CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8682, 26 September 1891, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

ATTACKS ON PROPERTY. TO THE EDITOR. ; Sra,—Many persons think you are rendering an eminently valuable service to the public by allowing Messrs. Kelly and Piatt space in your paper to expose the revolutionary teaching of the Anti-Poverty Society. " Forewarned is forearmed." If landowners do not now unite to defend their own and their children's rights, they will deserve all they get when i the Society puts a match to the train it is now so industriously laying. 1 Unless it be openly and ably met—confronted on the platform and in the press, it will win the day, not because it has reason or justice on its side, but because it knows what it wants and means to have it. _ The members of that Society are earnest, sincere, united and*determined.

Believing in the justice of their cause and the great nececssity for their proposed remedy, they pluckily show their hand and challenge all comers. Such people are not to be trilled with; and unless they be confronted by an equally believing, plucky, persistent, and more able organisation, they will carry the day. While professing to adore justice they appeal to the sordid passions of the populace, and offer material prosperity and plenty to all who will believe and act on the gospel of Georgeism. "Do this and live," they say to people who unfortunately have a hard struggle for existence, and may, . therefore, eagerly take the bait. Do what? Take away from the 85,000 " thieves" in New Zealand all the land value they have " stolen from the landless," and then—the millennium. "The land tax will give them land near their old home, with all its advantages, at its annual using value, and free them from all other rates and taxes whatever." The people will not then as they fallaciously say, have to go to the outskirts of civilisation, where they could get a living, but will; all get what land they require close to cities and markets, as if Georgeites can make 'the less contain the greater. They will "not need then to bow their necks to landlords and mortgagees," because the Single tax will convert all men into landlords and capitalists as easily as a Japanese conjuror can turn an egg into a full-grown game cock in an instant. Having already shown how utterly untenable is their claim that " Right to land rests on force, and is unjust, because it appropriates the produce of others without any equivalent," I now proceed to their second letter, simply remarking that they evaded my attack and raised other issues altogether, as a skilful attorney sometimes does when he wants to hoodwink judge and jury, so that they may miss the real point at issue. (1) They say : " We must profess our utter inability to see the justice of any claim for compensation," for taxing away or confiscating the selling value of land. (2) They affirm that: "It is as idle to talk of brotherly love between the ground landlord and his victims as between hawks and chickens, &c., &c." (3) " We say that to abolish poverty and make the country prosperous the land must be brought to its ' using' value by means of a laudtax;" as if anything but compulsion will induce its profitable use. Let us examine their propositions : First, as regards no compensation. I can understand the system, and approve of the State paying the fair market price to landowners, when it requires for the public weal their land, as for forts, roads, and railways ; but to take away from them their land for the public Rood without compensation is unjust. £13,000,000 hard cash represents the 13,000,000 acres bought from the Crown in ! this colony, and no country can prosper while organised efforts are persistently made to upset the title to the laud which lias been bought and paid for legally and equitably. _ Secondly, it is grossly unfair and mischievous to represent all ground landlords as " hawks " and tenants as "victims." Some landlords are hard and exacting, but some landlords are kind, and spend in wages and improvements immense sums amongst their tenantry. Mr, Greig, acting for the Duke of Sutherland, proved before the Crofters' Commission that the cost of reclaiming 1300 acres of his land and erecting requisite buildings was £46,000. The reclamation of some of his land cost £30 per acre. _ In thirty years, to 1882, the Duke received £1,039,748 in revenue from his estate, and in the same period he spent on it (exclusive of his ducal establishment) £1,285,122, or a quarter of a million more than he received. If lie came here, bought 1000 acres for, say, £1090, and spent £15,000 in drainage, manure, fencing, and planting, Messrs. Kelly and Piatt would conficate his rent, and deprive him of interest on his investment. Such a policy prevents •improvements and progress, and makes men say, "No, I am not fool enough to buy laud and improve it; but I will lend you money to do it with if you can- satisfy me about security." Tenants are not such "chickens" as the Anti; Poverty Society makes out. Let its members become laudlords for a few years, they will soon think differently. Thirdly, Would the abolishing of private property in land by a land tax bring prosperity ? I think not. Suppose all our land were nationalised to-morrow, what then? Those who want land would have to rent it from the Government, who would put it in? to auction and let it to the highest bidder. It is true such a course would stop land sales, and thus deprive the colony of one means of revenue, and of valid security for borrowing on in London, but it would also destroy: the personal intercourse and friendly relations which often exist between landlord and tenant ; and it would not throw oueu more land for occupation because present holders would be only too glad to let their land, Such injustice as is proposed would not cause prosperity, and it would certainly not cause peace and contentment, which are better than material prosperity. The dispossessed would smart under the injustice of nationalisation, and would brood over it, and probably resort to physical force- to avenge it. Tax land fairly, ,not penally; tax incomes make it easy to get hold and use land; encourage immigration; encourage capital; voluntarily reduce rent and interest; secure cheap transit to markets ; abolish party government; observe the golden rule, and then prosperity may come.—l am, etc., F. G. Ewinotox.

THE ETHICS OP THE LAND QUESTION. TO TIIE EDITOR.

Sir,ln reply to Mr. G. L. Peacocke's letter, in your issue of Wednesday, I,would like, with your permission, to point out to that gentleman that, whilst he denies in a general sort of way the right to absolute individual ownership of laud, he does not advance a single argument against that right per se, but brings: all his guns to bear on the abuse of that system, resulting in a set of men owning the whole lands of a country to the exclusion of their fellow-countrymen. I shall therefore confine my remarks to the latter branch of the subject. Now, this socalled, abuse may or may not be justifiable, according to the exigencies of the particular country in question as the proportion of the population to the cxent of land, the fitness of the population for rural pursuits, and the desire of the people to become owners rather than tenants. Certainly, as regards New Zealand, there can be no pres? ing necessity .for legislation. on the subject while our native lands are lying idle, and so much land can be purchased from the Government and from private individuals on the most liberal terms and at cheap rates. 'But, for the sake of argument, we will assume that absolute individual. ownership of land beyond that quantity necessary foe human existence is unjustifiable, then let us see what practical steps require to be taken to rectify matters. First of all, the State must purchase back the surplus area and parcel it out equally amongst the increase of population, in such quantities only as are absolutely necessary for the existence of each individual. The want of cash for this purEose would present obstacle No. 1. That eing done the surplus land, until fully allotted as above, would have to remain unused and unproductive, in case it might be wanted by further increase of population, or by the visit of some nomadic individuals. Of course, as Mr. Peacock says, as the area of the earth's surface is limited; while population is constantly increasing, the time may come when there will not be a foothold for all, and he proposes to provenu this evil from happening by nationalising the land. But he does not explain how mere change of tenure is going to restrict the breathing spaces required for man and beast, or increase the said surface. Probably a check placed upon the propagation of tne human species would prove at once more practical and effectual.

When Mr. Peacocke produces arguments against the abstract principle of absolute individual ownership or the soil, apart from its abuses, I shall be happy to discuss the question with him, and hope to demonstrate to his satisfaction the entire convenience and expediency of that System, ascertained by the experience of past ages, partly by having recourse to his own premises, viz.: That access to land is a physical necessity to human existence, and (slightly altered), the right of man to the free and unmolested use of his fair share of the globe's surface—but not to his neighbour's kitchen garden.—l am, &c., John A. Bis ale,

BROTHERLY LOVE. TO THE EDITOR. . - , Sir, — have read the various arguments used by such eminent correspondents as the great Laishley, Ewington, Oliphaut, Withy, Kelly, and other local political economists, and have passed many sleepless nights in endeavouring to digest their learned communications. After mature deliberation, ■ I

hare arrived at the conclusion that .the / ' simplest, cheapest, and most effectual method of adjusting S the Ballanco of taxation would be, that as each man has a vote. each man should pay an • equal share of the taxation of the colony, one man one vote, all men to pay a direct tax, rich and poor alike, the rich t man having no more voice or voting power * ' than the poor man, the poor man to pay as much as the rich man, and the rich man the same as the poor. This idea I consider the ■ r very essence of socialism. Of course, if, - women had got a vote their taxation Would have made it easier for the men, but as that right was refused we must put up with its ' consequences, and seeing how, economical the method of collecting would be, the idea must" - * recommend itself to every lover of justice and fair play.—l am, &c.. ' . " •*; W. J. Court;; ; .' i SINGLE TAX. ' TO THE EDITOR. Sir,l have so far refrained from writing -V. upon this great question of the day, although a great believer in ic, partly for fear my enemies might say my views were " caused much more by aggregates of feelings than by - ' examination of evidence." Hence my silence. : But as my proposed scheme would be slightly different in practice, although the same in theory, as that propounded by Messrs. Kelly, Piatt, and Co., I venture to put it j before the public, hoping to convert, such ' men as Dr. Laishley and Mr. Ewingtou by . V sound logical argument. My proposal is to have a single tax pure and simple, but instead of requiring that the land should bear all the taxation, I suggest the tax be placed on bell-toppers, and will give my reasons for this slight change. Firstly, don't own a bell-topper. . Secondly, I don't believe one in twenty of the population of ■ New Zealand do own bell-toppers ; ergo, I will have nineteen out of every twenty free - of all taxation, and therefore in favour of .my proposed change. Thirdly, as all the- raw material of which a bell-topper is composed j are natural products, it follows as a consequence that bell-toppers belong equally , to all. Finally, as more people own land than bell-toppers, it will cause this "single tax" to be much more popular than that proposed by Henry George and his disciples.—l am, - n etc., Billy-cock. ■ N.B. —I don't write the above as the - mouthpiece of any association.—B.C.

GUMDIGGING IN THE NORTH. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—For the benefit of gumdiggers who are thinking of coming this way, I think it would be as well to make known the state oil things here,: as they really are. The price of ordinary gum is from 10s to £1 per uwt, that is, black gum; and I may remark, for .the benefit of the uninformed, that there is, none of any other colour. We have four storekeepers on the field, two of whom are new arrivals. The general opinion amongst the diggers is that the existing prices of ordinary black are due to the over-carcful : S sorting done by the gum buyer. Provisions here are dearly purchased.—l am, etc., Geo. Gumologist. • Holio ura, North Cape.

, <■?""' SHIPPING. • •' • . j , , »■ « ■ ■«. - - : ,v >iv i* £3301/ Water at Auckland—o.2B a.m.; 1.7 p.m. , „ ' „ Mamtkau—4,B a.m.; 4.47 p.m. Hw.vP-Risos, 6.44 a.tii.; sots, 5.68 p.m. ■ t MOON—Now, October 3, 0.28 p.m. / ARRIVALS. , , rsv • 7 Oamarn, brigautlne, 153, Richards, from r. ' {Newcastle. Passengers: Mrs. Richards. « ,/Jagger and Parker, agents. _ T . I.', '■>( vision, brig,• 159, Christian, from New- ' -'/'castle.—M.]Niccol, agent. . , _ / Himalaya, barque, 1008, Hill, from.Louc - i don.—CruickshanK and Co., ascents. _ <■'!> Agnes Donald, schooner, SG, Collins, from / Blenheim.— T. Heudry, agent. } Clansman, s.s., 330, iarquhar, from Rus-. sell and Northern ports. Passengers : Miss Moore, Mrs. Moody, Messrs.' Hookey, Gage, • Page, Uullerton, kaitaia, Meenan, Grey, Clarke, and six in the steerage,—Northern S.S. Co., agents. ' . CLEARED OUTWARDS: Clansman, s.s., 330, Farquhar, for Tanrauga.—Northern S.S. Co., agents. .Wellington, s.s., 279, Stephenson, for W hangarei.—Northern S.S. Co.. agents. Cleaner, brigantine, 115, McLean, for Noumea.—Master, agent.. DEPARTURES..Clansman, s.s., for Tauranga. Wellington, s.s., for Whangarei. EXPECTED ARRIVALS. tONDON : Waiotahi, s.s., sailed July 20. Mamari, s.s., sailed August 21. Waitangi, ship, sailed July 4. Brussels, barque, sailed July 10. Duke of Buckingham, s.s., loading. Hermione, ship, sailed August 5. 'i.' NSW YOKIv : Star of the East, barque. June o. Essex, barque, sailed July 14. > Flora, barque, sailed August 1. Elinor Vernon, barquentiue, loading. . KEWCASTLK: #i Darey Pratt, brigautine, sailed Sept. 19. SYDNEY: . . Cuthona, barquentine, sailed Sept. 19. woi-i-oxaoxo 5 Northern Chief, barque, to load. Defiance, brigantine, to load. TWI: , , Pitcajrn, schooner, early.

I-ICTON : Saxon, schooner, early. Agnes Donald, schooner, early. kafikk: Enterprise, schooner, early. / RAROTONnA: Toren, schooner, to sail September 17. PROJECTED DEPARTURES. LONDON : Camana, barque, about September 2G. Helen Denny, barque, to load. NEW YORK: B. Webster, barque, to arrive, NOUMEA : Gleaner, brigantine, loading. NELSON: Northern Star, barque, loailiug, NAPIER: Morval, schooner, loading. UNION S.R. CO.'S MOVEMENTS. Sunday.—'Takapuua arrives at Onehunga early; Australia arrives from East Coast; Taupo arrives from Wellington. Monday.—Manapouri arrives from South ; Takapuna leaves Ouehunga, 5 p.m. Tuesday. —Tara vvera arrives from Sydney; Manapotiri leaves for Sydney, 5 p.m.; Australia leaves for East Coast, 5 a.m.; Taupo leaves for West Coast. Wednesday.Mahinapua arrives at Onehunga. Thursday.--Ovalau arrives from Fiji, and leaves for Wellington ; Mahinapua leaves Onehunga, .1 p.m.; Tarawera leaves for South, noon. NORTHERN S.S. CO.'S MOVEMENTS. To-hay.—Gairloch arrives from New Ply- * . mouth ; lona, from Mercury Bay and Kuao-; tuna; Douglas, from Whangamata and Whakatane. Sunday.—-Qlenelg arrives from Hokianga Clansman from Tauranga at 9 p.m. Tuesday.Wellington leaves for Whangarei, Marsden Point, and Parua Bay at 10.30 p.m. ;• lona arrives from Kuaotnnu and Mercury Bay ; Douglas leaves for Whftiigamatu, Tauranga, and Whakatane at 5 p. m. Wednesday.—Glenelg leaves for Opunake and Wanganui at 1 p.m; Gairloch arrives from New Plymouth. > Thursday.—Gairloch leaves for New Plymouth at 1 p.m.; lona for ICuaotunu and Mercury Bay at 9 p.m.; Wellington arrives from Whangarei. Friday.—Clansman arrives from Russell , early, and leaves for Tauranga at 7 p.m.: Wellington leaves for Marsden Point and ■ Whangarei at 10.30 p.m.; Glenelg leaves for Hokianga at 1 p m. 'v' ; Thames Service.—Argyle or lona leaves for Thames daily. VESSELS IN HARBOUR. t'i'lil.i list ilotfx not include coasters.| Arawata, s.s., in stream. Tekoa, s s., at Queen-street Wharf. Helen Denny, barque, in stream, Camana, barque, at Queen-street Wharf. Himalaya, barque, at Powder Ground. Northern Star, barque, at Railway Wharf. Edith May, barqnentine, at Railway Wharf. ' Gleaner, brigantine, at Holaon-street Wharf. Zephyr, brigantine, at Railway Wharf. Oamaru, brigantine, in stream. Vision, brig, at Queen-street Wharf. IMPORTS. Per brigantine Oamaru, from Newcastle; „ : , 219 tons coal. Per brig Vision, from Newcastle : 22G tons coal. Per barque Himalaya, from London : Plain cotton, £400; indiarubber goods, £100; haberdashery, £200; apparel, £200; carpets, £300; felt hats; £100; saddlery, £50; floorcloth, £150; vestas, £370; .blacking, £50: general machinery, £100 printing paper, 31 cwt.; writing paper, 114cwt.; upholstery, £90 ; brush ware; £100; bedsteads, £30; . . stationery, £50; paper-hangings, £420: electroplated goods, £30; toys, £70 pianos, £240; garden seeds, £90 ; manure, 515 tons; ~;t; t cartridges and dynamite, £150 gunpowder, 312cwt.; fuse, £240 ; tanks, £10; anchors, 1 ton; hardware, £300; bar iron, 17 tons; hoop iron, 7 tons; plate iron, 2 tons; pig iron, 20 tons ; galvanised iron, 28 tons : sheet lead, 4 toils; till plates, 130 boxes; zinc,7 tons; iron nails, 14 tons; wire, 70 tons rape oil, 250 gallons; varnish, £20; white lead, 17 tons; pitch, 10 barrels; foreign glass, 220 boxes; plate glass, 10 cases earthenware, £150; glass bottles, £1S0; soap powder, one ton] - canvas, £420; cordage, £30 ; bottled beer, G5 gallons ; malt, 7 quarters; fish, £40; sardines, £80; oilmen's stores, £50; pickles, £100; ■vinegar, 2120 gallons; cocoa, 50cwt; mustard, £160; 'starch, £130; salt, 77 tons; bicarb, ,j" ' soda, 40cwt; caustic soda, 6 tons; candles, £90 almonds, llcwt; carraway seed, oewt; apothccary ware, £300 ; tartaric acid, flewt; ' cream tartar, scwt; condensed milk, £120: cornflour, £10; canary seed, 29ewt. Total .! 'value of cargo, £17,200.

% ffi;? The brigantine Oamarn, Captain Richards, arrived yesterday morning from Newcastle with coal. She left that port on September !), and had fresh westerly winds for five days. Light variables were then had till the North Cape was reached on the 23rd, and easterly breezes up the coast. Tiri was v,' passed at 4 p.m. on Thursday, and the vessel beat up the harbour yesterday morning. ~ '' J . About ten minutes later than the Oamaru's arrival the brig Vision, Captain Christian, also from Newcastle, cast anchor in the stream. Her report showed that she had left on the same day as the Oarriaru, and had similar weather throughout, passing the North Cape on the same day, and reaching Tiri about the same time. Yesterday morning early the s.s, Clansman came in from her regular trip to Northern ports, and in the evening she got away for Taurauga. Following closely on the rights to the Dardanelles, granted to Russia by Turkey, comes the news that the Russian Navigation and - Trading Company, in which the Russian Government, hold about a half interest, has established a new line of steamers,' with departures from Constantinople, and calling at Mount Athos, Salonica, Pirams, Khios, : Smyrna, Tripoli, Beyrout, Jaffa, Port Said, ami back to the Turkish capital. The brig Vision, now in port, is a type of a rig of vessel fast dying out in colonial waters, find is the only colonially owned craft of that style that lias been here for a long time. The Vision is a Clyde-built craft, and was launched there as far back as 1806. She is well known in the Kaipara-Melbourne timber trade, and was previously running amongst the islands. Yesterday the schooner Agnes Donald came into port from Blenheim, after a mode- / rate passage, with a cargo of potatoes consigned to Mr. J. T. Hendry.' I'lio American barque B, Webster should shortly be putting in an appearance here ' from Adelaide. She is to load here on behalf of the New Zealand Shipping Company : with gum and flax for New York. She is now commanded by Captain . Giese, in place of Captain W. A. Kennoy, who died at Capetown on the voyage out. < A cutting four miles long, in the harbour of . Belfast, which was commenced five years ' ago, has been completed, and vessels can now proceed in ; a straight line right to the piers instead of by. the, old dangerous circuitous route. The 1 new channel has been excavated to a width of 300 feet between the slopes, which incline at the rate of 1 in 7 on cacti side. The depth of water is 17 feet at low tide and 25 feet at ordinary high tide. The cost was lc3s than £13,000. < ■" .'• ' ■

The fine iron barque Camana, Captain Johnson, has now got under hatches almost her full loading of gum, flax, wool, tallow, etc., for .London, the final shipments being ready to be shipped this , morning. The vessel will clear on Monday, and leave at once on her long trip. At the Queen-street Wharf, yesterday, the New Zealand Shipping Co.'s Tekoa, Captain Stuart, got out the remainder of her mixed freighting from the United Kingdom, and today she is to proceed on her voyage South, her lirst ports of call being Wellington and Lyttclten, for each of which she has a large cargo. _ . After getting out her Southern freighting of grain, breadstuff's, etc., the Union S.S. Co.'s Ohau left last evening for Westport. " From a return issed by Lloyd's, it appears that the total number of disasters to steam and sailing vessels from January 1 to March 31 was 250 vessels, aggregating 167,140 tons, ami exclusive of vessels of 100 tons and under. The steamers number 63, of 81,274 gross tons, and the sailing vessels 193, of 8.5,5C0 gross tons. In steamers, 2 were broken up or condemned, 2 were burned, 1G lost through collision, 2 foundered, 1 missing, 3S wrecked. In sailing vessels, 2*l were abandoned at sea, 14 broken up and condemned, 0 burned, 12 lost through collision, 11 foundered, 5 lost, 17 missing, and 104 wrecked. At the Customs yesterday, the brigantine Gleaner was cleared out for Noumea. She has on board a full cargo of timber for there, and when she has discharged it she will proceed to Long Island, and load with guano back to this port. The schooner Waitemata arrived at Sydney yesterday from Kaipara, timber laden. She returns to Kaipara. A telegram from Dunedin states that the barque Mikado, which was sold in Dunedin yesterday by order of the Supreme Court, has been purchased by the Union Steamship Co., after a spirited competition, for £ISSO. The vessel became the subject of a Supreme Court case, upon a claim of,£2oOS cm a bottomry bond given at Paraguay*, by Captain Ove.. >». It appeared that she left New York for Lvttelton, under Captain Angel, who so misbehaved himself that at Paraguaya Captain Overton took charge on behalf of the underwriters, Captain Angel going up country, where he died. Having no personal credit in Paraguayu, Captain Overton gave a bottomry bond, and on this bond the action was brought before Mr. Justice Williams, sitting under the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act.

THE BARQUE HIMALAYA. - On Thursday evening intelligence -was reI ceived at the Herald Office from Tiri of the approach of a barque from seaward. She was j put down to be the Himalaya, Captain Hill,' which has been expected from London for [.some time past, but it was not till yesterday that the p.s. Eagle towed the vessel in to the powder ground. The Himalaya has a mixed cargo, valued at £17,200. Her long trip is owing _ mainly to the rough weather experienced in the Southern Ocean. Captain Hill reports that the' barque left London on May "lid, and experienced light and moderate south-west and west winds, with 'foggy weather, down the Channel. On the 30th and 31st she had a very heavy gale from the south-west, with confused seas, ami the same sort of weather was had again on the 2nd and 3rd of June, with an interval of light westerly winds. Following this, moderate sonth-wojst winds prevailed for a week, and then battling winds from the north and east to 35" N. In 28' N. she picked tip the N.E. trades, but they were very light, and from thence till on the line light baflling winds and calms prevailed. The S.E. trades were met in 5" N., and the vessel crossed the Equator on July sth in 27' W. Thence she had moderate Trades as far as 21' S.. 33' W., and from there variable winds, mostly southerly, to Tristan D'Acuuha Islai.d, which she sighted at daylight on July 28th. Then followed a continuation of strong northerly winds until August sth. i.2' S., 17' 10., when she had a very heavy grue from the S.E., lying to under lower inaintopsnil for 48 hours, the gale lasting three days. On the 12th she had another heavy gale from the eastward lasting for 24 hou -s, then fresh westerly winds until the 27th, when she was compelled to lie to with a heavy gale from the northward, the barometer down to 23'60. A tremendous sea got ...tip, and a portion of the bulwarks was knocked away. Another heavy gale was experienced on the 31st from the N., during which a sea broke over the poop and filled the cabin. On September Bth Tasmania .was sighted, and from there up the barque had light unsteady winds and sometimes calms. On September the 22nd, after much thunder and lightning and a lot of rain, tho wind came away with a burst from the southward, very strong at first but gradually moderating. The Himalaya sighted the Three Kings on the 23rd, passed the Little Barrier, and was picked up outside, and brought into port as abovo. , ,

FORT OF ONEHUMGA. DEPARTURES. Glenel?:, s.s., Norburv, for Hokianea. Passengers: Messrs. Bindon, Lynch, Berry, Otlen and son.— Barues, agent. The Northern Co. V s.s. Glenolg, for Hokianga, took her departure at 3.30 in. yesterday, with a mixed cargo, and passengers as above. The ketch Nellie hauled alongside the wharf last night, and will commence loading puriri sleepers, for Kaipara, this morning. BY TELEGRAPH. WELLINGTON. September 2.">. —Sailed : S.s. Takapuna, for Onehunga, via Taranaki. Passengers Misses DeCastro, Young, and Thomson, Mrs. Thomson, Hons. H. Williams and E. Mitchclson, Messrs. Hamlin, Graham, Sinclair, Nolan, Dill, Liddinghain, Thomson, Houston, Chapman, La'L'robe, Chester, and Buckland. S.s. M&napouri, for Sydney, via the Was Coast and Auckland. Passengers : Miss Cremciy Sir G. Whitmore, Messrs. Watts, Pertzmann, llay,Reid, Brinne,',Chamberlain. HOKIANGA. . September 20.The barque Presto arrived this morning. She left Sydney on the lGtli inst. . . SYDNEY. September Arrived : Ilaitroto, from Wellington. A SCHOONER LOST AT KAIPARA. Kaipara, September 2.3.—The Sea Breeze, a locally owned schooner of 20 tons, was lost last night on Fitzgerald Spit. She sailed on the 2-lth from Pahi to Helensville with a cargo of sleepers for Mr. Isaac McLeod, of Helensville, and on her way down became a total wreck. There were no lives lost. Three is no insurance on the cargo or hull. THE SUEZ MAIL. Albany, September '25.—Arrived : R.M.s. Victoria, from Plymouth. Passengers for New Zealand: Mr. and Mrs. F. Walker, Mr. and Mrs. Kingham, Messrs. F. S. Bond, W. N. Bond, Hiderbrand, 0. W. Logan, Brunette, W. B. Colbeck, Haning, Baylio, Mrs. Brown and child, Messrs. Logan (2), Captain and Mrs. Kennedy ond son.