TREASURE SEEKERS IN NEW ZEALAND.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 8611, 24 October 1889, Page 3

TREASURE SEEKERS IN NEW ZEALAND.

I—*_ THE ROMANCE OF THE

MADAGASCAR. Most persons are familiar with the story of the Madagascar, which was supposed to have gone down on the coast of New Zealand in 1853 with a large quantity of bullion. A short time since n syndicate was formed in Sydney for the purpose of searching for the wreck of this vessel. The Madagascar was never heard of after she cleared Port Philip Heads, though many a. theory has been framed as to her end. It seems that the syndicute has adopted that which asserts she was wrecked on the coast of New Zealand. But an announcement in the London Shijrp mi Gaz< tt- has brought to light a critic adverse to this theory. Captain Law, says the London correspondent of the Canterbury Pre»r, who is now ninety years old, narrowly •scaped being a passenger on the Madagascar on her ill-fated tnp, above referred to, and it was only through the persuasion of his wife that ho deferred sailing. The paragraph in the Sh ppin>i Gazette having been called to Captain Law's attention, he said: —

" I have very serious doubts about the Syndicate being on the right Beent. Ido not believe that the wreck discovered on the New Zealand coaHt can bo that of the Madagascar, and I will tell you why. In 1853, the year the Madagascar disappeared, I was captain of the burquo Amazon, of London, and I sold her at Melbourne, und was about to rotnrn to England. The Madagascar was lying there, and I had Borao DUBinees transactions with the captain^ whom I knew very wcil, I went ftfrirci oi Jar, itf tofcri i mt t!» petite

offered to place one of the best cabins at the disposal of my wife and me if we would return to England with him " Tho Madagascar, as I have said, was a magnificent vessel. She was to sail next next day, and I made up my mind to accept the captain's generous offer, and to get my baggage aboard early in the morning. I told my wife, of course, as soon as I got home that night. That night she had a dream or vision of some sort which left a presentiment in her mind that the Madagascar would never arrive safe at home. So fully did she believe this that she begged me to abandon sailing in her, and do all I could I could not persuade her that her fears were groundless. Finally I yielded, and on her account decided not to go- " We changed our minds still more, and instead of sailing in another ship for ho' 10 went to New Zealand and remained there several years, during all of which time we did not hear of the Madagascar. "It was obont five years later -when I sailed for England in the Great Britain, which was one of the first vessels t'uai went from New Zealand to England by steam. On board this steamer there was a number of captains, merchants, and other gentlemen who were in some measure connected with tho sea, and we sat at a table on board discussing the loss of the Madagascar, and the probabilities of her fate. \ One gentleman, who was returning from Australia, said he had heard something I about pirates boarding the ship. Ho said an Irishwoman, who with her husband was on board of her, had made a confession to a Roman Catholic Priest concerning the Madagascar. It was to to the effect that a number of men — about twenty-four, I believe — entered the ship as seamen, and formed part of her crew. Her husband was one of these men. They conspired together to take possession of the ship, to kill all the passengers and take the bullion, and either burn or sink the ship. " When in mid-ocean they did as they had planned. They put the bullion in tho ship's boats, and went ashore somewhere t near the coast of Chili, I think near Valparaiso. They either burned or scuttled the ship — so the Irishwoman stated in her confession. When they landed, they destroyed the boats, divided the treasure, and then they broke up and went up the country, some going one way and some another. I believe some of the men were afterwards heard of at the diggings about Melbourne, but I am not sure of this. When in London I enquired of the owners of the Madagascar, and they informed me that they had never heard of the vessel since it left Melbourne. Ido not think it possible that the ship could have got near the New Zealand coast. I believe that the Irishwoman's death-bed confession was true."

It is stated that several members of the Rifles who have a chance of being in the representative team this year intend to send away at once and purchase for themselves Martini-Henri rifles from the Defence Department. (For continuation oj news see 4lh page.)