WAIKOAUITI.

Otago Witness, Issue 666, 3 September 1864, Page 10

WAIKOAUITI.

1 (PROM THE DAILY TIMES COnnESFOSDENT.) I 31st August, 1864. I On Monday Fast the rough'iess of the ocean and heavy swell rolling inro th? Bay attracted the observation of every one living here, perhaps more so on account of three small schooaer3 that were riding ;*t anchor, &n<\ considered to be in imminent per.!. Tha gallant little crafts, however, rode it out safely through the day, anda'si the following eight. On Tuesday, the wiad.< still blowing easterly, tbe swell seemed to increas>, and the crafts were watched most nnxiously until micl-daj, when two of them, the Undine and Andrew Maria, parted their cables and w«>re washed ashore. The_ latter became a total wicck, and tke former lies high up. ou the beach, with very little chance of floating 'her again. Some boatmen, at the Spit, seeing the vtssals drifring, put off in their whaleboat, atid Micceeded in rescu'ug the crews. The loss of cargo will not be very severe, the Undire being t.iden with timber which will nearly all be re-c^VkU-eii. The third schooner, the Midlothian, roJe out ihe &turm, and, when somewhat abateit, she managed to run into the river, and there obtiin shelter. I am told that such a sea was never witnessed before in the Bay, even by the oldest settlers, the surf was breaking in one volume nearly half way across the entrance of the roadstead, and in such a manner that one would im «s;ine it wa« caused by a bar. It presented the appearance of waves breaking with full force in rough weather upon a beach Th^se extraordinary waves were only seen a few times during the day, and to observers on shore looked very grand, Ifss bo no doubt to the crews of the unt>rtuuftte sclfooners.

In my la^ report is mentioned the probability of a locnl journal being established here. The fact i-> ■itiout to be realised, and in a week or two the WaikouaiU Herald is to bs presented to the world. According to arrangement, the proprietors !nade fc knowu at an adjourned meeting h'ld last wetk '.he succc-s attending their efforts to obtain subscirers. It was not stated the exait number of lopies guaranteed, but that they wwe satisfied with the support promised, and « ould at once set about getting the plant, which wm now iv >outhl r inl, rein >ye ( ! to this town, vrlien the paper will ha pub'i^h d wtekly. The conductors hnve been very n.odeiate in requiring so small a guarantee as 200 or.ly, be'bre starting the paper, and we fear il'at unless it be considerably augmented after publicition, that its life will be ii short one— a result that would be rauoh r^eTvtteil, it being the fir^t newspaper published in the district However, let us look on the bright side, aud bope that every assistance will be afforded !>y the inhabitants to uphold it. To the proprietor, great, credit is due for entering upon sut-h an expensive work with the present support, but anticipiting that if will increase upon the introduction of the Herald, they have been prompted in the matter. And in wishing them I am sure 1 urn but rf iterating the feelings of all interests in the advancsment of Waikonaiti j for there can be little doubt that a local paper, if well conducted, conduces in various ways to promote the interests of the whole community. I have just been shown a Prospectus, which is drawn up as nearly all such papers are. The Herald promises to treat all Provincial topics fairly and impartially ; special regard will be paid to the inteie3t3 of the district and the policy most likely to conduce to their advancement, will be urged upon the attention of both the Legijlature and the public. Ths gc-ld fields are not to be ignored, and the pastoral and agricultural operations will, ia a great measure, engage the attention of the conductors. Local iutelli^ence, commercial and shipping reports, &c , ike , are of course to be furnished.

I have so often referred to the state of the Blueskin Road that I feel rather abashed in recurring to the subject, but since so little effort has been made to keep it in anything like repair, I consider myself warranted by again urging the necessity of employing more surface men to put it in order. The road now is almost impassable tor vehicles -quite &o for li^ht ones— and passengers run a great risk, I may say, cf their lives, in travelling the route on wheels. lam informed thnt Cobb and Co. contemplate discontinuing runninu their roaches, on account of the •'•anger attending it. Sus ely the Government can have no idea of it 3 present state, or they would long since have employed labor, and not have allowed a road that has cost some tens of thousands of pounds to make to bs so destroyed. Kather thin such a destruction should have been causel by tbe heavy waggons going to the diggings, I believe it would have been cheaper if the (ioverniaent had shipped every ounce of their loadiug in the steamers round to the Spit, at their own eoit. -It will now take some thousands to reform, mpfal, and make the road as good as it was before these ponderous carU made ÜBe of it. The few men now employed upon it are almost useless, so little are they able to do, for what isrepaired by them to-day, is destroyed almost tomorrow. It is no us^ saying more than has been said on this matter, but unless the work is taken iv hand witti more vigor, communication with Dunedin through Blueskin will be entirely stopped. The District Ploughing Match takes place tomorrow. Great preparations are being made, and the affair is likely to be a great success. I hear your special reporter will be on the ground, you will, therefore, bava an account of the proceedings almost as early as you receive this.

The Political Crisis.— Of course the week lias been full of rumors of Ministerial change. One day it was announced that Earl Russell had resigned, and would be succeeded by Lord Clarendon, and another that Mr Gladstone, Mr Milner Gibson, Mr Cardwell, and Mr Yilliere, were about to take their seata below the gangway. All these reports are, we believe, either erroneous or premature, and Lord Palmerston will on Monday, we trust, announce the decision of Her Majesty's Government, supported by every section of his somewhat composite Cabinet. If that decision is war, he will, we believe, receive a response from the country which will leave the Tories no hope even from accepting the task he - undertakes, and render a dissolution as unneces--sary as it would just now be embarrassing.— " Spectator," June 25.