AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 13, Issue 1063, 6 July 1869, Page 2

AUCKLAND.

(FBOM A COaBESPOSDBSI .) I iiave just had a conversation with, a gentleman who has a large stake in the pj*ospjrit£ of the Waikato. His runjs^ofc^ Rlatamata, and one of the most exposed in ( the event of a rising by' tlie rKijb^tpajrJiy. * He is. as well acquainted with; the, jatmi , mind as any man I know in this, province (except, perhapsjC. O^ Davis) ; and if, as Colonel Whitmore has stated, there were any danger of a rising, the gentleman I allude to would certainly know it. But however accurate and trustworthy may be the information which Colonel Whitmore may have received, the gentleman I allude to is, in my humble opinion, quite as good an authority as he. W~ — —— does not tell mo that there 1 id any danger bf.a rising ; he say*, on the contrary, that Coh Whitmore is too credulous to believe the canards

■ of some natives drunk on comtoissariat tui^ -; 1 and that the gallant gentleman ougHt |o b's. ,, t a good deal ashamed of hii stupid conduct. -, in spreading reports that- (did they oeme from anyone more worthy of belief ) might do an infinite amount of harm to the Waikato. It is all very well for Col. Whitmor6 and men of his kidney, whose "psyiand. allowances," with the little unmentionable supplements, are involved, to get up these rumors and panics. It's : their trade $mf there were no such things, the public might?soon come to think that there was no longer any necessity for retaining the services of such men! We might even bring; ourselves to such a pitch of serene resignation as to make any . sacrifice, even . to parting- with ■ Colonel Whitmore, whom some enthusiastic -„-- admirer in the exuberance: of his ffeelirigs has called "the saviour of his country." Save us from our friends. . . , •... ,

On the whole, the defeat of the Stafford* Ministry has .given rise to a feeling of general satisfaction here, although there ap- : pears to be a settled conviction in the minds of men that the change to Mr. Fox is not likely to be a very beneficial one: I believe myself— and lam supported by most of those I know— that it will require something more than a mere change of men to make the Ministry a benefit and not a ; curse to the country. I want measures, not men. I want to see some unity of purpose — some indication of a genuine desire to bring this country safely through its difficulties — some forgetfulness pf , old political Jealousy, partjt^uirglesjloff-roilina', and indivufuaT aggrandisement ; I want tcTT&e some real patriotism, in fact. • "■( • ; - If Mr. Fox " or any other man " will lay aside these miserable party-log-rollings—^ will disconnect himself from all cliques, be they selfish Middle Island squatters, whof T would shed the last drop of blood of their brothers of the North in putting down re- , bellion and anarchy; be they centralists,, who would ruin both ends of the .colony to , benefit Wellington; or be they Northern ; croakers, who are perpetually, crying > out about their dangers and their v native difficulty"—if Mr. Fox will dp this; and vill ;1 set himself, with a single mmd arid conscientious purpose, to roll away, the Black clouds that surround this magnificent co'un-' try, then I prophecy that he shall Tiave the " ' hearty support and sympathy of every right-minded man in it. ;, . ~, — * '.■ . -.'-.•■ • Julyl^// The heavy weather still continues and we? have just received reports of the wreck of" two vessels at the Great Barrier Island, namely the schooner Elizabeth MaryamJ ,■ the cutter Annie. The ElizabetblMary, 3J5? tons, Gorney, master, left Auckland on the 16th ult., in ballast, to load firewood at the . Great Barrier Island for this port. The [ crew consisted of the captain and two men and Mr. Mainwaring was a passenger, Oa T Saturday, the 19th of June, "the- Bchd6ri^| lay at anchor at Humarua, having on board at this time about 25 tons of firewood,, when $■ the wind came on to blow. very strongly? from the north-east, and continued without intermission until 4 o'clock on Mondayrtbe' 20th, when it suddenly shifted round to the south-east, and blew a heavy gale From that quarter. There was '".&: tre- ' mendous sea on, and the vessel dragged her anchor and drifted from her moorings about 2 cables length from the shore^ on to/ the rocks, which consisted of large' jagged* ; boulders.. She bumped heavily, the sea making a clean breach over her; and completely smashing in her bottom. AIL her .fittings were washed away, but the crew and passenger managed to hold on till about 8 o'clock, when the wind and sea hating somewhat moderated they got safely ashore through the surf. They were kindly brought up to Auckland to-day by Captain Gagger, of the cutter Gazelle. The Elizabeth Mary belonged to Mr. Mackayjdf Auckland, and is so broken up as to be . rendered entirely useless. ,

The cutter Annie, the property of Mr. Carr, was also wrecked at the Great; Bar- „ rier. At the time, of the Gazelle leaving she lay ou the rocks close to the shore." During the gale the'-natives went, on board and endeavoured to take the vessel out to sea, but owing to the violence of the galop this "was found to be quite impossible/ Her bottom was considerably damaged but it is probable that she may be repaired. Several other small wrecks are reported r to have taken place, but the particular* have not yet been ascertained, . ;