THE GOVERNMENT PARTY.

Otago Witness, Issue 488, 6 April 1861, Page 6

THE GOVERNMENT PARTY.

On Monday the friendly natives asked Mr. Thos. Bevan for the loan of his flag-staff, in order to erect it at their meeting house, and fly their own flag. Mr. Bevan told them that Mr. Hadfield was at Manawatu, and expected down, when he should go to him about it. Mr. Hadfield arrived in the evening, when he gave his consent to have it jioisted opposite the church .it sundown. The natives commenced to take the staff down from Mr. Bevan's late residence, and brought it to the flat opposite the church. By 8 p.m. they had the lower mast up. They then left it till morning, as it was dark, and for fear of accidents. At 8 a.m. on the 12th they had the toprinast up and all rigged. At 9 a.m. (at the same time that the king- 'party hoisted their flag) they hoisted the white ensign. They commenced their meeting but it went off very flat. They had no supporters, as the Archdeacon was ratber unwell, and his curate, Mr. Gedge, attended the meeting during different parts of the day, opposite the Archdeacon's residence. On Wednesday, March 13, all the natives wont over to hear what the kingites had to say. The white ensign was left all alone in its glory. The friendly natives have agreed to set to work and hoist a flag-staff in honour ofthe Queen in about two or three months' time. The food consisted of 5 tons flour, 10 cwt. sugar, 20 fat bullocks, 1300 kits potatoes, 3000 or 4000 eels, and a large number of pigs. They set fire to 2 bullocks on the 14th, ns they could not be used. At three o'clock on the 18th there were over 1100 natives on the ground. The " Geelong Advertiser" of the 15th ult* states that " the greater portion of the wheat crop on many farms throughout the AVestern District has malted, and is unfit for wholesome human food. Several instances have come to onr knowledge where millers have utterly refused to purchase from certain farmers a sinfle bushel at any price, it is so bad. We now one case where an unfortunate grower offered J2OO bushels at 4s. and it was refused, the miller stating' at the same time that "it would make good whisky, but nothing else." Yet our paternal government do not give us that opportunity. There are thousands of bushels in this (list riot that will be only fit food for pigs this season, yet with a distillation law in existence the farmer could get a price for it that would save him from loss. Sixpence a-Dat. — There is now an old man in an almshouse in Bristol, who states that, for sixty years, he spent sixpence a-day in drink, but was never intoxicated. A gentleman who heard this statement, was somewhat curious to ascertain how much this sixpence a-day, put by every year, at 5 per cent, compound interest, would amount to in sixty years. Talcing out his pencil, he began to calculate, putting down the first year's savings (365 sixpences), £9 2s. 6d,, he added the it.terest, 9s. ljd., and thus went on year by year,' nntH he found, that in the sixtieth year the sixpence n-dny reached the startling sum of £3,225 16s. Bd. ' Judge of the old man'a surprise when told, that had he saved his sixpence a-day, and allowed it to Accumulate at compound interest, he might now of been worth the above noble sum ; so that instead of taking refuge in an almshouse, he might have comforted himself with a house of his own, costing jE7OO, and fifty acres of land worth .£SO an acre, and have left the same as a legacy amongst his children and grandchildren. — British Workman. A Hint to Grapk Gnowßns. — An important discovery has been made in the treatment of grape vines in France, which we do not remember to have ever seen noticed in this country. It was attended with the greatest possible success, and is of the following character. It Consists in taking a narrow ring of bark from the inner end of each branch. The rings should be taken froni all round the branch, and should be as deep as the liber, or innernewly-formed bark ofthe plant, without injuring the latter. The effect of this process is to check the formation of the leaf — mere green, useless stuff— and accelerate the growth and ripening of the grapes by at least a fortnight. Specimens shown at the exhibition in Paris, in 1859, demonstrate the fact that in the same vine, those gathered from the branches that had been ringed were considerably larger ahcl finer than those taken from the branches that had not undergone that operation. In every instance that it has been tried, the same results have been obtained. A very little practice will insure speed and dexterity in ringing the branches and a large plantation could easily be improved by following the above directions.