Local and General.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume IV, Issue 414, 30 August 1876, Page 2

Local and General.

The Waihi natives some time ago applied to the Government for the right of forming that portion of the Tauranga and Thames road running across the Waihi pains, which

they claim as their property. The request appears to us au extremely reasonable one, and if complied with, as we trust it may be, will tend materially to hasten on the completion of the road between the Katikati special settlement and the Ohinemuri Goldfields, a distance of twentyfive miles, on

which, afc the present time "there are only twenty men of the Armed , Constabulary at work. The importance of this line of road cannot be over estimated, and during this summer wo hope to see its formation pushed on with energy. Ifr is with much satisfaction we notice that sealed tesidera are invited by the Postmaster Q-eneral, and will be reoeived, addressed to the Postmaster General, Wellington, until Saturday, 9th proximo, for the conveyance of mails, twice a week each way, between Tauranga and Napier, by founborsed coach, during a period of two years and two months, commencing on the Ist November next-. Erratum. — An error occurred in the first •heading under " Parliamentary " in our last issue. For "Counties Bill'" read "The Waste Lands Amendment Act." Herbert W. Brabant, Esq, E,M.,left town on Sunday morning for Ohinemutu, where his presence was thought necessary in the pve' sent agitated- 3t.ate of the natives assembled there. Mr Brabant will not return till tha end of the week,

A fii-o occurred afc the Native settlement Wlmreroa on Sunday night last, . fortunately, unattended with any aorioua result. One of the Maori girla had gone to sleep in a wharo used aB a store-housefor the seed potatoes &o &c, and had left a lighted candle close to the very inflammable raupo wall. The fire wns discovered at its outbreak, and bj pulling down the place ifc wns prevented from spreading further. The wind, fortunately, at the time was blowing rather from the adjacent buildings, and to this fact., alone it is attributable thut the whole of Ihe other houses were not burnt. As it was the owner, Henata, independent of the destruction of his house, suffers a severe loss in the entire destruction of all hie seed potatoes aud 6evoral household articles. ■

The New Zealand Herald's Wellington Correspondent writing on the subject of the East Coftsfc' Seat,says : — "Oaptain Morris, will sit as a moderate opponent of the Gov ernmenfc. He does not in Sir George Grey's plans tor benefiting - posterity, but would be inolined to follow the lead of any gentleman who could consolidate the Auck> land party on some more practical platform thau that of Sir George Grey."

• We hear that a crew is about to be got together to challenge our Opotiki neighbours to a pulling match. The first overtures came from Opotiki, where we believe a strong crew has been practising for some time, with a view of challenging a L'auranga crew. We trust that if the match eventuates, the Tauranga oarsmen will not allow the championship of the Bay of Plenty to be won by Opotiki without a severe struggle. At the present time we are unable to state definitely when the match will take place.

Tha fitew Zealand Herald commenting on the late ast Coast Jilectioa Enquiry says; — " Our Wellington correspondent furnishes us with a synopsis of the report of the East Coast Elect iou Committee, whereby it will be seen that Captain Bead has-been declared to be illegally elected, and Oaptain Morris recommended to be declared the sitting member. The report, to our own knowledge, is a most truthful resume of what bad actually taken place in regard to the appointment of agents for securing votes for Oaptain Bead in the Bay of Plenty, and the questionable means to whioh those agents resorted for the accomplishment of that object, •It was proved to the committee, beyond doubt, that Major Pitfc had bribed several eleotors to induce them to support Beid ; and in the face of such proof, there was no alternative left the committee than to adopt the course they have done namely, to unseat Captain Read : and the country will give them due credit for thus aoting. It was attempted to disideutify Captain Bead, in any shape or form, with the action of his Electioneering Committee at Q-iaborne, with whom he left everything appertaining to his return. But this could not be done, Captain Bead being he'd— and very properly so — responsible for any illegal proceedings on their part. He fully consented to throw himself into their hands, and sanctioned every step taken by them to seoure his election. Moreover, his purse was at their disposal, and the money with which Fairfax Johnson and others were bribed, was supplied by Bead, as were blbo the travelling and other expenses of his aoi credited agents. His election cost him about a thousand pounds, as it is not at all ua> charitable to suppose that a considerable portion of this large outlay included many items which the law disallows, and which consequently amounts indirectly, if not directly, to bribery and corruption within the meaning of the statues, Captain Morris, as the report states, was charged ab 0-ieborne with attempting to use unlawful means for the procurement of votes, by offering two men name i respectively Wright and Dunahoo, £1 for any elector they could induce to exercite the franchise for him, but the evidence was not sufficient to substantiate such a charge, and the prosecution broke down, as indeed evervcKie who knew Captain Morris's aversion to anything bordering o'a bribery and corruption predicted it would. ihe fact of" his having been deolaredl eligible to occupy the seat now vacated by Ciptuin Read, exonerates him from having either directly or indirectly, violated the law in his candidature. Captain Morris is very popu'ar throughout fc'ie East Coast electorate, and especially co at Poverty Bay, where fche majority of the electors reside, and the constituency is to be congratulated upon being represented by au intelligent man, whose sense of duty >vnd honor well fits him for a legislator. Had not Captain Bead con> sen ted to eland, it was the intention of the Poverty Bay people ho support Captain Morris, he being well known there as an extensive local rua'holder, for several years.