MEMORANDA OF THE MONTH.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXV, Issue 3041, 3 September 1870, Page 2

MEMORANDA OF THE MONTH.

i Retirement of the Speaker. — The 1 colony at large, as well as tho members of tho House of Representatives, will learn with regret 3 the contemplated retirement of the gentleman who 3 has so long nnd ably filled tho high office of ; Speaker of the House. During tho long period 3 in which Sir David Monro has presided over the deliberations of the Assembly, his firm and ' decided conduct-, and strict adherence to tho highest rules of parliamentary practice, have done 3 much towards elevating our Legislature to that . high position which has been tbo theme of universal comment in the sister colonies. His formal leave-taking of tho House yesterday afternoon ! was really an affecting scene. In tho course of i his address Sir David was visibly affected, par- ' (icularly in referring to the past. Mr M'Lean, [ in a few well-chosen words, and ns an old ' colonist and settler of New Zealand, took occasion to pass a high oulogium on the admirable manner in which Sir David had discharged the arduous dutios of his office. Mr Vogcl also ' paid a graceful tribute to the retiring Speaker. [ All eyes were then directed to the leader of tho ' Opposition — Mr Stafford, who rose immediately after Mr Vogcl sat down. Those who know the r calm even tone for which Mr Stafford's ora- ' tovy is noted were somewhat surprised to hear | with what difficulty ho appeared to speak, but j that surprise vanished when he commenced, with [ visible emotion to refer to tho long and intimate ' ! friendship in public and private life which had subsisted between Sir David Monro and himself, [ and when he spoke of peeing the friends of his j boyhood and manhood dropping away one by one, the remembrances conjured up appeared too j much for him, nnd the hon. gentleman had to i resume his sent overcome with emotion. A more , affecting scene we venture to say was never witnessed in any Legislature. Import Duty on Cereals.— The following ' j petition signed by thirty-one farmers and others, 1 of Leeston and Sehvyu district?, in tho province | of Canterbury, has been lnid beforo the ' House of Representatives by the hon. member , for Akaroa : —To tho Honorable the House : of Representatives, in Parliament assembled — We, the undersigned inhabitants of the province '< of Canterbury, having learnt with the deepest ' regret that on the 23rd August, 1809, your honor- ' able House did throw out by a majority of thre«. ' a resolution proposing " that there should bo ' levied, after the Ist September, 1869, Customs • duties to the^v.nount of nine-pence per cwt. on k grain and pulse of every kind not otherwise cnu- ' meratcd fn tho Customs Tariff Act, 18GQ, or the 1 ' Customs Tariff Amendment Act, IF(>7. and one 3 shilling per cwt. on grain nnd pulse of every kind ' not otherwise enumerated in the Customs Tariff '• j Act, 1866, or the Customs Tariff Amendment : I Act, 1867, when ground or in any way prepared 1 ! or manufactured," pray that your honorable ' House will again take U\o subject into your considcration, and provide for the levying of the said fc j Customs duties as proposed in the above reso'.u---1 tion, and your petitioners will ever pray. A I petition with a similar object was presented by *" Mr Birch from 175 inhabitants of Waikouaiti ' nnd Shag Valley in the province of Otngo. c Tin; Revenues ov the Provinces.— From a • return laid before Parliament of Lhe receipts and 5 expediting of the several provinces of New Zealand for the. year 1869, wo compile the following »' information. The total receipts of all the pro- • vinces, 'including the County of Westlaud, for j 1869 amounted to £1,413,41.1 and tho total expenditure to yevy nearly the same amount. The chief sources of revenue were as follows : — Proportion of consolidated revenue, £328,917 ; [ land revenue £210,822; goldGclds receipts, t £148,898 ; nnd incidental receipts including sink- , ing funds released, £182,706. The total revenue . of the Province of Wellington for 1860 amounted [ to £97,186 ; out of which the general revenue . contribulcd £24,258 and the released sinking-fund I £15,187. While tho land revenue of Wellington , amounted to £10,925, that of Nelson reached L £11,863; that of Canterbury £66,362; that of Otago, including Southland, £130,734. The | poldfields yielded to Auckland a revenue of , £41,179; 'to Nelson £32,599; to Westland , £34,184; and to Otago £1u,519. Medical Properties of Flax. — A corrcpon- ! dent writing from Otugo suys : — There is an oil ' that the people make here, which is said to bo a ' certain cure for rhumatism, and similar com- ■ plaints. It is mado from the roots of flax ' (p/iormium ienax) and wood hen oil. I have 1 seen it applied to stiff joints, sores, and burns, \ and it was always a certain cure. Almost every- ' body keeps a bottle of it in their house. The roots of flax make a capital tonic, and is simply prepared. Get tho white end of the flux, and \ make tea of it. A wine glass full of it taken for a few mornings will increaso tho appetite. It is ! most beneficial to persons suffering from bilious [ complaints, nnd is much used by the country ] settlers in this part. Coroner's Inquest. — An inquest was held at I tho Surprise Hotel, Karon, on Monday, the 8»h : inst, by Alex. Johnston, Esq, M.D., Coroner for > the district of Wellington, and n respectable jury, i on view of tho body of Etty Alliiigton, who was f found dead in her bed on Saturday morning last, i On the hearing of tho son and daughter of the I deceased, and George Suisted, who was at tho ' house ou tho previous night, tho jury, aftor I mature consideration, returned a verdict of " died ' from natural causes." The oausc of death wus I supposed to be nppoplexy. Native Nkws.— The c< Southern Cross" of the 6th siys : — There is but little news of importance relating to native matters. All fears which wore j. entertained of any disturbance in tho Raglan dis- [ tricfc have passed away. Another gang of the ' Ureweras have surrendered ; the surrender, however, appears to have boon merely nominal, as wo J are informed that recontly it was in contemplation by the whole of the surrendered rebels to return to their strongholds in the Urewera coun- ■ try, and that, had it not been for the timely notion \ of Major Mair, this would have beon tho enso. [ We do not think that there is any great weight to \ be attached to this stotemenfc. Everybody knows thut the professions of sorrow for tho past by the ' rebels aro merely to bo looked upon as skin-deep, and are mado more with the object of their being r allowed to recruit quietly than with any other. Until wo can show those misguided savnges that it i 9 really for their interest to remain at peaoe, I and assist in opening up the country, we must bo ■ prepared for constant emoutes among them in one district or another. This obj> ct will, wo believe, be effected by the Government proposals for public works." ' A Sea Lion.— Some fisherman made a haul r recently that could hardly oome within the cato--1 gory implied by the saying " all is fish that comes i to my net," cither metaphorically or otherwise. J An unusually largo seal for this part of tho world I became entangled in the meshes of thoso fisheri men's net. His sizo and desperate struggles en- • abled him to tear tho net to pieces and roleaso ' tho rest of tho haul, but only fastened himself tho C tighter. Ho took complete charge of tho net nnd > boat for tho time being, nnd resisted all tho ) attempts mado to capture him alive ; and it ' was not till ho hud become quito oxhuustod by - his exertions and the strangulation of the not that > ho was secured ; but he died soon after. It was ' purchased for tho Museum. [ Annual Report in Bankruptcy.— By a Ga- ( zetl.e published on Friday containing tho second , annual report of tho Inspector in Bankruptcy, we , see- that the number of adjudications made during i the year ending 30th Nov. 1869, lms boon 520, showing an increase in number over the previous ; year of about 75 per cent. Tho following is tho ; classifications among tho provinces to which they . ! are applicable : — Auckland, 71 ; Canterbury, 134; i Nelson and Marlborough, 30 ; Otago and Soulh- ; land, 130 Wellington and Wangaiiui, 48 ; Tarnj naki and Huwke's Bay, 9 ; Wostland (including . Greymouth and Wosfporfc), 118. Of these, 300 , did not exceed £300 in liabilities. Thrce-eigbtl.s of tho bankrupts are drawn from four classes of tho

community — hotel-keepers, storekeepers, farmers and miners ; theremaindercomprifell2callings Tlie bankruptcies of theprovince of Auckland have not been common among the producing clusses, but have been chiefly confined to distributors and consumers. Canterbury, on the other hand, j includeß in her Hat' a large numper of farmers j and settlers ; while in Otago and Southland the miners are about one-half. In Westland, again, the bankrupts belong almost exclusively to the distributing class. On the whole, however, wo appear to be possessed more with the spirit of enterprise or recklessness, as peoplo may chose to term it, than other countries, as will bo seen by the following comparison made between New Zealand and canny Scotland : — " It if), however, greatly to bo regretted flint there should be, in a colony like New Zealand, with a population of under 250,000, a larger number of bankruptcies annually than there is Scotland, with a population of over 3,000,000." Waikato Natives going to Pamatca — The "Tarnnaki Herald" of the 13th, says— lt will bo remembered that a short time since we statnd a meeting was to be held at Pariaka on the 18th September, and that To Whiti and Toho had sent messengers to all parts of the Island to invite other tribeß to attend it. The object of the meeting, it is stated, is to re-establish pence, nnd in the letters of invitation forwarded, To Whiti is reported to have said that as Turanaki began the war Taranaki must end it. A party of fifty Wuikuto natives, onthoir way to this meeting, arrived at Urenui about a week or ten days since. Four messengers, however, preceded them, who were bearers of a letter to Ilmia from Rewi, announcing that the parly was on its road. The Civil Commissioner, Mr Parris, went down to TJrenui the other dny to attend a meeting, ob which these natives and some of Tito Kownru's men were present. These natives of Tito Kowaru's tribe, although thoy cannot, justify their acts, consider that they were provoked by the European? into doing what thoy have done. They refer to the old story of the stolen horses, &c. This party, which consisted of twenty natives, had brought three canoes from Ngatimaru, as a present to the Waif ara natives. The Waikato party of natives crossed the Waitaro- yesterday, and will probably pass through the town on Monday next Amongst them is the chief Aporo, who saved Mr Everett's life at Paruito in 1860. This party consists of Waikato natives, with the exception of about six Thames natives and one Ngapuhi. The Public Works Scheme. — The " Otago Daily Times," of the 20th. concludes an article on this subject as follows : — lt is difficult to understand how it is that previous Governments hnvo not endeavored to open up the country when the moans of doing 60 were at hand. The public credit might have been safely pledged many years ngo for the purpose, and the country might now have rejoiced in the possession of a railway system. Howover, we must be thankful that our statesmen have at last shown some signs of a convirtion tlmt there are other difficulties to contend with besides the native difficulty, and that the greatest necessity of the times — that of opening up the interior • — will no longer be overlooked in the din of parly warfare. An Elephant. — We believe that to tho Galatea belongs the honor of having brought the first live elephant to Wellington, though the skeleton of one that died in Otago of eating tutu is set up in the Colonial Museum. The elephant is a small specimen of ils kind, and was obtained, we believe, at tho Island of Ceylon, where the elephants do not attain to the gigantic proportions of those in Africa. The animal 13 four years old, nnd i 3 of course a great pet among the mon, who occasionally rigg it up in a set of harness Wo believe it is the intention to give the animal a run ashore, so that our juveniles will probably be gratified with a sight of this monster of the jungle. Sudden Death. —Wo regret having to announce the death of Mr E. W. Nicholson, of the firm of Whittem, Nicholson & Co, of this City. He had been ailing for some weeks back, and showed signs of recovery, but unfortunately by catching a sudden cold a relapse was brought on, -which led to his death on Sunday morning. A widow nnd two children are left to mourn their loss. Mr Nicholson was a young uian and deservedly esteemed by his many acquaintances. Pacific Steam Navigation.— The "Otago Daily Times" prints tho following extract from a private letter to a gentleman in Dunedin, from an officer formerly in the Panama Company's service and well-known on tho Now Zealand coast, which will bo vend with interest in connection with theproposed route from Dunedin to the Straits of Magellan, there to join the steamers of tho Pacific Steam Navigation Company, whose operations are carried on the West Coast of South America from Panama to Valparaiso, and thence to Liverpool: — " Since I last wrote to you I have taken a trip Valparaiso, form which I urn now returning. The Patagonia belongs to the Pacific Steam Navigation Company which owns tho island of Tobago, in tho Bay of Panama. They are very fine steamers considerably larger than the Mataura. The one lam in is fchreo thousand tons, builders' measurement, and is three hundred and fifty feet long. She steams between eleven and twelve knots at sea without much difficulty, while she only consumes about thirty-four tons of coals a day, that is to say, one-fourth more than the Otago oi* Tararua burned. At present they despatch one of the main lino steamers monthly. They make the passage to Valparaiso in 37 days, including stoppages, and they call at Bordeaux, Lisbon, Rio Janeiro, Monte' Video, and at small port in the Straits of Magellan. It U intended by the company to build four more steamers, and despatch one ovory fortnight. They carry a great many Pronch passengers from 'Bordeaux to Monto Video, and Portugese from Lisbon, to Rio Janeiro. Besides this line, tho company has a very extensive carrying trade on the west coast of America, where they havo some twenty steamers, nearly all paddle, fourteen hundred tons, steaming twelve knots an hour on a small consumption. They have deck-houses something after the manner of American steamers running fore and aft, with a promenade on the top, and they carry an immenso number of passengers and largo cargoes." As the passage from Otago to tho Straits of Mngelan ! by steam should not occupy moro than eighteen to twenty clays— the James Nicol Fleming, on her last trip, wo hear by privato lottors, was only 21 days from Port Chalmers to the Horn -the passage homo to Liverpool, including stoppages at the ports mentioned, could easily ho mirle in 52 to 55 days, and were mails landed at Bordeaux, there would bo a saving of at least ono or two days in their transmission to London. Tho return trip from the Straits would occupy rather longer time on account of the steamers having to go somewhat, north about, to escape the prevailing westerly winds of more southern latitudes. Robueuy.— lt is seldom that wo havo to record anything in tho way of burglary in this very orderly city, and in the few cases that have occurred, tho thieves have ovaded the police for a very short time indeed. We hope the Force will havo their usual success in capturing the thief who succeeded in emptying the cash box at tho Club, Lambton Quay ; and wo think it very probablo that they will, as we havo heard that the numbers of the notes are known. The robbery must have been effected at an early hour yesterday, as the Manager says he left everything sale at* about half-past two. He thinks entranco must have been effected by way of the billiard-room. Fire Last Nigiit. — A most disastrous fire to Mr Hirst occurred at his Tannery, Kaiwarra, on the 30th ult. The whole of the tannery works, including tho engino house and machinery, were entirely destroyed ; and had it not been for the I strong wind blowing up tho gully at the time he would also have been left houseless. About 100 tons of bark were burnt, besides a large quantity of green and dressed leather, though a good number of eides were saved. Tho glare was seen in town shortly after eight o'clock, and numbers were making their way to tho eccuo beforo tho Post Oflico bell sounded tho alarm. Thorndon nnd To Aro bells soon followed. The Centrals then camo bowling along through tho mud at a

■ rattling pace, and reached the fire a little after the half hour. After some difficulty, and working like horses, they managed to run their engine ■ through the garden and between the residence of i Mr Hirat and the burning buildings, and took up a position in the rear of the engine houao. In lea 3 than five minutes they had a strong stream directed on fhe engine room ; and although some slight uneasiness was manifested by a fow of the neighbors and on-lookevs, who said that the engine was blowing off steam, and might probably burst up in a minute, the mon kept their breaks going, and in a very short time settled all doubt on the matter. By this time the General Government engine had taken up its ground at tho opposite end of tho -works, bo that there was a stream in front and rear of tho fire. The Liverpool and London and Globe engine soon followed, and by this time a pelting rain came up, which materially assisted in getting tho fire under, though there was little left to consume. Before the arrival of the engines, sheets and blankets wei-e kept saturated on the corner of the house next the fire, and buckets were busily plied, both on the house and the dry tan around the engine-house. So far as we could ascertain, there was nothing known of how the fire originated ; but there were conflicting reports U9 to the state the engine had been left in that evening, some saying that no fife was in tho furnaces, while others said the fire waß onlj banked up. The former story, however, seems to be the more probable. Mr Hirst himself has not the remotest idea of the cause of the fire, and his attention was first directed to it by one of his men named M'Mullin. Wo sympathise with Mi v Hirst in his misfortune, as there is not a penny of insurance on the place, and also with his men, who will be thereby thrown out of employment for some time. The Manslaughtee Cash.— The "Southern Cross" of tho 2oth says :— ln our Tuesday's isgue wo reported the death of J. Morrissy, a discharged private of the 2-18 th Regiment. The coroner, who held the inquest upon his remains nt Wanganui issued a warrant of commitment for manslaughter against Catherine Connor, wife of John Connor, formerly of the 2-lSth Regiment. The warrant was duly forwarded to the police here, and yesterday evening Mrs Connor was arrested by Detective Ternahan, and brought to tho poiice station. It is, as yet, hard to say, whether bail will be allowed to Mrs Connor, but at the present time she is committed to take her trial at the December sessions on the charge of manslaughter. She and her husband came from Sydney in the barque Constance, to settle at Wanganui, and we believe Mrs Connor has many friends in this neighborhood, having been a servant in a family at Parnell for about, four years before the regiment left Auckland. Both heiself i and husband appear respectable persons, and, from what we can glean from them, it appears that the deceased J. Morrissy hud been in bad I health for some time before obtaining his discharge. The Auckland Islands. — We take from a southern paper the following additional items respecting the search made by H.M.S. Blanche and Daphne. The following is from tho report of the Harbor Master of the Bluff, and will be found of interest: — On our return journey, while proceeding up an almost dry water-course, we. discovered whnt were taken for human footprints. ! There were two tracks, tho prints in one being apparently those of a large boot, tho other much, smaller, measuring about seven and a half inches They wero seen in several places, but were lost altogether on emergiug to the grass land at the head of tho creek— tho marks did not appearmore than two months old. At one place -we observed tho tracks take into some scrub, but emerge again, as if defeated in forcing a way. On comparing the list of articles left in tho cases at Epigwnit (No 2 depot) with the original list, I find that the following articles have been takea away, viz., clothing, boots, stockings, preserved meat, bread, matches, flint, 6teel, and tinder. The articles montioued in tho list wero put in by the Blanche, and the case securely nailed up. Our men, assisted by some of the Blanche's crew rethatched the house, and left everything in good repair. Before closing this report, I would drawattention to a fact mentioned in Mr Armstrong's report, namely, that in Imray's general chart of 1851, the Auckland Islands are placed 35 miles Bouti( of their true position, and it is my opinion that many of tho wrecks which have occurred at tho Islands may be referable to that error. I have referred to the chart alluded to with a great many others, and find that it differs with them all in this respect. Subsequent charts published by Iraray also place the Islands in their correct place, but as the Australian; trade suddenly acquired great dimensions in the year named, it is quite likely that tho chart of that year is still ia use on board many vessels trading in these sea 3. I trust that the utmost publicity may be given to this important matter. Viax CiOTnitfGk — Wo have been shown saysa contemporary a very creditable specimen of a coat and hat made out of Now Zealand flax, the property of a gentleman recently returned to the colonies from England. In point of texture the material is not unlike No. 6 sailcloth, but considerably more pliable. Both articles have been in use for a considorablo time, and judging from their present condition, seem almosb indestructible in so far as ordinary wear and tear are concerned. Inquest at Wanganui. — An inquest has been held on the body of Richard Curry, who was found, drowned in a creek on the Westinere Farm, iti about 6 inches of water, lying on his face. As thoro was no evidonco, a verdict of " found drowned" was returned. The body was interred by tho Voteran Volunteer, with military honors. The Wangapeka Reefs. — The " Nelson Examiner," in an article on tho Nelson and Cobden Railway, thus refers to the Wangapeka reefs .'— - The reefs at Wangapeka alone, within the next, ten year?, will, wo fully believe, yield a profit greater than tho whole cost of constructing the proposed railway. This is not an unconsidore d opinion made without data. Numerous testsapplied to stone taken from tho Wangapeka all give the same satisfactory result. Stone in which gold is scarcely viaiblo has yielded, on fivesuccessive trials conducted by different persons — on the last occasion by Dr Hector, at the Government Laboratory— upwards ot two ounces of gold to the ton. TheßO reefs are all of great thickness— from threo to five feet thick— while with Bomo, the stone for a time will have simply, to bo quarried, and may bo tumbled into a shoot, or convoyed by wire tramway, and delivered in a few minutes at a spot where unlimited water power, at all seasons will set in motion tho machinery for crushing.

The following is the return of the quantity and value of gold exporfcod from New Zealand from Ist April, 1857, to 30th June, IS7O :— Ounces Value. Auckland 206,831 £877,538 Pieton 35,667 137,470 West Coast* 2,849,969 9,258,575 Otago 2,597.288 10,121,886 Southland 28,231 111,638 *In the returns from the West Coast are included Nelson, Westport, Greymouth, Holiitika, and Okavita. Wellington only exported 30ozs, value £120, exported during the half-year ended 30th June, 1870. For the half-year ending 30th Juno, 1870 : — Auckland 53,342 £191,446 Otago 75,227 300,992 Nelson and Westland ... 150,308 598,201 Southland 1,306 5,226 Morlborough 837 3,348 Tho above amounts, including tho return from Wellington, are 34,8200z5, or £99,686 loss than the return for tho corresponding half-year of 1869.