Clippings.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 237, 25 March 1876, Page 6

Clippings.

SHE MEANT BUSINESS. (From the Laramie Sun.) They have some queer girls over in Colorado. One of them who resides in the Cache la Boudre Valley had been receiving the attentions of a young man for about a year ; but, becoming impatient at his failure to bring matters to a crisis, she resolved to ascertain his intentions. "When he next called she took him gently by the ear, led him to a seat and said : . “ Nobby, you’ve bin foolin’ ’round this, claim fur mighty near a year, an’ hev shot off yer mouth on the marryin’ biz. I’ve cottoned to yer on the square clean through, an’ hev stood off every other galoot thet has tried to chip in ; an’ now I want yer to come down to business or leave the ranch. Ef yer on the marry an’ want a pard thet’ll stick rite to ye till ye pass in yer checks an’ the good Lord calls ye over the range, jist squeel an’ we’ll hitch ; but ef that ain’t yer game, draw out an give some other fellew a show for his pile. Now sing yer song or skip out.” He sang. AN EXTRAORDINARY HAYSTACK. Lately the Narracoorte paper remarked:— “ We often read about large, gooseberries and gigantic cabbages, but there is a haystack near Narracoorte which is in all probability the largest in the world—its length being 180 ft. by 40ft. in breadth, and 46ft. high to the top of the ridge. To build a stack of this height in the ordinary way would be a work of very great difficulty, but the owner, Mr. Hinckley, has adopted an original method of lifting the hay, and calls into requisition a variety of appliances about his farm which are calculated to save a great deal of labor, and thoroughly answer the purposes they are intended to serve. In carrying the hay six or seven carts are used, each one having a net in which about 12cwt. of hay is placed. At the stack is a mast 64ft. high, with a boom 33ft. long. A winch at the foot of the mast is used for raising the loads, and as each comes in the ends of & the net are hooked on and the load is. taken up. The cart within three minutes is despatched for another load. When high enough the boom is swung round, and at the proper time a trigging line is pulled, which lets go one end of the net, and the other end is again raised by the winch, which gives the hay a roll over towards its place. By this method from 100 to 150 loads have been put on the stack in one day. The whole arrangement is exceedingly simple and perfect. The next part of the process is the chaffcutting. The stack is built on a bed of sand about a foot thick, and a wooden tramway is laid the whole length under the stack, and leading into the bam. A truck 14ft. by Bft. by sft. is run to the end of the stack, filled with hay, then back to the chaffcutter, when the end flap is let down and the engine started. The chaff cutter, which is all boxed in, has a pully fixed on the slowest

motion, which works an elevator, and the whole of the chaff is taken up to a loft above, fram whence it is let down shoots into bales or bags. For bagging there is a hole in the ground fitted with trap doors ; an oval ring, having six claws for catching the bag, is inserted in the mouth of the bag, which is then deposited in the hole, filled, rammed, and lifted out again. The engine can also be used for driving a corncrusher and sawbench when required.” A RECENT DUEL IN VIRGINIA. (From the Winchester (Ya.) Times, Jam 11.) A duel was fought at Cater Hall Spring, about ten miles from this city, on Thursday afternoon, about three o’clock. The principals were Robert Neville, an Englishman, who lives at Cater Hall, and Wm. F. Randolph, of Clarke. Randolph was the challenging party, and the weapons selected by Neville were swords. The cause of the challenge we have not learned, but rumor has it that Mr. Randolph supposed that he had been treated with discourtesy upon several occasions by Mr. Neville. Mr. Neville is said to be a practiced swordsman, while Mr. Randolph was entirely without experience in the use of that weapon. YYe are informed that Mr. Neville’s sword was a regular basket-hilt, double-edged duelling sword, and that Mr. Randolph used an infantry officer’s dress sword.

The principals exhibited perfect nerve and coolness, and when the word was given the slashing was quite lively. Mr. Neville. received a thrust in the side, causing a slight wound. Mi*. Randolph was severely cut on both sides of the head, the temporal artery on the left side being severed, after which the seconds interposed and put a stop to the fight. Fortunately there was a skilful surgeon on the field, who* was prompt in staunching the wounds, but for which the result might have been serious. We are further informed that after the fight explanations ensued, and the principals parted upon friendly terms. Duelling is so much out of fashion in this part of the country that this affair has created quite a sensation. The general sentiment in regard to it is one of regret. Since the above was in type we have heard that steps were taken at the Clarke Court on Monday to have the parties indicted. HE WAS A TRIFLE OFF. (From the New York Times.) “Yes—yes, sir!” answered the prisoner. “ Please repeat the Ten Commandments, Mr. Fraser.” “ I—I—” stammered the prisoner. “ Go ahead, Mr. Fraser.” The prisoner looked' around in a helpless, anxious manner, and finally commenced : “ Now I lay me down to sleep.” “ I suppose they have some commandments of their own there,” replied the Court, as he looked over the prisoner’s head ; “ some which are patented for special use in that State ? ” “ Yes, sir.” “ You don’t deny being drunk yesterday, do you ? ” “I was a trifle off, your Honor ; but it’s the first time for seven years.” “ One day, four or five years ago, when I was going up the Hudson,” said the Court, in a voice trembling with emotion, “ a young man greatly resembling you in look, sat down beside me and asked me if I was prepared to die, and if I was ti-ying to be good, and by-and-by he took a sti-ing, twisted it around into loops, and I lost 20dols. betting on his game.” “ It wasn’t me, your Honor.” “ It might not have been, but you look like him —same nose, same squint eyes, same twodollar diamond in his shirt front. This resemblance, together with your being drunk, induces me to fine you lOdols.” “It’s hard, sii*,” sighed the prisoner as he felt for his greenbacks. “ And let me give you a brotherly warning,” continued the Court, “ get an engagement as a comic lecturer, and leave New York and ti’avel for your health. The police won’t believe that you are a Christian and an upright man, and if. you stay around here they -will make your young life dark with hints, and slurs, and flings at your honesty of purpose.” FINANCIAL SCANDAL AT THE CAPE. Information was brought by the Cape mail of the arrest of Mr. A. J. Yan Breda, Assistant Treasurer-General, for theft. The amoxmt declared to be missing is £52,569 6s. Bd., spi’ead over a period of fifteen years ; and owing to the way in which some of the books had been allowed to fall into arrears—some not having been written up for ten years—it has taken more than six months to detect the defalcation. It is alleged that Breda was in the habit of obliging his friends periodically with loans from the public chest, taking their “ good-fors ” as security for the money lent. The Hon. P. E. de Roubaix, the absentee member of the Legislative Council, is said to have received £9313 in this way. Mr. J. G. Cloete, another “ friend ” in the Treasury department, received various sums from time to time, amounting, according to one affidavit, to £IOOO. It would appear from the revelations already published that several persons, both in and out of the Cape Civil Service, had advances of the public money from Breda, some of which have been repaid, but the majority have not. De Roubaix had £750 or £BOO from Breda on condition that he voted against the introduction of responsible government, and he caused much disgust by voting for it almost immediately after lie received the money. De Roubaix is said to have been in great straits at the time, and the celebrated diamond bnuffbox played an important part in the transaction. Mr. J. G. Cloete and Breda used to be constantly engaged in bill transactions with each other, and Breda used to endorse Cloete’s bills. Breda had a share in a claim at the diamond fields, and it is believed that he sank a good deal of money there. On the last examination of the public chest during Mr. Breda’s tenure of office Mr. Bergh was not allowed by him to be pi’esent. The TreasurerGeneral never, it seenis, had the key of the

chest in his own possession. It is considered strange that Mr. Bergh did not make his x’evelation befoi’e, and that he has. suffered fifteen years to go by without reporting these matters to the Government. MI. J. Cloete has been suspended, and Mr. Breda was released on bail of £IO,OOO, £SOOO being his own recognizances. Mi’. Breda has been suffering for some time past from mental derangement, and was placed on leave of absence at the beginning of the year, when that course was pressed upon him by the Government.

RAIN DIAGRAMS

We have to acknowledge the receipt of a set of diagrams photo-litliographed in the office of the Surveyor-General from original drawings executed by Mr. T. Smeaton in illustration of the monthly rainfall in Adelaide from 1839 to 1875 inclusive. They are based upon Sir G. S. Kingston’s tables, and are constructed upon a plan that is both novel and ingenious. A number of concentric circles drawn to scale represent the depth of rain in inches measured from the centre outwards, each of the spaces between the circles indicating one inch. There are also 12 radiating lines drawn at equal angles with each other from the centre to the outermost circle to represent the sevei'al months of the year ; and the depth of rain for each month, and consequently for each year, is shown by straight lines drawn from one l’adiating line to another, the spaces lying between such lines and the centre being shaded to indicate the quantity of rain thus curiously indicated. Of coxxrse thei’e are 37 diagrams, one for each year, as also an additional one to represent the general averages. It is, we think, a pity that they are drawn to so small a scale as one inch to ten, though the diagrams will be of use in showing approximately the quantity of rain l’ecorded each year and month. It is stated in a foot-note that they also show “ the excess or defect over average.” We scarcely can understand how a defect can be over the average, yet no doubt the subsequent statements are true, viz., that “ they afford the opportunity for readily testing any theory as to cycles of seasons, as to disti’ibution of rain over the individual months, as to change of climate by cultivation or otherwise, or as to prediction of probable rainfall.” CASTOR OIL. She had her mind made up for two or three days that the boy needed some castor oil, but she knew she must approach him gently. She placed the bottle where he could not see it, and when he turned up his nose she said ; “ It’s just like honey, my darling.” He seemed to doubt her word, and she continued : “ If you’ll take some I’ll bet you go to the circus.” “ How much ?” he cautiously inquired. “ Oh, only a spoonful, just one spoonful,” she replied, as she uncorked the bottle. “ And you’ll give me some sugar besides ?” lie asked. “ Of course I will—a big lump.” He waited till she began pouring from, the bottle, and then asked—- “ And you’ll give me sixpence too ?” “ Yes, of course.” “And you’ll bxiy me a shoo-fly kite ?” he went on, seeing his advantage. “ I guess so.” “No kite, no ile,” he said as he drew back. “Well, I’ll buy you a kite,” she replied, filling the spoon clear up. “ And a velocipede !” “ I’ll think of it.” “ You can’t think no oil down me !” he exclaimed, looking around for his hat. “ Here—l will or I’ll tease father too, and I know he will. Come, now, swallow it down.” “ And you’ll buy me a goat ?” “Yes.” “ And two hundred marbles ?” “Yes. Now take it right down.” “ And a coach-dog ?” “I can’t promise that.” “ All l-ight—no dog no ile!” “ Well, I’ll ask your fathei’.” “ And you’ll buy me a pony ?” “ Oh I couldn’t do that. Now be a good boy and swallow it down.” “Oh yes, I’ll swallow that stuff, I will!” he said, as he clapped on his hat. “ Yoix may fool some other boy with a circxxs ticket and a lump of brown sugar, but it’ll take a £2O pony to ti’ot that castor ile down my thi’oat !” And he went out to see if the neighbor’s cat had been caught in the dead-fall he set for her. AN ESSAY ON FISH. (From the Detroit Free Press.) Fish may be divided into classes—codfish and fresh fish. The propriety of dividing them into classes will be at once apparent when we reflect that they are usually found in schools. The mackerel is not exactly a codfish; bxxt he comes so much nearer being a codfish than a fresh fish that he is for the pi’esent classed with the former. Fish exist in sizes to suit the pxxrchaser, from minnows to whales—which are not fish, strictly speaking. Neither is the alligator a fish; but if we attempt to tell what are not fish, this article will far exceed its intended limits. The heri-ing is not absolutely a fish; he is a suggestion of departed fish. But the strongest suggestions of departed fish are smelt. The herring retains the same relation to the finny tribe as the Egyptian mummy to the human race. Fish are caught by measure and sold by weight—that is, they are caught by the gill and sold by the pound. But they are sometimes caught by weight—till yoxx get a bite. Contentment is the chief respite to the successful fishermen. Surveyoi’s are apt to be good fishermen, because their lines and angles are apt to be all right. The mermaid and fishwoman may also be mentioned in this connection. The former is

a good illusti’ation of what is meant by the ideal, and the latter as fitly represents the real.

Many land animals ai'e reprodxxced in the sea. Thus we have the dog-fish, the cat-fish, sea-lions, and sea-horses, bxxt no sea-mules. None of the above have hind legs, and any manner of mule xvithoxit hind legs would be a conspicxioxxs failure. It may not be out of place to mention Jonah in this comxection. He was not a fish, bxxt was once included among the inhabitants of the deep. There has been considerable dispxxte as to the name of the fish that swallowed the gentleman above-mentioned, some persons arguing that the throat of a wliale is not large enough to swallow a man. This objection seems to be inconsequeixtial. Jonah might have been made in a smaller mould than other men. Moreover, it is certain that he was cast over before being swallowed—cast over the rail of the vessel. There has been much speculation, also, as to the caxxse of Jonah’s expulsion from the whale’s interior, but the theory most generally accepted is that he soured on the whale’s stomach. He was very fortunate in reaching land, since he had no pilot. If he had taken a pilot with him into the stomach of the whale he would doubtless have selected Paxxncheous Pilot as the proper man. Jonah was the first man who retired from the department of the interior, and Delano was the last one. But we digress. Let us return to oxxr fish. The codfish is the great source of all salt. In this respect Lot’s wife was nowhere ; however, it would be well to remember Lot’s wife. The saline qualities of the codfish permeate and percolate the vasty deep, and make the ocean as salt as himself. Weighed in his oxvn scales, he is found wanting—wanting considerable freshening. He is by nature quite social, his principal recreation being balls fish balls. The codfish was worshipped by the Greeks ; but he is only half as well treated by the inhabitants of Cape Cod—he is simply shipped. Hence the difference between the Greeks and the inhabitants of Cape Cod. Small fish are usually harmless, but parents can’t be too careful about permitting their children to play where large fish abound, as it is an established fact that the big fish frequently eat up the little ones. The jelly fish is, perhaps, the best understood of all the finny ti-ibe, becaxxse, being translucent, it is easy to see through him. The greatest number of fish is eaten on Friday and the next greatest number on Saturday, because those that are left over are warmed up for Saturday’s breakfast. Ai’gumentative persons ai’e fond of stating that it is grammatical to say that the five loaves and three fishes were ate, since five and three were always eight. They should be treated with silent contempt.

Fish are provided with air bladders, so that they can rise from the depths of the sea by simply filling these bladdei’s with air. If any one is disposed to ask where they get the air for such inflation, let him understand in advance that this article is not intended for the solution of petty conundrums. There are many interesting rumours about fish which might be mentioned, but the foregoing facts may be considered as of-fish-all. RAILWAYS AND TELEGRAPHS OF THE WORLD. Sir John Hawkshaw, the President of the British Association, in his recent inaugural address, takes up as his theme the development and improvement of practical science in its application to the art and the requii’ements of mankind. He regards the triumphs of modern engineering as being the railway, the steam engine, and the telegraph—the last the most wondroxxs of all. With regard to the telegraph Sir John Hawkshaw supplies some curious and interesting facts. Twenty thoxxsand miles of submarine cable were wasted in the attempt to discover the best method of laying it and bringing it successfully into use. At present there are 50,000 miles of deep sea cable now in operation. The land telegi'aph lines foot up to 400,000 miles. The globe is now almost girdled by the electric belt, and the missing link will shortly be supplied by a cable between San Francisco and Yokohama. “Yet so recently as 1823,” says Sir John Hawkshaw, “when Sir Francis Ronald published a description of an electric telegraph, and brought his views under the notice of the Lords of the Admiralty, they informed him in reply that telegraphs of any kind were then wholly unnecessary, and- that no other than the one then in use would be adopted.” Speaking of railways, he estimates that Great Britain saves by her railxvay system in time and money what is equivalent to ten per cent, on all the capital expended in its completion, and he holds that in many cases a government would be justfied in sxxbsidising such undertakings. He speaks approvingly of the action of the kingdom of Brazil in guaranteeing seven per cent, upon any Brazilian railway that can produce of itself a net income of ten per cent. In viexv of the alarming frequency of late yeai’s of railway accidents in England, one would scai’cely be disposed to accept Sir John Hawkshaw’s statements as to the almost complete safety of railway travelling, were it not for the statistics adduced by him, Reduced to figxxres it appears that “ only one passenger is injured in every 4,000,000 miles travelled; on an average a person may ti’avel 100,000 miles a year for 40 years, and the chances be slightly in favor of his not receiving the slightest injury. This eminent engineering authority thus bi-iefly but forcibly tells the story of the labors of his own profession during the last half century : “ The progress of engineering works, if we consider it and the expenditxxre upon them has already in oxxr time been prodigious. One hundred and sixty thousand miles of railway alone, put into figures at £20,000 a mile, amounts to nearly £3,200,000,000 sterling;

and 400,000 miles of telegraph at £IOO a-milc and 100 milions more for sea canals, docks, harbors, water and sanitai'y works constrxxcted in the same pei-iod, and we get the enormous sum of £3,340,000,000 stei-ling expended in one generation and a half on what may undoubtedly be called useful works. TURNING THE TIBER. (From the Daily Tclcyraph, Dec. 15.) At last the Italian Government seem to have taken up in earnest the great national work of regulating the flow of Father Tiber, and providing his ancient waves with a nexv and improved channel. Signor Minghetti rose in the Chamber at the sitting of Saturday last and requested sanction for the immediate commeixcement of the necessary operations, intimating at the same time that the cost will be satisfied out of the Bxxdget for 1876. Thanks mainly to the patriotic efforts of General Garibaldi, the importance of this task is noxv well understood by the Italian Parliament and people, and no l-eal opposition was offered to the proposal of the Minister. The Cabinet have not, indeed, accepted the plan favored by Garibaldi, but he will be well content if the scheme adopted achieve his cherished objects by restoring to the famous Roman river the commerce which it formei'ly possessed, and improving the health of the city, so that it may become once again a vast and populous capital. It may be doubted whether Signor Minghetti dares to ask for “ways and means” sufficient to carry out the bold programme ; bxxt he will do something, we presume, since he has announced that the coui-se of the Tiber is to be diverted from the great curve which it makes in passing through the city to a direct channel, xvhile the old bed is to be thoroughly explored and cleansed. We are xxot told whether thi3 diversion of the river is to be permanent, or whether the Tiber is to be permitted to retxxrn to its original course when the works are completed. Nothing could be more unxvise than to do this great and necessary labor by halves, and, strange as it would seem to see the arches of San Angelo and the Ponte Rotto di’y, the purposes kept in view should be to make the most of the stream as a navigable one from the jxmetion of the Teverone to the sea, to pi-otect Rome from inundations, and to foi*m, if possible, a practicable port at the delta of the river. The Tiber will always be the Tiber, whichever direction it follows through the buildings of Rome ; and, so important are these objects to the future of the capital, that if money will secure a pei-fect and scientific operation, it would be well spent. Year after year the river at pi'esent drowns out the Ghetto, floods all the low-lying streets from the Ripetta to the railway bridge, and fills the subsoil with the moisture which breeds the deadly malaria. It is useless, or nearly so, for traffic or pleasure ; a few masted feluccas and barges may be seen below the bridges, and a boat here and there glides along with fruit or marble blocks ; but in summer it is too scanty, and in autumn and winter too fui-ious, for use ; while its watei’s, which used to turn the Cainpigna into a garden, now stagnate in pestiferous swamps all about Fiumicino and Fusano, creating that desolate and deadly tract which even the Roman shepherds shun. Yet of old this was fruitful and faii-ly wholesome ground ; ancient Rome had sxxburbs all the way to Asrica, Vericxilum, Antium, and the sea coast. Even the Pontine marshes, Pliny says, contained twenty-three cities, which were enabled to exist because the surplus water was drawn off in irrigation. With the superior knowledge of engineering and hygienic conditions now possessed, it should surely be feasible to embank the Tiber through Rome, conduct it by a navigable channel to Ostia, and clear away the bar which prevents vessels from entering its mouth. Were these tasks pei’formed in a manner worthy of the Eternal City, a great millions would be expended ; but the feat would probably restore to the capital much of its ancient greatness, and rid Rome of the miasma which renders her deadly in the axitxxmn and daixgei’ous at almost all seasons. The “ yellow Tiber ” at present comes into the city under Ponte Molle, and, curving roxxnd between Monte Mario and the Pincian, runs in a great horseshoe from above the castle of Ban Angelo to the island and the Ponte Rotto. Withoxxt details of the plan adopted by the Italian Government, it is not clear whether the new and straight channel is to be excavated between these latter points, or whether the Tiber is to be diverted outside the walls altogether, beneath the Ccelian Hill. In either case, one point of immense interest is that the ancient bed of the river will be laid dry, and that which, has long been the dream of antiquaries—namely, the opportunity to ransack the rich mud of the ancient stream — will thus be completely realised. The Italians themselves have been partly ai-oused to the duty now taken in hand by the fascination which visions of concealed treasure exert upon imaginative minds. For 2625 years the Tiber has been running through a capital of civilisation—Latin, Royal, Republican, Imperial, Ecclesiastical, by tui’ns —and it cannot be doubted that relics of these sxxcceeding ages of grandeur must lie hoarded in the unchanging rivei’. From Romulus to the Goths, and from Alaric and Honorius to the Colonnas or later, every generation, every revolution, every year’s accidents must have added something to the jettison of curious and artistic remains which the old mountain stream mxxst hide. It is true that Rome is very much altered from its former aspect. Where the Colosseum stands Nero had gardens and a lake, and Julius Caesar would not be able to identify the Aventine, if he saw it now. But the Tiber was always where it is. The “ Bi’oken Bridge” already mentioned, from which Heliogabalus was cast, was built by Scipio Africanxxs ; and the wooden piers of the Bridge Sublicius, kept by Horatixis, if Macaulay sings true, against the army of Porsenna, may still be seen, when the river is low, in the mud near the Cloaca. Maxima. Somewhere or other in that brown

and saffron mud lies the golden candlestick from the Temple at Jerusalem, for it was flung into the Tiber from the Melvian Bridge on the occasion of the battle between Maxentius and Constantine. It would be fantastic to hope that the river bed would yield up such a priceless object, and in regard of fine art ancient Home, until the time of Augustus, had probably little to boast or to lose. But after that period all the finest treasures of the earth in sculpture and metal work, jewellery, mosaics, carvings, and castings were borne away to Home, and many of them may well be hit upon, not much the worse for time and their watery bed. Where are all the five hundred Parian marble statues which adorned the “Golden House” and the bronze hor.-es and chariot of Severus ? Where the exquisite labors of Grecian chisels accumulated by the liueulli and Crassi ? Some of them, as likely as not, have been tumbled into the old river, and may be dug out with rubbish made of curule chairs, augurs, sceptres, shields, au cilia, the staffs of flamens and the fasces of lictores, the axes of sacrifice and the altars of pius and "Vesta, senatorial shoes and consular rings—anything and everything seem possible as a trouvaille to the fancy of the archaeologist when it is a question of sifting the silt of Father Tiber. But the real benefit will be in the improvement of the city’s health, and its better fitness for a great capital, should the work be properly executed, and with an eye to the drainage of the subsoil and the Campagna between the walls and the sea. The general death-rate of Rome is double that of London, and it is only because the Jews of the Ghetto are of healthier constitutions than the Romans that their quarter has not become depopulated. An irresistible popular sentiment obliged the Parliament of Italy to hold its sessions in the Eternal City, and there they must remain; but Italians dread the climate even more than foreigners, and it is their common proverb that “ only Englishmen and owls ” can live there in September. That ancient Rome was unhealthy, is proved by the frequently recurring epidemics recounted by Livy and other historians ; but the cause was always the same, the flooding of the subsoil and the deficient drainage. The Italians have good water engineers among them, and the principles of sanitary desiccation of the earth are sufficiently well known now to promise a new hygienic era for the Italian capital, if the Tiber were regulated as it should be from the hills to the sea. The site it occupies was designed for a mighty city, and even more in modern than antique times ; for railroads are handier than the Appian Way, and already give the city access to two seas. Hence the Italian Government have exercised a wise discretion in undertaking labors having for their end the resuscitation of Rome ; and we can only hope that a great design will not be marred by imperfect plans or inadequate estimates. COLONEL STEINBERGER AT SAMOA. A telegram from Auckland, published in a recent issue, states that Colonel Steinberger has been arrested and incarcerated on board the Barracouta. The Auckland Herald of a recent date gives the following particulars of his career at Samoa : By the arrival of the brigantine Helena from Samoa we are in receipt of further particulars respecting the curious episode of Colonel Steinberger at Samoa, and as many conjectures have been made as to the manner in which the handsome little yacht now lying quietly at anchor in the Waitemata harbor came into the possession of Captain M. McKenzie, her present owner, it may not be out of place to give them. The facts of the case may be briefly described by giving a few particulars concerning the notorious Colonel Steinberger and the part played by the Peerless in the Colonel’s bold endeavor to create “reform” in the Samoan group of the Navigator Islands. A few years ago this Colonel Steinberger, aimed with credentials from the United States Government, was despatched to the Navigator Islands by that Government to perform a certain mission, the purport of which at the time was not made known to the world, but which proved to be for the purpose of inducing the natives to sign a petition asking the assistance of the United States in their efforts to organise a Government of their own, with the special request that he himself be sent out in the capacity of General Superintendent. The United States man-of-war Tuscarora was for the time being placed at the disposal of this plenipotentiary extraordinary. Having fulfilled his mission, it became the colonel’s duty to take his departure and return to peaceful citizenship in the United States, but Colonel Steinberger’s cupidity appears to have been aroused at what had come before his notice whilst sojourning in the fair islands of the Pacific, and he at once expressed his determination to effect reform amongst these guileless children of the southern seas. How he has succeeded in this has been described by a San Francisco journal, who asserts that he has made out of them a cross between a full grown American citizen and an angel of light, precedence being given to the wiser of the two. In the first place, he organised something like a Parliament, and obtained for himself the election of “ Premier,” taking the precaution to make the position a life office, whilst the King’s term of office is limited to four years, and he cannot be re-elected. The constitution proposed by him was, at his persuasion, accepted by the people, who were led to the imagination that he was backed by the power •f the United States. Thus began the reign of “Steinberger the First,” grantes gratia Rex Samoarum. A code of laws was drawn up by this potentate, who, having secured his position, began to levy taxation on his “subjects” and on foreign residents alike. The latter objected to this system of “ black mail,” and resisted his authority. Unless his schemes were to be thus thrust aside, his orders annulled, and his authority set at defiance, it became necessary for the Colonel to use armed persuasion in enforcing

his system of taxation for his own aggrandisement. With this object in view, lie caused to be built in San Francisco the schooner Peerless, which was fitted up at great cost ; and being built on an improved model, attained great speed as a sailer. She was taken across from San Francisco by Captain Harrison in the brief space of eighteen days. Arrived at the scene of her future buccaneering expedition, the Peerless was manned by a crew of twenty-six men, armed with a couple of “ Gatling” guns, and supplied with stacks of rifles, revolvers, cutlasses, boarding-pikes, and other arms and warlike stores. Thus emboldened, our American filibuster proceeded not only to enforce his system of taxation, but also to levy a toll on all vessels passing, and blackmail on all and sundry persons landing in the vicinity of his sti’onghold ; for, in addition to his armed schooner, the bold buccaneer had erected a fort on short, capable of standing, as he imagined, a siege. When not engaged in his “reforming occupation,” the colonel appears to have “indulged” a little, for we are assured by the same journal to which we have alluded, that he had discovered that a “ little wine for his stomach’s sake” was recommended by St. Paul. Wine being scarce, or rather, none of the taxes coming in, his Majesty and his staff drank brandy instead. Not wishing to do anything secretly, they showed to the “reformed” natives how a white man acts when feeling in good spirits, and the natives being of an imitative turn of mind, followed their example with great rapidity. They, having imitated the Court, the Court felt bound to return the compliment, and accordingly did so in the matter of “ Heaven’s last, best gift to man. According to the old maxim, “Every dog has his day,” and the power of “ Steinberger the Eirst ” was doomed to wane, and his reign be of short duration. Emboldened by his own success, the colonel followed up his toll-levying propensity to an obnoxious extent. It chanced, however, that one morning he espied from his fortress a horseman who had ventured on his preserves. Swaggering out, he demanded, in a blustering manner, a certain sum of the Englith gentleman on horseback, or, in default thereof, the pains and penalties of confiscation and imprisonment were threatened. The English gentleman, being no other than Captain Chai'les E. Stevens, of her Britannic Majesty’s ship of war Barracouta, which had called at Samoa during her cruise, considered it beneath his dignity as commander in her Majesty’s navy to be thus accosted by one whose authority he doubted and denied, and, therefore, declined to pay the toll demanded. Having stated his determination to inquire into the doings of the “filibuster,” Captain Stevens rode away. He lost no time in placing himself in communication with Mr. J. S. Foster, the United States Consul at Samoa, the result of which was that Colonel Steinberger was politely requested to produce the authority of the United States Government, under which flag he carried on his practices. This the Colonel refused to do. and after a consultation with the Germar Consul (Mr. A. E. Poppe), and with the sanction of the United States Consul, the captain of the Barranouta, without any further fuss, seized upon the Peerless for a breach of the neutrality laws, in carrying arms, and the pretty little pirate was taken alongside the man-of-war. Having been disarmed, her foremast and gear were taken out of her, and otherwise rendered hors de combat. With the consent of the representatives of the British, United States, and German powers, the schooner was afterwards sold as a lawful prize. Captain Murdock McKenzie, then at the island with the schooner Mary Melville, becoming the pm chaser, and the once dangerous little craft was brought to Auckland, where she has since excited the admiration of many, and the envy of a few. She will shortly pass into the hands of some gentleman, who will employ her in the peaceful pursuit of yachting, in place of the occupation given her by the American adventurer, who has caused his name to become so notorious. Following upon the seizure of the armed schooner, the authorities named held a further consultation, in conjunction with the commanders of H.M.S. Barracouta, and H.I.M. German ship of war Gazelle, on board the latter vessel, to discuss and decide what course should be taken for the safety, freedom, and protection of property of subjects of the respective countries. This was rendered necessary as the Samoan Government had endorsed the actions of Colonel Steinberger in the committal and adoption of his numerous malpractices in direct opposition to civilised laws, customs, and usages. The decision arrived at on this occasion has already been set forth in the proclamation issued by the powers named, and which was published in extenso in the New Zealand Herald on the 12th instant. What further action will be taken with the Colonel, who claims American citizenship, but whose extraordinary conduct is far from being endorsed by that nation, remains to be seen.