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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 820, 22 January 1867, Page 3

Operation of the New Audit Act. — Suddenly and unexpectedly (say. the Colonist of the 15th inst.,) a meeting of the Provincial Council has been called by His Honor the Superintendent for Tuesday .next, the 22nd instant. " This meeting has been ftrund necessary in consequence of the , .stringent provisions of the Audit Act, which prevents the payment of any moneys not passed by formal vote of the Council. Some time since, at an unofficial meeting of the ,_nem : bers, it was unanimously agreed that certain expenditure for roads, and other ne.cessary works on the West Coast would be authorised, and the Superintendent was ad^ rised to have these works accomplished. Th .c Chief Warden, Mr. Kynnersley, had an opportunity of employing a large num- . bei .• of men in road-making. Wisely taking ad vantage' of the presence of many unemph iyed diggers, he let the work out in sb ort contracts, and has got it all but wholly co mpleted with most praiseworthy speed. Bnt the new Audit Act prevents the payment without the vote of the Council, and 'hence this extra session, which, we presume, will not last many days. Remarkable Occurrence at Koroniti. — The Koroniti correspondent of the Wanganui Times tells the following remarkable tale : — " A native has just arrived from London with the following rather startling intelligence. He states that a native' woman had come into London from Kokako for protection. What follows may appear ridiculously absurd in the eyes of Europeans, but it is nevertheless perfectly true. The woman says, that on the night of the 24th — Monday last she awoke from a dream. She had dreamed that the Hau-haus were then coming to kill herself and the few people who were with her in the pa. As the ; greater portion of the people were away at Manawatu, there were only some 10 or 12 and most of them women and children, in the pa. She at once awoke some of her friends and told them her dream. As the Maoris put great faith in dreams, those no sponer heard hers than they resolved to start for London, and in a short time the whole of the residents in the pa were on , their journey. Strange to say they had not gone far when they heard several shots fired, and on ascending a hill about a mile from • the pa they saw the house which they had , just left in one mass of flames. One of : their party who stayed behind till the last ; . says, that the Hau-haus killed every living , thing within their reach. What the re- ; suit of that affair will be, or whether the < owners of the pa will take utu it is hard to say. It is certain that the natives both here and in London fully expect to be at- i tacked by the Hau-haus. Men are told off as a guard and sentries planted every night. ( They have received threatening letters and messages from the Ngatiraukawa to the effect that the Wanganui natives were by , far too bounceable at Manawatu, and that , they — the Ngatiraukawa — and the Waikatos intend to take it out of them. That may ; be bounce too, but I shall not be surprised to hear that the Wanganui river may be again stained with the Hau-hau blood." Waikato Lands. — By last advices from : Auckland we learn that the Government < announces that 583,000 acres of rural land : in the Waikato district are now open for sale, in blocks varying from 40 acres upwards. The lands are divided into three classes and may be taken up at fixed prices : of 15s, 10s, and 5s per acre, according to quality. 20 per cent, of the purchase money must be paid on application, and the balance in four instalments within twelve months of the day of sale. Written applications may. be made at the Auckland Waste Lands Office, on or before the 12th March next.