross," learn, that on Wednesday last Te Pokiha (Fox), Marsh, and others of the Arawa chiefs, who are at present in Auckland were definitely informed by the Hon. the Native and Defence Minister, that henceforth the system of maintaining a force on pay for the pursuit of Te Kooti will be discontinued, but that the Government will be prepared to pay a lump sum of £5000 for the capture of Te Kooti, alive or dead, whether it be accomplished in a short or long period. To this proposal the Arawa chiefs very strongly demurred, representing that the friendly natives would not be willing to continue fighting without daily pay, and that they would not consent to attempt the capture of Te Kooti on the mere prospect of receiving £5000, if successful. They urged the difficulties of the TJrewera country, and the great risks attendant upon an expedition after such a wily foe as Te Kooti, and on the whole appeared decidedly disinclined to accept the proposal. At present it appears highly probable that the Arawas will decline to assist us any longer, unless kept on pay. It would no doubt be a very pleasant thing for them to be kept on pay ad infinitum, but, unfortunately, the resources of the colony are not equal to maintaining a large army of natives in the position of pensioners, in order to preserve their neutrality. Moreover, the suspicion, is rapidly gaining ground, that the system of keeping up a large standing army of natives is a mistake, that so long as it is continued the natives would—all other things being equal—rather not hurt Te Kooti, who, ifc must be confessed, has been a great source of profit to them. We are glad to learn that the Government have taken this bold step, for it is one that we feel sure will have the

approval of the majority of the colonists. While on this subject we may state that the report that the Government had in contemplation the entire diabandment of the European forces in the colony, ia a mistake. Wo believe the ceasing to employ the Armed Constabulary only oxtends to future operations against Te Kooti in the Urewera country, the natural difficulties of whioh are so great as to render pursuit by a European force a matter of extreme difficulty and hazard, independently of the heavy expenses it would entail. Moreover, complaints have been made by the Arawas that their acting in conjunction with European forces impeded their movements against the enemy. We believe there is some probability of a larger sum being offered to tho Arawas than £5000, should that be shown to be inadequate. From the '* Cromwell Argus " we take the following particulars regarding the reefs at Bendigo Gully :—- The Aurora Company's claim is now in full swing, there being over thirty hands engaged in driving a tunnel and getting out stone. Their last crushing of 70 tons yielded 180 ozs of gold, and this result was obtained in eleven days, with five heads of stampers. The engineer, Mr R Reid, is making every exertion to get the second set of stampers ready for operating. When this important work is completed, an opportunity will be afforded to the surrounding claimholders to make their trial rrushings. The company has appointed Mr Themas Hazlett as manager, in room of Mr B. G. Barnes, who lately resigned. Crushing operations at the battery of the Cromwell Company have been suspended, in consequence of the injurious effects of the sludge brought on to the tables by the tail-water; and a law suit between the company and Mr Aldridge is likely to be the consequence. Mr Aldridge and his party recently bought out the Chinaoien who were working in the deepsinking giound, and aro using the tailwater of the Aurora Company for sluicing tbe terrace. The water is thus rendered unfit for use at the machine, as in passing over the tables it is said to carry away much of the gold from the company's quartz Previous to the stoppage of the machine, a quantity of very excellent stone was put through the battery, and more of the same quality awaits crushing. The stone is expected to yield from six to seven ounces to the ton. Now that the new machinery is to be immediately put up on the Alto claim, and that additional facilities are to be given for crushing by the exteusion of the Aurora Company's battery, active efforts are being made at all the Bendigo reefs to go* out for trial crushing*. Last week a share in Colclough's claim changed hands for £500, the purchasers being Messrs Holt, of Clyde, and Mr John Duhy, of the Gorge.