HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 75, 24 July 1863, Page 5 (Supplement)

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Honolulu papers have been received to the 2Sth of March inclusive. The collections for the Lancashire Relief Fund were proceeding briskly. They amounted soon after commencement to 3,000 dollars, One person — an American planter, in Kaui — gave 500 dollars

Sir John Bovvring, Hawaiian Minister Plenipotentiary at Brussels, (formerly British Plenipotentiary in China) had concluded a treaty of commerce with the Belgian Government.

Queen Emma had organised a Benevolent Institution, somewhat resembling our society for home visiting and relief. The Polynesian, speaking of it, says : "The Ladies' Visiting Committee continue their works of charity and love. We wish the legislature in session, so as to shame them into activity and cooperation. To see the Oueen of thi land slaving as a servant, ministering as an angel at the couch of the suffering pauper, is a sight to make the lowly and the loving bow with reverence, to make the lofty and do-nothing take second thought to themselves and count it no disgrcce to sooth the anguish and smooth the brow of those whose pained and toil-worn limbs may soon be dust as well as their own pampered bodies, but whose names, though unknown here on earth, may yet shine in brightest letters on the page of heaven.''

An archaelogical society has been formed at Honolulu.

Hawaiian cotton has realised a dollar per pound at New York.

An American vesse', called the Florence, lying at Honolulu, had been saved from burning by the exertions of the officers and seamen of the British war steamer Hecate, who had been officially thanked by the Hawaiian Government for this service.

Audiknoe at THE Palace. — There was a special audience given at the palace yesterday, to Mr. Synge, Her Britannic Majesty's Commissioner, who had then the honor of delivering into the hands of the King and Queen, separate letters of condolence on the death of the Prince of Hawaii, which had been addressed to each of their majesties by Queen Victoria's own hand. Nothing could be more sympathetic and affectionate than the tone of her Brittanic Majesty's communication, which were received by our beloved sovereigns with much gratitude and emotion. The King requested Mr. Synge to convey to his Government the great gratification which the Queen and himself felt at so striking a mark of fche friendly interest evinced in his dynasty and his kingdom by the Queen of Great Britain. Nothing was wanting to show respect and to give eclat to tbe royal communication. His Ivoyai Highness the Prinde Kamehameka, the Chancellor of the Kingdom, the Hon. C. G. Hopkins, Acting Minister of Foreign Relations and War, and most, of the officers of state and of his Ma-jesty-'s household were present on this highly interesting occasion.

MEXICO. The Evening Bulletin translates and condenses tbe following from the German Dcmofcrai : — '• Guerrero, ?th April, 18G3. — I arrived here on the 4th inst., just at the right moment to see a torch-light procession J given in honor of General Ximenes. i Three bands of music played before his house, and there was a universal fandango in the Plaza. The night passed in undisturbed jollification, and in the morning the public joy was greatly increased by tlie news brought by an extraordinary courier, that on the 25th of March 14,000 Frenchmen three times attempted to enter Puebla by storm, and were three times repulsed. During the lakt retreat, 8,000 Mexican lancers came down on the invaders and did wicked work. A II the roads to Orizaba are beset by the Mexicans, and if the French should not succeed in taking Puebla, tlicy m i)' find themselves in a ticklish position. They must take Puebla, fight their way back to Orizaba, or be captured. The rejoicing is almost universal; but a few prophets of evil say that Puebla must fall for the French have cannon of long range and can batter down the town from a distance from which the Mexican arms cannot reach them. The French arc short of provisions, and can get none near Puebla. They are also suffering much with sickness, and 10,000 Mexican lancers are always swarming around every little party which leaves the main camp. Ciiilapa, 15th April. — On the Ist inst. the French opened on Puebla with ninety guns, and after the foitifieations had been seriously damaged, a storming party of 1-1,000 men advanced, but they were driven back, retreating as the report says, "with considerable haste." On tlie morning of the 2nd April three storming parties were repulsed. On the '3rd the French occupied the deserted Fort of San Javier, but were compelled to abandon ii. About noon, on the 3rd, the French attempted to storm the Forts of Santa Anita and San Augustin, but were driven back after a deadly struggle. Jt was a dreadful conflict, and at night the field of strife i was piled high with dead hordes. The 4th was spent in cannonading, and at night j the French found themselves where they had been on the 24th March — and no further. 1 6th April. — A messenger has just arrived from the city of Mexico, j where everybody is drunk in rejoicing at the defeat of the French. San Augustin [ was treated in the manner as the other forts, and with the same results. On the | Oth and 6th there were grand councils of war in the French camp, and on the 7th the whole French army stormed the Garita de Mejico. Tlicy succeeded in getting into the city, but were driven back with frightful loss at the point of the bayonet; driven back ten miles to Cbolula, where they are now entrenching themselves, whether to await reinforcements or cover their retreat is unknown. All Mexico is in the Plaza de Armo.s, waiting for telegrams. The mob have murdered three Frenchmen, but forty-one of I the murdereis have paid for the offence | with their lives. Germans and Americans are carried about on the shoulders ofthe people, and are •** brothers and friends." I We add some additional paiticulars from tho resident correspondent of tho Alta California : — | City of Mexico, Bth April, ISG3.— The evacuation of Fort ban Jn vier was reported 1 in my last letter, and since that time the moit desperate lighiing has been going on [ around, or you miuht say. in Puebla. i The soldiers of Louis Napoleon, although : fighting for despotism, have shown a valoi j and a heroism worthy of a better cause. They are determined to take Puebla, regardless of cost, as retreat would be utter ruin ; but the Mexicans nre determined lo keep it, and up to this time they have been successful to repel all tlie attacks made hy the invaders, and the advantage General Forey may claim to have gained is bought at a sacrifice that may be called a defeat. On the 4th, the shells and congreve rockets of the enemy took effect in the chinch of the convent of St. Augustin, and sundry dwellings in town, and while ihe con 41agratiou was raging, a general a'tack was made. Fort San Javier opened on Santa Anita ; the heavy siege guns opened on St. Augustin, and the fortifications on tinsuburbs. Shells and rockets, thrown at random into the dwellings of peaceable citizens, made dreadful havoc; lyOnO French came to assault St. Augustin and the redoubts of Morelo.s, but tho .Mexicans held their ground. The French guns in Fort San Javier were silenced, and all the guns of the Mexicans concentrating their fire on tho storming party soon cut them to pieces, and, in thu greatest disorder, they succeeded in regaining their old positions, Tbe redoubts of Morelos were afterwards abandoned by the Mexicans, after removing all their guns. The French actually took some five or six blocks in the suburbs of the town, up to the hospital. On the Gth, their (runs destroyed the block opposite the hosipital, and made a strong effort to gain possession of the Calle de Miradores, in wliicli they were repulsed, leaving 600 dead and wounded on the field. All the progress the French made in the last week is the taking of a few earth works entirely at the command of our guns, and six squares. Their loss we can only estimate, but it must be at least three to one, as our men havo been only on the defensive and behind the walls. We have lost nearly 200') men, killed and wounded, in two weeks, and during that time itis estimated that one-quarter ol the French army lias been put h.r<i de combat. The small city uf Cholula was retaken hy the French, who are now fortifying that place. It is situated between the army of Gomonfortand Puebla. The city of Puebla has suffered a great deal by the shells of the French, who seem determined io destroy the town if they cannot take it. It is even worse than the bombardment of Acapulco.

Tit-for-Tat. — A young physician, lately m-r-i-ied, and just commencing tlie practice of medicine, some years since, with quite a gay horso and vehicle, and his young wife ridingwith hini, drove rapidly up behind a lawyer, who, with his vfif'o and five or six < hii uen and nurses, was driving a one-horse caniage rather the worse lor wear. On coming up within speaking distance, the doctor called out to his friend the lawyer, '* Good morning, law} cr ; I see you have a heavy load and a sorry team." "True," retorted the lawyer, " I have ; but you have a heavy team and a very sorry load I" There is a fellow somewhere sc bow-legged that he is compelled to prop his body with a sitck to keep it from falling through ; he is so cross-eyed that lie often pulls his gloves on over his feet, he can straighten a corkscrew by giving one look, and he is so full of the milk of human kindness that he perspires butter. It is proposed to establish an institution for the education of young ladies, in which the science of weavology, spincloyy, and cookology will form a pan.

Till-: laATa-a FATAL COLLISION BETWEEN THK S.S. FAVORITE AND PRIDE OF THE YAItPvA.

From a Dunedin contemporary, of the 18th instant, we extract the result of the inquest held upon the bodies of those who perished by the above collision, and the enquiry into the circumstances attending their death. Fiom what we can gather, the verdict appears to have been no more than confirmatory of the anticipations of the Dunedin public : —

The Jury then retired, and after anabesence of three hours, they brought in ihe following verdict ; — " The Jury find that the deaths of Thos. Hewitt Campbell, Julia M. Campbell, Edward Campbell, Duncan Campbell, Lilian Campbell, Muriel Campbell, Alfred Campbell, Elizabeth Anderson, Fanny Finch, Mary Roberts, Charles Soinmerville. and William Basil Hammond, were caused by drowning while on board the Pride of the Yarra, on her passage from Port Chalmers to Dunedin, on Saturday, the 4th of July, ISO 3, owing to a collision between that vessel and the steamer Favodte, of Blanket Bay Headland, which collision waa cau ed by the culpable negligence of Capt. William Adams, and of Charles Murray, the. Captain and Mate of the Favorite. " While exempting Captain Spence. of the Pride of the Yarra, fiom culpable negligence, the Jury cannot help considering that he did not show that good judgment which every shipmaster is supposed to possess, in steaming his vessel atthe rate of seven knots an hour on so dark a night, and while the position of the advancing steamer was so uncertain as to cause apprehensions of danger. Also, that the class of vessels to wliich the Pride of the Yarra belongs, is uusuited to the present traffic of the harbor, and not tit to encounter with safety, while boarded with passengers, ihe strong gales which occasionally occur. " The Jury would earnestly suggest that a Governmental enquiry be instituted as to the degree of responsibility of the Marine Board of New Zealand, or of their officers, in allowing the lax and inefficient state of the steamboat traffic to remain uncontrolled so long as iL has been, and which has climaxed in the most heartrending and disastrous result."

The Cor. i ner then rose and said — I must not close the court without making grateful mention of the way in which its proceedings have been conducted. 1 wish specially to thank the gentlemen of the jury for the great amouut of time and attention which they havo j;ivcn to the matter under their consideration ; and I am happy to say lhatit is always an Englishman's pride to serve his country. [ also wish to express my thanks to the Commissioner ot Police, Mr St. John Branigan, for the way in which he hasfacilitatcd ihe business of the Court in banging forward witnesses. 1 must also make mention of the way in which Mr Jones, the proprietor ol this hotel, caused respect to be paid to the bodies of the deceased, and also for tho way in which he has attended to our comforts during the sitting ot the inquest. I am sure that tlie respect which hasbeen shown to the remains of the deceased, will be a source of gratification to tbeir relatives at home. I would also thank SubInspeotor Simcook for for the able manner in which he has disehaiged his laborious duties of amanuensis to ibis Court. Gentlemen, I thank you all for your a! tendance Jier-.-, and let us hope "that vi*e may never again he called together under circumstances so p-.i'.i'ul. Mr Cargill, .ovciuan of the Jury,, returned tlie thanks of the Jury to the Coroner foi- the consideration with which he had trea:cd them during tho sitting of the Court.

The Coroner then dismissed the Jury, and tho proceedings terminated.

Imtnf-diately on the verdict of the .Jury being read, the Coroner issued a warrant for the apprehension of the captain and the male of the Favoiitc.