WELLINGTON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 135, 19 April 1864, Page 4

WELLINGTON.

IvT the s. s. 'Queen,' which iimvcd Inst nlglit. we have Wellington papers to Vtte 14th inst. The princiVj) itVm 'of intelligence is the nucouii.fcf ii large public meeting held at the Odd Fellows' Hal), VS. Hicksoii, h'sq., iii the chair. Mr. Fitzherbert moved a vote of thanks to JJr. Weird for his action iii rlii* .matter of the Panama contract. This resbhitioV) liaving been seconded by iV'JLf. B. Ithoilcs, \\;Xk \v\i sulci cHrricd unauiniously. Tjii-: 3'rovincinl Council was still in session. Under the hciul of military we find the following in tlie Taruiutk-i Herald ofthe 16th ult. On Monday last a force of about ~2oU men, under Major linker (consisting of a part of the 57th aiulthu Bushrangers), went dowu to Aliuuhu to .seek for the body ofthe missing man. The o7th advanced up t'ae road fromllmiiiinga, the iSuslirungers going across country from Wuitiiu , , but their search was unsuccessful. Tbb only tiling found was a rifle belonging to Seijunt Uuritly (:-), whiuh h« had to throw away When wounded. It is something to have saved this from tin; natives who by tlie lamentable affair, have already got several, besides a good deal of ammunition. When the search bad been given up, the 37th proceeded to destroy somu crops of niai^e l , £:'<:., which had been the 'Vishrangers at the same time going mi the hiii to where the pu (Ahiuihu) had stood. Alter being here some little time, the latter were about starting to explore in the direction of what looked something like a clearing in the bush at the top of the range, when they were recalled, as a heavy rain bail set'in, and there" were still \'-i or 14 miles to be got over before reaching town. The force therefore returned.

As the missing body bus net boon found there i." little doubt tlir.l. it iuust have hoen carried off by thu Jlaor<s *; U' this hiis really been done there, is too much reason to fear flint it bus been with the object of perpetrating .some l'uitliLT saviijje rites, hut of this probably we. shall hear wore \vh<;n we get their own account of the affair by way of Wanganui.

It is not known where these natives now are, whether they have n.-tirul down thu coast, or are, as Ls thought more probable by those who know them, still at the far end of the range inland of Te Tutu ; if in tiic liitt.T neighbourhood it would not take very long to di-cover them though the country is difficult. If we me to go on hero with such force as we liavuj it is, a.s we 8 iid last week, of the utmost importance that&oiubthiiigshould liL-doticat 'mice tolessoh thuconfideMceof tllcnaLiyrs, ejntwl iisthry nodoubtiiru by their recent mi'c.-css, the savage and nnmistakeable tokens of which are .-nrc to gain them allies before long. We have had three months of almost unexampled fine weuther—the swamps are as dry and the rivers as low probably as they have been for many years : but the winter is at hunil, mid a week's rainy weather, which limy be expected any time, will do more towards fortifying the country of the Taranakis than they themselves could do iii a year. If, however, the report, is true that (Jenei-.d Cameron is coming down here shortly with us many men us he can bring to deal with Ngatiruanui and Taranaki in the same thorough way us lie hus deult with W'aikato the case is no doubt altered. We trust the report may be true. J t does not do to linger over the business of conquering— u> inuku the teaching impressive the lessons should follow each other with little interval ; and besides, th.- last news from Europe showed that lingland May soon wuut all her troops : therefore, for all reasons, what has io be dune should be done quickly.

We litive not referred to Mataitawa in the übove, because we still believe, us we lmvo wore than once hinted, that llmt place would long since have been taken if unseen inlluenct -s from Government House huil nut been nt work to prevent it. We should think however thut Hits suite of things will not be allowed to lust much longer ufter the Ministry are aware of it. dipt. Atkinson's promotion to the rank of Major, as might ho expected from the: respect in which that • rcntlcnmn is held at Taranaki. has caused threat satisfaction. Captain Atkinson, of So. - company T.V.K., has been promoted to the rank of Mnjor " lor distinguished services in the Held. ,, This appointment will give general satisfaction, except perhaps io the members of his late company, who aie very loth to lose him. -lie will still continue we bcliuie to conduct the Hushrunging as hitherto. ! The following correspondence appears in the Taronaki Jlei-ald of the Kith. To the Kililor of the Tak.v.vakx Heka i,d. QuKiiy.-—ls there any truth in the rumour that the party of Carlliiirians sent to bury the Maori killed in the range cut oil' the head before interment ? Fair Pi.ay. 81 h April, ISG-I, [Tiie question put by Fairplav is a very proper one, such a siory having been circulated and at iirst believed here and we are glad therefore to be able to answer it in the negative. We are informed that I'olonel Warre, havmu heard of the rumour, ordered the body to be exhumed, when it was found that the he-.ul had iwl been cut olr'.--Ku. T.Jl.] OTA GO. . The .Provincial Council was opened for the j despatch of business ou Thursday. The Superintendent read a long and important address, in which the liiiaucial position of the province formed the chief topic. When the Council met last session, the estimates of revenue had been framed ou the supposition that, in addition to I £350,000 from ordinary and land revenue. .tUoO.OtX) would be available from the* sale, of debentures for public works. On these estimates an expenditure of 1!)2!),-K)t was authorized. Of this sum..t"(!7S.(M)o has been expended, but instead of the debentures having sold as expected, they are still uiinegotiaU-d. and the Government have had to depend on liank advances. The statement makes the liiianeial position of the province, with regard to the last liiianeial period, to be as follows :— £ Actual Expenditure . . . 678,0tX) Kevcnue from all sources, exclusive of Debentures . . . 374,000 leaving the amount of £30f,000 to be met by the sale of debejit tires. The debentures, however, will not go oil", and his Honour ascribed the fact to the following cause :— The high value of money which has ruled in the English market, from the time the debentures were placed upon it, has doubtless, had"a prejudicial influence on its sale ; but, in order to account for this loan being nparently an unmarketable security, other , causes more intluentiiil than a temporary scarcity of money must be in operation. Among these causes may, 1 think, be ranked the following : — 1. Our real position as a province, and the nature of our securities, are neither fully known nor recognised in Great Britain. 2. Our provincial lonns, although assented to by the Governor of the colony, not having the. sanction of an Act of the General Assembly, lire not- even admitted to quotulion on the Stock Kxehui.ge. 3. Competition with the numerous Joans now on the London market, including those of fo.-tujn Stuivsaw own (ttj>emtei>eie&, colonics, and pruiiuves, but more especially the -New Zealand War Loan of £3,000,000, which, as u colonial security, from the superior position it uppcari to occupy e* compared with a purely fre-

vineinl transaction, cannot fuil to exercise a depreciating efiect Upon the latter. . ,

appears U> bo reviving, altb.ou.gli it is iexp'eVtcil there wilt be r. good deal of embarrassiiivjit dU'.Whg (.ho n inter, as the Imuks arc said to be p&tting tlio screw on terribly tight, and many oi' the speculative small capitalists will succumb. The Exhibition Building is rapidly raising its walls. HAWSE'S BAIT: By tiie.s-.S. /Cidrib" Wliicll arrived, yesterday frqDi JfHj/jbr; welii'tve prtpt'irs to the likhl F'rDiil i\&. jZti'wL-e's JJaj/. I£e>-(ihl of the l'Zth, we extract tlie following native news. . A large, natiye meeting.. lias been hold nt. .a. place called . Kali . Jyati,, (iibout ■one irii]o i'roin Te Wairoii ; rivQr inlpd) : for Oie piirpppo of diacussing. tlje.Jjosiltiori of Vnoril Told (of Petano) with reftiird t>J iho J'iurojieiins. It is said tlmt a letter was lend .it. the meeting from Puora, in which he stated that they (the. Wairoa natives) tihould at onto ])ioccvil armed to Potaue —it was not clear observed my informant, whether to attack Napier, or proceed on with him to Waikuto. The meeting appenrs to linvc unanimously Consented to ttiis, iniluencod douWless by many mischievous rtmlburs which ; have lately been, prevalent,, viz.i that "tareha had been appreJieildcil aiid. lodged in gaol;—that soldiere were in pursuit of PufiK Toki;—and that. Major Whitmoie had gone to Auckland to procure soldiers &c. These reports I'eiiii? fully bi'lieved, about one hundred natives, principally of the Kurupidtiaka, JCithu; and Ngatihiije lui]>iif>, slated, their jntciitioii 'to start, but ultimately I'ltrnght to reason by the native assessor Piticre, (b.eUer Uiiown pr-rhiij?s as Kopu); who told them; that they, if they \\ ished to go, should proceed unarmed, that he disbelieved the rumours, and would go to Napier himself to test their truth.- This appears to havo satisfied the meeting, which quietly dispersed.

l'aori Toki has taken bis departure fortheWaikato accompanied by twenty armed followers. He hud previously proposed to the M'aiioa and other Northern natives that they should join him in creating a disturbance in this province ; anil by means of false statements had very nearly succeeded. The war party was, we understand, met at Haroto by the Hev. Fa'thei , Keigner. «• . nelson: L IROM A COHHESEONDENT-j April 13. At length we hftVe better news from our gold fields, ind the prospects of the place appear to be looking up. At the Matakitaki, about 75 miles from Nelson, on the road towards the West Coast, a number of diggers are at work, and it is said that none of them make less than lus. per day, while muny are earning their £2 or JK3. Considerable (juautities of gold have been received from this place, and last night another, lot of 300 ounces arrived.

,Isut lite greatest exeitenienl is caused by the discovery i)!' gold in the "Pelorus district t only about 35 miles from Nelson City. It was first discovered by u party of four, who procured 19 ounces in less than two days; an J since then another parcel of 9 ozs. 14 dwts. has been brought to town, got by uu old limn with mi-rely a shovel and tm dish, in about a day and a half. The distance from ZSelson being , only ii (lav's journey, you may suppo.se that the golden hopes "of our" pjpulutioii were excited, ami the rush over the hill called JUongotapu has been something startling, as parlies are setting oil'at ull hours of the day mill night. We await further intelligence with anxiety, but we are glad to learn that the Miirlborough Government (unlike our* own) is equal to the occusioii; and thUt it has been determined to iiiuke a rotid to (.lie diggings on the river \\ akamarina. I believe that we may confidently expect a rush.

A s:ul alfair occurred here on Tuesday evening. The second cook of the steamer ' Auckland' having hud some previous trilling dispute- with one of the stokers, named William Birke.lt, .they met on the Haven road, ami the cook, Francis Lock, deliberately stubbed Birkett with u knife, so that he died next morning. Lock lias been committed for trial for wilful murder on the coroner's warrant. There is little other news of importance. The weather has been beautifully line, and bids fair to continue so. THE REGENT MTJKDEU BY STABBING. Two men are now in custody in Nelson gaol on charges of stabbing. One U Thomas Johnson, who was cook and steward on board the baique ' Lorenzo vSabine' and who having insulted a female passenger, and being challenged l'or it by the chief mate, struck lit him, anil afterwards went into his pantry muttering a threat thai he would kill him. There he was Ilea ixl shiirpcninjr a knife, or rattling among the knives, mid shortly afterwards he ejimo out armed with a curving kniio, and rushed at the chief mate. Thu second mate, who , saw him, ran in between thu infuriated cook and his intended victim, whereupon the former transferred hi.s nige, and stabbed the second mate in the abdomen, lu this case, as in the fatal one of Tuesday evening, thu bowels of the wounded man were protruding, but only slightly ; the wound was not a severe one, and the man shortly rfce-overed, and was able to proceed to sea within a fortnight.

A very different result followed the sad case of stubbing, the particulars of which, as they came out at the l.'onmer's Inquest, are recorded in our columns this morning. A more unprovoked, or unjustifiable use of the knife we do not remember to have read of, than that which took place on the Haven Koad on Tuesday night, and which laid in the grave one poor fellow but a lew hours ago full of health and vigour, and sent another to g:iol its a murderer, to await his trial. Both of the criminals were cooks, and both accustomed to u regular, but more peaceful use of the knife.

The. wisdom of the law, or regulation which makes it wrong for seamen to carry sheath-knives, is well exemplified in this ease. A word, spoken apparently in no anger ; a. word, —without a blow either given or threatened, —and r'raneis Lock stepped back, " ran at" his victim, and inflicted the desperate wound whidh in six hours after proved -lortul. That the Coroner's jury unanimously came a verdict of wilful murder will surprise no one who reads the clear and distinct evidence laid before the jury. The justice of that verdict has to be judged before a higher tribunal, and therefore we shall say nothing that might prejudice the case of the prisoner.

I The sadoeeurreuee however, suggests an important ! question. If there be a iaw which prohibits seamen ■ from carrying sheath knives—and we presume the ! same law which prohibits civilians froi>t e carrying swords applies here—how is id that so many sailors habitually infringe it, not only ou board s-liip wliere it is a most dangerous adjunct in a quurr.il and hot blood, but, as in this fatal instance, on shore where there could be no possible excuse for its legitimate use Y The prisoner was dressed for a " go-ashore" trip, and he armed himself with a butcher's knife, with which a poor fellow has been " done to death." It is a question which it appears should be taken up by the masters of ships and the officers under them ; ; and we should be glad to hear some authoritative voice isMiing directions to be observed by those huving commands at sea.— Xehon L'olunisl, April I;"). IHSCOVEUY OF GOLD IX THE PELOKUS. (From tin; " Nelson Examiner," April 12.) Last evening, Mr. Harris, from the Pelorus, arrived in town with nineteen ounces of gold, the result of the labours of four men for two days and a-half, in the Wakamarina river, about six miles above the junction of that stream with the Pelorus. The particulars of this important discovery are as follow : On Monday, the 4th instant, Mr. Wilson of the l'elorus Valley Accommodation House, Mr. Harris, who wo believe is a schoolmaster, and two youmi men named Jtutland, living in the Pelorus, made a~journey up the Wakamarina to look at the land, and see what inducement it offered to purchasers. "While out for this subject, one of the party (wo believe Wilson; proposed that they should prospect for gold. In the first instance they were n .t successful in their search, but at length they found the colour, and afterwards obtained gold in what appeared n paying quantity, namely, three pennyweights in six dishes of stuff. On this they returned home and constructed a rough " torn," which they carried to the spot on Thursday morning l;ust, and commenced washing at two o'clock the same afternoon, and by Saturday owning they had obtuned nineteen ounces. This gold was brought into Jselson yesterday, by Ilarrit, unit was purchased this morning by the Union Ui.nk of Australia. This gold is all scaly, and appears o:' good quality. It was obtained from a. bar of the Wakamarina river. Should tnis discovery lead to others, and the Pelorus Valley prove a gold-field, it will be able to be worked more advantageously than nny gold-Hold discovered in this province, Ths Pelorus

13 in the Province of Marlborough; afld the stream in. vrhich the gold hus been found will be about midwAv ■between K'oleon and Pictonj by bridle road. Vessels can ascend the Feionis Sound to Havelock, and thence there is water carriage by canoes to the mouth of tho Wakamariua, so that only seven milea of bush road will be necessary to reach this gold-field, and we fire told that such ft rpad. would a ;-!eu' did di?i;*fc which appeal* to hiiTO hfth*?rtolreeft jtltuosl unknown. Jμ such it r/iftiitry, diggers ■ivoiiii) TJd able to obtain all irkiiner' of su'ppliel at iea'sb'rfiibfc etiavges! Hot is.IHH cjjnji'ie b'f. that sbtl»re cHa+ricteiin wittier ivhiiih the Biiljei- gold-field.p'reserits: hills arc mostly exceedingly steep," and ihe river subject to hcuvy. AoptU, but tin.-, very circumstance ■which cuiisos the river torise.se rapidly^causes jf« £\ll almosti as quickl}*, the (Intiniige boii»> so rapid., !\Vp. shiill not at present, speculate fiirtlier oi\ thy, inipoit»!it discovery.. w>; no dottlit, diggers will; i\ti} iiicdvif'-'.y bb ilttfactcd there, . mid, iroiu its close proximity to Nelson—only about thirty-live miles— we shiill soon learn further particulars. 3lr. Wilwn and a party of men returned yesterday inuminj; to the spot wlnre they l'ound the guld, with the intention of prosecuting diggings there.

( .. . ~ ;. jrATAiiixAKr! ... List night "Sir. JacWyn; a store-keeper oil the 3fnta : kitaki river, arrived in Kelson along with two.tlijf?ew. Thv'loraier brought with him ISO ounces of gold, and the two others, who have been very, successful, Jiave nearly as much, more between them, the amount-brought down by these three niou. being con.sidiaably over 300 ounces. -The accounts from thesq fields are as favoi-nhle' i\s everi Men aro jworloiig steadily ;intl suct-esslully, aiid.ull are luiikjngjuoney, aa wu stated last week wa3 reported by Sir; Srioirv;