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Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1119, 18 January 1870, Page 3

The Flying Squadron is thus facetiously spoken of by the writer of the Perrybingle papers in the Melbourne Weekly Telegraph. The Squadron is at present lying in Hobson's Bay : — Britannia, the Pride of the Or pin, is wearing out her old clothes. Tills the meaning of the Flying Squadron. JS r ow-a-days there's no more cutlass and boarding pike business to be done. Our fighting sea-dog hides behind several feet of iron, and blazes away at another sea-dog hidden behind several more feet of iron a mile away. The dodge is to keep away as far as possible, and to let fly when you get a slant. Its like going to sea in a floating waier-tank, and making war through the bung-hole. You don't tackle your enemy aboveboard. In fact, you couldn't see the white of his eye with a 500-horse-power telescope. What you do is to try and bulge his water-tank and he tries yours, without hurting anybody more than he' can help. When you've bulged one another enough you leave off, and have refreshments, or gloriously sink to the bottom and get drowned, as a litter of blind puppies might do if you started 'em on a. voyage down the river in a kerosine tin. Now these Flying Squadron ships are ships. A bloodthirsty chap might stand a chance of seeing a good deal of old fashioned gore, and raw flesh, and battered heads, and remains knocking about if he went into action in one of 'era ; but then he wouldn't be fighting according to the late principles ; and if you don't fight on principles you'd better go home, and turn the mangle. They're behind the times, and Britannia wants to wear 'em out, so she sends 'em to Australia. Presently they go down to New Zealand, in time probably to hear of a few more massacres of colonists ; bat not to avenge 'em. Not a bit of it. They keep their powder dry, according to orders, and fire salutes with it, and make fireworks. If they wasted it on rebels they wouldn't have any left to make a noise with, when governors and other people with cocked hats come round at prog time ; and that would be a pity. It's just as well to remember that if this was war time the Flying Squadron wouldn't care about sailing the seas. Don't make any mistakes, the Squadron is not a fighting Squadron, because it can't fight on modern principles. New Mail Service. — The new Mail Service, between San Francisco and Sydney, will commence sooner than was anticipated. The name of, the Company taking up the line is not, as was conjectured, the " Pacific Mail Company," but the " Californian, New Zealand, and Australian Mail Steamship Company.'' The following advertisement appears in the Sydney Morning Herald of the Ist inst. : — "The Californian, New Zealand, and Australian Mail Steamship Company. First steamship to leave Sydney in March, touching at Auckland, Honolulu, and San Francisco, monthly, H. 11. Hall, U.S. Consul, Manager, 21, Bridge-street, Sydney." It will thus be seen that Auckland has been decided upon as the port of call in New Zealand. Colonial Puize Fikifg. — We (Inchpendent) understand that the time within which company representatives may be selected, has been extended from the 31st January to the 28th February. The address of the Mayor of Cork" to the Lord-Lieutenant on his recent visit to that city has, by some accident, been copied into a local journal as the address of the ladies of Cork ; and this mistake is the more to be regretted as the following passage figures conspicuously in that document : — "' Nature has done much for us, but man almost nothing." A Simple Beply. — A girl forced into a disagreeable mutch with an old man whom she detested, when the clergymau came to that part of the service where the bride is asked if she consents to take the bridegroom for her husband, said, with great simplicity, " Oh clear no, sir ; but you are the first person who has asked my opinion upon the affair."