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New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6020, 4 March 1881, Page 4

It will be seen from telegrams that natives from the Maungatautari settlement have made another raid on the Horahora property, and threaten to return aud bum the bridge at Auiwauiwa. This estate is held under a Crown grant by Messrs. Maclean and Co., but we believe that the natives contend that it was wrongfully passed through the Court. Mr. Maclean has a large number of men on the ground, and is determined not to be put off. Major Mania also there, and interviewed the natives yesterday. The destruction of the bridge would be a very serious matter. The Russian Finn, John Procoffy, who has been committed by the Thames C:>urfc to take his trial at the next session of the Supreme Court, on a charge of murdering a native named Himiona Hiria, at To Aroha, was brought up yesterday from the Thames, by the p.s. Enterprise, in charge of Constable McManns. On the steamers arrival here, at 6 p.m., she was boarded by Detective Strathearu who accompanied the prisoner to the High-street lock-up. As Prccofty's arrival by the Enterprise had not been anticipated by the public, the police were able to effect his transfer to the statien quietly, and without the inconvenience attendant upon a gaping, bustling crowd of sightseers. The accused is rather an undersized man, and does not seem to have the physical strength which one would naturally associate with the commission of the dreadful tragedy at Te Aroha. He has a sullen, unprepossessing countenance, and a low forehead. Public opinion on the goldfield is tolerably equally divided as to hit guilt or iunoceuce, and the affair is certainly one of the most'mysterious which has taken place in this province for years. Procoffy will be removed to-day to Mount Eden Gaol.

. We have to hand files of the Neo-Calcdo-nien to the 22ud alt., from New Caledonia. The schooner Energy has arrived with eighty-five native labourers from the islands. The elections for the five members of the Municipal Council resulted in their being declared void, not one obtaining the requisite number of votes. The frigate Loire left for France on the 19th ultimo, with 300 timeexpired soldiers and a large number of passengers, the total living freight being 1200 souls. Government has- reduced the payment for the destruction of locusts from 5d to 2d per pound weight. The Dives, transport, having struck on an unkuown reef, will probably go on to Sydney to be docked, as the -work cannot be executed in New Caledonia.

The German brigantine Matautu, which arrived from Samoa and Tonga yesterday evening, brought a cargo of 100 tons copra. She is under charter to Messrs. W. McArthur and Co., and Captain Scott (master) and Mr. Downes (supercargo) of the brigantine Active, wrecked at Samoa, are passengers. Trade is in an exceedingly depressed state, owing to the natives having converted the ploughshare into a sword. The late King Malietoa's nephew, who is his heir and successor, had worsted the insurgents at Savaii, but there was still strife at Upohi, of which island Apia is the capital, when the vessel left. While the natives are thus amusing themselves, the white settlers are suffering, for a large portion of the business of the latter consists in dealing with the former. Until the natives take to peaceful pursuits, such as gathering copra, there will be but little inducement for trading vessels to visit Samoa, especially as business would be attended with considerable risk, on account of a commercial crisis on a large scale (for Samoa), which apparently is nigh at hand. It will be seen from a Christchurch telegram, that Sir Cracroft Wilson, C.8., late Bengal Civil Service, died on Wednesday last, at the age of 74. The deceased gentleman was formerly a judge in the district of Allahabad, and acted with great decision and bravery during the Indian Mutiny in 1807, for which service he was rewarded with a C.B. He afterwards came out to New Zealand, settling in Canterbury, of a constituency of which province he was for several years a representative in the General Assembly. Sir Cracroft Wilson was an enthusiastic member of what was formerly known as "the rigorous prosecution" party during the late native rebellion, and in 1563 he offered to raise a corpi of Goorkhas for service in New Zealand, and settle the native difficulty out of hand, by sweeping the rebel Maoris before him from the line of the Maungafciwhiri to Cook's Straits. The proposal excited much comment at the time, but the offer was eventually declined by the: Government. An Auckland family will be placed in mourning by the death of Su - Cracroft Wilson, the wife of Dr. J. Logan Campbell being a daughter o£ the deceased gentleman.

: A Coroner's inquest was held yesterday I afternoon, at the Provincial Hospital, before Dr. Gdldsbro' and a jury, on the body of the late Mr.' John Riordan, teacher of the public school, Lucas' Creek, who fell from his horse at Stokes' Point; on. Saturday last, and died from the injuries received. The evidence showed that deceased was under the influence of liquor at the time. A sum of money, an unopened letter, and a receipt for a registered letter were found in his pockets. Some amount of feeling had been manifested at the deceased having lain after the accident in the harness-room of the Ferry Hotel, from 4 # 30 p.m. on Saturday until mid-day on' Sunday,' before he was removed to the hospital. Mr. Maxwell, the landlord, explained in his evidence that deceased was put in there owing to his being in a dirty condition with dust and blood in order to be washed, that "Dr." Thompson was of opinion that he should not be removed therefrom, that there was a sort of bunk in the place, and that he (Mr: Maxwell) had attended deceased during the night at intervals, and made him comfortable with bedding, pillows, and blankets. Mr. Dufaur, solicitor, was in attendance as a witness, and it is to be regretted that he was not called on to give evidence, as it is alleged that he could have thrown some light on the matter. "Dr." Thompson was also in attendance, but his evidence was not taken. The jury returned a verdict to the effect that the deceased's death was accidental, and caused by concussion of the spine. The Autumn Exhibition of the Horticultural Society is advertised to be held in the Drill Shed, Wellesley-street East, on March 10 and 11.* Entries will be received by the hon. secretary, Mr. T. F. Cheeseman, at the Museum Buildings, Princess-street, up to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March S. An excellent show of fruit of many kinds is anticipated. In apples especially we believe the show will ba very strong. Mr. Sharp, of Waikomiti, intends to exhibit at least seventy distinct varieties of this fruit. Mr. Hawkins, of Stokes' Point, and Mr. W. J. Palmer will idso be large exhibitors. The inquiry before the Board of Governors of the Auckland College and Grammar School into the charges or complaints made by Dr. Parchas against the head-master and classical master will be resumed this aftornooa at 4 o'clock. A large number of witnesses have been summoned, or "invited," to attend. The charges are so wide that nearly the whole, of the teaching staff is more or less involved .in what has been described as a ''want of accord " between the head-mayter and the assistant masters. i There was a good attendance at the Evan- j gelistic service held in the rooms of the i Young Men's " Christian Association last evening. The Rev. Charles M. Pym deli-! vered a deeply-interesting and instructive j address from 2 Corinthians, chap. I, 21 and j 22verses?- The rev. gentleman hopes to be] again in Auckland about the 29th instant. We understand he has been invited to hold mission services in various places. Mr. | Pyni leaves by the Tararua this afternoon to J hold a mission in Napier. j .-The following persons were in the lock-up I last night:—Power O'Connor and Terence Brady, for drunkenness; Edward Potoky, John Knox, and Charles Alcoek, lads, for larceny of pears j value 6s, property of Mr. Joseph Grant, o£ Auckland. The Church Gazette for March has been published. It contains the usual proportion of diocesan and parochial intelligence. The notes of a visit to Norfolk Island made in November-December, ISSO, are continued and concluded. This is followed by a description of the Church of St. Barnabas, the Bishop Patteson Memorial Church, the whole cost of which is estimated at about £5000. Avery pleasant account of a visit to the. Great Barrier by the Rev. A. Baker, M.A., is given. The visit was made in January of the present year. The account will be read with interest by those acquainted with that place. At a meeting of the subscribers to the fund for procuring the. outrigger from Swaddle and Winship, in which the Auckland representative crew pulled at the regatta, was held at the Waitemata Hotel last night. The accounts were submitted and passed. A resolution to dispose of the boat by auction was carried. ■ At the inquest on John Pollock, who, as stated in yesterday's paper., was killed at Tairua, the following evidence was taken :— Edward Burch deposed that he was working with deceased about three o'clock on the previous evening, cross-cutting a tree about 60 feet long, and 2 feet thick at the head. They were cutting off the head, and when this was completed it commenced to roll, and the small end went up the hill, where deceased was standing. It carried him along for about 12 feet, and jammed him against another fallen tree. Witness did not see the man until he was jammed against the log. He then called for assistance, and ran towards the log which was jamming him, which he commenced to cut away in order to extricate him. With the help of his mates he succeeded in freeing him, but by that time life was extinct. When" the larger end of the tree, which was lying near the foot of the hill, was freed from the head, the latter swung round up the hill. William Moyle said that he had conveyed -the intelligence of the accident to the police, and had also telegraphed to deceased's relatives at Drury. Mrs. Hampson arrived at the Thames on Wednesday night, per Rotomahana, and was met at the wharf by a large concourse of people, who accompanied the lady through the town singing hymns on the line of march. Mrs. Hampson was conveyed in Dr. Payne's carriage.

Ml". H.K.. Jones, who has lately visited the Waihi district, near Ohinemuri, is well satisfied with the Waihi reef, which he thinks is the parent lode of a vast area of country. He-does not consider the reef, which is of immense width, will be a specimen one, but will bear a greater resemblance to those most general in Australia. Still, there is a vast body of stone that will probably yield from half an ounce to two and three ounces to the ton. Any portion yet tested seems to be highly auriferous. No difficulty was experienced in obtaining funds from two or three gentlemen, who had taken interests in his claim, for prospecting works, and a sum of'£3oo is already in hand.

.The, second heat of the sailing race between the Madge and the Observer took place yesterday afternoon, resulting in a victory for the former by about sm. The wind was very light and fiuky. Going down the harbour it was north-east, as the boats were coming from the reef to the North Head it blew from the west, while in passing up the harbour they had it from the north■west. The Madge rounded the Ttangitoto buoy about a minute before her rival, and the North Head some two minutes ahead of her.: The Madge was sailed by Ike Hunt and the Observer by Mr. ; John Waymouth. The final heat Svill probably be sailed this afternoon or to-morrow.

There has been another stampede from the Industrial Home of youthful fruit gatherers. Three—to wit, Edward Potoky, John Knox, and Charles Alcock—decamped on Wednesevening! made a day of it yesterday, in the neighbourhood of Parnell, and wound up the outing by steab'ng a quantity of pears, from Mr. Joseph Grant. Constable Bernard got on th,eir track at last, and last night they were cooling .their heels in the lock-up. They will be brought up before the-Magistrate this morning.

The weekly sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court was held yesterday. There was a long list of cases set' down for hearing. The only case heard was that of Lavers v. Burnett, claim £50, an action to recover the value of a horse, cart, and harness, detained :by the defendant. The hearing resulted in a nonsuit. The circumstances in which the cause of action originated are detailed in our report of the proceedings. The hearing of the charge of murder against John Procoffy was concluded on Thursday morning, after occupying the attention of the Resident Magistrate's Court here for four and a-half day:s. Mr. Superintendent Thomson conducted the case for the prosecution in a patient and painstaking manner, notwithstanding the length of time occupied and the tediousness of the cross-examina- ; tions. Before concluding the case, the Bench complimented Mr. Thomson for the gentlemanly way and impartial .manner in which he had conducted the whole of the proceedings, and expressed the" opinion that great credit was due to all the officers who had been concerned in the getting up of the evidence. Mr. Brassey,". counsel for the defence, cross-examined the witnesses at great length in a patient and persevering manner, frequently eliciting points in favour of the accused. Many of the witnesses, however, appeared to have little or no idea of how to give evidence in a straightforward way, and the time of'the Court was frequently wasted through their stupidity in not at once answering simple questions that were put to them about matters with which they must have been intimately acquainted. Mr. Pudan, who acted as interpreter to the prisoner during the latter part of the examination, rendered great assistance to the counsel for the defence. During the first part of the examination the prisoner appeared to be very sullen, but after the interpreter was procured he brightened up considerably. Mr. Pudan has intimated that he will take no remuneration for his services. Mr. Brassey is also conducting the defence without fee or reward of any kind.—[Thames Correspondent.]

" Citizen," referring to a paragraph in yesterday's issue respecting some persons having to pay the property tax twice over— first as shareholders in building and investment societies, and second in their personal returns—narrates another case of hardship in the following terms:—" I was in the Young Men's Christian Association Rooms the other day, when a paper was brought in for the property tax. I was greatly surprised that the Government should tax an institution like that, because, to the best of my recollection, the Government at home never tax institutions of like character, or benevolent institutions. The Young Men's Christian Association is purely a benevolent institution, built and sustained, to a great extent, by the order-loving tradesmen and working men of the city, for the express purpose of keeping young men from learning bad habits, and leading them in the paths of virtue and making them studious, sober, and good citizens. Surely, to tax an institution like this is a great wrong, and a great mistake on the part of the Government."

The following particulars of the late Mr. C. W. Ligar's career are taken from Victorian Men of the Time:—" Charles Whybrow Ligar, civil and military engineer, was born in ISO 9, at Ceylon, where his father was stationed with •ris regiment. He was educated at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, and received a commission in the Royal Engineers, but shortly afterwards resigned ; was employed on the Ordnance Survey of Ireland until IS4O, when he was appointed Surveyor-General of New Zealand by Lord John Russell; was wrecked at the Cape of Good Hope, and did not arrive at New Zealand until the end of IS4I. He purchased all the land from the Maoris for the European settlers, and was appointed colonel and commandant of the New Zealand militia, and took part in the war at the Bay of Islands. He retired from the position of Surveyor-general of New Zealand in. 1556, and after residing for a short time in the southern portion of that colony came to Victoria in 1857, as Land Commissioner for the province of Otago. Became Surveyor-General of Victoria in ISSS, and retired o.a a pension in 1869. Returned to Europe, and after residing for some time in England, Germany, Morocco, Algeria, and Spain, finally settled down in Texas, where he embarked in stock-raising. Mr. Ligar married in 1539, Grace, daughter of Thomas Hanyngton, Dungannon, Tyrone, and grand niece of the Earl of Charlemont; and in 1869, Marie, daughter of the late Captain Williams, of Auckland, New Zealand."

In an article on- whaling in the South Seas the Daily Times points out that if it pays to send vessels all. the way from the United States, it would surely pay to send them from Port Chalmers, where, by the aid of a steam tender, a week's time would place the vessels at any given rendezvous in contact with the appliances of civilisation, a market for their oil, and a cheap source of supply for their stores. There is considerable destitution among the minors at Newcastle, at Wallsend. The child of a sober, hard-working miner lay unburied for two days and a night in hot weather, simply because the parents could not afford to purchase a coffin and meet the funeral expenses. Eventually a subscription was inaugurated, and the corpse buried. The Erencli sailors of the transport Finisterre, again won the boat race at the Hobart regatta, three of their boats coming in first, and beating the Wolverene crew. The crew of H.M. s. Danae are, however, determined to regain their lost laurels at the Sydney Anniversary Regatta, are going into training, and will challenge the Frenchmen immediately on arrival in Tasmanian waters.

The Wanganui Chronicle, referring to the fact that Parihaka block did. not sell, says :—" Our own idea about the.matter is simplv this, that although the public believe that Te Whiti has thoroughly peaceful intentions, and that a rising of the natives, unless they are first attacked, is quite out of the question, there might be isolated cases of outrage without the prophet's connivance, supposing settlement to bo pushed close up to Parihaka. There is no denying the fact that amongst the miscellaneous crowd continually coming and going to and from Parihaka, there is a large admixture of the worst scoundrels to be found amongst the Maoris."