OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7693, 19 July 1886, Page 9

OUR LETTER HOME.

The great feature of our last summary was the account of the volcanic eruption which took place early on the morning of the 10th of Jane at Tarawera and Rotoiaahana. Explorations which have been made since, and the decreasing action of the craters which were opened at tho first outburst, have revealed the full extent of the change made on the surface of tho ground. It has now boon ascertained that three or four craters have been opened on the Tarawera mountain range, at places in the peaks called Ruawahia and Wahanga. On the slope of the mountain towards Rotomaihana a long and wide fissure has been opened, of about a mile in length. Where Rotomahana formerly was, several craters have been opened, and between that place and Kakaramea there are also several active points of eruption. Since the first outburst these have decreased in force, but they still continue to emit large volumes of steam, and occasionally there is a stronger outburst, when stones and dust are thrown up into the air. It is believed they will subside into the condition of geysers, and of this phenomenon they will be the moat remarkable examples in tho world. The hot springs and geysers of the neighbouring district have all shown increased activity since the eruption, but have not been so active as to do any damage, or to cause much apprehension. Dr. Hector, Director of tho Geological Survey of the colony, was at Rotorua within a few days after the eruption, and a report by him, accompanied by maps, has been laid on the table of the ; Assembly. Mr. S. Percy Smith, Assistant-Surveyor-General, and Mr. J. A. Pond, Government analyst, made a somewhat more prolonged examination ot the locality, and their report (an abstract of which will be found in another column) was read before the Auckland Institute on July 12. Professor Mutton (of Christchurch), and Professors Drown and Thomas (of Auckland), are now in the district making a careful examination of all the localities, and it is expected that their report will be of very considerable scientific value. Their opinion has already been made known, that no apprehension need to be felt of any further outbreak— the vents opened being so large. Respecting the casualties by the eruption, we have nothing to add. As has been stated, two small native villages close to Rotomahana were completely buried with over 95 natives. At Wairoa about ten lives were lost. The natives have abandoned the place, which, indeed, thev were compelled to do, as they could not cultivate in the neighbourhood, owing to the thick deposit of mud which had fallen, and are about to take up their residence elsewhere. It is unsafe to traverse the narrower valleys in the neighbourhood of Wairoa, as the heavy winter rains are bringing down the mud .which fell in the form of avalanches. As respects the laru'e district covered to a more or less extent with dust from the craters, the evil is now being overcome. Supplies of hay had to be sent from Auckland in some cases to feed the cattle and sheep, aud in some cases they had to be hurried into market. consequence, considerable loss was sustained over a large district of country in the Bay of Plenty. But the grass is now coming through the volcanic deposit, and it is believed that in the settled districts affected there will bo no permanent detriment. Considerable loss will be occasioned at the Te Puke settlement, near Tauranga. The nature of the deposit seems to vary considerably in different districts, and it is believed that in some places it will considerably improve the soil. In connection with this explosion of volcanic energy in New Zealand, it is interesting to notice that the island which w&3 lately thrown up b_ volcanic force in the Tonga Group has within the last few weeks been in eruption, and that shocks of earthquake have been felt in several of the islands of the Pacific. Slight shocks and tremors have been frequent in New Zealand around the scene of the outburst, but have not been experienced outside. Parliament has been sitting continuously since our last summary, but the discussion? have been almost entirely on matters of local interest. On June 3D a discussion took place in the House of Representatives on the Pacific Islands, when a series of resolutions proposed by the Government were carried after considerable discussion. They were to the effect that, if possible, France should nut be allowed to annex the New Hebrides Group, but that if the Imperial Government, for imperative reasons, considered it expedient to consent to the annexation, that they should take guarantees that no more convicts should be sent to the Pacific; that protection and religious freedom should be guaranteed to British subjects ; that Rapa be ceded to Great Britain, and that ail objections be waived to Britain annexing Rarotonga and adjacent islands ; that the labour traffic Should be controlled. The Government having announced that they were to borrow only on a very moderate scale, and were to pursue an economical policy, all attempts to oust them from office were abandoned. The Premier (Sir K. Stout) has stated in the House that in a short time New Zealaud must cease borrowing altogether. He has shown that he is determined to carry out his opinions, notwithstanding th„. desire of the Colonial Treasurer (Sir J. Vogel), who is believed to be in favour of a borrowing policy. The late great rise in wool, and in some other articles of colonial produce, has caused a much better feeling throughout the colony, and it is felt that if the higher prices continue (of which there seems every prospect) a comparatively short time will see the depression under which the colony generally has so long laboured, completely cleared away. Auckland has not suffered so much a3 the rest of the colony, because it has not been so much dependent upon prices in the English market, but to a great extent this part of the colony also will participate in the general improvement. It is expected that the session of Parliament will close within a month from the present date. The principal portions of the statements made by the Minister for Public Works and the Minister for Mines will be found elsewhere. The chief works which are to be proceeded with in the North Island are the Main Trunk line to connect Auckland with Wellington, an extension of the line from Auckland towards the North, continuation of the line in tho Thames Yalley, and the extension of the line from Lichfield (on the Patotere estate) to Rotorua. On Sunday, June 20, news was received in Auckland of a terrible murder which had been perpetrated at Tryphena harbour, Great Barrier Island. This island lies about fifty miles from Auckland. It is sparsely peopled, there being only occasional settlers in the inlets. One of these was Mr. Robert Taylor, ■who had resided for several years with his family on the shore of Tryphena harbour. The trade with Auckland is carried on by cutters, and the master of one of theße, John Caffrey, some years ago formed an attachment for a daughter of Taylor's. His suit, however, was rejected, and from that and other causes his mind became embittered, and he formed the design of murdering Taylor. He induced a young man named Penn, who had no cause of quarrel with the Taylors, to enter into the plot. On her last voyage Caffrey managed to get on board of the cutter Sovereign of the Sea a large extra quantity of stores, and the two men sailed from Auckland, the only other person on board of the cutter being a young girl, with whom Penn had been in the habit of associating. The circumstances attending the murder will be found narrated elsewhere. The Superintendent of Police in Auckland (Mr. J. B.

Thomson) despatched a steamer on two occasions to search the coast, in case the Sovereign of the Sea might have been prevented from getting away by tho rough weather which then prevailed. It is now obvious, however, that she is clear oil. Intelligence of the murder has been sent to South America and to all the islands of the Pacific. In la3t summary, the case of the Petrel, an American whaler, was mentioned. On the arrival of this vessel at, the Bay of Islands, most of the crew deserted, and when they were apprehended they made serious complaints against the captain (lieid), and the first and second mates, Foley and Meudoza. According to their statements, the cooper of the vessel, Britton, had been killed by the ill-usage to which he was subjected at the hands of the officers. A Consular inquiry was held at the Bay of Islands, and subsequently the captain and the two mates were I arrestee! on the charge of murder. They were brought up boforo the Resident Magistrate at Auckland, in order that if he found a sufficient, case made out he might send them to America for trial. The result of the examination was, that it was found that a prima facie case had not been made. The Hon. T. Henderson, member of the Legislative Council, and one of the oldest citizens of Auckland, died at Wellington on .1 une 27. Great interest has been felt in Now Zealand in the accounts of the elections in England, which we have been receiving from day-to-day by cable. Mr. Gladstone has many sympathisers here iu his proposed method of dealing with Ireland, chiefly amongst persons of Irish birth and descent, but the majority are against him, chiefly from the conviction that to set up a Parliament in Ireland would be to disunite Ireland from the Empire. On the Pith of July tho Orangemen here celebrated tho anniversary of the Boyne, but the event attracted little notice. The annual meeting of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce was held on July 15, when the retiring chairman, Mr. i iraves Aickin, delivered an interesting address, setting forth the position of the port and of the colony. The address will lie found in full in another part of this issue. We publish in another column some interesting figures hearing on the exports from this port during the quarter ended •Juue 30. Tho value of the exports for that period amounted to £100,705. This was £-1744: more than in the corresponding quarter in 1885. The principal increases are in butter, cheese, preserved meats, and flour. The former shows an increase of ±'25!6 ; cheese, of £3107; preserved meats, of £6101; and Hour, of £M 957. These figures indicate a substantial growth of our Island and intercolonial trade, the articles enumerated being mostly exported to the South Seas and Australia. The returns for the quarter are of a highly satisfactory character. No institution is in a better position to diagnose the position of this colony, or, indeed, of all the Australasian colonies, than the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company. From small beginnings, and with a confined sphere of operations, it has risen to be the chief exporter to European markets of colonial produce, and its operations are on a scale which may fairly % bo termed gigantic. Hi«li prices of colonial staples and brisk business and good times in the colonies mean prosperity for this company, while low prices ruling in London for wool and wheat and other articles cannot but result in a limitation of the company's business, and a diminution of profits. As a matter of course, therefore, the depression in the price of wool — now happily to be spoken of as a thing of the past — was felt by tho company somewhat severely, although it has been able to maintain its dividends, and increase its reserve fund all through. Dr. Campbell, at the meeting on July 7, stated that, in isolated instances, the company had been obliged to enter into possession of their securities, which, of course, was always to be avoided whenever possible. The late conspicuous rise in the price of wool will enable the company to realise on such securities, and* also to transact business with greater profit to itself and more satisfaction to its constituents. The prospects of business are now of a more encouraging character. Prices of wool are likely to continue for some considerable time at the high level which has just been attained, so that the company will be able to do business on better term 3 than during the past era of low prices. On all hands there are indications of a character uumistakeable that the cloud of depression which has hung over the colony so long has begun to move away. The values of the unmanufactured produce of the colony are rising in the markets to which they are being sent, and the local trade feeling is of a far more hopeful character than it was a few months ago. Indeed, it is the general opinion of shrewd business men that the bed-rock of depression has been reached, and that trade generally is now beginning to revive. Confidence is being re-esta-blished, and when that becomes assured, the money which has been for so long held quietly in reserve until the cloud was past, will be available for legitimate trade purposes. Oue very hopeful indication that tho pinch of bad times has not been very generally felt by the industrial classes is tho systematic reduction of mortgages and other secured debts which has been in progress recently. The experience of private investors, we believe, agrees with that of the Auckland Savings Bank in this respect. During the first six months of 1885, when trade here was brisk and employment abundant, the mortgages held by the Auckland Savings Bank were reduced in amount by £2285, in sums of £5 and upwards. Within the corresponding period this year the liquidation has been carried on to the extent of A'2oßo, or say £700 more in the same period when times were bad than when they were good. The deposits in this institution during lie same period amounted to 85,871 18s, and the withdrawals to £182,869 9s 4d. The difference between these set of figures would have been considerably increased had it not been for two unusual events. The strike which the shoemakers instituted very seriously curtailed tho deposits, while an increase of withdrawals also took place, evidently from the same cause. The other event which swelled the amount of withdrawals was people leaving for the Kimberley goldfield. Of course, it is impossible to say the exact amount which has been withdrawn for this purpose, either by closed accounts, or by depositors aiding others to go, but the officers of the bank think that little short of £20,000 has been withdrawn, owing to this cause. It will be seen, however, that, in spite of these two adverse circumstances, together with the depressed trade, &c., the deposits for the six months ending the 30th of June, actually exceed the withdrawals by over .£3OOO, without taking any account of interest to be added to open accounts. This may be viewed in another way. On the 30th of Juno, 1885, the balance standing at the credit of depositors in this institution was, £344,976 8s 7d, while at the corresponding period this year the amount was £377,729 Is lOd, a net gain of over £32, A considerable portion of this is no doubt due to the interest added to the open accounts at the end of the year, but the fact remains that between the added interest for last year and the excess of deposits over withdrawals from the Ist of July last year to the 30th of June this year, the working men depositors in this institution are at least 32,752 133 3d richer than this time last year. In another portion of the present issue will be found in tabulated form the Auckland agricultural returns for the current year. The returns for each county are

shown, and these »re contrasted with the corresponding returns for last year. Upon the whole, the information which these returns supply is fairly satisfactory, and shows that all portions of the Auckland provincial district are advancing. Some counties are developing their resources more rapidly than others ; but it may fairly be stated that advancement is the order of the day everywhere. The increase in the number of separate holdings has been very marked—the number having risen during the year by 1116. The total J number of holdings of all classes in the colony is 31,703, and of this number the ! Auckland quota is 7036. The increase during the year in the area of cultivated land within our borders is 08,610 acres, and tho total area in crop and sown grasses is 767,714 acres, but if to this is added the land devoted to garden and orchard purposes (which, surely, deserves to be classed as cultivated land), the total area under cultivation in the Auckland province is 774,762 acres. Of course, a large proportion of this is in the form of pasture land, covered with sown grasses. The area of land devoted to wheat culture is being yearly diminished, though this year the average yield is at the rate of 27 bushels per acre. A very noticeable feature in the returns is the large extent of land being devoted to orchard purposes. In former years Nelson was regarded as the orchard of the colony, but already Auckland has more laud devoted to the production of fruit than any other provincial district in the colony. Of the 12,479 acres employed for fruit culture in the colony, Auckland has no fewer than 5059, and in a very few years we may fairly anticipate that more thau half the orchards in the colony will be found in the Auckland district. The County of Waimea, Nelson, has at present a larger area devoted to fruit culture than any other county in the colony, though Manukau closely approaches Waimea in this respect. There are several counties in Auckland that have each upwards of 000 acres devoted to the culture of fruit, and as our settlers get better acquainted with the management of fruit trees, and find out the kinds best suited to their several districts, we think future years will show a large development of enterprise in this direction. Indeed, tho time is fast coming when fruit culture and dairying operations will be tho two chief rural industries in ho northern portion of New Zealand.