INVERCARGILL.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 1, 2 May 1863, Page 3

INVERCARGILL.

(fbom oub own correspondent.) 25th April, 1863. Mr Editor," success to the * Wakatip Mail'", is a toast that has been so often honored of late by your humble servant, and so many " nohblers," consecrated to the health of its spirited proprietors, have been imbibed by the same individual, that I am afraid this, his first communication, will not be exactly A I—what it ought to be. With a head approaching the dizzy state, and a hand in a somewhat shaky condition, it is scarcely possible this letter will be fully up to the mark, but, after making such a "clean breast of it", and promising amendment for the future, I am sure neither you, nor your readers can have the disposition to withhold absolution.

To begin tben with that universal topic—the weather—l have to report that for the last fortnight it has been of the very worst description. Rain and wind, wind and rain, stormy gusts and sleety blasts, are what we hare been treated to here. The result is that our streets (?) are in a most deplorable condition. No one need attempt going abroad unless he is encased in boots reaching up to the thighs, and eren then it is questionable if he safely roaches his destination. The principal thoroughfare of the town—Tarstreet—is the worst of all. Along it a woman cannot pans, and a specimen of the sex is about as rarely to be seen as if they were not represented at all. I hear that it is likely tenders will be asked for soon to run r number of whale boats from the post office the eastern end of the town. The quicker the better, for that is the only conveyance that will suit the necessities of the case.

For this pleasant state of matters, we are indebted to our sapient Town Board. After making a muddle of the streets, four of its members get rid of the responsibility by re* signing, because the Board, and Chief Land Commissioner, are at loggerheads as to which are the custodians of the Town Reserves. To bring the matter to an issue, the Coinm'ssicnrr, nrrrprrcentingno lesser an authority than the frown, summoned the contractor fur Tay-street, for unlawfully carting away gravel from a portion of the reserves. After several adjournments of the case, it was decided yesterday, the plaintiff consenting to a non-suit on payment of costs. Whether this settles the question of custodier remains to be seen.

In consequence of the state of the streets, business, in the retail trade at least, is very dull. The wholesale cannot be much better, as it is impossible for a loaded dray to get along even with the a team of half a dozen horses.

The stormy weather has caused a grievous loss of life at Kiverton. The following particulars I take from the " Invercargill Times": A nulancholv accident occurred at Kiverton on Sunday afternoon, when the cutter Fly, Captain Zall. was totally lost, and f.ur men drowned. From the particulars which have reached us, it tppears that the Fly, with a cargo of timber from Stewart's Is'and manned by three men,stood in for Kiverton on Saturday afti rnoon, with the signal lor a pilot fh ing. On Sunday forenoon Captain Aldred, pilot master, manned the pilot boat and putting off succeeded in boarding the cutter, but the sea was then so rough that he could not take her over the bar and accordingly stood to sea. The storm continued for several hours, and the vessel became quite unmanageable, so tha: all hands, eight in number, were compelled to take to the pilot boat. About three quarters of an hour after the cutter was abandoned, a heavy sea struck the boat, and turning it completely over, precipitated the whole party into the water. Captain Aldred and Captain Zall, with two of the pilot crew, managed to cling for about five minutes to the boat, wnen they were washed off. Captain Zall, with three of the pilot crew, then endeavored to reach the shore, distant about two hundred yards. In this they succeeded, but we regret to state jthat the other .four, viz., Captain Aldred, with three of the crew of the cutter* were lost. The position of the vessel and dan ger* of the pilot boat be*og distinctly seen from the

town, <v number of the inhabitants proceeded to the beacv to render assistance. This unfortunately the; W ere unable to do, except to a very limited eJfcntf, though by their efforts Captain Zall was saw<i. Up to nine o'clock on Sunday night the bodies t# the men lost had not been found. A most painful feature in the case of Captain Aldred, is the circumstance that he had just brought his wife to the town. We have not learned if he or the other unfortunate men hare left any families. Since the above was in type, a second report of the fat.il occurrence has reached us. The two are substantially the same in the account of the accident, but there is a discrepancy regarding those saved and lost. Our later communication says that thenun saved were Captain Zall, two tiaories, and one of the pilot crew; and those lost, Captain Aldred, one of his crew, and two men belonging to the cutter. We are unable at present to say which account of the catastrophe is correct, but at all events it is clear that Captain Aldr d and three men have met a watery grave. The cutter of course was totally lost, and the pilot boat, being driven on to the beach, was taken charge of by the police.

Since the above appeared, other particular* have reached town, but the story, as given in the Times of the 21st, is substantially correct. In connection with the melancholy event at Riverton, two lives were lost in the New River on Monday. It is said that two Maori women and a man, relatives of one of those lost at Riverton, were proceeding there from their Kaike on the New River, when the boat was caught by a sudden squall, capsized, and the two women were drowned. A subscription has been started here for the widow and child of Captain Aldred, who was well known, and universally respected. Yesterday, rumours were current in town that the " William Miskin" had been lost with all hands. Fortunately the rumour turns out to be totally incorrect—as the "Miskin" is lying safely at the Bluff. She has been ten days in making the passage from Dunedin.

The weather to day has changed for the better, and if it only continues there will be no necessity for the whale boats.