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Colonist, Volume VI, Issue 597, 14 July 1863, Page 3

The West . Coast Maoris.—Presumed Native Simplicity !— The~Er<*idwo?d Ob»e»ve*> (.IST. S. W. paper) publishes a long account purporting to be a true narrative of the vicissitudes, experienced by a digger who had been at the Buller River diggings. There are so many evident inaccuracies contained in this narrative that we are much inclined to doubt its authenticity. When the writer speaks of having sold a ring not worth £3 to the Maoris for £lf>, because they " coveted it," we are disposed to be very incredulous of his other statements. We can only say that the West Coast Maoris must be a very different sort of people to their inland brethren if they are willing to give £15 for a trumpery ring. The days of trading with the natives for beads and trinkets have long since passed away.— Canterbury Press. [We may add, and so have the days of obtaining cheap articles from the Maori. He knows the marketable value of any commodity, whether to buy or sell as well as any other man, and he is now wide awake to take prices " all the same as white man." Certainly it is not at the Buller that they are likely to pay very high prices, or prices much beyond ordinary colonial value. If you want to go across the Buller to look more closely at the pleasant prospect you descry, Jack Maori will as soon offer to row, or paddle you over for 10s.]

; Religion in New Zealand.—A new publication, entitled " Narrative of the Work of the Christian Church at Some and Abroad," published in London by Strahan and Co., price 6d., has reached us. It consists of 64 neatly printed pages, in small type, and contains a most elaborate record of religious intelligence from all parts of the world. New Zealand items consist of two very dark pictures of the state of Native affairs, the one from the Southern Cross, and the other from the Times' Melbourne Correspondent. In the former, a missionary among the natives speaks very disconsolately regarding the feeling of the Natives towards the Europeans, and also towards professors of the gospel, tongue-slitting and ear-marking being the penalty fixed by the King's Runanga for any missionary who should dare to oppose them. As a frontispiece to the first number, is published a map of " The World, from a religious and missionary point of view." The various countries are colored with reference to the prevailing religion, and numbers indicate the spheres of operation of the different religious societies. There is one thing we do not quite understand with reference to this map, and that is why, in these barbarous islands of New Zealand,, some portions should be colored as Protestant while others are classed as Heathen ? Why Wellington, our Empire City, Canterbury, a Church of England settlement, Otago and Southland, originally settled by strong adherents to the Scotch Free Church, and lately attracting so many thousands of diggers, should be called Heathen, while Stewart's Island, which supports a few sawyers and fishermen; part of Nelson and Marlborough ; a small spot on the West Coast, inhabited most probably by Maoris, or at the most by a few shepherds or diggers; Taranaki, where the most worthless of the Maori race are engaged in hostility with the settlers, committing brutal murders ; and Auckland and the northern part of New Zealand, the most thickly populated by Maoris, should be classed as Protestants, we are at a loss to comprehend. The blunder shows how difficult it is to form nearly exact charts of such matters, and how limited the dependence must be on the accuracy of such calculations. On the last page is given a table of " Statistics of Societies for Foreign Missions." The following include New Zealand among their fields of labor : The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, the Church of England Missionary Society, and the North German Missionary Society. * We may say that the periodical is a most interesting one, and, making allowance for the slips in the map, we can cordially recommend it to all lovers of Christian literature.

Re-Subvey of the Town of Nelson.—The proposal to include the cost of a re-survey of the town of Nelson in the grant of £3000 for surveying the mouths; of certain rivers on the West and East Coast, was objected to by Mr. Pollock in the Provincial Council on Thursday evening, as briefly noticed in our.summarised report of that night's proceedings. Mr. Pollock's motion for striking out the re-survey of the town was carried, and not negatived, as was at first believed by some of the members. The reasons for opposing such a measure were declared to be that the endeavor to mark out new boundaries of property would open the door for a great deal of litigation, and it would be much better to avoid such a risk, and allow things to remain as they are at, present. These reasons were generally concurred in, and the objectionable words I ware struck Qu.t» and the waurYoy of ths tyvufe thus ftbapdw*) for the pww^

High Gale.—For some days north-easterly gales ] aifi prevailed with considerable violence. On* Friday it blew strongly from that direction,' causing a heavy sea outside the Boulder Ban!?. The brig Maria, coiil laden, from-Newcastle, dropped anchor outside early yesterday morning, and rode in the swell for some hours. The pilot boat went out, aud Mr. Cross' took charge of the vessel, the boat towing astern as usual. While in this position a heavy sea struck ,the boati and drove it against the ship, staving it in, and loosening the painter. The brig signalled that the boat was lost, and the master of the Mina and some others on the beach mistook the signal; supposing it to mean that she had lost her anchors, and a boat was immediately sent out with an anchor. The Maria by this time, four p.m., had gone xip the Waimea River for shelter. She has since been brought into-port. The Maitai.—lnconsequence of the heavy, rains the river was very high at full tide on Friday, and a strong flow of water passed under the bridge at Col-lmgwood-street. The excellent, yet simple, arrangements of Mr. Blackett for restricting the current have proved very effectual, and the brushwood and willow barriers along the river sides prevent the water from eating away the banks, and beep the river within proper bounds. Enlargement of the Baptist Chapel, Bridgestbeet. —The accommodation of this chapel having been found far too limited for the increasing congregation, steps have been taken to enlarge the building by taking in the vestry at the back; this we understand will make an addition of eighty sittings. The Sunday services, while the alteration continues, will be held at the Temperance Hall. Dangerous Accident.—On Wednesday, July Ist, ■ the groom of Major Newcome was driving a grey horse in a light four-wheeled American-built vehicle. : The pin connecting one of the shafts broke, and the shaft, dropping down, struck the horse about the fetlock and startled him. He ran off, but the driver contrived to rein him in and quiet him a little, but on reaching the railway crossing at Collingwood-street the shake of the machine in crossing caused the shaft again to strike the horse's leg, and rendered him quite uncontrollable. He plunged and reared frightfully, crossing and recrossing Collingwood-street with high and rapid bonnds, and at last, overturning the machine, he threw out the driver who pitched on his head almost in front of Mr. Waxman's door, and was taken up insensible. The animal, with one of the wheels off the vehicle, continued his flight, crossing from side to side of the street, and just missed overturning two cabinet makers carrying a large bookcase, and went careering down Bridge-street. A spoke of the wheel struck a little child, a daughter of Mr. Wilkin's, confectioner, knocking her over several times, and all but running over her, but most fortunately without injuring her in any way. On reaching the Trafalgar Hotel the animal ran inside the posts in front of the building, the outside wheel caught one of these posts, and the body of the machine was left there, the horse rushing wildly with the wreck behind him up Trafalgar-street on the footpath, nearly entering the shop of Mr. Jackson, bookseller, grazing the window of Mr. Hadfield, druggist, knocking over tome cases, and at last being caught at Hardy-street I crossing. The young man who was thrown out was conveyed into Mr. Waxman's, and continued insensible for several hours. He was removed yesterday to the hospital, where it was found he had undergone » severe concussion of the spine. He is, however, proI grossing favorably. j The schooner Zephyr, 56 tons, Laurie, master, arrived on 28th ult., from Auckland with stone for the [ Union Bank. She left Auckland on the 13th, and put into Monganui on the 15th, having sprung a leak, and being then making much water. She lay tliere three days for repair, and left on the 19th for this port. Steamer tor the Buller Diggings.—The sttamer Sturt left our harbor on the 2nd, about halfpast ten o'clock for Motueka, Collingwood, and the Buller River. She took 10 passengers for Motueks, 3 for Motupipi, 7 for Collingwood, and 30 for the Buller, and had a large quantity of freight for the latter port. At her departure, besides her cargo, live stock &c, she had fifty tons of coal on board, and was then drawing 4 feet 4 inches forward, and 3 feet aft. Some of the passengers were prepared with swag for the prosecution of the digging; but the large proportion have gone, we believe, to have a look at the country, and satisfy themselves as to the best course they should follow when the fine spring weather ppens the district for full working. The day was fine and warm, and the crowd of people on the wharves witnessing the smart steamer's departure was I very large. ' Danger of Crossing New Zealand Rivers.— In the debate on the question of a bridge over the Waimea River, Mr. Macmalion said he had crossed the river in Spanger's conveyance. The trap crossed the first two branches, but in crossing the second stream the water came up to the horses' back, and the trap itself was afloat. The four passengers sat on one side to keep it level, and they managed to cross. When they reached the bank Spanger was greatly agitated. He said that while crossing through the river he was quite cool and collected ; but when the danger was over, he grew quite nervous, and felt so for some time. As the trap was covered all round, he believed that had it been overturned, every one of them would have been drowned, as they would have been kept in by the cover. On another occasion he and others were kept waiting four days, and at last one morning it was seen that the river had fallen some inches, and they resolved to try it, the man with the. strongest horse, going first. They got in, but could not get back again, and were obliged to swim their horses over with great difficulty. , The new Commander-in-Chief. —The following notice of Major General Dupuis appears in the New Zealand Advertiser : —-" The new Cominander-in-Chief of Her Majesty's Forces in New Zealand is an old and distinguished artillery officer. In 1836-7-8 he served on the North coast of Spain in co-operation with the Spanish army, and was in the field actions of the 10th, 12th, 14th, and 16th March, and the action of Hernani on the 14th May, 1837, besides many other minor affairs. Served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the battles of the Alma, Balaklava, and Inkermann, siege and fall of Sebastopol (Medal and clasps, C.8., Commander of the Legion of Honor, Sardinian medal, and third class of the Medjidee). Commanded the Royal Artillery in India, from October 1857, to February 1859, and was present at the action of Pandoo Naddee, 26th November, operations of the 27th, 28th, and 29th November before Cawnpore, and battle there on the 6th December, 1857. Twice mentioned in Despatches—medal and clasps. The Major-General was on the continent when the offer of the command was made to him, but had returned to London previous to the despatch of the March mail." Native Attempts to obtain Ammunition^—The 'Lyttelton Times states thata notice has been issued from Taranaki to the Superintendents of the Southern Provinces, cautioning them that a native named Te Meiha, or Big Jack, has left Taranaki with a large sum of money for the South, with the supposed in. tention of purchasing powder, caps, and other ammunition. It would be well if the provisions of the Arms Act were proclaimed in the Provincial Gazette, and dealers in ammunition warned that the Act will be rigorously enforced. Home Knowledge of New Zealand.—The London Evening Star in referring to Auckland, speaks of it as the growing and flourishing "capital of Tasmania !" It is very, common also for the Some News in the shipping list, to mention vessels loading for "Nelson, Few Plymouth." Can we be surprised at the blunders that are ever and anon being committed at home regarding our colonies, when such ignorance as this prevails ? These errors are only a fair sample of the information that exists among a pretty extensive number of " the leaders of public opinion in England; and in the House of Commons, among our legislators, similar examples of ignorance of colonial affairs are by no means rare, and hence the little interest and attention which the colonial legislation "excites at home, —the more's the pity!