HAWKE'S BAY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2059, 10 September 1868, Page 3

HAWKE'S BAY.

, , j ■■ '■'? ;NiPiß3Ri, August 31,1868* j » Finding .that-the Ahuriri goes to-day[ arid that no other oppdrtunity will offer Jfcr:so^e',ibiinei 3; send^yduthia;;my firsj} letter, although,- from 'want <}f time, iL will, be inuch^shorter! 'than I had iuienftedj, iMtc Bpuld, aisu^&yor;attachedJ&'th£. telegraph starts tc^-mo^Dow to survey the -,line-, in .the: direction 4 of Taupo, He will be accompanied by Mr JPreece, clerk to thei I$,M., AYairoa, who lias, been detached, ty the Govermnenjt to act as interpreter-during the^ 'performancei of this'service.' "'_ So far as at present known, the line will ,go hence to Taupo; thence, avoidmg^ Waikato, it witl diverge to. Tauranga ; thence, via thfe coast, to Shortland ; and on to Auckland. CJommunicatiori" between Auckland and the Goldfields, will.probably, be opened first, on.account of the importance and extent of the traffic. Upon the completion of this work, Napier will-' be centrically situated ii\ : ppint,of interj?ojirse,.with its wealthier neighbors. \ But I should, by rightaj!have;^om^ mericed with; .'ffie'^ Native "questioh—the question of questipris, as regards the .Northern Island, although ,one that Middle Island ' gentlemen are: 'proiielt^ pooh-pooh. The Cqlpny already kiidws all about Qplonel "VThitmore's encounter with the escaped prisoners 'at the Euahi :Ture,,a most desolate spot in the vicinity of the Uriwera country. . Whitmore's expedition waa, doubtless, prompted by I pluck and bull-dog tenacity of purpose; ! but all considerations of'prudence were sacrificed to.the one object, that ofccoraing up to the retreating Hauhau j>arty.: Whe^ he .. did. meet; them, the European | fprce was pxit of provisions, and in a s ate of exhaus.tion-frpm marching over a fearful country,fliving ;og horse flesh and biscuit, and sleepingin_.the snow. were, in consequence > but ill-fitted to cppd iij^ith an enemy;superior in numbers,;;well found in provisions and ammunition! and posted on ground of their 'own choosing; The colonial.;' forces; did their da. y, bui they,got the worst of it,- having.had to retire at dusk, without being able to take .possession, of thej. dead'.";bodies.' _6]E.. thos^ slain in action. . Among : t)x.3_ latter were Oaptain Carr and Mr Davis Canning^ i; both settlers, of high repute, who had Volunteered to accompany the expedition^ and who fell: through "(knov/ing no fear) chivalrously exposing themselves to the fire of a numerous and unseen •"enemy; \ ;-'• The retreat called forth 'the', highest qualities of our race: 'Without proyisiQns of any kind, and with .several ytoumlied. men to carry, ; who. had "to lie conveyed repeaMdly across and^winding

river, they had adreadfulnighfs march. It was not indeed till two p.m. next day that the force obtained needful refreshment., Fortunately theyLwere.unmolested by the enemy, who do not seem to have been aggressive in any case; otherwise, it is not difficult tp cpnceiye what the consequences would have been.

j The next news,to hand was that the ex-prisoners, instead of continuing their journey to the Uriwera country, had remained!at or near the scene of conflict, and commenced to fortify their position. This, however, has not yet been confirmed, but the report creates a good deal of speculation, not unmixed with anxiety. The want of proper information has teen much felt, and it is but lately that steps have been .taken to secufe^regular•.communication with disturbed districts. J. D; Ormond, Esq v M;H.R., a member !;of. the ' Provincial Executive, came up from Wellington a few days ago, armed, it is said, '■ with considerable power, should"the ex-^ erciso of such be found necessafy. His first act was to open communication by means of part of the nidunte'd cbnstabu-1 lary, so that regular and- reliable infor-i mation will now be.received from the Taupo and Upper Wairoa districts. On Thursday last, a scouting party left Wairoa township' for the' Ruahi Ture, i with the view-'of ascertaining the truth.! It consisted of thirty selected Natives,' under command of; Lieut. Sand6rs, x and their report ia expected to reach Napier' by Wednesday next.- c Rumours continueto drop in of an unsettled state of affairs at Taupo, but there is really no news of a reliable character. .'..„' Mr Ormond rekrhs to' Wellington this day, to resume his Legislative duties. Were it not -for the teleg!>aph,; neither th%t'|;ehtl(6niaii, npi? Mr.M'Leah, 'burj.Su-J perihtehdeht^ could be absent from the district.at the present juncture. -.ColonelWhitmore is in Wellington;' and;it is not known when he returns. He is, unhap-j pily, a very unpopukr officer among the class of men who constitute a Coldhiai Military f pyce-^unfitted; by .manner and education for commanding any but regular! soldiers. •' '■'• ''■■*. i This Province,has been the subject of singular Variations -Of climate. For several years it suffered fearfully from dry seasons] On more than one occasion, feed 'had nearly altogether disappeared from the sheep5 runs.; Latterly acomplete change has taken place, flood having succeeded flood, until large tracts of .flat country,-iormerly laid ,wt Vn, p^dbcks,; 'have 'b'eeh' ,reii4eredM solate.' rThe rivers, consequent on these disastersj }afe in' a very unsafe' condition! Mr Ormond,.upon his late visit, explained the' nature of" the Management. of^Riverl Bill, now before.the. Assembly ; and, at a public meetiiig of settlers interested, it was resolved thatj wii h'certaih alterationsj its provisions would meet the wants of thiß.distriqt.;;,,,] < ;j , ; ,-.... ... ..,,..•,; ....,., ; - .:•;• ! ; Sir George Grey-visited Napier this forenoon, on his -way to Wellington and England. He looks well; the few months •of—- repose he has- -enjoyed" -having evidently told in .his favoß : : The lovely island, jbf which... Sir .George is owner] has been left by him in charge of Capcj Holt. ~ .. r ~ . . . , | The last three ifas been beautiful spring w ( eather, .and the effect upon the vegetable 'world' l is almost* magicali Another day or two; and the earlier fruit trees wilLie5 in ! fall'.<6l6omT r;ln average yfeai's'nothing can exceed the climate of thisi Province. :

Hawke's Bay is at present suffering from the exodus' to the Thames Gold--fields. Every steamer takes away 20 or 30 of our best laboring men, who, having felt the diilhess bfthe'timeVconsequent oh the fall in stock, have been at_Qnce atf tracted by the'glowing accounts" to hand from the North. ..,.,,. ~. „ ; September 1. The ! deterition -of— tto- AHlSiri has afforded me an opportunity of sending any further news, but, unfdrtuhatelyj there is nothingto send. A rj few, weeks ago we were full of/excitementi-messehger after hiessenger arriving in hot haste with, in"telligehce" of" portentous ''character^. A Ju^ias_succ.e.eded,. but I ,do.not.think it will last, long. v. We are .surrounded by elements' of strife, . which will, I feary burst out at some, point or other before many.iweeks .pass- over, our Jieads.In stating, yesterday, that Mrßould! was abouihtq. survey the cquntry between Napier and Taupo,-t "should! have said that his intention,, primarily, is simply to! ride, over it, -partly ; to, note its natural.fea-l :-*^^')?ns'pi^^^y:t6!aß(^J!am^eß^te ,!df ; Native! feeling, .withtlie"view,before doing anything else, of knowing how fay it would be safe to^go on-with thennder^ taking in that direction. The journey^ iisthirigs are;hb. w^, is-rath^ia'hazardous one","bui'no serious oppdsitidn is contem.Plated, as the Native^ have.not hitherto " beenlchowh' to interfere, !:with any estabr lished line. .■.:,:■: ;.j.■:'■>■■;■■.<:;'■ ( - Two of the-town companies of- MUitia paraded, thia morning ''iot 1 the' inspection of arms. The" turn-but was very good| No. 2, or Capt. Kennedy's company, numf bering #| men. ;^Mos^ of .the remaining companies will assembly in the course of the week. 's " '°'i ''" '■'•' . . i

A singular characteristic of the country near Napier .is/ the. aQimense: number of what are called artesian wells. They were commenced during the drought of past years, and have now become an institution. :Several have lately 'beeh completed. After the ; pipe has been forced by the'blows of the monkey to a certain depth, varying, according to situatiotf, - from 90 to 190 feet,!; a* stratuhi;" of shingle' is reached.' This is not'"tapped 9? without dii]|culty, from its hard, nature ; but, immediately it is, the water,. cool, clear, "and'refreshing, comes up with^fdrce to the surface. The. plains seem indeed to be formed over a subterranean lake^ which only wants: the opportunity tq send its waters to the surface;' with the aid of these wells, irrigation becomes a comparatively easy process. I need not say th;>t it is all important to the grazier or agriculturist. : ' '-■ ' ; ;

Mr- Edward ; -jQxex, brother, to Captaiq Carr, Tl. A.,the gentleman who so lament-; aHy lost his life "m the late skirmish,; leaves the Province to-day' fpr Eaglandj being unable, from the weight of his mis-: fortunes, to remain .'in the country. Two, most valuable settlers—men whose ex-; ample was felt far and. near—are thus losi; to. the district.. /- !V :': ::r" : ;::' .\ ■;. ''

"i .-The mention of the skirmish at Ruahl Ture, reminas in'e, that; that river may, sonic daj,/,,.^e....e.xpipre.d'.''ior.'.gol<j.'.!'..lt abounds with, quartz, reefs of wjiich are seen cropping out in. various places. .; \

The Steam iirKs>.—under' this tible, aocording to the Mifdng Journal, Mr J. K. Smythies, of JPaddington, barrister-at-law, proposes to introduce a, "flying steam-' engine," fitted with, wings, flapped by the action of steam. • He reduces the ratio of the wejght of the engine to its power by .using a tubiUar:boiier,_with, very small and "thin;tubes.- He will,use liquid fuel, and carry very little water, condensing the steam by a very light condenser, made like the tail of a bird,- to sustain the bird and steady its flight. The arms of the wings are con? nected. with the piston-rod of the engine, so that the apparatxis is raised by the strokes oFthe winga alone, without light gas, heated air, or other contrivance, to give it buoyancy. To tMs engine lie attaches seats for passenger "~ "' ■' " ' \.x ■