THE 'SURAT' ENQUIRY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXX, Issue 5116, 15 January 1874, Page 2

THE 'SURAT' ENQUIRY.

Wiiiskbt wrecked tlio ' SaraL,' as it has done many a good ship before her. The intelligence elicited before the Courfc of Knquiry sitting at Dunediu grows darker with each day's proceedings.* Every officer, save one, from the captain downwards, was drunk before and at the time the vessel struck. That exception^ the one faithful to his charge among the tlio faithless, was Mr. White, but what could he dP> with the captain, the four tnates, the. steward, and the sailmakor, 1 all drunk'?' Tlio mate actually tried.to -stop the pumps at) a time, when the passengers, including some of the women, were working them in relays to keep tho ship afloat. In the history of wrecks rarely we do meet with such a shameful story as tho evidence now being taken atDunedin discloses. It is, we believe, unparalleled to find in such a grave emergency on board a vessel like the ' Surat,' every , offiaer save one, —and that ' one evidently a petty office* —' intoxicated, suoh intoxication having- no doubt produced the disaster. That every soul on board did not "drown," and some of them "go to the devil," as the infuriated mate prayed might happen, is duo to a mere chance. That no life was lost is under fclie circumstances surprising to the last degree. A serious responsibility rests somewhere, : and the charterers of the ship, who were the New Zealand Freight Company,' ought to ba asked* to explain, to tho G-o-vernment of this oolony how it happened that the captain and officers of this vessel, being suoh as tho evidence proves them to be, should have occupied position! which enubled them to jcopardiio the. lives of 200 people, and to cast away a valuable ship and cargo, incurring a loss estimated at £150,000.

The Civil Sittings of the Quarterly Circuit Court conitnoncod yesterday. Tho case of Lougdale v. Webb — an notion to recover £271 Ga. 8d. on a promissory note — was partially hoard, and will bo resumed this morning. At the Police Court yesterday some hard swear iug was indulged in. In the charge of abusive and insulting language against Mrs. Veaey two of the witnesses swore, with apparent truthfulness, aB to tho expressions mado use of by defendant. Two othors, and Mrs. Vesey herself denied that Bhe had even spoken to the complainant. His Wor ship, in commenting on the evident perjury of one aide or the other, said : Thero is a class of persons who, if they really understand the nature of an oath, do not seem to be at all impressed with the solemnity attached to it. — Such persons are, fortunately, not numerous here, but that they do oxlst is proved beyond a doubt by the evidence given yesterday in the Police Court. The magistrate is placed in an exceedingly unpleasant position when called upon to ad* judicato in cases whore the testimony is so conflicting. It would havo required a second "Daniel come to Judgment" to have decided in the case of Hunter v. Vesoy. A meoting of the Auckland Presbytery was hold yesterday forenoon. Two resignations were tondorod — that of the Rev. Mr. Taib at Coromandel, and tho Rev. Mr. Stuiut at the Waikato. Tha Rev. Mr. McCallum, iu the Waikato district, seems ltkoly to leaye, as he has received "a call " from Wandfanui, i The business brought before the meeting, likely to interest the public most ia a notice of motion given by tho Rev. Mr. Maoniool relative to taking action to stop the running of trains on Sunday between Auckland andOnehuuga, and,at the suggestion of the Rev. Mr. Mason, the North Shore ferry-boats were included in the Sunday desecrating agencies, which are assisting to make vacant pews on Sunday. 'A report of the general business transacted appears in another oolumn.

i Th" City Maud, under the able duectioti o£ Bandmaster linpey, discoursed sweet mus : c oa Government House lawn last evi'iiing. Tlieie was a large number of listeners, and everyone seemed to bo delighted with the ti eat afforded them. It ia stated that the band will continue to porforiu every "Wednesday evening ut the samo place. Several weeks ago a scoundrel, under an assumed uaino, sent to this office a forged notice of a marriage, which uevor occurred, of persons living on the coast abuut sixty miles from Auckland. Tho family of one of the parties, with whose names tho culprit took such unwarrantable liberty, appeared to havo iuourred the strong dislike of this forger of names. A olue has been obtained which leads to the gutlty person, and meanwhile, until other means now in traiuiug are taken, it is not necessary to say more. By advertisement which appears in another column it will be seen tbafc. tho steamship 1 Hero ' will make * trip to the Hot Springs, leaving the Quoen-streeb wharf to-morrow, at 8.30 sharp. The object of tho trip is for the purpose of taking tho children of all our charitable Institution* for a day's pleasure, and that the public may have an opportunity of showing their sympathy for these charitable Institutions, roturn tiokets will be issuod to all thoso who may wish to proceed with tho excursion, at ten shillings eaoh. The money so railed will be given to tha above Institutions. It is hoped that the public will liberally respond to the invitation, and so aisist Captain Logan in not ouly giving the little children a day's pleasure, but also to assist him in his laudable desire to collect funds by so excellent a plan for the support of those children who havo unfortunately been so placed, as to be dependent upon the public for their support. The annual crioket match between eloven and eighteen players of Auckland will take place in tho Albert Barracks to-day, commencing at 10 o'clock. The following are Mr. W. F. Buckland'n eleven :— Mesirs. K. J. Yates, CUGIeeson, F. Dufaur, a. Thome, W. P. Buckland, E. Whitaker, A. King, W. Swanton, Joknsou, Wacerhouse, and A. Brown. Eighteen will be selected from the following : — Mesirs. Branston, Qhoyoe, R, G. Bsllera, Weston, Leggott, Heath 3r, Kice, A. Brook, G. Brook, Blundell, Alderton, Barnett, Willis, Putman, Willoughby, Howard, Fletoher, Wynyard, T. BraBsey, Whitherford, Woon, Bell, Pemborton, Cox, and Sharp. This match is always a very interesting content, partioulaily with the eighteen, who are mostly young playors, as their performances in this match is .cither favourable or unfavourable to their being picked to play i<i good elevens. Wo ato informed that the eighteen intend to play a '• dark" bowler by tho s.s. ' Hero.' Tho New Zealand Gazelle, of the 8th instant, contain* a notification of the appointment of 11. G. Fountain as Under-Seoretary in tho Department of Justice. A meeting was hold on Tuesday evening, at half-past 7 o'clock, in tho Whavi Hall, to take the necessary steps iu reference to arranging matters for holdiag races and other Bports at the Whau, on tho Regatt* Day (29th instant). Mr. Bollard was voted to the chair, and it was decided to circulate a subscription list, and the following gentlemen were appointed to canvass : — Messrs. Bollard, Morris, Archibald, Palmer, Hepburn, Sayer, and Owen, with power to add to their number. Subscription lists are printed and will be left at some of the principal places iu town during to-day and following days. It would seem that thero will be abundance of sports on Regatta Day, for at the Whaa, Fapakura, Auckland, &o. f will a considerable amount of amusement be provided. The adjourned meeting of painters was held yesterday evening in tho Rooms of tho Young Men's Christian Association. The object of the gathering was to endeavour to iuduce the employers to increase the rate of pay. — Mr. Watts was placed in the chair, and explained that tho meeting had been adjourned from the public-house, where the preliminary stops hid been taken in. consequence of tho objection of irfany of the trade to have anything to do with meetings held in a tavern. — Mr. Ross thought tho wages asked for were little enough. Tho difficulty was in choosing between good aud inefficient hands. He moved, " That this meeting is of opinion that 9s. a-day should be considered the wages of a painter."-?- Mr. Taylor <?id not see why painters -should not be paid at tho same rate «e carpenter*. He thorefore moved, us aii amendment, " That 10s. a-day should bo stood out for." — Mr. Butler stated that, as a mastor-paiuter, he had always been under the impression that 9s. day had been paid. He had paid that rate of wages, and was always ready to pay what was generally considered a fair rate. Several speakers addressed the meeting, and generally deprecated any attempt at coorcion. They merely wanted what was fair. A considerable amount of discussion also took place in regard to tho ability of the master ■painters to pay the additional rato, and it was Ultimately resolved that 9s. a day should bo taken as the standard rato of paymant. Several of the master painters were present, and fully consented to the new arrangement. According to the General Government Gazette, of tho 8th instant, the census will be taken in March next. The Mechanics' Institute Exhibition was again well attended yeatorday. Somo fresh exhibits wero received during tho day, including some samples of sheeting and huckaback manufactured in England out of ordinary linen and phormium tenax. They aro shown by Messrs. L. D. Nathan and Co., and afford conclusive proof of tho superior capabilities of New Zealand fibre when properly dressed. Thero have also been some valuable additions to the fancy work, Miss Richardson having sent in a variety of ornamental work, consisting of wax flowers, wator-colour paintingB, &c. Mr. Wood, of the ' Jossie Nicol' has withdrawn hi« interesting collection of curiosities, owing to his contemplated departure for another cruise. The space rendered vacant will probably be ocoopied by Mr. Perkins's musaum from the Occidental Hotel. This evening Dr. Coughtrey will give auother lecture on anatomy, and, from tho $ ucocss of his first one, it ought to draw a good attendance. A correspondent writes in reference to a letter from "Ratepayer" in yesterday's issuo, alluding to the application! of the oity I employees for an advance of wages, that tho statements made by the Mayor at the sitting of the Council on Monday were from the report of the City Surveyor on their application, but that " they forfeit portion of their day's wages whenever the skies are unpropitious, 1 is not at all correct. They very rarely forfeit their wages ; thoir services being very generally required during the wet woather, and it is only when at work at cuttings or such work they havo to stop. They are also allowed for overtime. Our correspondent is however of an opinion that they should bene- | fit by the advance now being made in all classes of labour. A favourite amusement of tho boys of Auckland seems to be etone-throwing. Parents should impress upon their children the danger of such practices, more especially as tho police are now looking after thi« claas of offe'nders. Three boys wore locked up yesterday evening, and will this morning be be charged with the offence. One of the lads will probably also be charged with assault, as when throwing the stone he ■truck another boy on lie ankle, inflicting a painful wound. "ThemanKinivan," says the Thames Advertiser, " who was missed about eight or nine days ago,- has not since been, heard of. His friends and acquaintances have made oareful searih and anxious inquiries, but have been unable to discover any trace of the missing man, and fears are eutet-taiued thut he must have met with au untimely fate either by drowning or other means." We seo by tho Thames Advertiser thai) the committee of the St. Thomas of Aquinat Boys' School, acknowledge tho receipt ef £50 from the Right Rev. Dr. Crok», towards the school nearly oompletod in Walter* street, Grahamstown.

There was a meetingOT the Improvement Commissioners yesterday^afternoon, but the bnainess done was of no great import-, ex cept that the offer of the Secretary of the Wesleyan Ohurch to sell thrir property m High-street for £3,500 was accepted. On Monday evening the annual meeting of the Whau Hall subscribers took jtlnce in the hall. There was a very largo attendance, and the chair was occupied by Mr. J. Bollard. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and confirmed, the chairman irew attention to the large attendance that night as contrasted with the paucity of attendance at the previous annual meeting, when the attendance was so small that the committee had to remain in office in cocsrquence of an tipsufficient member of subscribers heing present to form a quorum. — The balance-sheets of the tvo last years, 1872 and 1873, were then read and adopted. — The following gentlemen were elected a committee : — Messrs. JBarraclough, Uwen, Saniom, Bollard, Archibald, Davis, and Harper.— On the motion of Mr. Buchanan it •was agreed that the Hall Committee should also act as a Library Committee, Mr. Owen as librarian for the fiist three months. — A Tote of thanks to the chairman was passed, which terminated the formal proceedings. — At the termination of the general meeting the committee met and appointed Mr. Bollard aa chairman, and Mr. Sansom as secretary. It was agreed that the next meeting should be held some time in March, and the committee separated. It was reported at the Police Station, Shortlatul, on Tuesday, {says the Thames Advertiser) that a man named Harrey Hamilton, who resided with bis wife and family in Mr. Rose's house, at Hikutaia, died suddenly while working in the bush with a man named William Hazlett. Mr. J. E. Macdonald, coroner, is to proceed there to-day, accompanied by Dr. Kilgour, to hold an inquest. Deceased, who is an American, was a strong, powerful fellow, of about 40 years of age, and was a sober, steady man. He has been for some time a bushman, and was recently in the employ of Mr. Bagnall, felling timber at the Hikutaia bush, but was not employed at this work at the time of his death. The circumstances connected with hit sudden death havn not transpired, but will no doubt be elicited at the inquest. A portion of the Great North Road between Arch Hill and the Lunatic Asylum, deserves the immediate attention of the Go▼•rnment. The small metal and binding on the surface have all been removed, and the centre of the road now contains nothing but largo loose blocks of stones which have been the cause of several accidents lately. Neglecting roads in this manner, which are under the charge of the Provincial Government, is not the way to Bhbw a good example to the trustees of the adjoining highway districts.