West Coast Times. TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1889.

West Coast Times, Issue 7282, 8 January 1889, Page 2

West Coast Times. TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1889.

It i?> not a little singular tbat the saroe mail steamer which brings us news of the recent interference by Germans in the affairs of Samoa should also bring us a transcript of the views of the American Secretary of State on former aggressions, contained in a memorandum addressed to the German Charge d' Affaire. What the Americans will say to the recent German action is not hard to tell. Being convinced, apparently, that their friends were getting the worst of it they resolved upou taking "peaceful" steps to put an end to the war, and to effect this placed 200 of Tamasese soldiers into position and then landed 120 German soldiers who were joined by a number of plantation laborers. This very peaceful beginning was followed hy other steps of an'equally concilatory character 6uch as firing at the retiring followers of Mataafa, and afterwards shelling his position. They say they were first fired upon and are determined to crush Mataafa, and reading this our minds are at once brought back to that little story in the children's books wherein a fox abuses a lamb for fouling the water where he was drinking. Even if the Samoans fired the first shot it is not to be wondered at as the Ger» mans had first placed a body of their enemy's troops into position and were then marching upon them. In reading their own description we cannot but conclude that they did a mischievous and imprudent thing, from the other account there can be no doubt but that they did a very reprehensible one. Even in this last affair the action has, no doubt, been largely prompted by what Secretary Bayard calls " The desire exhibited in a marked degree by those in the large local German interests to obtain personal and com* mercial advantage and political «*upre» macy." This desire the representatives of the other nations, particularly the British and Americans should keep from its fulfilment. The same steamer which brought us news of the fresh complexion which things had assumed in Samoa would also, in all probability, have taken instructions to the commanders of the American vessels there, and as we learn that war vessels are to be kept at Apia until all trouble is over, and Americans are to be afforded full protection, it is not unlikely thst further action on the part of the Germans will be stayed. Such would assuredly, be the case if the British Government acted with the same force and promtitude as the American. The last statement from the Imperial authorities on the matter was that England would remain neutral ; any indication of her policy if another Power interfered was not vouchsafed to us. Formerly, as we learn from the American Secretary of State, she was playing into the hands of the Germans, and apparently fostering their designs. Such a policy would be very much disapproved of by the Australian Colonies, and especially by New Zealand. We have, all along, insisted upon our ■nteiests in Samoa beiner properly preserved and have protested against German control. It has been a source of annoyance that whilst tacitly accepting our views the Imperial Government hae neglected to advance them in any way, and it would be doubly so if at a critical (ime like this she should assist a foreign power gaining possession of a country that we have some measure of claim to. Probably there would not be so much objection to German away were it not from the fact that the

traders of other countries are not treated to equal priveleges j they are, in fact, li practically excluded from trading, I Under sucb circumstances allowing t them to gain possession of the islands i would be equivalent to withdrawing c from the field we have profitably oc- 1 cupied for so long. It is hardly to the ( credit of any of us that the interests of i the Samoans have scarcely been considered at all, An intelligent and in- j offensive race is being hustled about . because some wealthy nations wish to add to their wealth, Ir. is wot a very ! entertaining spectacle whichever way it it is looked at,

At the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Mr J. Bevan, J.P,, a man named Magnus Nicholson, oharged with a violent assault on a female, was remanded to January 10, bail being allowed accused, £100 and two sureties of £50 each. Messrs H. J. Hansen and H. C. D. Gaylor became bondsmen. The tail-race thief is again at his mean tricks. At Eeeffcon, Maori Gully, Maori Creeb Charleston and Eoss his depredations have been discovered, and now Kanieri is suffering. The other day Messrs Shillito, of Kanieri, were subjected to a robbery of this nature; when they proceeded to wash up their boxes they found that some one had been there before them and abstracted the gold. It is to be hoped these gentry will be caught and made an example of. Mr Baucke, of Kanieri, who has been prospecting at Tucker Flat, bottomed the other day in 8 feet of wash, carrying 2^dwts to the load. The sinking is 28 feet, and there are three other claims pegged off in the looality. Mr A, W. Bock has received from Mr W G. Johnston, at present in Melbourne, a letter in which this passage occurs " I got Gordon to place the William Tell quartz in a good position, in fact, it is the front slab of the quartz arch, facing the main avenue. The New Zealand Court has considerably improved of late." Mr Johnston's attention in securing a conspicuous place for exhibits of an important local character cannot be too highly praised. Mr Lauchlan G. Sharpe, advance agent for the Fisk Jubilee Singers, was in town yester" day making arrangements for the appearance on the Coast of this talented company. They will arrive by coach from Christchurch on Thursday, 17th inst., and give their first performance the following evening, playing three nights in all. The success that has attsnded this company throughout the colonies should be a sufficient guarantee that the residents of this district will enjoy a. treat rarely experienced. Although they sing secular pieces, the chief features of their entertainments are their plantation hymns. The performance not only enjoys the attractiveness of being unique, it has an additional advantage in being suited to all classes and all tastes; the voices possessed by the different singers are said to be unsurpassed in the colonies. Major Keddell will hold a sitting of the E.M. and Warden's Courts at 11 o'clock this morning. The scholarship and other examinations I commenced in the State School yesterday and will last for some days. From a private source we (Eeefton Guardian) learn that the Ngakawau Coal Company ' intend sending down at once from Sydney a pumping and hauling plant for the purpose of working to the dig in the " Duff " coal on the old Albion mine, expecting to reach the hard coal there, and if successful they will be shipping marketable coal in a very few months. The Government trunk line and the company's private line will be ready for operations very shortly. A drill for cadet recruits takes place this evening at eight o'clock. A meeting of the Westland Board of Education will be held at half -past seven o'clock this evening. Dr Hodgkinson has addressed the Wallace electors. He advocated the sale of the railways. The action at Wellington against Constable Carr for false imprisonment lias been compromised by the payment of £25 and costs. The sale of the Princess Theatre and Provincial Hotel, Dunedin, was concluded on December 21, the purchaser being Mr J. A. Barr, agent for a Melbourne capitalist. It is stated in Auckland that the New Zealand Insurance Company has had a good half-year, and is likely to pay the usual dividend. Physicians of all schools use and recommend Dr Soule's American Hop Bitters. Test them. On December 20 the heaviest train that ever passed through Lyttelton tunnel conveyed 492 tons of produce, which, with 268 tons weight truck, 40 tons engine, totalled 818 tons. The Southland News reports the death at Euapuke of a venerable individual named " Bi%> the Doctor," a Kanaka, who visited the Maoris both in that district and the North Island, and ministered alike to their jphysical and spiritual necessities. " Billy " did not die from any particular ailment so much as from a simple failure of vital force due to old age. The precise date of his arrival in these quarters is not known, but ifc must have been many years ago, for he was acquainted with nearly all the bands of whalers who once frequented these coasts, and of whom there are now but a few survivors. As indicating the influence wielded by the " Dootor " among the Maoris, it may be mentioned that he had succeeded in convincing many of them of the folly of some of their most cherished superstitions in r.espect to disease and death, as shown in the desertion of houses and oven islands where a doath has occurred, &c. "Billy" was greatly pleased with the visit of a survey party from tine mainland, and spoke of returning with theontosee some of his acquaintance, bat death put an end to his plans for the future. The funeral service was conduoted by Mr Hay, distriot I

At the races held at Wrey'f Bush, Southland, during the holidays, a lac}, named ra Morgan was fatally injured, dyingjan hour or at two afterwards. The horse he was riding fell gi immediately' after starting, and another fell i\ over it. Others passed over or oiose to the ai lad on the ground. It is supposed that the ft crown of his skull was broken by a stroke from a horse's hoof. The report of gold having been washed from the soil of Fiji, so often raised before, is now a real fact, the leader of the prospecting party having brought into Suva recently a parcel of some 3£oz of light flaky gold> obtained from washings in the bed of the Tanu Wai creek, on the southern side of the island of Vanua Levu, and reports tbat for want of quicksilver appliances a quantity of gold was lost in the tailings. No traces of gold-bearing quartz have yet been discovered by the prospector, bat the leader, Nicholls, a practioal miner of many years' experience, professes himself fairly confident of tracing present discoveries up to the parent leads. That there is not much cause for a rush may be judged by the fact that the show of gold cost about £120 per ounce to obtain, i old has also been shown to exist in the island of Mango. A shipment of ores obtained about 40ft from the surface and sent forward by the manager to be tested for manganese, yielded a small button of gold —a proportion of 4dwt to the ton of ore —which was rich in manganese. Mr William Simpson, the well-known special artist of the Illustrated London News, was duly installed in the chair of the Quatuor Coronat Lodge of Freemasons on Nov. 8. This Lodge, of which Sir Charles Warren was the first Master, and Mr Walter Besant (who has been since annually re-elected) the first Treasurer, requires either a literary or an artistic qualification of its members. The Correspondence Circle, a literary society attached to the Lodge, and consisting of subscribers to its "Transactions," has reached a total of 417 members, being an increase of nearly 300 during the past year. According to the European Mail a curious and not unimportant discoveiy has been made with regard to the Parnell letter in the Times. The gentleman who has been employed to enlarge for magic lantern purposes the letter which appeared in the Times in Mr Parnell's alleged handwriting has discovered that the pen has stopped at least twenty times in forming the characters. On the other hand' in "the oase of the genuine letters of Mr Parnell the pen travelled up and down without stopping. According to the Feilding Star a valuable historical document, of which a copy iB now given, is in the possession of Mr Baker, Clerk of the Court, Feilding. Ifc is said it to be the intention of Mr Baker to send it to the Auckland Museum, as a voucher of the true and intrinsic value of the body of a New Zealand slave taken in war, who was intended to be killed and eaten on the Bay, but was resoued by purchase by Mr Baker's father, "in the good old times." " This is to certify* that I, Te Potai, do give up and renounce for ever all claims to Tahi, my slave, to Mr Charles Baker, in consideration of the payment duly delivered, in kind as undernamed, being two blankets. In witness thereof I have hereby affixed my mark, this 17th day of r December 1831, Te Potai (his mark), witness t Thomas Chapman (Church Mission), John , Hobbs (.Wesleyan Mission." i A doadlook has taken place in the Oamaru i Borough Council. At the last meeting the > question of the Mayor's honorarium was con- , eidered. Councillors at that meeting were ; unable to agree, and decided to take the sense t of the meeting by a kind of ballot. After ascertaining- the feeling of the meeting it was , resolved that the honorarium be £50. This was a reduction of £50 on the previous . Mayor's honorarium. At a subsequent c meeting the Mayor refused to allow the minutes of the last meeting to be confirmed, ( saying that, as the method by which the amount of the honorarium was fixed was illegal, the minutes were also illegal. He refused to accept a resolution on the subject' and four of the councillors leaving the room* there was no quorum present, and the meeting broke up. The Mayor holds that the amount of the honorarium was fixed by ballot, and is illegal; and several of the Councillors hold ' that the unanimous resolution of the Counoi^ was perfectly legal. ' A petition for the establishment of a British Protectorate has been forwarded by the rulers of the Islands of Eurutu and EimataraThe petitioners say, —We, Teuruarii, King of Eurutu, and Te Maere, Queen of Eimatara. and our nobles, ask for the Prime Mm. ister to plaoe our islands and our ships under r the Protectorate of the British flag. We have heard that you have taken Earatonga 3 and the neighboring islands under your pro" teotion, but we remain without anyone to protect us. When we'receiyed news that i> Earotonga and the neighboring islands were I placed under your protection, we wept aloud, } because we were forsaken by you. We were afraid lest we should be adopted by another 1 parent. The strange parent we mean is the I French. They did not feed us with the milk 5 of the Gospel, but you did, O Great Britain; you fed us with that milk that has given life to us. is our last word to you —we do • not wish for French annexation or protection, J not at all, but we wish you to be our parent, j O Great Britain." Eurutu and Bimatara are ( important islands, lying between Earatonga and Tahiti, which on acoount of their proximity to the latter place, have entered to a ■ large extent into trading relations with the I colonists of French Oceania. r „ P c i , , 1 ) t I - ' 1 ' . ; 1 \ '

A correspondent of a Southland paper raises the following novel question in athletics. He Baysjrr-Thcpnpson, is flaked to give Collins %m inches hanclfcaj}. Ifa jump Wo inches higher, and. then 'has jig clear ano^er- inch, above ojafc to win, This he failed to do, and the result is given as a tie. It 19 a nice point to decide, no doubt, hut is Thompson had heen raised the sixteeenth part of an inch, I think it would have been fairer to him, although I hold that be fairly won the contest. I never remember seeing a handicap high jump before, and as it may be the custom in future, the matter wants to I be put clearly before the public.