AUCKLAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XX, Issue 1112, 8 July 1863, Page 6

AUCKLAND.

[from our own correspondent.] June 26,1863. Since the departure of the last Southern mail from this place, there has been a good deal of excitement caused in Auckland by the step taken by Government of arresting a native named ' Aparo,' a man of some note amongst his own tribe the Ngatimaniapotos, on account principally of his activity in opposing all that threatened the stability of the King movement. The particular act which brought him trouble, however, seems to have been the active share taken by him in the robbery of the printing press from Mr. Gorst's house, at Waikato. His own boasting of this deed in the Native Office was what is supposed to have led to his capture. The Government could stand a great deal, as they have shewn, I suppose, to the satisfaction of all; but this was a trifle beyond even them, and the result was that Aparo was taken into custody, brought up at the Resident Magistrate's Court, and now stands committed to take his trial at the Supreme Court for felony. Great interest was naturally felt in his trial, as the inhabitants had, and perhaps may still be said to have, an uneasy feeling that his tribe may either attempt a rescue or a revenge for his capture. It is true that an attempt upon Auckland might possibly be made, but the difficulty would of necessity be very great, as the forest in no part approaches nearer than sixteen miles from the town, and any assailants would then require to cross the Tamaki river, which is both wide and deep, except at the bridge, where the Otahuhu camp is situated, and to traverse for the whole distance a country very thickly populated indeed. These difficulties, although they doubtless might be overcome, are neither few nor trifling, and would make any attempt upon the town rash to the very verge of madness. The other plan, however, of revenge, is much more in their power, and great fears were freely expressed even in the highest quarters for the safety of the outlying settlers bordering upon Waikato. The Militia was at once called out, a time appointed for their drill, and a general activity of defensive precautions was instituted. The excitement is now passing away, as nothing has come of it, and is only leaving the valuable results of increased vigilance and energy in every department of public affairs bearing upon the defence of the colony. The authorities have thought it necessary to draw out four hundred men from the militia force for active service, and have consequently invited volunteers to come forward for the service. At first they obtained scarcely any, principally on account of the meagre information which, after their usual plan, the Government thought good to supply; this cause was clearly brought out by the 'Southern Cross' newspaper, and the Government have been driven to explain themselves clearly on the subject and to make much more liberal offers than at first. I have no doubt that they will now obtain the force they want without the slightest difficulty. We have, it is computed, from six to eight hundred discharged soldiers from the 58th and 65th Regiments amongst us, and four hundred of these will be very easily obtained I have no doubt for this service, which they will perform much more efficiently than ordinary untrained militia could be expected to do for a long time. Great efforts are being made by the Government to re-embody the Yeomanry Cavalry Corps, which had reached so admirable a state of efficiency during the last war. A meeting was held a few days ago at Otahuhu, a village about nine miles from Auckland, and the centre of the district from which most of these troopers were raised, to consider the subject and a letter received from the Prime Minister on the subject. The principal result was the appointment of a deputation to wait upon Government, fully to explain the views of the settlers, and to elicit those of the Government upon the whole question. To judge from the report given me by the leader of the deputation of the interview, it could not have been at all an agreeable one to Ministers, seeing they were told that in the first place the settlers would not do what was wanted, and in the second place would do nothing except upon their own conditions; these were, however, reasonable enough, only amounting to a demand of forage for their horses while on service and a guarantee of their value if killed in the war. The sting of the whole thing, however, lay in the reasons which they insisted upon giving in excuse for making any stipulations at all. These, in a word were, that while they had had perfect confidence in the Stafford ministry, they had not the smallest confidence in ihat now existing. The ministry invited them to put their sentiments into writing, that they might lay them before his Excellency; this they did, not sparing Sir George any of the home-truths which they had so freely poured upon the ministry. I hope it will do him good, for I believe that hitherto, closed up in a small circle of admiring friends, he has had no idea of the true feelings of the people. I have neglected to mention the rather remarkable fact that a royal ambassador from King Potatu II was the other day dismissed from Government House in a very summary manner. The facts of this unique occurrence are briefly these: A messenger extraordinary waited upon Sir George Grey, at Government House, to deliver a message from King Matutaera (' Potatau' is a title like Pharoah.) to the Governor in answer to the celebrated epistle of the native minister. He was some time kept waiting in the anteroom, and took the opportunity of telling a clegyman who was also waiting, and who had partly instructed him some years before, the whole scope and object of his visit. It appeared that King Matutaera had received a letter from Parenga ICingi and his friends, giving their version of the massacre at Taranaki, and the King's message to the Governor was substantially, that having well weighed both stories, he was inclined to believe and act upon the Maori one, which made out the Maoris all right and the Governor all in the wrong. My informant warned him against the madness of the course pursued by the Waikatos, and asked him whether he did not know that it must end in the destruction of his nation. He said he knew that they were weak and we strong, but said God would protect them, and even work a miracle in their favor if necessary. This conviction, which seems very strongly implanted in the native mind at present, the clergyman found it in vain to combat. The interview with Sir George Grey was a short one, for the ambassador making use of some insolent language in opening his commission, so roused the Governor's anger that he was turned out with the warning not to be found within the bounds of the city in twenty-four hours, or he 'should be sent to prison. It was certainly fortunate that his coppercoloured majesty's surveyor-general (for that is I

understand his office) should have met with a friend to whom he could unburden his mind, or King Potatau's first embassy would have been lost to history.

The present state of tilings does not seem to produce any marked effect on our commercial condition, and the high price of land is as fully maintained as ever, even where that land adjoins the native settlements on Waikato.

We have had another very large and destructive fire in Queen street, which will soon begin to present quite a handsome appearance, owing to the rapid substitution of stone and brick buildings for the old wooden tenements. When the newly-burnt block is rebuilt upon, as the former one already is, I have no doubt that Queen street, Auckland, will not be very far from the finest street in New Zealand. In our last fire the insurance companies seem to have suffered much more severely than in the former one, as the houses and stock burnt were insured to the extent of about £18,000 ; this will not, however, come very heavily upon any one, as there were four different offices concerned in an equal degree.

The most brutal murder of which Auckland has ever been the scene was committed last week by a butcher of this city, named Haper. The wretched man was of an excessively ferocious temper, and quite lost command of himself in moments of passion. Influenced, as it would seem, by jealousy, he deliberately stabbed his wife to the heart at one blow in the yard of a neighboring house where she was lodging, having separated herself from him on account of his bad usage of her. He is of course fully committed for trial, and now entire forgetfulness of the whole affair, with a view, no doubt, to a plea of temporary insanity. The excitement caused by the inhuman act has been great, as crime of this description is happily most rare among us as yet. The Government has purchased the steamer Tasmanian Maid, and is having her iron plated, for service in the Waitemate and the Hauraki Gulf. She is to be manned by a party from the Eclipse. Trade in this city does not appear to suffer much from the uncertain state of the country; the fact seems to be that everyone has the most perfect confidence in its all coming right in the end, and a further trust that if Sir George Grey cannot manage it the Assembly will do so for him. General Cameron is at present'in Auckland, having come up, it is supposed, to meet General Dupuis, who was looked for by the mail. That officer has not arrived, it must be confessed to the general satisfaction of the people iu this province, who desire no change in the mean time. The Claude Hamilton arrived with the mails late last night, having been delayed by the non-arrival of the Bombay witli the mails from England until the 9th at King George's Sound. Preparations are being made and subscriptions obtained for the celebration of a day of rejoicing on account of the Prince of Wales' marriage, to take place on the Ist of July. The date is ridiculously late as we shall have had the news nearly six weeks by that time; but I suppose the Government goes on the principle of " Better late than never." I don't suppose anything very grand will be managed in the matter, as the want of gas will greatly limit our powers of illumination; but as there is a hearty goodwill in the minds of the public all will be done of which our limited means render us capable to make a display of our loyal feelings.

Auckland has not experienced any want of amusements lately, as Miss Emma Neville and Mr. Loder have been giving their " Old House at Home " entertainment to large and fashionable audiences for the last month or nearly so. Their last performance in this city took place on Saturday, under the especial patronage of the Governor. Altogether they must have had excellent reason to be satisfied with their success in Auckland. They go by the Claud Hamilton on the 2nd July. The more frequent visits of performers of this class of late has given rise to the project of building a theatre, which it is believed would now pay well in Auckland. An enterprising citizen has, it is said, taken steps to begin this work, and it is confidently expected that the edifice, for which an excellent site has been secured, will be both an ornament to the city and a profit to the speculator.