MISCELLANEOUS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume VI, Issue 1705, 10 May 1869, Page 6

MISCELLANEOUS.

{ The Native Lands Court has , , bean, sitting lately to investigate as to the native title of the lands of Shortland (Thames)., The.occasion was remarkable, as bringing out some, phasei of Maori character, which would .somewhat astonish even Kxeter-Hall. The.titie, to' the goldfield township, was found to be eminently satisfactory. The-grandmother.of one of the claimants, had, in days gone by, been, guilty of indulging slightly in the Platonic with a native of the opposing tribe, whereupon th"e latter gave as reparation the lands of, Shortland and a horse J During the investigation, Kapana, one of tho opposing claimants, applied for rations at the Native office ; it transpired that he had in the bank ; : , and was receiving £1,000 a year, from Taipari, as liis sharo of the Shortland rents.- He was very much disgusted at being refused his request. This will offer an admirable • opportunity for Mr. Gorst ,or Mr. Buxton to dilate upon "colonial selfishness." A Maori jury was empnnnelled iu one of the cases, but it had not gone > far, before the foreman proceeded, to address th'e jury on tho disputed ownership 1 . His Honor informed him that bis business .just then, was to Sear, not to speak, whereupon he took his seat with a resigned air. Before the evidence .was all taken, however,.sounds of uiimistakable import were heard proceeding from the portion of the building oceupied by the jury!; a closer inspection showed, that they were,all in a state of somnolence. Amidst shouts of laughter the Judge requested some of the counsel to stir the jury up. A native named William Kepa, persistißg in addressing the jury, contrary to therepeated orders of the Judge, was arrested for contempt of Coi rt; he was very obstreperous, 'and did not recover his serenity, of mind until the " bracelets " had been affixed to his wrists, and he had been duly lodged in the lock-up. J The lawsuit between Taipari and Bapans, which has occupied the Native Lands Court for six days, ■ is likely to be renewed. Eapana, dissatisfied with, the verdict, has,' we are informed, instructed 'a legal gentleman to make application to the Supremo Court to have it set aside. :The verdict was that the names of the two' Taiparis and Eapana should bo put in the Crown grant, to share equally; but iiapana demands agreater share, and it is not improbable the grounds of his application for re-hearing may be allowed by the Supreme Court. It is also not improbable that this aboriginal gentleman will only discover the cost of going to law when it ie to late. i On the 3rd inst., the footpath opposite the Post Office was most unpleasantly and inconveniently crowded by a mob of semi-drunken Maoris; some of whom were sleeping off tho effects of their potations alfresco, whilst others, not so far'under the influence of their drinking bout as their boon companions, showed an evident inclination for a free fight. The law regardingthe tale of spirits to natives lays, down most distinctly that* any person or persons convicted of trafficking in liquor with the aborigine shall be severely dealt with/ So far so good; but the law stops short at this, and in no way inhibits the native from purchasing any quantity he likes. To that quantity there would appear to be no limit, and the result ia not pleasant to contemplate. The noble savage in his mountain fastnesses may be a most interesting being—in Shortland-street drunk, he is- anuisavce. ' ' ! A number of racing horses have arrived from the South, in order to run at the Thamee I meeting, during the visit of H.E.H. the Duke of Edinburgh. Dr. Kidd, LL.B, of the Collegiate School, has I been elected by the Grammar School Commissioners head master of the Auckland Grammar School. There were upwards of 25 competitors. . A settler of Hamilton (Waikato), named Duncan McLarty, died on the Bth ult., from injuries received a month previously, of being run over by a horse and dray. ' ' ' ; Mr., Campbell has resigned his .seat for Oamaru. Mr. F. D. Eicb has been elected for Waikouaiti (Otago), and Mr. Kelly for New Plymouth, John Mebony, the son of an Auckland settler,' was accidentally killed while riding in the steeplechase race, at Nelson, during the visit of the Duke of Edinburgh. We regret to notice in our obituary column the name of another old Auckland resident, Mr. C. Partridge, who died on the 30th ult., Mr.. Partridge, who was one of the earlier gettlore in Auoklaxd, was at one time connected with Mr. Busby's laie newspaper, the Aucklander, and is -known to.many' of our citizens ai one of the early promoters of music in this city. " ' The barque Lion, from Newcastle, arrived on. the Bth ultimo. On the 2nd April Charles Grant, a passenger, aged 47, was missed from the deck, and was supposed to have fallen over board, whilst labouring under a fit of delirum tremens. A search was made for deceased but wag unsuccessful. Captain Watson, of the barque Prince Alfred, which arrived on the Bth ult, reports an extraordinary case of suicide, by a young man who was a passenger by his vessel from Sydney to this port. William Hyburn, a respectably dressed young man, about 35 years of age, was the name of the unfortunate man. He was last seen alive about eight o'clock the previous evening, and was perfectly sober at the time. On the following morning, as lie did not make his appearance at the breakfast table, a search wa» made tor him, and on proceeding to his cabin, it was discovered that he had taken the whole of his luggage, &c, and jumped overboard in the night. The deceased also took a eplendid gold watch and alibis money with him. CajHain Watson is unable to give any reason for his mysterious disappearance, as he generally seemed in good spirits and health. The decensed was observed by tbo crew to be hanging over the rail, lookieg at the sea, the previous afternoon, but he said nothing. Although somewhat late in noticing it, we most not forget to bestow a or two of praise on the present intended for the Prince, that we were shown, recently, in the store of Mr. Brown, kauri gum merchant. It consists of a cabinet of mottled kauri, inlaid with akeake, itself a pretty piece of workmanship, containing some of the finest samples of kauri gum that our province has ever produced. The cabinet is some twenty inches bquaro with a depth of about six, glass fronted and sided; the gum being displayed on the back in the form of rockwork. This back is, what would be termed in theatrical parlance, a practicable one, removeable at will, so that in the event of any of the pieces ot gum becoming loosened from" it, they can easily be replaced in their positions. It must be admitted to be one of the prettiest and most interesting, as a peculiarly local production, of the mementos of his visit to New /Zealand that our royal visitor will take back to England with him.