OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9249, 31 December 1888, Page 9

OUR LETTER HOME.

£[ IS Excellency the Governor, Sir 1 William . Jorvois, is now in Auckland, I having come to pay a farewell visit I / prior to his departure from the colony. 13 Sir William has proved a most excellent M : Governor. He has always held the balance evenly between political parties, pj't 'and has shown sound judgment and ii'f * discretion in carrying out the duties of b-W office. He has been a wise ami i 3,! 1 prudent representative of Her Majesty, p/ and throughout the entire termor bis I it 1 " office he has maintained the respect or !■; politicians of , all parties. _ His kindly Mis' demeanour, courtesy, and his anxiety to 1' do all the social good in his power have J,, also commended him to all ranks and fit,conditions in the colony. Wb<Jn speakI'if ing at a distribution of prizes at Wel- ; ' lington a few days ago, His Excellency I : i~ referred to the announcement which ! f had been made, that £arl Onslow was ' to succeed him as Governor of New fe: Zealand, and cong>atulated the colony I; on obtaining a in""0 had so amply jfi proved his capacity. _ I In our last summary issue we referred I to the great change which had taken | place in t>° prospects of the colony I owing to "he rise in price of its prof, ducts. "he aetive demand which has I set in ** likely to continue, and there is ' ever r prospect that the year 1889 will ma'K the commencement of a period of \ p-osperity for this colony. Prices of agricultural and dairy products have been rising for some time past, but of I Sate they have risen by leaps and bounds ? owing to the great drought in Australia, - which has destroyed the crops in many . parts, and which has prevented the I . growth of grass for the feeding of cattle and sheep. For the last few weeks pro- , duce of all kinds has been poured into | Australia from New Zealand. The deI mand is now a little slacker, but it is I" unquestionable that it will exist for a | very considerable time, to the great enrichment of this colony. The frozen meat trade to England is now a payable . one, and wool brings satisfactory prices, i The operations, of all these causes is I being telt throughout the colony. In the { year preceding June last the exports from the colony for the year exceeded v the imports by £1,042,629. Of late there has been a great demand for land for settlement, not because of any immigration, but from persons in the colony taking to agriculture as a profitable means of livelihood, and because the ' ' sons of settlers are taking up waste , ■ lands and bringing them into cultivation. The Hon. Sir. G. F. Richardson, - Minister of Lands, arrived in Auck- , land on the 9th of December. He came up by Taranaki, and there made some investigations as to the possibility of fi connecting Taranaki and Auckland by road. Mr. Eichardson is the author of a . new Land Act, which is very liberal in its - provisions, and which is now working successfully. He is anxious to promote settlement as the only legitimate '.means of restoring prosperity to the colony. . When > at Auckland Mr. ■ Richardson received various deputa- ■ tions. He then visited the Thames and "Waikato districts, returning to Auckland, and -then , going to the North, where he is now. In that district f. several special settlements have lately y 1 been established, and the residents in Auckland are anxious that the system 1 ' Kiiould be continued, In the Northern part of the colony, there is a large extent of land which is exceedingly fertile, and affords facilities for the raising of valuable crops by cultivators of small areas. There is no doubt ; 'that within the next few years a large area of la.nd will be taken up to the north of Auckland, and brought into . cultivation- . . |V„ i For two or three ytears past._tha major. . i nty of - tli6 "vessels" forming "the Australasian squadron have rendezvoused in Auckland about Christmas. The OrI lando, the new flagship of the Austrai lasian Squadron, under the command of | : Admiral Fairfax, reached our harbour j ■' ?n December 22, having been preceded I' 'by other vessels of the squadron. ■" There are now in harbour : the Orlando, , the Rapid, the Opal, and the Lizard, f \ The Calliope has sailed from Sydney for Auckland. The Egeria, surveying vessel, after having been in Auckland for some weeks, left on December 27 for Hobart, where she is to lay up and be repaired. The Orlando will remain f here for about a fortnight, and then will proceed to Wellington, returning . • .to Auckland, where the ' Admiral will ! then stty for several weeks. Admiral Fairfax and a large number of the ! j officers of the squadron, attended the first- da T of the Summer Meeting of the /' Auckland Racing Club. The men of the squtdron have been on shore during the hold ays in large numbers, and their behaviour has been excellent. On I'ecember 19, Mr. A. E. Devore was for the. third time installed as Mayor of Auckland. In his address His Wcrship showed how the city stood in rega'd to its finances. A large debt .rests ion Auckland ; but His Worship was alie to show that the most effective m>ans had been adopted to meet v the situation, and that altogether the city is! in a good position. On the same day Mr. H. B. Seiily was elected Mayor Vi Parnell, Mr. M. Niccol Mayor -of JJevaiport, and Mr. M. Yates Mayor of Onelunga. A dradful murder was committed at r aipi rr. on the East Coast of the pro- ; vincial [istrict of Auckland, on December 5. " k-t that place a store was kept by Mr. frank Pook and his wife, who Bold gods to the Maoris and Europeans j; resident; in the neighbourhood. A friend tho went to the store on the r. morningof December 5 discovered that. I on the Receding evening, someone had • murderd Mr. and Mrs. Fook in a most brutal lianner, and , had stolen some money fpm the store. A little boy, a son of. Vlr. Pook, had also been so I severely wounded that he died some time aitr being found. .Two natives, f resident in the neighbourhood, have been coninitted for trial on the charge i of murda The latest news from Samoa informs us that -wlr is still proceeding between the adhdents of Malietoa, who some : time ago Us deported by the Germans, and the flowers of Tamasese, whose I; title to tit! Kingship has always been favoured )y the Germans. Malietoa p has not y<, been permitted to return to the lslanc , but his men are led by a relation c his named Mataafa. Germany, En land, and America are represented by varships, but none of these Powers, hdvever, has assisted either one • P i rty of t e natives or another. „ 'the Prcessor of English Literature in tl e xjj versity of Otago, Professor Brown j lB been lost while engaged in an expK r ta expedition in the country between Manapouri and Smith Sound. Tte roe ssor was travelling ?' J th Mabr "Coring and Mr. J. White (soltor). 1(J party encamped amongst tie wilda, an d decided not to move till l spell <,£ wet an d co J weather Ml passed-. away Professor 1-rownleftithe tent, ing he was going for stroll up t, e gorge) an d was never Men again. Hi, companions made all 13 search they in the i locality. Oi the news becomv-g known | in Dunedi further search parties !; were sent nt, but they - hav, been sntirely uns ccessful. It is he * inust have illen over some precise j and, as the leather in these elevav>J regions wa: exceedingly cold anil | stormy at t 3 time, all hopes of Profc fessor Brow* being found alive have \ been abandoned. Herr Schm who has for a number \ of years bee at the head of musical w culture in A ckland, has trained an !i .orchestra of lies, who gave their first l\' " ' " Hi'.-. •

concert on December 13. Miss E. Reeve acted as conductor, the leader of the orchestra being Miss Otie Chew, who is still quite a child, but who has an extraordinary musical faculty. The Jungfrau Kapelle, or Alpine Choir, are now performing in Auckland to good houses. .. _ ■ By the last mail steamer from San Francisco . there came two base-ball teamsthe _ Chicago and All-America. The game is quite unknown in these colonies. The teams were brought over by Mr. A. G. Spalding, who is desirous or introducing the game into Australasia. It is his intention, after playing in the Australian colonies, to go on to Europe. The game was played in Potter's Paddock, Epsom, and was witnessed by a large crowd.