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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1030, 13 March 1869, Page 3

The New Zealand Advebtiser has been reduced to half its former size, and is published at one penny. To judge from appearances, the Advertiser will speedily collapse and the Independent take its place as the organ of the Government. Militia Appointments and Promotions. —The following are gazetted:— • James William Whitty to be ensign in the Wairoa (Hawke'sßay) Militia; date of commission, 16th February. Ensign Sydney Johnston to be lieutenant ; date of commission, Bth February. Ensign William Routledge to be lieutenant; date of commission 9th February. The Education Rate. — The letter of a Kaikora correspondent, to be found in another column, refers to a meeting at Waipawa, as reported in our contemporary. We had not previously observed the report in question, but now republish from the Times of the 4th inst. the following resolutions : — i I.—^Proposed by Mr. S. Winsor, and seconded by Mr. T. Cowper : — " That the present rate is unfair in its operation, and I presses more heavily on the poor of the Province than on land owners." 2. — Proposed by Mr. J. Harding, and seconded by Mr. M. Gregory: — "That we resist the rate till the Trustees have the right to appoint the teacher, and regulate the rate of school fees." 3. — Proposed by Mr. T. Thompson, and seconded by Mr. J. B. Smith: — "That this meeting views with indignation the action taken by the Provincial Council in imposing a rate contrary to the views of the electors of the Province." Export of Gold. — The ship Countess of Zintore will take on board to-day for England about 14,000 ounces of Thames gold. She will in all probability leave tomorrow. — Southern Cross, March, 9. The Fenian Conspibacy to mubdeb Pbince Airbed. — The report of the committee on the O'Farrell affair was submitted on Tuesday, the 16th February, in. the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales. The motion for its adoption gave rise to along debate, which was terminated on Thursday morning, 18th February, when Mr. Parkes's amendment (rejecting the report, and affirming the reality of the conspiracy, &c.) was carried by a majority of 10. — Southern Cross. Whitwoeth Gun. — The Atlas, of November 27, states : — The Whitworth nineinch gun, by which the unprecedented range of 10,300 yards was obtained lately at Shoeburyness, was fired again on Saturday, when it beat even its previous performance, and with 385 elevation, and a 501 b charge, threw a 3011 b shell to 11,127 yards, first graze, being about 1 1000 yards further than ever iron mass was hurled by any other gun. There can be no doubt that the use of such guns, carrying considerably over six miles, will completely change the tactics of modern warfare. SOHAFEB COMMITTED TO PBISON. — The light of the great German traveller, Frederick Schafer, has gone out in utter darkness. He aimed at being the historian of Australasia, and has succeeded only in.addiug one more to the long list of its unenviable notorieties ; he professed a desire to Christianise the aboriginal population, and to that end married a Maori wife, whom he left under circumstances which brought him into some contempt ; he assumed the character of an explorer, and walked over tracts of country but little known, without increasing the knowledge already possessed one iota ; and, finally, having outlived the little popularity he at first gained, lost what records of his adventures he might have kept, spent all his money, and exhausted the charity of his friencls. He has twice pretended to attempt suicide, and is now in Melbourne gaol for having fired at himself with a pistol, charged only with powder. Having been remanded for medical examination, he was brought before the City Court on February 17th, the Magistrates being presented with a certificate affirming the little hypocrite to be of sound mind, and to have suffered nothing beyond the scorching of his skin from his late " desperate" attempt. When asked by the Bench whether he had any friends, or any place to go to if they released him, he said : — I have no friends. I never have friends oxcept I have money. I have no money now, and so have no friends. I had a few hundreds when I came to this colony, but that is all gone, and I have no place to go to." Under these circumstances the Bench thought it best to provido a place for him, and so ordered that he should go to prison for three months, in default of finding a sufficient surety for his good behaviour during that period. — Argusz^