SPECIAL MESSAGES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1834, 14 January 1887, Page 22

SPECIAL MESSAGES.

Auckland, January 10. A TOUNO STOWAWAY.

A very determined stowaway was discovered on the mail steamer Zealandia before she left port on Monday morning^ He was, a bright-looking youngster of about nine years of age, His name he said was Sufccliffe. His mother and father, he said, were dead, and he was going to Sydney to see his ancle. Twice he was found in hiding on the Zealandia whilst she was alongside the Queen street wharf, and on each occasion was put ashore." He succeeded, however, in boarding the steamer again, for before she got as far as Tiritiri the youngster was picked out of one of the bunkers covered with coal dust from head to foot. He was sent ashore again in charge of the pilot,, and .on arrival handed over to the police. The boy was eventually claimed by his parents, who it. appears were, after all, alivf , aqd his name was Smith, not.Sutcliffe. This should be about* the most juvenile stowaway on record.

Auckland, January 11. HOLIDAY MAKING.

To-day, the 11th January, has been kept up in Aucklaud by all townspeople as a close holiday, all the shops being closed, to wjtuesß the sports "given by Cojonel Wynyard and some of' the 58th Regiment in Albert Barracks The occasion was the anniversary of the defeat of Kawatiri and Heke at Ruapekapeka. Of all those who served in that war, few are now left. Sir George Grey, Lieut.-general Hay, and Majorgeueral Page are amongst the officers, but of the non-coramisfaioned officers and men who wore' discharged to serve in the colony there are many representatives filling various positions. ' ' ■ HEIRS TO FOHTDKES. • ■ Two brother?, R. S.and E. C. Phillips, left. to-day for England, having fallen heirs to a fortune." Thiif were jobbing carpenters. , '-, , SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS. v The police" have" their eyes' on two "spielers" who arrived here from Australia just before the holidays. ' Stories of hocusbing-aud-card-sharp-. ing are rife.' . , - - • •- NEOLECTED DHAINS. Typhoid Jb setting in early this summer, probably owing to the want of water for clearing the drains.

- Wellington, January 9. HOLIDAY MAKING.

The extent to which the good people of Wellington enjoyed themselves during the recent holidays has been generally remarked upon. A.H an indication of the amount of holiday making which was done in this district during tho Christmas "and New Year holidays, it may be menfeiorfefl on good -authority that the takings on- the (government line of railway troni" Wellington northward during that period exceeds by by about £400 the amount taken on any similar previous occasion. ,\- - THE KIIOZEN' MEAT TRADE. The prospects ,'oi the frozen meat export trade in tljis district are thought to be particularly bright just now. -In addition to tho impetus given to the trade by the opening of a large amount of country- by railway, lam informed' negotiations are now proceeding for a lino' of c^rgo steamers, between Napier and Wellington in connection' with the trade.

,-.;„♦' ' .:.' .SBVE/ri? REMARKS.' A prisoner's counsel yesterday remarked "in the Supreme Court: — "The, whole -machinery of the law has been brought to bear in this case to convict an unfortunate journeyman baker, of embezzling a few shillings from his employer, whilst men with influence are allowed to walk the street and compound each other's felonies/ The allusion js'.obvious, and the remark has occasioned. a good deal' of talk.

• , am j! tookl's challenge. • The> New Zealand Times, with reference to Sir Julius VogelV Protection challenge, makes the following remarks :—" Quite the funniest thing Sir J.- Vogel has ever dene is his issue of a challenge 'jfco the Dunedin papers to confute hi.s arguments in favour of Prote ction, the stake* being -£l,O a-side, a« reported in onr Dunedin telegrams to-day. We are cution < < to know whether any paper will tako up this comical challenge on its eccentric conditions. 'The,'exceeding smallness of the mm proposed to be staked on such an issue (£10), aqd the fitipnla#opithat tt» Jw6tfe phall be nejfyer a Prof^c-

tidnist nor a Freetrader impart a highly 'farcical aspect to the>swhole affair.' We can scarcely believe the Colonial Tre-as-urer to be serious in this proposal, which seems to us strangely a variance with ministerial dignity. ' \ • Wellington, January 10. THE COLONIAL CONFEBKNCE -. ■; . .

' You will remember I informed you some weeks back that there was no probability'of any Minister goiug Home to represent New Zealand ab the London Colonial Confert-nco, and that it was considered the Agent-general 'could do all that would be necessary on behalf of this colony. It is since officially stated that this course has been definitely decided upon by the Government.

<-- FIELD AfiTILLBSr. . „ - It is stated by an eveniug paper that Major Gudgeon has. made certain Bagge-tipns for the formation of a field artillery of 50 men; to be trained also to garrison duty, which.suggestions have been approved bythe Ministry, acd are to affect the following "stations: — Wellington, 24; Opunake, 19; Kawhia,B; Auckland, 4. In order to give effect to this the^whble of the force from Kawhia is to be transferred! to Opunake. It is considered that 40 men of all ranks are sufficient for the requirements of the West Coast. At present thero are 62 men stationed there. Major Tuke is to take charge of Opunake, and Majcr Gascoigne is to come on to Wellington to take command of the head* quarters of the field artillery. Major Baker is to command the Auckland detachment. The force will be in a position to commence drill directly the Nordenteldfc guns arrive.

TE WHITI.

The Taranaki correspondent of the Post asserts that Te Whiti's long absence from his people is weakening his influence over them, and that now several of hi^ most faithful ad» herents openly state that if Te Whiti's prophe<y about the restoration of the laud is not speed! y fulfilled they will throw him over. The Nativeß on this coast are not likely to offer violence to Te Whiti when they are finally undeceived, bat it is expected he will find it advisable to leave Taranaki altogetber'^befor© many month's and take up his ro«idence with his relations at Petone, where he has resided while at liberty in Wellington.

SIR J. VOGEL'S CHALLENGE.

Under the. heading, "A £10 Policy," the Press to-night refers as follows to Sir J. Vogei'a challenge to the Dunodin papers to refute his arguments in favour of Protection for a sum of £10, to be paid on the decision of a judge outside of the colony : — " Since this /preposterous proposal was published, if we have heard one man bay « He must be out of his wits,' we have heard 20 say so. •Is he mad ? ' is the question that cornea to everybody's mind. There are many thoughtful persons, of course, *to whom it occurs to inquire whether he has' not some hidden motive in seeming' to play the fool in such a fashion upon the question of Protection. The more we think it over, however, the less able are we to discern any rational object that he can have in thus making himself ami the Protectionist cause ridiculous. For a man in bis position to assume huch an attitude towards tho gravest political question of the day— a question which he himself has raised— is not only undignified, but improper in tho last degree, and cannot but lower him in the respect of all right-thinking people, for it is degrading not only to himself but to the politics of New Zealaud. It is turning responsible government into a farce."

Queenstown January 8.

810 BUSH FIRE.

The excessive heat of the past two or three weeks is drying up vegetation to au alarming degree. A bush fire has already been raging and has been extinguished at Skippers, and another one broke out to-day in the same locality, while at the hpad'of Lake Wakatipu an appalling conflagration is now in all its fury, sweeping over the tree'Oovored hills. Immense columns of smoke are rising, aud tho wiud blowing down thp lake, drives clouds of smoke before it which is filling the whole basin of the lake and the low lands, bordering it as far as the Crown R*nge, 40 miles from the site of the fire, which bordered the lake basin to, tho south. So dense is the smoke that the mountain tops are totally invisible. The heat is almost insufferable. Queenstown, January 11,

THE BDSH FIHES.

Owing to the absence of wind and the shiftiness of the little that there is, the bush fires in this, district are not at present active, but can at best be described as only smouldering. There are, however, signs of strong and gu^ty winds springing up from the south, and with these and the prevailing heat, which continues uuabated, it is difficult to say how soon the fire may blaze up with renewed fury. The atmosphere is now fairly clear of smoke and once more fit for breathing, but most oppressively hot. This if terhoon the thermometer registered 93 degrees in the shade, the hottest day ever remembered here.