Local Intelligence.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1965, 3 October 1863, Page 3

Local Intelligence.

The Town Boar*. — At a meeting of this body on Tuesday last, applications were received for the office of assessor under the Act. The -applicants were foar iu number, viz : Messrs. J. H Wallace, VV. Bannister, J. Gobi bam, and F. J. Johns. Mr Wallace, who offered to do the" work for £150, was appointed. We understand lhat the Te Aro Ward is to be the first assessed. Mr L. Levy has been appointed Treasurer, pro. tern.

Arrival of the s.s. Sxoem Bird. — The s.s. Storm Bird, Capt. Mundle, arrived here from

the Northern Provinces this morning, at 5.30, a.m. Mere Mere had not been attacked, and the only important item is the stealing of two cannons, from Raglan, by 100 WaikatoF. The ship Caduceus arrived at Auckland from Melbourne on 25th instant, with 400 military Volunteer settlers for Waikato. Another large clipper ship was to leave Melbourne soon after

the Cadnceus with further reinforcements. The AuckUnd Provincial Counci was opened on the 251h Sepember.

Presentation. — A dinner took place at the Odd Fellows' Hall on Thursday evening, as a means of presenting Mr G. T. Bell, late P.G.itf., and the indefatigable Secretary to the Building Committee of the above Hall with a handsome testimonial. About half-past seven a very numerous body of the members assembled round the festival board, and proceeded to do ample justice to the good things provided for the occasion. The cloth being removed, the usual loyal and patriotic toasts were given and duly responded to. The Chairman then called the attention of those assembled to the honorarium to their respected guest, and in a choice, few, and well selected remarks, introduced the testimonial which consisted of a Table Clock of a very elegant . and chaste design, from the establishment of Mr Denton, Jeweller, &c. A silver plate with a most elabo^ rate border and bearing the following inscription : — ,

" Presented to P.P.G.M. Geo. T. Bell by his brother Odd Fellows, for his unwearied zeal and efficiency while acting as Hon. Secretary to the Hall Committee. — Wellington, New Zealand, Sept., 1863.

bad been attached to the lower panel of the stand, the whole of which had be«n engraved by Mr J. H. Mairiott in his usual happy and artistic style- The Clock was accompanied with an address beautifully engrossed by Mr W. Bannister. Mr Bell duly acknowledged in the most grateful terms his high sense and the flattering approval by his brethren of his humble efforts, and begged to assure them he would never forget the unexpected, unlooked for, and graceful compliment bestowed upon him on the occasion. Several toasts and most excellent songs prolonged the evening to a late hour. The dinner was provided at a very skort notice by Mr Downei of the Crowu and Anchor Tavern ; it is almost superfluous to say that it was of the most excellent and abundant character, which is characteristic of that most liberal purveyor.

The Assembly and the War.— -Alluding to the inoreasing tendency of the Waikato war to spread over districts at present quiet, the S. M. Herald says: — " Meantime the General Legislature is convoked for the 19th of October, and thus they will be the very undesirable concurrence of war and legislation. The great public danger may lead the members to submit to some restraint, aud confine themselves to a few necessary acts which may ensure their quiet return to their homes and local duties. The expei ience of the world is against legislative interference with the details of a campaign, and unity of action requires a freedom in the commander not readily conceded by Governments founded on the suffrage of a ballot-box. Nothing will so influence the general sympathy of England with the colouiUs as the prudence and dignity of their proceedings, and their power to comprehend that their great present duty is to protect that colony from a semi-civil-ized, not to say savage invader." The necessity of not interfering with General Cameron, and the importance of letting him accomplish the task imposed upon him during the present summer,) are recognised by no one more than by the Welliugton members.

Royal Olympic Theatre. — On Wednesday evening, a complimentary benefit was given at the above Theatre to Mr and Mrs Ellis, on which occasion the house was well and fashionably atteuded The excellent and varied programme, sustained with considerable ability, quite captivated the audience, who testified their pleasure by continued plaudits* Mr and Mrs Ellis were in capital voice and went through their part of the programme with untiring energy to the finale. The comic and dialogue duetis by the a^ove talented artistes were received with roars of laughter and applauded to the echo. Mr Roberts appeared for the first time at this Theatre and sang the songs allotted to him with considerable taste. Mr Marriott, ever ready to assist on such occasions, executed the arduous song of " Heary of Navarre" with such force and vigor as to demand a general en care. The dancing of Messrs. Spiers and Smith was all tbat could be desired, their efforts were warmly applauded. The stage appointments and the lighting of the house were most excellent, and from the heartiness with which the programme was received, we should consider the Concert as baring been a decided success. We perceive by an advertisement in another column that the performances will be repeated on Monday.

Green, very! — An amusing; scene took place at the Police Court yesterday morning. One of our Dogberries, a native of the Emerald Isle, having been placed in the witness box in a case of g.iog« stealing by some soldiers, an amusing episode occurred. After being duly sworn the following dialogue took place. It. M. : What are you ? Witness: Paddy Reardon, your Honor. R. M. : What is your profession ? Witness : A Catholic, your Worship. R. M<: But what are you now? Witness: An liishman, your Lordship. This was a clincher, and our reporter, as well as the majority of persons present, finding it impossible to preserve their gravity any longer, and fearing to compromise the dignity of the Court, had to "slope;" so that we are unfortunately unable to give the sequel of this interesting dialogue.

The Press in Otaoo. — The Otago correspondent of the Lyttlelon Times furnishes us with a very puzzling bit of information relative to our contemporaries in Dunedin. He writes:

— " A new newspaper is shortly to be ushered into existence — about the fifteenth of next month — and it is said f»r the following reasons:— One of the proprietors of the Daily Times is a member of the Provincial Council, and the other proprietor is Commissioner of Crown Lands ; then again, one of the proprietors of the Daily lelegraah is his Honor the Superintendent of the Province, and the other the Provincial Treasurer. Now there is a close relationship by marriage between his Honor the Superintendent (representing the Telegraph]) and the Commissioner of Crown La mis (repreienting the Daily Times,) and again, there is Mr Vo^el (of the Daily Times,) who aims at the leadership of the Council, against Mr Reynolds (of the Telegraph) Provincial Treasurer. Under such a peculiar and most extraordinary combination, and contradiction of interests, the public are extremely dissatisfied with both newspapers, feeling, that nothing in political matters is fairly represented by either journal. In fact, without one can brings himself to believe in such a thing as the infallability ofhutnan nature, such a matter as a sttict impartiality in recording events would be impossible. So, a- weekly paper, under very strong patronage, is to be brought out, and then we shall have— well, let us hope, it really may be an impartial record of things as they are.

Communication with Otago. — The Daily Times of the 19th inst. says : — In the Provincial Council on Thursday, a copy of a despatch was laid upon tbe table, from the Colonial Secretary addressed to his Honor, in reply to a letter ou the subject of more frrquent and regular communication with Auckland. It will be remembered the Council recently adopted an address to his Honor, requesting him to make representations an the matter, on the motion of Mr Vogel. Mr Domett intimates that it is probable, arrangements will be made with the New Zealand Steam Navigation Company for a trip of one of their steamers, alternately with those of the luter-Provineial Company.

A Rheumatic Volitnteeb. — The Mount Ararat Mail has the following : — " A strange story is told of one of the men who have recently volunteered for the war in New Zealand. It appears that be had been fur some time a patient in Castlemaine hospital, being supposed to be suffering under chronic rheumatism. However, on reading the news of tbe breaking out of war in the Auckland district his rheumatic veins glowed with martial ardor. The tempting " conditions" were too much for him ; a campaign against the Waikatos and a fifty acre farm at the end, were irresistible. The rheumatic individual became quite well with marvellous rapidity, obtained his discharge from the hospital, presented himself to the enlisting officer, was examined and pronounced sound by the ex* amining surgeon — who, we may remark, is one of the honorary surgeons of the hospital— and is now probably rejoicing in his strength as he nears the seat of war.

The Moa. — The vexata qiuestio of the existence of this gigantic and almost fabulous bird in this Island,|has been rer ived by the appearance of the following paragraph in the Dunstan Netvs of the 16th : — We were lately shown some bones evidently those of the Moa, they were found about eight miles from the Dunstan, eight feet under ground. Tbe bones comprising the two legs are quite complete, measuring a little over five feet, thus a body and neck in proportion to tbe legs, would make the bird nearly fifteen feet high. Truly we bave cause to rejoice that this fearful animal is now extinct, for if it still walked this earth it would be an object of more dread than the lions and the tigers of India. The party who exhumed this relic of tbe past used every precaution in removing the bones. Immediately he discovered the remaing be caused a sluice head of water to be brought directly upon the spot, washing th« earth coui' pletely away. There were also in the same spot a stone tomahawk, with a very small hole pierced through it doubtless belonging to some old tribe formerly inhabitants of this district.

A Good Title. — " For a Jong time past, sayt the Couiier des Etats Unis, "the best means of cheating one's neighbour has been a subject of study everywhere. Our lawsuits thus last for generations, and very often afford clear and appreciable results only to tbe lawyers A New Zealand chief has just simplified tha procedure; He had taken up bis residence upon a piece of land, his right to which was contested. ' I have an undoubted right to the property,' he ebserved, 'as 1 ate the preceding owner.'

Eiot in Lyttelton. — The Lyttelton Times of tbe 23rd inst. says: — "The arrival of the Auckland on Sunday, last with the English mail was distinguished by something more remarkable than getting our letters by the 20th of the month ; she had on board 130 volunteers on their way to join the Militia force in «Auckland, under the command of Lieut. Mitchell. Soon after the steamer arrived many of tbe passengers left for shore, and the watermen returned for other fares, when the volunteers requested the officer in charge to allow them to go on shore. The officer refused to grant them permission, when about 13 took forcible possession of one of the watermen's boats, which was nearly swamped before reaching the shore. The men at once went in search of drink, but at first it appears they had considerable difficulty in obtaining what they wanted. Towards evening they paraded the streets, using violent language to many of the townspeople and threatening the police. , The constables-tried to persuade the men to go back to the steamer, and requested them not to insult the iahabitants, but they still persisted to a late hour in the evening to the great annoyance of many who were going to the different places of worship. At this time several appeared to be considerably intoxicated. Mouday morning brought matters to a climax, as the men soon got drink when the public-houses opened, and by nine o'clock several of them were drunk. From our police report it will be seen to what extent they carried out their lawless proceedings, and the penalty they have to pay for their indiscretion, but it is our duty to bear testimony to the judicious manner in which the police did their best to prevent a breach of the peace ; their conduct was deserving of all praise, and when action was necessary, tbeir fearless conduct was admirable, and with the ready and willing assistance of a great number of the inhabitants, these ruffians were soon secured from doing further injury either to themselves or the inhabitants. During the affray, Sergeant Sugrue, and constables Ra nsay and Miles got a severe milling. Amongst the townspeople and others who reudered important assistance to the police we noticed Mr U. Macpherson, Mr Preece, Mr Willcox, Mr Genet, and Mr R Davis. At the close of tbe proceedings at the Police Court, the Resident Magistrate said that it was at all times the duty of the people to come forward to assist the police without waiting to be asked. These officers were always ready to defend the interests of the townspeople, and protect their property, therefore ii was tbe duly of the people to assist them when attacked.

The Pukekohe Attack. — The New Zealander says: — We have been furnished with the following by a well-informed correspondent : — "There are several interesting incidents connected with the Pukekohe attack worth mentioning. The natives were undoubtedly 350 in number ; the extent of ground they occupied in a kind of skirmishing order, and the riddling of bullets which the Stockade exhibits, all prove their numbers to have been great, Before the soldiers arrived one party of natives carried on the attack whilst another patty commenced cooking operations within view of the settlers homestead. The attacking party were led on by a very large, stout man, fully tattooed, who called out in goad English to the settlers, 4 Come out, you cowards ; come out and fight!' Other language, evidently picked up in grogshops and similar places, of neither a complimentary nor elegant character, was also freely used. The gate of the Stockade was not hung, and the men had to stand by the side of it ready to defend the opening in case of a rush. Here was an opportunity which, if the natives had had proper pluck, could have been taken advantage of. It is supposed that the natives are encumbered with a great number of wounded. Poor wretches, notwitstanding their merciless cruelty to our people, one cannot help pitying them, without surgical assistance or proper appliances. It is reported thut the natives have made tin attempt to cut down the fourth biidge on the Great South Road. More men, will be required for service here if this be true for a post at each bridge will be essential, for a short time at least. The bridges on the Waiuku road are in a miserable state. The other other day a fatigue paity of Colonel Nixon's men had to repair one which was quite impassable for days. It is absolutely necessary that these bridges should be kept in good condition,"