The Evening Herald. THURSDAY, FEB. 11, 1869.

Wanganui Herald, Volume III, Issue 529, 11 February 1869, Page 2

The Evening Herald. THURSDAY, FEB. 11, 1869.

Earthquake.—A slight shock of earthquake, which lasted for a few seconds, was felt in Wanganui this morning at half-past ten. o'clock. i^Coi.. McDonneli..—Col. McDonnell, " with his division, has taken up a position near Papatupu. He has found that the Hau-hans are in among several potatoe plantations, near Te Auroa, on the Waitotara river. Customs Revenue.—-The customs rexenue at the port of Wanganui for the quarter ending December 31st 1868, as shown by a Gazette, amounted to £4351. The revenue for the corresponding quarter of 1867 was £5722 ; showing a jklling off of £ 1376, or 25 per cent. I /■-: Native Reinforcements. — Colonel Whittnore expected to meet 400 natives at Putiki to-day; but owing to some misunderstanding they did not appear. We have 800 or 900 men, and yet canivos -cross three miles of bush country' without more natives, which certainly iflbes seem odd. The Governor and the Troops.— His Excellency the Governor, is dissapointed at the resoiution of the Imperial Government to leave no troops in the colony. He expressed his chagrin to a Wanpanui gentleman a few days ago, and said that the two companies in Wangdnui should be the last to leave. He had done his best not only to retainthe 18th in the colonj% but also to get Imperial assistance in the suppresion of the rebellion ; his -Ministry were opposed to his yiews, and nothing could be done. Poor Sir George, thou art indeed a cypher—we shall not make thee the first president of our new republic. Sympathy — It' will be remembered that Corporal^ Russell, was slightly wounded arid/left on the field at Mor turoa. Afnvife and two little children were left to moiim their untimely loss.

with nothing to support them but the Government pension, which is a mere v pittance.: The Corporal was a great i favorite of the late Major Yon Tempskey, i who was instinctively drawn to any man of good behaviour and rare courage, both of which Kussell exhibited. Mrs Yon Tempskey has, with exemplary feeling, and a Christian sympathy that will endear j her to all, remembered one whose bereavement is of the same nature as her own, but whose wants are greater, and sent her a present of £50 but of her own not large store. We have this on the most reliable authority, and it shows that war has its lights as well as its shadows, when out of it arises so larweheadred^an act of Christian charity. jKatives from Auckland.—lt is ru r \nored that the 100 natives' :expected

from ;Auckland: are not, as at. first reported, .Arawas, but members o;fi: a tribe against which a deadly feeling of [hostility is borne by the Wanganuis. The cause of, the hostility is, that this northern tribe, in days long gone by, came down to Wanganui, and ate the " ancestors"'of our present neighbours ; and notwithstanding: the fact that they did not eat the then living descendants, they have been held in great odium ever since. It is said by those versed in native customs that " blood will be shed" if these two tribes come into contact; but that will not matter so much if it is the blood of the. Hau-haus. Suppose the Auckland natives were to carry out their anthropophagous inclinations, and commence eating the Waitotara and Ngatiruanui natives—even the pakehaMaoris, if they interfered—would the Colony be anything the poorer ? We confess that our " Maori civilisation" is at a very low ebb ;; so low, indeed, that a little cannibalism among the natives would not cause a greater revulsion than the devouring of the pakeha causes among the white Maoris.

The Small-pox Casel: —lt appears there has been some bungling in the removal of the small-pox patient to the new quarantine ground at the Heads. The facts are as follows. When Mr Buller returned to town on Sunday, he .found that there had been a meeting of magistrates in his absence, and that it had been resolved to send the patient to the.racecourse. He saw that a worse place could not possibly have been selected, and by virtue..of- a clause in the Harbour and Quarantine Regulations 1868, he constituted the South Spit at the Heads a quarantine ground. The Health Officer, Pr Gibson, has an extensive family practice in Wanganui, and Mr Buller saw the danger of that gentleman continuing to attend the patient ; the services of Dr Best, who was wounded at Te Ruaruru, were consequently1 secured at £i per diem, and he received his instructions on Monday. lie was to have a tent and servant to himself, and two men to wait on the patient, and he w,as to remain in quarantine for the space of 21 daj-s at least. Blankets, tents, canoe, and every accommodation: were provided, under the superintendence of Mr Buller, on Tuesday morning, and at 4 o'clock the same day Dr Best saw the patient put on board the canoe, with tents and other appliances, and immediately after i crossed the river himself in a boat, and i proceeded, with his servant, to the quarantine station. When he got over, the sick man and his guardians had not arrived, so the Doctor took up his quarters on the sand, and remained there the whole night under a drenching rain, and finding that the men did not make their appearance he returned to town yesterday afternoon. Where was the canoe? Over against Putiki, where it was found yesterday, the poor fellow lying in it, and the rain coming down in torrents. It appears that the two • men in whose care he was bad got intoxicated, and deserted their charge. The men were picked up again, and had the man conveyed v.to the heads yesterday afternoon, where he is without any medical attendance. Dr. Best will, no doubt, proceed to the place at once, but poor Francisco has received already enough kind treatment to have killed a dozen of men, simply because there was no board of

health in Wanganui, and because no one knew what to do; befoTexthe, return of tlje Resident M^istrat3:-&It ris stated: that thje mart was! sent! froji to Wania|ui by order of Ye are in'^pp^jtion" to give this ah Emphatic: contr||ieiiQn : Dr Curl never saw the man atvall^affd:.did not hear of,the case until afterVhe^had left RangitikeL, We cannot understand the action of Dr Best, who must have seen whether the men were in a fit state to take charge of the canoe, and ought to have instituted inquiries when he found las ' patient had not arrived. ' •'-