MEASURES NOT MEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1054, 1 April 1867, Page 5

MEASURES NOT MEN.

To the Editor of the New Zealand Herald. Srit, —The election agitation now springing into life in various localities throughout the City affords another illustration of how a great public question usually gets disposed, of in Auckland. The Superintendency business, about which so much vapouring in political circles has been observable for the past month, I see has at length assumed form and tangibility. The election meeting of Saturday night last, held in an outlying suburb, and presided over by local politicians of the usual orthodox stump pattern, has clearly given to the question, as understood, amongst the million, its true definition. Evidently it was quite a mistake to suppose that principles would be taken into consideration in this instance, any more than on former occasions, by the " free and independent electors" of Auckland. No! The " coming man " is the great point of interest, and measures, policies, and plans aro held as nothing where this has to be decided.

The whole thing i 3 humiliating in the last degree; but what elso has the political action of the Province ever yielded ns yet, but disappointment, disorder, and humiliation ? It Beems utterly hopeless to havo a political question considered here purely on its merits. Indeed, in this instance, no such thing as a

question involving either measures or principles was evon so much as btarted.. The whole business is made tendent UP ° n SmSle point of who shall he SuperinWhat tho Superintendent is to do, what ho ought to do, or what he can do, obviously arc questions bv common consent put out of sight. h r'- thon - P° General* principles adapted to L -T?,"! J nltanCea of tho province which n.ed and, at l east approximately, dote mined on, before we again commit ourselves to any man whatever as Superintendent ? What course fo f r , ia^ ncc . the province intend to pursue for tho future toward the Genoral Government, and the rest of tho colony now so antagonistic j 1 - '- O" wlla ' hroad principles Bhall tho internal administration of the province proceed, or what leading measures are to be projected for the benefit of the country. Ato these matters to be left entirelv to tho discretion or caprice of our now ruler, whoever lie may be, only to be discovered somo twelve months if" I . l f h , a f, bco ? »i office? Surely wo have had enough of this already, rt is high time the people made an effort to understand their true position, and to act aecordmgly. Auckland needs at this time an exceptional policy. Wo have distress within and wo have troubles without. We hare internal difficulties to contend With, and external enemies to encounter. We need, under such circumstances, to come to some definite understanding amongst ourselves as to the line of conduct we ought to pursue. When this has been done, and not before, it will bo time to deciae who shall take the helm.

There are matters of more grave importance than at l:rst meet cho eye hound up with this same Superintondency struggle in Auckland. It is not. pocket, the salary and enjoy the perquisites of office. But wnatis tho fato of tho province to bo ? bhall wo continue to be serfs of tho South? Wili the inauenco of the Wellington agency in Auckland still be exercised to checkmate us in our efforts t) gain fair play? What kind of land laws are wo to live uuacr for tho futuro ? What policy toward the natives will bo allowed to prevail ? To what extent shall taxation, be increased, or perpetuated through continual misgovernment, general and provincial ?

I Will colonisation be encouraged or retarded hero ? Will the country bo opened up, and the outlying districts rendered accessible for purposes of bona fide settlement by proclaiming free trade in land, and'tho formation of inexpensive roads and bridges on a comprehensive- plan ? In a word, will enterprise und progress be facilitated and encouraged, or shall the atlaira of the province remain shut up in inaction as before, and our resources lie still undeveloped ? If the people will not entertain these questions now, and insist upon something like a satisfactory settlement of them, in the shape at least of an understanding between themselves and their would-be rulers, they may depend upon it that, aa they have been grievously deceived heretofore, eo they will be miserably disappointed, again.—l am, &c.. No I'ahtizast. SWINGING OF SHIPS. To tlie Editor of the New Zealand Herald. Sir, —I trust that the character of the following subject matter, being the king link of navigation, will insure your favour for its admission, more than once, into yonr columns. The natural features of Auckland Harbour are surpassingly formed and positioned for testing the errors of Sea or Ships' Compasses ; for this purpose the prominent and most eligible of these features is East H,ad of Merrick's Bay (Owararoa), Waiheki. The position, outline, and distance of the said Head from the Anchorage off Queen-street Wharf, constitute the data for effectually testing the ship's induced magnetic action on her compasses through their whole circle of bearings, while the vessel, at her anchors, swings with the harbour's tides ; the distance of the said Head (I name Compass Head) from Queen-street Wharf, is twenty statute miles, or seventeen and one-third sea miles (17'3) ; the correct bearing magnetically of four points or parts of said Head 1 have, by repeated observations, determined from the following two eligible stations—the variation of the compass being 14° 45' East, viz.:—lst station, on north end of Queen-street Wharf, hence the bearing of Compass Head is 70° 20', or E.N.E. 0° E.; the apex of the south hump, the reef, is 75° 20'; the apex of the north or second hum]) is 74° 34'; and the centre of the intervening hollow is 75° 05' : and the second station is the Naval Survey mound on the North Shore, from which mound the bearing of said south extreme point of said Head is 79° 32', or E. by N. 0° 47' E., and the mound bears from said Wharf N. 9" 40' E., distant seventy-one and a half (71.j) chains, or seven and three-fourth (7;|) cables' length nearly, hence, the proportion of bearing, to each cables' length north of the Wharf, will be 25 minutes additive to 70° 20', or 75° 2G', or 75° 05', or 74° 34', that is according to the observation made on either of the four parts of the said Head, which parts, with their respective bearing, are represented by the profile of said Head below. The two stations, the Queen-street Wharf and the North Shore mound, form the base of their bearings 70° 26' and 79° 32' respectively—thence to the extreme point of Compass Head, to wliieh the difference of bearing, from said stations is 3° 0' or IS6 minutes, which, divided by seven and threequarters (7iJ) cables, give twenty-live (25') minutes, as stated above.

Example : A vessel .anchored two cables' length North of Queen-street Wliarf, then tlie South point of said Compass Head should hear by compass 7'!° 2G' plus 2.3' minutes multiplied lty 2 (cables) equal 77' 16' or E.N.E. 9° 46' E. Any bearing different from this, shown by tlie Ship's Compass so positioned, would be tlie error of that Compass, and so forth by observing either of the other three parts of said Head, shown by said profile. Probably no other harbour than this, in the Southern Hemisphere, possesses so many naturally combined facilities to enable tlie mariner to detect the dangerous influence of inductive magnetism on tlie action of his compasses. Ist, the course of the tides of this harbour is nearly East and West and to these (tides) is nearly parallel to the bearing (79° 32') from the North Shore Mound to the South point of Compass Head. Both the North Shore Mound and the Compass Head are on the North side of the harbour and the Waiheki Channel respectively, hence these - parallelisms : the tides, keels of vessels, and line of hearings produce a readiness to commanders of vessels in harbour of testing at leisure, twice a day, the action of their compasses when in their n>osf rrrh/r/ that is, when the vessel's head is Jiimt, as at flood, or Went, as at the ebb tides, as then the compass needle is at right angles to the vessel's keel, an<l then, in south magnetic dip, if there be any ship's local attraction, tlie "south point of the needle will be drawn towards the ship's head, and the north point repelled towards the stern. 2nd, in swinging a vessel to tost her compasses on eacli of her 32 points, the advantage in distance (twenty miles from the anchorage to Comjiass Head) is that there is no appreciable difference of hearing of that observed from the centre, or that observed from any outward part of the circle, which a vessel would trace in her swing on her cable. With some considerable labour and expense I attained the knowledge of these qualifications of Auckland Harbour, aud intended to publish it with my Trigonometrical Survey of the East Coast from (jape Maria Van Diemans to Castle Hill, Coromandel, but ill health, during tlie last two years, has debarred me from completing the charts, consequently I now give that knowledge to tlie public, believing that its promulgation will be specially opportune to the relative needs of vessels from the Northern Hemisphere, and of no little importance to tlie weal of Auckland. Instance: Had the Master of the steamer, '' Star of the Evening," known and availed himself of this Compass test, he might have shunned the " Star's" fatal catastrophe ! It "would be well if the Home and Australian papers were to copy tlie appropriate part of this communication. Tiios. Fx.oiia.xce. Auckland, 13th March, 1867. - CO r s " p,. o _ cO X ® lO C-l i 12 ° Profile of Compass Heart, showing /our different bearings, observed at Queen-street Wharf.