AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 15, Issue 1192, 30 September 1870, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

- .1:':^.... (i?EOM OTTB OW» CODBESiPOKpEST.) '_ • ' "• September 16. Fine weather has at last supervened upon the all but incessant downpour, which . .must have made the past winter anything ,;-bnfc enjoyable to those amongst us who pre- "' feg t'errestial to amphibious pleasures ; clear V Bonshiny daysj aud cloudless nights are ; once more the rule instead of exception. Private intelligence confirms thestate r menfc which reached here two or, three weeks ago, via Napier, with respect to the !• meditated . surrender of Patara and Anara - -MatgfceJ ; Tt' has nevW 1 been quite ascer- , ; 'tamed; I b'plieye, how far Patara was im--1 pUda^4 '^Viilkn^r's Imurder,1 murder, though it is r,.k^owhr ?atijura was: residing at TeKawa, r thirty: miles, from ;Opotiki,; when the sad - event occurred. ; Anaf v ; Matete's history %;ia rather 'peculiar. -Originally a chief off * Poverty Bay,ihe was best known for his - 'quiet friendly demeanor towards the earlier settlers in his district. As a chief he was ; very inflaentikl, and .exerted himself successfully, on tiaahy occasions, in peacefully '^ arranging disputes 1 amongat.the Europeans 1^ and i 5 Miories. , ; Ljke' btbers of his. tiise, . "„ &we,yer ? ",ie v w.sS;. drawn into the vfcrtexqf l';Hau-Ha.uism ;',, but, before joining thVt ; : fanaticism, he voluntarily: came forward and - ;;jp_aid.-,a sumof £50 which he owed toisom^ : Eardpeato neighbors. ■ ■ l ''; ! ! : '.". jlhe Ohinemuri affair turn 3 but to have ,been 7 ; much exaggerated ; , indeed, • native , - ; neFS , from -, that quarter is n.ot.to. be.relied • i uponv p;The bailiff fiasco, as Teported here, was, nevertheless, believed to 1 be mainly ' correct. when I last wrote. ; , ; .v ■.■■: '-■'■-'■ '■ The Thames tarring -and feathering case t lias been tried, and decided in favor of the -accused ; a verdict was given "Not Guilty." ■^ On' the -14th, you will remember, the plaintiff 'iiSd^accused another person of " specimen ,Btealing;r", the. charge is considered to have t been,: made , through spite, engendered, by - 1 former differences between, plaintiff and defendant; henceithe-tarring,! &c, /During ■ th6 v ceremohy plaintiff was severely handled, and. nearly lost the' sight'of one 1 eye. Two vor three -daya ; Bince the j " Goldep ~> Growri'l declared" another dividend of 10 per •^cent. ; The fortunate 'shareholders in that jclftim, ate; making immense' profits, and • the *; .gierferatTbairi^'gold yield is still increasing. I 'J^gqsid many claims, ; it is 'true r pay, no, diyi..jdends ag,yeji; but, on. the, whole tiierecan I ibenoi doubt;that;Very material progress, is -'. being gradually^ but- surely; effected at the '. Thames.; : - : ~ ; ;■"' ;; - '-' '- ; '- : ' ■'• ' ';'• i ' i J *J?Ke District Court has been. lately occu- ' ;pied';with la most remarkable, "i witchcraft" '.'.Gsse.',.",Ai exemplifying: the t possibility of l\ civilising, Maories, this singular case, is eminently suggestive, and I may say. without a > .parallel... .-.The "bewitched one-' was a young Maori educated at St. John's College, and employed .for 'nine years by the. Govern - • mentasia draftsman. The details are too copious to; forward in this letter ; but you will find full reports of the trial in our local newspapers/ 5 It may suffice to state here that ttie evidence discloses blood -sucking and pther : abominations perpetrated by a Maori woman upon a sick man. A white man is partly mixed up in the strange business. ■} ;: /': >;-;.'. •■ ; ■'. . • : The Superintendent returned from Wellington on the 6th ; his arrival excited very little attention; .1 have heard great " dissatisfaction expressed at the result of his senatorial. labours. Never much of a, public ''favourite, his slight popularity, appears to .)be .already on the, wane? his mainstay has c . jjeeu the Wesleyan interest, which is said, to have secured for him the Superin tendency, > and appears to influence most matters con-! ' ; nected ; with ' Auckland- very' much^ as -it ' pleases. A few days after his return, Mr. - Gillies attended a small meeting connected with the proposed Ragged School.- - The Public Works scheme; has advanced in Auckland estimation since it !was decided to construct the Waikato and Kaipara railways. tr ,The?fle>*aW, which is, generally speaking, 8" everything- by turns, and nothing long,'' has become mildly enthusiastic about jthe J last-iiamed line '■ especially ; its zeal for ila progress, appears to have arisen out ofith?. extraordinary idispovery it has made, thst;it;will' be possible "'to be sup-; plied mtKr, M :freßa:grapes every, day," after. the Kaipara railway, is? completed.; A few ; weeks back, the Herald, as vigorously as it knows) how, opposed railways, and advo-| cated jthe construction of common roads' instead. Considering the enormous influence wielded by that organ for moulding public it seems impossible to feel Bufficieptiysgcateful: to the editor's praise--worthy: appetite for" fresh grapes." ---• - ; After a interregnum the Tomahawkagain*Appearedbri the'Sth inst., and the issue of that date isgenerally allowed to be' s tße bießt dfj tbje^erjes. The hiatus is archly -accounted, for in the number - referred to. I hear a change in its management is likely _._ta,pccur; generally, speaking, as far as its „matter is concerned,; it jsipossible a change ; : might not :be, synony.mQUs, with improve--in«nt..'; Besidea^thei well-known^ ability of •Hta^editbr^a considerable' amount of talent * ;i Ls contnbntddLto the. Tomahawk; one or ' ti?p('pf f .its cartpbifs are admirable ; the one *' tna^lrispresents mv. Yogel seated at a table .piled wjth; bags of money, etc., etc., would, Jn myt opinjojn, do credit to jthe London Punch. I believe it is proposed to. reduce tbje price of the Tomahawk to threepence,' - one-balf of its present cost. ; - '; '. ; The i United States s.s. Resaca arrived here on the 15th, last from Levuka, Fiji. She remains here a few weeks, and then le*aves for home. : She -w not much to look afrj carries nine guns, 1 and her tonnage is 900 tons register. Her captain, when e, asked! for hews,' " Guessed them : tarnation ■ F«niana iwere at war, stranger, with the ! Britishers^ when I last heard from the 5 U— nited ■ Spates.'* ' Permission will be given, I believe, to visit the Resaca in a • fe^yr ilays ;, but there won't be much to see. ' .■/. ,Q.f Jcpurse, the. main subject of interest, ,»at .^present, ..is .the., fearful conflict now raging. between France and; Prussia. Ever .telegrams via Suez arrived, a feverish impatience to obtain later news I bar been generally manifested here. The ''Wonga'Wpngaj overdue three days, arrived a littfe 1 ' after sunset, on 'the 13tbj and the i rash. to pbtain. rt Extras" was very great; l-e&gee "groups* of people, anxious to get the hews, .promenaded Queen-street until after midnight. £ The, Soy.th.em Cross office was so densely besieged by a crowd that it was found* .impossible' H'o' supply the demand ,?lbrfle^ra>'Bumma'ries : ia speedily as desired, andj^to aßsuage impatience, a gentleman 'cPntfle^d^^witb; the "JCross read off the *^^pajSj, jtelegrams alp.qd, TYithout intermisLwon^until a. general distribution of extras . next day, r •%^€?^*^^ o^^ B '¥s4 Wl neglected,'

and the sale of English and American newspapers, I' "do not think much business was transacted. It was feared, at first, that the war might seriously nfl-ct our proposed loans. At present, I think, not much fear is felt on that score. Consideration has shown that, unless England is involved, and unless hostilities continue for a longer period than is anticipated, we are not likely to find any great difficulty in obtaining the necessary instalments as required from time to time, and at a reasonable rate of interest. It is freely remarked, too, here, that, at all events, we have a million guaranteed to fall back upon, and must . be content, if things come: to * the worst, to wait for better times. ' . September 24. Ex-Deputy-Assistant-Commissary-Gene-ral Innes was sentenced on the 17th to five years penal, servitude. .Judge Arney was much affected whilst pronouncing judgment. The defalcations exceeded IS3000..: .The prisoner, who was in receipt of £600 a year salary, offered, nothing in extenuation of his fault. He was a gentleman of inexpensive habits, and much esteemed for many amiable qualities. .. High' testimonials referring to his conduct as a Commissary and field officer were' laid • before the Court with a view to mitigation of sentence. An impression widely prevails that Mr. Innes has ruined himself to relieve others from pecuniary embarrassments. ' Mr. Stewart, late Resident Magistrate and a J.P., of Raglan, was convicted, on or about the 20th, of sly-grog selling at Wangahape, and was fined £20. Notice of appeal Has been given, on some technical point. Colonel Harrington proceeds immediately to Wellington. I. hear he has been appointed to take, charge of the New Zealand Volunteers and Militia. I believe he is liable to be ordered home in case of England being involved in a continental war, Colonel Harrington being a half-pay officer of the Imperial service. _ .. The cutter Eagle has been purchased by Capt. Read, for the Poverty Bay and East Coast trade. The announcement that a ;newspaper v woB about to be started at Gisborne was premature ; it is thought a journal at that township would not receive sufficient encouragement. ;•• The large Maori meetings being held at Taranaki, and Upper Waikato are exciting soma little attention, and a few alarmists jeem inclined to look upon those meetings ias somewhat portentous. . As far as lean ;make put there exists very little reason to apprehend 1 " any renewal of disturbances. ♦It is barely possible, however/ that the TSuropeah news of last mail may encourage •the most intractible and turbulent natives v to obstruct the peaceful intentions of the well disposed. . ■ Mr. Yogel arrived here via Manukau on the. 2Qth.. . I am told he is likely to be asked to stand for a Northern constituency ; and it is considered that he • would meet • with little if any opposition. .The capture of a supposed New South Wales defaulter has been very cleverly ! effected by our police. The accused, who is supposed' to be a Mr. Harris, was about to embark for New York in the ship Sanion, with' the evident connivance "of the captain. Harris, or whoever, he i 3, lived in a tent 'across the harbour, accompanied by a female. Their boxes were shipped at wharf,. and they intended to ship themselves outside the heads. Whilst the couple were living al fresco, they were visited (if what they., asserted is true) by two men who gammoned to be. detectives, but agreed to let the tent inmates off on payment of £50. The supposed detectives were arrested yesterday, and admitted to bail. Harris, on whom £174 was found when arrested, has been remanded to Melbourne, charged with embezzling £600 from the "Burra Shire Council." . . '. Unlimited paint and much scraping has at last made the U.S. s.s. Resaca present-; able. Visitors are permitted, but a visit scarce repays the trouble: She is not to be compared for a moment with either ,of Her Majesty's, ships formerly in these water's, fand, if comparisons are odious, it is none the. less true that one is apt to think, after "looking over the Resaca, "that some of the 'cleaning' process might have been applied .to. her .crew, with manifest advantage to the general Unit ensemble. The majority of the men belong to a decidedly inferior type L \of the seafaring class. The most respectable person I saw amongst' them— -barring some of: the officers — was a good-natured negro, who, in physique and general appearince, seemed to me immeasurably isuperior \to his , dirty looking stunted shipmates. Absurd panegyric has been lavished here; upon the Resaca (one is puzzled to know; why), so I presume before their departure -much remains to be said in favour of : the singularly good behaviour and '■ endearing manners of our fascinating but very rowdyand drunken cousins. I hear 100 recruits are wanted for the Resaca ; pay, - twenty dollars, per month, or double) the amount given in .the British service, i The fact of so many men being wanted would seem to show that, even ; with high, pay, the American.navy, like ours, is, not always popular with seamen. ."■' .• ! -' ! ' ' i■> ' ■■ ' "•• ' . ~f; (beox.anothes.coseespondent.) September 24. The war news has upset all calculations here. Numbers on the look out for billets ' are very bitter against the powers whose "little game "has so inopportunely crossed i theirs. The unfortunate Treasurer has to' barricade himself, and leave his private secretary to guard the approaches, against the swarm of suppliants whose expectations have been raised by the big loan, and big billets — oc small ones — hoped for in connection with it. Aspiring emigration agents, railway officials, surveyors, engineers, and active stock and money brokers, are hanging about the Government Buildings, watching the chance of attack on the attractive person of the Colonial Treasurer. What the feeling will be when the hard truth and harder disappointment have to be faced, I can't pretend to say. But the guns of Weissenberg will drown the cry and cover the Treasurer's retreat, no doubt. Seriously, people are very dead in political matters, the above descendants of " Orpheus C. Kerr " excepted. Mining affairs have involved so many, and the prospects of many companies are still so gloomy, that there seems no heart, for politics generally. An ugly rush to Queensland has also set in, and gum digging — on which hundreds, perhaps thousands, are dependant— is much less profitable, ' owing to recent falls in price. :'.,■■'■: We look now rather anxiously for the next mail, riot only fof war news, but to see ; the; effect -pf * the big schemes on the Colony's credit in Londoni , ::