TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

Waka Maori, Volume 11, Issue 11, 12 January 1875, Page 11

TELEGRAPHIC NEWS.

The Bluff, Sunday. The s.s. Omeo, Captain Calder, arrived off the Bluff Heads at half-past nine o'clock last night, and came up to the harbour this morning. She left Melbourne at three o'clock p.m. on the 4th instant. Loitdok, December 28. The emigrant ship Cospatrick, belonging to Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., bound to Auckland full of passengers, was burned off the Cape of Good Hope on the 19th of November. The mate and two of the crew have been saved, but the remainder of the crew and the whole of the immigrants—46o souls in all—are supposed to have perished. December 29. The origin of the fire is unknown. In one hour after the flames broke out the vessel was completely gutted. Hundreds cast themselves overboard, only to perish by drowning. Captain Elmslie and Dr. Cadsa (Cadzow ?) stayed by the ship to the last moment, and then jumped overboard and were drowned. Two boats, each with thirty of the crew and passengers—one in charge of the first and the other in that of the second officer —put off from the ship. Of the latter there is no tidings, but the other, after being afloat for ten days, was picked up by the ship British

Sceptre. It then contained only three survivors— Messrs. Macdonald, Lewis, and Cottee, who had subsisted on the bodies of their dead comrades. Others had died raving mad. January 2. A Cospatrick relief fund has been started. The Lord Mayor and Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co. have each subscribed a sum of £2OO. The three survivors have arrived in London. [The above is all the information the telegrams contain respecting this awful and distressing visitation. On the receipt of further information, we shall duly publish it in the Waka.~]

"We notice, in the telegraphic news published in the Pakeha papers, that the chief Poihipi Tukairangi, of Taupo, has joined the Order of G-ood Templars. All the Natives about Taupo were assembled on the occasion, and Mr. C. O. Davies, in appropriate Maori style, presented the elaborate regalia of the Order to the old chief, who in return made a capital speech, indicating his appreciation of the principles of Grood Templarism for his own race, and expressing the utmost loyalty to the Europeans. It seems almost incredible, but is no less a fact, says the New Zealand Herald, of the 24th December, that on one day last week a party of Maoris in six boats succeeded in capturing 240 sharks in the Waitemata. A new species of a vegetable devouring pest has lately been observed in Napier for the first time. It is a very small black-red insect, like a beetle, and it can be seen on the hills in swarms. Through whatever paddock or garden these insects travel they leave nothing green behind them. From the country also, we learn that grasshoppers are in myriads.— Napier Telegraph. TWO POXJITDS AND A-HALF OF HUMAN CUEIOSITY.— The smallest twins ever heard of are said to be living in Kalmazoo, Michigan. One is a boy, and the other a girl; and they weigh together less than five pounds! They are perfect, and seem to be in good health. They take food naturally, and make a noise very much like young kittens. Their bodies are about six inches long—the boy being a trifle the larger.—New York Paper. One of the most remarkable animals exhibited at the Smeaton show last week was a bull which was brought there overland—a distance of some 1,500 miles—from the New England district of New South "Wales. The beast was a well-bred shorthorn, weighing 1,5721b5., and was in fine condition after his long journey. He had five distinct legs. The fifth grew from the centre and top of his back, hanging down over his side. This limb was perfectly formed and jointed, and of course presented a most extraordinary appearance. The bull was a perfectly quiet one, and allowed his numerous visitors to examine the superfluous limb minutely. He is now four years of age, and the present owner gave £BO for him in New England.—(Sydney paper.)