OUR LETTER HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9442, 23 February 1894, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR LETTER HOME.

MT , Excellency the Governor and £e Countess of Glasgow, with their Lily and suite, arrived m Auckland t midnight on February 16. Since L conclusion of the session of Parliant His Excellency has resided in IniJtchurch. The trip up was made th<? Government steamer Hinemoa t the east coast, and a stay of a short time was made at Gisborne, Poverty " where His Excellency was preLted with addresses and shown over 1 district. He promised to pay another visit and to make a longer tiv. During the course of next month His Excellency will visit the Rarotonran Group, which is under his special care as Governor of New Zeai",mil The Countess of Glasgow will accompany His Excellency on the island trip. Mr. F. J. Moss, the British Resident, is at present in Auckland, fi,,d will return to Rarotonga with His Excellency. Great preparations are bring made by the natives tor the

The Hon. Mr. Seddon, the Premier, Ins visited various parts of the colony durine the month. On February 16-he addressed a meeting at ioxton, the -hief topic of his speech being that -ei-t un banks were withdrawing money from the colony, and thus restricting trade and commerce. This accusation is aimed chiefly at the three Australian banks which carry on business in New Zealand, and which, it is said, have restricted their advances in this colony in order to strengthen their position in Australia. Mr. Seddon's remarks are, no doubt, intended to fortify him in his design of obtaining power for the Government to borrow money in London to lend out to farmers nere. The Hon. J. McKenzie, Minister of Lands has made a tour of the central parts of the North Island, where within the next few years a large amount of settlement will take place. As a result of the general election held at the end of November last, two petitions were presented praying that the returns may be declared void, on tiie ground of corrupt practices. One ■was ae.iinst the return of Mr. Monk for the Waitemata constituency, Auckland, and the other against the return of Sir 1!. Stout for Wellington. The hearing of the former petition was commenced at Auckland on February 6, and the decision was given on February 10. The Judges were Chief Justice Prendercast and Mr. Justice Conolly. At the conclusion of the evidence, the Chief Justice said that they would report that the seat was voided by bribery and treating by Mr. Monk's scents; and they disqualified Mr. Monk for one year, and ordered him to pay the costs. _ The petition against the return of Sir R. Stout was dismissed, it not having been served upon the Returning Officer within the time fixed by the statute. Two "native obstructions" have occurred during the month, but they are of very trivial importance as compared with former experiences of the same kind. The Government have laid off a State farm" av. Horowhenua, in the Wellington province, but when they came to deal with the land certain natives objected, on the ground that in the apportionment of the block amongst the owners they had not been fairly "dealt with. The Government are j making inquiries into the subject, and no doubt the difficulty will very soon be j adjusted. The other case is respecting a road at Opuatia, on the Lower Waikato. This road is being laid off for the accommodation of some blocks of land that have recently been taken up to the west of the Waikato river. The natives say that the road is being taken for six miles through a block of native land, and that no notice was given to the owner or to Tawhiao, the Maori King. The principal person who is acting for Tawhiao is Kerei Kaihau, who a year or two ago suffered a period of imprisonment for destroying _ a trig station in the Thames district, Two natives were brought up at the Magistrates Court on February 15, and were fined £20 and costs for taking up the survey pegs. Kerei Kaihau sent word to the Government that on the 20th February he would attend on the ground and obstruct the road survey. A strong force of armed police was sent up under Inspector Hickson, and when Kerei Kaihau and his attendants appeared an argument took place on the subject. The Government have a legal right to make the road, but it is said that in such cases it is usual to give the owners of any laud notice, which was not done in this instance. Kaihau said to Inspector Hickson that he wanted the question referred to Tawhiao, but the Inspector replied that he could not recognise any authority in Tawhiao. No obstruction took place, Kerei Kaihau saying that he would consult Tawhiao. There is not the least apprehension that anything serious will arise out of this affair.

A Postal Conference is about to meet at Wellington, which will be attended by delegates from all the colonies. There have of late been considerable changes in the whole aspect of postal and telegraphic affairs, and the approaching Conference will be of great importance. Several plans have been proposed of completing a cable across the Pacific, while the establishment of the Vancouver service has to some extent altered the aspect of postal affairs. In a late issue of the Gazette we have the customs revenue for the December quarter, and for the year 1893. For the quarter the total was £403,025, while for the corresponding quarter of 1892 the sum was £:j94,392,an increase of £8633. For the year the figures were : —1893, £1,665,683 ; 1892, £1,654,064, an increase of £11,619. These increases are not large, and are not so great as might, have been expected from the accessions of population we have received. Looking at the_ position of Auckland as compared with the other large ports, we. find that the figures stand thus for the quarter : — 1893. 1892. Auckland £89,661 £84,672 Wellington ... 82,041 82,850 Christcnurch ... 66,589 64,081 Dunedin 87,629 87,992 Auckland is therefore considerably above any other port, the only one which is near her being Dunedin, which used invariably to be in the first position. It is somewhat surprising, indeed, that we should be so far ahead of Wellington, which enjoys the advantage of i being a distributing centre for Nelson and Picton ; besides that a considerable amount of settlement has been going on within its own provincial borders. Taking the articles for the whole colony, we find there has been a slight falling-off in spirits, the figures being— 1893, spirits in bulk £52,168, in case £35,157 ; 1892, in bulk £52,252, in case £36,454. The revenue for tobacco showed a corresponding tendency. In 1893 we derived from cigars, cigarettes, and snuff, £11,003 ; in 1892, £11,208 ; tobacco manufactured, in 1893, £52,674 ; in 1892, £52,751. In tea, the figures we—lß93, £26,027 ; 1892, £25,635. We have here, therefore, a small increase. In sugar, the figures are—lß93, £35,936 ; 1892, £33,674. Taking the figures for

the year as affecting the chief ports, they stand thus : v " 1 ■ * 1893. 1892. Auckland ... £370,127 £300,785 Wellington ... 349,573 351,078 Christchureh... 276,273 266,999 . Dunedin ... . 368,474 ; 379,792 The greater portion of the increase of £11,619 on the year occurred in the last quarter. The North Island shows an increase 0f.£17,429 for the year, while the South Island has a decrease of £6159. The ad valorem duties received for the year show a falling off of £7500, but it is believed that in 1892, when there was a considerable increase, there was some amount of over-importing. The lesson from these figures lies plainly on the surface. We are in a fairly good position, and have every encouragement for the future. But there is nothing to tempt us to go into speculative finance or speculative politics of any kind. Our safety lies in the extension of settlement, and in living well within our means. Of late, great fear has been entertained that the statistics for kauri gum, when completed for 1893, would show a great falling off from those of the previous year ; but the truth is, that the reduction amounts to very little. The following are the figures supplied to us by Messrs. Lyon and Garlick : — 1893. 1592. 1891. IS9O 18S9. Shipped to Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Europe 4,274 2,889 3,581 2,520 2,773 America 4,059 5,500 5,064 4,984 4,522 8,333 8,389 8,645 7,504 7,295 Thus the quantity shipped in 1893 was nearly as much as in 1892, being only short by 53 tons. The value of the kauri gum exported from Auckland for 1893 was, according to the Customs returns, £510,775 ; but this we think must be an over-estimate. The export for 1992 we made to be of the value of £503,340, which was £66.284 greater than the value for the year before. We estimate the value of last year's export at £450, The reduction, therefore, on our export of kauri gum for last year was £53,340. The price of the export of 1892 was taken at £60 per ton; the range of price in 1893 would be from about £37 to £50. The discrepancy between the two years would have been greater but for the fact that in the early part of 1892 the price was low, and gradually I increased till it culminated about the end of the year. In 1893, the price was high at the commencement, and kept well up for a time, and then it gradually fell till it reached its present low figure In 1892 and 1891 a much larger proportion of the gum was sent to America. This year, owing to the silver question and the proposed tariff changes, the American demand has greatly fallen off, leading to a flooding of the London market. _ At present the production of gum is in excess of the legitimate demand, thus almost compelling a steady reduction in price. We' have lately had a large influx of population from Australia, and many of them are men who can find work at ! nothing else but gumdigging. The New Zealand Gazette contains the tables showing the exports and imports during the quarter ended December 31, and also the figures for the year. Taking the totals fortheyear there is a falling off in the imports from £6.943,056 in 1892 to £6,911,515 in 1893. The decrease, though small, is surprising considering that during the whole of 1893 we were making increases to our population. But probably it may be accounted for by the fact that 1592 was a year of vfery large imports, making up for several short years which had gone before. The imports of the two preceding years were :—IB9O, £6,260.525 : 1891, £6,503,849. The imports for last year were therefore considerably above the amounts for 1891 and 1892. Coming to the ports we find that for Auckland the figures stand : —1892, £1,642,833; 1893, £1,487,827. Wellington: 1892, £1,527,186 1893, £1,698,374. Christchurch : 1892, £1,206,080 ; 1893, £1,272,860. Dunedin . 1892, £1,618,567 ; 1893, £1,500.638. Wellington and Christchurch show increases. Looking at the details for the port of Auckland, we find that in comparison with the corresponding quarter _ of 1892, the imports from the United Kingdom were : 1892, £206,873; 1893, £192,365 From Victoria in 1892, the port of Auckland imported to the amount of £10,507 ;in 1893, £8708. The figures for New South Wales were: 1892, £31,822 ; 1893, £31,658. Sydney therefore kept better up to the mark than Melbourne. Our imports from Queensland fell from £17,388 in 1892 to £3201 in 1893, a very considerable decrease. Fiji showed £69,791 in the quarter oi 1892, and £70,406 in 1893. The figures relating to America were : 1892, East Coast ports, £21,033; West Coast, £5989 ; 1893, East Coast ports, £19,504 ; West Coast, £5672. The imports from the Cook Island in the last quarter of 1892 were £2418 1893, £4243. The exports show similar features. In 1892 they amounted to £9,534,851 ; in 1893, to £8,984,290. As regards the port of Auckland, however, there was a slight increase, the totals being 1892, £1,214,878; 1893, £1,256,486. Wellington shows a decrease trom ±,1,0it),004 in 1892 to £1,117,384 in 1893. Christchurch has £1,863,256 in 1892, and £1,863,113 in 1893; Dunedin, £1,152,649 in 1892, and £1,220,939 in 1893. A more generalinterest is felt throughout the world in the small community of Norfolk Island than in places and peoples many times the size. It has always been recognised that the story of the mutineers of the Bounty, their disappearance for many years, and their discovery as a mild and Christian community in a lone island of the Pacific, was one of the most wonderful tales or all history, a true story stranger than fiction. At short intervals articles appear in the Australian and English papers, going over the whole history, and showing how the descendants of the mutineers live at the present day It is now more than a hundred years since the mutineers of the Bounty took possession of Pitcairn Island, and their descendants remained unknown till 1808. Most of them are now on Norfolk Island, and it is interesting to read of the marriage of a descendant of one of the mutineers. In 1856 nearly 200 of the Pitcairn Islanders were transferred to Norfolk Island, but a number of them afterwards returned. Our correspondent there informs us that the population of Norfolk Island is now 771, of which the " Norfolk community " now number 575. The community has a large- amount of self-government, and every year the laws are revised by the whole population ' — least by the adult males, because we do not think that female suffrage has yet been admitted. The Norfolk Islanders are not troubled with representative government, but do their political business directly. Even the land laws may be altered in the most fundamental particulars, as will be seen by our correspondent's letter, although the island is part of the Empire, and is under the jurisdiction of the Governor of New South Wales. They seem determined to keep the land amongst themselves, having lately passed a law that no one may sell, lease, or alienate the land of which he may become possessed, to anyone who is not a member of the community, meaning the descendants of the mutineers as distinguished from " interlopers. On the whole, the descendants of the mutineers seem happy and contented'

' The Presbyterian Church Courts have been engaged in a " heresy hunt," which has attracted considerable interest. The Rev. S. J. Neill, of the Thames, was brought before the Presbytery of Auckland because he was a member of the Theosophical Society, and out of sympathy with Christian doctrine as defined by the Presbyterian Church. Ultimately the case was taken to the General Assembly, which has just met at Christchurch. That Court came to the decision that the connection between the Rev. Mr. Neill and his congregation must be dissolved, as he was a member of the Theosophical Society, "and out of sympathy with the doctrines of Scripture as these are understood and taught in the Presbyterian Church." It designates the Theosophical Society as an Anti-Christian society." The deposition of Mr. Neill was, " until he shall withdraw from the Theosophical Society and satisfy the Church that the causes which have led to the Assembly's present action have been removed." A meeting of a number of sympathisers with Mr. Neill has been held in Auckland, at which an address was presented to him.

The vacant Professorships in the Auckland University College have now been tilled up. Mr. A.li Johnson, who was a sixth wrangler at Cambridge in 1882, has been appointed Professor of Mathematics Mr. Tubbs, who is at present acting as assistant to Professor Tucker at Melbourne, has been appointed Professor of Classics; while Mr. C. W. Egerton has been appointed Professor of English. Mr. Murray, «ne of the Inspectors of Mining in Victoria, lias lately made a tour of the goldfields of this colony, chiefly with a view to reporting on the prospects of success of deep-sinking operations. Rich gold has been found on the low levels in Australia, and there is every prospect that the same result would follow deep-sinking in New Zealand. The Thames goldtield, for instance, was exceedingly rich on the upper levels, but these have been worked out, and the strata of country got into was not so rich. But it is expected that here, as in Australia, the gold would " make" again when a lower level is reached. lit the event of Mr. Murray's report being favourable, it is anticipated that the Government would propose to aid deep-sinking operations, in order to revive the gold mining industry. In consequence of complaints by tourists respecting the extortionate charges demanded by the natives at Ilotorua for merely viewing the natural wonders of the district, the Government have determined to proclaim roads up to these places, which the natives cannot obstruct, or demand toll for passing over. H.M.s. Curasoa arrived froni her visit to the various ports in the South on January 30, and at present remains in harbour, where she will probably await the arrival of the Admiral from Hobart. The Lizarfl arrived on the 21st instant, from a trip to the Antipodes Islands in search of castaways, but nothing was discovered. The Tauranga has left Hobart for Dunedin. The Orlando, Ringarooma, Boomerang, Dart, and Katoomba were at Hobart at last advice. The three former ships were to leave about the end of this month for Auckland, the Dart remaining to do some survey work on the Tasmanian coast, and the Katoomba proceeding to Sydney. The Royalist has left Albany, Western Australia, for Melbourne and Sydney. The Ringdove has arrived at Sydney from Adelaide to await her new crew, which comes out by the Orient liner Ophir, due at Sydney to-day. The old crew leave for home by the Cuzco on the 27th instant. The Goldfinch, at Sydney, will probably proceed to Samoa shortly owing to the attitude of some of the natives towards the Government. The French warship Scorff has arrived at Hobart from New Zealand. The flagship of the French fleet in the South Pacific, the Duguay-Trouin, left Auckland for Valparaiso and France on the 4th instant, after a very pleasant stay. The German warship Bussard left the harbour for the usual quarterly big gun practice, and on return went into the Calliope Dock for cleaning and painting. Captain Flitchtenhoefer, the commander of the vessel, has undergone an operation by which his left foot was taken off, and lie is to return to Germany as soon as ! his health permits. The new commander is expected to arrive next mouth. The German gunboat Faalke ! lias arrived at Melbourne from Capetown, and proceeds on to Sydney and ; Samoa.

A team of New South Wales cricketers has just concluded a tour of the colony. They proved too strong for all the provincial districts except Canterbury, .where they were defeated by an innings and seven runs. Auckland received a very decisive overthrow, losing by nine wickets ; and Hawke's Bay fared even worse, being defeated by an innings and 13 runs. in Wellington and South Canterbury the match ended in a draw in favour of the visitors, and in Dunedin a draw also resulted. The greatest interest naturally centred round the contest with the combined New Zealand team, it being generally considered that after the victory of Canterbury the New Zealanders would win. However, such was not the case, and the visitors won by 160 runs. They also defeated a combined North Island team. Taking all things into consideration, the NewSouth Wales team may t well regard their tour as a decided success.

The annual regatta held on January 29 was a decided success. Everything went off most satisfactorily, the boating spirit in Auckland apparently growing keener every year. The race of the day was that for the championship of the colony under the auspices of the New Zealand Yachting Association. For it there were but three entries, the Australian-built Volunteer, owned by Mr. T. Henderson ; the Auckland-built Viking, from Mr. Bailey's yard; and Lushington's Muritai, upon which a good deal of money has recently been spent. The course was a 46-mile one. Neither of these crafts had met the other before ; opinions were divided as to their merits, and the keenest interest in the result was evinced. The Volunteer is the largest yacht in New Zealand waters, and several times a Sydney champion. On the other hand the Viking is a locally-built boat from which great things were expected, while the Muritai had no mean record for speed. In time allowances the Volunteer gfxve the Viking 10m. 145., and the Muritai 25m. 335. ; The start made all for the Viking, the Volunteer lagging to the extent of 455., the former's" spinnaker being out at once. The Viking soon had a clear lead of a minute and a-halt or the Volunteer, the Muritai being ; some little distance behind. The Volunteer at length crept up, and getting to windward showed the , way. She could not, however, shake off the Viking, which was splendidly sailed. _ The Volunteer then took in i her topsails, but she was carrying all she required then. Un coming into sight from the flagship the Volunteer was still to windward and leading, but by such a.short distance that even then, with time allowance, it looked like the Viking's race. A heavy squall then struck the boats, but no material alteration ia position was

made, the Volunteer passing the mark at 4h. lm. p.m., and the Viking at 4h. 3m. The Muritai did not sail the whole course, and the Viking won a magnificent race on time by Bm. 4s. 1