COROMANDEL GOLD FIELDS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XIV, Issue 1033, 22 May 1857, Page 3

COROMANDEL GOLD FIELDS.

To Che Editor of the Southern Cross. ' Sir,— ln the • New Zealander' of Saturday last I read an article headed "The Coromandel Gold Diggings," and think the writer of that article might have expressed hia sympathy with the unhappy fate of Dennis "Campbell without making his communication a vehicle for slandering one who, holding the sacred office of '♦ Coroner," cannot openly defend himself in a newspaper ; but who must allow of any slander, of however low a type, being brought up against him by any common, cowardly scribbler. I cannot, ot course, know who the writer of this article is ; but as no man, in the position of a gentleman, without the closest investigation of facts, will risk attaching the shadow of a stain on either public or private acts of his fellow-eitiz"n - as none but the rude, the discourteous, and the vulgar, will risk wounding the feelings of another. I maintain, Sir, I am justified in concluding that the writer of the article in question is not a gentleman. I only hope, Sir, that he is not an Editor of a newspaper; as all would wish the terms editor and gentleman to be synonymous. But, Sir, whoever, or whatever the man may be had he carefully inquired into the circumstances con fiected with the painful question of exhumation which, he alludes to, he would have found that the Coroner had not committed a " cruel farce," but that he had entered on his painiul duty with a deep sense of its sacredness. He would hare learnt, that on receiving the several depositions, sent from Coromandel, the Coroner wasplßced in a very delicate and res* tonsible position; that he had to meet the deeply- expressed feelings of a bereaved father, entreating that a legal investigation should be entered into relative to the death of his son ; that the Coroner, anxiously desirous to meet so solemn a question with due deliberation, refused to come to a' hasty decision, and consulted with a gentleman who had formerly been Coroner for Auckland, and who allowed that, under the circumstances, there was no alternative but exhumation ; and, that his Honor the Superintendent, on the Coroner's request, authorised the Police authorities to incur the necessary expenses for exhuming of and bringing the bodies of the poor men to Auckland. As to the writer's remarks on the appointment of Deputy Coroners, if his reading had not been confined to a yery " smnll field," he would have known that, by Sand 7 Viet., cap. 83, none but a Coroner can appoint a *' Dpputy Coroner,"— and this only under very itringent circumstances. As a further proof that the Coronpr undertook his painful duty with deep regret, I find he wrote a letter to Mr. Roe, of Coromandel— a gentleman anxiously inlerested in this question, and one of those " condemned to (and here I quite agree with our sympathising writer) the horrible'companion«hip" alluded to— expressing regret that the witnesses in this case should necessarily have been placed in their trying position, and assuring him that every effort should be made to prevent a recurrence of to painful a circumstance. I happen to know that Mr. Roe met the Coroner (after having received this letter) in the most friendly manner, and shook him by the hand— not as though he were shaking with one who had willingly condemned him to a horrible compamnship, but as though he felt that he was giving a cordial greeting to one who would have saved him from so painful a companionship if it had been in his power to do so consistently with his duty. I would apologise to you, Sir, for so taxing your time with these remarks, but I happen to have some respect for our Coroner, and, am aware that he cannot with propriety be openly his own defender. And, knowing that you would with pleasure defend any man -whom you can assure yourself is unjustly accused, Your obedient servant, Defensor,

.{Tfid abov* w** shas oattrv* oar tfatnuubcrby press of matter. — Eo. }

To the Editor of tht Southern Orott. Sir,— The enclosed piotest, which I sh«H be thankful > you to publish in your valuable paper at your (»arlipst j unvenience, has been talleil forth by the ndoption of certain parties, in the cornet of Russell, of the unjust principle that when n block of land contains more acres than is expressed in the Government Grant, such Grnnt is illogal, or, in other words, is null and void, and that consequently the grantee has no legal m*u» <rf defence, when his moral and .just rights are inWwftred with. 1 hey therefore consider themselves to 6e*t fall liberty to exercise their sharklike propensity. I am, &c. Jaxss Shmherd. ■\VTian^aroa, May 4, 1867.

Wnngaroa, May 4, 1857. Sir,— As ngcnt of Mr. John OrotnOttd, of Tahiti, I feel bound to defend his interest in ernty constitutional way ; and for the following reasons I protest against the mtprference of any one, unauthorised ty me, with the gum belonging to that gpntlemm, which gum w«s dug at Pukeii and Te To o Purnho, by natives connected with Tamati Waka Nene and other chtftfs of the district of Russell, and is now being brought to Kerf Keri Wharf with my consent ; if not, in accordance with a written notice to Waka on the subject, which notice expressed my intention to pay to him seven pounds per ton for the said gum, namely, five pounds per ton for digging it, and two pounds pounds for carrying it down to Keri Keri, half of the said seven pounds to be paid on its all being brought to Keri Keri, and the remainder when weighed and delivered on board of any vessel I might obtain to remove it. The grounds of the protest are the following :—: — Firstly— l gave such a payment for the land on which the gum was dug as gave full satisfaction to the original owners, as witness their ri&mej. tflk-the nativ deed, imirery, Nene, "Wlremu, Hau, Ko teHamera, Ko to Taonui, Ko Patuone, PatuoneY&c, &c. The following «as the payment given for the land : 100 blankets, £30 (thirty pounds) in cash, 1 mare, 2 cows, 1 cow not entered on native deed. 400 lbs. tobacco, 30 axes, 20 pairs of trousers, 20 6f.irts, 20 adzes, 20 spades, 1 pit saw, 1 cross cut saw, 2 hand snws, 10 iron pots, 20 lbs. soap, 1 piece of print, 10 pairs of drawers, 500 fish hooks, 20 plane irons, 10 chissels, 10 hoes, 20 razors, 20 combs, 2o knives, 5 planes, 20 scissors, 20 lbs. nails. I may observe that when this claim was carried through, the Commissioners' Court, at Waimate, one of the Native witnesses stated that the cow he received had increased to thirty Secondly— The Government Grant for the land particularly names the principal places on the block as well as defines the boundaries by metes and bounds. And I would submit for consideration whether the Government Grant does not legally convey to the grantee all the places named in the Deed ; and, if so, I claim on the behalf of Mr. Oromond Puke Ti and Te To o Puraho, the places where all the gum was dug, without reference to acres, and by consequence it would be illegal for any one to dig or purchase the gum off those places without my consent : but Thirdly— As some may quiblle with regard to acres, it may be proper to tell them that I have taken possession .of a block which commences at what is called, on the Deed. " Mr. Kemps mark," and includes all Puke Te and Te To o Puraho. - James Shepherd. To all whom this may concern.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross. Sir,— Seeing a short letter in last Tuesday*! "Cross" signed Wairau,— not knowing any one of that name except Maories. I decline giving him any more information about who fired the first shot and who was killed by the shot. If Wairau wants to know more about the Wairau massacre hn can appeal to his brother natives who were on the Held, or from Europeans who were near the place, as he tells us. Yours, &c, Bexj. E. Tukner. Retreat Cottage, May 21, 1857.

To the Editor of tin Southern Cross. Sir, — For some time past I have amused myself wi/h looking on— and wondering how it all would end— at the proceedings, capabilities, &c , of some of the efficient and practical men, so profusely promised us previous to hi* election, by our working-man's-friend Superintendent, and yet so niggardly bestowed. There are only three who have come under my knowledge at present, and they— to use a mild expression — are about three of the most egregious muffs — of course I speak of them only as public servants — the Superintendent could h*ve picked from the host of his admirers, canvassers, &c. First, we have Mr. Thomas Murphy foisted upon us —for the trifling remuneration of £200 per annum— as Inspector of Roads. Then we have Mr. Wnyland appointed hiei Cleik in the Resident Magistiates Conrt, also at a good salary, more especially for an incompetent person. And. last but not least, Captain Wing is officially announced as Harbor Master and Pilot at the Manukau. Now then, first, to dispose of our worthy Inspector of Roads : his qualifications for the appointment ap pear to be his being one of the greatest bullies and profane language user I ever met with, more especially when addressing himself to those whom circumstances have placed under him. This is all the use I can see in him as Road Inspector, for I cannot for the life of me find out what he knows about roads. With regard to his swearing proficiency, does not Mr. Murphy think - and I should very much like his an- wr— that if, when he finds it requisite to give vent to his feelings in oaths, he were to retire into some loneh fkld i.r hovel it would be much better, much moie creditable m fact, than doing so in the streets of this City, and thereby disgusting and horrifying any respectable person of the softer sex, who may happen to be passing within hearing distance of him, which I can assure him has been the case moie than once; although, for ought I know, it may be necessary to swear at working mon, on the same principle tha. ballock drivers invariably swear at the bullocks they are dining. Of Mr. Wayland I will say but little, as h?3 efficiency speaks for itself, and can be witnessed by any one visiting the Resident Magistrates Court in office hours, more especially whilst a charge is being heaul. I cannot understand why he has been thrust over the heads of really competent persons, unless as a spy upon the proceedings of the Resident Magistrate, to whom we all know the Superintendent is not particularly attached. And lastly, of Captain Wing, one of whose first feats, as "Pilot,""is to place the 'Zmgari' gently on a mud bank, at the highest tide. By the bye, his piloting puts me in mind of the Irishman who once volunteered to pilot a vessel up a difficult creek : he had told the Captain he knew every rock about the place, but had not proceeded far when the ship struck. " I thought you said you knew every rock in the place ?" said the Captain. "So 1 do, your honor, and that's one of them." I remember there was a great deal made, by the Superintendent's supporters, of his reducing salaiies, and so on. I think he commenced with his own. I could not understand his object for this at the time, but think Ido pretty well now. The gieat secret is that his conscience smote him— he saw it would never do to pay such useless persons as it was inevitable for him to have about him, at the same rate as those he intended gf ttmg rid of; for it might bring them into comparison, and we all know what the copy book says about that. Or perhaps he thought these gentlemen would be dear to the Province at any price, so did the thing ns cheap as he could for us, he not having the courage to go the whole animal. More hereafter, from youis very truly, Jcstitia. Auckland, May 18, 1857.