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Thames Advertiser, Volume X, Issue 2625, 17 May 1877, Page 3

It will he seen from our Auckland telegrams that the basis of the new scheme of drainage contributions ha? been prepared and submitted to the directors of the Pumping Association in Auckland, and as the matter involves some conflicting interests, it has been decided to invite Captain Fraser, the Warden, finally to adjudicate upon it. The legal questions arising re loan not having been settled yet, no answer has been received relative to the money, but there is no doubt it •will be forthcoming when the details are all arranged satisfactorily.

The Piako chief Te Kuti, who has been an inmate of the Thames Hospital for some time, suffering from a severe ulcer of the thigh, was removed on Tuesday, per s s. ' Buona Ventura,' to Lis own place on the Piako to die near his own people and his settlement, A spot was selected for his reception neat the settlement, where ho chooses that his last hours should be spent, and the ground tapued after his decease. His friends were strongly pressed to allow him to remain a li ; tle longer in the hospital, but they declined, stating that Te Kuti wished to die on the spot selected for his removal. He was very feeble when removed, and complained of the motion of the steamer, when he was transferred on a stretcher to a small boat in order to avoid the motion complained of. He was accompanied by his wife and family.

The usual weekly parade of No. 3 H.R.V. was held last evening at their drill-hall, Poller - street; under the command of Capt Macdouakl (the Mayor) and lieut. Gale. The compauy was first inspected and exercised by its commanding officer, after which it was handed over to Sergt.-Major Grant, who put it through the rifle exercise and a variety of movements of company drill. At the conclusion of this Captain Macdonald congratulated the members on their attendance, and also for the manner in which they had acquitted themselves on pa-ade Be hoped to see a laige mutter on Her Majesty's Birthday.

The Auckland carpenters complain ot slackness of work. ( Messrs Fraser and Tinne have been granted permission to build an office on the No. 6 T of the Queen-street Wharf, for the convenience of shippers and passengers by the Thames steamer ' fiotomahana.'

Considerable dissatisfaction exists in the Waikato on account of the neglected condition of the graves of soldiers, who fell in the skirmish at Waiari, near Paterangi, in 1864. The position of the graves is just behind the slope of the hill upon which stood the advanced position established by General Cameron in front of the Maori entrenchments. Five acres of land were reserved by the Government as an endowment for the protection of the graves, and a correspondent of the WtiMo H'im susjgeßts that the land should be vested in the Education Board. The engagement at Waiari was the one in which Major Heaphy won his Victoria Cross.

Since the trial of Te Pati, the Waikato murderer, Major Mair, the Resident Magistrate of Waikato, has strongly recommended Sergeant Higginson and Trooper Norgrove, of the Armed Constabulary, for a reward, and it is to be hoped that his recommendation will receive due •weight.

It is reported from Plymouth that the Prince o! Wales has decided (a place his two eldest bobs' as cadets on board the training ship 'Britannia,'at Dartmouth, "that they maybe subject to naval. discipline, although not neceS' Barilywith a view to adopting the Navy as their profession,"

After years of fruitless complaint on the part of the residents in the neighbourhood and remonstrance by the Press, the Auckland Harbour Board have at length decided to fill in the sticking pit which exists right in the front of the city, and known as the intake.

A telegram received by the South British Insurant Company's Auckland agent yesterday states that the * Go-ahead 5 was floated safely, into the river at 7 o'clock on Tuesday night,

• A meeting of the directors of the Cure Gold Mining Company was held in Auckland on Tuesday, when a number of shares were forfeited to the company for non-payment of calls within the prescribed time,

' The [departure of Mr Carr, C.E. and surveyor, for the Thames-Waikato, has been delayed until to-morrow, when Mr Carr and his staff go to work in earnest. It is proposed that only a trial survey shall be made in the first instance,

At ihe Auckland Police Court yesterday a young woman named Ellen Hyder was sent to gaol for ono month as a rogue and vagabond, and having no lawful means of support. SubInspector Pardy said prisoner was well-known at the Thames, where she lived an evil life in company with a man named Burke.

We understand that the Rev. Father Rice intends delivering a lecture in aid o£ his mission, in the Lome-street Hall, on the evening of the 4th proximo. The subject is a highly interesting one, viz, "Ireland's Statesmen, OratorSj and Poets."—Last night's Auckland Star.

There are 1,135 holdings and 80,137 sheep in the Counties uf Pinko, Waipa, Waikato, and Baglan, as shown by a return compiled by Mr J. Bunciman, Inspector of Sheep for the Waikato district

A private telegram received in Auckland yesterday states that the ' Botorua' to leave Fydney for Auckland yesterday. She may therefore be looked for about Monday next,—The s,s. 'Hero' may ho expected to arrive in Auckland on Saturday.

Mr Donald, the sailmaker, of Auckland, agent for the brig 'Vision,' has received a telegram frern Sydney stating that the' Vision has put in there for repairs. She i 3 slightly damaged on tlie bottom, and has been placed npon the slip. The South British Company have received a telegram to the. same effect. The schooners 'Fortune' and 'Agnes Donald' are also reported as safe.—Auckland Stir.

"Old Volunteer 1 ' makes the following suggestion for celebra'ing the Queen's Birthday through last night's Auckland Star:— I "This holiday being near, I would suggest that our Volunteer display on that day should take the form of an attack on the city. For instance, let the Thames and Auckland Naval Brigades bombard from ttie harbour, and land attacking party; Auckland "Volunteers repulse, protect railway station, banks, &c.; the Ouehunga and other suburban corps to be brought in by rail as reinforcements, &c. This might be made an interesting as well as a practical review, if well laid out in do'ail, and being only likely to be troubled by an outs'dc foe, be at least good training for emergencies. I am led to make the suggestion by au account of a sham-light 1 read in an old John o' Groats journal, and commend the matter to your notice."

The question of whether or no it is necessary to have a harbour tow boat has been debated frrsoino time, and although the public and the Board are almost unanimous in their opinion that shell a vessel would effectually prevent any such accidents as happened to the 'Miltiades,' and 'Qlenlora,' the great expense renders the obtaining of a suitable boat almost beyond hope. However, the Board with a view to obtain as much information as possible, have determined to advertise for applications from persons willing to charter or sell a steamer suitable for towing and general harbour work.—Auckland Star.— It would surely be the proper thing to call for an estimate of the cost of a new boat and accept a tender, instead of taking some old rattletrap.

An English company has sent out Mr J. Phillips and a staff of experienced miners to develop the manganese mines north of Auckland. The Kawakawa mines will be the first tested.

Mr Newton Wilson, the sewing machine manufacturer, is in the Bankruptcy Court. His liabilities are estimated at £37,000, and it is believed his assets will yield enough to pay his creditors in full. The bankrupt had no less than seventeen different places of business in London alone, besides several in Yorkshire, at Newcastle, Plymouth, and Bristol, and in Scotland and Ireland.

Mr J. O'Meara writes as follows on the cultivation of tobacco in the P,B, Standard;— " You have asked me to give you the result of my visit to the Maori tobacco plantation, to which I went, in compliance with the manufacturer's request for further sample chosen by me. The place is ten miles from here, at tin extreme end of Mr Johnston's ruu, and adjoining that of Messrs M'Kay, Teat, and Co. The cultivation fully bears out Mr Notch's deduction from the leaf sent to him, that the soil is excellent. I cannot say anything in favour of the treatment of the plant we are interested in. 1 found somewhat more than 1A acres sown broadcast on ground off which bush had lately been burned, the plants almost as thick as they could .stand. Two Maoris were in charge, who had evidently only picked off such leav.ea as had.light and room to grow to a moderate size and which they dried without any knowledge of the requisite care. They had a pile of some twelve to fourteen cwt cured in a way probably well enough for the making of' torori,' the native twist, at which they appeared to be industriously occupied. I gave them such directions as might, even now, make some of the abundant growing crop useful. It is painful to sec so much absolute wasle of a bountiful source of wealth It may be that next season a trial will be given to the crop by some one or two possessing the necessary intelligence, taste, and means. 1 '

A writer in the Grey lliw Argus says "In Cbristchureh there are two 'organs'— one belonging to the Licensed Victuallers—and called the Licensed Victuallers Gazelle, and the other to the Good Templars, known as the Temperance Times, In print the rival journals each sticks up for its principles thoroughly, but it is somewhat amusing to learn from the Sangiora Standard that while the editor of the Licensed VicMdlcrs Gazette is and has for years past been a strict teetotaller, the editor of the Temperance Times ' has always takeu, and still continues to take his liquor freely.' Talking about teetotallers, it would appear that there are sevrral in the County Council, for during a recent discussion two or three members made the remark, 'Iteetotally object to the motion.' As personally 1 object to teetotalism, I have not yet been made aware of the strength of this adjective; possibly it was used to convey the idea that the objections were of a milk and water character"

We know that a newspaper requires to be edited, although the way this is done in the case of some of them occasionally brings doubts into our mind as to its absolute necessity. However, it is generally understood that newspapers, magazines, periodicals, reviews, and the like require being edited. But we never knew till now that a farm required an editor. It is, nevertheless, a fact, as we learn from the Wariganui Herald, where in its columns, under a cross heading, we read, "The Experiments! Farm, edited by JB." How, to be sure, one does learn the longer he lives,—P. B, Standard,

Seven Hokitika publicans in succession refused to give admission to a poor woman named Farrell, who had been brought down from the Kumara by a charitable waggoner. When at length one less flinty hearted gave her shelter she was found to be dying—in fact she breathed her last within a few minutes. At the inqaest the medical evidence was to the effect that deceased was in an advanced stage of consumption, but that death was acceleiatcd by needless exposure on a cold night. Tlio West Coast Tims states that the police intend to take proceedings against the publicans, although the Coroner stated ex cathclnl that they could not be indicted for manslaughter.

The following sad memento of a lost vessel and her crew is from an English paper:— "The wife of the mate of the missing screw steamer 'Wells,' of Hull, has received a letter from her husband stating that the vessel was foundering with all her crew, and that the ship was overladen. The letter, which was washed ashore at Lybster on the 12th instant, is worded thus:—'December 21,1876.—My dear wife and son,—We are laid-to in the North fea, a boat 100 miles from theHolman, with our hatch stove in and gangway gone. The sea is fearful—it is washing in and out of the main hatchway, and washing the linseed out of the hoicl. It happened at 4 this morning. My dear, we have the boat swinging all ready for lowering, but we dare not for the sea. There is no water in the after hold, and the engines are going ahead to pump the water out. lam afraid it is to no purpose. I don't think we shall live the night out. Pray to God to forgive us our sins, for we have a many. My dear wife and son,—lt is a painful thing to write to you both to say that I expect every moment to be my last, The ship was too deep down to Plimsoll's mark. Ships ought not to be allowed to load so deep. Good day—God bless you both, and I hope he will protect you; and tell John to be a good boy, and keep honest and sober.—Your affectionate husband, JouH Cook, chief mate s.s. ' Wells,' of Hull.— 130 Day-street, Hull. Kind love to all."

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