Local and General News.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 710, 10 March 1866, Page 2

Local and General News.

Colonel Warre, C.B. — Colonel Warre left for ;he South, on hia way to England, in the Storm Bird ou Thursday. He has held the command of ;hia district for five years, during whioh he has lone much to entitle him to the thanks of the people of .Taranaki, especially for practically ignoring the existence of martial law, for assisting in the occupation of Opunako and the White Dliffa (for wkiob. he was anything but commended by General Cameron), and for rho courtesy andconsideration he showed towards the local foroes. Colonel Weare, 50ch Regiment, succeeds him in the command. Lieut. C. M. Clarke.— Lieut. Clarice, 57th Regt., late A.D.Q.M.G. in this Province, left with Colonel Warre on Thursday for England. He leaves Taranaki with the esteem and good wishes ■ of all who knew him. Provincial Council. — An election to fill ths vacancy in the Council, caused by the resignation of Mr. W. Watson, took place on Monday, and resulted in the return of Mr. Devenish. Everything passed off quietly. An election to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr Sbarland for the Town takes place on Monday ,nerft. Building Society.— -This Bociety holds it&uiual monthly meeting on Monday evening nexijtfhen £700 will bo offered for sale. Iron Sand. — We publish to-day two letters from the Mining Journal glwmg a different estimate of the value of the Iron Sand to thflb we [have been accustomed to. hear. [ >- Major Richardson. — We have received alcopy of an able pamphlet written by. Major Riohatdson in defence of his own political conduct, aua the policy of the Weld Government. We are not/able to notice it this week, but any elector ofl the Town who wishes to see it can do so at our office. Large extracts, we observe, are published in tho Nelson Examiner. - I Departure op Troops. — On Wednesday last H.M.S. Brisk arrived in the roadstead froinjiuckland, and left next morning .with Lieut.-Golonel Synge, Captains Berners, Livesay, and Bafetnan, Lieutenants Onslow, Hammick, Money, Neholl,. Cairns, Garland, and Pearson, Ensigns Brafcfe and Collinsplatt, Assistant-Surgaon Grant, aid 31$ men of the 43rd L.I. The Ahuriri is expected-to-day for the sick, the women and children, and. one company of the 43rd. H.M.S. Eclip?e is due any day and will take 150, and the Brtfk is to return from Auckland for the remaiu<jbr. We ■ are informed that 84 men of the 43rd take their discharge in New Zealand, and of thia number ifStweed and 40 in Taranaki — thfl greater poTtiuu oT them excellent men. < Waikato Jim. — It may be in the memory of . our readers that on the 17th of October hat, theguide attached to the forces at Warea, Hemi Te Waka, known as '* Waikato Jim," was Waylaid at the " Three hills" by the Warea natives and! robbed of his coat, cap, watch, revolver, and hispurse containing a considerable sum of moneyThe news of this was productive of a grea6 deal of regret to all that knew Jim, as he was held in high estimation — being one of the favorablespecimeos of his race that have adopted European, customs. As some compensation for the los he sustained on the occasion referred to, and *as a mark of esteem, we are glad to find he ha? 'had given him by the officers of the 43rd -Regiment — with whom he has served for the last eighteen months — a remembrance of the Regiment "in. tho shape of a silver watch and chain, a revolver, and £27- The watch and revolver have inscribed ou them — " Presenter! to Hemi Te Waka by theofficers of the 43rd L.1., for his gallantry on aIL occasions when acting as guide to the Regimfinfc in Taranaki. December, 1865." Jim evinced great sagacity and courage -on the occasion >of" Captain Close's fatal encounter with Big Jack aid his companions in the end of August last. He observed the indications of there being some »f the hostile natives about, and after Capt. Clo& was mortally wounded Jim, though himself severely wounded through the right thigh, firei' several shots at the enemy whilst he was standing over the wounded officer, and accompanying fcbi soldiers that bore him to the rear. Bofore th« 57ch left he had besn attached to that Regimen; in a similar capacity, and had rendered greas services, Specially ou the occasion of the attact on Captain L'oyu's iiarty at Ahnahu, when the Safety of the rear guard was mainly due to he sagacity. He certainly well deserved such 1 memorial as he has received. Sale of Horses. — On Tuesday last Mr. J. & Sharland sold by auction several horaes belonging to Colonel Warre and the officers of the 43rd L.I. . Colonel Warre's well-known hack pony " Hoggy" fetched £19 17s. 6d., and his roan gelding " Maori" £13 os. Lieut. Clarke's grey pony Bold for £13 155., Capt. Harris's brown mare £9'; Lieut. Tod's bay gelding £13 ; brown mare ard foal £10; Captain Talbot's chesnut gelding£6 2s. 6d. j Lieutenant Miller's ohesnut mare £9 2s. 6d. ; Lieutenant Clark's ohesnut entire £12 17s. 6d. ; Lieut. Moneys chesnut gelding £12 17s. 6d. ; Mr. Hemmingway's bay mare and' foal £13 10s. ; and Lieut. Cairns' gelding Dan O'Connell £16 2s. 6d. Some cart horses, harness and a cart, were also sold; a grey gelding £45 55. ; a bay gelding £45 10s. ; shaft harness £6 ; 2 sets leading harness £3 12s. 6d. and £3 2s. 6d. A horse dray fetched £12. The remainder of the horses and saddlery belonging to the 43rd L.I. were sold yesterday. Capt. Harris's Cock Robin fetched £25 ; Lieutenant Garland's ohesnut gelding Moro £20 ; Captain Crozier's bay mare, with saddle and bridle £21 ; Ensign McQueen's brown gelding £10 ss. The Baddies and bridles, &c, averaged fair prices. Mr. Sharland offered the Government Slaughter-house at the Henui on Thursday, which realised the upset price^of £200. \O> Christy's Minstrels. — This talented company has been performing at the Odd Fellows' Hall during the week, and have sustained the reputation they brought with them from tho other Provinces. Their singing and instrumentation is excellent — the performances of Mr. Kohler on the cornet, flageolet, and rook harmonioan, we need hardly say being admirable. The quartettes we thought particularly good. Meßere. Raynor and Bent in their comic aoting give real amusement, and we can recommend thoir laughable performance as a good specific for indigestion. The Christy's Minstrels perform to-night, and for the last time on Monday evening next, when the performance will be under the patronage of the Freemasons. 1 1 TaeanaKi Boatmen. — Duncan Cameron and the crew of the late mail boat left yesterday bythe Airedale for Timaru, having been engaged by the Provincial Government of Canterbury for the boating service in that plaoe. Taranaki has . lost and Canterbury has gained a good and reliable boat's crew. y Maori Prisoners.— The St. Kilda left Poverty Bay on the 3rd for Napier with 160 Maori prisoners, who are to be sent to the Chatham: Islands. We believe they are under the charge of Captain Pilmer, late of Major Van Tempsky's corps. New Journal. — We have received the prospectus of a new daily paper which ib to he published at Nelson, and called the Nelson Evening Mail. lUs tiTb^^roted chiefly to commercial interests, but wil^^^^umnjaries °^ general news from all parts- ofthel^ovince and oolony. Like the evening daily '^w^rs. published . afc Wellington, Canterbury, *^jp¥ ita price is one. penny, - . ',

Earthquakes.— People interested in these very interesting phenomena will be glad to hear that" a shock was felt at Marlborough simultaneously with the one that was felt here on Wednesday, the 21st February— though in Marlborough it was preceded by a loud rumbling noise — an attractive feature which was wanting here. Gardening in the Antartic Regions.— A correspondent writes to an Otago paper to say he has often been asked whether it is possible to grow onions in that province, and he says he ha? no doubt they will grow if properly treated. We are rather curious to hear tho result of the experiment, and shall be glad to know that this delicate vegetable can really be grown so near the South pole — perhaps a hot-house may bo necessary. Tauranga.— The Daily Southern Cross of the sth says: — "It will be Been, by our Tauranga letter, that the natives at Tauranga repudiate the cession of their land to his Excellency the Governor, and coolly intimate that the block of land which they subsequently sold, and for which a deposit of £1,000 was paid by the Government, did not belong to the parties selling it. We had expected as much as this. The Tauranga natives have been treated with so much lenity that they have oome to look upon themselves as the victors, dictating terms of peace to the Government. They have forgotten their unconditional submission. They regard the generosity, of the Governor, in returning three-fourths of their land, as an acknowledgment of weakness ; and now, when they see tho troops about to be withdrawn from the colony, they advance their pretensions, and lay claim to all, wether ceded or sold. Our own opinion is that the time has come to put an end to this state of things. Let the Ist Waikato Regiment be put upon their land, and called upon to defend it against all comers, and we shall Boon see an end of Maori pretences in Tauranga." H The " Daily Southern Cross " it appears, from the following imprint, has changed hands : " Printed and published for the proprietor by Robert J. Creighton." English Opinion on New Zealand Affairs. — fc The following is from the Wellington IndepenI dentfs London correspondent, who writes just after the receipt of news announcing the resignation of the Weld Government : — " The Bank rate is still six per cent, and is expected to rise to seven before long. The demand from all quarters for loans is unprecedented ; but colonial loans in general, and New Zealand loans in particular are in disfavor. From all I can gather the public here are more pnzzled than ever respecting the state cf affairs in New Zealand. They are astonished (as well they may be) at the military and political complications disclosed by the last mail. As matters now stand, your monetary credit, general and provincial, appear, with the publio and the Imperial Government, to have sustained a staggering blow, from the effects of which it will take a long time to recover. No doubt the reinstalment of the Weld Ministry may greatly tend to shorten that period, and Mr. FitzGerald's frank, patriotic, and statesman-like letter (to Mr. Adderley) which appeared in the Times, of the 20th December, will also have a reassuring tendency. It is hoped that this appeal to the right feelings of England and of Englishmen will have its due weight in the proper quarter — namely in tho British Cabinet and in Parliament." Rats.— The Builder says:— "The appended method is said to be an excellent means of destroying rats in a house. Oil of amber and oxgall mixed in equal parts, added to thin oatmeal and flour sufficient to form a paste ; divide into little balls, and lay in the middle of the apartment infested. These balls will form an irresistibly attractive bait for the rats, who will ravenously eat them, but will immediately be seized with intense thirst. Several vessels of water must be laid close by, at whioh the rats will drink till they die on the spot."