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New Zealander, Volume XV, Issue 1366, 21 May 1859, Page 3

The late Boat Accidents and Unfounded Rumours. —On Wednesday, the remains of Mr. C. Gimbel, one of the four young men drowned tho other day by the upsetting of a small cutter oIF Tamaki, were interred in the Cemetery. The funeral procession was one of the most numerously attended we have known for a long time—consisting very largely of young men about the same as the deceased, but also comprising a large number of old residents who thus manifested their sympathy with the deceased’s parents. The occasion, indeed, was one to call forth such an expression of feeling—for in this funeral, as in that of the late Dugald Fisher, there was but a too sad reminder of the heavy loss of life which lias been entailed on our community within a few days by the upsetting of the three boats lost during the late unprecedented gales. Ten lives have certainly been thus lost. Another was said to have been lost, by the upsetting of a small boat in which some person, name unknown, was crossing the harbour; but no resident of Auckland or the North Shore has been reported as missing • we are therefore inclined to believe that whatever was so capsized was only a boat that had got adrift. And we are extremely glad to know that two other rumoured boat-accidents, by which ten or twelve of our oldest and most respected country settlers were said to have been lost, have proved not to have occurred at all One of these fatal accidents was said to have occurred to a party of Tamaki and Maugere settlers —consisting of Major Nixon, and Messrs, Cawkwell, F. Maclean, King, Shepherd, Mason, Ike. —who had gone on a prospecting trip up the Thames, They were said to have foundered in a cutter called “ Progress”—an ominous name it must be confessed, taken in its old party-political sense , but the cutter is tolerably strong, and having some good common-sense folks on board, the vessel did not capsize. The other rumoured accident was said to have happened to tho cutter “ Scotch Lass,” belonging to and worked by the Messrs. Thorpe of the Wairoa and Thames'—which was specifically declared to have been met with koel upwards, and in such a position as to leave no doubt that all on board must have perished. As wo have seen with our own eyes some of tho Tamaki and Mangore party hero in Auckland town, so did wo ourselves see yesterday the “Scotch Lass” alongside Queen-street wharf, with a full cargo, which her owners were busily discharging. The public mind in fact, was at the time so highly excited by the heavy loss ot life known to have occurred, and by the long

continuance of the late local westerly and southwesterly gales—sometimes approaching to hurricanes—that it was prepared to beliefe any reported new disaster. We believe we now know the worst—and the ga'es have ceased. But the remembrance of the fearful calamity that did happen shou’d not be without its useful lesson to us, and particularly with regard to improving the build and rig of our yachts and small sailing boats. The Proposed General Assurance Company. —By advertisement it will be seen that the adjourned preliminary meeting of the promoters of this Association will bo held at the Exchange Hotel tins afternoon Auckland Mechanics’ Institute. —We have to remind our readers of the Festival on Tuesday next in celebration of Her Majesty’s Birthday. The Programme of the evening’s entertainment is very attractive. “The Gales op 1859” will lie the name in our local annals by which the succession of stron gales wo have had, and wound up by that which raped on Sunday morning last for upwards of half an hour, will be known. The gales that had blown for several days from the westward had seemed to bo dying out on the Saturday, and the heavey rains during that night and early on Surday morn were regarded as their parting gift; but more careful observers who had noted how during the Saturday afternoon the wind shifted right round the compass, predicted another burst. They were right. About? on the Sunday morning, the wind suddenly shifted from West to the South, and in a few minutes began to blow with a fury approaching a Cook’s Straits’ blast. Then there was a sudden lull, succeeded by as sudden a series of squalls which, during the time they continued, uprooted trees, and blew down chimneys and one or two partially-finished houses in a style to which we have not here before been accustomed. Serious disasters along the coast and st sea were predicted as the concomitants of this extraordinary explosion, but we have not heard of any such having happened : on the contrary, this cyclical change of weather in our early winter appears to have been of a very local character, and not to have operated far out at sea. To those who were looking over the harbour of Auckland at the time, the sight was very grand. Just before the last squall commenced, a perfect calm prevailed—there was scarce a ripple on the waters—in an instant, the hitherto glassy surface was shivered, as it were, into fine spray-dust, driven upwards for several feet in height, and onwards with great fury. Had any small boats been sailing or free from their moorings at the time, nothing could well have saved them. Happily there were none then out —no damage was done beyond that we have noticed—and we have since had only genial showers and days more than usually mild and growing. Major-General Wyn yard’s New Appointment.—The people of Auckland, and especially all our fellow-settlers who were men of the 58th, will be glad to read the following announcement, copied from the London Illustrated Times of February 12, in reference to our late Officer Commanding the Forces in, and somewhile acting Governor of, New Zealand, and First Superintendent of the Province of Auckland “ Major-General Wynyard will succeed Sir James Jackson as Commander of the Forces at the Cape. Major-General Wynyard has just returned from New Zealand, where be has served for several years with toe 58th.”—We hope soon to bear the confirmation of this appointment, for we shall then feel that we have another friend at “ the Cape” in fact, through the aid of steam, a next-door neighbour from whom we may expect a flying visit m the course of a year or two. Auckland Choral Society. —On Thursday evening, Handel’s oratorio, “ Judas Maccabeus,” was performed as a whole—save a few omissions which did not materially mar the action of the story of the oratorio, and which wore necessary to bring the performance within reasonable time for country visitors. The night was seasonable for our dairy-farmers, not for lovers of choral music, yet the Odd Fellows’ Hall was more crowded than wc ever before knew it to be, and the auditory evinced tiieir appreciation of the music by the earnest and undivided attention they gave to it. The instrumental department v/as well filled, and we were glad to see two of our newly-arrived professors, Messrs. Schmitt and Alexander, in the orchestra, the one as violinist, and the other as a bass chorister. The chorus was not quite so numerous as on some other occasions, but it was not less efficient, and we hear that the temporary vacancies will be replaced at the next rehearsal. The solo music was generally very well given—by the ladies m particular. 'Mr. Leech was suffering from severe cold, against which lie struggled manfully, and give “ Sound an alarm!” with great vigour. Mr. Strauch was in good voice, and sang “ Arm, arm, ye brave!” in good style. The well-known trio, “ Disdainful of danger” was well sung by Messrs. Rathbone, Leech, and Cochrane, and Mr. Ely gave two of the solos for male voice very carefully. The choruses generally were rendered with great spirit and accuracy. Altogether, the performance was one ot the best the Society has vet given, and did much to strengthen the hands of the promoters of “ the Auckland Music Hall” to which we lately referred, as shortly about to be brought before the public tor their countenance and support. Captain Bulneavis led, Mr. Fleetwood was the pianist, and the rehearsal was conducted by Mr. Joseph Brown, the Society’s conductor.