The Evening Herald. MONDAY, SEPT. 6, 1869.

Wanganui Herald, Volume III, Issue 645, 6 September 1869, Page 2

The Evening Herald. MONDAY, SEPT. 6, 1869.

The Government have declared cmi phatically that no rebels, participators in rebellion^ or those closely connected with the rebels, shall be allowed to re! turn to the districts which they assisted to devastate, and from which they nayebeendriyen. The different sections of the Ngatiruariui tribe, and the 'Waitotaras, are outlawed, and there is no way open fox them, to return to their allegiancel The Waitotara rebels are on the Wanganui river, and must remain there. We are not told if it is permissible for them to to comic down to Wanganui, but it is satisfactory to' t know that they may not return to the Waitotara district. The Pakakbhe are secure at Wellington ; the Tangahoes are insecure in the, province of Taranaki, ready to engage in any fresh enterprise that may present itself. There is not any restraint upon them, or reason why the fighting men of that hapu should not join Titokowaru again. Tito's own hapu is doomed for j ever, without hope, even with a truckling officeseeker like Richmond in power. The pakehas who were ordered to do the bidding of the Native Office, have not now one good word to say for the Waitotara miscreants, though at one time every effort-was made to restore them to their former status. The indignant outcry of the people here prevented that being done, and the Stafford Ministry being turned out of office, the new. Ministry pronounced its fiat against all who bad been in rebellion. The next question that

arises is, Whatiato^be done with the reserves, "which have b»en forfeited ? It is the intention 6f the Government to locate the Ngatiporous, with the celebrated Kopata at their head, at Te Ngwtti o te Manu. This would be a commendable move. The defence Minister declared, a few days since, that this had actually been done, but he was in error, for Rppata is still at Patea, a,nd;so far from beins: on the point of taking up a position

at TeKgutuy.refuses to go. He says lie is going to take possession of Tauroa's reserves at Patea. This is not "what is wanted, and if Ropata be not content to hold the advance post at Te Ngutu, he should be returned to the place from whence he came. The Government ought to be better informed than make statements so incorrect; for they should know that there is not the natural sequence of doing following upon an order to do, with Maoris. Supposing Ropata should be induced to go to Te Ngutu, there still remains the question of the disposal of the Tangahoe, Pakaholie, and Waitotara reserves. Now, our opinion is very decided upon this point. The Government declaration that no rebel shall be allowed to return to his district again, is encouraging and gratifying. Good words are always pleasing, and possess a charm in themselves. When they are seconded by actions Iheir virtue is greatly enhanced. The bond has to be. signed and sealed by the Government, by selling those reserves by public auction, or placing a class of white military settlers upon them. Until this is done, we are not certain the rebels may not return to them. If Richmond got into that old nest which he occupied to the exclusion of better men, we have his word for it that the rebels might, return to their old haunts. The immediate disposal of the whole of the reserves would be an effectual bar to the return of the natives, and would, moreover, replenish the exchequer. The purchase money of the; reserves would; by being advanced on security, enable the settlers to resume operations, and entail no interest charge. The settlers themselves should consider these questions, and urge their adoption upon a Government that are liberally disposed towards them, and prepared to receive suggestions as to future action in the district.

The Stohm Bird.—The Storm Bird, through stress of weather, returned to port this morning, having reached the cape off New Plymouth. She had 500 sheep on boara, shipped by Messrs.' F. Jackson & Co, out of which four died. A Whale.—Mr OTTanlori, of the Empire Hotel, was travelling along the beachi at Kai Iwi a few days since, and came across a whale calf of the ordinary black species, about eight feet long. . He cut off the tail portion, and brought it into town. Postal Return.—From an official return not printfd we extract the following memorandum of letters and newspapers received at the different Post Offices on the West Coast. It will be seen by this that the village of Marton, which has only sprung into existence during the last three years, monopolizes a far larger proportion of correspondence than any other station on the West Coast, Wanganui excepted :—-

■ letters newspapers Foxton 12,284 2,401 Rangitikei (Bull's) 9,070 2,124 Parewanui . 3,000 696 Marton 16,048 3,793 Turakina 8,897 2,436 Wangahu ... 1,483 605 Wanganui 70,000 40,000 This does not, however, include the papers sent to newspaper agents, which do not pass through the Post Office. The number of newspapers despatched from this office alone, to the various settlements on the West Coast, amount to 55,000 per annum.—lndependent.

A Prospecting Partt.—The Times, in a very inconsistent manner, proposes the formation of a prospecting company, after having declared that a payable gold field had been discovered aid would immediately be proclaimed upon the return of the Superintendent to Wellington. That matter may pass; but upon the subject, we may say that a public prospecting company would not be likely to do anything more than two or three experienced men, exerting themselves for the sake of the reward and a prospector's claim. We have sufficient faith in the knowledge and experience of Mr Breckin, whom the Committee may consider themselves fortunate in securing in the first instance. If there is gold, it is likely that sufficient evidence Vrill be brought down upon the return of the party. The greatest objection of any to a company at present, isthe dis-. position of the natives. Any attempt to force a party up the river would end in utter failure. While the prospectors are at work, the question of a road should receive the careful consideration of the Provincial Government and the inhabitants of the district. It is surely sufficient that we point these matters out —others ought to find the time to attend to them.

Mj^oß.~We Aear that a ploughing' match will probably .be held .at Aramoho ml about three weeks from the present.

The. Telegraph-Wire.—We have been requested by several travellers to ask the attention of the constructors of the telegraph between here and Wellington to the , position of the wife a little way On the other side of Turakina towards Rangitikei.; -For. a chain or two the wire is directly over the wheel track, and so low that loads of hay or wool could not pass tinder, and it is so handy that gentlemen in their traps cannot deny themselves the amusement of flogging it with their whip stocks. A tall man on a tall horse, on a" dark night, would likely lose his hat, if not the contents. We suppose it would be as well to have the little error corrected before the line is open for work.,

Wangantxi Races.—A committee meeting of the Wanganui Jockey Club was held last Saturday at the Rutland Hotel, when it was decided that the races should take place on Wednesday and Thursday the: 29th and 30th of December. The following races have been placed on the programme :—First day, Produce Stakes, distance two miles, weight for age ; Welter Stakes, two miles, weight for age ; vVanganui Stakes, f mile, heats, weight forage; Licensed Victuallers' Purse, 2^ miles, .single event. Second day: Hurdle Race, 1 mile heats, weight for age ; Wanganui Jockey Club Plate, 3 miles, weight for age; Stock Horse Race, £ mile, heats; Consolation Handicap, once round. We anticipate that there will be a very large meeting this year. A large number of youngsters are now beine. broken in, and a great rivalry is existing between the owners of the Pacific and Peter Flat stock. . Some racer looking animals from both sires are now to be seen both in town and country.