SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMARY FOR THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3349, 10 April 1868, Page 3

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMARY FOR THE ENGLISH MAIL.

Nothhtg of any very great importance has vai occurred, since the publication of our sum- • mary-'for the Panama maiL A crowded'"^ public meeting was held on the 3rd instant " ti to give expression to the loyal feelings of the inhabitants of this province, in connection < with the late wicked attempt to assassinate Prince Alfred. The chair was taken by his Honor the Superintendent. A number of gentlemen expressed at length their sympathy with the Duke and his Royal mother, and their opinion of the unprovoked attack which had been made upon him. The resolutions and addresses adopted by the meeting will be found in another column. "We should mention that the feelings of sorrow and anger at the attempt upon the Duke are not confined to her Majesty's European subjects. "We have received a letter from Wiremu to Wheoro,a well-known' Waikato chief, expressing the opinions of the Waikato chiefs upon the outDage. "We annex a translation of the letter :—: — "Friends, — The news has come to us about tha attempt to assassinate the Duke of Edinburgh. Our minds are very grieved on account of this great calamity which has befallen the descendant of chiefs who was coming in his greatness to see this land, inhabited by his people. We, the chiefs of Waikato who are living under the laws of his mother, Queen Victoria, had been looking forward to the arrival of this young chief, to greet him as a stranger with Bongs of welcome, and to show him the customs of the native people of this country. But he has been held back from us by this evil which has befallen his innocent person. Alas ! the descendants of the great, to what dangers are you exposed ! O son, rest you there quietly under this affliction. We your friends are anxious on account of this evil deed which has befallen you in the days when # in your influence you were visiting your tribes in these islands. There could be no murder equal to this, which is the most atrocious that ever happened in the world, and will never be forgotten. " Enough : here ends this greeting from your friend who is living under the shadow of the Queen. " W. Tk Whioro." His Excellency Sir Q-eorge Bowen is engaged in making acquaintance with out province. On the 2nd instant he paid a visit to the settlement of Orakei, belonging to the friendly chief Paul. Paul made a speech, in the course of which he remarked that his tribe — the Ngatiwhatua — was the only native tribe whose hands had never been stained with European blood. The Q-overnor, in a short reply, stated that he had come to New Zealand to be the father and administrator of both races, and that he was desirous of having one law for Maoris and Europeans. On the 6th instant, his Excellency and Lady Bowen paid a visit to Sir G-eorge Grey, at the Kawau, returning to town on the 7th, and attending, on that evening, a complimentary concert given in their honour bv the Auckland Choral Society. On the 9th inst., the Governor and Lady Bowen paid a State visit to Onehunga, where addresses were presented from the loyal inhabitants of that town and neighbourhood, and a most enthusiastic welcome was given to the representative of our Queen. There is but little native news since the departure of the Panama mail. "We cannot indeed say that hostilities are at an end, but they are at all events suspended, and every day that is passed in peace is an additional surety for its continuance. Now, if ever, there is a demand for judicious management on the part of the Government, It is a most difficult task to avoid wounding the very touchy susceptibilities of the Maoris, but if that can be done we feel confident that their own self-interest will gradually establish amicable relations. They will see that the friendly natives who allow Europeans upon their unused land are deriving a large benefit from the sale of miners' rights, a consideration which sooner or later will almost certainly out-balance the fast-waning loyalty to the King. To the operations of the Native Lands Court, and the extension of the Thames goldfields, we trust almost entirely for the final termination of our native embarrassments, and we only regret that the action taken by the Legislature \ during the two last sessions should haye 1 , been such as materially to diminish the utility of the Native Lands Court. Our goldfields are advancing prosperously, and we hear every day of enormous yields from small quantities of quartz. The great want is still more efficient crushing machinery, and until this is in some manner supplied we cannot expect that any very great yield will be , obtained, or that the field will be fairly tested. A very large quantity of quartz has been taken out of the different claims, and is being held back until machinery is erected. "We understand also that the owners of some of the more distant claims, from which the quartz would at present have to be humped down, have determined to wait until the roads are further completed. No further news has reached us on the subject of the Fenian organisation upon the West Coast, and we have little doubt that measures taken by the Government will have proved amply sufficient to overawe any who were riotously disposed.