OPOTIKI.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume II, Issue 171, 25 April 1874, Page 3

OPOTIKI.

(FROM OtTK OWN COBRESI»ONDKNT.)

Tits ketch Fanny Kelly landed here lately two large spars, intended to form the keel and kelson of a new cutter which our enterprising resident, William Kelly, Esq, MHR, is about to have built. She ia to be 55ft length of keel, lift 6in beam, oft depth of hold, and will draw 4ft Gin when deep loaded. This vessel, when completed, will be devoted entirely to theOpotiki and adjacent coast trade, and will bo a great acquisition to Ohiwa, Whakatane, Mat at a, Torore, To Kaba, and To A wanui, as she is intended to run to all these places regularly. Mr James White, of Mercury Bay, in conjunction with his brother, has taken the contract to build her, and has already commenced cutting the timbers at Ohiwa, where they are to be found in great quantities in the poh ut uk aw a bush.

The has been changeable, and a considerable quantify of rain has'fallen during the last week. The crops, however, with the exception of maize, are all gathered.

Everything is fetching a good price ; Oats, 5s to 5s 3J ; maize, 5s ; wheat, 5s 6d to 5s £)d j potatoes, £4 10s to £5 5s per ton. An enormous number of pigs were shipped this time on the Fanny Kelly at good price*. Altogether the season has been a most successful one, the loss on the potatoes having been more than covered by the increase of the grain crops in both quantity and quality. The advantage, and, indeed, the necessity, of cultivating different crops at the same time, instead of depending on one thing only, has been made particularly evident this year, and will be i useful lesson to our farmers. The Urewera and inland tribes are not at all satisfied with the results of the great meeting held at JRuatahuna last month. They say that much trouble was taken and no good done, nor any satisfat tory decision arrived at with regard to the leasing of the lands to Europeans. To Maikoha, the chief of the Uurewera, has, therefore, decided to call another meeting at the end of this month for the purpose of re-considering the subject and of endeavouring to bring the refractory land-owners to a more reasonable frame of mind, and induce them to agree to the proposition of leasing or selling some of the enormous tracts of grass country which exist in the interior of the Urewera district. Mr William Kelly has been specially invited, and his intention of being present at \y e may therefore expect the most as Mr Kelly has, through bis awd fair dealing with these tribes, obtaSSlfa an almost unbounded influence over them. Even during the fighting times there was a strict injunction among tne Urewera that “ Wiremn Kere ’ was not to be shot at or molested in any way iu his travels to and fro along the sea beach on pain of death to the offender

An omission occurred in my report of the case O’Keefe v. King, which appears in your issue of the 11th instant. The card case which was in Mr King’s possession contained some scrip and papers of value, held by Mr King by mutual agreement as a security fur the debt for which he had found it necessary to summon O Keefe some d»ys before. Hence the unprovoked and outrageous abuse, in couse euenco of which Mr King found it

I UiV ". W ali< *,,VI 7 '’♦•“‘P* »*» summing up, reprimanded u K ■'■^■> , r«!.v «>:i his conduct iu provoking tho u**.-i:iit, and ordered that ho should pay the costa. Uo aho instructed ISorgcant Mason, of tho Ootxi pabulary, on any lutuie repetition of such ; e-MuiucJ, to tr.ku such stops as would put a cheek j ou stun reprehensible behaviour. 1 The new Court House, the Tost Cilice, and the 1 airgraph Olhee tiro now nearly finished, and 1 ‘° r vS- an lu, P° B, «K addition to our little township. Wo expect-to have telegraphic com am ideation opened with Auckland vrithisi a month.