The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XX, Issue 2175, 11 July 1864, Page 4

The Daily Southern Cross.

lucto uon ur.o " If I have l)con extinguished, 3 et there use A thoinamt beucoin from the spiuk I boro "

MONDAY, JULY 11, 1861.

TVe are glad to find that the Government hare postponed tho sale of J^garuavs ahia for one month ; and that a much larger quantity of township land is to be brought into the market It would hardly have been fair to the southern settlers, and capitalists m the Australian Colonies,-if the site of the capital of the Wuikato country lind boon sold without giving them an opportunity of buying, neitherwould the sale of eighty three allotments to Auckland scttlcis have fairly fixed the value of the land. The course now proposed is, therefore, the wisest to puisne, in our opinion. Mr. Cardwell has questioned w Itcthcr the waste lands of tho rebels can bo looked upon as part security foi the loan which, it is proposed to raise for the pacification and settlement of tho Colony , and thd result of this sale will bo an answer both to him and those who think with him in this matter. From all we have seen of the Wnikato country, we know of no site so eligible for a town as JSTgaruawahia. It must, of necessity, become a place of considerable importance, and that at no distant date ; and indeed wo see no limit to its prosperity so soon asthe interioi shall ha\ ebcensettled, andbrought under cultivation Ah cad vitis a place of some commercial importance. There arc several stores, and branch offices of the Bank of JNTcw Zealand and Dank of New South "Wales have been opened there; and the actual umountof business transacted at jNTgaruawalria would surpuse most persons wliohtM c not had an opportunity of making themselves acquainted with the facts J3ut tins trade is now dependent upon tho military occupation of the countiy. It is evceptional, and vould entirely disappear were the troops withdrawn and the country south of J^garuawahm returned to the natives This, however, must not be permitted, whatever the peace-at-any-pnee party may say Oi 1 write. Tho Government are bound, on tho sale of the township land, to settle the outlying disti icts in some form, else the purchasers will ha^e been dealt unfairly by ; and this, in intention, even, we could not bring ourselves to suppose any member of the Government to be guilty of. The land

surveyed for the township of Queenstown is only worth £100 an aero ou iho supposition that it will become the _dep6t for the produce of tho settled lauds of the Middle Waikato basin. Intrinsically tho Land at Ngaruawahia is not worth more than £2 per acre in its present stato ; but Us position en- ' nances its value, provided always the districts south to the central ran go, which, runs across tho island from Tauranga to TCawhia, are occupied by European settlors This, country is. in our hands, and its fertility and immense resources are matters of fact. Jt has become forfeit lo the Crown by the overt acts of rebellion committed bj r the natives to whom it belonged , and as a matter of policy the Grove-ru-men t arc bound to deal vnth the hind in such a way as to lender an armed insurrection by its former possessors an impossibility We look, therefore, to the settlement of tins immense district as an absolute certainty, notwithstanding the instructions which Sir George Grey received from the head of tho Colonial Office. It is idle to assume any other issue. The Colony has been forced to incur immense pecuniary liabilities to resist the unprovoked encroachments of tho natives ; and whatever a few gentlemen may say lo the contrary (none of whom, by the way, are in a position to lose one farthing by the lawless proceedings of their protogecs), the Colony will not submit to make these sacrifices and bear these losses for tho piupose of restoring the natives to the menacing position they formerly occupied, and by which it has sufleied so much. Colonists would be strange creatures indeed, if they consented to such a suicidal course as this, winch is repugnant to those natural laws of self-preservation which tho Omnipotent Creator implanted in the breast of man. But it may be argued, and it is, so argued by those who oppose ilie plan of confiscation and settlement, that the Colony has not the power to carry it out m opposition to his Excellency, whose " instructions " are explicit on that point Now, if these insti notions -were explicit, which they are not, and if they were intelligible, which they arc far from bnng, we cio not think they could hinder tho Colony carr\ ing out a policy on which its existence depends, at least in the N oi them Island His Excellency might manage to delay the settlement of the country, but ho could not o^enido the Legislature of a Colony possessing C'onsti'utional Government -Neither do w e Hunk his Excellency at all likely lo push mailers to extremes. The question is one which interests the Colonies .s a whole, and the Colonial Office will not lightly nslc a collision with them Especially is the question laised an interesting one lo iho Austiaban Colonies, and already the leading journals sound the notes of alaim. Tho cl.ijs of " nomineeism" are past and gone, never to return, although it is evident the spirit exists, and may yet cause us some trouble and expense -Bui we do not apprehend any very great danger from it. We know well that if tho IS r cw Zealand constituencies, were appealed to by Sir George Grey on the question whether the Constitution ought not to be arbitianly set aside in order to the completion of a policy which would lestore the natnes to the o-\ er-bcaring and menacing position they occupied before the w ar, an overwhelming majority would bo returned, pledged to resist the encioachments of the Colonial Ofhcc upon the Constitution, and to cany out the policy already solemnly sanctioned by the General Assembly. And his Excellency must anticipate tins also , and we have too high a lesject foi his prudence to suppose for an instant that he will willingly place himself m antagonism lo the free institutions of the counhy vihich hois called upon to go\ cm, andwhichhe is solemnly pledged to lespctfc From tho-,o con^uleiations, if from no other, we do iiOj anticipate any great delay in carrying out the settlement plan In view of this result, therefore, w> would Inicfly suggest, for the consideration of the auLhonties, Iho propriety of leseivmg land at each township, for public puiposes And the A'eiy fiist considered ought lo be race-course reseives This was quite overlooked in Auckland, and it is one mam reason why our horse stock is so inferior to that of other provinces in w Inch racing was fostered undbrcedmgonconraged. The sports up thcWaikato point especially to lacing as one of the " institutions " ol the country Public parks, reserves for gas and water purposes, and educational and charitable endow ments, ought not to be overlooked As the population increases, these reserves will increase in value , and by the time they are needed they will be found to confer an inestimable boon upon tho inhabitants. With regard to the name of the town at Ngaruan alva we have nothing to say. Queenstown is, perhaps, tho best name that could bo chosen , but wo hope that where the old Maori names can be lelained they will not be changed for English names, which have often no meaning whatever

In a recent issue of this -journal we spo~ke of the importance of making the iiorts and harbours of this province as safe and accessible as they could be, and we more particularly allucbd to the necessity for the helping h.uul of the Government to Port Waikato and the Manukau. Our attention v»as called to the subject by the recent wrecks which had taken at the former place, and a recurrence of which we naturally considered might injure the reputation of those places where wrecks occurred as being tuis.ifo haibours for shipping Since then wo pei ccivc th<it the wreck ot the ' Scotia' at Southland has very propcily been made the subject of comment by some of the Southern papers, and the Otarjo Daily Times says it ought to bo of use in "forcing " upon the harbour authorities of the various " Now Zealand ports the necessity of moro " efficient precautions ngainst accidents than are "in existence." It appears lh<it the Tircck of this fine steamor, and the enquiry that followed, disclosed the ftict " that thepiccautions in vogue " ut the Bluff for the guidance and protection " of shipping are very inadequate to the m- " creased tiadc of the port " It is not at all an uncommon cneumstancc that these disclosures are only made after a painful experience like that of the wreck of the ' Orpheus,' or the f<ir less calamitous one of the wreck of the ' Scotia ' On such occasions, it is often found that independently of negligence in the navigation of Ike vessel, as found in the case of the ' Scotia,' the harbour has been neglected, or that those necessary appliances for saving life in such emergencies were not provided. This fact is very foicibly alluded to by the journal from which wo , have quoted above, in the following words — " Every one will remember that when the ' Orpheus ' was wrecked on the M anukau " bar not only had the signalling arrangements " proved inadequate for guiding the ship, but that

" after the 1 vessel struck, and it was known on " shore she could not bo saved, no appliances '• were at command for saving tho lives of " those on board. There was a life-boafc, but "it had been carefully stowed away in about as " inaccessible a posiliou as possible, and vfcwas be- " sides unseaworthy. Supposing it had been in " sound order, aud readily available, there was "no efficient crew to man it. One would have " thought that the wreck of the ' Orplieus ' ' would have taught a solemn lesson to those " who have charge of the various arrangements "at the New Zealand ports. And yet what " aro the piescnt facts? Pew ports have " efficient life-boats, and these are not available "in case of a sudden emergency." We should like to know whcthci this " solemn lesson" has been taught and acted upon, and what appliances now exist in the Manukau for saving life should a sudden emergency call font, which wo earnestly hope there may not. It is clear that not only is it incumbent upon the authorities to make our harbours as safe as they can be made, but that they are bound to provide those necessary appliances for saving both life and' property when they are in danger ; and that the knowledge that such provision ha 3 been made is an important consideration with thoso who either risk their property or their lives in situations of danger. The increase of shipping, particularly of steamers, entering the Manukau lately has been very great, as will be seen from a report which will be found elsewhere in our columns , and the non-occurrence of accidents may be attributed to one of two causes, or to both, y\a , tlie caie manifested by the masters in navigating their "vessels, or the safety of the port itself. It is evident, however, that the .Manukau is only safe in moderately fine weather, or we should not hear so frequently of the signal being hoisted of "Bar unsafe" As the risk of accident, therefore, is greater, it is doubly incumbent upon tho authorities to be prepared for it. We were made an aro some months ago of there being boats, including a life-boat, we believe, at the heads, by tho fact that they had boon earned off some distance b}' rebel natives. Are these boats in the same insecure position now , could they be manned at a moment's notice; aie any other lifopresei ving appliances at hi.nd , arc theie tiny means of lelographing between the heads and Onehunga in the case of assistance being required ° We can answer this last question in the negative, and at the same time \\ c may say w c are glad to see that an effort is being made to accomplish this. As most of our readers know, rhe site of the pilot station at the JMsmulrau Heads is to be removed to the Sou'h Head. It is proposed to have there a more complete sj r stcm of signals , and as \\ ill be seen elsewhere Captain Wing has devised a plin uhich, if valuable, it is to be hoped the Government will not lcfuse to adopt on the ground of its cxpensiveneis. Expense, we ueed hardly say, should not be a consideiation where safety to life is the object. Independently of the necessity for a proper system of haibour signals, no harboui should be without a life-boat, and if there is one in the poit of Auckland we must plead ignoianco of wheie it is to be found. We are awaio that a life-bout was recently imported for his Excellency the Governor, and for his private use only, and we would suggest that the haibour authorities might obtain the loan of it until they can provide themselves w ith one We cannot help observing that theie seems to bo a iciy palpable disregard of the wants of our luirboii'-s Tt is well kuov\n that the poit of Auckland is deficient of a suitable pilot boat , although w c believe that arrangements have boon made for obtaining one But in the meantime tho Queensland Government aro before us. as will be soeu by the fact of a pilot boat foi Ihoir service having been launched fiom Mr. JI, Z^iccol s -yaid on Saturday. If is because we aie fully impressed v. ith. tho importance of lhi-> subject gcnei ally that we have again diaw n attention to it , ,md not needlessly we think, but on tho pimciple that " pie- " vent) on is better than cmc "

By the s.s. 'Tvan<satiia" which amvod on Satinday, -\\e ha\c lalei intelligence fiomthe South, our dates fiom Otago bang to ti.c 30th ultimo The news, for the most pail, is ummrtoitoiit, but wehave cxti acted some inteiesting items whiUi will bo found clsowheie. A subsciibei to the Weekly complains that his papci has not 1 cached Pukeumu for a month , in icply, no assiuo linn tint it is posted leguhuly in Auckland to his addicts A subsciibei to the Dun Soutuepx Cuoss, at Maityn's Faun, compla'iis that he has not got a copy f<n a veiy long tune ; and m tlnsi case out answer is the sime as that ahead y given • it is posted to his ii'ldiess in Auckland. These are two of the complaints of "postal megulanties" out of the "legulai batch" to hind by jesteul lys mail, and we select them as specimens. Sometimes we have a dozen complaints of this natme in a day, and we almost diead to bipak the seals of our daily coiie»pondence, lest they should contain nothing but com|>lunts which we aie | oweilessloiemedy. ltwouldheacuiiotis thing to ascei tain wheie all the missing newspapeis go. They must find leadeis somewheie , but they are not, we fc-ai, likely to pay us then quatteily sub scriptions up " conscience money " Oui subsciibeis in ceitain districts complain that then pipeis containing the English intelligence, and anything of special inteie->t, mvaiiably disappeai. Now this is a suggestive cnciimstance, and one which any peison in the w oild but the he id of the postal d«p utment would take caie to liiqmic into It might " lead to some thing," and ceitamly might end in b mg satisfactoiy to newspapei piopimtou. As the postal service at present stands in tins piovmte, it is conducted in a -way diffeiuig fiom any othei smnkii seivice that we evei hcaid 01 had any piaeticil knowledge of. Where the fault lies we will not ventuie to s.iy, but that the public will stand it veiy much longei is a thing we should be inclined to doubt veiy stiougly. Tt will be seen fiom onr obituaiy notices that Charles Baion Do Thieny, a gentleman who was intimately connected with the eaily histoiy of this province, died on Friday last at the advanced age of seventy one jeais. His illne==s, we undeistand, was a sudden and .1 painful one, but it must have been pleasing to him that both his sons weie in attend nice upon hi in at his deathbed, his 'eldest son, Mr. Ohailes Da Thieii), w hose sei\ ices as .a native interpietci ha\e been constantly m lequisition diumg the piesent wai, happening to be in Auckland at the time The deceased gentleman 1 mded in this piovmce in 1835 , was one of the fust settlois at Hokianga ; and took a cieditablo pait in eudeavouung to suppiess the native distill bailees iv the l until. The 'Siv Gcoioe Giey,' now lying alongside the Queen street whaif, loading for London, belongs to Messia, Homy Rlhs and foil's well-known passenger hue of clippcis truli ng between the Cape and London ; and her visit to this poi t is ow ing to hei having been chattered, at the foimer place, by Mi T. P Couit, to convey pi'sengeis and caigo hcie. On the 20th of this mouth she will sail on her letuin voyage, and as she po3ses^e-> cabin accommodation snpouor to moat vessels of her si/50, we aie induced to chaw attention to it foi the benefit of these trho may be on the point of letuvning to England.

As it regards ventilation, roomiues*, and general comfort, the cabins and saloon of the 'Sir George Giey' possess them in a mne than ordinary de gree. The saloon, which is spacious, is reached bycompanion stairs at each end of it, which besides their convenience secure ventilation, so importaut a consideration on board ship. The saloon is 24 feet iir^ngth by 10 feet in breadth ; the doors to the cabiira and the pannelling are of polished teak, andthe f urnitiire and general accommodation is such as to impress one with the idea of comfort. There n roam altogether for sixteen adult passengers, and some of tho cabins can be altered into one where the necessities of a. family may require it ; or each cabin which contains two bei ths may be limited to the disposal of one passenger by the removal of one of the berths, — and this, we undeiataud, the ageuts t are prepared to do without increase of expense. As the qualities of a commander of a pas"-c lgei vosscl are an nnpoitanb consideration, we need only refei to the handsome and voluntary testimonial pieseuted to Captain Piinee Gilpen on his an lval in this port aa a guaranteee that passengeis will fiud him to bo a gentleman, and an able navigator We have before given some paiticulars of the ' Sir George Grey,' but at the risk of lepeating them we may say that she was built at Sunderland, in 1839; was named after the Governor of this colony, formerly Governor of tho Cape Colony ;is 376 tons register, and is classed Al at Lloyd's for ten years She is one of seven vessels of similar capacity belonging to Messrs. Henry Ellis and Son, and her sailing qualities are proved by the log, which shows that with a fair wind she lias frequently gone eleven and even twelve kots an hour. The ' air George Giey' will take home one of the largest cargoes of kauri gum that h ive been shipped from heie, — between tluee an'l four hunched tons of that article forming the gi eater poition of hei fi eight. Considering the short time she has been in port, she has been fortunate in loading so quickly, and ltisno doubt cieditible to the captain and her .igeuls, Messrs. Gilfillan and Co., that she has been able to do so. We ate glad to find that the tioops and °ettlers at Ngaiuawahia have opened a leading loom theio. This is the fust step in the light direction, find v\e would like to see it- followed up by the establishment of a book club. AYe aie sure " the tiade" will giveeveiy facility for establishing a, book-club, and we throw out the suggestion in the hope that it will be acted upon. A New Zealand Government Gwstlte was published on Saturday. It contains a proclamation arid warrant .luthnusing the ejtabhbhment of a Savings Bank at Inveicaigill ; the appointment of Punsonby Peacocke, Esq , of Howick, to be a coroner, of Alfied D.imstr, Esq , to be alind claims commissioner ; fuller despatches fiom Geuoral C uneron, giving paiticulais of the engagement at Tuiranga, anil .\hich will be found elsewheie ; a schedule of allotments in Queenstown lo be sold on the 9th S^pte nbei next , a notice of application for the iucoi poration of the Bank of Auekaud; and a notice that the Rev. Edwaul Hadden Gianger, of the United Chinch of England and lieand, has been appointed an officiating minister under the Maniage Act. Ihe 'Eangahra' on her trip fi om the South, put into Poveity Bay , and as she lay theie for several boms, some of the passengeis went on shore W hile theio, they heaid of about 230 JNlaons being in the neighbouihood, and they weie mfoimed by a stoiekeepci that the Maoiis had expiessed their intention to pioceed to the seat of wai It having been decided by the Government to lemove the piesenfc signal station in the Manukau, to a moie conspicuous position on the South Head, Captain Wmg, with a view to facilitate their a r.i icemen ts, ha-> submitted to the authouties a set of well-e\ecuted pi ins of what he consideis the best foim for the pioposed signals. He pioposes to ciect two signal staffs, each supplied with balls and flags, and also with semaphoies On the staff to the noithwaid will be the signals to vessels going in oi out of the mai'i channel, ami the Boutheily staff will act for \essels enteung or leaving by the south channel. The use of the proposed semaphoies will be not only for signals to ships, but also to co.nmunic ite messages to Onehungi. Uad such an ariangement been made piior to the lo=s of the ' Oipheus,' theio mi_,ht have been many lives «aved, as the steameis then 'ymg in port would ha\e had eailic-i intimation of the cptistiophe , moieo\ei, the small staff of pilots' av^tints, and the gifatly incieasmg tiaffic, lendei anything that will facilitate communication highly desnable. Duung the -\ear IS6'2, the tonnage of meichxnt ships and steameis, not men of wai, tint pas3ed m and out of the Manu kau, was 12,076 tons ; of ships of wai, 5,863 tons ; of coasteis, 1,203 tons, and of car jo boat--, 237 tons, s inalnii','-a total tonnage of 19, 136. The total number of miles of pilotage duung the sune pound was"l,.ioo, m 75 tups of 20 miles each, and the boating atterding the same was 63 trips of 20 miles each, making 1,260 miles, md altogether 13S tups, and 2,760 mile". During the following year, 1563, the tonnage of merchant ships and steameis passing the Heads, was 16,624 tons; of ships of war, 18,828 tons , of coasters, 2,400 tons, and of caigo boat=, 3,609 tons, making a total of 41,452 tons; and the pilotage attending same was S3 trips of 20 mile", making 1,660, aud boating 75 trips of 20 mile*, making 1,500 miles, altogether 158 tups, and 3,100 miles. These figuies will give some small idea of the mci eased traffic, showing as they do an inciease in one year on tonnage of 22,016, or more than double, and of pilotage, 20 trips and 400 miles. It is tine that the wai in the latter year greatly tended to these iucieased figures, but still theie is the plain , fact that constant tiaffic anc'« laige aud valuable ships aie continually passing in and out of the Manukau. The plans submitted by Captain Wing are decidedly good, and a gieat improvement in eveiy lespect upon the present system, and if their only fault lies in theii expense we hope the Government will study the matter well before deciding against adopting them. The Wanganui Cfaonicls of June 29th gives the following with lespect to the restoiation of C iptain Lloyd's head :— " Our readeis will be glad to learn that Captain Lloyd's head has at last been recovered. Mi. CKiales Broughton, of this plsfce, having learned that it was at a pa on the Waitotara, and being piomised the assistance of two Waitotara natives, without whose aid he could not have gained his object, went out to Waitotaia on Satnrday last, and having (.ikon up his quaiteis at a fnendly natives' pa about two and a half miles fiom Peukama, the pa where Te Ua was with flic head, he sent a messenger requesting an interview with Te Ua, who, accompanied bj^Hapulona, ot Waitaia, and some of the leading Taranaki and JNgatiiuanui chiefs, with a following of neatly 100 men, made his appeaiance ne\tmoiniug about da} - lisjit. They enteied the pa fiom both ends armed to the teeth, and while the others sat down for a. koreio about 85 lemained standing as if ou guaul. Te Ua, then a^ked Mr. Bioughton \.hat he wanted. His leply was that having heaid that he had the head of in officei and English gentleman, he, a pnvate individual, feeling it an insult that it should lemain so close to the settlement, had come, unaimed and of his own accoid, to request him to give it up. Te Ua made a long- speech, chauting waiatas and pai mama songs, the purpoit being that he was anxious to be at peace and to do no evil. Mi. Bioughton declined to entei on political subjects, and again asked foi the head, Aftei some difficulty it was deln eied to him and he came into town with it on Sunday foienoon. We are sine the public in genet al, and the hi other ofnceis of the late Captain Lloyd in paiticulai, will be much gratified at the success of Mr. Broughton's attempt, which is highly ci editable to him, but is nothing moie than those who know his chaiacter and his acquaintance with the natives would expect It does not in the least detract from the meut of his enterprise that Te Ua had offeied some days pievious to send in the head, and that it would no doubt have been sent in this week without Mr. Bioughton 's intervention, as Mr. Broughton was not awaie of what was passing el»eere legaiding its delivery. We believe that pie

viowsly to his goflig out, that is, on Thursday last, Te TJa had offered it to Haata, a native policeman. We understand that the head is almost perfect : it rnoiely wants part of the under jaw, and is easily recognisable. Ensign Gamming will take it to Taranaki for buiial." A special meeting of the New Zealand Agricultural Association is to be held at the Ciiterion Hotel, Otahnhu, at 3 p.m. to monow, "to take into consideration the conduct of the Southern Cross relative to the report of the last monthly meeting of this societj'." Mr. John Gligg is the comenerof the meeting, and wp shall be anxious to know in what way this journal has wounded the dignity of that gentleman, or injured the reputation of the New Zealand Agiicultinal Society as a useful institution. The 'Wynyard Tier, which for some time past has been very much out of repair — in fact, so much so as to be almost dangerous, the greater portion of the upiights which suppoil it being veiy lotten and many of them neaily worn through by the action of the water and the various animalculn? -is now, we are glad to peiceive, being once more strengthened by the in Bertion of some fresh upiights. Even thfse, however, will only prove a temporal y pieventivc, as the posts are only being inserted in their natuial state, without any steps being taken to protect them in any way fiom being destroyed in the same manner. On the principle that anything that is woith doing at all is worth doing •well, it certainly is a matter of surprise that no means should have been taken to pie\ent this, as we should conceive that it would prove fai cheaper in the end were the work at once lendered a lasting one Whilst on this subject, we would drxw attention to the fact that a portion of the railing of the piei, foi about fifteen yards in length, at the further end, has been carried away, thereby rendering it a very dangerous piomenade al night, especially to an unwary pedestrian or anyone who pei chance may have been previously imbibing too fieely. "Try to please everybody and jou will please nobody " seems to be the plan upon which the Post office officials lie at piesent proceeding in Onehunga Originally the Post-office was at Mr. Davis's, in Queenstreet, but in consequence of representations by the business part of the community, it was decided to lemove it on the Ist of July last to Mr. Na7eis'b, near the beach. As soon as the inhabitints of the upper portion of the village heard of the intended removal, they got up and presented anumeiously sigred petition to the authorities to allow the existing one to stand. The officer, not knowing which way to decide, determined at the last moment to let both offices stand. The consequence is, nobody knows which office to apply to foi his letters, and as the two offices aie neariy a mile apait with a muddy road between, a person may tramp hteinlly from one end of the settle nient to the other, befoie he knows if theie are letteis awaiting him. As mw be belie\e'l, such .mi anangementghes inmei sal dissatisfaction, theieby proving the truth of the proverb quoted. Tf the Post office officials had decided to have a letter camei, and to deliver the letteis as they came to hand, and had allowed the Post office to be on the beach where it is wanted, they would, we aie informed, have satisfied the great majority of the inhabitants, wheiens the course which has been adopted has pleased no one. The Catholic Tnstitnte Bazaar closed on Saturday night, amidst the usual sacrifices. At the List hour, the sei vices of an amateur knight of the hammer Mere called in, and all was cleared away. The biidedtke was won bj the donoi of it, Mi. Canning, bj whom we understand it will be divided amongst those who have assisted at the bazaar. The pioceeds of the fom days' sale are €4GO The following not'ee appeals in a New Zealand Government Gazette, published on Satuuhy — "Notice is heieby gn en tint application la intended to be made to the Geneial Assembly of 2\ew Zealand, at the next session thereof, foi leave to bi,ng m a hill to incorporate the shareholders of a ceitaur banking company under the name of the Bank of Auckland, ■with peipetual succession and a common se d, to enable the said company to sue and be sued in then coipo lale mine, and to issue prounsaoiy notes m .New Zealand payable to beaiei on demand, and to caii3' ov> in Auckland and also, by means of a branch or branches, m any othei place or places in the s cV ,d colony, the diffeient kind-> of banki.ig and othei bu»i ness usually earned on by bankers And notice is herebj fnithei given that copies of the 'aid bill will be deposited in the Pin ate Bill Office within fom teen dajs fiom the commencement of the =e=sion — Dated the 4th day of July, 1564 —F. D Ft ntox, Parliamentary agent." As it w ill be seen by an announcement in our adveitising columns, the Bank of Auckland is now open for the transaction of usual banking business Some considerable amusement was caused to the looken on at the Queen stre. t wharf on Satin day afternoon, by the antics of a sailor (belonging to the brig 'Australia',) who, somewhat under the influence of liquor at the time, was in the act of bein» taken on board b) some of his messmates. To this he appealed to have a strong obiection, and it was not till after considerable trouble that they managed to get him into the boat and tie him down, not \eiy securely. however, foi in Ins striggles he managed te got nd of his moomigs and jumped into the water, where for some time he lesumed his enteitamment, much to the satisfaction of the looUeis on, w ith some very poipoiselike antics. He was at length reco\ered by some members of the Water Police Force, who put a bummary end to the enteitainment by taking him in charge. Some peison or peisons unknown were amusing themselves on Saturday afternoon, on the after deck of the steamer 'Alexandra,' (which vessel is ncv lying beached in Mechanic s B.i), for the purpose of having some repairs executed), m shooting at the various sea fowl which weie sporting about in the nfcighbomhood of the vessel, probably being unconscious of the fact that they were indulging in an occupation which was very neaily proving anything but an amubing one There were several people on the Wynyard Pier at tho time, in which dnection some of the shots were fired, and on one occasion thespoit became lathei too warm to be pleasant, as the shots might be distinctly heard and seen patteimg against tho side of the piei, a lady being seated near there at the time. One of the men employed in repairing the pier very properly hailed the vessel, and cautioned tte thoughtless spoilsmen. The Melbourne Argus makes the following comments upon the loss of the 'Scotia': — "The recent loss of the 'Scotia,' at the enfiance of the Bluff Harbour, has been a somewhat serious matter for the insurance offices. The vessel, we understand, was covered by policies in the home offices— mainly in Glasgow. Something like £16,000, however, has been lost by local offices, and offices having branches in Melbourne, on account of the vessel's caigo One institution loses £7,000, another £4,500, another £1,000, another £500, &c. The loss of this vessel, though under ciicumstances that must be regarded as extraordinary, will assist in lendeung Bluff Haibour unpopular. Since the trade with Southland was opened, the list of vessels lost at and m Bluff Haibour has swollen largely. It seems to be obvious that the youthland Government must make some better provisions than now exist for the safety of ships visiting the Bluff. It is apparent that the 'Scotia' was not lost because the lights were defective, but because the uastei (only temporal lly in command) did not adhere to hw resolution to wait outside till daylight for a pilot. Had a pilot cuttei been stationed off the entiance to tho por the '. Scotia' would have been taken mafely in. Had there been such a vessel to receive a pilot fiom an * outward-bound ship, it is extremely pi obable that the barque -Star of Victoria' would not hive been lost in an attempt to tow hei to sea after the pilot had left the vessel. It is not unlikely that the occurrence of two such serious looses, within a few days of each other, will lead to pome improvement in the pilot arrangement of the Bluff Harboui. The poverty of the Southland Government should be no hairier, because » proper pilot service would pay for itself."

All inquest \vm held by Dr. Philson, 'coioner, on Ratuulay, at Otahuhii, on the body of a man named Thomas Cummings, commonly known as " Tommy the Shingler," who had died on the night of Tluusday last. It appeared from the evidence that the unfoitunate man was an habitual diunkard, and was in a helpless state of intoxication at the Star Hotel on the night of his death. The landloid of the Star Hotel had him removed fiom the bar of his house, and, he sny-f, placed in an outhouse or passage ; but it would appear that the deceased was leally placed m the vciandah of Mr. Goiton, the butcher (but without Mr. Goi ton's knowledge). It will be lecollected that the night of Thursday was a most iuclement night, and the unfoitunate deceased seems to have w andeied away fiom wheio he was placed, and to have lain exposed to the pelting stoiin. He died tow aids morning, and the juiy found thai his death had been caused by diinking and exposuie to the wcathei. The O/tir/o Daily Times sijs — "An instance of gieat piomptitude m the settlement of in'Miiance has been communicited to us by one of the leading firms in Dunedin. The fiun in question had a v-iy heavy iusmaiice on a laige quantity of flour on boud the ' Scotia' when she was wrecked. The policies wei c those of the Derwent and Tamnr and Canton Insumnco Companies, and immediately on lece'pt of the news of the ' Scotia's ' loss, Messrs. James Henty and Co , the agents, remitted the amount to thp insmers." We take the following fiom the ITax'le'i Bay ITciahl of July sth —''The Government schooner 'Tiis' anived fiom Wairoa on Sunday, having on boaid the Civil Commissioner, togetbei with the captain and p.ut of the ciew of the steamer ' Eallarat,' lately stianded on the north ein coast of nawke'i Bay. At the time the vessel left a laigo runanga was being held at the Waiioa, sit which seveinl Waikatos weie piesent, whose mission seemed to be to i.usp, if possible, the lesident natives to a fighting pitch. Theio is said to be a pretty stiong Uingpaity in this locihty, and the movement has been met by Kopu and other fiiendly chiefs, who have piofessed their intention of fighting if necessity on the side of the Queen." On Satindaj', about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, a h lse in a diay took flight, and bolted tlnoiigh Selwyus leet, Onehunga, at a dangeious pace, until biought up by a scoria, wall, over winch he leaped, and in attempting to pull the cait after him knocked a laige poition of the wall down ITad the caitei had hold of the leins the accident would piob.vbly not have occuned, and it is quite time that the authouties took some notice of the caieless manner in which the caitei s between this place and Auckland aie accustomed to vine, the consequence of which is that a " bolt" of this natuie is of no uncommon occuirence. Steve Fostei , one of the competitois m the boat race to come off on Satuulay next, was out piactising on featuulay evening He seems to be an excellent; oil, fast, and taking an unusually long sweep, while at the same time he takes his woik veiy easy. Biaithwa'te will have his woik to do if he is to win. The remamdei of the stikes is to be deposited on Fnday next, £20 a-side. Bi nthwaite, the Onehunga man, has had his boat <-ince Tuesdiy last. Among the passengers by the 'Eangatiia' yestuiday weie Madame Ghio, the leuownod Swiss beaided 1 idy, accompanied by hei husband, Signoi Ghio, the celebiated waiblet and imitator of animals, and then son Esau a boy of about ten yeais of ige, also celebiated as possessing a giowth of beaul and whiskeis thatsome of his seniois might justly he pioud of. Madame Ohio and company ha^e jnstauived fiom "Wellington and the Southern poits, wheie they ha\e been aitiacting large audiences. U hey puiposo to appeal heie m the com so of .1 day oi two. An attempt at lobbeiy was mala at Otahuhu on Fnday night last. The police aie o l the tiack of the piitieS and it is hoped they will be soon m eiibtodj The membtis of the Auckland tioop of Royal Ca\alry Vohinte°is aic to meet at the Gicyhouivl Hotel, this evening, at halt pistse\cn o'clock. 'Hie Xixon Memoii.il Fund Committee "Hill me t today, .it 3 o clock, at the Chambei of Commeico loom, Foifc sheet. The Lainucslnn L'amniei of the lPtli ult sajs ' Fiom Holiaib Town jouma'swe le.un that thcic h«s> been a 'inn' on the Hotmt Town Sumgs Bank, but that tlie panic is no>\ at an end It seems to have oiiginated m an absuid n'ea that becxtiso Mi Chapman, who w as .i tuistce of the bank, has failed in hi-, own business the bank might thcieby possibly become lu^cciue But such anpiehen<uous were quite gioundlc^s, as any one acquainted with the leil chiinetrii and finincial position of this institution must be well awaie. The Achatisa "-ays — ' Ihe Lank itself, as eveiybody know^, is peifectly sound and stable Its last halfyeaily statement, published m Maich. last, is acces sible to all and sundiy. Its c\sh balance on the 4th of that month was upwaids of £11,000 , and it holds Government Debentuips to the amount of £25,000. It has. about £117,000 lent on unexxep tionable moitgages '— Thui "day's 3/civmy says — 'The nu on the Hohait Town Sa\ mgo Bank has gieatly dcciea^ed Jt has, in fict, Mitually ceased ) but not, i\ c regt et to &ay, w ithoiit case;, of individual sufteimg of the kind we dreaded. One man, ■fte undei stand, diew out foity pound;,, and the whole was squandered m tlie couue of a few days. But othcis weie moie foitunate They kept then money until the panic was over, and then letuined it to the safe keeping of the bank '1 heic weie not le=s than twenty such c.v-es yesteiday, we mulct - stand, and then example will no doubt =oon be fol lowed by otheis ' "We aie informed that immediately the 'urn' was made known, each of the Enlish and colonial banks in flobait 'LWn offeied to dvauce £5,000 to the Sa\iugs Bank." A ball, given by the Rose of Manukau Lodge of Odd Fellows, took place in the Onehunga Institute on Fnday night Mi Samuel Williams, PG , opened it at 9 o'clock with the usual formalities, aftei which the dancing commenced. The lefieshinents were supplied by Messis. Wnglitand Tayloi, of Auckland, and weie all that could be denned, and upwaids of fifty peiions sat down to a well spiead suppei. Mi. Jaimeson, P.P.G M., was piesent The whole affm was well conducted, and the anangements of the lodge weie excellent The company broke up about five o'clock the following moining The second anniversary tea meeting of the Band of Hope in Onehuiiga will take place at the Independent School-room, Onehuuga, to moirow evening. Tnere was another bumper house at thePiince of Wales Theatie on Satuulay night, to witness the iepie&entation of the favoniito Scotch Drama of "Rob Hoy," and the laughable faice of "Slasher and Ciasher." Mr. Biny, m the chaiacter of E,ob Roy, if possible, acquitted himself still befctei than he did on the pievious night of the lepiesentation of this piece, both as legards depoitment and voice. Mr. Bany is well fitted to peisonate the Scottish chief, it is decidedly one of his best characteis, and if he would only beai in mind that his voice possesses fully sufficient compass to lender the text without the necessity of ovei exeitmg it, and lendeiing himself liable to the imputation of lanting, his nnpeisonation of this ehaiactei would be leally excellent. Mi. J P. West, as the Bailhe, showed that he had spent consideiable paint and tiouble in endeavouring to lcndei himself thoioughly conveuant with the conect leading of that veiy trying chancter, and if his accent and appieciation of it were not quite so good as they might have been, we feel satisfied that it was thiough no fault of his. It was, however, a great improvement on his tendering of " Handy Andy." Miss Fanny Young, as Francis Oabakhstone, both in appeal ance and acting, was in veiy good taste. The lather difficult chaiacter of Flelen Macgiegor was taken by Mis. Twight, and heie we think a great mistake was made in the cast. Mn Twight, although undoubtedly a very useful and painstaking actres", is neither in depoitment nor voice fitted to coriectly impersonate an Amazonian chaiacter like that of Helen j Macgregor. That she did her best, no one will for a

moment dispute, but her voice is neither sufficiently full nor sufficiently masculine to enable her to do justice to the text, — a deficiency which made itself painfully apparent at times, and evidently as much so to the acticsshoiself as to her audience. The acting of Mr. O'JUien, as the Dougai, Mr. Daniels, as Major Galbi.iith, and Mr. Cliffoid, ns Kashleigh Osbaldistone, weio likewise dissolving of mention Some of the music incidental to the piece was veiy faiily lendeied, and Miss Fanny Young receiied consideiable applause ior the veiy efficient manner in which she sang " Should auld acquaintance be foigot?" We must not forget to mention the veiy excellent new sceneiy of the cave as depicted, we piesuine, by Mi. Twiglit, nor tliespmted minuet in winch Miss Julia Corconm danced a Highland fling. Moi ton's capital faice of " Slnshci aud Ci.isher" concluded the entoitainment, and cieatcd unceasing l.mglifcei and amusement tlnoughout, each of the chaiaoteid being so well (sustained as to make it ,i mattei of difficulty to select any paiticul.u ones as deceiving of moie especial mention. Mi. AYeit, as Blowhiud, was fiist late, and the chaiactei suited him admu.ibly Messis Daniels and Oliffoid, as Slashoi anil Ciasher, Kept the house in roais of laughter, whilst Mis Twight, as Dinah, and Miss Julia Coicoian, as 'Rosa, as two thorough con tiasts, weie both thoioughly good. The Californian Cucus played to a crowded house on Saturday evening at Otahuhu, and wore loudly applauded.